Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 13

Now that you point it out, it's obvious! I was going on Dirk's rep as a ladies' man and the previous issue in which E-Lad called Nura beautiful - must have had it in my mind that Levitz was adding a lot of romancing to the Legion.

From either Dirk or Val, it strikes me as an odd thing to say to a woman, kind of like that old Geritol ad line, "My wife, I think I'll keep her".

Yes, it was a rather insensitive thing to say.

This story does stick in the mind, now more than ever after reading Thoth's comments on Chuck's motivation. There's a big untold tale here too: when did Lu find out? Did he tell her, or did she discover it? Was she angry or accepting? Did she join in the Time Trapper Conspiracy without telling him as some sort of payback for keeping such a big secret, however well-intentioned?

Superboy 231

The splash page tells you all you need to know about the tension in the issue. The Legion only have a few hours to evacuate a planet ahead of a super nova. But if they do so, the Fatal Five will kill two of their own.

If it wasn’t clear that the Legionnaires were adults, Jeckie’s invitation to Val for a quickie in the cock…pit, sums up how far their relationship has progressed from the Jim Shooter days. Val’s back yet again from being stranded in the 20th Century and the two are captured by the Fatal Five. I can only imagine his anguish at the thought of being sent back to that title.

Although they are facing Validus and Tharok, both are taken out too easily in successive panels. Sure, Val used his head to fight the Five to a draw, but it was some fight. It’s also a foreshadowing of the start of the Baxter series, where both were defeated by the Legion of Super Villains pretty easily too.

Levitz overuses the captioning, but there’s the occasional good one about there being no future listing of the planet the Legion are trying to investigate. Although it makes sense they can’t stop the nova, it connects the reader to the splash page and Jeckie and Val’s predicament.

Sherman gives us some great panels of the Legion evacuating the locals. Gim completely dominates a panel, really getting across the scale of his powers. It’s hinted that Saturn Girl could control the emotions of the locals, but she prefers to broadcast emergency signals, again in a lovely panel showing us her powers.

The Legion are very organised, making ships and getting people aboard them. I imagine that Mon El and Superboy just throw them into orbit, as we don’t see much in the way of fiddly things like engines and equipment for all of the craft.

It didn’t go so well for Sun Boy, back when the Legion had to evacuate a planet. The strain caused him to snap, and he endangered everyone as a result. This issue gives the issue number as a reminder. But as it does so, we see Imra over extend herself. She also has the benefit of Superboy, Mon El and Ultra Boy. So, I’ve actually got a shred more sympathy for Dirk.

Sun Boy certainly isn’t in charge here, as he just helps Brainy and Jan investigate the solar event. He’s also the first Legionnaire knocked out by the arrival of the Fatal Five.

As the Emerald Empress battles Brainy and Jan, we learn that the eye provides her with enough internal energies to break inertron. The sharing of energy between the eye and it’s “owner” would eventually lead to the Empress losing herself to the eye and her last encounter with Jeckie at the end of the Baxter volume.

The next piece of characterisation doesn’t quite work as well. Imra leads Tasmia to a village of scared children. The kids are rescued but Tasmia pretty much accuses Imra of being cold and shut off. Yet, it was Saturn Girl’s powers that took them there, and those scared thoughts could have had a number of sources. Such as them being held prisoner by the Persuader, as it turns out. A motherly Shady is a little unusual to see, but it does save her from coming across even worse.

There’s a well-choreographed fight scene between the two groups. We see how tough the Five are, as the Legion try and fail to contain them. It’s the Fatal part of their name that’s missing as the villains are too deadly not to have killed someone in the conflict.

Tharok considers the Empress the weakest of his allies, which isn’t quite as she’s been portrayed before, and certainly not how things would turn out for her later.

We also get a reminder that no one knows the origins of Validus. That’s something that would be answered close to the Legion’s hearts later on.

The reason for the Five’s presence is the unlikely idea that the inhabitants will transform into a precious mineral / macguffin when a sun blows up on them. How Tharok knows this isn’t revealed. Why he summons his team back to him, when they have defeated the Legion, and could kill them, isn’t explained either. As soon as that occurs, you know that they are beaten.

A nice moment has Mon El bat away the Emerald Eye, as he’s immune to its Kryptonite rays. Another Empress would practically kill him in a similar conflict years later.

