Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Vol. 9

I was just trying to recall. TMK were using some kind of color system to identify who was talking and I never could keep it straight. And then there was Roxxas with all the voices in his head. I remember a whiney voice but can't exactly place who it is.


Was looking to clean out a room in the house and bring the comics in from the garage so I can do a bit of re-reading this summer. I think I'll pick up at the Baxters.

Action Comics #384 has one of my favorite Legion panels. Dream Girl's tear makes the image.

It is a good panel, LT; in addition to the tear, the design is eye-catching. Nura frames the panel and directs our attention to Mon and KK. Mon's finger keeps the eye moving in a circular direction.

Mortimer may not have been the ideal Legion artist, but he knew what he was doing.

I loved when Mon called Nura Dreamboat in this story. He did the same in Adv. 317.

Hm. Maybe that's why he wasn't thinking of Shady.

Just a few thoughts. It was sad and sweet of Mon to call Nura Dreamboat, an affectionate nickname, even though she's just revealed he's about to die.

The Daxamites whipped up an entire fortress overnight? With no super powers? That's some feat.

I have a problem with Dream Girl's vision being a self-fulfilling prophecy. If she hadn't made the prediction it wouldn't have come true. Dreamy is one of my faves and I don't like seeing her portrayed in this way. With predictions like this she's more hindrance than help.

Mon is revealed to be dead partially because he's not breathing . . . in space? Hasn't it long been established that he and Supes don't have to breathe in space? Or underwater for that matter? As there's no air to breathe that hardly seems conclusive.

Mon mentions visiting the descendants of his brothers and sisters in Adv. 356 yet he doesn't recognize Eltro at the end of the story (even though they look exactly alike!). Was Eltro estranged from his family perhaps due to some transgression?Was he trying to win his way back into favor by rescuing Mon-El, the family's homegrown hero? Could be interesting to know the backstory there.

Action 384's letter column:

Eltro being a distant relative on Mon-El's who sacrificed himself to save his life seems too convenient. After 1,000 years it's hard to believe that they would look so much alike. Actually having to deal with the death of a major character would have produced a more compelling story than the all to common last minute switcharoo. Still, despite the ending, this was a fairly decent story.

China scoffs their slowness.

I have the original issues but I have to imagine those with the volumes really appreciate your posting those letter columns. There is so much fandom history in those, I now realize how much better the volumes' stories if those had been included.

My cousin has a letter in that Metropolis Mailbag. Those who know my secret identity may recognize it.

Got it!

I just realized that today is the anniversary of my cousin's death in 1976. He was a journalism student; he drowned on a newspaper staff retreat.

Throughout our teen years we used to write Legion fanfic and draw Legion pics. We'd mail them to each other on almost a weekly basis. Man, he would have loved Legion World.

That's an interesting perspective on Dream Girl's power. If she had kept quiet, perhaps the story would not have unfolded. However . . .

This story, as I mentioned above, reminds me of Greek tragedy, particularly Oedipus Rex. Shooter, we know, had studied The Odyssey, and incorporated some of its themes into earlier stories. Here he appears to have done the same thing.

In Oedipus Rex, the title character, the king of Thebes, received a prophecy as a young man that he was fated to kill his own father and marry his mother. Oedipus goes to great lengths to avoid this prophecy, even moving to a different kingdom. But, in taking all of these actions, he unwittingly brings about the prophecy. The story illustrates the Greeks' belief that one cannot escape one's own destiny.

It's interesting to view Mon's story in this light because he does escape his own destiny. It's a pity Oedipus didn't have a lookalike cousin.

Prophecies can be valuable as story-telling devices. Babylon 5 used them to great effect. After Londo learned what his tragic prophecy was to be, he eventually embraced it for the greater good.

So, I don't have a problem with the self-fulfilling nature of Dream Girl's prophecy. Knowing what the future may hold can reveal a person's character in terms of how they face the inevitable (as Londo did) or how they try to run from it (as Oedipus did). In Mon's case, he was cheated out of reaching that point when Eltro intervened.

So sad that he passed away so young.

Action #384

I like the introduction to this story. We get the splash panel of gloom. It’s followed by a quick look at the Legion HQ at night, an eerie reintroduction to Nura’s powers (look at those eyes seeing the future) and Mon El’s arrival as his teammates discuss where to tell him. Five days till Death! Feel that tension!

After Mon calls Nura “dreamboat” I’m wondering if this came up in the TMK run. Nura was supposed to have had some extra-Thom romances within the team.

As Mon begins counting down the days, we see him go about his daily routine. It’s reminiscent of the issue where the team had just been poisoned by the Villain Who Would Never Get Credit. But it soon sifts into a very concise breakdown on Mon El's past, how his serum works and how it’s stored.

