(Adventure Comics I #305) - The Legion still mourned Lightning Lad, but had to fill the spot his passing left on the roster, so they held an open audition. Antennae Boy of Grxyor could use his ears as an antennae to tune into any radio station from Earth’s past present or future, but the screeching sound of radio programs blaring over each other drove the Legion nuts, and he admitted he couldn’t control his powers. Dynamo Kid was a reporter hoping to do a story on the Legion, and rigged a device to make it appear as if he had the same powers as Lightning Lad, but the Legion easily saw through his ruse. Marvel Lad demonstrated several of the same powers as Superboy, making the team suspicious. A metal-detector revealed he wasn’t a robot, and he proved he wasn’t Superboy in disguise by handling a piece of Kryptonite kept in the Legion Clubhouse. Cosmic Boy decided to give Marvel Lad a number of initiation tests before letting him on the team. He had Marvel Lad retrieve fluvium, which Brainiac 5 needed for his lead-poisoning antidotes he was developing to cure Mon-El, and Marvel quickly brought some back from a distant galaxy. For his next test fought a feeding Sun-Eater, a being that roamed the galaxy absorbing the heat and energy of suns, and made it flee by blasting it with his heat-vision, which was hotter than a sun. Marvel was told to clear the planet Brogg of space monsters so it would be safe to use as an emergency landing spot for space pilots. The monsters turned out to be illusions created by a 3-D generator. Marvel smashed it and found stolen treasure underneath it, realizing the charade was created by space pirates looking to protect their booty. For his final test Marvel Lad had to create a new element, and by crushing gold, silver and iron into powder and rubbing his hands at superspeed to vibrate the molecules of the three elements he formed a bar of element 152, an anti-gravity metal. Marvel Lad was accepted into the Legion, and pulled off the mask he wore, revealing himself as Mon-El. The day before Brainiac 5 had him test his latest antidote, but told him to wait a day to make sure its’ effects were permanent before revealing himself to the Legion, not wanting to get their hopes up as they had before when Brainiac came up with a cure that turned out to be temporary. Mon-El took one last trip to the Phantom Zone to tell off the Kryptonian criminals who’d tormented him for centuries, and reminded them that good always triumphed over evil. Mon-El was overjoyed that Brainiac had finally cured him, but his spirits were dampened by the passing of Lightning Lad, and vowed to find a way to revive him using Daxamite super-science.

(Adventure Comics I #306) - The Legion held try-outs, and had to reject several well-meaning but unsuited applicants, including Polar Boy, Night Girl, Chlorophyll Kid, Fire Lad and Stone Boy. The rejects met up and were encouraged by Polar Boy that even though they weren’t Legion material, they could still use their powers to help people. They formed the Legion of Substitute Heroes, vowing to help people and, if need be, the Legion of Super-Heroes in their time of need. They built their own clubhouse in the side of a mountain as well as a spaceship and Science Police monitoring system. They got a warning about giant evolved sea creatures that had escaped from the Ocean Research Laboratory, and were quick to respond, but the LOSH were already on the scene wrangling the beasts. The next Science Police alert came when scientists who’d built a domed city in the Arctic went rogue. They secretly built an atomic power plant under the dome, propelling the city into space, and delivered an ultimatum that they’d use the advanced weaponry they’d built to attack Earth unless they were given tribute. The Substitute Heroes flew into space, but Sun Boy of the Legion streaked through space near the domed city, and fearing they were about to be hit by a meteorite the scientists piloted their city back to Earth where they were apprehended by Colossal Boy and Cosmic Boy. Robot-ships attacked Earth and Polar Boy offered the Legion back-up, but Brainiac 5 refused him, saying the mission was too dangerous for untrained civilians. The Substitute Heroes’ anxieties finally got to them, and they decided they were no help as a team after all and prepared to disband. Chlorophyll Kid spotted seeds that had rained down from space, and used his plant growth powers on one. The seed grew into a plant man that attacked him, and the Substitute Heroes defeated it, and Fire-Lad incinerated the rest of the seeds. They learned from their monitor system that the seeds had come from a distant planet that had also sent the robot-ships. The robot-ships were meant to divert the Legion while the planet rocketed more seeds to Earth to conquer the planet. The Substitutes traveled to the planet, found the warehouse storing millions of seeds, and Chlorophyll Kid used his powers to prematurely grow them to plant men. The planet was now burdened with a population explosion, and had to cease its’ plans of invasion. The Substitutes decided to stay together after all, and were pleased to keep their victory a secret amongst themselves, and attended a parade for the Legion celebrating their defeat of the robot-ships.

