POP-A-LOOZA: THE EVERLASTING FIRST! The Legion Of Super-Heroes

Each week, the pop culture website Pop-A-Looza shares some posts from my vast 'n' captivating Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) archives. The latest shared post is my Everlasting First account of how I first learned about DC Comics' 30th century super team the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Was the Legion my introduction to high adventure set in the far future? It's...possible, though lemme think about this for a sec. As the Pop-A-Looza piece details, I first heard of the Legion in passing, in a text page in Superboy # 129 in 1966. That probably doesn't count, so we mark my first real (though still second-hand) exposure to the Legion to at least 1967, and then reading my first actual Legion story in 1968. The above-cited 1967 story that referenced the Legion did make it clear that these heroes were doing their colorful crusading a thousand years from now, making it evident that  '67 is my 30th century entry point. 

So: had I experienced future-set fiction prior to 1967?

I'm writing as I ponder the question, and I'm still not exactly sure. Let's check out some things I did read or see before that:

SUPERMAN 

The Man of Steel was either my first or second superhero, virtually tied with Popeye. I saw the late, great George Reeves in TV reruns of The Adventures Of Superman, and a 1965 Lois Lane 80-Page Giant is the earliest comic book I remember. But I don't recall seeing any stories set in the future. 

My first issue of World's Finest Comics (# 162), starring Superman and Batman, was a 1967 issue preceding my first view of the Legion, and it was a time travel story! But it was travel to the past, to the days of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. I don't think Superman provided me with my first fanciful peek at tomorrow.

FLASH GORDON

My first awareness of defender of the universe Flash Gordon was roughly contemporaneous to my indoctrination into Superman and Popeye. Reruns of chapters from the 1930s Flash Gordon movie serials were a fixture on Baron Daemon's weekday afternoon TV show in Syracuse; everyone in my neighborhood watched the Baron, so everyone in my neighborhood knew Flash Gordon. However, although Flash's exploits were certainly futuristic, they were set in the present day. (Flash Gordon's inspiration Buck Rogers was set centuries from now, but I didn't discover Buck Rogers In The 25th Century until the '70s.)

STAR TREK

Star Trek obviously took place in the future. But, although I was aware of Star Trek during is 1966-68 run, and I recall friends making references to phasers, I didn't really watch Star Trek until the '70s. I'm pretty sure I saw an episode or two during its network run, but probably after I'd read about the Legion of Super-Heroes.

TOM SWIFT

Nope. I started to read one Tom Swift novel--Tom Swift And His Outpost In Space--in the '60s, but didn't find it as interesting as my Nancy Drew books and put it aside. I guess the titular lead was Tom Swift, Jr., following in his pappy's spacebootprints, and they were probably set in the present day. My truncated Tom Swift experience occurred in the late '60s, after I was already reading about the Legion of Super-Heroes in Adventure Comics.

LOST IN SPACE

Bingo! Or at least a view of tomorrow that preceded my introduction to the Legion. At the time I was watching Lost In Space circa 1965-68, I don't think I quite grasped the concept that it took place in the far-future world of the late 1990s. I was a fan, though, and I resisted the idea of switching the channel from our local CBS affiliate Channel 5 to the ABC affiliate Channel 9 when the new Batman series became the Big Buzz show across the country. Batman aired twice a week, and its Wednesday installment was scheduled directly opposite Lost In Space. In fact, I recall wailing in protest when my brother insisted we were going to watch Batman instead of Lost In Space.

I, um, got over it. And adjusted. And then some...!

ASTRO BOY

Baron Daemon also showed Astro Boy cartoons, a Japanese import that I just adored. More than I liked Flash Gordon, and I liked Flash Gordon just fine. I don't remember whether or not these cartoons were supposed to take place in the future; I'll Google that in a moment. If so, Astro Boy was likely my doorway to the world to come; if not, it was riveting and futuristic nonetheless. Now! Let's go the Google....

ANSWER: The original Astro Boy series was set in 2013, which is now the past, but was off in the future when Baron Daemon showed me those cartoons. We have a winner!

THE JETSONS

Wait, except for The Jetsons. Duh. Completely forgot about George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane his wife, robot domestic Rosie, crusty skinflint boss Mr. Spacely, and trusty canine companion Astro (née Tralfaz). But yeah, before the Legion, Lost In Space, or even Astro Boy, the future started with The Jetsons. For me, anyway.

There were more views of the future awaiting me, of course, from Magnus: Robot Fighter to some episodes of This Is Us. That's the very nature of the future: more to come! One of my favorite futures involved a group of super-powered teens battling evil in the 30th century. My introduction to the Legion of Super-Heroes is the latest Boppin' Pop-A-Looza.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

I'm on Twitter @CafarelliCarl