Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 13

...catching up...

Superboy & the LSH #227

As usual you have guys did a great job hitting on the highs and lows of #227. This issue is hard to review because it's so jarring for a third writer to enter the picture and put his own twist on an already twisted Stargrave plot that leaves me more interested in the "could have beens" than what we actually got. That being said, this issue itself is actually not all that bad.

Despite a few gaffes, Conway plots a thoroughly solid issue in terms of pacing and structure. Coming off strong runs on Spider-Man, Thor, Marvel Team-Up and others at Marvel, he has a great handle on how to make an intricate, multi-character story feel full of action and excitement while constantly advancing towards its conclusion. That's greatly appreciated with the LSH. Also, he provides some very nice characterization that helps develop personalities, particularly Imra and Shady. So while the Stargrave story itself isn't my favorite, I didn't mind the issue nearly as much a I thought since the Legionnaires are utilized fairly well.

As the years have gone by I've come to recognize Conway's under-appreciated talents on his Marvel work. I'm curious about what his LSH will look like with fresh eyes, and this issue indicates it is probably better than we remember.

Superboy & the LSH #228

The thing that sticks out immediately is on the third to last page, Condo reveals that if he fails it will cause World War VII. And in that moment, longtime Legion fans reading this off the stands must have felt a soul crushing ache in their stomachs when they realized what was about to happen. It's here that Levitz uses some good writing to make a revelation from a decade earlier finally come to pass.

And that underscores much of my feelings on this issue and Condo. It is a true shame he never got much screen time; yet we always knew he was going to die and this issue confirms that by being the payoff for the Adult LSH story and his introduction. It makes the reader feel powerless and that itself is a powerful thing. I'm glad it was done in such a way to make him die heroically. Levitz spends the issue showing his self doubt and self esteem problems, which telegraphs the ending miles away, but nonetheless, it gives his death an upbeat sensibility that he could finally prove himself to the hero.

Chemical King's death is a great dichotomy for me: chalk full of "might have beens" if they ever utilized him or he existed in an era that allowed for more in depth stories, but also a potent statement on the storytelling method of revealing future history.

Meanwhile, beyond Chem's death, there were other things going on as well, and much of it very good:
- excellent characterization of Brin and others.
- great usage of the LSH Espionage Squad.
- great usages of 31st century politics.
- the awesome return of the Dark Circle which is fuel for great political and spy stories. And as we know, another step towards Earth War, which Levitz continues to cultivate.
- terrific art, particular in the first half during the spy scenes (though the final pages look rushed and odd).


My one major complaint is that Levitz's good ideas and hindered by his plans for the story being so obvious--clearly Condo was doomed from the minute he entered the issue. Also, his usage of President Kandro Boltax, and how the Legionnaires go along so easily with the plan is tough for such a cynic like myself to swallow, but I realize Paul didn't want to waste too much time on the politics of it all.

Besides that, though, this was an exciting issue with a dynamic conclusion, and leaves the reader wanting more.

I never read Conway's Marvel work and didn't realize he'd written for so many titles. He may well be under-appreciated - the individual characterization has been a nice surprise when re-reading these stories.



This confirmation of the Adult Legion story might have left readers thinking that the other deaths shown in that issue would really happen. And if the deaths were set in stone, so perhaps were the marriages and later jobs that the Legionnaires held. Fortunately, the writers and editors didn't take it that far.

#229 Hunt for a Hero-Killer by Paul Levitz, art by Jmes Sherman/Jack Abel



The Hunt opens with Legionnaires on Shangalla, mourning the death of Chemical King with a ceremony. Two pages recap the events of the previous issue which led to his demise.

Next, it's time for action: to go after Deregon. Wildfire has a new toy for randomly choosing the team - essentially a digital Planetary Chance Machine. Saturn Girl considers this to be a "high-handed stunt" and it's Dawnstar, of all people, who grabs her arm and asks her why it matters, if the team is a power-filled one. Wildfire, Superboy, Mon-el, Dawnstar and Timber Wolf take off for the Dark Circle world and the others return home. Rokk, Lydda, Imra and Garth enjoy some down-time at Galaxyland, an amusement park. Light Lass calls them to announce that President Kandru had called to say Deregon was still on Earth; why was the Legion letting the SPs look for him? Rokk wants to warn Wildfire's team but Imra claims they have a job to do on Earth; it was her subconscious which made her suggest they visit the theme park, since she now sensed Deregon was right there.

Meanwhile, Wildfire's team has approached the Black Circle planet and is fighting a massive robot army. Dawnstar senses a living presence behind a door, which Wildfire and Timber Wolf charge just as Mon-el and Superboy vanish. The three remaining Legionnaires continue through the shattered door, to be met by a figure dressed in a robe of the Dark Circle, who doesn't appreciate their meddling and informs them they will never leave alive - and by the way, he neither knows nor cares where Deregon might be. More robot attacks, then these three Legionnaires vanish. The Dark Circle figure takes it philosophically, saying their vanishing saved him the trouble of destroying them.

