Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Postboot Legion! (LSH 110, L*67)

The Lyle/Spark/Cham thing was very sitcom-y but well done. It's an example of why tropes are not necessarily bad. In this case, the trope is that Character A tries to get Character B to fall for Character C, but Character B misunderstands and falls for Character A instead. Hi-jinks ensue. We'll see how it play out, but I found it interesting that Lyle, who is so competent and clever on a mission, completely bungles it when doing a favor for a friend. As with Jo's refusal to seek medical attention, it tells us something new and unexpected about his character.

Gim reminds me of my brother--very military, quick to act, and very much wanting to be in charge. I love his interaction with Thom (especially in this issue) because he does give Thom a hard time--and for the best of reasons. A screw-up on the team can cost the team in battle. Gim also has a weak spot--Zoe, whom he inexplicably puts in charge of the team while he's away. I'm not sure what leadership qualities Zoe has demonstrated to this point, but I don't think "leadership qualities" were among his criteria in selecting her.

Thom may be a screw-up, but he, too, does what he does for the best of reasons (from his point of view). He chases after a teammate at super-speed, even though he hasn't mastered this new ability yet. When Gim tries to make him leave the Legion, Thom takes his case to the highest authority there is--President Brande. Thom is a snitch, all right, and not above going over people's heads to get what he wants.

Re Lyle, it's also interesting because he was completely surprised that he bungled! Perhaps this tells us that Lyle is only careful when he wants to be, and that he can be very careless for things which are not so important to him.

I completely agree with you that Gim left Zoe in charge because of... "other" qualities Even Gim, a former Science Police officer, is not beyond showing favoritism.

I guess what all this shows about Thom is that he can be very single-minded and bull-headed.

I don't have the Showcase issue, and, though I do have the Dead Earth and One Million issues, they were not, as I recall, germane to the ongoing LSH/Legionnaires story. I'm fine with skipping them.

Great, we can move on then. and if anyone has these issues and wants to review, we can just insert them any time.

Legionnaires 38
Trouble on Titan

Issue Information

Summary:

Saturn Girl, Live Wire and Cosmic Boy are facing a warm welcome on Titan. Garth gives a rousing speech about the Legion's origins - with two of them coming from warring worlds - and how they learned to overcome their differences and work together, just like what the United Planets worlds are doing. With Imra and Rokk encouraging him, Garth lets loose a blast of lightning to even greater applause. Then his robot arm bursts apart to reveal his flesh-and-blood arm, and Imra kisses him out of passion and confesses her love... only for Garth to wake up, still out in space, as Cosmic Boy wrangles with customes who won't let them through until they are called for, despite the UP giving them diplomatic clearance. Garth barely notices; to his embarrassment, some Titanians are laughing at him; he suspects he may have been broadcasting his dream. Thankfully, Imra doesn't seem to notice...

... and we see she is "being alone with her thoughts". We see her flying through her own mind, as it seems to be, sorting out her memories and emotions. She thinks that she cares for Garth and appreciates how he has always been there for her; but she also cares about Rokk, and thinks that all three have been through so much. Her old teacher Aven pops up, saying that it is difficult to choose a life partner. Imra protests that she is not ready to choose. The pair encounter Imra's memory of the Composite Man, being surrounded by some sort of darkness. Imra thinks the darkness is trying to submerge the memory. Aven says this darkness is part of Imra's subconscious, and has been for many years, even before her time as a Legionnaire. The darkness grabs Imra; Aven holds her arm, but tells her she must be the one to defeat it herself.

Imra wakes up with a scream. Aven appears in "real life", saying that Imra must learn to confront the darkness herself, lest it destroy her. He also has used his telepathy to make sure the brueaucrats don't delay them anymore (we see a Titanian official saying "no... further delays...").

The three Legionnaires end up at the Ardeens' house. Father Bertor and Mother Sydne are happy to see them, but younger sister Jancel is all over Garth. She's incredibly flirtatious - "So, why do they call you Live Wire? Do you live up to it?" Garth quickly changes the subject to asking about family portraits; Sydne explains that there are few because Titanians share memories telepathically, thus having no need for portraits. To Imra's embarrassment, she shares memories of her childhood - being such a gifted telepath, Imra was taken away at five years old to study at the Titan Institute. She was one of the few students adept enough to study under Aven, and graduated with the highest honors. We see a hint of sisterly rivarly, with Imra beating Jancel at video games, and Jancel reacting in annoyance to Sydne's gushing. Garth, on the other hand, almost sheds a tear at the thought of little Imra being taken away.

Cos takes time to phone home; Triad is busy getting things in order in Cos' old office as Legion leader. She informs Cos that Leviathan took a team to Xanthu to settle Star Boy's Legion membership, and complains that Gim is a horrible administrator. Triad is keeping on top of things, AND organizing the Legion leader election; Triad Purple (of course) points out they wouldn;'t have to do that if Cos hadn't decided to step down! Other updates: Kinetix has been tying up monitor channels searching for the Emerald Eye; the Legion has had to house Dirk Morgna; and Violet managed to convince Brainiac 5 not to resign (the cliffhanger from LSH 81!). Cos' team and Gim's team already submitted their voted for Legion leader. Dr. Gym'll walks in right this moment; interestingly, Triad Orange was the one who called him in, and Neutral and Purple have no knowledge of that. Purple is annoyed that Orange "forgot to tell them", but Neutral says "like you've never done that before". Hmm, must be interesting being a Carggite. Triad sympathizes with all the red tape Cos must have had to deal with during his tenure. Cos replies there is still a lot of that on their trip to Titan, but accepts it with his characteristic good grace.

The three founders end up at the magno-ball courts, with the Sabers (wearing a Titan insignia) fighting the Bolts (homeworld unknown). Representative Xamuel Ivar of Titan and Representative Arn Kwin of Braal introduce the three; Garth gets a good level of applause, Imra gets the loudest, and Cos gets polite cheering at most. Imra smoothly introduces Cos as a former champion, and he takes to the stadium, showing his clear superiority over any of the players! Ivar and Kwin telepathically share their hopes and fears over this goodwill tour, and reveal they are most definitely more than just colleagues; Kwin holds Ivar's hand as he consoles him. Poor Ivar thinks that Titan still has so many hardliners, in key positions such as Education. Kwin encourages him by saying that building relationships is a long, slow process, and that their worlds have to overcome Chu's manipulations and a past war. The crowd begins to go wild, cheering Cos on as he displays trickier and trickier moves, much to the surprise and delight of Ivar and Kwin.

Garth and Imra join Cos as they thank the crowd for cheering. Suddenly, a bomb xplodes in the Representatives' box! The three rescue Ivar and Kwin, but Garth loses his robot arm.

At the hospital, Ivar has only suffered minor injuries, but Kwin remains comatose. Imra goes to help him. Jancel stops Garth from following, and rages at him for thinking Imra is "so special" and that she was instead a spoiled child. She shares her own memories of Imra crying when she was taken away; that part is a fact, but Jancel's interpretation is colored. She thinks their mom was crying because she was embarrassed at Imra's own crying! Garth tells Jancel off, saying she should stop being jealous of Imra and concentrate on building her own life. Jancel yells at him as he leaves.

As Imra begins her probe into Kwin's mind, Ivar stops her out of fear for Kwin's health. Cos confronts him, asking why he wants to stop Imra. Ivar reveals to Imra that he and Kwin are in a relationship, and that they had to be discreet because of the Titan-Braal conflicts. With Ivar's blessing, Imra enters Kwin's mind. The first memory she sees? Kwin and Ivar being introduced by Chu. Imra thinks that Chu was such a manipulator!

Imra soon encounters darkness again, but realizes this comes from Kwin's mind - it's not her own darkness. She finds Kwin in the midst of it all; he had locked his own consciousness away,using techniques Ivar had taught him. Kwin confesses that he planted the bomb himself, to make it appear someone had tried to kill him. He hoped this would make the more extreme Titanians examine their attitudes nad become more friendly towards Braal. Imra encourages him to stop hiding and to come out in the open, as things would be worse for everyone if Kwin's actions were discovered by someone else. Kwin agrees, and wakes up. He asks the Legionnaires to leave so he can talk to Ivar, and calls for the Science Police to give a statement. Imra takes courage and resolves to confront her own darkness one day.

Back on Earth, Triad announces the election results... and Shrinking Violet is the next leader! No mention of a deputy.

Thoughts:

This issue was very well-done, exploring intergalactic relations. I found it very realistic that Titan would not be so welcoming, but that Cos' performance on the stadium helped him win over the crowd. That's similar to what we see in the Olympics, no? It won't solve everything, it won't erase all memories, but it does make things easier.

Ah, immigration. As someone whose passport only allows him to travel to 60 countries without a visa - and someone who needs separate visas for many neighboring countries (such as the European Schengen Area, the UK AND Ireland, for US and Canada, for Japan and South Korea, for Australia and New Zealand)... I can relate to the bitter frustration at dealing with bureaucrats in immigration But it also gives a good illustration of geopolitics - despite Titan being in the UP, and the homeworld of a founding Legionnaire, they still see fit to thumb their noses at the UP when it suits them - such as when the citizen of one of their greatest enemies, Braal, is visiting.

Aven is crazy powerful, being able to overwhelm other Titanians without breaking a sweat, it seems.

Chu really is quite diabolical; I wouldn't be surpruised if she knew that Ivar and Kwin would be attracted to one another

The writers gave some nice bits into life on a telepathic world - the lack of portraits, for instance.

More insight into Triad's powers: Orange and Purple have both done things that the other triplets never learned about. But, do they learn about these things once they reintegrate? That would make sense, but I can't remember any evidence of that from earlier issues. It would be really weird if that never happened though.

Kwin using mental techniques ivar taught him is our first inkling that some measure of telepathy can be taught to non-native telepaths, though this is more of mental defense rather than true telepathy (thought casting and all that).

Imra's darkness is left hanging; I guess it sets up a nice subplot for later, and the writers may have felt it wouldbe too much for her to resolve it in one issue. In fact, little is resolved among the three founders' feelings, so we're back at status quo. Still, it was a nice exploration into the tangled web of Braal-Titan policies and the love triangle between our three founders.

And Violet as leader... whohoo! This should be interesting.

Legion of Super-Heroes 82
Lifestyles of the Dead
Issue information

Summary:

An explosion destroys Brainiac 5's lab, to which his only reaction is "interesting". He rudely tells Chuck Taine and Violet to "be quiet" as he walks away, protected by his forcefield. He further tells Chuck that he could rebuild the lab by Tuesday, if he hurries. Violet soothes Chuck by saying that it would be nice for his employment to be extended; she also says that Brainy's intellect has been very useful, which is why they put up with his lab-destroying ways. Cos and Imra come running in alarm, and Vi tells Cos she is handling it. Cos apologizes for taking charge, and the two founders congratulate Vi on her recent leadership win.

In another lab, Brainy makes a note to invent something for Violet as thanks for increasing his lab time. Minor error: he credits Violet for bringing Dr. Gym'll in, though in Legionnaires 38 Triad claims credit for calling him. But Triad did give Violet credit for convincing Brainy to stay with the team.

Dr. Gym'll is examining Live Wire to see if he can regrow Garth's arm.

Ultra Boy wakes up in his quarters in pain.

On Xanthu, Leviathan is mercilessly teasing Star Boy. "Next stop: Hickworld!" An annoyed Thom tells Gim he comes from a city of 17 million; Gim retorts with "I've never heard of it!" Thom tells Gim to talk louder and be proud of his ignorance. Gates also calls Gim out for "perpetuating hateful stereotypes".

Invisible Kid finally tells Spark that Chameleon is her real secret admirer, to Spark's consternation.

The Legionnaires are met by Xanthu's local superteam, the Uncanny Amazers - much to Thom's embarrassment. He even tries to pretend he doesn't know them, at first.

We meet: Lonna Leing, Insect Queen (nice play on Lana Lang there). Monstress is feeling the inferiority complex; she tells I. Queen "I guarantee you, they ain't heard of none of us!". She introduces herself as "The Monstress, that is my only name". Then she whispers, "Grife, that sounded stupid...". Boy, she sure is a far cry from the sweet Monstress we would come to know later. Rounding out the group are Atom'x and Kid Quantum II, with the latter being extremely hostile. Monstress tells Thom to forgive Kid Q's attitude, as she's been like that ever since her brother James died. Thom wonders if that's why Gim hates him so much. Thom surprises the Amazers by saying he doesn't plan to leave the Legion and return to Xanthu.

