I bought four DC comics this week, and all four of them had Legion-related content. That's what I call "a good start."
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ADVENTURE #523 (2011/04)
"First Night"
ROLL CALL:
Black Witch, Blok, Bouncing Boy, Duplicate Girl, Night Girl, Chemical Kid, Comet Queen, Dragonfire, Glorith, Gravity Kid, Harlak, Lamprey, Power Boy, Variable Lad
CUTE BOYS: Chemical Kid, Gravity Kid, Harlak, Power Boy (particularly check out mostly-naked Power Boy on page 17, and half-naked Gravity Kid & Power Boy being all buddy-buddy on page 19)
Adventure begins a series set at the Legion Academy; knowing Paul Levitz, there will be a lot of crossover with the rest of the Legion. In a way, this is reminiscent of those heady days of Legion of Super-Heroes and Legionnaires.
Night Girl, Power Boy, and Comet Queen come to the Sorcerer's World to pick up a new cadet -- a magic user named Glorith, who has been under tutelage of the Black Witch and Blok. Back on Earth, Glorith is overwhelmed, and falls into the orbit of bad-boy Chemical Kid and bad-girl Dragonwing.
The three cadets go out for a night of private clubbing; wet-blanket Luornu decides that she has to teach them discipline. She wakes them up at sunrise for a practice session led by Night Girl (and also attended by the irrepressible Comet Queen, a sleepy Variable Lad, and teacher's-pet Gravity Kid). Chemical Kid passes the test with a smart-alecky attitude that disturbs Luornu and turns Lydda on a little.
Lamprey and mostly-naked Power Boy have a moment of exposition when they explain that Comet Queen has been re-admitted, while the two of them are getting ready for graduation (which is coming "soon.")
That night, the three miscreants sneak out (along with Comet Queen), incidentally interrupting Power Boy and Chemical Kid in the middle of some passionate lovemaking. The Foolish Four find that Duplicate Girl has anticipated them, and they are under arrest for trespassing.
BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:
Harlak is a Khund who renounced his world's violent lifestyle and went to study on the Sorcerer's World. He figured in the Magic Wars storyline, and we never really got to see his story progress. I'm glad Levitz has brought him back.
Glorith. Long ago the Time Trapper had an assistant named Glorith; her one and only appearance was in Adventure 338 (1965/11), where she was devolved to a blob of protoplasm. Later, Giffen and the Bierbaums resurrected her and she took the place of the Time Trapper in her own self-created universe (the "Glorithverse"). She was a major pain in the butt to both the Glorithverse Legion and the readers. When the Time Trapper finally defeated her, there was great rejoicing across the land.
In the Earth-247 universe, young Lori Morning was a chronal traveler associated with the Time Trapper; there was much speculation that she would become the new Gloirth but that never actually happened.
What relationship exists between that Glorith and this new one, if there is any relationship, is unknown. However, the old Glorith was (in one reality) Mordru's chief wife and a powerful magic user. This new one is a student of the Black Witch, who absorbed Mordru's energies in Legion of Three Worlds. In addition, the new Glorith wears a purple robe not unlike the Time Trapper's. The Trapper is currently missing and presumed dead -- but you can't keep him down for long. Paul Levitz is having a lot of fun with this, and it's going to be a great ride.
The Black Witch says that she cannot set foot on Earth "lest the darkness within escape." She's referring to the energies she absorbed from Mordru.
Mirrorkins. What a great science fiction touch.
Chuck is just so perfect in this issue...with his bathrobe and Legion pajama bottoms, he's the perfect blend of wisdom and comic relief. The man is truly a Legionnaire.
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DCU: LEGACIES #9 (2011/03)
"Knight After Night"
ROLL CALL:
Earth-247 Legion: Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Ferro, Saturn Girl, Ultra Boy, Shvaughn Erin, Impulse, Inferno, Superboy (Conner)
CUTE BOYS: Brainy, Captain Marvel Junior, Conner, Damage, Jo, Robin, Rokk
This series, which recaps the history of the DC Universe, revisits the events of the Final Night miniseries (1996). During this period, several members of the Earth-247 Legion were marooned in the 20th century, and participated in Final Night.
BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: There's some question about whether Inferno was ever an official Legionnaire. She was the only one in the group who stayed behind; she had a miniseries of her own and appeared in various other DC comics of the period. Presumably she is still around in the present-day DC universe.
The Earth-247 Ferro was born in the 20th century and accompanied the Legionnaires back to the 30th century when they returned.
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R.E.B.E.L.S. #25 (2011/04)
"Starstruck Part 2"
ROLL CALL:
Adam Strange, Amon Hakk, Captain Comet, Ciji, Lobo, Lyrl Dox, Starfire, Tribulus, Vril Dox, Wildstar, Xylon, Astrild Stormdaughter, Smite, Starro
CUTE BOYS: Adam Strange, Captain Comet, Lyrl Dox
Starro's people kidnap Vril Dox and take him to the Psion homeworld. There, the Psions are breeding Czarnnians...Lobo's people. Starro's plan is to control these Czarnians -- but for some reason, Czarnians don't yield to the control of the face-huggers. Starro puts Dox under control, and wants him to figure out how to control the Czarnians.
Meanwhile, the rest of L.E.G.I.O.N. is on their way to rescue Dox. But as Admiral Ackbar would say, "It's a trap!"At the same time, the face-huggers on Rann are taking over the planet.
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SUPERMAN #708 (2011/04)
"Grounded Part Six"
ROLL CALL:
Infinite Man
CUTE BOYS: Various members of the Superman Squad and disaster victims in Lincoln, Nebraska
Supes meets the Superman Squad, "a group of Supermen from various eras who've banded together to defend the time stream." Among the many sights Supes witnesses is a spacetime window showing a group of Supermen as they "face off against the Infinite Man in the conflagration known as the Crisis in Infinite Eras."
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