Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 11

Babylon 5 supports the things that can go wrong when writing a production serial, something even JMS acknowledges. There are websites dedicated to re-ordering the episodes to put them into hindsight continuity, things within impossible to correct. Some of the needs are blamed on production, indecision over whether the series will be continued or even JMS himself.


It goes to our continuing discussion, when writing a product, a serial, which has to play even somewhat into some other continuity or agenda, how much fault or credit should be going on the writer and how much on the editing process. It seems to me, the one making the bucks should be assigned the blame. It's the editors' job in such a setting to fact check and feed back corrections to a writer. The writer of these comics are for the most part, hired guns. They can't be expected to know 20-50 years of history and continuity to perfection when even a solid 5 year series, written by one very talented guy cannot accomplish it with or without the difficult setting.

As readers, we have as much time as we care to examine, reexamine and detail the discrepancies, decades of discussion. Serial writers have deadlines measured in days and weeks.

All in all, it's good sport to find these discrepancies but as someone that works under deadline daily, even hourly, and has worked in design process, I see a big difference in something that can be changed after the fact and something that cannot. Without that nearly individual, nearly out of any continuity ownership given to Fables, Sandman, Watchmen,..... serial writing for comics has to be one of the hardest gigs in writing to get excellent. Fanbase gives bottom rung the blame and where the buck should stop gets a pass.

It's been so long since I've watched B5 that I'd forgotten, if I ever knew, about any continuity errors. But the presence of such errors illustrates how hard it is to keep a fictional reality consistent even when just one writer is at the helm and writing most of the episodes.

Sometimes things are even changed on purpose. In the early '90s, the series "Sisters" contained a character (a daughter of one of the titular sisters) who aged from 14 to 18 in between the first and second seasons. The older character was played by Ashley Judd, who became an integral part of the show; the series was better off for the change.

Pretty much nodded my head for all of that.

Off the top of my head, I think there are continuity stages.

Internal Consistency within the single story, without which it will often fall apart. Pulsar Stargrave does not escape the Legion on his suddenly appearing Space Unicorn. Not when he was about to escape on his Space Harley only the page before.

Continuity within a series. Where the parameters are much the same each time. The locations and the cast remain steady and the setting is roughly set. The Kents run a store in Smallville, where Lana Lang is obsessed with uncovering young Clark's ID. There's a lot of fluidity around the actual stories. Weird things can happen frequently, but the status quo is reset each time. The Kent's repair any damage; Lana is thwarted; people don't move from disaster zone Smallville in droves.

Continuity within a series can shift gradually too. The Legion Supergirl met aren't the kids of the ones Superboy met as my earlier example. Cosmic Boy losing that helmet. Rays from the eyes etc.

Then there's continuity across a publisher. How can Superman be off thwarting Kanjar Ro this month in the JLA, while he's lost his powers over in Action.

As soon as that status quo isn't reset; where global events happen in one book but aren't mentioned anywhere else; where
characters go through prolonged, drastic adventures in one book while they appear in 10 other books that month, then there's a possible problem.

It depends on how the publisher views the necessity of needing to have all their books set in one world connect up. Certainly, DC felt that the lack of Publisher Continuity was a main reason why they trailed Marvel. But it wasn't the only one. Likewise, there's a difference between organic continuity between multiple books created by the same team, and mandated continuity forced on all creators working on lots of different titles.

So, there can be lots of movement between the stages. It can lead from early ideas that are dropped; shifts in origin to more blatant retcons and reboots.

An example I gave earlier had Giordano drop change continuity to make a more powerful story. Since I imagine that writers of later stories quite often feel that earlier things are getting in the way of *their* story, perhaps Bates felt the same. Or perhaps it was simply that it felt not important enough to care about. As Blockade Boy said, these are guys who are earning a living doing often multiple books, for large audiences, who they have to entertain each month.