Jo's pains end when he calls Tinya's name. He jumps out of bed, thinking that he felt a rush of something undefinable... some "Tinya-ness". He goes into her room to investigate, only to scream as a hand phases through his chest and a voice tells him to get out!

Back on Xanthu, the Legionnaires mingle with the Amazers and other locals. We see many Xanthusians look down their noses at the Legion, though in a way that also suggests an inferiority complex. "We're as good as they are!" The Xanthusian President holds no illusions; he candidly tells Leviathan that, being on the edge of the galaxy, Xanthu has great need of its own defense force. He even says, "and, well, you saw the super-heroes we got. We could really use Star Boy." Gim is only too happy to let Thom go back to Xanthu, prompting Kid Quantum II to call him out for not standing up for Star Boy. "I see your leader's really sticking up for you, Star Boy. Just like he was there when my brother needed him." A shocked Gim stammers out an apology - "I'm very sorry for your loss, but I swear to you we did everything we could..."

Prefect Lamar (is a Prefect a Prime Minister?) whispers to the President about his plan: to have the Amazers face the Legion in a cage-match for the right to keep Star Boy. The President says he hates the plan, but reconsiders; he thinks some of the Amazers, suich as Kid Q, probably hate the Legion too much to work with Star Boy, so the plan does make sense. Let them get their aggressions out in the open, eh? Thom quickly accepts before a stunned Gim can say no.

The phased hand through Jo's chest is revealed to be Winema Wazzo, cleaning out Tinya's quarters. Jo tries to empathize with her pain over losing Tinya; she tells him not to touch her. "If you ever soil me with your touch like you soiled my baby, I'll have you killed!" Jo grits his teeth in anger, then suddenly collapses. And things begin flying around Tinya's room! Jo gets knocked out.

Cage match timne on Xanthu. Prefect Lamar tries to goad M'Onel into joining; he doesn't rise to the bait, but picks up the cage with one hand and says he needs to move it out of the draftg so he won't catch cold. Lamar eats his words, heh.

Kid Q has second thoughts about something she agreed to help Lamar do. Lamar tells her to stop thinking and just follow orders.

Match time: Star Boy, Spark, Leviathan, Chameleon and Gates (I guess Lyle was too busy being Invisible) versus Konk! (Floating Head Girl - thanks for the nickname, Gates!), Insect Queen, Monstress, Atom'x and the bald kid whom everyone insults and whose powers remain unknown. As the match starts, the Legionnaires find themselves inexplicably slowed down; Monstress scores an easy victory on Leviathan, Insect Queen wraps up Chameleon in webbing, and Konk headbutts Gates. Oops. Lamar cheers, telling Kid Q to keep up her quantum field. "If you win this for us, you will undo all the damage done by your br... errrrr." An angry Jazmin tells him off for not appreciating James' sacrifice in the line of duty, and tells him to fix his own match! With the quantum field off, Gim and Cham bounce off the floor and knock out Atom'x and the bald kid. And I assume Star Boy and Spark mop up the rest of their opponents - or Jazmin owns up to the cheating - because the next thing we know, M'Onel is congratulating Star Boy for keeping his Legion membership.

Vi, Cos and Imra rush to help Winema deal with the disturbance. Winema uses Jo's flight ring to bring him to the infirmary, thinking to herself that she "can't hate a sick child" despite despising Jo for so long. She interrupts Dr. Gym'll telling Garth that he can only regrow his other armif he gives up his lightning powers. Gym'll finds an unknown variety of ectoplasm in Jo's body, which turns out to be...

Apparition!

Tinya reappears, and the flying objects stop. Tinya says she somehow hid in Jo's body when they were atacked by the Daxamite (Legionnaires Annual 2), and has been trying to get out ever since. Except, she can only be seen and heard by Jo and Winema... and nobody at all can touch her. Jo and Winema are just happy to have her back, though.

Thoughts:

Rather a gorgeous and dramatic cover, of an intangible hand phasing through Ultra Boy's chest!

Well, we get quite two subplots wrapped up here - Jo's mysterious pains, Thom's Legion membership. That's quite a lot of developments. I don't know if I'm particularly satisfied with how they did it. I did like the exploration of Xanthu's inferiority complex and views towards Earth, and it was good seeing another side of Winema besides the harsh tiger mom.

Gim is such a jerk here, but I can't 100% blame him. Back in college, I used to act that way towards a classmate whom, I felt, was pig-headed and arrogant and incompetent. I can see where Gim is coming from; it's not the best behavior, but it's so very human AND understandable. Two quibbles: one is Gim is teasing Star Boy by belittling Xanthu (and not Gim himself); and as Gates observes, this is very much against the Legion's mission. Two, is his poor handling of expressing condolences to Kid Quantum II, especially when he himself was so broken up over Kid Quantum I's death way back. I felt this was a missed opportunity to give Gim some depth and show another side to him. Actually, a third quibble, and possibly the greatest - Gim directly disobeys RJ Brande's orders, and tries to foist Star Boy back on Xanthu. For someone who prides himself so much on his discipline and his background...! Gim must really think Thom is unsuitable!

I love the Xanthusian President. Candid, honest, and with a keen knowledge of human nature! Certainly one of the better politicans we have met.

The Amazers:

Monstress sounds more like The Thing here, certainly a far cry from her "sweetie" speech patterns later on. I suspect that she was initially intended as a joke character and pastiche of The Hulk/The Thing, and when the writers decided to make her a Legionnaire they went in a different direction, making her "sweet" to make her more unique.

Atom'x. I read that he was supposed to be Atmos, but the art went wrong. Explains why Atmos would appear later in the issue without any lines. Remembering back to Legionnaires 0, Atmos was mentioned (and had a cameo), along with Star Boy and Kid Quantum I.

And, here's my corroboration on Atom'x's origin.




Kid Quantum II. Why not? A direct legacy character! Stasis fields are a useful power anyway. I liked her standing up for her brother James, but I like even better that the writers let her have second thoughts even before Lamar insulted James. Shows her good character.

Insect Queen is a nice update on Lana Lang.

Legionnaires 39
Wishful Thinking

Issue Information

Summary:

Kinetix meditates in her room, trying to find a trace of the Emerald Eye. "Why must power be so elusive?" She thinks to herself that she searched for powers so she could continue to help the Legion. Lori peeks in and disturbs Zoe's concentration. Zoe snaps at her, then apologizes. Lori came to ask for advice, as Violet recommended Zoe as a "worldly person". She wants a guy (Rond!) to notice her; Kinetix tells her to slow down and remember that, while physically she is an adult, mentally she is only ten. Lori walks out, annoyed.

In space, a quartet of Science Police officers are flying Dr. Regulus to Takron-Galtos. Regulus burns out of his prison, and we hear the pained screams of two of the Officers.

Violet greets Leviathan's team on their arrival from Xanthu. Gim congratulates Vi on winning the leadership election, and complains about his mission - Thom gets to stay; he kept trying to fly the cruiser (despite everyone NOT wanting "Crash Kallor" to do so!), Spark is hostile to both Chameleon and Invisible Kid, and apparently Gates never stopped speaking the whole time (to which Gates retorts, "Oh, like you're such a great conversationalist!"). In the commissary, Gim is concerned about M'Onel's Detached Agent status letting him take off pretty much whenever he wants. He thinks it will be bad for morale. Vi counters that it IS a special status for him, and the rest of the team is on board and in good shape.

Ultra Boy tells Spark "Everything's wonderful, we're very happy," a reference to Apparition's return in LSH 82 (though only Jo and Winema can see her).

XS asks Spark about her secret admirer. When Spark reveals it was Cham instead of Lyle, XS blurts it out to the whole commissary - much to Ayla's, Cham's and Lyle's consternation.

Triad argues amongst herself, with Orange freaking out that Cham's not humanoid and Purple being supportive. An annoyed Neutral forcibly reintegrates, embarrased that they were arguing so in public.

Zoe chases Lori to get her to calm down. "Nass, I sound like my mother!"

Brainy suddenly realizes that nobody has pestered him the entire day.

Gallan is a remote world owned by McCauley, and we see how grim the pollution situation is. Spider-Girl wakes up fellow Workforce member Inferno, who sleeps with ALL the lights open. Hmm.. McCauley complains about falling production levels, to which a worker explains that most other employees have left because of the poor environmental and health situation. McCauley will have none of it, and further complains about the Science Police cruiser which landed without notification. Uh-oh...

Zoe is still looking for Lori, and encounters Triad. Poor Lu has a horrible headache. Zoe offers to help as she has some healing experience. Triad mentions that she cannot find Brainy.

Lori is in Rond's lab, and kisses him. A surprised Rond falls down, and an annoyed Lori says she felt nothing despite always believing the first kiss would be special.

In the Monitor Room, Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl kiss. Shvaughn calls in with a report that the Science Police (SP) cruiser carrying Dr. Regulus was diverted to Gallan; and because Gallan is a private holding, the SPs have no jurisdiction. Cos notifies Violet, who assembles a team at once -

Violet leads Chameleon, Cosmic Boy, Leviathan, Kinetix, Spark, Triad, Ultra Boy and XS. We will see next issue that Apparition is along for the ride. And Violet chose to bring Dirk Morgna, despite Gim's misgivings. Dirk is understandably aggressive towards Regulus, which makes Gim push back. As the cruiser dives into the atmosphere, a beam burns a whole in the cruiser, and Violet orders the team to bail. They head for McCauley's industrial center, where we find him cowering in the dark. Evolvo, as an apeman, tries to start a fire. Spider-Girl complains about not going with Inferno and Karate Kid to check on the blackout. The Legion enters, and McCauley tells them all he knows - which is that the SP Cruiser landed, that a petrochem plant was wrecked and that the power went out. Vi deduces it was Regulus' doing, and splits the team into squads. Spider-Girl suggests she tag along with Ultra Boy's squad, but Jo rebuffs her. Poor Sussa.

Squad 1: Cosmic Boy, Kinetix and Triad. Another new thing for Zoe, she uses her telekinesis to agitate air molecules to provide light. Not a magic thing, though. They find and rescue Karate Kid from under some debris. Val was ambushed by someone with armor - Regulus.

Squad 2: Chameleon, Spark, Ultra Boy and XS face a panicked Inferno, whose fear of the dark is causing her to throw fire everywhere. Cham narrowly saves Spark, who warms up to him and apologizes for giving him the cold shoulder. XS zips in and slaps some sense into Inferno.

Squad 3: Leviathan, Violet and Dirk Morgna. As the only one to provide light, Dirk takes point (!). In no time at all they find Regulus, who tries burning them. Dirk realizes that Regulus can "see" heat signatures; and when he tries to attack Regulus, his own fire is absorbed. Regulus gloats that his armor's circuitry is linked to Gallan's planetary power grid, and that he can absorb energy! Cos' squad arrives to reinforce Vi's; and Zoe flirts with Gim a bit. Triad triplicates, only for each of her three bodies to be physically different - each has a different costume and hairstyle. Before they can figure out what happened, Regulus creates a shockwave through his new "command of electromagnetic forces", and tells the Legionnaires they will die!

Thoughts:

I love Jeff Moy's art, and his roll calls are a nice touch. Here we have Spark snubbing a concerned Chameleon as a sight gag. I especially loved the panel where XS blurts out Cham's identity as Spark's admirer - Ayla spills coffee all over her face (with a big SPOOT!), Lyle drops his tray and Cham's antennae stiffen! I also love how Moy worked in clues that Brainy was undetectable - we see Brainy right in the middle of the commissary, and succeeding panels show Chuck, Lori and Zoe all passing him, all without anyone noticing him at all.

I feel that the interpersonal conflicts and little moments were much better than the action in this issue, which consists of the Legionnaires searching for Regulus and stumbling around in the dark. There are some clever power uses though, such as XS outrunning Inferno's fireballs; Spark using electricity to disrupt the flames; Zoe using telekinesis to shield the team from debris; Cos wrapping Regulus up in metal. And Apeman Evolvo is just too funny.

