Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 21

One would expect that fashions such as bell bottoms would be dated; to a degree, the technology (newspapers) would also be dated. But I was thinking more in terms of the Legion concept itself and how it depicts the future, especially our expectations of it. Like Star Trek, the Legion envisioned a future built on the expectation that things would get better: human beings would resolve their basic conflicts with each other and make peace with alien races. The worlds of Star Trek and the Legion were represented much like the US is today: where people from many different backgrounds and ethnicities mingle, marry, and work together.

Yet I've been catching up on episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, and I noticed that--even though the story is ostensibly set about ten years before Kirk's five-year mission (although perhaps in an alternate reality, as explained by a friend of mine), it also reflects a less optimistic view of the future than shown on the original series.



These seem to be more modern concepts rather than ones which would fit easily into the world envisioned by Gene Roddenberry. This is what I meant that Star Trek (the original series, at least, and possibly the '80s-90s spinoffs) seems dated. I love, love, love the original series, but it was a product of its time and represented America's view of itself at the time: a shining beacon of democracy guiding the way for a peaceful and adventurous future.

I'm not sure the Legion ever had a consistent theme or overarching worldview--so many different creators and editors modified the series over the years to fit the prevailing sensibilities of the comics industry. Yet it combined the assumption that super-heroes were inherently good and positive and could make things like a code against killing work with the positive, multi-species future envisioned by Star Trek. I just wonder if those assumptions still resonate in 2018. I hope they do.

A couple of Legionverse concepts that strike me as questionable now, in terms of tone rather than technology: the surveillance monitors and the one-world/globalist planets. The drones and monitors were cool tech in the past - now they seem far from benign. The other is the completely unified planets - Earth has one government and is one society as are most others (Talok VIII is one exception, although they don't have separate countries, but a rebel faction). This used to be the symbol of planetary peace and a step towards the creation of the United Planets. Today, we are starting to see the downside of a global society: less representative government, greater corporate control, eradication of individual cultures. I'd like to think it all turns out for the best, as it does in the Legionverse, but the concept today seems too Pollyanna for our present day. The threeboot addressed this to some degree: everything was peaceful, but it was an enforced, controlled peace more than a natural progression of mankind's better nature.

^^Along the same lines, the idea of an indigenous population basically leaving Earth in order to maintain their cultural identity/values, a sort of self-imposed space reservation, today just seems symptomatic of the very sort of globalization problems you mention.

Ah, not just flares then…

It’s based on science fantasy for a younger target audience. It shows a future extrapolated from a narrow set of cultural values, where there’s blind acceptance of authority and where scientific progress is broadly in everyone’s interests. Bad science is the domain of lone evil geniuses.

I think yesteryears readers were able to enjoy a bit of escapism just as we can, just as they knew it for what it was. Science fantasy ran in parallel with growing harder sci-fi, and has receded as time has gone by. Expectations of the older target audience for more mature, continuity-based fare have and the direct market to cater for this readership have also changed what’s on offer.
On specifics, the idea that the Legion may be idealistically optimistic may not even be correct.

Mankind has conquered the stars. But it has resulted in ethnic groups going to colonise worlds or convenient other dimensions (Marzal, Starhaven), as EDE mentions, leaving the rest for a homogenous single race (as portrayed for a lot of years). Such things are the result of near genocides and exiles here, so the Earth before the Legion’s time may have a lot of blood on its hands.

Economic power still holds sway, so mankind hasn’t even solved those problems as seen in the plights of Braal and Sklar. It’s just the same issues on a bigger canvas.

In our world, those evil scientists were nearly always part of a wider ideology and often state sponsored. This can be seen in the world of the Legion. Cramer mentioned the surveillance state. From mind wiping through mentally invasive interrogations to weather controls, science is seen as a good, progressive thing. It’s appreciated to the point that you think it’s been indoctrinated into the population.

That goes back to the issue of race and extends also into culture. There’s not only not much extremism, there’s no big debate over many other issues. There’s little if any cultural divergence. Again, it suggests a world where such things have been eliminated, and these things have never happened without bloodshed.

There’s a blind acceptance of authority in the Legion. When the Earth President or the head of the Science Police call with a mission, it’s automatically assumed it’s done in the best interests of everyone.
Many of our issues have made their way into the 30th century, but democracy died along the way. The president isn’t a democratically elected one in the Legion. Who knows how the head of Science Police got their job? The Legion go on mission impossible style missions without question. That subservience isn’t a good thing.

Good luck trying to leave the UP. They were going to declare war on Imsk for doing it. Leaving is not an option.

LSH #20 "The Deathworld of Tyr!" or "To Control a World" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque & Larry Mahlstadt, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Above Tyrraz, four Legionnaires discuss what to do. Vi wants to blow the planet up. Jan arrives with the Controller and converts the attack debris into an inertron shield. Only Jan and Cham are convinced that they must not destroy Tyrraz. There's a blast, then Tyr himself appears.

On Earth, Dirk meets Gigi in a bar. Gigi wants info about the Technopark bombing; Dirk wants to play around since Violet is off planet and they don't have a serious relationship. In space, Dawnstar tracks the missing Legionnaires and rebuffs Wildfire.

Jo battles Tyr. Tinya tries to disrupt Tyr's gun hand, but it shocks her. Jo sends her to find Jan and continues to hold off Tyr. Jan is still trying to find a no-kill solution; when Tinya wishes Tyrraz hadn't moved into their galaxy, Jan gets an idea.

At Legion HQ, Shady appeals to Brainy, through a closed door, to come out and act like a leader. Ayla thinks she's wasting her time on someone who is "a little nuts". Inside his lab, Brainy obsesses over Sensor Girl's identity. Sensor Girl, elsewhere, pities him.

On Tyrraz, Jan explains that if the planet stays on the edge of the galaxy, it's no threat - so he wants to control Tyrraz by disabling its engines. Soldiers attack them, but Jan turns their weapons to hydrogen.

Tinya, Vi and Cham fly off to find the engines and are attacked by robots, which Cham intercepts. The Controller leads a weary Jan to the engines; while Jan is still trying to figure out how to destroy the engines but not Tyrraz, Tyr attacks. Jan encases him in inertron, with air holes. He wonders where the other Legionnaires are, when Dawnstar, Wildfire and Lar arrive. The planet shudders, then Vi and Tinya appear to report that they destroyed the engines' internal controls. Cham and Jo revive from their battles. Lar takes the drive engines away to dump them on a swamp planet.

Jan tells the others that the Controller decided to stay on Tyrraz and fight evil with what was left of his power.

Second Story: Night of Madness by Paul Levitz, art by Keith Giffen & Mick DeCarlo, letters by John Costanza, colurs by Carl Gafford

Mysa and Nura prepare to spend a relaxing evening. Nura has a vision that there are monsters on the streets, which Mysa also sees in a globe. Mysa thinks they should alert others, but Nura reassures her that they can handle it. They track one monster, but as Mysa tries to cage it with magic, Nura bumps her and she misses. They follow it through a door, which turns out to be a Hallowe'en party at the Allons. Mysa seems a bit confused and Chuck says they needed her there as their favourite witch.