Back on Earth, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy, back in uniform, are chewing out an SP officer for not telling them that Deregon had remained on Earth. Saturn Girl states that Lydda has left, because she's not a Legionnaire - and getting Deregon is Legionnaire business. She pauses to probe for Deregon's thoughts/location, then the three fly off to apprehend him.

He's in a room in the service area of the Park, sleeping on a small bed, fully dressed in his Chief War-monger clothes of the previous issue. His downfall is further illustrated by a lock of hair poking out from his head covering. Deregon is amazed they have found his secret retreat, which he thought was safe even from the Dark Circle. He flees, setting some robot creatures to fend off the Legionnaires - with no success. Saturn Girl - "the scarlet-clad huntress" - chases him down and corners him. Like any cornered hunted animal, he attacks, knocks her out and takes off again, only to be foiled by Lightning Lad. The lightning bolts startle him and Dergon falls into a drainage ditch, fittingly filled with chemical waste.

Epilogue 1 shows the vanished heroes from the Dark Circle world appearing in Legion HQ, thanks to an Experimental Warp Transport (dug out of Action #387, according to the editor), operated by Light Lass and Timber Wolf.

In Epilogue 2, Deregon is led away by SPs, as Rokk bemoans the Legion Code which prohibits killing. Imra says there are a few things in the Legion Consitution she'd like to change, as she stares sadly at Garth, who promises that one day, they will make those changes.

Comments:

It all seemed a bit too tidy and easily solved. Deregon, off by himself, in a backroom of a Metropolis amusement park - didn't anyone notice a world leader sleeping on a cot? Didn't any henchmen flee with him? Have things calmed down in Australia since he fled? I really would have preferred more of a challenge to find Deregon.

The Dark Circle character is preternaturally serene: confident that their defenses will defeat the Legionnaires and totally detached from Deregon's fate. Calm acceptance: perhaps this is the aspect of Dark Circle philosophy that so appealed to Tellus. I'm not sure if this figure was an actual person or a projection standing on the table. Although we don't see much of the Dark Circle, it is evident that their defenses are a force to be reckoned with. The deus ex machina which snatches the team from the Dark Circle citadel is an all-too-easy out, even if it does nicely demonstrate Levitz' interest in Legion history.

Saturn Girl's animosity toward Wildfire is well-depicted. Does she really dislike him generally, or just the fact that he's leader? She tries to pull rank - even accusing him of manipulating the results - but newbie Dawnstar physically and verbally stops her. It's a very tidy bit of characterization for Dawnstar: she's not afraid of the legendary Imra. Those two are alike in some ways, independent, strong-willed and not afraid to voice an opinion. Dawnstar lacks the finesse and experience of Saturn Girl, but it's surprising that a friendship never developed. Maybe Imra couldn't get over the fact that Wildfire brought her into the Legion.

While I remembered that Wildfire was a contentious leader, I hadn't recalled Saturn Girl's high level of irritation with him and am looking forward to seeing if it continues in future issues. She could have suggested that Ayla try to warn Wildfire's team that they're on "a wild klanth chase", but she may have decided to let him deal with the consequences himself. It seems like a rather cavalier disregard for her team-mates, even if she would like to see Wildfire fail.

Theme parks and comics! That's something you just don't see much of anymore. The attractions at this one strike me as a bit lame. Nevertheless, it's always interesting to see Legionnaires in mufti. Rokk certainly has become a minimalist when it comes to clothing. But where did their Legion uniforms suddenly come from?

I get the whole "We're the Legion" bit about avenging Condo's death, but it left a sour taste to have Lydda sit this one out, even if she wasn't powerful in the daylight. She just slunk off, knowing that she wasn't really an A-lister. She and Condo might have compared notes.

The closing scene, with Rokk wishing they could put Deregon to death, presents a grown-up Legion. They've seen a lot of evil in their few years and the original Constitution, drawn up by idealistic children, is proving to be a stumbling block. Do Garth and Imra agree with Rokk? They clearly have a more personal problem with the Constitution as long-time readers will remember that you can't stay in the Legion if you're married.

Superboy & LSH #229

I liked this issue too: a dynamic, action-packed series of sequences showing the powerhouse group entering Dark Circle space, while also getting to see the founders in action too. Levitz also does a good job at maintaining the seriousness of last issues ending. At last, to me at least, LSH feels like continuing ongoing series and not just a series of individual stories.

FC, you note the relative easy capture of Deregon and how that's a bit of a come down in terms of the Legionnaires built up aggression and tension. It's an interesting choose and mirrors similar real life events where a would-be dictator is eventually brought down, from Hitler to even Saddam Hussain. Whether intentionally or not, I think it shows the real struggle is finding an outlet for their grief; he's caught at issues end but do they feel any better? The answer is no, as Cos ponders eliminating the no killing rule in the constitution. How many of us go to great lengths to find meaning in dealing with the death of a loved on--metaphorically invading even the Dark Circle with guns blazing--only for it to feel like it's amounted to very little.

