Week of 25 May 2011

I did not see any Legion content in DC Comics this week.

However, I did go to Balticon, where our Green Lantern presentation won "Most Humorous" in the Masquerade. Here's my costume -- you might recognize the inspiration:

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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.

Farewell, L.E.G.I.O.N.

Our R.E.B.E.L.S. are now ended. These our L.E.G.I.O.N.naires,

As Brainy foretold you, were all Legion knockoffs and

Are melted into limbo, comic book limbo:

And, like the pointless plots of this vision,

The towers of Rann, the Tamaranean palaces, 

The Psion laboratories, the Vegan system itself,

Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve

And, like this Baxter paper faded,

Leave an empty rack behind. They are such stuff

As graphic novels are made on, and their little lives

Are rounded with bright covers.

(apologies to Will Shakespeare)

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Week of 11 May 2011

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

FLASHPOINT #1 (2011/07)
"Flashpoint Chapter One of Five"


ROLL CALL:

XS

CUTE BOYS: Barry Allen, Billy, Eugene, Freddy, Pedro, Shade

XS appears in a cameo of the Flash Family on page 3.

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R.E.B.E.L.S. #28 (2011/07)
"Starstruck: Conclusion"


ROLL CALL: 

Adam Strange, Amon Hakk, Bounder, Captain Comet, Ciji, Lobo, Lyrl Dox, Starfire, Tribulus, Vril Dox, Widstar, Xylon, Smite, Starro

CUTE BOYS: Adam Strange, Captain Comet, Lyrl Dox, Vril Dox, assorted Rannian cannon fodder

This is the last issue of R.E.B.E.L.S. (this time around).

Tribulus, under the direction of the two Doxes, defeats Starro, who flees. Smite, having bonded with Lobo over drinks, unites with Lobo in taking down Starro. And...uh...well, that's it.

R.E.B.E.L.S. has been a problematic comic. There was a lot of potential here. The Legion connection, the other sf elements of the present-day DC universe, some really nice art...yet it never really managed to grab me. About the best story was the Annual, telling the origin of Starro.

I can't exactly say this comic was a failure -- after all, 28 issues is a respectable run. But it wasn't a huge success, either. Why?

I think there were some mistakes along the way. First, there was too much concentration on the Doxes and too little on other characters. Look at all the intriguing characters here -- Ciji the Durlan, Xylon the renegade Dominator, Wildstar, Bounder, and above all Tribulus. We didn't even get an origin story for Ciji, Bounder, or Tribulus. And we didn't get to know these characters any. One of the great things about the Legion is how even minor characters come alive, with detailed backstories and problems we care about. Except for Starfire and Comet, there was little of that in R.E.B.E.L.S.

I think the stories were too simple. Starro attacks, Starro is defeated. Brainiac attacks, Brainiac is defeated. Some nonsense with Green Lanterns. Starro attacks again, Starro is defeated again. I'm not saying that stories should have had the same multi-level complexity as Paul Levitz's best -- but a few strong continuing and interlocking subplots would have nice.

Finally, I think the creators were too ambitious in tying the series into the rest of the DC Universe. Crossovers with Blackest Day and the Brainiac/Last Days of New Krypton series were just distracting. Bringing in the Omega Men and the whole Vega system might have been a good idea, but the execution was lacking. For readers like me, who were not all that familiar with the Vega/Omega Men/Tamoran/Psion mythos, there should have been more explanation of the background. Bringing Rann and Adam Strange into the mix made it even more confusing.

There are ways to do this kind of thing well, ranging from in-story exposition to text boxes to back-of-the-comic "what's what" features. But here it was a case of too little, too late.

Ah, well. As Vril Dox says at the end, L.E.G.I.O.N. is here to stay. Eventually another storyteller will come along who can do justice to the group.

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DC COMICS PRESENTS: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 100-PAGE SPECTACULAR #1 (2011/06)
"Legion of the Damned"

It's back again. This time with a white logo on the cover, and the four chapters of the story in correct order. This comic reprints Legionnaires 79-80 and Legion of Super-Heroes 122-123.

Re-reading this story left me with the following thoughts:

How To Do a Legion Story That I Won't Like

(based on the Giffen/Bierbaum Method)

1. The Legion's future is too bright and optimistic. Let's make it darker and more depressing.
2. Let's join the story after all the great changes have already taken place.
3. Some Legionnaires should turn traitor to the human race, that's totally in character.
4. More despair.
5. A great evil power should turn Lar Gand into a puppet, why not?
6. Let's make everyone in the universe look grotesque. Who wants attractive art?
7. Oh, yeah, corruption should be everywhere.
8. The art is too bright. Put in more dark shadows.
9. Do everything you can to obscure people's faces. Masks, dirt, shadows, it's all good.
10. Have a few flashbacks, but don't identify them as flashbacks. Readers like being confused.
11. It still looks too attractive. Can you get a three-year-old to scribble all over the pages?
12. Put in lots of white letters on black backgrounds. Who needs to read words?
13. More splotches. All over the place. Everything in the dark, depressing future should be splotchy.

Wow, I can't wait until Legion Lost comes out next month. Even darker, with more corruption, more splotches and scribbles, and even uglier art!

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Week of 4 May 2011

Once again, sorry for the delay on this post. My bout with Infectious Lass is almost over.

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

ADVENTURE #526 (2011/07)
"First Hints"

ROLL CALL:

Bouncing Boy, Chemical King (memorial statue), Cosmic Boy, Duplicate Girl, Night Girl, Chemical Kid, Dragonwing, Glorith, Gravity Kid, Variable Lad (cover only), Alchemical Girl, Black Mace, Shagrek


CUTE BOYS: Chemical Kid, Chuck, Gravity Kid, Rokk

Chemical Kid leads Dragonwing and Gravity Kid to a memorial for Chemical King, and liberate some of Condo's genes. Using them, Glorith performs a magical ritual that draws Condo's gene-modification out of Alchemical Girl, removing Condo's powers from her. They turn the powerless Alchemical Girl over to the Science Police.

Returning to Earth, the other cadets ask Glorith where she got the extra power to defeat Alchemical Girl. She says that she believes she got the power from Mysa, but "...at what cost I cannot imagine."

Meanwhile Chuck, Lydda, and a handful of Luornus discuss Power Boy's failure to enter the Legion. Chuck says, "Standards change...they'd never let me in these days." The only standards that appear to have changed are the ones that give the entire Legion a vote on applicants -- if you remember, last issue Power Boy (and Lamprey) were summarily rejected by Cosmic Boy alone. (And much as I love Rokk, he isn't even Leader now.)