(Adventure Comics I #307) - Space pirate Roxxas and his crew wee looking for a valuable target, and during their search they raided the planet Oranz, stealing all their cold light globes. The Legion responded, with Sun Boy heating a mountain to white-hot temperatures to provide light for the natives until they could produce more cold light globes to light their cities. The Oranz shot down one of the pirate’s rocketships, which Brainiac 5 examined, declaring it capable of faster-than-light-travel. He immediately went about replicating the technology so the Legion could pursue Roxxas. With several members on offworld missions the Legion conducted an emergency membership drive. Jan Arrah of Trom, said he had an amazing power, but couldn’t reveal it to all of them. They assumed he had a good reason for his conditional application, and he showed it to Saturn Gir, who promised not to reveal his power, but assured the Legion he’d be a worthy member. Dubbed Mystery Lad, he accompanied the Legion using the faster-than-light rocketships Brainiac 5 duplicated to the waterworld of Vuruna, where Roxxas and his men had looted valuable colored pearls. Roxxas dropped z-bombs on the pontoons of a city in Vuruna, and Cosmic Boy used his magnetic powers to keep the city afloat until repairs could be made, but Roxxas managed to escape. Saturn Girl used her telepathic powers to follow the pirates to a dead world, and Mystery Lad helped them escape an ambush., The captured pirates recognized Mystery Lad, who looked guilty on meeting them, and Invisible Kid suspected he was secretly a space pirate. The Legion continued to pursue Roxxas and his crew, and Mystery Lad got out in front of them, surrendering himself to the pirates. They’d raided his homeworld because the residents were capable of transmuting one element to another, and they planned to force the natives to turn lead into uranium so they could create a doomsday weapon, the threat of which would let them conduct unopposed raids across the universe. The residents of Trom fought back, and were all killed except Jan, who fled, and Roxxas had pursued him ever since, which was was he was hiding the nature of his powers. Jan said he’d rather die than help them, and turned the hull of their mothership into gas. The pirates had oxygen helmets and fled, only to be captured by the Legion. Invisible Kid, still suspicious of Jan being allied with the pirates, had followed him onboard Roxxas’ ship, and gave him an oxygen helmet, saving his life. Cosmic Boy welcomed Jan as a full member of the Legion, dubbed him Element Lad, and promised that the nature of his powers would still be kept a secret to everyone but the Legion.

(Adventure Comics I #308) - The Legion unveiled their official flag, made of an indestructible material and luminous enough to be seen for hundreds of miles. They draped a Legion flag over Lightning Lad’s coffin when his body began to twitch. Lightning Lad had seemingly been revived by the constantly firing electrical bolts above his coffin, , but claimed to be suffering from some memory loss. The Legion suspected that Lightning Lad’s powers might have worn off while he was dead, and agreed to secretly test his powers. Sun Boy was absolutely convinced Lightning Lad was powerless, but decided he’d cover for him, fearing his heart would be broken if he was taken off the Legion. Scientist Jon Arkol needed a massive amount of electricity to power his latest experiment, and the Legion had Lightning Lad fly to his lab’s hilltop condenser to charge it up. Sun Boy used his powers to heat the air, creating a lightning storm that powered the conductor. The commissioner of the Science Police learned that the rumored Thieves’ Planet where crooks from around the universe hid out was a reality, and although he didn’t know the exact location he knew which space sector it was in. The Legion flew to an asteroid in the sector, waiting for any criminal ships to pass by. When they spotted one Cosmic boy, still unsure of Lightning Lad’s powers, ordered the legionnaire to take it down with a lightning bolt. Sub Boy reflected a burst of heat and light off a cliff behind Lightning Lad, which struck the criminal ship, bringing it down. The criminals were from the Hydra World, and had stolen a group of rare animals from an intergalactic zoo. The Legion placed the animals safely onboard their own ship, but Chameleon Boy took a liking to Proty, a Protean that could shapeshift just like him, and decided to keep him as a pet. Thieves’ World was hidden from the world by an invisibility shield, but the Legion located it using the coordinates set in the Hydra World criminal’s spaceship. The Legion tried to pass themselves off as criminals, but the master of Thieves’ World was a telepathic sentient ball of electricity and soon found them out. He had his Atom Guard robots apprehend them and throw them in his jewel jail, but Chameleon Boy had his new pet transform into a gun, allowing the Legion to bluff their way out of prison when a guard came to feed them. The Legion tore through Thieves’ World, apprehending a number of criminals, and Lightning Lad used his powers to short-circuit the master. The Legion were all surprised to see Lightning Lad unequivocally demonstrate his powers, but sun Boy was especially shocked because he knew “Lightning Lad” was an imposter. He’d noticed that Lightning Lad was suntanned except on the back of his neck, indicating he’d had long hair until he recently clipped it, and Lightning Lad had no Adam's apple, which meant he was a woman. The imposter was Lightning Lad’s sister Ayla Ranzz, who wanted to carry on her brother’s heroic legacy, and the Legion let her join the team as Lightning Lass. They still hoped the day would come when they could revive Lightning Lad for real.