If the book was spot on in continuity but suffered in quality, then Bates would have been looking for a new gig. Examples of that sort of view of continuity plagued DC up until DCNu (where I just stopped). There was the Dwayne McDuffie post regarding the number of story iterations he had to go through to get something past editorial tinkering. DC haemorrhaged creators, as edicts came down from above.

Personally, when this sort of thing becomes the norm I find that the quality of the actual stories plummets. Whether it's to fit an Event, or a crossover by committee, or DC's Marketing Whim of the Month it just gets harder to produce a story that entertaining in it's own right.

Another example, picking up on the ST shuffling. In Giordano's biography, an editor would never publish late. That was because he'd order three books to be done at the same time, and the first one that was complete would be the one that got published.

That was Batman. So, each story would have Internal Continuity (good quality talent involved), it would have Continuity within the Series (Bats wasn't going to get his back broken in one issue, only to be fine the next). But, it didn't feel the need to focus on the Continuity across the Publisher. Once the story was complete, the status quo would be untouched to allow the other books to work.

The books all shipped on time and the writer/artists could focus on what they needed to do to entertain. So, while Events have their place, and the big two feel they are their main trick to get some sales, it can often be at the cost of getting entertaining single books out on schedule.

Since Fanfie is taking a hiatus, I'll get the moospball rolling (mooping?) on S/LSH 209.

"Who Can Save the Princess?" has not gone down in history as one of the Legion's finest stories, but it's altogether not bad. In fact, it's the story I've enjoyed most since 203 and probably the most fully realized lead story since 201.

We've got all the right elements: a dramatic situation, high stakes, and even a ticking clock. The story is simple and straightforward: Princess Projectra encounters her latest disease, the pain plague--a condition so debilitating that it will kill her in a few hours unless the Legionnaires siphon off her pain into their own bodies--one hour at a time.

It is quite heroic for the Legionnaires to voluntarily subject themselves to such "unendurable pain" for their comrade, but the problem is there aren't enough Legionnaires present to go around. Everything rides on Superboy, who must travel some distance through space in order to siphon off Jeckie's final hour of pain. In the meantime, Timber Wolf takes the first hour of pain--with disastrous results.

Jim Shooter marks his return to the Legion with this story, and he does so in style. He takes this simple plot and weaves in a few unexpected twists, such as Superboy's grand arrival amounting to nothing and the princess being saved by ex-Legionnaire Duo Damsel, who makes an unannounced guest-appearance (e.g., no blurb on the cover announcing her return). Shooter even finds time to bring back KK's dynamic new costume from 193, and to give us a somewhat plausible reason for his costume switch. (You mean KK has had only one orange-and-brown costume all these years and no spares? Whatever did he wear on laundry day?)

Shooter clearly knows his Legion and cares about the team in a way Bates never demonstrated. This feels like a Legion story, with the Legionnaires front and center--something we haven't had in a long time.

A few odds and ends:

I got a kick out of TW's "woman driver" remark. A hundred percent sexist, yes, but it sounds like something a he-man like Brin would say in any century.

KK is far more loving towards Jeckie here than he was back in "Welcome Home, Daughter--Now Die." In fact, he comes off really good in this story, using meditation to block out the pain (a nice echo of 201, in which his mastery over his body was so total he didn't realize he had been wounded). He's willing to sacrifice himself to save the woman he loves--a situation that will come to tragic fruition much later during the LSV War.

Imra also comes off well in this story. She thinks ahead, realizing the dangers her power could cause while she's under the influence of the pain, and goes to great lengths, assisted by KK, to avoid this.

KK and Imra also use teamwork to subdue Brin--another aspect we haven't seen in awhile.

All in all, a very satisfying read after too many undernourishing tales.

Just want to chime in that I will read & review but am currently traveling for work until Friday. So will be a little late (and will reed the posts then, so as not to bias my reactions...)