Note that the UP get a peek into all Legion information, those rascally overlords. Mon-El intends to fight the prediction, although Daxam has built a super fortress for him to hide in. “Spoken like a hero,” says the High Commissioner just before he’s lynched by the populace for bankrupting them needlessly. His murder would be the key that made them slaves of Darkseid years later.

Wow, Shady is really super -peeved that Karate Kid sent Mon-El off on a mission without her. Notice that the brave Karate Kid completely fibs. It might have been Mon-El’s idea to go on a mission, but it was Val who sent him off on a three day one. He could have sent Mon off on any shorter mission. Off to get the Legion's milk for example, if Mon would have fallen for it.

While it certainly jumps the plot forward time wise, it would have meant that it took too long for any help to have reached Mon had he needed it.

Superboy’s attempt to kidnap Mon to replace him shows the sacrifice that we’ve seen in earlier Adventure issues. But look! That plot jump was a cunning plot twist! Now a distraught Eltro Gand determines to make the sacrifice. Twice actually since replacing Mon didn’t quite work out.

There’s not only a nod to previous issues in how this is done, but a nice bit of confused dialogue from Mon-El when he woke.
I first knew about Eltro Gand from the early issue of the TMK run. That was where the writers supposed that the device would actually project Eltro’s personality into Mon El.

As if that wasn’t enough of a reveal, they then told us that Mon hadn’t actually died. The resultant personality clashes were responsible for Mon El’s later breakdowns.

I still hadn’t read this issue by the time the Garth/Proty relationship was revealed. At the time, I thought it was TMK making the connection between the two events. Actually, I thought the Garth/Proty reveal was a bit derivative. But anyone who had read this issue could have seen it coming, as it’s very clearly connected to the Proty/Garth event here.

I liked this one. The pacing is very good and there’s some effective twists in the short number of pages. The characters are noble, Legion-melodrama-serious and the threat is an ominous one.

That's interesting. I don't really have that sort of connection to any character.



Since Shady's attracted by Mon's stoic heroism, Mon thinks that any switch from that would be seen as weakness in Shady's warrior eyes. I've not doubt Mon wept like a child as soon as he was out of Superboy's super hearing range. And we saw Shady's reaction. True love





I put this issue's version of this as being down to Daxam's eugenics programme that stems form their bio-engineering obsessions. Another step towards Darkseid guys...




There's a lost Action Comics plot called "Peril on Posvar." There Eltro Gand battles the very different descendants Bizarro-El, Monxyxptlk and Tue-El from the Mirror Dimension battle over Mon El's unconscious form.




To be fair, they did look for an Adam's Apple this time.




It brings a certain maturity to the storytelling. Shooter picked up a lot from having to go through those classics.



Despite the obvious heroism here, Eltro was perceived as the weak link in the TMK un. Ever aware to such details, they explained that as Eltro simply being unable to cope with the sudden memories of a 1000 year isolation in the Phantom Zone.




Yeah, I thought he was using Super-Guzzling to keep himself safe. Without knowing the endings, it first looked as though something may happen to Mon's supply with the others unable to reach his lab to produce more. Well apart from through that great big hole as you pointed out

EDIT: Gah! Well, I'm not triple posting...

In the Action part of the book, we get the continuation of the great Super-Uniforms story.

There's a really nice panel with Supergirl lifting a ship with one hand, while melting icebergs with her heat vision.

Those who follow Perry White's underwear through the decades won't want to miss out on this one either!

If anybody's interested, reviewing this issue inspired me to write my latest blog post.

Interesting interpretation of Mon and Shady. I wish Shooter had thought to go there.




I would like to have read that.




I enjoyed the Supergirl and Batman cameos in this story.

I wonder if Superman flew Perry through Metropolis this way. ("Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's . . . don't look, Ethel!")

Interesting analysis in your blog article on Mon-El's character flaws. The most poignant was his lack of trust of his fellow Legionnaires with his anti-lead serum. I too thought that was an odd bit of storytelling. It makes me wonder who else in the Legion doesn't trust their friends to have their backs.

As I was reading it, I thought that the anti lead serum on his belt (nice to see it being functional) was going to be damaged.

I thought that making the lab inaccessible would mean that the others couldn't get to it in time.(Superboy would, of course, be taken out by a Kryptonite laced banana or something as usual). A dying Mon El wouldn't have the strength either. Sure there are lots of others with powers such as Ultra Boy and Element Lad, but for that moment I thought it was a deliberate set up.

Then another way of looking at it was to make the lab inaccessible to the really nasty villains the Legion goes up against. That would allow only Mon or Supes or Jo to get to it.

A threat that is going to kill Mon El must be a huge one. But protecting the lab rules out most of the Legion's foes except Mordru and Validus from getting at it. So it's more a case of covering his bases, than a failure of trust in his friends.

