posted
Hmm.. we'll see. I'm still pretty new to this Legion thing. (Though I did read the entire Reboot including mini-series and at least 5 years of L.E.G.I.O.N.) It'll go on my list of things to check out at least!
-------------------- Abin: You know what to do with a Cali sandwich? No but neither do Cobie and CJ! CJ: Yeah, we do. She's smiling, isn't she?
Context... who needs it?
From: Sunny Cali-- er, Planet Earth? | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by stephbarton: Love this part of the Baxter run. I think my second complete arc was the "who is Sensor Girl" storyline and it helped make me a HUGE Sensor Girl fan. Unfortunately, from what I can make out she doesn't fair so well on the coolness factor after the Fatal Five is taken down.
I agree. Even when Sensor Girl and the Emerald Empress confronted each other again towards the end of the Baxter issues, it lacked the excitement of their first meeting IMO, although I admit I have a personal bias against the Post-Conspiracy issues. I remember you saying in another thread that you still have to catch up with the second half of the Baxter issues, so I would be very interested to know your opinion of the second meeting once you read it.
quote:Originally posted by stephbarton: As for the new Fatal Five, having read some old Legion stuff you see how tried and true the "rejected applicant turns on Legion" theme was, but it works beautifully in the Fatal Five storyline.
It's another example of how good Levitz was at updating familiar elements of the LSH.
quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders: I was disappointed that Sensor Girl turned out to be Projectra. After the powerful finale of the LSV War, it was way too soon for Jeckie to return to the Legion. (Bad memories, a planet to rule, and all that. Having her planet dethrone her was way too convenient.) For me, the revelation ruined the sterling mystery surrounding her identity. It also jeopardized the sense of growing up and change that Levitz had carefully woven into the Legion. If any member had sufficient reason to move on, it was Projectra.
I don't feel that it was a disservice to Projectra, but I do think that changing Sensor Girl's identity from Supergirl to Projectra is one of the biggest wasted opportunity in the history of superhero comics. It would have been an edgy re-invention of Supergirl, but one that wouldn't have compromised the integrity of the character. What a shame.
quote:Originally posted by Ultra Jorge: You know as a kid I collected these monthly from 7-11 or Waldenbooks. I missed the issue Sensor Girl's identity was revealed. It sold out it seems. I had to wait for the following month to find out who she was. I was bummed. Later on in life I got that back issue.
I had a similar experience recently with the death of Captain America. My CBS is usually very good about every issue on my pull list ending up in my box, but someone there slipped that week, and, of course, that issue quickly dissapeared from the racks. Luckily, I was later able to get the special edition of that issue, which included easter eggs like Ed Brubaker's complete script.
quote:Originally posted by Yellow Kid: This was a pretty strong era for the Legion, even my 'Marvelous' friends were interested in what was going on in the LSH.
I'm not surprised. I'm more of a fan of Marvel than DC, and I seem to always prefer the LSH stories that are closer in sensibility to Marvel. For example, Shooter's Adventure-era LSH stories are, to me, the best of both worlds as far as the Silver Age goes.
quote:Originally posted by Caliente: Dang it, now you're making me want to read it and I'm not really a pre-boot kinda gal! Poop. I guess I'll have to go scouring for back issues... after I finish the New Warriors, that is.
Originally posted by Lard Lad: Cali you GOTTA read the Great Levitz Era at least, from circa LSH (vol 2) 285 to about 325 (Tales/LSH) and the entire (Baxter) Vol. 3, 1-63. In my mind Legion's never been better than it was throughout that era! An it's usually pretty reasonable on eBay!
REQUIRED READING FOR ANY LSH FAN!
Originally posted by Caliente: Hmm.. we'll see. I'm still pretty new to this Legion thing. (Though I did read the entire Reboot including mini-series and at least 5 years of L.E.G.I.O.N.) It'll go on my list of things to check out at least!
Cali, I'll second Lard Lad's recommendations. One reason why the preboot LSH is one of my favorite team books is that there's something for everyone, and if you don't like one era (or one section of an era), chances are good that you'll like another one.
posted
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES # 15 – Hostage on a Hostile Star
Credits: Paul Levitz, writer – Greg LaRocque, penciller – Larry Mahlstedt, inker – Karen Berger, editor
Plot: Sun Boy’s arch-nemesis, Dr. Zaxton Regulus, has captured the new members, but he lets them go in exchange for Sun Boy fighting him one-on-one.
Thoughts: After the excellence of the previous issue, this is a fairly steep drop. Everything about it shows signs of a rush job, from Levitz’s clutter of subplots which barely keep the paper-thin main plot afloat, to the inconsistent art by Greg LaRocque in his less-than-stellar LSH debut, and, most of all, in the ridiculous ending – Sun Boy defeats Regulus by jamming his own flight ring into an opening in Regulus’s armor, and sending Regulus crashing into a wall.
