Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Calling the Roll of LSH #3.... spoilers

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Are the captions on the cover the 'official' titles of the story?

"1...2...3... It's a Magic Number!"

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Call the Roll!

COSMIC BOY: Just how many lines of dialogue away was Cos from slapping Brainy do you think?

"Like it or not, I'm apparently responsible for an entire generation's right to freedom... My team has no code or discipline...

It looks like Cos's credentials as spiritual leader of the team are going to be demonstrated from the get-go (well--- two+ unseen years in, at any rate).

The revelations here of his suspicions of a Brainiac 'coup' cast #2's snappy patter between the pair in a whole different light. There was more going on there than just good-natured ribbing.

At the story's beginning I appreciate how Cos' perception of Brainy... "You work better when you're given a project." Maybe he needs to keep ol' Brainy a heck of a lot busier...

"Stage two"... team integration, presumably. Can't wait to see this one progress.

TRIPLICATE GIRL: "Splits into three" reads the copy under her hero name in the issue's roll call. That doesn't tell the half (or third) of it, does it? This is quite a tale that's going to take a while to absorb. Cargg, reduced to rubble by some agent as yet unknown (mystery to be revealed later?), is populated by one woman split into infinity.

Triplicate Girl's power is actually integration, isn't it? The three girls who are chosen as a delegation to Earth are 'selves' initially replicated by the girl that woke up in Cargg's rubble; now they're a unit unto themselves due to differences incurred while away.

This is a further extension of the 'replicating' superpower that was recently examined and used very well in Marvel's MADROX miniseries. I see echoes of that here. It's sort of like Jamie Madrox manifested his 'feminine side' and she was somehow transported to the DCU Cargg. The info-gathering of the entities and then integrating as knowledge is a great use of the power.

Are they limited to three? Couldn't any one of them replicate 'copies' at any time? Or is it only the 'prime' that can create replicates? It isn't quite clear in the story. At first it would seem that any Carggite could 'fission' off a new self at any time-- but the use of 'we' and 'us' doesn't quite make that clear.

I think I'll have *lots* more to post on Triplicate Girl-- her new origin and persona is very evocative...

I do wish that when Triplicate Girl was telling her story to Element Lad, Sun Boy and Ultra Boy that it'd been more of a dialogue, with her answering their questions or responding to their observations/reactions.

Since she was ostensibly finding out about *them*, it's somewhat amusing that she spends her time with them talking about *her/theirself*.

ELEMENT LAD: PG calls him Jan! And apparently he's a *fairly* recent addition to the ranks... though he's been there long enough to build a history with Phantom Girl and Karate Kid.

I'm not liking this continued motif of Legionnaires not knowing who is or isn't a capital 'L' Legionnaire, as Jan is ignorant of Atom Girl.

"No socialization. No familiarity... earthlings are so conservative. Why do I have to wear clothes at all?" "I like being naked". Now *there's* an icebreaker.

So, Trom is undeveloped, remote... possibly tropical. "I'm not in the Legion to celebrate the past". That makes him the holder of a unique viewpoint in this group, doesn't it? I'm here because we're leading a generational revolution that could alter the galaxy. As a Tromian, it's my spiritual duty to be at the nexus of great change." At first, I inferred that Trom was therefore still populated... but we don't know yet, do we?

So sixty seconds is the limit of Jan's transformations!? Don't like that much... I can see the point that he needed to be unProgenitorized, but let's not get carried away here. Maybe he'll learn to effect longer transformations?

So far, he seems more a stranger to me than any of the other Legionnaires... even the very different Triplicate Girl. I *hope* that won't continue to be true.

MICRO LAD/LIGHT LASS/INVISIBLE KID: I liked the demonstration of Micro Lad's attitude in regards to how he thinks about his name and power. He's unique in that he 'relaxes', I suppose, in order to 'use' his power. I like the interaction between ML and Light Lass...

CHAMELEON: At last he speaks! Awww- I felt a little sorry for him/her. He wanted to play, but the razzafrazza 'cool' kids wouldn't...

Enjoyable issue-- with a nice twist capping what was a fairly simple plot with some very nice moments. I think I like the changes in Triplicate Girl and Cargg-- though it's gonna take some time to sink into my consciousness.

