Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-reading the Legion: Archives Volume 22

LSH Annual #2 (1986) Darkseid's Curse Fulfilled? by Paul Levitz, art by Curt Swan & Keith Giffen, Larry Mahstedt & Ernie Colon, Colours by Carl Gafford, Letters by John Costanza



Darkseid laughs, reaches into the dark and pulls out a baby, covered in a blanket. He muses that the child's parents and twin will never know he was taken and what Darkseid will do with him. Then Darkseid changes the child, sends him into the past and names him Validus, claiming his curse is now fulfilled.

Validus rages through Rimbor, as Jan and Shvaughn review the situation at Legion HQ. Validus is found by Ol-Vir and taken to a cave with a statue of Darkseid, whom Ol-Vir serves.

On Rimbor, a team of Legionnaires learn that medallions with Darkseid's image are turning up among the thugs along with the appearance of Validus, and wonder if the two are connected. THey search for the source of the medallions and find Ol-Vir's cave, with a crowd worshipping Darkseid. The Legionnaires fight both Ol-Vir and Validus, who proves a difficult opponent; Validus and Ol-Vir disappear in a boom tube, as Ol-Vir claims Validus to be Darkseid's curse incarnate.

The two arrive on Earth, start causing trouble and attract more Legionnaires. They see Ol-Vir and suspect a Darkseid connection. Validus rips open a building, takes a baby crib and drops it. Jo recognizes it as the one he and Tinya gave Garth and Imra for Graym.

Validus and Ol-Vir head for Legion HQ; Brin puts up the shields and blasts off the HQ, but Validus catches it and rips it apart. He grabs Brin, but drops him then takes the monitor board symbols of Garth and Imra and leaves, through another boom tube, with Ol-Vir.

On Winath, Garth, Imra and Graym enjoy the outdoors when Validus and Ol-Vir appear through the boom tube. The two former Legionnaires fight them; Validus grabs Graym and Garth threatens to kill him. Imra quickly intercedes, announcing that Validus is somehow their son. Validus releases Graym and Imra shouts to Darkseid to give her her son back. The child is transformed, Ol-Vir is disintegrated as Darkseid's voice tells him his usefulness is over and that he should not question the motives of a god.

Imra goes into a cave and speaks to Darkseid, saying she is not afraid of the darkness, but thanks him for returning her son. She leaves a flower, which withers as Darkseid's laughter fills the cave and Imra returns to the sunlight.


Comments:

It was strange reading this story right after the Legionnaires 3 series, in which Graym was kidnapped by the Time Trapper and Garth's inner strength was revealed. This annual is the story of Graym's twin and it closes with a focus on Imra's inner strength - which is considerable. The ending is quite moving, as Imra, alone, confronts Darkseid; the god isn't physically present, she speaks to the darkness of a cave and knows that he hears.

It's also a powerful page showing Imra speaking to Darkseid after Validus appeared: she's shown addressing the shadow which Validus casts, but speaking to Darkseid. As she demands the return of her child, she is drawn larger and larger within the shadow. Even on her knees, begging and in tears, she's not backing down.

One wonders, after reading this, if the Ranzz children face a life of kidnappings. There's no mention of Graym's abduction or the trashing of their apartment, but I figure they're on Winath to recover from that event. In the opening scene of Part 3, Imra cautions Graym not to run off too far: a common mother's concern, or is she thinking of what they all just went through?

The timing is a bit off, however; not only is there no mention of the Trapper kidnapping, Graym appears to have aged by a year or more. I can only assume the two stories were not coordinated.

The return of Graym's twin (not yet named Garridan) lacks punch, possibly because I already knew the secret that's revealed here. Imra knows what happened through her telepathy, but it's all news to Garth - and he seems to take it in stride that babies are turned into Validuses, and back again. His concern is to punish Ol-Vir, who tried to trick him into killing Validus/Garridan.

Much of the issue is devoted to Validus and Ol-Vir, the Legion teams battling them and the mystery as the Legion tries to figure out what's going on. There's a moment when Invisible Kid II attacks Validus and one might wonder if Jacques will suffer the fate of Lyle Norg, but that's just a tease. These are decent but unremarkable fight scenes from classic artist Curt Swan - but Imra confronting Darkseid steals the story.

Aha! A regular issues. I can do that...Nos! An Annual! They're in another binder! I'll be back....

I think it's possible that reading this story without the larger context of L3 actually makes Imra even more impressive and admirable. It's also the main thing that makes the story work for me, otherwise it would come across as too simplistic and sentimental.



Garth does not come off well here, in my opinion, but I think if I'd read L3, he'd probably come off even worse. The inverse of how Imra comes off.



Again with the Legion Fan-Wank!



Agreed. Swan is arguably "miscast" here, although I can't think offhand of an artist in a similar mould who'd have done the same sequences better (maybe Steve Lightle, who incidentally does the very good cover to this Annual?) Ol-Vir's gradual physical deterioriation is borderline risible, Swan making him look like he got a bad tan or something. It doesn't help that the character himself is -- and IMHO has always been -- a tedious, one-note toady (what is it with Levitz and these stock toady characterizations?)

