Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! A Look Back: Sensor Girl and the new Fatal Five (v.3, # 14-27)

These fourteen issues have a lot of my favorite moments from my Levitz's second LSH run. And Levitz's second LSH run is, overall, my favorite LSH run to date. So these are very special comics to me, and I'd like to share my thoughts on each one.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES # 14 -- "Unto the New Generation"

Credits: Paul Levitz, writer -- Steve Lightle, penciler -- Larry Mahlstedt, inker -- Karen Berger, editor

Plot: For the first time in ages, the Legion is holding tryouts for new members. After a trial by fire against a Dark Circle saboteur, the newbies are chosen: Quislet, Magnetic Kid, Tellus, Polar Boy, and the mysterious Sensor Girl.

Thoughts: Let's start with the cover. I think it's one of the greatest LSH covers of all time. From Steve Lightle's elegant grouping of several characters to the perfectly balanced coloring, it is a thing of beauty. And not to be too hard on Lightle, but I've always felt that he is a much better cover artist than interior artist. The layout sense which has created many memorable single images is rarely in sight on the rather pedestrian storytelling of the panelled pages within. But there’s no denying Lightle’s talent for designing new characters – the cute Quislet in his miniature spaceship, the bizarre-looking but gentle Tellus (sort of a fish/ape hybrid), and most of all, Sensor Girl – I know a lot of people don’t like her costume, but I love it: the sinister mask, the cape, the blouse, the red-and-white patterns, and the way it proves that a female superhero can cover up and still look sexy.

Levitz’s story does what Levitz does best: take a crucial element of the Legion mythos, in this case, the open call for new members, and updates it for what was, at the time, state of the art, and still impresses today through sheer impeccable craft.

And finally, there is one more thing about this issue that is special to me on a personal level: this is the issue where Shadow Lass spends much of the issue wearing a strange helmet-like gizmo. She then removes it, TA-DAH, SHADOW LASS HAS LONG HAIR AGAIN. I cannot stress how much this means to me. Shadow Lass is my favorite Legion member and I always want her to look her best. The short hair she had for most of the Levitz/Giffen issues has its fans, but I’m sure as hell not one of them. Shady’s long hair in this era wasn’t perfect – it did have too much 80s bigness – but it’s long and that’s what matters the most to me.

The number on the cover may be # 14 instead of # 1, but for me, this is where my favorite Legion era starts.

This is one of my fave issues too Stealth, from the bitchy comments by Tinya about Mentalla to the fun of Quislet to Shady's expanding hair (how did she manage to fit all that under that small hat?) to the introduction of really alien legionnaires to Jed Rikanes groovy boots to the mystery of Sensor Girl (and I agree, she looked magnificant)and finally to Comet Quenn getting rejected (Hoorah!). This is a great issue!

Great summary of the issue. I also am a big fan of the cover, the story, and the design elements Mr. Lightle introduced (the Sensor Girl costume is classic and Tellus was the most interesting alien life form introduced in LSH titles since Validus. PS - at the time, I was rooting for the twin fish for some reason...).

This issue had all the requirements of a truly great comic, and still reads well today.

I honestly see this storyline as one of the highlights in the baxter series.

Personally I loved the new Fatal Five. Tharok always looked silly for me. Mano did as well to a degree. So many comics TODAY try to remake the past and I just like the approach of using the best elements and updating with something new.

Then you have Mentalla whose story was in the classic Legion mold.

Add that with the excitement of new characters (Sensor Girl) and her mystery. Also in classic Legion style. Everybody thinking she was Supergirl and turned out to be a very capable Projectra.

Oh man that rocked.

One of my favorite issues!

I love the reaction shot from Blok when Shady takes off her helmet, and Polar Boy's casual 'flunking' of Energy Lad or whomever (who knew he had such attitude?), and Mon-El sniping at Dev-Em about becoming a Legionnaire (and then twisting the truth and telling his team-mates that Dev-Em was 'happy where he is!' when Sun Boy, I think it was, pointed out that he'd be a useful addition to the team!). It seemed like so much was being 'set up' for later use, like the glare Polar Boy received from the applicant he 'flunked,' or Mon-El's deceiving his friends to maintain his solo status as 'big gun' and keep any sort of Kryptonian competition off the radar.

