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The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #11

Released October 26, 2005
DC Comics, Color
30 Pages


Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Penciller
Mick Gray - Inker
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

The Legion teams are scattered across the galaxy and can't communicate due to the destruction of Legion HQ. Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid, and several of the other bystanders stand watch over Dream Girl's dead body. Brainy shields Dream Girl with his shield. Lyle implores Brainy to do something as Elysion plows through Metropolis. Lyle leads a host of the kids out of the plaza.

Cosmic Boy's team on Dormir is on a planet which is the communications hub of the galaxy with several balls of energy flying around them. One of them hits Star Boy who begins speaking an alien language. Rokk gets hit on purpose. The energies tell Rokk where to go and the Legion meets a strange being who looks like a silhouette of clouds in the sky. Ayla tries to work some of the machinery and the entity smacks her across the room. It turns out they are in the machinery of the Public Service surveillance system.

On Trxxl, Sun Boy's team is on the precipice of the fifth dimension, so they are seeing all kinds of bizarre things. Trxxl is the nexus of the teleportation technology of the galaxy. The Legionnaires encounter Agent Skelter and immediately begin to fight. Their powers appear to act in reverse. Sun Boy casts a shadow field around Skelter and they get away to another floating platform, but Imra is somehow missing. Tasmia wonders if Imra can call out for help, but Garth confirms that Titanians are mute. Meanwhile, she is hunted by Skelter.

Back on Dormir, the team wants to tear the Public Service to pieces, but Rokk tries to persuade Dormir's ruler idea to stay with the UP. If Lemnos makes his way to Dormir, he will make the idea cease to exist. At the same time, the Legionnaires find they are starting to become ideas themselves. The plan is to use the young ideas to help enable communications again.

Ultra Boy is in lead for the mission on the enemy base. They see hundreds of Terra Firma soldiers standing at the ready in front of portals, waiting to invade.

On Earth, Brainy thinks he's not smart enough to save Dream Girl.

BACKUP

Mark Waid - Writer
Dale Eaglesham - Penciller
Art Thibert - Inker
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Elsewhere in Legion Plaza, many of the other kids are working to help rescue others, with juxtaposition of their deeds against those depicted in various comic books from the 20th century. An "Elastic Lad" combs through the ruins looking for whole comic books and is confronted by another and a fight starts. Cooler heads prevail, and elastic lad says he was just getting them to preserve the books for their inspirational value. He decides to focus his efforts on helping the rescue of people.

Commentary

Another super solid issue that has no title. The three issues of 10-12 are super page turners. We are definitely seeing the Terra Firma endgame and every page has some element of detail that is relevant to the sole task of moving this plot ahead graphically and in dialogue. We get into some truly imaginative spaces here, as Waid creates three other worlds that work as you wouldn't expect. The concept of "child ideas" with a "jerk" grownup idea in charge is a neat spin on the adults v students theme. While I don't like the theme generally, this is a cool twist on it that is both thematically and visually interesting, while turning it sideways. Similarly, the team in the fifth dimension has a cool trip as well, where powers work in reverse. I wonder if agent Skelter's first name is Helter? And finally, a great cliffhanger with hordes of enemy Terra Firmans ready to surge out to who knows where.

I only got hung up on one element of the story - when on Trxxl, Shady is used as cypher, asking why Imra can't call for help. How long has she been on this team? She should know that by now. But its totally there for new readers to understand what's going on, so I'm not going to get too bent about it. It is cool how Imra literally disappears from one frame to another.

Kitson's art is as reliable as ever and we're treated to our second two-page spread in two issues. I really like this guy's work.

The backup story is good in its own right, focusing on the teen Legion supporters working to help the injured in Legion plaza. The juxtaposition of classic comic book covers with similar actions in the plaza was a great touch on the inspiration they provided to the kids. So when "elastic lad" is confronted for picking at the books, I'm actually sympathetic to his reasoning of keeping them for his inspirational value, but his priorities are way out of whack. Thankfully he sees that. Its also very well drawn by Eaglesham.

Grade: A+. Great story and art all around for both stories. I definitely wanted to jump straight into 12 after reading this.

yup I agree, this was better. the Legionnaires get their heads in the game, so even the annoying Ultra Boy comes off as... heroic!

also, Elastic Lad over there was indeed complex. Good heart, skewed priorities, but he got a good talking-to!



also, heh, Dormir. means Sleep in Spanish

Eh... . He kinda just stood there and WASNT a dick for once. :-D


Yeah I thought that had a Romance language sound. I wonder if that was going to be Lemnos' name originally as it makes more sense. Lemnos is just an island as far as I can tell...

already a big improvement

The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #12

Released November 30, 2005
DC Comics, Color
31 Pages

The Legion of Super Heroes vs Terror Firma!
Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Pencils
Ken Lashley - pages 23 & 24
Gray & Geraci - Inks
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

After a neat two page synopsis of the story, we get a full Roll Call, with Dream Girl listed as Deceased. Then the focus is on the Otherspace team trying to contact the other groups. Ultra Boy scans and sees Lemnos prepping to start the fight, and Brin in a cell. The notions from Dormir fly in and suddenly Cos is communicating with the team. They decide to cut the Transmatter network to stop any invasion, but that leaves Ultra Boy and Karate Kid's team stranded.

On Trxxl, Skelter is ready to pounce on Saturn Girl. He moves in when a sudden darkfield blinks. He grabs Saturn Girl, who suddenly zaps him - its actually Lightning Lad wrapped in a 'skin' of Cham shaped like Imra. Saturn Girl prepares to scan Skelter's mind when Cos connects with them from Dormir and starts to update them on a new plan.

On HQ, Brainy finds a globe in the rubble. Theena informs him the battle is going badly. Brainy ignores her and starts talking to someone. He finds a rock and Robin's sling and flies away to confront Elysion at UP HQ, where he's plowing through everything. A bruised and battered Invisible Kid appears and throws a punch at Elysion, while Brainy flings the rock with the sling, distracting Elysion. The rock dissolves as it hits him and he sneezes, mocking the Legion. He then begins to convulse and his upper shoulder explodes as Atom Girl erupts from Elysion's body. She knocks him out and uses one of her lasers on his wound.

In Otherspace, Lemnos gives a speech to inspire his troops as an alarm goes off as Legionnaires start to attack the troops with Brin still in his cell. Projectra, Triplicate Girl and Phantom Girl break Brin out of his cell, Projectra planting a kiss on Brin. Projectra using her new illusionist skills has cast a duplicate of Brin to the cameras. Meanwhile, Ultra Boy and Karate Kid are swarmed in their battle as the first Terror Firma soldiers start to step through their portals. Jo flies to get help when a giant dragon flies in, along with Brin.

On Dormir, Cosmic Boy dons a helmet and begins a broadcast on the Public Service network across the galaxy, now calling it Legion Channel One. He commands Lightning Lad on Trxxl to shut down the power to the Transmatters.

