Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes 2.4 Chained Lightning - Spoilers & Images

I really liked that episode. I also loved the way Vi laughs! i't cute! tehe. Maybe this holloween, I'll go as Vi and go trick-or-treating.

I think in the episode "Champions" in the first season the announcer guys pronounced it "wye-nath". But then in "Chain of Command" it was pronounced "winneth"... Can't make up their minds I guess.

I hadn't made that connection. Good eye.

This episode challenged me in some ways. It played with the "canon" in such a way that I was forced to think, "Should I accept this or not?" To me, this is always a good thing, as it leads me to reassess what the Legion is all about and what parts of this particular version fit and which parts don't.

For example, I, too, was disappointed that Ayla remains a child. But, in the context of the story, it makes sense. Even if she were somehow reincorporated as a young adult, she would still be missing 10 years of her life. She would be a child in an adult's body. The chosen outcome was probably the simplest and most direct idea, and it leaves her story open for later development.

I was pleased by Mekt's portrayal. This episode gave him a far better motivation for turning evil than the twin/solo angle ever did. Simply put, he and Garth blamed each other for Ayla's apparent death. In the end, Mekt even blamed himself, which probably led him to think of himself as a "bad" person. In the origin sequence, I was touched by his plea to Garth and Ayla to not get him in trouble with their parents; I'm not used to thinking of crazy Mekt as an ordinary teenager with ordinary concerns. But this scene made his transformation at the end much more believable and heart warming.

(Incidently, I believe this is the first version of the Ranzz origin where Mekt initiates the idea of the lightning beasts recharging their craft. In pre-boot continuity, it was Garth's idea; in the reboot, it was Ayla's.)

Glad to see Violet get a major role, but there were two problems, as noted by previous posters: The snort was waaaaay overdone, and, once again, there's only one girl Legionnaire involved! C'mon, TV people: Eight-year-old boys are not the only ones watching this show.

Garth's cyber-arm: As with the death of Triplicate Girl, this worked well in the context of the story, but I, too, though that Garth's reaction was too glib. I don't care how cool a bionic arm is, nobody wants to lose a limb! (It was left ambiguous, though, whether he lost the limb or whether it was just badly injured.)

Imperiex continues to be the stereotypical world-conquering villain. I can live with that for now, as so many other interesting things are going on. But I hope he develops a personality beyond wanting to conquer the universe for no other reason than it's there. That's so 29th century.

The verdict: Everything in this episode does indeed fit what the Legion is all about, even down to the fact that it isn't exactly what many of us were expecting. Most impotantly, it told a good story well, which, in itself, makes most of the changes acceptable and exciting.

Here are the promised new images along with a synopsis and quick episode airing update, courtesy of the WB.

Fans got more than Lightning Lad's back story in the Saturday, October 13 episode of "Legion of Super Heroes" -- they also learned of a new addition to his power: a cybernetic arm. In the episode, entitled "Chained Lightning," Lightning Lad discovered that his sister, Ayla, long thought to be lost in the same Lightning Beast attack that gave him and his brother, Mekt, their powers, is really alive. However, Ayla was actually trapped in the form of pure electromagnetic energy. With the help of the Legion, Lightning Lad was able to save Alya before Imperiex could harness this energy for his own diabolical use.

But before saving Ayla, Lightning Lad had to be saved himself. Lightning Lad's right arm was severely damaged by a blast from Imperiex. Brainiac 5 performed microsurgery (with the help of Shrinking Violet) to give Lightning Lad a cybernetic arm loaded with explosive charges, lasers and, of course, lightning -- all powered and amplified by his own bio-electric energy. As Violet says of his new arm, "It makes things go boom!"

Lightning Lad is voiced by Andy Milder ("Weeds"), while James Arnold Taylor ("The Boondocks," "Star
Wars: Clone Wars") and Kari Wahlgren ("Ben 10") voice Mekt and Ayla, respectively. "Chained Lightning" was directed by Brandon Vietti and written by Matt Wayne.

This Saturday, October 20, "Legion of Super Heroes" will air a repeat of the season premiere's second half: "The Man From the Edge of Tomorrow, Part 2." The episode will air in its customary time at 11:00 a.m. ET/PT as part of the Kids' WB! Lineup on The CW Network. An all-new episode, "The Karate Kid," will premiere on Saturday, October 27.

Attached you¹ll find a few images from "Chained Lightning" showing Lightning Lad's new arm.

He Who Wanders said Very nice analysis, and that last paragraph says it all. That's why most of Legion fans agree that the cartoon is really, really, really good "Legion".


Loved the pictures L.Lad. So, we'll have one more new episode in October! Good!