And by the same token, I have to concede -- given my general hostility toward all things Giffen -- that only he could have given the Annual's framing sequences this much power, atmosphere, and ominousness. Maybe Ernie Colon's inking has a lot to do with it, smoothing out some of the rough edges without compromising the raw starkness of the artistic statement being made. Whatever the reason, the Giffen weirdness works for me this time.

I had never thought of the comparison with L3 before. It is interesting to see how each story focuses on a different parent's strength.


Validus' shadow? I never thought of it as that before either. I always thought that it was (somehow) Darkseid's shadow. You made me go back and look closer at those pages. I still think it is Darkseid's shadow. The silhouette's head looks more like Drakseid's than Validus, he has too many fingers on one hand for Validus, and the shadow also has the shape of the top of his boots. Finally the shadow on the following page has to be Darkseid because it actually covers Validus. Pity in some ways. The way you described it was even more powerful.


I figured he accepted it because of how much he had learnt to trust Imra.

I agree this wasn't the greatest told story for an annual. I love Curt Swan's work on the Legion mostly but it does somehow seem a bit pedestrian, off, even ... antiquated? ... here. Giffen's framing pages are not my favourite artwork either but in this case they suit the framing sequence well.

As far as Levitz's plotting goes I think he has done better, apart from the scenes with Imra which are very powerful. Interestingly it reminded me of another story we haven't come to yet, #50 and the Time Trapper. Paul uses the same framing style there, describing the setting in almost myth or legend terms, both at the beginning and end with a slight twist. It works far better in that issue than this one. I guess he learnt from the experience.

Stile86 is right; it is Darkseid's shadow - his shape head, boots and gloves. Also, going by the previous page, Validus should be casting his shadow to the rear. This shadow falls forward - and grows. I guess I saw it as Validus at first, then figured it merged into Darkseid's greater shadow. Here's the page in question:



As Fanfie wrote, the Giffen framing pages of Darkseid are really moody and dark, well suited to the story. Yet I find this Curt Swan page of Imra really touching.

LSH #28 "The Lost Hero" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque & Mike DeCarlo colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



A team of Legionnaires led by Thom stabilize and repair a guidance beacon above Xanthu. The Tribune thanks them and asks them to search for Xanthu's missing hero, Atmos.

On Earth, Brainy confirms that Nura's arm has healed and she may return to active service. She mopes that Thom is gone and flirts with Brainy; he dismisses her and leaves to visit comatose Rond Vidar.

On Xanthu, the team checks out Atmos' living quarters, determine that he can fly and is very strong but are interrupted when the building self-destructs. Dawnstar tries to track Atmos and senses his presence at the space port. The Legionnaires interrupt some thieves trying to steal a navigation prototype to sell to the Khunds. One of the thieves tells them that Atmos was looking for them but suddenly disappeared.

The tribune reports to senators that Atmos is still missing; they worry about what will happen if Atmos can not be found.

At Legion HQ, Mysa tries to comfort Nura, who was sleeping in Thom's quarters. Nura tells her that Quislet told Thom she'd been dancing with another man. Nura thinks about the foreboding dream she had which Mysa interrupted. In the gym, Pol and Tellus try to improve control of their powers; Brek joins them and offers to help.

The team on Xanthu continue their search of the spaceport. Cham discovers that Atmos appears to have left under an assumed name on a starliner. Dawnstar flies into space to seek him, but loses the trail.

Chief Zendak learns that over a dozen heroes and law officers from various planets have gone missing.

On Xanthu, Thom and the other Legionnaires visit his parents. The visit is interrupted when Thom is summoned to appear before the Tribune. Thom is asked to remain on Xanthu to replace Atmos; he accepts. Cham, Brin and Dawnstar report to Jan. They ask if they should keep looking for Atmos but Jan tells them the problem is bigger than just Atmos. After, Jan goes to remove Thom's symbol from the Monitor Board, but Nura, in tears, has already taken it. Although she won't confirm that she foresaw this, she tells Jan that Thom won't be calling her.

Comments:
This is a fairly pedestrian story with one big purpose: Thom Kallor's departure from the Legion.

It also sets up a future story about the disappearing lawmen/heroes; the mention of "lawmen" immediately made me think of Nardo, who we haven't seen for a long long time. The story offers a few character moments, but the action - the search for Atmos - is unremarkable, although enjoyable. (The cover suggests considerably more excitement.) In my opinion, that is. The issue made enough of a mark on other writers to inspire scenes in later Legion versions: the budding romance between Dawnstar and Timber Wolf in Legion Lost II and the 3boot cookie scene, in which Star Boy refuses some cookies offered by Mrs. Morgna. The original scenes, from this story, are both warm and charming: Dawnstar laughing awkwardly with Timber Wolf and the Legion team enjoying the Kallors' hospitality. Also touching was the scene in which Mysa tries to comfort her sister regarding her relationship with Thom.

A few scenes seem out of place. The Legionnaires deduce that Atmos is strong and can fly, based on his apartment - but surely they would have been briefed by the Tribune, if not already aware of Atmos as a fellow superhero. Also, Thom left his teammates to report that he's left the Legion; that struck me as inappropriate, but perhaps he wanted to make such a break that he didn't even want to make that final call.