On the other hand, the subplots ensure plenty of fun character bits, and there are several moments which hint at the artistic powerhouse that Greg LaRocque would quickly become (overall, he’s my favorite LSH artist), already showing a strong sense of dynamic layout and an excellent use of wide spaces. Among previous LSH artists, LaRocque somewhat recalls early Mike Grell, as well as the visible influences of Neal Adams and of Marvel mainstay John Buscema (and since Buscema did so very little DC art in his lifetime, I think it’s nice to see his influence in a DC book, particularly in the way LaRocque’s female characters are simultaneously strong, sensual, and down-to-earth.)
posted
Greg LaRocque is one of very few artists who IMO can draw strong looking female characters sexily! His Dream Girl (even in that uncomfortably tight looking silver swim suit she wore) looked great!
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
From: here, more often than not | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:I agree about Tharok, but I like Mano a lot; there's something about him...the first time I saw the original Fatal Five was on the cover of a Legion issue for sale at a convenience store. There were captions for each member and Mano's was, "His touch means death." I don't know why, but I thought that was really creepy/cool. (Good thing I was too scared to buy the issue, though, because I found out later it was one of the Gerry Conway issues.)
Stealth I actually love Mano but his old costume just made me wince. As a young hispanic kid I thought a villain called Mano was super cool. Tharok? Eh I was glad he was dead before I started reading.
The Empress is a much better leader and interesting character than him anyways.
From: Tampa | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Harbinger: Greg LaRocque is one of very few artists who IMO can draw strong looking female characters sexily! His Dream Girl (even in that uncomfortably tight looking silver swim suit she wore) looked great!
Absolutely. His Dream Girl is a favorite of mine, as are his Shadow Lass and his Dawnstar (IIRC, Dawnstar was the character he most enjoyed drawing.)
quote:Originally posted by Ultra Jorge: Stealth I actually love Mano but his old costume just made me wince. As a young hispanic kid I thought a villain called Mano was super cool.
Yeah, his original costume is goofy, pretty much from the neck down.
I didn't find out his name was the same in both English and Spanish until after I moved to the States.
quote:Originally posted by Ultra Jorge: Tharok? Eh I was glad he was dead before I started reading.
The Empress is a much better leader and interesting character than him anyways.
That's the one thing that was dissapointing to me about the otherwise excellent Silver Age Fatal Five stories, since I had read the Levitz stories first, and thus I had been assuming that she was always the leader.
posted
Knowing how the Sensor Girl thing plays out, it's kind of fun to imagine how she is able to accomplish the things she does, but sometimes it's a real push for me to come up with anything credible.
From: East Toledo | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by stephbarton: Love this part of the Baxter run. I think my second complete arc was the "who is Sensor Girl" storyline and it helped make me a HUGE Sensor Girl fan. Unfortunately, from what I can make out she doesn't fair so well on the coolness factor after the Fatal Five is taken down.
I agree. Even when Sensor Girl and the Emerald Empress confronted each other again towards the end of the Baxter issues, it lacked the excitement of their first meeting IMO, although I admit I have a personal bias against the Post-Conspiracy issues. I remember you saying in another thread that you still have to catch up with the second half of the Baxter issues, so I would be very interested to know your opinion of the second meeting once you read it.
Ah, now the second Projectra/Empress meeting is a big disappointment for me. In fact, I had to go to my Legion long box (alas, I only have one) to even SEE if I had both issues, that's how disappointed in the ending I was.
As you know, my Legion collection is still somewhat sporadic and I have gotten many issues out of order. I had the first part of that story for quite awhile and it made me leery towards later Legion stuff. I REALLY did not like the art or the new uniforms and the new Empress look was WAY too "bad 80's" for my taste (having picked up this issue THIS decade). Also, I really dislike current fashion sensibilities going into futuristic settings, one reason I don't like the look of the late Baxter and all the 5YL stuff, just screams "dated."
So art really turned me off, but I could tell it was a set-up issue. Well I finally picked up the second part and talk about MAJOR MAJOR let down. Empress is being USED by the eye, the totally cool evil villainess is just some lame pawn. Ouch. And Projectra was so not the cool, kick butt, "I was justified" Projectra of earlier. One things I always liked about her as Sensor Girl was how you just got a sense of power and competence, even if she wasn't talking. You knew she had power and focus without anyone SAYING it.
Anyways, their second meeting makes me cringe and I've only read it once. It seems amazing to me that Levitz could make the Emerald Empress one of my fave villains and then totally pawn her 30 issues later. What a collapse of two really cool characters.
On a side note, I also picked up some post-zero hour Legion issues so I have the run up to the end of the Fatal Five arc. Wow. That was a LOUSY Fatal Five. the Emerald Empress is reduced to a psycopathic murderer, what is she, the Joker in the future? (with a knife of all things). Good thing I wasn't a Legion fan back then or I would have been devestated to see such a cool character reduced to cliche central.
Whew, sorry about the long post.
-------------------- Long Live the Legion!
Registered: Mar 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Stealth: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES # 15 – Hostage on a Hostile Star
...
Thoughts: After the excellence of the previous issue, this is a fairly steep drop. Everything about it shows signs of a rush job, from Levitz’s clutter of subplots which barely keep the paper-thin main plot afloat, to the inconsistent art by Greg LaRocque in his less-than-stellar LSH debut, and, most of all, in the ridiculous ending – Sun Boy defeats Regulus by jamming his own flight ring into an opening in Regulus’s armor, and sending Regulus crashing into a wall.
