Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 16

Yeah, I'm more convinced too on Gim Plus, the Mordru's slippers commentary has made this issue even more enjoyable for me!

I think what we've found overall thus far is that while Conway doesn't have the most flash, most of his stories are pretty nicely and evenly plotted and most of his characterization is focused and well done. Thus far, almost all of his issues have actually been quiet enjoyable! If it was a quick impulse boy off the racks for less than a buck in 1980, there isn't much to complain about!

#267 To Bottle a Genie! by Gerry Conway, J.M. DeMatteis (script) art by Jim Janes & Dave Hunt, colours Gene D'Angelo, letters Milton Snapinn



After Kantuu's attack, the four Legionnaires are unconscious in space. As Lu awakes, she sees that Jan's helmet is cracked and that he's suffocating. She splits in two and one of her selves takes Jan to an asteroid, where she activates his suit heater and pulls out a Wondil IX window repair kit to fix his helmet. Jan revives and they return to the cruiser.

On a volcano planet, a worker in the mobile mining city of Vulcan has a premonition of danger, just before Kantuu attacks. His lady companion Tage and the other women take to the skies in fighter jets (since females have faster reflexes than men) while the men operate the command base. Tage mangaes to score a hit on the genie, which causes him to stumble and send the city crashing to the ground.

The Legionnaires, in pursuit of Kantuu, discuss the genie aboard their cruiser. Chuck realizes that his command for Kantuu to return to his bottle failed because the original bottle was destroyed on Wondil IX. They see Tage's ship drifting in space, bring her aboard and inform her that there were no other survivors. Tage recounts the story which Kantuu telepathically told her about his origin. His was a race of giant warriors known as the Djinn who discovered space travel 2500 years earlier. Kantuu led an unsuccessful raid on Oa. Rather than kill them, the Guardians imprisoned them in green power bottles, miniaturized them and said they would only be free after performing three services for whoever rescued them. The bottles were dispersed; Kantuu landed on Earth and was freed by Saladin, whose third wish was that Kantuu leave Earth.

The Legionnaires realize that Kantuu means to free the other genies of Earth. They track him to Syria, where he has found only one bottle. They engage him in battle, Gim makes him think he's the fellow giant genie and hits him, Jan turns part of the Mediterranean to rock for a hard landing, Chuck manages to command him to create a bottle like the one in which he was imprisoned, then Lu splits into two and tells him it's death or the bottle. Even if he strikes one of her, the other can still command him. He chooses the bottle, which the team decides to deposit on the moon.

Element Lad suggests that Chuck and Lu rejoin the Legion, and Lu responds that she and Chuck will talk about it after she puts the garbage on the moon.

Comments:It's all about teamwork and once a Legionnaire, always a Legionnaire. Everything else is fill in the blanks.

There's a rare appearance, for this era, of the Guardians of Oa. Their role in Kantuu's backstory is a creative variation of genie legend and shows them to be well-meaning but not too good on long-term consequences.

This is the third time we've seen a couple of ordinary sentients playing a role in a Conway Legion story. The woman Tage is used in a rather far-fetched manner to deliver Kantuu's backstory to the reader. She just lost her entire city. It could have been a moment for Jan to offer some sympathy or a "call me if you need to talk" suggestion.

BTW, I did check the all-knowing internet and it looks like men, not women, have the faster reaction time, at least for us Earthlings. Maybe Tage is from a different race. Still, it was very 2980 to see women fighter pilots - although the men were still in the CONTROL centre.

More mining! But I guess the search for resources is what galactic expansion is/will be all about.

Fans of the Taines may be disappointed that they didn't jump at the suggestion to rejoin the Legion. Fans of the environment may deplore Lu for dumping bottles on the moon. Wouldn't they be safer in a Legion subterranean vault, provided Shadow Lass is warned to leave it alone? I'm surprised that the bottled genies didn't figure in the 5YL explosion of the moon.



Back-up story: The Grounded Legionnaires by Paul Kupperberg, art by Steve Ditko and Dave Hunt, colors by Jerry Serpe, letters by Todd Klein

Some children are on a guided tour of the newly-rebuilt Legion HQ and encounter Shadow Lass flying through a hall of statues. She explains the flight ring to them and lets the computer log tell the story of their origin.

Back in the early days, when Mon-el had just rejoined the Legion, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Mon-el and Saturn Girl are asked to investigate a stuck space elevator. Mon-el is first to investigate and discovers a costumed man who announces that he is Vibrex and is stealing the cargo of rare ore. His power to control the vibration rates of matter bring down Mon-el as Vibrex neutralizes his anti-lead serum. Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy are also defeated as Vibrex cancels their anti-gavity flight belts. They fall through space, but recover once they get some distance away from Vibrex. The team coordinates their efforts and defeat Vibrex by combining Brainy's forcefield with Cos's magnetic powers, after confusing him with the new experimental flight rings. Brainy recounts that the rings were made with Element 152, which was created by Mon-el when he re-joined the Legion, disguised as Legionnaire Lemon, and can be mentally controlled. Their will-power, with a boost from Saturn Girl, was able to keep the flight rings stable, causing Vibrex to think that his powers had failed.

Comments: Vibrex: Worst Costume Ever! His power's not bad, although we recently had someone else changing the vibration frequency of something.

Another story emphasizing the importance of teamwork. The team attacking Vibrex manage some nimble coordination of powers and deception. It's a complicated way to explain the will-power driven flight rings.

A ring controlled by will-power is verging on the magical. Perhaps that's not a problem for Brainiac 5, because he gets to demonstrate his superior will-power? Would Saturn Girl have better control over the ring because of her superior mental discipline? What if a Legionnaire just ate an entire chocolate cake and has sapped their will-power reserves? It's one of the Legion artifacts that doesn't bear over-thinking.

I've never been clear on Brainy's forcefield belt. Here he lets Rokk use it. If it's not something that's unique to his physiology, why hasn't he made forcefield belts for all the Legionnaires?

