Twenty-five years ago this summer, DC published “The Great Darkness Saga,” a five-part story (with a short prologue) that is almost universally acclaimed as one of the greatest Legion stories of all time. To honor the “GDS”’s silver anniversary, as well as to see if still holds up after all this time, I decided to review it in my usual fashion.
As with my previous reviews, I make no attempt to hide SPOILERS, but I do invite one and all to share their thoughts, insights, and analyses as the thread progresses.
My views are strictly my own and are subject to debate. Feel free to argue (nicely, though) over any point with reasons and support of your own. (You didn’t know this was going to be an exercise in critical thinking, did you?) I particularly love it when someone teaches me something I didn’t know or offers a viewpoint I hadn’t considered, but any and all civil responses are welcome (as if there could be any uncivil responses on LW!)
As usual, I begin with a plot summary, followed by some general observations on the plot, characters, and theme, and then finally a verdict. The only major departure from previous reviews is that my plot summary is longer, to accommodate all the intricacies of the story.
“The Great Darkness Saga” prologue ran as a backup story in Legion of Super-Heroes (v.2) # 287, May 1982, with credits of Paul Levitz, writer, and Pat Broderick and Larry Mahlstedt, artists. The story proper ran in # 290-294, Aug.-Dec. 1982, with credits of Levitz, writer, and Keith Giffen and Mahlstedt, artists. Giffen is listed as co-plotter on # 293-294. In addition, # 291 contains a backup story by Levitz and artists Howard Bender and Rodin Rodriguez.
[ July 03, 2007, 09:40 PM: Message edited by: He Who Wanders ]
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
I. Plot Summary
“Prologue to Darkness” (287)
Mon-El and Shadow Lass are asked to investigate an “uncharted planet” that has “drift[ed] into the middle of major interstellar trade routes.” Finding the world to be a cold and barren place, they accidentally trigger the planet’s automated defense mechanisms. Mon-El takes a beating from the devices, but they mysteriously retreat when Shadow Lass erects her field of darkness.
The two Legionnaires are called away before their investigation can proceed. Unknown to them, their presence has awakened someone who boasts that the darkness will come for them (287).
Chapter One: “And the Servant Shall Be a Sign ...” (290)
Invisible Kid, as a new Legionnaire, is awed by Superboy’s presence as they, along with Wildfire, Cosmic Boy, and Phantom Girl, investigate an attempted robbery at the Museum of Mystic Arts in Metropolis. The curator, Antonio Stefanacci, believes the thief was searching for a newly acquired relic, a very powerful “metachem” (magic wand). His theory proves to be correct, a so-called Servant of Darkness bursts in and steals the metachem. Despite the Legion’s efforts to stop him, the Servant is teleported away in a warp field generated by his unseen “Master.”
At Legion HQ, Chameleon Boy prepares to leave in disgrace, following his disastrous mission to Khundia; Timber Wolf and Saturn Girl have a heart-to-heart talk about their recent intimate encounter; and Dr. Gym’ll is summoned to treat Lightning Lad, who remains unconscious due to electrical dysfunction brought on by the stress of having served as Legion leader, a post from which he recently resigned.
The Legionnaires believe the Servant of Darkness will strike next in London, where King Arthur’s legendary sword, Excalibur, is held. A different Servant does indeed appear and, although the Legionnaires battle him, he makes off with the sword. On an abandoned world somewhere, the Servants’ mysterious master uses the sword’s magical energies to “feed” his growing darkness.
Brainiac 5 believes that the Servants will strike next on Talok VIII, where the mystical Orb of Orthanax is held. Shadow Lass conducts a team of Legionnaires there, and this time, a female Servant attempts to steal the object. When the Legionnaires run interference, a fourth Servant appears and takes the Orb. But the Legionnaires reveal that this was part of their plan, as they now have captured the now inert female Servant.
At Legion HQ, Element Lad, Ultra Boy, and Dream Girl announce their candidacy for Legion leader, but their electioneering is interrupted by news that Chameleon Boy is to be charged by the United Planets with treason.
On the abandoned world, the “Master” absorbs the energies of the Orb of Orthanax and, with his remaining servants, leaves the planet to find more sources of energy.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Chapter Two: “... a Sign of Darkness Dawning” / "Of Leaders and Lovers" (291)
The Legionnaires discover that the female Servant is a “DNA-reversal” clone of Shadow Lass’s heroic ancestor, Lydea Mallor, which unnerves Shadow Lass.
Meanwhile, the Master goes to Avalon, where he frees Mordru from his prison, only to steal the wizard’s mystical energies.