Elsewhere, three Terror Firmans step out and encounter a lone Legionnaire kid, who is soon joined by a host of others.

BACKUP - "A Decent Interval"
Stuart Moore - Writer
Ken Lashley - Penciller
Greg Parkin - Inker
Richard & Tonya Horie - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Happening concurrently with the events of issue 1, Garth and Imra fly on planet Vash, where the radiation shortens lifespans making most everyone teenagers. The Legion couple is there to investigate the rumors of the outworld threat and want to use Vash as a forward base. The Elders of Vash still need to think about it - for 40 minutes.

During the interval, Garth and Imra think about their situation, Imra wondering if they are doing the right thing, Garth reminding them of the Legion's mission. Imra is concerned they are moving too fast as a political force. Garth speechifys about standing up for the kids. The Elders accept, and Garth asks Imra to come to his quarters for a "decent interval."

Commentary

This is the other issue I always remember from this run, primarily for the reveal of Atom Girl/Shrinking Violet. Starting the issue in such dire consequences gives urgency to the plot and we have two threads of the remote teams trying to figure out how to accomplish their missions. The solution of Garth and Cham duplicating Saturn Girl was brilliant, and done in a way that I think is unique in the history of the Legion - I don't recall seeing them do that before or since. Cos does his leader thing and starts inspiring all the teens via the Legion takeover of the Public Service. Projectra's team rescues Brin, revealing her newly acquired illusion powers and, in the "Yes this is not your parents' Legion" moment of the book, the fact that she's Brin Londo's lover. The story ends just as the battle begins across the galaxy, guaranteeing the next issue to be picked up.

I really enjoyed this, as everything moved at a clip and all the pieces had been set up to bring everything together. Given the fact that Vi is one of my all time favorite characters, I loved this issue just for her reveal alone, as well as the fact that she's something of a bad-ass. The interesting thing is that she's clearly shown in the prelude story where Lyle is introduced in the background (and colored incorrectly), but through the story, we've been told that she's a myth by most of the Legionnaires.

One drawback here is that the whole subplot of Ultra Boy's powers going haywire are mentioned but don't seem to do anything in the story.

The other drawback is that of the backup story. The premise and world are interesting; A world where the teenagers are the elders and things happen rapidly due to their shortened lifespan. This world is where Garth and Imra were in the early issues. While charming in showing the attraction between the two founders, its yet another instance of having to explain the universe of kids v adults to the reader. It's well written by the first non-Waid writer of this run, and well drawn, but I don't understand the need for it.

Art in the main book is again, great, even with the support of Lashley for a few pages. Given the timeframe of when this book came out, we had plenty of 9/11 imagery with the destruction that Elysion had caused and Kitson showed it well.

Grade: Solid A.

The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #13

Released January 18, 2006
DC Comics, Color
31 Pages

Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Layout
Mick Gray - Finishes
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Lemnos orders Terror Firma troops to storm the worlds beyond the transmatter portals as the Legion team attacks those in the staging area. The portals flicker and go out as the first few troops step through, bisecting them, and the troops start to panic. One portal is left open and the other Legion teams enter to support the fight. Each Legionnaire brings their powers to bear in their own way.

On Dormir, Cos has the Legionnaires remove their rings so that he can broadcast their success against the footsoldiers of Lemnos' army. The core of the Terror Firma team squares up against the Legionnaires while Cos communicates a strategy to Sun Boy. The Legionnaires show they can work well one-on-one against the Terror Firmans just as they did with the larger groups.

Cos communicates directly with Lemnos as a distraction so Sun Boy can get the jump on him. A defeated Lemnos throws back in Cos' face the fact that he's coopted the Public Service and suggests that he's been compromised by the system he's dedicated to resist. Cos fades out as he realizes Dream Girl is dead.

Colossal Boy, again large, crashes through the wall full size with a bunch of other Terror Firmans. Apparently they have gained the upper hand and neutralize Sun Boy to evacuate Lemnos. The chaotic fight continues outside as the Legionnaires whittle down the enemy. A brute stalks Saturn Girl and Projectra, and Brin gives the brute a beat down.

Lemnos orders his escorts to kill Colossal Boy and Star Boy, but his rescuers question Lemnos on his motives and consider him a fraud and they want out of the group. Both Lemnos and Cos' projection freak out. Cos starts to lecture them about not being able to quit and walk away after the destruction, but the others respond by asking where the Legion & UP was when their planets were abandoned. Lemnos uses the debate as an opportunity to try and escape. He loses Sun Boy as a portal appears, Brainiac 5 emerges, stuns Lemnos, then takes his body from whence he came, Sun Boy arriving too late.

Outside, the Legion wraps up the fight, everyone wants Ultra Boy to get the last punch in. They take stock of their injuries as Brainy appears via his temporary portal. The plan is to leave the Terror Firma soldiers and agents on the world they are on now. Sun Boy quits to act as their leader, seeing something of himself in that group. Cos turns over the Public Service back to the UP, but not before giving a congratulatory speech.

In an epilogue, Brainy implores a frozen Lemnos to save Dream Girl.

BACKUP - "The Hours"
Stuart Moore - Writer
Ken Lashley - Penciller
Paul Neary - Inks
Richard & Tonya Horie - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

We get a "moving backwards" story of the last hours of Dream Girl, recalling the events of issue 10 when she first experiences the blackout into the future. Two hours prior, she talks with Star Boy and has a feeling of unease about the future darkness with a flash of an upset Brainiac 5.

Three hours prior, Imra asks Nura if she and Brainy are a thing. She gets deep and admits she's never had a boyfriend, but that she kind of likes Star Boy. She has another feeling of foreboding and has a flash of Brainy.

Commentary

So we're finally here. The big conclusion to the epic first year of the threeboot Legion. Overall, I really liked this in the fact that we have a lot of great moments of the Legion acting individually as well as together to be an effective force. Each member in this battle gets to show off their powers pretty effectively. I'm even ok with Ultra Boy in this issue! The focal points, outside of the battle, are Lemnos, Cosmic Boy, and Sun Boy, respectively. Its an interesting contrast between three people with specific visions - Lemnos, who wants to shake up society via violet upheaval, Rokk, who wants the same but by means of defending the UP, and Sun Boy, who sees them both as people whos ends justify their means and wants to chart his own path. And Dirk eventually does that after the stragglers who attempt to rescue Lemnos ditch him after he can't justify his actions. Brainiac 5 comes off as a turd again, souring the milk, but at least Cosmic Boy gets another good closing speech before turning over the Public Service to the UP again - an interesting move that contrasts his methods with Lemnos'.

One of the digs on this particular scene is that I'd have expected for Lemnos to put up a bit more of an argument in front of his followers versus cutting and running. Surely his powers still work on them? He's also been a bit more articulate with his position, and we've only had one or two instances of Lemnos or Elysion even considering joining with the Legion, so these flunkies saying that Lemnos told them they'd be allying with the Legion rings hollow to me. I also thought Cos should be pushing back more on Lemnos' flunkies. So an exiling would make people resentful, but it doesn't justify the death and destruction to the level they caused, so Cos' initial point IS valid.

