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

Oooh, I like the idea of those scenes perhaps being altered, or even completely imaginary, given Mekt's mental state. We know he was on medications as well.

I toyed with the idea in one of my fics that Garth, Ayla and Mekt all saw the 'lightning beasts' as completely different creatures (with Garth seeing the purple elephant-looking critters, and Ayla the jaggedy lightning stick figures of a later telling, IIRC, and Mekt as some sort of sentient embodiment of the storm, which he get all religious and weird about), and that when later people went to the planet, there were no 'lightning beasts,' and it was thought to be a strange one-off encounter, or shared delerium.

Then again, I straight up used the purple elephant-beasts in a later fic, as just another beastie that could be taken off Korbal and used to make hybrids with enforcer 'volunteers' from Rimbor, big plodding humanoid lightning-beast-men who could throw lightning and were otherwise morons. I'm nothing if not inconsistent.

I had forgotten about that one scene with Mekt wearing Live Wire's costume under his clothes...they really didn't do anything with that, did they?

I personally prefer the not-elephant lightning beasts, I dig all the Legion's crazy animals. It would be an interesting thing to explore though if Garth, Ayla and Mekt all perceived whatever was on Korbal differently and had to figure out what that actually meant.

Jarth and Cub are kind of in the same boat for me as creative decisions; they just seem like elements that would invariably have gotten retconned out to revert to status quo by a future creative team without really adding anything to any of the characters involved except a convoluted snag in their history that keeps being brought up and made even more convoluted as time goes by. To be honest, probably the only time I've ever really liked Jan as a character was the 5YL version but he is definitely one of the more badly handled characters in the reboot so I can imagine how annoying it'd be if you're a fan of his.

Garth used to think that Mekt only became evil because of their lightning powers, but Ayla always thought Mekt was rotten/messed up from even before that. It would tie into this, if they all perceived what happened on Korbal differently.

The Legion #26

Released November 12, 2003
DC Comics, Color
21 Pages

Foundations Part Two
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Chris Batista - Pencils
Chip Wallace - Inks
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

A sacrifice is made before the throne of Darkseid on Apokalips, but it is not enough. Five weeks pass. A team of Legionnaires and Superboy enter the Enduku system to investigate a stargate. Superboy is clearly annoying Cosmic Boy with his attitude - he's eager to get back to his time, and rushes into the situation. Superboy encounters three of Darkseid's minions who zap him, and the Legion flings into action. Umbra's darkness and Spark's electricity don't seem to have any affect on them, and neither does raw brawling. The lead minion rips the S off of Superboy's T-shirt and the three vanish in a Boom Tube.

On Legion World's Winath habitat, Garth, in his Element Lad body, is moping as the return of Superboy is still the center of attention after five weeks, as well as the fact that he looks like someone the team despises. Imra joins him for her daily visit, but rushes away when he reaches out to touch her.

Kid Quantum briefs everyone on the situation with Superboy and Apokalips and they strategize. Kid Quantum has a blank moment.

On Earth at the Time Institute, Brainy and Invisible Kid slip in past the protesting catastrophists, coming out of the woodwork after the appearance of Superboy. The pair begins researching how to get Superboy back home, when a boom tube opens with two Darkseid minions appear - dark versions of Orion and a Thanagarian.

Back on Legion World, Jazmin and Rokk share a moment in her quarters; the two have become a romantic couple. We also learn that Rokk is a member of the Spirit of the Last Son, a philosophy idolizing Superman, but SuperBOY is a disappointment. The drinks that Jazmin poured suddenly are back in the bottle. Dreamer can't see the future, as it does not exist.

Superboy meets the Athramites and dons the traditional costume, but with a Legion belt buckle.


Commentary

Story-wise, this was a completely acceptable middle issue that moves the plot down the road a bit and reveals a few plot threads that we can start to track over the course of the Foundations storyline. I can't help but think that part 1 (issue 25) would have been a much better story if they had cut out the flashbacks and just kept going into the events in this issue. But I had an overall positive reaction to the issue, even though nothing gets resolved. Batista's art really makes up for any nitpicks that I have, and it's good to see Superboy in the familiar costume after so long. What I think I liked about this the most is that finally, after a long time, we have little character moments spread out - Thom and Vi chatting, Superboy and Ferro talking about the past - and Ferro's approving reflection at the end, Jazmin and Cos (finally!) in a relationship. Things like that are what make the Legion for me and they've been sorely missing for many many issues. The Garth situation is interesting and, I think, realistic, even though I'm not a fan of this particular direction.

A few other comments and nits to pick:

So, if we are going down the whole DnA Great Darkness angle, I'm assuming the characters behind Darkseid's throne are dark versions of then-current DC heroes. I recognize Big Barda and Lobo (and I'm kind of surprised that he's there, tbh - would you NEED a dark version of Lobo?) but the others I don't recognize.

