Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 27

v4 Issue 19

After Super-spats in editorial ended Green Lantern, Superman, Hawkman and Streak the Wonder Do references in the book, gave us a Mordruverse and an odd Glorith/Trapper confrontation, it’s good to see TMK finally left alone to get on with the plot….Hey! Who blew up the moon?!

Super-office decides to punt Supes around the timestream, and that means they want access to the Legion. For their part, the Legion can’t even mention Supes participation and there’s a picture of the chest symbol at best.

Gym’ll gets blown to bits after his re-introduction last issue, as Medicus one falls to the lunar debris. “This shouldn’t be happening” and “What the hell’s going on” come from the mouths of the science police, who are standing in for a lot of people.

The volume has thrown plenty of surprises, so its not as left field a development as it would be in other books. As usual, TMK do a good job of integrating in the literal fallout. The Dominators have some sort of triple strike programme. Without a polymer shield, Earth is relying on electro defences. Both sides are preparing to counter the lunar fragments. That’s when a Dominator battlewagon gets hit in orbit. It’s self-destruct, preventing its armoury blowing everything up, wipes both Dominator and Earth preventive measures. Circadia makes a brief guest appearance. He manages to launch a device that will simulate the moon’s gravity (presumably built over a lunch hour). Like Gym’ll, he’s an old cast member facing certain death, and it’s a shame to see them go in such a fashion. It certainly adds weight to the proceedings.

The Dominators have a triple strike programme, that the Lunar detonation might have been part of. Another step of the programme, is the destruction of the Earth’s power spheres. The Dominator’s were considering blowing them anyway to prevent the resistance discovering their secret chambers, mentioned over the last few issues. The list of devastated cities is huge. I wonder if the Tornado Twins were caught trying to prevent the Dominators tampering with a Canadian power sphere, when they were caught and charged with exactly that offence.

One blast also resulted in thoth lad V being thrown back in time, to an age of archaic technology, where he joined a message board. Hey! just like Jo in the next segment! He had to use tablet for his messages and use ultra-strength to hurl them into the nearest village, but it’s the same thing.

After snippets of Jo’s subplot over several issues, we get all the way to the end here. The purpose of it was him coming to terms with Tinya’s death and growing as an emotional person, as a result. Why it has to take character’s to die for protagonists to achieve this remains a mystery not even Nabu’s Better Writing Class can fathom. No sooner does Jo land on Earth than he’s monitored by both the Lords of Order and Chaos. Both sides were more overt at the time, both in DC history and in in their books when this was published. GIffen was also a big Doctor Fate fan and writer, so I’m sure he enjoyed getting the helm of Nabu in there. It still existed (or a facsimile thereof) in the 30th century, as shown in the GDU.
It’s a nice montage sequence, showing Jo trying to settle down, overcome his problems, oblivious to his lover wanting him as a conduit to the future. He’s a high stakes pawn. It could have launched a bigger story, so I was happily surprised when TMK ended it swiftly by having (a very muscly Nabu) transport Jo back to the moment he left. Transported in time and place. Jo’s loss, rage and acceptance still works today, and it makes him stand out as a well-developed character as well as for his powers. That said, now we’ve had him key to the Mordru/Trapper history and this, it’s time for another Legionnaire to get some spotlight.

With Giffen on art chores, it’s a strong issue. The detonators of the moon must have given an annoyed Giffen another piece towards his blowing up of Earth conclusion. The text piece picks up on no one really knowing what caused the explosion, even as it ties it all into ongoing Dominator plans. A good job by TMK to make it all as seamless as possible.

Not sure if this makes them more or less of a threat. There may be someone giving the orders to work with Universo, but even that could be a group operating on its own. It does make them seem more shadowy and slippery, a cult with a thousand heads. Of course, Ontiir and pals could still be out there pulling the strings.



Well stated. History here is being written by United Planets supporters, but not blind boosters. One wonders how many planets The Circle has affected. I always figured they should have had a presence on Talok VIII.



The Red Terror seems like the most logical explanation. The time line is unclear here. Did the Red Terror hit at harvest time and now it's winter? I hadn't thought about dimension hopping, but it might do something to weather systems. The illusion of good governance... even she's not capable of pulling that off. IMO, she's one of the worst rulers in the Legionverse.



Hadn't thought about that, just assumed she was watching whoever was head of the SPs and possibly other leading figures. Following Dirk might indeed have been an interesting subplot, except he's not going to be around much longer.



Oh, great connection! I love these little threads that run through 5YL.



Just watch out for lone, dark-haired women and you should be okay.



We do see a number of characters "grow up" emotionally in this series, overcome old traumas. Vi is one, Rokk as well (in the next issue). Dirk, unfortunately, ran out of time.

Legion of Super-Heroes #19 "Venado Bay" by Tom & Mary Bierbaum, Keith Giffen, Al Gordon & Tom McCraw, art by Keith Giffen & Al Gordon, Letters Albert DeGuzman, Colours Tom McCraw, Editor Dan Raspler

On Earth:
Dominator Command has ordered a severe crackdown on Earth resistance. They are worried that the chambers have been breached before the specimens have been mind-wiped.
Dominators begin executing SP officers in revolt; Circe kills one of the high ranking Dominators, watched surreptitiously by Bounty.
Dirk is burning alive, a result of a powersphere explosion affecting his powers.
Devlin is injured and trapped under rubble as two figures approach to help him.
Laurel impersonates Celeste and uses a device to send an unwilling Celeste back to Legion HQ, unfortunately without her clothes.
Under snowfall in Africa, Jaques and Tenzil watch a scratchy message from Shvaughn confirming that the presence of underground chambers controlled by Dominators as well as approaching Dominator fleets.
Stations across Earth plead for contact amid failing communications.

Elsewhere:
The UP is aware of the Triple Strike; King John presses for active involvement in Earth's affairs despite Earthgov rejecting the U.P. offer of assistance.
Jo undergoes a psych evaluation, treating it with sarcasm. Rokk undergoes a psych evaluation by being asked to relate his Venado Bay experience to an Imskian vet.
Ivy can communicate with plants; plants can understand people.
Vi has a new blue leg; Ayla reassures her that she doesn't care what colour Vi's leg is.
Kono passes the time with hijinks.
Char Burrane Jr. has been murdered and his ring finger taken.
Lydda hears news of Dirk's immolation as well as news that the Ranzzs have new twin daughters.
Cham mulls over whether Superman was involved in destroying Luna.
Mysa connects with the Amethyst spirit.

Text pieces: Dominator orders to subdue Earth; a comparative history of Venado Bay.

Comments:
I think we get an update on everybody in this issue. The 9-panel grid works overtime here, to good effect, with five people contributing to the story. There are some very big plot points which receive only a couple of panels: Dirk's body burning up, the prospect of U.P. interference on Earth, Mysa and Amethyst and the murder of Char Burrane (which is never explained). Circe turning on the Dominators.

Jo expresses a lot of anger towards Brainy, which I don't understand. Did Brainy have the means to find him and not use it? Or is he just over-reacting to Brainy ordering a psych evaluation? Vi blames him for her blue leg; the guy who solved the Red Terror problem (and others) can't catch a break. At least Celeste has some justification for her annoyance.

The longest segment - four pages - recounts Rokk's experience at Venado Bay to let the reader know what a devastating weapon the Imskians used on Braal, and how Rokk came to injure Vi (as well, had it not been for Vi's intervention, other troops might have killed Rokk then and there). The text piece, two competing histories of Venado Bay and the Imsk-Braal war, shows the Imsk view as similar to American justification for using the atomic bomb on Japan. The other view is more complicated, suggesting it might be closer to the truth.

Given the terrible events on Earth and the recall of the horrors of Venado Bay, the comedic moments seem jarring. Perhaps they're meant to alleviate the grimness or to remind that life goes on despite disaster. Lydda hearing about Dirk followed by the birth of the Ranzz twins is a well-done juxtaposition of bad and good news. Kono taking pictures of men in the shower just comes off as silly and immature.

Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #2 by by Tom & Mary Bierbaum, art by Brandon Peterson & Scott Hanna, Letters Janice Chiang, Colours Tom McCraw, Editor Dan Raspler

After a Dark Circle service recounting the group's history, Circle leaders discuss the loss of influence over Cargg and the effect of Valor on their expansion. One is told by the others that he should learn the history of Valor, despite the Circle's abhorrence of knowledge. Three frail, pale beings proceed to recite Valor's story.

Lar Gand discovered a Dominator plan to invade Earth and was intent on stopping it. He investigated their home planet Elia and found prison camps filled with hundreds of humans. He liberated them, but also found humans suspended in tanks. Searching for information about how to free them, he encountered a resistance group led by a female Dominator, a Dominator youth, an escapee from the mutation camps with the power to project cold and a Talokian-Aetian trader. With Lar's help, they liberated some top Dominion scientists who had opposed the ruling caste's experiments on humans. Working together, they freed the humans in tanks and captured the Dominion rulers, who were prepared to destroy their own planet, having their own escape plan.

Valor judged and passed sentence on the rulers, requiring their discs to be removed so that they would live as untouchables among their people. The human prisoners, who had acquired or activated meta-powers, were offered resettlement on new planets: Bismoll, Cargg, Winath, Zwen, Tharr, Somahtur, among others.

The scientists who had worked on the humans were exiled to a planet within Dark Circle territory, by which the Circle would later gain their cloning technology.

Some time later, he encountered Glorith and began a relationship with her. She informed him that she had created the legend of Valor by engineering his actions. She wanted him to rule at her side over the 30th century the universe, but he refused. She sent him into the Bgtzl Buffer Zone, where he remained as a phantom for a millenium. The Legion found him and released him for a time, until a permanent antidote to lead poisoning could be developed. When Valor emerged for good from the Zone, he was hailed as a god, a hero and the father of many worlds.

The Circle considered him an enemy who must be eradicated.

Comments:This annual fills in big gaps in Lar Gand's pre-LSH history, adapted to conform to the no-Superboy edict. It also makes him a much greater hero, and of greater importance to the 30th century, than the original version. This guy didn't sell brushes in Smallville, he enabled the expansion of humans throughout the galaxy. It also illustrates what a powerful, noble personality he was - and has become again, now that the Eltro strain has been eliminated from his mind. The previous annual, which featured Jo Nah, portrayed a character with hidden depths, working undercover; this story of Valor shows a man in full light, with nothing to hide. It bolsters the character that we already know.

It may be for economy of pages, but to have Valor be the lone judge of the Dominion rulers seems to clash with his heroic ideals. They might have shown some resistance members and the scientists opposed to the human experiments as participants in the trial/sentencing.

The Dominators tend to be shown as an entirely unified race, so the presence of renegade scientists willing to suffer for their ideals is welcome. There's not much indication of any opposition among the 30th century Dominators.

We also get some Dark Circle history and learn that they're a very very old group. Their fear and hatred of enlightenment mirrors some of the more radical religious groups of our time.

Glorith tells Lar that he's her creation, that she caused him to go to Elia and liberate the human experiments, so it's a bit of a sticking point for me why he, rather than Jo, didn't glom on to Glorith's plans in the 30th century. Bgtzl Buffer Zone amnesia, perhaps.

NB: this Annual was published between issues #24 and 25, but it fits in well with the recent Dark Circle story on Orando and Cargg. Just FYI. These are fictional archives.

He Who Wanders (he who is missed by us, hopefully he will stop by here soon) posted an excellent, comprehensively structured review of the Valor Annual several years ago:

http://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=54197

I feel bad that I haven't participated more in the TMK archives re-read threads, because that was the era that brought me into Legion fandom. But I keep on having more to say than time to say it.

On this one, though, I have a brief comment which won't take much time - this was the year of the "Armageddon 2001" themed annuals. I always felt like this story was a missed opportunity to tie into that event, as Waverider could have explored 20th-century Valor's future, yielding the same story. I guess we would have missed out on the minor Dark Circle revelation that concludes the framing sequence, but that fact never ended up having any further significance in the books.

Glad you mentioned that, because L.E.G.I.O.N. Annual #2 *was* part of the A2001 event, and it was an excellently written (by Alan Grant) and drawn (by a young Mike McKone) story, showing how utterly terrifying the future would be if Brainy's ancestor Vril Dox *did* become an out-and-out villain.

Fat Cramer:



He's just annoyed about that psych tests. He's not genuinely angry.

Hopefully, I'll get to do some catch up this weekend. Looking forward to reading the comments.

I never read the Armageddon 2001 books, but, given the description, it is surprising that they didn't fit it into this annual.

Thanks for the link to He Who is Missed's review of this issue, Annfie. Such a well-written analysis!

You're welcome, Cramey.

I just checked to see if maybe He Who at least stopped by and logged in after I posted that link and bumped up one of his Bits fics.

Unfortunately, his profile says he was last seen in mid-November.

Sigh

Well, I'm here now.

Thanks for the bumps, Annfie! I'm glad to see the re-read threads still continuing. I've missed participating, but life continues to take me in different directions. I hope everyone is safe during the coronavius and lockdowns.

I appreciated Cramey's comments on the issue. She recognized that Lar had a much more expansive role in the DCU than previously. That's not a bad thing, though I miss the brush salesman. This guy who had so much power but who, even in his amnesiac state, was willing to pose as a cousin of Clark Kent's and sell brushes tells me more about his personality than all of Annual 2. In re-reading my thread, I see I expected more from this story than it delivered in terms of who Lar was, not what he did. So much of Lar's personality was shaped by his encounter with the Kents (he later visits them with Kal, stays overnight, and eats flapjacks around the dinner table with them in the morning). It's hard to imagine what might have replaced those encounters in the reboot.

I don't know when I will check in again, but I've missed you all. Keep moving forward!

I hope you can visit again soon HWW. You're missed.

Yay! Thanks for stopping by, He Who! Take care and stay safe.

v4 Issue 20

The opening scene gives us a situation report form the Dominion perspective. In addition of giving us a plot summary, we?re told that reinforcing their Earth position is leaving their homeworld supported; that their control is linked to Invasion through a thousand year plan and that there is The One at the top of the Dominion.
The Dirk Morgna plot takes an unexpected turn. He was caught in a power sphere blast. It?s interacted with his powers and he?s being burned alive. It?s a subplot that I thought would lead gradually to Dirk?s loyalties being directly tested. We will see something as a flashback in a later issue, but it was quite a step without knowing what was coming. From what we see here, I thought that Dirk *had* acted heroically in that Circe tells the doctor she was closer to the blast. I like to think this indicates Dirk absorbed the blast, as best he could saving others. It?s not that Dirk isn?t a hero, it?s just that the definition has twisted for him during his time with Circle and the Dominion. He?s found himself compromised way past the point he should have acted. The starign eye and the ?let?s just hope to god he?s lost consciousness? is chilling.

In the face of power sphere disaster, Tinya Wellington blames the Khunds and declines UP assistance. As we learned from the opening The Dominion is there as allies of Earthgov. It?s a tactic of occupation, they could have picked up form any of the human populations they now ?protect? as well as those on Webers World itself. One interesting thing in this volume is to show the spacesuit booty on the other foot. It?s a lot less heroic looking when it?s the Dominion doing it, that when the UP is sending out the Legion on little missions.

UP intelligence has seen the ?S? chest symbol involved in the detonations. They?re concerned about genetic engineering implications. They can?t tell us who the symbol belongs to. They can?t tell us why there are genetic implications. They probably go off panel to discuss if they?re even supposed to recognise the symbol after the end of #3. In a deleted scene, they commandeer a time bubble and go visit the Super-Office for clarification.

The null radiation would also affect another of the cast, in Devlin O?Ryan. He?s being hunted by the Dominators (who we don?t see here, but are suppressing resistance elsewhere, particularly SPEs) through Metropolis. Devlin is hit by an energy release from two shadowed figures. These two will become part of a key subplot in the book. Being volume 4, have references to ?SW6?, ?perfect specimens? and ?completely no mindwipe? may not be at all related to the previous scene. Only later developments show that it is and that the Dominion are particularly worried about their release/escape. How Devlin came to be hunted isn?t here.

A comedy scene between Celeste and Laurel sends the former back to HQ without clothes. It does suggest that Celeste could have returned without the device. Yet the volume has gone out of its way to show how laborious space travel was and locked down Earth was supposed to be. A further diversion comes as Kono takes more nude snapshots for her collection. He running off with them links a number of subsequent scenes.

Mysa?s arc continues with her being contacted through a dream by the lost, and tearful, statue of Amethyst. In a nice touch, we see that her bed has heart carvings on it, giving some insight into what leads her character.

It takes till page 11 for Cham to get the image of the Guy-With-A-S-On-His-Chest. He?s going to be calling his hacking provider, as this is slower than #1 surely. In a quick, yet desperately sad moment, Cham deletes the evidence, by purging it. Sad, because he can?t even say the guy?s name; sad because of the state of DC editorial; sad because TMK just want to move as quickly away from it all as possible; and very sad because deleting evidence of a catastrophe flies in the face of the things the Legion stands for. Cham?s unfinished ?Sometimes I just feel like - - " could have ended on a number of downbeat endings, reflecting TMK views.