Comics Continuum also has a rundown of the November episodes:

Legion episodes for November include: the new "Who Am I?" on Nov. 3; "Cry Wolf" on Nov. 10; the new "Unnatural Alliances" on Nov. 17; and "Chained Lightning" on Nov. 24.

I wonder if "Who Am I" is the episode where Saturn Girl wakes up from her coma.

And two more episodes in November? Cool!!
I hope Imra will be active again, too.

Good: Mekt's characterization is good. He loves his sister, Garth, not so much, but Ayla, good. That's true to the Ranzz family character. I always felt like Garth and Mekt disliked each other more, especially as they grew older.

Bad: Lightning Lad's arm. it screams Cyborg from Teen Titans. (and with Cham as our Beast Boy, all we need is a ditzy Dream Girl, Karate Kid, and emo Shadow Lass and TA-DA Teen Titans: 31st Century GO!)

Ugly: did anyone get the "Star Wars" feeling from Mekt and Imperiex and their ultimate weapon. i think Mekt in that cloak, Imperiex's voice, and the whole family betrayal and redemption, didn't help either.


Good: Vi and Brainy's banter. I personally like a little sass/pompousness with my Brainiac 5 (definitely not 3boot sass!). i think it fits him well b/c superX is a jerk, and brainy's got a lot to deal with, and everyone made fun of him in the first 3 minutes of this season... and it's not like he didn't learn his lesson or anything. it taught the 8 year olds to never under estimate your friends/teammates.

Bad: Vi looks a little too goth for me. and i never appreciated "extraverted-aggressive" Vi, didn't they used to call her Shy-Vi for a reason?

Ugly: Snorting Violet


lastly, with Ayla being a kid, i think it's a great idea. the legion is for teens or youth or whatever. i always wished there were some age differences in the group. bring in a younger couple of kids to be mentored! it would make for a great dynamic. older heroes helping younger kids to be heroes is something that makes JSA work, and the legion has so many characters to work with that the show (or comic) could do something like this. so a group of younger legionnaires could be: Light Lass, Invisible Kid, Kid Quatum (either!), XS, GATES!!, Chemical King...

Blame it on MLLASH's accent

Ay-la and Winneth have always been my pronunciations. Wye-nath just doesn't make sense to me. Do you say win as whine?

What Was Wrong With the Reboot? Lad said Actually, I did and wrote about it in a previous post. But I kinda liked it.
I don't think the cyber-arm has anything to do with Cyborg of the Teen Titans. It's just another "homage" of sorts to the classic Legion story of an early Adventure issue.

so tell me, is the comic book as good as the show? I have been hesitant to read it, because I assumed the Johnny DC is more toned down for the little ones.

dain,

when i was talking about Lightning Lad's arm, i meant it's too Cyborg-ish b/c it's got guns and is all bulky. I'm totally down for him having a robotic arm. just not one with guns, does he really need that?

i always thought that maybe in 1000 years they could make robotic arms that maybe look like they're real? or at least go with the slimmed down model that Livewire had in the reboot right? (i'm sorry, i had to ask...)

Ah, I see what you meant now and I agree. They could have made a more realistic looking arm.
I suppose it's just a bit of "fan service". More powerful-looking visually.

It could be both, depending on whether you grew up there or not. For example, most people pronounce Detroit, "Duh-TROIT," but people who grew up there pronounce it "DEE-troit."

wow,wow,WOW!
WATTA EPISODE!
I adore Goth Vi!

See, this is why I called the Ayla-outcome "crafty"... On the one hand, I *HATE* that it keeps the fanbrats (my nickname for the pre-tweens who are apparently voicing displeasure over too many girls) happy by keping another female Legionnaire OFF the team, but on the other hand I'd have to be a soulless monster to be glad Ayla lost 10 years of her life and emerged an adult.

Crafty. Very crafty.

giggle*SNORT

I always read it as Whine-ath (think lithp 'cause Garth's a whiner...

True, and there's the whole New Or-leens / N'awlins thing.

I've always thought "AY-la", but I prounounce the planet" win-NATH" to rhyme with math.

The wierd thing is I've always pronounced Mekt,

"Ekky-ekky-ekky-ekky-z'Bang, zoom-Boing, z'nourrrwringmm".

This show just keeps getting better and better. My thanks to everyone involved for getting me up early and in a good mood every Saturday morning. As for "goth" Vi, I am so old, I guess I don't know what "goth" means anymore. I thought it meant all black clothes, black lipstick, pale skin. Hoo boy...I need a Geritol.

Unless it's a new "fashion statement" the pretty flower on her hair doesn't seem gothic to me (Dot from the Animaniacs, anyone?). It offsets the gothic image others see in Vi. Not to mention the....

.....SNORT!

I-la and WinNATH like Language Arts Lad said.