Week of 18 July 2007

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

This week...three comics with three different versions of the Legion. Personally, I'm waiting to see the other 49 versions....

BRAVE & THE BOLD #5 (9/07)
"The Batman of Tomorrow" (Lords of Luck Chapter 5)

ROLL CALL: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dream Boy, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: The events of this story "occur before JLA/JSA: The Lightning Saga"...and involve a completely different version of the Legion. I sure hope somebody at DC is paying attention to Legion continuity.

Brainy is being particularly offensive to Batman; not very smart of him, is it?

Karate Kid's fight with Batman echoes Batman's fight with a different Karate Kid in The Lightning Saga.

Although Supergirl appears as a Legion member on the splash page, only her 21st-century self takes part in the story. Good thing, otherwise it would be even more confusing.

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COUNTDOWN #41 (7/18/07)
"Another Fine Mess"

ROLL CALL: Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Karate Kid, Sensor Girl, Una (aka Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel), Wildfire

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: The events of this story take place at the end onf JLA/JSA: The Lightning Saga"...and involve the classic Legion (sorta). And the confusion only gets worse.

Val calls Luornu "Triplicate Girl" -- although in this version of the Legion, she has been Duo Damsel for quite a long time. She corrects him: "Actually, it's just the one -- it's Una now." (The last time she was down to one body, after an encounter with Glorith, we were calling her "Single Sis" -- and she gained the ability to project a force shield like Brainiac 5's belt. She got better.)

Now she's "Una" -- and, apparently, she has the power to split into one body. Huh? (No word on whether she has her force shield powers.) And she's staying behind in the 21st century with Karate Kid...and they have a very long journey ahead of them.

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LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #4 (9/07)
"Higher Education"

ROLL CALL: Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, (Young) Superman, Triplicate Girl

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: We learn that the average Coluan has eighth-level intelligence, while Brainy has twelfth-level. As Lightning Lad says, "Even among his own kind, he's a weirdo." The Legion has always been a haven for kids who were "loners, outcasts, stiffs." It's nice to see this tradition continuing.

Catch Triplicate Girl's subtle transformation on page 13: first there are three Trips, each holding a book...then there is one Trip, with one book in her hand and two under her arm, and just the last traces of her other two bodies merging. Nice effect!


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Week of 11 July 2007

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

COUNTDOWN 42 (7/11/07)
"Shock to the System"
ROLL CALL: Karate Kid


Takes place during the Lightning Saga....




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JUSTICE SOCIETY OFAMERICA #7 (9/07)
"Indestructible"
ROLL CALL: Star Boy/Starman

Superman visits Thom Kallor at the asylum to ask some questions. Thom's answers are cryptic. He mentions XS, who is from an alternate timeline (the Earth Zero Legion), and says that he met two other versions of himself. He implies that big things are in store for the present ("The black hole is supposed to help her see the truth.Then he'll come and why...the Justice Society of America shows us all the way.") and the future ("There's trouble in the 31st century, you see.") He also mentions the "Legion of Three Worlds" adventure.

The last exchange pretty much sums everything up. Superman: "I don't understand what you're talking about." Thom: "Yeah. Me either."


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Week of 4 July 2007

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

COUNTDOWN #43 (7/4/07)

No Legion appearances in this issue. Listed for the sake of continuity.

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THE AMAZING TRANSFORMATIONS OF JIMMY OLSEN (Trade Paperback)

(Updated 9/7/2007)

I finally found a copy of this trade paperback. It reprints several stories with Legion appearances.

JIMMY OLSEN #72 (10/63)
"The World of Doomed Olsens"
ROLL CALL: Bouncing Boy, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Fire Lad, Elastic Lad/Jimmy Olsen, Mon-El, Night Girl, Proty II, Polar Boy, Sun Boy, Saturn Girl, Star Boy, Shrinking Violet, Stone Boy, Sun Boy, Superman, Triplicate Girl

Members of the Legion put Jimmy Olsen through a super-initiation test and then make him an honorary member of the LSH.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: This story marked the first appearance of Proty II, introduced as "a friend of" Proty I.

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JIMMY OLSEN #77 (6/64)
"The Colossus of Metropolis"
ROLL CALL: The costumes of Colossal Boy, Star Boy, and Sun Boy

Jimmy uses a serum to become a giant; he wears Colossal Boy's costume.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: This story also features one of the puppets from the Puppet Planetoid seen in ADVENTURE #313 and #316. Why Jimmy Olsen had it is a mystery.