What makes the issue enjoyable though is really the little moments and it's all classic Levitz. We get a lot: the Shanghalla mourning scene, Wildfire versus the veterans, the founders as best friends (which really appears to start here with Paul), Imra & Garth hinting at getting married and leaving the LSH, Brin knowing Condo the longest and wanting revenge, and Dawnstar's characterization (which I really didn't notice until FC mentioned above). All of it amounts to a more layered Legion and I'm craving more and more--as much as we can possibly get.

The art still a bit rough in places. There are times it looks so striking and then others were it feels so flat. Maybe it's the Abel's inks? Hard to say but I do remember loving it by Earth War. I'm interested to see if I still feel that way.

Also, a bit of housecleaning: am I correct that next up is the DC Special #28 issue?

229:

FC is right that the resolution is too pat and convenient.

Cobie is right that this issue is a step up from the episodic and inconsequential stories we've been getting.

All of the character bits really do stand out. This is a Legion with a history and whose members have personalities, form cliques, and are openly hostile toward each other. The Legion is also front and center in this story instead of on the sidelines, as in too many previous issues.

I can buy Deregon hiding out in an amusement park (why not?), though some attention should have been paid to how he got there, who was helping him, etc. What's harder to swallow is that the Science Police thought the Legionnaires had "closed the books" on Deregon. It gives Saturn Girl a chance to make an impassioned speech to put the officer in his place, but it makes no sense.

It's also a bit convenient that Saturn Girl's power happens to lead her to the very place where Deregon is hiding. Is this telepathic intuition of some sort? Once again, Levitz plays fast and loose with her power and not in a consistent way.

I, too, was disappointed with Night Girl slinking off. She doesn't even get a scene announcing that this was the Legionnaire's fight and she didn't want to intrude (which would have been a graceful way of getting across what Levitz has Imra ham-handedly say to the cop). She just disappears.

The battle scenes in space are fairly well done, up to and including the confrontation with the Dark Circle member. It's an interesting twist that he (?) cares nothing for Deregon. The former Australian governor is just a pawn.

But then everything ends too quickly as the Legionnaires are yanked back to earth by a Miracle Machine wannabe. I suppose the story had to be wrapped up, but it would have been more believable if Ayla had simply contacted Wildfire and told him they'd found Deregon. A bit less dramatic, perhaps, but I can live without false drama that leads to nothing.

My personal peeve: My man Mon hasn't played an active role since 220 and hasn't really had a chance to play an integral role in any story since way back in 203. Here this trend continues, as he's nothing more than Superboy's shadow.

So, Condo's death is avenged, and vengeance turns out to be hollow. There truly is nowhere for the anger to go, except in Cos's off-hand remark that it's time to rethink the no-kill policy (although nothing comes of this remark). The story ends on a non sequitur, with Garth and Irma questioning an entirely different policy. This seems to be an attempt to inject Marvel-style verisimilitude into the story, but it just makes the ending seem even more anticlimactic.

I'm still no fan of the art. Some faces and poses seem more naturalistic than as depicted by previous artists, but, on the whole, the art alternates between garish and bland. If Levitz's story could have been paired with Grell's art, that would have been something to behold.

I'm not clear on the chronology, but is DC Special 28 the one with Fenton Pike as the villain? If so, we've skipped it. IIRC, Chemical King was still alive in that story.

DC Special had a June-July 1977 date; #229 was June and #230 was August, so it was in-between. Condo was still alive. More Levitz, and Condo says he'd been "sidelined for months" -I'm not opposed to including it, although it should have been published before #229. Blame it on DC....

I recently dug out an old chart I made back in the 20th century detailing an exact reading order of all the books with Legion appearances up to that point (as well as which Legionnaires appeared in each story).

I have DC Special #28 between #227 and #228 on that list, probably for continuity reasons.

Yeah, I'm told that its in the Archive but I'm not reading an actual Archive anymore and am reading the single issues. It sounds like you guys are all too. So for all intents and purposes, it really doesn't matter then if no one currently reviewing is going by the Archive order right now.

I'd like to read it, but I don't care either way if we decide to make it a "bonus read" or part of the weekly review. (If no one actually has it in hand to read it we don't have to force the issue; but if you do want to, we have ways here on LW of getting it to you ;))

I'm all for including as many Legion stories as possible. I'll have to dig through my collection to find it, though.

Since it is a short story (and not a very significant one, as I recall), perhaps we should consider it a "backup" story for 229--meaning it will go next but not take the place of our regular review of 230.

Unless I read thundering peals of opposition, we'll do DC Special next (maybe on the weekend?) then continue with #230 on Tuesday next.

Now back to our regular programming....