Does Superboy need a transuit in space?

Wow - Vi actually has a decent amount of dialog for once. Its only been about a year's worth of issues! She even gets a pretty good line here. "We are SO not covering ourselves with glory..."

I think its interesting that there are all these Superboy cults that popped up that are getting so much attention. But isn't Valor the big deal in this part of space? Why didn't his all happen earlier when Superboy visited? I mean we get a Mordru mention, so let's get a little better with the continuity here.

Time Institute - no Rond Vidar or Lori?? HUGE mistake, IMO.

Again, one of my problems with this run is that they pretend that nothing happened before DnA arrived. While the tone of the stories seem to have brightened with the transition to Wacker from McAvennie at the editorial level, the attention to detail that the editor's office is supposed to provide is just as lacking with Wacker.

One would think these catastrophists would have been all over the place with the last half dozen crises that DnA had foisted on Earth.

Overall Grade: B

The Legion Secret Files 3003

Released November 19, 2003
DC Comics, Color
33 Pages


Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Leonard Kirk, Tony Harris, Tom Feister- Pencils
Tony Harris, Robin Riggs, Tom Feister- Inks
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Darkseid's minions fly through space while Trudy Trusoe begins a broadcast about the Legion starting in Metropolis and moving to Legion World via Shikari. Trudy narrates her experience as tags appear identifying the Legionnaires and providing background information. In the threshold chamber, she meets Kid Quantum, Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl. They provide a recap of the Legion's founding and Jazmin gives Trudy a flight ring. They go to the command deck and get information on Triad, Gear, Chuck and XS. The Medbay has Gym'll, Apparition, Ultra Boy and Cub.

Next stop is the "Clubhouse" bar, where we see Timber Wolf, Wildfire, Ferro, Starboy, Dreamer and Umbra carousing with a host of Scifi easter eggs. Trudy, Rokk and Jazmin sit down with a drink and discuss the stress of leadership. Jazmin feels unwell and leaves, seeing a ghostly vision out of time in the hallway. Rokk catches up to check on her, but she won't reveal what's bothering her.

Superboy and Karate Kid spar as Trudy and Rokk observe and talk about Superboy's appearance and the public fervor around it as well as the catastrophists. Rokk reveals his "Last Son" adherence before admonishing Superboy for his destructiveness. Off the record, Rokk talks about his disappointment in Superman. They proceed on and run into Sensor, who freaks out and retreats to her trashed room, with images of her old life scattered about.

They go to the observation deck and get a weird image of RJ Brande, M'Onel, Chameleon, Kinetix and Gates, who are in the Kwai galaxy, then stop at Brainy's lab with Brainy, huge Vi, Spark and Invisible Kid. The tour hands off to Spark and we get the background on Legion World itself, as well as a habitat tour, pausing briefly in Winath to gawk at Jarth, and get to see Garth's brooding thoughts as he transforms a tree and the animals on it into crystal.

Trudy concludes her tour and report. Darkseid's minions return to his throne.


Commentary

So this is obviously an introduction/annual type of issue primarily designed to get new readers up to speed on what's going on and familiar with the Legion universe by providing details on all the characters, background and supporting cast. It also barely inches the Foundations story forward. To that effect, the issue does a decent job, but there are multiple artists involved and it does not serve the book well, especially Feister's horrid character drawings. But this does very little to impact the overall universe and doesn't tell a story like other Secret Files issues have. This is only for the die hard completist.

A note about Chuck liking Luornu. Well, THAT's finally acknowledged...

Gym'll looks like Yoda.

It's funny how after all this time in the Reboot, Val's origins are listed as "Unknown". But his response to Rokk's yelling at Superboy is probably the best part of the issue. Sensor is the other highlight.

The Brande image was just bizarre if he's not there. And we never got an official sendaway for the Kwai team. And I don't even remember them leaving. I remember them TALKING about leaving...

Uselessly Giant Violet - Take a drink! Seriously - if they have to write Vi as reclining in a spacecraft - of which this is the second time - she probably shouldn't be big.

This is the first we see of Ayla's reaction to Garth's return and it ain't great.

Grade - D-. Story, what story? But a few interesting background nuggets here and there.

I agree, a lot of the art was dreadful. I swear Kid Quantum II looked cross-eyed in that splash page, and Cosmic Boy looked like he was having a seizure.



pretty much the only story here was some of the character moments, like Cosmic Boy being way too mean to Superboy because he's disappointed. Or Chuck's and Triad's "official" titles/jobs. (He's Chief of Logistics, she's the Situations Executive - though also does seem to get out on the field, sometimes).

Did we need yet another recap of the Legion's founding?