A few other weird continuity errors that were either badly written or badly edited:

If the Rings also provide their costumes, how come they are still on when they deactivates their rings? That makes no sense.

The final fight is a bit chaotic with a few things that don't make sense. There was the flight ring issue I mention above, then Colossal Boy. He was clearly INSIDE with Lemnos, but at the end is rubbing his head OUTSIDE. Then smaller Gim is walking behind Sun Boy's 'prisoners' a couple panels later. Also Cham swallowing the "water guy" is odd, as it assumes that he has the powers of whatever creature he is assuming when several issues prior he clearly stated he couldn't do that. It provides a kind of funny gag when Ayla asks if he "yarked up" the water guy, but it makes no sense in continuity. All up. some minor complaints, but they stood out to me.

The backup story was just OK to me. It mainly provided us with three pieces of information - Nura was more bothered by her lack of vision than she let on, she secretly likes Star Boy in callback to the previous eras, and she's never had a boyfriend; the last element being probably the most surprising. It's kind of a retcon, since Waid was really leaning into the Brainy/Nura thing. But it doesn't matter cause she's dead. Right?

A few other things:

I'll admit that the bit with Jo yelling "Micro Lad" to get Gim to shrink was a neat little touch, but I still don't like him

Shady - "You don't get many dates, do you?" Shut up, Tasmia.

Brin screams "Jekie!" the first time I think that's been used here. Apparently this is the first time that folks know about the couple.

Brainy is back to being uselessly dickish here again. Just state where Lemnos is.

Jo actually seems sad to see Dirk go. Probably because he has no other pals to prowl on women with anymore

More letters! Shadow Lass and Karate Kid this time. They talk about how the comic is written, get in a Polar Boy gag, a rectal tissue gag, and a crossover gag.

Grade: A-. A great wrap up of a year-long storyline with a few drawbacks.

Oh, hey by the way I did a thing with Ross Aiken...

https://stopletsteamup.libsyn.com/w...pisode-022-vetting-the-3boot-with-a-fett

The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #14

Released February 1, 2006
DC Comics, Color
31 Pages


Mark Waid - Writer
Ken Lashley - Pencils
Adam DeKraker - Pencils pgs 7-12,18-20
KWL Designs - Inks and Color
Rodney Ramos - Inks pgs 7-12, 18-20
Sno Cone - Colors pgs 7-12, 18-20
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

On New Year's Eve, the UP is looking at the rubble of the Terror Firma attacks and all the negative press going their way for not listening to the Legion. Imra's mother recommends granting the Legion official UP status and delivers it to her daughter, Garth and Tasmia. Garth, who is interim leader while Rokk is away, but he doesn't know what to make of this offer, which will make the Legion supposedly independent of, yet economically tied to the UP.

In Legion plaza, Luornu, Thom and Val, apologize to Lyle about the Atom Girl prank and Val for getting mad after Lyle blamed Vi for snitching to Brainy about the lab break in. He promptly disappears.

At Colossal Boy's house, Ayla wakes up very confused (apparently a normal thing). Most of the team is there since Legion HQ is destroyed. They get up for breakfast and Gim's brother jokingly orders the small Legionnaires to do his bidding. This pisses Vi off and she clocks him out.

At Legion HQ, Garth and Imra are trying to make heads or tails of the UP's offer and get feedback from the team, most of whom don't want the direct connection to the UP. The pair go out to attend an impromptu memorial for Dream Girl. Dirk's parents criticize them for leaving Dirk at the edge of space, then a young man with reflective powers tears through the crowd, devastated about Dream Girl because he was in love with her.

Above Metropolis, Lyle considers his future in the Legion when Atom Girl confronts him about his using her legend as his lie about snitching while dangling him by the jacket in the air. She actually thinks its funny as it builds her rep up in the team.

In the plaza "Reflecto" is making a mess of things, reflecting any projected powers until Triplicate Girl pins him down so Ultra Boy can subdue him, by which time the Science Police has already started making things worse. Saturn Girl reads "Reflecto's" mind and sees that he's just an obsessed fan. The SPs keep raging until, to the shock of the rest of the Legion, Garth signs the UP agreement.

We then get a Lettercol where Karate Kid and Star Boy spar with an OMAC (a tease from the prior column) that mainly teases the coming of Supergirl to the title.

Commentary

I'm going to just put this on the front here and say this is one of my favorites for the simple reason of Violet being on the cover. She's my favorite all time, and I distinctly remember being giddy at the prior issue for her introduction and this issue for the cover. This is another A/B/C story structure that funnels down into one: Garth dealing with the choice of joining the UP, the Legion handling living in a new environment, and Invisible Kid dealing with his guilt, all funneling into a confrontation with "Reflecto" and the SPs. The events of this issue naturally lead out of the aftermath of the prior arc - the UP recognizes the Legion as a legit force (to the disapproval of many), Dream Girl's impact, as well as Lyle's are dealt with.

Overall, I think it was all very well done. I really liked Garth being in a position of leadership and then presented with a critically tough decision, as well as being able to give a nice speech. I agree with his ultimate choice of aligning with the UP, at least at this point, given the state of things after the recent battles, but its really fun to see that most of the Legion, notably including Imra, are taken aback by the decision. The issue makes a statement on the dark side of fandom, specifically obsession, with this new "Reflecto" character. I obviously loved Vi in this story being kind of a badass, both with her aggressive nature (hinted at a couple issues prior) and her playfulness. She is a character who is definitely more than she seems, knowing the power of a reputation. She's like a blend of the badass v3 Vi and the Leviathan reboot VI without the growth powers.

This is the first of a "breather" issue for the artists as we have an assortment of pencilers, inkers and colorists. Lashley is probably the best substitute artist after Kitson, while DeKraker does a good job on his pages. But it all works really well.

The one sequence that doesn't sit well with me was the Ayla scene. It was funny on the surface, but I didn't think the implication, nor Ultra Boy's snark, plays well for me 16 years later. Maybe its being hit over the head yet again about the sexual lives of these Legionnaires, but I don't read the LSH to read Sex In The City - if I wanted that, I'd watch that show. I'd think it'd be more dramatic and soap-operatic to establish relationships and then maybe break them up versus a spin the bottle approach of who Ayla's spending the night with. Also, the specific call out of Gim's brother being gay also highlights the fact that there are no LGBT Legionnaires again. Another part that just seems thrown in is the confrontations with the Morgnas. It just seemed to be quickly acknowledged then tossed.

A few other items worth noting:

After the events of the last couple issues the language of the intro splash page has changed. Instead of saying "We could scream" it now says "so far so good".

The first page has a nice Iwo Jima reference with the Legion flag being hoisted. It is also quite satisfying to see these UP bureaucrats getting put in their place.