Comments:

I found this culmination of the Tyrraz story less interesting than the set-up. I almost felt like screaming at Jan, "Disable the engines! Tinya and Vi can do it like they have done with so many other pieces of machinery!"

Cham played an important role in defeating Tyr in the original story; here he spends most of the time knocked out. His role was crucial in protecting the others, but he was more or less absent from the story. Jo, battling Tyr, got a lot more panel time, in addition to kisses from Tinya.

Jan, on the other hand, was an incredible powerhouse, holding off the Tyrraz forces single-handed than encasing Tyr himself in inertron. He mentioned that he needed time to restore his powers, which I don't recall reading about before.

Lar, Dawny and Wildfire arrive after the situation is under control, but serve as clean-up crew. Wildfire transports the Legionnaires home in a bubble which appeared out of nowhere (the Controller? or did they borrow one from Tyrraz?). Why the Controller couldn't have sent them all back is a mystery, but Wildfire needed something to do and perhaps the Controller was keeping what's left of his power to manage Tyrraz. Lar's dumping of the engines in a "swamp planet" may not be without consequences. This is one of those out-dated details for me; today, I immediately think of something equivalent to nuclear waste and heavy metal contamination. What about all the poor swamp creatures on that swamp planet?

I'd like to know what power the Controller can exercise over Tyrraz to combat their evil, that he couldn't have thought of before. Perhaps it's simply a self-imposed penance. That a Controller learns a lesson from the Legion in non-killing suggests that their race has become distanced from ethical concerns.

The ending, with Violet saying they were the best, fell flat; it just seemed like an odd panel to end on.


We couldn't have had better timing for the Hallowe'en story than this week. The story itself is a light one, but has a few character nuggets of interest. Nura teases Mysa for being boring; Mysa wonders why Nura faints with her visions as their mother never did. Mysa uses "witchfire" to heat her drink as well as to try and catch the monster. The most peculiar aspect is that Mysa is oblivious to the notion of Hallowe'en. She also mentions that she had no spells prepared to catch the monster they are tracking - although that seems like a pretty standard mission for a Legionnaire. She reminds us that magic has gone from Earth, so there should be no monsters, but this is hardly the first time monsters have invaded/appeared on Earth.

LoSH v3 20
Tyr looks a bit sweaty on the cover as he lies in wait for the two Legionnaires. His hand is twitching too, making me wonder if this is a contender for the moidered or fondled thread. He’s pretty creepy.

There was a scene in the earlier Controller story where Vi was determined to blow up the Controller’s factory, even at the cost of her own life. She jumps to a similar conclusion here, that the only solution is to blow the place up. As she snarks at Element Lad, she suggests nuking it, with its inhabitants. It’s a snark escalation here. It’s not too often you see such a reaction between team mates. Well, not since the Adventure days when they were desperate to expel people. Jan diffuses it well, as he’s done before. I wonder if, like Nura, his leadership style rankles certain members.

The increased snark levels makes another definite appearance later on in the issue, when Ayla is very unsympathetic towards Brainy shutting himself in his lab. Picking up on HWW’s last review, it’s notable that it’s Tasmia hammering on his portal to check on him. Behind the portal Brainy has deteriorated, obsessing over Sensor Girl. Sensor Girl is watching this, but doesn’t intervene. I’m trying to recall if the final reveal justifies this action. Perhaps she hopes it will pass. One thought is that Sensor Girl’s monitoring is being picked up by Brainy in some fashion, feeding his obsession.

Jan cites the destruction of Trom as an example of needless destruction. Even Tyrraz shouldn’t have that fate, and it’s a solid connection to his past. Jan is a bit one trick plot wise, as pretty much everything outside of Erin goes back to his origin.

Jo absorbs one blast from the war world. But there’s a feeling that they can’t escape to or disable it. On the splash page, the ship looks like one of the many Khund ships the Legion has disabled on a very regular basis down the years. So, I’m not convinced of the threat. They don’t attempt to convince the Controller to get other Legionnaires either. Jan creates a giant inertron shield for them to use as cover. But if there was any doubt as to their location, Tyrraz can now be pretty sure they’re behind the big shield that’s just appeared. If they wanted to escape, they could just hold onto Jo and get out of there at super speed. Or come to an arrangement with the Controller.

A subplot reminds us of the technopark investigation, while also hinting that Gi Gi and Dirk might get back together. Gi Gi seems to know about Dirk and Vi, so there must have been some time elapsed for that to have become common knowledge. Or Quislet is a bigger gossip than I thought. GI Gi describes them as an item, while Dirk suggests something more causal. Either way, it suggests something has been going on for at least some time.

Elsewhere, Dawnstar has begun tracing the missing heroes. They aren’t in any other dimension this time. He pride and sense of validation are undercut by Wildfire. In trying to be supportive, he’s telling her it’s okay that she failed. Something else else she really doesn’t like to hear. Once again she’s focused on the mission, while he’s focusing on her. She must be wondering if she can drop in on Kol on the way back.

As Mon says that the missing Legionnaires can look after themselves, there’s a nice segue into Jo being blasted by Tyr. Cham and Vi were knocked out by the villain’s initial blast. Jo’s also a bit overprotective towards Tinya. She’s stunned in shorting a circuit in Tyr’s gun hand. The dialogue suggests that she succeeds, but there’s no difference shown. The dialogue/ art also suggests that Tyr’s hand speaks a few panels before it actually does.

Tinya follows Jo’s instructions and meets Jan and the others. The Controller looks for the world’s destruction. But Jan wants to find another solution. Oddly, they don’t just go back to Jo and team up to defeat Tyr. There’s only one plot path opening up to the reader, despite other options being available.

Back to the Khund ships. The big solution here would be the same solution the likes of Lar uses against such craft anyway. Disable them, and let them limp back to their own space. As Tyrraz doesn’t seem to have a home space, disabling it entirely is the plan here. Vi even mentions the Khunds.

The Controller is showing the Legion the engines as a hologram as a way for Levitz to break up the story. If it wasn’t for this, they’d be running down corridors, fighting robots again for far too long. The war world is run on antimatter/ matter engines that look as though they were bought second hand from the Anti-Monitor’s Fortress (For sale as of Crisis #12. One previous owner. Some renovation required. Free Flash costume with purchase.)

Now the Controller tells the team that disabling the engines was what he sought to do. If by “disable” he meant “by blowing up the world and everyone on it” then that’s consistent.

As Dawny and her team approach, Jan holds off the other residents of Tyrraz. He’s so often stuck in the background as his powers end conflicts too easily. Here, he gets to give the others a head start and fight against a horde without having to worry about stopping the main villain of the plot. Although he does get to stop Tyr too. He does so easily reinforcing the problems he usually faces as a character. His power use against the horde reminded me a little of how Chemical Kid would later develop. He was mentored by an, and you could see the over-powerful Jan being moved into the sidelines at some point.

Off panel, Jo has been beaten by Tyr and Cham also falls to the villain. As Jan prepares to use his powers against the engines, Tinya and Vi emerge having successfully disabled them. Jan wonders what happened to the others in the same sequence where Cham’s body can be seen in the background. Vi and Tinya say that the drives would take a year to repair. But it’s rendered meaningless as Lar takes the whole drive until to dump somewhere far away. Since he’s invulnerable, everything else in the story was really just a set up for his arrival with Dawny. A time bubble appears as a transport from somewhere to take everyone back. I guess the Controller couldn’t have done it, as Lar had his engine dumping to do.