I agree, the series is coming into its own and building up a coherent history.



You do make a good point. So many dictators meet an ignominious and even trivial end. Their countries are left in disarray, and it would have been interesting to have a peek at what was going on in the Australian region after Deregon left, but I can appreciate that it was beyond the scope of the comic.



When I think about it, this ending has more impact than the death of Ferro Lad, Lightning Lad and (definitely) Triplicate Girl's third body. It does show the real life frustration of trying to justify or avenge death.



Yes, less flashback and more inter-issue explanation of Deregon's flight would have been satisfying. I wonder if the SPs taking over could have been portrayed as part of a cover-up, since the Legion wasn't supposed to be there anyways - or at least their involvement was legally murky.



I wonder if he liked her particularly and was trying to beef up her power, thinking it was one of the weaker ones, while she herself was one of the stronger personalities.



That would have made much more sense to me.



All the years without Superboy have made me forget how trivialized Mon-el was until Supes got the boot.



If I had been reading this truly for the first time, without the knowledge that future issues would bring, I would have figured this was a set-up for some very big changes. But there again, my perception is muddled by time, since when this was published, I doubt they could have shown something like the Legion changing the Constitution, then kidnapping Deregon to put him to death themselves.

I'm still no fan of the art. Some faces and poses seem more naturalistic than as depicted by previous artists, but, on the whole, the art alternates between garish and bland. If Levitz's story could have been paired with Grell's art, that would have been something to behold.

[/quote]

Cos's statement is certainly open for interpretation. I choose not to believe that he wanted to kidnap Deregon and put him to death (or that the Legion would seriously consider doing such a thing). I think it was more an expression of frustration than anything.

But it does raise a question: If the Legionnaires deemed it necessary to kill in battle, should they be given that right? If the series had taken on a more adult approach, perhaps that issue could have been addressed and debated.

I also interpret Cos as not really meaning it but saying it out of frustration.

But it's a good question and one other series have explored. Certainly, it doesn't seem too far fetched for the guidelines around killing in an act of self-defense being loosened over time. I know if I was a Legionnaire I'd vote for that.

I believe he repeats the sentiment when his parents are killed later in the series (something to do with a Powersphere explosion?). He may well have been more serious about it then than in these circumstances. The self-defense question should certainly have challenged the Legionnaires to change their constitution.

Reading a couple of Guardians of the Galaxy issues recently, it struck me that they have no aversion to killing. Maybe some individual members do, but it makes me wonder if a new Legion comic, should it ever come to pass, will preserve this no-kill stance. Of course, Projectra killed Nemesis Kid and was welcomed back into the Legion; she wasn't a Legionnaire when she did it, so I guess that was the reason.

Getting ahead of our Archives here, but it's interesting to observe how these matters developed, and how early they got their start in Legion history.

Superboy 229

Superboy and Mon El must get sick of being zapped on covers, just to show the reader how powerful the villain is. Particularly if the villain’s costume is a bed sheet he had to throw on, when the heroes turned up unexpectedly.

The splash page is far better than the cover. Legionnaires coming to terms with the loss of one of their own, even if it was someone underutilised for years.

Brin looks particularly thoughtful. Is he seeing his own future in Condo’s death? Is he wondering what it means to die a hero or how to live as one? There’s a comforting hand on his shoulder from Imra. They would have a misconstrued moment in a later issue. Wildfire’s hand on Dawny’s should while her thoughts are clearly on the loss is simply that possessive creepiness I expect.

It’s a good choice to focus on Timberwolf to lead us into the mission. We’re told that he’s known Condo longest (Lyle Norg retcons must have been later). But Brin has also been an outsider in the team, which is what Condo felt like in his final days.

Wildfire uses a really hot cup of stirred tea to get the Brownian motion for the mission selector. Considering the importance of getting Deregon, picking five at random seems daft. Picking just five against a huge organisation also seems silly, especially as Swan isn’t drawing the issue. It’s not long before Imra tells those who stayed behind that Drake rigged the selection. Which is just as well…

Tenzil: Gee, it’s been months now. Where could Deregon be?
Chuck: If only Dawnstar had been selected, we wouldn’t have taken that wrong turn around Ventura.

We get some big battle scenes as the five Legionnaires attack a planet. Then a jarring parallel plot appears leading off from Imra pointing out the rigged selection. Our three founders are off at a fun fair. It seems an odd location considering the gloomy revenge laden plot. Then they hear that Deregon is still on Earth by a passing Science Police officer. How does the Earth president know the villain is still on Earth?

It doesn’t take long for Imra to track Deregon down. He’s conveniently hiding in the fun fair. Since Imra felt compelled to go there, it gives her some new powers to think about once this issue is over.

While the founders track Dregon down and give chase, the five attacking the Circle get to see within their headquarters. The circular table in it, makes the place look like an alternate Legion HQ. The being they meet there is certainly a match for them, but the Legionnaire vanish before the conflict goes any further.