Yeah, the Kwai team was talking about leaving. Brande said he'd like M'Onel (check), Chameleon (Check) and Spark (not check). okay...

After Spark pining over her brother and taking his name, she's acting mighty standoffish here. Wish we could have seen this from her point of view...

at least Dr. Gym'll is highlighted, so some "original class" supporting characters still remain (bye Tenzil!)

LOL


This, the origin of the Ranzz's powers and the murder of the Waynes are all things I could go a lifetime without seeing redone.


re:Spark, yes, I'm not sure where this fits in between the issues - I assume because of the downtime, this is sitting somewhere in the 5 week gap in between 25 and 26, although this is released AFTER 26 (hence the Secret Files review coming after that for 26, above - I'm reading them in the order I see them in DCUI in digital). But yes - we were given a TON of brooding Ayla in Worlds, surly Ayla taking the LiveWire name, we're owed something, especially since it was her action that made Garth reappear. I'm assuming this gets dealt with later in Foundations.

Regarding the Gym'll & Tenzil comment - I was actually kind of shocked that there was no reference to Tenzil on Legion World at the clubhouse bar, especially after his appearances in Imra's dream diner during Dream Crime. Its these little moments that are missed that make me shake my head and wonder why they didn't pick someone who really knew the Legion as an editor.

Sadly, I don't remember Ayla and Garth having a twin heart-to-heart. I think Imra and Garth had more heart-to-hearts after...

They didn't. Somewhere on Legion World at the time, one of our artist members drew a scene of them reuniting--the scene we all wished had been in the actual comic. Maybe someone can find a link to it.

The character moments are fine, and the art is well-rendered and splashy, but I'm finding myself disengaging from the series at this point. Partly it's because of the developments of Superboy and Darkseid being shoehorned into a series that is already packed with characters and plotlines (Singularity, anyone?), and partly it's because every issue now feels like we're starting over, trying to get those trade sales at book stores. Marketing considerations seem to have totally overridden the need to tell a good story. Without a good story, we have something that looks nice but doesn't really say anything.

For example, #26 begins in media res with the Legionnaires being led by Superboy--Superboy?!--on a space mission. They had only just discovered Kon-El in the previous issue. How did we get to him going on a mission? And the interaction was odd. This isn't the Superboy long-time fans are used to, the one who should be wearing the classic costume at the end. It's the tee-shirt-wearing version who was portrayed as an impulsive doof earlier in the reboot. I had to search my memory to remind myself that this Superboy had interacted with this Legion in the past--it's been quite a while, and this was no less true in 2003, when # 26 came out. Without recalling their prior history, I found Cosmic Boy's irritation at Kon-El jarring. It's an attempt at humor that falls flat. It portrays teenaged boys as stereotyped jerks who get on each other's nerves. There's no context for it.

Eventually, we are given a context. Cos is a history buff who idolized Superboy in a secular sort of way and feels disappointed that Kon-El doesn't live up to that image. I don't recall if Cosmic Boy's worship of Superboy was addressed before in the reboot, but, like everything else, it feels shoehorned into the narrative to meet this story's needs. A gold "S" necklace? Please.

What's needed is an issue in between # 25 and 26 with Kon waking up, acclimating himself to the 31st century again, the Legionnaires reacting to his presence, and the team deciding whether he should join them. But like everything else in their zeal to recapture the hallmarks that once made the Legion a fan-favorite, DnA skip over all that. They jump ahead "Five Weeks Later" (holy TMK!) without sufficient build-up.

The "Jarth" situation is also handled with similar, well, lack of interest. It seems that the reborn-in-Jan's-now-blue-body Garth has been biding his time moping in the Winath simulation on Legion World. The only one who checks on him is Imra, and she's understandably wary of getting too close to him. This situation reminds me of the deceased Invisible Kid's return in the mid-'80s. It, too, was a bad idea that was mishandled.

It's great to see Cos and Jaz develop a relationship, but now Jaz's power seems to be causing her problems. What about Thom's powers going on the fritz? Why don't we deal with one plotline before introducing a similar one?

At this stage in the book's history--it has barely a year left--it is big on starting over but the storylines lack development. It also seems as if the creators are trying to recapture the tokens from the Legion's past--Superboy, Darkseid, Live Wire--and make them part of this new era, an era that doesn't feel so new after all. The book is starting to reek of desperation.


The one on the far right of pp. 2-3 appears to be Firestorm. The metal-looking one appears to be a Green Lantern (he uses a green beam later in the story). The one on the far left wears Orion's helmet.


M'Onel has wisely kept his previous identity secret. But this makes me wonder why and how the Legion leaked Kon-El's identity. Another thing that happened during those five weeks DnA didn't bother to address.

I missed Legion Secret Files 3003. Sounds like I didn't miss much.