Quislet did report that he'd seen Nura dancing with a strange; she calls him a gossip. Gossip, troublemaker or unaware of the consequences? I wonder if Levitz was considering making Quislet into a disruptive element.

Speaking of disruptive elements: Polar Boy. I don't like the character - in this version - so my reading of his actions may be distorted. He pulls the same ice trick that he used on Energy Boy at the tryouts on Pol Krinn, not necessarily to sabotage this time, but to show off. He then tells Pol not to be jealous that he, Brek, got some action against the Fatal Five. It comes off as very magnanimous, given that Brek was whining about not getting enough action himself a few issues ago. His offer to help Pol and Tellus may be meant as sincere, but strikes me as suspect. The final panel of that page has a close-up of Tellus's eyes, with Tellus saying "Both of us wish to be the most powerful Legionnaires we can be." This never went anywhere, but it looks threatening; reading it made me think that something could be amiss, with either Brek or Tellus or both.

Baxter LSH Issue 28

After briefly blossoming into something more exciting and more unpredictable during the climax and epilogue of the New Fatal Five-Sensor Girl Saga, the book is back to business as usual. As Cramey put it, pedestrian. I've come to the conclusion that the problem with Levitz emulating adult-oriented prime-time cops-and-robbers TV shows (i.e. Hill Street Blues) is that a lot of installments come off as routine, predictable, and slow-paced -- not words any creator of a superhero comic would want to be associated with. This dovetails with my critiques over the past several months of 80s DC Comics in general -- by fixating on longtime, grown-up, and (IMO) loyal-to-a-fault superhero fans, they eroded the genre's appeal to children.

What makes it bittersweet for me (rather than just bitter) are the lovely little characterization moments that Cramey describes in her review. I particularly adore the exchange between Brin and Dawny, although knowing that it will not end up going anywhere and become yet another Levitz Loose End makes it (here comes that word again) bittersweet.

And, as with most previous issues drawn by Greg La Rocque, the art is the sugar that helps the humdrum story go down easier. It doesn't hurt that La Rocque gets to draw lots of panels (some full-bodied) of his apparent female favourites, Dawny and Nura and Mysa. That, and the aforementioned good bits of writing, are why I feel generous enough to give this issue 6 out of 10 Taryns:

Yes a slower paced issue, with a mystery that in the end remains unsolved (although with hints that will relate to the future) and several bits of charcterisation.

The beacon repair showed a nice bit of teamwork, although I wondered how Dawny had the strength to reorient so quickly. Star Boy adding mass to stabilise it had me wondering how that would work without affecting its orbit, but I guess since we don't know if it is in orbit or using some sort of 30C anti-gravity it can be waved away. Another thought, it sounds like Thom is just adding mass to the bottom of the beacon to help it stay upright. Has he been shown to be able to selectivelt add mass to only parts of an object before. I guess this is large enough and complicated enough to be thought of as separate parts, but what if say he only mad someone's arms heavy so they couldn't lift them, or just their feet while they were running so their momentum would pitch them forward on their face?

The interaction between Nura, Brainy and Element Lad adds and maintains characterisation. Brainy's comment "If that woman ever stops playing the fool and wasting her mind, who knows what she could accomplish." puts the whole scene for me as PL setting her up as a key player in the upcoming Universo plot. It also adds to her two other appearances as an important part of the issue which makes sense considering her long term relationship with Thom.

The scene of Timber Wolf lifting Atmos barbell was cool but surprised me a bit. I know he is stronger than the norm but that looks closer to Mon-El or Ultra Boy levels.
Cham was very quick on the uptake to get everyone out. Did he expect an explosion? Does every super-hero use self-destruct settings? Better be careful about wandering into other Legionnaires rooms back home. Wouldn't he have been embarrassed if it was just the oven beeping.

I liked seeing Magnetic Kid practising. The sphere was a good idea. Also nice to see Sun Boy and Colossal Boy training together, although felt a little ominous considering his future injury (spoilers). Polar Boy did come across as a bit of an ass. I think PL was trying to portray him as someone who was just trying so hard to be "cool" (ha!) and the ideal legionnaire that he overdoes it and puts everyone off.

Always thought those missing (or are they just transparent) parts of Atmos chest and shoulders made for an interesting look.

I remember in a later issue's letter page someone pointed out that when Element lad said they had never lost a legionnaire like this before he was forgetting about Matter-Eater Lad being drafted in to politics on his homeworld.

So we learn that this story is not just about a single missing hero but a much larger ominous problem of which this was the convenient example, adding in the complications of Thom's home world, his resignation and the strain on his relation ship with Nura. The final page with Nura is well done, showing her without the flirty act and feeling the real pain relationship struggle, along with the ironic "Sometimes seeing the future only means I get hurt twice."

LaRocque did shine best with Dawny, Mysa and Nura - a great range of expressions there.

The mystery of missing Atmos might have been better had it not been diluted by the Space beacon repair and had been opened with Zendak learning that dozens of heroes were missing - then the reader learns there's a lot more at stake.

The question of how selective Thom's power (or anyone else's) can be is a good one which I don't believe has been consistently portrayed, if mentioned at all. It does seem to be addressed more in the breach i.e. when applicants are rejected because they can't control their power sufficiently. Maybe that's why Pol was practicing unraveling that metal globe.

