Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Reboot Re-read: DnA Legion

Yep, I much more appreciate the "stripe" motif. But even her "s" leotard was different from the others (and why was it not a "u"? )


Yeah, I guess we'll get there next issue (I haven't read that yet, probably will get to it later today) but the flowers item sounds more like an Atom Eve power vs Kinetix. The two characters have a LOT of similarities, but while Eve could effectively transform nothing into something, Zoe has to work with what she has based on its state. There is some transformation that she can do but it would be based on the materials at hand - it wouldn't be transmutation (that's Jan) nor creating life. I think there can be some debate on how fine tuned her powers can be (which I am trying to push more in my other works), as she can definintely change the same type of things - costumes on herself or others being a prime example.


True. I think I was thinking more from the "movement" perspective. Who knows, maybe the movement got out of hand and they told old RJ to "Eat it!"


This part of the issue really stuck with me and made me really like it. At first I was prepared to give this issue a lower grade, but this part of the story had so much truth to it, I couldn't stop thinking about it, it was so good, so I had to revisit my grade.[/quote]



They made Imra deliberately forget her lesson from controlling Rokk, now they are showing not learning her lesson from being even worse. In all honesty, I had kind of forgotten this issue, but as I re-read DnA, its yet another character I have a connection to that they are debasing. So what I'm seeing so far is generally strong storytelling, but not really getting the characters.


Definitely agree on the focus. I'm assuming that Credo is being set up as the next big villain after Ra's and, I'm assuming, Robotica.

I've been saying for years in this forum that that's exactly what should have been done! There could have been new characters from the same planets as the Legionnaires. There could have been a new version of the Workforce. As for Waid wanting to do another five-year-jump -- that's more proof, in my opinion, that his creative judgment was not very sharp at that time.

I'm not remembering that particular Waid quote, but there's been so much thrown around about that era, that it's hard to keep up with everything. I think what is true, at least as of current oral history, is that he was specifically contracted to reboot the franchise by DC editorial and NOT use the Post ZH Legion in any way. Also that DnA was told to leave, and Gail Simone was brought in for a story, but not told initially that she'd be the one turning off the lights on the series (she has since said that she wouldn't have done the job if she knew that her run would end the series).

I think that we all agree that opening any Legion series with "Five Years Later..." at this point would be a huge mistake.

Well, if that's true, then DC Editorial circa 2004 was even more clueless than I thought.

Also, to clarify, I was trying to say I think there should have been a continuation of the reboot legion, no threeboot, no four years later, nothing like that.

Yep! And I totally agree with you!

And yeah, when has DC Editorial EVER had a clue with regards to the Legion? They always seem to be a week late to the game and several brain cells short with ANYTHING they do Legion-wise.

The sheer list of their misfires may deserve a thread of their own!

Hah now that would have been ironic and funny!

#5

It's refreshing to read a "done in one" story after weeks of re-reads that involve ongoing storylines and set-ups for future stories. I wouldn't classify this issue as "filler" since it relates directly to the current storylines--e.g., asking the Kwai to provide guidance through the Legion's new dimensional transports and setting up conflict with Credo. A filler story is usually unconnected to the main narrative and has no bearing on it. As we will see (as I recall), the Kwai's cooperation and the threat of Credo become major elements of the series. However, this tale does disrupt the Ra's al Ghul arc and prolong our tension a bit longer. Fortunately, we can re-read these issues at our leisure. At the time, it was unbearable to wait another month to find out the fates of Mon and Legion World.

But #5 is an outstanding diversion. As mentioned in previous posts, it deals with the very difficult subject of what to do with people who belong to a race, culture, or nation that was once considered an enemy. Should civilians who were not involved in the conflict be punished? If so, how? How does one put aside the fear and anger stirred up by the conflict?

