"Wow! Is that how people dress in the future?!"

Such were the libidinous thoughts coursing through my ten-year-old brain upon first reading these issues of SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES in 1973.

By 1971 the Legion had been kicked out of ADVENTURE, kicked out of even their minor back-up slot in ACTION COMICS. Gone were the Neal Adams covers, the heavy Shooter characterization. The Legion was dead. But fans wanted more - and by 1972 - the little superhero club in their upside-down rocket ship was given to two young creators to overhaul. And overhaul they did.

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES ARCHIVES VOL. 10 collects the groundbreaking revitalization of the Legion by Dave Cockrum and Cary Bates. Cockrum and Bates grew the characters up into young, sexy adults in a dynamic, fully realized metropolis of the future.

These comics were a shot of electricity during a particularly bleak period in comic's history. Given virtually a blank slate to work with, Cockrum redefined the look of the legion, creating an ultra-cool, ultra modern group of super-hippies - complete with super-bell-bottoms, super leather and super-thigh-high boots. He gave us the opportunity to see 50's-60's icons Saturn Girl, Light Lass and effectively all the Legion chicks collectively shaking their groove thangs. Princess Projectra alone would've put Jennifer Lopez to shame. (In current continuity she's represented by a giant snake with hands. How I miss the '70's!) No longer was the legion the Mickey Mouse Club of comics. Now, they were the Mod Squad. And there were 26 of them.

Cockrum's art was sleek, modern, dynamic. Yes, the stories by Bates were goony and juvenile. But in the early '70's comics were still for kids. And the highlights here certainly outweigh the shortcomings: the introduction of Wildfire (aka ERG 1) - a bodiless bag of energy - who, seemingly, can only blow his energy power once; a cool, feral Timber Wolf; Legion rejectee Infectious Lass - her costume the sexiest reproduction of a dripping head cold you'll ever see (her power: if she touches you, you get sick. Now, that prepared me for college!); and the single greatest wedding page pin-up ever in comics - the wedding of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel. (Best wedding moment: Bouncing Boy's romantic recollection of two Duo Damsels tossing his inflated form back and forth like a beach ball. BB: "Who cares if I lost my power!" I'll say.)

Now, more than ever, you wanted to be a Legionnaire. And when the Legion cruisers headed out towards Nix Olympica, for the first time in DC history, it felt like you were in space.

This volume also stands as a considerable piece of modern comics history, as Cockrum's Legion was a virtual template for what he would create a year later (with Len Wein and Roy Thomas): the All-New All-Different X-MEN. All the new characters were from Cockrum's designs: Colossus, Thunderbird, Storm (more thigh-high boots), a redesigned Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine and, of course, Nightcrawler, who was originally supposed to be a Legion character.

In fact, Cockrum's best LSH story wouldn't come until two years later in 'Uncanny X-Men #106,' when the titular heroes took on an entire faux-Legion: the Shiar Imperial Guard (which Cockrum created). His unbridled enthusiasm for the Legion was still apparent in the over-the-top pyrotechnics for this battle. And, as if recreating all 26+ legionnaires wasn't enough, he tossed in the Starjammers to boot. Byrne who?

My biggest problem with this volume (as with most of the DC Archives) is the sticker shock. $49.95 is a high price to pay considering these issues don't have the rarity of, say, the All Star or Spirit Archives. Still, for a time capsule of possibly the most vital ten comics of the early 70's (and a virtual blueprint for the upcoming X-Men) you could do a lot worse.

And those thigh-high boots!

Is that how people dress in the future...?

God, I hope so.

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Alex Bernstein is a screenwriter and a regular contributor to PopImage

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