From the Vault: Adventure Comics: 318

          The comic starts with Cosmic Boy and Sun boy on the way back to Earth and the Legion in a Legion ship. Sun Boy is happy that the mission is over and that he is tired. Cosmic Boy says that Cosmic Boy has been on too many long missions and that he will take over the controls. Just as this happens a calls comes in asking from help from the world of Xenn. It is about to explode and they ask for help. Sun Boy states that the world is not that from where they are and they change course to head their.

     Soon the ship lands. It seems that a Atomic Reaction has started inside the planet and that explode in weeks. They also have sent other distress calls. Sun Boy sees that their is only several thousand aliens and that they could take them to Earth. The Alien can only say that they can't got to Earth due to a element called Xenon that they have to breath. Sun Boy then says they will find a planet that has it to send them too. Sun Boy then adds they will then head back to the Legion and get some help. As they near the Legion Clubhouse Sun Boy asks Cosmic Boy to more faster. Cosmic Boy asks him to take it easy and that he must slow down for landing. He also calls Sun Boy tense and weary. Soon at the Legion meeting Sun Boy says that he has summoned officials from the Science council. He also wonders where Superboy and Mon-EL and Ultra Boy are. Saying that they need their power for this. Light Lass says that Ultra Boy is with Saturn Girl and Colossal Boy and others far across the universe and that Superboy and Mon-EL are trying to again crack the Iron Curtain of time. In the time stream Mon-EL and Superboy agree that they can't do anything. Unknown to them the Time Trapper is watching them.
       So a smaller Legion meets with the officals. One says that Sun Boy says the Xeonians must be rescued and that Sun Boy is to command the operation. A giant space-ark will be put at their disposal and will have a robot crew. Sun Boy after this says that he will consult astronomers to see what worlds have Xenon bearing atmospheres. Soon after this Cosmic Boy to Sun Boy says that he has been on so many missions lately and that maybe he should let someone else do the job. Sun Boy says that he cannot as he gave his word to the people of Xenon and must keep it. They go to look at the ship and Sun Boy says that the whole main hull must have Xenon air in it. The Legion and the crew will be up in the bride. Light Lass to Cosmic Boy says she has never seen Sun Boy so driven and that his promise my be weighing on his mind. Not long after Sun Boy is looking at planets to see what ones have Xenon  but that are too far away. Sun Boy says they lay in uncharted regions of space but that they will have to do it.
        Racing against time the Space Ark is soon ready for its mission. Triplicate Girl says that the Robot crewman are different colours. Cosmic Boy says it is for different tasks. Red are for cargo. The Green are deck hands. He adds he will show her the master control board on the bridge. In the bride Cosmic Boy point it out. Sun Boy yells at him to stay away from the control as one mistake could delay the trip. Triplicate Girl then asks him to show her the engine rooms. Cosmic Boy shows her the engine and that black robots are the ones who look after the engines. Triplicate Girl says that Sun Boy seems to be tense and nervous and has never spoken that way to them before. Soon some time after the ship is ready to leave and Sun Boy asks if the ship is ready for take off. Cosmic Boy states that all supplies are aboard. Star Boy adds that all ports and Airlocks are closed. Finally, Lighting Lad adds that the Robot crew are all present and accounted for. The ship takes off and they had to the Planet Xenn

