Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 20

TotLoSH 317

The cover has a human Drake Burroughs and a wrong jacketed Jacques running from a pretty evil looking demon creature. They do seem to be running towards a blob creature, so I’m not sure they chose the best direction to run. Last time we had this cover, Drake could have been Nemesis Kid. So it’s nice that this one is a bit clearer.

Drake has been teleported from being with Lar and Dawnstar. He’s travelled to the realm where he was briefly human before Jacques knocked him out and carried him back. Keeping some humanity is important to Drake as he no longer has a form. Here, he says that he’ll close and open his eyes so he’ll be back in space. But he doesn’t have eyes.

The most powerful part of the book is in a page two panel. Drake realises that he is still an energy being, even though he could become human the last time he was here. “Did you have to take away all my dreams?!” gives an idea how much that short reprieve meant to him. Also, how much he wants to be like that again. It should also instruct his relationship with Jacques. But nothing is made of this.

Drake rescues Jacques form an aerial threat. He must have good control of his powers to be able to evaporate the foe, but leave Jacques untouched.

Jacques has brought Drake here because he needed help. He seems to suggest that the cause of the trouble is Lyle Norg. Lyle just sits there. He’s thinking that if he stays there long enough, one of the Adventure Legion will show up. One of his supposed friends. They didn’t call him un diable terrible! Although this is mainly because like many ethnic groups in the Legion, the French left Earth centuries ago to found their own planet, Bistro.

Jacques is shown to be able to teleport others to his location. Well, at least to the dream dimension. Legionnaire in trouble somewhere. Get Jacques to teleport him. But is this dimension somewhere anyone would want to be teleported to? Let’s read on…

Back at Legion HQ, We get a couple of hints that the Legion is spread pretty thin. This is done very well by Levitz. There’s no flashbacks. There’s no being beat over the head with LSV hyperbole or editorial crossover captions. It’s all done quietly in the dialogue. If you’ve been reading you’ll know. If you haven’t, you don’t need to worry about it. It’s also another hint towards new members and the futures of Rokk, Chuck and Lu.

Chuck and Lu have a nice chat on the way out (again a hint to Lu’s future) where they encounter Computo. Needless to say, Lu reacts badly. Chuck is a bit taken aback. However, once Lu explains her feelings to him, a very dark look crosses his face. I’d be half expecting a little Chuck to Brainy chat in the future with a face like that. There’s that hint that if such a thing could be condoned, then it’s not really their legion anymore. Rokk having another scene on the side-lines is another indicator. But you’d just have to ask Lyle on his rock, how many visitors he got.

Back in another dimension, Drake discovers that he has a human form. This only seems to be the case because he’s with Lyle. Lyle’s speech confirms this. Lyle’s switches are sudden and really reinforce the plotters need to get this one wrapped up than any deep characterisation. Another example is when Jacques throws a rock at Lyle. Drake could have just disintegrated it. But he doesn’t, because the plot had to have it hit Lyle and reveal him to be a demon.

The pair flee and think that they are about to get home, only to find that the demon has been toying with them.

We get a couple of interludes. The first partners Officer Erin with Dev-Em on a secret mission. Having a Kryptonian in the ICC is certainly a good thing for the UP. But you just never know with Dev-Em. There’s some hints of a romantic tangle between the two, but it’s hard to see anything getting in the way of the Erin/Arrah romance. Dev-Em’s appearance, on the heels of the team spread thin remark and particularly the departure of Supergirl hints of a longer stay in the book too. This was a ncie set up by Levitz.

The second interlude is the editorially mandated appearance of the Monitor & Lyla ahead of Crisis. There wasn’t a great deal known about the pair. The Monitor had been backing villains before Wolfman changed his ideas. We see a little of that here with Lyla preferring Dev-Ems style to the more clean-cut Kryptonians. Lyla was also considered to be the Monitor’s “dumb bunny” assistant, which is why there’s the reference to 30th century shopping.

Drake forgets how Jacques powers work back in the dream dimension. It’s a good exchange. Drake seems to make a mistake. Jacques corrects him. But, in fact, Drake may well have been thinking that the power use would have another effect than the one Jacques anticipated. Just like non comics folk.

The dream demon kicks the pair around the dimension. That provides us with the panel space for it to tell us that it brought Drake there first, then Jacques. That it controls Jacques ability to travel there, not him. Also, that it wants to feed on the dreams of other humans that it can bring there. It’s a good plan. But it’s one that did absolutely nothing to further in all the time we saw Lyle in recent issues. Was the dream demon reaching out, as they all thought Lyle was in isolation? We never find out and it’s a missed opportunity.

Funnily enough, Grant Morrison & Steve Yeowell would use the same other dimensional kicking about scene in Zenith.

A possible truth behind the dimension revealed, Drake goes into a slump about never being human again. Jacques slaps him out of it. The result is that Drake becomes Wildfire once again, and the pair know that the environment responds to their thoughts. Drake thinks that Jacques shook him out of it on purpose, and Jacques tells us that he had a theory that had now been proved. But the preceding panels show nothing like that. Jacques is simply trying to escape as Drake acts up.

I’ve no idea what the bottom of page 13 is supposed to be. I can see Jacques’ jacket being ripped up but his dialogue position doesn’t match it. I think its Drake transforming into Wildfire, but I don’t see him.