Back at HDQ, Rokk reviews the mission report of the cadets, and tells Lydda that the new kids are showing potential. He says that their rule-breaking and disrespect for authority remind him of Garth in the early days of the Legion.

Finally, at the Academy Glorith sends a message to Harlak, then falls asleep on the floor. Luornu finds her and tucks her in, calling her "Sweetie."

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Bouncing Boy was rejected in his first try at Legion membership. He was later accepted when he saved the Legionnaires' lives. Maybe Power Boy should hang around waiting for the Legionnaires to get in trouble so he can save their lives and get in that way.

Chuck's statement that he wouldn't be accepted in the Legion these days is fairly accurate. Look at the two younger (i.e. more modern) versions of the Legion. In the Earth-247 Legion, Chuck Taine was permitted to be the Legion's all-around fix-it guy, but he never gained bouncing powers and was never an official Legionnaire. In the (even newer) Earth-Prime Legion, Chuck didn't even exist.

Cosmic Boy has become something of a bastard (more on this in the next story). What is his problem with Power Boy? Is Rokk prejudiced against purple people? Does he fear that Jed's bare muscled chest is going to make people forget his own magnetic bustier of the 1980s? Is he jealous because Lydda seems to like Jed? Or is Rokk still smarting from the time Jed kicked him out of bed in favor of the Westerner?

CHRONICLER'S ERROR?: 

The cadets want to remove Alchemical Girl's gene-mod so that Chemical Kid's father won't be exposed as giving the gene-mod to the Taurus Gang. To keep this secret, they break into the repository of Phlon's greatest treasures and despoil the tomb of Phlon's greatest hero. Uh...I think it's possible that someone might notice. (Of course, at the end of the story Rokk says he will get the S.P.'s to clean up the records; maybe cleaning up the mess on Phlon is part of that.)

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ADVENTURE #526 (2011/07)
"Mosaic"

ROLL CALL:



Night Girl, XS, Dawn Allen, Don Allen, Impulse, Blue Critter

CUTE BOYS: Bart, Don Allen

Night Girl visits XS in Africa. Jenni has been working (slowly and deliberately) on a mosaic mural filled with Flash-type images. Lydda offers her a place with the Academy, but Jenni gets insulted and refuses.

Jenni then runs off to find a stone for her mosaic. She end up in Olduvai, at the spot where the unknown blue critter emerged from the ground a while ago. She finds a blue rock, but when she touches it she is hit by a visual mosaic that shows (among other things) some cavefolk around a fire; Jenni running with a Flash, Impulse, Jay Darrick, and Dawn & Don Allen; Jenni running on the cosmic treadmill; the blue critter bursting forth and ascending into space, and a giant hand in the middle of a whirlpool of light (the standard DC symbol for the beginning of time).

Jenni comments that "That tasted of the speed force...and the time barrier...and the ugliest soul I could ever imagine." (One hopes she isn't talking about Bart.) She goes back to her mosaic, musing that she will "let the Legion worry about whatever came out of that crack that felt like it led straight down to hell."

I don't exactly know what to make of this story. It feels like part of something bigger -- I hope it isn't all going to tie in with Flashpoint or some Green Lantern nonsense.

I suspect that the "mosaic" metaphor is meant to apply to this story, in a kind of meta-commentary way. This story is like one stone in a mosaic, something that exists by itself, but is also part of a larger pattern. And in that larger pattern, the story has a meaning that is totally different from the meaning it has as an individual story. It's like Paul Levitz is saying, "Don't worry, once this project is complete and you step back, you'll see the whole design and it will all mean something you don't expect."

Jenni is feeling lost, which isn't surprising -- the universe she grew up in was destroyed, the friends she knew and loved (except for Gates) are wandering the waste spaces of the multiverse without her, and she found out that she was really born in this other, familiar-yet-different universe. So she's trying to find her place, I get that.

And I don't blame her for refusing Lydda's offer to come to the Academy. (It was probably Rokk who told Lydda to do that -- it would be just like the new Rokk to decide that XS needed training in how to be a "real" Legionnaire.)

Still, raise your hand if you think Jenni might be better off right now spending some time in the past with Bart, Wally, and the rest. She has a family and a place in the universe, and I just don't see that making a mosaic is going to help her.

You know what would help Jenni Ognats? Going on a mission. Being useful, helping teammates, saving the world. IMHO, that's what Jenni needs.

Ah, well. Perhaps that blue stone will be the missing piece that's needed to defeat the blue critter and whatever else is going on. Maybe Jenni will save the day in the end.


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

We learn a little of the split between Lydda and Rokk. Lydda says, "He dumped me so he could concentrate totally on the Legion...and I guess I was still distracting." In other words...Rokk is behaving like a bastard. He needs a good whop upside the head, and it seems to me that Jed Rikane is just the one to do it. A violent fight would clear the air between the two, then they could have great make-up sex. Then Jed could join the Legion while Rokk and Lydda went off together to heal their relationship.

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Week of 27 April 2011

(edited 21 May 2011)

ACTION #900 (2011/06)
"Friday Night in the 21st Century"


ROLL CALL:

Blok, Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Night Girl, Phantom Girl, Polar Boy, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Superman, Timber Wolf, Ultra Boy, Wildfire

CUTE BOYS: Brainy, Brek, Brin (with his mouth full, ooo baby!), Clark, Garth, Gim, Jo, Rokk

This is a cute 4-page story for the big Action Comics #900, which I originally missed thanks to Infectious Lass and every comic store in the world selling out. Thanks to Brainy Pirate for alerting me, and thanks to Lone Star Comics where I finally got a copy.

Lois Lane is digging under her desk at the Daily Planet while Clark nags her about the mess (shut up, Clark!) She produces a Legion flight ring (she says Saturn Girl gave it to her in case of an emergency), and Clark asks what she wants with it. Turns out Lois just wants to invite Clark's childhood friends to dinner. The subsequent two-page spread is set in the Kent apartment while various Legionnaires hang around with Clark and Lois.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Lois's guest list seems odd, if only for some curious omissions. It seems to be heavy on couples, which fits well enough for the young-married Kents. So we have Garth and Imra, of course, and Rokk and Lydda (Rokk's probably ashamed to let Clark know that he jilted her), Jo and Tinya.