        However as the ship heads on at double full speed Matter-Eater lad spots something. Looking at a device down at the engines he realizes that the fuel is being used at too rate and they risk blowing a tube. and goes to tell Sun Boy. On the bridge Sun Boy to this tells him how dare he question him and that he commands the ship and gives the orders and that he is to only carry them out. And that in the future he is to be called sir like the robot crew does. Soon the ship lands on Xenn. A alien comes up and says that the planet quakes are getting stronger every hour and that their world is about to explode. Sun Boy at this gets Cosmic Boy and Lighting Lad to get the robot crew to lower the gangways and starts getting the poeple aboard. A bit later to Star Boy and Triplicate Girl he says get these people inside faster and that they are slacking in their duty.
        Soon after the ship leaves the planet and it explodes. The Aliens are sad to see their planet is gone but are hopefully in the Legion finding them a new one. Inside the great hold Light Lass and Star Boy are playing with the children by using their powers to make some heavy and other light. Suddenly, Sun Boy comes in and angrily tells them to stop or he will put them in the Brig. Star Boy says they were only trying to cheer up the children. Later in a cabin to Cosmic Boy Star Boy says that the command of this voyage has gone to Sun Boys head. Cosmic Boy says he knows this but that he is still the same Sun Boy.
       Soon Later on the bridge Cosmic Boy is thinking about how Sun Boy has become so cold and strange. He then checks the course. Sun Boy interrupts him and says don't do. Cosmic Boy reminds him he is chief navigator but Sun Boy annoyed relives him from his duty. Later on a Great Space Roc goes by. Cosmic Boy is worried and goes to check the course. On the bridge he finds that they are on course for a nebula full of metors. Sun Boy sees him and says that he has no business snooping here and that he is guilty of rank insubordination. Cosmic Boy says to this that the computed course is wrong and the voyage is in Danger. Sun Boy calls Robot Guards and that he is under arrest. Down below Lighting Lad and Matter-Eater lad come to see Cosmic Boy. Cosmic Boy says that Sun Boy is Drunk with power and that he is putting the people on the ship at risk. Lighting Lad says that they have to take control of the ship away from. He gets Matter-Eater Lad to eat the prisoner bars so that Cosmic Boy can led the crew in a mutiny.

         After the bars are eaten Cosmic Boy gets everyone together. He adds that Sun Boy can't get to the Robot master control or he will use the crew against them. Triplicate Girl adds that never have they mutinied against their leader. On the bridge Cosmic Boy tells Sun Boy that their taking over the space ark. Sun Boy tries to get to the control panel but Triplicate Girl blocks he from getting to it with her power. Soon they tie him up. Cosmic Boy tells Sun Boy they are doing this to prevent a terrible disaster. Sun Boy at this says it is because he is jealous of him being the commander and that the mutiny won't succeed. Suddenly, he starts using his powers and that he will radiate terrific heat and break the criminal plot. Cosmic Boy says that if he does it he will damage and destroy the whole ship.
         Sun Boy to this says. Either you surrender or he will keep on doing what he is doing and that you only have a little bit of time to decide. After a small bit of time Cosmic Boy says that they surrender. He puts the legion members in a small ship and puts them adrift.  They have no food and no radio on the lifeboat. After some time Cosmic Boy says that according to his memory the nearest civilized world is millions of miles away. Light Lass ads that they do not have enough fuel to one hundredth the distance and also no anti-gravity belts and that their is no hope.

        Cosmic Boy then adds that they are going to make it and that they will save their meager supply of fuel go from world to world. Matter-Easter lad asks how and that it is impossible. Soon Cosmic Boy spots a meteor and states that he can use his power since most have big metals in them. Star Boy to this asks him if he is serious of hitching a ride with a metor. Cosmic Boy then uses his powers and Light Lass makes the space craft light and after some time the group comes to a planet and land on it.
        Once on the planet the group are super-heavy. due the strong gravity of the planet. He adds that they will not be able to do anything from it. Light Lass then uses her powers for a temporary effect. They then explore and find that their is no life or food on the planet. Lighting Lad adds that they can't get off the planet without using the last bit of their fuel. However, Cosmic Boy says they will get off the world some how. Matter-Easter lad says he is not sure and that it will be okay as he can eat minerals like the space roc that was seen before. Triplicate Girl suggests that space-roc can sight their favorite minerals from a unlimited distance and that maybe the group can set a trap for one of them. Cosmic Boy likes the idea and says they will try it out.
         The group then start turning rocks into diamonds. Lighting Lad has used his powers to fuse rocks so that they glitter like diamonds. Cosmic Boy adds a cable taken from inside the ship to wrap around the fake rocks. They then hide it so the roc does not see it. Cosmic Boy then asks them to get back into the ship so it can't see them. Soon a Roc comes and the wire ropes onto its leg and the group head back into space.

