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

They ought to revive Fenton Pike based on his name alone.

Would you believe Paul Levitz?

Only you would say that... Of course, given the state of our cities' infrastructure today, it is sort of familiar.



Five often do make up the mission team. I wonder how many stories use that number of characters? Good observation. Also, the mention of Tyroc sort of keeps him alive to the reader, unlike the total absence of Chemical Kid in stories.



Another good point; Levitz adds to the characters by expanding their customary roles.



Furthermore, Tinya isn't on a communicator to Brainiac 5; she's solving the problem herself.



I hadn't thought about someone being behind Pike's actions. Dark Circle again? And that suit is very Kirby-inspired.



Still haven't read the other two stories.

That makes more sense.



That was my feeling as well, but Cobie (as you note) and Thoth raised some points about characterization which were subtle but did add to their personalities.



Growing realism in comic book art? We really did have a sense that this was a major disaster.



That's the mark of a devoted Legion fan!



Missed this! More Levitzian history mining!



Also, no mention of something like, "We've got a big clean-up and repair job here!"

I kept thinking he was Captain Pike from Star Trek, but that was Christopher Pike.


I would absolutely believe that!

#230 The Creature Who Conned the Legion by Paul Levitz, art by James Sherman & Jack Abel



Five Legionnaires (Superboy, Sun Boy, Dream Girl, Brainiac 5, Element Lad) are on Remor, honoured by the population. They stand within in a small-scale Stonehenge type circle, surrounded by dwellings carved out of rock. The assembled Remorians are very small.

Superboy leaps into the air, followed by Element Lad, to smash rocks from what looks like an erupting volcano. It's an earthquake, unknown to the planet which is solid bedrock. Wait! It's a volcano, because Element Lad tries to change the lava to gas, but can't handle it all. Superboy keeps smashing falling rocks which threaten to hit people and the two of them begin rescuing the tiny individuals. Superboy mentions that their size is an advantage for mining.

Meanwhile, Sun Boy and Brainy examine the problem; there's no cure for earthquakes, but Brainy advises Dirk to fuse the fissure, which appears to be the source of the shocks, using his solar power. This works; the Remorians suspect Earth has turned against them (somehow) although Earth has always welcomed them to mine its depths. Element Lad promises to find answers and prevent future problems.

Not so fast, E-Lad! A voice cries out to not promise what you can't deliver; it's an incredibly strange creature, who swears that the quakes will return. As Superboy and Sun Boy fly towards the strange sentient, he teleports behind them. Dream Girl pauses to predict where the creature will appear next, and the Legionnaires grab him.

The creature cries that it means no harm but has come to protect the Remorians. Sun Boy admits that they did jump before asking questions and should listen to the creature, who calls himself Sden, a sorcerer from the galaxy of Trevenon. He seeks to recover the Crystal of Catastrophe, which his people had sent into the void but which had drifted back to inhabited space - and was causing the quakes on Remor. Sden did not have enough power to destroy the crystal but would take it back to his home planet. He sends the Legionnaires to retrieve it from a distant volcano; they fly off, with Nura looking suspicious. She has no premonition, but voices her vague sense of unease to the team.

Sad Sack Sden now has a look of evil on his face, thinking that once he gets the crystal, he will have supreme power. He has duped the Legionnaires!!!

The boys descend into the volcano, protected by Brainy's forcefield and Superboy's cape; Nura remains above. Too dangerous for a girl? The lead ore prevents Superboy from finding the crystal with x-ray vision, so he smashes rocks at super-speed. However, Element Lad can sense the composition of substances, and finds the crystal first.

Nura advises that they take some precautions before giving Sden the crystal. Superboy stalls Sden, asking for more information, but Sden grabs the box with the crystal and starts causing more quakes. He declares he will destroy the Legionnaires as he opens the box, which explodes in fire. Element Lad had coated the crystal with phosphorous, since Nura suspected Sden couldn't handle fire (which is why he didn't get the crystal from the volcano).