The Legion leave an impressed Controller behind. They have disavowed personal combat, but with a world of Tyr-like warriors, it’s only a matter of time before he uses the world as his replacement Sun Eater. Perhaps he’ll look to wage war on his colleagues if they don’t reverse his demotion.

It’s a fairly pedestrian second half to the story. There are no big reveals or twists. The characters are written consistently enough. There’s some subversion going form the “I’ll deal with this” from Jan and Jo to Tinya and Vi finding a solution. But Lar’s really the difference in the end. Even revealing that the Controller had plans would have added something extra. Perhaps The Controllers in Crisis put an end to plans for them beyond this story. Last issue turned out to be the best part of the four.

That's a delightfully creepy idea. I don't recall if he suspects she's on to him, but he does make one very stupid decision later (sneaking into her room), which suggests he doesn't know, or doesn't care - and such is the nature of obsession.



True, although that may be the nature of severe trauma from surviving genocide. This singular focus fits in with his decision to eventually return to Trom as a guardian, while he could have become a counselor for other victims of atrocities.



Hah! Plot developments we'd like to see!



The bubble baffled me, but it occurred to me later that it might be one of Zymyr's bubbles from the LSV story, in which Tyr appeared. I've kinda lost the thread between there and here. Somehow, he got back to Tyrraz.



We never found out what happened to Tyrraz, although Tyr returned with the LSV in Legion of 3 Worlds. Did the planet go peaceful and give him the boot?

The characters could have wrapped this one up a lot sooner. They needed another obstacle/ threat to complicate proceedings. “Gee, we can’t disable it here, as there’s no resources and they’ll starve to death.” Or “Like Tyr’s gun hand, the war world itself is sentient!” Anything.



Good point. He was there to be visually interesting and not much else it seems.



Perhaps this is a way they are looking to try and limit him in future. Jan tires himself out on the minions, mentions that he’s tired, and then the villain appears as Jan can’t just end the battle in a few seconds. The Legion would strangely never just switch tactics to ensure Jan wasn’t used early on.



Mon-El is kidnapped by a bunch of mutated Swamp Things in #35.



Proactive to the point of zealotry. I don’t think there’s necessarily a huge gulf between the goals of the people on Tyrraz and the Controller. They could whet their appetite for conflict under his command. If there’s more to Tyr’s intelligent hand i.e. there’s intelligence in the machine world, then it’s a very useful tool for the Controller. Particularly as we’ve seen him teleport things over vast distances. Next week on Lost Tales of the Legion …



I agree. At a push, it possibly reinforced Vi’s commitment to the team and her protective attitude towards it. At the same time it shows that the Legion’s way is more effective than the Controllers. But, at a push…



Just a bit of a fluff, fill in story compared to last issues, or the back-up stories form a while ago. Just the sort of story Giffen was enjoying at the time.

The first panel mentions Braining not having to run around in circles with Jan’s return. But in the main story, Brainy didn’t leave his lab.

As you mention Cramer, there are nit-picks throughout, as it’s really all about the punchline. I did like the little bump Nura gave Mysa to put her off, and the return expression.

I thought Thom was wearing green a few panels before, so I hope Nura is smooching the right guy.



As we’ll be reminded in the Universo story, Brainy’s mind is very sensitive to enforced changes being made on it, such as memories being changed/ blocked. I was wondering if Sensor Girl expanding her own awareness throughout the HQ, was in some way affecting the finer mechanisms of his mind. Not to the degree he’s aware of the cause of it, but something subtler. Since Sensor Girl’s powers were formerly those of illusion, perhaps something that is helping Brainy see/ think things that aren’t actually there.



Good points.



His gun arm just wouldn't give up the snark in the new peace loving commune of Tyrraz.

LSH 20

I enjoyed “To Control a World,” but I think that enjoyment was based on context. So many of the stories leading up to this were underdeveloped or moved along at a languid pace. It’s refreshing to see a done-in-two story with a complete resolution. Furthermore, the Legionnaires are portrayed as professionals at the top of their game. Element Lad comes into his own as leader, showing confidence and refusing to abandon the Legion code.

Another nice aspect is that it’s the girls with arguably weaker powers who find the solution. This shouldn’t come as a surprise in 1985, yet in some strange way it does. The Legion has always been hailed by fans for its forward-thinking treatment of female characters, but that treatment has been mostly one-sided. The girls are still treated as eye candy, and it’s rare when they actually solve the problem without help from their male colleagues. When female Legionnaires were revamped, such as Lightning Lass and Violet, they were portrayed as aggressive badasses. But here Vi and Tinya use their wits to disable the drives of Tyrraz. It’s an understated victory on their part, and no one makes a big deal of it—as it should be; in the 30th century, one would hope gender wouldn’t make a difference in expecting heroes to win. But, in 1985, their victory still seemed rare.

So, #20 has a lot going for it, but these positives seem like icing with very little cake underneath. Despite the big build-up of last issue, the solution to defeating Tyrraz is simple and poses no real challenge to the Legionnaires—not even the ethical dilemma set up so well last issue. And despite Tyr’s prominence on the cover, little is done with him as a character. He doesn’t seem as threatening as he did in 1973. In the earlier stories, he used subterfuge, stealth, and long-range planning to brainwash a Legionnaire and hold the team hostage in its own headquarters. Here he displays a new appendage weapon (which looks more like a fancy splint) and blasts things to little effect. He’s become just another action villain.

It’s great that the Controller saw the error in his ways and decided to stay on Tyrraz to “fight evil”—but this one-shot character changes, not the Legionnaires. Since this godlike being is brought over to their way of thinking, the Legion’s victory comes off as smug—a lot like Captain Kirk out-reasoning immortal beings. In fact, this story and it’s “we’re the best” ending seems very Silver Age.

“Night of Madness” may have been a piece of fluff, but I enjoyed it, too. It provides a glimpse into Mysa and Nura’s relationship as sisters. They love each other but have very different temperaments and sometimes get on each other’s nerves, as siblings do. Since Mysa has spent most of her life studying magic on the Sorcerer’s World, it makes sense that she would be unfamiliar with the earth custom of Halloween (really, how many people from other worlds keep up with earth traditions?). Her ignorance allowed the Legion to play a friendly practical joke on her—which, in my thinking, is confirmation that they like her and have accepted her as one of their own. (Yes, it’s been awhile since she joined the team, but, other than Blok, she hasn’t really been shown as having formed relationships with others.) Mysa’s embarrassment at being labeled the Legion’s favorite witch was a fun and human moment.

One final observation: Reading this issue reminded me of a crucial difference between Silver Age stories and ‘80s stories. In the Silver Age, writers used scientific concepts and gave limitations to heroes’ powers that were consistently followed. In this story, so typical of its era, science is shoved aside by action (no one really thinks about the logistics of a planet that has turned itself into a weapon), and our heroes become as powerful as the plot needs them to be. Jan whips up an inertron shield out of nowhere on a second’s notice. It was much more fun and interesting, I think, when the Legionnaires had to struggle to get things done. In these stories, victory comes too easily, even when our heroes are taking on an entire planet.