Saturn Girl cannot seem to do so. Her feelings are totally understandable, but, as Lyle points out, she lets those feelings guide her judgment. These scenes remind me of Kirk's depiction as a hater of Klingons after one of them murdered his son in the Star Trek films. Yes, it is wrong to blame an entire culture for the actions of some, but it is also very human. Those feelings have to go somewhere. As for Imra not learning from her previous mistakes, I'm willing to cut her some slack. Seeing the Progeny reduced to refugees is a new situation for her. She must feel they got what they deserved (just as many felt the harsh measures against Germany following World War I were justified). She loved Garth dearly and wants to blame someone for his death. In the Progeny, she sees only cold-blooded killers, not sentient beings who just might be capable of making different choices now that the Progenitor is dead.

Invisible Kid represents the opposite side of that coin. He's able to keep a detached observer's perspective and point out what the Legion Constitution says. His role as the voice of reason is well served here, but, like Imra, he goes too far. Once he's made his point on Page 7, there's no reason for him to keep hammering away at her several pages later. Imra has voiced an opinion, not stated that she or the Legion will act in any way against the Progeny. Lyle may be right, but he shows no regard for Imra's feelings or capacity to deescalate the situation. He attacks her, and she retaliates.

Gas makes a good point that Imra doesn't reveal what she is thinking at the end; however, she does follow the Legion Constitution. Putting the Progeny under the Legion's protection is a huge step for her, and we can make of it what we will.

The rest of the story serves its purpose in showing how young people like Herros become radicalized and how hate groups flourish. The last page is chilling. Sadly, these issues are still with us in 2021. Why wouldn't they be in 3001?

Peter Snejbjerg's art is very different from Coipel's, and it took me a few pages to adjust. But Snejbjerg does a great job with faces and expressions, such as Lyle's single-minded stare on Page 11, Panel 2, and Imra's internal conflict on Page 18. The image of the Progeny refugees on Page 12 is especially well-rendered and sad.

We haven't discussed the coloring much in these re-reads, but it's the one element of the art I've been most impressed with. Here McCraw does an outstanding job with the orange space on pp. 2-4 and with the Kwai township/junkyard of ships on Page 5.

HWW, you make a good point that Lyle comes of as unfeeling and unsupportive to Imra. He did seem to approach it in a too-detached way, and I can understand Imra lashing out back. And as a telepath, it's also understandable that she'd lash out telepathically... as well as verbally. I do note that she lashed out in anger, in the heat of the moment; it wasn't like a premeditated intrusion.

The Star Trek/Kirk analogy is spot on here, HWW. I'll definitely cut her some slack for her opinion on the Progeny, but not on her attacking Lyle without a specific apology after everything else she's done to her team.


In this case, I liked that ambiguity. It really worked for the story.


Sad, isn't it?


This is a great point. McCraw is such a Legion workhorse, I don't even bother mentioning it. He knows his Legion colors amazingly well (as to my comment about Triad in Issue 3) and does a great job with the other environments that he handled in Lost.

At the end of the day, I'm sure it was just a job for him, so he wasn't that much invested in the story, but given that McCraw was so tied into the plotting of the pre-DnA era, I always wondered what he thought about the shifts that DnA made to the team and tone of the book.

The Legion #6

Released March 27, 2002
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

Terror Incognita 1: Terrorform
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Oliver Coipel - Pencils
Andy Lanning - Inks
Tom McCraw - Colors
Mike McAvennie - Editor

Synopsis

We begin with our go-to reporter Trudy Trusoe reporting from the Metropolis streets where demonstrations are happening against McCauley's terraforming plans. An energy surge hits them and Zoe comes out of nowhere, picking up Trudy and her cameraman (Lizu) and sprinting them out of harm's way. Zoe is having problems holding on to the two of them while flying and crashes. Trudy immediately recognizes her as the former Kinetix and tries to get an imprompty interview. Lizu picks up a small purple sphere when the feed goes dead.