We don’t get to see how Val and Jeckie escaped their cell, but Val, at least, gets a moment to defeat a robot as the pair home in on Tharok’s control room. He’s also the one to pick the right door, and to attack Tharok and to later escape from his bonds (again in a similar way to later Baxter issues). Jeckie hangs behind him and gets bound up in bondage restraints Tharok had handy. Adding another dimension to “control” room there for the cyborg villain. So, it’s a very poor issue for Jeckie.

Although the plot has had some shaky moments, it plummets like the fake asteroid the Legion create in the closing act. Tharok has defences on his ship. But they are precisely calibrated defences that deflect only what he specifically asks them to. So, they will shoot down objects such as Legionnaires, but not asteroids that would pulverise his craft. Madness. The asteroid idea would be used later by Chameleon Boy in his attack on Khundia.

The splash page has the reader counting down the seconds. But there’s plenty of time for lots of fighting and for the Legion to generate a fake supernova. They feel they have to do this, because Brainy has detected an inactive device somewhere in the star, and deduced it to be Tharok’s bomb used to accelerate the MacGuffin process. It’s as overly convoluted as that last sentence.

Shady can cover a planet in shadow and Sunboy can create a convincing illusion of an exploding star. It’s a long way from Bouncing Boy and Matter Eater Lad. Val tells Jeckie she’s not really needed to create illusions in the Legion, further undermining her. Perhaps he needs her self-esteem to be low enough for her to accept his proposal. Creepy.

Years later, Levitz would state that the Mantis Morlo story was one of Shooter’s weaker ones, but fake planets and novas aren’t any better when he does them.

The Fatal Five get away with their reputations intact. They were using the plot to find their place in the galaxy, or to return to power in some cases. So, it’s pretty much as Shooter had done. Their inability to kill off the Legionnaires at their mercy is making their title seem a little odd though. Mano gets a walk on and I imagine he would miss if you asked him to shake hands.

In summary, there’s a tense premise. It has a good cast with a couple of solid character moments. The extra pages allow the fight scenes to breathe. The art is lovely with faces and “camera” angles being particular strengths. It’s not consistently lovely, but there are plenty of high points. All of which goes quite some way to cover up the weaknesses of the plot, which is below par.

#232 The Disease that Wouldn't Die by Gerry Conway, art by Ric Estrada & Jack Abel



The cover greatly misrepresents the story. The characters on the cover don't shrink and don't all appear together (except in the Epilogue). Even the title suggests an unbeatable disease, as opposed to a shrinking effect.

This issue opens with Violet, Superboy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl dancing on floating disks aboard a luxury cruiser as they celebrate the Klordny Week Festival. Violet is accosted by an uncouth-looking, belligerant man who picks a fight with her over Imskian political policies. As she wisely walks away, a big explosion blasts the ship, which is under attack by Space Pirates. The Legionnaires rush off to the rescue and defeat the pirates, but Violet must shrink down to repair the liner's damaged life support circuity. The Legionnaires suspect the attack was a diversion, but don't know for what.

The diversion, the reader learns, is for a mission to murder Rene Brande. A helmeted figure is being thus instructed by another helmeted figure, who adds that at least the Legion will be humiliated.

Klordny celebrations continue on a U.P. Space Platform near Pluto, with Colossal Boy and Cosmic Boy joining Gim's brother and his Space Patrol friends. The Platform is attacked by a cloud, which causes everyone to shrink. Gim manages to get an S.O.S. out to Lightning Lad still aboard the space liner; the thuggy guy, for some reason hanging around the Legionnaires, immediately accuses Imskians of an attack of war.

Back at Legion HQ, Shadow Lass is assaulted by the figure sent to kill Brande; she summons help. The man tells them he is looking for René Brande, who must be punished. Neither Mon-el nor Timber Wolf are able to capture him. He He escapes, finds files containing the location of Brande's private planetoid and teleports away.

On the Space Patrol Platform, Garth, Imra, Superboy and Vi are shocked to find their shrunken comrades, who are continuing to shrink. Violet is angry when Gim asks if she knows what might have caused this. U.P. Command sends a message that the Legionnaires should proceed to Imsk to find the source and antidote for the shrinking cloud and use maximum force if needed. Speechless Legionnaires watch a tearful Violet run from the room.

