Adventure Comics No. 342's "The Legionnaire Who Killed". A shocking day in comic book history that remains etched into the consciousness of Legion fans and to this day remains a point of contention and controversy. In early 2966 (Adventure Comics No. 342), Legionnaire Star Boy, unable to take his mind off of Dream Girl - who he had last seen in January, 2964 (317) - decided to spend his leave on the "wild and lonely" planet Karak, where his astronomer parents were doing research. Upon arriving on Karak, an explorer friend of the Kallors, Jan Barth, informed Star Boy that his parents had already returned to Xanthu. Suddenly, a space-flier descended and out emerged a Naltorian named Kenz Nuhor, who promptly aimed a deadly ray-gun at them. Barth pulled his own gun out in defense and was shot dead by Nuhor in cold-blooded murder. Swiftly, Star Boy released his unique super-power to increase the mass of any object with the intent of bringing down Nuhor like a "ton of lead".
Prepared for the Legionnaire's attack, Nuhor reflected the power off of his special shield, paralyzing the hero under his own, now massive, weight. Totally at Nuhor's mercy, the rogue revealed that he was a suitor of Nura Nal (Dream Girl) until she jilted his (obviously warped) affection. Nuhor blamed Nura's rejection on her romantic feelings for Star Boy. He tracked the Legionnaire down with the intention of killing him for revenge.
When Nura's own space-flier approached, Nuhor was momentarily distracted, and Star Boy used the "one chance" he had and, with great physical effort, reached out and grabbed the gun that the murdered explorer had dropped. The next moment, as Nura landed, Star Boy pulled the trigger and shot Nuhor in the chest, effectively killing him.
Minutes later, Dream Girl rushed to Star Boy's side and comforted him. Later, after the effects of his mass-inducing power on Thom had worn off, they returned to Earth. Nura acted as Thom's witness and gave her testimony to the Science Police, clearing him of any charges. However, when Star Boy returned to the Legion Clubhouse, a grim jury of members awaited him. The Mission Monitor board uses its special rays to record the actions of every Legionnaire on any world, and the Legionnaires had also been witnesses as Star Boy killed Kenz Nuhor.
It is interesting to us the reader, and no doubt surprising to the Legion, that Superboy leapt up to volunteer to act in defense of Star Boy in Adventure Comics No. 342. After all, the "code" was adopted BECAUSE the Legion was emulating the Boy of Steel.
As Leader of the Legion at this time, Brainiac 5 acted as prosecutor in the case, appointing Saturn Girl as judge. Naturally, Superboy volunteered to act as Star Boy defense attorney. He scoured through the Legion records to try to establish precedence of such a situation but failed to do so. Brainiac reconstructed the "scene of the crime" in miniature and demonstrated how Star Boy could have directed his power to the tree limb above Nuhor's head and pinned the rogue down without the need to kill him. This "evidence" obviously impressed some of the Legion jurors since the final tally on the trial was: Guilty - 10 Not Guilty - 9
Editor Mort Weisinger and Edmond Hamilton, the story's writer, could not have predicted what a hotbed of emotion this issue would errupt. The following letters by readers at the time show the reactions to this story. Each letter is followed by comments by us. Thanks to Commander Adam Benson for contributing his comments supporting the "guilty" side of the issue. * * *
This is a legitimate concern, for the entire story hinges on the fact that there is no self-defense clause in the Legion Code against killing. Obviously, what is said in a letter column by the editor adds to the body of Legion lore but only if is not countermanded by facts appearing in the actual stories themselves. In this case, although Weisinger had mentioned there being a provision by way of an explanation of Lightning Lad's re-admittance back in the letter column of Adventure Comics No. 316, the actual ammendment to the Code does not happen until after the events in 342. The Super-Hero Club rules are distinct from Earth/U.P. law in that reason of self-defense does not factor into it. Yet, if it is so cut-and-dry, then why does the Legion bother to even hold a trial? Why did Brainiac 5 demand the "extreme penalty" of expulsion? Why not just suspend Star Boy or send him back for retraining?
