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

Really, how they got from here to making Polar Boy leader is baffling. Maybe he improves considerably in future issues.



Good point about his suicide mission, I hadn't considered that and also expect him to be much more calm and logical, as he is when solving mysteries.



Good catch! Nobody's thinking to check out Mentalla's parents/family (including me).



Yeah, down with Brek! Lydda's taking him off her Christmas Card list. I don't recall a scene in which he interacts with his former Subs mates, but it no doubt would have been unpleasant.



The window dressing/stereotype again... there are a number of Academy characters who are undeveloped. Myg takes up a lot of space here, leading to high expectations from readers which don't really materialize. If the Academy funnels people into the Science Police, perhaps not all students need actual super powers. (Or did graduating to jobs with the SP only come in v.7?)



I'll second Set's recommendation. It's certainly worth a read, very futuristic. I don't think it went long enough for the characters to really develop personalities, though. That's what I recall, anyways; they seemed sort of cold.

LSH #25 "Revelation" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque & Mike DeCarlo, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



The Empress and her new team welcome their fifth member; Flare and Caress (acid touch) have joined the Empress and Persuader previously.

Dawnstar, Wildfire, Brin, Jo and Brainy are on the trail of Sensor Girl. Jo relates how there was nothing inside her costume when he used his penetra-vision and Brainy is baffled.

Mysa, Jan, Thom, Jacques, Blok and Ayla assist the Science Police in finding the Empress. Mysa and Jan create a giant emerald which, with a spell of similarity and an energy charge from Ayla, should lead them to the Emerald Eye.

Rond Vidar is getting no better, tended by a Universo-controlled doctor.

After dropping off The Restorer on Titan for treatment, Gim, Nura, Tellus and Brek seek information on Mentalla; they learn that she's gone to an uncle's home on Stratus.

Dawnstar tracks Sensor Girl to Shangalla, although she has left. Brainy pauses before the marker for Lyle Norg and Mano bursts forth, burning through his force field. Jo and Brin bring Mano down. Dawnstar goes back into space but can find no trail at all for Sensor Girl. This sparks an idea for Brainy.

Back at HQ, Jan and Cham discuss Sensor Girl and what the different teams are doing.

As the Legionnaires approach Stratus, their ship is blasted to pieces by Flare and attacked by the Five. Brek is eager to get into the action and freezes Caress, but only briefly; Gim takes on the Persuader and Nura is knocked out by the Eye. Sensor Girl approaches.

Jan visits Garth and Imra to ask Imra if Sensor Girl is to be trusted; Imra tells him that she was once a Legionnaire.

On Stratus, the battle continues and Mentalla turns out to be the fifth member of the Five. Sensor Girl tries to fight the Empress, but fails; the Empress unmasks her and reveals her to be Projectra.

Comments:
The lost are found: the Empress, Mentalla and Sensor Girl's true identity. There's a good sense of the process of putting the pieces together gradually to get to the revelations - it's not just Legionnaires hopping into a ship then flying somewhere and finding someone. I like how Brainy pausing to remember Invisible Kid isn't just a nod to the past, but something which helps him figure out the mystery of Sensor Girl.

Caress came from nowhere, but her inclusion and powers are quickly explained. I'm not sure, but she looks oriental, and it would be a welcome change to have an oriental member who was not a martial arts expert. The acid touch power would return as acid spit in the form of Dragonwing, another oriental woman but with a more stereotyped name.

Mano was denigrated by the Empress last issue, but she must have led him to believe he had a chance to join her team if he killed a Legionnaire. It's a good insight into how she plays with people; had Mano succeeded, she might well have killed him. Mano is a diversion for both the Legionnaires and the readers.

The page on which Jan and Cham rehash Sensor Girl as Jan considers the three teams strikes me as wasted. He or Cham might have at least speculated that all three teams would wind up at the same destination.

Dawnstar feels she has to prove herself in every issue now. I don't get that.

Titan keeps tabs on all its citizens, which is pretty creepy. Allegedly for taxation and reference purposes, it may have another aim to control its telepaths, who could be accused of or get up to all sorts of crimes.

There's a mention of wealth and the space it buys as the Legion approaches Stratus (which I assume is the same as Starshire in the previous issue). There isn't much discussion, just enough comments to fuel the reader's imagination.

Brek loses more points by flying off on his own to take on the Fatal Five. It's impetuous, foolhardy and self-centered. The result might have been no different had he waited to attack as a team, but it's poor form.

Jan refers to an adventure that Imra and Garth had with the Time Trapper, which would have happened in Legionnaires 3.

Mentalla refers to Tellus as "a monster", the first of a series of insulting names which will be applied to Tellus.

Questions: Why is Nura saying that Jan "only reluctantly" allowed Gim to accompany the team seeking Mentalla? Why did Garth leave the room when Imra and Jan were discussing Sensor Girl, apart from the diaper change? Why would Imra keep the secret from him and why could he not hear what she said to Jan?

LoSH v3 25

I guess we can read the last cover as “We know your secret…but we’ll keep it to ourselves for 30 days!” Only now will Sensor Girl’s secret be revealed, unless there’s something that next month’s cover wants to tell us.

It’s a nice Lightle cover, spotlighting Sensor Girl, and highlighting the Legion’s conflict against the Fatal Five. No smug Brin on the cover for the identity reveal.

We open with the Emerald Empress welcoming a new member to the Five. Someone with Legion connections. Could it be Sensor Girl? Since the Empress dealt with Sensor Girl as a peer, while this person is a “little secret” who must “earn your place in the Fatal Five,” it seems it’s someone else.

There’s a bit of posturing as the Five are reintroduced, or in the case of Caress introduced, to the story. Caress looks to have a similar, if lesser, power than Mano. This means she should be able to use them in a story without instantly killing someone as Mano would.

Sponsored Ad
“Do your headaches prevent you tracking people across the stars? Do you long for the days when you could focus without a haze of anti-matter trailing you around? Try Suit-Burster Pills!”

Drake sure is clingy today and I note that Dawnstar uses “friendship” to keep him at a distance.

The atmosphere is little better in the cruiser. The team discuss Sensor Girl with Brianiac convinced she’s hostile. This story shows that his 12 level intellect can be steered into very dangerous waters. Jo reveals the results of his attempt to peek into Sensor Girl’s costume. Which sounds quite creepy now I’ve typed it. I remember his origin now, when he peeked under Superboy’s clothes. Yikes!

Back in the day Invisible Kid would show up and punch Jo in the face for his behaviour here. We miss you Lyle, and he could have been useful in keeping Brainy in his place too.

The current Invisible Kid fills in some background space on Earth as his colleagues create a giant, energised Emerald. Just in case the Emerald Empress is a Bat-Villain.

It’s just one of a few subplots. We pop into see that Rond Vidar is still under the supervision of an agent of Universo. One of his colleagues will surely see his super-villainous smile and contact the authorities?