Chameleon Boy learns that even his own lawyer doesn’t think he will be acquitted. Nevertheless, he tells the Legionnaires not to attend his trial.
The Legionnaires have problems of their own, as Dream Girl experiences a vision that her sister, the White Witch, will need their help; a “major disturbance” occurs on Takron-Galtos; and news reaches them that Mordru is free. The Legionnaires divide into teams to deal with these crises.
On Takron-Galtos, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Shadow Lass, and Phantom Girl fight a Servant of Darkness who has already stolen power from the imprisoned Controller who has been impersonating the Time Trapper.
On Avalon, Brainiac 5, Wildfire, Dawnstar, Element Lad, Star Boy, and Timber Wolf discover what’s left of Mordru.
On Naltor, Dream Girl, Light Lass, Invisible Kid, Blok, and Sun Boy prevent the White Witch from being abducted by one of the Servants. During the melee, Invisible Kid comes face-to-face with the Master; the shock of the encounter leaves him with a permanent white streak in the center of his hair. Dream Girl then experiences another horrific vision: this time, the Legionnaires are fighting the Servants of Darkness on the Sorcerer’s World and lose.
Back at Legion HQ, the female Servant awakens and nearly kills Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl. But Saturn Girl is able to stimulate the brain of the still-comatose Lightning Lad, who revives long enough to zap the creature. While he slowly recovers, Cos and Saturn Girl discover that Dream Girl has won the election.
[ July 03, 2007, 09:42 PM: Message edited by: He Who Wanders ]
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Chapter Three: “Darkness Transcendent” (292)
Mon-El and his team help with the clean-up on Takron-Galtos and leave, just missing the arrival of a new prisoner – the newly convicted Chameleon Boy.
Mon-El’s team arrives on the Sorcerer’s World, where they are attacked by the four remaining Servants of Darkness. Mon-El takes the battle directly to the Master – whose face he recognizes. But before Mon-El can inform the rest of the Legion, he is blasted by the Master and left in a coma. Further, the Master learns from his brief contact with Mon-El’s mind about the latter’s homeworld, Daxam.
At Legion HQ, Cos, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad analyze the other Servants with the Legion’s computer and learn, to their astonishment, that two of them are clones of a Guardian of Oa and Superman.
On the Sorcerer’s World, Dream Girl and her team, plus the White Witch, have trouble convincing the teachers to take their warning seriously – that is, until a vortex appears and siphons off the planet’s mystical energies. The Legionnaires engage the Servants in battle and are ultimately defeated, as Dream Girl foretold. But their efforts prevent the Master from seeing what the teachers are up to: they cast a spell, which, while it costs two teachers their lives, summons forth the means to defeat the Master – a small baby.
Cos, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad decide that the Legion needs help in defeating this menace. They summon the members who are on leave or absent: Superboy, Queen Projectra and Karate Kid, Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet, and Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel.
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Chapter Four: “Within the Darkness ...” (293)
Dream Girl sends the Legionnaires out to search for the Master. Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl, and Shadow Lass find the Master’s deserted world of origin, only to be attacked and defeated by the Servants.
On Takron-Galtos, Chameleon Boy receives a visit from his father, R.J. Brande. Despite their differences, Cham embraces his father for the first time.
The Master arrives on Daxam, where he enslaves the planets’ entire population of three billion. He then transposes Daxam with his own world, where the yellow sun of the latter transforms the Daxamites into super-powered slaves. He orders them to transform their world into a likeness of his image, and then sends them out to conquer the universe on his behalf.
Dawnstar, accompanied by Wildfire, tracks the Master’s energies to what should be Daxam. Instead, they find the dead world and the unconscious Phantom Girl, Shadow Lass, and Ultra Boy. They summon Element Lad’s team, and all are again attacked by the Servants. This time, Superboy joins the fight and Element Lad and Timber Wolf are able to destroy the Superman-clone Servant. Observing the dead world around them, Brainy realizes the identity of their enemy.
As the Daxamite slaves finish transforming their world, the Master stands revealed: Darkseid.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Chapter Five: “Darkseid” (294)
After learning Darkseid’s identity, Dream Girl sends out a second call for arms, bringing in the Substitutes, Supergirl, the Heroes of Lallor (who recruit Dev-Em in the process), and the Wanderers, who battle the Daxamite armies.
Meanwhile, the Legionnaires observe that the baby summoned by the teachers of the Sorcerer’s Worlds has now grown into a young boy in a matter of hours. However, the Master now knows of the child’s existence and sends one of his Servants to claim him. The Legionnaires resist to no avail. The Servant destroys their ship and kidnaps the child.