In studio, Vigo gets us up to speed with the Footstep Lab story. In addition to SP forces, apparently the media was there, as well, as Cos used that to speak out on the horrors of that experimentation and informs everyone that the Legion is again active and is heading for McCauley.

We then cut to a hero shot of the primary team hovering in the sunlight at McCauley's tower. After a quick confrontation with the SPs, the Legion forces their way in and home in on McCauley, also finding M'Onel's whereabouts. Gates ports out to get M'Onel, then ports right back for help as M'Onel's been bleeding out for goodness knows how long. Gates apparently brings the entire Legion. Triad fears for Valor, Jazmin stabilizes M'Onel with a quantum field. Jo zaps the Red Solar lamps. M'Onel tells the team the truth about Ra's.

"McCauley" is ready to leave with the Oversight Watch, and drops that the genetic work he's been harvesting lately is centuries old. Venge calls to tell that Legion World has been destroyed when the Legion team busts in by giant Vi breaking through the deck. Ra's sics the OW on the Legion and Cosmic Boy and Repulse go at it; Rokk looked up to Repulse and we get all the dirt - he basically washed out of every team due to performance enhancers. Then uses his own metal suit against him.

Cham takes out Twine, Brainstorm is taken out by a combo of Vi, Ultra Boy and Kid Quantum throwing his drones against him. Abyss faces off with Brainiac 5 and Shikari, sending the latter into one of his voids - which she promptly finds her way out of and sends Abyss himself into.

The Legion confronts Ra's directly, who reveals himself, and that the attack in issue 1 was a staged event for the OW. Ra's shows the Legion that he has done SOMETHING in Metropolis that is causing suffering. He challenges them to take him down now or help his victims.

Back downtown, Zoe seems to be looking for people when someone runs out screaming for help. The purple spheres start to move towards Zoe when a large menacing figure appears and zaps her in purple light.

Interlude: Back on Xanthu, Star Boy and XS are still stirring up trouble when all the power goes out. Robotica appears to be transforming somehow and begins to leave Xanthu's orbit.

Back at the tower, the Legion debates. Rokk wants to take out Ra's, but Vi and Jazmine convince him otherwise, Jazmin making a compelling case. The Legion leaves to help the rest of the world.

We end with Ra's superimposed over a burning moon.


Commentary

Action packed issue here, but I had an issue with the rhythm of the story. I was reminded of LSH 125 at the end of Widening rifts, as there is sheer chaos going on, so the reader is kept guessing at things, but I don't think that serves the story very well here, especially after just having a gap issue and pausing the action. One scene of chaos leads to another scene with a team we had THOUGHT was left in chaos, but is now under control for the moment. So there are a bunch of things going on that we are not made aware of to get us to the inevitable confrontation with Ra's. Once the story finally gets going, about when the team finds M'Onel, there is a decent rhythm to the story, but the beginning is a bit jarring. Ra's is pretty nefarious and does a great job at presenting a devil's choice to the Legion - save the world or capture Ra's. I'm looking forward to the reveal of Ra's' end goal here.

Graphics were good for Coipel. Pretty much his standard at this point - not as good as #3, but also not Damned or Lost. His closeups are good, but the group scenes tend to have sketchy details and aren't always clear on the action here.

Does Zoe have her flight ring or not? She's carried heavier loads with her powers. But she's not shown wearing a flight ring, and she doesn't naturally have flight powers. Her flight is highlighted in green, which implies her TK is making her fly. We've absolutely seen her handle more weight with her powers, so I'm not sure what's going on here. This scene was great in setting the stage, but very confusing for a long time Reboot Legion reader. I'm chalking this up to lack of homework, as they easily could have featured her wearing a flight ring in the final panel on that page with her hand in the foreground as they've done elsewhere in the series.

I'm assuming that the Legion called the media to be at the research facility as well, otherwise the cliffhanger confrontation at the end of issue 4 could have gone very badly for them PR wise. I feel like that's a bit of a cheat, as the cliffhanger has a ton of SPs coming at them - what makes the media charge in without fear to mass interview Cosmic Boy? That whole aspect of the story didn't sit well with me given how the cliffhanger ended - "I'd rather not bore you with the details of our escape..."