I think my reaction was different - and finding myself getting more engaged - as the Legion started getting away from Warhammer 3000 AD World Crashing that had existed since 1999 and more into a Legion that I recognized from before - more characters than just Kid Quantum, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5 and Ultra Boy doing something in the story, having dialog and small moments that stand out. I don't remember much of this series from here on through the end, so this should be a fairly honest read for me, but Dream Crime enhanced my interest in this title again. Granted issue 25 was not great, but now there seems to be some kind of a story happening, so I'm definitely getting more interested. Whether that continues remains to be seen.


When I was reading the early reboot, I had tons of comics coming in weekly, and I had all the Batman, Superman family and Legion titles on my pull list, so in the 1995 timeframe, I knew most of these characters pretty well. By the time 1999 rolled around, I had mostly dropped off the scene, so I wasn't aware of when they changed Connor from the hip, cocky, leather jacket wearing jerk from the Reign of the Supermen storyline to the black T-shirt version we are all more familiar with today. So Connor acting as he did was not much of a surprise - what I thought was surprising was a) Cos making such a big deal over it, and b) Connor not pushing back at Cos. The whole "cult of Superman" thing is all retcon from DnA, which is probably what I had more of a problem with; Rokk has worked with Connor multiple times at this point, so he should be a known quantity.


I wholeheartedly agree here. This is somewhat dealt with in the Secret Files, but awkwardly. In the comics universe, a lot can happen (like a year's worth of stories!) in five weeks. Show us!


Good point about the "Invisible Kid" return - I just recently read that storyline, and it was a stinker, and has a LOT of similarities here. Same about Thom's powers fritzing. Is there an epidemic going around or what?

I am not feeling any desperation here - I think the creative staff drew out the Legion's return "epic" much, much too long - probably to your point about trade publication purposes - and forgot that at the end of the day they needed to have some touchpoint with the legacy of the Legion and the DC Universe. I think they just did it at least a year too late.


Well, there's that, but more to my point, earlier in the reboot they made a point of showing that there were literal religions built around Valor. The fact that nine years later (our time) we find out that Superman has had a similar group is a very poor retcon, especially since the character has already been in the 30th century. And to your point, if the Legion knew about that - and has a member in their ranks - why in the hell would they blab? Granted, its in character for Connor to make some kind of public spectacle about it, but it would have been good to actually see that. Again - show, don't tell. DnA violates this for shortcuts way too often.


Nope. I read it so you don't have to.

That'd be interesting to see.

That's really too bad, and a huge missed opportunity. A good example of not getting a satisfying enough payoff.

I agree about "Dream Crime," and I guess that's why I'm so disappointed in these last two issues. "Dream Crime" gave the sense of the series moving forward, of having new stories to tell. "Foundations" reads like DnA have run out of ideas and are looking to reinvent the past by using Superboy and Darkseid. To me, this is like warmed-over oatmeal. Even when established Legion villains were used, such as Universo and the Fatal Five, I felt something new was done with them and with the Legion.



Our reading histories are somewhat different. I know Kon-El only from his appearances in the Legion. And while the idea of a Superboy who's a bit of a jerk has its appeal (Kon is the antithesis of the Kal-El whom the Legion rejected to see if he was a good sport), I find it wears thin. I guess it has to do with the overall conceit that these are teenaged heroes who are in charge of galactic missions. If they are exceptional--the best of the best--they should have no place for an impulsive jerk who doesn't listen in briefings and who rushes off during missions. But even if there is conflict (and there should always be conflict), it should be presented in a more believable way.



Earlier you mentioned that it's not necessarily bad when dead characters are brought back. In theory, I agree. But when a hero has been dead for years, it comes across as a cheap shot to bring that character back. The deaths of Ma and Pa Kent, Bucky, Jean Grey, and Invisible Kid meant something. Our heroes had to face a loss they couldn't control (which was always said to be what gave Superman his humanity). I felt much the same way about Invisible Kid. He was one of my first favorite Legionnaires, and his death was both a shocker and meaningful. This guy, whose only power was invisibility, was crushed to death by Validus while saving the Legion. You can't get more heroic than that. I always felt it was a cheap shot for Keith Giffen to bring him back. And Levitz, once stuck with his artist's curveball, had to do something with it, and it turned out to be a mess.

I'm getting off track here, but I felt the same way about Garth's sacrifice. He totally died a hero--a mature, self-confident, and loving young man who had come so far from the immature runaway he had been. Bringing him back under any circumstances cheapened that sacrifice and underestimated readers' capacity to deal with difficult subject matter.