The 'date' scenes were fun (esp. the interaction with Chameleon) and the 'date prep' scene between PG and EL.

The concluding twist of Cos's use of Triplicate Girl as a one-Legionnaire (is she considered one member or three?) Espionage Squad was unexpected and gave some gravity to the date(s). I'd thought TG's new origin was the meat of the story, but I'm not sure it was.

I was disturbed, a bit, by the coalescing Triplicate Girl's arriving with their dates. Ultra Boy had just inferred a little 'menage a quatre' with 'his' TG, only to be confronted by the already separated Carggites, along with their 'dates', Element Lad and Sun Boy. The three boys stare at each other in horror and then run for the 'bar'.

This is sneaking into homophobic territory. Not overt... but there. Including Element Lad, a character often speculated about as gay by fans *and* creators, makes it a bit more... there. It was a funny scene... but I think it might've communicated more than was intended. Or perhaps exactly what *was* intended.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Rimworld and the evolution of the 'stage two'.

The way I understood this is that the maximum number of copies was eventually reached on Cargg. The three selves that traveled to Earth can't split anymore, because the overall maximum number of selves has already been reached.

Weird. But lots of fun.

Did you notice that Phantom Girl is listed as coming from a different _dimension_?

Timber Wolf? I can't really think of anyone else offhand. My first thought was Shadow Lass, but the yellow eyes don't fit. Hmm...what color eyes did Blok have? We know the Legion was recently on Dryad. Whoever it is isn't a core Legionnaire.

We know Sun Boy and Cos have had a least some disagreement in regard to fighting on Lallor or walking away. I think he's loyal to the cause but not necessarily to Cosmic Boy. I also think he loves the spotlight, but that's consistent with the original Sun Boy. I do love the "scary smart" comment because Dirk really was one of the most intelligent Legionnaires in the past.

This is definitely a twist on previous versions. But she can't split into infinity, since she found the upper limit.

As for what destroyed Cargg, I'm wondering if it doesn't tie into the looming threat the Legion is going to face.

I see your point, but the issue lists her power as splitting.

There was a stated upper limit to the splitting. ("In time, we founs an upper limit to the number of selves we could fission...") I got the feeling that that limit is still in place and that these three can't split further unless another version of TG on Cargg reintegrates.

I don't think he's alone. Maybe it's more than just ignorance. Maybe it's a Legion Espionage Squad type of thing. PG could be part of that, which might explain why she's aware of Atom Girl's existence.

He might be different that previous versions, but I think I might like this Element Lad. He seems to be removed from what we might consider to be standard human behavior.

Those scenes with Cham had me laughing! Note that he displayed clear emotion. I'm guessing that he's simply going to have to learn how best to fit in with humans - or at least to fake it.

This was an obvious set-up. TG had no intentions of following through with any of them since the dates were just part of her mission. By bringing them all together she effectively ended the dates without doing anything she didn't want to do. Of course, it could have been interesting if they didn't run off. That sure would have thrown TG for a loop!

I didn't read it that way. I think we're just seeing a new EL who isn't entirely like any of the previous versions. I didn't see anything homophobic and it's not like another Legionnaire can't be gay.[/QB][/QUOTE]

Yes, but that's consistent with at least one other version of Bgztl, if not both previous versions.

One of the things that is bothering me I'm finding the apparent lack of familiarity of various members with one another rather disturbing, considering the team has been around two years or more. Wouldn't these guys know basic things about each other's homeworlds, and why they joined the Legion and stuff? One would think Sun Boy and Triplicate Girl would know each other fairly well by now, at least well enough to know why the other one joined the team.

Well, verbally he got the last punch in, didn't he?

Command one, command two, End of list.

Because obviously B5 is like some *machine* that requires *instructions*.

Waid, you WIN at subtle. And now I'm curious about Brainy's backstory, which... huh.

Also, zero-some encounter. My inner nerd is very happy right now.

Ties in with the goats from last issue. Nice. (*fangirls Waid some more*)

Well, the fact he was playing with it during the outfit change is leading, but perhaps it's just a function of 30th century clothing? All in one wardrobe, be prepared for any situation! I know I'd buy one.