My biggest criticism is the threat of Regulus. I still don't understand how he could get so powerful, even going so far as to create earthquakes and stuff. There isn't even any futuristic science explanation. It feels a bit lazy, unlike earlier stories with more solid science (Planet Hell's magnetic fields protecting it from the sun, the chemistry used to stop the Composite Man...)

The one-liners continue to entertain - Zoe's "Nass, I sound like my mother!" while chasing Lori; Gates' "Like you're such a great conversationalist" to Gim; and Thom's "Crash Kallor" nickname (Thom's pained comment, "one little accident and they never let you forget it", is hilarious too).

Zoe's powers continue to confuse - now it seems she's a generic magic user in addition to having telekinesis (conjuring an image of the Emerald Eye; helping heal Triad). At least the glow-in-the-dark thing is explained by telekinesis.

Bringing Triad along on the mission is an odd choice; her headache was so bad she was crouching in the hallway back in Legion HQ. I would have thought she would have been left behind, as her pain only started easing after the cruiser made the Stargate jump to Gallan. Bringing Dirk is an interesting choice as well - he shows no signs of being trained for these types of situations. And oh, Vi's puppy love is showing - grouping herself with Gim!

Alas poor Sussa, she still definitely has a thing for Jo. Well, he did pretty much drop her to go with Tinya, and we never saw him break up with her for good (the whole time, it was implied that he just "ghosted" her, heh). This always bothered me a bit, and I think that when Sussa finally gets over him she will definitely let him hear about it.

Legion of Super-Heroes 83
Big Tears
Issue information

Summary:

Rather an ominous issue title, no?

The tears aren't being shed by McCauley. With power - including lie support - failing all over Gallan, Evolvo has already ordered a planetary evacuation. McCauley rages, saying they could have worked them for another half day! Spider-Girl and Evolvo are more sensible, and McCauley is convinced to trigger his escape pod to bring the three of them into orbit so he can keep tabs on Gallan from a safe distance. To Spider-Girl's and Evolvo's protests, McCauley thinks the Legionnaires can take care of themselves, and that anyone on the Workforce is replaceable.

As the Legionnaires and their allies recover, Chameleon's squad bursts in to confront Regulus. Regulus blasts open some old transformers, which are "pre-regulatory models" that contain pure dichloraxin - one drop of which could paralyze someone. On Vi's orders, XS and Cosmic Boy try to contain the chemical. Apparition tells Ultra Boy to dodge, despite his invulnerability; if any drops get on his costume, he would be the hazard. A grateful Jo didn't think of this, and air-kisses phantom Tinya. Triad notices and Purple flirts with Jo ("Hey loverboy! Kissing air? Come here and I'll show you something better!"). Neutral and Orange admonish her and suggest they attack Regulus, but the three can't seem to get their act together and crash into each other - a sign that they are no longer truly Carggite? It's hard to say, because all three bodies disagree on who goes high and who goes low.

Violet orders everyone out, as the atmosphere is becoming too toxic. An angry Dirk Morgna refuses to listen, and blasts Regulus. Inferno joins him.

More weirdness afoot: The Triads can't recombine, and Cosmic Boy sees Saturn Girl... who turns out to be XS. Whoa. XS calls Cos her "heart's desire". Vi, at a loss, calls Gim, saying she can't get Inferno and Dirk to listen. Regulus quickly blasts the two fiery friends down; Vi has Inferno and Gim rushes in to save Dirk. A disappointed and surprised Vi calls out to him, to which he replies, "Sorry Vi honey, but I'm not letting another kid die because he's too stubborn to follow orders." Gim shows that he's still thinking of the first Kid Quantum, which is something we didn't see an issue ago (LSH 82). Gim finds Dirk, who isn't glowing anymore - he's powerless, but alive!

Outside, Regulus cracks open the ground and unearths McCauley's nuclear waste. In orbit, McCauley decides to unleash the rest of his waste to overwhelm Regulus, thinking that if he stops the threat now he could recover some hardware. Evolvo agrees, much to Spider-Girl's shock and consternation. She questions McCauley's willingness to ruin the ecosystem and let the Legionnaires die, to which McCauley responds, smugly, that he will simply build them a magnificent monument.

Back at Legion HQ, Gates is surprised that Invisible Kid and Star Boy are listening to his political opinions; that anyone would listen to him has always been his "heart's desire". Imra rushes to Element Lad, who is visited by visions of his dead parents, urging him to commit suicide and join them. Jan explains to a panicked Imra that, in Trommite culture,death is a reward and hs also been his "heart's desire". Garth comes in, showing Imra that his arm has been restored magically. And Brainy tries talking to everyone in the room, but nobody seems to notice him, causing him to question his existence.

Regulus continues feeding into the nuclear wastes on Gallan, and begins to grow. Kinetix leads Spark, Ultra Boy and Cosmic Boy in sealing off some pipes spewing acid. Cos cracks me up by saying "How could anyone - even McCauley - not see these as an environmental outrage? We should probably have come here long ago and kicked his butt!" To which Leviathan gleefully says he sounds like Gates. McCauley rants about this, to Spider-Girl's amusement.

Regulus has grown to gigantic size, and boasts that he controls the planet. Violet orders everyone into a nearby cruiser so they can escape. Leviathan is determined to stop Regulus, because he knows everyone will die if they can't get off-planet. He digs into the ground and grabs some acid pipes, and... breaks them open on Regulus! Regulus melts, and Gim falls to the ground, horribly scarred. Violet reaches him first, telling him he died a hero - which Gim says was his heart's desire. Violet begins glowing with green energy, which a scared Kinetix recognizes as the Emerald Eye... just before Vi teleports everyone back to Legion HQ and changes into an Emerald Empress-y outfit. Oops.

Thoughts:

Sigh, McCauley. What a nasshead!

Regulus - I wonder if the Eye had a hand in his increased power levels, to help fulfill Leviathan's wish of being a big hero. That's the only real explanation I have for why he can suddenly do what he did this issue.

The writers did do a good job of seeding us with clues that something was afoot. All the odd happenings with various Legionnaires, for one. Vi being the Emerald Empress was not obvious, but also not completely out of left field (as next issue will show).

The action, just like last issue, was kind of boring - though there were some good power uses again, such as Chameleon morphing into a ballon to gather everyone and XS dragging people to safety; Kinetix fusing pipes together for Spark, Cos and Jo to seal. I was hoping Violet would be more proactive and "leaderly", but she doesn't get to do that much here. Other Legionnaires like Cos, Gim and even Zoe take charge more than she does. The Legionnaires as a whole are also reactive, I never see them get together and think of strategies for stopping Regulus - instead, they react to the things he does (bursting pipes full of acid, unearthing nuclear waste) without trying to tackle him directly. The only ones who do are Inferno and Dirk (who fail), and Gim (who dies).

As for Dirk - not sure what his purpose was. He just loses his powers, he doesn't even get to be a hero.

But I guess that's realism, huh? In any crisis, people do not always know what to do. And the Legionnaires ARE young, and their inexperience shows.

Triad's powers - it's heavily implied that Carggites are able to excel at trijutsu because of, well, something inherent in their being Carggite. That's why the Triads' attack on Regulus fails. We will see hints of this much later, in LSH 107, where Triad proves to be a better trijitsu fighter than the Composite Durlan.

This issue goes a long way towards showing that Spider-Girl isn't all that bad, while Evolvo is incredibly greedy and possibly as amoral as McCauley is. Inferno is a mixed bag, she's clearly brave and all but is also hotheaded and impulsive, and I can't forget the time she killed a man way back in Legionnaires 22.

I did enjoy learning about the "heart's desires" of various Legionnaires. The writers remembered that the desires of Cosmic Boy and XS would be contradictory, and they seemed to consider that Live Wire's would be too. Here's a list:

Cosmic Boy - the love of Saturn Girl
Live Wire - to get his arm back and "be whole" for Imra
Saturn Girl - ? (guess the writers didn't want to spoil the love triangle)
Triad - to be three separate people (although Orange wasn't happy!)
Apparition - ? (likely not affected by the Emerald Eye)
XS - the love of Cosmic Boy
Chameleon - ? (it's not certain if Spark's about-face was this for him)
Invisible Kid - ?
Leviathan - to die in battle?
Spark - ?
Brainiac 5 - for nobody to notice and bother him
Kinetix - ?
Violet - ? (though we learn that being leader was part of it)
Star Boy -?
Gates - for people to listen to his opinions
Element Lad - death (!)
Ultra Boy - ? (though later, he and Tinya will question if Tinya's return is it)
Dirk Morgna - ? unlikely that his loss of his powers was it, as Violet would later say that she only commanded the Eye to fulfill the wishes of Legionnaires; plus, his power loss wasn't reversed, unlike the other changes

Legionnaires 40
Emerald / Violet

Issue Information

Summary:

Kinetix tells her teammates that they need to get the Emerald Eye away from Violet. Violet laughs as she blasts everyone back. She then teleports away non-Legionnaires Inferno, Dirk Morgna and Karate Kid, while teleporting all the Legionnaires to her - including M'Onel from deep space. M'On recognizes the Eye from his time in the 20th century. Vi forces the Legion to call the roll, then dispatches Brainiac 5 to place Leviathan's body in stasis. Kinetix tries to talk Vi out of using the Eye's power; Vi counters by pointing out Zoe's powerlust; how "playing with molecular bonds" wasn't enough for her! Vi adds how lonely and outclassed she felt, by just being able to shrink. Zoe asks why Vi never said anything, as they were friends. Vi counters that Zoe was missing. She reveals that she encountered the Eye in the Scavenger's lair, and that the Eye gave her energy and confidence. She blames the Legionnaires for not giving her attention and friendship, something which the Eye took advantage of.

She is interrupted by Shvaughn firing at the Eye, causing it to break apart - until it reforms an instant later. Violet quickly deages Shvaughn into infancy. As Kinetix and others try to talk Vi down, she keeps ranting about how the Eye made her feel wonderful and how people began noticing her, about Leviathan noticing only Kinetix and not her, about slowly becoming more assertive and finally becoming Legion leader. She had to keep her distance from Zoe, for fear Zoe would detect the Eye. Then Vi says she began using the Eye to grant everyone their "heart's desire", leading Ultra Boy and Apparition to wonder if the latter's return was the Eye's doing. Jo tries to question Vi on this, but is blasted back. She angrily turns some Legionnaires into frogs to punish them for failing to save Leviathan. Then she dispatches M'Onel, Live Wire, XS and Ultra Boy to help her bring Gim back to life, and leaves the few remaining Legionnaires alone.

Cos goes to check on the staff, while Saturn Girl, the Triads and Kinetix gather. Zoe wonders why she wasn't sent, as she has healing experience. Imra says she planted a telepathic suggestion in Vi to leave Zoe, as Zoe has the most knowledge about the Eye.

M'Onel materializes in the Anterean System, questioning the Al'Khaulytes on their reanimation of the dead. When they rebuff him, Vi takes control of M'On and makes him attack the acolytes.

Upon claiming Leviathan's body, Garth, Jenni and Jo are told there is no hope. The coroner's scanners suddenly pick up a concenrtation of ectoplasm in Jo's body. An angry Violet pops in and asks the three why they haven't done anything; she takes control of XS and spurs her to tear up the lab looking for research. When Garth says they can't bring Gim back, Vi punishes him by removing his restored arm. Luckily for the acolytes M'Onel is attacking, M'On is freed of control at this moment.

Jo and Tinya use the opportunity to run away. Tinya uses the scanner as evidence that she really does exist independently of the Eye. Vi confronts Jo, and doesn't register Tinya's presence. Vi grabs Jo and disappears.

In the VR Room, Triad has the idea of using the VR systems while she, Zoe and Imra plot against the Eye. Theoretically, the VR array should interfere with any eavesdropping, telepathic or otherwise. Sadly, it doesn't work, and Vi teleports in and tries to drown the three of them plus Jo. The Eye manifests an image of Violet, who is meaner. Zoe and Imra try to convince Vi that the Eye is twisting her. Vi tries to stop her double, and begins questioning it. But the Eye overpowers Vi's doubts, and takes over the rest of the Legion's minds - turning them into the Emerald Legion!

Thoughts:

Interesting slash in the title. A play on the fact that both "emerald" and "Violet" are colors?