I read it that the catastrophists were looking for something--anything--to justify their belief that a catastrophe is needed to set things right. Lyle mentions different cults who worship Darkseid and a couple of others. It doesn't really matter who they worship; they look to that figure as justification for their beliefs. The Superboy catastrophists may not have worshipped Superboy until news of his return spread. (Which still leaves the question, of course, as to how anyone outside the Legion knew of Kon's return.)

It is interesting to compare this view of Superboy with the Valor religions. The latter were portrayed as life-affirming, celebrating someone who made a meaningful contribution to many races, while the catastrophists want a figure to destroy everything and start over. There could be some parallels in how any religious figure is viewed by different sects, but, again, I digress.


Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.

I suspect you're right. Its also is extremely ironic - DnA were brought in as the prior writers were well past their freshness date on the shelf. The prior writers were being criticized by taking elements from pre-ZH stories and re-spinning them but not making much of an impact. DnA were brought in to "shake it up" and now, four years later, they find themselves in the same spot as Peyer, McCraw and Stern were in 1999.



You make a good point. I will say that I'm OK with this era's Superboy rejoining the team, and this story has all the makings of Connor screwing up and then redeeming himself, but the fact that they have worked with Connor before but not referencing that at all is what docks this down from where I'm sitting.


I actually do agree with you on Garth here. And speaking of side tracking, a lot of those Grell-illustrated stories are extremely hard to find. I've actually never read the whole thing, as its in no currently published Omnibus and that era's stories are hit and miss at stores and cons.


Well there is a distinct difference between the catastrophists and the Last Son cult as they are at odds. But you are on point about why the catastrophists are doing what they do, and unfortunately, it is ringing true these days.

Re Connor, one more thing that makes DNA's writing of him bad is that Kon was considerably more likeable in his other Reboot appearances (LSH 74/L* 31; guesting in LSH 96, 99-100). He was still a tad immature then, but he was considerably less of a jerk than he was now - he actually displayed good teamwork and made good decisions in battle, he listened more. In short, he was much worthier of being called a hero, and fit in better with the professionalism in this team.

We also had Impulse, who was, well - impulsive - but the stories made it clear that the Legionnaires didn't see him as a good hero, and much effort was taken to rein him in.

Re Garth coming back, he's a fave of mine, and I'd rather he came back in a sensible way than... as this, as Garth-in-Jan

The Legion #27

Released November 26, 2003
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

Foundations Part Three
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Chris Batista - Pencils
Chip Wallace & Andy Lanning - Inks
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Gear rouses Kid Quantum out of a deep sleep, but as she fully awakens she finds herself ina snowstorm seeing phantoms. She reacts and inadvertantly blasts a hole in her wall. We shift to where we left of at the Time Institute in Metropolis in issue 26 with Invisible Kid and Brainiac 5.1 under attack by dark versions of Orion and Hawkwoman. The pair of Legionnaires are able to stand toe to toe with Darkseid's servants until the boom tube arrives to take them back. The minions retreat via the boom tube with Lyle in pursuit. Unfortunately, the minions left a bomb in their wake.

Shortly, a large squad of Legionnaires arrives at the wreckage of the Time Institute, with Superboy making a splashy appearance. We cut to Trudy Trusoe's news summary of the bombing; the minions were out to wreck any temporal technology, the Last Son cultists clash with the catastrophists.

Back on Legion World, Rokk challenges Connor's choice in putting on the Superboy costume and Ferro comes to Connor's defense. Andy confronts Rokk about his attitude towards Connor, who admits to his feeling disappointment in Connor. Brainy is trying to track Lyle and is able to determine that several anomalies began to emerge ten years prior. Also, the universe appears to be shrinking and a massive gravity distortion is at the outer edge of the galaxy. Kid Quantum has another sudden vision, and the team begins to receive a transmission from Invisible Kid.

He, and several minions, are at a disused stargate, which the minons are repurposing, stealing dark matter. Lyle is discovered, and almost killed, but the Legion arrives just in time. The brawl ends with some broken ribs for Vi and the enemy escaping in a boom tube. Brainy kisses Lyle, and then explains that hundreds of thousands of stargates are being used to drain the universe of dark matter, thus explaining the shrinking universe. They track the terminus of the energy drain to a massive boom tube at the edge of the galaxy.


Commentary

Very mixed feelings about this issue. Great Batista art, as always. The illustration team here, Batista with Wallace and "Sno Cone" are extremely consistent and make me feel like I'm reading a Jeff Moy drawn story from the 90s. While Coipel at his best was amazing, there was always a sense that one page's work may not be as good as the next's, where here its consistently good, as Moy's work was in Legionnaires.

