They may have been behind us in getting the episodes but they get the season finale first. The UK version of Cartoon Network has been showing the episodes in sequence from start to finish and today they aired part one of Sundown.
ShadowStar over at Toon Zone's DC Animation Forum has posted a synopsis of the episode.
So, if you want to be spoiled (the episode is scheduled for April 28 in the States) click here.
[ March 21, 2007, 05:25 PM: Message edited by: Lightning Lad ]
Posted by Nightcrawler on :
Part 2 Spoiler -
Click Here For A Spoiler Apparently, Ferro Lad does indeed sacrifice himself. Posted by Faraway Lad on :
OK I just sat through one of the best hours of my TV watching life. Parts one and two are absolute old school brilliance. This is a non stop roller coaster ride involving large numbers of the Legion, the Subs and the Fatal Five. I hardly know where to start.
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
I think I need to put a big warning in here though. I intend to discuss my thoughts on both these episodes and that means there will be loads of spoilers so people who want to see all this for the first time, and I can really recommend that experience believe me its worth the wait, should not read any further.
Posted by Nightcrawler on :
Use [ SPOILER ] tags. People have free will to read or not to read.
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
I will Gary thanks, there’s going to be a lot of this though and I am going to be posting over the next few days as thoughts occur to me.
Still as you say people don’t have to click on the spoiler do they
edit: Is there a limit on the size of text I can put in the spoiler box as i seem to be having a bit of a problem
[ March 21, 2007, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: Faraway Lad ]
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
Click Here For A Spoiler
So we start with a battle with the Fatal Five and pretty soon we see a death. Bouncing boy is in the command deck trying to control things. First we get superman slugging it out with Validus, but then things go wrong and we see a death. Gasp, maybe this is the death we were worrying about? But it gets worse and one by one ALL the legionnaires are killed.
Of course we soon find out that this is nothing more that a Holographic training simulation.
I love how chuck is shown as worrying about his leadership capabilities and is shown as being scared that he is going to get his friends killed. Some nice interaction between Trip and Chuck which is hinting at a potential romance. I only noticed today that when Trip separates into white Orange and Purple her eyes also turn completely that colour as well. After a bit of Banter between Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy over how long it took them to get through the Daxam simulation we get an emergency message and the Legion is off on one of its most dangerous missions yet.
We head out to a secure storage facility for weapons left over from the “Great Crisis” As this is on a planet orbiting a red star Superman has to wear a battle suit. (Another add on for the toy manufacturer’s there I think) There is a great line when BB is stopped from entering the facility by droid guards and asks Brainy to help saying “you speak robot”
A small circular machine is cutting its way out the facility and Brainy recognises that it is a sun eater. This is a machine created by the inter dimensional race known as the Controllers. Used twice (a possible reference to the Atom Bomb?) during the great crises then deactivated and stored. Of course the Legion can not stop the machine getting into space where it transforms into the cloud we know and love.
And from here on in we get the whole legion facing down the sun eater.
I am sure at this stage they are following the broad brush story of the Sun Eater we all know and love but can quite believe they are going to kill Ferro Lad off.
Saturn Girl is linked to Brainy and uses her power to “cloak” the Star the Sun Eater is heading for. (we have seen her doing this to other AI brains in the past haven’t we?) Then Sun Boy and Star Boy (and its Barry Kitsons design used here) combine powers to draw off the Sun Eater.
We see Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy channelling their power through Ferro Lad to fire a huge energy blast to destroy the core. But he misses and promises “never to let them down again”
And now the sun eater is heading for Earth.
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
Never mind I figgered out what to do, :Doh:
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
Click Here For A Spoiler
And now we get to the fun parts. We see the legion break into Takron Galtos and free the Fatal Five with a little help from Shrinking Violet. I loved the black suits Superman, Phantom Girl and Saturn Girl use for the jail break. PG has a great line where she thrusts her hand through the Persuaders chest and heart and warns him if he steps out of line they will end up back in jail.
Superboy is sent out to find the Controller who is, well controlling, the sun eater. This guy is definitely a Controller, pink skin, skinny, with the traditional Controller shoulder pad thingies. However, he fits himself into a super Robot battle suit and proceed to wipe the floor with Superboy. During the usually exposition we find out he is a rouge Controller who believes progress and beauty can only come forth from chaos. Thus he will destroy the UP and a new improved universe will rise from the ashes. This is very much a Vorlon/Shadows type set up, for those of you who know the Babylon 5 universe.
We have the big fight and we get to see Blok, Element Lad, Dream Girl, the subs and the Fatal Five all lined up ready to take on the Beast.
