Legion of Super-Heroes Story Listing
Who would have thought that a one-shot Superboy story would be the seed that spawned a team that would last over half a century (so far) and gain the devotion of thousands of fans?
These earliest Legion stories were produced by many different creative teams, without regard to continuity or any awareness of the team's future. Confusion reigned. Did the Legion operate in the current day, the 21st century, or the 30th century? Were they adults or teens? Did Supergirl meet the original Legionnaires, or their children? What powers, exactly, did Star Boy have? How could Supergirl and Superboy both be Legionnaires, even though Superboy didn't know that Supergirl existed or would exist?
Later creative teams and fans came up with workable solutions to all these confusions -- sometimes several different solutions, which led to confusions of their own. Some things just had to be ignored as chronicler's error, others were cleverly included into Legion continuity.
Most of the stories of this period are fluff, not even significant as historical pieces. But several do stand out, including "The Legion of Super-Heores" (Adventure #247), "Supergirl's Three Super-Girl Friends" (Action #276), "Superboy's Big Brother" (Superboy #89), "The Secret of the Seventh Super-Hero" (Adventure #290), and "The Boy With Ultra-Powers" (Superboy #98).
My personal evaluation of each story is given below: 
is superb and is awful.
Stories that are reprinted in graphic novels are indicated by appropriate cover images.
| Info | Issue | Date | Title | Roll Call |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
   |
ADVENTURE 247 | 1958/04 |
The Legion of Super-Heroes
|
        Brainiac 5 (not named), Cosmic Boy, Lightning Boy, Phantom Girl (not named), Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet (not named), Superboy (joined), Triplicate Girl (not named) Who Are the Mystery Legionnaires? by Mike Grabois |
1958-1 |
| LSH-related | JIMMY OLSEN 31 | 1958/09 |
The E-L-A-S-T-I-C Lad |
  Elastic Lad (origin), Superman |
1958-1a |
| LSH-related | WONDER WOMAN 101 | 1958/10 | Fun House of Time |  Time Master (aka Time Trapper) |
1958-1b |
|
|
ADVENTURE 267 | 1959/12 |
Prisoner of the Super-Heroes
|
   Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Superboy |
1959-1 |
|
|
ACTION 267 | 1960/08 |
The Three Super-Heores
|
    Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Supergirl |
1960-1 |
|
|
SUPERBOY 86 | 1961/01 |
The Army of Living Kryptonite Men
|
Lightning Lad, Superboy |
1960-2 |
|
|
ADVENTURE 282 | 1961/03 |
Lana Lang and the LSH
|
   Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Star Boy (origin), Superboy, Fryd Kallor, Mira Kallor |
1961-1 |
|
|
ACTION 276 | 1961/05 |
Supergirl's Three Super Girl Friends
|
  Brainiac 5 (origin)(joined), Bouncing Boy, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Supergirl (joined), Triplicate Girl |
1961-2 |
|
|
SUPERBOY 89 | 1961/06 |
Superboy's Big Brother
|
 Mon-El (origin), Superboy |
1961-3 |
| LSH-related | JIMMY OLSEN 54 | 1961/07 |
Elastic Lad's Wrestling Match |
Elastic Lad, Superman |
1961-3a |
| LSH-related | SUPERBOY 90 | 1961/07 |
Pete Ross's Super-Secret |
 Pete Ross, Superboy |
1961-3b |
| LSH-related | ADVENTURE 287 | 1961/08 |
War of the Superboys |
 Dev-Em (origin), Superboy |
1961-3c |
|
|
SUPERMAN 147 | 1961/08 |
The Legion of Super-Villains
|
      Cosmic Man, Lightning Man, Saturn Woman, Superman; LSV: Cosmic King (origin), Lightning Lord (origin), Saturn Queen (origin) |
1961-4 |
| LSH-related | ADVENTURE 288 | 1961/09 |
The Knave from Krypton |
Dev-Em, Superboy |
1961-4a |
| Cameo | ADVENTURE 289 | 1961/10 | Clark Kent's Super-Father |    Cosmic Boy (statuette), Lightning Lad (statuette), Saturn Girl (statuette) |
1961-4b |
|
|
ADVENTURE 290 | 1961/11 |
The Secret of the 7th Super-Hero
|
Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy (origin)(joined), Superboy |
