Friday, May 23, 2008

Week of 21 May 2008

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

DC/WILDSTORM DREAMWAR #2 (7/08)
"First Strike"
ROLL CALL: Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, Star Boy, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy

Part Two of this six-parter is even more confusing than part one. I imagine that a familiarity with the Wildstorm universe would help a lot. Giffen is certainly making no effort to orient a new reader or explain what the hell is going on.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: It's the Legion, okay...but which Legion? Lyle Norg is still alive, Ayla is Light Lass, Luornu is identified as "Triplicate Girl," and Shadow Lass is a member. Phantom Girl, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, and Element Lad are in their 1970s costumes, but Star Boy is wearing the black star-spangled number and has the beginnings of a beard. Triplicate Girl is in white, and god knows what Vi has on -- I suspect coloring errors in both cases. Among the missing are Jeckie, Val, Mon-El, and Chemical King.

If it weren't for the "Triplicate Girl" thing and a costume or two, this could be the Legion from around SUPERBOY 197-199...after Timber Wolf reappeared and before Chuck and Luornu got married. Val and Jeckie could be visiting Orando, and Chemical King and Mon-El might be...uh...on a mission in another dimension, yeah, that's the ticket.

Except... this Legion is based in the old "upside-down rocket" headquarters, which was severely damaged on the day Shadow Lass joined. Which would place this Legion between ADVENTURE 366 and 367 -- well before Timber Wolf joined.

How about another possibility...could this be the Giffbaum/Glorithverse Legion? Valor, Laurel Gand, and Impulse (Kent Shakespeare) are nowhere to be seen, but they could be away on a mission (with Val, Jeckie, and Chemical King, maybe?) In the Glorthiverse Legion, Garth was Lightning Boy, not Lightning Lad...at least in the little bit we saw of their history. We don't have many details of the order in which the Legionnaires joined, when Luornu lost her third self, nor when (or if) the original clubhouse was replaced.

A third possibility...Giffen is just following current DC thinking for Legion guest appearances: "Use whichever Legionnaires you want, in whatever costumes you want...pick and choose from Legion history and put together a team you like."

So there you have it. This is either the classic Legion from SUEPRBOY 197-199, the classic Legion from ADVENTURE 366-367, a previous incarnation of the Glorithverse Legion, or a completely new version.

And only us hardcore Legion geeks care which.

My head hurts....

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JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #15 (6/08)
"They Kingdom Come: The Good Fight"
ROLL CALL: Starman/Star Boy (Lightning Saga Legion)

In the continuing fight against Gog (who isn't really Gog), Thom lifts a mounted police officer (along with horse and passenger) out of harm's way, updates the Flash on the ferry schedule, and says "Okely-dokely." IMHO, they are not using this character to his full potential.

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