209/"Hero for a Day"

Well, we're not quite rid of Bates yet, and, in this backup tale, he does what he's been doing for quite awhile now: Introducing another character to be his lead while the Legionnaires take supporting roles in their own book.

It's a nice idea, though, using Legion fan "Flynt Brojj" to represent all Legion fans, real or fictional. Flynt gets to do what all fans everywhere dream of doing: spend the day with his heroes, tour their headquarters, and, ultimately, save the day.

(The name "Flynt Brojj," by the way, is an amalgam of real fans Mike Flynn and Harry Broertjes, who spearheaded the letter-writing campaign to save the Legion from oblivion, in case you didn't know.)

If I were Flynt, I'm not sure I would be thrilled at starting my grand tour in the Legion's parcel receiving dock. What's next? The broom closet? But, anyway, it's a good thing the tour starts there, because something goes terribly wrong--and only Flynt can save everyone.

The story relies on a typical Bates bait-and-switch: a clever plot twist in which things are not what they seem and an apparently minor detail (Flynt's oversized flight ring) turns out to be the solution to the mystery.

The only thing really of note in this story is how Sun Boy first panics and then brushes Flynt aside. These character traits build off of Dirk's anxieties over being leader in 208 and can be seen as indicative of his unfortunate turn during 5YG.

Superboy 209

Karate Kid channelling huge amounts of energy through two metallic orbs, on the cover, reminds me of Superboy’s own demise many years later.

Shooter’s back. The changes are noticeably different. On the first page, we get a bit of women driver sexism, and “Tim” as a nickname for Timberwolf, which doesn’t seem to work. Referring to his as a Super –pets reject was much better. Years later, as Furball, that’s exactly what he would become.

It’s life or death for Jeckie as she’s ravaged by the pain plague. Fortunately, others can siphon off some of the pain that makes the plague fatal. Timberwolf goes first and, in keeping with the animalistic nature that Shooter has so quickly established for him, goes nuts. The others contain him. It’s convenient that a handy hour’s worth of pain goes into someone, whether they maintain contact with the victim or not.

More changes are on the way. Imra’s powered seems far more based in mind control than telepathy. We get a dark vision of just some of the things she could do if the pain becomes too much for her. Having an army of super powered, mind controlled thralls is certainly a switch.

Another switch is Karate Kid’s uniform, as he brings out some handy bondage gear to keep Imra’s senses mute. I don’t even want to know where the Legion stored that.

There’s a tense finale. Superboy, who has been set up as easily able to handle the pain throughout the story, turns out to be so immune to it, that the pain doesn’t enter his body. Karate Kid, having already stoically survived an hour, moves to take a second. Only to be stopped by Luornu, who splits the remaining hour between her two selves. Lu is a perfect character to make an hour aiding Jeckie more bearable (and not having to sit through an hour of court gossip either). Her arrival was set up through Imra’s call to the subs and the reserves earlier in the story.

It’s a short tale that serves only to show the Legion’s sense of duty to each other. We never find out the reason why Jeckie has the plague, if it has affected others or how the Legion combats it elsewhere. It’s just a plot device and the story has a contrived feel to it as a result.

Speaking of contrived plot devices another turns up in the second story. It’s a Witch Wolf that conveniently can irradiate anyone, while also turning their powers against them. If Nemesis Kid were ever to get a pet, it would be a Witch Wolf. Like the first story, we’re not told how it got there or why. The reveal at the end would suggest someone like Universo, last seen as a cardboard cut out plot device in a recent issue, was involved. But we could easily never see this story linked to again.
We get to see the Legion’s postal delivery service, that foreshadows the 3d printing of today.

We’re also introduced to Flynt Brojj, the Legion’s superfan. He gets a tour of the Legion HQ because he raised more than anyone else through charity funding. It’s something super rich Lester Spiffany should have thought of.

Flynt is one of those cult Legion characters. His popularity is also helped by him being named after Mike Flynn and Harry Broertjes. As with so many recent stories, he’s a non-Legionnaire who takes center stage and solves the problem of the day.