Well, the story isn't much, a lot of it is Violet acting irrationally under the thrall of the Eye. She's grieving and under mind control, so that explains some of it, but... I wish the writers had revealed more about the reanimation of the dead ritual in Antares. Unlike the Adventure Era story of Lightning Lad's revival, we are given no clue here as to why the ritual couldn't work on Gim. I wish that had been addressed, it's a rather glaring blind spot especially given how desperate Violet was.

Again, I love the little bits that Jeff Moy works into his art. When Vi blasts everyone,you can see Triad Purple's arm slamming into Inferno's nose, and Inferno glowering at her a panel later. The roll call is another great look into personalities, with some Legionnaires looking more agressive than others - such as Garth and Jo and Gates. The Emerald Legion costumes are great too - Brainiac 5 becomes a mini-Brainiac, complete with the wires on his head; Kinetix's costume reminds me of a genie; Jo gets facial hair and a beard; Spark's hair is all spiky; and interestingly, M'Onel gets headgear similar to Leviathan's.

The dialogue continues to shine. Little things like Gates snapping he doesn't appreciate being teleported against his will; Garth trying to give Vi a piece of his mind during roll call; XS barely whispers. I laughed at Gates' line when Violet punishes him and others for failing to revive Leviathan by turning them into frogs - "But I wasn't even there!"

Other nice bits: Jan admonishing Shvaughn for drawing her blaster right away, as he believes in peace. In one panel, Triad Purple sticks her tongue out at Emerald Vi.

Zoe does have a bit of an ego, wondering why Vi didn't send her along to help save Gim because she has healing experience. Expecting rationality from the Eye And Zoe also kept thinking that she could have used the Eye's power to save Gim, while warning against using the Eye. I can understand Vi's annoyance during those instances.

I can understand why some people feel that Vi's possession by the Eye ruined her. As Vi monologues, the background art contains many instances of the new, confident Vi we have been seeing for nealry a year - her defeat of Scavenger and a brainwashed Jan Arrah, becoming Legion leader. It certainly seems like all this is the Eye's doing, and none of it Vi's own growth.

Legion of Super-Heroes 84
Emerald Legion
Issue information

Summary:

In Workforce HQ, Inferno is keeping tabs on the Legion. Despite McCauley ordering her to stay, she blasts a hole in the wall and goes to check it out.

Violet seems to have forgotten her mission to resurrect Leviathan - possibly a reflection of the Emerald Eye's stronger control over her. She leads the Emerald Legion in "changing the world". First stop? A Science Police officer in a shoot-out with two bad guys and a hostage. The officer and the two bad guys get turned into animals, but the hostage is left alone. Apparition tries to snap Ultra Boy out of it by reestalishing a psychic link (?!), but can't. She zips away, only to phase through Saturn Girl, awakening her.

Tinya dashes back to Legion HQ. Lori is cuddling the baby-fied Shvaughn, who still has her adult mind. Marla Latham is trying to man the Monitor Board. He gets a call from a familiar face, Nura Nal, who sounds very ditzy - completely unlike the self-assured Nura of the Preboot. "Nura Nal? But you can call me Nura? But please, not Nurry? Well, I get these sort of visions? Like dreams? but they come true? And I dreamt the Legion was in this explosion? And only half of them came out? so..."

Marla cuts her off, telling her to check back when she hits reality. Oops. Inferno burns her way in, looking for Violet.

Imra tries to reach Violet's mind; just as she succeeds, Vi and the Eye are alerted and blast her. Imra links with the Eye and tries to turn it on Vi, but Vi shrinks out of the way and lets Imra get hit. She suffers no damage, but is instead turned normal and without any of the Eye's power. Members of the new Emerald Legion group mind try to retrieve Imra, but Vi stops them. She says "part of Eye" wants her back, but that they must reshape the world first - a clear sign that the Eye is dominating Vi, and explaining why we seem to have forgotten about the resurrection of Gim. Vi and company teleports to a satellite around Earth, molding it in their image.

Imra returns to HQ, and she can see Tinya too. She also shuts up a snarky Inferno. Imra commandeers a cruiser and invites Inferno and Tinya along. Shvaughn insists on going, and Imra agrees much to everyone's surprise (including Shvaughn's!)

The Emerald Legionnaires are spreading out, transforming sections of the Earth. There are some traces of individuality; Brainy's landscape looks like a computer, while Jan turns his into crystal. They are all speaking in a group mind though...

... except Gates. As someone says, "All who live will live as EYE wish," Gates begins to question. "That's imperialism!" he thunders. With some effort, he remembers his beliefs, saying "the only legitimate power belongs to the masses! They must be free to exercise their right to self-determination..." And is stopped by Kinetix turning him into an egg! The Emerald Legion is outraged that she has fractured the group mind. Violet says she could have compensated for Gates' independence, as he is all talk. Kinetix says she's not, and fires upon the Eye. Kinetix and Violet get into an all-out brawl for the Eye's power, much to the shock of the Emerald Legionnaires. All are confused, and can do nothing. Enter Imra's crew; Imra transmits a feeling of thinking independently, and this is enough to shake Brainiac 5 and M'Onel from the Eye's control. Guess we know which Legionnaires are the most independent, huh?

Despite Brainy's warnings, M'On tries to block the Eye's energy, and gets thrashed for his efforts. Imra, Shvaughn, Inferno and Tinya burst in, and Tinya tries to reach a catatonic Jo. Some Legionnaires remain catatonic, while some attack Inferno and Shvaughn.

Violet gets the upper hand and tells the Eye to show Kinetix that the Eye chose Vi; the Eye zaps Zoe, draining her and turning her into a wizened crone. Zoe still tries to reach the Eye despite all this. Violet reacts in horror, and at the battles between Legionnaires. Her speech is telling: "We weren't supposed to hate each other! Eye just wanted to be part of the group, Eye didn't want to destroy it! None of this should have happened! Eye want it undone! Take me back! Back in time! Undo it all. Eye! I command you - take me back!"

And then everything goes kablooey!

Thoughts:

Love the cover. A bunch of Legionnaires blinded by a big explosion of light. Very dramatic.

Well, some more inconsistencies. Some Legionnaires fight back against Imra's crew, others just stand there doing nothing. It does convey the tug-of-war between Vi and the Eye for control. though, and how the Eye overextended itself trying to control so many Legionnaires at once. Again, I can't say that the action in this issue was very compelling, though.

Inferno - well, I still don't get what drove her to investigate, besides curiosity. She seems shoehorned in, unlike Shvaughn. Imra certainly told Inferno off, grabbing her arm before she could throw her flame. I love her line, "I have just been through a majorly weird ordeal, and am in no mood to patronize a strutting bully."

I do like the inclusion of Shvaughn. I have always been a big fan, and it's nice to have a non-powered supporting character get more screen time. (minor note: last issue, she seemed to be mentally a baby, spouting baby talk. Now she speaks like an adult...)

Lori thinking baby Shvaughn was cute was hilarious.

We get another familiar face - Nura Nal. One of the last Adventure Era Legionnaires to not yet have been reintroduced. Sadly, I agree with many others - this Nura is nothing like the self-assured, vampy yet smart Nura we all knew - the one who had a clear handle on her act, with every move calculated just so. This one seems like a valley girl.

Gates and Kinetix are the first two Legionnaires to resist the Eye, without outside help. Not too surprised, nor am I surprised that Brainy and M'On were the two most receptive to Imra's telepathic interference.

Legionnaires 41
Aftermath
Issue Information

Summary:

Live Wire regains consciousness and tries to make sense of what has happened. He sees a white glove in the rubble and digs, thinking it is Saturn Girl. Instead, he finds XS. As XS looks for other Legionnaires, Garth checks the monitors and realizes they are on a rapidly-decaying satellite!

Other Legionnaires are found: Kinetix, Star Boy, Element Lad, Chameleon, Triad, Invisible Kid, M'Onel. Garth quickly takes charge, ordering M'Onel to slow their descent into the Earth's atmosphere. Kinetix shields everyone as they scramble into transuits. Thankfully, the Legionnaires survive reentry through the combined efforts of M'Onel and Kinetix, and the Legionnaires are picked up by RJ Brande and the UP Fleet. The remaining able-bodied Legionnaires - Garth, Lu, Lyle and M'On - are invited in for a briefing. RJ fills them in on the events they can't remember. As they watch the satellite explode, Garth mourns for Imra. But Rond comes in and says he believes the missing Legionnaires and allies were thrown through time instead. Lyle worries for them, as Vi and the Eye have disappeared too; but RJ shows readings that indicate the Eye and Violet sped away at the instant of the explosion.

A guilty Violet is indeed in space, being tormented by the Eye. Violet blames the Eye for making her do horrible things. The Eye answers that things fell to pieces only because Violet kept resisting her. The Eye further tells her she can no longer go home, as everyone will think she is a villain.

RJ addresses the UP, sharing news of Leviathan's death and Violet's possession by the Eye. The one thing he hides is the time travel; the cover story is that the missing Legionnaires and friends went on a "special mission".

Nice Easter egg on this page by the way. One world in the UP is populated by blue-skinned humanoids

Dr. Gym'll reminds Garth that he can grow a new arm if he gives up his lightning powers. Garth declines; he wants to be "whole" for Imra but decides the Legion needs him more at the moment.

Triad tries to console Kinetix, who is feeling a mix of regret for not detecting the Eye sooner... and sadness that they could not save Leviathan.

XS runs around the world, kicking herself over losing Cosmic Boy. She doesn't know if Cos had real feelings for her, or if the Eye made him kiss her (we know it was the latter; Cos thought he was kissing Imra!). Star Boy isn't able to catch her, and as Jenni is running faster than sound she can't hear him. He finally makes her stop by using his mass powers on her, though "she still covered half a continent!"

Last rites for Leviathan are held on Shanghalla. Another Easter Egg - what looks to be a memorial to the Martian Manhunter; we see a statue, half-hidden in shadow, but with a recognizable costume. Leviathan's giant body is in a giant coffin, and the Legionnaires (except Kinetix) are the pallbearers. RJ delivers the eulogy. Interesting bits: the females wear "veils" on their heads, while Chameleon wears a black cap. Cameos: Gim's parents, Zoe's mom and brother, Jenni's dad, Gigi Cusimano (an old friend of Gim's in this reality), and Gim's old commander on Mars from his origin story. And an angry Winema Wazzo.

Winema asks the Allons for their support in investigating the Legion, that "pack of child-killers"! Mr. Allon yells at her, saying Gim was a soldier and knew the risks. Mrs. Allon thinks the same way, that Gim willingly gave his life and died doing what he loved. Element Lad begins wondering why everyone is so sad, as he believes death is "the time of greatest change". Triad admonishes him to be quiet, as everyone else is grieving. Winema confronts RJ about the Legion's secret mission. RJ declines to answer; Winema asks at least for the whereabouts of Ultra Boy, and reveals that Apparition survived as a wraith linked to him, to RJ's shock.

The Legionnaires depart for Earth. On the first cruiser, Star Boy commisserates with the Allons, saying that Gim was his toughest teacher and he learned a lot. Cham whispers to M'On that Kinetix could hardly speak to the Allons.

On the second cruiser, Zoe's mom and brother ask her about her transformation - ears and tail and all that. Zoe says she didn't know what or how to tell them, and narrates her encounter with Mysa. Zoe's mom Azra recognizes the name Mysa.... and then Mysa astral projects into the cruiser, teleporting it away! We end with the cruiser trashed, and Kinetix, the Saugins, Live Wire, XS, Invisible Kid and Triad facing an angry Mysa!

Thoughts:

This issue hit the spot! Teamwork, intelligent use of powers, exploring emotional fallout... and reminding us that a Legionnaire is dead, in a sensitive way. Well done, I liked it more than the big crazy shenanigans with the Emerald Eye! The panic and confusion of the Legionnaires on the satellite was captured really well. Nice decoy, making us think Garth found Imra - only for it to be XS. Well, both have white gloves.

Scary cover, I was afraid for XS when I saw it.

RJ is such a stabilizing influence. I would love to work with someone like that. I am also taking a class in Crisis Management and Communications now, and RJ is doing everything right with his frank addresses.

Whoo, who knew Zoe was powerful enough to hold together a bubble through reentry!

I like how the Allons didn't go the vengeful parents route. Quite a refreshing change from Winema's vendetta. But I can't hate Winema either, she's just so torn up by Tinya's death and rebirth. And again we have Jan's different way of thinking about death.