As the Dream Demon moves into attack, the pair use their own mental strength to summon duplicates of the Legion. As the Demon is doing exactly the same trick, you’d think he’d notice when it was used against him. Not terribly bright. As the demon is distracted, the pair find an exit and escape to Shanghalla. There, they light a beacon in honour of Lyle Norg who Jacques thinks is now resting peacefully. But since they’ve no idea what happened to the real Norg after his death, and the ending is a little trite as a result.

Levitz gets to work himself out of a bind, with mixed results. Shumaker get to draw another dimension, which is pretty tame, but his character work is very good,

I wonder if this is related to the reader seeing Validus crush Lyle’s body that has complicated this subplot a little. In true comics style it’s only a death if you see the body. Well, old school comics at least. We did see Lyle crushed, which meant that Levitz would have had to have come up with something special to explain that away.



Yeah, there’s scope for a whole Legion version of a Dr Destiny there, that was missed. Giffen’s “challenge” could have come at a better time, when it could have been played with a lot more.



Well as long as Jacques has justified everything, then it must be fine. Since nothing has actually changed for the real Lyle and whatever afterlife he met with Myla, this is really all about Jacques.

I thought that Shoemaker dew a pretty good Dream Demon though.



I picked up on Chuck’s more calculate response rather than Chuck’s more calculated one. I think Chuck may feel an element of guilt at not picking this up from Lu earlier. That adds an additional edge to that look.




Considering how long Stalker Lass has been aiming towards Jan, its says a lot more about the writer when she thinks her life is going to get more complicated because Dev-Em has no concept of professional boundaries.

The subject of Drake's energy form vs human emotions (and senses) was never addressed in any great depth. Too difficult for a comic book, perhaps, but it's limited to "I want a body" and "I can't physically have Dawnstar". Maybe that's just the teenage boy in him, though, and he never grows out of it.



Or it's a function of being in the dream realm.



Peace on Earth achieved when every unhappy member of a country, race or belief system left to establish their own planet. Bistro's an excellent planet name.



Is this the first time Lu has shown some anger? About time... and, while she can take care of herself, I'd like to see Chuck speak up for his wife.



Ah, I wasn't aware how much was known about the Monitor from other books at this point, or if this was his first appearance.



This also struck me as missing some follow-up.



Agreed. Lovely art, but weak story resolution.

317: "Death Trip."

It would be easy for me to focus on the considerable disappointments of this issue, but I'm going to try to look at it from a different perspective. Time and my own experiences as a writer and collaborator have (I hope) given me some additional insights I did not possess in 1984.

Given that Keith Giffen threw his collaborator, Paul Levitz, a curve ball--and ran roughshod over fans' expectations and loyalties in the process--and given that Levitz launched a new Legion series and managed the incredibly large cast (which only gets larger with Shvaughn, the Subs, the Academy students, and now Dev-Em), I think he balanced all of this extremely well, even though the resolution of the Lyle arc is pedestrian at best. "Death Trip" reminds me of the DC Challenge limited series published around this time, in which a different creative team handled each issue and had to deal with plot threads left behind by the previous issues' teams. Some threads were resolved in creative ways; others were discarded--much like Lyle Norg.

The story does afford us an opportunity to see Jacques and Drake interact, but little is done with them. Drake is his usual snarky self--he really seems to like getting in the last word--and Jacques mostly expresses annoyance at Drake. For good measure, Drake lapses into despondency over his lost physicality, but Jacques quickly shocks him out of it--and also figures out how to defeat the Dream Demon. Chalk another one up for the newbie, but the two Legionnaires display little teamwork. Drake is just a hanger-on: someone for Jacques to talk to on his journey to believing Lyle Norg is at peace.

Although the conclusion is a bit heavy handed--it takes place on Shanghalla, for crying out loud--I can accept Jacques' interpretation that his predecessor is now at peace. It's the same "healing story," as Krista Tippett puts it, that many people tell themselves: believing the circumstances of their lives have led to a better outcome. Jacques, rightly or wrongly, feels connected to his predecessor and a sense of responsibility toward him. Though it's not directly stated, Jacques feels he doesn't measure up to being a Legionnaire and perhaps needs some sort of blessing or passing of the torch from Norg. Levitz tries in a very unconvincing way to deliver such a blessing in this story, but Jacques takes what's given to him and runs with it in the same way that many people believe their departed loved ones are in a better place. If it's what Jacques needs to feel he's earned his place as a Legionnaire, I'm all for it.

Now that Levitz has gotten rid of the Lyle Norg curve ball, he can presumably get on with telling the stories he wants to tell.

Drake as sounding board - Jacques could have talked to himself, but Drake provides him with some grounding in reality.



Jacques has been shown, IIRC, to be a Christian. I wouldn't have minded some comments (or Encyclopedia Galactica text) to explain some of his particular beliefs and how/if the return of Lyle Norg figured into those beliefs. Perhaps in Jacques' traditions, devils did take dead souls and those souls had to be released by a living human in some way.

There were lots of options for making this subplot a way of pushing Wildfire in a different direction.

For example, if the Dream Demon did indeed take Drake there first, then Drake could have become a conduit of the thing, perhaps due to his energy form.

Better still, would be for Drake to have another chance at staying in the dimension. Perhaps getting his heart’s desire isn’t what he thought it would be without Dawnstar (even a Dawny dream approximation doesn’t work). Constantly being able to solidify forms from his environment allows Drake to control his own energy when he returns to Earth. There would follow a Dream Demon vs the Legion battle. Drake finally gains a body he can control just as Dawny returns from her adventure to tell him she’s found someone else.