Flynt would pop up from time to time over the years, always supporting the Legion. His last mention was as a resident in one of the Dominator chambers. Perhaps showing that even Flynt turned against the Legion on Earth was a step too far for the creative team, and we didn’t get to see him appear in that run.

I loved the Super-Pets reference, too. This is another indication, I think, of how well Shooter knew and cared about the Legion. He worked in a by then passe reference long-term fans would get and created some good-natured bantering between Val and Brin.

Another welcome change with Shooter's return: The splash page begins with the action instead of creating an artificial and unnecessary "second" cover.



True, but it's worth noting that this change didn't come out of the blue. There were many Adventure-era stories which showed that Imra could mentally control others.




You're right that there isn't much of a theme or overall point to the story, which perhaps is why its remembered only as another "Jeckie gets ill" story.

And though the pain plague is contrived, I thought it worked quite well here, much more so than the contrivances of the second story.

It does have that earnest seriousness of older stories.



Good point about Lu not being announced. It makes a nice change having a genuine surprise. But one that was set up in the story as the general call did go out. Simple and effective. Nicely contrasted to Bates’ plotting in the back up.



Although Super-Karate is his unique talent Val, like many Legionnaires have other overlapping abilities. His training led him to believe he had the power of Ninja invisibility, duplicating Lyle’s power. Lyle’s power, however, actually works. The Legionnaires try not to laugh as Val goes around starkers on laundry days around Legion HQ.



Having guest stars take over on a book with such a big central cast, certainly seemed to be a trend. You even point out that his first back up to Shooter can’t get away from this


I first read that as more of a “Bates doesn’t care”, along with your “rid of Bates” comment later. But yeah, Shooter is certainly closer to the characters, although I don’t think I dislike Bates’ run as much as others might.



I wonder if his sexism was actually part of the standard android programming Karth Arn gave him. Equality promotes peace across the 30th century united planets. Except for one old throwback, who happens to be the chief android programmer of the UP. All the people are fine, but their robot help are completely sexist.



Even without Shooter (and with the exception of that back up you mention) Val has been shown to be really effective. I get the feeling that this was often through the artist, rather than the writer. This was definitely his era, and I suppose will lead onto his solo title later on. With Shooter back, and Val being a bit of a favourite, I’m expecting to see more of this.



This is another interesting look at how readers identify with the book. I’ve never been much of a fan of the Legion’s biggest fan. He’s always struck me as a bit obsessively sad, hanging on the Legion’s every action. I do recall a nice moment where a couple of the Legionnaire’s look to contact him first to break some news, but that’s was more about the nice continuity that the character himself.



Good spot HWW. The good thing about this is that it’s never really overplayed. You don’t have the other characters wandering around going “Gee, that Dirk sure cracks under the slightest pressure.” It can all be inferred from his actions, reinforced gradually over a large number of years.



I was thinking of the Adventure era when I saw the change in her powers. It’s probably another reflection of Shooter’s return to the characters. With Imra, my early reading of her was at a (still very effective) lower power level. So, for me, the Adventure tales and this story are the odd ones, rather than the other way round as it would be for others.

On Bates: He wrote most of the formative Legion stories of my childhood, so I have a soft spot for him. During these re-reads, however, their weaknesses have become more glaring to me.

I appreciate his contributions to the Legion--particularly in partnership with Cockrum, who took his ideas to another level. But I don't think Bates was well suited to the Legion. This is suggested by the fact that he kept writing stories about characters other than the Legionnaires.

I was wondering if this was something that Bates likes to do as a writer. Highlight an issue, by having the characters react to it or a character more centrally connected to it, rather than it happening to one of them.

While I most remember that long Flash run, before the Crisis, New Guardians and Silverblade ( making an appearance in Teed's #10s Cover Comparison thread.

