For me, The Legion is more of a big brother than a son to Superboy in its earliest incarnation. When Superboy encounters the Legion initially, the adventure is characterized as the first time he has encountered other, more experienced young heroes. They lead him to understand that he is creating a legacy by his actions in the 20th Century and therefore has a responsibility to future generations. They even outsmart him for awhile and seem superior until he "proves" himself.
This is true, now that I think about it. But my point still stands: that in the early days, Legion was an extension of the Superman Mythos: That first story, we had Superman visit a future version of Smallville and Metropolis, for instance.
Though Superboy ought to be important to Legion history as an individual, I am not 100% against the idea of the Legion being inspired by superheroism in general instead of by a single person, at least at this point where the Legion is well-established. At first, it baffled me why it is, for his very first story arc, Geoff Johns used Mordru as a JSA enemy. Then the reason came in a brilliant flash later on, during the rockin' magic duel between Dr. Fate and Mordru.
Doctor Fate and Mordru battled so hard that they were whooshed through various eras, and one was the Legion's future.
"Look, Mordru!" Doctor Fate said. "The JSA has started something that can never be undone. Inspired by their predecessors, they will stop you, time and again."
Later, they give Superboy a sense of family where he functions as one among equals --people he can relate to who are different from most of the people he has encountered in the 20th Century. He is even sometimes superfluous --Mon-El and Ultraboy have essentially the same abilities. I sometimes feel that he uses his time-travel adventures as a form of escapism (like reading a comic book) --leaping into an adventure that in some ways, because it doesn't take place in the "real world", has less consequences. Heck, he can even take a backseat if he wants to!
Interesting observation. That because the future is such a never-never land, there's an element of escapism for Superboy when visiting the Legion.
Incidentally, this is a pretty good explanation for just why, except for one stint as Deputy Leader, Superboy never really was a terribly active Legionnaire.
The idea of Superman leaving the Legion behind as an adult, like they were a youthful indulgence or fantasy, is kind of sad but a great analogy. I just saw Pan's Labyrinth and this theme of "childish things" is really weighing on me. Alan Moore used the trope in the Miracleman stories when he retconned the 1950s Miracleman adventures into a scientifically-induced dream state imagined by the sleeping heroes: the only way to explain how the heroes could fly to Neptune to get some flowers or use magic was to say it was the fever dream of a young boy. I can almost imagine I read a story about when the Legion visit an adult Superman and he laughs at them, thinking they are trying to hoax him with a story about a club of teenage superheroes from the far-future who live in an upside-down rocketship and have names like Brainiac 5 and Lightning Boy. Sort of like a grown-up Peter Pan who has left Neverland behind and forgotten it.
I agree with this but only to a certain extent: that there is a very tragic element to the relationship of Superboy to the Legion, one not specifically stated because it doesn't have to be: eventually, he has to leave them at some point for good. In the Adult Legion story, Superman hadn't returned to the future for some time.
But I don't think Superman would ever laugh at the Legion, because of the Legion's inherent dignity and prestige. He'd sooner laugh at the Justice League. Sure, Matter Eater Lad is a pretty weird character that might be a villain in an issue of the Arnold Drake DOOM PATROL, but otherwise, Legion battles are high-stakes affairs where people die. It's hard to imagine anything with beings as malevolent and cosmically high-powered as Mordru or the Sun-Eater as being happy-go-lucky.
And even the upside-down rocketship was eventually replaced - as early as the Jim Shooter/Curt Swan years - by a facility that covers an entire city block, with a hangarful of Legion cruisers and state of the art weapons. A facility that we later learn is a major tourist attraction.
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