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Superboy & the Legion of Superheroes #249

The second part of the story started last issue finishes here and unfortunately it ends as only half an issue’s worth of story. Considering the structure, where the entire first issue and now half of this half-story are spent trying to figure out the mystery, and then only a few pages are shown defeating the enemy, the story just felt flat and rushed. A much better approach IMO, would have been revealing the enemy at the end of last issue. Here, we learn its Mantis Morlo and he’s beaten like two pages later…thereby cursing him forever to the ranks of super-villains who don’t really feel all that threatening.

While it wasn’t a terrible story I can’t help but complain some more: I don’t like the continued characterization of Mon-El but I know we’re in for that in the longhaul. RJ Brande’s inclusion really didn’t serve any purpose other than starting the subplot of his bankruptcy which will be followed up on in a few issues. Overall, this felt like many late Silver Age / early 70’s stories that just couldn’t stick the landing after a good initial set-up.

One good part I liked, which FC pointed out, is Garth now having to assume the responsibilities of leadership and all the stress and doubt that comes with that. Conway plays it subtly and it works nicely.

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The back-up story featuring Chameleon Boy was actually a nice little Cham back-up that was fun and had a good twist ending—very good for an 8 page back-up or so (though for half an issue, perhaps it ran a little long). The clever twist at the end, which most Legion fans probably could see coming, was very gratifying and makes Cham look good. And the artwork, with both pencils and inks by Joe Staton, was good too! It looked a little like early Walt Simonson.

My only complaint is Cham’s super-flirting felt a little out of character and almost fan-fictiony to me. That being said, I do like Applyn Jeryl a lot, and like the idea of her being romantic with Cham. Cham seems to have a lot of casual girlfriends over the years—perhaps he’s the real Legion ladies man?!

Overall though, this was a good effort.

Good catch! Now that you mention it, it does kind of look like they might have been gearing Cham up as a recurring back-up feature. And of all the Legionnaires, he clearly is the one most rife with possibility. I'd like to see that today, even.



I agree--Giy Delor would have been a welcome recurring character. He could work really well as a supporting character within a larger story too, considering he's capable and clever, and has worked both sides of the law. I don't think we ever saw him again.

#250 This is the Day the Universe Dies! By Steve Apollo (Jim Starlin) & Paul Levitz, art by dave Hunt, colours Gene D'Angelo, letters Ben Oda]



Chameleon Boy ponders the confirmation that a Legionnaire has betrayed the team. The masked man behind the An Ryd murder confronts him and attacks, leaving Cham unconscious. Wildfire finds him and takes his flight ring since it was pre-arranged to put the information on the traitor there as a back-up copy.

Wildfire assembles the team for an emergency meeting, reviews the An Ryd case, and announces that all he knows is that the traitor is one of them. Suddenly the masked man appears amid them but turns out to be only a hologram. The hologram tells them that this is a game in which they will all fail and the universe will end.

The deep space alarm sounds, as the masked figure claims the game has begun. Superboy and Mon-el head out to investigate and find a monstrous creature calling himself Omega and voicing his hatred of Legionnaires. Mon-el attacks and is rendered unconscious; Superboy takes him for medical help as Omega strides through the galaxy.

At Legion HQ, a concussed Mon-el is examined by Brainiac 5. Sildfire prepares to deploy teams to stop Omega but first claims he has decoded Cham's information and accuses Brainiac 5 of being the traitor. A smirking Brainy confirms this and claims that for all his work, he deserves the life of the universe and Omega will deliver his revenge on the Legion. The Legionnaires are stunned by this tirade, but Wildfire decides to put Brainy in a cell and handle the Omega problem first. Dream Girl warns Wildfire that she has seen he will confront Omega alone and the world will seem to explode.

Legionnaires race off to confront the monster as Wildfire heads off to try and get Brainy to tell him for what secret Omega is coming to Legion HQ.

Comments:

Beautiful cover, with happy Legionnaires. Inconsistent with the story, but a nice cover all the same.

A pretty quick read, despite the momentous events contained in this story. After many issues, we learn the mystery of An Ryd's murder, learn that a crazy Brainy is behind it all and are left with a new mystery: what Omega is seeking which will enable Brainy to carry out his mad plan.

A competent and confident Wildfire takes center stage although Element Lad is Deputy Leader; leader Lightning Lad's absence is unexplained. Supposedly this story was written before the election results were confirmed. At one point, Mon-el addresses Element Lad, while it's Wildfire who gave the command to go into space.

Brainiac 5's madness is a bit of a shocker, but we've had plenty of indications leading up to this moment that he has unresolved issues.

Shady shows her concern for injured Mon-el, gripping Superboy's arm as Mon lies unconscious, but she isn't sitting by his side the whole time: she joins the team to handle the threat.

There are a few other character insights: Timber Wolf's sensitive hearing is hurt by the space alarm, Wildfire wants to spare Dawnstar and sends Mon and Superboy to investigate the deep space danger (although we don't even see Dawnstar in the group).

250:

My standout memory of this issue consists of me matching wits with the writers. In my efforts to figure out the identity of the traitor, I folded the pages back (no crease, of course) so I wouldn’t be tempted by spoilers on the opposite page.

When I got to the bottom of Page 15 and realized that Wildfire was going to go all Hercule Poirot on us, I scurried through the previous pages looking for clues. Then I noticed the odd grin on Brainy’s face at the bottom of Page 5, when everyone else looks shocked at the proclamation that a Legionnaire framed Ultra Boy. Aha!

So, yeah, I figured it out. In hindsight, I appreciate Starlin’s skills as a writer even more for playing fair with the reader, for planting that visual clue which many readers would simply gloss over. But it’s there nonetheless.

In fact, the entire storyline stands as a testimony to Starlin’s skills and to what he could have contributed to the Legion if he’d come back for more or (in my dream world) stuck around as the regular writer/artist. The story builds like a classic murder mystery, yet it feels undoubtedly like a Legion story. Cham uncovers the truth but before he can tell anyone, he’s “offed.” (Nice of Brainy not to make sure his teammate was actually dead.) However, he and Wildfire have planned for this, and Wildfire is able to salvage a clue that will lead to the truth.

Meanwhile, our mysterious masked man unleashes Omega, a being which embodies all the hate of the universe, including each Legionnaire’s own. Omega takes Mon-El out with one blow (and in a rather undignified pose). Superboy, again showing that discretion is the better part of valor (but not Valor), withdraws from the fight and hightails it back to HQ so the team can work out a plan.

All very exciting and dramatic. And that’s just Part One.

Part Two is devoted to Wildfire’s sleuthing and the Big Revelation. Although there’s a lot of talking in this section, it furthers the plot and deepens the emotional stakes. It is a terrible blow to the Legionnaires to learn that their close friend and colleague, the man who comes up with all the brilliant inventions, has concocted a plan to commit murder-suicide on the grandest scale possible. This event needs time to sink in, and Starlin gives it its due. One of my favorite panels in the entire book lies at the top of Page 18, a wordless panel in which Legionnaires just stare into the camera, letting Brainy’s rant sink in. Superboy seems to be rolling his eyes.

However, that panel also contains a major faux pas. It was earlier mentioned that Lightning Lad, the new Legion leader, is away, yet there he is alongside Saturn Girl. They were obviously excluded from this story because it was plotted and probably drawn before they rejoined in 245. But if LL is there, he should be calling the shots, not delegating to Wildfire—a similar problem with deputy leader Element Lad’s fleeting presence.

The continuity gaffes—brought on by the lag in time between Starlin’s contribution and the story’s publication—in no way diminish the power of his storytelling. He even ends with a mystery—just what lies in Legion HQ that Omega is coming for?

On re-read, the story does indeed pass too quickly, and it left me wanting more. However, most Part Ones of two-part stories leave me feeling the same way. It’s not just the necessary suspension one would expect from a continued story; it’s the sense that the first part comes to a forced stopping point. Last night, I watched the “War Without End” two-parter from the third season of Babylon 5, and it felt the same way. So much was crammed into the first part that there was no room for character development or even a “B” story. As a result, the episode—in spite of all the ground covered—feels lacking.

Nevertheless, 250 was an exciting issue when it came out. It rekindled my belief in the possibilities the Legion held, and, even on re-read, that quality comes through loud and clear.

Sharing a couple of random thoughts on the first installment of the Omega 2-parter:

- I've always had mixed feelings about this story, and about Starlin in general. Though he can be good at characterization, I think he's generally better with the protagonists than the antagonists. The latter tend, in my opinion, to be too one-dimensional and abstract (as in the case of Omega) and/or derivative (as in the case of his most famous creation, the Marvel villain Thanos, whom I've always regarded as a weak cousin to DC's Darkseid, and a hollow, shallow nihilist -- on the former matter, Starlin actually has admitted that he pretty much set out initially to create a Darkseid analog. But I digress.)

- Brainiac 5 as a villain. This development was not entirely without warning signs and hints from previous creators, so I don't put all the blame on Starlin, but, Jeez Louise, talk about taking a heroic/anti-heroic character past the point of no return. I love Brainy, flaws and all, but the Preboot version was, in my judgment, forever tainted by his actions in this story, no matter how much it was subsequently "swept under the carpet."

More thoughts on 250 if and when I think of them, and definitely thoughts to come on the conclusion in 251.

Good point about Starlin's villains, Fanfie. Not only are they one-dimensional in personality but also in design. Years later, when I read Dreadstar, I thought the Lord High Papal looked like nothing so much as Omega.

You're also right about the developments concerning Brainiac 5. A few years after this story, an issue of the Legion revealed that



To me, that always seemed like a copout. I wrote a letter to DC and had a snippet of it published in which I argued that Brainy should have pulled the trigger and been forced to live with the guilt. It would have been more "realistic."

In hindsight, I was very naive about the way insanity works. If Brainy was the kind of person who would go over that edge, he should have stayed there. Of course, one can always rationalize that he's an alien with a 12th level intelligence. (In reboot terms, maybe only of his 12 levels was a sociopath.) However, that, too, seems like a copout.

Stories like this work in the long-term only if you are going to make serious and permanent changes in your characters. Alas, Marvel and DC's universes have never worked that way.

Thanks, He Who. Yeah, not only does Lord Papal look like Omega, he looks like Omega on steroids. LOL

(Starlin's self-cannibalization aside, I do have to say that in many ways Dreadstar was, though flawed, far better than any of Starlin's super-hero work; I suspect it was a purer expression of his cosmic visions. And when he handed over the Dreadstar helm to his friend Peter David, the book got even better! I hope that the current series of Dreadstar trades finally makes it through all 64 issues.)



Sad but true. A decidedly mixed blessing is that every few years, the Big Two's universes do evolve for spans of a few years, only to eventually, and inevitably, end up back where they started.

Superboy & the Legion of Super-Heroes #250

The Omega story has always had an epic feeling to it, and that helps propel it as a highlight of this era in my mind. Upon rereading it, that grandiose feel still exists, even though it’s a relatively quick read here. One of the things that makes the story stand out is the gorgeous artwork by Jim Starlin, even if Starlin pulled out before he could really complete the issue.

I like Omega. I think he’s a great looking, super-powerful enemy. One can’t help but wonder what influence his look had on the Servants of Darkness. But I can’t say I love the ‘crazy Brainy’ storyline. “Genius superhero goes crazy” is one of the most overdone tropes in comic books, and its almost always never worth it. The stories just aren’t good enough to justify such a change in character.

Brainy’s poor showing aside, I do like the usage of Wildfire in this issue, who is clearly the star here. It’s one of the stories, especially in the next issue, that cemented my love of the character. One has to wonder why Starlin was so taken with him, but I know I’m not complaining. Likely its simply because Starlin was still writing him as leader, but even so, he seems to really dig the character.

The editorial / written out of order shenanigans have an effect on the story for the most versed readers, which we all are. It’s clear that Levitz went back and added dialogue to mention that Element Lad is Deputy and other things. I never noticed these things when I read this story the first time long before I discovered online Legion fandom. Now, its hard to ignore them.

It’s odd to me that the 250th issue, a good milestone to celebrate, is simply the normal size of a regular comic. Meanwhile, random issues a year earlier were double the size. The 70’s, man.

Thor fans would have to note the huge influence that Kirby’s Thor / Mangog story must have had on Starlin and this story. There are a lot of similarities and Kirby was a big influence on Starln.



This is a really terrific point. Starlin presents us a murder mystery with all the trimmings of an LSH sci-fi superhero story and then turns it into a cosmic superhero slugfest, thereby giving the reader the best of both worlds. That’s a lot to take on, and he does it in spades. I would have loved to see him do another few dozen LSH stories.

I always love when I get the "first time I read it" perspective like HWW does above.

When I first read this, it was my Dad and I were hunting down LSH issues when I was around 16 or 17, which is about a year or two before I met the original LMB (so like 1998 or so). All knowledge I had of LSH history I had to learn on the fly, which meant I had read most of the Adventure Era and most of Levitz onwards through TMK and then the first few years of the postboot. The entire run from Adv 380 to the GDS was a mystery to me, and when I started to fill a lot of those issues in, which was mostly later Conway to start, it was hard to find some real gems to love. But when we randomly got this issue and 251, I totally loved it and was blown away by it. Having no idea about Earth War at the time or a few other stories I liked but didn't know about yet, it felt like an island of cosmic awesomeness in a sea of mediocrity.

Years later, I can see some of its flaws and see some of the positives of the stories I was more negative on, and I also now have a complete collection that includes some gems I didn't have then. But that 'wow' factor of this story definitely still exists.

Cobie, as usual, I can see where you're coming from even though I don't entirely agree.

What I do agree with you 100% on is the great treatment Wildfire gets in the Omega 2-parter.

Cheers.

A minor point, but it's worth noting that Starlin did not "pull out" before completing the issue. According to his interview in the Legion Companion, he had actually completed his contribution--all 64 pages! But Levitz couldn't find time to dialogue it, hence the delay.

It is indeed a shame that this is a normal-sized issue. Starlin plotted and drew it to be a 64-page tabloid. Like the wedding, this story certainly would have merited such special treatment. However, DC cancelled the tabloids and the story had to be edited into two regular-size issues. This means that approximately twenty pages of Starlin's original story and art were cut--one reason why he was unhappy with the final results. (The other reason apparently was the use of Dave Hunt as inker instead of Joe Rubinstein, who was not available. Starlin had drawn the issue anticipating what Rubinstein could complete.)

Both Starlin and Levitz were asked about the missing 20 pages and if it were possible to publish the story as Starlin envisioned it. Both doubted the pages were saved or in any publishable form.

God, that's such a damn shame. (I have the Legion Companion but totally forgot about this).

I would love to read the story as it was done originally! Maybe I have to resurrect my longterm plans of getting a mole hired at DC to be an intern and then helping me break into their legendary comics vault.

Cobie, if and when you do that, could you please ask your mole to also procure the original pages of "Armagedoon 2001" #2, the pages where Captain Atom incontrovertibly turns out to be Monarch?

Absolutely! My mole will do that right before he or she puts laxatives in Dan Didio and Jim Lee's coffee!

#251 The Man Who Destroyed the Universe by Steve Apollo (Jim Starlin) & Paul Levitz, art by Dave Hunt, G. D'Angelo colors, Ben Oda letters



Karate Kid and Projectra ask Brainy how he could have done what he did; he goes on about how many lives he's saved and that he's never been rewarded. As he rants on, claiming his Omega creation will have the power to destroy everything, he collapses.

Omega approaches Earth, confronted by Ultra Boy, Superboy and Dawnstar. Dawnstar locates their prepared dimensional transport bomb among the space debris and sends it flying at Omega, yet he smashes it. Ultra Boy and Superboy also fail to stop the monster.

Wildfire, Jeckie and Karate Kid try to deal with mad Brainy, who gives them a choice between him ruling the universe and Omega destroying it. Wildfire agrees that Brainy should take over; his first order is to bring Matter Eater Lad to Earth.

Omega approaches Legion HQ, oblivious to all attacks. Matter eater Lad has arrived; Jeckie and Val go off to try and block Omega as Wildfire waits within, as foretold to him by Dream Girl. Jeckie confuses Omega momentarily with the illusion of a duplicate; Val strikes but is knocked out. Omega reaches Wildfire, who unleashes all his energy, destroying the HQ. However, Omega still stands – and is greeted by Brainiac 5. He tells Omega that the miracle machine, which Omega intended to use to destroy everything, is itself being destroyed. Omega diminishes and disappears.

Brainy declares that the galaxy will now serve him and tells Timber Wolf and Star Boy that Matter eater Lad has eaten the Miracle Machine, which was the only way to destroy Omega. This has driven Tenzil insane. Timber Wolf and Star Boy agree they have to do something with Brainy.

Wildfire and Superboy sit amid the rubble of the HQ and discuss the situation. Wildfire is discouraged, Superboy is upbeat; in the end, Wildfire declares that, regardless of the difficulty, the Legion will continue to “hold the universe together for another day”.

Comments:

It's disturbing to see Brainiac 5 gone mad. He really looks insane, he's beyond mad scientist. That the Legionnaires must continue to deal with him until they discover his big secret is chilling. They wouldn't know if at any moment, he would totally lose control and do something entirely devastating. After all, he did have the brain power and his thought processes, even when sane, would have been far beyond theirs. They are alternately trying to reason with him and getting fed up with him. I'm not sure this delicate balancing act comes across fully in the comic form, but it does in my imagination.

Wildfire is a true leader in this story. He's calm and resolute; he must have considered Nura's vision of his future and analyzed it from a strategic view, rather than just accepting it as fate, since he's expressed a dim view of her power in the past.

Did Tenzil realize what would happen to him when he ate the Miracle Machine? Even if he had a suspicion, it's truly courageous of him to sacrifice his sanity to save the universe – and to follow the directions of the madman who created the problem. Brainy is as cold and dispassionate as an emperor with a slave; I have to assume that summoning Tenzil was just part of his original plan.

Unlike many villains, Brainy does not want to destroy the Legionnaires, regardless of sacrificing Tenzil. Omega doesn't kill anyone. Brainy wants to rule the universe, but he appears to harbour some concern for his team mates. Or does he just want to see them grovel before him?

It would have been fascinating to read the full story as Starlin had crafted it, with the missing pages. Some of the action to fight Omega might have felt less rushed and there may have been more insight into the Legionnaires' desperation in dealing with Brainy. Nevertheless, the story hits a lot of high points.

What I truly love about this story is the ending (which reads more like pure fanboy Levitz), with Superboy and Wildfire, so often at odds, doing a State of the Legion review. Wildfire is discouraged, Superboy is more upbeat; Wildfire comes around to some resolution. Amid the shambles, courage, determination and hope persist.

LSH #251 has a lot to recommend it, especially, as FC pointed out in her review above, the positive portrayal of Wildfire, and his reconciliation with Superboy at the very end -- this is not the stereotypically hotheaded, impulsive Wildfire so despised by his detractors. Drake simply is what he is, a passionate sentient with a fiery temper, but one who also knows when to dial it down and allow reason (and his natural take-charge skills) to prevail. As the cherry on top, we have Starlin's layouts for the sequence where Drake confronts Omega -- the stalwart, defiant posture, the face-plate flipping up, the energy erupting, the tremendous explosion -- each image with a well-earned place in Legion iconography.

Now, having said all that, I have to admit that I've just never quite been able to swallow the resolution to this conflict. On the one hand, the Miracle Machine was one of my least favorite Legion devices, and I'm glad it was disposed of. But...disposing of it by having Tenzil feast on it?? Unintentionally, there is a cacophonous clash here between the Legion Adventure Era whimsy of old, and the darker, more "serious" Legion which had been emerging in the last few years before this story. It's apples & oranges, in my humble opinion, and it just doesn't jell in any kind of satisfactory way. A pity, really, because this could have been a definitive creative turning point for the Legion. Instead, we have the Legion left with a vague new direction that is neither here nor there. And while in recent years, I have come to find more and more to dislike about Levitz Mark 2 (with the exception of the first 35 issues of the Baxter era, which are sacrosanct to me), I do have to give him credit for finally giving the book some kind of proper balance. But that won't happen for a long time. Patience...

251:
Perhaps the kindest thing to say about the Omega wrap up is that it’s not bad. It’s not great by any means, but it’s not bad. If it were an ordinary Legion outing, it might be above average, but as the long-awaited conclusion to Starlin’s epic, it can’t help but disappoint. That’s what happens when you try to shoehorn a 64-page story into two standard issues.

I do admire Levitz’s talents as a re-arranger. In The Legion Companion, he said he “recreated the story … ran it in an entirely different order with a somewhat different plot than what [Starlin] intended …" (p. 110). The fact that “The Man Who Destroyed the Universe” is at all a coherent story must be some kind of testimony to Levitz’s ability to figure out was necessary and what wasn’t.

However, the finished product feels rushed compared to the gradual build-up of Part 1. Gone is the increasing sense of menace and escalating tension. Now it’s down to just action—stop Omega at all costs—and plot contrivance. For the story to work, we must be willing to accept that Brainy is mad but gullible enough to believe Wildfire is handing him the keys to the universe. We must be willing to accept that he’s carefully orchestrated this scheme yet has changed his end goal from destroying the universe to simply ruling it. And we must be able to accept the realization that the Miracle Machine, which could not be destroyed by the combined might of several Legionnaires back in 213, can now be disposed of through the teeth, jaws, and digestive fluids of a single Bismollian.

The off-hand treatment of the Miracle Machine is perhaps the story’s biggest disappointment for me. Last issue, we were left with the tantalizing clue that Omega was marching toward earth and Legion HQ to retrieve some mysterious object. However, 251 jettisons the mystery. The Miracle Machine isn’t even mentioned until Brainy confronts Omega. There is no “Aha!—That’s what he’s after” moment, no big payoff for keeping us in suspense for a month.

(For that matter, the MM isn’t even shown and is worked into the dialogue without any fanfare. I can only imagine that new readers must have been scratching their heads—as with the timely arrival of Deus ex Tenzil.)

The pluses of the story, however, stand above the series’ regular so-called changes. Legion HQ is destroyed, as is the MM—providing another turning point that separates the series from the plot conveniences left over from the ‘60s. The Legion had made a point of not using the MM to solve previous problems so they wouldn’t be tempted to misuse it. Now they can’t use it—so whatever good the device might have accomplished is also lost. It’s one thing to have a key that solves all your problems and choose not to use it. It’s quite another to lose that key forever.

Another plus is the final scene with Superboy and Wildfire, which marks a definite turning point in the latter’s growth as a character. After facing a desperate situation which has resulted in the destruction of their headquarters and the loss of two of their friends to insanity, Wildfire—speaking for the entire team—chooses to press forward, to fight the good fight for one more day. That’s all any of us can do, and it’s very mature of him to realize it.

Thus, the ending of Starlin’s epic feels like we’ve truly arrived at a new destination, even though the journey there relied on a second driver (Levitz) taking us through unexpected and not wholly believable terrain.

Your insightful observation of Wildfire's evolution as a character is much appreciated, He Who.



In my humble (and not entirely informed) opinion, the operative word here is "feels," because even though I haven't read a lot of the Conway era, the consensus appears to be that it failed to capitalize on the opportunities that the Omega story set up, and that it was mostly by-the-numbers kind of stuff, with some cringe-inducing side-trips into utter silliness. It will be interesting to follow the re-read through the Conway era and see whether a different consensus will be shaped.

Thanks.



True. But regardless of what follows next, I do admire the way this story ends. Taken on its own merits, it provides a nice resolution to Wildfire's arc. If this were a novel, it would be a fitting stopping point.

In fact, I've become spoiled by reading novels because I now expect all stories to end this way: by showing how the main character has grown, been transformed, or is now different than he or she was when we started. Marvel and DC have rarely worked that way, but it's always nice when we get a story that does.

Point well taken, He Who. I've come to accept that such a story structure has become the exception rather the rule over the past twenty years or so. With that kind of attitude, I can still be pleasantly surprised when a story arc such as that does come along.

(Have I mentioned that I'm really, really excited about reading the recently released 12-issue Omega Men trade? Especially since its writer, Tom King, appears to be The Boy Most Likely To Write the Legion?)

I guess we're lucky that they didn't make Tenzil a walking miracle machine. However, didn't Geoff Johns bring back the Miracle Machine in one of the Superman/Legion stories?

Since Brainy is so smart and so crazy, he could have made the same threats without the miracle machine to back them up. The Legionnaires would not have known if he was bluffing or serious. He could create some golem like Omega and the rest would just be the tension of not knowing.

I hadn't really viewed this story as a turning point before reading your comments but can see how it would be - or could have been. Wildfire's return to hothead status and moody relationship with Dawnstar overshadows his potential shown in this issue.

Agreed, FC. There has long been far too much careless and/or lazy character writing in superhero comics. I think if writers are going to play fast and loose with continuity, they should at least pause long enough to look beyond the surface of characters' "default" personas and give us a fresh perspective.

That must have been one painful bowel movement.

LOL

Bismollian laxatives are probably potent enough to cause a Non-Bismollian to combust.

I like this idea: matching wits with someone who is not only smarter than the rest of the Legion but also crazy.



Too many comics stories--and the Legion of this era was certainly no exception--simply reset the emotional clock for their characters and return things to the way they were, or rely on superficial changes: a new costume, etc. True emotional growth is hard to depict in comics, and "uncool" when your audience consists of adolescents who don't want their heroes to appear weak or uninformed. (Growth means you didn't know something earlier.) It's much easier to blow things up and proclaim our good guys the winners.

I guess that's why the ending of this story stands out to me. It reflects a moment in which Drake had to choose between despair and fighting the good fight. He made the hard choice, but the right choice.

The destruction of the HQ makes a good metaphor for all this change. Nothing is more profoundly disturbing or disruptive to most people than losing their home--whether it's a house or a country. The distinctive citadel had been the Legion's home for more than ten years. Its destruction served as a powerful visual that things are no longer the same (or it could have been, if it had been portrayed as such in subsequent issues. We saw the Legionnaires struggle to rebuild, but little else was done with this powerful idea).