My Top 25 of December 10, 1985, shows that LSH 20 fared about the same as the previous issue:

1. New Teen Titans # 18 -- DC
2. Miracleman # 3 -- Eclipse
3. Crisis on Infinite Earths # 12 -- DC
4. Squadron Supreme # 8 -- Marvel
5. Captain America # 315 -- Marvel
6. X-Factor # 2 -- Marvel
7. Infinity Inc. # 23 -- DC
8. Aquaman # 2 -- DC
9. Daredevil # 228 -- Marvel
10. DC Comics Presents # 91 -- DC

11. Vision & Scarlet Witch # 6 -- Marvel
12. Avengers # 265 -- Marvel
13. Green Lantern # 198 -- DC
14. Fury of Firestorm # 45 -- DC
15. Blue Devil # 22 -- DC
16. Power Man & Iron Fist # 122 -- Marvel
17. Legion of Super-Heroes # 20 -- DC
18. Nexus # 18 -- First
19. Hawkman Special # 1 -- DC
20. Marvel Tales # 183 -- Marvel

21. Justice League of America # 248 -- DC
22. DC Challenge # 4 -- DC
23. Legionnaires 3 # 2 -- DC
24. All-Star Squadron # 55 -- DC
25. Captain Paragon & The Sentinels of Justice # 3 -- Americomics

As a bonus, here's a portion of my 1985 Year-End Survey, in which I collated all the data from previous charts and ranked each series accordingly. The Legion didn't fare too badly. (The number in parenthesis represents the ranking of the previous year.)

1. (13) New Teen Titans -- DC
2. (40) Crisis on Infinite Earths -- DC
3. (4) Star Trek -- DC
4. (17) Blue Devil -- DC
5 (1) All-Star Squadron -- DC
6. (21) Legion of Super-Heroes -- DC
7. (8) Captain America -- Marvel
8. (2) Tales of the New Teen Titans -- DC
9. (5) Infinity Inc. -- DC
10. (14) Amazing Spider-Man -- Marvel

11. (6) Fury of Firestorm -- Marvel
12. (--) Dreadstar & Company -- Marvel/Epic
13. (7) Justice League of America -- DC
14. (--) Squadron Supreme -- Marvel
15. (25) Fantastic Four -- Marvel
16. (--) West Coast Avengers -- Marvel
17. (3) Green Lantern -- DC
18. (9) Iron Man -- Marvel
19. (46) Nexus -- First
20. (24) Power Man & Iron Fist -- Marvel

21. (--) Vision & Scarlet Witch -- Marvel
22. (--) Zot! -- Eclipse
23. (--) Dreadstar -- Marvel/Epic
24. (--) Nightcrawler -- Marvel
25. (18) Avengers -- Marvel

Tales of the Legion ranked at No. 31, down from No. 11 of the previous year. Legionnaires 3 ended at No. 56 (out of 72 titles).

So they're not forgotten, I want to respond to some of the comments on my question about the Legion being dated.



Those are excellent points. What we once assumed would be positive advancements have turned out to have darker sides. I always loved the idea of earth having a unified government, but, as human beings, we will always find a way to complicate the most noble of concepts. What would seem noble and just and right to one culture won't to the next. These differences have to be understood and respected if the human species is to move forward.

And some cultures (or their leaders) don't want to move forward. They want to move backward to some imagined idealized past.



Good point. It now suddenly makes sense why the residents of Marzal wanted nothing to do with the outside culture (their Brigadoon dimension hopping aside), and why Starhaven may have existed.



Good points.



Another excellent point. Comics--and especially the Legion--were caught between this escapist fantasy and the push by fans toward more realistic or "real" kinds of story telling. Many fans (and I was one of them) equated continuity with "mature" story telling. DC and Marvel obliged by giving us what we wanted. Unfortunately, this came at the expense of challenging readers, of giving us ideas to grow on.



Hmmm.



Good points. It's rather uncomfortable to see the Legion's world in this light, but that discomfort is a good thing. It forces us, or me, at least, to examine assumptions I've take for granted.

The Imsk situation parallels the US Civil War. Several states thought they had a perfect right to secede from the union, but Lincoln argued differently. No union would willingly allow its own dissolution, he claimed (or words to that effect). He used this as a justification to preserve the union, which essentially meant no state could ever leave the US. Was he right? The US has certainly emerged as a stronger national force than it would have if the South had left. Many citizens today see themselves as Americans first and foremost and as citizens of a particular state second, whereas before the Civil War, it may have been the reverse. Secessionist movements today are generally regarded as crackpot theories. whereas before the CW they were a very real possibility. Lincoln's actions had profound psychological and cultural implications on the country.

It's interesting to see these issues play out (albeit indirectly) in Legion stories.

I think that this can be difficult for writers to pull off. We’ve recently had Polar Boy freeze something down to absolute zero. Sun Boy’s powers have expanded over the years and he’s not alone. I look back at the Adventure story where the female Legionnaires had enhanced powers. I looked at this as being a natural maturity of those abilities. But it does mean that it can be less of a struggle to resolve stories, with the writer having to come up with threats of a higher order to compete.

It’s not to say it can’t be done. Those same Adventure issues managed to provide varying threats with less powerful Legionnaires providing key roles, while also having to find a way of reducing Superboy’s impact.

But to do that with the current team would either require some in story depowering, a less comparative sort of mission or bigger/ more complex threats.

That lack of complexity let the end of this story down a bit. I wonder if it could have all be fitted into a single no ads issue.

You can arguably go too far in the other direction as Giffen did. No Kryptonians, no daxamites, no HQ, no flight rings etc. Everything becomes a struggle against the odds. One of them couldn’t even get past the HQ vending machine.

I’ve enjoyed the confidence of Wildfire and Dawnstar as a team and when they beat simpler villains as easily as their power and experience suggests. Having Dawny’s tracking ability malfunction has been a bit disappointing. If it was going to frequently not work, I’d have preferred something had been built into the powerset from the start.



I read it as Lar still having to arrive to cart off the engines. I’d have preferred Tinya and Vi to have found a permanent solution.



I didn’t think less of it due to its fluffiness. It’s no bad thing to get a mix of stories. Around this time, Giffen was doing shorts in Atari Force and others, and a lot of the are excellent.



Is Halloween before or after Klordny?



I got an anthology comic called Americomics decades ago in a swap. It had a character called Dragonfly on the cover. Very good it was too. It had the names of some Charlton characters inside. There must have been a period when they got to use them, but possibly before DC bought the rights?

Thanks for the annual summary. HWW. Fascinating to see. Justice League did better than I expected (even if it is falling), considering it’s the JLD era.

I'm sure it is difficult, but I think, broadly, that Silver Age writers were better equipped to handle this difficulty than later writers. Hamilton, for example, brought considerable experience as a science fiction author to the table. Even the teenaged Shooter worked in concepts he was learning in school. Writers of Levitz's generation seemed to bring in nothing but comics knowledge. Comics were recycling themselves but not bringing in anything new.

