Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion of Super-Heroes #7 (Preview & Spoilers)

Yes, The news that he'll be back is very good news indeed.
I guess Thom will be changing his name back to Star Boy from Star Man since that's how Dirk refers to him as. I never liked the name 'Star Man' on him anyways.

It would be cool if Paul toyed with his insanity a bit first before letting those "31st century drugs" kick in. Not in a cruel way but in a fun way. That would be a hoot!

So are Brainy and Harmonia Li going to 'make sweet music together'? A wonderful back up that showcases why Brainy is my favourite. The snark, the ego, the explosions!

I'm going to go with Dream Girl is a Durlan. Fire up the cancellite!

Mon, Mon, Mon, why so awesome? Shady, why so nuts?

A number of fans have been wanting a realisticly portrayed openly gay/bi relationship that actually goes some where other than angst-ville in the LSH for decades now. It is not likely to happen anytime soon, but the hope leads to speculating on every little event that has even the slightest potential. Just look at the number of people that speculated that Absorbancy Boy was sleeping with a male Legionnaire even though the (then un-known) character on the cover had 'birthing hips'. You can not blame folks for hoping.

Can someone explain to me why a person that hates aliens (Earth man) would choose to hook up with an alien (Shadow Lass)?
I can understand if it happened because of the Brainy "mood ring" but now it doesn't make sense to my unless Earth Man is actually Durlan spy?
And the real plan of the Durlans' is to poison/destroy the Legion from within???

My random guess is that it'll turn out that Nura and Dirk have had a fling at some point in the recent past.

By the way, is anybody else disturbed by the high-handed way in which the Legion is dealing with the Science Police lately--especially Cos? Seriously, I'd use the term "assault" without reservation.

And Mon-El physically attacking Earth Man?! Yes, it was satisfying, but somewhat out of character, in my opinion.

These quibbles aside, however, I think that the book is really beginning to hit its stride again, on the whole. And I really liked the depiction of Troy's sonic reality-manipulation powers, too!

Don't think Nura and Dirk ever bedded each other. I think Dirk's back up to being a big flirt (and more) and Nura's just being a flirt but her reaction to Dirk touching her hair...well she's always had that sorta reaction...remember about her Nails always being broken? And no seriously she's not being inpersonated because her hair color is different.

As for Shady...I'm still of the mindset there's more going on than what is being seen here. So put me in the camp of I trust Shady.

Nope not at all, the legion has police power and has saved the earth more times than the Sci POlice and they are being treated with disrespect.

I thought Mon was quite restrained. They could have brawled on the streets of metropolis and really got it out with fists. All Mon did was shove him into space and remind him that once the time runs out he can't 'pull a Batman' and breathe. It was a warning shot.

You have to wonder though. If Shady really goes for the warrior spirit and she sees Absorbancy Boy defeated by her ex wouldn't she question her decision? There is something not right there.

Maybe Nura's reaction is because of the really bad dye-job she recently got. And maybe there is some resentment towards Dirk because his dye-job turned out so much better than hers.

Tyroc rocks. Cool how he he "sacrificed" his comrades to defeat the Durlans.
Mon-El rules. I want to see Shady forced to eat her words about who "won what's important."

Unfortunately, every other character in this issue is either typecast, irritating or a total nitwit. The comedy team of Sun Boy and Polar Boy makes Terrance and Phillip look intelligent. Earth-Man and Shadow Lass stand to win a prize for the Legion's smarmiest couple since Grimbor and Charma. Dream Girl slinking around like a (sex) kitten and then scratching the hand that pets her is almost as "wrong" as Shady getting all wet over an ugly buttwipe like Niedrigh. Seems to me the Legion females who aren't in heat, have PMS.

As for the main plot, I don't give a damn about the death of a nobody politician. The assassins should have killed Marte Allon straight off, and spared us the "filler murder." It's as predictable as Swiss clockwork.