Sun Boy encases the sorcerer in fire, as Element Lad congratulates "Beautiful" for her instincts. Nura reminds them that her premonitions are a valid super-power. She had foreseen that the crystal would enable Sden to defeat Mordru and the Legion - but she also observed that Sden avoided Sun Boy. Sden vows that the Legion will regret this, but they just cart him off to Takron Galtos. Superboy takes the crystal to the 20th century, where it will be safe from Sden's reach.

However, the closing text hints that the crystal will be causing some problems in Superboy's story in Adventure #453 and announces the next Legion issue, a 60 cent Giant. Oh, those were the days....

Comments: I suppose the deceptive stranger is as old a story as they come. We've seen this any number of times with the Legion, so it's not a surprise that Sden turns out to be the bad guy, regardless of the title.

He's certainly a strange one, a real Adventure style bad guy. Something else else to make kids laugh - and the way his sad con-man face was drawn did make me smile. He's a one-shot character, as are his planet, galaxy and the Remorans.

The Crystal of Catastrophe also strikes me as a bit tongue in cheek, the sort of thing you'd have in the early stories. Nevertheless, it makes me think back to Mordru's crystal that Stargrave wanted. Will there be a crystal war? I know there won't, but it seems like a set-up for one. I have no idea what happens to Superboy with the crystal.

There was some confusion for me in the story: I suppose what looked like a volcano at the start could have been the effect of the earthquake, but I didn't get why the Remorians blamed Earth for the quakes.

Yet another mining industry! I swear, it's about the only thing they do in the future. It's all over sci fi stories and movies in general; interesting how much of our view of the future of space is related to resource extraction. Why else leave Earth?

Our girl Nura shines in this story! It's not just her power, but her smarts that save the day. She's really becoming a character of substance in these last few issues. Element Lad calls her beautiful twice in this story - plans for a romance that were abandoned? Or just expressing his appreciation of fine things?

I think the main point of the story was to add to Dream Girl's accomplishments. There was also the unusual use of Sun Boy's power to seal a rock fissure. It was kinda nice to see Element Lad find the crystal instead of Superboy, for once.

#230 Back-up Story: The Day Bouncing Boy Bounced Back by Paul Levitz, art by Mike Nasser & Jack Abel

While the Legionnaires were on Shangalla for Chemical King's burial, Chuck Taine is holding the fort back at Legion HQ. A red alert sends him running to find the problem, as he informs the reader that he is a reservist now, and powerless.

An SP Officer confronts him with a threat, pointing a blaster, but that doesn't stop Chuck. "Although overweight, and out of shape, he fights on" as a mist fills the corridor and both he and the SP Officer pass out. They come to, encased in spheres of energy and the SP says that he must have missed some of the defense controls. Chuck accuses him of tampering; the morpheus gas and energy cages are part of LSH defenses. Officer Dvron claims he was sent to keep an eye on the HQ while the Legionnaires were on Shangalla; Chuck is surprised they didn't know that the Reserve takes care of that task.

The spheres could be disabled if they could reach the controls, but Chuck lost his power to bounce and Dvron dropped his blaster - and both of them will suffer if word of this fiasco gets out. An annoyed Chuck punches the sphere, then notices his hand is swelling just like it did under his balloon power. The energy has recharged the elastic serum in his cells! If he puts his whole body in contact with the energy, he figures his power will be completely restored. Dvron cautions that this could kill him, but Chuck says it will be worth it; at least he would die a hero, as Bouncing Boy.

With his bouncing power, he breaks through the sphere, and makes Dvron promise to keep secret the restoration of his power before releasing the officer. Explaining, Chuck says that he wants to stay married and, if it's known his power is back, wife will worry that he's "sneaking off for some action".

The final panel shows Garth and Imra thanking Chuck and saying guard duty was almost like having his powers back. Chuck confirms that his super-powered days are gone, forever. The story closes with "Never the end".

Comments: A nice little tale with a big impact for Chuck Taine. He's let himself go (but wasn't he always overweight, except for that period after the Devil's Dozen story?), but he's still a Legionnaire at heart. Guarding the HQ seems like a big job for one guy - Lu must be visiting her mom this weekend - but there are all those defenses which Dvron triggers. Dvron's reason for being there - his boss was concerned about an empty HQ - seems false; I'd wager the boss said to go test those defense systems and see what you can learn.