Then it’s off to Titan where a team are dropping off the Restorer (linking it with the last couple of scenes) and also looking into Mentalla’s record. To be fair to Levitz, each of these diversions will lead back into a main plot. We get a connection between Titan and Tellus’ home world. It’s a small galaxy. Dream World reminds the others of the chain of command, only to have Gim wing it as they head off to Stratus, where Mentalla left word she was staying. Convenient that she should visit Titan and that the Legion would choose to look into it (Jan didn’t really want to send the team really)

We’re back with Dawny as a successful use of her powers leads them to a dead end on Shanghalla. Brainy misses Lyle too. The team are distracted by Mano attacking them to gain a place on the Five. It seems the Empress sent out more than Five invites, with the best of them being selected. The villain is easily taken down by Brin and Jo. It’s a sad defeat for Man, but he’ll be better placed with Starfinger in v4.

The story cuts to Jan, as Levitz feels that the reader needs an update of where everyone is, and to begin the reverse of Brainy’s obsession. It’s Jan’s faith in the Coluan’s current state that allows the story to lead nicely to Brainy figuring out Sensor Girls identity. He does this after Danwy (who gets to dump Drake behind! Yay!) fails in the use of her powers (Boo!) Sensor Girl has left no trace to be found. Brainy knows why, but chooses not to share his revelation with the rest of his team. Why would he do that?

Brin rightly wonders how Mano knew to be on Shanghalla. I don’t think it’s ever explained? As there’s a full five in the Fatal Five, I wonder if this scene is just padding to make the graveyard trip more exciting.

The team approach Stratus and Dreamy tells Brek to land the shuttle on the estate of Mentalla’s uncle. Brekk tells Nura that he’s ahead of her, as an early nod to his ambitions within the team.

Flare blasts them out of the sky. Tellus has been handy this issue. Being able to access the equipment on Titan and now holding the shuttle together. Brekk’s ego makes him rush off first. As he attacks Caress, he says that he’s not trying to hog the action. But either the Empress or Flare could have shot him down. There’s no reason why the pair didn’t use their ranged attacks.

Gim once again gets the upper hand on the Persuader, although Dreamy gets blasted by Empress. Sensor Girl approaches the battle. Is she the secret member of the Five after all? Levitz has clearly enjoyed this mystery, and has Jan visit Imra. She tells him that Sensor Girl was already a Legionnaire, while reminding us of the Legionnaires 3 mini series. Imra and Garth are in costume, but surely they’ve had a chance to change since their adventure?

So Sensor Girl really is the Ghost of Ferro Lad. Or is she the Zombie of Nemesis Kid and the Legionnaires are about to die… Whoever she is, she sides with the Legion in the battle. The thing is that the Legion weren’t on the ropes and her intervention seems to make little difference. Empress rallies her troops and the battle, if anything, turns against the Legion. The Persuader battles back at Gim while Flare keeps Tellus at bay.

If Sensor Girl isn’t Fifth of Five, readers don’t have long to wait to find out who is. Gim’s powers fail, as Mentalla takes control of them. Just as she controlled Jo’s powers all the way back in her try out. She’s just as sneering too, and a few characters are referring to Tellus as a monster. He retreats back to Polar Boy who is holding off Caress.

it’s an odd fight. Persuader doesn’t press the advantage. Polar Boy doesn’t just knock Caress out with a chunk of ice. Flare and the Empress continue to use their powers effectively. While Sensor Girl disrupts the Eye, Empress gets in close and knocks her to the ground. The Eye then removes the Sensor Girl costume to reveal Princess Projectra!

There’s the usual solid Levitz craft of running plotlines in parallel (The Five, Sensor Girl) before merging them together. This time he’s also added other smaller subplots (Mentalla, Brainy’s Obsession ) and combined those at the same point too. He’s still pushing himself as a writer and it’s something you don’t see too many books being capable of. Even then, Levitz still adds in other subplots (Dreamy/ Thom/ Universo) and red herrings for this plot that will feature later (that giant Emerald). It’s good work.

There’s a question as to how Sensor Girl knew to turn up on Stratus. There’s also the question as to how Mano knew to be on Shanghalla. Also, while the big fight scene had some very good visual moments, some it seemed to be marking time between the plot points. No one really pressed the advantage that Larocque showed the to have. On the whole, through Levitz writing strength, and Larocques development, this is one of the better stories of the volume.

LSH Baxter #25

Hi, hi.

Told you I'd be back to review Baxter 25 and 26.



At last, the New Fatal Five are in place!

At last, Mike DeCarlo becomes the book's go-to inker, and we get the first issue in eons that looks polished and slick from first page to last -- bye-bye, Larry Mahlstedt, don't let the futuristic sliding door pinch you on the way out!

At last, Greg LaRocque gets to prove that no Legion artist of the 80s was more fully in tune with Paul Levitz when it came to action sequence choreography!

And at last, Sensor Girl is revealed!

Um...

*crickets*

At last, at last, at last, Sensor Girl is revealed!

Yeah, okay, I'll admit that I don't like it any more than a lot of you reading this do.



I mean, Projectra? Pro-freakin'-jectra?

Buuuuut...that's the *last* page of the issue, so up until then it's just swell!

My only other quibble is that both Levitz and LaRocque appear to share Sarya's contemptuous attitude toward Mano. That just puzzles me, 'cause he's always been my second favorite of the founding Fatal Fivers (after Sarya, of course.) I've shared this story in the past, but it bears repeating -- my first exposure to the Legion was the cover of one of the Conway issues, an installment in the Dark Man Saga where each of the villains gets a head-shot and a summary of their powers. "Mano: His touch brings death." Plus the opacity of his helmet made his face impossible to see. It all combined to creep the living hell outta Little Annfie!

I'll give Baxter 25 a grade of 9 out of 10 Taryns:

Comments


It was almost empathic of him, reminding us of a softer Brainy than seen elsewhere.



She seemed like a decent Mano upgrade, free of his limitations, But we’d not see any more of her and she got mind altered by the Dominators, as did Flare in v4. I hadn’t made the connection between the powers of Caress and those of Dragonwing.



I thought she might let him take the place of one of the Five. If he’s worth any merit, Mano should forge his own path. Considering he’s skulking around tombstones, his self esteem and stock must have fallen quite a bit.

Another solution is that the Five becomes just a name, with the Empress running more operatives than that. Perhaps Five towards any one goal, like a Swan Legion story or a mission impossible team.



The record got stuck after having her powers fail to find those in other dimensions. Just like it got stuck between her and Drake.



The future is utopian, but it’s a bit more utopian for some than others.



It looked like a visual shortcut to let us know how keen Brek is to make his mark. He wants to impress the others, not in a necessarily boastful way but in a way that shows he not only belongs but that he excels. It hasn’t crossed his mind that none of the others thinks that way.



Some artists have drawn a host of alien forms all intermingling. Others much less so. You wonder how the rather humancentric United Planets citizens really feel to the alien races.



Perhaps Mentalla (who cleared out her locker and wasn’t much of a student) was considered to be a lesser threat than the Five or a rogue Sensor Girl.



