Thursday, February 28, 2008

Week of 27 February 2008

(SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers. Don't read it before you've read the comics.)

ACTION #862 (4/08)
"Superman & The Legion of Super-Heroes Chapter 5: Revenge of the Rejects"
ROLL CALL: Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Chameleon Girl, Chlorophyll Kid, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Fire Lad, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Night Girl, Phantom Girl, Rainbow Girl, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Stone Boy, Sun Boy, Superman, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl, Wildfire (Lightning Saga Legion)
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF EARTH: Earth-Man, Eyeful Ethel, Golden Boy, Radiation Roy, Spider Girl, Storm Boy, Tusker

I am loving this series. It's so good to see the real Legion back in action (as well as back in ACTION). I want them back for good.

All things considered, I'm kinda sorry that this story will be over next month....

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: Rainbow Girl? Huh? When I saw the cover, I thought, "Oh, Color Kid has changed sex. Cool." But no, Color Kid is blinded, and they've created Rainbow Girl to take his place. Probably the only thing in the comic that I didn't like. (OTOH, her "emotional color" powers tie in nicely with what's going on over in the Green Lantern section of the DC Universe.)

It was nice to see an explanation of why Infectious Lass has been hanging around with Doctor Thirteen, and was last seen floating in the timestream in BOOSTER GOLD...Fire Lad says that Earth-Man "tossed Infectious Lass into the timestream." Good attention to detail there.

Brainiac 5's revelation that Saturn Girl scanned the minds of Legion applicants is the good kind of retroactive continuity...it makes perfect sense, it explains why some rejects joined the Subs while others went with the LSV, and it's something that no one would have talked about.

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COUNTDOWN #09 (2/27/08)
"Pay the Piper"
ROLL CALL: Karate Kid, Una (Lightning Saga Legion)

Um...I think they're using the wrong word for what Brother Eye does to Val. They say "dissection," but I think they mean "vivisection." At least, he's alive when the process starts...don't know about the end.

Una spends most of the issue as an OMAC, but she gets better. Good for her.

And totally unrelated to the Legion...but it's nice to see the gay guy save the world at the end.

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JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #13 (4/08)
"Supermen"
ROLL CALL: Starman/Star Boy is pictured on the cover, and we hear his voice through a closed door. That's it.

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LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #39 (4/08)
"Evil Adventus Part 3: Downfall"
ROLL CALL: Colossal Boy, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Star Boy, Timber Wolf, Ultra Boy

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: Saturn Girl's mother is a high-ranking politician trying to help Projectra and the Legion. In past incarnations of the Legion, Phantom Girl's mother was a high-ranking politician who hindered the Legion, and Colossal Boy's mother was a high-ranking politician who both hindered and helped.

Can there be any doubt that the mysterious figure in the command center is applicant M.Rissey from last issue, here to save the day through his administrative skills? I wonder what his code name will be? I vote for Bureaucracy Boy.

Light Lass can't sleep, and says, "For one thing, I can't sleep alone." Coming from a planet where just about everyone is a twin, this kinda makes sense. Although it raises questions about the exact relationship between Ayla and Garth. Most of the other Winathians we've seen have been identical twins, but Ayla and Garth are (obviously) fraternal. (And then there's Mekt, a singleton...what's with their family?) Did they sleep together as children? At a certain age, were they separated and made to sleep alone? What did that do to them, psychologically? The suggestion here is that Ayla became a slut...and perhaps Garth just suffered in his loneliness -- or did the parents stick him in bed with Mekt? ("It'll be good for Mekt to have a brother to sleep with, like everyone else...")

And if that scenario is right, what can we read into the relationship between Garth and Mekt? Garth idolized his brother...but Mekt always seemed to resent Garth. Mekt ran away from home...and Garth went after him. Garth founded an organization of super-powered kids so he wouldn't have to feel so alone. Does this all stem from a day when the Ranzz parents told Garth he was too old to be sharing a bed with Ayla, so now he would be sleeping with Mekt?

I won't even get into the question of what kind of power struggles/dominance games might have gone on between Mekt and Garth when the lights were out...although it may explain a lot....

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Friday, February 22, 2008

Week of 20 February 2008

(SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers. Don't read it before you've read the comic.)

COUNTDOWN #10 (2/20/08)
"The Gods Must Be Crazy"
ROLL CALL: Karate Kid, Una (Lightning Saga Legion)

Una remains consumed by OMAC, while Karate Kid and Red Robin exchange quips. Then Una/OMAC is unable to absorb Karate Kid, so knocks him out and drags him off for an autopsy.


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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Week of 13 February 2008

(SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers. Don't read it before you've read the comics.)

BOOSTER GOLD #0 (4/08)
"Blue & Gold Chapter 1: The Secret Origin of Booster Gold"

There are no Leigon appearances as such, however...in the year 2462, Booster Gold and several Blue Beetles visit the Space Museum. There, prominently displayed, are a Legion flight ring and Brainiac 5's force shield belt. Booster's flight ring is also in evidence on his finger throughout the issue.

In previous continuity, this ring and belt were left in the 20th century by Brainiac 5 (Booster Gold #8 [9/86] and #9 [10/86]). In several subsequent reboots, there has never been an explanation of the origin of Booster's ring and belt. However, the current multiverse seems to include the original Legion/Lightning Saga Legion -- so perhaps the events of Booster Gold 8/9 really occurred after all. (Is "after all" an appropriate expression? This whole time paradox thing is still making my head hurt.)

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COUNTDOWN #11 (2/13/08)
"Eye of the Beholder"
ROLL CALL: Karate Kid, Una (Lightning Saga Legion)

Everybody's on Apokolips now (except Buddy Blank and his grandson), Val gets to kick some butt, and Luornu gets taken over by Brother Eye and turned into an OMAC (albeit one with fashionable boots).

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: Apparently the air on Apokolips agrees with Val; he's feeling a lot better now. A remarkable recovery, considering he was near death just a week or two ago....

Karate Kid consistently calls Luornu "Una." She, OTOH, consistently calls him "Val." Casual readers are going to get the idea that everyone from the 31st century has a three-letter name.

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LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #11 (4/08)
"Mars"
ROLL CALL: Blok, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Superman, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl

The comic is now consistent with the second season of the show (i.e. Brainy looks different, Garth has facial hair). The main story, though, is a flashback to the first season era.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: J'onn J'onzz has a history with the Legion -- in the post-Giffbaum era, a 1,000-year-older Martian Manhunter worked with the Legion on several cases.

It's already been established that Brainy misses Superman...at the end of the issue, it appears that Garth is also smitten. Do all the Legion boys have crushes on Kal-El? (Erase and correct...Luornu also has also been shown fancying the Boy of Steel. Maybe it's all Legionnaires, regardless of gender?) (I dunno...given the choice between Kal-El and Mon-El, I'd go with the boy from Daxam any day...)

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SUPERMAN #673 (4/08)
"Insect Queen Part Three: Moonlight & Victory"

No actual Legion content, but the Insect Queen story concludes -- and it certainly has a Legion connection of sorts.

Besides, the whole Chris Kent subplot is sweet.

Moreover, the issue ends with these words: "Next: PARAGON! MON-ELl! DAXAM! and MORE!" Definitely Legion-related.

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By the way, I finally got ahold of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #10. (Thank goodness for subscriptions!) I've updated the listing in my entry for the week of 16 January 2008.


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Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Week of 6 February 2008

(SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers. Don't read it before you've read the comics.)

COUNTDOWN #12 (2/6/08)
"Come Together"
ROLL CALL: Karate Kid, Una (Lightning Saga Legion)

Val is looking and feeling a little better, and everyone is headed to Apokolips.

On the cover, Darkseid is blowing up his action figures. Karate Kid and Una have prominent placement.

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JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #12 (3/08)
"New Recruits"
ROLL CALL: Star Boy/Starman

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: Thom mentions Colossal Boy and Yera.

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Week of 30 January 2008

(SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers. Don't read it before you've read the comics.)

COUNTDOWN #13 (1/30/08)
"Abandon All Hope"

No Legion content in this issue.

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ACTION #861 (3/08)
"Chameleons (Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes Part 4)
ROLL CALL: Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Dawnstar, Polar Boy, Sun Boy, Superman, Wildfire, Yera (Chameleon Girl) (all Lightning Saga Legion)
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF EARTH: Earth-Man, Eyeful Ethel, Golden Boy, Radiation Roy, Spider Girl, Storm Boy, Tusker


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: This issue directly ties into the Lightning Saga. And there's an interesting bit of foreshadowing, when Superman asks about the lightning rod that the Legionnaires brought back from the 21st century and Brainy answers, "The universe is missing a key figure to activate it. Dream Girl's last vision before she returned to Naltor told me it had to wait. Until the Crisis of the 31st century begins." (Me, I figure if Dreamy went back to Naltor, then it might be a good time to get away from Earth...)

Earth-Man absorbs all the powers of the Legionnaires, becoming a one-man Legion...something like the Composite Superman way back when.

Yera has a code name now -- Chameleon Girl. Does this mean she's a Legionnaire? Couldn't blame her...



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Week of 23 January 2008

(SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers. Don't read it before you've read the comics.)

CUNTDOWN #14 (1/23/08)
"Choke On It"

No Legion content in this issue

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LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #38 (3/08)
"Evil Adventus Part 2: Cataclysm"
ROLL CALL: Invisible Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Star Boy, Timber Wolf
APPLICANTS: Fruit Boy, M.Rissey, Sludge, Sonar, Spy, Virus, Voice

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: Lightning Lad says, "I've zeezeed Saturn Girl's flight ring again and again, no answer." This may be a reference to Jimmy Olsen's classic emergency signal watch, which went "Zeezeezeezeezee..."

Applicant Virus has essentially the same powers as Infectious Lass.


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