The Legion of Superheroes Archives, Volume 1 by

This volume collects the 19 earliest stories about the Legion of Superheroes.

The introductory story "The Legion of Superheroes" introduces three teenagers from the far future- the 30th Century! When two boys and a girl recognize Clark Kent as Superman, Clark wonders if his secret is out! But they soon reveal themselves to be super-powered teens from the future, come to offer Superboy a chance to join their club. Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl possess the powers of generating Lightning, Super magnetism and telepathy. But when Superboy must race against them to get a chance of joining the Legion, will he succeed or fail?

In "Prisoner of the Superheroes"- The Legion arrives from the future to punish Superboy for some unnamed crime- one that has caused the Superheroes to repudiate him and plan to punish him by building a Kryptonite jail cell on another planet- but will Superboy find a way to escape before the jail is finished?

"The Three Superheroes" has the Legion coming to enlist the powers of Supergirl in their clubhouse. But what can she do that is spectacular enough to get them to allow her to join?

"The Army of Living Kryptonite Men" has Superboy calling on the help of his friend Lightning Lad to get out from under the attacks of his nemesis, Lex Luthor.

In "Lana Lang and the Legion of Superheroes", Star Boy, from the planet of Xanthu, another member of the Legion, has come to ask for Superboy's help. But when Lana, in her continuing quest to snare Superboy, enlists the help of Starboy to make Superboy jealous, will it work out like she wants it to?

"Supergirl's Three Super Girl Friends" brings the Legion back into Supergirl's life, when she is wishing for a friend of her own. Luckily, who should soon arrive but Saturn Gil, Triplicate Girl and Phantom Girl from the Legion of Superheroes, offering her another chance to join the Legion. Supergirl also meets a boy, Vril Dox, also known as Brainiac Five, who is the descendant of Superboy's old foe. But what sort of intentions does he have towards her?

"Superboy's Big Brother" and "The Secret of Mon-El" introduces another Super boy to Smallville. When a Kryptonian Spaceship lands in Smallville, Superboy rescues the inhabitant, who he assumes to be his older brother and names Mon-El. But when his story doesn't quite add up, can Superboy find out this boy's true story.

"The Legion of Supervillains" has an imprisoned Lex Luthor sending a message to the 30th Century, to the foes of the Legion to help him break out of his imprisonment. But can he help them overcome the Legion and Superman, or will he only get them imprisoned?

In "The Secret of the Seventh Superhero"- a boy named Tom Tanner, a perfect physical double of Clark Kent, comes to Smallville and accidentally learns Clark Kent's secret. But when Superboy is asked by Sun Boy to reassemble pieces of a secret weapon needed back in the 30th Century, will he find out he's been taken for a fool until it's too late?

"The League of Super-Traitors" has the Legion being taken over by Brain Globes and Superboy is poisoned. But can Krypto and Streaky recruit a legion of Super-pets and take on the Brain Globes, who cannot affect the minds of animals?

In "Supergirl's Greatest Challenge", Supergirl must somehow find a way to fight an energy monster that can't be touched, and then restore the powers of the Legion, which have been stolen... or have they?

"Superman's Super-Courtship" has Supergirl trying to set up Superman with a Super-girlfriend so that he can be happy. But will Supergirl's actions help or hurt her cousin?

In "The Boy with Ultra-Powers", a Boy named Ultra-Boy arrives from the far future in order to find out Superboy's real identity. But when he sets on Pete Ross as the candidate, can Superboy protect Pete and keep his own identity safe?

"The Face Behind the Lead Mask", a masked man attacks the Legion and causes their powers to fail or go wrong. Can Superboy, summoned from the past, find the identity of their foe and defeat him?

"The Secret Origin of Bouncing Boy" is just that, a retelling of how Bouncing Boy gained his powers, as he tells them to a group of Legion applicants. Will they take heart from his unusual story?

"Sun Boy's Lost Power" tells the story of what happened to Sun Boy when an unusual accident stripped him of his powers. Without his powers, he will be stripped of his Legion membership. But can he regain them, or will he have to leave the Legion?

"The Fantastic Spy" starts with several of the Legion recieving medical care by a new procedure. But when it becomes clear that there is a spy in the Legion, it's up to the Legion Leader, Brainiac Five, to bring the true culprit to light!

In "The Stolen Powers" Saturn Girl becomes leader of the Legion by making people vote for her, and manages to duplicate everyone in the Legion's powers and forbid them to use their own powers. But why could she be doing such a thing? And when her plan goes wrong, will it be Saturn Girl who pays the ultimate price, or another legionnaire?

"The Secret of the Mystery Legionnaire" adds a new candidate named Lemon to the Legion. But as he goes through his tests to prove himself as a Legionnaire, will the team guess his real secret?

Well, this had some of the early Legion stories in it, I found them, sometimes as silly and contrived as they were, still very good reading. Though most stories, then as later on, only involved a few of the Legion rather than all of them- we don't get to see their origin until much later on- and not in this volume. These stories bring home how innocent the times were, and stories are oddly sweet, even when Lana Lang is scheming, or the Legion is facing a world-imperiling threat.

This volume lets you see the Legion as it was, and how it became so very popular, and while many stories show their age (I doubt people in the 30th century will be imploring their crushes to "Stay with me and be my girl!"), the teamwork and purview of the Legion show themselves here and set up the team for many, many stories to come.

Most of these stories are scattered across the spectrum of the Superman family comics and are expensive to get in their original comics. But here, they are gathered together in one place, and the stories, even in their innocent, syrupy sweetness between the characters, stand the test of time and still provide bang for the buck. Recommended.