Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion of Super-Heroes #9 (Spoilers)

So far in the retroboot, most of the Durlan's can only become winged, exaggerated forms of the orange form, that I can remember.

The two, other than Brande and Cham (and Chameleon Lord?) has been the one who copied Zendak and the one who copied Brande.

The planetary Durlans kept the winged/orange form only blue.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that maybe most of the Durlans can only change minimully.
In which case, why not just limit them to their original, wormy form?

Easier even is people like Brainy insult that form.

They turned into birds in the same issue they replaced Zendak. I doubt that they are limited to minimal changes. And, if they are, it is just another retcon for the sake of a current story being more important than established history.

Every month I'm enjoying the Legion books more and more, but every time I get to the end of an issue it feels like there were too many ideas jammed in. I don't know if it's just me, but I kinda wish that (a.) there was more book each month to spread those ideas out (I know larger books are not going to happen), or (b.) simplify it a bit more. Some pages and conversations feel rushed and hurried. Hang, maybe it's because I'm not used to Pauls writing.

The birds is a good point.
But we knew that these Durlans, the assassins, were going to be able to change some, perhaps more than the rest of the species.

Is it history that ALL of the Durlans could shapeshift into any complex shape that they wanted to?

In this boot, we've been shown by Brande's version of how he progressed in his shapeshifting efforts.
He seemed to be very out of the ordinary with his abilities and drive.
Cham's changing into a similar shape when he was threatened to confirm that Brande was his eggfather seemed to confirm that the ability to reach that form was genetically related.

We also found out in the Robinson stories that the original Durlans of Supes time were basically in the orange/Cham form.
I don't recall them shapeshifting at that time but that may have been because they didn't need to.

Levitz has shown that in the retroboot, Durla is somewhat different than before.

LOTS of things are different from before, I guess.

Are you sure about that? In his first appearance, Lone Wolf picks up a giant spotlight with one hand while swinging on a rope with the other to stop the out-of-control circus beast. Someone even comments that "He must have terrific strength to lift that spotlight so easily."

So I'm pretty sure he always had super-strength, just not at the Superboy/Mon El/Ultra Boy level. And strength alone would not have gained him entry, because it duplicated others' power. It was the agility that gave him a "unique" power for the purpose of joining.

You're right about him having strength as well as agility going back to his first appearance. However, there was no "duplication of powers" rule when he joined, so the "uniqueness" of agility really wouldn't have mattered.

First of all, Paul is actively ignoring a few things from Johns' and Robinson's spin with the characters so I wouldn't place too much credence on the last issue of the New Krypton stuff (which Robinson couldn't even be bothered to write).

I'd also point out that in all boots Durlans have only been shown to be able to copy what they personally know, and given the hellhole that Durla still is, I don't think bio-diversity is one of their strong suits. That's why Cham was able to win the challenge back in #301, because he could take unfamilar shapes (like the hummingbird) and outdo even the best Durla-bound shifters.

In the past, that was true, but Brande turned into shapes he IMAGINED.
He did that for several panels, I think.
That was how he came up with the shape that he could fly off/escape Durla with.

And Paul hasn't really ignored what Robinson and Johns wrote, he's just worked around/with those issues if he wanted to, like the Lotharian telepaths being settled on Titan dying off.

Paul's changed things just to change them, as well.
He's said so, like no jet packs, etc..

Brin was always 'strong,' but I always saw him as strong like Spider-Man or the Beast (from Marvel who could lift 10 tons or so), not anywhere near Superboy or Mon-El's level. His super-agility / super-acrobatics would make him a far more spectaular / visually impressive hand to hand fighter than Superboy or Mon-El, since they don't generally use their super-speed, unless the plot calls for it.

IIRC, 'super-agility' or 'super-acrobatics' was his official 'power' when he joined the Legion, but, like many Legionnaires, it was hardly all he could do (Blok's power was listed as super-density or something, clumsily giving him an excuse to be admitted, even though his powers were basically invulnerability and super-strength, the same as a half dozen other people).

