Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! LEGION #26 thoughts! (SPOILERS)

And let's face it-- Andy's not that original... his outfit for Superboy looks SO familiar...!

I bet Andy designed that hideous t-shirt Val loaned to Clone-El! Val's hoping it gets ruined in a battle, I bet, so he'll be off the hook!

What I liked:

Darksied's apperance. Who's been taking pot shots at him, I wonder?
The friction between Cos and Kon-el. (I havn't seen enough of the clone to be irritated by him, yet.)
Vi speaks!!! I wasn't sure she still could. It's not enough, but it's a start.
Kid Q's power problems.
Lyle and Brainy finishing each other's sentences. How cute.
The athramites are back! I really get a kick out of the little guys.
Nice to see Ferro's still into fashion.
Shikari's not in this issue. I was really getting anoyed by how much panel time she gets.

What I'm undecided on:
Jarth.
"I just don't get these..." I just don't get why Brainy's talking like that, but DnA have had a good handle on him from the start, so I'll write it off as a typo.
I know Cos and Jaz have had five weeks to get romantic, but it doesn't seem that long to me. I would have liked to have seen it develop more.

What I didn't like:
Vi's swearing again. It sort of makes sense in a fight, but we really need to see more of her character.
No Gates.

I did get a bit stuck on the detail inconsistencies in the art. They should just ALL have transuit armbands showing! I like how we Legion fans try to explain creator mistakes, with in-story logic.

The cover art had some mistakes. Cos should have fingerless gloves on. A couple of his fingernails were actually colored black. (It was the background showing through.) Why were Cos' utility belt packs brown and not grey? Superboy was in the Superman costume, but shouldn't have been, in that scene. Why was Cos spitting and Superboy bleeding? So weird. Ferro should have been colored all silver/grey. I'd have expected TnT to do a kewl effect to show his metallic state. Jeka's arm around the servant's neck wasn't colored right. Was TnT given too short a deadline? Sometimes there is no in-story explanation for these things, simply creator errors.

Batista is doing a great job overall, though. I note that Jeka's hair seems to be thinning. I wonder if this is intentional?

I noticed the lack of interaction between Jo and Tinya.

I was annoyed by Violet doing NOTHING!

I think Imra is being VERY nice to Garth. He is in a very awkward position, right now. I'm SURE something dramatic is going to happen...

Love that Jaz has these weird time blips! Can't wait to see what it is.

Brainy and Lyle are great together. I'm glad to see Lyle do anything at this point.

Jaz and Coz as a couple is nice, to me.

Nura's "there is no future" scene is classic, over the top, dramatic Dream Girl for ya! LLL!

Kon's "Talk to the Hand" shirt cracks me up. Out of all the shirts in all the universe, this is the one he gets. I like Lash's jokes about it.

LOVE the shot of Superboy in the Superman outfit!

This story arc makes being a Legion fan fun. Lots of stuff for us to play with.

Alright, I don't think anyone said this yet, but I think we've all missed something very important: THE TIME TRAPPER IS IN THIS ISSUE.

Check out the page where Jaz, Cos, Brainy, Imra, Lu and Lyle are all sitting around. There is a panel where KQ stops talking and Lu says "Uh...Kid?". In the backround of the very next panel, you can see the Time Trapper standing there looking at the Legionnaires. If you look at the previous two panels (where everyone is exactly in the same spot), he's not there, and now suddenly shows up during the time-blip. It's definately him, just look, hood and everything.

So maybe it's the Time Trapper that is the main villian of this whole arc! Who knows, but I'm positive he's in this issue!

Oh, I really like the way Cos is getting all the spotlight on him all of a sudden! Especially the romance with Jazmin.


But... could this be because DnA have a Time Trapper story planned that he is a major part of? Since he was the Time Trapper in a previous continuity, and Jaz has time powers, could the coupling of these two be something DnA are doing on purpose to affect the Trapper.

With Kon, Clark (?) and the Cub all experiencing time-annonamlies (sp?), this is starting to get interesting...

Pushing things a bit for a faded-out character in the background with a hood (not a robe, a hood - notice the chest circle) - it may just be a Durlan or somesuch.

But, since you made me get the issue out to have a look at it, I noticed another odd thing on the same page - why did Triad look at Dreamer to say "uhhh... Kid?" (Nura looks back @ Lu too). It just seems odd - if you were trying to get someone's attention, would you look @ someone else while you were doing it?

