Week of 27 May 2009

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

SUPERMAN #688 (7/09)
"The Fall and Rise of Jonathan Kent"
ROLL CALL: Matter-Eater Lad [Mitch], Mon-El, Sensor Girl [Wilcox], Tellus

Mon-El's powers are on-again, off-again. Doctor Light (Doctor Light?) explains that the mysterious anti-lead serum is at war with his super-powers, and that his powers will continue to fail at times convenient to the plot.

Seems to me that Supergirl had this problem once, and her father invented various devices (an exo-skeleton, then some magic power discs) that allowed her to have some measure of continuous power. And her Legion flight ring came in handy, too. Maybe Mon could use a flight ring....

In this issue Mon-El gets a little boyfriend. His name's Mitch, he works in the restaurant downstairs, and apparently he's been watching Mon pretty closely for a a while. He's obviously crushing on Jon Kent pretty badly. Who can blame him?

Mon and the Guardian break into General Lane's headquarters and rescue Tellus. So is there going to be time-paradox trouble between Mon and Tellus? I don't think so. Tellus, remember, is a telepath -- so presumably he has read Mon's mind and knows that this version of Mon-El has never met him before. I also assume that there will be some kind of telepathic jiggery-pokery so that Mon won't remember meeting Tellus (or maybe a thousand years in the Phantom Zone will take care of that.)

The bad thing is that the war between Mon's serum and his powers will continue until he dies, in a year to eighteen months. According to Doctor Light, that well-known expert on Daxamite physiology and mysterious serums. What does this mean? Well, it means that just about the time the New Krypton storyline finishes up and Supes no longer needs Mon, he'll be able to pop Mon back into the Phantom Zone and be rid of him once again.

You know, Supes is coming off as a real bastard here. No wonder the Earth-Prime version of Mon-El came out of the Zone and started punching anybody wearing the "S" symbol.

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I got my Mattel Legion figures (pictured above). Notice how the boys all have the same body, differing only in paint jobs. And once you get your figures, notice how each one has a tiny little yellow flight ring painted on the middle finger of their right hands. What attention to detail.

The three boys all have their right hands made into fists. Presumably this is so that thy can engage in action poses, punching bad guys...but it also makes it fairly easy to arrange the boys in a fairly rude tableau where they are pleasuring one another like Boy Scouts at camp (see below). I'm sure that wasn't Mattel's intention, but it's pretty cool anyway.