Once the Legion breaks in, Who is talking after Shikari says she found McCauley? Its very unclear but I assume its Jo. Man, M'Onel is in bad shape here, and we again get the Valor reference, but good sense of panic generated from Gates' frames. I have to wonder if the Valor importance is going to go farther than this, as the reference in this issue and 4 was probably the reason for it being menitoned in LW1. It's interesting that the writers didn't mention what made M'Onel vulnerable in issue 3, but laid it out in both 4 and 6.

I had to laugh at the "Really sus" comment from Twine. This was written in 2001 but I've heard the term more often lately, mainly from my kids. Still its interesting that just now the OW is starting to get a clue.

Vi bursting up to the landing pad made me wonder if maybe the cover for 4 was supposed to be for this issue?

I loved the whole Rokk/Repulse confrontation - I've been waiting for this since Widening Rifts! But Steroids? I guess they needed to make it relatable, but they could have made something up for the 31st century. But the confrontation is spot on.

Didn't like the Cham/Twine fight. Cham could have easily transformed his legs into fists, or do what he did with his bound arms with his unbound legs, so the melee didn't make much sense.

Brainstorm's comment about Imra's absence made me ask again - why would Saturn Girl's telepathy protect against TK? They are totally different unless he's saying that she would take him out telepathically.

Zoe's scene seemed very disconnected from what had just come before when she was with Trudy. And then she just stands there? I guess she did not have her flight ring, therefore the earlier depiction of her flying via her powers is wrong on the part of the writers. I get that the writers and editors wanted to transform Zoe into something they had a handle on, but it would help if they had the character right to begin with. BTW - as a should out to Ibby based on the comments of previous issues - I can't seem to find her transforming anything into flowers in 6, but her flight depiction via her powers is completely incorrect.

Also, we know that Trudy somehow escapes, but how? I guess this will be addressed later, as the terrorforms are mowing out everything in their path.

I found the image of the McCauley towers very evocative of the WTC as we approach the 9/11 anniversary.

The confrontation between Rokk and Ra's seemed to go on a bit too long for my tastes but was effective.

Overall, I'm gonna give this one a B-. Solid story once it gets going, but the strange fast forward opening and a ton of little issues that took me out of the moment. The M'Onel rescue and Legion/Overwatch clash was the highlight for me here.

Lyle exhibits poor judgment and social skills. A budding therapist he is not.

As for Imra lashing out with a telepathic burst, I'm fine with her doing this and then not apologizing. It reveals so much about her character, and it's interesting to see how far she can be pushed. And I think DnA trust us to read between the lines. As another example, we don't learn Enkenet's decision in this story (though it eventually becomes obvious). The story leaves us hanging just a little, but it's okay. The story isn't really about the Kwai's choice; it's about how hatred lingers after a war and how some people give in to those feelings while others struggle to find a better way.

Sure, but as a long time admirer of the Imra character in every incarnation, I completely disliked what they did to her over the course of two years. They turned her from a character I enjoyed into a character I pushed away, and as a reader, I didn't like that.

I was going to point out in my L7 review about the penchant for DnA to introduce a concept in one issue, then explain it later. That's fine, assuming that you have the reader's attention for multiple issues, or everything is collected as a trade. But they do it a LOT.

re Imra, she DID try to apologize to Lyle in the end. I assume that was as much for her attitude, as for her telepathic outburst.