Of course, there was a trade-off. Hamilton, a member of an earlier generation, couldn't figure out what to do with Triplicate Girl whereas the reboot Triad became an effective fighter. Character development and interpersonal relationships were more implied than shown in the Silver Age. One of Levitz's strengths was that he knew his characters inside and out and could develop their personalities and arcs over a great deal of time. Yet where he often failed was in creating believable menaces for the team to handle. I think this is partly because he treated the Legionnaires as gods whose powers could do anything the plot required. I would have been perfectly fine with more power limitations, but that might have been out of step with the popular "blockbuster" style of story telling.

On the other hand, New Teen Titans thrived even thought its leader was the non-powered Nightwing. Cyborg, Changeling, and Wonder Girl all had specific powers with well-defined limitations. No matter what animal Gar became, it was always green. That negated any possibility of him hiding in a zoo, for example.

Developing such limitations is easier, of course, when you have seven characters to work with as opposed to 24. Every time Ultra Boy appears, there's a reminder that he can use only one power at a time, and such reminders are intrusive. They also don't amount to much since he switches powers so quickly and effortlessly that he might as well be able to use them at the same time.

Still, I think some scientific or logical limitations could have been worked in for most characters. Back during the Earth War, Sun Boy remarked that it took him several minutes to burn through one Khund ship. That seemed like a logical limitation for him and one that affected his usefulness in the story. The recent revelation that he cannot control the wavelengths of his light power was more of a throwaway line.



To me, Lar was just doing clean-up duty. It was the girls who brought the planet machine to a halt. But, as always, it's teamwork that matters.



No idea. Perhaps Klordny is celebrated on October 21, Paul Levitz's birthday!



You're most welcome. I don't recall the methodology I was using (though I could look it up), but it seems that it was based on the premise that slow and steady wins the race. Blue Devil never reached No. 1, yet it charted very high on the year-end charts for both 1984 and 1985. Such series were more satisfying over the long haul than the books that made a big splash only to peter out due to inconsistent quality and publication.

This is something I've voiced more than a few times too.



I've not thought of them in that way that I'm aware of. I remember liking their increased competency. That was quite a few issues ago, so perhaps I need to relook at that. Having a god like Superboy was a problem the older writers had to contend with. There was a character who could solve anything pretty easily. The trick was to prevent him doing so. I guess that applies to a number of the cast. In this story, there wasn't really anything to prevent the team easing through the obstacles - robots and minions.



I forgot to put a smiley on the end of my "joke" Now it lies flatter than Ron Karr in a trouser press. >sigh<

We've talked before about how several characters seem to have "plot powers." I was also thinking of Element Lad whipping up a shield of inertron at a second's notice. In the old days, he could "merely" transform one element into another. While oxygen is an element, I think it stretches things a bit that he can whip up a shield so quickly.

Your point about Superboy having godlike powers is good, but what separated Superboy, I think, was that he had a strong sense of morality and compassion toward others. There were limits he would not cross. Not all power limitations have to be physical.

I also agree that the heroes are demonstrating increased competency as they mature. But even an expert marksman misses occasionally and runs out of bullets. Perhaps there should be more clearly defined limitations to some powers.

I also agree that this story in particular provided few worthy challenges.



I knew you were joking. It was just an excuse for me to research Levitz's birthday.

LSH #21 "Obsession" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque, Larry Mahlstadt & Mike DeCarlo, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Brainy and Jan meet in secret below Earth in the tube system. Brainy voices his concerns about Sensor Girl; Jan isn't having it. Quislet spies on them.

In space, there's a prisoner revolt aboard the transport ship from Takron-Galtos. Legionnaires try to contain them, but stop when Titania grabs Shvaughn and threatens to break her neck.

At Legion HQ, Brainy breaks into Sensor Girl's quarters to search for clues, but is surprised by Sensor Girl herself.

On the planet Cizea, Tasmia, Lar, Jo and Tinya enjoy a picnic with meat that Tasmia hunted. Tasmia confides to Tinya that she's worried about Lar.

On the prison transport, the Emerald Empress appears, seeking recruits. Brin and Cham, helped by Thom, take advantage of the distraction to free Titania's hostages. The Legionnaires resume the fight. Suddenly, a darkness descends and Sensor Girl appears, saying they needed her. Brin disagrees.

On Cizea, Tasmia explains that Lar's anti-lead serum is having less effect. Jan interrupts their picnic to ask if everything's okay, since Sensor Girl reported a Legion emergency but didn't say who.

On the transport ship, the Empress is impressed by Sensor Girl and tries to recruit her. Sensor Girl extinguishes the eye and gives the Empress a hard slap. The Empress threatens revenge, then calls Persuader to join her in her new Fatal Five and the two disappear in an energy field.

Aided by Sensor Girl, the Legionnaires subdue the prisoners. Sensor Girl and Violet are impressed by Ayla's competence. Thom notices there are two Violets; Vi captures the fake one, a Durlan.

At Legion HQ, Brainy argues with himself how to balance Sensor Girl's right to privacy with the Legion's security. He believes that the holo-globe he saw in her room is Krypton and convinces himself that she is Supergirl.

Second Story: "Training Session" by Paul Levitz, art by Paris Cullins & Gary Martin, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza

Wildfire works with Quislet on training. Quislet is bored with each test Wildfire presents and brings an end to the session by causing Wildfire's suit to explode.

Comments:

I appreciated this more complex story. It had a lot of conversation that revealed both character and plot, as well as a few big surprises: Lar's anti-lead serum is failing, the Emerald Empress is forming a new Fatal Five, Sensor Girl opposes the Empress easily.

Other developments of a more minor nature: Brainy confirms that he thinks Sensor Girl is Supergirl (which the readers no doubt suspected). Vi is admiring Ayla and Ala lays a comforting hand on Vi's shoulder; I hadn't recalled that the set-up for their relationship went back this far. Ayla and Brin are back on speaking terms and Vi consults Brin for his opinion, suggesting that Brin is out of the dumb-as-a-doghouse. Vi still harbours a distaste for Durlans, although she's on good terms with Cham. He mentions teaching her how to subdue a Durlan (grab their antennae) - I wonder if he taught her that before or after she was freed from the sens-tank.

Despite Sensor Girl's handling of the Empress, the Empress comes off as powerful, unruffled, in complete control. She's only momentarily surprised by Sensor Girl's power over the Eye. It's not clear if the Empress ordered Titania to grab hostages, thereby effectively freezing the Legionnaires from action, or if Titania took the initiative, auditioning for a place in the new Fatal Five.

It's not unusual, but there's a very nice bit of teamwork to take down the villains on the transport ship.

We jump right into the prisoners' revolt and find out later that it's the Empress who has freed them.
This imparts a sense of dynamism to that particular story, in which all the action happens; the rest of the issue involves more sombre and quiet exchanges.

Brainy and Jan's meeting underground is a reminder (and Brainy reminds the reader) of the underground discussion regarding Yera's impersonation. This one turns out differently, though: Jan listens, but firmly rejects Brainy's paranoia.

Brainy isn't the only one with questions, however: the other Legionnaires' curiosity is heightened by Sensor Girl's impressive handling of the Empress. Unlike Brainy, the others aren't suspicious of her motives. Cham, ever the detective, is actually onto the truth in a way (does she "do it all with mirrors?") but may not realize it. Sensor Girl's slap and "You offend me" comment is very much unlike Supergirl, but I doubt I would have glommed onto her true identity at this point.