Later, Cosmic Boy says to the Zendak imposter "It seemed like only R.J. Brande and Chameleon BOY ever came to Earth--and now a pack of assassins...."
REALLY??
What about the *other* Durlan Legionnaire named Chameleon Girl who recently ran for leader, not to mention a whole spaceship full of Brande-worshipping Durlans that Brainy sent Tyroc to rescue a few months ago (probably hasn't dawned on him they're the assassins)? Sounds like the side effects of Rokk's mindwipe are worse than anyone suspected, or Levitz is *still* not paying attention to his own stories and characters. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

Hey, there's that cute, little Dyogene critter again -- the Jar Jar Binks of the Retroboot Legion! What a shame the GL plot line died of decrepitude three months ago.

There's very little in the Brainy/Harmonia Li confrontration we hadn't already deduced from previous clues, but a romance with a well-preserved 1800-year old is probably more wholesome than a flirtation with a long dead 18-year old. Still, the last thing we needed is another Brainy spotlight when too many other characters (Element Lad?!) have gotten the shaft. Retroboot Chameleon Boy is bland, imo.. DNA Cham ruined me for all other versions.

I'll give Levitz some credit if he restores Star BOY's sanity and his dignity (such as it was), though I hate the idea of Levitz3 Thom and Nura as a couple. The Levitz2 versions were water under the bridge twenty years ago. Let's keep it that way. The last thing this book needs is Nura cheating on Thom *again.*

I'm impressed by Cinar's progress as an artist. Portela's not bad either, but a little too cartoonish for my liking.

Levitz's writing, however ... it's like reading a bad translation of a favorite foreign language classic. It doesn't read "right" no matter which way I flip the pages. I suspect six months from now the majority of readers sticking with this series will be hardcore Levitz2 fans from the 1980s, and very few others.

Hey, Tromium, I'm not the Message Board Police or anything like that, but you may want to be a bit more respectful to woman in your posts in the future. I'm just saying.

I *am* a woman and we're often slap our own kind harder than we do men. Anyway, sorry if I offended you but I'm incensed about the way Shadow Lass has been cheapened by sexual association with the Retroboot Legion's creepiest lowlife (Earth-Man). She's not the worst of her gender, though. That booby prize belongs to Saturn Girl. At least Shady isn't a liar and a cheat. Writers should know that fleshing out female characters doesn't necessitate stripping them of their clothes, yet we've had two such incidents in the last few months written by the same creator. It makes me very angry, as you can plainly see, but without angry protests from fans, writers will simply continue employing the same debasing tactics..

I admit I may have been unfair to Nura. There's a big hint in the second story the hissy Nura at HQ may be a Durlan in disguise. Shady is a Durlan only if Mon-El is too, and he proved this issue he isn't.

Apologies to anyone else I might have offended.

This was not one of the stronger issues to date. Not horrible either, though.

The cover was solid. I've grown to like Cosmic Boy's uniform as drawn by Cinar. I'm still not crazy about the designs for Ultra Boy, Timber Wolf or Polar Boy. I guess I'm in the minority in liking Tyroc's look. This issue spotlighted his powers well.

I'm still firmly in the camp of hating the blond hair on Nura. Platinum please and quick! The Durlan plot line inched along. I would much rather have seen the pages spent on the Mon-El/Earth-Man battle devoted to some explanation of why he and Shady split up.

The second story did not satisfy. Harmonia Li remains as much of a cypher as ever. A bit more progress, please.

I agree that Lar's response to finding EM in Shady's quarters, and Kirt's threats, was very restrained and 'classy'.
He showed the difference between a hero and a thug, very clearly and I thank Levitz for that.

I agree, as well, that the women of the Legion are being degraded and I don't understand it.

Imra certainly didn't deserve it.
She was shown before to use her power beyond what was ethically acceptable in her era, to have repented of it and to have set her own guidelines for what she would allow herself to do in the future.
The Adventure scenes served no informative purpose along those lines.
And the sex with Rokk was ridiculous, imo.

Shady's a joke and who she was has been run through the mud. And it doesn't matter why it's happened, unless EM altered the emotion controlling part of his Legion ring with his GL ring and switched it with Shady's to make her do what she's done.
That is so far fetched and bad story telling that I certainly hope it's not that.

But, whatever, she's broken the heart and trust of a truly great man.

And Nura.
She's shown in an overtly sexual pose that she took on her own, behind those guys, one of whom has a 'players' reputation.
Then, SHE takes offense when he touches her hair?
Stupid.
And her IQ isn't shabby like Tasmia's.

Who's Levitz going to trash next?
Yera?

Really? You guys think Nura might be a Durlan spy?

Huh.

I just thought Levitz was trying to bring back that kooky sexy-but-smart, doesn't take herself too seriously, contrast that made Dreamy so interesting during his first run.

I suppose anyone might be a Durlan imposter. Even me!!

Tromium - I am most certainly not an 80s Levitz-Legion superfan (I think that era is way overrated by fans, including - yes, sacrilege - The Great Darkness Saga) and I'm loving the Legion right now and am sure I will be in 6 months time too.

That said, this issue wasn't as strong as the last one.

First, the good -

* The art is really good. Portela is incredible and Cinar is very capable too. We're lucky to have these two artists IMO. I hope they stick around.

* Tyroc - was amazing this issue! You wouldn't believe that he was Paul's least favourite member from the way he's been writing him since his return. I *LOVED* the new use of his power. At least it is an effect related to sound (I assume ultrasounds are sound-based right? Or am I stupid?) unlike some of those dumb wacky powers that writers kept deus ex-machina-ing onto him in the 70s. He even got to make some weird 'yells' for those who are fans of them. And "HUUUUUU" and "WHEEEEW" are a lot better than "OYEIOE" or whatever it was he used to yell. Shock of shocks, I'm even starting to come around on his costume a little bit. It's still not good but with a different colour scheme (say white and black or grey) and some hair he could actually look almost halfway decent. SOOOOOoooo hoping he wins leader or deputy leader.

* Polar Boy's new arm - Not that I minded the ice-arm that much, but I'm loving the way Paul is just casually doing away with things he didn't like from the Johns run without making a big deal about it. Sometimes it seems like writers don't want to make an improvement to an annoying costume or character or status-quo until they've got a good story to make the change have impact in.

* Mon-el - made a big impact in a short space this issue. Good to see him back.

* The mention of Star BOY - thank you Paul!

* Timber Wolf's costume - I love it! (Except for the grey part of the legs - I'm sure that was darker when Frank drew it? Wish it would go back to that.)

* Shadow Lass & Earth Man - I'm really not having a big problem with this couple. I agree that it's a bit fast considering he had just tried to kill them all and she's only just broken up with Mon-el but I think Paul has explained her impulsive, 'attracted to the warrior in him' aspect kinda well. I'm sure something else is going on here though and these two won't be a couple for more than another couple of issues - but I'm kinda liking the potential for conflict it creates within the team.

* Brainy's annoying attitude got addressed! Now hopefully this means the end of 'Vril Dox III' and a return to the friendlier Querl Dox that I remember.

Now, the bad -

* Nura's ugly yellow hair! Made even more noticeably out of place by the fact that, in her small scene, a big deal was made out of hair. Surely Paul is reading the issues he's written and is aware of the colorist's mistake here (and I'm sure that's what it is). How hard is it to just pop him an e-mail? Get onto it Paul!

* Didn't like seeing the Legionnaires push the science police around. They've done it a few times since this series began. They're starting to come across as douchey.

* Brainiac 5 gets to star in his own back-up. Meanwhile Gates, Jenni, Yera, Jan, Tellus, Tenzil, Luornu, Chuck, Lydda, Ayla, Salu and who knows however many other Legionnaires have between them said barely 5 lines since this series began! And people wonder why this character shits me so.

* I'm intrigued by Harmonia Li but we really should have got some answers about her here. After all that build-up, ending the story the way Paul did was more annoying than enticing.

Still, I'm totally on board with this version of the Legion. Can't wait to see what Paul has got in store for us. Dreading losing the extra pages though. We need them!

As I previously observed, in fact, the Legion has been outright assaulting Science Police officers lately whenever they're in a snit. An earlier poster argued that this is a justifiable consequence when legionairres aren't treated with the proper respect, but unfortunately, I don't seem to recall "lack of due respect and deference" as being a legal excuse for physically assaulting people--especially superheros who are also deputized SP officers themselves. **SIGH!** At least Tyroc was decent enough to help one of the officers back up onto his feet after Cosmic Boy knocked him down and snatched his weapon away from him.

Oh, that's not all. Mon-El just committed assault and battery on Earth-Man, who would be completely within his rights to get him arrested, and probably expelled from the Legion. In real life you're not allowed to beat someone up for sleeping with your ex-girlfriend.

I'm not so thrilled that Circadia Senius was thrown under the bus for Harmonia Li's resume. 'she taught him everything he knows' or some such crap.

um no, he's a genius and held it down in the 5yg to stop the earth from being destroyed as the moon rained down. fool.



i dont mind harmonia though, i liked her before .... she started being sassy to everyone and refused the gl ring rudely. but i'd much rather see rond or circadia (who's now retired or old?? jeeeez)

After Sun Boy burned Kirt in the first issue, while he was restrained, no less, I'm beginning to think that there is some deliberate intent to have the Legionnaires behaving a bit more thuggishly.

We've got Legionnaires (ab)using their powers on prisoners, on SP officers and on each other. It's like they've all turned into Wolverine.

Maybe the 18 year old and the 1800 year old are one in the same? Her surname is 'Li' and it wouldn't be the first time Levitz has tried it.

LOL! I never knew Tromium was a woman! I know Candlelight is a woman and I think Cleome is too, right? Anybody else?

Agree that Shadow Lass is being written badly. But then, I never liked how Levitz wrote her in his last run either: always clinging to Mon-El and being catty and condescending with PG. I also don't like Dream Girl striking a sex kitten pose in every panel.

I can't believe some readers think Dream Girl is a Durlan based on her hair being blond. It's a coloring error, not a plot development. It's been miscolored before.

I also don't like the LSH knocking the science cops around. What about showing them the respect they've earned, Cosmic Boy? And they earn it without super powers.

Except Earth-Man is an attempted murderer and all around a**hole so no one minds when he gets assaulted. The science police are just trying to do their jobs and don't need to be knocked around for trying to secure a murder scene.

I think Paul was intending to make us impressed with the Legion's confidence and can-do attitude in that scene but it badly back-fired IMO. They came off way worse there and Cosmic Boy and Timber Wolf's likeability points significantly decreased after it.

On the flip side, Tyroc's raised significantly by being shown helping one of the officer's up. I wonder if that was in the script or just an idea of Cinar's? If so, nice touch Yildray!

There's a strong hint in the second story. When Cham arrives on Naltor, Beren tells him the Legion delegation just teleported away to continue its diplomatic mission elsewhere. Last time we saw the delegation, it consisted of Gates, Dawnstar and DREAM GIRL. Maybe the real Nura teleported back to HQ to wash her hair or something, but I really doubt it.

Some of the S.P. officers the Legion was roughing up may be Durlans, too. Their leader Zendak is anyway, and was undoubtedly trying to stir up trouble between the two groups. Zendak was *waiting* for the Legion to arrive at the crime scene (he rebuked Cos for being late, in fact) but either neglected to tell his men to give them access, or ordered them to keep the Legion out. Both sides were manipulated into conflict by a terrorist.

You're not allowed to assault attempted murderers unless it's in self-defense. Otherwise it's still a crime. (And you're certainly not allowed to assault attempted murderers who are out on probation and hurting nobody at the moment.)

And one would hope that by the 31st Century the police believe in equal protection of the law. Letting someone who committed assault go because he picked a victim who "deserved a beating" is police corruption, not justice. Even if that victim is Earth-Man.

(Also consider, if "they deserved a beating" is reason for the police to let someone go, imagine a police officer who is on the side of the xenophobes and decides that the aliens getting beat up by the xenophobes all deserve it.)

The Science Police were shown hunting Legionnaires down in the Action Legion Arc & at least one Science Police officer has shown pro-Earthman xenophobic sympathies in LSH V6N1. Also we don't know the extent of Science Police collaboration with Earthman & and his "Justice League". So I'm willing to give them a little leeway in their dealings with the Science Police.

I think if any Legionnaire has been replaced with a Durlan agent it has to be Shadow Lass.