Legion of Super-Heroes 85
Metropolis Now!
Issue information

Summary:

The fates of the missing half of the Legion are revealed: Apparition, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Gates, Saturn Girl, Spark, and Ultra Boy are joined by Science Police liaison Shvaughn Erin and Workforce member Inferno in the past! (Interestingly, this group is majority female whereas the 30th century group is majority male). The group is flung through the air in a cloud of emerald energy. Cosmic Boy convinces Gates to teleport him outside of the bubble, and Cos uses his magnetism to bring everyone else to him. Shvaughn, back to adulthood, falls as she doesn't have a flight ring; Ultra Boy catches her. Saturn Girl fills the rest in on what went on while they were taken over by the Eye. Spark begins to panic, especially considering the other Legionnaires are missing. Apparition becomes jealous at Jo carrying Shvaughn, and tells Jo to give him her old flight ring (which Jo has been carrying around since Tinya "died".) Shvaughn and company are puzzled at Jo talking to Tinya, prompting Imra to link everyone's minds so they can perceive Tinya.

Brainy tries to interrupt as everyone crowds around Tinya. Imra tells him off, until they are interruped by a plane barreling over them - one Shvaughn recognizes to be over a thousand years old! Brainy finally gets everyone's attention and tells them they are, indeed, stuck in the past. An angry Inferno accuses Brainy of building a time machine and sending them back, and she tries to fry him. Wow, good job, Inferno; frying the only person smart enough to get them home...

Brainy detects a small cloud of Emereld Eye energy, and tells the Legion to chase it as it might be able to get them home. Gates teleports into a building to follow it, landing in front of a newscast by Jimmy Olsen, and causing panic. Cameo on the next pages shows Bibbo, Superman's other pal!

The Legionnaires continue to give chase, and Brainy says they must catch the cloud before it hits the ground, else it will dissipate. The cloud enters a taxicab and begins to transform it. The panicked driver slams his door into Brainy's face, afraid of him being green.

Gates mistakes a stone bridge for the Great Wall of China, and Spark becomes nauseated at the smell of hot dogs cooking. "it's scorched animal parts? These primitives are actually eating them?" Spark blasts a hole into the bridge so they can follow the cloud. Jo stays behind to hold the bridge up, and is offered help by someone... with a red cape?

Maggie Turpin and Dan Sawyer mobilize to follow the Legion. They are accosted by three members of the Special Crimes Unit.

Brainy configures the team's telepathic earplugs into a two-way stream, as he and Spark try to talk down the officers. Unfortunately, the emerald cloud infects the cops' armor, and makes it attack the Legionnaires. The Legionnaires try to stop the armor while Brainy chases the green cloud. Shvaughn realizes they are fighting police officers, and shoots at Inferno to stop her from burning Maggie Sawyer. Cos magnetically disarms everyone, prompting an officer to hit him; Maggie yells at the officer, as Cos wasn't being aggressive. Superman steps in just at this point, and calms everyone down. He recognizes the Legionnaires, but knows them by their Preboot reality names - calling Ayla "Lightning Lad's twin", much to the surprise of the Legionnaires.

Unfortunately, just as things get settled, a dejected Brainy returns carrying his ruined forcefield belt. He wasn't able to catch the cloud.

Thoughts:

Pretty standard fare here. The Legionnaires are in for some culture (time?) shock, and I find these bits well done, with the hot dogs and the native population's lack of experience with aliens making it harder for Gates and Brainiac 5. I like that both Legionnaires and some of the cops (Maggie) tried to talk things out instead of getting into a free-for-all.

Apparition is snarky, just the way I like it. When Inferno says the rest of the Legionnaires were probably atomized in the blast, Tinya retorts with "tactful as usual, Inferno". Shades of jealousy erupt, with her reaction towards Shvaughn.

Inferno again proves she's not Legion material, to me anyway. Trying to fry Brainy? Hello, 1) killing, and 2) smart move, trying to fry the genius who can get them home. Sigh.

Gates, as the most alien Legionnaire, has to deal with "specieism". "One look at me and they scream? I don't have to put up with this humiliating display of specieism! You look ridiculous running around with your big, soft mouths open wide as black holes, going EARRRGHH!" I also love how he kept insisting they were in China, and that people were speaking Chinese.

Brainiac 5 is condescendingly arrogant, as usual. The Legionnaires snap at him from time to time too, though I suppose I can't blame them considering how haughty he is.

There are also signs that Spark will be one of those who will have the hardest time adjusting, what with her worry over Garth and her disgust at the "primitives" of the era.

Legionnaires 42
When Strikes the Sorceress
Issue Information

Summary:

Both Kinetix and her mom Azra recognize Mysa, who is enraged at Kinetix's failure to find the Emerald Eye. Live Wire tells Mysa off for threatening a Legionnaire; she blasts him with lightning, which he absorbs easily. He fires back, and Mysa disappears. Garth thinks he killed her, but Zoe says Mysa is too powerful and her disappearance an illusion. Mysa retorts, "you accuse me of mere trickery?", and triggers a volcanic eruption and earthquake. Live Wire, XS and Triad turn to face Mysa, but she ensnares each easily in a band of gold energy. Kinetix just has time to set her mother Azra and her brother Thanot down before she, too, is captured. Azra and Thanot begin to fade as Mysa drags Zoe and the others off with her. Invisible Kid is revealed to have spirited Azra and Thanot away; this is his first time trying to make others besides him invisible, and is exhausted by the effort. Thanot chides Lyle for not doing more to save Zoe, but Lyle counters by saying they couldn't have done anything against Mysa's power.

In space, M'Onel fails to find a trace of the missing Legionnaires. Chameleon warns Star Boy and Element Lad that they are all that's left. The only thing they know for sure is it wasn't the Emerald Eye responsible for their abduction, as the Eye's signature is missing.

Mysa confronts Zoe and the others again; none of them could break free of their bonds. Zoe asks Mysa to let the others go, as they weren't responsible for losing the Eye. Mysa takes out the Star of Akkos, the same artifact Zoe found in LSH Annual 6, that robbed her of her powers initially. Mysa uses the Eye to begin draining Zoe. XS desperately vibrates faster, in hopes of escaping her bonds.

Luckily, something makes Mysa lose her grip on the Star and pulls her hood over her eyes, freeing the Legionnaires. XS grabs Kinetix while Garth, Triad and an invisible Lyle pile on Mysa. Mysa drives them back, but not before Zoe grabs the Star and threatens to use it against Mysa. Mysa warns her against using it - "You'll only destroy yourself if you try using the star against me!" To which Zoe retorts, "Maybe so, but I'm betting I can hurt you pretty bad too!"

As Zoe holds the Eye, she begins to "see things clearly" (perhaps some magical psychometry?). She realizes that Mysa planted the Eye in the first place, so Zoe would lose her powers! Mysa has been manipulating Zoe all along; saving her, re-empowering her, and using her as a tool to find the Emerald Eye for her! Mysa retorts that Zoe always craved power but never knew how to handle it. Azra walks in just then, and gives Mysa the riot act: she tells about how she saved an injured Mysa's life on Tharr, by giving her the Scepter of Sybolla so Mysa could heal herself. Azra was energized too. Azra forces Mysa to tell the truth: that the Scepter also altered Zoe's genetic structure, allowing her to later on absorb the energy pool that would give her her telekinetic powers! The Scepter also forged a link between Zoe and Mysa, alerting Mysa of Zoe's empowerment. Mysa watched Zoe from afar, and when she realized the extent of Zoe's power-lust, she decided to manipulate Zoe.

Azra won't hear any of Mysa's explanations, and demands Mysa repay her debt to Azra by restoring Zoe's powers and leaving her alone. Mysa reluctantly does so; not only restoring Zoe's telekinesis, but also her original look - minus ears, tattoo, pale skin and tail. The only differences? Zoe gets her original costume, but with a green color scheme rather than red; and her hair continues to float. Everyone crowds around a restored Zoe, except for Garth; he tries to arrest Mysa for kidnapping them. Mysa grabs the Scepter of Sybolla and sends them all back to Legion HQ!

Perfect timing, as Chameleon (who is worrying about Spark, and thinking about her promise to talk) has just started speaking with RJ Brande.

Kinetix reflects on her luck: how lucky she was that her mother Azra met Mysa; how the Scepter changed her to allow her to absorb the energy pool; and how she finally gets restored back to normal and with all her original powers. She's happy to lose the tail "as it made sitting properly just about impossible", though she liked the pointy ears and tattoo. She decides to keep her green costume to remind her of the price of power. She also reflects on the fate of Violet, her best friend. Before she can wallow in sadness too much, XS pops in to check up on her. Zoe invites her for a meal.

We look in on Garth, in a training session. RJ, Triad and Lyle come up to him and offer him the position of leader. Triad says that his standing up to Mysa on Zerox proved his inner strength. Garth tries to pass it on to Lyle, who says he works best in the background. Garth thinks the job drove Cos crazy, so he agrees to be acting leader only, until the team can run elections.

The issue ends with RJ Brande offering another suggestion... *cough* tryouts *cough*

Thoughts:

This was an interesting and clever way to modify Kinetix's origin further. Looking back, it dovetails very well with the story in LSH Annual 6. We know Zoe absorbed an energy pool to gain her powers originally; but this issue talks about how she was able to absorb said pool in the first place! Nice clever use of Lyle, and Garth and Jenni and Lu all got to shine too. I'm also glad that Zoe got a chance to stand up to Mysa, despite Azra stealing the show during the confrontation. Zoe proves she's plenty strong too, and it looks like she has finally let go of her powerlust... I hope!

I also think the origin managed to not have too many coincidences. That is, the first encounter between Azra and Mysa forged a link between them, which explains how Mysa got hold of Zoe later on. Clever.

And finally, I'm glad Zoe is back to "normal". This is my favorite look for her!

Lyle making others invisible is a nice extension of his power, one we will see on only a few more occasions besides this. Nice contrast in leadership styles between Garth and Lyle here; Garth is all "get Mysa", while Lyle takes a more restrained and sneakier approach.

Loved Triad's line when Zoe was saying she didn't expect Mysa to act like this. "Maybe she has mood swings." Heh. Her differing reactions to the reveal of Mysa's betrayal were funny too; Orange is outraged, while Purple admires Mysa's ingenuity.

Quite a reread marathon there! Sorry folks, I've been down with the flu so I had quite a bit of time to write. And considering how slow I've been over the last year, I decided to "front load" for a bit. I'll slow down now and let others catch up with their reviews!

So now the team is divided into those left in the 30th century (Team 30), who will be featured in the Legionnaires book; and those stranded in the 20th century (Team 20), featured in Legion of Super-Heroes.

Following Team 20's encounter with Superman, we segue into the Final Night mini-series! The Sun-Eater comes to Earth... in the 20th century! The Legionnaires don't make much of an appearance there, so I won't review these separately. They do have a little conversation about the Sun-Eater, referencing its legendary status in the Legion's own time (it would be a big blind spot not to mention it, as the Sun-Eater hoax was a big part of the recently-concluded President Chu sting...) Someone says, "Oh, Earth will be fine, I mean Earth exists in our time, right?" But someone has to up the drama and be all pragmatic and say, "Well, we don't know much about time travel... this might not even be our past...!"

The Legionnaires do what they can to help the rest of Earth's heroes cope with the Sun-Eater's arrival, as Earth enters a cold spell and humanity must deal with their impending doom.

But first...!

This issue is one I WILL review, as it re-introduces a character who had a brief but pivotal role in Preboot Legion history...

There are developments with many of Superman's own supporting cast, but I will skip over those and focus on the ones directly affecting the Legion.

Adventures of Superman 540
Curtain Call
Issue Information

Summary

The cover says it all: Introducing Ferro! And just in time for the Sun-Eater too!

In 20th century Metropolis, the mail still works. We see a postman making his rounds. He enters a theater and meets legendary actress Nancy Nolan, who got her start there and went on to the movies. Nancy is a ray of light, and says that she can at least entertain the poor, scared citizens of Metropolis while their world ends. She asks the mailman to distribute flyers for her free show that night. The mailman comments that the theater is said to be haunted... and we see a shadowy figure watching over Nancy. A figure that turns its skin into iron.

