Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 12

I agree, Cobie. We didn't get to see too much of Questar. So, it does make the reference to being a writer (as HWW picked up on) and that moral message, wrapped round a brick stand out all the more.

Who knows what Questor got up to, in taking advantage of his status? There's no shortage of people in the public eye pleading for our forgiveness for their horrid actions. I can't think of many who willingly wanted any of those actions to stop before they were caught. Questor got a bit of instant redemption, with a big help from Superboy.

Questor would have been the perfect stand in for Dirk Morgna in the TMK run.

Interesting thoughts about putting Supes on a pedestal, Cobie. It would be the perceptions of others that would push him out of the group if that keeps up. Particularly with the grittier Wildfire, Val and Timberwolf.

Finally: Should there be a countdown to the Ten Year Monster on the Time bubble on the homepage?

Superboy 223



It’s a melodramatic, and grown up looking, Legion that runs into the foreground of the splash page. They have half a galaxy to save. It’s half a galaxy that will need to be saved with five fewer Legionnaires (A Swan of Legionnaires) .Those five have been strangely trapped in a cone of force. (This proves to be a much more effective barrier than the cone of ice cream that Dessert Damsel used last month.)

We see the heroes show their unique abilities to try to escape, but without success.

Superboy then uses a trick that effectively ruins the suspense of any death trap he’s ever caught in. He moves through time, taking his colleagues with him. I’ve never been a fan of Supes’ unbreakable, ever expanding cape. It’s something that’s had a lot of use in his Legion adventures, where he has plenty of colleagues to use it on.

On this occasion, escaping through time just takes them to the lair of the person who set the trap in the first place: The Time Trapper. I wonder how long the Trapper would have waited before bringing the heroes to his lair had Superboy not done it for him. Grell shows the Legion’s time travels, and trap, very effectively.

Last seen way back at the end of 1965, The Time Trapper is a powerful foe. He has taken these five heroes, including Karate Kid who is resolutely in the 20th century in his own book, some three days into the future. From there, he shows them that their friends have perished failing to stop the disaster from the splash page.

The disaster, a rift in space, has eerie parallels with the one, in the Abnett/Lanning run many years later, which resulted in half the team going missing.

Having analysed multiple possible futures, the Trapper believes that only in those without these five heroes, will be able to master the universe. Worse, futures with those five in them will result in his death.

It’s essentially the same plot as a standard T O Morrow story in JLA. The villain brings the heroes into the story because of a prediction that he must defeat the heroes or perish.

Grell makes all this information from the Trapper visually interesting by having them react to the knowledge that their friends are dead. As the Trapper is speaking, the heroes compose themselves and attack.

Not that attacking the Trapper does them much good. We are taken through a series of fight scenes, where each of the five take on the Trapper individually. What makes this unusual is that the Trapper is fighting them all simultaneously, while each of the Legionnaires believe they are the only ones being attacked. The Trapper has stopped time and is channelling future potential through an hourglass on his cloak, making him powerful enough to defeat even Superboy. The Trapper keeps doors to red suns open in his head quarters. It’s a bit of a risk if you drunkenly mistake it for the fridge one night.

It’s an interesting idea, but it doesn’t quite work for me. Perhaps it’s the pointless interlude showing us Pulsar Stargrave viewing events and boasting about his power. How Stargrave is able to view events in a frozen time and if he’s viewing them from a galaxy that’s been half blown up in the future isn’t clear. We also meet Holdur and Quicksand (with Grell cheesecake shot).

Despite the premise of the battle, it soon comes down to breaking the villains’ McGuffin (ouch). With the hourglass destroyed the Trapper disappears in a temporal explosion. It could have been left there. But Superboy appears to tell of a further struggle involving the explosion opening the door to the red sun, and the Trapper falling through that. Had Shooter needed to fill even more space, no doubt Sun Boy would have popped up with a further fight scene.

Returned conveniently back to the moment they left, the five proceed on the original mission to the rift. We don’t know yet if they succeed, and Superboy is seen reading the Legion Manual trying to work out the physics behind their adventure.

It’s an issue that has a couple of nice ideas. An anti-matter rift is a dangerous mission. One that they can’t beat like a super villain. Seeing the team fail to stop it certainly pulled some emotional strings. The fight with the Trapper was something different too, even if the solution wasn’t quite as thought provoking.