1961-5 |
| Cameo | SUPERBOY 93 | 1961/11 |
Lana Lang's Superboy ID Detection Kit
|
Chameleon Boy, Superboy |
1961-6 |
 Cameo; |
SUPERMAN 149 | 1961/11 |
The Death of Superman
|
Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Supergirl, Superman |
1961-6a |
| LSH-related | ACTION 283 | 1961/12 |
The Red Kryptonite Menace |
  Two Durlans from the 30th century |
1961-6b |
| Reference |
SUPERMAN ANNUAL 4 | 1961 |
The Origin and Powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes |
Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Invisible Kid (Lyle), Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Triplicate Girl |
1961-6c |
| Cameo | ACTION 284 | 1962/01 | The Babe of Steel | Mon-El, Superman |
1962-1a |
| Cameo | ACTION 285 | 1962/02 |
The World's Greatest Heroine
|
Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Supergirl, Superman |
1962-1b |
|
ADVENTURE 293 | 1962/02 |
The Legion of Super-Traitors
|
     Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Superboy, LSP (origin): Beppo, Comet, Krypto, Streaky, Brain Globes |
1962-1 |
| LSV | ACTION 286 | 1962/03 |
Jury of Super-Enemies
|
Supergirl, Superman, LSV: Cosmic King, Lightning Lord, Saturn Queen |
1962-1c |
|
|
ACTION 287 | 1962/04 |
Supergirl's Greatest Challenge
|
Brainiac 5, Bouncing Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Triplicate Girl |
1962-2 |
| SUPERMAN 152 | 1962/04 |
The Robot Master
|
Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Superman |
1962-2a |
|
| Cameo | ACTION 288 | 1962/05 |
Man Who Made Supergirl Cry
|
Mon-El, Supergirl |
1962-2b |
| Cameo | LOIS LANE 33 | 1962/05 | The Phantom Lois Lane | Mon-El, Superman |
1962-2c |
|
|
ACTION 289 | 1962/06 |
When Supergirl Played Cupid
|
    Cosmic Man, Chameleon Man, Lightning Man, Phantom Woman, Saturn Woman, Sun Man, Supergirl, Superman, Triplicate Woman |
1962-3 |
| Cameo | ACTION 290 | 1962/07 |
Supergirl's Super Boy-Friends
|
Phantom Girl, Supergirl, Cosmic Boy (statuette), Lightning Lad (statuette), Saturn Girl (statuette) |
1962-3a |
|
|
SUPERBOY 98 | 1962/07 |
The Boy with Ultra-Powers
|
  Superboy, Ultra Boy (origin)(joined), Marla, Pete Ross |
1962-4 |
| Cameo | JIMMY OLSEN 62 | 1962/08 |
Superman's Phantom Pal
|
Elastic Lad, Mon-El, Superman |
1962-4a |
| Adult Legion | SUPERMAN 155 | 1962/08 |
The Downfall of Superman
|
Cosmic Man, Lightning Man, Superman |
1962-4b |
Who's Listed? I try to list all appearances of Legionnaires and major characters. This includes images, visions, flashbacks, statues and statuettes, disembodied heads, and any other visual represenations of the characters.
Who's a Major Character? Ultimately, it's a judgement call. I try to include all continuing characters: Legionnaires, friends, family members, professional associates, villains, and assorted others. For one-shot characters, I try to include those whose names are given, or who otherwise play a major role in a story.
What About Non-Legion Stories? When Legionnaires make appearances in other comics, I only list the characters with a direct Legion connection. For example, if the Legion guest-stars with the Justice League, I don't list all the Justice Leaguers.
In What Order Do You List Characters? First, Legionnaires in alphabetical order. (This includes Subs, Honorary Legionnaires, Legion Reserve, and some special cases like Duplicate Boy). Seconds, friendly (or neutral) characters in alphabetical order. Third, bad guys in alphabetical order. Finally, statuettes go on their own line to preserve the aesthetics. Occasionally I will list all the members of a groups together, like the Fatal Five or the Heroes of Lallor.
In What Order Do You List Comics? Yeah, I know it doesn't always seem right. Chronological by month, then alphabetical by title -- but mainstream Legion titles always get listed first in the month. Aren't you glad you asked?