Blok is there but not Mysa -- she probably wouldn't have come, but why did he? Oh well, at least he looks miserable without her.

Gim is there but not Yera. That's really odd...certainly Lois would've invited them both. I assume that Yera has an acting job that she can't get out of -- which certainly makes sense until you realize that they have a bloody time machine, and could return her to the exact instant they left. We are left with four possibilities:

1. Yera refused to come because she can't stand Clark
2. Yera refused to come because she can't stand Lois
3. Yera is there but was in the bathroom when this picture was taken
4. Yera is there and playing hide-and-seek with Gim; she's actually that head of lettuce in the fridge but Gim just doesn't recognize her

Ayla and Brin, another odd choice. Together, I mean. It also seems like Brin is hiding from Ayla, who's pissed at him. I can certainly believe that (and it fits in well with the theory of a hide-and-seek game going on), but...they aren't a couple any more, are they?

And if Ayla's here, and so are Garth and Imra, then who's taking care of the kids? Aunt Imra? 

And speaking of Ayla...where's Vi? Okay, yes, she could be anywhere in the picture, hiding behind that soda bottle or between the floorboards. (If Vi came along, that would help explain Yera's absence.)

Brek is there, but that's not difficult to understand. Brek has had a crush on Clark since he first applied for Legion membership, maybe even before -- he's certainly not going to turn down an invitation to a mad orgy that includes Clark along with the other Legion boys.

Which leaves Shady. Oh, it's not difficult to understand why she's here: Shady has obviously shared a lot of bed time with Clark and Lar, so she'd certainly want to be involved in the orgy. However, I'm surprised she would show her face, since she's been sleeping with Earth-Man -- I can't imagine Clark would be too happy about that, and you don't want to get a Kryptonian mad at you. Heat vision, freeze breath, super-punches...it could be bad.

But where is Mon-El? Busy with his Green Lantern stuff, maybe? Can't be bothered to take off a night and visit his best friend, little brother, and frequent bedmate Kal-El? Doesn't want to be in the same room as Shady? It's a mystery.

Saturn Girl is laughing at Lois -- it's nice to see Imra enjoyng herself, she's been so grim lately.

Cosmic Boy is juggling silverware and smiling -- also good to see him happy.

Lighting Lad seems totally engrossed in the football game. Either that, or he's supplying electricity to the big-screen TV.

Is Polar Boy trying to make bunny ears over Cosmic Boy's head?

And what is Clark looking at? If you follow his eyes, it's not the readers...it's not Lois...it might be Brin (X-ray vision, remember?)...but it seems to be something out of picture, something off behind Saturn Girl. I know...he's staring into the bedroom, where a naked Lar Gand is in a suggestive pose on the bed, awaiting his best friend, little brother, and frequent bedmate. And if you doubt that, look at where Clark has his left hand....

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Week of 20 April 2011

Sorry for the delay posting this. Get-a-Life Boy had a run-in with Infectious Lass, and temporarily changed his name to "Sick-as-a-Dog Lad."

He's feeling better now, and ready to tackle the backlog of Legion-related comics from the past few weeks.

-8 May 2011

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

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #12 (2011/06)
"False Trails"


ROLL CALL:

Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Dream Girl, Earth-Man, Element Lad, Gates, Invisible Kid (Jacques), Lightning Lass, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Star Boy, Star Boy (Earth-247 Legion), Star Boy (Earth-Prime Legion), Tellus, Timber Wolf, Dyogene, Harmonia Li, Atta/Akka, Hunter (Adam Orion), Immortus, Lightning Lord, Questor, Saturn Queen, Stegus, Sun Killer, Zymyr

CUTE BOYS: Brainy, Brin, Gim, Jacques, Jan, Jo, Mon, Thom, Thom, Thom, Okinawa Scientist

On Rimbor, a Legion team (Colossal Boy Phantom Girl, & Ultra Boy) interrupts Lightning Lord and Akka in their attempt to recruit new LSV members. Despite the appearance of Lightning Lass, the villains escape when Zymyr teleports them away.

On Earth, Brainy hooks Thom up to a machine that will draw the multiversal energy out of his uniform (thus curing him). He leaves Dream Girl in control of the process, tells Dr. Li he will get back to her, and then leaves to assemble a team to deal with the situation on Colu.

On Colu, Saturn Queen and the LSV are after the location of the mysterious third world of immortals. The Legion team arrives (Brainy, Earth-Man, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, and Timber Wolf). The LSV keeps them busy until Questor finds the data he's after, then most of the LSV departs, leaving Akka and Lightning Lord behind to deal with the Legion.

At the same time, Dyogene and Mon-El examine the wreckage of the Rock of Eternity. Dyogene despairs that there are only two Green Lanterns left to deal with this threat -- Mon-El tells him not to underestimate the Legion.

The art in this story is so dynamic, it's incredible. Notice particularly the use of energy (in many different forms) and the way it alters the light in each scene. And the way the panels are structured, so the the art seems to overflow boundaries and almost leap off the page.

It's not often that I notice good comic art -- I tend to read for story, and usually notice the art only when it detracts from the story -- but even I am very impressed by what Cinar is doing with the Legion.


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Five alternate Star Boys are visible in the multiversal energy being pulled out of Thom. Clockwise from upper right: Star Boy of Earth-247 Legion, Star Man of Earth-22, Star Boy of Earth-Prime Legion, the original Star Boy, and a red-hooded Star Boy of Yildiray Cinar's own design. I, for one, would love to see an entire alternate Legion in Cinar-designed costumes.

Brainy comments that Thom has had worse luck than most of the Leigonnaires. Again, Garth is traditionally the unluckiest Legionnaire -- but Thom has also had his share of bad luck, so I guess Brainy's more or less right.

CHRONICLER'S ERROR?:

Last issue her name was Akka; this issue it's Atta. Actually, either is correct: the Sklarian letter "ktay" can be pronounced either as "k" or "t."

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LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: THE CHOICE (Hardcover)

This beautiful volume collects the first six issues of the new Legion of Super-Heroes title. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it, as I've covered the stories already.

BONUSES: While there aren't any text pages, there's a lot of additional art in this book. First, there's Cinar's cover, which is not only another dramatic and dynamic group shot, but also shows attention to detail in the faces of the individual Legionnaires -- he's done a fantastic job of capturing the personalities of some members. Check out Brainy, Brin, Garth, Imra, Rokk, and even Shady in particular.