I read this issue a few months ago, and I have to say that, unfortunately, I agree with this assessment.
Levitz spent so much time developing the Legionnaires' personalities and subplots that he couldn't be bothered to make the villains interesting. Dr. Regulus still holds a grudge because Sun Boy cost him his job several years ago? One would think that a scientist of Regulus's brilliance would have other motivations.
In fact, the only Regulus story that has ever worked for me was the back-up story from Superboy # 191. Regulus fakes his death and tricks Sun Boy into fulfilling his last wish by having his body flown into a particular sun. But instead of cremating the villain, the sun revitalizes Regulus, who had grown dependent on it as a power source.
The idea of Regulus using his Legion enemy for purposes other than revenge hinted at a deeper personality and a more complex relationship with Sun Boy. I wish this aspect had been explored further.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by stephbarton: Ah, now the second Projectra/Empress meeting is a big disappointment for me. In fact, I had to go to my Legion long box (alas, I only have one) to even SEE if I had both issues, that's how disappointed in the ending I was.
As you know, my Legion collection is still somewhat sporadic and I have gotten many issues out of order. I had the first part of that story for quite awhile and it made me leery towards later Legion stuff. I REALLY did not like the art or the new uniforms and the new Empress look was WAY too "bad 80's" for my taste (having picked up this issue THIS decade). Also, I really dislike current fashion sensibilities going into futuristic settings, one reason I don't like the look of the late Baxter and all the 5YL stuff, just screams "dated."
So art really turned me off, but I could tell it was a set-up issue. Well I finally picked up the second part and talk about MAJOR MAJOR let down. Empress is being USED by the eye, the totally cool evil villainess is just some lame pawn. Ouch. And Projectra was so not the cool, kick butt, "I was justified" Projectra of earlier. One things I always liked about her as Sensor Girl was how you just got a sense of power and competence, even if she wasn't talking. You knew she had power and focus without anyone SAYING it.
Anyways, their second meeting makes me cringe and I've only read it once. It seems amazing to me that Levitz could make the Emerald Empress one of my fave villains and then totally pawn her 30 issues later. What a collapse of two really cool characters.
Whew, sorry about the long post.
No need to apologize, Steph. Your post was extremely well-written and I agree with every word. Have you ever though of posting reviews here at Legion World?
quote:Originally posted by He Who Wanders: the only Regulus story that has ever worked for me was the back-up story from Superboy # 191. Regulus fakes his death and tricks Sun Boy into fulfilling his last wish by having his body flown into a particular sun. But instead of cremating the villain, the sun revitalizes Regulus, who had grown dependent on it as a power source.
The idea of Regulus using his Legion enemy for purposes other than revenge hinted at a deeper personality and a more complex relationship with Sun Boy. I wish this aspect had been explored further.
I haven't read that story, but it sounds intriguing. Is that one of the Cockrum ones?
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Okay, thanks. I've been thinking of filling the Cockrum-era gaps in my collection by getting Volume 10 of the Archives, and there's a good incentive.
Credits: Paul Levitz, writer -- Steve Lightle, penciller -- Bob Smith, inker -- Karen Berger, editor
Plot: While Brainiac 5 mourns Supergirl (recently killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths) and does some soul-searching, the longtime Legion members attend the baptism of Imra and Garth's son Graym, and the new Legion members -- minus Polar Boy, who stays behind on monitor duty -- investigate an explosion and discover it was caused by renegade Science Police officers, who in turn are arrested by the new Legion members.
Thoughts: Although the art is not as good as it could be (largely due to the bad inking), Levitz is back on form here, skillfully juggling three plot threads at the same time and exploring the characters. Particularly good are the scenes where current Legion leader Element Lad is torn between work and play, while his girlfriend Shvaughn Erin just wants him to loosen up and enjoy the festivities. The new members prove their worth, with great banter to boot:
Sensor Girl: "This was no accident."
Quislet: "Whatta deduction! Whatta girl! Quislet knew that already!"
Sensor Girl: "YOU could grow TIRESOME."
and later
Tellus: "Your confidence is quite impressive, Sensor Girl."
Quislet: "Not sensible, though."
Sensor Girl: "I know my abilities, Legionnaires."
In good fiction, it's always the characters that are the most important.
posted
Issue # 16 served as a good vehicle for the new kids. Levitz continues to tease us with Sensor Girl's identity, e.g., her use of something similar to infrared vision. Coupled with the "cover story" of Brainy in mourning, these clues lead fans to the obvious (and erroneous) conclusion that Sensor Girl is Kara -- a clever bait and switch, in retrospect.
This story also introduces (?) Dr. Chaseer, an alien female scientist who expresses her condolences to Brainy. Some fans, including myself, thought she was being introduced as a potential new romance for Brainy. A pity that this was never developed.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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![[sigh]](graemlins/sigh.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I was bummed. Later on in life I got that back issue.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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As a young hispanic kid I thought a villain called Mano was super cool. Tharok? Eh I was glad he was dead before I started reading. ![[Love]](graemlins/love.gif)
Brainy.