But the story. So if we take this as just part three in an action story, its okay. Fights happen, stuff blows up, the Legion figures stuff out and saves the day. All serviceable. But odd things here and there pop out that give me a serious WTF moment, three things in particular. First is the fight at the beginning - Lyle and Brainy vs Orion and Hawkgirl. Please explain to me how this is an even match up. I know they have to keep it interesting for a couple pages, but why didn't they just plant the bomb and get the hell out? My feeling is that these particular minions would wipe the floor with these two Legionnaires - or at least just have Brainy be inside his force field. The second item is the shrinking universe mcguffin. So hundreds of thousands of old stargates in the UP area of the Milky way is draining 27 percent of the ENTIRE KNOWN UNIVERSE? Okay, so I think that stargate count is a little high for a service that was only in use for a couple years. Also high? The amount of dark matter being drained from one tiny galaxy in the entirety of the cosmos. I felt like the ever-cosmologically oriented DnA were ripping a line out of the latest science headlines and throwing it in the story without proofing it out in context. Third is the news report where Trudy says "Someone claiming to be Superboy." We've been told time and again that Superboy's a big deal in the last five weeks. And Trudy saw him herself! What's this "claiming?" Please stay current within your own continuity. This is a big red flag that creators may be starting to check out - I don't know if its Abnett, Lanning or Wacker, but all of the above are unforced errors for people writing a title for four years.

A quick comment on Brainy and Lyle - I had no problem with Brainy kissing Lyle, but it did seem to come out of left field. Their relationship has always worked on them being snarky rivals, so this seemed to come out of nowhere. We know that KC Carlson had intended to have Lyle in a relationship with the reboot reporter Condo Arlik, but it was one of many many pieces that Mike McAvennie let drop on the floor. This seems like an odd way of reviving it, and I'm pretty sure this goes absolutely nowhere.

Other elements of the story, like Cos' resentment towards Connor and Jazmin's power oddities are starting to feel like they are stretching out too much.

Other random comments:

The pic of Jazmin's brother James on the nightstand is a good touch.

One of the scientists seems to be getting very friendly with Brainy inside his forcefield.

The universe is shrinking comment with Vi standing there is kind of funny. I'm a little surprised the writers didn't make more of it.

Nice little moments of Spark with Timber Wolf and later with Violet that were nods to the prior continuity. Unfortunately DnA appear to only be able to focus on one romance at a time.

I'm officially done with the whole "Kari learning how to cuss" trope.

Grade: C+. Saved by the art and the nice character moments.

Kid Q's powers continue to evolve - now she blasts a hole in the wall? I choose to believe she just aged part of it to dust, so it becomes a use of her existing power rather than giving her something completely new

Brainy kissing Lyle on the cheek definitely went nowhere. I'm really not sure how to feel about it, it comes out of left field indeed - though in a way I could see it as an extension of their little rivalry, but... yeah. it wasn't nicely explored.

the whole Superboy thing... even when Ferro defends him, Cos doesn't buy it. And Cos doesn't give Ferro any of the blame. Yeah, Cos' bias is showing. Superboy comes off as more sympathetic here, actually. He was clearly upset and feeling guilty over the whole thing, after all.

I agree, Ibby, with your KQ assessment - I just assumed she created a sphere that dissolved the wall.

And your comment about Rokk made me think of his behavior towards the end of the White Triangle story that set up the Chu elements. Marla even says, "Why don't you try maturity" in the issue we are discussing on the other reboot thread. That story thread makes this look even worse, as Rokk appears to either have not learned anything or that he's just a jerk about Superboy generally.

EDIT - Speaking of Marla Latham, whatever happened to him? I guess we should just be happy DnA didn't turn him into some kind of mutant wizard, or was taken over by the larvae spirit of Ambush Bug.

The Legion #28

Released December 24, 2003
DC Comics, Color
22 Pages

Foundations Part Four
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Chris Batista - Pencils
Chip Wallace - Inks
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

On a farm in Smallville, Kansas, a man plummets into the ground claiming to be Clark Kent and holding the S shield from Connor's t-shirt ripped off in issue 26. Dark Orion arrives to dispatch "Clark" for leaving his post when Superboy and a few Legionnaires come to intervene; the farm was in a biodome in Smallville of the 31st century.

At the Legion world command deck, Saturn Girl, XS, Triad, Chuck and Gear monitor the situation in Smallville when Garth comes to join them. XS shuffles Garth off to Imra, and Imra shuffles him out of the command deck. He and Imra were supposed to visit Gym'll but Imra's busy due to the situation and Garth leaves to visit the doctor on his own. Umbra, Shikari, Cosmic Boy and Wildfire join the fight in progress. Cos goes to end the fight with Orion while the rest of the Legionnaires help "Clark". Cos wraps Orion in metal to restrain him, but lets him retreat out of the boom tube.