As someone who has lashed out in anger before and regretted it, I'm fine with Imra lashing out telepathically - as I noted, she's a telepath so that was probably reflexive for her. AS LONG AS she apologizes, which I believe her apology at the end was meant to cover (Lyle accepted it, by the way)

PS I am pretty pleased that Tom McCraw remained on colors, this man is a genius. I wonder how much input he had, if any, on scripts, dialogue, plot...

thanks for the shout out, GL! Zoe CAN fly naturally, with her powers - I always assumed she could fly period, as her hair was always floaty back in the mid-Reboot, even without using her telekinetic aura. Plus Violet in Legionnaires 55 asks Zoe (and Thom) to use their flight rings, so composite Durlan won't realize they can fly unaided. (Zoe flying on her own seems to have come in around... well... around her cat-girl era when she reappears in Legionnaires 36).

We've seen Zoe levitate others with her powers (Empress in L* 36, Karate Kid in L*39).

re the changing things into flowers, it's very subtle but it seems to be on that big splash page where she first saves Trudi and Lizu. looking closely, there are some tiny yellow blossoms around Zoe's aura

I liked Cham punching Twine out, if mainly for his one-liner.

Shikari finding her way out of the void was interesting, and I;m not sure what to make of it frankly. Can she now open portals unaided?? We never see this again so...

I'd posit that she was certainly apologizing for her earlier attitude about the Progeny earlier. But its also fair to say that the writers have consistently not put Imra in a good light for well over a year at this point starting with Widening Rifts. And no arguments about lashing out; its a human and relatable thing. I've been known to do it myself in my time on this earth.


He certainly did before DnA, as he was given plot credits.


You are absolutely right! Although its kind of unclear, as most of what she does is hovering, not rocketing across the sky like this. And I always thought the hair thing was a fashion statement ("It naturally floats that way")


Oh yeah, no argument there - levitation is a natural TK type of power, so that makes sense.


Yep, I see what you mean there - the aura is definitely transforming the rocks to flowers. That ain't what she does.


Oh, agree on the Cham takedown of Twine. My point is that his feet were free the whole time, so why bother with the multiple fists when you can go multiple legs for kicking? Shikari I just took as her being able to find her way out from anywhere. The more interesting point, as you mention, is how she opened the portal again! I'm not sure at this point if we ever see Abyss again, so its probably a moot point.

I totally get that. I wasn't pleased with Mon-El being turned into Valor. I never followed his solo series; to me, he seemed like a different character. For me, Mon's place is in the Legion, not being a 20th-century stand-in for Superboy as the inspiration for the Legion (though I did admire his refusal to reveal his identity as Valor in the 30th century).

As a writer, though, I can see a different side to it. You can't get too attached to the characters, not the way fans do. Getting attached prevents you from taking chances with the characters--and from getting deeper into who they are as people and what they are capable of doing, both good and bad.


Good catch! I had forgotten that she tried to say something and Kid told her it wasn't necessary. This is good writing. There's a lot of subtlety in that scene, such as Kid acknowledging that Imra said what needed to be said.

Yeah, definitely! I totally hear what you're saying. A writer can do what they want - they are essentially playing god and its fun to push characters in certain ways for sure. It's certainly a good writing beat in order to get the reaction in this case.

re Imra, yeah, DNA have made her a very flawed character. Realistic, but flawed, and a bit of a throwback to earlier in the Reboot. I do like that they have her making tough choices and dealing with the consequences, and that her intentions are generally good. She's been through a lot.

heh I love that scene where Candi asks if Zoe perms her hair, and Vi is all "oh, it floats that way naturally!"

As far as I remember, Abyss never appears again, so Shikari's magical portal opening also doesn't appear again

I guess where I'm going to end up with Imra is that the writers certainly had the right to do whatever they wanted to do in order to show us her journey and tell the story they wanted to tell. I think the challenge I have is that they ignored the prior 5-6 years of characterization and make her a different character in order to tell that story. Another way to look at it is that there are only two founders left. Rokk is solid as a ...well... rock, so Imra needs to be the emotional one.

agree, it doesn't work as well when we recall how mature Imra had become from LSH 100-121 and L* 57-77, it feels a bit like a backslide. Maybe I give her more slack because she did go through a lot...