BB gives the orders and is shown to be a real leader here, as various battle teams go to work. And who is given the task of getting inside the Sun Eater and landing on the machine in the centre? Alongside the Persuader and Tharok we see Matter Eater Lad chomping down on the metal.
The look of fear/awe or maybe just disgust on Tharoks face as Tenz takes a bite was priceless and I loved the thumbs up from him at the end.
Chucks plan was to create a doomsday bomb to take out the Sun eater and it is made ready only with everyone working together. It is launched and we see the tension as it enters the Sun Eater cloud and hits. With no effect.
Timer Wolfs, “Funny though it would have made a bigger bang than that” was funny.
Then we find out the bomb has short circuited and cant detonate. That’s it they are defeated and sit quiet awaiting the end.
But no look out side its Ferro Lad. If the device needs something to close the circuit then it will get that. He fights his way past the robot defenders of the Sun Eater to the core and with a long live the legion grasps the connections in both hands.
And that’s it. The Sun Eater goes boom, the Controller leaves and Ferro Lad is dead.
We see the Statue of Ferro and we listen to the speech about Heroes. And, most importantly, we see the body. Ferro is clearly shown as a charred body, lying on an asteroid in space. Is he coming back? I don’t think so. You know this must be how legion fans felt seeing this in the comic. It was shocking (even though we legion fans know the ending) and I was actually moved by his death. It was, if death can be, a noble death and a one that has meaning. I now hope they actually keep Ferro dead and make his sacrifice mean something.
And then Superman goes home. And we end a series that has been much much better than I had hoped. I am looking forward to the boxed set of DVD’s and more importantly series 2.
So much happens in these two episode I have missed so much, especially in terms of visual and audio. I will carry on posting as things pop into my mind. And is anyone has a question just let me know and I’ll watch it again and let you know.
Posted by MLLASH on :
Sounds AWESOME... what a tribute to the ADVENTURE era!
Posted by Korbal on :
I wonder how this will affect Brainy--as shown in Fear Factory--he could have done what Ferro Lad did and simply downloaded into another body (--in fact I was sort of hoping for that twist with Brainy gaining a biological form for the next season). It was his plan and he could have left the ship on the suicide mission after giving his life-chip to Bouncing Boy. I suppose every Legionnaire will feel guilt but Brainy and Chuck will probably feel the most. Any bets on whether the rogue Controller will return as "The Ghost of Ferro Lad?"
Posted by Tromium on :
Ah, Destiny is fulfilled and all is right with the (animated) universe.
Thanks for the spoilers! I was wondering how I was going to make it through the next month without going nuts.
Posted by Nightcrawler on :
Thanks Darden! I can't wait to see this myself.
Once they got over that only-the-same-seven-rotated-at-a-time crap, the series proved to be a winner and pretty close to what I would have wanted in an animated series.
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
OK now i have the weekend to digest the episodes some more thoughts, starting with episode one.
Click Here For A Spoiler Some more thoughts on episode one. (in no particular order)
I liked the various pair ups between the Legion and the Fatal Five, especially Braininac 5 and Tharok. In particular the way in which the arm weapons of both take on a similar look. From this alone its seems as if Tharok is almost as bright as our Brainy?
I like the way it took the combined power of the Eye and Tharok’s weaponry to take out Superman, something even Validus could not do on his own.
There are some great little one liners in this episode and I think of them I’ll throw them out, for no other reason than they made me smile.
Phantom Girl on being told they were going to re run the simulation “ There’s a limit to the number of times I can face my own death you know”
I am starting to like this version of Cosmic Boy as well. He is coming across as a Hero with a capital H, someone who is a natural leader and who is used to others doing what he says, yet he is more than willing and able to accept the vote, and will support Bouncing Boy wholeheartedly because, well because he is first and foremost a Legionnaire and that’s what Legionnaires do. His support of chuck telling him that Cos failed a sim 9 times and his niggling of Garth getting him to admit to failing the Daxam sim 11 times was part of this I think. I also noticed that Daxam seems to be part of this universe, so there is hope for a Mon El appearance.
Oh and I wonder if Bouncing Boys cries of “Stupid Stupid” where a veiled reference to a certain Legion World favourite spoiled little rich boy.
I think this was the first time we get to see Triplicate girls merging and being shown as a black inky cloud whilst she does so. Not sure if I like this but in the absence of anything else it will have to do. At least it makes it really really clear that this is one person split into three.
We also find out that in the toonverse there has been a “great Crisis” another reference to DC continuity which acknowledges but doesn’t hamstring the writers. And it gives us another great line when Brainy introduces Super man to his red sun battle suit, calling it “Sunscreen , but with laser cannons”
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
OK and now the second half of the episode.