As someone who tends to be reasonably sensitive to that sort of thing - I didn't read that into it. There is PLENTY of difference between not-homophobic and yay!-surprise-orgy! Also, I'm with ferroboy - Triplicate Girl obviously wasn't planning on getting any that day. (Although give parts of the fandom a few days, and I'm sure somebody will remedy that.)

Three is magic! After years of no emotion and interaction with each other (compare this run to DNA), it was so great to see the members joking, having different personalities, and SEX! Isn't that what most young adults think about. This mix up of the couples is also very refreshing after reading this book since 1978! Even with the reboot in 1994 most established relationship's stayed the same and this is new and fresh. Mark and Barry...another great issue!

One complaint...if I don't see Violet and Projectra soon I'm gonna lose it!

A couple of thoughts about Element Lad.

Did anyone else think his civvies were sort of subtley reminiscent of his Cockrum/Grell costume.

I was looking for the picture from Adventure 326 when he says "I'm not in my element around girls" or something like that, but I couldn't find it. I wanted to see if the expression on his face when Triplicate Girl kissed him was similar.

There are so many unanswered questions and possibilites related to Triplicate Girl. Replication beyond 3 is still a possibility - either as a further development of her power, or re-integration with additional selves back on Cargg (although this might be difficult given that she is now an outcast). Also unanswered is whether TG has any telepathic link with her other selves when in Triplicate form. Waid seems to suggest that it does not exist since the bodies must integrate to assimilate the knowlege and experience gained by the individuals.

I think that Waid (and as a result us) is going to have a lot of fun developing this character. For once, I'm really liking TG.

From what I gathered, the Carggites did find a limit to how many replicas they could make and were at the max before sending the 3 to Earth. So, the 3 cannot make more of themselves, only recombine with others.

Now that the rest of her homeplanet has more or less ostracized her, she's pretty much stuck with the 3.

The cover title "Three...It's A Magic Number" has got to be an homage to the old ABC Schoolhouse Rock. Just great for us "longtime legionnaires."

It's interesting that Triplicate Girl is now the "lone survivor of her world" like Jan was preboot. And this time, apparently, Jan is not.

My dirty mind speaking: When I first saw the cover of Legion#3, I was half-expecting to see TG raising her second finger in the middle image.

random thoughts:
-- If the Legionnaires take off their rings to get into civvies, does that mean they're back "on the grid"? (assuming they were implanted when young)
-- Triplicate Girl must be "scary smart" as well - she basically has whatever knowledge was necessary to rebuild her homeworld almost from scratch.
-- Once again we see Colossal Boy's condescending attitude towards the "little people". Makes me wonder how much loyalty he has towards the team and how seriously he takes them.
-- Is it me or does the "mystery man" look more like Mon-el? He almost looks like he's wearing a version of Laurel's nun outfit.
-- It's too bad that after the great first impression, it turns out Dirk may have the same old vanity carried over from preboot.
-- So, the guys run out to "the bar". What's that about? What do they drink and is it legal? It'd be funny if "underagers" have all these curtailed freedoms but are allowed to drink.
-- Triplicate Girl's origin reminds me a lot of Madrox: being totally alone with only themselves fr company (though it wasn't as traumatic for Lu as it was for Jaime), the bump in powers to a lot more than three, the absorbsion of information and experience upon reintegration and even the way they "liquify" as they're "slurped back up".
-- Interesting to see that at the end of the book, all three form into a separate Lu on that couch rather than two being absorbed into the third (or original).
-- Nice to see confirmation that the three founders are still the three founders.
-- Why did Dirk melt those scissors? It didn't look intentional - how often does he lose control?