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JIMMY OLSEN #85 (6/65)
"The Adventures of Chameleon-Head Olsen"
ROLL CALL: Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Sun Boy, Saturn Girl, Star Boy

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: Chameleon Boy brought Jimmy to the 30th century and returned him in a time bubble. He gave Jimmy a serum that allowed Jimmy to duplicate his shape-changing powers.

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Week of 28 June 2007

COUNTDOWN #44 (6/27/07)
"History of the Multiverse Chapter 6"
ROLL CALL: Cameos by Dawnstar and possilby Mon-El (unless that's Arion)







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SUPERGIRL & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 31 (8/07)
"The Quest for Cosmic Boy: Prologue"
ROLL CALL: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Colossal Boy, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Shadow Lass, Star Boy, Supergirl, Sun Boy, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Tenzil Kem of Bismoll was Matter-Eater Lad in previous continuity. His last line in this issue makes reference to this: "...I promise I'll have you for breakfast."

Garth's and Mekt's speech balloons are switched on page 16.

In the 31st century, the Gobi desert has become a rainforest.

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HEROCLIX DC LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES STARTER GAME

Heroclix is a role-playing game that involves little detailed figures of super-heroes, each on its own base. There have been various Legion and Legion-related figures through the years. Now comes the Legion of Super-Heroes starter game, which may be the launch of a new line of LSH Heroclix.

The Starter Game is an attractively-packaged set that includes figures (from the current Legion) of Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Timber Wolf, and Ultra Boy. There is also a figure of "Young Superman" as well as a spaceship and what looks like a satellite dish. In the box are character cards, rules, and a map.


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Week of 20 June 2007

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

THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #4 (8/07)
"The Garden of Destiny"
ROLL CALL: Fatal Five, Luck Lords, Supergirl; Cameos by: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Colossal Boy, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Star Boy, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: Looks like the Legion is going to figure prominently in the next issue...




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COUNTDOWN #45 (6/20/07)
"Monitor Duty"

ROLL CALL: Dream Girl, Karate Kid, Star Boy/Starman

Two pages of the classic LSH, set early in the JLA/JSA "Lightning Saga." (see below)

I hope that future issues of COUNTDOWN will answer some of the questions that the "Lightning Saga" brought up.

"History of the Multiverse Chapter Five"

ROLL CALL: Cameos by Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Ultra Boy, Mordru



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JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #10 (8/07)
"The Villain is the Hero of His Own Story" (Lightning Saga Conclusion)

ROLL CALL: Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy (cameo), Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Karate Kid, Lightning Lad (cameo), Lightning Lass (cameo), Mon-El (cameo), Saturn Girl (cameo), Sensor Girl, Star Boy/Starman, Sun Boy (cameo), Timber Wolf, Wildfire

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: Uh...okay...so members of the classic Legion came back in time to bring back Barry Allen, and instead they brought back Wally West, Linda, and their two mysteriously-aged children? And for some reason, Starman and Karate Kid are staying behind in the 21st century? And somehow, Wildfire is Red Tornado (huh?) And to top it all off, Sensor Girl has two hearts?

I guess I'm dense or something, but this series left me with more questions than it answered. Why the classic Legion, and not the current Legion? How did the whole lightning rod thing bring back Wally & family...and were they really after Barry? In short, what the sprock is going on here?

At least I know that this version of Karate Kid died defending Orando from tehe LSV. (This was before Jeckie adopted her Sensor Girl identity -- Karate Kid and Sensor Girl never served together.) I suppose he's one of the anomalies who's ben running around since Infinite Crisis -- which kinda explains his presence in COUNTDOWN.

But in a larger sense, there's something anomalous about the whole LSH now. There seem to be two versions of the Legion linked with the present-day DC Universe. There's the classic Legion from this issue (call them "Superman's Legion") and there's the Legion in their own book (call them "Supergirl's Legion").

Damn, I hate it when the rest of DC gets too involved with the LSH...it usually means that there's massive retconning ahead.

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LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #3 (8/07)
"The Powers That Were"

ROLL CALL: Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chlorophyll Kid, Color Kid, Double-Header, Infectious Lass, Invulnera-Boy, Lightning Lad, Night Girl, Phantom Girl, Polar Boy, Porcupine Pete, Saturn Girl, Stone Boy, Superman, Timber Wolf

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: It's nice to see the Subs again. And very nice to see Legion tryouts, which were always a fun part of the classic Legion stories. (At least this time around, none of the rejected applicants swore revenge and stalked off to become super-villains...)

The whole concept of the Legionnaires swapping powers was well done. In classic LSH style, something that started out as a joke and a disadvantage turned out to save the day, especially with a little teamwork added to the mix.

The LSH TV show does a great job of being faithful to the traditions of the Legion...and this new comic is doing the same.

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Week of 13 June 2007

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

COUNTDOWN #46 (6/13/07)
"Weapon of War"

No Legion content.

I'm including this one just to be complete. But the "Next in COUNTDOWN" box shows Karate Kid front-and-center on the cover of next week's #45.

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JUSTICE #12 (8/07)
Justice Chapter Twelve

ROLL CALL: Cameos by Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Element Lad (?), Karate Kid's feet & collar, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl's foot (?), Sensor Girl's feet, Shrinking Violet, Star Boy, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Sun Boy, Timber Wolf, Ultra Boy, Wildfire

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Week of 6 June 2007

COUNTDOWN #47 (6/6/07)
"Bricks in the Wall"

No Legion content.

I'm including this one just to be complete.

This week, there weren't any comics with Legion content.


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Don't Miss The Brave & the Bold

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













THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #1 (4/07)
"Lords of Luck Chapter 1"

THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #2 (5/07)
"Lords of Luck Chapter 2"

THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #3 (6/07)
"Lords of Luck Chapter 3"

The "Lords of Luck" series definitely has Legion-related content. So far, Green Lantern has followed a bad guy to the planet Ventura, Batman and Blue Beetle have fought the Fatal Five, and the title of the series seems to make reference to the Luck Lords.

The series continues in the next issue.

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Week of 30 May 2007

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

ACTION #850 (7/07)
"Superman: Family"
ROLL CALL: Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Invisible Kid, Shadow Lass, Supergirl, Ultra Boy


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Clark Kent has a Legion flight ring, and he speaks of the "Legion gang" coming to visit him in Smallville.


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COUNTDOWN #48 (5/07)
"Death From Above"
ROLL CALL: Karate Kid, Star Boy







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JSA #6 (7/07)
"The Ligtning Saga Chapter 4: Three Worlds"

NOTE: This comic was released with two covers. The regular one has Damage on a black background; the variant cover shows Superman, Wonder Woman, Liberty Belle, Dr. Mid-Nite, Stargirl, and (most importantly) Wildfire.

ROLL CALL: Blok (cameo), Chameleon Boy (cameo), Cosmic Boy (cameo), Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Element Lad (cameo), Karate Kid, Lightning Lad (cameo), Lighting Lass (cameo), Mon-El (cameo), Saturn Girl (cameo), Sensor Girl, Star Boy/Starman, Sun Boy (cameo), Superboy/Superman, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl (illusion), Wildfire

Temporal confusion continues, but is partially explained by Superman's musings on time travel: "Once in a while, memories would be altered or even erased." He mentions an untold case called "The Legion of Three Worlds."

And they're not out to resurrect Lightning Lad...but I have no idea what they're up to. I guess All Will Be Revealed in the conclusion.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Superman says that he last saw the Legion "after the first Crisis. They never came back. And I never understood why." Uh...because John Byrne screwed up Legion chronology, and eventually forced Superboy's heroic death? Bah!

The news that Thom is schizophrenic comes as a surprise, but the assertion that he "spent years in a hospital after his gravity powers popped up" has some basis in previous continuity. And it's a rare Legionnaire who hasn't suffered from mental illness at some time or another.

And Thom may have always called himself "the unlickiest Legionnaire" (although I don't remember him ever doing so), but traditionally the "unluckiest Legionnaire" was Lightning Lad.

The Legion (or at least Dawnstar) knows about the Multiverse -- and Starboy/Starman's presence in the KINGDOM COME series is retconned as a sojourn on Earth-22. Come to think of it, the entire KINGDOM COME universe is retconned as Earth-22. (If you haven't been following things, now there are 52 different universes in the Multiverse -- but no one is supposed to know except the Monitors.)

I suspect that the LSH we're seeing here -- the classic Legion -- is from one of the "three worlds" in the title. Obviously, there are at least two other versions of the Legion in other universes. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that the other two are the current ("Teenage Revolution") version, and the post-Zero Hour version. (Or possibly the animated version from the TV show and LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31st CENTURY.)

The whole Triplicate Girl/Computo thing had me fooled, how about you?

Liberty Belle tracks Jeckie's flight ring signal -- but later, Jeckie says, "All I kept thinking was I had to hide..." Surely her Sensor Girl powers would easily have concealed her flight ring signal? (I'm more willing to accept that she couldn't hide from Dawnstar...after all, tracking is Dawny's super-power.)

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Week of 23 May 2007

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

SUPERGIRL & LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #30 (7/07)
"The End is Only the Beginning"

ROLL CALL: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dream Boy, Element Lad, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy, Wanderers


This issue has a really great surprise, which I'm not going to spoil despite the spoiler warning above.



BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

As Mon-El departs, notice all the Legionnaires holding up their flight rings in tribute. Nice touch.

In the panel where Atom Girl says, "What about it, Shady?" -- Shadow Lass's skin is not blue. Oops.

The White Witch, a member of the Wanderers, was a Legionnaire in previous continuity.

Brainiac 5's little Coluan assistant is way cute.

Three members of the Knights Tempus appear from a thousand years in the future, inviting Rokk to join their club. This echoes the way Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl once appeared to invite Superboy to join the Legion.

Although Rokk is gone at the end of this issue, the Knights Tempus mentioned that they were inspired by his deeds "as a boy and a man." This suggests that he will return to the 31st century. Note that he appears on the advertised cover of #31 in the "next" box.

The outcome of the election is left unrevealed. Cliffhanger!



Two comics are shown in the last panel. One of them is ADVENTURE 372; an astute reader points out the the other one is LSH 296.



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COUNTDOWN #49 (5/23/07)
"Stretching the Truth"

ROLL CALL: Karate Kid

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Red Arrow taunts Karate Kid by saying "Wax off!" This is a reference to the movie "Karate Kid," which had nothing to do with the Legion -- but which licensed the name from DC Comics.



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Week of 16 May 2007

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


LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #2 (7/07)
"First Flight"
ROLL CALL: Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Superman, Timber Wolf


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

In the classic LSH, Timber Wolf's home planet was Zoon; in the animated series, it is Raal.

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COUNTDOWN #50 (5/16/07)
"Last Laugh"
ROLL CALL: Karate Kid

This story seems to tie in with events in the JLA/JSA crossover "Lightning Saga"

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JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #9 (7/07)
"The Lightning Saga Part 3: Suicide"
ROLL CALL: Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Karate Kid, Star Boy, Wildfire

The mystery continues: what are members of the classic Legion doing in the present of the current DC universe? Each of the amnesiac Legionnaires has had their memory restored with the Interlac phrase "Lightning Lad." The last page reveals that the Legionnaires are equipped with lightning rods, and Dawnstar says, "We're here to save him, aren't we? I know where we have to go."

Is Lightning Lad dead again? Are we headed off to the planetoid of eternal lightning, to raise Garth from the dead?

Only time will tell....

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Apologies

Sorry, it's been way too long since I updated this blog. Unfortunately, Get-a-Life Boy has too much going on in his life. :(

Nevertheless, there is a lot going on in the Legion universe(s) right now, and I am loathe to give this up. So I'm going to try a slightly different format, perhaps not going into quite so much detail. We'll see if that helps.

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SLSH #23

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

SUPERGIRL LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #23 (12/06)
(L 2006-12)
(Untitled)

ROLL CALL: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Light Lass, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Supergirl, Triplicate Girl

The Legion takes Kara to Rokyn, the last surviving Kryptonian settlement, for treatment. Their visit is interrupted by the attack of another band of super-powered teens.

Meanwhile, Triplicate Girl and Element Lad run into a green dude who is on a secret mission.

Shadow Lass and Atom Girl enjoy a sojourn on Shady’s homeworld, Talok VIII.

In the last panel, an old friend appears in the Phantom Zone.


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Rokyn is the planet upon which the bottle city of Kandor was enlarged nearly a thousand years ago. Rokyn has been a part of LSH/DC continuity since at least “The Five Legion Orphans” in ADVENTURE 356 (May 1967), where a footnote explained: “Rokyn was settled in the 20th century by survivors of Krypton, when the bottle city of Kandor was enlarged.”

Kara’s response to awakening on Rokyn is an interesting window into how Earth appears to a super-Kryptonian: “I can feel gravity again, and all the walls look solid like they’re supposed to.”

Trip says, “The locals are giving us the Qward-eye.” Qward is a weird, other-dimensional planet in the antimatter universe in pre-Crisis continuity.

The green dude that Trip and Element Lad encounter has power over plants...indeed, she suggests that they call him “Plant Kid.” Can this be anyone other than Ral Benem, Chlorophyll Kid, formerly of the Substitute Legion? And if so, perhaps his mysterious “boss” is not a villain?

Doesn’t Cos look particularly cute in the panel where he says, “It’s for the best” ?

Shady’s brother, Grev Mallor, makes his first appearance in the new continuity. As before, he and Shady have a bit of a rivalry over who will be champion of Talok VIII.

When Atom Girl suggests that Shadow Lass run for Legion Leader, Shady ponders and says, “Bossing Brainiac 5 around? Hmm. Why not?” This is an interesting echo of “The Mutiny of the Super-Heroines” in ADVENTURE 368 (May 1968). In that story, Shady proposes that the girls put the boys to work as their servants. When asked who she’d want to serve her, Shady answers, “Brainiac 5. Yes, I’d put him to work scrubbing floors...if his oh-so-logical super-brain could handle the job.” (This was in the period when Shady had a crush of Brainiac 5.)

Among the super-powered teens who attack at the end are: Jeyra Entinn, telepathic assassin (this universe’s version of Saturn Queen?) and a boy with ice powers (the new Polar Boy?)

On the last page, in front of an obvious Phantom Zone projector, is the ghostly form of Lar Gand, aka Mon-El. Hooray!

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SLSH #22

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

SUPERGIRL LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #22 (11/06)
(L 2006-11)
(Untitled)

ROLL CALL: Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy

Various male Legionnaires have crushes on Supergirl.

At a rally for Brainy’s Leader campaign, a super-powered teen resists the Science Police with radiation powers. He is restrained by Cos and Supergirl, who then offer to enroll him in the Legion’s training program.

On Narchus III, Sun Boy and his team are captured by a Dominator, and find themselves in his spaceship with an ominous countdown going on.


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Karate Kid and Shadow Lass used to be a romantic item, but broke up last year. Now, Shady and Ultra Boy are together.

The radiation-powered teen who attacks the S.P.’s is named Roy: the modern version of Radiation Roy, no doubt.

Karate Kid’s evaluation of Ultra Boy’s character on the penultimate page is spot-on, for those who have known Jo Nah for a long time.

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SLSH #21

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


SUPERGIRL LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #21 (6/06)
(L 2006-10)
(Untitled)

Colossal Boy is attacked by mysterious super-powered teens while interrogating the prisoners from Big City. Meanwhile, some of the Legion girls chat with Supergirl, while Brainiac 5’s attempt to resurrect Dream Girl fails...or does it?

Finally, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy have a chat about the future of the Legion.

ROLL CALL: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Colossal Boy, Dream Girl (?), Element Lad, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Triplicate Girl

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:
The newspaper of the 31st century is the “Daily Planets.”

The conversation between the Legion girls and Supergirl is a nice nod to past “girl’s night out” stories.

There’s a slightly-tattered Zatanna poster hanging in Legion Headquarters.

One of the super-powered villains is “Kid Quake” -- a new version of the old Quake Kid. And the red-haired guy is Nemesis Kid. Their commander is addressed as “Tarik” -- can it be the Tarik the Mute who founded the Legion of Super-Villains?

Cosmic Boy’s plan to throw the Legion elections open to “all Legionnaires, not just those with powers,” is an echo of the old days when Legion elections were decided by vote of the readers. Now that’s a tradition I’d like to see them bring back....

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52 LSH Tie-In Alert

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

52 #19 (9/13/06)
"History Repeats"

52 #20 (9/20/06)
“God is Fragged”

52 has been a confused mishmash and something of a snooze, but LSH fans will want to take a look at these two issues, and be alert for future issues.

The Emerald Eye of Ekron makes an appearance, and we learn a startling secret about its origin.

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52 Cameo Alert

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

52 #3 (5/24/06)
"History of the DCU Part 2"

Cameo appearance of two versions of the LSH: the 1960s Classic Legion and the 1970s Modern Legion.

ROLL CALL:
Classic: Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy (?), Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Superboy (on previous page)

Modern: Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dream Girl, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Star Boy, Superboy, Timber Wolf, Wildfire

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52 #4 (5/31/06)
“History of the DCU Part 3”

A single-panel flashback to the Crisis on Infinite Earths features LSH cameos.

ROLL CALL:
Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Wildfire

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52#5 (6/7/06)
“History of the DCU Part 4”

A single-panel flashback to the Crisis on Infinite Earths features LSH cameos.

ROLL CALL:
Mon-El, Sun Boy, Ultra Boy, Wildfire

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SLSH #20

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

SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #20 (9/06)
(L 2006-9)
"Big Trouble"

ROLL CALL: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Karate Kid, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Star Boy, Supergirl, Timber Wolf, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy

The U.P. tries to co-opt the Legion, but the Legionnaires will have none of it. Meanwhile, giants of Colossal boy’s people are terrorizing the world, and it’s up to the Legion to stop them...and to find out why the giants were on the rampage. They don’t exactly find an answer, but there is an intriguing hint of some other group seeking to take the Legion’s mantle.

In an ancient L.E.G.I.O.N. cruiser, Brainiac 5 (assisted by Atom Girl, Element Lad, and Light Lass) continues his scheme to resurrect Dream Girl.

And we learn why Cos has been so hard on Supergirl lately....

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

The L.E.G.I.O.N. cruiser is a nice nod to previous continuity, and Brainiac 5’s characterization of Vril Dox (“He wasn’t the fastest chip on the motherboard”) is a hoot.

After the LSH clubhouse was destroyed, the United Planets foots the bill for a new, much larger headquarters. This is exactly what happened way back in ADVENTURE 367 (April 1968), but this time there’s a completely different spin on matters.

The explanation for the existence of Big City is wonderfully crazy: “...then, about two hundred years ago, Bizarro-Brainiac attacked McMurdo City....he figured if the original Brainiac shrunk the city of Kandor, then he’d do the opposite and -- ”

Is it just me, or does Brainy look particularly cute in the panel where he says, “Yes. Now, the same principle is also true for information...” ? And I’ve never really found Brainy all that cute (except maybe when Invisible Kid was kissing him).

And the final revelation in this issue is interesting...so Cos might be in love with Kara? I wonder what the current incarnation of Night Girl is going to think of that?

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SLSH #19

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

SUPERGIRL LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #19 (8/06)
(L 2006-8)
A 31st Century Whodunnit!
ROLL CALL: Chameleon, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Star Boy, Supergirl, Timber Wolf

Most of this issue is taken up with a clever locked-room mystery story starring Chameleon and the Science Police.

Meanwhile, Supergirl encounters Theena and finds that Seiss (the Calamity Kid analog from a few issues back) is nowhere to be found. And Brainiac 5 has vanished, taking both Lemnos and Dream Girl’s body with him.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

A classic exchange among kids in Legion Plaza as Supergirl flies by: “Looksky! Birdplane!” “Dude, what’s a ‘birdplane’?”

In the same panel there’s a stand for “Morlo’s Fast Food” -- a clear reference to Doctor Mantis Morlo, an old-time Legion adversary.

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SLSH #18

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

SUPERGIRL LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #18 (7/06)
(L 2006-7)
Who’s The Boss?
ROLL CALL: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Star Boy, Supergirl, Timber Wolf, Ultra Boy

The Legion spy within the ranks of the Science Police is revealed as Chameleon. Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 is working on bringing Dream Girl back to life, a process that somehow involves the villain Lemnos. The only problem is that Naltor wants Dream Girl’s body back.

Supergirl continues to settle in with the Legion, although the mystery of how she got there is still unsolved.

And just when you thought things couldn’t get more complicated, Dream Boy shows up....

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Brainiac 5 makes reference to “these puerile ‘boy-lad-lass-girl’ code names.” This echoes some of the derisive comments that various comics fans have made about the Legion over the decades.

Supergirl’s “ring on, ring off” play with the flight ring’s “secret identity action” recalls Supergirl’s original secret identity as Linda Lee (Danvers) in early Action Comics.

“Dream Boy’s” name, Rol Purtha, recalls the real-life company Ral Partha, which manufactured miniature figures for gaming.

When Rol Purtha appears, he predicts that Brainiac 5 was going to say, “--Wouldn’t take another step if I were you, you ignorant savages!” In fact, Brainiac 5 does NOT say this (thanks to Rol’s interruption) -- it appears that Rol Purtha’s predictive abilities are not very good. Either that, or they are subject to the Uncertainty Principle.

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