Just as the private organisation can maintain any laws, regulations, and requirements for trial it wishes, the punishments of a conviction by the organisation can also only be those which are within the purview of the group. In other words, the Legion could not put Star Boy in jail for a guilty verdict-that power is reserved for the State. All the Legion could impose as punishment is expulsion, suspension, fines (in theory-if the convicted decided not to pay them, it would take a civil suit to try to compel payment), or condemnation. The Legion, in Star Boy's trial, did not attempt to impose any punishment which was not within its purview.
Of all the Legion Reserve, only honorary members are allowed to participate in votes like this. Since Jimmy Olsen got a vote, why didn't Pete Ross? Apparently, he was not available at the time and the only real excuse would be either illness (if he had abstained, his picture would still have been up on the monitor, as Phantom Girl's was in Adventure Comics No. 316). If we had to guess as to Pete's vote, we too think he would have sided with the viewpoint of his best friend, Superboy, on the matter. The vote would have then been a draw and Star Boy would have been acquitted. The Legion rules said a majority vote (actually, a plurality vote, but I won't split hairs) determined the outcome of the trial. The membership voted and Star Boy lost. It was a fair vote. "Wait a minute!" someone cries in the back. "How come Jimmy Olsen got to vote, but Pete Ross didn't? That wasn't fair." I will grant you, I cannot think of a distinction which would let one honorary member (Olsen) vote, but prohibit the other (Ross). But the fact that Ross did not vote doesn't invalidate the verdict. The Legion is a very busy, very far flung organisation. It would be unreasonable to assume that it did not have some provision for trial voting in cases when the trial occurred during a time when a number of Legionnaires were on a mission in another dimension or another time or some place so remote that they could not participate. In fact, just the opposite: it would be foolish to presume that every time a trial was necessary, every member would be available to render a vote afterward. Most likely, the by-laws specified that a vote to determine a verdict was legitimate when a specified quorum of Legionnaires was present-not the entire membership. Perhaps, in Star Boy's trial, Pete Ross wasn't available. Maybe he was on a camping trip or summer vacation or something. Certainly nineteen available out of twenty voting members would be an acceptable quorum. Nope. Star Boy's trial was properly conducted according to the rules of the Legion-which are the only rules which may apply-and the members, applying whatever standards each deemed most important, provided a legal vote The verdict was guilty-one with which I personally agree-and the verdict was just, under the rules of the Legion.
Let's now examine Brainiac 5's most damning argument for Star Boy's expulsion: his demonstration that Star Boy could have employed his power on the limb hanging over Kenz Nuhor, to immobilise him. Nuhor had a gun pointed at Star Boy. Under conventional law, when a law-enforcement officer is threatened with deadly force, he is authorised to respond with deadly force. Even if the officer has an option of non-deadly force which would stop the threat, he is not obliged to use it; it is perfectly legal to respond with deadly force, anyway. However, as I said, this only applies when the State is exerting jurisdiction. Nothing in the Legion Constitution in existence at that time made provision for self-defence or the use of deadly force. It simply said Legionnaires shall not kill. That means, under Legion law, Star Boy had the obligation to use non-deadly force first, even if faced with a threat of deadly force. Ergo, Star Boy was obliged to try conking Nuhor on the head with that limb first. Now, certainly a heavy limb striking Nuhor in the head might have been sufficient to kill him, and had he done that, Star Boy might have still found himself at a Legion trial. But the choices confronting him were this: 1. Use power on limb over Nuhor and maybe kill him; or 2. Shoot Nuhor with a blaster and definitely kill him. What about the fact that Star Boy was under stress? That should have excused him from not seeing the option of using his power to weigh down the limb. Sure, if it had been you or me, in Star Boy's place. Ordinary citizens who are not legally presumed to have any experience, training, or responsibility in emergency circumstances. As a Legionnaire, as an honorary S.P., Star Boy is held to a higher standard. He is expected to act with composure where the rest of us are not. Just as we expect the police of our time, who carry guns, to react to potential danger more intelligently (since, it is to be hoped, he has been given the training for such cases). You or I would be highly critical of a cop in a crowded mall who, upon seeing a man approach and suddenly whip a hand under his jacket, drew his service pistol and began firing without regard for the other customers in the line of fire. You would think-and rightly so-that a cop is supposed to know better, to react better. That's the trade-off for society letting him walk around with a deadly weapon and the right to use it. The same thing applies to Star Boy as a Legionnaire. Many times, in countless potential situations, many innocent lives will depend on a Legionnaire keeping his cool in a disaster. That is expected; it is understood as being part and parcel of the job. If Star Boy wanted the luxury of being able to use bad judgement under stress, then he should not have been a Legionnaire. Ultimately, that's what it comes down to: Star Boy was told if you want to be a Legionnaire, then here are the rules. You may not like them-they may be personally inconvenient-they may be supremely tough to live up to-but this is the expectation if you become a Legionnaire. He knew the requirements going in, and he accepted them by accepting the job. Therefore, any argument of "the rules are too tough" doesn't wash. A casino doesn't give you your money back just because you found out it was tougher to win at blackjack that you thought it was.