Also Rokk, heh, we will see how solid he is when Kon-El shows up...

Yeah, but isn't Jarth back at that point? I don't remember much of that time at all, but I do remember Jarth!

Oh yeah, Jarth shows up just about the same time that Kon-El shows up, I believe.

The Legion #7

Released April 24, 2002
DC Comics, Color
22 Pages

Terror Incognita 2 - Fear of Change
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Oliver Coipel - Pencils
Andy Lanning - Inks
Tom McCraw - Colors
Mike McAvennie - Editor

Synopsis

The blood moon hangs over Metropolis as Ra's al Ghul monologues to the world. He is accelerating evolution triggering a process called Hypertaxis, pulling the moon closer to initiate an extinction event. We get an explanation of the balls that Zoe found last issue. Some people become "Terrorforms" and zap everyone else into little balls for safeguarding during the upheaval process. Then they pick the best ones to evolve. Or something.

VP Winema Wazzo is trying to boss around a SP cheif when, to her chagrin, the Legion flies in - Cosmic Boy, Ultra Boy, Kid Quantum, Leviathan, Brainiac 5, Chameleon and Shikari. They bypass the VP and head straight for the terrorforms. Brainy tries to short circuit their instructions but is quickly zapped into a seed. They all get after it and Shikari and Cham are soon zapped as well. Cos strategizes and uses his discs to block a terrorform's blast.

The terrorforms are super strong, taking down Vi at her large size, and Ultra Boy when he's using Ultra Strength. A terrorform tosses Vi into a building with no effort. She shrinks, and is about to be zapped herself when green energy hits the terrorform. The new arrival, a terrorform with a red mane of hair, communicates with Violet and she realizes its Kinetix.

They go back to help COs, Jo and Jazmin, and Kinetix sends a suggestion to Cos to blind them, which he does. It turns out to be a simple solution; remove their weapons. Vi and Kinetix join the rest of the team as they run away.

Interlude: Fifteen days out from Xanthu we connect with the Khundian refuge fleet that left Xanthu at the end of LW4 (great reference point there - Jenni and Thom have been at it for two weeks on the planet). A huge energy surge overtakes them; the Robotican base world heading for Earth.

We reconnect with Ra's and the Oversight Watch on the lunar terraforming platform. Repulse passive aggressively asks Ra's if they're going to get blamed for the havoc on Earth. Ra's says they can stay or go, and the OW elects to stay as Venge returns and informs Ra's of the vaporization of Legion World.

The Legion returns to VP Wazzo's position to borrow their telepath, the same one we met in the LW3 backup story. There is an interesting banter between Jo and Winema about Tinya, Winema is coy about the situation with Tinya and tells him nothing about his pregnant wife. They connect Tinya's adept to Kinetix so that they can 'see' her memories. Apparently the last time these terrorforms appeared was at the extinction event that took out the dinosaurs, which is what enabled humans to come to the forefront. Zoe's mystical abilities plus her genotype made her into a hybrid terrorform. Kinetix then unzaps Brainy, Shikari and Cham.

Brainy took his time as a seed to come up with a plan, and three hours later, the Legionnaires pop up on the moon with backup.

Commentary

Okay, I had to let this review sit for about a day, because I wanted to be sure that this was how I felt. I came back and saw some things in a bit of a better light, but not much, because I can't get past the central plot point.

I guess the way I'm approaching this issue is that there is a lot that happens, but also a lot that doesn't make sense. The story flow is generally fine - we start with the standard DnA intro style when apocalyptic events are happening, this time Ra's al Ghul detailing what is happening across the earth, then jumping into the action. Those parts, for what it was worth, flowed pretty well. But the concept of Hypertaxis and the terrorforms as the central point of Ra's plan made this story go sideways for me, bolstered by a lot of little details. While the mystery of the little purple balls and the large menacing figures had been answered, the explanation for what they do and why left me shaking my head. Even the thing I thought I was gonna be upset the most about - the Zoe situation - didn't really bother me during this read, as I felt like she was used really well, except for the writers and editors again reverting her to a laconic thing.