The stories are separated by full-page drawings of various Legionnaires: Saturn Girl, Dawnstar (and her boobs), Lightning Lad, Ultra Boy, Earth-Man, Chameleon Boy, and Timber Wolf (with two S.P. boobs in tow).

The Jim Lee alternate covers are included (in publication order), along with the complete image of all six in graphic order. Which raises a question -- hey, DC, how about producing that image as a poster? You can charge us an unconscionable amount for it, you know we'll pay.

As an extra bonus there are also 11 pages of Cinar sketches, including four try-out pages he did for the Legion assignment. Hey, DC, let's see the whole story that these pages illustrate! You can charge us an unconscionable amount, you know we'll pay.

The back cover also has an image that looks new, one with a sulky-looking Sun Boy who is just begging to be comforted by one of his buddies. While Cinar makes all the Legionnaires look as hot as possible, his Sun Boy is incredibly cute...it's hard to believe that Earth-Man slept with Shadow Lass instead of Sun Boy.


PROOFREADER'S ERROR?: The blurb on the front cover flap states that "An accident at the Time Incident leads to the destruction of Saturn Girl's homeworld..." Uh, it's the Time Institute, not Time Incident.

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DC COMICS PRESENTS LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 100-PAGE SPECTACULAR One-Shot (2011/06)

By now everyone knows about this: it reprints the "Legion of the Damned" storyline, and the comic was recalled because the stories were printed out of order. (Proofreader's Error, anyone?). Some comic shops went ahead and sold copies -- my comic shop guy didn't even find out about the recall until he was sold out. Fortunately, I got my copy. It's an interesting oddity for insane completists to have in a Legion collection.

This is supposed to be reprinted with a different colored logo (white instead of yellow) and presumably a different date on the cover. I had all sorts of snide and snippy things to say about this storyline, but I'll save it until the reprint comes out.

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Week of 13 April 2011

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

ADVENTURE #525 (2011/06)
"First Tests"


ROLL CALL:

Chemical Kid, Comet Queen, Cosmic Boy, Crystal Kid (cover only), Dragonwing, Glorith, Gravity Kid, Lamprey, Mandalla (cover only), Night Girl, Power Boy, Shadow Kid (cover only), Variable Lad, Visi-Lad (cover only), Westerner (cover only), Dr. Gym'll (cover only), Father Jamik, Alchemical Girl, Black Mace, Shagrek Look-a-Like #1, Shagrek Look-a-Like #2


CUTE BOYS: Chemical Kid, Gravity Kid, Power Boy, Rokk


Alchemical Girl and the rest of the Taurus Gang have the Academy team on the ropes, but Glorith receives a transfusion of power from the Black Witch, and turns the tables. We learn that Chemical Kid's father sold the secret of his gene-mod to Taurus to repay gambling debts.


Meanwhile, Cosmic Boy and Night Girl bring Lamprey and Power Boy to Metropolis Starport to respond to a crisis -- and to give the cadets a final test. The mission is to capture some smugglers without damaging their cargo, a priceless elephant stolen from a biological preserve. Lamprey and Power Boy handle the mission well, but Cosmic Boy is against having them in the Legion. The senior S.P. officer says that he will recommend the kids for the "new Takron-Galtos security team."




An interesting exchange between Lydda and Rokk.

Rokk: We don't all get our dreams, Lydda. 

Lydda: Or know how to hold onto them...but maybe these ids are smarter than you.

There's obviously some history there. Sometime during the missing years, Rokk and Lydda seem to have broken up as a romantic couple -- and it had something to do with Rokk's devotion to the Legion. I'm betting that we'll learn the full details in due time.

Meanwhile, my advice to Mr. Krinn is, get down on your knees and apologize. Maybe she'll take you back.

On another topic, does anyone else think Jed and Tayla are getting a raw deal? Sure, their powers aren't in the same league as Lighting Lad or Mon-El -- but the Legion has never been about having great powers, it's about teamwork and devotion to duty and the ability to contribute. Besides, why is Cosmic Boy the one who gets to decide whether they can be Legionnaires? Shouldn't the whole Legion get a vote?

This story was well-done and all, but I wound up feeling a little frustrated.

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ADVENTURE #525 (2011/06)
"The Darkness Within"


ROLL CAL:

Black Witch, Blok, Chemical Kid, Glorith, Harlak, XS, Mordru


CUTE BOYS: Harlak


On Sorcerer's World, Harlak sends another letter to Glorith. Meanwhile, Mysa has descended into a deep pit, leaving Blok to brood above. Mysa gets a recharge of magical energy from across the universe, but she sees that Glorith and the cadets are in danger and sends the power her way. In the process, Mordru almost escapes from within Mysa, but Mysa triumphs and contains him once again. She stumbles to the top of the pit and embraces Blok, saying she can rest now. It's all over...at least for now.


A nice backup story, tying in with both the Legion Academy storyline and the goings-on in the main Legion title.


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BOOSTER GOLD #43 (2011/06)
"Endgame"


ROLL CALL:

Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Karate Kid, Lighting Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Timber Wolf, Ultra Boy, Wildfire, Proty II, Validus


CUTE BOYS: Booster Gold, Brainy, Brin, Dirk, Garth, Gim, Jo, Mon, Rip Hunter, Rokk, Thom, Val


Booster, in the throes of "chronal leprosy," winds up in the future with the 1970s-era Legion, who are fighting Validus. After much misunderstanding, Brainy comes to accept Booster's story and cures him of the leprosy. Booster goes back to his home time, while Brainy talks with Rip Hunter, who has apparently arranged everything for some reasons of his own.


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:


At the Time Institute, Brainy partners with a scientist who looks like Circadia Senius but is called Dr. Tsuris. We've never seen this guy before...unless he really is Circadia Senius and the writers just didn't remember his name.


----------


THE FLASH 10 (2011/06)
"Case Two: The Road to Flashpoint Part Two"


ROLL CALL:

Bart Allen

CUTE BOYS: Barry Allen, Bart


Bart's origin in the 31st century is briefly recounted. Barry refers to Bart as "my descendant from the future," which tends to indicate that he does't know Bart's his grandson...and possibly explains why he isn't all that aware of Jenni.