Another legitimate concern. By his own rationale, is not Braninac 5 just as guilty as Star Boy was of breaking the Legion Code? His power is his computer-mind and intellect and he erred by creating Computo. Secret government project or no, he should have known better than to try to recreate the same flawed experiment that his own Coluan people did. He knew how that turned out, how the intelligent machines took control of Colu and nearly ended human civilization there back in the 20th century. It is his own arrogance, obsession with the past, and lack of original inventiveness that prompted him to take on such a project. It was his own incompetent use of his power that allowed Computo to run rampant and kill innocent people, including the Legion's own Triplicate Girl. When Superboy went back through the Legion records to search for a circumstance when a Legionnaire did kill in self-defense his tactic was to establish precedence for it and acquire a legal loophole. What crimes against the Legion Constitution Brainiac 5 or any other Legionnaire may or may have not committed is immaterial to Star Boy's case. Possible offences by Brainiac 5 are separate issues. Star Boy was brought up on a legitimate charge-that's all that matters.
The reader pressure was on Weisinger at this time. He knew he had to bring Star Boy back in some way and the wheels were already turning.
This letter shows that there was some support in the "Star Boy was guilty" camp but it was obviously in the minority or they would have printed more letters like this one.
Which brings up the interesting point that, although Star Boy was expelled from the Legion, the Legion of Substitute Heroes took him in. They are an autonomous group, with their own rules, but at the same time they are a constitutionally recognized branch of the Legion Reserve. So, while Star Boy was booted out of the Legion for behavior unbecoming a Legionnaire, he was technically still a member of the team!
And so the problem was rectified. Just as Brainiac 5 expelled Star Boy on a technicality (he could have used his power on the branch above Nuhor's head), Invisible Kid allowed Star Boy to stay on a technicality (he re-joined under another name). Ironic but satisfying to readers. It is no coincidence that Brainiac 5 is nowhere around at the time that Star Boy was welcomed back into the Legion.
This letter sums up the feelings for a majority of fans, it was great to have Star Boy back in the Legion. It was a character-building experience for him. Also, one has to assume that the Legion Code was ammended by Adventure Comics No. 346/347 because in that issue the Legionnaires fight in a war against the Khunds. And in a war to save your planet from invasion, the kid gloves are basically off. The Legionnaires are shown tearing into Khund ships with their powers with the intention of stopping them, period. How could the Legionnaires be sure than no Khund got hurt or killed? Simple -- they couldn't. Thus, regardless of Earth's martial laws that allow killing during times of war, the Legion's Code had to have been ammended to "permit Legionnaires to take life for the purpose of saving life", as Superboy said.
Which reminds us that, although Star Boy being expelled was a terrible thing to happen to him, it makes for great drama. It makes for more interesting and well-rounded characters. And it makes for a great discussion! Click HERE or on the panel below to vote now! And don't forget to leave your comments in the box that appears at the bottom of the "results" panel after your vote has been recorded.