Sensor Girl presumably only told Imra her secret, and not Garth.



The first part could be that Garth respects his wife agreeing to keep a secret and the second part is hearing loss due to all the noisy electrical discharges down the years.



I had some mixed feelings on the fight scene this issue. Or rather, I thought I had, but couldn’t really justify them. On one hand it’s a barren despite being a luxury spot and has a samey background. Levitz’s plot points are clearly driving things too. On the other Larocque does a good job on things like the Gim/ Persuader fight and the Brek/ Caress one.



That’s exactly Mano’s problem. His touch brings death, and he likes hand to hand combat. So every time he lands a blow, he should be killing someone. Unless you either tune it down “Mano: His touch brings death, when he wants to.” Or find new ways of never letting him touch anything. I’d prefer the first. He doesn’t have to blow up a planet every time he shakes your hand. We’ve seen energy blasts before too, but I like him being more than just another blaster (Flare has replaced that in this Five lineup.)

Mano was introduced as having enhanced speed. So you had a mini Flash with a death touch. No wonder that was quietly dropped.

Thoth, point taken about Mano. It would be great if the creators had always made it clear whether or not he's able to regulate the intensity of the radiation discharges from his hand, and how he does it. The Postboot Legion, which if I recall correctly, you don't have a lot of familiarity with, did some excellent stuff with the character that actually does deal with some of the problems you point out, but I don't think I should spoil anything before we get to the Postboot (Mano's the villain du jour in one of the earliest Postboot installments.)

As for LaRocque's action sequences, I'm afraid I don't quite follow you. Why shouldn't the artist stick as close as possible to the writer's plot points when staging the action, especially when the scripts are as dense and multi-threaded as Levitz's? The only option I can think of is for the artists to go off on tangents whether it serves the story or not. Giffen appears to have done that quite a bit, and while sometimes the results had a decent Kirby-Style kick to them, more often than not I found them confusing and/or distracting. In the end, I suppose it's all a matter of personal taste.

Cramey's a bit busy, but she says she'll be back soon. In the meantime, she gave me the ok to keep the momentum going by posting the first review of...

Baxter Legion 26

Not one of Lightle's better covers IMO -- lots of pretty renderings, but the composition and the perspective are off-kilter -- although it's not entirely his fault (Caress has been colored to look like a Yellow Menace stereotype; a pox on the parties responsible.)

Despite the (mostly excellent) previous issue ending on what I consider a hiccup of a cliffhanger (Sensor Girl is Projectra,) Levitz & LaRocque regain their momentum by opening with a spectacular tactical move from field commander Nura, using Tellus's telepathy to link the minds of Gim, Brek, Nura, and Tellus (something Grant Morrison would quite blatantly steal for his overrated JLA run, and turn J'onn J'onnz's telepathic linking into a trope almost as overused as Batman having the answer to every damn thing. But I digress.)

Oops! The Legionnaires get a bit overconfident when they try to press the advantage, and end up having to beat a hasty retreat, and hide from the New Fatal Five behind a wall of ice.

Over on the Shangalla asteroid, the other team of Legionnaires (Brainy, Dawny, Drake, Tinya, Jo, Dirk, and Brin) finish figuring out the truth about Sensor Girl, and Brainy is his usual hilariously condescending self, this time targeting Brin (whose lucky guess coming closest to the truth is "an awesome concept in itself" -- oh, Brainy, I luv ya, but that's just mean!)

Then, two pages of the seemingly doomed Stratus team reviving Sensor Jeckie. True to form, when they ask for an explanation, she's annoyingly vague and pompous...and that's before she even gets to the point!

Jeckie better hurry it up, though, cause the F5 are renewing hostilities in a MAJOR way, once again allowing LaRocque to strut his stuff -- that 3/4-page full-body panel of Flare in flight is gob-watering, proving LaRocque's mastery at depicting the human(-oid) figure! At the other extreme, a tight close up of a superbly menacing Sarya is equally stunning.

Oh...uh...Levitz then awkwardly cuts to Legion HQ on Earth, in a sequence that, in my view at least, has little point other than setting up Mysa's segment in the next issue.

We return to Stratus, but only for Sensor Jeckie to slow the proceedings down to a near-halt as she spouts a Levitz-at-his-worst pseudo-mystic gobbledygook infodump. I do kinda feel sorry for Levitz, having to cobble together such foolishness because of Jenette Kahn's bad call RE: Levitz's original plan for Sensor Girl to be Supergirl. Nura does do quite a nice job of playing devil's advocate, but since I've re-read this era many times, I already know that Jeckie's shaky moral ground plot thread is never really gonna get resolved. At least it gives LaRocque an excuse to show off how much he enjoys drawing Nura!

Ah, but THEN...the creators get back in high gear, as the F5 launch their attack. Love, love, LOVE this stuff, especially Sarya's wonderfully over-the-top quote, "Ah -- the soft cries of PAIN. Success." And then Mentalla's not-entirely-surprising change of heart, which proves...well...FATAL. Poor thing, she realized too late just how evil her teammates really were. A shocking and very powerful cut to Imra on Earth telepathically feeling Mentalla's death-knell impresses me a great deal!

And...damn, but this brings out a side of Nura we've never seen before, as she righteously rushes Sarya. Go, Dream Girl!

Unfortunately, Levitz seems to think that Jeckie *has* to get payback against Sarya and be the one to take down both her and the Persuader. Worst of all, the writer then falls back on one of his most annoying bad habits -- the cavalry charging in at the last second. I love Dawny and Drake, but this is just bad scripting!

And that's it! There hasn't been an ending this abrupt to a major Legion storyline since the weaker Adventure Era stories! Phooey.

The good things about this issue earn it a 7-Taryns-out-of-10 rating. Guess the holiday season's got me feeling generous.

LSH #26 "Illusion" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque, Mike DeCarlo & Arne Starr, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



The fight between Legionnaires and the Fatal Five halts, as everyone is stunned by the revelation that Sensor Girl is Projectra. Nura takes advantage of the confusion to coordinate an attack on the Five.

On Shangalla, Brainy explains how he deduced that Sensor Girl is Projectra.

On Stratus, the Legionnaires have retreated behind an ice wall; Projectra is unconscious but is awoken by a cold shock from Brek. The Five, on the other side of the wall, have regrouped and make plans to hunt down the Legionnaires.

At Legion HQ, Jan confirms to a group of Legionnaires that Projectra is Sensor Girl. Mysa interrupts to explain that she must return to the Sorcerers' World on personal business and leaves through a magical portal.

On Stratus, Projectra explains how she acquired the power to see through all illusions and was ordered to go on a journey of penance for the harm she had brought to Orando. Nura raises the question of Projectra, a Legionnaire, having killed an enemy; Nura herself then has some presentiment of death

Flare has found the Legionnaires and the Five attack, disabling Brek, Gim and Tellus and taking their flight rings. The battle continues, with the Legion losing; Mentalla thinks that she must play her part now or never. Flare loses control of the techno-shield and the Empress uses the confiscated flight rings to signal other Legionnaires - then realizes that Mentalla has betrayed them. Mentalla claims that she wanted to prove her worth to the Legion and never intended to help the Five to win. The Empress responds by murdering her.