(DC Comics Presents #2) - Superman was traveling to the future to prevent a civil war between the Volkir and Zelkot alien races, and the communicator the aliens placed on him disrupted the normal rules of time travel. He found himself stuck in the 30th Century alongside Superboy and the Legion of Super-heroes. Recalling a dream he had as Superboy he forced a super-collision between himself and his younger self, returning both of them to their proper times.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #2) - Lightning Lord formed a new Legion of Super-Villains, with each of them swearing a blood oath to kill at least one Legionnaire. Lightning Lord swore on his oath to kill his brother Lightning Lad, which he said had been his destiny since he was born. Light Lass awoke in chains in a cell, and Lightning Lord promised her he wanted to help her, not hurt her. He said he loved her, and all the proof she needed was that she was still alive. He asked her to join the Legion of Super-Villains and help him kill Lightning Lad, saying he’d been talking to the storm, and the storm had assured him she’d come to him. Light Lass turned him down, saying he was more insane than ever. Element Lad tracked the resurgence of the Legion of Super-Villains across several planets, brief his team, and realized he was in for a major test of his leadership. The League of Super-Assassins joined with the Legion of Super-Villains, and Lightning Lord sent them and Magno Lad to M-17W, a manufacturing center in the galactic core, to steal the plant’s fusion powerspheres. Shvaugn Erin alerted the Legion, and Dawnstar and Wildfire responded first, but Lazon gave Dawnstar radiation sickness with his light powers, and Magno Lad ripped Wildfire’s containment suit apart. Shadow Lass, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy and Timber Wolf arrived as support, but the villains escaped using a dimensional rift opened by Zymyr. Shadow Lass treated Dawnstar, while Chameleon Boy brought Wildfire a new containment suit. They pursued the villains, but were ambushed by Terrus, who attacked their spaceship with a meteor shower. Cosmic Boy checked in with the Legion Academy, and alerted Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl about the danger. They were on Medicus One, with Saturn Girl receiving prenatal treatment and her delivery date fast approaching. Lightning Lad worried about the safety of his sister, not knowing she was already in captivity. Zymyr opened a spacewarp that stole the polymer screen around Earth that served environmental functions and controlled space traffic. Element Lad, Lightning Lad, and despite everyone else’s objections, Saturn Girl, responded. Saturn Girl went into labor, and Tyr was disappointed to be fighting a pregnant woman, but contented himself with the fact that she’d be easy to kill. Zymyr ended the confrontation, warping his teammates away, and Element Lad and Lightning Lad rushed Saturn Girl to the Medicus One Maternity Ward. Dr. Gym’ll told Lightning Lad he’d been paging him, and that if he wasn’t planning on pulling any more moronic stunts it was time to get in the delivery room. Element Lad, who’d been pacing back and forth in worry, fainted. Queen Projects and Karate Kid flew back to Orando after their honeymoon, but the Legion of Super-Villains were waiting for them, and Magno Lad, Hunter and Mist Master brought their spaceship down. They took the heroes legion rings and sent out the alarm signal, saying the Legion would come running to their own doom.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #3) - On Earth Cosmic Boy agreed to keep watch on the planet while Element Lad assembled the rest of thew Legion to fly a ship to Orando, which the Legion of Super-Villains had taken over. Cosmic Boy was worried about Element Lad devoting all their resources to Orando, but trusted his judgment. He was thankful when Night Girl sent a video message offering the help of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Cosmic Boy sent a video message to Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, who were spending time with their newborn Graym. Cosmic Boy assured his old friends that the rest of the Legion had the Legion of Super-Villains situation under control, and said their role in that case was over. Cosmic boy was glad there was so much new blood in the Legion, but Lightning Lad said that as founding members they’d never stop being Legionnaires.