The last page of this story is taken up with Jan and Shvaughn; although their romance is something that Levitz seems to focus on, I found this exchange - essentially, a summary of events - to feel flat after the excitement of the previous pages.

Quislet's spying on Brainy and Jan raises questions: is he nosy, working with Sensor Girl, working with McCauley (who has his own spies), a traitor?

The second story focuses on Quislet. It doesn't really tell us anything but that Quislet is pompous, sets his own agenda and has no respect for authority. Sounds like Wildfire - and it's Wildfire who gets pranked in this story - but the snooping scene of the main story gives this otherwise silly story a more sinister undercurrent.

LoSH v3 #21

LaRocque’s cover may be rougher than Lightle’s work, but it’s a more effective action piece than a number of earlier issues.

There’s no hiding who the villain is, and she has plenty of known Legion adversaries as allies. The use of Ayla, Gim and the Persuader in the foreground give it added depth.

Querl meets leader Jan at the centre of the Earth to reveal a problem within the Legion. It’s a very effective opening page. Through Querl, Levitz reminds us of the Vi/Year switch. Through Jan, we have the embodiment of a mystery Legionnaire joining the team. The choice of meeting place is within a trans world tunnel system. Just the sort of thing that Supergirl formed during her try out for the Leigon.

The only down point is that Jan refers to them having to wear outfits. Querl has put on a coat. So, it’s not much of a change.

Jan listens patiently to Querl’s reasoning. But he has made his decision to trust Sensor Girl, and Imra in asking for a vote to let her in. In so many comics this would have been a scene of histrionics and posturing. Here, it’s a quiet exchange between two old colleagues on different sides. Jan is surely aware of the consequences of something obsessing Querl. Querl is surely aware of the consequences of acting against the wishes of his leader, and in Imra, oldest colleague. The scene ends with them leaving together. But the issue isn’t resolved. Quislet has been spying on the exchange, which could throw all manner of complications into the scenario, considering he’s not terribly interested in tact.

The issue is a Crisis crossover of sorts. In the maxi series Takron Galtos was destroyed. The Legion rescued as many from the planetoid as they could. Here, they are transporting them to a new prison, and some of the inmates are looking to escape en route. The ark ship they are travelling in, reminds me very much of a proposed design from a sci fi film (Alien I think).

It’s an opportunity for the Legion to have a solid action scene. Brin, Vi and Ayla take the lead and all are assertive and proactive. Ayla eases into the role of field leader. Brin is the one to see the desire for a fight in the villains’ eyes.

Although we’d get to see a lot of the LSV during this period, they still carry a bit of their earlier threat in the opening panels. They manage to hold off the Legion when Titania knocks out Thom and takes Erin hostage. As the villains begin to negotiate for the ship, we learn that they didn’t break out on their own. Someone let them out. We’re not kept in suspense, as the Emerald Empress shifts through the hull.

The Persuader tells the Empress that he never thought she’d end up so tough (after a moment where she might have killed a hostage off panel). She’s always been a very capable opponent though, right from the Fatal Five’s introduction.

The same can’t be said for some of the remaining members of the Five. Validus was rescued by Darkseid from Galtos, and is effectively missing. His fate and true origin would be revealed in an Annual. Mano has been beaten on a number of occasions. Like the Persuader, his lethal power means that he really can’t be seen to be using it. That diminishes his threat over time. The Persuader, as a mercenary enforcer. did do really well in the recent Talok storyline despite being on the losing side. The same problem exists with the LSV, particularly the Super Assassin members.

The Empress clearly thinks the same. She’s looking to recruit a new Fatal Five and the Persuader is shocked that he might not be included. The Empress looks to the Legionnaires, only to be met with a firm rebuff from Ayla and Gim (who was once forced to aid the LSV). As the Empress talks, the ever-keen Brin frees the hostages with Cham’s help and the fight restarts.

Levitz keeps the battle to little bursts: The first encounter, followed by a stand off and the appearance of the Empress. A further fight, ended by the arrival of Sensor Girl. Both parallel appearances brought together as the Empress offers Sensor Girl membership in her new line up.

Following on from the opening scene, Brainy justifies snooping in Sensor Girl’s quarters by saying it’s for the good of the team. Computo is the HQ majordomo, but Brainy can override it. This is something that should worry his colleagues should they learn of it. Brainy wipes the record to make that less likely. Legionnaires must trust each other, he thinks to himself. But the only trust issues rest with him. A vast intelligence, but one that’s focusing down the wrong path. Much like his Computo creation. Brainy makes some discoveries. A holo of an unknown world; a flight ring that Sensor Girl seemingly doesn’t seem to need. But Sensor Girl returns, blanks Brainy’s senses and deposits him outside before flying off. The S on her costume looks particularly distinctive form that angle.

The stand off between Empress and Sensor Girl is a classic scene. Her evaluation changes through the scene. Sarya recognises a peer immediately. But it’s one to be used. When Sensor Girl isn’t affected by the eye, Sarya is thrilled more than scared. She offers Sensor Girl a partnership: To rule together. Jeckie had directly asked Sarya’s plans, something that the Empress also respected.

When Jeckie slaps away the offer of membership, Sarya tells her that she will pay for the insult and another Legion/ villain grudge is established. But it’s one built on respect as well as enmity. The tone of each in the exchange reflects comic book nobility. Only the super-convenience of Brin throwing Hunter into Jeckie prevents the battle continuing.

As on Talok, and other issues, Gim tackles the Persuader while Brin gets the upper hand on Titania. The departing Empress takes the Persuader as the best of an indifferent bunch of potential recruits. Ayla threatens the remaining villains back into their cells. Vi’s impressed with Ayla since her return. Chameleon Chief is lucky Vi didn’t hurt him more after trying to impersonate her. Vi had previously thought Cham’s transformations were icky, even if she liked him. She doesn’t like to even touch Chameleon Chief.

Brainy knows the potential cost of his actions, but it doesn’t seem likely to stay his hand. He has concluded that the holo world was Krypton and that Sensor Girl is Supergirl. He looks feverish and his longer hair gives him a more manic look.

Sensor Girl is also the topic of conversation back on the prison ark. Brainy thinks that it’s somehow Kara, just “twisted.” That rules out him knowingly having brought back a Supergirl robot, or saving Kara directly while promoting a Kara or Satan Girl survival by other means. Brainy’s conscious thoughts when it comes to Supergirl robots has been cloudy, to say the least, in the past.

Vi mentions a criminal past, Cham that she does it with mirrors and Brin who says that no one can do the things she seems to. Jan, providing a close to the opening scene tells Erin that he has no more information on Sensor Girl than the rest of them do. He trusts Saturn Girl, and that’s all he needs, or wants, to know. Jan and Erin have a nice moment together as the story reaches its close. There’s no cliffhanger. Instead, the issue pushes on a number of strong subplots. It could have offered Brainy reaching his Kara conclusion as the final page, vowing to find the truth. So, it’s not as though there weren’t cliff hanger moments in the story we got.