I had a fun laugh out loud/shake my head moment with the comment about Ultra Boy having three arrest warrants since noon. I'll have to wait to the future to see Jo's reaction to Garth's decision, I guess!

Interesting note about Gim's brother - he has a Star of David necklace, so it leads me to wonder about the backstory of the giants. They are obviously of human origin somehow, but how did they come to grow, or more specifically, become giant normally then shrink?

Grade - A-.

One thing I forgot to mention here is that the text explicitly states that this issue takes place on New Year's Eve, assuming that is still December 31.

The last timestamp we had was in issue 5, where the Legion first encounters Terror Firma. That is on May 2. If they tried to do that to tie in with publication, they missed by about 5 days.

You can't tell me that almost seven months pass between the 7 issues in between in the story... I know its a nitpick, but it always drives me nuts when they put dates in stories.

The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #15

Released
DC Comics, Color
30 Pages

Ancient Times

Stuart Moore - Writer
Pat Olliffe - Pencils
Livesay - Inker
Sno Cone - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

More pandemonium in Legion Plaza makes a group of young recruits run into the park and tell hero stories around a lantern at night spurred on by a mysterious robed figure.

The first story is from the JSA/JLA era. Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Alan Scott are trying to retrieve Flashes Barry Allen and Jay Garrick out of energy bubbles, but can't do it. Brainy, Bouncing Boy, Element Lad and Duo Damsel arrive. Chuck tries to bounce them out, but Element Lad is able to free them by temporarily turning them to oxygen. The kids listening to the story mock the idea of a Bouncing Boy among other things.

The next story is Saturn Girl, Wildfire, Tyroc and Dawnstar negotiating with Relnic which is interrupted by Karate Kid and Captain Comet dropping in with the Secret Society of Super Villains from the 20th century. Chaos ensues and the Legion sends the bad guys back in time, Saturn Girl wiping their memories, although the listening kids don't believe that last part.

The last story, told by the mystery kid, focuses on Barry Allen Flash in Crisis trying to disable the Controller's cannon. The Legion - Blok, White Witch, Quislet and Sensor Girl - appear and disrupt the cannon, but leave Barry alone.

The kids have a hard time with the concept of a "Quislet" but the robed stranger tells them they are stories to inspire them to courage. He reveals himself to be Dav Hunter - just another Legionnaire - and they all get to know each other and unite under the "Eat it grandpa" rallying cry.

We also get a guided lettercol from Triplicate Girl that serves as an intro to all the Legionnaires, which also drips a little more info out about them as well.

Commentary

Ladies and gentlemen, the first filler issue of the threeboot, written by Stuart Moore. It was ok. The art, by Pat Olliffe, was very well done, capturing the feel of the distinct eras (Adventure, Grell, Baxter) that the three campfire stories were there to tell. This is also the only issue in the run thus far to have an actual title to the story.

My challenge here is that the intent for the story is to rally the dispirited kids to be heroic and make grandpa eat it (I guess you get to figure out what that is - Jello? Pudding? Excrement?) by telling mythical Legion stories. They are charming for what they are, but at the end of the day, with me reading this today, it makes me miss the classic Legion stories. And it was done in the context of the "adults v kids" backdrop which is not getting better with age. It may have worked better in 2005/6 when the book was coming out monthly, but as I read this now, a couple a week, its not aging well at all.

Another problem with this story is the mysterious cloaked figure, while resembling Clark Kent, is just another ordinary guy. I guess that is the point here, but with a mysterious robed figure taking in the chaos and getting people to talk to one another, I would have thought it was a Legionnaire of import or some other interesting revelation. But no.

The actual Legion makes an appearance at the end with Luornu giving the backgrounds for all the Legionnaires - a cool concept that I think definitely needs to be done for this team annually. There is also a cute scene with Bouncing Boy bothering Triplicate Girl, but it turns out its actually Chameleon.

Grade - C+. The plus is for the artwork.

I also can't stand when they try that sort of 'real-time' nonsense. Often, a story-arc over multiple issues will take place in a single day, or, at the most, over a couple of days, there's absolutely no reason at all for every twelve issues to have supposedly chronicled *an entire year* in-universe!

The Legion is better suited than most to utterly ignore that business, since it should *never* be tied into real-world 'timely' events like the fall of the Berlin Wall or 9/11 or the AIDS epidemic, and so never should have the risk of something feeling like it's 'dating' the characters or the setting.

Yeah, I mean one would think that they may even have different day names one thousand years hence!

I'm a big geek about this kind of thing - Don't have a five part story that clearly can only take place over a day or two, then have the next issue be six months later!

Supergirl and The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #16

Released March 22, 2006
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages


Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Penciller
Mick Gray - Inker
Nathan Eyring - Colorist
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Klar is in his apartment and complains to his wife about the ruckus being made outside by the Legionnaires. He bundles up and angrily confronts them as they casually toss about a SP officer. They mock him as he threatens to call more police and they throw their new status in Klar's face while Shady extorts Klar's goggles from him. It also turns out that the officer they were toying with is a terrorist plant. Klar angrily gets his fellow tenants to come outside and in person. The Legionnaires further goad the adults and fly away with the terrorist, a young boy looking on at the Legionnaires with admiration.

Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad confer with Imra's mother about in incoming object headed for Earth with the Super logo visible.

Ultra Boy and Cham dump the terrorist with the Science Police as Ultra Boy gloats about it. Cham seems a bit more pensive about it.

At Legion Plaza, construction of the new HQ continues as Cosmic Boy announces his intent to hold a leader election to Colossal Boy.

Later in space, nine Legionnaires meet to intercept the incoming object. They start to tear it apart, before one large chunk hit's Gim's ring causing his space-defense to malfunction and he plummets to earth with some larger debris. It hurtles towards the plaza until Supergirl dramatically destroys the rest of the debris.

Kara is instantly recognized by the crowd and the Legionnaires. Some of the crowd are skeptical, so Kara grabs Rokk and they fly to a tall building's peak where she says that this entire thing is her dream.


Commentary

Let me get the good stuff out of the way first - Kitson, Gray & Eyring are amazing in this issue and provide some great art.

Now to the issue itself. First off, now that the title has changed with the addition of Supergirl, issue 16 is effectively an issue #1, therefore we are treated to an intro to the Legion's world and a few of its members by way of this side story with Klar. Waid is very clever in making the Legionnaires out like they are stepping over their bounds by seemingly messing with a SP officer now that they have authority. Of course, the joke's on us when we come to find out that the officer is really a terrorist. The Legionnaires then goad the adults into personal interaction, which is part of their mission in the disruption of society.

