In Adventure Comics #301 (Aug 1962), it’s the first non-Superboy/Supergirl story of the Legion after their debut as the Adventure Comics backup feature last month. In this issue, we catch a glimpse into the Legion of Super-Heroes recruiting, which shows how Legionnaires like Cosmic Boy treat con artists and fakers. That is: pretty harshly.
Then we get a back-story from Bouncing Boy that describes how he also had to put up with abuse from the Legion of Super-Heroes before we was given any decent amount of respect.
Mind you, his origin story is pretty laughable. A chunky errand boy of a famed scientist who was asked to delivery a new super-plastic fluid to the science council, but on his way got distracted by a sports event. Sitting down to watch it, he goes to sip his soda, forgetting he is holding “super-plastic fluid”. Woops – now he has super-powers for life.
Yet upon trying out for the Legion, he is mocked for his pretty useless super-power by Lightning Lad. Later, he earnestly tries to prove his worth and but makes a mistake, once again provoking open ridicule again from Saturn Girl and the very toxic Cosmic Boy:
Eventually Bouncing Boy proves his power isn’t totally useless by foiling a crime and saving the day, thus forcing the Legion Bullies to accept him as a candidate.
I also found an interesting letter in this issue from a real fan of Superboy who wishes fat people wouldn’t be made fun of so much in DC Comics. Instead of treating this person with respect, the editor of the magazine instead tries to blame the fan and suggests they stop eating so much. It’s an interesting contrast to the way we treat people in today’s society.