Both Tellus on Stratus and Imra back on Earth feel the pain of Mentalla's death. The battle resumes, with the remaining four targeting Projectra. Through her illusions, she causes the Persuader to attack Flare and Caress, then she removes all his senses and leaves him in a white void. Caress pins Projectra and burns her as the Eye attacks. Dawnstar and Wildfire arrive just in time to disrupt both Caress and the Eye. Projectra deals the final blow to knock out the Empress, then collapses.

Comments:

Mentalla dies, foolish girl in way over her head. She comes across as ineffectual, which could have been intentional to slow down the Empress; if she were truly as incompetent as she appears, how was she even chosen to join the group? She may well have used some mind control on the Empress to gain admission as the fifth member but lacked the skill to continue the charade. That her death throes were felt by both Tellus and Imra, far away, could mean that she was a very powerful telepath indeed.

Did Nura vaguely sense somebody was going to die, or did she see Mentalla's death, perhaps even the reason for it? If the latter, Nura just let events take their course and an accepted that the death was inevitable but essential to the greater purpose of defeating the Empress. She believes/knows that her visions always come true and the knowledge must weigh on her.

The fight against the Empress takes up most of the issue, with advances and retreats - not an easy take-down. The two sides were very well matched. Nura played a key role as field commander; leadership comes naturally to her. Even Brek performed admirably and acted as a team player. I got the impression that this Fatal Five worked better as a team, supporting one another's powers, than the previous iteration. It's a shame that we never saw Flare and Caress again (possibly bit parts in Lo3W?).

The few pages given to explaining Sensor Girl's identity fill in the blanks of how the other Legionnaires learn the news. They're more than filler, since we see the various members' reactions and there's a sense of relief to have the mystery solved, as well as surprise.

Nura raises the sticky question of Projectra being in the Legion, having killed an enemy. It's nicely written, no judgement, just pointing out a potential problem. Projectra herself sees nothing wrong with what she's done. Is she on her royal high horse, or did she lie on the Legion entrance exam? (I forget how she voted on the Brainiac 5 trial later in the series, but suspect she gave him a not guilty.)

Projectra herself gives a fuller story to the team on Stratus. It's a good background tale, her new powers are explained (a bit mumbo-jumbo, but I personally love that "what is reality?" stuff). I am reminded of a saying "if your group is messed up, stay there and fix it, don't come and mess up my group" - and have to wonder why, apart from the story, Projectra wasn't advised to stay home and fix the mess she'd made. Instead, she returned to the Legion, and acquired an almost personal vendetta to bring down the Empress, a nobody who claimed to be royalty. There's something psychological about that which is beyond me to explain. They'll meet again, of course, and it will be a very personal encounter, so maybe I'm reading some of that later meeting into this one.

It is mean, and bad form given that he's the Deputy Leader. We've seen sniping from Ayla (understandable), Tinya and Tasmia (catty) but Brainy should have put a brake on his tongue.



She is rather more pompous than she used to be, certainly more vague. Maybe she thinks they won't understand mystical powers, but for a queen on a journey of atonement, she's still acting pretty royal.



That Flare image was outstanding! How sad that she wasn't an on-going villain.



It was sort of gobbledygook, but I still loved it. Hey, we're not supposed to understand it! We're mere mortals.



It was abrupt - felt like I should have turned the page for the epilogue, although the next issue is epilogue. It also gave me the impression that the battle might not be entirely over. At least it wasn't Mon-el and Ultra Boy arriving as the cavalry.

LSH #27 "Going Home" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque, Colleen Doran, Sean MacManus & Gene Colon, inks by Mike DeCarlo & Arne Starr, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Projectra has returned to Orando; her councillors agree that she should resume the throne, but she claims everything is illusion, there is too much sorrow for her on Orando and she renounces the throne to return to the Legion.

Jan has brought Shvaughn to Trom, shows her the remains of his civilization and the markers of the fallen. They pray together in a temple.

On Zerox, the sorcerers release Mordru from his earthen prison. He threatens them but they stand united and perform a ritual to renew his soul. He appears to change, but one sorcerer voices uncertainty. The masters invite Mysa to remain with them, but she chooses to return to the Legion.

Gim and Yera dine with the Allons, discussing Sensor Girl and Marte's post-presidential life. Marte makes a comment questioning what Yera really is but later admits she will get used to her Durlan powers.

At Legion HQ, other Legionnaires, joined by Garth, Imra and Graym, relax. Brin goes to bring Jan to the party, who is watching the votes come in on whether Projectra as Sensor Girl will be allowed in the Legion, now that they know her identity and consider her killing of Nemesis Kid. The killing was deemed to be in self-defense although Jan suggests some doubt about that. Regardless, Projectra as Sensor Girl is once again voted in as a Legion member.

Comments:

After taking down the Fatal Five, you want to relax - and that's what happens here. It's a good breather of an issue, with plenty of character moments and a variety of civilian clothes, which I always enjoy seeing.

Projectra claims all is illusion, including the power of the throne, but still acts pretty high-and-mighty. She appears to close the door for good on Orando, declining the throne and claiming that she will lose sight of it when she returns to the Legion's universe.

Trom is beautiful in its remains, but sad. It's bathed in radiation, which Jan can stand but requires Shvaughn to wear a suit. (I don't recall that radiation was a part of Trom's make-up in any future issues.) Jan has become the self-appointed keeper of the planet and we see him at his most spiritual here. Jan doesn't believe in marriage and Shvaughn herself is uncertain if she would want to take that step. However, there's no doubt that they'll continue their relationship.

There is a sliver of doubt left that Mordru is entirely healed, which makes it convenient for any writer who might want to bring him back as a villain in the future. The cover makes it appear that Mordru might be a central figure in the story, but he's just one of several tales. Nicely laid-out cover nevertheless.

The artwork on the Gim & Yera story is very moody, more like a tragic romance comic than superhero fare. It's appropriate for the tale, which is reflective and serious, despite Yera's change into a hawk to save the drinks tray. Marte has issues with her daughter-in-law, which we haven't really seen until now.

There's more marriage discussion as the Legionnaires relax in the HQ, with Imra commenting that children aren't the reason Rokk and Lydda don't get married. Dirk sees the possibility of a romance between Brainy and Dr. Chaseer. Thom and Nura are all kissy again. Ayla seems to be softening regarding Brin, actually casting a smile his way (which he doesn't see).

There's no detail of the vote to let Projectra join the Legion as Sensor Girl. Jan described her self-defense claim as "sort of" self-defense, which doesn't sound like a great vote of confidence. However, everyone appears overjoyed to have her back. Nevertheless, I'd like to know if there were dissenting votes.

Possibly. Or it could mean that the potential of Imra's telepathic power is off the charts, something we'd see explored far more in the Postboot than the Preboot.



Agreed 100%.



