This volume contains stories of the Legion of Superheroes from the early 1970's, 1971-1972.
"Brotherly Hate" pits Lightning Lad against his own brother, Mekt Ranzz, better known as Lightning Lord, who hates his brother and sister fiercely. But can he defeat his own brother, with exactly the same powers as he has?
"Trust Me or Kill Me" has Cosmic Boy returning to Legion Headquarters to determine who is the real Cosmic Boy before time is up and the rest of the Legion returns. Can he determine who is the real Cosmic Boy?
"Invisible Invaders" has the Legion dealing with a bunch of criminals who can turn invisible just like the Invisible Kid. Can Invisible Kid find a way to overcome his own formula so that the Legion can trap the criminals?
"War of the Wraith-Mates" has two wraiths inhabiting Princess Projectra, Karate Kid, Mon-El and Shadow Lass. But when a landing on a strange planet ends in the death of Shadow Lass, will the other heroes come to their senses and defeat the creature who killed her?
"One Legionnaire Must Go!" has Matter-Eater Lad being suspected of treason to the Legion. But the only ones who are left at Legion HQ are Ultra Lad and Saturn Girl. Can they overcome the traitor and find the real source of the murderous thoughts?
In "Curse of the Blood-Crystals", Superboy's defeat of Mordru and his disposal of the Blood-Crystals that make anyone who sees them insanely hate Superboy comes back to bite him in the ass when the Crystal is found floating in space and picked up and taken back to the Legion for study- and the hatred infects Chameleon Boy! Can Superboy fight him off and save him from Mordru's Magic?
"Murder the Leader" has Mon-El and Saturn Girl in the running for Leader of the Legion. But when both of them disappear and reappear far across the Universe, Mon-El must fight both Validus and Tharok of the Fatal Five when Saturn-Girl appears to be slain. Can he outfight or outwit Two members of the Fatal Five on his own?
"Attack of the Sun-Scavenger" has the Legion celebrating Sun-Boy's birthday. But when they are attacked by Dr. Regulus, can they defeat him, and his cunning plan to regain his power?
"War Between the Nights and Days" has the Legion trying to stop a war on a planet where one side is always in Daylight, and the Other always in Night. Can they broker a peace between the two warring sides- and their warring leaders?
"One-Shot Hero" has a new hero trying out for a spot in the Legion. ERG-1 can duplicat the powers of many in the Legion, but he has one more which he can't demonstrate. He's rejected, but when the Legion is summoned to the site of a runaway machine sucking up plants and animals, can he save the Legion with his power? And what will be the price?
"Timber Wolf, Dead Hero, Live Executioner" has Timber Wolf returning from the dead. But is he really himself? When he seems to go crazy and attacks the President of the UFP, can the other heroes save him and discover who is behind his crazy rampage?
"The Fatal Five Who Twisted Time" and "Prisoners of the Time Lock" has the Fatal Five attacking Superboy in Smallville. Can the Legion come from the future in time to save him and the other people of Smallville?
in "The Gun That Mastered Men", Tyr's Gun returns from Outer Space to free him from his cell and make their escape. When Superboy goes out to defeat the gun, the gin takes him over and makes him attack the Legion. Can the weakest Legionnaires find a way to defeat him?
"The Impossible Target" has Bouncing Boy being kidnapped and attacked by Orion, the son of the Hunter who once tried to take the Legion as trophies in the most dangerous game of all. But can Bouncing Boy defeat the Son, who wants to kill him to avenge his father's death?
"The Legionnaire Bride of Starfinger" has Bouncing Boy proposing to the woman he loves- Duo Damsel. But when she finds she can no longer split in two, it doesn't seem to matter- because she's getting married and leaving the Legion anyway. But when it is revealed that her other self was abducted by Starfinger, and that she will die unless her two selves are reunited, will the Legion give up Duo-Damsel to Starfinger to save her life?
"The Betrayer from Beyond". Now that the Legion is short two heroes with the leaving of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel, the Legion needs two new members. The Legion applicant, Erg-1 is trying to return to his containment suit, but is foiled by the force-field around it. But when one of the Legion Applicants turns out to be an intruder in disguise, can ERG-1 save the Legion?
"The Silent Death" Has Dream Girl dreaming of the Death of a Legionnaire. But when she visits the Legion Clubhouse, can she and Karate Kid discover the dying Legionnaire in time to save them from Death?
"Lost: A Million Miles from Home" has Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet taking down criminals on another planet. But on their way home, the ship suddenly loses power. After some investigating, they discover that somehow Colossal Boy is the source of the power Loss. He exiles himself from the ship, but is attacked by a creature resembling an Asteroid. Can Shrinking Violet discover the source of the Power loss and save Colossal Boy from the attack of the creature?
"Wrath of the Devil-Fish" has ERG-1, now calling himself Wildfire, inducted into the Legion. But when the new sewage and pollution treatment plant is attacked by a devilish Fish creature, can the Legion defeat it or discover what is making it attack the plant?
This book again has a series of mostly one-off stories, with the occasional two-parter to break it up, exactly the opposite of what I usually prefer. But nonetheless, the sheer number and breadth of the stories is amazing. Despite the small number of pages in a one-off story, the writers and artists are able to tell some pretty incredible and amazing stories in that form.
And we see another noteworthy event- EFG-1, later known as Wildfire, joins the Legion. This means the Legion is getting to the point it was at when I started reading. This volume also ushers in new costumes for many members of the group, including Starboy, whose costume now resembles the Night Sky. In general the 70's costumes were more revealing and "Sexed up" from the previous costumes, in line with the fashions and morality of the time- except for Wildfire, but you can't expect someone who's made of anti-energy to reveal flesh that isn't there.
Not quite as good as other periods in the long timeline of this series, this book is still good compared to many other comics of the time, and still gets a recommendation from me for the excellence of its stories and character-building.
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