Good points about the ominous nature of Colossal Boy running, now that we know his future, and recalling that Tenzil was also drafted.

The barbell scene also surprised me. It seemed a bit silly, not to mention that Brin hasn't been that strong. There must be some superdense material that could be used to make those barbells smaller yet still superheavy, but Atmos is just a show-off.

Wow! Good catch there. I'd always loved that sequence, but I'd never before seen it as foreshadowing for TUP -- even though that's my favorite 80s Legion storyline! [Voice of Bubble from Ab Fab] He-LOOOOOO [/Bubble]





On Brek: I honestly seem to have blanked out how awful a lot of behavior is on previous reads of the Baxter era. I've been seriously reassessing my opinion of him, thanks to this ongoing Re-Reads project. And that's one of the best things about the Re-Reads, the way we challenge each other's preconceptions about All Thing Legion in a civil, constructive way.

YES! That's it! Atmos being a showoff fits perfectly with his later portrayal. Great thought!

I'm no huge fan of Brek, but I feel the need to be a bit of an apologist for him here.

In the Silver Age he was the reject who never gave up. Instead of drifting off to something else or turning to villainy (the two most common practices by Legion rejects) he formed his own club, not in competition but to support his heroes. He recruited and led other rejects and they even save the world more than once. He was thus an experienced hero and leader in his own right. As far as I can recall it is not until Giffen's Special that all the Subs were shown to be, shall we say, lacking in heroic personality?

I do remember back during the Earthwar PL had them fighting but being defeated with the comment that no matter how courageous or heroic there was a reason they were not Legionnaires, or something like that.

Here I think PL is portraying him as the ultimate fan boy who eventually made it to the big time. As a result he was still carrying those years of longing to be a part of the real Legion and it was going to take a while before he could relax and accept that he had made it. Given time and acceptance by those who had become his peers he might have become a strong dependable member, an opinion that a a large number of other legionnaires apparently shared based on what will happen after the Universo Saga. His awkwardness here, even rudeness at times, is him trying too hard to be a REAL Legionnaire instead of accepting that his being voted in means he already is.

I would also note that some of his scenes in recent issues have instead shown him being helpful and supportive to Academy members and the other newer Legionnaires, who certainly still seem to get on well with him.

It's an interesting characterisation and adds to the diversity of the team and plots. Unfortunately looking back on the Baxter era he will mostly be remembered for his failures, or the team's failures during his membership, most of which was outside his control.

Stile, I agree with everything you say about Brek. His underdog status, his tenacity, and his passion were what made me a fan of his in previous Baxter Legion reads. What upsets and disappoints me about a lot of his actions and words during this re-read is that I think Levitz has basically turned him into...there's no other way to put this...an overgrown, overage brat! Yes, he is helpful to the members who are closer to him as peers. But his attitude toward the older members is just horrible. At the very least, I think he should have been severely reprimanded by this point.

Fair enough Ann. I 'm going to put it down to Levitz attempting to write him one way and not quite hitting the target. Thinking about the later stories I suspect he began to realise that himself as he wrote the team's reactions to his attitude. At least he seems to be portrayed more positively in the more recent series, from memory anyway. Had to check but its sad that the "most recent series" ended 6 or 7 years ago.

As a character, I think Polar Boy is complex. Whether he was written intentionally that way or just emerged over the course of several stories, I don't know. He's believable, interesting; you feel his anxieties and lack of confidence, his yearning to be acknowledged as equal to the others, the bravado - or greater ease - with the junior members and his petty jealousies. Not a character that generates indifference; he's one of the few Legionnaires I actually dislike - and that makes the story interesting. He was more of a one-note character as leader of the Subs and he'd become something of a joke in 5YL. He was more positively portrayed in the recent Levitz series ("recent", yeah...) - it seemed like a logical progression, that he'd mature.

But to think he'd be elected leader... well, it always baffled me, but now we see that we sometimes get baffling leaders.

Thanks for clarifying, Cramey.

I guess that in past Baxter Legion reads, I only saw what I wanted to see of certain characters. Now I have 20-20 vision 24/7. Which is more of a blessing than a curse, really, even if it does result in temporary shock at seeing the more unpleasant sides of fictional characters.

LSH #29 "No Star Shall Shine!" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque & Mike DeCarlo & Arne Starr, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



At Jan's request, Lar and Tasmia stop at new prison Labyrinth to confirm that Lars Hanscomb aka Starfinger was murdered, with a star shape burned into his face.

Far away, the new Starfinger gets reports from Hanscomb's murderer but when this man questions Starfinger, he too is murdered with a star burned into his face. Starfinger's Arranger makes plans to dispose of the body.

At Legion HQ, Jan meets with the team - Tellus, Mysa, Quislet and Wildfire - going to investigate Hykraius' link to the missing heroes.

On Mars, Brek, Pol, Tinya, Dirk and Ayla take down a protection racket threatening a resort at Nix Olympia. However, the owner is angry, since these were lowly thugs; the real threat is Starfinger.

Nura teases Jan as he responds to Ambassador Relnic's request for Lar, Jo and Blok to accompany him to the Dominators' world.

