Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes CALLING THE ROLL of LSH #2 (spoilers)

Let's not forget that Brainy once framed Jo for murder.

yeah but that was brainy being crazy because of depending on original or glorithverse...Pulsar Stargrave/Brainiac or Glorith influencing him.

That costume wouldn't work on anyone who wasn't going to take it off or push it to one side, repeatedly in a short time.
That's blunt, I think, but true and not something that I want to see ANYONE in, much less the beautiful Nura, of any age.

Lovely example and why I regret that Vril Dox is such a strong presonality.
He, and his attitude, has really affected the DC writers take on the whole line.

They've begun imitating his personality for ALL of the Brainys, the reboot Brainy when Waid had him and then Prime.
Prime Querl was the worst, with Waid AND Kitson
working on him, since Kitson, at least, helped create Vril.

I don't know where the idea came from that being intellectual or 'smart' = cold detachment.
Most of our examples: Einstein, Da Vinci, the Buddha, Jefferson, Madame Curie, Moses, Ghandi, Chief Joesph to name a few that come to mind quickly, weren't particularly cold individuals at all.
Sometimes they made decisions that had cold results and they were 'human' and flawed but NOT cold to others.

Anyway, I'd love it if Levitz went back to Querl being more loving, warm and connected to those around him.

Wow!
The Phantom Zone?
So, what happens?
Is she locked in now with Lar and Chris and gang?
Will she interact with them?
Are you sure she ISN'T the same one we see now?
THAT would certainly be interesting!

Actually, with that Saturn Queen, it went like this...

After Infinite Crisis, Saturn Queen wound up in the Phantom Zone, where she also discovered an amnesiac Ultraman from the Antimatter Earth. The two took over that fake Kandor that used to be in Superman. The two were brought down by Supergirl and Power Girl, and then left for the Kandorian Resistance. It's recounted in Supergirl: Candor.

This isn't the same Saturn Queen as the one currently in Legion. She wears a different costume with no black, and has straight, long hair.

This Saturn Queen had originally appeared in Superman/Batman: Absolute Power, where she, Lightning Lord, and Cosmic King went back in time and raised Batman and Superman as their own to take over the 21st Century, also in an attempt to make sure their future, which is possibly the Adult Legion future, would exist. Saturn Queen considered Bruce and Clark her sons, and afterwards her maternal feelings remained. She referred to Ultraman as her son while he was in her control.

Weird!
I wonder if Levitz knows about this version and will connect them?

We certainly don't know much about the original.

This is what she looks like.

http://www.comicvine.com/saturn-queen/29-3593/all-images/108-212938/98568-saturn-queen/105-195838/

I didn't care for this on a continuity level. I guess there's some wiggle room in "Superman and the Legion" to make this fit. But IIRC, we know a) Polar Boy was maimed by Tusker, b) he was captured by the JLE, and c) Brainiac left for Colu for some period of time. For Brainy to have helped Brek with his arm, the sequence would had to have been a-c-b. It just seems more likely that A happened back-to-back with B and Polar Boy figured out on his own how to grow the ice limb. It's something he should have seen done on his homeworld anyhow.

I thought the timing of that was off too, Rusty. Didn't he grow the ice arm as soon as he escaped the hot box?

That "likeable morons" was a great Brainy moment. I'd like to think that he even uses the term moron with affection. His Vril moments continue to disappoint me. However, we did see a very different Brainy in the Adventure story, when he returned from the 21st century, smiling and greeted by all his likeable moron team mates. I suppose even a 12th level genius can go through distant, distracted or grumpy periods.


I wonder if Cham changed the timeline/history of Durla by speaking to someone back in the 21st century. Maybe Durla isn't so isolated and paranoid now. Or could Brande refer to some other, historical figure of importance to Durlans, and R.J. just assumed that name when he took on
his non-Durlan look.

A great portrayal of Saturn Girl. It surprised me too, which is what made it so enjoyable. And no other legionnaire could have done this, even if they'd thought of it.


That seems like a good reason, if she's thinking long-term. (I'd hate to see her go on maternity leave so soon in any event.)

It was suggested in the other thread on this issue that the cloth sling on her arm was an echo from her first Legion story - so maybe she's set her sights on Brainiac 5. But it could be that Talok demands a pure blood Shadow Champion and she'll be heading home for a mate.

Yeah, she's a cold, nasty one. And what is it with Buddhists in the future? Gym'll wasn't evil but wasn't exactly at peace with the universe - or maybe they all just refer to Buddha as an expression, without any spiritual affiliation.

Wasn't Brainy also imprisoned with Polar Boy and the others at one point? Or was that just some speculation by other Legionnaires because he was missing? If he had been in prison, he could have worked with Brek there - or possibly even before everything happened, Brainy was helping others amp up their powers.

But I agree, it should have been something Brek figured out or learned on Tharr.

Maybe Brainy was just taking credit for what he THOUGHT he trained Brek to do ... but actually was the idea of Brek himself all along.

I can't wait to hear the real explanation.

Does anyone really think a further explanation is forthcoming? I seriously doubt it and wouldn't exactly lose sleep if it's not.

That line, to me, felt like an 'explanation' to the readers as to why Brek still had an ice arm, in a 31st century where he could theoretically have a replacement any time he wanted.

(Granted, on Earth, in hiding, it's plausible that he couldn't get access to the necessary medical treatment, during Lightning Saga. But for him to still have the ice-arm during Lo3W begins to poke at credulity, and perhaps Paul felt the urge to explain that away. It's not like he can't get the surgery / replacement at any time, and right now, there might be a little bit of stubborn pride in the ice-arm as a badge, to remind the people of Earth what they took from him, and, now that Earth-Man is on the team, to flaunt in his face.)

Maybe it also helps him get chicks! (remember that panel from issue one!)

Yeah, but what woman is really going to want a hand made of ice touching her?

I am remembering the time I made a friend of mine lick the ice in the freezer when we were kids, and *shudder* yeahhh somehow I think an ice arm would have the opposite effect to getting chicks, lol..

In the future, everything will be a kink. Especially in the vicinity of Tharr.

Polar Boy couldn't go home then because his arm would constantly be melting. That would be sad and could add substance to his character. Come to think of it, it makes you wonder why Polar Boy choses such warm-looking costumes.

If Polar Boy gives himself a new look then he should definately change his hair style as well.
The current one makes him look like the villian The Icicle, and makes Brek look evil in general.
Maybe he should go back to wearing a hat .... or how about even a touqe! Touques are all the fashion craze these days and Brek would be setting a trend in the super-hero world if he sported one in this new series.

I'd suggest a do-rag, but that would make Brek look too much like Ultimate Ice Man.

I think the general idea is that Brek's power naturally lowers the temperature surrounding him significantly. On Tharr this basically brings him to a comfortable temperature (especially when combined with the cumulative effects of all the Tharrians), but this means that he'd be freezing at average Earth temperatures, hence the need to wear warm outfits. He actually has to concentrate to not cool things off in his vicinity.

Yeah, I am pretty sure it has been stated on occasion that he wears the fleecy costume because anywhere which isn't Tharr is really cold...

I think it's a cool twist that a character with ice powers is more naturally at home in a hellishly hot environment..

Mon-El -- Well, he's back to be being a moody sap. I'd really hoped that the whole Robinson-arc would have more impact on his characterization. And why would he spend any time on Daxam? Has the place perked up?

Brainiac 5 -- I'm glad Levitz feels liberated enough to use the Vril Dox/3Boot Brainy as a model for this character. Although it would be nice to see SOME more breadth of character.

Ultra Boy -- I saw his characterization here as somewhat more nuanced, I guess, which may turn out to be nothing. His interraction with Brainy and his "datamonger" comment suggest some insecurity or chauvinism or something. But it's more than just dumb jock, I thought.

Wildfire -- LOOOVVVEEDD how Yildiray drew his damaged suit!

Tyroc -- his internal monologue was GREAT! I'll be delighted if he is a Legionnaire more concerned with helping than smashing, as long as it isn't some stereotypical portrayal of 1970s naive do-gooder. I like his new costume, but would really like to see it in black and white. I thought 3Boot Star Boy's costume was awesome, too good a combo to go unused, and it would be a nice nod to Tyroc's original Elvis attire.

Dreamy, Dawnstar and Gates -- I was SO tired when I read the issue last night that I completely missed the issues about Dreamy's look. I will have to re-read. But this was a great, brief bit of character introduction and exposition, as successful as some of the other dialogue in the issue was klunky. More like this, please, Mr. Levitz!

Cosmic Boy -- so he is clearly the leader? Is this Mr. Levitz stealing what worked from the 2Boot and 3Boot, so that fans of those iterations feel more at home? Is there a larger story/character reason behind Cos's assumption of the role? And I really like Yildiray's portral of Cos SOMETIMES. In some panels he has a rounder, boyish face that is cute and distinctive, but it doesn't always seem to be there.

Earth Man -- I like the interpretation of Earth Man feeling sorry for himself, but I wondered on another thread if his "What Earthgov says, goes" attitude doesn't suggest some larger political/villainous actor in Earthgov who helped kick off the events back in Action comics. It's hard to reconcile Johns's Earth Man and this one. Unless, one imagines that his steady siphoning of powers drove him to more megalomaniacal extremes?

Chameleon Boy -- another really great intro/walk on here by Levitz. You learn a lot about the character in a handful of panels.

Saturn Girl -- Levitz has found his voice for this character more than any other.

Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass -- great to see them together. I was REALLY intrigued by Ayla saying Garth was "the best of them all." THAT'S a REALLY interesting comment! After all, in the past Garth has been hard luck, no luck, screw up kinda guy. Is he now more purely heroic than before? That would be fine with me! Bedard made that a feature of his 3Boot arc, and I like it. I like that it makes Garth something other than a hard-luck loser. If one thinks of the 3 founders' dynamic, then Saturn Girl is super-ego (perfection), Lightning Lad is id (drive, passion), and Cosmic Boy is ego (reality, executive). Also, I can't BELIEVE it, but I'm beginning to like how Yildiray draws the costume, mainly because the white section looks less like a diaper or boxer-briefs. Ayla was wonderful here. These two are twins, after all, but I think of positive fraternal moments like this as relatively rare in Legion history.

Sun Boy -- I will say it. Yildiray's drawing of powered-up Sun Boy are some of the BEST EVER! I wish they had been large rather than small panels.

Invisible Kid -- I'm just happy to see him, and his look is cool and suits him well. And having him work with Phantom Girl reminds me of that wonderful first issue of the Great Darkness Saga.

Phantom Girl -- doesn't seem terribly bright here, does she? Maybe she's a better match for Ultra Boy that way? As I wrote on the issue thread, I found her conversation with Shadow Lass a real missed opportunity.

Shadow Lass -- speaking of, no words to PG about dumping Mon-El? Bad ass! And why is she greenish?

Saturn Queen -- WHAT is her agenda here, Paul? Just mischief?