It is a pretty odd sequence, isn't it? There is definately a few things going on here.

However, the pencillers specifically draw everything into the backround for a purpose (at least according to Neil Gaimain and Alan Moore, I guess), so I wonder why they'd draw a hooded figure into that panel when there is apparently some kind of time thing going on in the story and with Jaz's ambigious time powers. I have a feeling that the hooded guy is in there for a reason, even if its for me to get everyone to have to dig out their latest issue !

I just have the feeling that there is more going on than just Darkseid and the Superboy stories. Hopefully it's not just wishful thinking...

I dunno, Cobie... I thought that was just some random background person who had moved into the panel during the time KQ was "spacing out" -- I'm assuming there was a period of a couple of seconds where everyone else was going about their business and moving around, while KQ was just standing there with her mouth open.

If it is the Time Trapper, what's that weird circle on his/her chest?

EDITED TO ADD: Sorry, I read SoM's post only after I'd posted this!

I noticed the change in background characters and found it odd myself, but I don't think there's sufficient evidence to assert that this is The Time Trapper.

However, I wouldn't at all be surprised if the Hooded One shows up before the end of the storyline. Here's a possible connection: The Blight supposedly made a deal with Entropy (aka The Time Trapper), the Blight used Stargates to travel, Darkseid's servants are currently investigating stargates for some unknown reason, the catastrophists want to revive Darkseid in order to cause some great catastrophe (and what catastrophe would be bigger than the End of Time?). A stretch, maybe, but we'll see...

Hey
<cough>
i have that same T-shirt.
Hmmm..And the same haircut...maybe i have issues.
And where are y'all getting the super cool icons...i want one...I want to look ah hot as MLLASH


Bones

There's tons of swell photomanips in the AVATARS section where you found your Crystal Kid avatar, Scotty, you just gotta keep looking.

Though I love this Rokk avatar, I'm about due to change back to one of my own pics....

You wanna have this Rokk avatar?

I don't think this observation is too far-fetched. Remember DnA hinted at an introduction of the Time Trapper at the end of the Computo arc - didn't Sharn Nux land at his feet or something? It's about time they followed that one up.

I MUCH prefer Kon-el in the tight jeans/black t with Superman symbol than the full Superboy outfit at the end. It looks kinda lame and dated to me - as if Tinya had started sporting bell-bottoms again.

I really enjoyed this issue. Lots of Legionnaire interaction. Minor quibbles as follows: Yes, Vi did get a few lines here and there but DnA still don't seem to have a grasp of her persona yet. It always seems like whatever she says could have been said just as easily by anyone else. Nothing distinctive that tells us this is formerly shy Vi talking. The Stargate/Spacegate thing was a little annoying because it seemed like a re-hash of the Kid Q/Ayla call me Live Wire/Spark thing.
Okay you've re-made Sensor into a more interesting look - now for God's sake let her use her illusion powers. I'm bored with all of this tail-spanking.
I don't know what is happening in the Secret Files issue but I hope it will address some of the happenings in the 5 weeks prior. We need to see the Jarth thing play out from the beginning. What was Ayla's reaction? Will he be overtly shunned by some legionnaires because he looks like the guy who killed Monstress and the former Live Wire? Kid Q had a special connection to Jan Arrah - how is she reacting to Jarth? Maybe Rewind Kid Cadet can show us what happened during those 5 weeks.
I still feel that overall DnA are doing an interesting job on this book. But they really do focus on the big issues - world domination by "fill-in-the-blank" when what we really want to see is Triad's reaction to Ferro - are they friends again? Or more insight into the Dreamer/Star Boy relationship? Or does Invisible Kid have a sex life? And on and on. It's not enough to fit characterization in between major events. Well, not for me anyway.

Okay enough whining - we've got a book every 2 weeks for a while. Now is the perfect time to balance plot with characterization.

Not just blips I think. I think so far they have been rewinds in her local vicinity.

I agree with Cargg. I'm tired of Sensor using her tail instead of her powers. And her super strength didn't come with her new body, as D&A seem to be trying to imply. Remember how she snapped that armored tank in two with her old body? Just another example of their playing fast and loose with everyone's power levels that annoys me. If this keeps up, Proty will be using his super strength to kick Darkseid's ass.

Can anyone answer my questions?

Is that Zauriel or Hawkgirl corrupted?
Does Thom still have problem with his powers?