I thought we’d already had a reaction from her. She didn’t when Computo took over the HQ, but I thought she’d done something since. Perhaps that was just fighting in the GDS or something as a way of working the anger out of her system.


There was a mandate from on high about having to use the Monitor a couple of times before Crisis, to tease readers. There wasn’t a lot to go on in the first appearance, which was just as well, as their role changed a bit.

Wildfire’s disappearance foreshadowed Dawny disappearing when she was collected by Harbinger in Crisis 1. With all of Zimyr’s warps too, the Legion must have been getting tired of their colleagues disappearing.



Anything showing that “Lyle” had returned would have been a plus. Hints of a cult forming that “Lyle” had begun to manipulate into breaking the barrier more fully. A little twist somewhere along the way.



Yup, for all the points we pick out, there’s all the underlying good work with the Legionverse that Levitz and Giffen put in. It’s partly that which makes the more pedestrian bits stand out.



I guess the DC challenge is exactly what Giffen and Levitz were doing at times. I’m not a huge fan of challenges as they often spend more time explaining away loose ends than providing a satisfactory story. The fun is often more in the participation, than the outcome. Which sums up a bit of this subplot too. Levitz can look to tidying up the Lyle plot, doing it before the Baxter book with no lasting impact on the cast, beyond an occasional Jacques thought bubble in the future. But it could have been a lot more.



Drake is only in this one because he was in the previous trip to this dimension. He would have gone through the same loop as before, had Levitz not decided to have the dimension’s resident show its hand so obviously. I suppose that we can at least look at both stories as a chance to see how Drake desperately wanted to be human again.



Levitz would use that again towards the end of v7 I think. I connect it to him reappearing on Orando the last time he came back. The dimension he goes to is linked strongly with the afterlife.



He was also at peace back in Superboy 203. Myla appeared to the others to tell them that she was a ghost. She says that she had died but was trapped in a realm that Lyle discovered when he became invisible. She then tells them that she would look after him, indicated that they were together.

If Lyle interacted with the realm every time he was invisible, then it could explain why Jacques also does. I had been supposed at how closely Levitz had mined what we knew of Lyle’ powers before in relation to Jacques, and this is another example.



Since Jacques only used the serum to help save his sister, I think he’s been very able to step up and be counted on, without perhaps feeling the Legion was key to his future. Or that the Legion felt he was key to theirs. I’d much rather have the approach here than the writer telling us in great detail just how much better the new version was. Showing us the new version beat the old one, or having the new character dominate other established characters to prove a point are other tedious versions of this.

I remember reading a JLA issue where the writer tells us just how much better Roy Harper was going to be than Ollie Queen. We had to get told that, because none of it came out of the characters actions. Dreadful.



While there’s always positive things to take out of all of these issues, I do wonder what the original transition plan was.



It would have been nice to have Jacques as a way of seeing how our belief systems operated in the 30th century. Just the sort of thing for a more mature book, but one that DC would presumably run a mile from.

Agreed. My standout memory of DC Challenge is that the first issue was very well done and left us with a mystery of the numbers Batman discovered, but subsequent issues went off in wildly different directions. It was jarring to read about different characters and plot threads every issue. I don't think the numbers were ever explained in the story. They may have been addressed in a text feature somewhere.




True; hence my use of the word interpretation. Jacques may not have known the circumstances of Lyle's death--how much the Legion made public about a visit from a ghost girl is unknown, and we've seen that Legionnaires don't always know the details of each other's lives (Thom didn't know Jan's history back in 211; Blok spent some time researching Mysa's). I think it's human nature for Jacques to conclude that Lyle may not be at peace over Jacques assuming his powers, code name, and place in the Legion. Perhaps Jacques displaced his own feelings about not measuring up -- not living up to his predecessor's standards, as it were.

I like your interpretation that Jacques doesn't need the Legion to be the key to his future, but that doesn't necessarily contradict my thought that he wants to prove himself as Invisible Kid. He may have chanced upon the Norg serum and used it to save his sister, but he's chosen to remain with the Legion long after those circumstances have passed. He's also the only Legionnaire to adopt the name and powers of a previous Legionnaire (Ayla's impersonation of Garth notwithstanding ). Given his obvious spiritual beliefs, I think it makes sense that he's concerned about his actions disturbing the spirit of his predecessor.




To Levitz's credit, he doesn't go there.




Yeah. There seem to be different levels of "mature" story telling in comics. KK being beaten to a bloody pulp and frying himself is acceptable; having a thoughtful discussion about spiritual beliefs is not, apparently.

317 backup: "Once a Hero ..."

Twenty years after their first appearance, the Heroes of Lallor finally get their own story. I almost wish I could live on Lallor, where only four heroes are needed to protect the planet, and where these heroes seem to have nothing better to do than rebuild the confidence of one of their own after he behaved like a jerk. Lallor comes across as the Switzerland of comics: a small, remote country which isn't known for much except its neutrality and cheese. The Lallorians live their own lives, apparently undisturbed by the goings-on in the rest of the galaxy--though the Heroes did help out during the Great Darkness.

The story builds off of Duplicate Boy's actions (or, rather, inactions) during Vi's impersonation. We learn in no uncertain terms that he knew "Vi" was an impostor but chose to believe that she had gone undercover and convinced a Durlan to take her place. This is a good example of cognitive dissonance. When one's actions are at odds with one's beliefs, attitudes, or values, one modifies either the actions or the beliefs, etc. Dupe modified his beliefs to justify his lack of action in exposing the impostor.