The cloud passes over Titan and Saturn Girl passes out from the long-distance, telepathic collective scream of her people. She recovers and the four Legionnaires head for Imsk.

The HQ team approach Brande's planetoid, seeking the would-be assassin, who they are calling The Immune, for his apparent immunity to their powers. Mon-el sees him and attacks, with particular fury, since The Immune's power had made him feel "useless". The Immune recovers quickly and explains that special antibodies repair any injury instantly. He continues with the full backstory: weapons sold to his people, at war with another planet, by Brande and others, were in fact being tested on his people. Something else else went very wrong with one of them, killing everyone except himself. He was seeking vengeance by murdering Brande.

As the other team approaches Imsk, they are attacked by Dr. Regulus and knocked out by the terrible heat. Violet returns to consciousness, encased in a tube inhibiting her power; she sees the others similarly disabled. Sun Boy is also there, having been captured by Regulus some days earlier. We learn that Regulus is responsible for both the shrinking fog and The Immune's mission to destroy Brande and the Legion's reputation.

Quick scene switch back to Brande's Planetoid, where Brainy has an idea and signals for help.

Regulus gloats over his victory, thinking that only he knows that the Immune's blood could provide the vaccine treatment for the shrinking fog. Then he realizes the temperature is rising: Sun Boy is conscious, thanks to Saturn Girl, and loaded for bear. He takes out an incredulous Regulus and frees the other Legionnaires.

It turns out that it wasn't Violet in the shrink-prohibiting tank, it was Saturn Girl disguised as Violet; Vi, in turn, had disguised herself as Saturn Girl - so neither's power was nullified as Regulus had planned. But Vi's in a bad mood and casts the blonde wig aside as she leaves the scene.

On the Planetoid, Brainy calls The Immune a fraud, as we see The Immune shrinking and panicking as he thinks his protective power has failed. The stress causes him to collapse, pink vapour streaming from his eyes. (??) Surprise! The Immune wasn't shrinking, it was Colossal Boy, disguised as Brainy, who had been growing. Gim passes out from the strain of fighting the shrinking disease and Brainy claims he has an idea how to cure the disease, using The Immune.

Epilogue: Brande personally thanks the Legionnaires for saving himself and mankind. Violet slumps off in the background, followed by a concerned Gim. She tearfully tells him that she's upset that everyone thought her people were traitors and she wants to reconsider things, alone.

Comments:

This must be a fill-in issue, since the previous story (#231) announced that the Infinite Man would be appearing next.

About all I initially remembered from this story was Klordny week. Surprising, since, although the story has some annoying logic flaws, there are a number of interesting scenes and references.

The stories of the Imsk rebel group and Violet's abduction, which will play out over the long term, are both set up here. The Imsk dispute is resource/mining-related; once again, mining is the industry of the future.

René Brande is presented here as an industrialist who sells weapons and (allegedly) permits their testing on civilian populations. Sadly, such clandestine testing carried out by various nations in our own time has been revealed in recent years, so this old story is a discomforting forerunner.

It's always enjoyable to see the Legionnaires having fun off-duty. This issue introduces the Klordny Festival, with its motto of Freedom, Friendship and Frunt, although not much is done with it in any other stories. Dancing is fine, but I do wonder about the pink beer. We also meet a new Legion family member, Gim's cousin, Rogir, never to be seen again.

The uncouth character who accosts Violet regarding Imsk looks like a Medieval peasant. His angry speech may have its origins in the "America: love it or leave it" slogan of the VietNam War years.

Saturn Girl is chilled by the vulnerability of a shrinking Violet, which reminds us how much Imra values strength - and keeps her fears to herself. The collective scream of Titan, which cause Saturn Girl to pass out, is reminiscent of the scene in Star Wars, when Obi-Wan staggered from the death of a distant planet. (Comic and movie came out in the same year, but I don't know what month the comic would have been written. Odd coincidence, at least.) Apart from letting us know that the shrinking cloud was advancing through the Solar System, it doesn't add much to the story.

It's a bit odd to see Violet and Superboy as a couple on vacation (along with well-established couple Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl), but not much is made of it. Just friends, it appears. Gim's love for Violet is also reinforced (but not necessarily returned) later in the story.

