Week of 18 May 2011

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


LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #13 (2011/07)
"False Hopes"


ROLL CALL:

Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Earth-Man, Element Lad, Gates, Invisible Kid (Jacques), Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Polar Boy, Quislet, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Star Boy, Tellus, Timber Wolf, Ultra Boy, Wildfire, Dyogene, Dr. Harmonia Li, Akka, Blue Entity, Hunter (Adam Orion), Immortus, Questor, Saturn Queen, Sun Killer, Zymyr

CUTE BOYS: Brainy, Brek, Brin, Garth, Jacques, Jan, Jo, Mon, Rokk

The battle on Colu continues, as many Legionnaires fight members of the LSV. Saturn Queen summons the blue flame, which is embodied as an older version of the unknown blue critter. This being says "...When your work is done, my dreams over the endless centuries of exile shall be fulfilled and the galactic civilization shall fall!"

Gates and Tellus show up to release Brainy from Saturn Queen's spell. Gates makes reference to legends of a world of the wise: "My ancestors knew their wisest would be taken away to become immortals beyond our star." Tellus adds that he glimpsed a picture in Gates's mind: a picture he has also seen in the mind of Harmonia Li.

At Legion HQ, Mon-El tries to coordinate various teams and individuals. He also has a brief, tender chat with Dream Girl. Dreamy returns to the lab and tells Dr. Li "I foresaw you and Thom, holding hands in space with incredible energies around you." Dr. Li announces that Thom must join her in sacrifice, but first they must stop draining the multiversal energy from him.

There's something off about the art in this issue. Not everywhere, but particularly in the pages with Brainy, Earth-Man, Gates, and Tellus...and maybe a little bit with the encounter between Hunter and Earth-Man. The art just doesn't look as...clean? Tight?

The art is credited to Yildiray Cinar and Jonathan Glapion, instead of Cinar & Faucher. (This was also true about last issue.) I assume that Glapion is doing inks, and maybe he has a bit of a heavier hand than Faucher. Anyway, it's a great example of how the penciller and inker are a team, both contributing to the final look of the comic.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:


Lots of great Quislet action tis time around. Gotta love his cry of "Upsi!" as he animates the ground to engulf Sun-Killer.

Brainy set up codes to call in reinforcements, but didn't share those codes with anyone else. That seems a bad choice, strategically. Is it Brainy's natural egotism ("no team with me present can need help") or an indication of the pressure Brainy's under?

The blue critter has been exiled for "endless centuries." Saturn Queen calls it "Bringer of Chaos." This makes it sound like the blue critter/blue flame is a Lord of Chaos, about whom I really don't know enough to guess. Anyone?

The chat between Mon-El and Dream Girl is exquisite, and shows the kind of easy friendship that many Legionnaires share. Mon's concern for Thom, in the middle of everything else that he's dealing with, is touching.

The enigma of Professor Li continues. It's pretty obvious that she's one of the immortal wise ones. More than that, I can't guess.

Gates speaks of legends of the world of the immortal wise ones -- but Gates is from a different universe. Whatever's going on, it covers the whole multiverse -- which explains Dr. Li's interest in Thom's multiversal energy.

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HOUSEKEEPING: I finally obtained a copy of Action #900. I've updated my entry for Week of 27 April 2011.