Now he feels bad about it--so bad that he fears he's losing his powers because he's not worthy to be a hero. The rest of the HoLers ("Hollers"?) come to his rescue by orchestrating a scene in which Dupe saves a nubile young woman from being flattened by a runaway car. His confidence restored, Dupe walks off arm in arm with his new admirer as the other Hollers reveal that Evolvo Lad came up with the scheme and Life Lass made the car come alive. (Poor Gas Girl didn't get to do anything, apparently, except show off her vaporous hairstyle.) Never mind that they put a civilian in danger just to make a teammate feel better about himself and maneuvered her into falling madly in love with her idol. The Hollers have apparently learned a lot from the Legion in terms of not respecting other people's rights and property.

It's the kind of light, frothy story that does what it set out to do and in a mildly entertaining way. The entertainment comes from getting to know the Hollers, who have been mainly background characters since their first appearance in Adventure 324. Beast Boy got his own spotlight as a villain, only to die, and Dupe has appeared from time to time as Vi's boyfriend. But it's only now, I believe, that we've even gotten to know other Hollers' first names or to see them interact as friends and teammates. They engage in playful sniping like a brother and sisters, and we learn a few background details such as Gas Girl's long ago crush on Dupe. This story is meant to appeal to fans who have always wanted to see more of these characters over the years.

George Tuska once again serves well as backup artist. His art vaguely reminds me of the style of John Forte, who drew the Hollers' first appearance. Tuska performs admirably in these short stories which focus on just a few characters and their interactions and body language.

As for Dupe--it's great that his confidence is restored, but he's still a jerk.

Once they got rid of the dictator, everything was peace and harmony on Lallor? Or perhaps this was just some down-time, although restoring the confidence of your team's most versatile member would be a high priority.



I almost wish they hadn't made it so definite that he knew Vi had been impersonated. If he knew Yera was an imposter, why did he care that she and Gim were a couple? It is a powerful case of cognitive dissonance, but it makes him look truly uncaring about Salu. He really wasn't a hero in this case.



Hollers: great nickname! One hopes that they had a Plan B in case Dupe didn't manage to summon up some heroism. The gushing fangirl was believable, as was Dupe's reaction, but walking off with his new "honey" just made him seem shallow. It's odd that in the main story, we had Dev-Em doing the manly charmer bit as well. Must have been something in the air at the time.



The story works for that purpose. Keeps the Hollers alive, generates some interest in them as individuals. It never really went anywhere, however. They could have interacted with the Legion more often.

Good point about the need to restore Dupe's confidence and usefulness as a teammate.

I gathered that Dupe hadn't figured out the impersonation until after his fight with Gim.

The dialogue in this story (as well as the Mysa backup) was written by Mindy Newell, which probably accounts for it being more believable. Newell went on to create The New Wave--a team book which focused on group dynamics--for Eclipse Comics.

Back Up

Duplicate Boy is suffering from performance anxiety. It has been triggered by his realisation that he let his jealousy convince him that Vi was undercover and had been replaced by an impostor, resulting in him doing nothing about it. Even accepting his jealousy as the cause, deep down he knows he’s still not being truthful.

Although he said at the time that Vi wasn’t the girl he knew, he didn’t know anything about the circumstances until later on. If anything, it was Vi telling him exactly where to go that has been the trigger of his problems.

After all, he might have sent gifts, but he didn’t visit her in person. In this story, he’s more concerned with moping about his powers. There’s no hint that he could reconcile further with Vi, or consider her recovery.

The other Heroes of Lallor have known Ord since childhood. They know exactly how ego driven he is. But they need Duplicate Boy back. So, they work out a plan for Ord to rescue a damsel in distress. She’s not in any real danger as the car about to hit her is controlled fully by Life Lass at a safe distance. His mojo returns, Ord walks off into the sunset with his new romantic attachment.

Ord would be played as a bit of a clod in later v4 issues, and he’s a character I’ve little sympathy for. It’s interesting to have a guy with so much power, yet be unable to use it to its potential.

Both he and Vi seemed to prefer a long-distance relationship, and you can see why. While there’s nothing to say that Ord was playing the field, we’re told that he dropped Gas Girl the moment he met Vi. Likewise, it’s a new love interest that gets him over Vi’s disgust of him and revives his powers.

Tuska’s art is functional, giving us the story in 5 or 6 panels a page. His characterisation of the other Heroes of Lallor is the standout. It’s the art that makes you realise that they’re very comfortable around each other after all these years. They joke as they verbally joust. They flop into couches and throw cushions.

Mindy Newell is new to the team, dialoguing both stories. It’s not as smooth as Levitz’s work but its early days, and I think she was more involved in the later Tales. The exchange between Drake and Jacques regarding getting themselves free was a standout moment form the first story.

Comments



So they were hoarding the funds form horrendous Khund/Up conflicts while engaging in a bit of money laundering across any domain they could find?

Later, Lallor would be too close to Khund domination for comfort. I also seem to recall, possibly from the Adventure story, that the Lallorian government didn’t really like the Hollers that much.






Yay! Hollers it is.



Both she and Life Lass did look good though. That gaseous hair is visually distinctive enough that it probably made a few people wonder if she’d ever join the Legion.



I never thought she was in any danger, as the car was under Life Lass’ control. Considering the opening news holo, where it’s all about Dupe, I don’t think the others had to look too far to get a groupie involved.