That's how I was reading it.

One aspect of the story reminds me of Caesar and the soothsayer's warning to beware the Ides of March. He tells the soothsayer that the Ides have come and nothing untoward has happened to him. The soothsayer replies that the Ides have come but not passed.

As soon as Eltro drives off the invaders (a neat feat since he's had super powers for all of ten minutes yet instantly knows how to use them to full effect) he and everyone else assumes the danger is over and they all go together joyfully to retrieve Mon-El. It seems like Dream Girl at least should've been wary that the deadline (no pun intended) for her prediction had not yet passed.

Jan: Yes! It's Mon! and he's alive!
Jo: I knew you'd survive Mon! I knew you'd live!
>gunshot from HQ<
Jo: A sniper! Mon's been shot!
Nura: He must die. He must. The prophecy must come true...
>shoots Mon with another Naltorian lead bullet<

Thanks for checking it out, Leather Wolf!

With all the regular security devices to make sure none of his fellow Legionnaires can even access the vault, one wonders what would happen if Mon were incapacitated and someone else would have to fetch his anti-lead serum.

Trope # 5: If you are suddenly given super-powers, you will instantly know how to use them.

(For all we know, though, Eltro had been practicing in secret for years.)



Good point. It would have been nice to see DG experience a moment of doubt since her dreams are never wrong. In the next issue, however, we learn that Naltorians can't foresee all the details. Hmm . . .

We pretty much learn that in every Dream Girl appearance!

Action 385 "The Fallen Star Boy"

In terms of plot development and pacing, this is the best of the Action offerings so far. It's a straightforward heroes-versus-villain yarn with a nice connection to a previous Adventure story and a spotlight on Star Boy, whose reputation as a less-than-bright bulb is wholly obliterated here.

The story does what it set out to do, and does it well. My only complaint is that the opportunity for Thom to learn something about himself, or for the reader to learn something about him, is missed.

Writer E. Nelson Bridwell wastes no time getting us into the story. Star Boy overhears a plea from his homeworld, Xanthu, requesting the Legion's help with a criminal gang. He volunteers for the mission, even breaking his date with Dream Girl. (Hm. Maybe this is where the Proty liaison began.) Saturn Girl and Colossal Boy accompany him to Xanthu, where the criminals easily anticipate their moves and even escape a giant-sized Gim by flying through a maze of elevated walks and monorails (good move!).

Thom figures out that the thieves must be Naltorians and can foresee the Legionnaires' moves. However, the Legionnaires soldier on, aware that not even Dream Girl can anticipate every detail of the future.

It is not the valuable treasures they've been stealing that the thieves are after, however, but Star Boy himself. He is captured and taken before the the thieves' boss, Yark Althu, who turns out to be the brother of Kenz Nuhor, the criminal Thom killed back in Adv. 342. Yark has devised a nasty form of revenge by trapping Thom aboard a weightless ship in which Thom's power won't work. But Thom outwits the criminal by increasing the mass in Yark's gun, making it impossible to pull the trigger.

Imra and Gim arrive to save the day. While Yark and his underlings wore helmets which blocked Imra's telepathy, Thom did not, so Imra simply followed his brainwaves.

This story makes me yearn for the days when comic book writers knew something beyond comic book continuity and could bring in all sorts of ideas to make the super-hero world seem more plausible. For example, Thom does not simply make things super-heavy here; he increases mass, and this enables him to outwit his enemy. Likewise, Imra uses her brain (in more ways than one) to find Thom, creating a very plausible ending that, for once, makes the Legionnaires appear smarter than the villain.

The story is also well paced and affords two three-panel pages (Pages 4 and 5, the latter of which is dominated by giant Gim) which increase the intensity of the action. Although the entire story is only 10 and three-quarters pages long, it does not feel rushed.

As I said, though, I would have preferred an ending in which Thom learns something about himself or reflects on how his actions back in Adv. 342 led to this revenge scheme. In a later story, Superboy 211, Thom expresses regret over his decision to kill Nuhor and suggests that the decision still haunts him. It would have been too much, perhaps, to expect such insight to occur in this era (a hero who regrets his actions? Perish forbid!); still Thom takes Yark's hatred of him too much in stride. Yark could easily be replaced with any random foe who wants to take out a Legionnaire, and the outcome of the story would not be much different. (Though the Kenz connection provides an excuse for the villain to be Naltorian.)

Curiously, a footnote tells us that Yark's last name is not the same as Kenz's because the tradition of family names is not followed on Naltor. There seems to be no reason for this revelation, as nothing comes from it in the story. By the time Mysa Nal would be given a name some dozen years later, the idea would be forgotten.

Overall, "The Fallen Star Boy" is a competent but not terribly memorable story.