This review will self destruct in 30 seconds, so read it quickly.
A variety of Legionnaires are trapped in several missions. Of note, Gim & Vi have branched out into acting & I'm reminded of the Who's Who issues years later where Gim's father consulted on a movie.
Either we should be seeing more Legion villains with power sapping weapons, or the Dark Man gave Neutrax his powers really early on. Jeckie & Val's relationship gets another subtle push as she and Imra fight to a draw. Superboy can't break through Manganium Inertron. It makes a change from him being weakened by Kryptonite. Phantom Girl's powers won't work against some energy types.
It leaves the traditional five Legionnaires (but no Swan?!) to be told that their comrades have been captured. They are told this by someone who seemingly forgets to put on his hood when first contacting the five Legionnaires. I guess there must be more than one member of Scorpius.
There must me any number of easier ways for Scorpius to get the Legion to catch crooks, which is what they do anyway. Perhaps it's the hint at killing the Taurus Gang if they have to.
Rogarth is as strong as Supergirl, which is a bit of a surprise, and, if anything, the Taurus Gang looks too tough for the Legion. Fortunately an, always welcome, appearance by the Subs ends the conflict and gives a hint to something more sinister.
If this was produced today, we'd have a 6 month "Legion on the Lam" outing (again) once Polar Boy recognised them. There's some small details that flesh out the Taurus Gang. Shagrek wants to be closer to Mystelor who has her eyes on Quanto who is elitist from a universe of snobs. I read a bit into the writer's personality through Quanto this issue.
Leland McCauley makes his first appearance. A family that would become yet another addition to the Legionverse down the years. Zoltorus uses confrontation to force McCauley make a mistake. Some police methods never age.
The department head of Scorpius is a descendant of Bob Hope.
Ultra Boy uses those acting skills again. Picked up in the TMK run.
The Legion (as Scorpius goons) are given an ESP dampener. Why doesn't Scorpius use the technology that captured the Legion on Taurus?
There's a good plot twist, as the Legion's meticulous planning goes awry and Dream Girl is forced into a more active role. It does Dream Girls character a lot of good too, showing her as more than looks and sleeping trances. Handy that another gambler has Mysterlor's wig and headband. We'd see insta-makeovers years later.
It doesn't take Dreamy long to get the group to return to Earth, exploiting their greed. In another book, Quanto would have tried out for the Legion. Having read Atmos, perhaps it's for the best that he didn't.
The head of Taurus also has the build of McCauley. That idea is switched for another as the Legion's founder gives the team a moment of doubt. Then, another layer as the true villain is revealed. It's writing that likes to put a bit of a spin on the plot. The Taurus Gang reasons for abandoning their leaders was well done and consistent.
Quanto's mission is now to change Mystelor into the woman she should have been. Because there's nothing a woman likes more than that. I give him two weeks before his body is found on Rimbor.
The Legion are rescued from a Scorpius double cross by the Subs. Once again they show just what a good fighting outfit they were. Shame on Giffen for taking them on another track, even if they did get a reprieve.
"I'm Color Kid! Suppose I change your face to black and blue!" is an classic line.
We never find out how the Subs got there, and there's a line pretty much skipping us past it. Who knew things would go so wrong in Bob Hope's lineage?
It's a blatant attempt to jump on a Mission: Impossible bandwagon. It ticks a few of the boxes, such as the disguises; the intrigue; casinos; the criminal element and things not always going to plan. There's some nice bait and switch moments too.
But , like Superboy crawling along the sands of Talok, the super heroics get in the way a bit, and the advanced technology certainly does. The character moments are broad touches, and sparse. I like the Subs. But their appearance in a story is often the icing on a cake, rather than the cake itself. In short, it's an issue that tries to cram genres together and doesn't quite do justice to any of them.
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
#375 has an interesting, and somewhat off, plot structure, though it's clear it's all leading to one thing: the big tourney between superheroes. Such a concept is an instant novelty and appeals to the pre-teen in all of us; on the other hand such stories always feel like they have a much easier chance of being terrible since it's such a straight forward, simple type of story. Where does this one fall?
I've always liked this issue, because Shooter focuses on the wide array of Legionnaires first and foremost and really plays up the tournament aspect. It feels like a fun little story and I like that Shooter feels like he knows the Legionnaires all well enough by now to showcase them all at once. However, there is a lot to dislike, and primarily for me it's (A) the lack of the female Legionnaires volunteering and (B) the way Chuck is treated, and his terrible comment in the beginning of not being missed. I know it's a product of its time, and I love that Imra naturally volunteers since she's a badass, but it still is too bad. And Chuck's proving them wrong but it's still grating. I think as time is going on, I'm just ready for some of the 60's peculiarities to be done with.
The Wanderers first appear, and it's an odd introductory sequence indeed. The Wanderers are a concept I've always liked, somewhat, but I feel there's never been a good enough story for them in the entire history of the DCU to deliver on the promise of the characters.
It's cool to see another Adult LSH future member in Quantum Queen. I remember when I finally realized that was her I checked and rechecked since it wasn't obvious.
The Nefar Nebula is something I'm very familiar with, though in college I simply called it spring break.
New SP Commander Ianos makes his one single appearance! Which is too bad, as his mustache was tailor made for the 70's!
I like some of the roles they Legionnaires play: dutiful Gim and Cos stay on duty while Lyle makes a great judge.
I dislike seeing Shady and Ayla sit it out and worry the whole time, but find the casual reference to an Ayla / Bring relationship amusing since it's not referenced for 20 issues and that was only the future.
I like Mon and Jan canceling each other so Chuck can win, especially his heroic victory over Darltag. But I hate the way Imra is portrayed in her sequence even if Chem got to use his power nicely. And while Val is a favorite, I dislike how he beats Dirk, who should have been the winner there since he was the one who bested Quantum Queen and got sucker-shot. Plus it's Shooter playing favorites to the extreme. The last of the first rounds, featuring Brin, Brainy and Clark is just kind of blah, almost thrown in when the deadline was getting too close.
The ending is better because Cham pulls one over on everyone, not just Chuck but Superboy--by making him totally underestimate him--and then the whole Legion too. It's a great moment for Cham and perhaps his best thus far, even if it doesn't exactly make Chuck look good.
It also ends on a rare cliffhanger as next issue goes into a whole other direction.
I always felt K Kid and Cham should've been disqualified. It was Sun Boy and Chemical King who defeated their opponents. Cham made the grab on Ornitho while Chem was busy aiding a fellow Legionnaire in peril (see the Legion pledge) and K Kid clobbered Sun Boy after he defeated QQ which was very unsportsmanlike indeed.
For the most part, I concur with Cobie's review, and don't really have anything to add, except that I like 376 much better and will have plenty to say about it next week.
Okay, then I'll wait until after you've done 375 before I do 376. This is actually going to work out better, because I'm not sure anymore if I would have been able to write and post it this weekend. So, thanks, Thoth.
Thanks for posting Legion Outpost from Adventure #375. I love reading feedback from back in the day. I know DC tried to revise the letters column a few years ago to limited success, but I wish readers' opinions were still included in today's comics somehow. Our critiques here in Legion World and other Legion fan sites are productive, but they're still not a dialogue with writers and editors to let them know what is working or not with their product.
Reading fan feedback is a true treasure when you reread these old back issues.
Ah, the cover where the Legion find out that their nemesis is the Time Tailor, purveyor of cheaply made costumes across the aeons. And Dirk gets an eyeful when he looks up and across.
The splash page is taken a little literally as four male Legionnaires have a p!ssing contest about which one of them is the mightiest. Remember: If you go to the trouble of animating a giant mystical writing gauntlet, make sure you have room to write the full invitation.
There's a hint of confrontation as Elvar draws his blade, but it's a fun tease as the two groups are on the same side. A nice change form the umpteen mistaken identity issues. Celebrand soon shows why he's the only one not resurrected years later. The two teams just want to have fun together and swap stories. But Celebrand has Ornitho show off his powers for no reason. The Wanderers have also had to erect and obelisk. I don't see any workmen out there. Then it's onto pledging. I'd want Celebrand to do a bit of wandering away somewhere remote too.
The glowing space cloud that alters the Wanderers is pretty eerie looking. "The weird rays penetrate the very fiber of every occupant," executes (cough) a threat to the Wanderers in a panel that their later series didn't manage in a dozen issues.
Back at HQ, Superboy flies at super speed at some indestructible plate. Considering the energies involved, the appearance of the gauntlet probably saves the continent. As the boys debate brains v brawn, the girls support their romantic interests (because clearly, as women, none of them can be the mightiest. >slap<) Shady, Tinya and Luornu go for Lar, Jo and Kal respectively. At least is helps to cement that feelings are there between the members.
The Legion get the chance to dice who really is the mightiest when the Wanderers are revealed to have gone rogue. Considering Brainy knew all about the weird energy cloud, you'd have thought someone would have put some warning signs up, or something in the Galacto-Nav.
Sadly Lyle wusses out of the contest, while Supergirl is blatantly plotted out of contention. Tenzil and Lu spend their time constructing a chart in case the Powerpoint Potentate appears to threaten HQ while the others are away. Shady lets her gender down badly, and only Imra competes. This continues to set Imra apart from all the other female characters except Supergirl. Imra's powers and personality have always made her one of the key members. It's a shame she's taken out at the first hurdle, after being shown to be the best able to track Ornitho down.
There's a nasty little undercurrent. Mon El and Element Lad taunt each other while Chuck is the butt of a number of comments.
We learn that Element Lad can fire his power from his forehead and that Sun Boy can create solar shields with his. Val would beat Jo in a fight.
I'm sure Brainy doesn't feel at all inferior at Supergirl's attempts at comforting after his defeat. Superboy, Karate Kid (writer's fav although it's nice to see him beat Jo), Bouncing Boy and Chameleon Boy make it past the first round.
In the semi finals, Val takes oxygen pills to survive on Mars. But it's a slippery slope form pills to lotus fruit.
Elvo uses his sword more effectively than Black Knight and Swordsman over in the Avengers thread. LW posters may find mileage in Superboy's comment...
"This gay blade won't be using his sword in jail."
We're introduced to the many emergency satellites of the Legion. Always available to provide assistance across the galaxy, except in any future issue. Psyche shows her manipulative powers, but seemingly Bouncing Boy defeated Cham. Or did he?
Since the last remaining Wanderer, Celebrand, surrenders to Bouncing Boy, Chuck is the winner. Celebrand's visions through time are another missed opportunity for later writers.
As the Legion tear off their emblems in some hitherto unseen brand of chivalry in the Leigon, the real Bouncing Boy appears. It's not much of a shock considering all the other times a certain member impersonates other people (and it's not Proty).
But that's for next issue, where we will find out if the writers' have forgotten the reasons behind Celebrand's surrender.
This is essentially a whole issue based on a single question. Who is the most powerful Legionnaire? The Wanderers appear to give the Legion something to fight over. They are interesting characters with diverse powers, and so the contests have an additional dimension beyond having the Legion fight among themselves. The throwing down of the gauntlet, the quest and the competition between knights are all themes that fit in well with my memories of the next Arthurian issue.
TMK fans will note that in the Mordruverse the Legion were referred to as the Knights of the 30, which is possibly a reference to these issues.
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
As a kid I never had any idea who Belshazzar was. I thought "shades of Belshazzar" was just some made up 30th century fake sci-fi lingo such as "crashing comets" or "I'll be a 3-eyed babootch" or whatever. It was just a few years ago on some board or another that I learned Belshazzar was a biblical character.
As a kid I never had any idea who Belshazzar was. I thought "shades of Belshazzar" was just some made up 30th century fake sci-fi lingo such as "crashing comets" or "I'll be a 3-eyed babootch" or whatever. It was just a few years ago on some board or another that I learned Belshazzar was a biblical character.
He was a biblical character (actually, he was the last king of Babylon) at whose feast the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall a message declaring that God was about to end his life. And he was killed that night. That's where we got the phrase about seeing "the handwriting on the wall."
And thus Superboy says, "Shades of Belshazzar!"
(More accurately, Superboy says, "Shades of of Belshazzar!" Did anyone else catch the double "of"?)
"Everything about this is going to feel different." (Saturn Girl, Legion of Super-Heroes #1)
I'm anxious to get to the next review but have just been so terribly busy and distracted. Mostly work, in a sucky way, but also Christmas prep / family time which is more fun.
I do plan to read & review 376 shortly, but it may not be until next week.
Sorry for the delay guys. I certainly don't mind if someone goes before me to keep it rolling.
Unfortunately, I'm too exhausted ATM to string together more than a few words, so I'll just say that after a string of issues ranging from mediocre to ick, the simple, unpretentious fairy-tale charms of 376 are refreshing, and Shooter's script easily rises above the Mortimer art.
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