Back on Earth, Deregon’s fear gives him away and he’s captured. It’s a fitting end for him in waste. I had thought he’d fallen to his death, but that’s not the case. But I still recall how easily the Legionnaires believed that Deregon was the true villain behind creating a world war.

There’s more stress against the Legion’s code against killing here. Brin also threatened to tear someone’s throat out, which is a bit less than heroic. Levitz is trying to make the point about what vengeance means to the Legion. They allow Deregon to be taken away by the police. It frustrates Cosmic Boy, but they hold to their ideals.

There’s a parallel with the TMK run, where the Legion are faced with a choice to treat Roxxas or let him die from his injuries. The death of a Legionnaire was also heavily involved in that decision.

We get a nice bit of foreshadowing to Garth and Imra’s wedding. It’s set up by the code against killing in the Legion constitution. It’s less of a tease when the caption beats us over the head about it coming up in future issues.

With the brief examination of what the Legion stands for, you can see why Levitz felt it important that the three founders were the ones to track Deregon down. Imra’s determination at doing so, was all Lydda needed to see before leaving the Legion to take care of personal business.

Although Brin was a little too Wolverine like, there was some decent character tension in this issue. Dawny and Wildfire in particular played off well against the likes of Satrun Girl.

Sherman’s art was impressive in places, but perhaps not hitting consistent highs. We got everything from introspective glimpses at fundamental Legion concepts to huge battles against dangerous foes. Levitz packed quite a bit into this issue. So much so, that it’s the finding of Deregon under a theme park that the team happen to be visiting (not buying Imra’s sudden extra powers) that’s the weakest moment in a strong issue.

They were. However, since Lyle had already died, Brin's comment about knowing Condo the longest is still valid.



Good point. The two did have much in common. It's a shame this was never explored.

Did anyone else notice that the vat Deregon fell into reads "chemical waste"? Fitting indeed.

Is this foreshadowing or did future stories look back to this scene for inspiration? One wonders.

Were we ever told how Wildfire met/found Dawnstar? Maybe he was obsessed with her right from the beginning.



Although she was there, she wasn't tracking Deregon. It shows the importance of precise instructions. Could Dawnstar have tracked Deregon from Shangalla, or would she have to have gone to Australia to follow his path?



I'd missed that bit about Brin - it does add to the overall sentiment of anger with Condo's death.

True. I was throwing it out there to see if actually Lyle had known him better earlier in the run, as I couldn't recall.



Ironically, I had intended to add a line in at the end of my review mentioning that, but forgot. So it's easily done



I did comment on the waste, but completely failed to pick up the comedy value of it being chemical It's comedy reruns for me this weekend to get some sharpness back.



Had they developed Brin more in the story, it could have been established more. Brin reflecting on Condo's life and reassessing himself. Asking the big Brin questions like "If I'm an android, why do I pee and not short circuit myself?", "How could Ayla possibly love someone who's an aloof tool?" "Is Ayla therefore a defective android, programmed to love me?" "Why do I feel pressurised into making "snikt" noises with my nails?"

Brin's answers would have provided a character arc that Imra perhaps could have had more involvement in. But Imra and Garth aren't even married at this point and Garth hasn't had .. well, I'll just say that perhaps this came a little too early. Perhaps Levitz had no inclination along this path at all, and it's just a good call from Sherman.

Much later on, we'd see Brin carry out Val's last wishes in a fashion that makes him stand out as an individual. There's more of a link from the panel in this issue to that later story, than
the nice but dim Londo we'd get in between.



I don't remember reading anything, but I think that inside his containment suit, he was replaced by a big Smitten Kitten right from the start.

I'd like to think more of Drake than thinking of him stalking academy students. I think his initial good impressions of Dawny were rapidly enhanced when he saw her against the Raiders. What definitely would have helped were the others reactions to her. Snooty and defensive to an outsider. Drake, as a relatively new Legionnaire and a rapidly rising star as leader, may still have felt a bit like that in the team and as the guy in charge. He would definitely have felt like an outsider as a person, trapped as energy within his suit.




I think she would have been able to track him back to Earth, and then her powers are fudged to be less precise. It's probably part of why TMK didn't want her in the team, other than not being in the Adventure run. Giffen didn't want to make such things too easy.

Re: Condo and Lyle

Superboy # 176 established that they were friends--only Chem had the power to negate Lyle's invisibility serum, so it was said that Lyle's weakness was safe with Chem. Later reference works, such as the Legion Handbook, picked up on that and mentioned that they were friends, but there is little evidence in the comics. If memory serves, they did not appear together in any other stories leading up to Lyle's death.

Re: How Wildfire met Dawny

S/LSH 240 contains a backup story with Dawny at the Legion Academy, which takes place just before 226. If I recall correctly, it was R.J. Brande who convinced Dawny to apply for the academy after meeting her on some business deal. (She was working as a commercial tracker.) I believe Wildfire met her at the academy, but I could be wrong. Something else else to look forward to when we get to 240, perhaps.