Another subplot with two scenes involves Tasmia and Lar. We’ve seen them and Jo and Tinya in numerous scenes together before. They have strong relationships and it’s good to see them discuss problems. Tasmia isn’t immediately open about it. We’ve seen hints in previous issues that things haven’t been great with her and Lar. But she’s with her best friend and we find out that Lar’s serum is wearing off. Brainy, while obsessing over Sensor Girl, has been working on a solution. The subplot on his obsession has a direct impact on Lar and Tasmia if things go wrong.

Characters too often hide problems/issues beyond the suspension of disbelief. Scenes, by nature designed to be dramatic, are cut off before anything is learned. But if we’re to believe the characters interact on a regular basis, it’s unlikely that the topic doesn’t come up in between plot points. Levitz shows a more natural way of doing this, without losing any of the impact. It’s a quiet scene with thunderous portent. We also learn that Tasmia hunted their dinner, which is a nice character aside. It odes raise the question on Legionnaires taking lives in a galaxy where any species could produce a prospective member of the team. :smile;

This is a very well plotted issue. We keep to a core cast, with Gim and Thom to pad out the prison ark team. Jan is involved in each of the subplots providing a continuous thread through the issue. His quiet approach to leadership also allows the focus to remain on each of those plots. The characterisation is also excellent, and dialogue moving the plot more than the action. The action we do get is solid and also, in Ayla and Brin, shows the group in a very good light.

La Rocque’s art still has weak spots, but the faces are becoming more distinctively his now, just as the hair was. The action is well choreographed by him. Having Brin with no Jo, Drake, Lar or Kal around lets him find his niche easily. We can only hope that the remaining three members of the new Fatal Five have half the impact of the original group.

I had been inspecting Snoop Lad to reveal some detail in the back up feature. But Quislet is being put through his training paces by Wildfire. Much like the issue when Blok simply walked through the obstacle course, Quislet has his own ideas. The reader gets a reprise of his powers and that larger objects take longer to disintegrate. As the reader learns more, Quiselt becomes increasing bored. Eventually he takes it out on Wildfire’s containment suit. Quislet is not oblivious to his actions. He knows Wildfire will be angry. Some might hesitate to remind Drake, once again, that he’s really a blob of energy. Quislet, Being one himself, probably doesn’t see the problem. It’s a fun little fill in with a comedy pay off. Cullins’ art is excellent.

Nice connection!



Yeah, I didn't really buy that. They've used serious disguises in the past, so a blue coat doesn't hide their identities.



It was a surprising request to make - did the Empress sense some dissatisfaction with the Legionnaires, to think that one of them might join her? Of course, she did try to recruit Superboy, so maybe it's just an obsession she has. Must. Recruit. A. Legionnaire!



In the previous issue, I thought Tasmia's concern for Brainy was based on friendship/prior relationship but this issue could put it in the light of self-interest. If Brainy's over the edge, Lar's serum doesn't get fixed.



I like that Levitz has enough confidence in the readers to have us fill in the blanks between scenes and issues.



Oh, dear. Hadn't thought about that. The next Legion try-out or new Academy class could present some awkward situations.



Good observation that they're both energy beings, but Quislet doesn't have a problem with that.

I recognized Astro Boy, but are the others all manga figures?

LSH 21

After several lackluster stories, “Obsession” shows the Legion DBAU (doing business as usual) while advancing subplots in significant ways.

The DBAU part comes from the Legionnaires quashing a prison riot of the ex-Takron Galtos inmates, who have broken out of the cells aboard the transport vessel. But this is not just an ordinary riot. It has been engineered by the Emerald Empress to test potential recruits for a new Fatal Five. This development builds nicely off of previous stories, especially Sarya going it alone but striking up a partnership with Ontiir. I’ve always wondered why Sarya needed a Fatal Five to begin with and why she accepted a subordinate role to Tharok. Here she reveals her intention to lead her own Five, and even deems her former colleague, the Persuader, as barely worthy of participation.

It seems odd that Sarya would try to recruit the Legionnaires to her cause, but her scene with Sensor Girl is quite compelling. It reveals a few things about Sensor Girl that, in hindsight, are fun to pick up on. SG’s “You offend me” line is certainly out of character for Kara but fits Projectra perfectly. The faux empress clearly recognizes a “peer,” who will turn out to be a real queen. SG proves to be more powerful than Sarya expected, and we’re left to guess what happens here, but it seems that Projectra’s illusion power gets one over on the Eye—an easy thing to do if the Eye doesn’t realize it’s up against an illusion.

The Sensor Girl subplot dovetails well with Brainy’s efforts to resolve the mystery. Initially, Brainy tries to do the right thing by reaching out to Element Lad but is rebuffed. Jan’s loyalty to Saturn Girl is commendable, but he still has a way go as leader; he should have known Brainy wouldn’t let this drop. Perhaps he could have told Brainy to proceed with his investigation quietly as a means of keeping the latter occupied. As it is, Jan only fuels Querl’s desire to find the truth.

Jan’s situation reminds me of Lyle’s back in Adv. 350-351, when the latter gave his word that the Legion wouldn’t try to find out the true identities of Sir Prize and Miss Terious. However, it was a more innocent time then, and the Legion hadn’t recently discovered that one of its own had been impersonated for months (as Brainy rightly points out). Also, Jo, who tried to break Lyle’s word, was easily placated with a punch to the jaw. Brainy is far more determined—and has only recently recovered from insanity. Jan dismisses his concerns at the team’s peril.

So, Brainy does what seems logical and right to him. He invades Sensor Girl’s quarters and discovers and important clue to her identity before she arrives and blinds him. (Again, an illusion can be highly effective if your opponent doesn’t know it’s an illusion.) It’s fun to realize in hindsight that the world in the globe is likely Orando. Brainy, obsessed with Kara, cannot see any other possibility than it being Krypton. (His temporary blindness matches his actual blindness—a nice touch.)

Elsewhere, we get a well-developed sequence of Lar, Jo, Tasmia, and Tinya going camping, and Tasmia confiding in Tinya that Lar’s lead serum is wearing off. The dosage is lasting less and less, suggesting Lar is developing an immunity to it. At last, the recent interactions between Tasmia and Lar make sense. But the women keep their conversation to themselves and allow their boyfriends to play the macho heroes, literally sweeping them off their feet. But the concern over Lar’s serum is out there and moves the storyline forward exponentially.

This story exhibits the tightness, complexity, action, and characterization that made the best of the Levitz/Giffen era, well, the best. The Legionnaires come across as real people we care about. They are at the top of their game as heroes but have significant flaws—especially Brainy and Jan—which bode ill for the future. “Obsession” was well-paced and builds naturally, even on re-read.

As for “Training Session”—meh. I wonder if it was intended to show Wildfire getting his comeuppance from a rookie who is even more irreverent and self-important than he is. However, I found both characters annoying and learned nothing new about them.

I was highly impressed with this issue at the time, as well.