Click Here For A Spoiler
I thought it was a new and good use of Lightning lads powers to show him lighting up a darkened corridor, I cant remember him doing that in the comic?? And Cosmic Boy ripping up the corridor walls and floors to form a barricade was awesome. I had often wondered how they could show magnetic powers effectively but this was most certainly effective. Not too sure about the purple colour effect they give him though.
I am definitely starting to dislike Brainy Battle Bot though, not so much the transforming arms and such but the whole, lets get twice the size and armour up thing. Still I guess it will make for some interesting toys if and when we get them.
When all the Legion have been taken out by the Sun Eater, it falls to Bouncing Boy to try to stop it reaching space. So what does he do, attract its attention and then says, as he goes bouncing off the walls, “follow the Bouncing Ball” I am fast becoming a Chuck fan and want my inflatable Bouncing Boy toy.
Anyhow they fail to stop the Sun Eater getting into space and we have the pretty much expected attempts to stop it reaching the nearest sun.
The energy cloud the machine surrounds itself with is perhaps the least impressive think in the whole episode. I think they are trying to copy the look of it from the Adventure issues and for much of the episode the cloud looks false, and not very threatening. I mean its supposed to be a raging energy storm that protects the doomsday machine itself and prevents the Legion getting into the core. But to look at you would just think Huh? The only sense of danger and doom we get is from the description Brainy gives of it. This is a weapon supposed to be frightening enough to stop wars. A weapon so powerful that even the race that created it became frightened of it. It was used twice and then locked away so it could never be used in anger again. I mean could the parallels with the Atomic Bomb be any clearer?. And now we have a “terrorist” who has got access to the bomb and intend to use it on the UP. Talk about imposing out own 21st century fears on the 31st century.
Again BB takes control and in a moment of crisis forgets his own self doubts and fears and starts to bark orders. The look on the other legionnaires faces is priceless as they take a few seconds to register surprise and admiration for Chuck then they are gone and battle commences.
I like the idea that a weapon, being controlled, would have more than one line of defence, and we see a robot cordon which has to be taken on by the whole legion in order to get Phantom Girl to the core. Then we see Ferro Lad aiming to transmit Garths and Rokk’s powers to the machine in the core and destroy it. But he wavers, the power is too much for him and the shot misses, the sun Eater emits a shock wave than disables the Legion and moves on to devour the red sun.
After his miss Ferro makes and under the breath promise. “I wont fail again” sort of thing and us long term fans start to hear ominous music and the dreaded figure of foreshadowing. But maybe, just maybe they wont follow the comic story that closely? Or will they?
Some real classic Adventure stuff that also takes place this episode is the few seconds on screen time of every Legionnaire we have so far seen, plus a few.
We see Sun Boy and the WaK Star Boy trying to distract the Sun Eater but with them is Colossal Boy. Why he is there and what good a giant can be against the Sun Eater is not even addressed. I see Sun Boy producing the light and heat of a sun and Thom producing the gravitational pull but why CB2? Later we see Timber Wolf piloting a small attack craft (and a pretty good pilot he makes) In both of these cases I think these two characters were simply added to the mix to give the viewer a sense that this was indeed a Legion and so that everyone’s favourite character got a bit of screen time. It did not detract in any way from the main events but certainly give a sense of the expansive nature of the Legion in just a few short seconds of Screen time.
Posted by Yellow Kid on :
I am SO pumped for this! I can barely contain myself, this is so cool!
Posted by Suddenly Seymour on :
Hot diggity! I finally got to see the episodes today, and boy are we in for a treat! It totally space rocks!
Click Here For A SpoilerSure, there were a few "if you can do this, why don't you just do that" moments (most notably when Persuader, Tharok and Matter-Eater Lad actually reached the core and got inside it but didn't bother to destroy/disable it while they were there), but it was a great two-parter, full of drama, nail-biting action, great character moments and everything you'd want for a Legion story. It was definitely a terrific ending to a strong first season.
As much as we might want Ferro Lad to stay dead, I don't think they would have bothered to show the body if they didn't intend to bring him back. He was iron form, after all, and he looked roughed up but not unsalvageable. I think it would be really cool, though, if they reinvent the Ghost of Ferro Lad story in the second season. It was a Controller behind that plot, and what a great way to introduce Jeckie. Posted by Nightcrawler on :
I suppose this isn't the best thread to be in if I've only seen part one. Did part two come out early somewhere?
Posted by stephbarton on :
Yeah, in the UK. I've tried to avoid spoilers and saw part one today and Man was it AWESOME.
Of course through the entire episode I'm going "Ferro Lad...awwww.." but still.