I'll say straight up that this opening scene torpedoes what is otherwise a good story. So the mission of the Legion is to act like assholes to adults for the sole purpose of shaking things up? Sorry, that just doesn't hold water. It's made worse by Tasmia shaking down Klar for his goggles. This is the behavior of thugs, not heroes. Ultra Boy reinforces this when he shows up with the perp at the SP station. I'm trying to remember specifics, but I do remember being an active comic-store goer at this time, as I was stoked for the Shrinking Violet reveal from a few issues prior. I'm almost 100% sure that I stopped after this issue. The snarky teens that are almost adults battling against the adults not that much older than them is not working and is getting old.

The rest of this issue works decently enough. The enigmatic object racing to Earth and the battle to eliminate it was well told with everyone there having a role to play, as was the Supergirl reveal. But the "its all a dream" take? We'll see how this plays out.

Another item that was kind of interesting to me here was the flight ring situation. So instead of the traditional transsuit, the ring - in addition to taking you off the grid, enabling flight and providing a costume - also protects you in space That seems REAL risky and adds yet another function to a ring, which we see become a problem for Gim.

It should be noted that Ultra Boy, Light Lass and Shadow Lass in the intro scene for this story were also among the first Legionnaires to be seen in the first issue.

One final note - this issue is down to 23 pages, where all the prior issues were 30-31 pages.

Grade - C. Great art and a decent main story is sunk by characters I'm caring less and less about.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #17

Released April 26, 2006
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages


Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Penciller
Mick Gray - Inker
Nathan Eyring - Colorist
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

The Legion attempts to infiltrate a Bot data ceremony when the Science Police barges in and makes chaos. Things get a little tense for the Legion when Supergirl arrives and disconnects the data transfer, saving the day. Supergirl still thinks this is all a figment of her imagination.

Back at HQ, they determine that Kara is who she thinks she is and we get a recap of the Superman/Supergirl origin. All of this, including her entry into the 31st century, has happened quite rapidly for her.

Meanwhile, either Element Lad or Shadow Lass is giving another recap of this society's isolation to Kara, who is convinced this is a dream. The word 'Braniac' makes for some confusion on Kara's part when a distant building collapses and she is on the scene to help out. The kid she saves, Seiss, apparently emits subsonic waves when he has indigestion which causes a)people to hate him and b)chaos (dude, I can relate).

More Legionnaires arrive and Cosmic Boy gives more background on the Legion in this world. Cos floats Legion membership to Kara, which grates Ayla. A mysterious stranger recruits Seiss.

Back at SP HQ, Light Lass and Invisible Kid are looking at what intel has been found by a Legion mole in the SP. Supergirl saves a spill. Lyle gushes over Kara while Ayla is annoyed by Kara's presence, further irritated at her when Cos and Imra call with the announcement that Kara is an official Legionnaire.

Elsewhere, the Dominators celebrate the delivery of their techno-organic payload.

Back on Earth, Kara arrives for her induction ceremony, but Ayla becomes Bitch Lass by happily telling her that there are no Flight Rings and therefore no membership. Vi promptly arrives with a delivery from Brainy - a flight ring.

The rest of the team determines that this is Dream Girl's ring. Ayla stews.


Commentary

Again starting with the art. Kitson/Gray/Eyring nail the graphics here.

Story is a little better than last issue here as Kara is acclimating to her new environment. One thing that stood out to me was if they had made this more a SP v Legion tension versus the Adults v Kids angle, it would have worked better. The interplay between these teams is a little more on a closer level that this vague struggle of kids versus adults, so it makes the entry into the story a little easier. The opening sequence is kind of cool with the robots summoning their robot deity, and the SP officer asking for Kara's monograph was cute.

The rest of the book was, for the most part, a recap of this world - its a sterile world they are trying to shake up, and anyone who wants to be a Legionnaire is a member. But only the special ones get flight rings. There were three other things that stood out - the gag with Seiss having indigestion powers was kind of funny, but the mystery recruiter was even more interesting. We are clearly being led to think that Kara is some kind of a Dominator plant. And finally, we get to see Ayla starting to turn into Bitch Lass by not being the best midriff on the team. All that saying, it was OK, but nothing really special other than the art.

Other interesting note - Brin Londo is officially referred to as Timber Wolf on the "roll call" page.

Grade - B-. Getting better. Although being honest, I want to get to the next issue to see Ayla get more bitchy.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #18

Released May 24, 2006
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

Who's the Boss?

Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Layouts
Adam DeKraker - Pencils
Mick Gray & Drew Geraci - Inkers
Nathan Eyring - Colorist
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Our intro scene takes us into the Metropolis underworld and we learn about a centuries old AI civilization that humans created that is connected to the current robot uprising. SP Officers scramble from their HQ including an officer Daggle who transforms into Cham and flies away.

In Brainy's lab, Brainiac 5 is using Imskians to mine Lemnos' power of forgetfulness to help him save Dream Girl. Timber Wolf arrives with a package and discovers that Brainy has Nura's body.

Meanwhile, the Naltorians want Nura's remains, which catches the Legion by surprise. Saturn Girl tries to probe Supergirl's mind, along with Cosmic Boy, but Kara is unable to remember how she got there. She starts playing with her new flight ring and changes appearances thanks to Invisible Kid. She rushes out after hearing something.

Star Boy goes to visit Projectra, who is creating illusions of her dead parents. The Legion follows Supergirl through the city before diving into the underworld to assist the SPs fighting the robots. Saturn Girl discovers Cham's SP moonlighting as the battle goes on. Ultra Boy tries to show off and gets clocked by a robot. As they clean up the battle, the SPs tell the Legion that the robots were fueling a giant robot with a unique powder. Kara sees Atom Girl take some as a sample and take it back to Brainy. The rest of the Legion follows and bursts into Brainy's lab and find both Lemnos and Nura. He is trying to reconstruct Nura's soul. Supergirl has Nura's old ring. The argument is interrupted by Rol Purtha - Dream Boy.


Commentary

Starting with the art - A lot of times when we have seen a Layout/penciller combo it seems to go alright, but this pairing seemed a little off in this issue. I think it was that it wasn't quite as consistent from page to page, and even there it wasn't as good at it has been. All that said it wasn't that bad - just not as good as we've been used to in the art department.

The plot for this issue is OK but nothing special. It's basically a robot bashup with a few character breadcrumbs. The neat thing that is here in my opinion is the concept of the UP/Earth underworld just below the surface of the perfect world. It seems to me that the papering over of the underbelly of society wouldn't work very well without a significant amount of problems manifesting themselves more than we've been told, but it does provide a new avenue for stories, which is a good thing. The Robot AI storyline is now starting to get fleshed out, so we get a little background on the Earth's past, and all that is mildly interesting.

The little bits of character moments were pretty good as well - Projectra's was quite sad, and Rokk reacted predictably to hearing about Dream Girl's body. Dream Boy? I dunno. I guess we'll see.

Chameleon needs to work on his OpSec skills. Using Reep Daggle kind of stands out, but then again, I don't think we've ever heard him addressed by anything other than his codename.

Interesting how Brainiac 5 himself seems to be against the Boy/Girl code names. I'm also curious to see if they go further into the Colu/Imsk connections.