I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for pointing that out.



Fair enough.



This is all very well-observed, and it puts Projectra in a very bad light. Which is fine by me, as lately I have come to dislike royalty in both fantasy worlds and the Real World. I think it's very realistic that she would care more about herself than her subjects or her teammates, and even more realistic that she'd take a personal peeve against commoners with higher aspirations (i.e. Sarya) to nauseating levels. This all reminds me of an SCTV sketch where one of the cast members (Martin Short? I don't clearly recall) played a punk rocker shout-singing, "Oi 'ate the bloody Queen!" LOL

Again, as in my previous post, arguably making the character come off worse than Levitz's may have intended.



Indeed! Taking into account not only Flare and Caress, but also Lady Memory, I'd say Levitz's problem at creating new villains was more a case of not allowing them to live up to their potential, whether through weak writing (the resolution to the LM story is very poor, IMO) or ignoring them in favor of crummy legacy villains like Starfinger.



Given my deep-rooted tendency towards megalomania, I appreciate the reality check.



Very good point there, at the end, about Feet of Clay Lad and Poseur Kid. And if Levitz tended to overuse them, we ain't seen nothin' yet 'til we get to 5YL! Groan!

Yeah, that'll hold up well when the commoners on Orando stage a coup d'état![/sarcasm] :rolleyes:



Colleen Doran really outdoes herself in this chapter, especially the inside temple. Mike DeCarlo is often accused of imposing his style on other artists' pencils, but Colleen's unique style still looks like her work to me.

But I still think Jan and Erin are both a couple of creepy losers, even without counting the way subsequent creators would interpret them.



Bad move, in my opinion. Mordru should never have been used more than once, as far as I'm concerned. But considering how every Legion writer seems to want to use him, I guess that's just me. I do like the Postboot Mordru Trilogy a great deal, but he wasn't quite as close to omnipotent there as he was in the Preboot (also, Stern and McCraw smartly emphasized how teamwork literally means life or death when dealing with a Mordru-Level villain.)



Agreed on the cover, an improvement over last issue's.



Yes. And, again, Gene Colan's very individualistic style still looks like Gene Colan once DeCarlo has gone over it with ink. Maybe a little too clean, but considering how rarely I liked the inking on Colan's DC work, I think it's a stellar job.

LoSH v3 26

Jeckie’s powers worked against the eye before, but then failed at the end of last issue leading to the reveal. It’s not clear if Empress had figured out her identity. If she was still…in the dark...it’s a bit plot convenient that overcame Jeckie.

It might have been a surprise, but surely not as much for the villains who allow Nura and Gim time for a conversation. Perhaps it would have been more dynamic to have Nura communicate directly with Tellus, in a moment of distraction for the villains.

Tellus’ group telepathy is a useful tactical power that we don’t see used much. The telepathic earplugs seem to have been sufficient. But this offers options as we’d see in J’Onn J’Onn/ Authority.

Nura’s combat abilities are used, which gives Levitz an opportunity to show the Persuader as effectively using the axe by nicking her.


Brainy manages to sum up the Sensor Girl mystery without the benefit of a drawing room or a chase scene. Dawny says that she can’t track Jeckie, but I’m struggling to think why not now that she knows what to look for.

I had wondered why the Empress didn’t press the advantage against the Legion. The Eye seems to need some recovery time after facing down Jeckie. That’s consistent with the struggle it had with her before. UI had thought that this was the moment Mentalla was acting against them.

More useful powers as Brek shocks someone awake. Levitz gets bonus points this issue for novel power uses.

Although Nura says that the new Five are as powerful as the old, they haven’t had to go up against Validus or Tharok this time. Empress consistently reinforces the underling status of her new recruits, while affording Persuader a more senior role. Nicely done in the dialogue.

The gap in hostilities allows for Element Lad to tie up the part of the Sensor Girl plot that included Saturn Girl, while allowing Jeckie to reveal the secrets behind her return. It’s good to see Nura bring up the death of Nemesis Kid at Jeckie’s hands. I hope this is picked up again and not dismissed by Jeckie’s status. Would the Legion code bend depending on the cultures they visit? Especially when one of their members comes from such a place?

Gaining some craft points, Levitz is getting two for one. He reminds us of Jeckie’s actions against the code but, in using Nura, foreshadows events to come.

When the Five discover the Legion, who managed to get at least some distance, the heroes plan of attack is an all-out charge. Considering the Five don’t know the extent of Jeckie’s powers this seems a bit odd. Tellus may also have been able to sense the villains’ approach, perhaps being stronger than Mentalla.

It’s a well worked fight, although the energy blasts seem to have less effect that you’d think, only stunning opponents. Mentalla turning against the Empress was a key moment. It not only allows for help to arrive, but leads to the resolution of why she went missing and a Sensor Girl red herring subplot.

It takes the Empress a moment to realise what has happened. Levitz has reminded us throughout, what a strong ruthless villain she is. Killing Mentalla is entirely within her character. In the Silver Age, Mentalla’s ruse might have worked. Perhaps she would have lived to see the reinforcements arrive. Perhaps Polar Boy would have saved her. We’d seen him reduce things to absolute zero. Could he have done that to the eye? It’s tempting to see this as a grittier age of comics. But the Silver Age also gave us characters such as Blockade Boy who also spent a lot of time with Legionnaires (even if shown to us in a more compacted narrative), and who died in an act of heroism.

There’s a touch of Star Wars as Mentalla’s telepathic death cry affects others with such power. If there’s some telepathic connection possible over such distances, its another thing to be explored.

In the end, only Sensor Girl stands against the Four. There’s a direct link from what Levitz told us of her own mission and lesson on Orando to the fate she deals to the Persuader. I wondered how long the Persuader was left like that. If it’s over a prolonged period, could he have come back slightly different?

Way back at the start of the Levitz run, he established Drake and Dawny as the point team for the Legion. It’s fitting that they should get there before anyone else. There’s just a bit of me that would have liked Jeckie’s new abilities to show Empress some “truths” about herself and the Eye. I think this is picked up later on as the Empress looks for her own solutions. But it would have been nice to have started that plot here. Jeckie does get in the final punch to give us that closure between them. That, and the personal parallels between them do make a return, and perhaps that’s more than enough.

Elsewhere, Levitz starts a White With subplot while connecting it to the Sensor Girl/ Saturn Girl sponsor mystery reveal.

It’s a very strong issue on all fronts. LaRocque’s Empress gives terrific looks of triumph and sneering superiority. Nura’s look of determination is another stand out. Pretty much the whole cast look at their best and there’s definite tension in the action scenes.

There’s lots of action too. I get the feeling that the combatants are kept in the battle a little too long for plot purposes, giving me a little disconnect. For example, Brek is blasted by the Eye, but remains conscious to even up the numbers against the Four in the final battle scene.

Overall, the writing is excellent. Long plot threads are resolved, but not at the cost of the momentum in the issue. Strands are combined to make it a very efficient bit of writing too, which is something Levitz has always done well at. There’s also a couple of new subplots thrown in too. So, it’s definitely one of the stronger issues and stories in the volume.