----------


R.E.B.E.L.S. #27 (2011/06)
"Starstruck Part 3"


ROLL CALL:

Adam Strange, Amon Hakk, Bounder, Captain Comet, Lobo, Lyrl Dox, Starfire, Tribulus, Vril Dox, Xylon, Smite, Starro

CUTE BOYS: Adam Strange, Captain Comet, Lyrl Dox

On Psion, Lobo and Smite fight to the point where they've bonded enough to have drinks together. Starro and Vril Dox return to Rann, which is overrun by Starro face-huggers. Meanwhile, Lyrl Dox is working to heal Tribulus; instead, he "reboots" Tribulus and sets him against the Starros. Meanwhile, a L.E.G.I.O.N. team of Starfire, Comet, and Adam Strange ride a zeta-beam back to Rann to join the fray.

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

In his rebooted form, with exposed brain, Tribulus looks an awful lot like Validus. Could it be possible that the two are the same? Now that would be pretty cool. But how does it tie in with Darkseid's curse? Maybe it will all work out -- Darkseid turned Garridan Ranzz into Validus, then later turned him back. Then, somehow, Tribulus 2.0 goes into the future and takes the place of Validus/Garridan.

Time will tell.

 ----------

There was no actual Legion content in Superman #710 (2011/06), but there's a plot that concerns Vandal Savage and deals tangentially with Nanda Parbat. Just makes me think...the current storyline in Legion is all about immortals, and we haven't seen Vandal Savage in the Legion mythos, have we? At least, not lately.

Worth thinking about.

----------

Week of 6 April 2011

No Legion content in DC comics this week.

It's hard to believe that DC's outer-space comic Weird Worlds has gone four issues without containing the slightest shred of Legion-related content...but there it is.

Next week is supposed to be new Adventure and new R.E.B.E.L.S. -- so at least that's something.

----------

Week of 30 March 2011

There was no Legion content in DC Comics this week. Boo, hiss.

 ----------

Week of 23 March 2011

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

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #11 (2011/05)
"False Start"


ROLL CALL:

Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Lightning Lass, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Timber Wolf, Tyroc, Ultra Boy, Wildfire, S.P. Chief Gigi Cusimano, Dr. Harmonia Li, Warden Marwat (corpse), Frost, Fume, Micro Lad (corpse), Sun Emperor

CUTE BOYS: Brainy, Brin, Dirk, Gim, Jo, Lar, Rokk, Troy

Another issue with a lot going on.

On Rimbor a Lgion team (Colossal Boy, Lightning Lass, Phantom Girl, Sun Boy, Tyroc, and Ultra Boy) goes after escaped villains. One pair, Fume and Frost, talk about Saturn Queen's new LSV.

At Headquarters, Gigi calls for help from Brainy, saying that there are escapees on a dozen worlds. Brainy says he has everything under control. Yet he gets frazzled when Dawnstar refuses to retrun, and Dream Girl walks in with an unconscious and still-deranged Star Boy. When Mon-El shows up by Power Ring projection, he unwillingly takes command and sends Brainy to the lab to work on Thom.

On Takron-Galtos, Chameleon Boy, Comic Boy, and Shrinking Violet are working clean-up when they run across Micro Lad's corpse -- Vi spits on him, which sums up her feelings about their past history. They also find Marwat's corpse, spotting the signs of Lightning Lord's handiwork.

Meanwhile, Timber Wolf goes to Tokyo in search of Sun-Killer. Instead, he finds Sun Emperor, and the two have an epic battle that leaves Sun Emperor defeated.

Finally, Brainy is worried about what's taken Colu off the grid, and in walks Dr. Harmonia Li with an announcement that it's all her fault.

The art in this issue (by Daniel HDR & Wayne Faucher) is okay, but it lacks Cinar's sparkle -- and his nice touch with wild hair. Notice how smooth everyone's hair seems.

The lettercolumn gives the numbers from the Leader election, and promises that XS will be spotlighted in Adventure 526, which is good news indeed.


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

This is a great example of why it's a good idea to ignore advance solicitations. First, the cover shown in advance solicitations was different: It showed Dream Girl with Star Boy thrown across her shoulders. Second, the text of advance solicitations read:

A jam-packed extravaganza! Star Boy returns from the 21st century! Sensor Girl searches for Karate Kid! The team trails the escaped Legion of Super-Villains! And Saturn Girl seeks Harmonia Li's blood-and the reason why will shock you!

Okay, Star Boy came back, and a team did trail the LSV (sorta). But Sensor Girl and Saturn Girl were nowhere to be seen.

Obviously a lot of changes happened between the time the solicitation went out and the time the issue was published.

On Rimbor there are a number of Interlac signs. They say things like "XXX DRINK X" "DRINK SEX" "ALIEN SEX" and "OPEN BAR" -- about the kind of things you'd expect to see on Rimbor.

Star Boy is suffering from "multiversal disorientation accelerated schizophrenia" made worse by the connection of his uniform to the multiverse.

In Tokyo there is a holo of a bespectacled man with an Interlac legend that reads "C'ABIO YABV PARK." I suspect an anagram of sorts, although the only thing I can come up is "Via Cab Boy," which sounds like a Legion reject. Anyone?

Brainy's speech to Dream Girl is typically arrogant, and about the sweetest thing Brainy has ever said.

----------

COMIC SHOP NEWS SPRING PREVIEW

This is a free newspaper-style handout that most comic book shops have. The cover features the Legion against the LSV.

Week of 16 March 2011

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

I'm sorry this entry is so late; it's been a crazy couple of weeks. But enough of that, on to the comics --

ADVENTURE #524 (2011/05) 
"First Night"


ROLL CALL:

Bouncing Boy, Cosmic Boy, Duplicate Girl, Chemical Kid, Comet Queen, Crystal Kid, Dragonwing, Glorith, Gravity Kid, Lamprey, Nightwind, Power Boy, Variable Lad, Dr. Gym'll, Father Jamik, Mother Jamik, Black Mace, Name Unknown, Shagrek Look-a-like #1, Shagrek Look-a-like #2


CUTE BOYS: Chemical Kid, Chuck, Crystal Kid, Gravity Kid, Power Boy, Rokk


The trainees are grounded. Chemical Kid decides to go to Phlon to find out why his father's credit was cancelled. (I just figured it was Luornu, trying to teach the trainees a lesson.) He talks Comet Queen, Dragonwing, Glorith, and Gravity Kid into going with him. Gravity Kid, at least, implies that he came along because he didn't want to let Chemical Kid go into danger alone.


And danger there is...in the person of Black Mace, working for a newly-reformed Taurus Gang. They're attacking Father Jamik, presumably to get money or corporate secrets. The trainees seem about to win the day, when a mysterious woman with blue hair takes away their powers and knocks them unconscious.