We learn a bit about Talok VIII: everyone can see in the dark and there's a Talokian version of Kung Fu, which Shady uses effectively, after trying to play good cop with The Immune. But then she helplessly shouts, "Someone do something" as The Immune attacks Timber Wolf.

Mon-el does struggle to "be his own man" in Superboy's shadow. It's something that readers have remarked on and it's interesting to see the problem acknowledged. He's also got a bit of a temper, understandable, but possibly dangerous for someone with that much power.

The Legionnaires' defeat of the two villains depends once again on deception: it's an old trick for Legion stories, but it's used effectively here. Having Imra impersonate Vi was done to avoid possible reaction against her from her fellow-Imskians; it just happened to work out well to overcome Regulus. (We have to assume that the pirates, who's ship the Legion commandeered, had blonde and brunette wigs lying around.) Brainy's idea to have Gim trick The Immune is clever, although it falls short in the logic department, in my opinion.

The logic problems: how did the four vacationing Legionnaires get to the rapidly shrinking Space Platform before Gim, Rokk and the others had shrunk out of sight? How was Gim able to finally fight off the shrinking effect and get to Brande's Planetoid? How far away is Imsk from Pluto? I know, super fast space ships... nevertheless, it all seems a bit too instantaneous.

Brande's Planetoid, in the orbit of Mercury, just looks silly. There does seem to be some blue cloud around it which perhaps shields it from the heat, somehow.

It's always convenient when heroes and villains call a truce so that the villain can explain his motivations and back story. Regulus had the good sense to disable the Legionnaires before he began his exposition.

Both Legionnaires and Regulus come up with the name, The Immune, independently.

The vaccine manufactured from The Immune's blood must have been dispersed on lightwaves to have cured everyone before they shrunk to nothing. And what happened to the cloud itself? Was it neutralized? Dispersed enough to lose effectiveness?

A few other points: both Gim and Imra pass out in this issue. This is becoming a habit for Legionnaires on missions! Maybe they're all suffering from Space Fatigue.

Nice speech about saving mankind from weapons merchant Brande. I'm glad this version didn't stick; he's so much more likeable as a creator of suns. This is the only issue in the entire Legion history in which R.J. Brande is drawn as bald, bespectacled and thin. Is he supposed to look like Himmler, since he's selling horrible weapons?

The artist certainly enjoys drawing the rear view of Saturn Girl's pink bikini! An unfortunate colouring ommission makes it look like she's lost the bottom half on page 4 (at least in my copy). Nobody else gets that treatment, except Vi - when she's wearing the pink bikini. I just thought it was kinda funny.

232:

When this issue came out, I wasn't really up on politics. Much of this part of the story went way over my head and came across like a Marvel-style attempt to inject some realism and angst into the team.

Now, I appreciate what Conway did. He added some real-life complexity in the Legion's world. Imsk needs to expand its mining rights (a legitimate concern), but doing so encroaches on other UP territories (another legitimate concern). Imsk threatens succession from the UP if its needs aren't addressed, and Violet, the Imskian Legionnaire, is caught in the middle. All of this seems starkly realistic. It reminds me of nothing less than tensions between Palestine and Israel, though their age-old conflict isn't necessarily over mining rights.

I also thought Vi overreacted to her Legion friends' concerns about her homeworld being a traitor--and her overreaction still comes across that way somewhat even though her emotional state is certainly understandable. However, the Legionnaires were following orders by going to Imsk, and there's no indication that they believed Imsk to be at fault for the shrinking cloud. Perhaps their suspicions could have been brought out more.

We also have a large number of Legionnaires being used, and most have something important to contribute to the story (only Rokk manages to be "eye candy" this time. Considering his bustier, that's quite appropriate). The parallel bait-and-switch defeats of both Regulus and the Immune were quite clever. All in all, there is much to like about this story.

A few things I didn't like:

--The space pirates are too literally pirate-like. I half expected one of them to shout "ARRR!"

--Brande as bald, thin, and bespectacled? Was there no reference handy?

--Yes, what's up with the medieval peasant garb of the belligerent man? Did Estrada forget what century the Legion is set in?