Shadow Lass gets a bit of panel time turning on the computer log, but disappears from the story after that. No time for kid tourists – let the computer babysit them!

Legion 267

I don’t know where Lu keeps her emergency kit, but it’s good to see her wake first, use her powers and save the others. Conway gets points both for linking what she uses with her time on the ice world form last issue and for showing that the most common items can have lots of uses.

Duo Damsel worries that Jan might have suffered brain damage, but his sociopathic tendencies are just fine. I note that he thinks about revenge before his colleagues

A well placed scene shows the devastation Kantuu can cause. The defenders of the Vulkan mining city try to fight him, but they are outmatched. Conway gives us just enough between two of the residents to feel for their passing; just enough on their roles to show some playful gender dynamics, and just enough science to show how Vulkan topples. The tiny fighter beside Kantuu’s face before he crushes it is a particularly nice panel from the Janes/ Hunt team.

As the Legion fly to Earth, they too pass the volcanic planet. There’s a plot developing couple of flashback panels as they realise why Kantuu wouldn’t obey their command last issue. They rescue a survivor from Vulkan, who has been left for them to find by the big genie, the better to develop the back story.

In a big flashback, we learn that genies are beings who have been imprisoned by the Guardians for their war like ways, into bottles. If released, to learn humility, they must act on three commands for the person who freed them. Her plot job done, the supporting character disappears from the Legion. No tearful appearance for her at the end. Thankfully, this person’s account isn’t pivotal to the Legion’s solution, which would have been too convenient.

The Legion manage to arrive on Earth before Kantuu, and trap him. Both are travelling on the same path, but there’s no overtaking. The Legion have to get their first, for their plan to work. Not only first, but with time to conduct a complete scan of the Earth, excavate umpteen archaeological digs, retrieve genie bottles and transfer them all to the moon for safe keeping.

There’s a green bottle on the stall shown. Kantuu picks up a green bottle, so I’m thinking it’s that one. But Gim grows from it, which would mean that he would have had to shrink into it first. That doesn’t match his powers. It’s not explained how the team disguised Gim’s bottle as one containing a genie either. Kantuu had to be able to detect it somehow among all the other bottles. Could this be another power of the mighty Legion Cosmos-Scope that allowed them to find all the other Genie bottles on Earth and move them to the moon.

Having shown us that the wording is important when dealing with a genie, the ending seems fairly standard. He’s defeated through teamwork, with Duo Damsel giving Kantuu the choice of destruction or life back in the bottle. It’s a good issue for Luornu, and she and Chuck may discuss a return to the Legion.

It’s a weaker second half of the story. Nothing goes right for Kantuu as he travels to Earth. The Legion have plenty of time to enact a plan. They easily distract Kantuu long enough for Chuck and Lu to give more commands.

The story may have come from an idea to connect genies to the Green Lantern lamps, and the wish like powers they grant their owners. It would have been interesting to find out that the genies had been powering the Green Lantern Corps for all this time, rather than just being punished by the misguided Guardians. I’m often indifferent form attempt to tie everything into the DCU. However, the number and power of the genies, makes the intercession of the Guardians seem worthwhile.

As noted, Lu does well, and the interlude on Vulcan was nice. But Kantuu didn’t deliver on his potential and wouldn’t be coming out of his bottle again.

Legion of Super-Heroes #267

The first half of #267 wraps up the story started from last issue, and my reaction is very similar to part 1: by no means the most memorable story in LSH history, it still does a lot of things right, and comes accomplishes what it sets out to do.

Kaantu, who is set up to be a mega-villain in the same vein as Mordru or Omega, ends up being outsmarted by having a very simple, yet clever, weakness. One might feel this makes him forgettable, but I’m okay with that since he very easily could have simply become “Mordru-lite”. Instead, because of his defeat here, it allows for a nice story in which each of the Legionnaires featured get a chance to shine.

And that’s where the issue really works for me. Duo Damsel, Bouncing Boy, Element Lad and Colossal Boy all have their moments. I especially like Conway writing in a really great Luornu scene in the beginning and then giving her another one at the end, which showcases her courage and also how her powers can be very valuable. Meanwhile artist Jimmy Janes gives a really fantastic Colossal Boy panel that made his moment in the sun worthwhile.

I also found the interlude with the destroyed planet fascinating. It’s basically a huge walk-on moment that introduces some interesting characters in Rin and Tage, and then destroys their world and kills Rin. I find myself instantly wanting to know more about Tage! What an interesting character! Why aren’t there 20 Tage threads on LW? How has she not ever shown back up? A premiere fighter-pilot on a planet where the gender roles are basically reversed, whose empath / prophetic boyfriend is killed? There must be more!

All in all, this is yet another Conway story that isn’t going to make any one’s top 20 list any time soon, but is still very entertaining and worth the read.

FC, great comment about the rare appearance of the Guardians and OA. Up until this point, we almost never saw reference to GL characters in the LSH.

Thoth, good catch on Jan thinking of revenge first. After all, he’s had revenge issues before with Roxxas. Now that this pattern is showing itself, I can’t ‘unsee’ it. If only he had a race of Progeny to help him.

Lastly, my thoughts on the back-up:

- I’m a huge Steve Ditko fan and always have been. He’s my Dad’s absolute favorite artist in comics history, and his runs on Spider-Man and the Charlton series in the mid to late 60’s especially hold a high place in our hearts.

- That being said, this back-up was pretty week. Ditko’s art by 1980 looks dated, and one wonders if writer Paul Kupperberg saw Ditko’s art and / or felt he didn’t have much room in the back-up and ended up producing a pretty dated plot and story himself. It feels like it could be pulled right from one of the earliest Adventure stories, but it doesn’t have the charm that those old issues do.

Being a Ditko fan, I’ve hunted down many of his obscure monster / suspense / horror back-ups at Marvel and Charlton over the years, particularly from the late 50’s and early 60’s when he was super prolific. Many of these stories are pure genius, full of weird beings, far-out landscapes and ingenius, ironic twists. They lead me to believe that Ditko in his prime could have produced some really weird and fun science fiction stories, and if this was applied to the LSH, it could have made for a handful of memorable sequences. But alas, we never get any of that, so I’m most left wondering “what if…?” rather than loving what we actually end up getting.

That's a good point. It's a two part story, and you're right that it does what it sets out to achieve. If Kantuu had been played up to his potential, you'd have a different story. One that would have stretched beyond that structure. While that could have been made to be different to Mordru, early indications were that Kantuu was another power hungry mega villain from a similar mold.



Too good not to have her turn up in Bits.



He's been steady, and has brought quite a few nice touches so far.

Which sets us up for the devastation of next week's infamous issue... DR. MAYAVALE!



Good point. Maybe not sociopathic (maybe yes?) but the desire for revenge is an aspect of Jan which disappeared in the later years as Levitz took him in a more spiritual direction.



It was quite a good sub-story and strangely forgotten by fans. Perhaps someone will revive Tage in a Bits story...?





Yes, that was really a job for Superboy.



Oops! Um, was Gim hiding under a table or something?

Considering the religions out there that involve some sort of reckoning/ cosmic justice/retribution there may darker things beneath the surface of the seemingly placid Tromian religion. People see many things in their religion, and there may be elements (tee hee) he considers to be there, that dovetail nicely with Jan's personality. - Speculation Lad




Already noted Too good not to reuse.

#268 Life after Life After Life by J.M. DeMatteis, art by Steve Ditko & Bob Wiacek, colours Gene D'Angelo, letters Costanza



Jerry very kindly summarized this issue several years ago, so I'm repeating his text:

Roll Call: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Dream Girl, Chameleon Boy, Karate Kid, Cosmic Boy, Colossal Boy, Shrinking Violet, R. J. Brande

The story opens with Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl admiring the recently rebuilt Legion headquarters and pondering how proud they are of the progress the Legion has made in the months since the Earth War. An image of Cosmic Boy appears on a special monitor board. It is his log entry of the bizarre adventure some of the Legionnaires had while accompanying R. J. Brande on a mission to deliver one of his newly created stars to a customer. Inside the craft, Chameleon Boy and Karate Kid are relaxing on floating chairs while drinking Vxxniarade from floating cups. They are startled by a scream coming from Dream Girl's room. She reveals that she had a dream that she is going to be killed by a multi armed monster while Chameleon Boy and Karate Kid are caught in the grip of a strange force. Other Legionnaires gather in the hallway, and are interrupted by an urgent call to meet Mr. Brande on the bridge. Mr. Brande explains that he is befuddled by what he has picked up on the ship's sensor scans. He points out a strange object floating in space on the monitor. Karate Kid identifies the object as a subway car from late twentieth century New York (to be precise). The six Legionnaires quickly don their space suits and go out to investigate. As they enter the subway car it is surrounded by a force field which separates the Legionnaires. Dream Girl, Karate Kid, and Chameleon Boy are trapped inside. Cosmic Boy, Colossal Boy, and Shrinking Violet cannot enter. The subway door slams shut, and the car rumbles and moves away through space.

The subway car is filled with strange artifacts from different cultures throughout time. Nura, Val, and Reep eventually encounter a strange man who greets them as old freinds, and introduces himself as DOCTOR MAYAVALE. He sits in a yellow chair, has a white hair and a handle bar mustache. He is wearing a cowboy hat, a blue jacket, an "I Like Ike" button", a pink belt, a white skirt, and purple boots. He has six extra arms coming out his sides. They are all elongated and green, and one is playing with a yo-yo.

Mayavale creates a Yeti beast and a creature called P'O'Likk, from the planet Khund, to attack the three. Karate Kid fights back. Chameleon Boy convinces him tha violence is not the answer, and that they should talk to their host.

Mayavale explains that he from the planet Avatanda. The Avatandans devote themselves to "lucubration and meditation". After 150 years, Mayavale's meditations brought him to a point of despair and mystic blocking. He journeyed to the "Chamber of Lives" where he inhaled the "Wheeling Mists", and his past fifty thousand lifetimes were revealed to him. It was also revealed that he had devoted his last 60 lifetimes to total good, and must devote his current life to total evil in order to achieve a balance in his karma before proceeding to the ultimate reality.

Mayavale reveals that he has shared many past lives with Chameleon Boy, Karate Kid and Dream Girl, and that each of them betrayed him in one of these lives. He creates a Native American reality where Chameleon Boy was a Cherokee warrior and Mayavale was his chief. Chameleon Boy had sold their location to the "white eyes". This time around, Mayavale binds Cham to the ground and leaves him to be killed by the white eyes.

Reality shifts to ancient Rome. Mayavale is Julius Ceaser. Karate Kid is Brutus. Mayavale rearranges things so that his armies are approaching Val with blades drawn...

Reality shifts again. Mayavale is a New York detective in 1969, and Nura is his sweetheart who betrays him to gangsters. This time, however, he throws her in front of the gangsters' bullets. She falls to the ground as reality shifts again.

Dream Girl awakens to find herself tied to a bed in a sexy purple outfit with Mayavale standing over her with a knife. This is the image from her earlier dream. Chameleon Boy and Karate Kid appear in the doorway in an attempt to save her, explaining how they used their powers to overcome their fates in the previous realities. Before they can act, though, Mayavale traps them in "inexpressable pain" in "cellular disrupter beams". Nura searches her soul and finds the strength to break her binds. She kicks Mayavale in the face, jumps off the bed, and punches him in the face. The action is accompanied by captions explaining how many see Dream Girl as a weak link in the Legion's armor, how she beleives this herself, and that this is a point of awakening for her. She frees Val and Reep. Mayavale escapes. His image appears saying that he is going to retire for study, but to rest assure that he will return. The world they are on vanishes leaving them stranded in airless space. Chameleon Boy wraps himself around the other two. Cosmic Boy emerges from a shuttle craft and rescues them. The final scene shifts to Cosmic Boy summing up the adventure in his transmission. He signs off with "Log Entry #2312.11 ended..." Garth and Imra stare at each other with mouths open and eyes wide. Garth exclaims, "Ended"? Imra replies, "I don't think so".

Comments:

The late comedian Mitch Hedberg told a story about going to an interview at a radio station. As the interview began, the DJ asked him, “Who are you?” and he thought, Is this really deep or did I drive to the wrong station?

That's sort of what I wonder about this story. We've had a lot of fun over the years laughing at it, but maybe it was considered really deep when it was published. Two letters (in #274) gave it high praise, particularly for the presence of Dream Girl.

It strikes me as a jumble of silliness (despite Nura's good performance), and a shame at that, since the idea of a reincarnating man seeking to balance good with evil is open to many possibilities. Was it meant to be a spoof of eastern mysticism? Those 8 extra pages could have been put to better use as a back-up story.

Some good points:

It's a dynamic cover by Gerry Conway. They should have kept the human arms - and had Gerry do the whole issue.

I did enjoy seeing the Brande star-making team, and the ever-practical R.J.'s comment to Rokk's “We're here!”: “You're stating the obvious”.

I also liked the floaty coffee cups and chairs and the Durlan writing.

Dream Girl performs admirably, showing she's a lot more than a sexy seer.

However, it was disappointing to see such sedate, bland sleepwear, especially on Nura. She does keep a picture of Thom by her bed wherever she goes, I guess.

The story is left open by Saturn Girl's comment that she doesn't think this is the end. However, the Dr. does not make a repeat performance, not even in the ultra-crammed Legion of Three Worlds. Or was Imra's comment more subtle, suggesting lingering effects that the experience would have on Nura, Reep and Val?

The threads on this Forum regarding the Mayavale story and Mayavale in general are many. A few of them here:

Mayavale and Lois Lane

Dr. Mayavale!

The Return of Dr. Mayavale

The Dr. Mayavale Blooper Reel!

Ah. Dr. Mayavale.

There are few more infamous Legion stories than this one. I think back to when I first discovered the joys of the internet and message boards, and became immersed in the online community at the DCMB’s in mid to late 1999. It was the LSH message board (and message board in general) I ever experienced and I was enthralled by it right away. Back then, the big argument was how the reboot had shit the bed and needed to be swept away so the “real Legion” could restart. Then DnA was announced (and we, on that board, gave them the name “DnA”), and the topic shifted. But as always, there were a multitude of discussions about old Legion stories and many of them I had not yet ever read. Among these discussions there was one recurring issue that was referred to again and again: “the Dr. Mayavale story”. And when it was referenced, it was almost always used as the measurement against which all the worst Legion stories could be measured. Quite simply, the story was considered one of the worst and Dr. Mayavale himself was considered one of the worst characters in Legion lore. Immediately, I knew I had to read it.

Flash forward a few years and Doc had become a bit of a thread legend because of Lash, Teeds, Eryk, FC and others. A little further in the future and Doc was one of the very first Alt ID’s on Legion World, and he was always hands down my absolute favorite one. He still is, BTW. Whenever I start plotting my own 300 issue fantasy Legion run, I can’t help but always make Doc a supporting character (good, of course), since he’s one of those few beloved LSH characters that were adopted by Legion World and made so much more in fandom, like Thora or Nardo.

Which brings me back to the actual, original story, which is here. And man, is it weird and bad. Enough to make it kind of fun and enjoyable? Weeeeell…not quite. Kinda. But its still pretty bad.

I laid out my thoughts on Steve Ditko a few posts ago in this thread and here is the natural extension of it. I love Ditko and always will, but this story feels firmly set in the art style of 1960 but Ditko being more unfiltered in his weirdness. Conway’s plot is relatively amateur, though in the hands of someone like George Perez, with a redesigned Mayavale, it perhaps would be a thing of beauty. But here, with Ditko’s style so jarring, it makes all of Conway’s flaws more apparent in addition to Ditko’s own. Characters acting a little out of character, the plot conveniently moving forward through coincidence, a kind of pointless set-up with Nura…all of these things read badly, and now worse than ever.

Still…I can’t help but hear the “voice” of the Legion Worlder Doc Mayavale, which is a pastiche of original. And even then, it’s really just what I think the real life voice sounds like of the poster who I’m pretty sure actually is Mayavale, even though I won’t confirm 100% if it is, and have never met the poster. It’s like inception but in the form of loving a character you don’t really know. But that voice made the issue more enjoyable.

For instance, when the page hits where Mayavale is in a full-on Native American headdress, I literally was laughing out loud. I’m laughing now as I type this! How in the world was this printed? Bwahahaha!

I also can’t help but feel this entire issue could be read in a different way: as a humorous criticism of psychology, mysticism, self-analysis and other kinds of pseudo-science or type stuff. Will humans in a thousand years think back on the era of therapists and psychologists and chuckle to themselves, wondering if we were all acting like Mayavale? The thought is amusing!

In the end, Dream Girl gets a chance to shine, though her dialogue is horrible; those scenes would be better served with Ditko just showing her kicking ass without calling him a brute or another outdated term.

*wipes forehead* Okay. It’s over.

PS – I wonder if the P’O’LIKK, the extinct Khundian monster, is somewhat an inspiration for Flederweb?

I’m glad to see we had the same idea! Could it indeed be a spoof? Or was the story so bad that we’re left grasping at why it exists in the first place? I think its probably the latter.

True, and I like our Dr. Mayavale, so I feel a little bad trashing his story.



It's panels like that which make me wonder if it was all a joke. Like Conway and Ditko saying, we're sick of this shit, we hate the Legion and we're mad at editorial, so let's just let it fly.



Or embarrassing!



Wow! Great thought! That never occurred to me. Maybe the beastie makes the sound p'o'likk p'o'likk, like a bobolink, and that's how it got its name.

Legion 268

A Perez cover is sure to draw in a number of casual readers. There’s Val from his own series, Dream Girl, and Cham to show us how futuristic the Legion is. Austin gives Perez a certain Byrne-like makeover too in the roll call pics, particularly Dream Girl’s.

De Matteis gets the writing chores on this tale, although it’s a tale I associate with the Conway era. De Matteis took over from Conway years later, and on short notice, on the Justice League title. There was a certain change in story focus and tone there, and I’ll be interested to see the changes here.

It seems fitting that it’s the three founders who are in the opening scene in the new HQ, with Imra showing pride that their dream has endured.

If you were looking for an indication that Rokk was the Time Trapper, seeing planets in his eyes would surely be enough. Steve Ditko giving us a teaser there.

With the team split handily by Conway into mission sized field teams, we get to focus on different groups without too much set up. This issue looks in on the group that’s with Brande to kickstart his Starbirthing business.

Nura has a dream that ups the tension with the reader, It’s feels like it’s been a while since we saw one of her prophecies that “always come true”, so no one adds the “but they never quite have the meaning that you thought they did” line. Gim tells Vi that “Nura’s just had one of her dreams.” It doesn’t look as though he’s rolling his eyes. Regardless of their overall meaning, Nura’s premonition undoubtedly means there’s trouble ahead, which should put the team on guard.

Which is nice timing, as usual, as Brande summons them to the bridge. Having changed out of their conservative sleepwear, they discover that their vessel has encountered a subway car in space. As I mentioned, I associated this story with Conway, as there was a certain every day aspect to it. But he clearly wasn’t the only one doing this, and it’s something I associate with the Bronze Age. A space Subway car strikes me as the writer Space Phoning it in, so we’ll see.

Only a few of the team get trapped on the carriage, and it would have been better, but not vital, to show the gap between them and the others when they were approaching it. There’s no mention of Nura’s prophesy as she, Cham and Val are transported to a world full of anachronisms.

Their host is Doctor Mayavale, who claims to be their oldest friend. DeMatteis gives us a caption to show that there’s clearly supposed to be two sides to the way Mayavale comes across. It’s presumably this that makes Val go on the offensive against their old pal. But it’s just as likely that writer and editor spotted that there hadn’t been much fighting in the issue, and put in a couple of panels here.

When I meet old friends, the first thing I always do is provide them with a huge info dump on things that they should already know. So, it’s great to see Mayavale do that here
Like his world, Mayavale is a combination of elements: Medieval garb but with a suit jacket, moustache and an “I Like Ike” pendant. Past and present combined, but with six odd additional green arms to embrace the future technology that has also brought us his technology and power.

Mayavale’s current look is vastly at odds with that of his history. As his story unfolds you begin to learn where both his bizarre attire comes from as well as his unbalanced mind. As zany as it looks, it’s that complete switch that drives home what he’s experienced and what he’s capable of.

Past lives, regression therapy relating to it, and the burden they have on the present self-have been part of religious writings and beliefs for many centuries. They have ebbed and flowed in more recent times from Theosophical beliefs to more recent new age practices. If that’s not enough, there’s always the Hawks as a comics example.

So, there’s a lot of material for De Matteis to use for the origin and I think the Avatanda scene works very well. There’s a certain classical tragic fate awaiting Mayavale as he is instructed on how to overcome a previously insurmountable barrier…with a warning. Enlightenment becomes horror.

A Legion analogy would be The Infinite Man. Where Mayavale lives through many incarnations along the same timeline, Rugarth has the same incarnation but through multiple universes.

The knowledge that Mayavale has gained through his experience; the memories of fifty thousand lifetimes has also changed his perspective. He sees that he has not achieved fulfilment despite endless lives spent pursuing good, and believes that a balance has to be struck. So, he has become evil. He’s not evil for the sake of it. He is doing it to achieve a greater goal. Mayavale’s experiences and changes are reminiscent of Jan Arrah becoming the Progenitor many years later. Human lives become blinks, shaped by larger, timeless forces.

Paul Levitz touched on various belief systems and cultures during his run too. So the premise of this story is definitely fair game, has plenty of source material to draw from, and provides both material and spiritual as well as personal and cosmic scope into the bargain.

But despite Mayavale’s overall ambition to become “saviour of the cosmos” he’s still human enough to want to right some of the wrongs from specific previous lives. What are the chances that the three Legionnaires tied into those past lives, just happen to be in the vicinity as Mayavale is about to unleash a wider terror. Perhaps the other residents of contemplative Avatanda are not as removed as it appeared?

Mayavale looks to balance the scales in a Legion variation of Westworld, where various dioramas are acted out with robot minions. This provides some more action into the book, with Cham, Val and Nura all facing death (except Val, who you really think will pull through). It seems odd that a Durlan would have had a past life on Earth. But I’ve seen hard sci fi authors playing with what is essentially reincarnation.

Mayavale still has his additional green arms, despite the dress change for each scenario, suggestion that they may be grafted to him. It’s a treat to see him, as Caesar, fend off his would be assassins with them. Less of a treat is knowing that, with them unable to act, Mayavale must have dressed them all up for each scene. Watch those hands creep! All of them!

Mayavale intends to use Nura as a sacrifice to symbolise his spiritual rebirth and her death to achieve ascension. In the finale he’s interrupted by Val and Cham. The would be surgeon of evil traps them in a time tunnel and turns back to the ritual. Seeing her comrades in such pain enrages Nura to the point where she breaks her bonds. Mayavale learns that there’s harmony to be struck in both contemplation and more physical pursuits… like self-defence classes for example. Nura kicks his butt.

Where Conway has been adding to the effective of several Legionnaires fairly subtly, De Matteis is a bit more direct, with Nura becoming more like She Hulk to get free. He does link her martial skills to Val’s training; a regular link throughout the Legion’s history to such improvements and a touch I’m fond of, particularly with Nura due to the pair’s earlier story.

Nura’s actions in her current incarnation surprise Mayavale enough that he departs to Choose His Approach (see Teeds thread) as Nura frees her colleagues. There’s clearly scope for a sequel and Mayavale’s sheer power clearly worries Imra and Garth upon hearing the story. We get another look as Cosmic Boy with the worlds swimming in his eyes. It’s even creepier this time, and as the Time Trapper, he may be a bit less worried about Mayavale. After all, it doesn’t matter how many incarnations the guy has. He’s dust like everyone else at the end of time.

It’s an odd issue. There are lots of elements that in isolation wouldn’t seem to work, but are usually underpinned by something in the plot. Mayavale’s visuals: Silly looking but worn by a man who has accumulated fashions across history. The world of mixed up technology, and the subway spaceship: Inspired by what he’s seen across history. Nura’s pointless shooting, when she’s going to be used as a sacrifice: Mayavale becoming undone by his petty revenge in the guise of righting karmic wrongs.

I had a problem with the sheer power Mayavale has. He may have lived across multiple lifetimes, but, from the ones we see, they’ve all been basic human ones. The plot requires that we believe that his insight also unlocked cosmic abilities.

If that’s the case, then it undermines why he has a world of robots; a ship when he can and is shown to just teleport who he likes and why he exists as a physical entity at all. I’m looking at all the technology we see around Mayavale. I’m looking at the future tech of those extra arm grafts. And I wonder if Mayavale is using technological tricks to fool the legion. His time tunnel, used to trap Cham and Val, is clearly a device as are all his minions.


An alternative, is that there’s a lost scene in the Great Darkness Saga where Darkseid seeks out Mayavale’s powers. Mayavale looks to previous lives for an advantage, but Darkseid has been a git through all that time, and reduces Mayavale to a sidewalk loon, ranting about how he was Earth’s saviour in another life. We’ll additional effects of this encounter in a future legion story, where Darkseid unleashes the Omega Mitts! Six hand like appendages that track down and apprehend (if they’re lucky) his opponents.

De Matteis’ dialogue and captions are often not the best. There’s the various cultural terms used to indicate that we’re in the future, but none of them work. Ditko’s art is distinctively rough. I’m not a huge fan of this era of his work, but I’ve frequently come to realise my opinions change on artists over time, so I may really like this too at some point. I much prefer his version of Mayavale than the Perez one on the cover though. By a mile. It’s not often I say that about Perez.

Nura’s actions are a bit of a leap too, but there’s the underpinning of Val’s training and the writer not being the regular one.

So, is the subway car as an indication of the story being spaced phoned in? Nope. Behind the odd look and the clunky captions there’s a solid idea being played with at the heart of the story. It’s wrapped in the Legion setting and uses standard plot devices of the time to push the pace along.But it provides a level of depth that readers should bear in mind the next time the see heroes in an endless slugfest with a cosmic being…just because.

But one important question remains. Can I get some Vxxniarade in Shakes?

Wow, what an issue to join in on! Of course I've heard all kinds of Dr. Mayavale jokes over the years, but I honestly don't remember reading this story even though I must've read it. Whatever you might say about this issue, you wouldn't expect it to be not memorable.

What really strikes me reading it now is how clearly DeMatteis it is. These themes of karma and Hindu theology will continue to run through later works like Moonshadow, Dr. fate, and X factor. This theme of a good man turning evil to balance his karma is really just the same story as the opening arc of the doctor fate series, with the Lords of order trying to bring about the Mahapralaya, but written by a much less seasoned writer who couldn't really make it work.

Steve Ditko's art is appropriately weird and old school. It's strikingly memorable, but doesn't quite work. Could there be art more perfectly matched to this story?

All in all, it's a memorable and entertaining piece of… Something else else. I've always viewed this inter-Levitz period with the same kind of indulgent condescension I have for the earliest Silver Age works filled with middle-age men showing us their horrifyingly off views of what being a child is like.

I had mentioned in my review that De Matteis took over the JLA at short notice. It was a story focusing on Zatanna and her departure from the team. It also touched on similar themes to all of the above.

Was that the story that was basically a repeat of the super-creepy Ms. Marvel story from Avengers 200?

Yup. And let's not forget either that De Matteis subjected Patsy Walker and Valkyrie to horrible things back when he was the writer on Defenders (though I suspect a lot of the worst stuff may have been Jim Shooter by proxy, as De Matteis took over the Defenders right around the time Shooter was shifting his methods from hands-on to micro-management, which gradually increased until it got so out of control later in the 80s that it was the main reason he was fired by the Marvel execs of that time.)

#269, Who Shall Name the Dark Man? By Gerry Conway, art by Jimmy Janes & Frank Chiaramonte, colours Gene D'Angelo, letters Ben Oda



It's Campaign and Election Day on Earth, a one day political exercise turned into a festival. The computer picks candidates, then people vote after listening to campaign speeches. The Legionnaires have joined the crowds, but Jeckie finds the rabble disturbing, as does Timber Wolf. Shady and Mon escape to the beach for some alone time. Gim explains the system to Violet, then suddenly sees his mother is one of the candidates.

In space, a UP Patrol boards The Dragonbane, a massive ship that appears deserted except for some Sirian Sea-Apes. One officer mentions collecting a reward, then is confronted by a dark male form in a bubble. He is brought to his knees, after stating that the man had bribed them, then hands over a device to allow evasion of Earth's security perimeter, thinking that he will get revenge on this Dark Man. The thought is picked up by the Dark Man's telepathic power; when the officer tries to collect his reward, he plunges into the tank with the Sirian beasts. The Dragonbane sets a course for Earth.

Shady and Mon-el embrace in the moonlight, but are distracted by a fiery object plunging into the water. They investigate and are surprised by Validus, who seizes Shadow Lass. Mon-el is dazed by Validus and a blow from the Persauder's axe. Shady escapes Validus' clutches by hitting his hand's pressure points and grabs Mon-el, just as both are enclosed in a sphere by the Emerald Empress.

Timber Wolf is on monitor duty and sees that a Legionnaire sent an alarm an hour previously, only received now due to equipment malfunction. He sets off on his own to respond.

Newly-elected President Marte Allon is at home celebrating with family and Legionnaire friends. Jeckie comments on the merits of monarchy, Wildfire comments on the merits of Jeckie, Violet praises Marte and Gim talks to Dad about political conflicts with the Legion. Suddenly, Mano attacks, is neutralized by Jeckie's illusion then Tharok appears. He overcomes Violet and Jeckie, but is in turn overcome by some painful voice in his head, commanding him. He leaves with Violet. Mano recovers and defeats Gim, Jeckie and Wildfire by destroying the floor. The Dragonbane arrives, and Mano declares that Tharok is his leader, despite the Dark Man's partnership with Tharok.

Comments:
This is a significant improvement over previous stories. There's good characterization, personalizing the Legionnaires. The Five always ramp up the threat level and don't disappoint here. Conway's description of the election process adds depth to our vision of 30th century Earth.

Conway adds some political commentary through a variety of POVs. He reminds us that the Legion remains at odds with Earthgov and suggests continuing conflict in the future. Candidate Radley's campaign call for identification cards could be heard in a political speech today.

The Dark Man, mentioned by the Assassins several issues prior, is a real mystery. Anyone who can control Tharok is a true menace and his Sirian Sea-Ape treatment confirms his viscious nature. The name of his ship, Dragonmane, could be a clue, but not one I would have picked up on first reading.

Shady in the grip of Validus recalls Invisible Kid's death. Perhaps Legionnaires learned from that fatal experience and studied Validus' pressure points to avoid a repeat.

Colossal Boy seems a bit high strung. Imra says he's in shock, which seems a bit extreme for a Legionnaire who faces danger daily, but he is emotional. He has been behaving like the least mature of the Legionnaires in the Conway run.

Timber Wolf is a bit too much of a loner, can't stand crowds, won't ask for help. That he stops to watch Ayla sleeping is a little creepy, but maybe it's meant to show tenderness.

For once, Jeckie makes effective use of her power to stop Mano and is well-developed as character. She's regal, but more interesting than she has been lately.

Is this the real Vi, or Yera? She seems awfully relaxed and friendly with Gim, as well as with Marte Allon.

Wildfire seems like an odd one to join in the election celebration at the Allons, but perhaps it's because he and Gim are the only two who could vote in the Earthgov election. Am I wrong here? I can't think of other Earth-born Legionnaires from this time.

LOSH 269

It’s election time in the 30th century, where no one who wants to be a politician is allowed to be a politician. Instead, 3 candidates are selected by computer based on skill, competency and decency. Campaigning lasts a whole day, and people vote on their favourite.

It all seems so harmless in that festival atmosphere. Yet the screen behind Colossal Boy shows one of the candidates trying to introduce ID cards under the guise of a compassionate, egalitarian government. Then there’s the problems of just what criteria determines the attributes of the candidates.

It’s a long opening scene, but we do get a variety of subplots thrown in, with two main ones involving Colossal Boy. Gim looks to finally be getting somewhere with Vi, but this may be due to circumstances that won’t become clear for some time. He seems genuinely shocked (to the point of hysteria) as his mother is selected as one of the three presidential candidates.

There’s some over reaction from the Legion’s loner, Timberwolf, who looks as though he can’t be trusted near crowds. Lar and Tasmia hint at just how mature their relationship is, as Projectra considers the idea of elections to be rabble rousing, which suits her background.

Agenda driven candidates are not the only source of corruption, as two crooked UP border patrol guards meet the Dark Man to sell him a device that will allow him cloaked access to Earth. One is killed when his thoughts are detected telepathically by the villain. I don’t think we see Me’n, his partner, again meaning that the corruption could be still in the organisation.

The Dark Man is humanoid, has a huge ship with mechanical arms, floating globes and Sirian Sea Apes. In addition to the telepathy, he has psychokinetic and possibly illusion casting gifts too. With the device in place, he travels to Earth and we return to Mon-El and Shadow Lass having a romantic moonlight walk by the lake.

They see a meteor land, but it’s not the Dark Man who menaces them. It’s the Fatal Five. It’s quite a shift in tone from the closeness of Lar & Tasmia to the ominous rising of Validus from the lake waters. Validus in in talkative mood, while the Persuader can still only hit people with the not cutting parts of his axe, to prevent every appearance being a blood bath.

On the cover a doll like Mon El in the grasp of Validus. He has more of a chance of surviving that grip than Lyle Norg did. But in the book it’s Tasmia who is caught. She hits the pressure points in Validus’ hand, freeing herself. Perhaps Lyle should have spent a bit more time training with Karate Kid. Tasmia would be known as one of the Legion’s foremost fighters, so if someone could get free, it’s fitting that it’s her. It’s to no avail, as both are captured by the Emerald Empress.

Tasmia does manage to send a distress call. But due to the untested security systems in the HQ, it’s not picked until sometime later. The rebuilding of the HQ has been going on in the background for some time, so it’s hard to begrudge it being used to help a plot along. Demiertis for Brainy though.

Huge demerits for Timberwolf, who chooses not to raise the alarm and go after the captors of Lar and Tasmia himself. It’s the sort of action that should get him some academy training in teamwork. On the other hand, he does take the time to check in on some of the others. Looking back to his reaction to the electioneering crowd, it would seem that it’s intimacy that he rejects. He can’t bring himself to alert the others who are with partners or for whom he has strong feelings.

The five continue their attack, targeting the Allon residence. But it’s not Marte Allon they are after, it’s Shrinking Violet which makes for a nice bait and switch. Mano is upgrades with Mister Miracle style flying discs and a hand that can project energy blasts. Tharok has stun globes, but is plagued by terrible headaches, suggesting that he is in the thrall of the Dark Man. The Fatal Five have always been portrayed as very capable villains. It’s hoped that their leader losing his free will won’t diminish this.

The Legionnaires are defeated, crashing through the floors of the Allon’s apartment building. We don’t learn much more about the Dark Man or his intentions, but there’s the definite feeling that Timberwolf will be doing some hunting (hopefully not as a Wolverine clone a la Hellfire Club) next issue.

It’s another strong issue for Gim, putting him at the centre of a number of upcoming subplots as well as giving him the chance to thump Mano and dominate the opening panels. The Fatal Five, although possibly pawns, are still deadly. The Emerald Empress is still clearly above Mano and the Persuader in the group’s pecking order, which would continue to be built on later.

There are other little character moments: Lar’s overriding curiosity about the meteorite; Jeckie’s Royal lineage and the relationships of four Legionnaire couples.

The pacing is a little slower in this issue, focusing more on solid set ups for things to come. That suggests it’s going to be a multi-parter and it doesn’t have the impact that we’ve seen in previous Conway two parters.

This issue was one the earlier Legion back issues I can remember owning, and I still have the feeling that the next part was going to be the one with all the pay offs.

Dirk was born on Earth. We will later learn that Rokk was, too, though presumably he was always a citizen of Braal. Perhaps he was a dual citizen.

LSH #269

There was a lot to like about this issue. In a lot of ways, it is an essential early 1980’s superhero comic book, and it left me feeling upbeat and enthusiastic for the rest of the story, which is precisely the feeling DC would want me having.

We get the Fatal Five, the Legion’s best recurring foe at this point in their history, back again and beyond that a much larger story / mystery involving the Dark Man. This issue is not only an introduction into that larger storyline, which will dominate the next several issues, but it also paces itself very nicely so that it isn’t all just boring build-up. Instead, we get a great balance of action, suspense and character moments that weave together very well. The art by Jimmy Janes remains very good, and while the inks are a bit too blocky, the color really pops.

I really like the characterization of the Legionnaires, and the high level of romance in this issue. The Mon / Shady sequence was a really nice mix of romance and sexiness, while the Gim crush on Vi gets its best moment so far. More easily glanced over is Brin glances at Imra & Garth in the throes of passion (and is Garth wearing his old Silver Age cape as part of some roleplaying??) but poor Ayla is sleeping all alone while Brin holds a lone wolf pity party. Beyond all this, there’s just a lot of fun interplay between the Legionnaires from start to finish, and we get the really welcome sequence of the new Earth President being chosen. I love that Conway brought back Gim’s parents and expand on them in a big way: Marte Allon, a woman, will be chosen as President which is big for the time, and Gim’s dad also had a nice sequence where he saves his son. This is all great stuff, and what has been so desperately needed in the LSH since the series started. I always think of Levitz for inserting these types of things, but I’ve been consistently delighted to see Conway make good use of it.

The Fatal Five are well used here. At this point in their history, they’ve appeared so often that its easy for them to lose a bit of their luster. The Dark Man twist in this appearance gives them a new way to shine.

Nice catch! These seems so rational that I have to accept this as canon!



Good point--a really bad decision by Brin. This is kind of the start of a brief moment in time where both Conway and then Roy Thomas during his brief run really take the "Lone Wolf" concept to more extreme version before Levitz returns and takes Brin back in a totally different direction.

Good point! - not that it was developed, at least not on any big scale. However, the support of the SP for Dominator-controlled Earthgov could have had roots in this corruption.




Now I'm wondering how many other Legionnaires found themselves in the grip of Validus. And when Validus was restored to Ranzz child, did his casual grip of Mummy's arm send shivers up her spine?



Time out for a security overhaul! The Dagon story was a result of security failure as well. Could it be a theme in Conway's work?



My general dislike of the Colossal Boy character had me taking the opposite view once again, but I acknowledge that he did play a pivotal role in the story.




Thanks HWW! I suspected there was somebody else (except for Chuck Taine). We haven't seen much of Sun Boy in the Conway run.



This is my biggest surprise of the Cnway period reread. I'd forgotten how much groundwork was laid for characterization.



True, the Dark Man does add mystery and depth to their appearance. Possibly a good template for overused villains in general.

Conway's managed to bring quite a bit to the Legionverse in his run, from depth to characterisation to subplots. In this instance, I quite like that it builds on the mechanical societal controls of the Adventure stories, but portrays them through the eyes of the population at election.



Bu adding story depth to the Five and not top their detriment (so far), as well as being behind new villains (even if they'd be underused later by other writers) makes him a real presence behind the scenes.



That would make lots of sense. It lessens Validus a bit. He's grabby because if he punched anyone they'd be paste. But if every Legionnaire can get out of his grip, then... oh yeah, there's the mental lighting I suppose...




Stunned at having some subplots



Since he's all "I am better alone" when he's with Ayla, he comes across as an emotionally stunted adolescent. So, pretty much as Shooter had him really.



I thought her power to create a totally immersive reality in the Space Circus story was pretty good. She also loses points here for not executing Wildfire for blatant lechery.

Impostor! (oh sure, it might have been a Levitz plot... but these things have seeds.)



It was one of those scenes that showed you just how the Legionnaires had matured. I think there had been a Jeckie/Val scene at one point too, that emphasised this.



I think Conway has come out of the re reads well at this point. Considering the number of books and genres he'd been doing for DC by this point, he could have been a bit jaded. But he's brought a number of fresh things to the title.



Good thought about the Dominator/ Earthgov connection. It just shows you that any organisation, even one with idealistic goals, will still have it's fair share of crooks.




I always think that Validus is going to shake Mon-El like a rattle on the cover.



Brainy might be out of the sanatorium, but he's trying to get his colleagues killed through other means.