Timber Wolf 'testing' Power Boy, the bizarre aliens in the background (the floating fish were interesting looking and made me wonder what their powers were), all sorts of good stuff.

Lightle, IMO, is the best artist the Legion has had in about 20 years. My only quibble at all, and it's a minor one, is that his male faces sometimes look effeminate (as if they all plucked their eyebrows or something). Still, he drew the Legion well-lit and clean, like I would expect the world to look in the 30th century, not all dark and disfigured and covered in dirt, like a lot of the stuff that came after.

General comments: This storyline ended with one of Levitz two very-best choreographed battles, and the latter issues especially remain favorites. I am going to follow along with Stealth's reviews and re-read each issue as she goes along. I'll have to pull out # 14 tonight-- FUN!

Oh Yes!

Uh, can someone tell me, which box I stored this in? Sigh

I really need to label the boxes.

I love the fishies.

Found it.

Get out the translator. These issues give me reason to read slowly.

Lightle is comfort food for me. His and the post 5YG Jan are my iconic versions when I think of the character. The characters and the amount of story telling in his art just fascinate me.

Shady's "hat." Has there ever been a thread on Legion sight gags? This has to be one of the best ever.

The Try-outs. The characters that won out all played a significant role in Legion. I'm not sure which ones would have had staying power, all except Polar Boy, relatively short lived. The tryout characters were portrayed as young and inexperienced with different levels of confidence. I'm not sure how "realistic" tha is considering these are to be universe level powers and saviors, however I enjoyed the characterisations.

However, probably the most non-sensible tryout ever? The results didn't seem to follow from the action shown. Mentalla had a great tryout, the "character flaws," left off camera. Based upon on-camera, Comet Queen didn't seem a likely candidate for the next round.

The cover: I wasn't as enamored with it as others here.

Thank you all for this wonderful feedback. Please keep it coming.



She really was annoying -- if only someone had told Levitz that the joke had worn thin very quickly. That said, I did like the whole 80s Valley Girl thing that inspired the character. Growing up outside the States during the 80s, I had this idealized fantasy in my head about moving to the States and becoming a Valley Girl. Ahh, the naivete of youth...

Yeah, me too. They were colored so nicely, with orange scales and bright green eyes. I wonder if they were in Levitz's script or if they're something that Lightle came up with. Either way, I think Levitz should have kept them around.

I agree about Tharok, but I like Mano a lot; there's something about him...the first time I saw the original Fatal Five was on the cover of a Legion issue for sale at a convenience store. There were captions for each member and Mano's was, "His touch means death." I don't know why, but I thought that was really creepy/cool. (Good thing I was too scared to buy the issue, though, because I found out later it was one of the Gerry Conway issues.)

Agree 100% on both of those points.

Yeah, the grimy future has become such a cliche. It's well past time for the pendulum to swing the other way.

Totally agree. The all-time best portrayal of the Emerald Empress IMO. I can't wait to discuss her scenes in those issues.

As do I with my boxes.

Just as soon as I finally finish alphabetizing my comics...at the rate I'm going, sometime around 2050.

Love this part of the Baxter run. I think my second complete arc was the "who is Sensor Girl" storyline and it helped make me a HUGE Sensor Girl fan. Unfortunately, from what I can make out she doesn't fair so well on the coolness factor after the Fatal Five is taken down.

Oh well, I love these issues. The art is nice and clean, the stories are good and the new characters work for the most part. I was bummed how poorly Polar Boy would be written later, judging from what few issues I have after he's elected leader it looks like he was not one of Levitz's favorites. Quislet was somewhat annoying, but the other Legionnaires' reactions to him were always enjoyable. Tellus was a good character and used well.

As for the new Fatal Five, having read some old Legion stuff you see how tried and true the "rejected applicant turns on Legion" theme was, but it works beautifully in the Fatal Five storyline.

Sensor Girl, the betrayal, and Emerald Empress all combine to make this my favorite Levitz-era story arc.

I was disappointed that Sensor Girl turned out to be Projectra. After the powerful finale of the LSV War, it was way too soon for Jeckie to return to the Legion. (Bad memories, a planet to rule, and all that. Having her planet dethrone her was way too convenient.) For me, the revelation ruined the sterling mystery surrounding her identity. It also jeopardized the sense of growing up and change that Levitz had carefully woven into the Legion. If any member had sufficient reason to move on, it was Projectra.