Top 25
January 28, 1986:

1. Dreadstar # 23 -- Marvel/Epic
2. New Teen Titans # 19 -- DC
3. Deadman # 2 -- DC
4. Legion of Super-Heroes # 21 -- DC
5. DC Challenge # 6 -- DC
6. Infinity Inc. # 25 -- DC
7. Squadron Supreme # 9 -- Marvel
8. Miracleman # 4 -- Eclipse
9. Star Trek # 26 -- DC
10. Nexus # 20 -- First

11. Fury of Firestorm # 47 -- DC
12. Green Lantern # 199 -- DC
13. X-Factor # 3 -- Marvel
14. DC Comics Presents # 93 -- DC
15. Original E-Man & Michael Mauser # 6 -- First
16. Legionnaires 3 # 4 -- DC
17. West Coast Avengers # 8 -- Marvel
18. Iron Man # 205 -- Marvel
19. Bozz Chronicles # 2 -- Marvel/Epic
20. Power Man & Iron Fist # 123 -- Marvel

21. Blue Devil # 23 -- DC
22. Elementals # 5 -- Comico
23. Captain America # 317 -- Marvel
24. Secret Origins # 2 -- DC
25. Fantastic Four # 289 -- Marvel

Ahhh . . . quite an interesting reading of Tasmia's actions.



I was troubled by that scene. Not even Brin's that sloppy. It demotes him back to the dumb as a door nail department.



There's apparently a continuity glitch. In previous stories, Chameleon Chief didn't have antennae, and it was mentioned somewhere (and reported in the Legion Handbook) that CC is not a Durlan. Although the Durlan shown here is not referred to by name, he does seem to be wearing CC's costume.

We all enjoyed this issue more than the previous ones; if Annfie were posting right now, I believe she'd agree.



That's a valid question about Sarya needing or wanting partners. It was never addressed, I believe.



Good reminder, one that was skipped when Brainy mentioned how they dealt with Jan's secrecy when he first joined. I wonder if another leader, especially Saturn Girl, would have handled Brainy's arguments and obsession differently. Jan does seem all too trusting in Brainy's stability.



He's something of a narcissist and assumes that whatever he thinks must be right. At least he is operating, initially, from a view of protecting the team. And the blindness is a nice touch, although his eyes aren't open yet. Could Sensor Girl have revealed her identity to him and ended his obsession, without revealing the mystery to the reader, without destroying the story?

Good point about Brainy being a narcissist.

I suppose SG could have revealed her identity to him, but why should she? She and Brainy were never shown to be close (and later stories would play up the magic versus science debate, creating antagonism between them), and, besides, Her Royal Highness would never confide in him just to get him off her back. I think she handled it in a totally appropriate and Projectra-like manner.

I agree, she did handle it true to form. I was engaging in a mental exercise, wondering if she could also have confronted him with the truth to get him back on track, for the good of the team - at the same time, put him in his place as someone who's out of control. He'd be so embarrassed, he'd keep his mouth shut, or be satisfied that he had privileged information. Of course then his change in attitude might be noticed by others, or Element Lad in particular, and raise questions.

LSH #22 "Dead End" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque, Larry Mahlstadt & Mike DeCarlo, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Universo works his mind control power over a man calling himself the Restorer, who wants to return Earth to its pre-technology days, using him as a tool to spread confusion. It's revealed that Universo is disguised as Vid Gupta, advisor to President Desai.

The Legionnaires get the prisoners to their new prison, Labyrinth, in which they are held in stasis. Cham explains to Sensor Girl that it's surrounded by a powerful force field developed by Brainiac 5; she's both surprised and apparently disturbed. She flies off past the prisoners, expressing her contempt. The Legionnaires help with some construction before leaving. Vi makes a snide remark about Sensor Girl.

On Earth, The Restorer attacks Metropolis University, causing rubble to trap Rond Vidar and another professor. Legionnaires arrive to handle the situation; Wildfire chases The Restorer while the others secure the crumbling building and help the injured.

In Legion HQ, overheard by Tasmia, Lar talks to himself about the declining effectiveness of his anti-lead serum, now down to 20 from 48 hours.

The injured from the University have been taken to a Medi-Complex; Rond Vidar receives special attention from a doctor who turns out to be under Universo's control.

At HQ, Legionnaires discuss The Restorer, who has not been found. Zendak has given them access to police files. Brainy determines that The Restorer's own equipment was stolen from the Techno-Park as well as the University. Since The Restorer uses external energy and had swiped energy from Wildfire, Brainy suspects that his next target could be a fusion powersphere, given what he stole from the University.

On Labyrinth, Ayla charges the control room and is thanked by Warden Tsarquin, who she finds creepy due to his eyestalk. As the Legionnaires leave, Vi congratulates Ayla and they have an exchange about life changes. They're interrupted by Sensor Girl, who detects someone who shouldn't be on their ship. She senses he's inside a console, which Timber Wolf tears apart.

Teams of Legionnaires guard powerspheres on Earth. Brek complains about the lack of action. The Restorer attacks London, overpowering Jo with radiation. Dawnstar rapidly detaches The Restorer's power circuit, but is shocked unconscious. Jo melts the villain's equipment and Tellus causes his suit to break apart. Tellus tries to read his thoughts, but The Restorer destroys his own mind. The Legionnaires are left wondering how the Restorer mind-controlled the SP officers at the Techno-Park.

Zendak reports on the case to President Desai, who says that the SPs, not the Legionnaires, should have caught the Restorer. Vid Gupta assures Desai that he has plans for the Legion and how to get Earth into good working order. He thinks to himself that the one man who could stop him is lying in the Medi-Complex.

Comments:

Some action, but more set-up in this issue - and the set-up itself is pretty interesting. The Empress takes a back seat for the return of Universo, who has a lot on the agenda. That he's controlling Desai, The Restorer, a doctor and random SP officers leads one to wonder just who else might be under his influence. The contrast with the Empress is striking: she's in your face and asking you to join her while Universo operates behind layers of deception.

Much of the interest, for me, comes from the characters' conversation. There's nothing dramatic, just a building of distinctive and believable personalities. The Ayla-Vi exchange illustrates their burgeoning relationship and while Ayla shows great confidence on the mission (and appears to be team leader), she falters when Vi asks her a personal question.

Brainy's back on track, no sign of his Sensor Girl mania, although it seems unlikely that he'd have abandoned his pursuit of her identity. The other Legionnaires have various takes on the Sensor Girl mystery, but apart from some sniping from Vi, there's nothing negative.

As for The Restorer, I like the idea of somebody who wants to return Earth to its pre-tech days, but that's got to be a virtually impossible goal. These sorts tend to be the villains; too bad there aren't any back-to-nature idealists with good intentions and noble behaviour. Of course, there's a sad irony to The Restorer relying on technology to destroy technology. That the Legionnaires discuss whether or not he's a madman suggests that there may be some with similar ideals who might simply be idealists.

Zendak indulges the Legion; it's a practical and reasonable approach based on his experience, but one that displeases Desai/Gupta and one which might well be unusual for an SP Chief. With Marte Allon gone from power, Zendak's support is surely important to the Legion.

I'm not clear what's meant by Cham's surprise that Sensor Girl didn't know about Brainy's role in creating Labyrinth nor why she should be disturbed by it.

The cover is one I never paid much attention to before, disliking these composite superhero characters. This image, however, is more than just random characters put together: Brainy is paired with Sensor Girl, Tellus with Universo and Dawnstar with The Restorer. Jo might have been the selection, being on the team that finally brought The Restorer down, but Dawnstar, from a low-tech society herself, is a nicely balanced match.