Who's Who: Legion of Super-Heroes HQ

The Headquarters of the Legion
by Russell & Siskoid

The Legion Headquarters, originally called The Legionnaire Club-House, is where the Legionnaires hold meetings, investigate phenomena, and hang out as they protect the United Planets. After it was rebuilt, it also includes dormitory rooms for many of the Legionnaires. 

Legion Log
The Headquarters of the Legion of Super-Heroes has existed as long as the Legion has. It made its debut in the same issue as they did (Adventure Comics #247), labeled in the 30th Century's ubiquitous custom as, "Super-Hero Club." For the next ten years the Super-Hero Clubhouse was a constant image in the pages of Adventure Comics. There was never any explanation as to where it came from or who built it, or why it was designed as the bottom section of a space rocket. And although in at least two stories it was shown to have no basement whatsoever, the prevailing opinion among Legion fans is that it was some type of tesseract, similar to the TARDIS belonging to a certain Doctor, where the outside makes the object appear smaller than it really is.

After a vicious attack by the Fatal Five, the Club-House was not salvageable, so the United Planets chose to under write the building of a totally new, totally modern headquarters for the Legion. The Club-House was destroyed in Adventure Comics #366 and replaced by the UP (and by the Miracle Machine) in the issue after that.

This second headquarters lasted another ten years until it was utterly destroyed by Wildfire in his battle against Omega (Superboy/Legion #251). Due to the Earthwar and the attack from Omega, this time the United Planets could not afford to replace it. So the Legion decided to build their third headquarters themselves. This version was based almost exactly on the previous one.

However, this third headquarters did not last nearly as long as the first two. Less than five years later, Brainiac 5 succeeded in blowing it up real good. He then instantly re-created it as a facility that could actually move under its own power.  This is the version that the Legionnaires were using when the Magic War broke out at the end of the Baxter series. The illustration shown above made its debut in Tales of the Legion #320. Although Who's Who credits the work to Keith Giffen, the artist of record on that issue was Dan Jurgens.

At about this time it came to light that the original Club-House was actually a Legion applicant calling himself Fortress Lad who had the power to become a huge protective structure. When the founders were attacked by another Legion reject named Mnemonic Kid, he became the Club-House in order to protect them from her. However, he and they lost their memories about this incident, so he was therefore permanently transformed.

Five Years Later, the reformed Legion moved to a base on Talus, a planetoid that orbits around Erkenhom. Originally the location of a space station set up by the retired Garth Ranzz and Imra Ardeen. Meanwhile, the young SW6 Legion salvaged the old Club House and used it as their HQ on New Earth until the collapse of the timeline.

After the Reboot, the United Planets gave the Legion their own Headquarters, which was eventually replaced by the Outpost, a base in orbit around Earth, built by Chuck Taine. When it was destroyed in the Rift Crisis that sent several Legionnaires to another galaxy, Chuck endeavored to build yet another headquarters, this time the expansive planetoid known as Legion World, which contained habitats matching those of the Legionnaires' various homeworlds.

After the Threeboot, the Legion is once more using a headquarters that looks like the old Club House around which a constant vigil is kept by young people part of the Legion's youth culture movement (or cult).

After Infinite Crisis, the history of the Legion and its living spaces has presumably been restored. When the xenophobic Earth-Man and his Justice League expelled the Legion from Earth, they went underground and started using the ancient ruins of Metropolis as a secret base and spaceport. One the Crisis was resolved, they moved back into the old Club House, which still hands in the same spot today.

Important Legion Headquarters Stories:

Adventure Comics #247

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 1
and Showcase Presents The Legion Vol. 1)

The founders show off their headquarters to new member Superboy

Adventure Comics #340

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 5
and Showcase Presents The Legion Vol. 2)

Computo alters the Club-House into a robotic lackey, trapping the Legionnaires

Adventure Comics #366

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 7
and Showcase Presents The Legion Vol. 3)

The Fatal Five destroys the original Club-House

Adventure Comics #367

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 7
and Showcase Presents The Legion Vol. 3)

 
 
The UP begins rebuilding the Legion's new headquarters, 
but it is completed by the Miracle Machine

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #211

 (reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 11

and Showcase Presents The Legion Vol. 6)

 
The original Club-House is scrapped 
until the Substitutes take possession of it as *their* new HQ

Limited Collectors' Edition #C-49

 
 

 

 

A special featurette on the Legion HQ gave us the most details yet 

Limited Collectors' Edition #C-55 

The headquarters is featured again in the second Collectors' Edition 

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #251

Wildfire destroys the entire HQ complex while battling Omega

Superboy/Legion of Super-Heroes #263 

 

A somewhat slimmed-down version of the HQ is finally rebuilt

The Legion of Super-Heroes #296

Blok gives new member White Witch a tour

The Legion of Super-Heroes #311

Brainiac 5 rebuilds the headquarters again

Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #320 

The detailed floor plan shown in Who's Who makes its debut

Secret Origins #46

We learn that the Club-House was actually Fortress Lad, 
who could alter himself into protective metal

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #26

Five Years Later, the asteroid Talus becomes the Legion's home

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #41

The SW6 Legion salvages the old Club House to makes it their base on New Earth

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #63

The Reboot Legion is given a headquarters by the United Planets

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) Annual #6

A map of the Reboot headquarters

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #76

Chuck Taine is hired by R.J. Brande to help rebuild
Legion HQ; he would become a regular member of the cast

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #100

Chuck Taine builds the Outpost, the Legion's new HQ

Legion of Super-Heroes Secret Files & Origins #1

A helpful diagram of the new Legion Outpost

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #125

The Legion Outpost is destroyed in the Rift Crisis

The Legion #3

Chuck also designed and helped build the newest Legion HQ, Legion World

The Legion Secret Files 3003

Go on a tour of Legion World

The Legion #31

Clean-up after Darkseid destroys a part of Legion World

Legion of Super-Heroes (v5) #1

The Threeboot Legion's Club House is surrounded by fans

Action Comics (v1) #860

After Infinite Crisis, the Legion is on the run from xenophobic Earth forces and hides under Metropolis

Legion of Super-Heroes (v7) #23

The Club House still stands even though the Legion is essentially destroyed
after a deadly encounter with the Fatal Five