Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion of Super-Heroes #20 Review (SPOILERS!)

Here is a preview for next issue coming out on Wednesday:
LOSH 20 preview

Hmm... that actually looks kind of interesting. So, I wonder if Jacques and Brek are in the Dream Dimension, or if he's found a way into the ghost dimension that Lyle used to visit?

At least we know those two aren't dead. Whew!

Why did Tinya have to brace herself while phasing? It makes no sense, she's untouchable anyway. Wish she'd at least have stood up straight. No more self-pity please!

Jo's didn't fly after Cham and Glorith right away, but at least he was smart enough to keep himself invulnerable. "Unsettled", what an interesting term. And at least Glorith is showing some smarts, instead of being the cowering newbie.

This Dream Dimension... hadn't old stories established that Jacques didn't actually meet any dead, but rather demons in there? Or could he have somehow slipped into Lyle's ghost dimension? Because as EDE notes above, they are two different places. Oh well, the Dream Dimension was Levitz work too, I'm sure he remembers the distinction. Good to see Lyle and Ferro Lad, but Earth-Man??? I'd rather have seen Chemical King, Karate Kid, Luornu's other bodies, Magnetic Kid, even Double-Header! Wonder if we'll see Sun Boy and Star Boy, or will their little jaunt prove that Dirk and Thom are actually still alive somehow?

This issue looks promising so far. Interesting that Levitz has picked up on a storyline from Tales LSH #317 back in Nov. 1984. I wonder if these dead Legionnaires are the ones hinted at in upcoming solicits that the Legion must look to their past for help. Hmmmm.

Just glad Polar Boy and Invisible Kid are ok.

You got to love Portela's art. I miss him badly after the last few issues. Just wish this wasn't a one issue stint, but alas...

It seemed to me like she was leaving this dimension (presumably for Bgtzl, but I wonder if she could end up in the same place as Brek and Jacques?). Though I thought it was established in Secret Origin that she couldn't go home...




Yeah, I'm wondering if it won't be used to either confirm certain characters as alive, or else provide a means of bringing them back.

Maybe she's found her magic wishing belt from back in the Reflecto story?

Didn't seem too bad, kinda cool actually, ... Jo came off pretty pretty dumb though. "what's that mean Glorith." She spoke plainly.

Still more mysteries than answers ... in the Magic Wars II storyline ...


Portella's getting better!

I really like the tour of the galaxy they are doing haha.

Thank goodness Francis is back. The last couple of issues have been hard to look at, let alone read.

Thank you for the preview. Wonderful visuals at long last! A nod to better days from Mr. Levitz and Legion fans are getting some rewards it would seem.

Portela makes this title so much better!

Phantom Girl's leaving for Bgtzl here (I assume that's what she's doing anyway) is a pretty big tonal shift from her OMG LET ME DIIIEE hysterics last issue....makes me wonder just how much of this Levitz plotted before it was drawn and how much is a reaction to what's been drawn already...

Glorith is more palatable and less annoying here than she ever has been. I hope this storyline breaks her away from her whole "uncertain child" schtick for good.

Can I just mention Portela's art again?? He really gives the 31st century so much character, he makes Glorith look really distinctive, he makes Jacques hot....I will be so sad when he leaves this title!

And if the help from the past is dead Legionnaires rather than the JLA, that actually sounds potentially WAY more interesting (though I hope it's not a way to get Earth-Man back for good)...

Unreservedly glad that Portela is back.

Cautiously intrigued by the appearance of dead Legionnaires (and that Sun Boy and Star Boy aren't (yet) being shown among them).

Best issue of the story so far and, nicely, not just for the art.

Finally the team start acting like themselves and fighting back, we get more information about what the Five are up to, Mysa is her usual badass self and nobody dies (well somebody does but it might not be too bad).

That's not to say it's without fault though as Tinyas character still comes across as a bit whiny.

I am still expecting wholesale slaughter in the remaining issues but this issue has given me some hope that the book will go out on a high.

Beautiful issue thanks to Portela. Wish he got the chance to draw the rest of the series. The story was classic Levitz. Powerful main story of Black Witch and Blok saving their world, good Legion team work, cool subplot, especially the nod to Invisible Kid's adventure in Tales LSH #317. I do not believe that Duplicate Damsel has bit the dust in the final panel. If she did, it's only one of her duplicates. This has to be my favorite issue of the arc and possibly of all the New 52 run. I'd rate it up there with Levitz run from his heyday in the mid 1980's with regards to quality and perfection. Levitz has finally found his stride... to bad it's a little too late!

Certainly better than last issue, and I'm intrigued by the set-up of the mystery 5th member (though Mano's a favourite). I'll put my money on Harmonia. I liked that the team actually took action, and that Cham was written competently. I loved the old Dream Dimension storyline, but since it's resolution involved Jacques understanding it was a dream, I don't see how this can play out, unless as EDE says, it's something different (or Paul forgot).

