In 1961, a teenage Supergirl journeyed to the thirtieth century in an effort to join the Legion of Superheroes, a team consisting of teenagers from across the universe. In order to prove herself worthy, Supergirl unearths millennial-old objects. “Here you are,” she beams, “Curios of the great past!” The artifacts include King Arthur's sword, Achilles' helmet, and Richard the Lionheart's shield. The retrieval of these ancient relics impresses the band of history-savvy young aliens – despite their human appearances, none of them are originally from Earth – and they bestow membership upon her.

The Middle Ages, as depicted in American popular culture during the 1950s, confirm the merits of Supergirl's deeds. Despite the composition of the intergalactic club she was applying for, Supergirl deduces that the curios from the Earth's distant past would satisfy the Legion's initiation rites. The Legion had more than a historic interest in the relics from ancient antiquity and medieval England: they recognized the armaments as possessions of predecessors who shared the same goals. The Legion safeguarded interstellar freedom and democracy from world conquerors and saboteurs, just as they believed King Arthur and Richard Coeur de Lion had done in previous eras. While the historical accuracy of this inference may be suspect, for readers in 1961 the meaning was clear. Just as the thirtieth-century heroes identified strongly with medieval England, so did Cold War America. The “special relationship” between the US and the UK was a wartime necessity to cement the transatlantic alliance through a shared heritage, and the relationship survived as a metaphor for the Free World after the Iron Curtain descended.