So, Sunboy...can't say I like his hair. the costume isn't bad and it was great seeing him, but yeah, the hair.
Oh, and did anyone see the ads for next week's ep, I saw Ultra Boy in the massive group shot, can't wait.
I am really curious to see how the Legion gets out of this one.
Oh, and I really like how this episode flowed. Even for a two parter they kept the action and suspense going really well, nothing about this ep felt like set-up.
Posted by kenaustin on :
I thoroughly enjoyed the episode.
I'm assuming, until proven wrong/right next week, that the individual in the spaceship at the end of "Chain of Command" was a Controller?
While Superman was fighting the robot on the Legion ship, I kept thinking they really need to use those animations for Karate Kid. That robot was kicking Supes buttocks!
Posted by Awesomegirl on :
I only have one thing to say about Sundown Part 1: Hell Yeah!
Posted by Haggard Lad on :
I really felt bad for Ferro Lad. He was such an important part of their plan, but he missed. I know the feeling of messing up and letting people down.
Posted by Malvolio on :
Yeah, I felt that, too. Of course, it's all foreshadowing for part two next week.
Posted by Tromium on :
Coolest things:
- Mano disintegrating Saturn Girl. Hee. - Clark's "sunscreen" suit -- he ought to wear it all the time. - Imaginative world names like "Cheyenne Delta" - Phantom Girl jumping into the Sun-Eater core. - Sun Boy mimicking a sun. - Star-Warish fighter jets! - Ferro Lad acting confidence and assertive until he blew it. - "To be continued"
Not so cool:
- They continue to rely too heavily on robot threats that are too easily dispatched. - The Sun-Eater itself wasn't nearly scary looking enough. - Ferro Lad isn't terribly interesting visually or voicewise.
Not perfect (I think "Chain of Command" has come closest so far) but pretty enjoyable overall.
Posted by The Daxamite Kid on :
I loved this episode (Pt.1) It's great to see a Sun-Eater in action. Plus, the team-up of Ferro, Cos, and Lightning Lad to make an energy cannon worthy of any anime was cool. (As was Sun Boy...imitating a sun! Ha!)
Still, Chuck is having a hard time adjusting to leadership so hopefully he'll come through in the end. And no, I haven't read any of the Pt. 2 spoilers. I want to be surprised!
Posted by Malvolio on :
quote:Originally posted by Tromium: Coolest things:
- Mano disintegrating Saturn Girl. Hee. - Clark's "sunscreen" suit -- he ought to wear it all the time. - Imaginative world names like "Cheyenne Delta" - Phantom Girl jumping into the Sun-Eater core. - Sun Boy mimicking a sun. - Star-Warish fighter jets! - Ferro Lad acting confidence and assertive until he blew it. - "To be continued"
Not so cool:
- They continue to rely too heavily on robot threats that are too easily dispatched. - The Sun-Eater itself wasn't nearly scary looking enough. - Ferro Lad isn't terribly interesting visually or voicewise.
Not perfect (I think "Chain of Command" has come closest so far) but pretty enjoyable overall.
I don't remember the Sun-Eater ever looking all that scary. That's kind of the point, I think. It doesn't look scary. What it does, though, is very scary.
Posted by superboymddjr on :
Awesome episode, that is. I am impressed with how much spotlight Ferro Lad had and it's much better than in comics where he was just given a little panel time. Sun Boy imitating like a Sun is a nice homage in the old days of Adv. Comics.
"Great Crisis" that has been mentioned twice by Brainiac 5...hmmmm....now i am wondering...will it get mentioned again in the next season?
Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Ferro Lad made a great team...makes me think how I wish to see them working together often in comics.
Anyway, can't wait to see the Part two next week.
Posted by Sir Tim Drake on :
This was an utterly brilliant episode. I don't know how many times I found myself clapping, cheering, or just grinning like an idiot.
I especially like the development of the Chuck-Trip romance. That scene on the balcony, early in the episode, was perfect.
Posted by Nightcrawler on :
I think they did an incredible job of re-creating a Sun-Eater in the series. I think it looks exactly how Swan would have animated one.
I'm liking this show a lot better than when it was announced. I just wished they'd have promoted it this way rather than "7 Legionnaires and their boring adventures. Oh! And, we may or may not throw in a bone or two for the die-hards."
[ April 29, 2007, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: Nightcrawler ]
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Yeah, I think the season started kind of shaky, but the last few episodes of the season have been utterly brilliant!
Honestly, this was about as close to the Adventure Era Legion come to life as one could ever hope for!
Posted by stephbarton on :
Well, you knew it was going to be pure awesomeness when they did the Subs episode!