The Trapper here is far more like the humanoid, super powerful arch villain from previous occasions than the seeming avatar of entropy shown sometimes later on. As such he has a super villain plot with its accompanying artefact of power that he depends on to succeed. He even has a super computer (again mirroring the T O Morrow stories). Of course, if the Trapper was supposed to be Morrow, then all of this is fine…

But overall, it’s not an issue I’m fond of. By the time I read this, I had read the better refined villain of the Conspiracy and the early issues of the TMK run. So this plot didn’t really do much for me. Stargrave just gets in the way during the issue. Having villains with the technology to view battles anywhere is an old cliché as are boastful foes. We get both here, adding nothing to the plot. Perhaps his appearance will have more meaning when we get to the next issue.

223:

I eagerly looked forward to this story when it was published. I was hungry for anything from the Legion's Adventure days, and, although the Time Trapper had been described in the Legion Handbook, there was no picture of him. So I was very curious about this long forgotten early Legion enemy.

In this issue, he lived up to my expectations even if the story as a whole did not. The Trapper was mysterious, deadly, and formidable. He is introduced in typical arch-super-villain mode by having our heroes appear before a banquet he's laid out for them. This shows confidence and a perverse sense of hospitality. This Trapper has nothing to fear from the Legion, and he shows off his confidence every chance he gets.

Furthermore, the scenes of him fighting the Legionnaires one and one yet simultaneously were and are highly effective. They consist of a continuous fight scene with only the Legionnaires replaced at key moments, their confusion as disorienting to them as it was to me.

This story had me wondering why the Trapper had been hiding for so long and wanting to see more of him. Sadly, I was disappointed. He does not appear again until the wedding of Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad tabloid, some thirteen months later. By that time, all of the mystery built up over his appearance here had been forgotten.

Of course, it wasn't much of a mystery to begin with. There's a lot of pseudo-scientific gobbledy-gook over how the Trapper does what he does here, but it's ultimately meaningless and leaves us with only frustrating hints of things that might have come, had he reappeared sooner. In the end, nothing really changes in this story, the Legionnaires learn nothing, and the reader is not enlightened.

In fact, the whole story seems to be a setup to introduce Stargrave and his minions. I actually liked these interludes because they were very Marvel-esque in setting up the next story. And it's about time we got some more new villains, like Charma and Grimbor.

Superboy stretching his cape and traveling through time were simply Legion tropes I had gotten used to by now. (Though I did wonder how Imra felt about being smooshed together with three guys, especially Dirk.) In fact, Superboy is used quite well in this story; even though he once again hogs the spotlight, he does so in more-or-less believable ways. The climactic shot of him trying to save the Trapper while defying the red sun is totally in character for him.

The Grell art is mostly outstanding--especially the Trapper's headquarters and the Twilight Zone-ish metaphors (complete with grandfather clock) of how he's stopping time. However, there are a few rough spots in terms of the arrangement of figures. On the splash page, Thom looks like he's acquired Salu's power, and the shot of the Legionnaires and the Trapper at the top of Page 5 looks like six figures cut-and-pasted together.

I also felt the narrative did not play fair with readers in a couple of places. When Karate Kid says "That's the ... second time you ... piled me up ... Supes!" it had me searching my memory for when the first time was. It could be a reference to their duel back in Adventure 346, but I don't think Superboy used his cape in that fight. It seems to be a very obscure reference.

Also, Saturn Girl tells Superboy to open his photographic memory to her so she can see what's different about the Trapper now. This seems to be a reference to how the Trapper looked back in the Adventure days, but, since he hadn't appeared in more than 11 years, it's unfair to test the reader's own memory that he hadn't worn an hourglass belt before. Also, what made Imra even think that the Trapper would be wearing his own power supply?

So, I like the idea and set-up of the story, but, even with a full issue to play with, Shooter does not turn in a satisfying story.

Superboy and the LSH #223

The Time Trapper returns here and the immediate thought I had is this: the problem with TT stories is that he is a hard character to get right and a hard character to actually use in-story without being a cipher. One may choose to keep him aloof, as Levitz does, which causes it's own problems, or one might think to do what Shooter does, and the result is a story that is somewhat nonsensical. If you're going to use the TT, you have to carefully plot each sequence / interaction with both metaphor and logic.

Yet, despite the clumsiness to the plot, I enjoyed the pacing and immediacy of it all. These sense of fun is there in spades. The ending though is a let down, which underscores how problematic the TT can be.