Coipel art seemed to be a step down for me from the standard he's set up so far - Ra's looked very simian, which may or may not be intentional, but it jumped out. Similarly, the details on pages 11 & 12 were lacking for me. Hero shot on the last page was great though!

Weird little details around the opening monologue. Ra's is intentionally triggering Hypertaxis to make evoluiton happen, as neither the Blight nor the Rift were enough of a trigger. Is Metropolis a domed city or is that a generic shot of the tides going crazy as the moon approaches the Earth?? The aerial shot looked to be a NYC picture run through a filter - wouldn't this look different 1000 years from now? There is a frame of things going on as normal. Aren't we told that this is going on worldwide? Shouldn't there be mass chaos everywhere, environmental as well as sentient given that the moon is literally entering the Earth's atmosphere? Also, if the trigger to create a mass extinction event is to throw the moon into the Earth, doesn't that wipe out the Earth? Doesn't Ra's always want to just CLEAN the Earth cause mankind is a horrible steward? This is where my questioning of using Ra's as the big bad is justified. Ra's opening monologue/exposition is creepy as it should be, but leaves more questions than answers. And the question is more like, "I waited six issues for this?!"

So the VP is in charge of a SP security force? Shouldn't they be spiriting her away in a bunker like I assume they did when the Blight came to town?

Even though I am not a fan of the terrorform concept, that action sequence through Cos blinding them is really good. They pack a wallop. Bad writing/editing scene - Vi's line should have been, "Oh my grife, ZOE?" THEY WERE BEST FRIENDS, for grife's sake. But I'll not go down that rabbit hole again. By the way, does anyone pick up the seeds of the zapped Legionnaires that fell 20 stories to the ground after they got zapped when they were floating and facing off the terrorforms?

So right on the heels of the apocalyptic Hypertaxis Ra's story, we're getting the tease of an apocalyptic Robotica story on Earth. Great. I'm glad that Ra's took all that effort to rebuild Earth so much in the last year. Cute "Told you" moment by Dreamer, though.

We see Winema is still a raging bitch, and that its rubbing off on her adept! The whole "It" thing referring to Kinetix was annoying. But the explanation of the terrorforms was just... odd...

Oh! JO had the seeds so Kinetix could revive Brainy, Cham and Shikari! Glad they showed someone grabbing them when they bugged out from the fight! Oh, wait...

So let me get this right - well before the humanoid quardaped had evolved, there was some genotype in the existing organisms, a small percentage of dinosaurs and other critters, to turn into these humanoid things, zap everything into seeds with their eye beams until later, when someone sorts out the good ones. Suck it, Darwin!

Also, what about the meta gene in the DCU? Surely that plays a part in the calculus?

Zoe is a human from Aleph, but IS magical, so McAvennie only gets a half point off for being a bad editor. Otherwise she wouldn't have had the genotype, right??

Brainy still being able to think as a seed was kind of cool, actually.

This gets a C- from me, and its lucky its not lower. Ra's plan and his execution of it just doesn't work for me as a plot reveal, although I'll reserve my right to revise that grade if there is a better payoff by the end of the Terra Incognita arc. Also, DnA's apocalypses are starting to feel formulaic. The story pace was fine, but the problem was I didn't like the central tenet of the story itself. McAvennie really did little more as editor than write the letter column, because this whole thing makes ZERO sense in the DCU. Bring on the big fight with Ra's.

I read #6 and #7 close together; I think this pattern works for me because I don't have a lot to say about either individual issue, and they read better as if they were collected into a trade as intended. Both are competent issues, but each feels like only half of a larger chapter.