Furthermore, the revelation overshadowed Mentalla's heroism and sacrifice. The latter was probably one of the most unexpected plot twists in Legion history, yet its impact was muted by the big reveal.

But that period still had significant highlights. Tellus became my favorite of the new recruits and, with the founders out of the way, there was the sense that the Legion was charting a bold, new course. Overall, it was a good time to be a Legion fan.

You know as a kid I collected these monthly from 7-11 or Waldenbooks. I missed the issue Sensor Girl's identity was revealed. It sold out it seems. I had to wait for the following month to find out who she was. I was bummed. Later on in life I got that back issue.

Who is Sensor Girl inspired me to go back and reread ALL my Legion comics from day one. We were told there would be clues and I didn't want to miss a single one...I was just as surprised as everyone else though...except maybe Timberwolf, "No one could do all that."
heh
Brainiac's comment on that statement was priceless.

This was a pretty strong era for the Legion, even my 'Marvelous' friends were interested in what was going on in the LSH. Levitz was trying hard to write around the restraints of the "Adult Legion" as set in place by Shooter so many years before and added some depth to the mythos that still resonates with the fans.

I loved this era.

Dang it, now you're making me want to read it and I'm not really a pre-boot kinda gal! Poop. I guess I'll have to go scouring for back issues... after I finish the New Warriors, that is.

Cali you GOTTA read the Great Levitz Era at least, from circa LSH (vol 2) 285 to about 325 (Tales/LSH) and the entire (Baxter) Vol. 3, 1-63. In my mind Legion's never been better than it was throughout that era! An it's usually pretty reasonable on eBay!

REQUIRED READING FOR ANY LSH FAN!

Hmm.. we'll see. I'm still pretty new to this Legion thing. (Though I did read the entire Reboot including mini-series and at least 5 years of L.E.G.I.O.N.) It'll go on my list of things to check out at least!

I agree. Even when Sensor Girl and the Emerald Empress confronted each other again towards the end of the Baxter issues, it lacked the excitement of their first meeting IMO, although I admit I have a personal bias against the Post-Conspiracy issues. I remember you saying in another thread that you still have to catch up with the second half of the Baxter issues, so I would be very interested to know your opinion of the second meeting once you read it.

It's another example of how good Levitz was at updating familiar elements of the LSH.

I don't feel that it was a disservice to Projectra, but I do think that changing Sensor Girl's identity from Supergirl to Projectra is one of the biggest wasted opportunity in the history of superhero comics. It would have been an edgy re-invention of Supergirl, but one that wouldn't have compromised the integrity of the character. What a shame.

I had a similar experience recently with the death of Captain America. My CBS is usually very good about every issue on my pull list ending up in my box, but someone there slipped that week, and, of course, that issue quickly dissapeared from the racks. Luckily, I was later able to get the special edition of that issue, which included easter eggs like Ed Brubaker's complete script.

I'm not surprised. I'm more of a fan of Marvel than DC, and I seem to always prefer the LSH stories that are closer in sensibility to Marvel. For example, Shooter's Adventure-era LSH stories are, to me, the best of both worlds as far as the Silver Age goes.

Cali, I'll second Lard Lad's recommendations. One reason why the preboot LSH is one of my favorite team books is that there's something for everyone, and if you don't like one era (or one section of an era), chances are good that you'll like another one.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES # 15 – Hostage on a Hostile Star

Credits: Paul Levitz, writer – Greg LaRocque, penciller – Larry Mahlstedt, inker – Karen Berger, editor

Plot: Sun Boy’s arch-nemesis, Dr. Zaxton Regulus, has captured the new members, but he lets them go in exchange for Sun Boy fighting him one-on-one.

Thoughts: After the excellence of the previous issue, this is a fairly steep drop. Everything about it shows signs of a rush job, from Levitz’s clutter of subplots which barely keep the paper-thin main plot afloat, to the inconsistent art by Greg LaRocque in his less-than-stellar LSH debut, and, most of all, in the ridiculous ending – Sun Boy defeats Regulus by jamming his own flight ring into an opening in Regulus’s armor, and sending Regulus crashing into a wall.