I think it did a pretty decent job of it, making sure the name dropping was put in.



He’s not an artist that I desperately look forward to in a blockbuster title. But that’s reader deficiency as he brings out loads of personality in any cast that he works with. And it’s that sort of thing that can stay in the mind just as long as which hero thumped which villain in any given month.



Lallorians have to go around thinking what a joik he always is. But no one can ever say anything to him, because his powers work on self confidence. Without any criticism makes Ord think it’s just fine to continue as he is, and the cysle continues…



… and the children of Terry Long went into the stars, picking out the best pick up bars from the knowledge that their ancestor had got from the Titans files.

Well, we hope it's fully controlled. I'm not clear on how much control Life Lass has over the objects she brings to life.

Even if she could get the car to come to a dead stop or veer away at the last second, she can't know how the girl would react to seeing a car barreling toward her. Perhaps she had a weak heart or would panic and run into the path of another car Somi didn't control. Ah, I'm putting too much thought into this.



Your comment made me wonder what it must be like to be able to only duplicate other heroes' powers--to not be able to do anything original. It might be like only being able to trace art or paint in another artist's style. I' wonder if that's why Dupe is so ego-driven. Perhaps he's covering up massive insecurities.

HWW, don't make me re-start that Art thread I used to have. I'm just crazy enough t'do it, y'know.

cle, are you saying we should call you Duplicate Lass?

Sadly my temper is sometimes comparable to Ord's. So you should probably refrain.

We can always manufacture an scene in which you save a buff groupie, if that'll cheer you up.

It will... until that inevitable moment where he learns that even in the 31st Century, artists don't have any money.

LSH #5 An Eye for an Eye A Villain for a Hero! by Paul Levitz & Keith Giffen, design by Keith Giffen art by Steve Lightle & Larry Mahlstedt, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Jeckie cradles the charred body of Val as the LSV carries defeated Legionnaires. She orders them off her planet but is neutralized by Neutrax. Ayla watches this on a screen within the LSV ship, as she returns to Orando with LSV members unconscious and bound. The LSV on Orando are surprised to see her emerge from the vessel, but Mekt refuses to let them touch her.

In the space where Orando used to be, Gigi Cusimano announces that the Legionnaires are ordered to return to Earth. Nura agrees, but leaves Lar, Tasmia, Dirk and Brainy to stay in case the LSV returns.

Mekt and Ayla face off against one another; he is surprised she has her lightning powers back. He vows to kill her and blasts Sun Emperor who tries to help him. She defeats him; as the other LSV members move in on her, they are rendered unconscious by the appearance of Jan, who has turned the oxygen to helium. Nemesis Kid is outside the helium sphere; Jeckie attacks him. Ol Vir tries to take the other Legionnaires, but Jan disables him by turning his clothes to lead. Ron Karr, Radiation Roy and ? come running but turn and flee as Jo and Cham approach. Magno Lad, Lazon and Micro Lad are then defeated; Zymyr decides it's a lost cause and leaves, but not before Tinya can reach into his sphere and cause some pain. As he leaves, Ayla realizes that they're all going with him.

Nemesis Kid shields himself from Projectra's illusions, but she calls on her anger and royal lineage, then breaks his neck.

The LSV members who tried to escape are stopped by Lar, Tasmia, Dirk and Brainy. Ron Karr tells them that Orando is in limbo and only Zymyr's ship, now wrecked, could take them there. Brainy can't figure out the ship's controls.

On Orando, Projectra promises her people to remain with them as Val's body is burned on a pyre. Jan asks if she won't return with them, but she has decided that Orando did not belong in the U.P. nor in modern times. She will use Zymyr's machine to take Orando into another dimension and commands the Legion to leave with the villains and never return.

The Legionnaires take one of Zymyr's bubbles and put the LSV in another as Orando vanishes. They must wait for other Legionnaires to find them. Suddenly, the LSV bubble fades and Esper Lass sends them a communication to say that she learned Zymyr's secrets; the LSV was returning to their original universe, but the Legionnaires would be lost forever.

Epilogue: On Orando, a guard piles the body of Nemesis Kid with other garbage to be burned and wonders what was so important for all the killing.

Comments:
Final showdown and resolution. For some reason (inspired by Ayla and the death of Val?), the Legionnaires are now able to defeat the LSV. Ayla herself defeats Mekt, helped by Mekt's refusal to let the other villains join in. They must have some code of honour for one-on-one disputes, since they all obeyed him. Nevertheless, her lightning powers are incredibly strong now; whether they've reached a new level or are fuelled by emotion is not clear.

The Legionnaires take some pleasure in victory over the LSV, even pleased that they are able to cause physical pain to some of the LSV. It's no longer enough to cleverly defeat an enemy; the adversaries have gotten tougher and smarter. The Legion were clearly outmanoeuvered at the outset of this story and may have been responding to that. These aren't mythical gods with unknown powers like Darkseid; they're super-powered beings who are familiar to every Legionnaire. It's rare to see Brainy outclassed in the technology department. Dirk's nonchanlance - playing cards as they wait to see if any LSV members appear - could be either a brave front or an indication that he hasn't accepted the seriousness of the situation.

It's a pyrrhic victory for Ayla as she's transported with Zymyr and Mekt to parts unknown, as well as for Tinya, Jo, Cham and Jan, since they're stuck in limbo. Why they put all the villains in one bubble and themselves in another is a mystery and certainly a big mistake in hindsight. A good case study for the Academy, once they get back to relate what happened.

