Week of 25 July 2007

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

COUNTDOWN #40 (7/25/07)
"Small Wonders"

No LSH content in this issue, but it looks as if Karate Kid is going to be on the cover next week.

COUNTDOWN seems to be revisiting the Karate Kid storyline about every other issue, although whiny little Mary Marvel seems to be in every issue.

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SUPERGIRL & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #32 (9/07)
"Lord of Lightning: The Quest for Cosmic Boy Part 1 of 2"
ROLL CALL: Atom Girl, Brainiac 5, Chameleon (cover only), Cosmic Boy, Light Lass, Lightning Lad, Mekt Ranzz, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Supergirl, Tenzil Kem, Timber Wolf

Tenzil and the team on Winath run afoul of a hooded figure called the Lord of Lightning.

Hmmm...new art, from the "murky/shadowy/brooding/make-everyone-ugly" school. Mekt's now-you-see-it-now-you-don't stubble is interesting. And somebody sure likes to draw lightning, don't they? Perhaps the art will improve with time....

BITS OF LEGIONNAIRE BUSINESS: DC continues its fixation on linking the LSH and lightning in this issue. Perhaps there's a connection to the Lightning Saga?

The backstory of the Ranzz siblings remains substantially the same as in the classic Legion, with the addition of the connection to Validus the storm god.

In classic continuity, Validus (of the Fatal Five) was the child of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, sent back in time and physically transformed by Darkseid. This time around, "Validus" is the name of a Winathian storm god; perhaps Validus of the Fatal Five took his name from that god.

The hooded figure on Winath is called "the Lord of Lightning." In classic continuity, Mekt Ranzz took the name Lightning Lord.

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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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