Since your local libraries are celebrating super heroes during this summer’s reading programs, we thought it might be a good idea to introduce readers to what may be the largest group of super powered champions to ever grace a comic book! The Legion of Super Heroes first appeared in Adventure Comics 247 in 1958. They were created by Otto Binder a talented writer who had worked for DC Comics and for Fawcett Comics in his long career. The Legion consisted of teen heroes from various planets during the 30th century. Their HQ was based on earth on the location at which Clark “Superman” Kent’s apartment building (344 Clinton Street) had once stood during the 20th century. The Legionnaires had been inspired by the legends of Superman’s adventures when he was a teen himself. They formed a large group with members from around the universe and worked to embody the same values Superman himself had championed in his time. Some of the members included: Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Sun Boy, Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl, Dream Girl, Timber Wolf, Karate Kid, Element Lad, Wildfire, Blok. the White Witch, Chemical King, Princess Projectra, Quislet, Brainiac 5, and Lightning Lass. The teens even managed to travel back through time to invite a teenaged Superboy and Supergirl to join their team! The Legion of Super Heroes has remained a popular concept and the characters have appeared regularly in various publications ever since their first appearance. Fans of Marvel’s X-Men may be intrigued by the fact that the character and costume designs that were used for some X-Men like Nightcrawler and Storm were originally intended to be used for members of the Legion before artist Dave Cockrum left DC Comics to work for Marvel where he used his ideas for the new mutant heroes of the X-Men in 1975! We all love the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men, Teen Titans, Justice League, and Outsiders but for quantity and quality you can’t beat the Legion of Super Heroes!
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