A single Daxamite boy (later named Ol-Vir) lays waste to Takron-Galtos in a deadly “hide-and-seek” game with Chameleon Boy. Nevertheless, Cham tricks the youth into entering the cage of Validus, where the monster will “keep that kid busy.”
Floating in space with the unconscious Legionnaires, the White Witch bemoans her limited magical abilities and wishes there was something she could do. Before she passes out, her powers alert Saturn Girl’s team of Legionnaires, who rescue her and the others. The Legionnaires gather materials the White Witch will need in order to duplicate Darkseid’s space warp. In spite of her low opinion of her abilities, the White Witch performs the spell and sends the Legionnaires into a Boom Tube of her creation.
At Legion HQ, the female Servant is again revived but defeated this time by Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet (really Yera, as we later find out).
On Daxam, the Legionnaires battle the Daxamite slaves, but are defeated when Darkseid uses their own fears against them. Shadow Lass, the last standing Legionnaire, uses her power to protect the child by encasing him in a sphere of darkness. Darkseid sends his remaining Servant (his “son”) into the sphere to retrieve the child, but when the darkness vanishes, Darkseid comes face to face with Highfather (the child, now fully grown) and Orion (Darkseid’s son, transformed by Highfather back into his former identity).
Orion battles Darkseid, apparently in fulfillment of a prophecy that the latter will be killed by his own son. But this Orion is merely a construct of Darkseid’s and is thus destroyed. Highfather, who hasn’t had the centuries of rest that Darkseid has had, fades from this realm, too, but not before he restores the Legionnaires and sets them against the villain.
As the Legion renews its assault on Darkseid, the dark god realizes that his attention has been divided and he cannot retain control over his Daxamite slaves. As the former slaves fly into battle against him, Darkseid realizes that defeat is imminent and vanishes – but not before cursing the Legion.
Afterwards, the White Witch joins the Legion, but Light Lass announces she is quitting and wants Timber Wolf to come with her. Brainiac 5 and Supergirl share a moment in which he tells her he’s over his teenage crush on her; Supergirl calls him cute and takes off, leaving Querl to wonder if his timing isn’t off.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
II. General impressions and observations
A. Evaluation of Plot
1. In spite of occasional plot flaws (see below), Levitz does an outstanding job of managing the Legion’s large cast, of helping the reader keep track of an army of characters and locales, and of making sense of the overall story. These management skills would noticeably be absent from “The Magic Wars” and even “Conspiracy.”
2. Twice in this story, the Legionnaires serve as a means of distracting Darkseid while someone else performs a more decisive action. On the Sorcerers’ World, the teachers summon forth the baby Izaya while the Legionnaires keep Darkseid and his servants busy. On Daxam, the Legionnaires prevent Darkseid from realizing that he’s lost control over three billion Daxamite slaves. This illustrates one of the problems of using an all-powerful villain; “human” heroes such as the Legion can defeat him only indirectly, by relying on help from far more powerful forces.
3. How could an uncharted planet drift into trade routes while still orbiting its yellow sun, and not be discovered before?
4. This story is a good example of how to plot a super-hero story, as there are very few scenes that don’t belong or could be jettisoned without damaging the overall story. For example, there is no reason for the female Servant to wreak havoc at Legion HQ twice, other than to give screen time to Legionnaires who are far removed from the main reaction (Cos, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad in the first instance; Shrinking Violet and Colossal Boy in the second). The second instance, however, is noteworthy since we find out later that “Violet” is really the Durlan Yera, who nevertheless acts heroically.
5. Likewise, Superboy’s contribution to the fight against his clone is negligible (why didn’t Element Lad use gold kryptonite to strip the clone of his powers at the onset of the battle?), but it just “feels good” to see Superboy fly into the “camera” against his doppelganger. This moment is on par with William Shatner’s appearance as Kirk toward the climax of Star Trek: Generations. There’s a sense that the villain is really in for it, now.
6. There is also no particular reason for Darkseid to send a Daxamite youth after Chameleon Boy, who is in prison and poses no threat. (The captions suggest that the youth may be acting independently, which makes one wonder how much control Darkseid had over his slaves to begin with.) Nevertheless, this is one of the most memorable scenes of the story.
7. This story and “The Magic Wars” serve as bookends to Levitz and Giffen’s lengthy, if sporadic, collaboration. Both begin at the Museum of Mystic Arts and feature curator Antonio Stefanacci. In “GDS”, an object is stolen from the museum. In “MW”, objects at the museum that shouldn’t be magical suddenly have magical powers
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B. Evaluation of Dialogue and Art
1. The dialogue, like the plot, exercises restraint and economy. There are references to past Legion stories, but they are kept to a minimum and most have some bearing on the story. For example, the White Witch mentions that most of the Legionnaires have met her only once or twice (in fact, they’ve met her twice: in Adventure Comics # 351 and 370). Also, one of the mystical objects stolen is King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, which was found by Supergirl as part of her Legion initiation test back in Action Comics # 276. These references accent the story without hitting the reader over the head with useless trivia, as Levitz would do in later stories.