Yeah, I definitely think the "almost-as-strong-as-Superboy" thing really began with the Cockrum portrayal. Beast is a pretty good comparison, imo.

She wrote the True Games stories and the Mavin Manyshaped books, 6 in all, I think, unless she's added some that I don't know about.

The first 3 are about Peter, who's at a boarding type school in a middle ages type of world.
Powers manifest at puberty and no one knows what they'll get/become.
Single powers are the most rare and coveted because they're the strongest.

The more powers in the combination that is inhereted, gives then diversity but at the cost of weaker power levels and often less control.

Mavin has a single power, shapeshifting and is extraordinary in a very repressive culture.

I won't say more, but they're quite wonderful.

List:
King's Blood Four
Necromancer Nine
Wizard's Eleven
The Song of Mavin Manyshaped
The Flight of Mavin Manyshaped
The Search of Mavin Manyshaped

The Coluans' confusion over the appearance of RJ Brande at the UP council proves that their politicians are as dumb as everyone elses!!

Querl's the only 12th level.
And having a high IQ doesn't always mean you think on your feet or aren't easy to fool, imo.


ML - I thought the Tepper books I listed weren't the whole series.
I remembered there were at least 3 more, about Jinian , Peter's girlfriend that he meets part way through his trilogy.

I think the first one is something like 'Jinian FootSeer'.
Mavin's stories tend to stand alone most of the time, Peter's and Jinian's books are mostly meshed.

I found this a pretty ho-hum issue. The Durlan Assassin plot is well past its use-by-date as far as I'm concerned now. It started off well but has just spun it's wheels for about 3 issues now - and it's still not over. I definitely do not think this is a storyline anyone will remember fondly.

It also seriously bugs me that every Durlan we see change form (including Cham now) turns into a single-coloured creature (in this case - orange). They're not bloody Garfield Logan!

Brainy's attitude at the beginning with the Durlan welcome committe was over-the-top rude and pathetic IMO. Gah! How I want that character taken down a peg or five thousand!

Harmonia Li was about the only interesting thing about this issue. I hope that storyline goes somewhere more interesting than this Durlan one has.

I quite liked Troy and Brin's interactions too actually but Tyroc's costume is still one of the worst I've ever seen in this or any book. SO boring! And just SO doesn't look right on him. I'd love to get past this problem but I can't.

---

The Timber Wolf discussion upthread was interesting to me. Timber Wolf has always been the quintessential "just there" character on this team for me (neither particularly liked nor disliked) and I've never been able to pin down just what it is about him that leaves me so "meh". Especially when I've loved nearly all of his costumes, and costumes usually go a long way toward influencing my attitude toward a character.

I think the vague, redundant and boring powers are the big problem for me. Super-strength is the most boring power in all of comics IMO so that's a big minus (not that I remember many times when he's used it) and while I love super-agility on my favourite member of my favourite team to never receive their own series (Impala in the Global Guardians) it's just always seemed a little weird on Brin. Maybe because when I think of a Timber Wolf, I do not think of super-agility.

And the only other option with him is to go down the Wolverine-clone road. And that's equally as unappealing.

Timber Wolf needs some work IMO. It feels like forever since we've seen him take centre stage in a story (I've purged DnA's awful 'Brin against the Fatal Five' story from the reboot from my mind thank you very much. "Think fast. Think fast. Think fast..." Ugh!).

I'd actually be very open to seeing him take the spot-light for a good extended storyline that really sorts out his character and brings him back with some real purpose and sense of a definition of who he is as a character. If that means re-working him from the ground up then I'm all for it.

Strangely, the thing that made me like Brin was his time as Furball - or more accurately, how he interacted with people after being Furball....gave me the sense of someone with lots of streetsmarts but not much in the way of booksmarts and the actual tragic backstory that someone should have whose Dad experimented on him and who was made to believe he was an android for a while.