Superman's powers are already weakening due to the loss of the sun. He invites Lori Lemaris (who in this reality has telepathy, and is from Tritonis) to the theater. Nancy Nolan comes out and begins her performance..... but the shadowy figure follows and startles her. He is carrying a burlap mask, and Nancy flashes back to her pregnancy, sixteen years ago. She gave birth to twins, btoh with significant facial deformities. The figure identifies himself as Andrew, and says he had to "sneak away" to talk to her.

Suddenly, the roof collapses due to the amount of snow built up on it. Superman rushes into action to save everyone; he sees Andrew - in iron form - lifting a beam and saving the unconscious Nancy. Superman asks Andrew to help save the rest, and they manage to do so. No casualties.

In the hospital, Superman talks to a recovering Nancy. Supes introduces Andrew as the one who saved Nancy; she blurts out a big NOOOO and says she doesn't know him. She adds, "then again, maybe I DO know him, and that's why he's wearing a mask? I mean, so no one ever knows who he really is? A secret identity or somesuch?"

Poor Andrew takes the hint, and says that's it. He asks her to call him Ferro, and says he will always be her biggest fan. Nancy looks sad, but still doesn't tell anyone the truth. Later, Superman asks Lori what she thinks - he heard Andy call Nancy "mother" in the theater. Lori declines to intrude telepathically, but does say that it's obvious there's a strong emotional connection - and she isn't even using telepathy to determine that.

Ferro thanks Superman for making him feel like a hero - for making hium feel HUMAN. And he offers to help deliver the Daily Planet to people using the subway system. The trains don't work, so Ferro pulls a little cart along. Superman is satisfied, as the Planet's message of hope goes out -"It is always darkest before dawn."

Thoughts

I almost cried at the scene where poor Ferro walks away from his mother, but still says he will be her biggest fan. Okay, I did cry. Poor Andy. And despite being rejected TWICE, he still doesn't have a cross word for his mom. Other people would be full of bitterness, but Andy is such a trooper. This made me like him a lot.

Some nice touches - Andrew bandaging someone's head, showing he can do more than just lift heavy stuff. The flashback to Nancy Nolan's pregnancy, with her evading the issue when interviewed. So show-biz.

I also liked how the writers gave it such a light touch, no hammering things into our heads, no strong judgments about Nancy Nolan's actions. Nancy even manages to come across as somewhat sympathetic, what with her "the show must go on for those poor afraid souls" thing. Although, she could have at least found a way to keep in touch with poor Andy, but.... Well, Ferro's story will be told in more complete detail in a few months.

A nice reintroduction to Ferro here, and this issue made me like him a lot.

Adventures of Superman 540

Been thinking of getting back to reading these for a while and the 20C jaunt seems like a good spot.

Good review. I liked this one a lot too. Being a fan of both Supes and the Legion (at his best there are elements that reflect the best of the Legion) I have this under both collections.
A bit different having Ferro coming from the 20th Century but the origin story is very nicely and subtly done.

Nothing much else to add. You touched on the same well done points I would have.

In terms of the Final Night, did you mean you will only be reviewing the series as a whole (as opposed to each separate issue) or not at all? While they can get lost in the crowd of 20C heroes the Legionnaires have a part to play in every issue, so I just wondered.

Hi stile, glad to hear your thoughts! And thanks for the compliment

As for Final Night, I was only intending to comment on it briefly (though I do plan to highlight the Legion's contribution). What I'll probably do is, I'm going to fold it into the next issue's review (LSH 86), as that is the Legion's tie-in issue to the Final Night event. I think it makes more sense chronologically as well.

Feel free to start it off if you're ahead of me, though! I probably won't get to it until next week

Just read the Legion appearances in Superboy, and have little to add to Future's reviews.




I never read REBELS either, so I'm just filling in the blanks of Lar Gand's history based on what I know happened in the Preboot.

I had the same thought about Knockout. How annoying! And the whole "I live to FIGHT even if it doesn't make sense" thing is VERY annoying! It also seemed to me that Knockout's recklessness was responsible for poor Babbage's destruction and Lar's inability to get to space, but Superboy seems to ignore that...!

Also happy that the Lar Gand story was wrapped up in a couple of months. This would NOT have worked out as a long-term plotline; and using the fact that Lar was still imprisoned in the Zone in the 30th century helped explain why Superboy could free him then and go on with his life. Also happy that Lar didn't suffer from lead poisoning pain during the millennium he was stuck in the Zone... that would have been needlessly cruel! He already had to exist as a phantom for so long, after all.



I thought it was pretty stupid of the Legionnaires to burst in through the floor of Superboy's place. Jeez! Even without the language barrier, that was just ASKING for a fight! I don't blame Superboy in the least for defending himself!

I agree that Saturn Girl could easily have done what Dubbilex did - and she's powerful enough that she didn't need the other Legionnaires to run a distraction for her! Oh well, we needed to give the other Legionnaires and Dubbilex something to do I suppose...

One thing I liked was the consistency in writing the Legionnaires. Their personalities in this issue are very much in-line with their personalities in their own books, down to Brainy's intellectual superiority, the low-key sarcasm/snarkiness of both Cos and Imra, Cos' magno-ball champion self-references, and especially Triad's three personalities, Neutral/Orange's worship of Valor and Purple's lusty thoughts. No errors here - commendable, especially as there will be some continuity blips between the LSH book and the Legionnaires book a few months down the line (between LSH 81/Legionnaires 38 to LSH 84/L* 40).

Good catch on how many of the Legionnaires in this issue ended up stranded later on.

For those of you who want to catch our thoughts on the resolution of this plotline, look no further - we already reviewed LSH 74 and Legionnaires 31!

Just read XS' appearances in Impulse and Flash as well. Future did a great job reviewing, but I'll add a few thoughts:



I also loved this issue! I found it very realistic. XS hugs Bart - being a stranger in the 20th century, she needs comfort. Bart has never met XS before, doesn't remember her, so he is naturally a bit cool towards her at first.

That this issue led Future to the Legion - and to us - is quite a nice bonus!

I laughed so hard at XS picking up grammatically correct English but being all weird. And her almost spilling Bart's secret identity was a hoot! As was her digging into Max Mercury's closet and coming up with a horrendously funny outfit.

Having Impulse know a little Interlac was a nice touch.

So was XS revealing that the Legionnaires' "one-stripe down the middle" basic uniform theme was designed based on Bart's costume. Nice touch, nice hint at Bart's legacy too.

I was so happy that the panel showing XS with her Legion teammates included Kinetix - but her facial expression there is awful, looks like her outfit is too tight or she stubbed her toe! Apparition and Saturn Girl also look wonky. Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5, Leviathan and XS herself look better.

Not so much XS here, but...




XS did have little screen time here. I do like that her sitting out the battle was given SOME good reasoning - that Wally wasn't used to fighting alongside her, and that someone needed to guard Iris and Linda. At least her flight ring was put to good use. I suppose her delivering Iris' message to Wally was pivotal, but it certainly wasn't worth the price of admission.

I admit to getting a little bored because most of the battles were meh. I'm also a little annoyed that Savitar didn't get any comeuppance - even a panel of Johnny Quick and other speedsters in the Speed Force admonishing him and making him scream "NOOOOOO" would have been nice.

Funny thing, XS refers to her mom and Bart's dad in the past tense. But I was expecting it would have been made more clear that they were, you know, dead. Surely Wally and company would have been wondering why Iris came back to the past with Bart only, but Jenni was left in the future along with the parents. But oh well. It was sort of referenced when Linda called Iris out for always being "oh I must not say anything about the future lest I change it". That was a good scene though, and made me appreciate Linda even more.

Nice, fun issue!

The girl who knocked out the musician, Lonnie - she is probably the most unpopular girl in the state!

I always get annoyed when I see students acting like brats. Like the two kids who were shoving the principal and assistant around.

Jenni knowing how to play the saxophone is a nice touch that will show up again way, way later on - in Legionnaires 77.

LOLed at the screen showing "Bart and Jenni in Bargain Basement..."

Okay, as I promised, it's on to LSH 86 - but because the Final Night is such a crucial part of this, I will review it together with Issue 86.

I'm trying to think of the best way to do this. Probably, I'll do LSH 86 first (because I've already given enough of a background for Final Night, and because LSH 86 itself gives enough context on the situation!). Then, a post after for Final Night per se.

Let's begin!

Legion of Super-Heroes 86
Heart of Iron
Issue Information

Summary:

Gates, Ultra Boy and Shvaughn Erin brave the swirling snowstorms, looking for civilians and making sure everyone is indoors.

Cosmic Boy calls in to give much needed backstory - we get a recap of how they got stranded in the 20th century, how the Sun-Eater arrived to, well, eat the Sun, and how they are teaming up with 20th century heroes and Lex Luthor to save the world. The Sun-Eater's consumption of the sun is causing Earth to freeze... but soon, the Sun will go nova, destroying Earth anyway.

Gates is pessimistic, but Shvaughn and Jo aren't. They come from the future - so surely the Earth won't die today right? Saturn Girl chimes in, pointing out that when Superman met them last issue, he remembered meeting a different Legion where Garth was Lightning Lad, not Live Wire. Shvaughn gets rattled at the conclusion that the future can't change. Jo tells her to forget it or it will drive her nuts, and points the way to an abandoned tunnel. He says that if 20th century Earth is anything like Rimbor...

... they will find homeless there. Gates actually tears up at the thought of the poor, homeless citizens hudding in the cold. "But I've never head of... of such a..." *sob*

Elsewhere, Inferno carries Spark through the skies. Ayla has lent her flight ring to Ferro, so Sandy has to carry Ayla's weight - literally. Imra calls them back to STAR Labs to meet the rest; Ayla pointedly tells her off. "I can restart hospital generators, Imra! But if you think I'd be more useful counting ceiling tiles..." Imra just sighs and tells Ayla to do what she thinks its right. Ayla fires back, "You too, Imra; for once." We haven't seen it yet, but we will soon - Ayla is pissed that Imra is all over Rokk. Sandy congratulates Ayla on standing up to Imra, and prooses ditching the rest to make their own way. Ayla says, "Don't tempt me."

Wally West has to explain to Kyle Rayner what Luthor and Brainiac 5 are planning - inventing something to stop the Suneater. Wonder Woman tells them to be more hopeful. Imra runs off as Luthor talks to her; she can't stand how manipulative and selfish he is. She is being overwhelmed by all the negativity she is picking up in the present. Cos chases her, and tells her to focus on the good. After all, the 30th century is bright and shiny, so the 20th can't be all bad. Imra compliments Rokk on his pep talk skills, and we flash back to a few days ago. Brainy was obtaining 20th century technology to figure out a way home, and argued with a shopkeeper about not paying. The Legionnaires, while waiting for Brainy, ponder their problem. Inferno complains about the air pollution, and Ayla resorts to sarcasm again (a trait she would often display) by pointing out that it's Brainy ina computer store. "Brainy? In a computer store? (it will take) twenty years". Imra, in an awkward attempt at comfort, asks Ayla if she misses Garth. Ayla responds, "Yeah, I'm his sister, we all know how he feels about you, and Cos is his best friend. Who else does he have left in the future?" Imra has nothing to say to that...

.. and is saved by the flight ring array, which picks up Brainy's argument with the shop owner. Brainy defends himself for wanting to take the technology without paying - "What if YOu were stranded in the 190th century? Would you think twice about barging into the hut of a savafe and taking what you needed to get home?"

More funny opponents - shopkeeper hides from Gates, who says "Oh, right, HIDE from the bug-eyed monster! Racist!" Cos orders Brainy to pay; Brainy points out that they are in the past and Cos doesn't have authority. Inferno, happy to ride along, says "whoever made you boss hasn't even been born yet!" Cos grabs everyone magnetically and gives them a pep talk - "we're stranded, and it's scary, but remember we all know what everyone else here is going through. You're not alone!" Shvaughn actually tears up at this, and Imra is so aroused inspired that she kisses Rokk. Brainy goes, sarcastically, "group hug!", but Shvaughn, Jo and Tinya are all "awwww!" and Spark is all "..." Imra is aware of Ayla's displeasure, and points it out to Rokk, who says he will talk to Ayla.