--Estrada's art in general. He'd just come off his run on Karate Kid, so it's not surprising that he brought the same cartoonish sensibility here. Also, some of the figures are wonky. Look at Superboy on the splash panel. Maybe some kryptonite was imbedded in the dancing platform and caused him to break his leg.

The art here is better than on KK, though, probably because of Staton's inking.

Some odds and ends:



I thought they were meant to be shrinking, though it looks more like they're growing.



The same idea was also used in the Star Trek original series episode, "The Immunity Syndrome," in which Spock senses a starship manned by Vulcans being destroyed.



Regulus admits that he had lied to the Immune about Brande's role in selling weapons. It's an interesting angle, though. What did Brande do when the market for new suns was slow? It's good to have something to fall back on.



Good catch!



Yes, the logic problems are rampant. However, I thought it made sense that Gim could use his growing power to overcome the effect of the shrinking cloud. I'm just surprised he didn't try this before. (If he had, though, it might have ruined the reveal of him impersonating Brainy.)

I've actually wasted way too much time on my coffee breaks lately thinking about this very thing. (I could always try to stumble through DeGrasse-Tyson again and see if that inspires, too.)

I'm trying to visualize building a star from scratch as being a combo of growing asparagus from seed, painting the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, and waiting for the cicadas to wake up. To get quality, you probably have to wait awhile. There must be some kind of installment plans for the purchasers which keep a steady flow of cash coming in all the time. I suppose if you have a few dozen in various stage of completion, it matters less if only one is being completed every couple of years with some kind of big payout at the ribbon-cutting.

Also, maybe inhabited asteroids are also a low-level money-maker. "We'll come in and improve the thing so you can store your old office files and the kids' baby shoes there. Then, if you decide you like it, we can talk something bigger uh... five years later." Asteroids (or planetoids) could be how you build loyalty to the idea: sort of like starting out with a moped and dreaming of a Harley later-- after your big promotion comes through.

Good point, cle. Creating a star must take an incredibly long amount of time. Brande isn't God, you know.

Star creation is one of those things that will drive you crazy trying to come up with a rational explanation, like a lot of things in the Legionverse. There was some outcry from fans when Levitz had Mon-el bring a white dwarf star (IIRC) into Brainy's lab, but I don't recall anyone questioning Brande's star creations business!

Maybe he bought all the nuclear waste from Earth and other planets and cooked up some sort of star-like heat and light generator which could be positioned fairly close to a planet. Since I'm not a physicist by any means, this is as rational as I need to accept the premise.




Good use for asteroids after all the mining is finished! The Legionverse needs a secondary industry.



Quite right! This is untold backstory material; maybe there had been tensions regarding Imsk before this and possibly a few heated discussions among Legionnaires.







No kidding! Things that make you wince. Maybe it was all cos-play gone out of control.



Ah! I missed that it was Regulus' story. But one does wonder how he amassed that great fortune. Besides minng, of course.

It wouldn't be too hard building a star if you had a zeta beam. Just teleport a bunch of free hydrogen to the same location and plorp! there's your star.

Superboy 232


The future, where youths are forced to dance in couples on topsy turvy death platforms!

The future, where heroes lead rich lives, but with poor wardrobes forcing them onto the town in their work togs!

The future, where drunken goons will start a pointless fight over politics…oh wait, that’s here too…

Although Estrada’s art doesn’t do much for me this issue, parts of the story hold up a bit better than I recall.

That’s mainly due to the look into Vi’s character. “It makes me wonder about the people I’ve chosen for friends,” says Vi at the end. It’s a clear link from her earlier stories into her changes under Levitz. Vi later went through those reassessments of her life after her time in a sens-tank. Not least of which was having a good look at the people around her, who didn’t spot the switch.

Showing us Gim as wanting to be there for her, but not being able to connect is also a nice link. A few of the others come out well in characterisation. We learn a bit more about Shady’s powers and she looks capable. While Timberwolf will always “fight alone!” I’m not sure I buy Lar being in Superboy’s shadow. That’s possibly just the order that I read the comics in. Superboy was long gone by then, and Lar was the resident mature powerhouse.

Finally, Brainy gets to provide a solution and we get an insight into how Imra feels about Vi’s powers. I particularly like the last one as it’s insight into two characters for the price of one.