As Ann H. pointed out, I did jump ahead of the story when discussing the previous issue; it's here that Jeckie tells the Legionnaires to take the remaining LSV members back to their universe. I still find it odd that she would not have dealt out her own justice, since these bad guys were also guilty of despoiling her planet. The cover shows her standing triumphant atop all their fallen bodies.

Looking at the funeral scene, with those very big, very mean-looking guards, I have to wonder how easily Orando was taken over. Was there a big battle? Doesn't Orando have a military force, knights or something? Don't other members of Jeckie's court have magical powers? Perhaps, like the Legion, they were taken unaware and underestimated this new LSV, who would have been aided by Pharoxx. Since we never saw Pharoxx after he was yanked into a portal on the honeymoon island, I assume he was killed or rendered ineffective.

Does Jeckie, driven by grief and guilt, just want to get away from everything? There's no assurance that Orando won't wind up in an even higher-tech or worse universe than the one they're leaving. It's ironic that she's using highly sophisticated technology - so advanced that even Brainy doesn't understand it - to leave technology behind.

"It's Mist Master", he says helpfully.

(Comment: Seems Zymyr went to the Yoda School of Elocution)

LoSH v3 5

>Krrak!<… sorry... I was writing my review using a pencil this week and >Krrak!<… oh for heav… wait that was someone’s neck… Hey Jecks! Keep it down will ya? I’m tryin’ to write this review!

The LSV has killed Val and has once again defeated the other Legionnaires on Orando. Jeckie faces off against them, only to have her powers neutralised by Neutrax. Nemesis Kid looks as though he’s going to kill her, when the group are distracted by the return of Tyr’s ship. Their longing to kill other heroes turns to anger as they find Ayla standing against them all. As the villains attack her, their blasts are disrupted by one of their own. Only Mekt can deal with his sister-no-more. As the battle veers into the other villains, Sun Emperor tries to intervene, only to be blasted by Mekt. At the duel’s finale his powers seemingly desert him, allowing Ayla to blast him unconscious. But, like Jeckie, she is alone among the villains. They advance only to be met by the recovered heroes.

The description, without commentary there, is to show Levitz’s plotting. The Mekt/ Ayla subplot has been growing since the first issue. While we get an insight into Mekt’s state of mind and Ayla’s change of heart, these aren’t the only concerns of the story.

Last issue, it looked as though Ayla was going to escape, only to have to return to Orando. That was because she was needed to provide a plot distraction that allowed the other heroes to recover after their beating last issue. It’s a vital battle that prevents everyone being killed and the villains resuming their plan. It was very kind of the villains to bring back the heroes in one piece. Ol-Vir even flies Jo down, rather than dropping him. They aren’t taking this oath at all seriously.

The heroes recover incredibly quickly. This isn’t the first thumping they’ve had and they were strapped into the machines that also sapped away their will. I don’t see Tyr or Titania coming round anywhere near as quickly. Jeckie powers also return quickly after Neutrax’s blast, allowing her to face off against Nemesis Kid.

Jan Arrah has a tendency to be used after the plot point has been completed. He’s a awkward character to write due to his powers. As late as v7 he was only acting after Mon El had been seriously wounded. Here, he knocks several of the villains out by changing the atmosphere around them to helium. But only after a couple of battles and the death of Val. Suddenly useful, Jan then proceeds to eliminate Ol-Vir from the conflict. You do wonder why he couldn’t have done a lot of this previously.

The tide turns very quickly against the heroes. Vi gets to beat up Micro Lad, getting that closure from her kidnapping. Jo and Cham look suitably mean felling Magno Lad and Lazon in brief battles. Tinya, who hasn’t had a lot to do except falling unconscious injures Zmyr. But that’s just to position him into taking Ayla and Mekt away in yet another Disappearing Character subplot that peppers the time around these early Baxter issues.

Much like Val being happily left to fight Nemesis Kid by himself, the others allow Jeckie to tackle the villain who can defeat any foe alone. He sees through her power in seconds and punches her. But Jeckie says that she doesn’t use powers to defeat him. She uses breeding. The responsibility of generations and of her world rests on her shoulders. She executes Nemesis Kid, in sight of the body of her love Karate Kid, and declares her action to the others as royal privilege. The Legion code against killing has been well and truly broken. From Jeckie’s view it is completely justified.

Elsewhere, the rest of the Legion have had no involvement in the plot. Fortunately, by waiting around where Orando vanished, they meet some escaping villains. Unfortunately, they destroy the villains craft, too conveniently losing the ability to track their friends and prevent a Lost Legion subplot in issues to come. Brainy can look as thoughtful as he likes and Lar can pose stoically. But neither of them did anything here. Further, there’s a very, very creepy panel where Lar and Dirk enjoy chaining up Titania far too much.

The reason why the Legionnaires on Orando will be lost, is that Jeckie has decided to continue the villains’ plan and remove Orando from our Universe (I wonder if Paul passed this through the Crisis office ). Despite having killed a villain, none of the Legion are willing to challenge Jeckie at such a sensitive moment. Jan even asks her to return with them. But she has decided, leaving both heroes and villains to find their way back to the United Planets. She could easily have punished the other villains. We saw Sun Emperor kill, and there looks to have been other battles as they took over the planet. Why let them get away? Banishment isn’t the appropriate punishment for that sort of thing.