It's a bit of a shortcoming that the energy bubbles can be broken by Chuck's power; what other powers could be used to escape from them? Their main purpose is to give him back his bouncing power, though, so we overlook the defensive weakness.

There's that silly "no marriage" rule again - you just know it's got to go sooner than later, or there'll be nobody left in the Legion but Brainy. I've got to figure Levitz intended to have the double entendre of "sneaking off for some action". It's the sort of thing Chuck could say with sincerity; coming from anyone else, it evokes raised eyebrows.

We're left figuring that, at some point, Chuck will be back in the Legion as Bouncing Boy. It never happens, but we will see him in full inflatable glory in the Academy stories (if not before; I don't recall). "Never the end" - a hopeful sentiment for Legion fans.

This story has more impact for me than the main one; it draws from the past - Dvron, Chuck, the Legionnaires on Shangalla - and sets up the future. There's a logical reason why everyone is where they are, unlike the Legionnaires on Planet Remor. Something else else concrete happens, which will play out in some future story. That's a bit of hindsight, but it felt like a more complete tale than the one with Sden the Con-Man Sorcerer.

Familiar from the film! Honestly, you guys... tee hee hee

Another issue? spots cover. Oh. that one is it? >sigh<

Superboy 230

Well, now we know what happened to Stonehenge. Legionnaires and earth tremors. More cracks appear in this issue, following a structural, and not any other thank you Cramer ,trend from last issue.

Levitz spoils things in the first page, by letting us know that whatever’s happening is part of a fraud. That certainly takes the tension away. Then there’s the title, just to make sure. I prefer the “Death of a Legend” approach, where at least the reader is kept guessing a little.

Levitz seems to have some fun with the dialogue in the opening pages. Superboy gets in a size related one-two and Sun Boy and Brainy both carry on treating earthquakes in terms of “disease”, “cure”, “immune” etc. It would be a few years later before Stallone would reduce this chat to “You’re the disease. I’m the cure.” (Cobra- courtesy of Look-It-Up-Lad). Governor Humph is a great name for a bureaucrat.

I first saw Sden in the Who’s Who of the Legion series. He looked more than a little silly. He’s a bit better in the actual issue. Only a little though. He’s like a little kid in the way he can barely contain his evil. Booming when he threatens the Legion, sad faced when caught and then grinning when he thinks he’s tricked our heroes. He does get a particularly evil expression later, when he thinks he’s won. Overall, Sden doesn’t have any depth, which is probably the real reason he gets the Legion to tunnel down into the earth to fetch the crystal he claims is causing the earthquakes.

Nura gets to be on this mission, mainly as she gets to use her powers to help capture the teleporting Sden. Normally it would be a shame to see a character used so obviously. But here, Nura’s powers are working in combat to predict moves. It’s a far cry from having her collapse with a vision that would prove to be misleading. Nura is also the one who always has suspicions of Sden’s intentions. There’s a hint of a danger sense about her powers. With Dirk there, it’s really odd hearing Jan call her beautiful. Considering his shyness around Officer Erin later, it seems that Levitz might have had different plans for the Tromian.

The Legion find the crystal easily enough with Jan, Kal, Dirk and Querl on the team. But digging into the blazing fissures looks good. I note that Dirk has to absorb heat getting into Brainy’s force shield, giving it quite a weakness.

Following Nura’s advice, although she has to explain her power to them, the team easily trick Sden. As much as I seem critical of him, it turns out that we both share the same weakness. I have problems when being engulfed in infernos too!

Sden is shipped off, in a cell that going to burn his feet, and Superboy flies off with the crystal into the very unusual territory of a plot continuation in another title.

230/Creature Who Conned the Legion

This story reads like a throwback to the Bates era of "clever" plots and minimal characterization--only here, the process is reversed. There is some (quite good) characterization and an overly obvious plot that fools no one--least of all the Legionnaires.

The title itself gives the deception away, and it is really the Legionnaires who do more conning than Sden. Perhaps the title should be "The Creature Who Was Conned by the Legion."

