Adventure Comics 303
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The Fantastic Spy!
Synopsis
Sun Boy and Lightning Lad recover from injuries sustained in a recent rocket crash with the help of Dr. Landro, a surgeon who uses fourth-dimensional surgery to implant curative capsules in their injured ankles.
Later, after the Legionnaires induct new member Matter-Eater Lad, they are asked to guard a secret shipment of Energite, “the universe’s most valuable mineral.” Lightning Lad and Bouncing Boy volunteer for the mission, but cannot prevent a ship disguised as a space creature from stealing the shipment. The chief of the Science Police believes that one of the Legionnaires must be a traitor who informed the criminals of their plan. Cosmic Boy and Chameleon Boy next attempt to deliver a Doomsday Bomb to the United Planets Arsenal, but the bomb is stolen en route. After a third mission fails – transporting a dangerous alien called Meglaro, who is freed by criminals in a spaceship – the Legionnaires also suspect traitor in their midst. Brainiac 5 loudly accuses Matter-Eater Lad, who flees. Brainy takes off after him while lamenting the fact that M.E. Lad’s betrayal has cost the Legion credibility with the Science Police Commission, just when the Legion was about to guard the universe’s greatest treasures, which have been stored on the planet Umrax.
Later, Brainy returns with Matter-Eater Lad and reveals that the latter pretended to flee when Brainy deliberately and falsely accused him, so they could uncover the real spy. The real spy is revealed to be a miniaturized criminal inside the curative capsule Dr. Landro implanted in Sun Boy’s ankle. The spy was reduced to tiny size, Brainac 5 theorizes, with the shrinking ray technology of the original Brainiac. From his unsuspected vantage point, the spy overheard all of the Legion’s plans and broadcast them to Landro and his criminal associates. Brainy also reveals that he tricked Landro and his associates into going to Umrax, where the planet’s gaseous atmosphere renders everyone unconscious, except for Superboy, who is summoned from the past to capture the criminals and Meglaro.
Sun Boy’s ankle is operated on again to remove the spy and fake capsule and replace it with a real curative capsule. The Legionnaires congratulate Brainy for cracking the case, and Brainy reflects on the irony that he helped solve a case involving his evil ancestor’s shrinking ray.
Key Quotes and Catchphrases
Critique
Roll Call
Legionnaires
- Cosmic Boy
- Lightning Lad
- Sun Boy
- Brainiac 5
- Matter-Eater Lad (joins the Legion in this story)
- Saturn Girl
- Bouncing Boy
- Chameleon Boy
- Superboy (2 panels)
- Triplicate Girl (1 panel)
- Shrinking Violet (1 panel)
Villains
- Dr. Landro, the spy, and three other criminals
- Meglaro
Other characters
- A Science Police chief
Planets and Settings
- Umrax (planet)
Technology, Gadgets and Other Neat Stuff
- Movie goggles (which enable Lightning Lad to watch himself in action!)
- Fourth-dimensional surgery and curative capsule implants
- Energite
- A Doomsday Bomb
- Freeze-pills (which temporarily freeze passengers who travel through the earth’s core)
- Mind helmets made of lurium metal (which blocks telepaths)
- Z-rays (dissolve lurium)
- A guilt detector
- Anti-spying indicator at Legion Headquarters
Notes
Errors and Oddities
First appearances
This issue marks the first appearance of the following characters and recurring key Legion story elements:
Powers and abilities
Reboot Reference Kit
Retcon Alert
Other
Other stories in this issue
There is an additional story that does not feature the Legion - "The Man Who Hunted Superboy"
Reprints
This Legion story has been reprinted in the following:
See also
- Legion Publication History - Other issues published 1950-1964
- Legion Publication History - Other issues of Adventure Comics
- Pre-Crisis Chronology
- Quick index of links to other Adventure Comics issues
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