Meanwhile, back on Earth, Cosmic Boy has a talk with cadets Crystal Kid, Lamprey, Nightwind, and Power Boy -- he seems to be discouraging them from Legion membership. He encourages them to think about other possibilities: joint he S.P.s or go solo on an outerworld. Cosmic Boy says that no decisions have been made yet -- while implying that the decision is already made.


A lot more happens in this issue than it appears at first reading. 


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:


Glorith doesn't remember her parents. She also makes reference to being "...in service to the Endless Ones." Does this tie in with the immortals that Saturn Queen is seeking? Could the third planet of immortals be the Sorcerer's World? "Endless Ones," eh? You don't suppose she's referring to the Endless from Gaiman's Sandman mythos? That would certainly be interesting.


Speaking of the Endless, Death appeared before in a Legion comic: in the Giffbaum years, in the issue where Earth was destroyed. Except that's not part of this continuity, is it?


We learn a little of Chemical Kid's backstory: his rich scientist father broke the law, using a virus graft to give his son Chemical King's power. (Chemical King was also from Phlon; apparently something about the Phlono physiochemistry predisposes them to this sort of transformation. 


Variable Lad is Dr. Gym'll's nephew. That's a nice touch. Apparently he got his powers through some accident. (Gym'll shows two arms, although there may be a third behind his back that we don't see. Maybe his kind have some limited shape-shifting powers.)


The Taurus Gang was last seen in Adventure 374 (1968/11), when they were revealed to be under the command of S.P. Chief Zoltorus. Along with Black Mace, the other members were Mystelor, Quanto, Rogarth, and Shagrek. This new version has two Shagrek look-a-likes and a blue-haired lady who might be Mystelor (or might not). Quanto was an interesting case: He is a member of a highly-advanced race, sent from another universe to aid Taurus...or, possibly, to help Mystelor improve herself. At the end of the story, he declares his mission over and vanishes in a beam of light, presumably gone back to his own universe. It would be interesting to see more of his story.


The senior cadets (Crystal Kid, Lamprey, Nightwind, and Power Boy) are all from Earth. I guess Earth-Man would be happy if any of them joined the Legion. I could hope that all four of them get their chance to try out for the big leagues. These guys have been around for a long time, they've fought valiantly alongside the Leigon, they've seen some of their classmates join...it's about time they got a break.


However, the powers-that-be at DC seem to have this thing about limiting Legion membership to 25. I can see the reasons...you don't want to overwhelm new readers. (Funny how X-Men and the Avengers never seem to worry about that, with their own casts-of-thousands and convoluted histories.) However, I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's the Legion of Super-Heroes, not the Two-Dozen-and-One Super-Heroes. 


I wouldn't mind seeing the Legion divided into teams, along the lines of Justice League America & Justice League Europe, or the way they've divided the JSA recently. Maybe this run in Adventure is a preliminary run-up-the-flagpole for a future Legion Academy title. I'd buy it! (Look at the Legion Academy -- there's already a continuing cast of 12, 14 if you count Night Girl and Cosmic Boy. Spin off a few more Legion members, and you'll have 20-25 in each book.) (Or, since the Outerworlds seem to be fairy lawless, how about spinning off the senior cadets with Mon-El, the new Green Lantern Corps, and maybe the Wanderers to make a Legion Outerworlds comic.)


----------


R.E.B.E.L.S. 26 (2011/05)


I haven't found a copy of this comic yet; when I do, I'll update this listing.


----------


SUPERMAN 709 (2011/05)
"Grounded Part Seven"


ROLL CALL:

XS

CUTE BOYS: Young Clark Kent, Young Lex Luthor

XS appears in a cameo when Flash (Barry Allen) is telling Superman about all the other Flashes he knows.

Barry Allen says that Bart will "do his Grandfather proud" and muses that he doesn't feel old enough to have a grandson, or even a son, for that matter.

First of all, since all of this involves time travel, Barry can easily have any number of great-great-grand-flashes without being any older. But more to the point, he has a granddaughter too. I guess the fact that Jenni is a Legionnaire means that she doesn't matter in the framework of the rest of the DC Universe. Pshaw!

I must say, I'm not that impressed by Barry Allen since his return. If you were a guy who could travel through time, and you discovered that you had a son and daughter in the future, wouldn't you at least want to go take a look at them? But I suppose Don & Dawn's connection to the Legion makes them personae non grata as well. Double pshaw!


----------

Week of 9 March 2011

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

LEGION OF SUPER-VILLAINS #1 (2011/05)
"When Evil Calls"


ROLL CALL:

Black Witch, Ultra Boy, Wildfire, Wynn Allon, Warden Marwat (died), Mysterious Arm, Akka, Hunter (Adam Orion), Immortus, Lightning Lord, Micro Lad (died), "Obedient One," Questor, Saturn Queen, Sun Killer, Zymyr


CUTE BOYS: Jo, Wynn Allon, and Micro Lad doesn't look bad with his hair cut

Saturn Queen manipulates Warden Marwat into releasing her from containment on Takron-Galtos. In the ensuing riot, Marwat is killed and Saturn Queen escapes with a new, hand-picked Legion of Super-Villains: Old-timers Hunter, Lightning Lord, Micro Lad, and Zymyr; Sun Killer; and three brand-new villains -- Akka (a Sklarian), Immortus (an inertron cyborg whose true identity is unknown), and Questor (a renegade Coluan). One of her other helpers, "Obedient One," is present on Takron-Galtos but never seen again. Poor Micro Lad doesn't survive long; Akka kills him for sassing the Queen.

Saturn Queen has come unglued; she is now a disciple of a powerful blue flame -- gotta be related to the mysterious blue baby from a few issues back. The blue flame seems to be a servant of anarchy (or Chaos), and Saturn Queen's mission is to destroy civilization and allow anarchy to reign.

Apparently, three worlds of immortals have watched over the sentient races. One is Oa, home of the Guardians and powered by will. Another is the Rock of Eternity, home of the Wizard Shazam and powered by faith. The third, whereabouts and inhabitants currently unknown, is powered by wisdom.

Saturn Queen wants to destroy Oa, but a blue voice tells her to wait; the other two places must go first. (Apparently Arnachy must be achieved in an ordered, regimented series of steps. Go figure.) So the LSV hies off to the Rock of Eternity, which they destroy by the time-honored method of smashing it between two runaway planets (shades of E.E. "Doc" Smith!) But a Mysterious Arm emerges from the debris, so perhaps no immortals were harmed in the making of this comic.