Stargrave, with Holdur & Quicksand, is introduced and it's a great intro even if they're monitoring TT makes no sense. But I just love that the LSH stories are finally getting foreshadowing and continuing subplots. Finally!

Grell art is awesome as usual, and here it is the uber-sexy Quicksand who stands out. Great costume design mixed with a seductive demeanor.

Thoth, food observation that the Trapper was last seen in 1965. And HWW, love your "off the stands Legion fan" insight! Having read thousands of comics from the late 70's, I have seen again and again a nostalgia among fans and creators for "yesteryear", and one can see why they would have found bringing back the Time Trapper so appealing. Whether that's a good thing or bad thing, considering the stories featuring him thereafter were sometimes very good and sometimes very had, is up for debate.

As Cobie said, he’s a hard villain to really pin down, which is probably why we had a number of variations even before the embodiment of entropy, and even more since writers have went with playing up the avatar side of him. So, he’s an arch villain here, but without anything more to give him a foundation, he disappears again, without there being much point.




I was thinking of Kang viewing everything through a monitor as I typed that, so very Marvel. I picture a huge loop of villains all magically peering in on each other’s master plans, boasting that theirs is better. None realising it’s just a trap the super heroes have played to keep them all busy, and the world safe.




Dirk: That was a really heavy meal.
Clark: Yeah, there’s something odd…

Trapper: Ha ha! You foolish Legionnaires have eaten a meal that will never digest! It’s frozen in time! It will forever make you sluggish in combat! Forever feeling full, yet starving all the while! It is the curse of the Time Trapper…or rather…

Imra: >gasp< It’s Indigestion Lad! - Tenzil Kem’s arch nemesis!
Val: That raises the stakes!
Tenzil: Steaks? That gives me an appetite! And you don’t want to give me an appetite! >chomp<
Trapper: Curse you Kem! …vanishes into his mystical bottle of Tums…




Yeah, that caught me out a little. I thought it was referring to a point earlier in the story where we’d see a difference in the Trapper’s costume, or a different flow of the sand. Not his appearance all those years before.

Like you, I did think it was contrived that Imra would just happen onto the solution.




Good point. It’s always worth being reminded of the things I take for granted such as providing links between issues.

True. I really liked the revelation in the tabloid that he's a renegade Controller. That gave him an sense of great power and mystery (we knew little about the Controllers), but it also meant he had weaknesses and could be defeated. (The Controller in Adv. 357 died of a heart attack.) The "living embodiment of entropy" nonsense not only made him too powerful, but it gave him motivations that were unfathomable. Why does the living embodiment of anything care to bother with teenaged heroes of a particular point in time?




The Legion of Super-Big Brothers?

I was not a critical reader in those days (I was 13!), so I didn't stop to think of the implausibility of it all. These scenes do make Stargrave seem more powerful than the Time Trapper, though--which makes what the creators eventually did with Stargrave a huge letdown.




Ha!

I was thinking along the lines of pomegranate seeds in the myth of Persephone. Once the Legionnaires partook of the feast, they could never leave the Trapper's dimension--except maybe six months of the year for those with small appetites.




I wonder if that was the intent--some change in the Trapper's appearance since he first appeared in this story. It doesn't come across that way, though. It doesn't come across clearly at all.

Thanks.

I'm not sure how much nostalgia played into my feelings at the time. But I was deeply interested in the idea that the Legion had a long history before I discovered them in '72. I had also read enough reprints by then to know that many of those stories were really good. And villains always have a special appeal. Considering that the Trapper was a recurring enemy at a time when the Legion didn't have many recurring enemies (he was the first, I believe), he loomed large in my imagination.

Time Trapper stories can make my head hurt, but what a concept for a villain. It makes me overlook the weaknesses in the plot - as does the artwork. Nevertheless, it is disappointing that there wasn't a hint at the end that the Trapper would return.

I can't read this story without thinking of what a menace the Trapper will be in later stories. At least he's a step above the original cackling babysitter.

The villain hosting a banquet - that idea will appear again with Mordru and Rokk in 5YL. HWW mentioned Persephone. Is this a common theme in literature?

One thing that particularly failed for me was the original mission to mend the space rift. Something else else that serious and you've got four Legionnaires, including two (Shady & Jeckie) whose powers would have been of no conceivable help. Even had the full team been there, what could Saturn Girl, Chameleon Boy and Karate Kid have done?