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Now, in case it wasn't already
obvious, the "Legion Code" that Brainiac 5 is
referring to is the team's code against killing (not to
be confused with the "Code of the Legion",
which is in regards to the secret of the Concentrator;
see Adventure Comics No. 324).
Chronologically, this code against killing was introduced
at the very first meeting of the Legion (Superboy
No. 147) when the three Charter Members - Cosmic Boy,
Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad - sat down and drew up the
Legion Constitution. In fact, it was the very first item
on the agenda: 
Interesting how
the person they made the rule to emmulate was against its
uncompromising harshness. Superboy's concern regarding a
lack of a provision of circumstance stems from his desire
to protect his loved ones, in particular, Ma and Pa Kent.
After all, they are the prime reason the Boy of Steel
even has a secret identity - to protect his family from
criminals who might threaten or take revenge on them.
None of the normal
protections enjoyed by a law-enforcement official extend
to Star Boy in this venue. (Yes, he is/was an honorary
S.P., so he was covered by those protections in the S.P.
investigation into his actions as a law-enforcement agent
for the State; but in the private forum of the Legion's
rules, he loses all those protections, because he is a
private citizen submitting to a private organisation
there.) Therefore, Star Boy was not protected against the
"duty to flee" provision or the "deadly
force" provisions which the State has in place to
protect its citizens. Again, because those are provisions
which apply when the government is evaluating one's
deeds; Star Boy was being tried by a private
organisation. That means only the rules of the
organisation apply.
That Brainiac 5
used his own super-power - his computer-mind - as a
yardstick to compare Star Boy's own intelligence by, is
simply unfair. It is no different than if Superboy
criticized someone for not being able to lift as much as
him. In Adventure Comics
No. 323, Saturn Girl was going to use a
computer to analyze which member of the team was the
cleverest, and therefore take charge of the team.
Brainiac 5 objected to this method of determination,
proudly stating: "Because of my computer mind, I'd
win easily.
It's got to be decided some other way." Because
many of the other Legionnaires give credence to Brainiac
5's knowledge, their opinions were swayed by his unfair
analysis. In short, he betrayed his comrades' trust in
him; used it for his own goal of expelling Star Boy. If
Star Boy had used his power on the branch and the impact
had killed Nuhor just as effectively as the gun, dollars
to donuts, Brainiac 5 would still be there, criticizing
Star Boy and telling him that he should have used the gun
to kneecap the guy! 
Apparently, both
the prosecution and the defense were permitted to make
whatever arguments they saw fit to sway the opinions of
the voting Legionnaires. One is tempted to say that the
prosecutor and defense were on their honours to be honest
about their arguments, but let's face it, Superboy
resorted to outright deception to make his case when he
had Proty II disguise himself as a deadly creature let
loose in the courtroom, to try to trick Brainiac 5 into
"killing" it. This tactic by the Boy of Steel
was not criticised by the tribunal of presiding
Legionnaires, so evidently, even deception was within the
rules of the trial.
This ribbing
reminds everyone that the Code can be taken too seriously
sometimes. By the letter of the law, Star Boy is not
guilty. Obviously, any Legionnaire who killed ruthlessly
would not be worthy of being a Legionnaire and should be
expelled. Star Boy, equally obviously, did not kill Nuhor
in a ruthless manner. The dictionary definition of the
adjective 'wanton' is 'casual, unprovoked, unjustified'.
Star Boy certainly didn't kill Nuhor casually. He was
provoked by the fact that Nuhor told him that he hunted
him down with the express intention of murdering him and
he killed bystander Jan Barth to prove it. Was Star Boy
justified in shooting Nuhor? That is, was there a sufficient lawful reason
for carrying out the act? Nuhor was a proven murderer and
Dream Girl was landing at the time of crisis. Star Boy
had more than his own life to consider. If Nuhor was mad
enough to kill him and Barth then he was more than
capable of turning the gun on Nura Nal, the object of his
insane desire.