And I do think it's the Time Trapper involved as I said in an earlier post: With what happened to Jaz AND also to Nura (no future)... think it's enough of a hint... SO Obvious it cannot be? Nah I think it's just DnA's style

Nobody really knows. We're all just guessing.

And yes, Thom's still having trouble with his powers as far as we know.

Do we know those characters come from the past? Could the "hawkgirl" be a Starhavenite?

Just read #25 and #26 together and thought they were just great. So much visual detail, a variety of action and character and characters, with a lot of the sub-plots being picked up.

Interesting call on the "Trapper", Cobalt. I'm going to go back over Dream Crime and look for him - there were a few background scenes there with different profiles.

Loved the clock on the Time Institute! Fantastic to see Brainy and Lyle working together - maybe Rond was just out getting coffee. But were they sneaking into the Institute to get past the crowd or were they doing this on the sly? There was nobody else around.

I thought I'd loathe Superboy, but this may work out. I could do without the old uniform, too - the black t-shirt seems better with his personality. Perhaps clothes will make the man, however - and he will become the noble, square-jawed hero.

The "Jarth" scenes were well handled, also - realistic, the way he was thinking; the mixed feelings, the retort about Imra having "free access" to his thoughts, his reaction to Superboy, his isolation, the confusion of how to deal with his situation.

I wonder if anyone knows how to read it?

Even Ferro is of the digital age.

Hawkgirl!

Among the other servants of Darkseid are:

Orion, Lobo, Firestorm, Green Lantern, Big Barda, Martian Manhunter (true form), and Superman

Overall, I am pleased with part 2 more so than part 1. There appears to be a strong balance between art and storyline and most of it was believable. Several people have already pointed out the problems, so I will not repeat them.

What I liked about #26:

1-"Switch to a power other than ultra-sarcasm, Jo."

2-"We are "so" not covering ourselves with glory..." (I do not remember Vi being sarcastic; I hope this is a new aspect of her character. I'm sooo tired of the shy Vi routine.)

3-Coz has apparently become Kon-el's unwilling guide to the 31st century. Coz being a believer in the Spirit of the Last Son does not surprise me. The Legion was based on heroes of the past, including Superman, and Coz is a history buff.
It's a lesson to us all: Our heroes are only human or sentient. Try to live up to the ideas they convey and do not make them all-knowing gods.

3-Garth is sort of back.

4-Coz and Jaz: We saw it coming; now it's here. Have to admit, Coz goes for quality-First Imra, now Jaz. Who's next?

5-Andrew not being timid, wonderful!

What I didn't like:

1-I'm extremely disturbed about the way everyone's reacting to Garth/Jan. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that DnA is on the money with the reaction.

What do you do with someone who does not fit but you can't kick out? You let him hang around but you avoid him whenever possible.

I must echo others on one point: How could Ayla not visit Garth more often? At least Imra, who should be more creeped out than anyone, is attempting to communicate with him. It was extremely painful to see the attempted conversation and hear Garth's thoughts.
The worst part is he thought Imra faked the telepathic call, which she didn't. Even Coz,his buddy, has not tried to visit him more.

I hope we will have flashbacks either during or after this story arch so we can see everyone's reaction to Garth's return. I would like to see the other legionnaires show more compassion for Garth's plight.

2-I find it hard to believe that Brainy or Lyle has not cured Andy yet so he can change from iron to human without dying. They had 5 whole weeks!

Very impressed! Keep it coming, DnA!

Thanks for clearing this up! I was wondering who that "Alien"-looking servant was -- the shape of his head should have tipped me off to it being Martian Manhunter...

That was a nice analysis of the issue, saturnrings -- I pretty much agreed all down the list.

The absolute worst, though, is the fact that the only person who'll talk to him is Lori Morning, and she just won't leave him the hell alone!

I loved this issue too and the art was great. I would love to see a move to more individuality in the costumes worn. I don't think Legionnaires need a big giant 'L' belt buckle to identify them as such. Tinya and Tasmia don't wear them. I think it somehow takes away from the costumes. Those utlity belts need to be toned down a bit, because they appear to be large and cumbersome.

Well, I would have to disagree there, the "L" buckles are the ONLY team insignia they wear that are openly visible. Yes, they have their rings too but the buckles are clearly worn as an identifying emblem Without it there is nothing on them to suggest they are a Legionnaire.

I was toying with some Legion redesigns myself, maybe I'll post a few of them here sometime.