DC Special #28

Okay, at long last, I’ve read DC Special #28! I’ve been looking forward to reading a lot of these random issues in the 1970’s when DC was publishing random and oddball anthologies in a “all sizes fit all” mentality. Luckily the internet now exists to keep track of these things because I’m sure it was a freaking nightmare to do that in 1988 or some other ancient time that only the oldest people lived in. Anyway, DC Special #28 also features Batman and Aquaman stories, both of which are pretty enjoyable if not anything special, though are clearly better than all Batman and Aquaman stories published from 2005 onwards. The Legion story, by Paul Levitz and Avril Jones & Bob Layton rounds out the issue.

The story features the return of super-obscure recurring Legion villain Fenton Pike, as well as the previously-seen Metropolis Fusion Powersphere, showing that Paul Levitz truly was a master of LSH continuity even then. Levitz utilizes 5 Legionnaires: Brainy, Phantom Girl, Timberwolf (at the front and center as he’s been in the main LSH series lately), Ultra Boy and at long last, Chemical King! Condo finally gets some screen time but unfortunately it appears this story was published a few weeks after he died in LSH #229, so the whacky editorial chaos of the 1970’s strikes again. It would have been nice to see a regular LSH story featuring Condo before he died recently.

The art is also good and that clearly is the work of Bob Layton on inks. I say that because I have some good recent experience reading Layton’s various comics and can see clear examples of pencils inked by him versus inked by others, and even his own pencils. And the work here has a very strong Layton influence, particularly in the line work of the faces and the shadowing on metallic objects. Layton’s inks were part of a class of artists that ushered in new styles of art in the early 1980’s, and it’s welcome here. The splash page showing the havoc in Metropolis when all power is lost is particularly good.

As usual, Levitz injects a lot of character in limited space and that, again as usual, makes his stories so much more enjoyable. Timberwolf shows a strong vote of confidence for Brainy and implies that when things look impossible the Legionnaires rely on him to figure something out. It’s something most readers assume but isn’t usually stated so bluntly, and it firmly shows Brainy’s place in the series. Meanwhile Condo is very aggressive and heroic here, which is a nice thing to see.

More than just character bits, Levitz is also a master at utilizing multiple Legionnaires during a mission. He blends together Brainy, Chem and Tinya very well as they attempt to stop the impending explosion, while using Brin and Jo to take down Pike himself. The sequence is so simple and straight-forward and yet so many writers can’t seem to get it right (especially these days).

My one complaint is that they randomly throw in the idea that Fenton Pike chooses to hide out at Legion HQ of all places. This is highly unnecessary and a throwaway line, and because it makes so little sense it should have been shotdown from the beginning. How could he have gotten through the Legion’s legendary defenses? Where were the other Legionnaires? The tendency to do these kind of “cutesy” bits was strong in the Silver Age and in the early Bronze Age and by now should be leaving comics all together. Still, this is a very minor complaint.

All in all, a fun, solid story with great art and good action. Like a lot of shorter stories, it could have been the great “spine” of a solid full length issue of the LSH, if Levitz had room to add in several pages of subplots and other Legionnaires doing things.

Of Special Note
There’s this really cool article in the back of this issue called “Great Disasters” that focuses on the various great disasters in DC history from Krytpon’s destruction to the sinking of Atlantis, to the one we know will hit Earth one day in Hercules Unbound and the Atomic Knights. It also talks about random issues of the Flash or Superman where they dealt with Earthquakes and stuff. It’s the kind of article you’d see on the internet today and it’s really groovy! Who wrote this? The editor? Story editor Paul Levitz? Whoever it is, it’s 2 full pages of text and pretty sizable!

DC Special #28 Earth-Shattering Disasters/The City that Stopped...Dead! by Paul Levitz, art by Arvell Jones, Bob Layton



This comic contained three stories, one of which featured the Legion. The story begins with a scene of Metropolis, 2977 A.D., at midnight, vehicles racing through the air or on rails. We're informed that these and the lighting are powered by the Fusion Powersphere - then it sudenly fails, as vehicles crash to the ground, aflame.

Legionnaires race to the rescue (Chemical King, Phantom Girl, Timber Wolf, Brainiac 5 and Ultra Boy), as Brainy concludes that the total blackout could only result from a Powersphere failure.

As Timber Wolf mulls over who could ever destroy the Powersphere, we see a splash page of Metropolis on fire, people running, people fallen, struck by debris. The text boxes inform us that the Powersphere is a nuclear generator with "awesome, immeasurable amounts of energy", that Metropolis has 30 million residents and this is the only power source for everything.

Brin and Jo are overwhelmed by the tragedy; Brin bets that Brainy will fix everything, if anyone can.