I did appreciate the expanded role for Nura and the proactive use of her power. I can't recall if her power is used this way again; if not, it should have been. It makes her a much more effective character. It's also good to see the seeds planted for her emerging as one of the most intelligent Legionnaires and a future leader. These traits of Nura's seem to have sprung out of this story.

Mostly, though, the story reads like filler. In the next issue, the book would expand in length, so something had to be published until the change was ready to be implemented.

Sden was certainly an odd looking creature, though. It's nice to see some alien-looking aliens for a change instead of aliens based on humans or earth-based animals.

I read the line as "earth" being used in the general sense of dirt or ground, not planet Earth.

Perhaps it should have been called a Remorquake.

230/Bouncing Boy



I love this idea! It makes much more sense than what we're given.

What's harder for me to accept is that Dvron recognizes Bouncing Boy--and even calls him by name--yet pulls his blaster on him and fights him. One would think that, whatever pretext was used to get him there, the Science Police officer would withdraw once he saw the HQ was guarded by a real live Legion Reservist.

As a teenager, I loved this story so much more than the main story. It was great to see Chuck again, and for his power to be restored. I was disappointed, though, that he chose to keep its restoration a secret. It would be like a friend learning he can walk again and telling no one. I wanted the Legionnaires to rejoice for him! They needed some good news.

His reason for keeping it a secret is wonky. I hadn't thought about the double-entendre until Cramey pointed it out! So, Lu thinks he's gonna sneak out to play hero, huh? Just what was she doing while he was guarding the HQ. anyway?

It was good to see Dvron again. The Legion really needed some more non-Legionnaire supporting characters.

I also want to quibble with the notion of so many Legionnaires being away from earth to attend the funeral for Chemical King. Sure, everyone was grieving, but it would make more sense for the team to pay its respects in shifts rather than en masse. Even when Chuck and Lu got married, Mon-El--the mightiest member and then leader--stayed on duty, as did Shadow Lass. Too many stories rely on most of the team being on leave (such as DC Special 28) or elsewhere for flimsy reasons when disaster strikes.

Sigh, the problems with growing up and looking at these stories through a more adult perspective.

Logic problems aside, I did enjoy this story. It's great to see Chuck regain his "hero card" after he felt so powerless back in 216.

[snip]





Henny Youngman Lad! Let's give 'im a round of applause, Fans!

An honour to be in the same post


So Karate Kid joins the army. Kills himself the first time he salutes.

Yera Allon has just gone on a pleasure trip. She took her mother in law to the spaceport.

-Henny Youngman Lad

<rim shot>

His opener couldn't be here tonight, Folks. Y'see, she's Talokian and the club owner warned 'im: "Y'can't work blue here!"

MWAH! Thank you! And don't forget t'tip yer' servers!!

Henny Youngman Lad is now a thing!

Superboy 230 – Backup

He might be a reservist, but Chuck doesn’t hesitate in charging down a gun wielding intruder. The caption might consider him “overweight, and out of shape” but he gives as good as he gets against a science police officer. Chuck can do this because he was always about much more than his powers. He’s brave, resourceful and perceptive, seeing the wider picture.

That’s what this story is really about for me. Chuck’s ability to see the wider picture. The writers may constantly give Chuck self-doubts over his abilities or place in the Legion to overcome. They may have colleagues chuckle at his powers, his girlfriends or have people like Dvron say “You’ll be more of a laughingstock than ever.” But readers see the actions on the page. Despite the text, it’s always been clear that Chuck is so much more than that.

Here, Chuck regains his powers, but asks for it to be kept secret so he can keep his relationship with Luornu as it is. There’s a lot you can read into this action. Is Chuck really concerned that Lu will worry about him trying to get back into action? Or is it the opposite, in that Chuck doesn’t want Luornu to want them both to be more active, possibly even pushing for a rule change?

Events such as Lelith and the TMK Lu’s personalities may give Chuck another reason to want them both to have a quieter life in the reserve.

Chuck got the girl(s) of his dreams and Lu finally gave up pining for Superboy. Why rock that boat? Looking back at the Adventure tales of longing and fake marriages in the Legion, Chuck and Lu have come a lot further.