LoSH v3 27

A strong, symmetrical Lightle cover shows us all the main characters in this pause issue after the Sensor Girl storyline resolved last issue.

The exposition, which didn’t get in the way last issue (points there), that told us of how Jeckie became Sensor girl was really the first half of a plot we open with this issue.

Levitz didn’t get to bring back Supergirl. But he had found a replacement and made it credible. He could now have gone in a number of routes. Sensor Girl hadn’t been with the Legion for long, but feels as though she has paid her penance. Her ancestors agree and she is offered the throne. Levitz could have had her return to her world, as per the opening arc of this volume.

The power upgrade and the striking visuals, not to mention being at the centre of a long running plot probably made Levitz like her too much to depart again. I’d like to think that her interesting perspective also adds something to the team. This issue would certainly show that as being a strength in the book for other members.

If Jeckie hadn’t got the fifth membership spot, it might have gone to Mentalla. That would have meant that she wouldn’t have felt the need to join the Five. I wonder how that plot would have turned out.

Orando has stayed in its parallel dimension. It also seems to have shunned technology, despite having handy supernatural teleportation gates. Part of Jeckie’s guilt stemmed form bringing the world into the UP, and opening it up to a wider galaxy. With Jeckie leaving her world, it seems as though it just reinforces that isolationist viewpoint. Perhaps Jeckie would have been better off showing those closest to her of the illusions in their world. It would have been interesting to see how much of it they would put up with. Levitz does seed the idea of a new person on the throne, but it’s not picked up on again. Orando bounces back to the UP in v4 despite drifting further away here.

After his efforts in recent months, LaRocque gets some of the issue off. Element Lad and Erin return to Trom in a quiet, touching scene drawn by Jan fan Coleen Doran. The pair walk through a street studded with Tsarin grave markers, on their way to pray. Each of the stones would have been crafted by Jan after the death of his people. There’s a lot to like in this scene, aside from the art. It’s good to see Jan live a part of his life, rather than remind everyone of the death of his people. It’s even better to see him use his experiences as part of his faith. He’s only too happy to share this with Erin, who he loves.

Perhaps it’s this increased intimacy that makes Erin think that Jan is proposing to her. As with Orando, Jan’s perception of marriage and faith is different and adds to the depth of his character. Part of Jan’s quietness was down to writers leaving him in the background in case his powers ended a plot in seconds. That’s been turned into a character strength. The relationship with Erin doing the early running has come a long way, and we’ve seen both of them show their strengths. What is built by one creative team can be used differently by others. A rumour about v4 Jan on Trom was then picked up by DnA, along with a few other pointers, for their ‘boot’s version of him.

We get the Legion background information that there weren’t lots of Tromites in the first place, die to the radiation that gave them their powers. Also that Jan didn’t dig the graves of his fallen people. Or at least, not all of them as he was assisted by robots from the UP. On balance, this is probably good to be told as the thought of Jan digging all those graves by himself is a grim one. The use of robots to help, keeps the personal connection just as strong.

The next scene would also have powerful links to future volumes. But it’s also very much part of Levitz’s earlier issues and the tone of this issue. We’ve not seen much of Mordru under Levitz. His powers were taken by Darkseid, and his entombed form appeared in an annual. Levitz might not create many new threats on the Legion’s scale, but he did let each of them follow their own arc. We’ve just finished the transformation of the Fatal Five. We’ve seen the Infinite Man as a Time Trapper upgrade. Here, Mordru is freed once again. Previously, this has been by accident. But it’s a deliberate act of redemption here, echoing Jeckie’s chapter.

Mordru’s drive to use his abilities for power and evil are absorbed by the others on Sorcerer’s World. He’s reduced to an almost childlike state of wonder. He reminds me a little of an alternative Captain Marvel. It’s almost as if it was another persona in command all that time, that he has now been freed from. There are a couple of UK heroes who used sweaters as costumes. They were powerhouses too, and I wonder if there’s a heroic origin for Mordru somewhere out there.

The Sorcerers are proactive in this issue, which is something they have been lacking in previously, and will do again in the future. Their numbers were depleted in the GDS. Mysa is their choice to join them. Like Jeckie, this is a key moment for the character. She could have been written out of the main team here, appearing when required.

Levitz plants the seed of whether they have saved a power, or unleashed it. In v4 both would be true. There was also the potential to use the absorbed power of Modru, to start changes on the world itself. One of the Sorcerer’s notices a change in the tide just after the spell has worked. Mysa refers to being tempted. There was a chance to link Mysa once more to the Curse of the GDS. But Levitz seems more than happy to leave that work in the past, aside from the Validus resolution (linked also to the Five story form recent issues).

As Mysa is given a choice, as Jeckie was, we also see a different cultural outlook, as we did with Jan. Mysa refers to the people of the worlds away from her home as non-believers. Leaving aside the GDS link, and the extremist slants on this phrase, it does show a view from a group of magic wielders in a galaxy run on science. Shawn McManus was drawing the Omega Men at this time. I’m not sure he started the big visual changes in that book, but his work is well worth checking out. With the drive to having a more species diverse Legion, he could have been thought of as a future regular Legion artist.

The penultimate (I had written final but there’s another one) scene reprises the Gim & Year back up stories of earlier issues. Gim tells Year and his folks about the Sensor Girl episode, while we see tension between Marte and Yera. Mainly this is die to Marte no longer being president, and she’s having to adjust to it. Her acceptance of Year was really the resolution to a previous story, so it’s odd to see it crop up. But recurring behaviours are a lot more common outside comics. The two quickly fall back into the accepting relationship we saw previously. I’d like to think that this is part of a plot seed Levitz planted. For some reason, Gim doesn’t trust the new president at all. There’s a natural feeling here, as it’s not his mom and he no longer has any access to what’s going on. But we’ve already seen he’s right to have suspicions. Gim asks his mom to keep her ears open, and I had taken this as a sign she’d pop up in a later, related story. But I don’t think she did. Beyond that, it’s really just a set up for that upcoming story. Year also doesn’t take a role in that story, which could also have been set up here. It would be something picked up in the Johns/Frank Legion stories, where Yera had joined the team.

The last scene is back at Legion HQ. We see the team talk on multi-leveleed scenery that includes lots of holos. It’s a look I wasn’t keen on before, and I think I was the only one. It does allow for lots of plot threads to be added in the one scene. Quislet’s gossiping might have led to an off panel reconciliation between Nura and Thom. It’s a nice touch by LaRocque to show him in his old outfit while she wears a variation of his newer one as her costume.

Brin takes out his frustration at his recent meeting with Ayla on Blok. It’s a shame we don’t see this action resolved as it reinforces a certain Blok stereotype. He’s been shown as far from stupid. He just works on a different scale. Tellus is also put at a disadvantage by Polar Boy. It’s a completely off the cuff fun bit. With his Subs background, I certainly wouldn’t like to think of Brek trying to establish some superiority over the other new members.

