Adventure Comics #369
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAdventure Comics #369 marks the first appearance of Mordru the Merciless, the sorcerer who went on to become the single most formidable adversary in the Legion of Super-Heroes' rogues' gallery — a villain so powerful that Superboy and Mon-El, two of the strongest beings in any era, choose to flee rather than fight him. The story's tense, paranoid structure — four heroes hiding in plain sight in Smallville while an unstoppable evil slowly closes in — was a genuine tonal departure for Silver Age DC, injecting a sense of sustained dread rarely attempted outside of horror titles. Its long shadow across the DC Universe extended well beyond the Legion: Mordru later became a recurring threat to the Justice Society, Doctor Fate, and other magical corners of DC continuity, cementing this issue as a cornerstone of the publisher's magical mythology. Writer Mark Waid publicly called it 'the single most influential-to-my-craft story I ever read,' a testament to the issue's outsized creative impact on a generation of comics storytellers.
In "Mordru the Merciless!", the Legionnaires face a new threat as the ruthless sorcerer Mordru hunts them across time, forcing them to confront a dangerous dilemma when a gangster takeover in Smallville pushes them to act. Written by Jim Shooter and illustrated by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan, with inks by George Klein and letters by Charlotte Jetter, this 1968 adventure blends classic superhero action with a tense, time-twisting mystery. The cover, by Neal Adams, captures the moment of looming danger with stark, dynamic flair.
In "Mordru the Merciless!", Shadow Lass's accidental release of the sorcerer Mordru sends four Legionnaires fleeing to Superboy's time for safety. Trapped in Smallville, they watch as Mordru hunts them through the quiet town, refusing to reveal themselves—until a gangster takeover forces them to rally the townspeople in defense. As they prepare to return to their own time to confront the threat head-on, Mordru closes in, turning their last refuge into a battleground.
In "Part II: Mordru and the Mob!", the Legionnaires face a double threat: a gangster takeover in Smallville and the relentless pursuit of the sorcerer Mordru, who still seeks to claim their power. As the heroes prepare to return to their own time, Mordru closes in—forcing them to confront his menace before they can vanish into the future.
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The story was scripted by Jim Shooter, who had begun selling Legion stories to DC editor Mort Weisinger at just 14 years old — by the time Adventure Comics #369 went on sale on April 30, 1968, Shooter was approximately 16 or 17 and already one of Weisinger's most productive contributors, having previously created Karate Kid, Ferro Lad, Princess Projectra, and the Fatal Five for the same title. Shooter provided full script and panel layouts, with Curt Swan finishing the pencils — a collaboration that had defined the look of the Legion throughout the mid-to-late 1960s. Notably, this issue marked the first time Jack Abel inked Swan on a Legion story, replacing longtime Swan inker George Klein; Swan himself inked the opening splash page, giving it an unusually crisp, shadowed atmosphere. The cover — depicting Mordru's enormous hands tearing through a vault door while Superboy and Mon-El recoil in terror — was supplied by Neal Adams, who contributed covers to the run without penciling the interiors.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Mordru (also called Mordru the Merciless), created by writer Jim Shooter and penciler Curt Swan; Mordru hails from Zerox, the Sorcerers' Planet, and his only exploitable weakness is confinement in an airless, enclosed space.
- Written by Jim Shooter (script and layouts), with interior pencils finished by Curt Swan, inks by Jack Abel (and Curt Swan on the splash page alone), letters by Charlotte Jetter and Gaspar Saladino, edited by Mort Weisinger with E. Nelson Bridwell as assistant editor.
- Cover art by Neal Adams — his dynamic image of Mordru's fists bursting through a steel vault door is among the most recognizable covers of the DC Silver Age Legion run.
- This issue marks the first Legion story inked by Jack Abel over Curt Swan, replacing long-time inker George Klein.
- The story is structured as a two-chapter self-contained issue: Part I, 'Mordru the Merciless!', and Part II, 'Mordru and the Mob!' — with the Legionnaires (Superboy, Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Duo Damsel) forced to assume civilian identities in Smallville to evade Mordru, who uses Lana Lang as his unwitting spy.
- Mordru's escape is triggered by Shadow Lass — then a recent Legion inductee — accidentally introducing air into his sealed vault at Legion HQ, establishing a key piece of Legion lore revisited in decades of subsequent stories.
- The issue was reprinted five times: in Limited Collectors' Edition #C-49 (Oct.–Nov. 1976, with a wraparound cover by Mike Grell), Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 8 (1998), Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 4 (2010), Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 3 (2020), and Superboy: A Celebration of 75 Years (2020).
- Mordru went on to appear across multiple DC titles and eras — including Justice League of America/Justice Society crossovers, JSA, and Justice League Dark — and was adapted for the 1979 live-action TV special Legends of the Superheroes and the Legion of Super Heroes animated series (voiced by Jim Ward).
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Reprinted in Limited Collectors' Edition #C-49 (1976), The Legion of Super-Heroes Archives #8 (1998), Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes #4 (2010), Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus #3 (2020), Superboy: A Celebration of 75 Years #[nn] (2020), Stålpojken #1/1969
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