"Shut up and enjoy the view," Jo says while flying behind Kara. Someone really needs to Giffen that jerk, but I'll settle for cheering when the robot clocked him good. Good joke on his expense too about Kara not seeing anything in his head.

Rokk: "So we follow." Garth: "Spoken like a true leader." Darkly amusing, I guess.

Grade - B-. Everything is a step above average here.

Always a fan of new characters, I was intrigued by the notion of Dream Boy, particularly the idea I had when he was introduced that he was one of the two pre-cops that Dreamy and Karate Kid spanked during the issue on Naltor, the one that Dreamy predicted would be left by his girlfriend soon (sort of motivating him to accept an off-world posting...). Being as invested in the 'classic' continuity Garth, B rainy, Shady, etc. I always find original characters like Reboot's Kid Quantum II or Gates or XS, or Threeboot's Theena or Dream Boy or Gazelle, to be more interesting, since they are completely new, and not 're-imaginings' of someone I already know.

It doesn't seem like Dream Boy was that pre-cop, but I was still intrigued, and kind of wish we'd seen more of him.

The concept of one of those SPs from issue 2, I guess? is pretty cool!

I agree to a large extent about the new characters. Another thing I think was a good twist was that Dream Boy was a draft, ala the beginnings of the Reboot where Chu and the UP filled up the ranks of the Legion that way.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #19

Released June 28, 2006
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

A 31st Century Whodunnit!

Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Artist
Nathan Eyring - Colorist
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Chameleon is getting grilled by the Science Police for a murder in which he's implicated. We dig into Cham's infiltration of the SPs to investigate the prisoner who the Legion handed over in issue 16. Unfortunately, the perp was brutally murdered in his cell.

At Legion Plaza, Supergirl talks to Theena looking for Seiss, the kid with the indigestion problems from issue 17. Theena, who can locate anyone using her symbiote, can't find him anywhere.

Back to Cham's story, in his role of Officer Daggle, he meets with Jeyra Entinn, a telepath from Titan who is a consultant investigating the situation. In her story, she says the prisoner was killed by a robot who suddenly appeared, committed the crime, then disappeared.

They follow a lead into the Metropolis underground, where as you go deeper, there are more unwanted things - first people then deeper, Robots with AI. They disguise themselves and see a tech handoff by a Khund in SP gear to the robots so they can recreate their ancestor - a giant robot who recognizes the pair instantly. Cham swings into action and takes out dozens of robots, but also revealing his identity to Jeyra.

Cham grills the Khund about the teleporting murderer, but he doesn't know anything. Cham flies Jayla back to the surface and she kisses him, but Cham doesn't reciprocate. They go back to the crime scene and he investigates further coming to one conclusion - Jayla is the killer.

She monologues and spills the entire thing while she mentally prevents Cham from changing forms. She made the prisoner kill himself by bashing his own head against the wall. She plans to kill Cham as a patsy, but he is able to shift into a replica of Jayla herself, which catches her off guard and allows him to take her down.

The SP's accept his story and let him go, but with some unanswered questions - Who employed Jayla? What's really behind the robot rebellion? Does the Legion have a spy in its midst?

At Brainy's lab, he's disappeared, along with Element Lad, Light Lass and the dormant bodies of Lemnos and Dream Girl.

Commentary

I'm gonna straight up say that this is probably one of my favorite issues of the run so far, if not the best. The art is super sharp, as Kitson does pencils AND inks, and Eyring seems to work really well with his stuff. Kitson's work seems to lose a bit of an edge any time he's working with someone else inking.

The story is great - I really loved the noir retelling from Cham's story, and a lot more backstory gets revealed of Cham and the overall world, which was a nice change. The trope with the femme fatale may be somewhat overdone, but the twist with Cham not being attracted to non-changing life forms was a good twist to why he pushes Jayla away, even though she's able to nick his ring via the distracting kiss. Cham's story is mostly narrated, and that really works with the frames on the page with the overall story, so it kept making me turn the page.

Otherwise in the story, Theena is finally given some background. The idea that she has a symbiotic relationship with the organism that allows her to communicate is neat, as well as how it works. Long overdue, in my opinion. And its cute that she has a bit of a crush on Thom. But it looks like we are getting some traction with both the Seiss situation as well as Brainy's obsession with restoring Dream Girl.

A lot of good background on the 31st century Earth civilization as a part of this. The whole Robot AI Rebellion gets more interesting with the fact that they took over centuries prior and humans basically hid out. Does this explain the over-control of their world? Its an interesting question, as the existence of the underground with organics suggests not. If that was meant to be the case, I don't think it aged well as a concept after what we've gone through with the pandemic. You can maybe get half the people to go along with what's best for all; the rest won't care, and it doesn't matter what age they are.

Grade A+ - Great comic book story and art working together.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #20

Released July 19, 2006
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

The United Planets Presents The Legion of Super Heroes

Mark Waid & Tony Bedard - Screenplay
Barry Kitson - Director
Adam DeKraker - Cinematographer
Mick Gray - Line Producer
Nathan Eyring - Technicolor
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

At Legion Plaza, the new HQ is dedicated with a big sponsorship sign of the UP on the top. The Legion groupies are confused as to what's going on as the UP continues to roll a video to the crowd basically undermining the Legion's message of rebellion. Something alerts a break in to the UP Headquarters building, where delegate Ardeen and others are watching the crowd and the video. Cos, Garth, Imra, Brin, Thom and Jo bust in and demand the video stop, as they were never asked for approval. Garth signing the contract in haste has come to bite them. Other alerts from across the world appear with giants attacking other cities.

Brainy, Ayla and Jan are in an old L.E.G.I.O.N. cruiser looking at the Crab Pulsar, which is part of Brainy's plan to bring back Nura. Jan tries to convince Brainy to let go. It doesn't work.

At HQ, Cos and team are trying to make sense of the eight Giant attacks. Dream Boy joins the meeting, trying to be relevant, but is bullied by Ultra Boy. Each team goes over their missions.

Triplicate Girl and Lightning Lad handle one giant trying to steal an artifact before he was stopped by Supergirl.

Projectra tells her mission of her and Brin taking on a female giant. Projectra creates an image of Colossal Boy that sets the giant off; he's not well liked by these kids. Brin starts to jump in but Supergirl takes care of this giant as well.

In both stories, the team is frustrated with Supergirl. Something about Kara makes Rokk uneasy, but she's listened to the whole thing. However, she's not at all upset. And we get the backstory of the Giants - basically created by Bizarro Brainiac 200 years prior.

In Big City jail. Gim is trying to understand what set these kids off. Apparently someone is recruiting them into a new group.

Back in space, Atom Girl jumps out of Lemnos' tube as Brainy preps to take it into the pulsar. Essentially Brainy is using Lemnos' ability to process data and the power of the pulsar to rebuild Dream Girl.