The story itself, is pretty linear, spiced up with parallel threats. Unfortunately the reveals that don’t really work. Doctor Regulus appears as the villain du jour, tagged on because it was his turn more than anything. Everyone gets to be disguised as everyone else in an Adventure denouement gone haywire. I’m probably not even writing this. It’s probably someone disguised as me. Immune is a very convenient solution to the problem.

There’s a creepy story out there where the Legion’s disguise skins come to life.

I hadn’t thought much of Immune in previous readings. But he performs a function. He’s powerful enough to withstand Mon El, who kindly names him in a way that everyone then uses. We get an info dump on his origin, but at least he has one. Finally, the cosmic visual above his goggles gives him a link to the cloud that’s the immediate threat. Of the three threats, the cloud seems to be allowed to go on its way, even if they do have a cure.

All of this would be fair, but pedestrian. But there’s an uneasy quality to the story too. We get another glimpse into Imsk’s jostling within the United Planets. He may have been a blowhard, but we get a character outside of the Legion react to the political situation. The UP position to the thought of Imsk’s departure is possible warfare, which certainly adds a new angle to our bright shiny future, where everyone’s pulling together.

With some grey areas introduced, it’s a shame to see the Legion blindly following the orders of the UP command. I’d like to think that they’d look only for a solution to the cloud problem, and not get involved further. But none of them hint at doing anything of the sort.

Immune’s origin suggests that RJ Brande is a weapons manufacturer, which is quite removed from the altruistic version of only being involved in star manufacturing. It’s something that Brande never has to account for on his personal planetoid. If there was ever a doubt he was a Durlan, his appearance here compared to his other version should have been a giveaway. Who needs Secrets of the legion?

In summary, the story is a little stretched with three threats, none of whom are particularly engaging. The art is fine, but doesn’t excite. But the little darker hints behind the Legion & the Up adds some curiosity value. Finally, the number of character moments makes all the difference, showing that Conway could bring depth to the title.

For Frunt's sake, don't mention "Space Thingy" when Dirk is in the issue! He has to fly us back to HQ!




When I first read this, I thought he'd captured Brande's assistant and kept expecting Brande to appear later in the story. This time round, I thought that Brande was actually Savana, surviving through to the 30th century and switching universes to get away from the Big Red Cheese.

While I'm not keen on the Legion's benefactor being an arms dealer, I imagine he had to content with all sorts of vested colonial/ military interests when he was putting his sun birthing plans into effect. So, it makes for a good accusation. Particularly because Brande's past was such a mystery to a lot of people. I'm reminded also of Tony Stark's weapons making involvement. I'd much rather the Legion found out the truth for themselves rather than the reader being told through Regulus' internal monologue.




I note that Superboy's super reasoning results in him wanting to thump the guy! Well deescalated Clark!



Child prodigy Tel Vole sat alone in the void waiting for the signal. His life was one light speed trip into nothingness after another. No contact. No companionship. Only the darkness. Even the proceed code was a series of inhuman noises. As he brought his gravity powers to bear on the gas cloud ahead, he dreamed of another life. Of being Gravity Boy. But mainly of just not being alone.




I went around all day blaming everything on Space Pirates. They weren't there once. As soon as anything happens to the Legion, it's Space Pirates and they're right!

Another interesting tidbit about 232: The Immune's origin parallels that of Mano in the reboot, with McCauley as the arms dealer instead of Brande (who wasn't really an arms dealer, as I hasten to remind everyone. Read Regulus's thought balloon on Page 29, Panel 2).

I wasn't comfortable with Mon-El-as-Superboy's-shadow, either. Conway introduces a lot of character "moments" here, few of which are ever followed up on. I don't recall Imra being uncomfortable with anyone else's power afterwards, and very little comes from Brin's "I fight alone" stance. It's almost a shame, as some of these character traits could have been developed if Conway had been the regular writer at this point. But I wish he'd found something more interesting to do with Mon-El.

Besides, as later stories will show, Mon is more naturally Shadow Lass's shadow.

Although I don't care for Estrada's art, one sequence stood out. When the Legion is directed to go to Imsk and use "maximum force" if necessary, the four-panel sequence at the top of Page 20 captures the other Legionnaires' reactions and hers without dialogue. It is quite effective.