The high point of the story, however, was the appearance of Pulsar Stargrave, the exotic Quicksand and the dismissable Holdur. You figure Stargrave is Brainiac or something like him, a major villain, and wonder where all this is going.

I don't know how common banquets are in literature, but I often think of them being used in Dracula films and haunted house-type mysteries. They can be a way of making the guests comfortable and lulling them into a false sense of security. They can also be a way to establish the power and presence of the villain. If you are attending a banquet hosted by someone rich and powerful, you are on that person's turf and you are expected to defer to him or her out of respect.

If you've watched Downton Abbey, that series regularly shows the value of formal dinners: They exert an enormous psychological effect on everyone by reminding them who's in charge.

'cause it's Rokk

Or...the TMK run might have given us something. Mordru was destined to rule the universe in it's populated eras. The Trapper, stuck at the end of time wanted more (I think he was lonely and needed a hug). Mordru took over during the 30th century, so the Trapper used that era to stop him, forming the Legion.


I quite liked the enigmatic controller version too. They lost some of that appeal when they became an offshoot of the Guardians. It's a nice continuity connection, but I like to have some things remain open for the imagination.



You have you're classical Greek tales, I'll have my slapstick



It's another nice thing about the rereads threads. Finding out that you're not the only one who got confused.

I always think of all the historical cases of poisoning, betrayal, murder etc. at such gatherings. There's always an air of doom when conflicting sides gather for such events.

There's the banquet scene in Macbeth.

If the Trapper is putting on a banquet, do you think that:-

a) He goes to the trouble of getting in delicacies from across time

Or

b) It's just whatever's left in his cosmi-fridge. Stuff that never goes off because it's stuck in time.

I think the Trapper was a secret chef. Spending all eternity at the end of time gave him plenty of chances to cultivate hobbies.

I've never read Macbeth as I'm not a fan of Shakespeare. (Yes, I know: It's treasonous for an English major to admit that.) But now I'm curious to read or watch that scene.

Unfortunately his first big hobby was in watch repairing. He could never really tell if he'd fixed them because he only existed at the last second of time.

The Ghost of Banquo attends the banquet in Shakespeare's Scottish play. Banquo at the Banquet.

There is also Haman's banquet in Esther, which does not turn out well. For Haman.

For an interesting turn on the idea that one ought not to eat Fairy Food in Faeryland, I recommend The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, especially if you have kids or grandkids who like to read. Or who you are attempting to entice to read.

Belshazzar is also ill-fated at a banquet.

And, as I recall, Beowulf also prominently features a banquet.

Beowulf does indeed, and this is repesentative of much Norse (and related) stories, sagas and mythology. The banquet hall was a common setting, usually early in the story, to set up the plot, characters and conflict. Loki and others like him often scheme during these scenes and goad the heroes into entering precarious situations.

This trope likely remained part of English literature (perhaps pan-European given their prolific travels and conquests--I don't know). I'm sure there's a banquet in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales though it's been 15 years since I've read them. MacBeth is a good example.

But it began much earlier than the Vikings. There are diner / banquet scenes in the Aeniad, the Golden Ass, the Bible, the Illiad and one that doesn't go so well at the end of the Odyssey (for the guests at least). A banquet is one of the classic settings in stories. Probably Gilgamesh though now I'm really fuzzy on memories.

Banquets were of great social significance, especially in relation to where guests were seated. They also had immense religious importance and implications.

Surely all things the Time Trapper was considering!

Thanks for the literary examples of banquets, Klar, EDE, and Cobie.

I think these examples show that Shooter intentionally used the banquet to draw such literary allusions--he frequently included other such themes in other stories--and that he was trying to establish the Trapper as being a cut above your typical arch super-villain. It's a pity he didn't stick around to explore these ideas.

More on the "villain serves banquet" idea, from the delightfully time-wasting tvtropes.org:

Schmuck Banquet and No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine

Earlier today, I re-read the first story from S&LSH 217, mainly because I've become fascinated lately with the Preboot Khunds, and...wow, this really is a big, bright diamond buried among the dreck that, IMHO, makes up most of Archive 12 (FTR, I do also like the Time Trapper story, but I think that one's a bit of a mess, and more of a qualified success.)

The previous reviews that come closest to matching my take on the story are Cobie's and Cramey's: