Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Cry Wolf ... Spoilers and Images

Bouncing Boy is leading the mission against Imperiex with the other missing Legionnaires.

And Cosmic Boy's often played the role of leader-behind-the-leader.

This does bring up the question of the existence of deputy leader as a position. If the leader's on an important mission, wouldn't the deputy leader (if there is one) fill in?

Hmmm-- who else was 'on the bench'? Cos, Gim, Sun Boy, Dreamy, Tinya and Cham. Anyone else?

I remember seeing Star Boy, Tyroc, Blok, and Kel-el.

It wasn't clear to me if Cham was voting on the jury or if he was acting as defense lawyer only.

The first two episodes left me with the impression Brainy is leader. He displayed a lot of initiative and was the one who dealt with Superman X the most. Both Supermen, in fact.

As a founder and the first leader, Cos may very well have the power to hold a trial and deploy the Legion as a posse comitatus in the absence of the elected leader. I don't think he's top dog, though. Been there, done that.

We musn't rule out the possibility it's Saturn Girl, presently on vacation in La La Land.

I don't want to take part in the Cos hate, but he could have been a little more nicer and tactful when he apologized to timber wolf.

This ep was so good, it brought tears to my eyes!
I think Kell would've caught Wolf if he really wanted to,but was holding back to give him a chance. Cos was a jerk, but needed to be to make the story work. Dirk & Gim looked faboo, while Cham & Tinya rocked!

This episode was too similar to both "The Renegade Legionnaire" (Adventure # 316) and "Murder Most Foul" (S/LSH # 239) -- with Brin in Ultra Boy's role in both stories -- for my tastes. You've got your Legionnaire framed for murder. You've got Phantom Girl believing in him. And you've got Cham aiding him from behind the scenes. I half expected Marla Latham to make an appearance.

Likewise, the film noir aspects left me wondering if there was any originality to the episode whatsoever. Even the evil father aspect and Brin's loner-who-doesn't-want-anyone's-help riff seemed staler than month-old bread.

I did enjoy the action scenes, particularly the beefed up albeit silent roles of Sun Boy and Colossal Boy. It's nice to see the cast being rotated with mainstays Lightning Lad and even Bouncing Boy taking a break. (By the way, my interpretation of Cham and Cos's lines was that the Legionnaires who knew TW best -- LL and BB --are away. This should not be construed to mean that they are the only Legionnaires off fighting the Dominion -- though they might be. I didn't pay that close attention to the preview.)

I don't mind Cos as "Mr. Pompous". All characters have to start somewhere and evolve as the story progresses. Since this is one of the few times he's played a major role in the cartoon, he may display other aspects of his character as the series continues.

Phantom Girl was a delight, as always.

Kell-El's role as the voice of reason did seem out of character. I, too, wondered why he wasn't off fighting the Dominion and Imperiex. In the last episode, he came to realize that there was value in going up against his enemy with a team instead of on his own. Still, it's a stretch to believe that he would patiently sit through a trial so soon, and side with a teammate whose situation wasn't directly connected to Imperiex.

All in all, "Cry Wolf" was a well-done episode for what it was, though I felt it had been there and done that.

eep!

I can't look. I'll comment tomorrow once I get a chance to watch the toon.

My seven year old refuses to watch the cartoon until Dad gets home from work so we can watch it together. I didn't get in off the road until just now so to return the favor I won't watch it until he gets home from school tomorrow.

..sigh..

random thoughts
-- I liked the nod to the previous Ultra Boy-framed-for-murder story.
-- Considering the cloning angle, I'm guessing/hoping Brin's dad is part of the Dark Circle.
-- Coz as douchebag doesn't thrill me. Enforcing the rules is one thing, but they could've balanced it with his more human side. He's supposed to be a *good* leader after all... (although his "apology" was a funny moment)

I think we need to recognize that these episodes are not meant for the Legion fans who have read every comic. I don't think it is a valid criticism to say that a kid's cartoon show in 2007 is a retread because it uses elements of a comic book written in mid-1970s.

Those "elements" are just homages to the vast Legion history (and DC history in general). I consider them as "winks" from the cartoon creators towards older fans of the Legion.
There are many, many details that seem random in many episodes, but they are not random. Even some of the "incidental" extraterrestrials roaming the streets of Metropolis have appeared in DC comics before.
One example of this is a female bird-like e.t. yellow and short beaked in one episode, who seems to be from the same race as...hmmm, can't recall the name now...a member of the Green Lantern Corps.

I do like the notion that to be most effective in standing up to Brin and getting him to back down she had to recognize when *not* use her power, displaying trust in leaving herself vulnerable (and she did take a hit for that, which only serves to prove how sincere she was).

Hopefully Brin will get the deeper meaning, that sometimes you have to let your guard down to win the battle.

Oh, I absolutely love the winks and homages to the comic book. The Legion has such a long and complex history that I appreciate that the writers are trying to incorporate bits and pieces of that into the stories. And the easter eggs are great; only a longstanding Legion fan would get all the little details in the Substitutes episode. My point was that we should recognize that we are atypical of the general viewership which knows little or nothing about the Legion's history. As a result, I find it comical that someone would say they didn't like this episode because it lifted elements from S/LSH 239 -- a comic written in 1978, about 20 years before the target audience for this cartoon was even born.

Oh yes, Reckless. Your point was quite clear. The point of my comment was that I consider it an "extra bonus" when the plot of an episode is reminiscent of already published stories. So, I guess we say the same thing, in effect.
(And yes, of course we're atypical)

The target audience of the show is much younger than most of us, and they probably know little or nothing about the Legion. That's not meant in a negative way, it's just a fact.
The one thing I feel uncomorfatble with is the "not so many girls" part in the "focus-group's" preferences.
It may be true that younger boys will want to identify more with male protagonists (I suppose that's true everywhere in the world), but I feel that teens of both sexes who watch the show would not object to a strong female presence in the show.
So, the question is: What age group has a majority of viewers? (Hmm, come to think of it, that's a question better suited for other topics about the Legion cartoon)

For all their slam-bam action and fantasy super-heroics, these stories are also wonderful fables about friendship, family, self-esteem, overcoming fear and anger, dealing with personal loss, and learning the difference between right and wrong -- the same themes found in good children's literature. The plot and character tropes may sometimes seem simplistic and repetitive to us adults, but the lessons they impart bear repeating to pre-adolescent viewers who haven't yet "been there, done that".

That's right, Tromium. That's one reason why many adults (like me) love children's literature. Some lessons and values can be cherished by adults and children alike. They, sort of, transcend age.
I think that's one reason even adults like the Legion cartoon (adults who are not fans of the comic book). It can be child-like at times but not "childish" in a negative meaning of the word childish.
Two of my students watched the Legion cartoon and loved it. They are both 10 years old. They liked the action, of course, the colorful characters, and the "universe" they knew nothing about. One of them had negative feelings about Triplicate Girl. "She could beat any guy up by splitting in three and that's not fair" he said.
The other boy liked Saturn Girl because she thought her power was cool.

Adult friends who humored me (or got bored with me pressuring them to watch the show)liked it quite a lot. "It's not childish" they said - especially those who watched 2nd season episodes too - and even wanted to know more about this "weird group from the future". I was happy to oblige them by filling their minds with "legion, legion, legion, legion".

Oh, I know we're atypical of the demographic, but it's hard to believe that the creators of the cartoon don't know that we're watching. They've gone to great lengths to incorporate Legion history and tidbits that only long-time fans would catch. Also, the tone of the stories has been more in keeping with traditional Legion stories: not quite adult, but slightly more mature or sophisticated than the usual Saturday morning fare (e.g., the deaths of Ferro Lad and Triplicate Girl, the annihilation of the 41st century, etc.).