Already I find that Vole seems like he'd be better company while watching the space-asparagus ferns than Sodam Yat ever was.

Oh, and my sincere apologies for the gas cloud. I'm afraid that always happens when I eat the rest-stop food on Asteroid B-19, but forget to bring my meds along on the trip.

Just make sure that stoicism doesn't tip over into blubbering whining, and he'll be safe from being another Yat :-)

Superboy & the LSH #231

Late again but I had to take a moment to give my thoughts on one of my favorite issues of this era, the glorious #231. I've always liked this one a lot and rereading it again reminds me why. It's like a breath of fresh air, not just for the LSH of the time but for superhero comics in general today (which I also still read though lord knows why). It's just an awesome tour de force of action, tension, multiple characters and pulse pounding superheroics.

Not that it's a perfect issue. There are a few missteps in dialogue and people doing different things. But I can forgive all that. The pacing is right on, and the art felt much better this issue. Levitz utilizes a plethora of Legionnaires, with many of them shining nicely; he also provides the Fatal 5 a story worthy of them, especially Tharok and Validus. All these characters crash into one another and it works really well.

The plot of the planet exploding mashed up with the the Fatal 5 is a great idea. On their own, both ideas have worked. Having both provides a setting that makes the larger page count work.

This is probably my favorite issue since Soljer's Private War.

I seriously want this discussion to have its own thread.

Superboy and the LSH #232

A true fill-in story in the sense that only the 70’s could be so blatantly obvious, #232 is an interesting issue nonetheless. Gerry Conway has another dive into the franchise, while Ric Estrada and Joe Staton do the art. Is this Estrada’s only time he did an LSH-proper (non-KK) story? I can’t remember.

Like FC says, a lot of this story is forgettable. Yet, there are also a lot of interesting scenes that make it unique, and certainly in terms of Legion World thread history, bore some serious fruit. It also benefits from Conway using a wide array of Legionnaires and having them doing various things in different places. Between the infiltrators, the politics, the RJ Brande plot, the shrinking Legionnaires, and then Dr. Regulus, there’s a lot going on and that alone makes it exciting and fun.

I love seeing the Legionnaires have fun, and its great to see Salu and Superboy dancing in the opening pages.

FC has a good comparison of the Imskian who confronts Salu to the “love it or leave it” slogan-users of the 70’s…and the 80’s and every decade since. As usual, no matter what the intentions of the messenger are, it’s so annoying and rude, that its hard not to dislike whoever is saying it.

What I like about Conway is that he has a comfort level with off the wall sci-fi, and also with flipping the story into action-mode at the drop of a hat. The latter comes from his paperback writer days in his teens and the former from his Marvel days. No matter if he was getting it right or falling short, Conway in the 70’s had a confidence in his work that is very apparent.

The political problems Conway presents are well done. It’s about mining rights, sure, but he doesn’t shy away from the complexities of it. Imsk depends on the asteroids for trade, yet so many outside mining companies have been plundering the resources. It’s a situation without an easy answer and its very representative of political questions that have plagued our history from the ancient world to modern times.

In the preboot I don’t remember seeing Cos and Gim have many moments, so I like seeing them have a beer together here. It would seem like a natural friendship to me—perhaps not the best of friends but certainly chummy after years together in the Legion and very duty-oriented mindsets.

The silent scenes where the Legionnaires are shockingly authorized to use maximum force, and then they react—first Superboy & Garth, then Violet, who runs off—are really well done. These scenes remind of similar sequences Conway was using in Amazing Spider-Man just a few years earlier with Mary Jane, Peter and others. Yet again, its cool for me to see Conway’s evolution.

I never noticed until this reread that the Immune doesn’t even get his name until the last third of the story. Up until then he’s just a guy in a somewhat-weak costume. I can even see how readers might not even catch his name at first.

Dr. Regulus is thrown in at the end and I think he’s actually largely unnecessary. By this point in the plot, yet another villain isn’t really needed and he doesn’t add all that much. Sun Boy appearing captured is both good and bad: good in that it’s a nice nod to Regulus’ history with the LSH but bad in that not seeing a Legionnaire captured like that feels a bit like a cheat. I wonder if he was placed there at the last minute to give the Legionnaires a way out of the trap they find themselves in? If this was written just a few years later, Sun Boy’s capture would have been shown in the issue before as a way to build up the plot and thus his break out would have felt much more effective.

