Action Comics #267
Action Comics #267 marks the third overall appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes and the first time the group ever crossed paths with Supergirl rather than Superboy, cementing the Girl of Steel as a foundational figure in Legion history. Most significantly, it delivers the simultaneous debut of three Legionnaires who would become franchise pillars: Chameleon Boy (Reep Daggle), Colossal Boy (Gim Allon), and Invisible Kid (Lyle Norg) — the largest single-issue expansion of the Legion roster up to that point. The issue also introduced key rules of Legion membership (applicants must be under 18 and possess natural super-powers, with only one new member accepted per year) that would shape the team's continuity for decades. A curious in-story detail — that these Legionnaires were described as the children of the original members — was quietly abandoned in subsequent issues and edited out of later reprints, making the original printing a snapshot of the Legion mythology still finding its feet.
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The issue carries a cover date of August 1960 and was published on June 30, 1960, under editor Mort Weisinger, whose tight editorial control over the entire Superman family defined the Silver Age DC house style. The lead Superman story, 'Hercules in the 20th Century!', was scripted by Otto Binder with pencils by Wayne Boring and inks by Stan Kaye; the Supergirl back-up, 'The Three Super-Heroes!', was written by Jerry Siegel — who had returned to DC in 1959 and would go on to write extensively for the Legion, adding many lasting characters to its roster — with art by Jim Mooney. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan with inks by Stan Kaye. Siegel's Supergirl story deliberately parallels Otto Binder's Legion introduction in Adventure Comics #247, transplanting the hazing-and-rejection structure onto Supergirl; whether that was a Weisinger editorial directive or Siegel's own choice is not documented in surviving sources.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: August 1960; on-sale date: June 30, 1960. Published by DC Comics under editor Mort Weisinger.
- First appearance of Chameleon Boy (Reep Daggle), Colossal Boy (Gim Allon), and Invisible Kid (Lyle Norg) — three characters who became long-running Legion of Super-Heroes mainstays.
- Third overall appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes in DC Comics, and the first time the Legion appeared outside of Adventure Comics (having previously appeared only in Adventure Comics #247 and #267).
- First meeting of Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes; Supergirl is disqualified from membership when Red Kryptonite temporarily ages her into an adult ('Superwoman'), since Legion rules bar anyone over 18.
- The issue contains an early in-story retcon seed: Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl tell Supergirl they are the children of the original Legionnaires — a detail discarded in later issues and altered in some reprints to restore a single-generation Legion continuity.
- Two stories in one issue: lead story 'Hercules in the 20th Century!' (script: Otto Binder; pencils: Wayne Boring; inks: Stan Kaye) features Lex Luthor pulling Hercules from antiquity to battle Superman; Supergirl back-up 'The Three Super-Heroes!' (script: Jerry Siegel; art: Jim Mooney). Cover by Curt Swan (pencils) and Stan Kaye (inks).
- The Superman 'Hercules' story was reprinted in Superman #239 (June–July 1971); both stories have since been collected in Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 2 (2006), Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives Vol. 3 (2014), and the Supergirl: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1.
- The issue also includes a one-page humor strip starring 'Ollie,' written and drawn by Henry Boltinoff, typical of the short filler features common to DC anthologies of the era.
Cast · 34 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Lex Luthor builds a time-machine to bring Hercules to the present to use him to stop Superman. Hercules gets wise to Luthor's plan and helps Superman stop Luthor, and then decides to stay in the present and falls in love with Lois Lane.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).