On Mars, Pol is distressed because the thugs overpowered him; Brek tells him he can help Pol with more training. A beam of destruction then strikes the resort and the team goes back into action. Tinya flies off to find the source while the others evacuate a club. Tinya finds a satellite focusing solar energy into a destructive force and she manages to affect its orbit and cause it to explode. Pol manages to free himself from a pile of debris and the team sees a large star shape burned into the ground.

On the way to Hykraius, Tellus recounts his planet's history and their first contact, with the Gil'Dishpan.

Chez Starfinger, the boss is angry when he learns that Legionnaires have disrupted his Mars operation, but orders his men to continue to destroy the resort and the Legionnaires with it. The Arranger proposes that they attack Legion HQ directly, but Starfinger refuses to touch Earth. The resort is attacked once again, by a cruiser, and met by the Legion team.

Relnic visits the Dominator Embassy to plan his peace treaty trip; he tells the Ambassador that he'll be travelling with three Legionnaires and thinks to himself that it suits his master's purpose.

On Mars, Pol is hit with magnetism and realizes he is fighting four Braalians on magnetic flying discs. He manages to take them down, earning a compliment from Brek.

Starfinger gets the report on the failed Mars attack and orders the resort owner to be killed once the Legionnaires have left. He learns the Braalians have been murdered while in police custody, so nothing can link back to Starfinger. He then kills the man who brought the news and swears he will not tolerate the Legion any longer than he must.

Comments:
We have a new villain, or a new version of an old villain. The new Starfinger is visually impressive and seriously cold-blooded, killing his employees without a care, just like the Time Trapper in the recent annual. It must be required villain cred, setting these bad guys in a class above the LSV, who, apart from Nemesis Kid, kept failing to kill Legionnaires.

There's a sense of a lot going on in this issue, although it's either set-up or moving other plots along by inches: the new Starfinger, Relnic's mission (and secret master Universo - unnamed but implied), the role of Hykraius in the missing hero mystery. There's a lot of action at Nix Olympia, but it's mostly a spotlight on Pol, with Brek. Tinya handles the destructive satellite (which must be feather-light for her to move it, just as Dawnstar was able to move the space beacon in the previous issue) but Ayla and Dirk don't get much panel time.

I enjoyed the description and history of Hykraius, an extended Encyclopedia Galactica entry. It's a good first contact story. Are the Gil'Dishpan part of the United Planets? I didn't think so, and wonder why Hykraius joined the U.P. after being "discovered" by the Gil'Dishpan.

As usual, it's the character interactions which are most interesting. Nura continues to hide her heartbreak with shameless and empty flirting. Lar and Tasmia observe their duty by checking on the dead Lars Hanscomb, but take the slow way home to Legion HQ in order to extend their vacation. Wildfire is his usual cynical loudmouth self.

Brek continues to fulfill my bad impression of him. He's almost glued to Pol Krinn throughout the issue and tells him twice that he knew Pol had the makings of a Legionnaire. When Pol asks how Brek could help Tellus, Brek turns away and says he'd get Imra to coach Tellus. Hah! I bet Brek would faint if Imra looked his way. Well, not quite, but he appears to be claiming a familiarity with the Legion founder that he does not have. All my interpretation, of course.

Baxter Legion 29

I am very surprised how much I enjoyed this issue, because, quite honestly, I had been dreading it. The Baxter era Starfinger, for all the pleasing retro-trippiness of his look, just annoys the snot out of me. He is, as Cramey notes, vicious and murderous, but he's always come off to me like an obnoxious dork, especially his affected speech patterns. Villians should have both style and gravitas, I believe.

What sells the issue to me is Greg La Rocque's art, which looks like he really put some extra effort into it, with more consistent compositions and some of his best faces to date (Tasmia and Tinya both look beautiful.) He also really goes to town on the Hykraius sequences, where his signature ethereal linework gets put to good use (this is, however, one of the rare times I wish he'd had a more delicate inker than Mike De Carlo.)

It's also nice to be reminded that Pol did get a chance to shine, even if, in the long run, it didn't save him from becoming a victim of that lame villain from Magic Wars.

Ayla, as Cramey said, doesn't have a lot of panel time in this issue, but I think she still has some great moments which show both her tough and tender sides (regarding the latter, I adore the sequence during the chaos on Nix Olympia where she rescues a little girl and reunites the girl with her mother.)

If it weren't for Starfinger, I'd go all the way up to 8 out of 10 Taryns for this issue. As it is, I'll give it a 7:

LSH 29

Not a bad issue, although not an outstanding one either. Lots of setup for the future plus some character development particularly for Pol and Tellus. Oh and the introduction of the new Starfinger.

Yes the villain does come across as particularly arrogant but then he is meant to. He doesn't come across as the smartest of villains, and yet he is smart enough to surround himself with loyal and very capable deputies to create a new criminal organisation with plans for major expansion. Nice to see this rather than the usual individual super-villain doing all the work himself.

Apparently the prison attendant is one of those 4 armed relatives of 3 armed Dr. Gym'll. ( The artists can't seem to make up their minds. In Annual 3 and the birth of Graym by Curt Swan Gym'll had 4 arms as well even though earlier issues by Giffen showed only 3. The Legion Who's Who also has him with 4 arms (by Rick Stasi) and when a few readers point this out in the letter column Levitz expresses surprise at having never noticed before that he had only 3 arms. Maybe the 4th is optional and only extends when needed?)