All in all, though, I actually really like this issue. My major complaint is the ending. First, how did Colossal Boy get there so fast? They should have just had it be Chameleon Boy, who wouldn’t have needed a disguise. But more importantly, did Brainy kind of just kill the Immune? Feels like it. And no one seems to care all that much.

It’s also interesting that the issue ends in such a negative way for Salu. It certainly would have made sense for her to leave the LSH at this time, which I’m glad never happened. The “mass exodus” of “weaker” members was a few years ago but it wasn’t that long ago. Regardless, it would have been great if this was followed up on more. It’s the first time Violet has really gotten some great characterization beyond being “the shy one”, which she hasn’t been in years.

It’s notable on the Letter’s Page that Tyroc is still listed as an active Legionnaire as he hasn’t been seen or even mentioned once since Levitz started his run. This may also be the first time the full Legion Reserve is listed all at once ever before, and that must have been a treat for young fans who would not have been familiar with Silver Age history. This listing of the LSH, and last issue’s big proclamation that this is the Legion’s comic officially now and they are here to stay are big symbolic steps. DC during this time was in the midst of trying to reclaim an era of greatness with its fans and many such “proclamations” were occurring, such as the relaunch of Green Lantern / Green Arrow. DC was giving a huge show of support for the LSH franchise here. And as we all know, the series popularity was continuing to grow during this era.

Actually, even if you had enough matter all in one place, it would take some time for it all to stabilize. It is estimated (depending on your assumptions about the sun) that a photon takes perhaps 5 to 200 thousand years to make the journey from the sun's center to its surface.

More specifically, it takes that long for 50% of a photon's energy to be emitted from the sun.

NASA's short answer: http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/a11354.html

Here's some math: http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/ask/a11354.html

A more detailed, but really better answer: http://www.askamathematician.com/20...ds-of-years-for-light-to-escape-the-sun/

At any rate, it would take several thousand years at least for a star newly created from nothing to come to equilibrium.

So, R.J. Brande not only needed a zeta beam. He needed a time machine.

It occurs to me after reading the discussion of R.J. as Sivana-esque weapons-broker: I would think that if you wanted to do a Mirror, Mirror or even outright dystopian Legion, that would be the perfect linchpin.

I like the idea of a Durlan Brande selling his ideas to expand sentience across the galaxies, while knowing only too well that greed, arms dealing and corruption will follow along. He has to make deals across the UP to make expansion and colonisation work. Then he can move onto the next star birth.

So, he does a little impersonation of certain figures like Sivana, to ensure that he can limit the bad side of it as much as possible.

I'm all for characters having nuanced personalities and "a dark side," but the notion of Brande as an arms dealer doesn't square away with the idealist who wanted young people to follow in Superman's heroic path, or who wanted to use them to unite the warring factions and unstable alliance of the United Planets (in the reboot).

I think it's hard for us to believe that anyone could be as rich and influential as Brande without having to get his hands dirty at something along the way. Indeed the current political system fosters cynical attitudes that the system is rigged and only those who know how to manipulate it get ahead. (I just read an excellent column by David Brooks, which touches on this very idea. The popularity of Donald Trump, and, perhaps to a lesser extent, Hillary Clinton, encourages this notion that to succeed, you have to do some mean and despicable things and then "spin" them to your advantage.)

However, the Legion's world is not our world, and it shows us not what is but what could be. In their world, those with noble intentions and who work hard can succeed at building fortunes or even saving the universe. I'm content to let Brande remain an unsullied good guy.

Just reading HWW's post, and I was thinking that mine also portrayed him as a good guy. Reading it back, it actually reads like he's still an arms dealer, but as a necessary evil.

I was actually going for more of an Olsen type, disguising himself and disrupting others plans but still maintaining that good spirit.

Remember kids, don't rush your posts. Or your meals. And for [insert deity of choice]'s sake don't speed post while having a meal!

No sweat, thoth. I'm constantly finding things in my posts I want to change. Even in the post above, there's at least one sentence I wish I'd worded differently.

Still can, actually, thanks to the Edit feature, but writers have to learn to let things go.

Editing commands: Writers' heroin.