Back at HQ, Rokk and Kara have a candid discussion that turns into flirting. Rokk wonders if what's making him uneasy around Kara is love.

Commentary

Pretty good issue here. Solid good work from the artists and the story moves the meta plot along without creating any major waves. I'm a little surprised that the writers didn't spend more time on the "sellout" aspect of the story, as I'd think it would make much more of a splash given the first fourteen issues. Maybe it will be addressed coming up. Although the giant invasion was slightly odd in its telling, I did find it fascinating as we finally learn why there are human giants! I'm glad they finally addressed this plot point. And it looks as if we are getting to the big moment of Brainy trying to bring back Nura. Rokk having a crush on Kara is a neat idea, and hopefully one that relaxes him a bit as a character.

It looks like we have three plots moving forward from now: Dream Girl resurrection, Robot Rebellion, and whoever this new team is. I am guessing it's Star Boy's new team, if anyone, created after the perceived selling out of the Legion to the UP.

A few other notes:

The credits are done a little differently with the comic creative staff given movie production roles versus that of comic book creators.

We're given confirmation the old HQ used to be a jail, which was hinted at during the first year.

Hey, look at that - Jo's a dick again! I'm so surprised.

The girls on this team REALLY consider Kara to be a threat to their femininity.

All the giants live in Big City in Antarctica, now near the equator with Australia as the south pole, and Bizarro Brainiac made them big! I'm glad that we received this breakdown and honestly would love to hear more. Its a testament to the Waid/Kitson team that we've been able to go this long with this new team and world, yet still be pretty good with the lack of information about this universe.

Grade - B. Solid issue but nothing major happens.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #21

Released August 23, 2006
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

Mark Waid & Tony Bedard - Script
Barry Kitson - Layouts
Adam Dehraker - Pencils
Rob Still - Inker
Nathan Eyring - Colorist
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

In Big City, Gim reads a paper that says he's the inspiration of the rebellious giants from last issue. He verbally spars with the female prisoner (who kinda looks like Charlize Theron). Normal size SP officers arrive for a prisoner transfer, but its a setup. Three rebels, including the missing Seiss, arrive and free the prisoners, who then beat the crap out of Gim before they leave.

Back at the Crab Pulsar, we have Brainy trying to revive Dream Girl via Lemnos while Light Lass, Element Lad and Atom Girl watch. Jan lectures Brainy on mortality until he realizes he's not listening.

At HQ, the Legion ladies (Lu, Tinya & Jeckie) try to make Kara feel more at home and find some common ground with Kara's "you're all made up" theory. Jeckie throws out the "my parents are dead" card and shuts the whole thing down.

Back at the pulsar, Brainy is trying to re-create Dream Girl. The process moves forward and it looks like a new Nura is being created in the empty tube, but then Nura's body disappears, leaving nothing behind. Brainy freaks out and attacks Jan. Jan tried to transmute Brainy unsuccessfully, so Vi and Ayla try to subdue Brainy, who has immunized himself from other Legionnaire powers. A mysterious voice tells Brainy to stop. Later in his room, Brainy sees an apparition of Dream Girl.

At HQ, Rokk & Garth discuss the Giant escape becoming a problem and Rokk holding an election.



Commentary

Solid issue. We up the ante, but without getting a REAL resolution about Dream Girl, get a bit farther in the competing super team plot, and find out we're getting elections. Also, the girls still seem to hate Kara. The main thread of this book, the resurrection of Dream Girl, was well done as it touched on a lot of things - Brainy's obsession, Vi's dedication to Brainy and Jan's obsessiveness about change. Again, only Ayla seems to have her head together enough to get Vi to try and snap Brainy out of his rage. But the twist at the end was interesting. We never get to know (yet, anyway) if Nura is real or just a figment of Brainy's imagination. Was this what Nura foretold back in issue 2 about them being married?

The giant revolt, while somewhat interesting, doesn't have as much of a punch (except for poor Gim). My main problem with this plot thread is that I'm just assuming that this is Dirk's new team. Why does no one even suspect this? I'm not sure what the deal was with the girls - Rokk tries to get them to push Kara a bit, but they end up still seeming like mean girls. I'm still searching for some off-duty behavior where I'm feeling like I can relate to these super jerks.

Art-wise, we get a mix. Kitson Layouts, Dehraker pencils and Still on inks. It comes out very well, but not quite to the level of the Kitson cover's promise. But overall nicely done.

A few other notes:

Although Vi's Brainy obsession weirds me out, I enjoyed her signal to noise comment. Her later uncertainty and hesitancy plays really well. I think this may be one of the few times someone actually says the name "Salu" instead of Vi/Violet.

Projectra tells us that Cos asked the girls to do help Kara acclimate, and in the earlier page, Cos himself is in the background.

"Jann" is given an extra N in the Jan/Brainy scene.

Rokk FINALLY seems like the leader he is supposed to be here when he's talking about elections.

Grade = B+

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #22

Released September 27, 2006
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages


Tony Bedard & Mark Waid - Script
Barry Kitson - Layouts
Adam DeKraKer - Pencils
Rob Stull & Rodney Ramos - Inks
Nathan Eyring - Colorist
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Val is thinking back to a year prior when he was dating Shadow Lass and they broke up. Now she's coming to him to consult about her relationship with Jo, as he's feeling insecure thinking himself insecure. Val suggests Jo has a crush on Kara, but he'll look into it.

In Metropolis, the kids debate the leader election as the Science Police try to disperse the crowds. A rogue Legionnaire tries to take matters into his own hands before Cos and Kara handle the situation. Kara kisses Cos on the cheek before taking the rogue back to HQ. Lyle proves to Cos that he's not in love with Kara; its some radiation interference. But its also revealed that Lyle is worshipping Kara, too and may have told Cos that to get rid of the competition.

The former Terror Firma, with Dirk in the lead, visits Narchus III, a Dominator colony that seems deserted. A large, muscular Dominator comes out of the jungle and attacks them, demanding to fight the real Legion.

Ayla and Kara watch Sunset from a rooftop when Tasmia arrives to talk to Kara. Val arrives and says Kara is urgently needed elsewhere. "Elsewhere" is a moon where Jo is trying to handle an emergency himself. Val and Tasmia watch remotely as Jo and Kara take care of business. Kara starts to run down after a couple hours because she is not in a yellow sun. Jo's fragile ego is fixed.

In the Narchus III system, Sun Boy's team is held captive on a space ship...


Commentary

I found this to be a very average issue, as the art is great - Dekraker penciling the Kitson layouts works really well - but not a lot substantial happens here. I will full on admit to bias here - a lot of this story centers around Ultra Boy and Shadow Lass' petty problems, and in the end patting the stupid Jo Nah of this run on the back for being a brainless twit versus having him develop was a waste of character development. Shadow Lass, who has the depth of a half filled kiddie pool, doesn't come off much better here. Still, the idea of this Jo Nah having impotence problems gave me a really good laugh, and Val sucker punching him felt great.