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #4) - The Legion of Super-Villains warped Orando to a space between dimensions, inadvertently taking several Legionnaires with them. The LSV planned on finding other worlds where there was no Legion to foil them and conquering them. Dream Girl, acting as deputy leader with Element Lad on Orando, called Cosmic Boy to check in on Earth. Cosmic Boy now had the back-up of reservists Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel, the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Legion Academy. On Orando the freed Legionnaires tried to destroy the powerspheres on the polymer screen around Orando, hoping that would return the planet to its’ proper spacetime, but they were overwhelmed by the LSV guarding the screen. Projecta pleaded with Karate Kid to save her planet, and he confronted Nemesis Kid in one-on-one combat. Nemesis Kid said he knew they’d end up fighting to the death from the day they’d first both joined the Legion of Super-Heroes. Nemesis Kid adapted Karate Kid’s skills and mercilessly battered him, but Karate kid refused to give up. Nemesis Kid demanded he lay down and die, but every time he knocked Karate kid down, the hero got back up. He’d sustained life threatening injuries, but Karate Kid managed to wrest his flight ring back from Nemesis Kid, told Queen Projecta he’d always wanted to die in battle, and flew into one of the powerspheres, causing it to explode and killing himself in the process.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #6) - The Legion defeated the LSV. Dream Girl sent word to Cosmic Boy, Invisible Kid and Wildfire that all the Legionnaires were returning to Earth except for their teammates trapped in Limbo. She asked Invisible Kid if he could use the same trick he used to pluck Wildfire away from the fight against the Legion of Super-Villains to help their stranded teammates, but he said he couldn’t control it, and suggested Dawnstar track them down. Wildfire snapped at him, saying they’d been putting too much on her shoulders. Invisible Kid agreed and said they’d find another way.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #7, 8) - Lightning Lass demanded Dream Girl and the Legion readmit her to the team despite their rule against duplicate powers, and she said she didn’t want Dream Girl to change her powers again. Dream Girl responded that  she wouldn’t think of tampering with her powers again, as she knew better, and told Lightning Lass she was not up on current events, because her brother was on leave taking care of his newborn son. Lightning Lass was in shock, but overjoyed that she was an aunt. Cosmic Boy mused that Lightning Lass replacing her brother on the team fell right in with his plans, and he told Wildfire he had some ideas to discuss with him. Colossal Boy helped his mother pack up her belongings so she could return home. He said he was just getting used to the idea of her as President, and she responded that she felt the same way, which was part of the reason she resigned. Chief Zendak sent out an alert asking for Legion assistance. The remaining members of the Legion of Super-Villains were approaching Earth, and he wanted them arrested before landing. Colossal Boy was quick to respond. The rest of the Legion met with Shvaugn Erin and prepared for takeoff in their hangar. Timber Wolf confronted Lightning Lass about ghosting him since she left the Legion. She said she’d cut ties with him because he’d decided the Legion was more important than their relationship. He pointed out that she just rejoined the Legion, and she replied that she came to that decision after soul-searching and a journey of self-discovery that he chose not to join her in, and made it clear she had no more romantic feelings for him. Cosmic Boy tried to figure out a way to make his plan to shake up the Legion work. Night Girl visited him, asking him to take a trip with her to Kathoon. Cosmic Boy said that if the Substitute Heroes could survive without Night Girl the Legion could survive without him once they found their missing teammates. He told Night Girl he was considering going off active-duty permanently, saying his exit might be the perfect catalyst to move the Legion forward.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #9) - Dream Girl chaired a meeting of the Legion, and Cosmic Boy was concerned that they’d been operating at half-strength for so long and suggested a membership drive. Before Dream Girl could plan a drive the Legion were reunited with their teammates Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy and Ultra Boy, just back from Limbo. After a joyous reunion the Legion decided to throw a party. The Sklarian Raiders caused a incident in Hong Kong, so Dream Girl sent Element Lad, Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lass and Shrinking Violet to deal with it. The Sklarians were illegally shipping frozen organs to their home planet and the Legion shut them down.