The Legion of Super-Heroes #298
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeLegion of Super-Heroes #298 is the birth certificate of one of DC's most enduring fantasy heroines: it contains the first appearance of Amethyst (Amy Winston), Princess of Gemworld, and her primary antagonist, Dark Opal, delivered as a 16-page pull-out preview insert tucked between the pages of the regular Legion story. The issue represents DC's early-1980s ambition to court younger female readers with sword-and-sorcery storytelling — a genre almost entirely absent from mainstream superhero publishing at the time — and it introduced the extradimensional realm of Gemworld in the same stroke. That single insert launched a franchise that has been continuously revisited across maxi-series, ongoing titles, annuals, New 52 revivals, and Young Justice membership, cementing the issue's place as a genuine genre milestone at the tail end of the Bronze Age.
In "The Edge of Nowhere," the Legion of Super-Heroes faces a chilling threat as Kharlak the Khund returns to challenge them during a murder investigation on a remote mining asteroid. Meanwhile, Duplicate Boy journeys to Earth to confront Shrinking Violet about her new relationship with Colossal Boy, leading to a tense showdown before he walks away—punching out his rival in the process. Written by Keith Giffen and Paul Levitz, with art by Keith Giffen and cover by Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt, this 1983 issue blends cosmic intrigue with personal drama in the Legion’s ongoing saga.
In "The Edge of Nowhere," the Legion of Super-Heroes faces a deadly threat on a remote mining asteroid when Kharlak the Khund returns to challenge them after a mysterious murder. Meanwhile, Duplicate Boy’s personal turmoil takes a sharp turn as he confronts Shrinking Violet about her new relationship with Colossal Boy, leading to a tense showdown that leaves more than just fists flying.
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The Amethyst concept was developed by the writing team of Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, collaborators who had broken into DC through short stories in anthology titles, with artist Ernie Colón handling both pencils and inks on the preview. DC's strategy was to seed the character's debut inside an established, high-readership title — the Levitz/Giffen Legion book — using a self-contained insert story that would function as a teaser for the forthcoming 12-issue maxi-series launching the following month. The Legion lead story itself, 'The Edge of Nowhere,' was plotted by Keith Giffen and Paul Levitz and penciled by Giffen, inked by Larry Mahlstedt, keeping the book's ongoing creative team fully intact alongside the guest feature.
Trivia · 10 facts
- First appearance of Amethyst (Amy Winston), Princess of Gemworld — confirmed as her debut by DC's own official character page, Wikipedia, Key Collector Comics, and multiple fan databases.
- First appearance of Dark Opal, the series' principal villain, who also debuts within the 16-page Amethyst insert.
- First appearance of Gemworld itself as a location in the DC Universe.
- The Amethyst content is a self-contained 16-page preview insert physically bound between pages 13 and 14 of the main Legion story, titled 'Duel in Dark Magic!' — written by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, with art by Ernie Colón.
- The Legion lead story, 'The Edge of Nowhere,' is plotted by Keith Giffen and Paul Levitz (script by Levitz), with pencils by Giffen and inks by Larry Mahlstedt; it features Wildfire, Dawnstar, Blok, White Witch, and a subplot involving Duplicate Boy, Shrinking Violet, and Colossal Boy.
- The cover was penciled by Keith Giffen and inked by Larry Mahlstedt; a Canadian price variant exists.
- A Mark Jeweler advertisement insert variant of this issue also exists.
- The Amethyst preview from this issue was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (DC, November 2012) and again in DC Through the '80s: The Experiments (DC, August 2021).
- The Amethyst series that followed was oriented initially toward younger female readers and, despite critical appreciation as 'one of DC's under-rated classics,' predates both She-Ra: Princess of Power and Sailor Moon as a magical-girl fantasy property.
- Per the DC Database, the Amethyst preview story in this issue is set chronologically before events in Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld #5, not #1, reflecting a non-linear placement in the published timeline.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Superman #1/1984 (1984), Superman #2/1984 (1984), Super-Homem #1 (1984), Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse The Deluxe Edition #[nn] (2011), Showcase Presents Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld #[nn] (2012), Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse #[nn] (2014), DC Through the '80s: The Experiments #[nn] (2021), Supercomic #388
Key issues in The Legion of Super-Heroes
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