There was the JLA, where I don't recall too many standing out. A quick look shows...

JLA 116- centres around The Golden Eagle (who would become a Titans character later)

JLA #117 - is really around Hawkman. He was returning to the JLA, and fits the mould of an outsider character.

His next two were...

JLA 120&121 - Where the central character was Adam Strange.

Then it's ...

JLA 123&124 - which centres around Bates himself, Maggin and Schwartz (in there with my least favourite tales). Both JLA/JSA react to them.

Finally it's 138 & 139 - which is an Adam Strange story in which the JLA appear.

So, when it comes to these two team books, it would seem that this is just the way Bates likes to write them.

It's a pretty standard approach to writing long-running serials. Keep the core cast and their relationships stable while using them as a backdrop to a story focused on a character introduced for that story. See numerous classic crime dramas.

Yeah, that's true of the classic ones. I'd also say that (from what I've seen which isn't that much and this may be rubbish) that more modern crime dramas have more subplots involving the central characters that their predecessors.

Likewise, the casts in police procedural things is a bit larger than it used to be too. That allows for more of those character arcs. So, I think there's been a move towards what we would recognise from reading comics on TV shows today.

Back then, Shooter realised the potential to get stories from his cast in addition to standard threats. Denny O'Neil did likewise as did a number of Marvel writers. It's not something I get from Bates.

His writing style certainly fits some of the continuity options to return things to the way they were by stories end. Do what you like to the guest stars as long as the central cast don't get addicted to Lotus Fruit. Although when things like that are done, it's often just for the one story too.

Thanks for the breakdown of Bates' JLA run, thoth. It's been years since I read those stories.

In Amazing World of DC Comics # 14 (an all-JLA issue), there is an interview with Schwartz in which he appraises various JLA writers. On Bates, he says something to the effect that Bates preferred writing single hero stories, not group stories. Bates, according to Schwartz, once wrote a Flash/GL team-up and neglected to have them team up except for one or two panels Schwartz snuck in.

Crumbs. I've not seen my AWoDC books for ages. Must be in there somewhere. For the summaries above I just lazily went with the index.

Thanks for that HWW. That seems to sum it up nicely. A team up book without a team up or, in our case, a team book that doesn't focus on the team.

>shuffles uncomfortably towards telepathic earplug<

Well it's Tuesday, and about new issue time so...

Superboy 210

The opening scene stands out for the little hints into the Legion’s background. There’s the mention of very accurate weather control. This would eventually become an issue when the UP economies collapsed years later.

There’s also the mention of WW VI, a computer controlled holocaust. It occurred only 200 years before the Legion’s time and, was a war that “nearly ended life on Earth.” This perhaps explains a lot of what we see in the Legion. A struggle to reach a utopian ideal; a look back to youthful times as a golden age, embodied by the Legion itself; the shadowy potential science-threats we see in the background, where minds can be controlled and thoughts invaded.

There are little touches on the Legionnaires too, as they practice in combat conditions. While it’s odd that Lightning Lad, sworn to uphold the Legion’s law against killing, would call one of his bolts’ his “death bolt,” it’s fun to see Tinya use her power to escape the weather conditions.

The death bolt is there to show the reader that Lightning Lad is using all of his powers. Only that Frankenstein inspired electricity, and an assist from the weather control system, allow the revival of Soljer, the story’s main character.

Soljer doesn’t recall his real name, only his mission in that last war: to capture Metropolis. His weapons seem supernatural, formed from the same iron will that keeps his almost corpse-like form moving. We’re told early on that WWVI used Super weapons, and Soljer brings some of these to bear on the Legionnaires. “Even Superboy can’t withstand Anti-Energy!” shouts Brainy. I get a chill remembering Kara’s death in Crisis 20 years later. Tinya is brutally stabbed by a phantom blade, nearly killing her. Grell’s art doesn’t hold back from showing her pain. He forms the weapons as he needs them. I’m reminded of the Superman villain Bloodsport, who was also a soldier, or claimed to be, teleporting weapons as he needed them.

On seeing Projectra in the background, the solution seems pretty clear. She shows Soljer that his mission is complete. Since that was driving his will, he collapses finally dead.

Jeckie is assisted by Cham, who has some odd assists in this story. Jeckie’s illusions defy the senses, so it’s odd that she couldn’t have shown Soljer the illusion of his sergeant.

Likewise, Cham is able to remove the phantom knife form Tinya. Unless there are creatures out there that can tune into Bgtzl, this replicates Tinya’s power. Had she arrived after Cham to join, she would have been refused as her power would duplicate an existing member. It’s another in a long line of plot-convenient uses of Cham’s power.

The fate of Soljer, in giving the villain what they want, is a tried and tested device. I recently read the JLA fighting Despero, where the Martian Manhunter provides a similar ending. A similar device was used in the closing issues of the Ostrander/ Yale Suicide Squad.

But there is one similar story that stands out in my mind. One that I read before I got this back issue. It was of a man, a father, who had been caught in a nuclear exchange between two superpowers. He survived, doused with chemicals, while his family died before him.

Like Soljer, he too walked with the only goal being to reach the heart of the city. It was a Judge Dredd story. One clearly picking up the pathos of a lost life from a past time. In the end, the Judges also gave the man what he wanted, without the benefit of having Jeckie around. That meant his blowing up the Judge’s station house, and himself, in silent protest at the war that had killed his family and destroyed his life.

With Soljer being the central character in a Legion tale, Shooter is taking a cue from Bates. However, Shooter’s previous run in Action showed that he could work on a more personal, sometimes harrowing, level. It’s a story, if the examples I’ve given above are any indicator that made an impact on a lot of readers, who went on to use elements of it themselves as comics writers.

Interestingly, the United Planets put up a statue to him. A statue to a guy who had just blown up lots of property (hard to imagine there not being some deaths). While a soldier dying to protect his buddies might seem great to the UP, you can imagine that Earthgov is not so thrilled. That's assuming they were the ones who won the war, successfully defending Metropolis from Soljer and his squad.



In the back up, it didn’t take long at all for Shooter to focus on his favourite character, Val Armorr.

A young man with a heroic future is raised without knowledge of his real father, only to find that his mentor is the one responsible for killing him. Despite it being uncannily similar to the later Star Wars, it’s not written by George Lucas. It’s Shooter’s origin for Karate Kid. It’s a decent martial arts/ sci-fi mash up with a view firmly on the relationships and legacies in Val’s life. I’m not sure how much of an issue Val’s ethnicity is, but it seems to get some definitive background here too. Shooter gets a lot into seven pages, and Grell seems to have some reference shots to bring some extra realism to the art.

In summary, this is a very strong Shooter issue. I think it’s one of the earlier ones I got from this era. Having read my share of supernatural war stories and that Judge Dredd story from above, I don’t think it impressed me much at the time.

210/Soljer

After several issues of fluff stories, it's both a breath of fresh air and jarring to read two stories with deadly serious premises: one about a soldier who tries to carry out his mission from beyond the grave, and the other about honor and vengeance.

Both of these are very good stories, but they suffer from the restricted page counts. I get the feeling that Shooter has something meaningful to say in both, but the message of each is diluted.

For example, I love the portrayal of Soljer as not a bad guy. He's a hero in the truest sense of the word, laying down his life for his comrades. And, even from beyond the grave, he still carries out his mission as he understands it, oblivious to the damage he is causing to civilians while fighting a war long over. (I, too, wondered if there were any casualties.)

Phantom Girl's injury is horrific in a comic that had avoided showing any serious injuries to anyone until this time.

This story was published at the end of the Vietnam War, and I can't help but feel that Shooter intended this as a sort of commentary on the war. Shooter, born in 1951, was of call-up age during the war and likely had friends who served overseas. The utter brutality of the war and of Soljer's actions seems to reflect this stark reality.

However, the story stops short of being an antiwar tale, or even a pro-war tale, but it is nice that the UP chose to honor Pvt. Essad after the fact. In the end, this is all we are left with after a war: an attempt to honor the fallen who cannot be present to receive the honor themselves. The fact that Essad is honored 200 years after his sacrifice calls attention to the futility of such honors.

I thought it was brilliant how the Legionnaires defeated Soljer by making him think he had won. To me, this suggests that victory truly is in the eye of the beholder. Essad caused a lot of carnage, but he died thinking himself a hero. For many people who go off to war, this perception is all that truly matters.

My main criticism of the story is that, as thoth alluded, the Legionnaires drop in and out of the story as the plot demands. Cham does not appear until midway through the story, and Jeckie appears only at the very end, yet both are crucial to the story's resolution. In one sense, the story acknowledges long-time fans' familiarity with the characters, yet it's sloppy writing not to set up Jeckie's involvement earlier.

There are also some rather jarring transitions. In one panel, we see Soljer standing outside what looks like a 30th century restaurant or gathering spot. in the next panel, we get the aftermath of his attack. The jump from beginning to end is too sudden.

Another jarring aspect: When I first read this story, I thought Lightning Lad's lightning bolt had somehow traveled through time to strike Essad in the 28th century. What's really happening is that he gets struck by lightning twice--first at the same instant the "gamma grenade" goes off and then, 200 years later, he is accidentally revived by LL's bolt. In my view, the first lightning strike is wholly unnecessary and adds a confusing element to the story.

All in all, I appreciate the serious tone of this story and how it depicts war and soldiers in terms that do not fit tidily into heroes and villains, but I wish the story had had more room to breathe.

210/Black Dragon

In addition to the Vietnam War winding down, the early-mid '70s were all abuzz with karate, judo, and kung fu movies. So it's no surprise that Val takes on a Bruce Lee-like appearance by now, or that this solo spotlight has a lot in common with martial arts movies.

Val is called to choose between honor (avenging his father's death) and his Legion calling to not kill. To complicate matters, he learns his father's killer was Val's own beloved Sensei, who raised him from infancy and taught him in the ways of martial arts.

Interesting setup, but rather stereotypical: honor and vengeance being, as I recall, popular themes of martial arts movies. What bugs me, though, is that Val never really faces any kind of dilemma. It's a forgone conclusion that he's not going to let these thugs kill the Sensei, and that he regards the Sensei as his true father. After all, that's the "right" thing to do. So, we learn nothing about KK's character, though the story provides a nice origin for him.

Lots of good action scenes, as well.

Superboy 209

Catching up on last week's stories, I think HWW did a great job summing up both stories. The first one isn't ever going to make a "best of" list of Legion stories but it's not bad. And this is because Jim Shooter is back and his love of the LSH is easily conveyed, as is his purposeful, direct approach to stories that don't rely too much on bait & switch gimmicks.

All the Legionnaires come off fairly well besides Jeckie. Even though Val remains his favorite, Imra and Luornu are especially well used.

I will note that Brin's comment about women drivers is very sexist but very "of the times"; it's too bad Shooter has such a long history along these lines though as I couldn't help but think that his reemergence at age 23 marked the beginning of his bringing some anger towards women issues to comics.

The two Luornus battling one another the instant they feel the effects of the pain plague must be yet another indicator that the long inferred subplot of multiple Luornus being distinctly different and at odds with one another is alive and well.

I love the story of how Jim Shooter came back as much as anything. Basically tracked down by the men who inspire Flynt, they convinced him to come back to comics and the Legion. And they did it, amazing enough, on the record! You can actually read the interview as it happens in the Legion Companion and see Shooter feeling nostalgia and enthusiasm for the Legion again. These guys not only saved the franchise but then continued to work to improve it! If only we could follow their lead now.

On the Flynt story both Thoth and HWW have good commentary on Flynt himself and the story. I like Flynt and always have. He's a bit of a tribute to the fans and can represent us; all the while also being a nod the long running theme in the series established by Hamilton of anyone overcoming impossible odds and being heroic.

Grell's artwork serves to tie both stories together and he's up to the task this issue. His figures are incredibly attractive and dynamic, keeping the Legion feeling fresh and sexy.

Hope to get to 210 shortly as the Soljer story has long been a favorite.

You know, even though Jeckie gets a bum rap for falling ill so often, I think she serves the role she needs to serve in this story. It's really Val's story--as much as any story which is not a solo spotlight can be any Legionnaire's story. He's the one whose character is revealed by his dogged determination to sacrifice himself for her. The story would only work this way if someone close to Val (e.g., Jeckie) were threatened.

In a way, I feel this story does a better job of revealing Val's character than "The Lair of the Black Dragon."

Superboy 210

Since the first time I ever began to read these stories from the 1970's--which were the last LSH stories I ever read--my favorite was always "Soljer's Private War". Even though it's quick and without too many layers, there's simply a ton to like.

The artwork by Grell is his best so far--simply stunning. Pages 2-3 are explosive, with terrific layouts and detail. And in the end, Grell's depiction of the futuristic Metropolis destroyed is horrifying.

More than that, this is great science fiction at its best: grounded in humanity and tells us a lot about ourselves today. You could argue this is a story about PTSD; you could say it's simply about the lingering consequences of war. It's relevant today more than ever: "War of super weapons, directed by computers". Sure this wasn't in the 21st Century? Regardless of how you interpret the story it's a straight forward idea with a lot of meat.

Again, Shooter shows why he was the master of the Legion. He shows multiple Legionnaires, great usage of powers, dramatic action sequences and a control of continuity. Even simply remembering that the most recent world war would have been the sixth is impressive.

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2nd story:

Meanwhile, the kung-fu craze of the 1970's had boiled over by now; as usual, once DC comics jumps on the bandwagon of a trend like this, it usual means the craze is trending down. Still, DC created Richard Dragon and then someone must have realized they had the perfect karate star--probably the recently returned Shooter, highlighting his favorite--and soon Karate Kid of all Legionnaires would get his own series. Here we get a teaser to test the water I suspect.

It's not a bad story at all: actually well told with a fairly succinct structure. The plot is all familiar tropes but the limited back up page count keeps it terse and almost poetic.

Still, even though Karate Kid has long been a favorite of mine, I don't have much interest in his solo adventures. I'd rather read of him as a Legionnaire interacting with the others. Thankfully we won't have to read the KK solo series on this reread.

Also, catching up on Thoth and HWW's commentary, I definitely agree the Soljer story could have used the full length treatment. The detail you both honed in on, such as including Cham and Jeckie earlier on in the story, would have been welcome.

A subplot with a Legionnaire dealing with their own PTSD or private war (which is ultimately futile) would have really put it over the top.

It's interesting that you mention PTSD, Cobie. I was thinking just today that the story could be read in that vein. In fact, "Soljer's Private War" resonates even louder today in the era of real PTSD and mass shootings.

Indeed. Given what the Legionnaires have experienced in their young lives, it's hard to believe none of them suffered from PTSD, shell shock, or whatever the 30th century equivalent would be.

Yeah, I was thinking about how when looked at as a metaphor for PTSD, it really makes the story applicable to the modern day as much as the 1970's. Great minds and all that!

And you're absolutly right: there are plenty of obvious candidates for PTSD (Dirk / Mutiny, Gim / LOSV betrayal, etc.) but really any Legionnaire could be suffering from it. Who knows what they witnessed when they've seen civilizations at war with one another or pirates raiding defenseless planets or whole worlds being blown up. There's really an untapped well there for stories.