Honestly, I was much more interested in Sun Boy's team, who as far as I'm aware don't have a name yet. And that thread - not the Legion's - is by far the more interesting of the book. Not a great sign when your title is "Legion of Super Heroes".

Sun Boy's uniform here is better than his Legion outfit.

So did Ayla lure Kara so that Tas could talk to her? Ayla beat it pretty quick, so Jo's impotence issues must be widespread knowledge. Kara seemingly being clueless about the emotional havoc caused in her wake is interesting, just because of all the disarray these selfish Legion kids are in.

Grade: C-. Outside of the art, this title is starting to sour, and I'm positive that I am past where I dropped the initial run at this point. If you're not rooting for the team the book is named after, there is a problem in the characters or storytelling.

#21: The Nura revival plot is pretty good for sci fi and the question of whether we're all just information/data/energy which can be retrieved; the tension it creates with the other Legionnaires. It's a bit creepy - I'd side with Jan on the inadvisability of Brainy's project - but does raise a lot of questions. As you wrote, no real resolution. Is Nura a hallucination, or is she in Brainy's brain, or some form of sentient energy?

I'd totally forgotten the plot about Gim, the prisoners and Dirk's new team. Confusing, all these characters; I'd have to go back to the beginning to remember who they are. We've got a Kid Quake, a freezing power kid, a leader off-panel named Tarik (recalling the Tarik the Mute story, which was Gim's story as well) - echoes from the past.

Rokk in the background, missed that, but yep, there he is, eavesdropping to make sure his plan is going well....

#22:
Very disappointing that Jo is such a shallow character - and Shady not much better (at least in this issue). At least they're happy together, I guess. (She did have a good line: "It's that sproggin' little skirt, isn't it?" which made me laugh.) There's one instance in which Jo beats Kara, which he himself acknowledges is due to an orange sun, and he's back in fighting form: this seems more simplistic than it needs to be.

Cos sure is pretty accepting of Lyle's explanation of an energy mismatch between Cos and Kara. I'd suspect that Lyle has fabricated this, but maybe Cos wants a reason to distance himself from Kara in any event. Lyle's shrine to Kara strikes me as uncomfortable to creepy, but it also reminds me of the Supergirl/Superman fan clubs they wrote into the 1960s comics. "Love in the Threeboot" - calling Dr. Freud!

Radiation Roy, new version, makes an appearance. Don't know if this is a one-shot appearance or if he is also in future issues. Waid's drawing on a number of old characters, but they may just be tribute mentions.

Cramey! Glad to see you!!! You've been missed.

I *generally* remembered Dirk getting a new team, but the way things are flowing it seems like this group might be a third organization in the mix. I'm not sure, as I also didn't remember any of this giant revolt business.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #23

Released October 25, 2006
DC Comics, Color
24 Pages


Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Penciller
Mick Gray - Inker
Nathan Eyring - Colorist
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Kara wakes from a sleep pod and thinks she is back on Krypton, but quickly realizes she is on a relocated Kandor, as Ayla, Imra, Brainy and Rokk are there with her. Brainy and Cos wanted to dispel Kara's notion that she was dreaming her reality, so they take her on a spaceship, expose her to Kryptonite (which is what Brin procured a few issues back) and sedate her for the trip to Kandor. Kara is very upset and is angry with the Legion, but especially Rokk, who she thought was falling for her. Rokk explains that it was just 'radiation' and seems to successfully convince Kara that her being on Kandor is for everyone's safety. Imra detects another mind.

Element Lad and Triplicate Girl are investigating the remains of the robot battle from a few issues ago. They run across a kid who can make plants grow, who seems to have someone else's agenda at heart.

On Talok VIII we see Tasmia and Grev Mallor fighting to see who will be champion. Tasmia wins and a feast is thrown with Vi in attendance. Atom Girl convinces her to run for leader.

Later, Rokk is beating himself up about his decision to put Kara through these tests when an alarm is triggered elsewhere in Kandor. The Legion squad heads to a museum and encounters the telepath Jeyra who we met in issue 19. She blocks Imra while her new friends help take out the Legionnaires. Imra can't seem to focus on taking down Jeyra because she keeps sensing the other presence from before. A familiar looking phantom begs to be freed.


Commentary

We're back to a really solid issue here with 23. I'm not sure what it is, but when its Waid writing and Kitson on art, without the crossovers into plotting and divvying up of creative responsibilities to multiple layers (plotting, layouts, dialog, etc) this book really shines. The last issue where I remember things clicking so well with a smaller team was probably around issue 8 or 9.

The main thread of this story involving the Legion deceiving Kara was fascinating to me. The little bits of history - the lack of time travel capability, the resettling of Kandor - really worked for me as did the personal bits. Ayla there for her anti-grav powers to help them on the new planet, but Rokk unhappy about the decision to put Kara under a microscope. It's also clear that he DOES have feelings for her, despite what Lyle told him in the prior issue. Rokk's feelings also brings up something interesting about this universe - that there seems to be a lack of clear affection between characters that goes past anything but sex. Garth and Imra *seem* to have a deeper relationship, but its not really explored in favor of the "who's sleeping with whom" noise that always seems to be in the background here. Bringing Jayla back after a few issues is great, as I find her a really cool villain, but we're not able to find more about what it is that she's up to as we're given the awesome cliffhanger of what looks like Mon-El in the phantom zone!

The secondary plots are also quite interesting. As Jan and Luornu explore the underground we seem to get the promise of a Legion infiltrator down the road. One third of Luornu canoodling with Jan, and the surprise by all involved, was a good touch. It both calls back to their date in issue 3 ,but also seems to indicate that the Luornus seem to have their own interests and/or personalities, which is a nice callback to the reboot, and perhaps why her homeworld sisters didn't want to have anything to do with her when she returned to Cargg.

The scene on Talok was enjoyable. We see a new side of Atom Girl and Tasmia. Tasmia actually seems more relatable and has a responsible side that is fresh. Atom Girl is also has some depth added to her with her interest in getting to know Grav better as well as interacting with anyone other than Brainy. In any case, at least in this setting, the Shadow Girl/Atom Girl interplay seems to work well.

A couple other observations:

I think what is a bit unsettling about this version of Cosmic Boy is that his costume looks like he's sporting an alien version of the Punisher's shirt.

Element Lad seems to be disintegrating the robot parts into gas, but it was mentioned earlier that his changes only last for a few minutes. It's a bit inconsistent. Either its a retcon or he's developing his powers more, but we're not told about that.

Interesting bit with Ayla - she's not happy about being dragged along and almost comes off a bit defensive of her attitude towards Kara.

It seems like the "Adults v Kids" thing spreads to Kandor as well based on the "punks" comment by the museum curator. This was a bit of an off-note for me given that they go to lengths to say that Kandor is a very isolated society.

Grade: A. The first issue in a long time that has wanted me to jump to the next issue.