While Garth & Imra worry about how they can possibly stay in the Legion while being married (>gasp< but it’s in the Legion constitution!), Chuck & Lu might already be looking at a life beyond the team. I like to think that they’re already looking at the possibilities of getting involved in the Academy.

Chuck’s decision to give up an active life as a Legionnaire is more progressive than nearly every other super-character.

It’s also eerily similar to the film Unbreakable, released years later, where Bruce Willis’ character hides his superpowers so he can stay with his sweetheart.

Chuck’s breaking of the fourth wall in the last panel simply reinforces how forward thinking this character is. He knows that there are more important things in his life, and he may be trying to tell the reader the same thing. As he stands there with super-cool couple, Garth and Imra, I can imagine lots of readers connecting with Chuck’s secret. He’s still really special he might be saying. And so are you, even if you’re not one of the cool group.

As for this story, it showed Dvron as a bit slow witted. Not recognising Chuck in his own HQ is pretty dim. Threatening to shoot him is stupid. I can only imagine that Dvron is related to someone at the head of the SP, sort of like G’nort was later on with the Lanterns, or he’s a Dark Circle clone gone wrong. I can’t imagine how he got the job.

Great insights, thoth. Once again, you've noticed things that I either glossed over or didn't think much of when I first read these stories or even on re-reading them.

I especially appreciate your thoughts about why Chuck kept his restored power a secret. Not wanting to rock the boat makes perfect sense.

As we've been going through these re-reads, I've been troubled by something that I used to take for granted: that these young people, who had been heroes for several years at this point, underwent relatively few personal changes and largely stayed together--an interesting phenomenon for such a large team. In the "real world," they would be graduating, getting married, having kids, considering other career options, and dealing with ailing parents--all of which would drive some of them in different directions. The Legionnaires lived in their own bubble, where they wanted and needed nothing else but the Legion.

As a teenager and into my 20s, I loved this aspect of the series because change is hard, and it's never pleasant to say goodbye to friends. However, as an adult (or something thereof), I've come to appreciate that change is inevitable. It's better to grab it by the horns and take control of it rather than let it always happen to you or to cling desperately to something that is no longer working. Embracing change often leads to a better and happier life.

Chuck might have realized this long before any of his former teammates did. He was forced into change by the loss of his power. But, having embraced that change, he never looked back.

You're right: There was so much more to him than his powers.

Good discussion about Chuck Taine! Now I'm thinking there should be a Best of Chuck Taine/Bouncing Boy Collection.

#231 A Day in the Death of a World by Paul Levitz, art by James Sherman & Jack Abel, cover by Mike Grell



The opening page sets up the story: The planet Mordan has 24 hours before its sun goes nova, the Legion is tasked with evacuating the one million residents, the Fatal Five get involved and will kill Karate Kid and Projectra unless Mordan and its people die a flaming death.

When their space cruiser is seized by a tractor beam, Karate Kid and Princess Projectra are captured and imprisoned by Tharok and Validus.

On Mordan, six Legionnaires are frantically trying to evacuate everybody. Superboy, Mon-el and Ultra Boy are building arks, Colossal Boy is directing people into them, Saturn Girl is
getting the evacuation message out to everybody and Shadow Lass is, um, standing around, cautioning Imra to not strain herself. (We learn from Imra's message to the people that the High Seer of Naltor had a vision of their destruction.)

In space, Brainiac 5 and Element Lad are examining the sun, protected by Sun Boy's ability to cancel solar flares. The Emerald Empress shows up, blasting the Legionnaires. Element Lad encases her in inertron, but she breaks free as Brainy and Jan tend to an unconscious Sun Boy.

The Empress tells them that the Eye leaves a residue of energy within her, which enabled her to smash the inertron casing herself.

Saturn Girl leads Shadow Lass to a village, tracking some helpless thoughts, which she doesn't understand. When Shady sees a group of abandoned, small children, she rushes to comfort
them, declaring that anyone but Imra would understand how frightened they muat be. Imra responds with a zinger, saying they aren't there to adopt the kids, but to evacuate them. Validus interrupts the discussion, tearing the village apart, as Persauder prepares to kill the kids. He's stalled by Shadow Lass, but his axe cuts through darkness - yet before he can strike Shady, Mon-el, Ultra Boy and Colossal Boy show up.

Battles continue on land (and in space with the Empress) until Tharok intervenes and announces that destruction of Mondor and its people by nova-heat will create "pure priceless energite". This will enable the Five to buy their own place in the galaxy. One has to seriously wonder about real estate prices.

Pages of battle follow between Legionnaires and various members of the Five; in the end, the villains escape. They reunite aboard Tharok's ship, to be encountered by Val and Jeckie who
have fought their way out of imprisonment on the vessel.

Meanwhile, Legionnaires on Mondor race to complete the evacuation and launch an effort to delay the nova.

On Tharok's ship, Val and Jeckie have been imprisoned again - Val breaks free as Gim and Jo arrive. On a display screen, villains and heroes alike watch the sun go nova ahead of schedule, as the other Legionnaires arrive to subdue the Four. (The Empress is facing off against Mon-el in space - then she and the Eye vanish, to reappear on Tharok's ship.) Tharok knows it can't be an illusion, since Projectra's power is still disabled. The villains are defeated and shackled. Brainy has to guess how to deactivate the bomb that Tharok planted in Mordan's sun. Tharok is able to hit a self-destruct switch with his foot and the ship tears apart; the Legionnaires escape into space, shielded by Brainy's forcefield and leaving the Fatal Five behind.

The remaining residents are evacuated from Mondor and the Legion departs, as the sun explodes.

Superboy explains to Val, Jeckie and the readers that the nova seen aboard Tharok's ship was a fake: Shady eclipsed the planet and its sun, while Sun Boy and Superboy faked the nova. Tharok, seeing this, had rushed to his console, thereby indicating which one button controlled the solar bomb.

Superboy further declares that he doubts the Five are dead, since they've escaped before, and he vows they'll pay for what they did to Mondor.


Comments: This is a very full issue, 34 pages of story. Although we're told at the very start that the Fatal Five are behind Mordan's demise, we don't learn why or how until much later, building the suspense.

Mordan is introduced with a "Geographia Galaxia" entry, precursor to the Encyclopedia Galactica items which ran throughout Levitz' later stories.

This isn't the first - or last - time that the Legion evacuates a doomed planet, but this mission goes amazingly well, given the circumstances. It's a bit unrealistic, 24 hours for one million
people, but what's a story without a challenge?

We get some interesting character moments throughout the story. Shady displays her soft, motherly side with the abandoned children and castigages Imra for her unfeeling attitude.
Although Shady will later be seen comforting a young Leland McCauley, it's not a side of her that really sticks; later versions, even written by Levitz, portray her as more aloof. The legend of Iron-Butt Imra is beginning to form.

We also see Tharok dissing the Empress: is she incompetent as he claims, or does he fear her challenges to his leadership? She seems to be a more deadly character than the other three, who
may be much more under his control.

There are several references to Val returning to the 20th century. Jeckie's power doesn't work on machinery in this issue, which hasn't always been the case. Despite this and having their Flight Rings taken by Tharok, they fight on. Projectra, however, is more window-dressing in this story than anything else. Sun Boy makes an odd comment at the end about having always told her that she wasn't the only one who can create illusions - but he loves her anyway. I wonder what untold tale that refers to!

Persuader summons Validus with a "Here, boy!" This Validus is a faithful dog, not a talking monster - but a very big, dangerous dog.

There's plenty of good teamwork and power display in the confrontations with the Fatal Five. Superboy, for once, doesn't dominate the action; in fact, he's knocked out when he attacks
Tharok's ship. (When I saw Mon-el face off against the Empress, I figured HWW would be pleased.) Although the Legionnaires finally gain the upper hand, it hasn't been easy: the Five are
truly formidable opponents. I would be disappointed if they had been absolutely destroyed, with no chance for future stories.

There's also the split between saving the Mordanites and saving their fellow Legionnaires. Mon-el leaves the mission to confront the Empress and rescue Brainy, Element Lad and Sun Boy. Superboy reminds the team that they have to save the Mordanites rather than try a futile attack on Tharok's ship - but once the evacuation is under control, Ultra Boy and Colossal Boy head off
to rescue Projectra and Karate Kid.

That the Five thought they could murder an entire planet and enjoy the proceeds undisturbed leaves one to question their logic, or sense of reality. Do we ever see Energite used again in a Legion story?

The artwork has gone up a notch, in my opinion. There are a number of close-up face shots which look like they could come out of a fashion magazine (the females are particularly favoured with these close-ups).

I always considered the "Giant" issues to be one of the highlights of Legion history. At around this same time Steve Englehart was writing some of the best Justice League of America issues ever published. Not coincidentally, these were also published in the "Giant" format.

231:

This story is quite a breath of fresh air after so many years of mediocre tales and half-formed ideas. It's good to see the Legionnaires struggle for once, and get into a dirty, knock-down fight with their most dangerous enemies. The Fatal Five earn their name in this story.

Some of the logic problems are a bit much, though. The Legionnaires not only evacuate an entire world in 24 hours, but they are also capable of building spaceworthy vessels to transport the population. These guys are not only heroes but master builders and engineers who can churn out spaceships as easily as Big Macs. Now we see where our fast-paced, fast food society will lead.

But we've no less than 11 Legionnaires active in this story (but no Garth, despite his appearance on the cover), some nice continuity from Karate Kid's own series (he's returning to the past following issue # 10 of his series), a dramatic plot with the clock ticking, plenty of complications, and some nice character moments. Who could ask for more?

Well, I will. Levitz is still feeling his way as a writer, and some transitions are rather jarring. Mano simply pops in from nowhere--in Shadow Lass's dark cloud, no less--without an introduction, and Colossal Boy's closeup reaction to being hit in the stomach on the next page comes across as oddly comical. I get the feeling that it and Panel 2 should have been transposed. Blame it on the artist, perhaps.

Speaking of the art, I agree that many of the faces are distinct and attractive. But overall the art feels uneven to me. I still can't get used to Staton's inks over Sherman's pencils. Scenes that should be dynamic, such as the outer space fight scenes, come across as flat and uninspiring.

However, I did enjoy Mon-El's active role in this story. Not only does he show no compunction about hitting a woman (or swatting her Evil Eye so it hits her), but he also comes up with a clever although ultimately failed plan to maroon the Persuader. Who knew an atomic axe could cut through gravity?

But the expanded cast means that not everyone gets to shine, and so Jeckie becomes window dressing indeed. Also, Dirk and Jan have significant roles in the mission, but their roles in the story are mainly walk-ons. In his second tenure, Levitz would figure out how to manage such a large cast so that everyone's favorite could be a star. Here some Legionnaires feel like extras.

So, "A Day in the Death of a World" is a good story, but not one I generally think of when I think of classic Legion tales. Nor is it especially memorable as a Fatal Five story. But we do get to see Levitz's vision for the Legion take shape, and that's a plus.



The word balloon actually points to Val, but it's a bit unclear.

I loved Steve Englehart's JLA stories. I always wondered what he could have done with the Legion.

Squeezing in some commentary on #230 before I catch up to #231:

Overall, I found the first story to be a bit of filler, though with nice characterization for Nura, and also the others to a lesser extent (including their overall just friendly, comfortable nature with each other). But as HWW said, it felt very much like an Adventure comics story, with a bit of a ridiculous villain and paper thin plot. Also, the art really felt bland.

Meanwhile, I really loved the Bouncing Boy story! Nasser's art was on fire, and Levitz loads a lot of things to like: Chuck gets his powers back (yay! As it should be!), Dvron returns, Condo's final resting place and just a fun little story with a great interaction. I really just flat out enjoyed it, although at first the ending with Chuck's keeping it secret didn't mesh with me. But reading through the comments here really opened my eyes to other possible motivations for Chuck (via some brillaint insight by Thoth)--and I have to say, I really buy into that! It gives me yet another reason to like Chuck, and becomes another part of the Luornu / Chuck thread in LSH history.

All in all though, I feel like the series has a very pleasant rhythm at this point. Even on issues like this one, I'm enjoying the reread immensely.