I think transposing him to the 20th century (21st maybe?) was pretty inspired, because he was ahead of the curve technology-wise, but still not actually intellectually clever...

Timber Wolf is a much more fun character to write in fanfic than comics I would say...

I like how Paul writes TW as relying on his instincts & senses rather than strategy.

I actually though Waid's "too cool for school" version of TW was a pretty solid portrayal.

Oh God! I HAD purged that from my memory but then you just HAD to remind me, didn't you? 100 pushups for you, Mister!

My favorite, unfortunately I guess, version of Brin is the reboot wolf pack leader and protector of the pregnant Tinya.

I don't want him as an android trying to be human since that was done so spectacularly and memorably by Brent Spiner as Data on STNG.
Period.
There is nothing that can be added, imo.
At least, not in a comic.

I love his wolf identity because it DOES give him purpose and personality, if it's actually done correctly, as I think DnA did.

And actually, a wolf is VERY different from a wolverine, even if 'wolverine' means little wolf.

Wolves are group/teamwork animals. They're very pragmatic and thoughtful and protective, clever and loyal.
No claws, no over the top rage and no grudges.
I'm talking about the American Timber Wolf, here.

They have good senses, plan their attacks, withstand the cold, love their leaders and families and are territorial.

I too, liked the original version better after he was Furball. I really liked him better AS Furball.

Troy and Brin should make good partners, bouncing sound around, trianglating, messaging and etc. as long as Troy remembers about the upper level hearing issues that dog types have.

Brin would be good paired with Brek, too, as I think that wolves are better functioning in the colder areas than a lot of creatures.

Cham would avoid Brek, as his power tends to shut down cold bloodeds - which is why I don't understand the Legion not bringing Brek into fight the Durlans.


Anyway, I know that many fans here don't like Brin being more like his namesake, but I do.
sigh

The Wolverine is also known as the Gulo-gulo, Gulon, Glutton, Carcajou, Quickhatch, and Skunk Bear.

The Wolf is also known as Lobo, Lupus, Loup, Lykan, Amaruq (Inuit), Ukami (Japanese)

I can see a super-hero named Lykan or Amaruq, but Skunk Bear?

I could see the current Wolverine as a skunk bear.
He smokes cigars, after all.

Lobo is taken, Lupus is a disease, Loup sounds like loop(y), doesn't it?
Lykan is rather generic and sounds like, well, like.

I like Amaruq and Ukami but they seem to be rather culture specific.
I wouldn't mind Brin's past being slightly reworked, like all of the Legionnaires, imo, to have him come from a more culture specific world.

The Inuits would be lovely.

You know, I just want to say how much I like how Tyroc is being portrayed. I started reading the Legion back when Mike Grell was the artist, and Tyroc was the first new member I saw join. So, I've always wanted to see him really 'make it' as a member. Tweak his costume along with his powers and he'll be set.

I also liked his interaction with Timber Wolf, a character I've always been indifferent to, but who I'm liking more and more.

That was my favorite take, of what I've seen. Also liked the cartoon version.

I loved DnA's TWolf & I'm lovin' Paul's current take.

I enjoyed the issue, particularly the art work. It gave me the impression of a "set-up" issue preparing for the conclusion of the Durlan Assassin saga and jump into the Harmonia Li mystery, which is ok so long as the next issue or two gives resolution to some things.

Brainy/Cham and Brin/Tyroc were two more interesting team-ups (like Dream Girl/Colossal Boy last issue). I think Mr. Levitz has done a great job with mixing up the line-up.

I know we're only nine issues in, but there are still some Legionnaires who could use some real panel time in the near future:
Chameleon Girl, Quislet, Element Lad, Polar Boy, Gates, Invisible Kid, and Ultra Boy come to mind. I leave Shrinking Violet, Black Witch and Blok off the list because they look like they will be up next month in the Annual and Legion Academy stories. Star Boy looks like he'll be featured in LSH #11

I also applaud the break from not seeing Earth-Man for an issue. I would like to see some of the above heroes before another dose of him.