Adventure Comics #293
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAdventure Comics #293 is the birthplace of the Legion of Super-Pets, one of Silver Age DC's most endearingly absurd concepts — a cross-time team of super-powered animals assembled specifically because, unlike every hero on Earth, they were immune to the Brain-Globes of Rambat's mental control. The issue also delivers the first appearance of Comet the Super-Horse, the first team-up appearance of General Zod and Jax-Ur as Phantom Zone background presences, and the debut of Bizarro Luthor in its backup feature, making it one of the densest first-appearance issues in the Superman family's Silver Age run. The narrative conceit — that Saturn Girl must keep Superboy ignorant of how the pets defeated the threat, because Comet and Streaky come from his own future and knowing of Supergirl would fracture the timeline — is also the earliest example in Legion storytelling of 'preventing Superboy from learning about the future' as a recurring plot engine. The team proved resilient enough to span animated cameos, DC continuity revivals in 2017's Super Sons Annual #1, and ultimately a 2022 theatrical animated film, all traceable back to this one issue.
In "The Legion of Super-Traitors!", Superboy finds himself facing his closest allies when the Legion of Super-Heroes falls under the mind-control of the sinister Brain-Globes of Rambat. Once freed from the alien parasites, the Legionnaires rally to restore order—uniting four extraordinary super-pets in a daring mission to dismantle the threat. Together, they forge a new chapter in the Legion’s legacy, officially forming the Legion of Super-Pets as a dedicated animal branch of Earth’s greatest heroes.
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The issue was written entirely by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, who scripted both the 14-page lead feature ('The Legion of Super-Traitors!') and the 12-page Bizarro World backup ('The Good Deeds of Bizarro-Luthor!') — an uncommon double-duty assignment even for a prolific Silver Age writer. The lead story was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein, the same team responsible for the cover; Swan was the definitive Superman-family artist of the period and his draftsmanship lent the Super-Pets their cheerful, clean-lined Silver Age dignity. The backup was pencilled and inked by John Forte, a distinction occasionally misattributed to George Klein in early records but later corrected in the Grand Comics Database. Mort Weisinger edited the entire issue, operating under his famously tight editorial supervision of the Superman line at DC.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: February 1962; published by DC Comics as part of the long-running Adventure Comics Vol. 1 series (#293 of the 1938 series).
- First team appearance of the Legion of Super-Pets: Krypto the Super-Dog, Streaky the Super-Cat, Beppo the Super-Monkey, and Comet the Super-Horse, assembled for the first time by the Legion of Super-Heroes to battle the telepathic Brain-Globes of Rambat.
- First appearance of Comet the Super-Horse — recruited from 'a few weeks in Superman's future' because the Brain-Globes' psychic control had no effect on animals; Comet's backstory as a cursed centaur named Biron would be fleshed out in later Supergirl stories.
- First appearance of Bizarro Luthor (also called Bizarro-Luthor) in the backup story 'The Good Deeds of Bizarro-Luthor!', written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by John Forte; the story also introduces the reverse 'S' symbol as Bizarro standard fashion.
- General Zod and Jax-Ur appear as Phantom Zone prisoners — marking one of Zod's earliest Silver Age appearances (his second, following his debut in Adventure Comics #283); Mon-El also appears from the Phantom Zone and plays a key role in alerting Superboy to the Legion's manipulation.
- The lead story is scripted by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Curt Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks); Mort Weisinger served as editor; Milton Snapinn lettered the lead feature.
- The lead story 'The Legion of Super-Traitors!' has been reprinted in Superboy #147 (1968), Adventure Comics #495 (1983), Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1 (1991/1992), Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1 (2007), and Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (2017).
- The Legion of Super-Pets concept debuted here was later adapted into the 2022 animated theatrical film DC League of Super-Pets, and the team was revived in mainstream DC continuity in Super Sons Annual #1 (2017); the Silver Age version was erased from continuity by Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986).
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Reprinted in Superboy #147 (1968), The Superman Family #169 (1975), Superman Supacomic #191 (1975), Adventure Comics #495 (1983), The Legion of Super-Heroes Archives #1 (1992), Superman: Tales of the Bizarro World #[nn] (2000), Superboy #147 May-June 1968 Replica Edition #[nn] (2003), Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (2007), Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus #1 (2017), Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age #1 (2018), Tails of the Super-Pets #[nn] (2022)
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