posted
The Legion of Super-Heroes teamed up with Superman in “DC Comics Presents” #13. It was the first installment in a three-part saga that dealt with the fate of, Jon Ross, the son of Pete Ross. The issue had a cover date of September 1979. Paul Levitz wrote all three stories. Dick Dillin did the pencils.
Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, and Dawnstar take a time bubble back to Superman’s time. Superman is in the process of intervening in an intergalactic war. One of the alien races, the Nyrvnians, are cosmic kidnappers who steal people from other worlds to become warriors. They have been at war for centuries. An outraged Superman vows to disarm the planet. The four Legionnaires appear, perched on top of the time bubble. Saturn Girl sends Superman a telepathic message to stop intervening. The Legionnaires explain that between the present and the 30th century, Earth has to form an alliance with the Nyrvnians to repel an alien invasion. In order to win, the alliance depends upon weapons that have been developed during thousands of years of uninterrupted war. Superman objects to allowing the war to continue when he has the power to stop it. The Legionnaires convince him that there is no way he can change history. Superman finally puts his trust in Saturn Girl and heads back toward Earth. After Superman leaves, the Legionnaires intervene in the war just enough to save lives until the Nyrvnian fleet gets orders to end the attack.
Back on Earth, the adult Pete Ross, bursts into the Daily Planet office and tells Clark Kent that his son, Jon, has been kidnapped. Pete reveals that he knows Clark is Superman and pleads for him to save his son. It turns out that Jon Ross has been kidnapped by the Nyrvnians.
Meanwhile, the Legionnaires are meeting with young Jon Ross on Nyrvn. They tell him that he is destined to become a great warrior and will one day save the whole galaxy. Jon Ross wants nothing to do with this. Saturn Girl reads his mind and learns that knows Superman’s identity of Clark Kent. They realize that Superman will be back. As Superman again tries to intervene, Dawnstar flies upon him and adds her speed to his, causing the two of them to break the time barrier. They witness the great battle that Jon Ross is destined to lead. Dawnstar explains to Superman how important it is for him not to interfere. He doesn’t buy it and attempts to stop the war. He is injured by a Nyrvnian weapon. The Legionnaires pull him into the time bubble to recover. As he regains consciousness, Saturn Girl reads his mind and discovers he has a plan. They return to the present, and the Legionnaires help him bring Superman robots, that can no longer function on Earth, to Nyrvn. They essentially build a giant war game that will allow the development of weapons without the loss of a single life. Jon Ross will remain and become the leader he is destined to be.
In the epilogue, Superman attempts to explain to Pete Ross why his son can’t return home and how some things are beyond his control. Pete says he will never forgive Superman. Pete tells Superman that he has taken his son and he will pay for that. Pete sneers into the final panel and vows “By God, I swear you will pay!”
[ October 11, 2008, 08:56 PM: Message edited by: Jerry ]
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From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
The story picks back up in “DC Comics Presents “ #14. The Legion has gone back to the future. The issue features a showdown between Superman and Superboy. It’s actually Pete Ross’s mind in Superboy’s body. Pete uses his wealth to access some of Lex Luthor’s weapons. With them, he manages to bring Superboy to 1979 and switch minds with him. He kidnaps Lois, Jimmy, Perry, Lana, and Steve. He captures Superman and forces his friends to be jurors and witnesses to Superman’s execution. Superboy/Pete is attempting to execute Superman with a big bazooka that shoots kryptonite. Superboy’s mind remains in Smallville in Pete’s bound body. He manages an escape, goes to the old Kent home, finds a dog whistle, and manages to summon Krypto from space. Krypto attacks “Pete in Superboy’s body” and saves the day.
The fate of Jon Ross is left unresolved for almost a year. It finally wraps up in “DC Comics Presents” # 25. The guest star is the Phantom Stranger. Pete Ross is mad and locked up in an asylum. The story opens with him ripping up pictures of Superman. Superman is in the Fortress. He feels sudden pain. The Phantom Stranger appears. He reveals that Superman is being weakened by magic. Pete Ross has decided to use magic against Superman since his previous attempt with Luthor’s scientific weapons failed. He is allied with the Phantom Stranger villain Tala, Queen of Darkness. Superman is prompted to fly to Nyrvn to retrieve Jon Ross while the Stranger and Tala do battle on Earth. Jon Ross expresses dismay that it took Superman so long to return. Jon describes his encounter with the Legionnaires and says that he didn’t believe them. Superman says that sometimes kids are smarter than adults, he doesn’t know what destiny will bring, but no child will grow up as an orphan on an alien world while there is breath in his body to prevent it. He takes Jon Ross back to Earth and to the asylum where Pete is. Superman says that he still believes there are things beyond his control but that he had forgotten the old cliché, “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again!” The three embrace. Phantom Stranger wins his battle and Lois and Clark have a sweet moment in the epilogue.
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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This story has a lot of obvious flaws. It’s not without merit for Legion fans, though. A while back, I posted about the 1977 JLA/JSA/Legion team up published in the “Justice League of America”. I was critical of Dick Dillin’s artwork on that project. His work here is much better. It’s probably the combination of Dick Giordano’s inks and the smaller cast. The four Legionnaires presented here look great. The cover is one of my favorite Dillin covers. It’s an outer space scene with Superman flying up from the bottom right. The four serious looking Legionnaires hover above him while alien spaceships swirl in the background. It’s the perfect setting for Dawnstar and she looks terrific. Lightning Lad has a yellow electric charge snaking between his hands. Sun Boy takes center stage and has light radiating around him. Looking back at the cover put me in mind of a recent post here on Legion World that asked if Dirk’s costume is iconic and if it could have been improved on. Weighty topic. It looks good in this shot. Imra is at her pink bikini and Farrah hair best. I guess Legion fans will always debate the merits of the look. Dillin pulls it off. She looks like a serious, formidable and exotic hero.
Good decision by Levitz to use only four Legionnaires. Superman gets most of the action so there wouldn’t have been room for any more to get dialogue or attention. I wonder why he chose these four? It’s a good team, but they have more dialogue than action. In the previously mentioned JLA/JSA/Legion team up, Superman was dismissive of the Legion because of their young age. That’s corrected here. Superman takes them seriously and trusts them because of their history and friendship. There is a scene where they do get some action against the Nyrvnian war fleet. It is a single page that is cleverly divided into four panels. Each Legionnaire gets his or her own panel. The script and art work well together and it is a good use of limited space.
Garth takes the lead in interacting with young Jon Ross. He comes across as compassionate and as a comforter. You get a sense of the solid father that he will become. A far cry from Geoff John’s recently re-imagined wisecracking practical joker version of the character.
I have mixed feelings about the scene where Dawnstar “adds her speed” to Superman’s and propels him to the future. I’m an advocate of the position that Dawnstar was one of the most powerful Legionnaires. This presentation lends credibility to that argument. I’m not a fan of the of the silver age concept that Superman/Superboy could break the time barrier by flying at super speed. Neat trick, but it never made sense to me. How exactly would that work? How would he know when or where to stop? That problem is compounded here because Dawnstar seems to control the time in which they stop with awesome precision. She was never shown to be able to break the time barrier on her own. How could she have been so accurate her first time with this trick? It defies logic, even 1970’s comic book logic.
If you think too hard about the time travel elements of this story it falls apart pretty quickly. Why exactly did the Legion choose this moment in time to intervene? If they believed that Superman couldn’t really change history/destiny, why did they bother to intervene at all? Where were they when Superman went back to get Jon Ross in the Phantom Stranger conclusion? The time travel elements get confusing in the second part of the story as well. Could Superboy and Superman really exist in the same time at the same place? DC never really answered that question. It seemed to be whatever worked best for the story in question. Pete seemed to be able to gain access to Luthor’s time travel device pretty easily. The whole concept of time travel was treated a bit too casually for my taste.
Another disappointment was that the Legion didn’t interact with Pete Ross. He was an honorary Legionnaire. They should have taken their case directly to him.
In spite of the flaws, I liked this story. I really loved “DC Comics Presents”. It was fun to see Superman team up with other characters in the DC universe. It was fitting that the Legion made an appearance fairly early in the run. In spite of the confusing time travel concepts, we got to see Superman face a unique moral dilemma. It was interesting and the fate of Jon Ross was compelling enough so that the story could be drawn out over a few issues. The Legion was well represented by the four members chosen, and Levitz’s care for the team and his skill at handling the characters were evident.
[ October 12, 2008, 08:01 PM: Message edited by: Jerry ]
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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Nice summary and analysis Jerry. Looked at closely, the story/time travel elements don't make much sense.
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From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
quote:Originally posted by Jerry: I have mixed feelings about the scene where Dawnstar “adds her speed” to Superman’s and propels him to the future. I’m an advocate of the position that Dawnstar was one of the most powerful Legionnaires. This presentation lends credibility to that argument. I’m not a fan of the of the silver age concept that Superman/Superboy could break the time barrier by flying at super speed. Neat trick, but it never made sense to me. How exactly would that work? How would he know when or where to stop? That problem is compounded here because Dawnstar seems to control the time in which they stop with awesome precision. She was never shown to be able to break the time barrier on her own. How could she have been so accurate her first time with this trick? It defies logic, even 1970’s comic book logic.
And yet, it can be pretty easily rationalized.
Comic-book logic has always had speedsters, such as the Flash, able to break the time barrier, and while Dawnstar was never shown to do this before, she was described as being as fast a flier as Superboy.
Even then, she didn't do it alone in this book, but did it by flying up to Superman and 'adding her speed to his.' While this is fluffy at best, it's easy to picture a car moving flat out, and then someone firing a booster rocket that has attached itself to the roof and accelerating the car even faster, which is the hand-waved pseudoscience explanation we are given here.
As for locating the precise 'time' she wished to, that's kind of her power, to track a specific thing. In this case, she's chosen a time period, and her faultless tracking power has led her to exactly 'when' she wants to arrive. It seems like a logical extrapolation for how her tracking power would work in the time-stream.
It sounds like a pretty neat story!
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Thanks, Jerry. I never read this story. Curious that they waited a year to wrap it up, rather than do a one year later in the following issue.
Is there any reference to just how fast Dawnstar can fly? She could keep up with the Legion cruiser, but I don't recall any specific number/limit given.
posted
Hmmmm...if Dawnstar could fly fast enough to break the time barrier by herself, might she become a possible candidate for the position of Time Trapper?
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From: Arkansas Province, Baaldur | Registered: Jul 2007
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Comic-book logic has always had speedsters, such as the Flash, able to break the time barrier, and while Dawnstar was never shown to do this before, she was described as being as fast a flier as Superboy.
Even then, she didn't do it alone in this book, but did it by flying up to Superman and 'adding her speed to his.' While this is fluffy at best, it's easy to picture a car moving flat out, and then someone firing a booster rocket that has attached itself to the roof and accelerating the car even faster, which is the hand-waved pseudoscience explanation we are given here.
As for locating the precise 'time' she wished to, that's kind of her power, to track a specific thing. In this case, she's chosen a time period, and her faultless tracking power has led her to exactly 'when' she wants to arrive. It seems like a logical extrapolation for how her tracking power would work in the time-stream.
It sounds like a pretty neat story![/QB][/QUOTE]
True, I guess her tracking poweres could help her identify the point in time in which to stop. How did Superboy accomplish this? Super vision, maybe? Evne if we assume that Dawnstar used her tracking powers to find the correct place to stop, would she be phsically capable of manuevering Superman to that spot and decreasing his speed in a way to make it happen? I think it's jus oneof those things where you have to suspend belief and just accept it for the story to work.
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Jerry: If you think too hard about the time travel elements of this story it falls apart pretty quickly. Why exactly did the Legion choose this moment in time to intervene? If they believed that Superman couldn’t really change history/destiny, why did they bother to intervene at all? Where were they when Superman went back to get Jon Ross in the Phantom Stranger conclusion? The time travel elements get confusing in the second part of the story as well. Could Superboy and Superman really exist in the same time at the same place? DC never really answered that question. It seemed to be whatever worked best for the story in question. Pete seemed to be able to gain access to Luthor’s time travel device pretty easily. The whole concept of time travel was treated a bit too casually for my taste.
Oh.
Grife.
Yes.
I always found this one of the most confusing time travel stories I ever read - and I only have the first two parts!
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From: Calgary, Alberta | Registered: May 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Fat Cramer: Thanks, Jerry. I never read this story. Curious that they waited a year to wrap it up, rather than do a one year later in the following issue.
Is there any reference to just how fast Dawnstar can fly? She could keep up with the Legion cruiser, but I don't recall any specific number/limit given.
I think the delay was because the story was originally planned as only a two parter. Letter writers objected pretty strongly to the fates of Pete and Jon Ross being left unresolved. The editors got Levitz to do a follow up to appease the fans.
I don't recall Dawnstar's top speed ever being clearly defined. Anyone else?
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I hated this story. First of all, I never liked Dawnstar. Her adding her speed to Superman's is preposterous. If a car is travelling at 60 mph and it gets rear-ended by another car going 70 mph, they are not suddenly going 130 mph. The most she could do is bump Superman's speed up to hers, assuming she's faster than he is, which I doubt. Also, even though she doesn't need a spacesuit, she's not invulnerable and shouldn't be able to travel through time unprotected.
And why didn't Pete ask Superman to take him to be with his son, if all else failed? It would beat never seeing him again. I never bothered with the 2nd and 3rd parts of the story. The 1st one was bad enough.
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From: Champaign, IL | Registered: Jul 2003
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If Dawnstar can travel through space without a suit--as she has been shown to do--I can believe she could travel through time without similar protective gear.
Jim's other objections seem valid to me, though.
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From: Arkansas Province, Baaldur | Registered: Jul 2007
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Well, for starters, if she's traveling through time, wouldn't she either advance or regress in age? I assume the super cousins' invulnerability and the Legion's time bubbles protect them from the effect of time. Dawnstar has been shown being injured many times, so we know she's not invulnerable.
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From: Champaign, IL | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
quote:Originally posted by Fat Cramer: Is there any reference to just how fast Dawnstar can fly? She could keep up with the Legion cruiser, but I don't recall any specific number/limit given.
In the pictures that tend to stick in my mind, Mon-El, Dawnstar, Superboy, Ultra Boy and / or Wildfire are the ones that are shown flying outside of the cruisers and generally assumed to be faster than them.
The Kryptonians / Daxamites have been typically shown able to fly near, at or even past light-speed (depending on the era), and Dawnstar has typically been shown able to keep up with them, and been implied to be more maneuverable and a more skilled flier (which would make sense, since she doesn't have a whole suite of other powers to keep track of).
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
I thought the key to time travel was moving faster than light . . . ? Also, I'd think that Dawnstar's big ole floppy wings would make her less maneuverable than Superboy/girl, who basically dive through space to fly.
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![[TimeTrapper]](graemlins/TimeTrapper.gif)
![[Dawnstar]](graemlins/Dawnstar.gif)