I agree, the first ep was ok (for an orgin ep). The Timberwolf ep didn't do much for me, same with the horror movie one.
But Alexis Luthor (actually, I don't think she was ever given as a Luthor), the Subs, the Winnath episode (sorry, don't know titles), the one where Garth is competing in the games--Phantom Girl was really cool in that one. Those are my favorites.
Add Sundown, pt 1 and we have a series that has taken off, here's hoping season two continues on this upward streak.
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
I liked the fact that the only way to fool the sun eater involved the Legion using team work.
First we had Brainiac 5 and Saturn Girl confusing the AI and its sensors. (Although I would have liked to have seen Projectra introduced to fool any visual sensors available to the sun eater machine core) Then we see Sun Boy and Star Boy working together to create an artificial sun, (light and gravity)
Posted by Malvolio on :
I don't know about that Projectra bit. I don't think her powers have ever been able to work on an artificial intelligence.
Posted by Vee on :
Wow! I was on the edge of my seat for most of this episode and I already knew how it would turn out! That's good storytelling. I liked the twist that got Supes out of the way.
Loved the group shot that showed Chlorpyhll Kid, Infectious Lass, etc. I'm really glad they included the Subs.
Lots of other Legionnaires got face time as well...Colossal Boy, Blok, Element Lad..saw Dream Girl once also. Awesome!
And they still managed to bring tears to my eyes, starting with "I won't let you down..." from Andy. (Still can't believe they actually did it on a kids cartoon. Wonder what kind of reaction they will get.)
On a scale of one to ten I give it 1000!
Long Live The Legion!
Posted by Blue Battler on :
I think they may have built in an opportunity to bring Andy back.
At least they had a scene hinting of it.
Posted by Malvolio on :
I think they portrayed Ferro Lad's death in a dignified and classy way. It wasn't particularly bloody, but neither was it sanitized. I think a lot of comic book creators could learn something from that balance.
Andrew's sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Posted by kenaustin on :
What an excellent episode. I wasn't sure they would kill Ferro Lad(I've avoided spoilers) on a Saturday morning cartoon, but I agree with you, Malvolio, it was handled nicely. How touching it was to hear his last, almost whispered words, "Long Live the Legion". That was special to this long time fan. Thank you, all who were involved.
Posted by doublechinner on :
Beautiful episode. Enjoyable for every moment. The controller was awesome! Superwhatever was great on his own. Shrinking Violet saves the day, and takes out the Emerald Eye (take that, bad reboot stories!)! And Ferro Lad's sacrifice was everything we could hope for and expect. Classy.
I DO hope there will be some story next season about Andrew's past, his brother, etc. He remains sort of a unknown quantity at his death.
Every future Legion creative team needs to look at this episode as an example of how to use a large team without bogging the story down. Tenzil had zero dialogue but was an essential part of the show nontheless.
Posted by Sketch Lad on :
As a lifelong Legion fan, I felt like this two part story was a gift to us; an epic action adventure packed full of great characterization and emotion.
And Dreamy!
Posted by DrakeB3004 on :
Wow - great episode! Great way to end the season and leave us wanting more! At first I thought it would've been a mistake to almost recreate the old LSH story, but by the end I didn't care - there was enough new stuff and Ferro Lad's sacrifice was done so well it almost makes me think it's always meant to be his destiny to keep dying for the Legion.
I liked how the Superman/ Controller scene was an homage to "Return of the Jedi" right down to the controller's voice sounding like Palpatine. Also nice how Supes' errand was really more a Brainy plot to keep him safe.
I agree with Blue Battler that they're setting the stages for Andy's possible return. (though I don't think they should - and they'd BETTER NOT do something stupid like bringing him back as Wildfire - one amalgamated origin is enough for me) Otherwise, it would be almost too much to show his body lying there.
I like the notion that Ferro Lad's sacrifice was Superman's final lesson for what it means to be a hero before heading back home to start fulfilling his destiny.
Posted by Awesomegirl on :
Dayum! I loved the battles and Ferro Lad's sacrafice, there were small things that loved about this episode, like...
The brief cameo of Alexis Shrinking Violet, yay! And this...
Superman: You know, I can come back the exact same moment I left.
Lightning Lad: Well don't wait too long, Timberwolf made cookies.
Timberwolf: So I like to bake...
I also noticed that when Superman returned to Smallville, he said the same thing Bouncing Boy said when they left "Just in time for chicken and dumplings."
Even though I think Cosmic Boy should have given the speech instead of Superman, this was a really cool way to end the season.
Posted by l.e.g.i.o.n.JOHN on :
great episode, loved the fact that they left it open that Ferro might still be alive, loved BB's term as leader during this crisis, he handled it very well especially with him planning ahead that the F5 would eventually double cross them. so i guess next season Superman wont be back on a regular basis then?
Posted by Suddenly Seymour on :
As I said in my previous spoiler (that I can put out for all to see now ):
As much as we might want Ferro Lad to stay dead, I don't think they would have bothered to show the body if they didn't intend to bring him back. He was iron form, after all, and he looked roughed up but not unsalvageable. I think it would be really cool, though, if they reinvent the Ghost of Ferro Lad story in the second season. It was a Controller behind that plot, too, and what a great way to introduce Jeckie (or Mysa).
Posted by Nightcrawler on :
The only thing that I think would have made this season better (and it was very good!) would have been to have Ferro Lad join instead of Star Boy (they could have had Thom be an established Legionnaire like Colossal Boy, Sun Boy, etc.) in the Subs episode. Having him be forced upon the team by Cosmic Boy at the last minute was needlessly distracting.
Great two-parter. Nice way to showcase a large group of heroes. Let's hope thing progress from here and not regress back to the earlier episodes.
Posted by Quislet, Esq. on :
quote:Originally posted by Malvolio: I don't know about that Projectra bit. I don't think her powers have ever been able to work on an artificial intelligence.
It didn't in the original story.
She had tried to project an illusion of sunlight all around her portion of the Suneater and have it pull itself apart trying to go in all directions at once.
Posted by Quislet, Esq. on :
My favorite parts of the episode:
Shrinking Violet in action (twice even) Matter-eater Lad in action Jo Nah in costume Ferro Lad saying "Long live the Legion!" Superboy's eulogy
It would be cool if next season Superboy was just a guest star.
I think that part at the end showing Ferro Lad on the asteroid was a concession to the "you can't show reality like death on a cartoon that kids watch" crowd.
Posted by Awkward Pause Boy on :
Wow.
I loved Takron Galtos. I loved the stealth operation they pulled springing the Fatal Five. While Shrinking Violet's look has taken some getting used to, I like how they put a violet trace to her power. Seeing Alexis was a nice nod to the show's own continuity too.
Loved the Legion-Fatal Five face-off before they started working together.
I love that there's an underlying tension--where the legion knows that they have to protect Superman & get him out of the way of dangerous missions. I actually expected that to play a bigger part in his leaving at the end of the season, but that drama can always be saved for later.
The whole controller scheme was okay--a nice nod to history, plus a nice set up for a major legion villain (imagine, a villain instead of a vague political movement).
It was nice to see Phantom Girl and Jo Nah still a potential couple even though I've never particular cared for them in any previous depiction.
I really liked how they played up Ferro Lad's "conductive" abilities. That's never the first thing I think about for his powers, and I wondered what they were doing when they had him be the focus for the Lightning Lad-Cosmic Boy attack, but it worked out pretty well. I think the ending left enough potential for him to be reintroduced.
I'm not inclined to compare episodes or review the whole season, but I must say that keeping the focus on just a few legionnaires worked out much better then I expected. Thankfully the other legionnaires are still around. Even more thankfully, they play parts in actual episodes instead of simply having been "on assignment" elsewhere. Focusing on a core group let me get to appreciate them while building curiosity about the others.
Can't wait for next season!
Posted by doublechinner on :
Y'know, another great thing I liked in this episode was the whole Legion working together to build some huge machine. I always enjoyed the comics where they did that -- it seemed something only THEY could do. There was that GREAT (to me) giant size Legion in the late middle 1970s where the Fatal 5 were going to make a sun go nova, and the team had to evacuate an entire planet. I remember the Legion building the space arks and other stuff.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
It was a pretty amazing episode.
I actually thought the whole "breaking the Fatal Five" scene out was a bit odd. I'd rather have had the U.P. grant them pardons as in the original. But I loved the brief bit with Alexis.
But the whole battle with the Suneater was pretty fantastic, and, while the RotJ homage was a little disconcerting (I kept expecting the "Your friends are walking into a trap" line), it was nonetheless pretty cool.
I loved the use of Matter-Eater Lad and Shrinking Violet!
Posted by Mystery Lad on :
The all-black suits the Legionnaires wore when they broke into Takron-Galtos reminded me of the ones a few team members wore when they broke into the HQ in S&LSH 203 (the death of Invisible Kid). All they needed were Roman numerals on their chests.
The giant chains a couple of the Legionnaires constructed reminded me of Grimbor.
Although it's less of a distinct echo than the first instance I cited, I 'caught a whiff' of S&LSH #205 from the building-the-weapon scenes. That was the one where the one-time villain, The Master, mentally controlled the Legionnaires into building a space-ark.
There was at least one other line that really reminded me of something from old stories, but dangit, I can't remember it. Guess I'll have to wait for the repeat...
Loved the iron-as-conductor bit. I always liked it when 'real' science played a part in LSH stories.
What'd you think of Sun Boy's flame-hair?
Clark's speech was moving, but what *really* got me was his ferocity when he found out about Ferro Lad's sacrifice. That snarl and the clenched fist. A Superman is born.
Ferro Lad's 'Long Live the Legion' made me cry a little.
The only thing that would've made this better would've been a spotlight episode on Ferro Lad between his joining and this two-parter.
I would've liked to see Element Lad's powers figure into fighting the Sun-Eater. He had a moment where he was turning the drones into gas, I think.
Shrinking Violet! That was a delight-- her 'voice' was one of the 'regulars', wasn't it? I sort of wish she had her own distinct vocal representation.
Y'know who'd really be effective against the Sun-Eater? Chemical King. Too bad *he* isn't a member-- or a sub-- or on the radar.
Actually, I can imagine Color Kid being useful, too. Maybe. Or Infectious Lass?
So that *was* Ferro Lad they showed during Supes' speech-- on an asteroid or something? I wasn't entirely sure, as reception of this station isn't terrific in my neck of the woods.
Posted by Evolution Has Failed on :
So, where I live they pre-empt the Saturday showing until Sunday a.m., so I just saw it today, and...and...
Oh MY GOD , I CAN'T CONTAIN MYSELF...AWESOME!!!! INCREDIBLE!!!
It was like an impossible dream I've had for 30 years suddenly came true!!!
Flawless!!!
Of course, I personally would have liked to have seen Element Lad take out a larger contingent of robots, but that's just 'cause I'm an E-lad fan, so that's not fair to call it a 'flaw', and in fact it was treat that they bothered to show at all!!!
In fact, I agree with the previous poster who said he thought this was a gift to long time fans...it really felt like they were going the extra mile to please us all, rather than the more common feeling I've gotten in the comics books lately, that they are more concerned with their right to tell a "new" story, and longtime fans should just get over it.
So, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone responsible for the content of these episodes!
Posted by Bicycle Repair Man on :
Very good!
-Nice action-debut for Violet; she was both gorgeous and useful. I would like to know *how* she disabled the Emerald Eye, though.
-It did strike me as odd that the Legion broke into Takron-Galtos to recruit the Fatal Five, instead of having Tinya call her Mom to get them released into the Legion's custody. I suppose it was more dramatic that way, though.
-I also found it odd that, having successfully reached the Sun Eater core device, Matter-Eater Lad, Tharok, and the Persuader did not appear to attempt to do more damage to it.
-Interesting detail 1: the Empress hugging the Emerald Eye when they were reunited.
-Interesting detail 2: I thought I heard Bouncing Boy send Mano on a mission to collect antimatter to power the Sun Eater-destroying weapon -- and Mano held it in his hand?!
-Interesting detail 3: Brainy trying to sideline Superman from a *really* dangerous mission, to prevent a temporal anomaly (Clark getting killed before his career as Superman in his own time even began); but we may still have a minor temporal anomaly, if the Superman costume Clark was wearing when he returned to Smallvile was the same one he got from the Superman Museum. Can you say "chronal loop", boys and girls? Nice try. Posted by Set on :
quote: -Interesting detail 2: I thought I heard Bouncing Boy send Mano on a mission to collect antimatter to power the Sun Eater-destroying weapon -- and Mano held it in his hand?!
I noticed that too, suggesting that Mano's hand is indeed anti-matter as well...
Posted by Malvolio on :
Yeah, I think that was what was implied by that little detail.
Posted by kenaustin on :
quote:Originally posted by Mystery Lad: The all-black suits the Legionnaires wore when they broke into Takron-Galtos reminded me of the ones a few team members wore when they broke into the HQ in S&LSH 203 (the death of Invisible Kid). All they needed were Roman numerals on their chests.
I definitely got that vibe, too. The mission pairing of Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Validus made me smile, also.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
The shot of Ferro Lad on the asteroid was a little too "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" for me -- except that instead of seeing Spock's intact coffin, we see Andrew's intact body. Can you say, "Leaving the door wide open," boys and girls?
Even so, it was a wonderful episode for all the reasons mentioned above -- Violet's action debut, the interaction between the Five and the Legion, Superman's solo bout with the Controller, the cameos of so many other Legionnaires, the cameo of Alexis, and so on.
I had a lot of reservations that the story would be too close to the original, and in the most important ways it was (The Fatal Five's involvement and Andrew's sacrifice), but that only seems to reinforce my theory, posted elsewhere on these boards, that the Legion's overall story arc can only go a certain way. The Sun-Eater/Ferro Lad story is just so integral to the Legion's mythos that it reappears more or less intact here.
This version is, to me, far superior to the reboot version, in which the Sun-Eater was reduced to a hoax and Ferro does not even appear as a Legionnaire until much later. But it's also curious that Ferro Lad dies so soon after joining the Legion in this version as well as the original. In the reboot, this dubious honor fell to Kid Quantum I, albeit under very different circumstances.
Posted by Sketch Lad on :
Dream Girl's hair looked AMAZING!
Posted by Tromium on :
I wish there' d been a few minutes less of Superman duking it out with the Controller (with predictable results) and a few minutes more of rarely glimpsed Legionnaires like Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Element Lad and Dream Girl. That's my only criticism of an otherwise perfect finale.
To quote the Controller "Well done."
Of course, if the Legion really thought so highly of Andy, they'd go out looking for his remains rather than just assuming he was blown to atoms. I wonder if Douglas is waiting in the wings to wreck his wrong-headed brotherly vengeance. They could make a good episode out of that.
13 episodes aren't enough. Now September feels like it's 1000 years away.
Posted by Sir Tim Drake on :
This was a tremendous achievement, one of the greatest adaptations of anything I've ever seen. Everyone involved with this episode should feel extremely proud of themselves.
The only thing that disappointed me is that Jo and Tinya only appeared together in one shot. But I suppose this can be developed further in next season's episodes.
What else can I say but... long live the Legion.
Posted by MLLASH on :
Wow... I don't think I've ever seen such a unanimously positive response for anything Legion.
I missed both eps, but you can bet I'll love 'em too when I see 'em.
Posted by matlock on :
I loved it! There's not a ton left to praise but even while I got that sinking feeling for Ferro Lad I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. It was all just so... Legiony. Like concetrated Legion. Takron-Galtos, the Subs, double crosses and Long Live the Legion. Wow.
The scene in Part One when Ferro Lad missed made me feel bad for him, but boiled down in the Part Two recap made me think of when they'd fire the Wave Motion Gun in Star Blazers. Ferro Lad dropping the goggles down, and then the tracking of the beam as it first approached and then receded from the camera brought back those memories.
Posted by Evolution Has Failed on :
Some more thoughts, beyond my initial gushing praise (still so well-deserved, I might add)...:
1) The Controller's argument about perfecton coming from 'chaos' rather than order...sound familiar? Remember the Time Trapper in the SG/LL wedding tabloid, at the end of time where chaos/disorder reigned? He was a Controller. And also in LSH v3 #50, more of the chaos vs. order? PLUS, he now has a personal thing with Superman("you've impressed me")...Superman, who is traveling through time... I definitely smell shades of a Time Trapper storyline, which could have elements of the Pocket Universe LSH v3 #38 in it, although I'm SURe they won't kill Superman.
2) On a public forum outside of the comic world, a single comment from an "outsider" (i.e. not a Legion fan, but someone who watches the cartoon) on part 2 accused it of ripping off "Star Wars - Return of the Jedi". At first, I was perplexed by this, but when I re-watched, I realized that indeed, the Controller's dialogue in the scene where Superman battled him while they watched the LSH on the screen was EXTREMELY reminiscent of Emperor Palpatine's dialogue when he mocked Luke as he battled Darth Vader while the Rebels attacked the Death Star...both used the word "friends" repeatedly, and mockingly predicted their failure...in both cases, something happened to really tick off Luke/Superman, who each flew into a righteous rage and subsequently kicked a*s.
3) There could be a reason no one has mentioned for showing Ferro Lad's body. If indeed they are planning on introducing Douglas Nolan, they can have the viewers unsure of whether it is really Andrew before the "suprise" revelation that it is Douglas...having shown Ferro Lad's body will increase the viewer's belief that it might be him returning, and add to the mystery.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
Another RotJ-esque thing: Sending a team in to dismantle the force field before being able to destroy the Sun-Eater.
Which I think officially establishes Matter-Eater Lad as the aniLegion-verse's version of Han Solo!
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by Evolution Has Failed: 1) The Controller's argument about perfecton coming from 'chaos' rather than order...sound familiar?
Yep. It's an old, old science fiction theme. Another example is "Babylon 5."
Posted by matlock on :
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: Another RotJ-esque thing: Sending a team in to dismantle the force field before being able to destroy the Sun-Eater.
Which I think officially establishes Matter-Eater Lad as the aniLegion-verse's version of Han Solo!
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and useful. I would like to know *how* she disabled the Emerald Eye, though.