On the other hand, the subplots ensure plenty of fun character bits, and there are several moments which hint at the artistic powerhouse that Greg LaRocque would quickly become (overall, he’s my favorite LSH artist), already showing a strong sense of dynamic layout and an excellent use of wide spaces. Among previous LSH artists, LaRocque somewhat recalls early Mike Grell, as well as the visible influences of Neal Adams and of Marvel mainstay John Buscema (and since Buscema did so very little DC art in his lifetime, I think it’s nice to see his influence in a DC book, particularly in the way LaRocque’s female characters are simultaneously strong, sensual, and down-to-earth.)

Greg LaRocque is one of very few artists who IMO can draw strong looking female characters sexily! His Dream Girl (even in that uncomfortably tight looking silver swim suit she wore) looked great!

Stealth I actually love Mano but his old costume just made me wince. As a young hispanic kid I thought a villain called Mano was super cool. Tharok? Eh I was glad he was dead before I started reading.

The Empress is a much better leader and interesting character than him anyways.

Absolutely. His Dream Girl is a favorite of mine, as are his Shadow Lass and his Dawnstar (IIRC, Dawnstar was the character he most enjoyed drawing.)

Yeah, his original costume is goofy, pretty much from the neck down.

I didn't find out his name was the same in both English and Spanish until after I moved to the States.

That's the one thing that was dissapointing to me about the otherwise excellent Silver Age Fatal Five stories, since I had read the Levitz stories first, and thus I had been assuming that she was always the leader.

Knowing how the Sensor Girl thing plays out, it's kind of fun to imagine how she is able to accomplish the things she does, but sometimes it's a real push for me to come up with anything credible.

Ah, now the second Projectra/Empress meeting is a big disappointment for me. In fact, I had to go to my Legion long box (alas, I only have one) to even SEE if I had both issues, that's how disappointed in the ending I was.

As you know, my Legion collection is still somewhat sporadic and I have gotten many issues out of order. I had the first part of that story for quite awhile and it made me leery towards later Legion stuff. I REALLY did not like the art or the new uniforms and the new Empress look was WAY too "bad 80's" for my taste (having picked up this issue THIS decade). Also, I really dislike current fashion sensibilities going into futuristic settings, one reason I don't like the look of the late Baxter and all the 5YL stuff, just screams "dated."

So art really turned me off, but I could tell it was a set-up issue. Well I finally picked up the second part and talk about MAJOR MAJOR let down. Empress is being USED by the eye, the totally cool evil villainess is just some lame pawn. Ouch. And Projectra was so not the cool, kick butt, "I was justified" Projectra of earlier. One things I always liked about her as Sensor Girl was how you just got a sense of power and competence, even if she wasn't talking. You knew she had power and focus without anyone SAYING it.

Anyways, their second meeting makes me cringe and I've only read it once. It seems amazing to me that Levitz could make the Emerald Empress one of my fave villains and then totally pawn her 30 issues later. What a collapse of two really cool characters.

On a side note, I also picked up some post-zero hour Legion issues so I have the run up to the end of the Fatal Five arc. Wow. That was a LOUSY Fatal Five. the Emerald Empress is reduced to a psycopathic murderer, what is she, the Joker in the future? (with a knife of all things). Good thing I wasn't a Legion fan back then or I would have been devestated to see such a cool character reduced to cliche central.

Whew, sorry about the long post.

I read this issue a few months ago, and I have to say that, unfortunately, I agree with this assessment.

Levitz spent so much time developing the Legionnaires' personalities and subplots that he couldn't be bothered to make the villains interesting. Dr. Regulus still holds a grudge because Sun Boy cost him his job several years ago? One would think that a scientist of Regulus's brilliance would have other motivations.

In fact, the only Regulus story that has ever worked for me was the back-up story from Superboy # 191. Regulus fakes his death and tricks Sun Boy into fulfilling his last wish by having his body flown into a particular sun. But instead of cremating the villain, the sun revitalizes Regulus, who had grown dependent on it as a power source.

The idea of Regulus using his Legion enemy for purposes other than revenge hinted at a deeper personality and a more complex relationship with Sun Boy. I wish this aspect had been explored further.

No need to apologize, Steph. Your post was extremely well-written and I agree with every word. Have you ever though of posting reviews here at Legion World?

I haven't read that story, but it sounds intriguing. Is that one of the Cockrum ones?