In a small twist, the Esper Lass gets the villains back quickly, leaving the heroes to their fate. When I first read this, I just assumed that it would be the return of the villains that would lead the Legion to their comrades. But, in the end, they just showed up out of the blue. The sit and wait Legion we see here must continue for a while yet.

An epilogue shows the corpse of Nemesis Kid in the trash, along with the mural that the LSV swore oaths by. The trash is about where it ended up plot wise too. Despite numerous opportunities to kill Legionnaires, and telling the reader that this was their intention, only Karate Kid died in the story. As bloodthirsty as this sounds, it’s really more a result of the writer following through consistently on the motivations and personalities he has given his cast.

Jeckie’s action to remove herself, and Orando, from the Legion could be seen as Victorian mourning taken to extremes. But I think that guilt had a lot to do with it. She states that Orando was ill fitted to the UP. But that was because her lineage had done everything in it’s power to keep it as a feudal world. Jeckie didn’t seem keen when Val was looking to make a few improvements. She was shocked when the LSV had made some changes too.

Further, she and Val continued their honeymoon despite knowing about Pharoxx’s escape and what a threat he was to their world. We only saw Thora’s fate, but Jeckie’s words in this issue indicate that there had been a number of other incidents. As protector of her world, she had been missing to the cost of her world.

It would have been interesting to see Shady’s reaction to this later, but that didn’t happen. Shady’s contribution to this story was to give Radiation Roy a huge shadow beard. Rather than get help and review how her world operates, Jeckie goes off in a cosmic huff. Handily, in a monarchy, she doesn’t have to bother consulting with the people either. She hasn’t learned much.

Looking ahead, I do wonder if Jeckie was really using her power on Nemesis Kid, just in a different way. She switched from casting obvious, external illusions into manipulating the illusions we all carry around in our minds. Hart had no defence against that, which led to his death. Such manipulations would be used by Jeckie when we next see her. So, not only a decent switch from Levitz later on, but one that we might have had a connection to here.

We don’t actually learn a lot about what goes on in Jeckie’s mind through this story. She becomes a royal archetype at the end. She personifies a role, rather than a personality.

We don’t learn a great deal about any of the others either. Jan is pleased when he gets to turn the tables on the LSV, but limited by the writer (conveniently Cosmic King must have been too far away to be of use to his team). Vi takes down Micro Lad, but there’s no sense of fulfilment. Jo and Tinya could have been replaced by Lar and Shady for all the difference it made. Cham provides some interesting visuals, but adds nothing personality wise.

The only subplots of note involve Ayla and Mekt and the disintegration of the LSV when faced with something they didn’t plan for. The issue easily leads into Earth elections, Lost Legionnaires and Membership drives in the issues to come, without detracting from the main story, or cutting needlessly away.

Overall, it’s a stand out Legion story. It pushes the big buttons of character death, the Legion code, members leaving and one hero standing up to incredible odds to save friends. It has themes of love, family, dedication and revenge. But it’s also a story with a number of flaws.

Artwise, the cover doesn’t quite convey the power of Jeckie standing over a mound of villain bodies with a bloodied blade in the way it should for some reason. Inside, we continue to get the best of Giffen layouts and Lightle character work. Despite legs being far too long for bodies on occasion, we get compensated by expressions of hate, rage and determination. By this stage, Giffen would have tried to convey a lot of that through heavy shadowing and I think Lightle’s approach is the better option here

LSH v. 3 # 5: "An Eye for an Eye, A Villain for a Hero"

First off, I admire how both the cover and the story title forecast the resolution without actually giving anything away. The cover shows Jeckie hoisting a bloody sword atop the bodies of the LSV as her Legion teammates look on stunned. It's not the best rendering of Jeckie, but it conveys what it needs to: a battle-hardened warrior queen standing victorious over her enemies . . . except this warrior queen is a Legionnaire, and Legionnaires have pledged not to kill.

The title is a twist on a familiar phrase, but this twist turns out to be accurate. These things I appreciate only in hindsight. There were numerous comic book covers depicting heroes doing things they shouldn't do, such as killing villains, and story titles were always supposed to be clever and cheeky. But this one actually means what it says. It's quite stunning in hindsight to realize how far Levitz went in playing with tropes. It's almost as if he's saying to fans, "Okay, you think we're not going to go there? Guess what."

And go there he does. Projectra does not accidentally kill Nemesis Kid. She (arguably) does not do so in self-defense. She confronts him face to face and snaps his neck. Afterwards, she invokes her right as queen to execute a condemned criminal, and her Legion friends can only look on stunned and powerless. There will be no court martial for Projectra, whether she's resigned her membership or not. They are on her world now and subject to her rules. The universal claim that every life has value--the claim that undergird's the Legion's pledge--loses all potency and relevance here. The execution of Nemesis Kid is shocking--not only the act itself but what it portends. The cozy assumptions about moral superiority the Legionnaires--and many of their fans--have taken for granted has been burst like an overfilled balloon.

The story earns high marks from me for that reason alone. It furthers the divide between the unquestioned ideals of the teen Legion and this bold new adult Legion they are becoming. Projectra recognizes this transition more than anyone else. She embraces her new responsibilities as monarch and understands how her adventures away from those responsibilities led to unforeseen consequences for her world. In leaving Orando and joining the Legion, she opened her world to new perils they were not ready for. Now it is time to set things right. She orders her friends and fellow Legionnaires off her world and tells them to never return. As queen, she cannot afford sentimentality.

