Legion of Super-Heroes #3
Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol. 3) #3 is the pivotal midpoint of the opening five-part arc of DC's landmark 1984 Baxter-paper relaunch — the first time the Legion ever headlined its own prestige-format series. As part three of the 'Everywhere a Villain...?' storyline, this issue dramatically raises the stakes of the Legion vs. Legion of Super-Villains war by having the entire planet of Orando vanish from the universe along with eight trapped Legionnaires, a plot move that set the stage for the death of Karate Kid in the very next issue. It marks the creative handoff from Keith Giffen to incoming penciler Steve Lightle mid-arc, a transition that would define the visual identity of the Baxter series for the following year and further distinguished the direct-market title from its newsstand companion, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
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The Vol. 3 series was conceived as DC's answer to the booming direct-sales market in 1984, when the publisher committed to printing top-tier titles on higher-quality Baxter paper for comic-shop distribution. Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen — fresh off 'The Great Darkness Saga' — were the natural choices to helm the launch, with Giffen plotting alongside Levitz and handling layouts. Giffen departed the interior art duties partway through this debut arc; by issue #3, Steve Lightle was finishing the pencils over Giffen's layouts, with Larry Mahlstedt on inks and Karen Berger as editor. The cover of #3 was inked by Dick Giordano, adding a polish consistent with DC's intent to position the Baxter line as a step above standard newsprint fare.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: October 1984; on-sale date: October 3, 1984 — the third issue of Legion of Super-Heroes Volume 3, DC's Baxter-paper prestige relaunch.
- Story title: 'Everywhere a Villain...?' — Part 3 of 5, the opening arc of the new series featuring the Legion vs. a massive, newly united Legion of Super-Villains.
- Written by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen (plot); pencils by Keith Giffen (layouts) and Steve Lightle; inks by Larry Mahlstedt; cover by Keith Giffen, Larry Mahlstedt, and Dick Giordano (inks); edited by Karen Berger.
- This issue marks Steve Lightle's first interior penciling work on the series; Giffen had left the interior art mid-arc and would be replaced by Lightle, who stayed on as penciler for roughly a year.
- Key plot development: the planet Orando is teleported out of the known universe by the Legion of Super-Villains, taking eight Legionnaires captive — a narrative escalation that directly precedes Karate Kid's death in issue #4.
- Features a massive cast including Wildfire, Dawnstar, Ultra Boy, Mon-El, White Witch, Shadow Lass, Phantom Girl, Timber Wolf, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Brainiac 5, Sun Boy, Blok, Element Lad, Cosmic Boy, Star Boy, Dream Girl, Shrinking Violet, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl, alongside Legion of Super-Villains members including Nemesis Kid, Lightning Lord, Ol-Vir, Cosmic King, and many others.
- The issue also features the infant Graym Ranzz — son of Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad — in the aftermath of the birth depicted in the concurrent Legion of Super-Heroes Annual (Vol. 2) #3 (also October 1984), tying together both publications.
- The full opening arc (issues #1–5) was later collected in the trade paperback Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1: An Eye for an Eye (DC Comics).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #328 (1985), Les Vengeurs #2 (1986), Legion of Super-Heroes: An Eye for an Eye #[nn] (2008)
Key issues in Legion of Super-Heroes
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