Leaving Lighting Lord and Akka on Rimbor to gather cannon fodder recruits, Saturn Queen proceeds to Colu with Hunter, Immortus, Questor, Sun Killer, and Zymyr to search the databanks for some clue as to the location of the immortal home of wisdom. (The blue flame guided her to the Rock of Eternity, but I guess it doesn't know where the third place is.)

In the midst of all this fun, Ultra Boy and Wildfire accompany Admiral Allon to Takron-Galtos to clean up after the riot/jailbreak. Meanwhile, on the Sorcerer's World, the Black Witch knows that something is up -- a flame that's always been yellow has turned blue, and she's struggling to contain the evil of Mordru that she absorbed in L3W.

The story ends with a promise that it will be continued in Legion of Super-Heroes #11.

On the whole, a great beginning to what promises to be an epic story, told in inimitable Paul Levitz fashion. Saturn Queen and her new Legion are just plain creepy-bad, and the whole blue-flame/three-immortal-homes thing is intriguing. Dollars to donuts Harmonia Li is up to her neck in this stuff.

The art is very dynamic and on the whole quite good...although I do miss Yildiray Cinar's clean lines and uncluttered backgrounds. And surely there have to be more sound effects than "Krakooom!" On one hand there are two colliding planets, on the other is an exploding starship -- and you're telling me they both make the same sound? I mean, the identical sound...down to the exact same letters. This strains my suspension of disbelief.

Obviously this whole mess involves the Green Lanterns somehow, but thank goodness it doesn't seem to tie in with the Blackest Night/Brightest Day/Endless Crossover multi-hued scheme of colors and emotions -- at least, blue doesn't seem to represent hope here. To which all I can say is "good," because if the Legion goes all Green Lantern on me I swear, I will flush this white plastic Power Ring right down the toilet. Don't think I won't.

In any case, I'll be counting the hours until LSH #11 comes out.


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Akka's name recalls AKKA, the super-weapon in Jack Williamson's The Legion of Space. Yet another classic science fiction allusion from Paul Levitz.

This whole good/evil/anarchy, faith/will/wisdom thing smells vaguely of the Lords of Order and Chaos. Especially since Mordru is somehow involved; he is/was a notorious Lord of Chaos.

Gim's father, Admiral Wynn Allon, is alive and well in the U.P. military, right where he belongs. Hooray! I've been worried about him ever since he was conspicuously absent from dinner with Marte and the kids.

What's with Takron-Galtos? After several riot/jailbreak cycles, it was destroyed in the Crisis on Infinite Earths and replaced by Labyrinth. Then it came back, only to be destroyed the last time the Legion of Super-Villains escaped (in L3W). Now it's up and running again, only to have another jailbreak/riot. Me, I'd spread the prisoners out all around the planet, rather than keeping them in one central (and very vulnerable) location. Or maybe even set up a bunch of prison planets, each one with a particular big baddie. At the very least, you'd think they'd have learned by now not to keep Lightning Lord and Saturn Queen within walking distance of one another. (At least the Fatal Five Four didn't get involved this time around...they're probably all in a single minimum-security cell playing poker together.) (Validus? The Fatal Three? I'm not going there.)

Speaking of which...did anybody else wonder where Cosmic King is? I know there are theories floating around that it might be his brain in Immortus's body...but really, I don't see it. Wouldn't his brain retain transmutation powers? (When you think about it, we don't really know that much of C.K.'s back-story other than his oft-told origin. We know tons about Mekt, and we've learned more about Eve Aries...but Cosmic King hasn't really faced the teen Legion very often, and his past is largely a mystery. I'd like to see Paul Levitz turn his attention to Cosmic King's story sometime.)

 ----------

Week of 2 March 2011

Second week in a row with no Legion content in DC Comics. I do not approve of this trend.

----------

Week of 23 February 2011

I did not see any Legion content in DC comics this week. What's wrong with DC?

  ----------

Week of 16 February 2011

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

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #10 (2011/04)
"Hiding in Plain Sight"


ROLL CALL:

Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Chameleon Girl, Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Gates, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Tellus, Timber Wolf, Tyroc, Ultra Boy, Wildfire, Dyogene, Dr. Gym'll, R'Aesha (aka Ji Daggle)

CUTE BOYS: Brainy, Jo, Lar, Rokk, Troy (Garth would be on the list if his face wasn't covered with Gates's ID bubble)

Ultra Boy and Wildfire accompany a fleet of U.P. Councillors fleeing to Weber's World. Meanwhile, Mon-El learns that he's been elected Leader, and Cosmic Boy tells him to come back to Earth asap. Mon resists until he learns that Brainy was elected Deputy Leader...then he agrees to return to HQ.

Brainy takes command in typical Brainy high-handed style. Chameleon Boy, Chameleon Girl, and Phantom Girl head out to Brande's estate. They enter and Cham tries to access Brande's data systems...but the computer tells him Brande is already logged on and triggers an alarm. A fight ensues, first with security bots and then with R'Aesha (aka Ji Daggle).

On Medicus One, Dawnstar emerges from her coma. Tellus briefs her telepathically, then she heads off to find the little blue critter that blasted her and Wildfire in Adventure 521.

Brainy, Gates, Timber Wolf, and Tyroc teleport into Brande's estate to assist with subduing R'Aesha, but Cham waves them off and clobbers her himself. The others pull Cham back before he hurts her more. Brainy congratulates himself on a successfully-concluded case.

The whole Durlan assassins thing? Yeah, the Durlans wanted to steal the money that Brande left to the Legion -- in order to use it to rebuild Durla. They killed Zendak in order to take his form so that they could alter S.P.monitoring programs to conceal the transfers. They wanted to take Rokk's form so that they could alter things on the Legion's end. R'Aesha was taking Brande's form in order to finalize things with his data system.

Really? All this fuss and bother, just for money? Okay, I guess there's a long tradition of villains being after money -- how many times has Superman foiled bank robbers? -- but it seems rather anticlimactic. I suppose that not every story arc can deal with universe-shaking events, but...really?

The whole thing seems rushed. I gather that DC reduced page counts so they could include teasers for other comics -- in this issue another tedious, convoluted Green Lantern "blockbuster event" -- and this threw off Levitz's pacing.