Trudy Trusoe tries to figure out what to lead with in the news, and is told to go with the catastrophists - they are disappearing all over the UP - even though temporal anomalies are happening all over the place. The Legion determines that the man they picked up in Smallville is in fact a fifteen year old Clark Kent, who has no knowledge of Superman. We get the quick recap - this is the Clark that we encountered in the bumper for issue 25, picked up after Darkseid's servants accidentally grabbed the wrong Superboy - Connor. He was taken to Apokalips and turned into a servant of Darkness. After ripping off Connor's symbol he ordered his mother box to take him to Smallville. Brainy surmises that Apokalips is building a defense against something coming from the past into the future. Clark offers to take the Legion to Apokalips via his Mother Box.

Jazmin backs out of the mission and stands down as leader due to her fluctuation powers, and asks Rokk to take over. They have a tender moment which inspires Rokk to cut Superboy from the mission. Superboy sulks away and encounters Garth and they begin to commiserate.

The rest of the Legion (minus Vi, presumably still recovering), arrives at Apokalips to find hundreds of catastrophists throwing themselves into the fires of Apokalips, which is beginning to reactivate. A swarm of Apokaliptian forces arrive to engage the Legion in combat as Brainy and Saturn Girl notice the dormant Darkseid on his throne, his eyes beginning to glow. The stony figure stands up from the throne as a boom tube opens and a much younger Darkseid emerges.


Commentary

Foundations Part 4 definitely is a much needed entry in the overall story, as a lot happens and it finally moves the plot forward a decent amount. We finally get the explanation of what the servants of darkness are doing and why they had kidnapped young Clark. We get resolution as to the role of the catastrophists. Darkseid actually returns this time. We leave on an interesting cliffhanger. But somehow it feels like there's something missing from this issue. I'm not sure if the problem is Rokk acting like a complete jerk (unless he's cuddling with Jazmin) or how the Legion is handling Garth, or the sudden rush of exposition happening in part four. Maybe its Brainiac's overly complicated, yet too simple explanation for what's happening. It may be the pacing, as we are in part four of an unknown number of issues. With two of the last four issues of this storyline being void of a lot of substantial content, having characters act differently from what we've seen in the past plus a ton of exposition concentrated in a few pages, this pattern, which we've seen before, may be rubbing me the wrong way.

The art was fantastic, and by far the best thing about this issue.

There are a few scenes in comics that I'm kind of done with seeing repeated. The murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. The Legion's founding. The Ranzz family accident. The other is the alternate takes of Superman's arrival on Earth that are designed to be a big reveal to the reader. To be fair, the one in the Superman and the Legion story that I most associate with that trope comes AFTER this, but I'm still tired of seeing it.

Why did Imra have to be involved with the monitoring of the Smallville fight? Kid Quantum hadn't yet relieved herself of duty. They have a full LEGION of Super Heroes. Why not Spark, Apparition or Dreamer? I understand the point of the scene was to alienate Garth, but he's already in that headspace. The scene made Imra look bad (seems to be a DnA specialty) as well as XS.

Cos doesn't even seem to care about the Minion in Smallville. What's up with that? And he's really pouring on the a-hole act. I mean, the stink eye on page 13...

The Trudy scene was kind of weird - why would you NOT lead with the sudden disappearance of millions?? Seems like an unnecessary scene.

Grade: C+. We finally understand what's going on in a 4+ issue storyline, but its all revealed in 2-3 pages. Saved by the art.

Agree with you on the points -

1) Rokk acts like a complete jerk, and it seems largely unjustified. Not completely, but largely.

2) Superboy Connor does deserve abit of it, but not all

3) Garth, it's like everybody is trying to sweep him under the rug. Not completely, Imra for example is making an effort, but...

4) re the full Legion, it will come up next issue but - with such a big crisis, I would have expected everyone be recalled to help. Can't M'On, Cham, Kinetix and Gates cut their Kwai-verse mission short? Heck, Lar and Zoe are super powerful, and Cham and Gates have powers that would be super useful on Apokolips...

Yes, with Rokk, its WAY over the top and out of character. He defined leadership of the Legion, and had his missteps and learned his lesson. This is a jerk Rokk just so that DnA can make Connor feel uncomfortable.

And Imra's BARELY making an effort. Certainly his sister isn't.

You make a good point about the Kwai team. I think I had that in the back of my head, but forgot about it due to the head scratching moments. Its not like its hard to get back with the Kwai thresholds and navigators.

Yeah, agree. I don't recall us ever seeing Rokk lose his cool before - not unintentionally. the times that he did (e.g. from LSH 72 to 80) were him putting on an act to gain Chu's trust - even in LSH 64 when he confronted Garth for losing control and causing damage, he was angry but he controlled his phrasing. DNA had him way over the top.

And I agree, Imra made the bare effort, Ayla (who was pining visibly for Garth and even took his name) did ZILCH. like, what.

and yeah, the Thresholds have been nigh-omnipotent thus far, no limitations - why not recall the 4 Legionnaires in Kwai space?