Inside, Ferro tells Luthor has has an idea. Luthor insults him - "YOU thought of something which I, the mighty and intelligent Lex Luthor, has not already conceived and ruled out hours ago? WHat are you, 15?" Superman cautions Luthor. The whole thing is interrupted by Shvaughn calling Rokk for help. Jo and Gates are almost at blows; Gates wants to bring the homeless to safety, but Jo is standing up for their right to stay put. Tinya has apparently been with them the whole time, as she suddenly is there trying to calm Jo down. Cos and Ferro show up; Ferro knows these guys and they recognize him. Ferro points out that shelters can be pretty brutal, and that these homeless certainly have the right to remain where they are if they choose. Gates protests that they aren't getting their basic needs met; Jo offers an olive branch, saying they should do something about it. One of the homeless men tells Saturn Girl about Ferro's past (mother abandoned him because of his looks, he found his mom, she'd have nothing to do with him); Imra is shocked and tells herself, "and I whine because this century is hard on me?!"

Back at STAR Labs, Ferro unveils his plan - via a cute, and almost childlike, drawing. He says, they're all great heroes and shouldn't risk themselves; Ferro is a nobody, so he volunteers to carry a bomb into the Sun-Eater and destroy it from within.

Brainy is about to mock Ferro; Imra telepathically blasts him and tells him to be nice! Despite his ego, Brainy stammers out a lie - "I'm sorry Ferro, this won't work. I'm not... not smart enough." Kitty Faulkner approves of Imra's actions, and offers to house the team at STAR labs.

Finally, Luthor, Kitty Faulkner and Brainy unveil their plan - to contain the sun going nova by rocketing a forcefield into the sun. Someone will need to go with the field, though. Luthor points out Kyle Rayner, who has already survived the sun before. Kyle is shocked and surprised, and is all "oh, so it comes down to me after all huh? Would have saved a lot of stress and mileage if I had known..." and disappears. Eeek. The heroes scramble, as they are running out of time. Superman says he will go, and that he would have snuck in and taken Kyle's place if it came down to it. True hero. We end with a close up of Ferro as he listens to Superman...

Thoughts:

The opening scene perfectly captures how I imagine I would react were I stranded 1000 years in the past. "We didn't have to worry about this! We had technology to handle this!" "Wait, shouldn't we get back? We're from the future, so that means the world can't end NOW!" "Wow, some of these heroes are super famous, and some I never knew existed!" Ah, the uncertainty.

Nice cameo of many familiar faces - the Ray Jr., Wally West, Obsidian, Kyle Rayner, Superboy, Impulse, Guy Gardner as Warrior, Wildcat, Captain Marvel, Superman, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman. Later, Batman too. Also Lex Luthor and Kitty Faulkner. Wish there were more female heroes though (Kimiyo Hoshi? Fire? Mary Marvel? Jade? Zatanna? They're powerful and have powers that would stand well against the sun going nova...)

Not usually a fan of Lee Moder's art, but he did make the adult heroes look more... well... adult (bigger, buffer and more mature-looking). Wonder Woman's hair looks a bit odd, though, like she got static electrocuted.

I loved Gates' reaction to the plight of the homeless. He cried! Ties into his strong feelings of equality for all. This made me like Gates so much, much more. Nice contrast too, to the reactions of Jo and Shvaughn, who are more used to seeing this sort of thing. The whole thing was great, in fact. A nice and relevant debate about freedom of choice veruss basic human needs, and some nice characterization for all involved. I also liked Imra's self-awareness about her whining, and Spark's reactions to Imra jumping on Cos. Great characterization all around.

Ferro's drawing was cute, and a very nice homage to the Preboot story.

Kyle Rayner bailing out - not heroic, but I am hard-pressed to blame him completely. He was taken by surprise. Would he have come back? I don't know.

Great contrast top Superman, who isn't afraid to sacrifice himself to save his adopted planet.

A great issue, and it made me seek out the Final Night mini so I would know what happened!

I'll skim over most of the parts and focus on the Legion's involvement, just to keep momentum going. But I will spend more time on the finale, of course.

Final Night 1-4
Mini-Series Information

Summary:

Issue 1

It's a normal day on Earth, when suddenly the sun begins to go dark. A spaceship appears in the sky. Its occupant, a lone female, is met by Superman, the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Cosmic Boy helps by disarming the visitor, and Saturn Girl translates. The alien calls herself Dusk, and she is here to warn Earth of the arrival of the Sun-Eater. Her own world was destroyed by it, and now she makes it her mission to warn worlds everywhere. The heroes gather - full roll call below, though most won't do anything - and start planning. Dr. Kitty Faulkner from STAR Labs support too.

The heroes make their first attempt - at Big Barda's suggestion, Mr. Miracle will create a boom tube to try and teleport the Sun-Eater away. Cosmic Boy joins Captain Atom, Maxima, Dr. Polaris (called in by Amanda Waller - even the villains will die if they don't help) and Takion in helping funnel the Sun-Eater into the boom tube. Unfortunately, apparently the Sun-Eater doesn't exist entirely within Earth's dimension and so the plan fails. The team barely survives.

Second attempt - the heroes try creating a second sun to lure the Sun-Eater away. Ultra Boy, Inferno and Superman are joined by Firestorm, Alan Scott, Kyle Rayner, Ray (Jr.) and Fire, while the Alpha Centurion uses his ship to shield them. It does work - but the Sun-Eater is so powerful that it still manages to consume all that energy! All they did was delay it a bit, and the team also barely survives (with Inferno even getting frostbite).

The issue ends with everyone staring helplessly as the sun begins to go dark, while Lex Luthor prepares to return to Metropolis to help out.

Other heroes appearing in STAR Labs:

Gypsy, who snarks at Brainy when he calls their technology primitive (thanks Brainy, very reassuring!). Interesting that she calls him by nickname, AND is shown among the Legionnaires (while Apparition and Shvaughn are absent).
Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Jade, Martian Manhunter; though why they aren't shown with the others creating a second sun, I don't know;
Phantom Stranger tries, unsuccessfully, to talk Spectre into helping out;
Robin, Superboy, Obsidian, Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Booster Gold, Zan and Jayna, Wally West, Impulse, Guy Gardner as Warrior, Ice Maiden (Sigrid, not Tora), Amazing Man, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Wildcat, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Batman

Issue 2

Luthor offers his help to the heroes. The game plan is to fight, rather than evacuate (it's implied that they can't evacuate in time). Oracle and Guardian make their first appearances in the mini, the former coordinating disaster efforts and the latter on the field.

Batman and Superman stop Vandal Savage from stealing a painting; but the loss of the sun is weakening Superman.

Dusk implores the people of Earth to stop trying to fight, and to flee instead. As politicians debate on evacuation - citing that the Earth doesn't have enough resources to get everyone off-planet, and that the religious right would never agree to help from magicians or the New Gods - Luthor and others are adamant that they can think up a solution. Brainy snipes at the primitive level of technology, while Luthor claps back by saying "oh I thought you were a genius, surely you would have solved the problem already???"

The scientists' plan is to send Kyle Rayner as close to the Sun-Eater as he can go to take readings.

The Ray helps an old woman return to her family in some Spanish-speaking country (I might have missed it, if they had named it). Touched by the little village, he nearly burns himself out trying to light up the night.

A frightened, angry mob tries to attack Dusk, blaming her for bringing the Sun-Eater along. Thankfully, Black Canary, Nightwing, Robin and Flash help save her - though Dusk can handle herself in a fight too. And it is Ferro who saves Dusk from the mob.

Other heroes who appear: Jay Garrick, Ted Knight, Libby Lawrence.

Issue 3

The heroes are pushed to the limit saving innocents and quelling disasters. Spark gets the bright idea of using her powers to restart generators and provide much-needed energy. Loved her lines with Guy Gardner, and her calling herself "the Legion's Lightning Lass". Ayla congratulates Ferro for his good work saving Dusk, and loans him her flight ring so he can go out and do some good while she is providing electricity.

Etrigan taunts Earth via broadcast, offering a deal - the demons save Earth, everyone gives up their souls and goes to hell when they die. We even get a panel of the Pope listening to the offer! Earth rejects it, of course.

Luthor is simultaneously planning for alternative energy sources, citing the slower-than-expected rate of Earth's cooling. We see the Spectre providing some warmth to Gaea, Earth's spirit - the Spectre says that he will do nothing to stop the Sun-Eater as he believes it is God's will, but he will do everything he can to help Gaea.

Ted Knight calls into Star LABS, saying the sun is shrinking. Brainiac 5 concludes that the Sun is losing energy, but not mass - which will make it go nova and destroy the entire solar system.

Dusk prepares to leave Earth, angered at her treatment by the mobs. The Phantom Stranger arrives, asking her why she did not reveal the Sun would go nova despite warning Earth about everything else. Dusk says she learned to be cautious, as her warnings bring fear and panic. Stranger counters by saying humanity isn't all bad, showing Dusk examples of bravery around the world.

Zatanna and Fire arrive and help heal the Ray. Firestorm is brought in to help provide some light and heat. More heroes are shown - including Aquaman in his first appearance. Finally, Dusk recovers in an alley, and this time is greeted by a friendly group who are genuinely grateful for her warning. Dusk begins feeling some hope.


Issue 4

This issue picks off from Parallax: Emerald Night 1, where apparently Kyle Rayner tried to convince Hal Jordan (who was then Parallax) to save Earth. Kyle fails, and rejoins the rest at STAR Labs. The events shown next are what we saw in LSH 86 - he plan to use forcefields to contain the sun going nova. Dusk lends her ship to the effort, inspired by humanity's last stand. Kyle disappears again, Superman offers himself again... he eeassures everyone that the nova will jumpstart his powers, but writes a farewell note to Lois Lane just in case. While Supes is penning his letter, the ship takes off...

... piloted by Ferro! Uh oh.

Ferro bravely tells everyone that nobody will miss him, so he snuck out on the ship. The heroes scramble to try and bring him back, but Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner show up - apparently, Kyle didn't exactly run away, but went to talk to Hal again. Hal offers to restore the sun with his power, despite the distrust of several heroes, notably Batman.

In space, Ferro deploys the forcefields, but the nova is already beginning. Everyone tells Ferro to leave, but he won't. Hal appears just in time, saves Ferro, and restarts the sun... but Saturn Girl reveals that Hal died saving the world. Batman still retains a grim view of Hal, despite Superman saying that Hal had changed.

Thoughts:

On the Legion's treatment

Generally, they were treated well, with several Legionnaires (and Inferno) playing roles in the story - more than many 20th century heroes. Brainiac 5 and Ferro, especially. Characterization was perfectly in line with the Legion's own books, too.

When the Legion first appears, Shvaughn is drawn almost colorless; she fades into the background as if she were one of the 20th century Metropolis police officers. Apparition is entirely absent as well. However, the dialogue is good; references to Cosmic Boy's magnoball past; Inferno being snarky, Gates being delifghtfully sarcastic, Brainy being snooty, and the Legionnaires referencing the Sun-Eater legend in their own time. They did their homework, thank goodness. Poor Shvaughn and Apparition continue to be absent at STAR Labs, though at least they appear in the Legion's own book's tie-in.

Luthor and Brainy sniping at each other, and at Ferro, was very realistic.

On the story as a whole

This was a great story. I remember the concept was, how do heroes go up against a threat they can't punch? This story captured it perfectly - the hopelessness, the fear, the little acts of heroism and bravery. Hal coming in as a last minute save was interesting, and not entirely unforeshadowed; but the way it was set up, this does not make Superman's nor Ferro's heroism any less! We saw how Superman wasn't sure he would survive, but volunteered anyway AND put up a brave front so nobody would stop him. We saw Ferro sticking it out until the end and almost dying.

Loved the many little touches that added realism to the story. A news blurb about worshippers thinking this is the prophecied end; Wonder Woman gushing over a little boy saying "this is the end of the world as we know it, and we'll be fine" and being told by Oracle it's a song; Captain Atom calling out Dr. Polaris, and Polaris being all "hey I'll die too, you know".

It's great that many of the heroic scenes are quiet ones, filled with hope - such as when several JSAers suit up to help out, or the Ray helping an old woman return to her family. I loved the message of hope and resilience that was shown.

Kyle Rayner's near miss with the sun gives a lot of context to his disappearance in LSH 86; he did almost die earlier, so it makes his running away even more understandable.