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #10) - The Worldcomp computer chose the candidates for the next President of the Earth, and the Khunds assembled a terror team to assassinate the candidates. Chief Zendak learned of their plot, and fearing it was a diversion to pave the way for a Khund invasion of Earth he had the majority of the Legion of Super-Heroes fly a spaceship into Earth’s orbit to keep watch alongside Science Police crafts. The rest of the Legion were assigned to protect the candidates, with Sun Boy foiling a Khund assassination attempt on Candidate Lopyt of Acapulco and Invisible Kid saving Candidate Leung of Yangtzopolis. Invisible Kid accidentally opened a spacewarp during the fight, and he and the Khund ended up in Earth’s orbit. Invisible Kid’s Legion transuit protected him, but the Khund died, leaving Invisible Kid in a state of shock. Element Lad brought the Kid back to the Legion spaceship and told him to get some rest before they decided if he violated the Legion code. Wildfire guarded Candidate Mojai Desai of India, who bragged that his family had been leaders for generations, and he’d be sure to be elected. A Khund assassin burst into Desai’s flying mansion, and during his fight with Wildfire he brought the mansion down on his own head. Wildfire flew Desai to safety, and his family safely escaped in lifeships. Cosmic Boy announced to his teammates that he was taking an extended leave of absence to spent time with Night Girl. He went on to say he was making several changes in his life, but refused to elaborate. Colossal Boy, Yera and his parents celebrated Marte’s last day as President. She said she looked forward to going back to teaching at university. The Khunds tried a last ditch effort to spark a war with Earth, and sent an assassin to kill Marte. Colossal Kid fought him off, saving his mother’s life, but was wounded by a laserblast to his arm.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #11) - The entire Legion of Super-Heroes held a quorum to deal with Legion business that’d been kicked down the road for months. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl rejoined the team, and after the meeting they met with Cosmic Boy to reflect on their past. Cosmic Boy said they provided a sense of continuity since they were the original Legionnaires, and they all started to feel a little bit old. Lightning Lass was pleased to see they’d brought her nephew Graym with them, and the little tyke started amusing himself by tweaking people’s nose. Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad visited Glacier Point, Antarctica, home to a medium-security prison, because the two men who’d tried to assassinate R.J. Brande years ago were up for parole. They reflected on how that assassination attempt brought them together for the first time, and were surprised that when they told the inmates they were free to go they didn’t recognize the Legionnaires at all, hitting home the point home much things had changed for the Legion after so many years.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #12) - The Legionnaires held an election to determine their new leader with Element Lad running against Brainiac 5. Element Lad had the full support of Shvaughn, and she was pleased that he had the support of the original Legionnaires as well. The original Legionnaires, with Graym Ranzz in tow, announced they were leaving active duty, but wanted to share their ideas for the future of the Legion with Element Lad. Element Lad convinced them to become permanent rotating advisors that could be called form the reserves in an emergency or offer guidance to new members. The votes came in, and Element Lad prevailed. The Legion’s biggest fan, Flynt Brojj, awaited the news and came to Legion hq to hear it first. The original Legionnaires and Element Lad decided their fans always stuck with them through thick and thin, so they’d let Flynt be the first to hear.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #14) - Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl had dinner with R.J. Brande, and he said he felt ancient because the three teens he convinced to form a superhero club were now retiring. They said it was more like a semi-retirement and discussed the Legion prospects that showed up for the membership drive. The Legion inducted Magnetic Kid, Polar Boy, Quislet and Tellus as new members. Saturn Girl said she had a recruit with an excellent reason to join the team, Sensor Girl. She wouldn’t reveal anything about the masked Sensor Girl, but asked the Legion to trust her, much like they trusted her telepathy when she recommended Element Lad as a member, and the Legion welcomed Sensor Girl to their ranks.

(Legion of Super-Heroes III #15) - With the dissolution of the Legion of Substitute Heroes their old hq, the Legion clubhouse, was transformed into a Legion museum. Mayor Khalid unveiled the museum alongside Cosmic Boy and Night Girl. The crowd got to be too much for Night Girl, so she and Cosmic Boy left. Cosmic Boy was happy with retirement, but Night Girl wasn’t thrilled with the Subs disbanding, and Cosmic Boy said he’d put in a good word for her with the Legion.

Cosmic Boy had a cameo in Adventure Comics I #309, Superboy I #172.

All characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please visit The Official DC Comics Site at: http://www.batman.com.