The Legion of Superheroes Archives, Volume 3 by Ira Schnapf and Jerry Siegel

This volume contains thirteen more stories from the Early years of the Legion.

In "Mutiny of the Legionnaires" and "Castaway Legionnaires", Sun Boy and Mon-El, coming back from their fifth straight mission, are diverted to save a planet of aliens who can only exist on a planet whose atmosphere contains plenty of Xenon. But when Sun Boy has a mental breakdown from the stress and strands the other Legionnaires on a far-off planet, can they rescue themselves and then him before someone comes to grief?

In "Elastic Lad Jimmy and his Legion Romances", Jimmy Olsen, now with Super-powers of Stretching, is invited back to the 30th Century to help out the girls of the Legion after the girl he was trying to date pooh-poohs him. But when the girls are so very grateful for his help, can he resist staying in the future to be with them?

"The Legion's Suicide Squad" and "Charge of the Substitute Heroes" tells what happened to the Legion when they tried to contact the people of the Planet Throon and get them to allow ships to peacefully fly past after being attacked, can the Legion of Subsitute Heroes win where the Legion can't?

"Revenge of the Knave from Krypton", and "The Treachery of Molock the Merciless" is about Dev-Em, a super inventor from Krypton who went on a mischevious spree on Earth and even got the drop on Superboy. But in the future, he turned over a new leaf, and he needs the help of the Legion to take on Molock the Merciless, but will Superboy forgive Dev-Em's mischief to help him in his goal?

"The Code of the Legion" and "The Weakest Legionnaire" have the Legion afraid that someone will give away their secrets if tortured- especially one about a device called a concentrator. So each undergoes a test to see if they can keep the secret. Who will keep it, and who will break?

The "Super tests of the Super-Pets" has Proty II wanting to enter and become a member of the Legion of Super-Pets. But can he take on Superman's form and do super-deeds without having any power except for the ability to change his form? How will he do in the tests?

Proty II then determines the next leader of the Legion in "The Eight Impossible Missions" and "The Amazing Winner of the Great Proty Puzzle". Who can he mean to be the next leader of the Legion?

In "The Legion of Super Outlaws" and "Battle of the Super Teams", Marden King, a disgraced scientist, persuades a group of aliens to fight against the Legion. But when Shrinking Violet falls in love with Duplicate Boy, the leader of the aliens, can she prevent a horrible fight between the teams?

When "Lex Luthor meets the Legion of Superheroes" and "The Super Vengeance of Luthor", Lex Luthor goes back in time when he was still good and had his hair to meet the Legion and become friends with them. But in reality, he's just wearing a wig, and has a plan to get rid of the Legion... permanently. But will he succeed?

"Revolt of the Girl Legionnaires" and "Triumph of the Super-Heroines" have the Legion girls ganging up on the men and taking them out. Who could have influenced the women of the Legion to act this way? And is there any hope for the men?

"Superboy and the Five Legion Traitors" has Clark Kent returning home from the 30th Century and being visited by the Legion. But are these the Legionaires he's used to, or the home he grew up in?

"The Lone Wolf Legionnaire" and "The Youth who Wasn't Human" tell the story of Brin Londo, a man with the powers of a wild beast. But he's not a human, but an android. Light Lass has fallen in love with Brin, but he can't return her affections... or can he?

And, in "The Lad Who Wrecked the Legion" and "The Secret of the Legion Rookie" introduces a Legion applicant who has immense powers over the minds of others. But why does he dislike the element of Gold, and does he have the Legion's best interests at heart?

Some of the stories in this collection are a little too mystical for me, especially the last story, which deals in demons, but I really liked reading *all* the stories in this volume, all of which were new to me. The Legion really lend themselves well to all sorts of stories, though there is a definite sense of "romance is bad" that leads me to the feelings that these stories catered to the "girls are icky!" crowd. I mean, marriage is even against the Legion code- if you're married, you're not allowed.

We get to see that there are lots of people who want to be Legionnaires, but who try to trick their way in- presumably for bragging rights. But they are always found out in the end and kicked out. We also get to see the Legion of Substitute Heroes finally come into their own and get recognition, which was very nice indeed. In fact, they will eventually turn into a kind of "University" where almost-Legionnaires go to train and master their powers.

I found myself enjoying the stories. The characters are starting to grow up, and stories about sexual politics- yes, camouflaged as they are, are making their way into the Legion canon. I can't wait to read more. Recommended.