It's impossible for me to watch this show and pretend that I didn't read the original story in 1978 (or the other antecedent, which dates back to 1964). Therefore, I have to ask, is my opinion any less valuable or relevant than that of a six-year-old? And, if not, what makes it so "comical" to critically evaluate the show in terms of what has gone before?

I loved it personally. Though I'm not a big fan of thiw T-Wolf. Loved Cham in it! Finally he's not just a joke! I even saw some of the Cham I learned to love back in the day. I haven't seen much of that Cham in the last 15 years!

Re: Phantom Girl and T-Wolf? Anybody think T-Wolf is kind of filling Ultra Boy's role here? It reminded me of a few different stories in Legion lore including Ultra Boy beating the murder rap & the Mantis Morlo story.

Loved the scenes in Metropolis!

(i don't care for T-Wolf's voice or look though)

You know seeing Tinya & Reep defend Brin reminded me of the good old days when these characters were real friends.

I got a brief sense of the DnA era Brin/Tinya relationship. Again more of a "nod" to past continuity than a step in a new direction. Still though, might the writers be setting up a love triangle for later exploration? Obviously Jo and Tinya had a moment in Season1 and I rather expect that the "classic" Phantom Girl/Ultra Boy will eventually develop BUT I'm also now expecting a bit of drama there that we didn't get in the silver age pairing.

I wonder if Light Lass (Lightning Lass?) will be able to tame this savage breast?

The shoehorning of Brin into the Jo role kind of annoyed me, but other than that I enjoyed the episode. I'm actually starting to like the more Wolf-ish Timber Wolf, as it makes him a lot more distinctive than yet another brown-haired guy with super-strength. As long as they don't give him a "healing factor", I'll be happy.

come on. what self-respecting manimal wouldn't have a healing factor. after all if his body can withstood the system shock of changing, a simple cut or bruise should heal instantly.

this has been your psuedo-science minute brought to you Kono Juice.

I found this episode a bit jarring. It felt like they did a better job of indicating there was a time difference between last season and this one than they did between last episode and this one. Agreed with many of the other comments about some of the time differential and character changes/development. Feels like we missed out on something. As to Superman X not being off fighting Imperiux, I thought about the situation and he doesn't know where Imperiux is. So, why wouldn't he be off in the cruiser with recently recovered Legion members (superior numbers) looking for Imperiux? In the 1st episode this season, Brainiac 5 was practicing against the Dominators. They may have taken a small group to deal with that threat, not realizing that Imperiux had formed an alliance with them. Guess we'll see where this leads next week, but hopefully eventually to a reunion of the two groups so they can combine forces.

It did feel like Superman X was more familiar with Timber Wolf than just the two battles they'd recently fought as he seemed to keep trying to help him escape or, at least, not put much of his efforts into stopping him. However, maybe Timber Wolf just managed to make a good impression on him from that.

About the two-year-gap from last season...
We know the roster expanded, but did anyone leave? get injured? do something incredibly good or bad?
Is Bouncy still leader? I suppose terms could be any length the producer wants them to be, but it sure looked as though it was Cos in charge again (intoduces Ferro to the group as leader and takes the lead in expelling a member which is what you would expect from the bossman).

I too felt they were subtituting Brin for Jo, particularly in the Murder Most Foul issue, where only Cham and Tinya believed in Jo. So comparing the two, I felt this episode really lacked a bit.

I don't know why Brin still had on a Legion flight ring if he was on trial for murder, and why would the Legion be the one putting him on trial instead of, oh I don't know, the 31st century justice system? Cosmic Boy isn't a judge, and there he is, sentencing Brin to Takron Galtos. Back in the day, the Legion could only expel members for commiting murder (a la Star Boy). You know, kick them to the curb without a flight ring so the can't get back into the clubhouse...

And I agree about the silence factor. Maybe if you have an episode with Colossal Boy and Sun Boy, let them speak a bit, instead of functioning like emotionless robots. Wierd! It takes away from the fact that they were using other Legionnaires besides the core team, if most of them don't speak throughout the episode!