Levitz and Lightle show a great deal of restraint in this scene. There is no tear in the corner of Projectra's eye as she explains why the Legion must go. She doesn't even focus on herself; she directs her speech to her people--assuring them that they are her priority now, and that together they will heal and find a new home safe from the dangers of "modern" life. Some might interpret her actions as backwards, even reactionary, but a community which has been through a catastrophe needs a chance to heal and come together again. The rest of the universe can wait--forever, in this case.

This is mature story telling. It acknowledges the realities of being a monarch and the terrible price one must pay to wield such power and authority. I wished then--and I wish now--that this had indeed been the last we saw of Projectra (the diminutive "Jeckie" no longer suits her); her story is concluded, and sometimes there really should be an end.

The rest of the issue does a fairly good job of wrapping up the LSV War. There are lapses in logic, and some things happen for plot convenience, but it managed to deliver an emotional bang for buck in several places. Ayla's triumphant reveal of her lightning powers and her defeat of Mekt are well handled. Cham and Ultra Boy deliver humorous victories over Magno Lad and Lazon, and the escaping LSVers are quickly defeated by Mon, Shady, and Sun Boy (though all Brainy does is throw his hands up at Zymyr's technology). It's good to see our heroes win and enjoy it.

I just wish Levitz had gone a bit further in bursting tropes. The biggest trope he leaves untouched is the perceived need for cliffhangers. Ayla and Mekt being spirited away is understandable as this development sets up her spotlight next issue. But it was really stupid of the Legionnaires to place all of the LSVers in one bubble while they stepped into the other, trusting that Zymyr's technology would restore them all back to normal space. Jan really isn't a very good leader, is he?

The LSV War has had its ups and downs, but it ends with an emotional and momentous denouement, one which, to me, resonates even stronger than the end of the Great Darkness.

Sun Emperor didn't, to his regret.



To me, that's just Dirk--making the best of the situation.

I was less certain about his exchange with Gigi on p. 6. She says they've seen enough of each other, and he interprets that as a come-on. I wondered if she was breaking up with him.

Also--to quibble on Lightle and the colorist--Gigi's depiction in that panel threw me. It looks like she has a swolllen eye and cheek. I thought it might be because she had been beaten by the LSV a couple of issues back--but she's only winking. Nevertheless, I wonder if new readers might have read much into this image in light of her "we've seen enough of each other" comment!



Indeed. This is another trope that threw me: the trope that the villains have to get away so they can come back again. If you're going to kill Karate Kid and send Projectra into limbo, why not have her mete out Orandoan justice to some of the other villains?



I loved the image of the guards--especially the creepy face buttons on their uniforms.

I imagine the guards are quite good at defeating similarly armed opponents but not against people with innate super-powers and Zymyr technology. It would be like medieval knights going up against a small band armed with AK-47s.

Projectra mentions on p. 18 that Pharoxx was slain by the LSV.



Good points.

Interesting possibility. I like to think that Jeckie did not get inside Hart's mind, though. She didn't need to. Her will and resolve to do that which he did not expect was enough.



I agree to a point, but I think it's a strength of the story telling that we don't get much of her thoughts. Her actions and dialogue tell us everything we need to know. I also think she does not become an archetype so much as a woman who realizes that the LSV's actions aren't just about her and the loss of her husband--she has an entire world to care about and be responsible to. She puts aside her personal thoughts and feelings in order to do what is right for her people. She's come a long way from the honeymooner who ignored an obvious threat.



I think this, too, shows restraint in the story telling. The focus of this story must remain on Projectra and, to a lesser extent, Ayla.

If they have pencils on Orando, everyone must jump when they hear one break.



That struck me as a weak development as well. I suppose one could say that he - and the others - have recovered from their will and power-sapping restraints or that they underestimated the LSV before but now are doing whatever it takes.



My planet, my rules. Had she decided long before to quit the Legion? Jan asked is she was sure about not returning, suggesting that there wouldn't have been any review of her actions, let alone expulsion (unless he meant return to their universe, not the Legion).



Talk about a lucky break! What are the odds on that, Brainy? (Probably not too bad, after all.) The chain-Titania panel didn't creep me out all that much, but there is a hint of previous history/untold tales about it.



They never really followed up on this LSV, did they? Did any of these villains come back? They're pretty much ciphers to me, but I believe some of them were in Legion of 3 Worlds.



Good point about Shady, who has been neglecting Talok VIII. As for Jeckie, she does go through a period of reflection and atonement. Don't recall her exact reasons for returning to the Legion eventually.



Oh my, hadn't considered a different level of illusion-casting! I just considered brute force from anger and entitlement.



I figure the writer has to have these characters well-developed in his own mind, but there's just not room to explore their internal dialogues. It certainly seemed that way with Jacques in the Tales story. Behaviour seems consistent, but I'd like to know more. That's what novels are for, I guess.




I found it curious that the recent Supergirl series has the Legionnaires debating and divided on this question of justified killing. It certainly was a break from previous Legion history, although one might say we could see it coming, in hindsight. Agree that kudos are deserved for bursting through assumptions on Legionnaire behaviour.



Restrained is a good way to describe it. There's no debate, no pleading; she's chosen her course.



True, her later return is like miraculously bringing dead characters back. Can't say I didn't enjoy some of her later scenes, but you're right that it could have been a more powerful story to end her involvement with the Legion here.

And thanks for the correction on Pharoxx being killed by the LSV. Missed that. Jeckie's far too forgiving of that rat in her official speech but perhaps she feels she's mostly to blame.