However, the Powersphere is still working, but its energy has been directed inward rather than to the city. A costumed figure is urging the Sphere to explode and wondering what went wrong with his sabotage - but figures lethal radiation will kill everyone anyways - even himself, clad in radiation-proof armor, if he doesn't depart quickly. As he leaves, Brainy, Chemical King and Phantom Girl confront him; Condo swings a punch, declaring that he's "been on the sidelines for months" and wants to take the villain. The masked man declares himself to be Fenton Pike, seeking revenge for his failed attempt to humiliate the SPs and Metropolis (back in #222). Pike pushes Chemical King aside and turns to attack Brainy and Phantom Girl, who are protected from his taser-like weapon with force shield and phantom state, respectively. Pike sinks through the ground, escaping, as Brainy stops Tinya from pursuing him: the radiation level might even be too much for her phantom form.

Brainy notes the radiation level is rising; if it continues, the sphere will explode and Metropolis will be a sheet of glass, with everyone dead.

Meanwhile, Ultra Boy is manning a generator at the hospital and Timber Wolf is saving what individual people he can, as the catastrophe escalates.

Brainy turns to Chemical King, verifies that his power does involve controlling the speed of chemical reactions (well, it has been months since Condo did anything, and Brainy has a lot on his mind). Chemical King can't stop the Powersphere, but Brainy instructs him to just slow down the reaction. This will allow Phantom Girl to go inside and look for the source of the sabotage (as she informs Brainy).

Trying to remember Earth technology from her Legion Manual, Tinya spots a broken electrical cable and wonders if she can fix it. Outside, Brainy encourages Chemical King to keep trying to slow the radiation build-up and concludes that Pike must have gone to hide in the inertron-walled Legion HQ, where he would be safe from the nuclear holocaust.

Timber Wolf and Ultra Boy are dispatched to the HQ to get Pike, who is surprised and dismayed at their arrival. They succeed in apprehending him.

Now it's all up to Phantom Girl, who has somehow fixed the cable - but Chemical King has collapsed from the strain and Brainy is unsure if it's too late to stop the explosion. Phantom Girl emerges from the sphere, also collapsing from the srain, as the city lights come on.

Comments:This story should lead into the one in which Chemical King dies and strangely foreshadows it: Condo tries to control a radioactive reaction which would destroy Metropolis. Sort of a warm-up for the big event. Here, he passes out from the effort; next time the radiation itself will kill him.

Fenton Pike fails to destroy everything, but he certainly wreaks some havoc. How many citizens died before this disaster was brought under control? I don't believe we ever see Fenton Pike again, so maybe he was executed - or locked away securely for a long, long time.

Unlike the recent issues we've reviewed, there isn't much character development. We see the heroes behaving heroically, saving people, risking their own lives, but the interchange between them feels a bit wooden. They do work well as a team, the sum of the parts winning the day.

We do learn that Condo is trying to prove himself after being inactive for several months, but aren't told why. It does explain his lack of appearances, but we don't know if he's been ill, put on office duties or spending some time at the Legion Academy.

The Powersphere will return as part of the scenery, or plot, in future stories. We also learn that Legion HQ is inertron-shielded, apparently the only such edifice in Metropolis, since Pike fled there and not to some other place where he would be unlikely to stumble into a Legionnaire. (How cheap is inertron? It sounds expensive, but Jo's pal Si on Rimbor had his apartment clad in the metal, which suggests its not all that expensive. Maybe Fenton just wanted to get caught.)

There's some over-explaining of things, but I assume this is for readers who may be unfamiliar with the Legion and picked up the Special for one or the other two stories, featuring Batman and Aquaman. (The cover gives the impression that all the heroes are involved in the same disaster; the inside page splits the issue into three separate tales.) Not a bad story for a short one, given that context. It has the makings of a good action film, with the build-up of the powersphere radiation and the expanding destruction of Metropolis creating a lot of tension.

Har-har! Had you even been born then, pumpkin?

Good bit of history on the anthologies. I wonder who did in fact track down all these Legion appearances?



Absolutely! It's a shame no writer wanted to take on that character.



Another interesting and revealing contribution, Cobie! I find it difficult to discern the effects of different inkers.



I did have a less favourable view of the characterization, but perhaps I was being too harsh.



It was interesting. It's the sort of thing that's added to comics like Brubaker's to entice people to buy the monthly over the TPB>

DC Special 28

This one was new to me until a couple of months ago (thanks re-reads thread!) and I quite enjoyed it.

I got the feeling there was a certain nod to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis in the story. Disaster befalls a futuristic city due to its central power source being compromised. We have that mix of transport: craft flying through the city; transport tubes and plazas for those walking. The large cracks in the city, once the power has been turned off, also gave a pleasantly familiar feeling.

But all that just nicely adds to the central idea of a focused disaster in an urban area, much like so many later disaster movies.