This contrasts greatly with the human reactions of fear and panic, which sadly are not unexpected. Fear makes people do stupid things - even attack those, like Dusk, who were trying to help.

I laughed at that one panel where someone in France gasps at there being two suns. I loved it because a) I could understand what he said without Google translate, and b) the panel shows the Centre Pompidou in Paris; I used to live a block away from it! I was also happy that I could understand most of the Spanish used later in the story.

Legionnaires 43
New Blood
Issue Information

Summary:

I have to gush about the cover because of all the tantalizing Easter eggs. I'm sure a lot of fans freaked out at who MIGHT be joining, just from the cover. And, this is the first instance of public tryouts EVER in this reality. So let the fun begin!

On to the interiors.

We open with a Legion roll call and an ad for the tryouts - if you possess at least one extraordinary power or ability, you may have what it takes to be a Legionnaire! The roll call labels each Legionnaire, and only includes Team 30. Funny how the 30th century still needs a scorecard, come on, us 20th century fans don't

Here's a list of Easter Eggs from both the cover and the two-page splash:

Characters we have seen before in the Reboot: Uncanny Amazers - Insect Queen, Konk!, Monstress; Spider-Girl, Tenzil; I note that these five ONLY appeared on the cover and not in the splash page, because having them in the interiors would be too much. The cover, at least, isn't reflective of continuity.

Rebooted versions of Preboot characters making their first appearances: Dev-Em (based on the costume); Comet Queen, Fire Lad, Shadow Lass, Crystal Kid, Infectious Lass, Dragonmage, Chlorophyll Kid, Polar Boy, Blockade Boy, Charma, Color Kid (based on the rainbow headband), Princess Projectra *wink wink*, Tellus

Others: (cover) flying blonde girl in blue/white with a cape looks SOMEWHAT like 5YL Glorith; guy with surfboard (rebooted Jamm? ewww); a girl with a duck either growing out of her head, or her hair is styled as a duck, I have no idea; guy in tank top and a turban (NOT Kid Psycho), what seem to be preteen versions of Sugar and Spike, on the cover there is what seems to be a distinguished older man glancing slyly at the reader (someone from editorial?)!

Splash page - What seems to be Swamp Thing OR a green Yeti; a clown juggling Athramites; and a new character who we will soon know as Particon.

Have to note that many of these characters will appear only as cameos...!

Inside, Lori complains about not being able to try out because she has no powers. Chuck and Tenzil comment that they couldn't join for lack of powers too (Oh Tenzil, if only you knew about your Preboot version!) Poor Chuck is worried about damage to the plaza increasing his workload.

Outside, the Legionnaires have to deal with an overly-enthusiastic crowd. Live Wire, Kinetix, Triad and Star Boy try to keep order. Two failed applicants name themselves - the Mighty Macaw (a guy in a horrible summery button-down, macaw mask and fake wings who probably can;t even fly!) and Arachno, who has web-shooters and an ugly spider-y helmet. A third un-named applicant shoots off her "cat-claws" by accident (over the heads of Visi-Lad, Chlorophyll Kid and Kid Psycho!). Before the Legionnaires react (or just as they do), the cat-claws are stopped by Braalian Dyrk Magz. This triggers a hushed debate where Garth "doesn't want a substitute Cosmic Boy", with Kinetix telling Garth to give Dyrk a chance. Garth goes on to stress that the Legion only wants applicants with genuine, inherent super-powers; those whose powers are solely artificial may not apply. A third of the crowd leaves, with reporters commenting that they must not have checked the Constitution - speculating that this clause was instituted because of the death of the first Kid Quantum when his power belt malfunctioned.

We look in on a powerless Dirk Morgna, whose dad is relieved he isn't caught up in this. Dirk makes a no-doubt infuriating comment to many fans, that "in another reality I might have become a Legionnaire!"

The Legion has erected a privacy screen to spare the feelings of unsuccessful applicants. Out walk two new characters - Radion and Blast-Off - and Polar Boy. We see pink-armored girl Particon being wooed by Leland McCauley to his Workforce. Spider-Girl is on-site too (obviously she didn't apply, but she blends in well in this crowd), and flirts with Radion. McCauley woos both of them too, and Radion wonders how McCauley saw through the screen. Poor Polar Boy tries to horn in on the action, but McCauley thinks he's underage and tells him to call back in a few years. A dejected Brek walks away, thinking that he only seems young because he's short. He bumps into...

.. Night Girl! It's love at first sight for Brek (a new twist!). As Brek introduces himself and his powers, Lydda goes "Cool... Oh, I'm sorry, I bet you get that a lot." I love Lydda already, a sense of humor AND social awareness. She has self-awareness too, saying she knew she'd be rejected because she lsoes her strength in sunlight; she had come here only to meet Cosmic Boy. She hadn't heard the news about Cos being one of the Legionnaires on the "secret mission". Poor Lydda. Brek tells her to stay, and that there must be SOME way to put their powers to good use.

As befits her administrative experience, Triad is the one managing the applicants. 327 down, 118 to go. Whew! Cannus is one of the finalists - he first appeared in that Showcase story introducing the never-before-seen Legion Academy. Zoe questions Cannus, to which Thom replies that Cannus is both an expert tracker and a legacy from the short-lived Legion Academy, which has closed. Zoe suggests the team consider starting their own Academty...

...and enter the next applicant, Jeka Wynzorr of Orando. Zoe is surprised, as she remembers Orando not having any humanoid species. Jeka merely sidesteps the comment, and begins her audition much like Princess Projectra did oh-so-long ago in the Adventure Era... by conjuring up a series of illusions that make the Legion think the weather has changed! A snowstorm, an inferno, a typhoon... and then, nothing. The Legionnaires vote her through easily, considering how surprised they got.

Next up is Nura Nal (who changed her last name from Schnappin... what?). Nura shows of her ditzy side here, such a far cry from the vain-yet-intelligently sharp Nura of the Preboot. The Legionnaires are interested at first in her precognition, especially as logs show that she predicted the explosion caused by the Emerald Eye. And Thom is smitten, too. Suddenly, Nura collapses onto the ground... when she wakes, she explains that narcolepsy is part of her power... and has foreseen she won't make the cut. Garth agrees, calling her a "narclopetic fortune-teller". Lol. Thom does still try to ask her out though.

XS, on monitor duty, talks to M'Onel, who is out searching for the Eye. Lyle and Jan are "on special assignment". Mon thanks XS for breaking the monotony of space, which makes XS gush (boy, she is starting to move on from Cos!).

Back at the tryouts, a rebooted Arm-Fall-Off Boy (with the easier-to-say name of Splitter) makes it through because his detachable limbs would likely unnerve an enemy.

Dragonmage comes in, and is rejected by Live Wire as soon as he demonstrates his powers. An enraged Dragonmage tells reporters that the Legionnaires are "sorceror-phobes" and that the Legion will be sorry!

Finally, we see Chlorophyll Kid and Stone Boy being rejected... and Thom questions the rejection of Dragonmage, which Garth shuts down because of all the grief with Mysa and the Eye.

This leaves five finalists. Cannus, Splitter, Jeka, Dyrk Magz (hi again) and Tasmia Mallor (HI AGAIN!!!! don't worry, she will make up for her lack of screen time )

Jeka is revealed to be a princess. Garth again questions Dyrk being here, saying the team needs a variety of powers. Both Kinetix and Triad disagree, saying the team also needs depth and that Garth and Ayla have the same powers; and besides, Cos is away, so why not replace his powerset? Garth relents, and begins announcing the final round...

... when he is shot from behind! An armed intruder bursts in and takes out all the Legionnaires, and begins shooting at the applicants!

Cannus quickly runs away, and a nervous Splitter falls apart - literally - while standing his ground. Dyrk runs forward and disarms the bad guy magnetically, while Tasmia blinds him in her darkfield. Jeka asks if the darkfield is permeable, and jumps in despite Tasmia's warning that she can't see, saying she can "smell her prey!"

A recovered Garth tells evryone to stand down, revealing the intruder coiled up by a snake. The intruder is really Chameleonl the attack was simulated to test the applicants' readiness for battle. And finally, Jeka reveals that she really IS a giant snake... explaining that she has encountered xenophobia, hence why she uses illusions to pretend to be humanoid.

Later, Chuck congratulates Garth on minimizing damage to the plaza, though Garth is still looking forward to having the team vote for a new leader. The three successful applicants show off their costumes and new code names - Sensor for Jeka, Umbra for Tasmia, Magno for Dyrk. Sensor has mentally-controlled cyber-arms as part of her costume (makes a lot of sense, that the 30th century would have such tech...). Tenzil teases Chuck, saying he needs to order a special diet for Senbsor as her spcies "eats mostly nice, plump mammals". Hah!

Thoughts:

Have I said before how much I enjoyed Jeff Moy's covers on Legionnaires? Because I do, I really do, and he's been doing them for a while - both cover AND interiors. I love. So much. This cover has the best of the Legion-y best: inside jokes, the first appearance of several Preboot stalwarts, and lots and lots and lots of fun (and people!) Just like a Legion. LOL at Live Wire's reaction to failed applicant Graffiti King.

I like the Reboots removal of the "no duplicate powers" rule; it didn't make sense for a growing team, and also saves the writers from having to come up with stupid reasons for why Ultra Boy and M'Onel, and Live Wire and Spark, can be on the team together. There is a nice debate internally though, with Garth initially arguing against Magno as a duplicate Braalian while Kinetix and Triad say the team also needs depth. Garth may be biased because Cos is his friend, after all (would he have reacted that way to another Coluan, for example?)

Interesting insight into the choices. The last screening was fair, but you could tell that personal bias was in the first. Cannus made it in because he attended the Legion Academy, despite Kinetix's puzzlement. Dragonmage gets booted out by Live Wire for being a magician, despite Star Boy questioning Garth on it later. Ah well... I don't think anyone can argue with the three who did make it, thankfully. I still have no idea why Splitter's ability to detach his limbs was deemed unnerving enough to make it through, but characters like Particon (with her power lance and ill-defined energy powers) or Blast-Off (basically a version of the X-Men's Cannonball) didn't.

Lots of old favorites make a reappearance here. It's interesting that Nura Nal failed to make the cut, despite her powers functioning almost exactly as they did in the Preboot!

Zoe gets lots of funny quips this issue (re Splitter: think he'll fall apart under pressure?; and re Cannus: I'm sure he'd be loyal, but...). heh!

Ah, Jeka/Sensor. Well, we all know th fan outcry over turning Projectra into a snake. It makes sense power-wise, but I'm also of the camp that Projectra should have remained humanoid. I love the idea of a giant snake species in the future, but it could have been a new one... and I read the Reboot before the Preboot, but I empathize with those fans of the humanoid Jeckie who felt slighted.

Loved the practical exam. As a Human Resources professional, I've always known and believed that the best job interviews are ones which simulate job conditions closely, and the final practical exam here does just that. really the best way to weed out candidtaes who are merely good at BSing from the ones who can actually do the job!

Loved all the Easter Eggs too, though I wish, for example, that Polar Boy or Particon had made it in too. Ah, but I have my fanfics for that...

And Tenzil teasing Chuck at the end (nice plump mammals, hah!) was precious.

All in all a good issue, a nice update on the tryouts, and nice handling of controversies and disagreements between the team! And I'm excited to see the three new Legionnaires in action!

I second the gushing. Lovely cover.




Hazarding a guess...Older Man is Roger Stern. And I have a hunch that the handsome guy with glasses standing next to Sneckie is Jeff Moy.



I've always liked Dyrk Magz. I tend to like the cheerful, uncomplicated male superheroes better than most others.



IIRC, many of the Adventure Era Legion stories were lettered by one Milt Shnappin.



Agreed 100 percent.







Same here. And wasn't the Sneckie thing Tom Peyer's idea? I seem to recall reading that somewhere in this forum. I've rarely liked anything about his writing, and this is no exception.



To which I'll only add that this issue is not only a breezy, light-hearted breath of fresh air after the stomach-turning melodrama of the last several issues leading up to the 20-30 split, but that I think L* benefitted tremendously from said split -- the next 10 or 11 issues of L* are the most consistently good (and, in the case of 48-50, great) of the entire Post-Impeachment-of-Chu/Pre-DnA Postboot. The so-called flagship book didn't fare so well, but we'll get into the whys and wherefores in the next batch of reviews.