While the issue was better, it wasn't great. Tinya's decision to bail is still a slap in the face, and if that's the last we see of Glorith, then all the mystery around her seems to have been pointless. The Validus sequence was good, but the scale of the big guy seems to be off again. That last page will upset a lot of people if it's not just a cliffhanger.

This issue was definitely a mixture of some pretty cool stuff, including the Jacques/Brek page and Glorith and Mysa's defeat of Validus (though it's a trick that's been done a few times before with scary powerful villains), and some really annoying stuff, such as Tinya's fleeing and the last page, if said character turns out actually to be dead (which I doubt, despite possible foreshadowing in a previous issue that her powers don't work the same as they used to).

The mystery "fifth member" of the Fatal Five thing is kind of intriguing (though it sort of repeats the Mentalla storyline in a way), but at this point it's hard to get too emotionally invested in it.

What I liked:

Levitz has always written "regal" well. I thought the scenes with Mysa were very well written. Reminded me of the glory days of Sensor Girl (before she was boob lass)

The intriguing possibilities presented by the dead legionnaires.

Mysteries. I like them. Who the 5th member is. Why Phantom Girl is the Legionnaire feared by Tharok.


What I didn't like:

Ok, they're gay. We get it. Is that all that 2 interesting characters with rich histories are good for now, is to be wrapped around each other like velcro? Ick. Get a room.

While this was a better issue than some lately, it still felt like filler. Like a 2 or 3 issue story was stretched to be 5 or 6 issues.

The last panel. I don't think so...but just in case, I don't like it

Here's an interesting review of this issue to ponder:
http://legionabstract.blogspot.com/2013/05/legion-of-super-heroes-20-review.html?m=1

It's a bitter pill that we get one of the best issues of the run to coincide with news of cancellation.

If they had ALL been THIS good, I'd not have been clamoring for a change.

This wasn't a perfect issue, and still not as good as issue 17, but it was very, VERY good. In a very real way, this was a perfect example of HOW you write the Legion; diverse plot lines and character arcs that resolve at their own pace, many intersecting, some not...etc. I could always do with 'bigger' ideas, less awkward dialogue, etc but I enjoyed what we got.

And Francis Portela is a genuine talent; I hope he gets put on something in the DCU, soon, something that fits his particle skill set. I'd very much enjoy a Superman run.

This one was one of the best issues since the start of the nu52.
Sad that it came out just after the cancellation notice.

The art by Portela is beautiful and his storytelling abilities are fantastic. And I think that may have been one of the problems with the rushed fill -in issues... the art and story were not working together well I wonder if the sliding sales started or at least were amplified when Kollins and others came on?

So a questions/observations

Glorith has time bending powers and wears a purple cloak...hmmmm now who does that remind me of?

Oh heeeeey...this issue didn't suck!

Strange though, this cover art looked a lot better in the solicit. I think, perhaps, that all the logos and such threw it off a bit. Ah well. Still a pretty cover.

WTF, why is Tinya being such a whiny baby!? I don't claim to know this version of the character very well, but this whining, self-pitying nonsense seems out of character. Why couldn't she just phase into the giant? Why go to the extreme of phasing out of the UNIVERSE?

Whoa, Lyle, what's up with your face, man?

Oh my GOSH, Portela's art is just such EYE CANDY. The Witch looks outstanding. Everybody looks outstanding. The colors are outstanding. I would have liked the previous issues more if the art had been up to this level.

HEY WAITAMINUTE. When did they go back and get the rookies?! I thought they left them behind on Earth.

...I love the way Portela draws Brainy. It's the hair. Or the big lower lip. Anyway. Love it.

Oh wow, The Persuader looks AWESOME. I love his armor suit with the whole knight-like flair. And the ax looks great too!

Naaaaaah, she's not dead. Looks pretty banged up, but I don't think she's dead.

On the whole...I LIKED THIS ISSUE. It wasn't the most outstanding comic I've ever read, but it was definitely better than the rest of the New 52 junk. The only problem I'm seeing is that it's just not MOVING very quickly. How is the storyline going to be wrapped up in two issues?!

Guess we'll see.

Yeah me too. Except this Tinya, was always a very cool cucumber. to the point that she was known for being a bit bitchy.


So ... there is a huge disconnect here.

and yeah ... she can phase ... that's her only power ... her thing ... no worries from a stone giant.

Did they explain HOW they went back to get the rookies? I seriously didn't see them getting on the ship with Brainy and the rest.

Glancing at the preview, something occurred to me - I thought that post-Flashpoint Lyle never wore that costume, he wore postboot Lyle's suit, no?

I noticed that as well. It's certainly not the outfit he wore in Secret Origins, though I suppose he could have changed outfits later in his Legion career.