2. Giffen’s layouts are imaginative without being distracting. (Look, for example, at the full-page image of the Daxamite slaves being superimposed over Darkseid’s face on page 37 of # 294). He draws full faces, figures, and backgrounds, and conveys a lot of power in the Jack Kirby vein while moving the action along quickly and efficiently. Larry Mahlstedt’s inking conveys a mood of darkness as a threat without resorting to murkiness or loss of clarity in the images. It’s hard to view Giffen’s later work as an improvement over this immaculately drawn and designed portfolio.
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C. Use of characters
1. Superboy is featured prominently in the first issue (# 290), but then disappears from most of the rest of the story (except for a few inconsequential appearances, including being quickly sent away by Darkseid from the final battle). This was a fairly common practice at the time, and allowed the writers to rotate the Legion’s large cast to feature different members. However, I felt Superboy’s absence left a hole in the story, particularly when Mon-El shows up in the second issue. I kept thinking that if I were a new reader, I’d wonder if Mon-El was intended as a replacement for Superboy. (In some ways, that’s how Mon functions in this story.) While that’s not a bad thing in and of itself, it felt contrived.
2. Mon-El, however, plays an essential role in the plot later on. While good use is made of the fact that Mon’s long imprisonment in the Phantom Zone enables him to recognize Darkseid, does anyone else wonder why he doesn’t recognize Apokalips in # 287? Also, while Mon’s Daxamite origin is used to further the plot, he is too conveniently removed from the rest of the story.
3. Superboy’s quick dismissal from the finale does at least enable us to see Supergirl in action – for the first time in many years in a Legion story. There’s not much to really say about Kara’s appearance here, unfortunately; she basically serves as a Superboy surrogate, except for her last -page teasing of Brainiac 5.
4. Dream Girl is elected leader in the middle of this story, in spite of the snickering of some members when she announces her candidacy. One might suppose that the majority vote for her by default, as they quickly tire of Element Lad and Ultra Boy’s constant campaigning. In any case, Nura’s transition to power is smooth, in spite of the fact that the Legion is in the midst of a major battle. Compare, for example, how Wildfire ruffled feathers when he took over a few years earlier. One might interpret this smooth transition as a vote of confidence for Nura, who had served as a Legionnaire much longer than Drake, or perhaps her ability to “handle” men is better received than Wildfire’s abrasive personality.
5. Element Lad, however, blows up at Dream Girl and announces that he will resign as deputy leader when this mission is over. This seems out of character for the loyal and long-serving Jan, but it makes sense. In # 290, he says he’s grown to like the job of leading and now wants it in his own right. That the Legionnaires didn’t share his confidence must have come as a personal blow.
6. Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl have most of their scenes together, which firmly establishes their exalted position as Legion founders. (It was well known, of course, that they had founded the Legion, but this fact hadn’t been emphasized in most stories.) In some ways, setting them up as kings and queen of the Legion seems a bit overdone and contrived, as they are removed from most of the action until very late. Saturn Girl spends most of her time watching over the injured Garth, and then the three of them work the computer and summon reinforcements. The only one who factors into the main plot is Cos, in # 290. It’s almost as if Levitz was revealing his fanboy stripes by emphasizing their founder status this late in the Legion’s career.
7. Although the following examples aren’t major enough to qualify as a theme, this story provides some evidence that Levitz and Giffen were already paving the way for the Legionnaires to grow up, even at this early stage in their collaboration. Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy have already abandoned their bikini-type costumes for dynamic outfits that cover their entire bodies. Shadow Lass, whose bikini costume is destroyed in # 291, spends the rest of the story wearing a borrowed Science Police “body stocking.” (She had plenty of time to don a spare costume, as Mon-El and Phantom Girl apparently did.) The notion that the Legionnaires no longer deem it necessary to show off their bodies suggests that they’ve moved beyond adolescent fascination with sexuality.
8. Other examples of growing up: Queen Projectra confides to Karate Kid that she no longer feels meaning in her Legion career; Light Lass, too, says that being a Legionnaire is no longer what she wants to do with her life; Brainiac 5 confesses, perhaps prematurely, that he’s over his crush on Supergirl.