On the whole, I found myself a bit disappointed at the resolution to this whole storyline. It just seemed too banal for the Legion.


BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:

Pheebes is dead.

Brainy says that if Dyogene's quest is that important, the Legion will get him more support. I wonder if this will tie in with the Legion Academy?

Mon-El says he'll be back as soon as he can. Considering his speed, augmented by the power ring, you'd think that "as soon as he can" would be measured in nanoseconds. Maybe he got lost along the way.

On that topic: Oooo, oooo, oooo, who else wants to see a Mon-El vs XS race? I do, I do!

Brainy tells Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad to stay on Winath on vacation.

Yera reminds us that she has a career as an actor ("Three acting gigs lost because they suddenly didn't want a Durlan..." and "I'm an actress, not a combat vet.") This probably explains why we haven't seen her in action very much. (And while we're on the subject, who wants to learn more of Yera's back-story? We know when & how Cham left Durla -- what about Yera?)

Tyroc and Timber Wolf restrain Cham from doing more harm to R'Aesha once she's subdued, and Brainy muses "Hmm...undoubtedly the moment that Beren foresaw of Legionnaires attacking Reep." Attacking? More like "gently restraining." Beren must lead a quiet, peaceful life, if he thinks that was "attacking."


CHRONICLER'S ERROR?:

We aren't told where Brande's estate is, just that it's "beyond the weathercon satellites' reach." This is an odd lapse; Levitz usually includes geographical references as a way of broadening our experience of 31st century Earth. I wonder if a text box fell off the page at some point.

Come to think of it, there's no text box identifying Medicus One when the scene shifts there. Note to DC: get better glue for those text boxes.

Dr. Gym'll has four arms, pictured symmetrically with two on each side. In the past he's also been depicted with three arms: one on each side and one in the back.

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Week of 9 February 2011

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

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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Week of 2 February 2011

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

 LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES ANNUAL 1 (2011/02)
"Here Eye Am"


ROLL CALL:

Cosmic Boy, Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Gates, Lightning Lass, Sensor Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Emerald Empress (Falyce), Emerald Eye, Falyce, Duke Pharos

CUTE BOYS: Dirk (Rokk is also in this story, but doesn't look particularly cute)

 Since Jeckie's departure, Orando has fallen on hard times -- or, rather, pretty normal times for a planet on a medieval level. About a year ago a girl named Alyce was running from a cruel Duke when she stumbled into some ancient, cursed ruins and awakened the Emerald Eye. She becomes the new Emerald Empress.

Flash forward to now: The Empress has plucked a passing starship from space and crashed it on Orando. Inside are Lightning Lass and Shrinking Violet. Some time later, Ayla and Vi awaken as prisoners; they fight their way to the Empress' throne room, where they find her completely insane on power. She shows them that the Eye is transforming Orando into a weird-looking garden. The Empress reveals that she's wearing a Legion flight ring and decides to use it to summon more Legionnaires.

Back at Legion Headquarters, the distress signal arrives. Jeckie says that she's just sensed a wave of energy from Orando, as if a curtain was drawn back to reveal that everything she'd sensed about Orando in the last few months has been an illusion. She tells Cosmic Boy where they're going, then orders Gates to teleport her and Sun Boy directly to Orando.

They arrive to find Ayla and Vi bound, and the fight begins. (Meanwhile, back on Earth, Rokk seeks reinforcements but Dream Girl says she saw that they were going to be too late.) Much fighting ensues on Orando; the others distract the Empress while Vi shrinks down small enough to slip in between the molecules of the Eye.

Inside the Eye, Vi finds a weird, impossible landscape that resembles the new form of Orando. She hallucinates the history of the Eye. She enlarges, shattering the Eye from within and breaking the spell that held Falyce.

Later, Ayla and Vi make ready to return with Gates and the others, but Jeckie chooses to stay behind o Orando to repair the damage. In the last panel, some kind of weird green energy appear around Vi's left eye, and the caption says "The End?"

A pretty good story, and Keith Giffen's art isn't as bad as it used to be -- although he does make people look pretty grotesque. Instead of the nine-panel grid, he now bases his pages on a six-panel grid; fortunately he does vary it a little by merging 2 or 4 panels, and there's an occasional full page.



BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS:


Dream Girl's prediction is nonsense. She says "I just woke up -- and saw that we're going to be too late." How so? No one else goes to Orando; at the end, Vi makes a point of saying that Gates is taking them home. Who was too late? Too late for what? Remember, Nura's predictions always come true. Is this another hint that the woman we think is Dream Girl really isn't?

Sun Boy is playing a VR game that seems to be set in World War II. Gates enters the game, where he is depicted as wearing an army uniform and helmet.

The Monitor Boards are now mobile displays that chase the Leader around.

Lightning Lass's monitor symbol has changed: it's now a classic female symbol with a crossbar made of lightning.


CHRONICLER'S ERROR?:

The nobleman at the beginning is called Duke Pharos. In the past, Jeckie had a nasty relative named Pharoxx; is this guy the same person?

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There are two reference features in this Annual: Legion History, the Board Game and Interlac A to Z.  The first is the most interesting, as it lays out the general history of the Retro Legion and allows us to judge how well it fits with the Classic Legion. There are several notable entries.

° Supergirl joined after Superboy. This fits with what was established in the recent Supergirl Annual.

° Garridan Ranzz was Validus. Since we recently saw him alive and well, he obviously got better. But we also saw Validus in action in L3W. The mystery has yet to be explained.

° "Superboy killed in battle with Time Trapper?? Error in historical records -- try not to think about it." The Conspiracy to kill the Trapper still happened. Personally, I'm glad to see this remain part of continuity; the Death of Superboy series was a great story.

° Mon-El was still beaten badly by the Time Trapper, and Shady still married him.  That was so touching, I'm glad it's remained in continuity.

° "The Mystery Years! Lose a turn trying to figure out what happened."

° The last entry is "Shadow Lass divorces Mon-El, shacks up with Earth-Man."

This clears up the question of how much of the Second Levitz Era remains part of continuity: al of it, through the Magic Wars. The Mystery Years stand between the Magic Wars and the Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes series.

The Interlac A to Z feature is fun. The most interesting bit, to me, is V is for Validus: "This monster killed the first Invisible Kid. It's believed to be a twin son of Lighting Lad and Saturn Girl, evolved into a twisted creature by Darkseid."

With The Validus/Garridan connection mentioned twice, I would not be surprised to see the matter addressed in the near future.

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