1969-1970: The Legion in ACTION

The Legion entered a fifteen-month run as a backup feature in Action Comics. Life as a backup feature was hard...stories were short, involved small teams rather than the entire Legion, and (with one exception) did not continue from one issue to the next. Rather than going for space-spanning stories of swashbuckling derring-do against larger-than-life super-villains, the creative team opted for more personal, intense, character-driven tales, often concentrating on the "weakest" or "silliest" Legionnaires: Due Damsel, Matter-Eater Lad, Bouncing Boy, Chemical King. The approach worked -- just about every one of these stories is a winner. The most exceptional include "The Forbidden Fruit" in #378, "Half a Legionnaire" in #380, "The Hapless Hero" (#381), and "Lament for a Legionnaire" (#384).