So . . . the lead-up to the confrontation with Ra's in #6 is well done, as is the Legion's discovery of the wounded M'Onel. I, too, was thrown by the lack of conflict between the Legion and the sci police that was one of the cliffhangers in #4, but I'm willing to accept that the sci cops bought the Legion's explanation of events (they did have plenty of former hostages for evidence) and chose not to pursue a conflict. Maybe Cos wowed them with another "I want you to be impressed by this" speech, referring to his Legion flight ring. (I did love that moment in #7.)

Also, wouldn't destroying the red sun lamps cause Mon's powers to return almost immediately? Would this be a good thing if he's got damage from a bullet through his body? Wouldn't it be that much harder for him to heal or be operated on?

Ra's is appropriately threatening and not at all worried about being stopped. He gives the Legion what seems to be a dilemma: Fight him or save civilians. However, there are seven Legionnaires present. Why didn't Cos order, say, Jo and Vi to make sure Ra's doesn't go anywhere while everyone else shifts to rescue detail? It's not like seven Legionnaires could make that much difference against worldwide catastrophes, anyway.

While Kid Q demonstrates her leadership potential (she will eventually become leader) by forcing Cos to make the right decision, I'm not sure why Cos would hesitate. Surely saving civilians is more important than capturing a madman who's made it clear he's not going anywhere. Yet again someone quotes the Constitution, but here it seems heavy-handed and unnecessary.

Okay, on to #7. When I re-read this issue, pages 2 and 3 were stuck together, so I missed Ra's long-winded explanation. It's just as well as the verbose exposition stops the momentum of the story. And it doesn't really add anything. I could figure out as I went along that Ra's meant to force evolution on humanity. The only thing that confused me was Brainy being turned into a glowing volleyball on Page 8. The action is not clearly shown. We're given a multi-balloon speech from Brainy, then a burst of energy passes between the Legionnaires, and then . . . voila! volleyball. It wasn't until the next page when Cham and Shikari are likewise transformed that it dawned on me . . . oh, this is like what the Kelvins did to most of the Enterprise crew in the TOS episode "By Any Other Name." Luckily, none of the "terrorforms" chose to crush a volleyball to prove their point.

Otherwise, the action in #7 was well done and kept the story moving. Zoe's transformation was a shocker. Through her and Mr. Eidoor, we get more exposition and the restoration of our three volleyball-transformed Legionnaires. Then it's on to the moon, where Cos delivers another rousing speech: "It's time to finish this." R.J. could take some lessons from his Braalian protege.

So, the issue hits all the right beats, but, like Gas, I'm growing weary of one apocalyptic story after another. I also think the sci fi elements occasionally exceed DnA's grasp. I know they exceed mine.

DNA definitely upped the scales eh? Apocalypse after apocalypse

More thorough comments from me later on, but I do remember reeling from these issues. Like, it took me a couple hours after first reading to parse through them in my mind

The volleyball transformations? glad the Legionnaires who got turned didn?t stay that way for long. Having Terrorforms smash Jo Vi and Jaz added to their strength. Terrorform Zoe helping Vi was a nice touch cause of their friendship, but to someone new, that friendship isn?t clear in the couple panels here. Ah well. Like GL I?m not happy about it, but with everything else happening so fast it doesn?t sink in until later

Winema has evolved from angry shouting authority figure to cold calculating one. She catches herself when she realises Jo doesn?t know he has a son, and just doesn?t say anything. Ugh. Winema, that?s terrible

Her Titanet adept Eidoor actually plays a role in the story! (For that matter, some Legionnaires have ?common?
Powers so.. easy enough to write a replacement in)

Thankfully, Jasmin comes to the defense of Zoe, telling people not to call her IT in a snarky way

Ex-Legionnaire, made me sad.

Fast paced high momentum issue. Like HWW and GL, I found the Sci-fi elements a bit of a stretch and a tad inaccessible.

Cos still plays the leader role here. I forgot to mention I loved his ?showing flight ring? moment that just stymies the UP forces. Also loved Jasmin being all ?ok look people are going to die, let?s save them? moment, putting Cos in his place so to speak.