Superboy v1 198
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"The Fatal Five Who Twisted Time"
In the 1950s, Clark Kent and Lana Lang visit a traveling carnival outside of Smallville, but Clark can’t get his mind off of a mysterious globe that recently appeared in Smallville’s sky. The globe, which x-rayed every person and object in town but caused no harm, vanished before he could switch to Superboy and investigate. At the carnival, after Clark rescues Lana from a runaway carnival ape while preserving his secret identity, Lana visits a fortune teller. Clark’s x-ray vision, however, reveals that the fortune teller’s crystal ball is actually the Emerald Eye of Ekron! He switches to Superboy and confronts the fortune teller, who reveals herself to be the Emerald Empress. She is joined by the Persuader, who was disguised as a carnival worker. The two Fatal Five members fight Superboy, but when he grabs hold of the Persuader’s atomic axe, the Persuader controls it remotely and forces Superboy to strike himself in the head. On the Emerald Empress’s command, the Eye encases Superboy in an eerie, black force field. As Superboy collapses, Mano arrives, and the three villains celebrate their impending victory over the Legion.
Part 2: "Prisoners of the Time Lock"
In the nearby woods, four Legionnaires – Brainiac 5, Element Lad, Karate Kid, and Princess Projectra – arrive in a time bubble to search for the Persuader and Emerald Empress. Hearing shouts from the carnival, they investigate, but are too late to stop the Fatal trio from fleeing with Superboy’s body. A distraught Lana fills the Legionnaires in on what’s happened. Meanwhile, at Legion HQ in the 30th century, Mon-El and Colossal Boy learn that Tharok has escaped from prison. As they review a tape of Mon’s recent battle with Tharok and Validus (Superboy # 190), everything around them starts to shimmer and fade. Ultimately, the entire complex vanishes, along with every Legionnaire inside, leaving only a vacant lot. This is observed by Validus and Tharok, who declares that their teammates in the 20th century have succeeded in “wiping out the Legion.”
In the past, the Legionnaires are attacked by the Persuader, Mano, and Emerald Empress, who gloat that they have destroyed the Legion with a device called a “time sorter.” The time sorter, they explain, allows them to change history by erasing events that led up to the founding of the Legion. The Legionnaires escape from the fiends and consider the gravity of what they’ve been told.
Part 3: "Countdown to Catastrophe"
In the 30th century, a second Mano joins Tharok and Validus at the vacant Legion lot. This Mano explains that he was prevented from joining the Persuader and Empress in the past by the police. Meanwhile, in the 20th century, the other Mano seems anxious to make sure the Fatal Five’s plan will work. The Persuader and Emerald Empress try to put his mind at ease by showing him where they’ve hidden the time sorter: inside Smallville’s giant statue of Superboy – a location chosen by the Emerald Eye when it x-rayed the town earlier as the last place the Legionnaires would look. The villains also reveal that within a few minutes, the time sorter’s reconstruction of history will be permanent. Mano secretly signals the Legionnaires, but the other two villains soon realize that he is an imposter – actually Chameleon Boy. Cham escapes from the villains thanks to a clever illusion created by Projectra; he then orders Karate Kid to split open the statue of Superboy. As KK does so, both the time sorter and Superboy fall out. KK destroys the time sorter with only seconds to spare.
Superboy revives, but the Persuader and Emerald Empress escape when their “time bridgers” transport them elsewhere. But in the 30th century, the remaining villains are stunned when Legion HQ starts to reappear. Validus escapes, but Tharok and Mano have the misfortune to be standing inside the Legion jail when it materializes.
Roll Call
Legionnaires
Featured roles:
- Brainiac 5
- Chameleon Boy
- Element Lad
- Karate Kid
- Princess Projectra
- Superboy (Honorary)
Supporting roles:
- Colossal Boy
- Mon-El
Cameos:
Villains
- Emerald Empress
- Mano
- Persuader
- Tharok
- Validus
Supporting Character
- Lana Lang
Other Characters
- Gorpo (gorilla), his trainer, and a carnival barker
Planets and Other Places
- Smallville
Technology, Gadgets, and Other Neat Stuff
- The time-sorter
- Time bridgers (personal time-traveling devices; used, but not seen)
Notes
First appearances
This issue marks the first appearance of the following characters and recurring key Legion story elements:
- Element Lad's blue and green costume with the arrow motif.
- Princess Projectra's red, pink and orange (later yellow) costume.
- The Legion's logo appears in the same size and font as Superboy's logo on the cover for the first time.
Reprints
This Legion story has been reprinted in the following:
- BlueRibbonDigest08.jpg
DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #8 (January, 1981)
- LSHArchives10.jpg