The Legion #29

Released January 28, 2004
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

Foundations Part Five
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Chris Batista - Pencils
Chip Wallace & Robin Riggs - Inks
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

In the 8th century, Uxas is torn out of time which creates a massive temporal shockwave going through time, destroying the past and the future. We are privy to the forward march of time being dissolved, Etrigan, the Amazonians, Jonah Hex, all vanishing from history.

In the 31st century, what remains of the Legion, Kid Quantum, Vi, Chuck and Superboy determine they have less than an hour before the shock wave reaches them. On Apokalips, Old Darkseid welcomes his younger self, which is what is causing the time ripple. Rokk presses the attack, but old Darkseid holds the entire Legion in stasis with a gesture and starts to explain his plans. He wants to be rejuvenated, but young Darkseid understand the implications of pulling him out of his time. The dark matter older Darkseid has been collecting will hold off the time wave ten years in their past. Old Darkseid will then take young Darkseid's body.

On Legion World, Vi has an idea. The time collapse continues, taking the Red Baron in WWI, Jay Garrick, and Sgt Rock in WWII.

On Apokalips, young Darkseid throws a wrench in the elder's plans by deciding that he will be the surviving Darkseid. He blasts his older, crusty self, then asks the Legion to ally with him to fight.

The time stream collapse now erases the murder of the Waynes, Barry Allen in the speed force, the "New Team Titans".

Vi theorizes that Jazmin's power is acting up as a response to the time collapse at the quantum level. They start planning on the risky time travel strategy, and Garth suggests that he come along to use Tromium to protect them.

At Apokalips, the fight is on, with young Darkseid and the Legion versus old Darkseid and his dark servants. Younger Darkseid grabs the dark Orion and forces him to shoot old Darkseid to fulfill the prophecy of Darkseid's death. Crusty Darkseid dissolves, and of course the younger Darkseid turns on the Legion.

Gleaming with Tromium, Kid Quantum, Jarth, Superboy and Violet fly through spacetime.

Commentary

Finally the Foundations story really starts to cook with action and holds my interest. And the Batista/Wallace/Sno art team just keeps things looking amazing. But to me it was still held back by a few odd moments that popped out to me. First off, the time erasure plot point is again over the top - kind of similar to Hypertaxis in my view, but instead of the damage limited to Earth, its the entire universe. I start thinking - if the past is destroyed, doesn't that just automatically kill everything forward automatically like a butterfly effect? The imagery of a temporal wavefront is interesting, but falls apart on closer analysis. I know - stop overanalyzing - but this ties directly to the issue with Jazmin's powers that we've seen for the last four issues plus the Secret Files. Jaz & Vi theorize that her powers are reacting to the time deletion, but that just started when young Darkseid was pulled forward, which was last issue.

I did enjoy the fight on Apokalips, and young Darkseid taking out old Darkseid (I kept hearing young Darkseid saying, "Don't call me son...") with the victor immediately turning on the Legion that had just helped him. But the fight itself was chock full full of a lot of too-cute phrases meant to recall moments from the prior 28 issues - "Think fast", Shikari cussing, Ferro misses Steeple, etc. The story is ambitious for sure. It will inevitably draw comparisons to the Great Darkness Saga, and not in a good way, as while well drawn, the story is not told nearly as well.

I'm really happy to finally see Vi having a more central role here. Too bad it took over two years and that the title is under a year to cancellation at this point. The "Its too big" conversation taking place while Vi is uselessly large again is somewhat amusing, but I'm miffed that she's uselessly large. Again. I think she's only been shrunk twice in the entire run.

Was the future Titans panel actually a thing? I don't remember that version of Batman or Robin.

Grade: B-. A good action filled issue, but with odd plot points.

The pseudo-science re time was okay here. At least they were theorizing, though I wonder how Vi and Garth became so knowledgeable about all this (Jaz I can understand, it's her powers)...

nifty way to have the prophecy fulfilled, with Dark Orion killing older Darkseid

the fight itself was meh, indeed, full of cute phrases and call-backs to subplots without really resolving anything (even the Thom/Nura sweet moment was already wrapped up in Dreamcrime anyway). I can't help but compare to the Great Darkness Saga, where we had some clever power uses in the fight scenes (Light Lass reducing a Servant's weight so Dream Girl could save White Witch, Star Boy collapsing a mountain on some servants, Violet giving a servant a stroke by blocking her blood vessels, a powerless Chameleon Boy taking on a half-dozen Durlan prisoners...) we don't see much of that here.

On the plus side, nice to have Vi along indeed (I will ignore it feeling contrived, as she was injured last issue but is now well enough to travel through time...)

On the whole though, a decent upswing of the action.