The small number of Legionnaires works well in this short story. The choice is also interesting. We get a mention of Tyroc, but he isn’t one of the cast. Normally, I’d say he was supposed to be there, if it wasn’t for 5 being a standard number for the mission team. About the only one he could have replaced was Timberwolf, as the others all have parts to play.

Each responds well to the disaster. Normally, we’d see those with passive powers being the ones to rescue people or distract the villain, while the powerhouses took out the villain. Here, it’s switched. It’s Ultra Boy and Timberwolf who go out into the city to save as many as they can. It leaves Condo, Tinya and Querl to solve the Crisis.

While the realisation that the problem lies within the fusion power sphere is clear enough from the start, the solution isn’t as clear. A direct approach won’t work, but by using one power to offset the radiation effects, a second Legionnaire can get to the heart of the power sphere. Sure, the broken, dangling cable inside is a bit obvious. There’s no need for Tinya to remember that nucleonics after all. But it’s nice to see a writer put at least one obstacle in the heroes path.

This story foreshadows Condo’s death in Superboy #228, although it is cover dated a month later. He mentions that he has been on the side lines for months. This feeds into his feelings of self-worth, as well as being an honest assessment of how little used he was. When tackling the radiation, Condo comments that he can’t handle all of the radiation it throws off. Brainy gets him to slow down the reaction inside, and that overwhelms Condo in the end. The scenario is so close to the one that caused his death, that this could have been used as the death issue for Condo.

Tinya also collapses at the end. Her powers make her very resistant to radiation, but she’s not immune to it. This could have easily been her death scene too, had the writer wanted to take her out of the Legion. So, there are some high stakes in the story, enhanced by seeing so much of the city throughout.

The villain doesn’t have to be a high profile one to raise tensions. I quite liked the use of Pike. He’s recent enough that people might remember him, and it’s better than using some obscure character from further back. Although he’s had an upgrade, Pike’s seems to have given up on extortion and is out for revenge, even if he has to die in the process. It’s a chilling look at a terrorist action that we can see in our world today.

There are questions about who would be behind Pike’s new equipment that could lead into another story. His outfit looks almost Kirbyesque.

In summary, a short tense story, with art that was capable of showing wide scale disaster and personal moments just as well. It was a nice touch to give Condo a little more panel time before his demise.

Incidentally, Don Newton did a pretty good Aquaman in this issue.

DC Special # 28:

According to the Legion Wiki, this issue was published on March 7, 1977, two weeks ahead of Superboy # 228 (March 21)--so there was no continuity flub, as we've been assuming. This squares away with my very dim memories of reading the issue at the time. I recall only being delighted that Chemical King participated in this story, not being put off by anything related to his death.

The story itself is well intended but meh. I chalk it up to a "day in the life" type of story, even though this day in the Legion's life involves saving 30 million people from a nuclear holocaust. There aren't any standout character moments (although Phantom Girl again saves the day from a type of bomb, just as she did back in 220). The Legionnaires do what they need to do, but we learn nothing new about them and nothing really changes because of this story.

Cobie makes a good point about characterization, though, especially Brin's faith in Brainy. It was also interesting to see Condo attack Pike with his fists as opposed to using his power. This Condo feels like he needs something to prove.

I did appreciate the art--to a point. Scenes of Metropolis in flames were uncommon in the current Legion series, so there is a much more adult sensibility here--especially in Timber Wolf looking down in horror at the chaos on Page 7.

I said the art was good to a point because my major beef at the time was that Arvell Jones apparently got Tinya and Condo's costumes wrong. Tinya looks like she's slipped on a nightshirt, and Condo wears a darker version of his old Adventure-era costume. Of course, one might assume that they had different variations of their costumes, but, as a teenager, such glaring "errors" mattered to me.

Yes, it's mighty convenient that Pike would select the deserted Legion HQ as his hideout. (The other Legionnaires are all on leave, we are told.) But it gives Levitz a chance to work in another piece of continuity. The sub-basement where Mordru was once imprisoned is a call-back to Adventure # 369.

For me, the biggest disappointment is that the story ends abruptly. In terms of dramatic structure, there is a denouement and a resolution. The denouement is the ending of the story, when all the strands are woven together (e.g., Dorothy gets back to Kansas); the resolution is the outcome: the "What then?" or "Why does it matter?" part (e.g., Dorothy wakes up with her family and friends and realizes "there's no place like home.") Without a resolution, a story can feel incomplete, and that's how this story feels to me. The tale ends with Chem and Tinya collapsing, and "the proud city still stands!" But there is nobody to sum it all up, explain what we've learned, or otherwise give it that final "So what?"

I don't mean to be too harsh on the story. It was great to see the Legion get a crack at another DC book. Fans who picked up DC Special 28 for Batman and Aquaman might have been exposed to the Legion for the first time and curious enough to check out their own series. And it was great to see the team marshal into action without Superboy front and center. But the story just left me wanting more--and it still does.