9. My favorite character moment of the entire story is Chameleon Boy’s tearful reunion with R.J. Brande. This is one of the rare moments of actual character development during this period, as Cham’s strained relationship with his father is finally resolved. (A story in which they bond further is found in # 301.)
10. Darkseid (as with Levitz’s later villains, the Time Trapper and the Archmage) is a godlike villain whose sole purpose is to conquer the universe. This story works, however, as Darkseid’s identity is kept a mystery until the penultimate issue, leaving the reader guessing. Even in retrospect, it’s fun to search this story for clues as to the villain’s identity.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
C. Themes
1. The basic theme is light versus darkness, which is a common and well-worn theme in super-hero stories. Actually, the story’s use of this theme is similar to that found in the fourth season of the 1990s TV series, Babylon 5. In that show, humans and aliens are caught between opposing forces of chaos and order, but eventually tell both godlike races to get lost. The Legionnaires don’t have to bother, as Izaya (the representative of light and order) is conveniently removed from the final battle. Nevertheless, both “GDS” and B5 echo the common theme of much of western literature: man has to find his own answers to the conflict of good versus evil.
2. A minor theme is learning to believe in oneself, as embodied by the White Witch. Mysa complains that outsiders often think that magic can accomplish anything, then further tells us not to expect much from her as she’s really little more than an apprentice. It comes as no surprise, then, that she plays a pivotal role in the final battle with Darkseid, albeit with some assist from Izaya. It is also no surprise that she becomes a Legionnaire afterwards.
3. Another minor theme is touched on briefly when the White Witch wonders what it is about the Legion that inspires loyalty in its members against overwhelming odds such as Darkseid. This idea is worthy of exploration as it comes just after Mysa’s sister, Dream Girl, has been elected leader, in spite of the snickers of some Legionnaires when she first announced her candidacy. Once Dream Girl is elected, though, no one questions her capacity to lead and everyone falls in line, as expected. This says a lot about the Legion’s ability to function as a team, regardless of who is in charge. Unfortunately, this theme is mentioned once and then forgotten.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
III. The Verdict
“The Great Darkness Saga” holds up exceptionally well as a prime example of the super-hero genre at its best. It remains an exciting and engaging story. I found myself cheering and laughing at the right moments all over again, and becoming engrossed in the mystery of the villain’s identity. When a reader knows what is going to happen but wants to see it happen anyway, this demonstrates the writer’s mastery of suspension of disbelief.
Later stories by Giffen and Tom and Mary Bierbaum would contain more depth than “The Great Darkness Saga.” They would challenge the reader’s familiarity with these long favorite characters and explore the boundaries of what super-hero comics could be. “The Great Darkness Saga” doesn’t do any of that, but then it doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is: a well-conceived and executed story about good guys and bad guys.
“The Great Darkness Saga” does not even contain significant consequences for the Legion. Light Lass quits, but later rejoins (as Lightning Lass). Darkseid’s curse eventually affects Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl’s future son, Garridan, who becomes Validus, but is later transformed into a normal child. In Levitz’s earlier “Earthwar,” he attempted to show meaningful consequences of the war by plunging earth into a depression (which led to a memorable subplot of the president embezzling funds from R.J. Brande in order to help the poor) – a development that lasted for some time. The closest equivalent to this in “GDS” is the transformation of Daxam into a likeness of Darkseid. But, within a few issues, we are shown that the Daxamites are well underway in restoring their planet to its former glory.
Perhaps the lasting legacy of “GDS” is that it showed how well done a Legion story could be that involves the entire membership and a villain worthy enough to merit their attention. But it also shows, in hindsight, how rare such stories should be. No subsequent effort in either the original continuity or the reboot matched the intricacies in plot and characterization of “GDS”. (I can’t speak of the “threeboot,” which I haven’t read.) Even Levitz’s own “LSV War,” which had its moments of greatness, lacked the cohesiveness of this story.
Perhaps even more significantly, “GDS” showed how good a story can be that is actually worth taking five full issues or more to tell. These days, such stories tend to be padded and drawn out in an attempt to fill out trade editions. But, in 1982, when there was no thought of collecting comic book stories into some kind of anthology, and when the price of each issue was a mere 60 cents (except for the extra-length finale, which cost $1), Levitz and Giffen delivered more bang for the buck. They created a densely plotted (if not densely layered) tale that stands the test of time and comes as close as any super-hero story does to fitting the much bandied about term of “epic.”
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
I agree with pretty much everything you say.
The biggest weakness in the story, as far as I'm concerned, is that Darkseid doesn't really have much of a clear plan/motivation.
But, other than that, I would agree that this is one of the few five-issue "epics" that really lives up to the hype.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Darkseid's plan appears to be "to take over the universe," which at least gives him a somewhat more credible motivation than the Time Trapper. The Trapper already controls the universe and all of time, apparently. It's unclear why he needs the ego strokes of mass supplication that Darksie apparently needs.
Posted by Jerry on :
Excellent job, as always, with the recap and analysis HWW. I agree with most of what you say. The only reservation I had about Great Darkness was the use of Darkseid, at all. It just felt, to me, that he was pretty overused at the time. Not a deal breaker, though.
You say that "Levitz did an outstanding job of managing the Legion's large cast". That, I beleive, is the main strength of Great Darkness, and something that, as you point out, has rarely happened since.
And, wow. Has it really been 25 years ?!?!
[ July 03, 2007, 01:41 PM: Message edited by: Jerry ]
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
IMO, this is truly the greatest Legion story ever told. It is epic in the true definition of the world. Of course, it is not without flaws, as HWW and others have pointed out. But it is truly great—one of the best comic book stories of all time. Certainly the best Darkseid story…I think Kirby must have been proud of his creation being used here.
The idea of using all of Daxam as a weapon is pure brilliance. The build to Darkseid, with the clues, and the gradual reveal of each servant other than the New Gods, was very well done. It was very well done in literary terms.
One must remember that this came out at a time before Crisis and Legends and other epics. Darkseid had only appeared briefly in JLA and Superman up until now. He was fresh and terrifying and coming into his own as a DCU player. Highfather coming to them as a baby was brilliant as well. Not a new concept, but one new to comic books. And his gradual growth to their ultimate weapon was great, particularly the reveal with Shady and Orion emerging from the Servant (even a faux Orion). Funny how CoIE would mimic this baby-to-great-weapon with Alexander Luthor.
Indeed, Levitz excelled above all at pacing, mixed with characterization. Dream Girl emerged as a leader and a star. Jacques endeared himself to me. Mysa emerged as a character who previously barely got a second thought but now was complex and interesting. Wildfire had never been better. Dawnstar, Star Boy and others had distinct personalities. The Founders for the first time had that ‘us three together’ sense that up until then, I never really saw. And each chapter led to the next, with a sense of gradual building into something epic and amazing.
But the main star was the Legion mythos. Superboy and Supergirl’s battle with Darkseid showed that at its most blatant, but we also saw the Subs, the Wanders, etc. We saw the election as a prominent theme. RJ Brande was a player earlier in the story with Cham. Darkseid using their own fears against them brought back themes over the previous 20 years.
Here is where Levitz won us all over, with characterization and private moments being so prominent on such a large scale story. The pacing of the issues was spot-on, and the ability to weave in many Legion traditions, while giving us new themes and concepts (Sorcerer’s World, etc.) was excellent.
I’ve read it tons and tons of times, I even bought the trade to bring on vacation, despite owning the issues. Its worth it still. It also has the best quote, per the White Witch: “Never have I seen the Legion more proud, than I do now, in its darkest moments.” (I’m paraphrasing…can’t remember exactly )
quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders: III. The VerdictPerhaps the lasting legacy of “GDS” is that it showed how well done a Legion story could be that involves the entire membership and a villain worthy enough to merit their attention. But it also shows, in hindsight, how rare such stories should be. No subsequent effort in either the original continuity or the reboot matched the intricacies in plot and characterization of “GDS”. (I can’t speak of the “threeboot,” which I haven’t read.) Even Levitz’s own “LSV War,” which had its moments of greatness, lacked the cohesiveness of this story.
Perhaps even more significantly, “GDS” showed how good a story can be that is actually worth taking five full issues or more to tell. These days, such stories tend to be padded and drawn out in an attempt to fill out trade editions. But, in 1982, when there was no thought of collecting comic book stories into some kind of anthology, and when the price of each issue was a mere 60 cents (except for the extra-length finale, which cost $1), Levitz and Giffen delivered more bang for the buck. They created a densely plotted (if not densely layered) tale that stands the test of time and comes as close as any super-hero story does to fitting the much bandied about term of “epic.”
Well said, and I agree 100%.
Great review HWW!
Posted by jimgallagher on :
This was indeed an awesome story, but the writer made a major booboo which detracts from the success of the story IMHO. White Witch used a spell to transfer all of the protagonists back to Apokolips, which was now under Daxam's red sun. Later, Darkseid gives up because the Legion's allies are leading the Daxamite army against him. Hello? The Daxamite army would've been unable to enter the red sun system without dying in space and therefore posed no threat to him. If they'd simply left out the White Witch casting that spell, the plot would've held together better.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
I always thought the reshaping of Daxam into Darkseid's image was way over the top. Even in the "Superman Under a Blue Sun" story that inspired it, they don't literally re-shape the whole planet into the guy's image, but just dig a giant trench visible from space in the shape of the guy.
I always find myself wondering about all of the lifeforms on Daxam. I assume they would gain super-powers under the yellow sun as well, and so weren't just wiped out with the destruction of Daxam's ecosystem, but it would've been nice to have some kind of reference to them.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: One must remember that this came out at a time before Crisis and Legends and other epics. Darkseid had only appeared briefly in JLA and Superman up until now. He was fresh and terrifying and coming into his own as a DCU player.
Good point about the historical perspective, Cobie. I had only encountered Darkseid previously in the short-lived Return of the New Gods series and the JLA story you mention. I think "GDS" is where he really stepped up to become one of DC's major villains.
quote:Highfather coming to them as a baby was brilliant as well. Not a new concept, but one new to comic books.
The idea had also been used with Immortus in Avengers Annual # 10, which came out a year or two earlier. Of course, that story was much more controversial ...
quote:But the main star was the Legion mythos. Superboy and Supergirl’s battle with Darkseid showed that at its most blatant, but we also saw the Subs, the Wanders, etc. We saw the election as a prominent theme. RJ Brande was a player earlier in the story with Cham. Darkseid using their own fears against them brought back themes over the previous 20 years.
Indeed. It's amazing how many characters, settings, and nods to past stories were woven into "GDS". And most of it wasn't distracting, as would happen in some of Levitz's later stories.
The only parts I found distracting, in fact, were highlighting the founders, as I mentioned above, and Duo Damsel mentioning twice that she felt guilty for not aiding the Legion during the recent Computo scare (LSH (v.2) Annual # 1).
quote:Great review HWW!
Thanks.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by jimgallagher: This was indeed an awesome story, but the writer made a major booboo which detracts from the success of the story IMHO. White Witch used a spell to transfer all of the protagonists back to Apokolips, which was now under Daxam's red sun.
Actually, the final battle takes place on Daxam, as indicated by the caption on page 20 of # 294.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: I always thought the reshaping of Daxam into Darkseid's image was way over the top. Even in the "Superman Under a Blue Sun" story that inspired it, they don't literally re-shape the whole planet into the guy's image, but just dig a giant trench visible from space in the shape of the guy.
I never read "Superman Under a Blue Sun." Did Darkseid have access to a planetful of slaves who could reshape the world in that story?
You make an excellent point about the animals, vegetation, and other lifeforms of Daxam, Eryk. One would imagine that reshaping a world would destroy many species and completely disrupt the food chain. It should therefore take Daxam much longer to recover than shown.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
It's not about Darkseid. Superman is trapped powerless on this planet ruled by this evil Hitler-esque dictator who has the planet's population enslaved and working on some mysterious project, which turns out to be basically carving his visage on the planet's surface so that it's visible from space.
Levitz acknowledges in the GDS TPB that this is where he got the idea for having Darkseid do something similar.
Posted by Jerry on :
Darkseid had been featured prominantly in the Return of the New Gods, which extended into Adventure Comics. He played a role in the late 70's Mister Miricle revival. Other appearances included Secret Society of Super Villians, Super Team Family, JLA, and the Teen Titans/X-Men team up. Not long after Great Darkness, he was used heavily in the Super Freinds cartoon.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
I had forgotten about Darkseid's appearances in SSOSV, Jerry. That book started out with such promise and then degenerated into DC's version of Super-Villain Team-Up. The Darkseid story wasn't satisfactorily resolved. Darkseid tried to leave in a Boom Tube and the Manhunter jumped in after him, then everything went kablooey! Next issue (or actually the rest of the same issue): different story line, different purpose, everything.
But Darksy got around more than I thought. I just didn't follow most of those series.
Posted by Jerry on :
Yeah, Secret Society was pretty weak. I can understand you not having Super Team Family, but come on, you've got to have the Teen Titans/X-Men...
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
I do have TT/X, but it came out after "The Great Darkness Saga," didn't it?
My main memory of that story is that I was disappointed that it took place on a "parallel earth" where the Titans and X-Men coexisted. I was looking forward to the "real" Titans and X-Men meeting.
Posted by Mystery Lad on :
THE GREAT DARKNESS brought me back to comics. When I went to college, I thought I'd 'outgrown' superheroes (and I was broke). I still stopped by a comics shop whenever I was near one for other reasons (Ha!), and leafed through LSH, Teen Titans, X-men, Avengers and Fantastic Four.
Giffen's depictions of the Teachers of Sorcerer's World, that world itself, the massive swarm of Wanderers, Lallorians and Daxamites in flight prompted me to buy a comic again for the first time in a couple of years. Of course, I had to get the prologue issues, the Computo annual and the first couple of GREAT DARKNESS chapters.
I was re-hooked, and have been ever since.
When I think of this storyline, I first remember Gas Girl in flight, of all things. Then I think of the sheer inventiveness of the visuals of the Teachers. Next, I recall how impressed I was with Light Lass and Shadow Lass when they faced Darkseid.
Dream Girl as leader? 'Bout time Saturn Girl had someone from the girls' side of the clubhouse to join her in the leader's circle.
Shrinking Violet in the Shadow-thingie's bloodstream-- too bad it turned out to be Yera, since that was one of Vi's coolest moments ever.
I guess Darkseid'd been around a bit then, but he wasn't nearly as overexposed as Luthor or Joker. I remember being surprised. Actually, the identities of his Servants was the mystery I was most interested in. I'm still waiting for the heroine that's Shadow Lass's ancestor to step up and earn her place in the line-up of Servants of Darkness. (The gals in L.E.G.I.O.N. haven't done anything significant to warrant Darkseid's notice, that I know of...)
Here's hoping the Legion gets an epic on a par with this one in its 50th anniversary year.
Posted by jimgallagher on :
quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders:
quote:Originally posted by jimgallagher: This was indeed an awesome story, but the writer made a major booboo which detracts from the success of the story IMHO. White Witch used a spell to transfer all of the protagonists back to Apokolips, which was now under Daxam's red sun.
Actually, the final battle takes place on Daxam, as indicated by the caption on page 20 of # 294.
Yes, but on the bottom of page 22, the White Witch transfers everyone to Apokolips. I guess so the prophecy about Orion killing Darksein on Apokolips could come true. Superboy even says that they're under a red sun. Also, Element Lad uses lead to shield Superboy from gold kryptonite while using it to depower the Superman clone. But hasn't it been long established that Superboy/man is immune to kryptonite when under a red sun?
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by jimgallagher: Yes, but on the bottom of page 22, the White Witch transfers everyone to Apokolips. I guess so the prophecy about Orion killing Darksein on Apokolips could come true. Superboy even says that they're under a red sun.
You're right, Jim. I completely missed that.
Don't know about the kryptonite question, though.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Hadn't Superboy been granted the gift of powers under a red sun? Presumably that would also make him vulnerable to kryptonite as well.
Posted by jimgallagher on :
That was later in the story, EDE.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Oh well. I tried. Posted by He Who Wanders on :
In the sequence Jim is describing, the Legionnaires arrive on Apokolips, which is now orbiting Daxam's red sun. Superboy also arrives, having been equipped with "micro-circuitry" created by Brainiac 5 to give him powers under a red sun. Superboy tussles with Superman-clone Servant until the micro-circuitry is destroyed. At that point, E-Lad encases Superboy in a lead shield and then turns nearby rocks into gold kryptonite, depriving the Servant of his powers, whereupon Timber Wolf smashes the Servant into bits. (This all happens in # 293.)
One might suppose that Element Lad didn't know that Superboy was already protected from gold K under a red sun. After all, Superboy didn't have many adventures near a red sun during his time with the Legion. Or the lead case may have been an extra precaution. Who knows how the "micro-circuitry" affected Kal's physiology?
A bigger problem, as I said earlier, is why didn't E-Lad just turn the nearby rocks into gold K at the onset of the battle and thereby save Superboy a beating? I mean, sure, the battle was dramatic, but not very logical.
Posted by jimgallagher on :
But Superboy aside, the gold K shouldn't have affected the Superman clone under a red sun either because he too should've been powerless already.
Another not very logical part of the story is this: If Darkseid is powerful enough to mentally enslave the entire Daxamite race, why didn't he just enslave the Legion as well?
But I don't want to pick the story apart. It was a great read and I enjoyed rereading it so I could discuss it on this thread.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Good points, Jim.
One might suppose that if Brainy could rig up some micro-circuitry to keep Superboy powered, then Darkseid should have been able to do something similar.
I like picking stories apart. It makes me appreciate their strengths even more.
Posted by Ultra Jorge on :
I just read this a couple of years ago and don't remember it. Will read ASAP.
Posted by Insaniac5 on :
quote:Originally posted by Ultra Jorge: I just read this a couple of years ago and don't remember it. Will read ASAP.
I just read it 6 months ago and much of it has already leaked out of my sievelike brain. :-( Still, I do rememeber that it was an INCREDIBLE story. Too bad Darkseid isn't that much of a bad@ss anymore.
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Will read ASAP.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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It makes me appreciate their strengths even more.