Like the Marte/ Gim scene, there’s a link when Saturn Girl comments about enjoying being back at HQ. We’re reminded of Pol’s youth which will be interesting when Ayla takes an interest. Imra makes a comment about children not being the reason Rokk and Lydda haven’t married. Lots of possibilities there. We’re not far away from exploring some of them, as this issue also provides a link to Booster Gold 8-9. Brainy has taken a team back to the 20th century. It’s a n early foray into a Post-Crisis DCU. One where Booster has been seen with a Legion ring. I wonder if anyone thought he was a member of the team? We see Dirk as both active scientist and womaniser in another interaction with Tinya.

Nura’s “some of us never want to change…Never!” panel is a lovely touch and another stand out LaRocque image. Dirk’s casual gear could be tweaked into an improved costume. From Vi to Brin, there are further little moments, and importantly reactions, that show the interaction of a group of people who have been together for a long time.

A final bit of business elects Sensor Girl into the team. She’s been cleared of her “self-defence….sort of” and those assembled seem pleased to see her back. One of them is Star Boy, expelled for less. Placing it would be difficult, as It would ideally have been part of this issue too. An issue already with a Jeckie scene in it. Brek even seems to smile, although he’d take a different role later on in the volume. Of course, Levitz isn’t likely to have given that kind of detail to a final page splash concluding the Sensor Girl arc. It’s a fitting final page to the story. I would have liked to have seen more reaction to letting her back in.

I still don’t know how she knew to turn up on Stratus though…

An issue with not a punch thrown (unless Tinya’s drink was punch) illustrates the Legion, along with the Titans, as stand out books for DC. It’s that depth of storytelling, not to mention very strong art partnerships that made both books such hits. Breather issues like this benefit the Legion even more due to the size of the cast allowing us to catch up in ways that action centred issues wouldn’t allow. With the increased page count, constant back-ups features would be an option, but that would prolong the themes Levitz uses to tie each of these stories together in one package. Lots of interesting and strong art in the issue too, showing the diversity of talent who could draw the book. But there’s a jump from drawing scenes with a small cast to the much larger number LaRocque and his predecessors have to deal with monthly.

McManus was perfect for the "Pog" issue of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run, and he was right for the late-80s/early 90s Dr. Fate. I could see him doing maybe a spinoff mini-series focusing on one (or more) of the alien races in the 31st century, but I didn't like the way he drew humanoids. A little too Dr. Seuss-y, I don't know. Even Mysa looks gooney.



She did.

And that's all I can say right now without spoiling some great issues to come.



Agreed 100%.

I was very sure for someone with a missing issue there. Well, it was a missing issue, but I've been saving it.

Tee hee.

Fickles had a thread about this part of the Baxter run back in 2007. I've not peeked yet, but look forward to the views of it then.

Ooh! Thanks, Thoth. It will definitely be interesting to compare how I viewed the Legion 12 years ago (when, I should note, I was much less knowledgeable about the mythos and the behind-the-scenes stuff) with the way I view it now.

This reminds me of the parallel to Projectra's story - apart from having/claiming a throne, they each kill someone they consider a traitor. Not quite matched in ruthlessness; Jeckie didn't exact a death sentence for the murder of Mentalla (not that she could at this point).



The Persuader's fate was left open - if that was a permanent state for the Persuader, Projectra appointed herself judge and sentencer, if not a type of executioner. If he came back from that, I'd expect if to be as brain-damaged.



Good point. I rather regretted the change from Supergirl to Projectra, but Levitz did make it work well - Projectra perhaps became a far more interesting character than Kara might have been.



Let the speculation begin! Mentalla was so timid and mousey at her try-out, which in itself might have been the basis for stories. Would she compete with Tellus? Grow to be a viable member? Or make some dreadful newbie mistake and get herself killed as a Legionnaire?



Mordru possessed as opposed to Mordru turned rotten from meddling in the black arts - interesting! Maybe the possessing spirit is just hiding.... His top did look like a sweater. The new Mordru.



Could this link to Yera's spy work as described in Legion Lost II? If Marte knew that Yera was working for whatever it's name was, she would harbour some suspicions as voiced by the comment "Perhaps then we'll find out what you really are". If Fabian Nicieza found some of Levitz's planning notes..... It was curious that Gim was suspicious of Desai. He hasn't been the most insightful one on the team, by far. Could it have been more than Desai is not Mom?




Haven't checked it out yet either, but should be good reading. The stories don't change, but we do.

LSH 24

I finally got a break in RL so I could dive into the wrap-up of the Sensor Girl mystery in one setting. The story holds up exceptionally well, especially when read in one setting. My memory of it at the time is that it was hard to keep some of the clues straight and to keep the momentum going while the story was parsed out over a monthly title. Issue 24 was especially a disappointment; the cover promises the Big Reveal, but this doesn't happen until the end of 25.

Taken in one setting, the story builds nicely like a classic murder mystery. The mystery of Sensor Girl has been bubbling for some time, but now it spills over with the entire Legion consumed with her possible identities. Even Silver Age LSVer Saturn Queen is mentioned as a possibility. (This is a nice bit of foreshadowing, as SG does turn out to be a queen.) Cham realizes that Sensor Girl might be listening to their speculations, and he is correct.

Meanwhile, Wildfire, Colossal Boy, and Polar Boy fly to Montauk Point to investigate the disappearance of new Academy recruit Mentalla. (In a typo, PB says "Sensor Girl's missing," which threw me. This is also the first notice we've had, I think, that Mentalla has joined the Academy, which also threw me.) It's always nice to see Bouncing Boy again, and Myg has adjusted quite nicely to being kidnapped and forced into the role of a student, apparently. We also get a glimpse of some other new students to replace the various ones who have departed recently.

However, the mystery of Sensor Girl takes front stage with even Brainy and Cham coming to near blows. It's a cheap shot for Cham to refer to Brainy creating a Supergirl robot in his sleep, but it makes sense given the tension they are all under (and is one of many nods to the past that actually work in the story).

In a nice little subplot, Quislet discovers Dream Girl is two-timing Star Boy.

Back to the main story: The Emerald Emperess establishes, in cliche fashion, that she isn't a boss who tolerates failure by executing a Khund who hopes to join the new Fatal Five. (Word of Sarya's plan has gotten around.) New Legionniares Polar Boy, Tellus, and Magnetic Kid do some bonding while swimming and discussing the Sensor Girl mystery. Their reactions are quite interesting. Tellus, the newbie, doesn't care who Sensor Girl really is. Polar Boy is still living in the past, wishing he'd gotten in the Legion sooner. Magnetic Kid acts like a bit of a jerk--splashing Tellus and then implying that being the brother of Cosmic Boy gives him some advantage over a "stranger" (e.g,. Tellus), but it's nice to see him develop a personality.

The Mon/Shady scene doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. Though cured of his lead poisoning, Mon can't celebrate--what if Brainy's new cure fails? And Shady still acts like a mother as much as a lover. Someone ought to teach Mon to live in the moment. I don't think Shady has any incentive to do that.

