Legion of Super-Heroes #297 (March 1983)

The Legion of Super-Heroes may be regarded as the greatest heroes of the far future, but like everyone else, the Legion are only human...well, human in the metaphorical sense as the Legion have many a member of the extraterrestrial persuasion. The members of the Legion, like many of us, have highs and lows in their lives, and are just as receptive of fate's kindnesses...and cruelties. They have their moments of triumph and tragedy. For Legion founder Cosmic Boy, that is especially true. The comic I'm looking at here focuses on him as he deals with one of the hardest moments of his life. This is Legion of Super-Heroes #297!

The cover is a Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt piece. It shows our man Cosmic Boy front and center using his powers, and he seemingly is under great strain. It's certainly an eye-catcher. 

"Mettle"
Writer: Paul Levitz
Penciler: Keith Giffen
Inker: Larry Mahlstedt 
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Karen Berger
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with Rokk "Cosmic Boy" Krinn pulling a shuttle back to Earth with his magnetic powers, because he felt like reminding everyone how awesome he can be today.

The Science Police try to stop him, but the future's resident Master of Magnetism can easily fight them off while pulling at the shuttle thanks to his raw power and skill. He yanks out of the shuttle the people he was looking for. 

Page 9, Panel 1

For context, these prisoners detonated a nuclear device in a neighborhood that Krinn's parents lived in in the last issue. And naturally, he wants to make them pay. Thankfully, before he can play executioner, his beau Lydda Jath, the Legion of Substitute Heroes member known as Night Girl, knocks him cold.

She reveals that Cosmic Boy also had witnessed what Darkseid did to the people of planet Daxam during the events of The Great Darkness Saga, and now with his family getting nuked...yeah. No wonder he lost it.

Elsewhere in the spaceport, Brainiac 5 is talking with fellow Legionnaire Tenzil "Matter-Eater Lad" Kem. Kem had gone insane after eating a device called the Miracle Machine. However, Brainiac 5 was able to cure him in issue #251. He's on his way to his homeworld of Bismoll (Get it?) to return to his life as a politician. 

Later on, Krinn wakes up in a nice comfy bed. The little involuntary nap that Night Girl gave him seems to have done his mind a bit of good.

Lydda is with him, and gives him a nice hug, assuring him she's here for him. Aww.

It's at this point that we get a recap of the life of this Legion founder. Rokk Krinn is a native of the planet Braal. This world is known for having a very powerful natural magnetic field, and is also infested with metallic monsters. This allowed the people to evolve magnetokinetic powers. Naturally, the Krinn family also had those powers: Father Hu, mother Ewa, and their sons Rokk and Pol. 

Page 13, Panel 3

Rokk reveals to Lydda that he was actually born on Earth, thanks to his parents emigrating to Earth to make a better life for themselves. But the work ran out on Earth, so they headed back to Braal. However, the planet also had its fair share of economic troubles. Rokk's childhood was a tough one as a result. Despite that, he showed himself to be a talented athlete in the sport of Magno-Ball. At the age of 14, Rokk was now a legal adult on Braal. As such, he left the planet to find work to help support his family. This reminds him he has to check on his folks. Lydda comes with him.

Elsewhere, Timber Wolf is in a foul mood. His girl Light Lass resigned and left the Legion, and it has left in a state. He decides to take an airbus to Boston and have some fun. He ends up missing the airbus.

He isn't in the mood to wait for another one, as it will take two hours. He leaps on the bus and rides it to Boston. At the hospital, Cosmic Boy heads to the ward his family is being treated in. The doctor tries to convince him to let the specialists inside do their work, but the Legionnaire basically tells her to shut her doctor face. He uses his magnetic powers to reprogram the systems that have the door locked, allowing him to come in, and locking the doctor and Lydda out. Lydda fixes that problem. 

Page 18, Panels 7-10

Lydda tells the doctor more of Cosmic Boy's early history. The ship that took Cosmic Boy to Earth picked up some more passengers on the way to our little Pale Blue Dot: Garth Ranzz, who was looking for his missing brother. Imra Ardeen, who was on her way to the Science Police Academy. R.J. Brande, the supposed Richest Man in the Universe. This meeting would end up changing the universe. 

Upon arrival to Earth, Imra telepathically picked up the thoughts of two men who planned to assassinate Brande. She tried to warn him, but he didn't hear it. Garth and Rokk used their electrokinetic and magnetokinetic powers to deal with the men and their guns. Brande was impressed by the three youths' bravery.

He convinced them they should use their powers to help combat criminals and injustice, bankrolling them with his fortune. And the Legion of Super-Heroes was born.

Page 21, Panel 5

At this point, Cosmic Boy has made his way to a databank, looking for information on his family's condition...and there is good and bad news. The good news is his little brother Pol and father Hu are being decontaminated. Pol is serious, but so far, he's staying stable. Hu's prognosis is guarded, but it's likely he'll recover as well. However, his mother Ewa has already died. Rokk blames himself for this, as he brought his family to Earth thanks to R.J. Brande paying for the Legion's expenses, and presumably giving the members generous allowances. At the time, Rokk couldn't spend a lot of time with his family due to the Legion expanding from three members to eighteen. And then there was his romance with Night Girl. 

Lydda asks Rokk if there is anything she can do to help, and he tells her there is one thing. 

Page 24, Panel 1

Yeah, that'll hurt.

Using magnetic currents, Cosmic Boy is on the hunt, and he wants blood. At the Metropolis Spaceport, Chameleon Boy arrives on a shuttlecraft, with Sun Boy, Phantom Girl, and Ultra Boy waiting to greet him. He thanks them for supporting him through his trial, imprisonment, and his being pardoned. He reveals he plans to visit his father, and that he has lost his shapeshifting powers. He has no idea how. 

He should have realized that game of Drunk Poker with that Khund would come back to bite him. But that issue will have to be tabled for now, as the sounds of screams are heard from the shuttle. The Legionnaires discover that Cosmic Boy has rampaged his way through the Science Police guarding the shuttle because he wants the heads of the criminals who nuked his family. The magnetokinetic finds and tortures the criminals. He intends to use his powers to kill them. They beg him for mercy, but it falls on deaf ears. He stops when he seemingly hears a woman yell "NO". I think it's intended to be Ewa, considering the story, but it's unclear. Cosmic Boy stops, asking what he's doing. He walks away, saying that he will not kill them in his mother's name, as it makes him no better than them. 

The Legion sees this, and are grateful they didn't have to step in. Phantom Girl says she never saw Cosmic Boy so violent, nor him displaying such power. She never imagined that she had it in him. Chameleon Boy bets he didn't either. Cosmic Boy flies off, but not before he gives the criminals a last bit of pain.

Page 29, Panels 4-7

After all, he said he wouldn't kill the men. He never said he wouldn't hurt them. 

I did enjoy this issue. The Legion of Super-Heroes can be a very large team, so it can be quite difficult to give the members all a fair share of spotlight. It's why this spotlight issue is such a nice surprise. Cosmic Boy is, more often than not, considered one of the more level-headed members of the team, but his actions in this issue are rather understandable. He's grieving. And lashing out. I would have preferred seeing the Legionnaires try to stop him and he goes through them, that helping him realize that what he's doing will only make things worse. 

If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2014 trade paperback Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse. Thanks for reading this blog entry!