Elsewhere Vi gets a new blue leg, presumably from the place Probes come from. Its not explained how it will work with her powers, but neither was the mechanical one. Nice to see that such things don?t matter to Ayla.

A preggers Lydda catches up on the news that Starfinger?s (Burraine) kid was killed and his ring finger removed. This would be a battle of the Starfingers crime plot that ran through the series, and I take it this was the guy that Starfinger (Hanscomb) tried to have killed on Quarantine. News about Dirk, prompts Lydda to wonder how Rokk will blame himself for it, shedding a bit of light into his self-inflicted burden of responsibility that would last for a number of volumes. The Ranzz?s announce the birth of their daughters. TMK use good news like this and some comedy moments to at least try and offset the events elsewhere.

On Quarantine, where I thought they were keeping Burraine Jr in protective custody (I guess they moved him after the Persuader attack, if it was him), Jo goes through some psych tests. He?s sporting a nice tan from his time in the Egyptian past. A nice touch that more time could have passed for him than the rest of the cast. Jo?s test is a writer?s set up for Rokk?s test where we get more details of Venado Bay. We learn that Kent Shakespeare was there. The RPG explains he went there after being forced out of the Legion. I wonder if readers here thought he was Braalian. We also learn that the scar on Vi?s face was caused by Krinn after the Venado Bay detonation. It?s a good enough scene. But the event has been released with hints and reinforcing through the volume, so getting 4.5 pages off it seemed a little blunt. Perhaps TMK looked for a little closure on that one, as K had looked like leaving.

On Earth, The Subs ponder the smoke enshrouded planet they?re on and how it works to the Dominator?s advantage. Inside, Tenzil talks with Jacques as Erin reports to them about SPE becoming fugitive. That garbled snippet then makes much more sense of the following scene where Circe shoots a Dominator. She has loyalty to her men, and seemingly this impresses a watching Bounty. It may mean that the resistance has a new ally, or at least Bounty can stop luring in the bushes issue after issue. Was Bounty using the telescopic lens of her gun for surveillance or was she just about to murder Circe?

The final page has more garbled comms in the snowstorm that is now ravaging lots of the planet. It sets up the desperate struggle that lies ahead to free the Earth.
It is a packed issue, up there with the best of the volume, in that department. The plotting is not as gradual as the opening issues, with a large section on Venado Bay. There are some plot points that are more in keeping with the montage feel of the end of the first year. We see consequences and reports, rather than events. But it does keep thing moving at a brisk pace with varied ways of informing the reader. The one thing that doesn?t move at a brisk pace is the Legion itself. We get snippets of Bounty, Jan and Laurel but the majority of the team are back at HQ doing psych tests. If not Earth, it would have been better had they found something else in a recovering galaxy to get on with.
The text page continues to be a treat, showing the opposing views of the Venado Bay incident. Both sides were relieved that their conflict didn?t involve a Menudo Bay incident, where Boy Band music was played at opposing forces, in violation of every known military treaty.

It's very effective here.



I think it shows that Jo knows exactly who's behind him taking the tests. If I was gripy, this iss probably the worst example in the volume of Jo being shown as too smart. But I took the scenes to be light hearted after Jo's time travel.

Interesting on whether Brainy knew where Jo had gone. He certainly knew about it being Time Travel. He ,and the Legion, have had plenty of time travel experience. But faced with having to travel to the Superman office to find out if he was allowed to enter the wider DCU, he probably decided to leave him in the past.



Maybe the team are trying to wind Brainy up enough that he releases an Omega on the Dominators?


The text pieces added such depth to the volume, that it's something I really miss. I think they also play a part in my response when I open a Hickman book and see 3 pages of nothing opening every chapter.


I did see it as a way of giving some balance to the darkness in the other scenes. As the Legion-on Earth team seem to get few panels (they would have been front and centre in previous volumes) it leaves the HQ team sitting on their butts having comedy while things are desperate on Earth. At least one of the comedy scenes was on Earth, (Celeste and Laurel) or it would have been too much of a divide. Oh, and Tenzil's on Earth too. The man who could eat Dominator Battlewagons for breakfast, condiment selection allowing.