The background on Tellus is interesting and appreciated, although as Cramey points out it leaves us to wonder why Hykraius fell into the UP's influence instead of the Gil'Dishpan.

I enjoyed the continuing development of Pol, with his struggles early in the issue and his two starring moment later on. It's nice to see his attitude of feeling his way onto the team and his worth.

Now on to Brek. Actually I don't have a problem with him in this issue, although I can see why some would see him as arrogant.

One viewpoint is that he is new to the team and yet acting like a know-it-all to the other new members who all joined at the same time (at least Pol and Tellus - he doesn't show the same attitude to Sensor Girl or Quislet). Still that isn't the whole story.

Remember Brek has been in the super-hero business for a long time, in fact longer than Element Lad, Lightning Lass, or Dream Girl amongst others. When he wasn't able to join the Legion he formed his own super-team, led them and trained them. He has been a hero and a leader for years, and has a lot of experience in training others. So his advice and support to Pol, who is MUCH newer to the super-hero biz, is really not out of place. Pol actually seems to welcome and appreciate it. In fact the only one of the other older Legionnaires to offer any advice or compliments is Sun Boy. Perhaps their attitude is that he is a Legionnaire and capable enough but Pol himself seems keen to learn as much as he can however he can. I don't hear anyone complaining about him "whining" or "putting himself down".

Brek certainly isn't perfect. One of the appeals of the Legion in this era is that we can all see the different flaws in the members as well as their good points. Nevertheless I think his attitude in this issue is simply trying to be helpful in offering his years of experience to someone who is actually asking for it.

OK I will now get down off my soapbox. Please carry on.

LSH #30 "Brainy's Lucky Day" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque & Mike DeCarlo & Arne Starr, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza




At Legion HQ, Brainy apologizes to Projectra for invading her privacy when he was obsessed with the identity of Sensor Girl. She forgives him but warns him not to do it again.

Lar, Jo and Blok add a protective plate to the cruiser that they will take with Relnic to the Dominator peace treaty talks. Tasmia and Tinya see them off.

There's an explosion and fire at the Niagara Hydroenergy System. Brainy, Nura, Gim, Brin and Ayla rescue the SP officers; Brainy and Ayla investigate and discover Korbal lightning beasts within the facility.

On Hykraius, the Legionnaires descend into the methane ocean world and Tellus greets Loros, an old friend who requested their help.

At the energy facility, Gim and Brin try to stop a massive water leak but Brin receives an electric shock and is rescued by Nura. Brainy considers what to do about the lightning beasts, then tosses his forcefield belt to Ayla to contain the animals. She doesn't know how to operate it, but Nura arrives and
simply activates the button.

Vid Gupta/Universo gets an update on the energy plant; one of Desai's aides is loyal to Universo. Universo rejoices that this day he will rid himself of his sole human frailty.

Nura maintains the forcefield as Ayla herds the beasts with lightning bolts. Brainy returns with a length of cable; Brin buries one end deep in the ground while Gim wraps the other around the beasts. AYla attracts their attention and as they hurl their bolts at her, their electricity is grounded and shorted out, causing them to fall unconscious.

On Hykraius, the Legionnaires learn that Atmos had been sighted there. As they arrive where Atmos was last seen, Loros rejoices that everything is prepared thanks to his master Universo.

On Earth, Dawnstar, Brainy and Dirk go to a club. Dirk gets a reluctant Dawnstar to dance with him. Brainy leaves encounters Dr. Chaseer; they walk off together.

At Legion HQ, Jan worries about everything. Brek approaches him and asks if it would be okay to run for Legion leader. Outside, Brainy encounters Ayla and Vi who are discussing vacation plans. Brainy heads to his quarters for some rest and hears an urgent message, that Rond Vidar has died.

Comments:
One of my favourite Baxter issues, since it portrays Brainiac 5 as a decent, well-adjusted person who cares for his friends. Perhaps he's more relaxed in this story because he made that painful apology to Projectra. that his actions bothered him enough to apologize shows a diminishing of arrogance, although he goes on to make some sarcastic remarks to Brin and Gim about moopsball. He's even getting/gotten over Kara, apparently spending the night with Dr. Chaseer.

You feel pretty good for Brainy, so the final page, in which he learns of Rond Vidar's death, is all the more tragic. The striking cover image gave us a signal that all was not well (he's even sitting on a chair that looks like a tombstone), but it was good drama to save the bad news for the end.

The main action segment - the lightning beasts - delivers a mystery as to how the beasts got there (which the reader learns is Universo) and some good teamwork. Ayla, for once, doesn't come off that well, confused about how to operate the forcefield belt; it provides Nura with a chance to shine, by taking over (after she saved Brin, no less) in a situation that was considerably more dangerous for her than for Ayla.

The Relnic mission gets the heavy hitters off planet and under control of one of Universo's puppets. The Hykraius mission takes another group away from HQ, also manipulated by a servant of Universo. Why this group? One's a telepath; the others have powers suited to a wide variety of problems but are also the most alien/strange Legionnaires (apart from Cham): a witch, an energy being and heaven knows what Quislet is. We also get some great visuals of Hykraius, including a giant statue of a Gil'dishpan.

