The Legion Clubhouse #002 – Problematic Portrayals

In this episode, we take a look at Action Comics #267 and Adventure Comics #282 and the problematic portrayal of teenage girls.

In the city of Metropolis, in the 30th Century, there exists one of the most amazing clubs of all time! It’s members are teen-aged youths, each possessing on special super-powers! The club members have vowed to use their fantastic power to battle crime… This rocket shaped building is the Legion Clubhouse!

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Action Comics #267
The Three Super-Heroes
August 1960
w: Jerry Siegel
a: Jim Mooney
After watching a demonstration put on by her cousin Superman in her civilian guise of Linda Lee, Supergirl is visited by three teens who can exhibit extraordinary powers and happen to know Supergirl’s secret identity. Supergirl decides to finally investigate when these teens manage to activate her Linda Lee robot.

Upon confronting these teens, they reveal themselves to be Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, members of the Legion of Super-Heroes from the 30th Century. When Supergirl recalls her cousin telling her of his induction into the Legion when he was Superboy, the Legion members tell her that they are the children of the original Legion and that they want her to join their ranks.

Traveling to the 30th Century, Supergirl meets other new members of the Legion: Chameleon Boy who can change shapes, Invisible Lad who can turn invisible, and Colossal Boy who can grow to titanic heights. Her initiation into the group would require her to perform a super-feat for them. When it’s learned that there is too much air traffic on the planet Earth, Supergirl digs a tunnel through the planet wide enough for air ships to fly through in order to lighten the load. However, when she emerges and returns to the Legion, she is shocked that she is a full grown woman and therefor is no qualified to be a member of the Legion who does not admit anyone over the age of 18.

Dismayed, the now Superwoman uses her X-Ray vision to find the cause, and finds that there was a chunk of Red Kryptonite that caused the change in her body. The Legion regretfully tells Superwoman that she will not be able to apply for membership for another year. Returning to her own time, and after the effects of the Kryptonite have worn off, Supergirl (in her civilian guise of Linda Lee) wonders if she’ll be invited into the Legion again. – via DC Wikia

Adventure Comics #282
Lana Lang and the Legion of Super-Heroes
March 1961
w: Otto Binder
a: George Papp
Lana Lang is once more trying to win Superboy’s affections, when the Boy of Steel is summoned to a cave near Smallville where he meets a super-hero calling himself Star Boy. Coming from the 30th Century and the planet Xanthu, Star Boy explains that he has similar super-powers to Superboy. He goes on to explain that he is also a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and that he has traveled into the past to stop two Xenthuian criminals who had escaped into this era and are hiding out on Earth. However, Starboy’s X-ray vision cannot penetrate copper and so has asked Superboy’s help who’s x-ray vision will be able to see through the copper piping used in Smallville’s water system to find the criminals, who have been hiding in underground caverns.

Lana Lang stumbles upon the two young heroes just as they finished capturing the Xanthuian criminals, and in order to get Superboy jealous, Lana bluffs Star Boy into believing she overheard his secret identity and forces him to pretend to be her boyfriend in order to make Superboy jealous. Traveling to the 30th Century with Superboy and Star Boy, Lana has the latter do whatever it takes to try and make Superboy jealous. However, Superboy sees through this ploy and ignores everything and even goes so far as to “date” a Xantharian girl, which causes Lana herself to become jealous and admit to the whole deception. With Lana having learned her lesson, the two teens from the 20th Century return to their own time. – via DC Wikia

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