Action Comics v1 276
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Contents
"Supergirl's Three Super Girl-Friends!"
(12 pages/65 panels/2,402 words)
Plot Synopsis
One day at Midvale Orphanage, Linda (Supergirl) Lee observes some of the other girls bonding and wishes she had girlfriends of her own. Unfortunately, she laments, because she is “Superman’s secret weapon” she cannot share her true “hopes and worries” with any other girl.
Then, as she wanders in tears out onto the grounds, she hears a voice in her head, telling her to go to Cranston Creek. There, three super-powered girls, one of whom wears a lead mask to hide her identity, teasingly confront her.
Removing the mask, the disguised girl reveals herself to be Saturn Girl. She then invites Supergirl to take a second shot a Legion membership. After recalling her last attempt, when exposure to red kryptonite rendered her temporarily too old to join, Supergirl readily agrees.
In the 30th century, Supergirl meets other Legion applicants, including Brainiac 5, a descendant of Superman’s villainous nemesis, who recounts how the original Brainiac captured and shrunk the Kryptonian city of Kandor. Brainiac 5 also relates what turns out to be an apocryphal tale of his ancestor’s demise at the hands of Superman.
Supergirl wonders at Brainiac 5’s sincerity in announcing his dedication to atoning for the original Brainiac’s evil deeds. She then demonstrates her powers, along with the other applicants, by digging up a trio of terrain antiquities.
Just then, a giant kryptonite meteor plummets from the sky, directly for the spot where the Legionnaires are standing. Brainiac quickly doffs his force-field belt and gives it to Supergirl, who is then able to launch skyward and confront the meteor directly, smashing it into tiny bits. As the Legionnaires clean up the irradiated debris, Supergirl thanks Brainiac 5 for putting his own life in danger to save hers.
The pair is then inducted in the Legion, Supergirl for the results of her trophy hunt and Brainiac 5 for “noble courage.”
Supergirl then returns to the 20th century, with Brainiac 5’s force-field belt around her waist as consolation gift of sorts, since she’s declined his offer to remain in the future and “be his girl.” Once home, she immediately enlists the aid of Lori Lemaris and Jerro the Mer-boy to test her new defensive weapon. They help her unearth a chunk of kryptonite hidden in a sunken chest, with Jerro professing undying love all the way. Supergirl buries the kryptonite deep inside a lead asteroid, but on her return from space she flies over a mine, where blasting spits up a rock the pierces the force field and destroys the belt. Passage through the time barrier, she concludes, must have “radically shortened” its life.
Once back at Midvale orphanage in her guise of Linda Lee, Supergirl admits to the other girls that, unlike them, she has no boyfriend. After all , she says with a wink to the reader, how can she admit to having two boyfriends, one in the far future, and one beneath the depths of the sea?
Key Quotes and Catchphrases
- "A girl needs another girl to talk things over with! . . . <choke!>" (Supergirl)
- "I promised Superman I'd keep my existance on Earth a secret to I can be his emergency weapon!" ('Supergirl: 1st emergency weapon reference)
- "I understand your loathing for the fiend who was my ancestor! But please . . . please . . . don't hate me . . . !" (Brainiac 5, to Supergirl)
- "A fine prise, eh, Koko? Ha, Ha!" (Brainiac)
- "I know you were Superman's great emergency weapon, centuries ago, Supergirl!" (Brainiac 5: 2nd emergency weapon reference)
- "I'd gladly sacrifice my life to save yours, any time!" (Brainiac 5, again to Supergirl)
- "He's sweet!" (Supergirl, about Brainiac 5, although not out loud)
- "And you were selected, Brainiac 5, for your noble courage in helping Supergirl, though it could have cost you your own life!" (unknown)
- "I shall always uphold the Legion's high traditions!" (until the next time I go stark, raving bonkers, said Brainiac 5)
- "Please remain . . . and be my girl . . . !" (Brainic 5, to Supergirl)
- "I'm sorry, Brainiac 5! I must return to my own time-era to be Superman's emergency weapon!" (Supergirl, to Brainiac 5: 3rd emergency weapon reference)
- "Gosh! Since the belt makes me invulnerable to kryptonite, I-I'm now mightier than Superman!" (Well, we can't have that, can we Supergirl? So, enjoy it for the next eight panels)
- "Must you leave so quickly, Supergirl? . . . I've missed you! Please return again soon! I think of you . . . often!" (Jerro, the mer-boy, or Jerro , the needy? You deide)
- "Yeowlp! I'm getting outa here! That's real kryptonite!" (Krypto)
Roll Call
Each sub-head given in order of appearance:
Legionnaires
- Saturn Girl (19 panels; 6th appearance)
- Phantom Girl (8 panels; 1st appearance)
- Triplicate Girl (12 panels; 1st appearance)
- Cosmic Boy (9 panels; 6th appearance)
- Lightning Lad (5 panels; 6th appearance)
Legion applicants/rejects
- Supergirl (52 panels; 2nd attempt, joins Legion. Includes 7 panels in civial i.d.)
- Shrinking Violet (1 panel, 0 words; 1st known attempt, rejected; 1st appearance)
- Bouncing Boy (3 panels, 8 words; 1st known attempt, rejected; 1st appearance)
- Sun Boy (2 panels, 11 words; 1st known attempt, rejected; 1st appearance)
- Brainiac 5 (13 panels, 0 words; Joins Legion; 1st appearance, origin)
Villains
- Brainiac (5 panels, 94 words - all in flashabck; 1st appearance in a Legion story. See also: Pulsar Stargrave]
- Koko (4 panels, 0 words - all in flashback; only appearance in a Legion story)
Supporting Characters
- Superman (1 panel, 8 words - in flashback)
- Lori Lemaris (3 panels, 22 words)
- Jerro (3 panels, 31 words; only appearance in a Legion story)
Other Characters
Janice (a girl at Midvale Orphange; only appearance?; 4 panels, 36 words) Elaine (a girl at Midvale Orphange; only appearance?; 4 panels, 30 words)
- Frankie Hudson (a 20th century tv star; 1 panel, 15 words)
- An unnamed truck driver (1 panel; meant to be a Legionnaire?)
- Stadium full of unnamed specators at Legion induction ceremony
Planets and Settings
- 2oth century Earth, inclduing:
- Midvale Orphanage
- Cranston Creek (only appearance ?; See also: Calvin's Cave)
- Atlantis (1st appearance in a Legion story)
- Deep space
- 30th century Earth, including:
- Legion Clubhouse (3rd appearance)
- Bottle City of Kandor
Technology, Gadgets and Other Neat Stuff
- A Linda Lee robot (1 panel, 3 words)
- Legion jet-packs (8 panels)
- Trans-Earth Tunnel (in flashback; 2nd appearance)
- Legion Time Bubble (5 panels; 4th appearance)
First appearances
This issue marks the first appearance of the following characters and recurring key Legion story elements:
- Brainiac 5
- Shrinking Violet
- Bouncing Boy
- Sun Boy
Notes of Interest
Other stories in this issue
There is an additional story that does not feature the Legion. "The War Between Supergirl and the Superman Emergency Squad"
Reprints
This Legion story has been reprinted in the following:
