Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Vol. 10 (DAVE EFFING COCKRUM)

SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 198

This is, to my mind, the high point of the Cockrum/Bates run. With a whole issue's worth of space, we get a more expansive plot, and we get to see three-fifths of the Fatal Five really strut their stuff, especially my beloved Emerald Empress. It's nice to see Chameleon Boy's power used so cleverly, and to see Brainiac 5 being one step ahead of the villains. The story's not flawless -- I'm still not sure what the point of the funhouse scene was, and the ending, with the holding cell materializing around the villains, is just silly -- but overall, it's a sterling example of top-level creative craftsmanship.

LOL That's as good an explanation as any.



Very well said.



Another good observation.



LOL Yeah, there's a whole thread about that somewhere in the forums.

It's beautiful to look at.
The story, best said, along the lines of the Batman TV series, which was fine and fun. Roll-eyes are watch where you stand when time reverts to normal but again, just good fun.

Can't wait to read Thoth's thoughts on this issue.

None at the moment. But if I get any, I'll pop back in the time bubble and post them last Sunday for you.

198 is the high point of the Bates/Cockrum era for me, as well. It's a masterfully done story that makes good use of the Legionnaires it features and establishes the Fatal Five as serious threats.

I remember picking this issue up at a local drug store called Shanin's. I loved the cover with its left-side border showing the Legionnaires' faces. (The Doom Patrol and a few other DC comics from that era used the same design.) Inside, I was disappointed that the story didn't follow from the Tyr cliff-hanger of last issue, but I quickly overcame that disappointment.

The series is still "Superboy starring ..." so it's fitting that Part 1 takes place in Superboy's time and features his relationship with Lana. There's the usual "How can I save Lana without revealing who I am?" scenario, but it doesn't take very long. Then the tone shifts as Clark realizes the Gypsy fortune teller is really the Emerald Empress.

I think the story does a great job of showing that both the heroes and villains are formidable. Superboy confronts the Empress, the Persuader joins the fray, and Superboy gets the upper hand . . . for a moment. It is horrifying when Superboy realizes he cannot control the atomic axe or keep from striking himself. Even with his image "yellowed" out, it is still a horrific image.

Pretty much everything works in this story, including the mystery over the time sorter, the violent confrontation between Jan/Brainy and Persuader/"Mano," Cham's infiltration, and the countdown (though the latter repeats the same story-telling device used in 197). Some of the villains escape at the end, and some don't. It was not a predictable or contrived story but one which flowed organically out of the characters and the situation they found themselves in.

There are a few missteps, of course. My main beef is the exposition, which is especially heavy during the Mon-El/Colossal Boy scene. As I've grown older, few things irritate me more than characters telling each other things they should already know. On the other hand, the exposition is handled much better later in the story when it is divided between Empress and the Persuader and "Mano" gloating as they attack the Legionnaires. These scenes illustrate the importance of keeping things moving.

There are also the usual problems associated with time travel stories, but Cockrum makes the best of it. Yes, it makes no sense that the foundations of Legion HQ would remain intact, but those are powerful visuals! I'm also not bothered by Tharok and Mano standing in the jail when the HQ rematerialized--what wonderful irony! (I do wonder, though, who slapped the hand-thingy on Mano to prevent him from disintegrating his way out of there.)

All in all, this is very tightly plotted and well controlled tale that allows some room for the characters to express themselves. It tells a satisfying story that honors the capabilities of both the Legionnaires and their enemies with the stakes being very high indeed.

Cheers, He Who.



Agreed 100%.



Exactly.



And again, agreed 100%.

One of the things that left me scratching my head upon re-reading the story was Brainy's line about questioning witnesses. No doubt that's how he and Jan confirmed that the Fatal Five were involved, but if I lived in 1950s middle America and some green-skinned guy were questioning me, I doubt I'd be very cooperative. I'd be thinking back to Orson Welle's "War of the Worlds" broadcast and wondering if it was a hoax, after all.

I'm alright with standing my moral high ground in the face of authority but I draw a line at aliens. That green skin might be exactly why I'd cooperate, presuming I hadn't already fainted.

Middle of a pretty good arc of stories, anyone read these when they originally came out?

I did.

Like them more, less, about the same, just as much but differently?

Brainy just put some antennae on and pretended he was a Martian. The main thing is to make sure he tells the locals he's an anti-commie Martian.

At least it's something the locals could relate to. Convincing them he was the descendant of a super villain who was also an alien from the future would be too much.

Or he could just get the seemingly cold Candy Floss Kid to threaten the information from them...

To be fair, this is Smallville, where the people are no strangers to random alien visitation.

Imagine a Smallville resident going into a big city like Metropolis or Astro City. What a let down that must be.

"Y'call that an alien invasion from dimension X? Why, back in '53 we..."

The exchange over Brainy's alienness reminded me of one of the reasons why people's reactions to him wouldn't matter--at least to readers. In the next panel (Panel 2 of Page 10), the four Legionnaires and Lana are standing around in a circle while other people look on. One boy points at them and seems to be touching his head in a mocking way or whispering to the girl next to him.

I think it's very powerful image. It shows that the Legionnaires are truly special, even a thousand years out of time, and they don't much care what random passersby think of them. There's a wonderful sense that they are dealing with something much more important to them than the opinions of random strangers (which, of course, they are). You either belong in their circle (as Lana does) or you don't. As a nine-year-old, I wanted to belong.

The Legion conveys authority in these panels. Never mind the logic of who they are and why they would be questioning witnesses. (One can only imagine what passersby made of Jan's long hair and Jeckie's revealing costume.) These scenes simply work on an emotional level, particularly if you're nine.

I'd never really thought about it, but I wonder if it is common knowledge in Smallville that Superboy travels to the future and adventures with the Legion? Apparently by the time he's an adult his Legion membership has an exhibit devoted to it in the Superman museum, and the Legionnaires do make infrequent but periodic visits to Smallville. So they might simply recognize Brainy as one of the Legionnaires and not find it at all odd that he is there.

You can probably get away with a lot at a carnival, strange costumes, green makeup, superhero fights.

If the story were being written today, the Smallville residents' reaction to the Legionnaires might be addressed in some detail. That sort of thing, not to mention the presence of Superboy himself, would have to change your perspective on life and the future of Earth. It's funny how people just accepted aliens and the assorted mayhem that accompanied them - must be that solid, stoic heart of America at work.

I always enjoyed this story for its character details, Jan eating the cotton candy and sniping at Val and Jeckie, the time devices (the bridger, sorter and trans-time radio) never seen again, and the diversion of the two Manos.

Good point, FC. I'm sure their disappearance could easily tie into the whole Time Trapper/Pocket Universe thing, but I've never been a fan of that, so I'll settle for the more mundane explanation that the writer and editor were too stodgy to bring them back.

Were there Legion visits in the Smallville tv show? How'd the handle it there, with family I mean. They know these were teens from the future?

There were three instances of Legionnaires visiting in the Smallville TV show (the founders, Cos a second time, and then Brainy). In each instance, the Legionnaires were secluded from others or in Brainy's case, froze time. The founders wandered the most freely in the past but they tried (more or less) to blend in and no one seemed to notice them despite their vivid colored leather outfits. Lana and Chloe were the only ones who knew who they were aside from Clark, and by then they weren't really fazed by super-people.

This is sort of a side issue, but thinking about all those great Cockrum redesigns, why were some looks changed and other costumes kept the same? I don't think Brainy or Mon-el's look changed until the reboot.

According to Cockrum, he had to sneak a lot of the new costumes past Murray Boltinoff, the editor he worked under at the time, who would publicly discourage him from changing Legionnaires' costumes, yet privately let Cockrum get away with the costume changes most of the time.

SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 199

A double shot of Legion stories here. Unfortunately, neither one is that good, a real letdown after the steady improvements over the course of the last three issues.

The first one, following up on a loose end from 197, does get points for anticipating Levitz's 80s masterpiece, the Universo project, by having the least powerful Legionnaires be the ones to save the day through cleverness and teamwork. But Tyr's sentient mechanical gun is an underwhelming villain, and it detracts from Tyr's credibility as a once-promising new villain. Kudos to Cockrum, though, for keeping things exciting thanks to the high-octane intensity of his artwork, possibly the most dynamic he ever got on the Legion, which is saying a lot.

The second one focuses on Bouncing Boy, a character I like very much, but his always-problematic powers are not well-used IMO, and having him triumph thanks to a super-sneeze is just silly. On the other hand, I have no problem with the Hunter's much-mocked look (exposed chest, facial hair, and pigtails). What is says to me is that whatever his other failings as a sentient, he's very secure in his masculinity to go around looking like that.

This predates the Eye really having the Empress, not the other way around. If that was cool, then this even more-so for the originality




The "gun" is AMAZING! Its a complete gotcha. It's not the man, it's the gun. Okay, the gun doesn't look as cool as the Eye and Tyr doesn't look as cool as the Empress but it does predate that story. Tyr is visually cool but otherwise, just another body. What is there to do with that that hasn't been done a million other times? I think it was a great twisty-turn.

I'd have followed up with a story that showed all guns were iconic images of this "race" of beings and.... okay, that would probably come off really dumb but I'd do it anyhow.


The second story, another "The Most Dangerous Game" knock-off is a story to show anyone can be a hero. That always felt good to read amongst the SUPERheroes and I didn't find it any sillier in execution than 198 so a fun read all around.

It's always good to read this sort of comment from you HWW, as you connect with the Legionnaires in a way I don't. Really good spot about everyone in that panel with the circle. I don't recall too many civilians in further panels. It's as if they just fade away as the super reality of the Legion and the Fatal Five take precedence. Well, or Cockrum just didn't want the clutter, but I like the first one.



That strange, slightly scary step into the unknown that's appeared in a setting once familiar. Is the carnival a reference to Lana & Clark's advancing relationship in these issues? Anyone care to comment on Gorilla symbolism. I'd ask Olsen, but I think he's still on his honeymoon with one.

Thanks, thoth.