Jan worries, worries, worries... and Brek surprises by saying he'd like to run for leader. He runs it by Jan first, showing some good sense. For once, I'm on Brek's side here. He does have a lot of leadership experience, having kept the Subs together and functioning for years. He could well be a very effective leader, despite his lack of experience/time with this particular group.

The scene with Dirk and Dawnstar is charming. It's clear that Dirk isn't putting the moves on her, he's just being a friend.

We also see a progression of the Vi-Ayla relationship; they're sitting together talking in the opening scene and heading off on a break together in the final pages. The opening scene also showed Nura sitting alone, a reminder that Thom is gone.

I liked the issue and how it portrayed Brainy as well. So good to see this version rather than the later versions that owed far too much to Giffen's portrayal of his ancestor in L.E.G.I.O.N.

I liked the bits with Nura as well, particularly including her alone in the opening scene and drawn in a way that looks somewhat depressed. PL again shows off her smarts and abilities beyond her power in the handling of the hydro problem.

The legionnaires leaving with Relnic triggered a deju vu moment for me. After thinking about it I realised I was remembering the Earthwar (Superboy & LSH 241-245) where once again Relnic had requested the aid of some of the most powerful legionnaires to guard a diplomatic conference, only to apparently betray them. The members were not the same although Mon-El and Ultra Boy were included both times and that Relnic turned out to be an imposter, but it is interesting that both storylines were written by Paul Levitz.

I had an aha! moment reading the blurb about Hykraius being in Gil'Dishpan influence but in UP territory. Would have saved all our speculation in the previous issue if we had waited. I like the (almost) full page scene showing Hykrainian architecture and the huge Gil'Dishpan statue presumably in honour of the role they played in bringing Hykrainian into the 30C universe. There are also a few Gil bubbles amongst the natives in the scene.Details like this always add to the story, and this issue has a lot of little art details that do the job well.

I never saw the Hykrainian under Universo's influence as Loros but rather another Hykrainian. His (its?) reaction appears to have only just noticed that the legionnaires have arrived as well. Also in his first appearance Loros is wearing a vest that does not appear here, so I think it is a different member of the species. Certainly would also have worked if it was Loros and added another aspect as betrayal of Tellus friendship.

Good catch! The betrayal resonates. This Relnic is sort of an imposter - we'll see if Jo and Lar mention that mission at all. I don't recall if they sense something's amiss at some point.




That makes sense - I didn't catch the vest difference. Loros could well be an innocent dupe.

On Baxter Legion 30: I, too, liked this issue, and other than that, I don't really have anything to add to what Cramey and Stile have already posted. A rare positive consensus for the Legion Re-Reads. Quite uplifting.

I'm curious as to how I'll react to issue 31, though. The last time I read it, I hadn't yet realized how much I truly dislike Projectra. And she gets the spotlight there! Ah, well, think optimistically...

LSH #31 "Knights in Shining Armor" by Paul Levitz, art by Greg LaRocque & Mike DeCarlo, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Projectra talks Val Armor's statue, reflecting on when they first joined the Legion. Jacques walks in and apologizes for interrupting; she in turn tells him a story from her early days.

She was asked by R.J. Brande to deliver asteroid mine specs to his facility in Lakopolis (Earth) and regarded the task as somewhat beneath her. She brought guards along, in the form of illusion. Before she hands them to the verified recipient, he is struck from behind by the Black Mace, who doesn't fall for her illusion of menacing guards. She startles him with a flame illusion, but Black Mace knocks her out with his mace and the illusion fades; he escapes with the data discs.

Projectra reports to Ferro Lad and Karate Kid, manning the Mission Monitor Board, and asks to report to leader Invisible Kid. They decide to go help her as fellow rookies and rush off, getting Bouncing Boy to man the board.

They scope out the Spaceport, expecting Black Mace to escape on the last ship of the day. Jeckie casts an illusion of shaking, causing the passengers to rush off the ship. Ferro Lad spies a hooded figure who appears to be carrying the discs; the man is angered and fires a blaster at Ferro Lad. Black Mace, holding Projectra, shouts at them to get back or he'll break her neck.

Invisible Kid II is amazed that Projectra was captured and had problems like he himself had, but she explains that everyone was young and an amateur once, then resumes the story.

Karate Kid stomps the ground, cracking the platform on which Black Mace is holding Projectra. She escapes as Ferro Lad attacks Black Mace, but he and his companion fight back. Karate Kid joins the fight, but Ferro Lad runs into a pylon, causing a platform to buckle, endangering civilians. Mace and his partner escape but without the data.

The three Legionnaires deliver the data to Brande's Lakopolis facility. Although the boys are pleased with how things turned out, Projectra, dismayed with her performance, wants to catch Black Mace.
Back at Legion HQ, Invisible Kid and Bouncing Boy congratulate the three on their teamwork. Bouncing Boy invites Projectra to supper.

Black Mace and his partner return to Lakopolis but are stopped by the three rookies and taken down.
The three return to HQ and pledge to be friends for a lifetime.