Meanwhile, we meet another new member of the Fatal Five, Flare--who is dynamic, resourceful, and deadly. And black. One of Levitz's strengths as a writer is that he introduces this aspect of the character in a matter-of-fact way. We're already sold on her personality and powers before we see her as she really is. This, I think, is one of the strengths of science fiction in general and of this era of the Legion in particular: race doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter in our present society, but we are constantly bombarded with messages that it does. Sci Fi shows a way to the future, a possibility of all people being equal. Flare, an ambitious killer and mercenary, shows that equality applies to villains as well as heroes.

Back on earth, Element Lad does the leaderly thing by confronting Sensor Girl. To his credit, he doesn't ask her to reveal who she is. He only asks if he can help her with "whatever is making [her] keep [her] identity a secret." This is a diplomatic way of handling things, and one that communicates the upheaval SG's presence has caused in the Legion, yet one which leaves the choice of what to do next in Sensor Girl's court. However, it's probably not what she or the Legion need at this point. Sensor Girl responds by quitting, and Jan is left to wonder if he's unwittingly drove her to join the Fatal Five, after all. Ah, the perils of being leader!

The issue ends with Ultra Boy peering into Sensor Girl's costume--a nice nod, intentionally or not, to his attempt to peer into Sir Prize's costume back in Adv. 350-351. This time, there is no Lyle Norg around to sock Jo in the jaw, so Jo accomplishes his purpose. However, he sees nothing--only an empty suit. What a cliffhanger!

I'll be back soon with comments on the rest of the story and on others' thoughts.

LSH 25

Much to love in this issue, as well. Things heat up with the Emerald Empress addressing the fifth member of her Fatal Five, whose identity is cleverly kept from the reader. We also meet Caress, who delights in being "fourth."

With Dawnstar taking the lead, the Legionnaires track Sensor Girl to the Shanghalla space cemetery and wonder why she might hide there. In a nice touch, Brainy visits Lyle Norg's memorial and calls him a friend. (They were not shown to be close before Lyle's death; however, this scene foreshadows their rivalry-turned-friendship in the reboot.) Mano jumps out of the memorial and attacks Brainy. The erstwhile F5 member (who looks more grotesque here than ever) announces the only way he can join the Empress's new team is if he kills a Legionnaire, and it looks like he might succeed. However, Brin and Jo make short work of him.

What isn't explained is how Mano knew the Legionnaires would be visiting Shanghalla. The question is raised but not answered. Brainy admitted that he hadn't visited the cemetery "in years." If the others also hadn't spent much time paying respects to their fallen comrades, Mano might have been in for a long wait. I suppose the Empress might have given Mano the means to track Sensor Girl, in the hope that SG might take the Empress up on the offer to join the F5, but that's left to speculation.

Another aspect that goes unexplained is why Dawnstar cannot track SG after the latter left Shanghalla. The explanation that Dawny was "tracking the wrong woman" seems shaky. Projectra and SG are the same woman; why would their tracking signatures be so different? And why would SG switch back to Projectra when she left the asteroid? Did she do so to intentionally throw off Dawnstar? Again, we can only speculate.

What does work, though, is that the clues are all now in place for Brainy to deduce who SG really is. As readers, we'll have to wait a bit longer.

Investigating Mentalla's disappearance, Colossal Boy, Dream Girl, Tellus, and Polar Boy track her to Titan and then to the unspoiled planet Stratus, where they are ambushed by the new F5. Polar Boy rushes into battle (idiot!) and mercifully survives. Dream Girl, who has been treated pretty much as eye candy/baggage this whole trip now gets blasted, but it's a set-up for Sensor Girl to arrive--is she friend or foe? This aspect of the scene is well-played. As readers, we still don't know her intentions.

To heighten the tension, we cut away to Garth and Imra's residence on earth (where we learn they wear their Legion costumes even while playing with their infant!). Jan again plays the diplomat by asking Imra not to break any confidence she's sworn to keep, but we know why he's really here and so does she. Imra doesn't disappoint. She drops a bombshell that SG is already a Legionnaire.

This is the kind of revelation that would have caused me to stop reading the book, like pausing a VCR while watching a murder mystery, and back up to see if I could figure out all the clues. I did this successfully when Brainy was revealed to be behind Omega several years earlier. I wasn't successful this time. Apart from Supergirl, the only other female ex-Legionnaire I could think of was Duo Damsel. Was she (or her doomed third body) Sensor Girl? After all, Luornu wasn't in the academy scene of the previous issue. I completely missed the other obvious ex-female Legionnaire for reasons I'll discuss in a minute.

Back to the story. SG reveals she is indeed on the side of the Legionnaires, and she calls the Empress out. I love the line "You are a thief . . ." which expresses just how much offense SG takes to this royal pretender. The heroes and villains quickly counter each other until the fifth member of the Five reveals herself: Mentalla. Her ability to control others' minds turns the tide against the Legionnaires, and in a searing blast of the Emerald Eye, the Empress strips away Sensor Girl's illusions, revealing her true identity: Projectra.

I've had many decades to reflect on this story and the implications of the Big Reveal, and I am much more impressed by it now than I was then. Projectra had been so successfully and emotionally written out of the series that I did not wish to see her return under any circumstances. It's not that I didn't like the character--I did, though she was never a favorite. However, I was firm believer that stories should have an end, and that characters should sometimes move on. When too many characters are "brought back," it cheapens fiction and especially comics. Yet comics (though I was loathe to admit it) were still mass-media entertainment and subject the laws that state that no change is ever permanent. Thus, Jean Grey comes back to life. The original Fantastic Four lineup always returns. Even Bucky Barnes (decades later) returns as the Winter Soldier. Death and departure of any kind is but an illusion (pun not intended.)

Thus Jeckie returned. Before I could read the explanation in the following issue, I was thoroughly disappointed--and remained so even after I read the explanation. It seemed like a cheap shot.

Reading it now, though, I find it a brilliant story--one that builds off of Jeckie's departure and honors the nature of her power while increasing it many levels. The clues are expertly placed from almost her first appearance as Sensor Girl. (A breakdown of eleven clues is given in the letters page of # 26.) And it was a shocking revelation--so obvious yet so unexpected. In hindsight, this is what most stories should do--leave us with an emotional WTF even as the events of the story make logical sense. (In this case, most of the events do.)

In these issues, did Projectra formally abdicate the throne or was it left open by Levitz? I get the vibe from the Postboot that she was still queen, but maybe Meltzer just confused some of his canon?

Like a lot of Legion history, it's complicated. She abdicated, as far as I could read into what she said to her advisors, and left Orando in its new dimension. But she somehow (?) returned before the 5YL series began, took up the throne again, and returned Orando to the Legion's universe. So either it wasn't a true abdication under Orandan law, or she was re-installed as queen. However, since 5YL never happened in the retroboot, none of this may be valid - or Meltzer just assumed she returned to the throne at some unacknowledged point.

Anyone have further/clearer details on this?