i'm lovin' Waid's scripts. Kitson's doing his best work ever. the inking was much improved over last issue. the coloring i agree is a little too murky. Can't wait for some more action! and plot development!
-anybody else spot what could be ol' Spider Girl in crowd scene ... a mass of orange hair with breasts walking by.
-and notice Lu + Dirk's cups say "Morlo's". a nod to old foe Mantis Morlo.
-i see that Lightning Lad has his hand on Saturn Girl's shoulder in the flashback scene. they must be a couple early on.
-the new TG origin is intriguing.
--Lu has THE ugliest uniform. the cape has got to go. Take a lesson from The Incredibles, "Capes are a dangerous accessory!".
and does she really need 3 logos on her uniform? it's just not very aesthetically pleasing. if a whole planet of Lu's can agree on the ugly clothes, why can't they agree on 1 logo?
-looks to me like the L rings come with auto super-hero clothes. put the ring on-you're ready to go. take it off- instant civies. can't call'em just flight rings anymore.
-love the abundance of teen hormones every ish. it's been too long since we've seen that.
-wonder what PG thinks of Ultra Boy?
-Cos's brown hair is just wrong. especially in a team full of brown haired white guys. does ANY white guy on the team have black hair?
-i miss the Main Meeting Room scenes. maybe that would help Cos get everyone on the same page.
-i'll bet that Trom is destroyed in the upcoming war. and E Lad's powers are increased exponentially.
**Brainy's mystery ally could be Mon-El, or it could be Shakiri from TT/Legion Special.
I'm very happy with these first 3 issues!

It just occurred to me that TG's ability to assimilate knowledge might be exponential. Here's a simplistic explanation (which I already acknowledge has some holes in it). Each body could tackle 1/3 of a problem, merge and assimilate the others' knowlege. I assume that upon splitting again, each body would have all of the knowledge of the whole. Thus the capabilities of each body after the first merge/split are 3 times what they were before. As this goes on, the capablities increase exponentially, i.e., 1 x 3 x 3 x 3 .... Perhaps this explains how they were able to rebuild Cargg so quickly.

This whole issue was like watching an episode of "Freaks and Geeks".

TRIPLICATE GIRL: I'm lukewarm about the "Fission Girl" backstory, but the end justifies the means. I was pleasantly surprised that WaK retained her status as fourth team member, hand-picked by the founders.

The Mata Hari routine certainly raises some troubling ethical questions, but it was also so reminiscent of the old "Girl's Revolt" stories, I couldn't help but chuckle. I interpreted the guys' flight from her bedroom to the bar as a reaction to TG as voracious Man-Eater, at least the way they saw it.

I won't bother debating why her clothing replicates, but not her flight ring, or engage in speculation about auto-eroticism. The only important thing is, TG is an underdog no more.


COSMIC BOY: I'm with Brainy in questioning Cos' decision not to send reinforcements to Rimworld 19. If Cos is so concerned about interstellar war, wouldn't the report of a "massive incursion", combined with a sudden communications outage, had been enough reason to investigate? In this instance, Cos doesn't see the trees for the forest.

"Over my dead body". Hopefully not prophetic. Cos' dilemma recalls the Chu Conspiracy story, where he knew something was rotten in Denmark and formulated a covert plan to deal with it. That the danger is now internal and so close to home makes it all more sinister.


BRAINY: Speaking of sinister. Cos wants to lead by inspiration; Brainy by "enforcing" and "shaping". Cos is the "loyalist"; Brainy is the anarchist. Cos is altruistic; Brainy is egotistical. Despite their extreme differences, these two might make a great leadership TEAM, if only they'd put an end to their pissing contest.

Brainy sending Lightning Lad the image of the man Dream Girl augured HAS to be a setup for issue #5. Now Garth will *know* the enemy when he spots him, quite possibly as the person behind the "deadly super-powered team" he and Saturn Girl are slated to encounter in a couple of months.

As for the yellow-eyed colloborator in the shadows, Brainy's comment "Don't let anyone see you leave" (rather than "Don't let anyone see you.") suggests he may already be a known quantity at Legion HQ. Our first peek at Mystery Boot Boy, perhaps. A Brainy/Vril and T-Wolf/Lobo team-up is also a possibility.


SUN BOY: Does "Loyalist" mean someone who's loyal to the U.P? That makes as much sense as being loyal to the United Nations. I'm glad to have Dirk back on board, but I miss the peerless Silver Age Sun Boy, whose loyalty to the Legion was beyond question and who was much too chivalrous ever to call Lu a "ninny".


CHAMELEON: Wanting to morph into a "puppy" hints at a longing for acceptance. He's jealous of Sun Boy's popularity, so I think these two will come to blows again. I feel a little sorry for Cham, but I still don't like him/her/it very much, so the humor of his scenes was lost on me.


MICRO LAD/COLOSSAL BOY: "Are you suggesting I HIDE?" Also, "I don't call you Not Light Lass..." I LOVE this guy.


INVISIBLE KID: Unlike Micro Lad, Lyle DID hide. His fear of discovery by the S.P. might well figure in his spotlight issue next month.


ULTRA BOY: Is the muscle car Legion property? If so, how could they afford a rare antique that costs "a thousand credits a foot" to operate when they can't afford the cost of another flight ring? I wouldn't be surprised if U-Boy stole it from a museum. He definitely has the makings of a real loser. I was happy when TG handed him his comeuppance.


PHANTOM GIRL: It's obvious the lovely Phantom Girl has eluded Ultra Boy's grasp, or she'd know a lot more about dating practices. Even better, we know Tinya can't possibly be half-Carggite.

Is that a 4th Millennium reprint she's reading?


LIGHTNING LAD and SATURN GIRL: "They'll handle". Each other, apparently. Unromantic cynic that I am, I had really hoped these two characters would evolve in new and separate directions. One consolation at least: Cosmic Boy's directive to "leave [them] to their own devices" means there's no founders' triangle garbage this time. Who knows? The three of them might even be close friends again. How Levitzian.


ELEMENT LAD: Nice civvies, especially the green bolero jacket and the way its design evokes the old up-arrow symbol. I like the inherent sweetness he exhibits in the "rite of vegetation" scene and his genuine surprise when Lu pecks him on the cheek (does that one qualify as the new Legion's first kiss?). However, the "Nature Boy" origin and the 60-second power limitation were the biggest disappointments of the issue for me. We have Element Lad back, but at what cost?

The fact Jan had *no reaction* whatsoever to Lu's tale about the destruction of her race is fairly convincing evidence that Trom escaped a similar fate.

Tromian? I prefer Trommite. Is Tromium still extant? Whatever.

Are you thinking that Garth and Imra are the "covert team"? That was my thought. After all, if you lose contact with your teammates, wouldn't it make sense to send a team to find out what's going on? Not if something's happening that you don't want Brainiac to know about.

I suspect they were just vacationing in the wrong place at the wrong time (or right place at the right time, depending how you look at it), but I agree that Cosmic Boy's lack of concern about them being caught in the middle of a a "massive incursion" is pretty odd unless he had something else up his sleeve. Maybe Cos was trying to trap Brainy into revealing his secret collaborator.

I don't much care for the tinkering with origins. Gim's works, the others....not so much. Triplicate Girl I like just as a funny Cargggite.

Though I agree, it wasn't homophobic. It's the sort of tricks certain girls play on guys once they figure out that men can be deeply deeply deeply stupid.

Funny but I was really taken by the Two "adults" this issue.

"this is why civilized people oughtn't congregate in public"

" I thought it would be nice to step outdoors"

"koff koff. they're even polluting the air now"

"savages"

To me in this one short exchange explains a lot about how UP society is. It is urban, indoors, sanitized, purified, processed. It is pretty impersonal, notice the clothing they wear, covered and keeping everything (and everyone) out. Yet it is not devoid of love as this is obviously a couple and with some feeling for each other.

"see dear" and they are close together.

This gives us a quick view into the society the Legion is fighting to change.

Wow, Darden. I totally dismissed that part. Thanks for pointing it out. You are right.

Nice job, Mark and Barry!

And I'm of the camp that says that Cos sent LL and SG on a secret mission and they are not vacationing.

The question the adult couple raised in my mind is: what were they protecting themselves from? If U-Boy was right, the city has environmental filters or whatever to make the atmosphere pristine. I'm going to guess there are similar safeguards in place to protect from UV rays and it doesn't seem that cold out. Is it just customary? Are these outfits like burkhas? Is it just earthers who are this severe? The adult Lallorians we saw were in armor so we can't tell from that, but Nura's people weren't as covered up as that.

If LL and SG were Cos's secret agents, and Brainy was deliberately left out of the loop, why wouldn't Garth have reported to Cos in secret? His communique not only disclosed his and Imra's whereabouts to Brainy, but revealed a potential threat that raised Brainy's hackles and practically invited intervention. If LL was supposed to be working sub rosa, he did a pretty good job undermining his own mission, imo.

His report might have been a disinformation ploy to bamboozle Brainy somehow, but I kinda doubt it considering what's supposed to happen in issue #5.