   

      The Roc takes them to a new planet. As they land Triplicate Girl says that she thought sh saw a parked space ship in the distance. Cosmic Boy to this says that she must be mistaken as he sees no cities or sign of human life. Soon on the planet Sun Boy says the world is uninhabited expect for giant space bees. They can food from cactus like vegetation but they are unable to. Light lass adds that they don't have enough fuel to take off and that she hates Sun Boy for it.
      Matter-Eater Lad looks at the gaint bees nest and says that he can eat rock and asks if he can eat it. Cosmic Boy gives it a okay and after a bit of eating comes to a hive with honey in it. He then makes sure it is not poisonous and that let's the other Legion members know that their is something to eat. The Legion go over and suddenly the bees attack to defend their food. Lighting Lad cannot use his powers as it would kill them and it is against their code to kill. So it is up to Star Boy and his powers to make them all heavy. Cosmic Boy tasting the honey says that it is highly nutritive and that they will only take as much as need before Star Boy powers on the bees wears off.  After this Cosmic Boy then says they should look for the spaceship that  Triplicate Girl through she had seen. If it did exist it may help them to get back to Earth and bring justice to Sun Boy.
      They do find a space ship. Cosmic Boy states that it a old model that was used centuries ago at the dawn of space travel. He adds that some space pioneers reached the world and crashed here. Light Lass adds the cew was killed by the crash and wonders where the bodies are. they soon find them and that their bodies have turned to stone. Seeing a waterfall Matter-Eater Lad says that a spray from said waterfall reached them and that it contained a petrifying chemical. They also decided to grow the bodies and set them up as statues memorizing their heroism. They look over the ship and see that the engines were designed for old fashioned rockets and would not work on their spacecrafts modern engines. Cosmic Boy gets the idea to fasten the older rockers to their ship and use it to take off with them. They get working on and soon after several days have it finished. Cosmic Boy says before they leave they have one last thing to do.

       Before they take off they find that the astronauts have grown and they salute them. The ship then takes off and they head to Toonar. A man on the planet states that nobody knows where Sun Boy and the Great Space Ark are as they never reported and are lost in space. Cosmic Boy worried about the Xennians asks for a fast space cruiser hoping that they can find the ship by following the incorrect course Sun Boy had drawn. They soon come to the ship to find that it is stuck in a tornado of whirling cosmic dust. They get Star Boy to weigh them down so that currents can't carry them away and head off to save the space ark.

 

        Lighting Lad says a meteor heading towards the ship and uses his powers to destroy it in time before it hits. Cosmic Boy adds that they can use the emergency lock to enter the ship and bring Sun Boy to justice. Soon inside the ship and on the bridge they see that Sun boy does not more or speak. He is alive but it seems that his mind had blanked out and stopped working. Lighting Lad also adds that with no one to give orders that the robot crew did nothing and that no wonder the ship got caught in the vortex. To get out Light Lass makes the ship light and Cosmic Boy uses his powers to target a distant Iron Planet to give them a extra push to get out. They soon get to a Xenon Bearing planet and the aliens are thankful for the Legion saving their lives. Cosmic Boy to this says that now that their are save they are going to take Sun Boy back to Earth as he needs medical attention. Soon at a great medical foundation on Earth a doctor to Cosmic Boy says that Sun Boy suffered a pressure on the Brain from to many missions and he became a fatigue. This caused his change and they can remove it with their technology. The Legion soon after make adjustment to the Legion rules so that no Legionnaire can do fire mission in a row. The comic ends with Sun Boy thanking Cosmic Boy for saving him

comments

This issue was okay. It was nothing special but did help to give Legion members more depth. It also offered a nice twist on the idea of what fatigue can do to some one. Over it is passable and readable and offers with the bit about the Time Trapper where the story line is heading. Some of the science in the comic is pretty fun but taken as it is a silver age comic and given its age its not that bad and helps to make it pretty funny.