Projectra ends her tale and sees Invisible Kid has fallen asleep. She's a bit annoyed, but sits down and falls asleep herself.

Comments:

Not a bad story for a fill-in tale, although it reads a bit oddly three decades later. The whole premise is to stop some data discs from being stolen - so not just the discs seem outdated, but the idea that data would have to be physically transported also seems very unsuited to the future.

Three new Legionnaires taking on the Black Mace (a villain revived from Levitz's earlier run) offers no novel twists and turns; it's straightforward and simple. The three make a bunch of rookie mistakes; it's not a smooth mission but they manage to work together. They really do seem young, so happy to be complimented by leader Invisible Kid.

The attitudes of Princess Projectra saved the story for me; she's quite arrogant and entitled throughout. She's new to the Legion at this point and is apparently still playing the princess. Perhaps that's why she was given the lowly task of hand-delivering documents for R.J. Brande. She pumps up her importance by creating the illusion of four guards, then augmenting their ferocity to make a greater impression.

Val and Andrew are anxious to come to her aid - they may be just itching for action, but I got a faint suggestion that both wished to impress her.

Regardless of her princess attitude, it's Projectra who is adamant that the task must be fully completed and Black Mace arrested; Val and Andrew are just pleased to have gotten back to HQ with a good story. This struck me as very unlike Karate Kid in particular.

As Sensor Girl, in the framing sequences, Projectra is also a bit condescending to Jacques, calling him a child. She might have told him a story about Invisible Kid I, since Jacques confided to her that he talked to Lyle's statue, but she chose a story about herself. Nevertheless, she's very philosophical about the shortness of life and knew that Jacques was unsure about his powers and experience.

That they both doze off at the end reads like a humorous touch; we'll only learn later that this is no natural sleep.

Other stories of this type have presented the histories of Wildfire and Star Boy. I would have preferred to read Projectra's backstory, how she learned about the Legion and how she came to join, her family's attitudes about that and how she acclimated to the high-tech planets of the U.P..

Baxter Legion 31

To paraphrase what Cramey said at the end of her review, this issue could have finally cleared up all the unpleasant and contradictory stuff about Projectra's backstory and her becoming Sensor Girl, which Levitz barely touched upon towards the end of the New Fatal Five Saga. Instead, Levitz gives us a humdrum, cliched tale of rookie Legionnaires in over their heads who, predictably, rally and save the day. "And the crowd goes wild...
yaaaay." [/sarcasm plus MST3K reference]

Once again, it falls to LaRocque & DeCarlo & Gafford to make this sorry excuse for an overpriced comic readable. Thankfully, all three are in top form here. I like the designs of Projectra's illusionary guards and of Gharf, very reminiscent of Bronze Age Marvel at its best. LaRocque also deserves kudos for actually making Projectra's original hairstyle and costume look halfway decent. And since he's the kind of versatile penciller I like to see draw just about any character, it's nice he gets to draw Chuck and Lyle.

What really sells the story for me are the action sequences, particularly the way Levitz & LaRocque make full use of Andrew's combination of flight-ring and metallic hide. My favorite page of all would have to be 23, where pencils, inks, and colours just blend together so beautifully, deserving those oft-wasted phrases such as, "a ballet of brutality" or "poetic violence."

In the end, though, it's just another run-of-the-mill Baxter Legion issue. It really surprises me how much the younger me loved this stuff and was willing to overlook Levitz's bad writing in favour of the delicious eye-candy on offering.

To be fair, by this point I think I've kinda sussed a method to Levitz's molasses-turgid pacing -- several consecutive issues form an slow-burn arc which climaxes with a spectacular payoff: Introducing Sensor Girl in 14-16, blending together her reveal (flawed as it may be) with an explosive battle against the New Fatal Five in 25-26, and the aftermath in 27. Similarly, the disappearance of Atmos in 28, and key character sequences for Brainy and Nura in 29-30, with the payoff in the Universo Project storyarc, beginning with 32, and with an aftermath breather in 36. And yet, right in the middle, for no easily discernible reason, is this curio of an issue.

So I'm starting to understand better why this era of the Legion has so many detractors. It's so blasted *slow*! And even if one tries to compare it favorably to the better examples of modern "decompressed" storytelling -- which Levitz's work on the Baxter Legion obviously inspired, directly or otherwise -- it still feels poorly thought-out and shoddily structured.

I have to wonder if, even if I was not positively biased toward the art style of LaRocque & DeCarlo, it would have made any difference with another, more collaborative penciller. It goes without saying that, given the choice between Lightle staying or Giffen staying, I'd favour the former over the latter. When Giffen returned with Baxter Legion 50, it pretty much finished the wrecking job that Death of Superboy had already started (or not, because I am aware that many readers' mileages vary when it comes to that controversial creator.) Or, at the very least, it did nothing to improve the pacing of the Baxter Legion stories. All of which leads me to doubt that Lightle staying on interior art would have done much good after all.

Here we stand, then, about to dive into The Universo Project, which until now I've considered the one incontrovertible masterpiece among Levitz's multiple-issue Legion stories. Will it, too, let me down? Gods, I hope not. But I'm trying to keep my expectations modest.

And as for the issue under discussion, even the eye-candy only earns it a piddling 4 out of 10 Taryns: