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Calling the Roll is a character-by-character look at the latest issue of the LSH...

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Let the roll be called!

SATURN GIRL: "Is that really the size of my forehead?" Hahahaha! "No alibi." Zingers for Saturn Girl-- who knew?

"I wasn't Karate Kid's best pupil." Further evidence of a great grasp of the otherwise-absent K-Kid.

Though the Brainy/Lemnos face-off is fairly satisfying, a confrontation between a telepath (who seems more empathic...) and a memory-manipulator would be quite compelling... though perhaps not so exciting visually. Unless the artist really got into facial expressions.

COSMIC BOY: Black hair! Not brown! C'mon! "sick and tired of everyone keeping secrets from me." Irony. Is Cos Brainy's "biggest adversary" as Lemnos hinted? And just what will that mean for the LSH? Next issue looks like a biggie...

SUN BOY: I thought it was Shadow Lass to whom Sun Boy spoke of leaving? I suppose we've just seen the Legion info-chain at work... Triplicate Girl to Cosmic Boy to Shadow Lass (through one or the other of them...) Too bad-- I sort of liked the idea that Shady intuitively arrived at that conclusion on her own. Ah, well-- we weren't shown the Sun Boy/Triplicate Girl date in its entiretly, after all.

Love the "I did tell him when I told you" bit. Smart. "If Cosmic Boy believes that we don't know he's playing us sometimes, then he's fooling." Maybe there aren't *two* sides, at all... perhaps there are three... or four...

TRIPLICATE GIRL/PHANTOM GIRL: Helloooo, espionage squad!

SUMMING UP: Did anyone else's copy have a couple of faded pages? They were still readable, but wouldn't have been in low lighting. The colors seem to be stepped up a notch... especially as the issue progresses. Which I appreciate. The 'shrinkdown to Colu' page was very pretty... as was the Brobdipod/Lemnos scene.

I think this is my favorite issue so far (though #2 might still be a better issue...) with great moments for Brainy, Ayla, Dirk and Cham (and even an absent Dreamy...), and a good bit of world-building with a decided nudge to the overarching plot thrown in, as well.

It's difficult for me to read a Cosmic Boy who's this unlikeable (the boy needs his Night Girl to relieve some stress... or maybe he should break out the Rokky Horror corset...).

I thought this issue was supposed to mark the end of 'nonspecific' covers? Why wouldn't Cham and Triplicate Girl or Phantom Girl be featured rather than Dream Girl and Star Boy? At last the non-appearing pair are mentioned in the story, with Dreamy even contributing to the plot.

The cover-match to #1 is intriguing...

The only other nit I have to pick is the raising of the spectre of Brainy's mother-- why mention it at all, here? I wonder if Colu will be presented as a 'bottle planet' throughout the DCU...

Really, though-- this issue was a joy.

Awesome job. Here's my thoughts

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CTR is a character-by-character look at the newest issue of THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES

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Let the roll be called!

IN ORDER OF APPEARENCE

Heroes

Brainiac 5- Querl Dox gets the biggest update to his personality here and its very good for those whom want to like this version. Querl isn't dismissive of his fellow Legionaires by habit but because he expects the best of them. There's some implications about his personality and background too. The most startling is that Querl isn't a genius actually. He's an idiot in fact. Given that Colu has 16 trillion inhabitants, it seems very rarely do Colu leave their home planet and Brainiac is an exception. Specifically, he seems to be an exception because...

"Without intellect. You have nothing! Yo are nothing! If you are percieved as intellectually inferior. You are told you are stupid and you are considered worthless and you are an outcast."

If this is true, I find it more compelling (if slightly dissapointing) as an origin. We also meet potentially Brainiac 5's mother who isn't a villain but their supreme researcher. Given Brainiac obviously was trying to check on his family under the cover of "business" to see if they were allright and his upbringing if his mother was world famous and he wasn't up to snuff...it explains a lot about his personality.

Invisible Kid- Only a brief appearence as he finds Brainiac five's message to himself from Lemnos' appearence but obviously he hangs out in Brainiac 5's lab A LOT. Invisible Kid is also a great deal more smart than we gave him credit for. If his brain really is Colu level in apptitude then he's as much a metahuman in intellect as he is in invisibility.

The Coluans of this era have Level 12 apptitude on AVERAGE while we finally get a measure on Earth as a whole (nine).

Light Lass- Light lass remains consistent as a flirtaeous, irresponsible, and generally "fun" character. Her relationship with Brainiac 5 develops in the fact that she apparently is looked down upon him because he sees a great deal more potential in her powers than she does (which doesn't really endear me to Brainiac truly). She also likes origins.

Chameleon- This is an issue for those who wanted to see Chameleon use his attenae. We get some more fun from Cham as he apparently loves finding new organic material to look upon. His odd sense of humor also manifests with his showing of what he thinks of Brainy (he has a swelled head). Cham gets to be the big hero here and pretty much outs our archenemy of the galaxy.

Saturn Girl- Saturn Girl is oddly the most approachable of the founders here. Cosmic Boy seems on an insane power trip while Garth is following him on some really stupid crusade. Saturn Girl is just interestedin helping people. She also, unlike Brainiac or Cos, is able to just sit back and play.

It's a nice change from Superhussy.

Sun Boy- Dirk once more shows himself to be a great deal more intelligent than people give him credit for. He recognized that Triplicate Girl was only dating him for information and that Cos is playing him. He does appear to be seriously considering leaving the Legion but instead of the childish 'get back at my parents' reason, we see its because he's already gut sick of the fact that Cosmic Boy and Brainy are trying to manipulate them both. For an idealist this must rankle his cage and convince him the Legion is no different than the U.P.

Cosmic Boy- Once more Cosmic boy spends most of the issue talking to the Big Giant heads. This Cos has clearly put a lot of effort to the Legion but he's lost touch with the fact that few (if any) of these people below him are his friends. The fact he breaks into Brainiac's office to find out his secrets is probably unintentional but is pretty much exactly what Richard Nixon did to guarantee his re-election. "Brainylab gate" probably won't have the same result but he needs to lose his position or be recalled at this point in my opinion. Especially if he's dispatching Trippy to being his spy.

We also find out who Cosmic Boy's faction is. Lightning Lad, Triplicate Girl, Wazoo, and what I THINk is Invisible kid....making the betrayal all the worse (it could be Karate Kid though but the brown jacket throws me).

Triplicate Girl- Poor Triplicate Girl is coming to realize that she's being used against her friends by Cos, its a sad scene where Sun Boy more or less points out he always knew she was a spy.

Villains

United Planets- The United Planet's problems are starting to mount up and Barry is revealing that the reasons for a movement being needed are growing. One of the big problems they have is Chamberlain itis, and I don't mean Wilt.

They actually think they can negotiate with a group that attacked them without cause and committed genoicide.

Lemnos- Apparently Lemnos is outed to the galaxy as a whole. He screwed up talking to Brainy and the circumstances here prevented him from erasing brainy's memory again. Lemnos doesn't seem to care much and he actually seems rather amused at the whole thing.

It's also clear Lemnos is interested not in destroying planets at Random but attacking the pillars of civilization, starting with money. He's literally an anarchist.

He still needs a code name though.

Planets

Colu- Here we see Colu as the center of science and knowledge in the galaxy. It's also one with some fun silver age referenecs and the first reference to miniaturization. I bet Colu and Imsk get along very well.

All in all, a very exciting issue.

I also think that they wanted to show Brainiac is evasive about his past. He doesn't want to reveal he's the idiot child of the galaxy's greatest scientist and is only a genius in comparison. Also, it shows that he's severely not used to dealing with emotional angles. Look how he wants to "consult with Colu's greatest scientist" when its fairly obvious he just wanted to see if his mom was alright.

It's shocking the denial of a basic concern of humanity.

GRIFE!!!!!!!
I just lost my post due to a stupid character!!!!

Anyway, I LOVE THE RUNDOWN, AS ALWAYS!!!!

I am really wondering if Lemnos has some major ties to the Legion - current member, silent founder, rejected, something. He just seems to have some sort of ties to the Legion. Who knows? Maybe he's the founder of the Espionage Squad.

Brainy's reactions in this issue make me wonder if part of the reason he was booted from Colu was due to his inability to control his emotions [a'la Vulcans]. Maybe he was a disgrace because he was just considered "too unstable."

The blurb for this issue talks about a "key Legionnaire" being removed fromt he playing field. Maybe it's Lyle. He seems to be playing all sides. Or he's just doing what those with seniority tell him. But with his dad being a politician, maybe Lyle's just doing what comes naturally. And possibly he's reporting back to the UP.
[I know, I know ... I should just shut up now and take my medication again.]

Also, there was a nice throwback to the old JLA. Cham's antennae reminds me of Ralph's nose.

I'm not real sure I like this Triplicate Girl quite as clueless as has been portrayed in this issue. I guess I just expect her to be ... more aware of what's going on around her. It's nice to see somebody calling her out on her relationship with Cos, though.

>snicker-snicker<
"No alibi."

Okay, I'm rambling now.
Time for me to take my meds.

Thanks again for the rundown!!!!!!!!

I think its Sunboy with the set up. He's clearly not happy with the way the Legion is being run and frankly I don't blame him.

Except the key player is supposed to be removed because of some secret about the U.P. Sun Boy's being unhappy with the team dynamics hardly qualifies.

Plus the quitting is supposed to antagonize relations between Brainy and Cos. And I don't see how Sun Boy's leaving leads to that.

True...

Maybe its Brainy who quits.

or is more precisely fired.

We could have a Legionaires/Legion split.

It's also possible that Sun Boy used the whole 'I'm quitting' thing as the way to prove a point to Cosmic Boy.

Maybe it's Princess Projectra and whatever finances she has left who quits?

Regarding the Quitter I agree with E.D.E. sunboy doesn't seem like a catalyst for all-out civil war. I see that it could be:

Saturn Girl
Understands Brainy and let his insults slide off. He seems to tolerate her more than his other team-mates, crediting her with the report on Terror Firma in #6 though clearly Garth gave the report at the end of issue 5. As a founder she could be the buffer between Cos/Brainy.

Invisible Kid
If Lyle's confronted by Brainy over the break-in or maybe a Cos demand to pledge allegiance. I could see Brainy losing it if Cos causes the loss of the services of Lyle's mind, which Brainy seems to respect.

I figured this comment was to say that a "gathering of carbon" equated humans with something like a blade of grass. Coluans could as easily be carbon but are a *superior* form of carbon.

I wondered if Atom Girl might not be a Coluan herself. Remember Brainy's comment about Coluans without the ultra-intellect being outcasts? Maybe that's what she is.

I wondered the same. It would seem to rule them out as twins, though they could still be siblings.

I just want to know of Cham was simply configuring his body into an imitation of lightning or if he was really using it. If he had lightning, he jumps to "most powerful Legionnaire" status.

Imra put the lightning in quotes in her speech balloon, hence the implication that Cham isn't Duplicate Boy like Projecta is Spiffany.

Cham is the secret weapon because without him they would not have discovered Lemnos. Lemnos did not take into account all of Cham's abilities and was therefore became vulnerable.

I don't put a lot of stock in what those blurbs say in Previews. Waid doesn't write them. Maybe whomever wrote it got something wrong.

I think you're being too narrow, when thinking about the Legion.

"The war that will transform the galaxy begins — inside Legion headquarters! When one Legionnaire quits the team, it strips away the last bit of civility between Cosmic Boy and Brainiac 5, violently splitting the team in two!"

Think back about Sun Boy's appearances to date. His key role seems to be as a link from the core of the Legion to their devotees. See also #1 and #3, especially. If he quits, it could cause many or most of them to question their faith and whether or not the Legion represents exactly what they thought that they did.

That in turn may be the catalyst for change within the core's ranks as much as anything else.

Me too. I suppose a mix is good to keep everyone happy.

What would really be revolutionary is a depiction of Colu as a planet of super-smart hippies, but this variation on the standard theme seems well-considered.

Maybe it signifies that the future will have different versions of worship, but that's crazy because there's only one universal truth, after all.

Hee hee. It's like each issue should be an encyclopedia.

Me too. It's weird how my sympathies go back and forth between him and Cos with almost each issue. I'm pretty sure I'd be on Brainy's team, though.

Yeah, what's with that?!

It was indeed the perfect response to Brainy's diatribe. I am still thrilled that Ayla is not feeling in any way sorry for herself this time around.

Can't be completely sure what side she falls on in the coming split. It would be nice to see her not on the same side as Cosmic Boy & Lightning Lad.


Completely agree. I also love how coversations do double-duty and we got to hear the rest of B5 & Ayla while also seeing what Cham and Saturn Girl are doing their own thing.

The only way I can convince myself that he is not a complete jerk (and a stupid jerk too) for breaking in to Brainy's lab is to imaginehe's all torn-up about Projectra's planet. Even that doesn't explain why the other folks are going along with it. What is wrong with them?

That was a good surprise. When would I have ever imagined myself saying, "More Sun Boy!"

Hmmm ... I'd better look at that scene again. I interpreted that, not as something that had actually *happened* to Querl, but as a (possibly) irrational fear of his. But my reading may have been influenced by memories of stories showing the childhoods of the previous versions of Querl.
Expectations for Dox descendants ran very high on Colu in previous continuities. It's easy for someone subjected to such expectations to believe that anything less than perfection is complete failure.

Mystery Lad wrote:

"What do you think of the visual of Colu as one gigantic circuit-board? I liked it. "Force fields and miniaturization... we have gradually and uniformly compacted our bodies... BOTTLE PLANET OF COLU."

- The giant circuit-board visual was neat, but I didn't care for the "bottle planet" conceit. I like Silver Age analogues as much as anyone, but this one struck me as kinda silly. It didn't add anything positive to the Colu mythos, imo. I was also surprised to learn that Colu has a population of some 16.3 trillion. You'd think a planet full of geniuses would have perfected birth control long ago.

"Where does this leave Imsk? A miniaturized also-ran?"

- Barry mentioned there's a link between Colu and Imsk. Stay tuned.

"Cortex... central router... clever."

- Perhaps that's how Lemnos "sowed forgetfulness" so quickly. Not unlike Universo using the Titanet to usurp billions of minds.

"Does the slash through the 'o' in 'God' Brainy utters while flying above the 'societal degenerates' enjoying their 'external combustions' have any significance?"

- On Colu, even G0d is a binary equation.

"I think Brainy's got the hots for Light Lass... "

- You might have something there. Why else would he be so stuck on the idea of Ayla "giggling about lingerie"?

"Aarrgh! Is that Brainy's mother or not? Why bring it up if you're not going to tell us?!!"

- I'm pretty sure they did tell us. Unless she was Brainy's nanny. Nah.

"A snippy as he's presented here, I'm finally enjoying 'this' Brainy. ... I suspect that's a long-range journey for this character... assuming he still *is* a teammate after the next couple of issues."

- I'll reserve judgment on Brainy until I see what "secrets" were dredged up from his lab. If they find Violet in a sens tank, for example, I'll be pretty mad at him.


"LIGHT LASS: From Winath... hmmm. What does mean for Garth-from-Trom? "

It probably means that Waid is yanking our chains. I'm just relieved that Winath still exists .... unless, as the food basket of the U.P., it's Terror Firma's next target.

"'If you do say.' Shakerish. "

- Never heard the expression before. I wonder if it's Alabama dialect (Waid's from there). A rural/anachronistic speech pattern would suit someone from an agrarian world. But since Ayla otherwise talks like a "modern" girl, it just sounded peculiar.

"'Konapple' Was this invented by the current Superboy?"

- Maybe it's a cross between a kono fruit (from which kono juice is made?) and an apple.

"It's a major demonstration of power... similar to Lightning Lad's a couple of issues ago. Fitting."

- Very impressive indeed, but I felt Brainy's explanation of her power was unnecessarily wordy and pedantic. The stunning visual of Ayla hovering over the plaza would have been enough for me. A picture is worth a thousand words.


"SATURN GIRL: "Is that really the size of my forehead?" Hahahaha! "No alibi." Zingers for Saturn Girl-- who knew?"

- For a character who's never been playful and often seemed to lack even a rudimentary sense of humor, these scenes were a welcome change. One thing bugged me, though. After seeing how aggressively she dealt with Brin in issue #5, I was surprised that Imra was so passive when B5 screamed at her.

- It's not clear why Imra was even sent on this mission. Dream Girl apparently saw roles for Cham and Ayla, but what was Imra's function? She didn't really contribute much, even before Brainy had her stop telepathing outside the group. She might have been there to keep an eye on B5 while the break-in took place, but my theory is that she was sent to Colu to get her out of HQ.

- I'll bet you a konapple that Imra sides with Brainy. Maybe she's been conspiring with him all along. It seems unlikely that B5 would plan a "coup" alone. Plus, she was the one who unseated Cos in the original continuity.


"CHAMELEON/ LIGHTNING CHAM/ SATURN CHAM/ PROTY(?)/ BIG BRAINY CHAM"

- Big Brainy Cham = Brainy + Meglaro. That how B5 *should* have been reimagined!

"The overstimulated antennae make sense for Durlan biology, though they could get annoying if overplayed, here they make for some great scenes... ultimately helping to save Colu's day."

- It's a plausible and welcome power extension. Cham could probably suss out IK as well. His bio-scanning may even be more valuable in certain situations than SG's telepathy, since it's presumably immune to psi-filters, brain scramblers, etc.

- I have the same involuntary reaction to 3boot Cham as Ayla did. EWW! It's not only the squiggly antennae that seem to have a life of their own, it's those blank, lidless eyes. He's been cuter.


"COSMIC BOY: It's difficult for me to read a Cosmic Boy who's this unlikeable...

- Far be it from me to defend Cosmic Boy (yeah, he's a creep), but sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. If I knew that an underhanded co-worker was planning to stage an internal coup - and had ambitions to overthrow the government to boot - I'd probably do whatever was necessary to get the goods on him, too. This is not really a Watergate scenario, as I see it, and depending on what "secrets" they dredge up from Brainy's lab, it might turn out that the end justifies the means.


"SUN BOY: Smart. 'If Cosmic Boy believes that we don't know he's playing us sometimes, then he's fooling.' "

- Shouldn't that line read "... then he's fooling HIMSELF"?

- I was ready to discount Dirk, but this scene turned me around. If he's the one to quit, I hope he "flames" both Cos and Brainy on the way out.


"TRIPLICATE GIRL/PHANTOM GIRL: Helloooo, espionage squad!"

- I get the impression TG, despite her obvious intelligence, is still very naive. I wonder if she has a crush on Cos, and that's the reason she's so willing to act as his "eyes and ears". It would make her kinda pathetic, though.

- I was a bit disappointed that Phantom Girl's powers were rendered moot when she couldn't figure out how to phase-disrupt the door.

- It's unusual to see Lightning Lad take part in a stealth mission (couldn't Cos have busted down the door himself?), but I suppose his presence was necessary to identify him as a member of Cos's inner circle. Does Cos trust Saturn Girl as much as he trusts Garth? I have my doubts.

- All three of the aforementioned are senior team members (I'm guessing that's true of PG), which somewhat explains their personal loyalty to Cos, but Lyle's motivations are harder to gauge. I have a feeling he'll come to rue his decision to go against Brainiac 5.


"Really, though-- this issue was a joy. "

- I'm merely grateful that the story's FINALLY kicking into second gear. For less enthused readers like myself, it's been a looooong seven months.


Additional thoughts:

LEMNOS: I'm disappointed he was outed so soon. If he had enough time to break Brainy's shoulder (how strong is he?), he certainly had time to zap his memory again. He's not only lost his cover, he's lost much of his mystery.

- Is Lemnos' ability to cloak himself derived from Invisible Kid's blood serum?

- How does he know what's going on in HQ? Who is acting as HIS "eyes and ears"?


FINAL THOUGHT - Two issues later, and we still don't know what happened to Brin in Otherspace! Gaaaah!!

I doubt it. Historically, "Brainiac" was a title granted only to the cream of the crop. His power of "unparalleled intellect" contradicts that notion, too. More likely he's considered an aberration even among Coluans *because* of his preternatural intelligence.

Regarding Triplicate Girl, I've had the thought that whole "Cosmic Boy's eyes and ears" thing might be a way of distracting us from the fact that she's actually Lemnos's spy within the Legion (thus explaining how he knows what's going on in Legion HQ).

Saturn Girl:

Imra has again her old days of glory.
And from the Levitz era her freindship with Brainy.

Brainiac 5;

Cold and hysterical at same time, like every mad doctor. But always brillant.

Light Lass:

I never be a real fan of Ayla. For me she was the least female legionnaire. (She must died in the Super Villains over Orando saga in the place of Karate Kid)
But this time I believe she can like me, I'll wait a little more time.

Chameleon :

Simply fantastic!

Sun Boy :

A real beat in the face for Luornu. The true never can keep hide. Nice guy, I hope he don't leave the team ,really.

Cosmic Boy :

What is the thing Rokk wait find in the Brainy's Lab?

Phantom Girl :

I need more about her powers and personality, but she's more sophisticated than the previous Apparition.

Triplicate Girl:

An spy for the Rokk love? Can be the beginning of a torrid romance....

Invisible Kid:

A good Brainy's pupil , and maybe the next traitor....

loved the issue. nice complicated character moments and plot lines converging. love the hefty size of the issue!!
- WnK's version of Cham has finally won me over. As well as Light Lass and Brainy. Saturn Girl still needs a hair make-over IMO.
loved the detailed art. still too gloomy in the colors for my taste.
- i didn't get the impression that Brainy's hysterical outburst meant that he was an intellectual inferior and outcast on Colu. i felt that it's how he was raised/trained to intellectually achieve at any cost. that without excelling he would be nothing. i was a bit shocked to learn that this Brainiac 4 (if that's HER title and not Brainy's father's title) actually sang lullabies to Querl. the previous incarnation of her was quite anti-maternal.
- Lemnos's cape seemed out of place to me. either give him a striking memorable visual and costume or keep him generic. but not a bland super-hero costume. i also wished he looked obviously more older than the legionnaires. he doesn't really look any older than Elysian or Brainy for that matter.
- after Lemnos' comments implicating Cosmic Boy as the true adversary, i started wondering how much of Cos' behavior is being manipulated by Lemnos. in additon to his power to manipulate memories, it seems he must be omniscient somehow. he calls for Terra Firma to teleport him outta there so he doesn't have his own teleportation powers. how does he know what's going on back at legion HQ at that moment? maybe this is where the Mon-El link comes in. Maybe he's somehow using or controlling Mon to be his eyes/ears from the Zone and reports back to Lemnos...? possible, no?
-i'm definitely interested in this storyline. i enjoy seeing the various teams at work. the one lack for me is that Lemnos and Terra Firma don't quite have "it". "It" being a striking visual or a way of resonating with evil or power that makes them memorable and fearsome. so far, there's no real Doctor Doom or Fatal Five moments that make a villain great. the closest we've come is the back-up last issue where Lemnos visit's Brainy in his lab and taunts him in a bit of hubris.

I admit, Lemnos needs a new name.

Memory Master or something cheezy like that.

I like the "Brainy as an inferior intillect on his home planet" idea. To me it helps explain why he wants to change things, why he's off planet, and maybe why he has those implants. I didn't see too many other coluans with them.

BRAINIAC 5: "Why do earthlings even [b]have fingers? What did you do, you gathering of carbon?" So just what is Brainy's bod primarily composed of-- nettles?[/b]

Silicon? Just a thought. Maybe it's just an insult, but some of the Coluans looked a bit strange (circuitry in the eyes, for example).


Which means that we see the mission to Colu aboard a good ol' spacecraft. No sweat off my brow-- I'd prefer this mode of transport for the Legion, because it can result in scenes like the one we had here.

Another fan of spaceships here - although the transmatter visuals are pretty cool, and they seemed to use something like that to get onto the planet Colu.

"Level twelve", huh? New jargon for a new boot. [b]All Earth's a nine... Brainiac hyperbole, perhaps?[/b]

You know, I read this as the planet itself having a consciousness/sentience- Lovelock's Gaia theory. Maybe I'd just like to think that our little old mudball is smarter than its current inhabitants.

Given later events, it looks like Brainy owes Dream Girl a thank you for her choice of mission-mates, at the least.

Over drinks, maybe?

What do you think of the visual of Colu as one gigantic circuit-board?

WELL-- an ambitious bit of worldbuilding. Always appreciated, by me, at least. And it raises several questions.

1). Will the Brainiacs appearing in SUPERMAN/TEEN TITANS/OUTSIDERS, etc honor this vision of Colu?

2). Does this mean Coluans are [b]born tiny? Does Brainy share the abilities of Micro Lad/Colossol Boy (and, presumably, Atom Girl)? Artificially or with tech-assist?

3). Where does this leave Imsk? A miniaturized also-ran?

At any rate, Colu made for some nice visuals... though I was disappointed by yet another world of drab gray buildings. Is paint a precious commodity in the 31st century?[/b]

It's not my favourite version of Colu (preference #1 was from Superboy's Legion) - but it's certainly interesting and visually arresting. Those poor people, though - no trees?

Good questions - hopefully we'll get the answers over the next year - or two or three. Speaking of good questions... "That's a good question - that my people answered while your people were still searching for fire." Was that a continuity blip? Brainy seems to be addressing Cham (or maybe just all non-Coluans) - does this imply that Colu is already miniaturized in the 21st century?


Does the slash through the 'o' in 'God' Brainy utters while flying above the 'societal degenerates' enjoying their 'external combustions' have any significance?

I'm still wondering about Brainy and his views on God, god or G-O-slash-D. That fire scene was nicely reminiscent of the one in Magic Wars.

I think Brainy's got the hots for Light Lass... Is it a case of Brainy Boy getting more and more unpleasant the more he's insecure and upset? He's pretty harsh in his assessment of Light Lass (sort of a 'so there' to LL detractors in Legion fandom, perhaps...)

Nice point about the LL! Brainy certainly seems to have been devoting some thought to Ayla as well as Nura. No doubt it's just professional interest....

Aarrgh! Is that Brainy's mother or not? Why bring it up if you're not going to tell us?!!

Really, she could be anyone - a sister, aunt, grandmother, friend of the family .... please don't make her a dangling plot! Did you notice how asexual she and the other Coluans look? The first one they tried to speak to, Saturn Girl addressed as "he" - but he had a bun, not the crewcut one might associate with the "male" Coluans - so I guess hairstyle is not a factor. They all dress the same and look the same, so maybe they got rid of the gender thing when they miniaturized?


It's a major demonstration of power... similar to Lightning Lad's a couple of issues ago. Fitting.

I love it when they're highly competent! Funny how Light Lass got upgraded to major player in my own mind with that scene, while having essentially the same power as before.

The overstimulated antennae make sense for Durlan biology, though they could get annoying if overplayed, here they make for some great scenes... ultimately helping to save Colu's day. Maybe that's what Nura foresaw, after all.

Cham also used them to sense the Coluans before they came crashing through the ceiling - because they were Zombie Coluans and somehow changed? Like the different variety of konapple?



It's difficult for me to read a Cosmic Boy who's this unlikeable (the boy needs his Night Girl to relieve some stress... or maybe he should break out the Rokky Horror corset...).

Quite unlikeable indeed... but a lot more interesting than the old boy scout.

I thought this issue was supposed to mark the end of 'nonspecific' covers? Why wouldn't Cham and Triplicate Girl or Phantom Girl be featured rather than Dream Girl and Star Boy? At last the non-appearing pair are mentioned in the story, with Dreamy even contributing to the plot.

Yeah, I'm not sure I get the cover thing, if it's supposed to have some significance. And the title, "Follow the Leader" - blind obedience to Cos? Or follow which leader?

I don't think Brainy's line implies that Coluans are made of something fundamentally different than carbon-based lifeforms. I think the emphasis is on Lyle being a mere "gathering" of carbon. Like a lump, a heap. Rather than say carbon organized in a useful form, like a Coluan.

Regarding Cham's antennae, the konapple scene is a little misleading, in that it implies that Cham's antennae only activate when he encounters a new type of thing, when presumably they activate whenever he encounters a new individual (which seems to be implied during the rest of the issue).

She should've asked, "Is that really the size of my BOOBS?" Cham's are much bigger than hers. Maybe he's not as asexual as everyone thinks.

I enoyed the latest issue and love the semi-spotlight on Light Lass and the impressive display of her power.

So far, the story is intriguing with lots of speculation from us. My worry is how disappointed we will be if our theories do not materialise.

A comment on Cham. If his/her antenna is sentient-sensitive only, does that mean he cannot immitate
a) objects?
b) mythical creatures?
I raise this because I was reading the Mayfair Guide to THE LEGION preboot and it was stated that he could imitate mytical creatures. Is this retconned out?

yeah there are a lot of little things in this version of the legion that just don't add up.

True DB, but for people like me that haven't read a lot of the Pre-crisis Legion or other old DC space stories, those inconsistencies in nature of powers alien worlds and origins can't bother us.

Some of the stuff the really deliberate reveal of why the legion exists or what's so bad evil about the UP adults government are more problematic.

This book is my favorite right now. However is the style a throwback to the single issues building subplots into a big resolution or is it so decompressed that actions that could happen in two pages of those old comics taking an issue to play out? Detractors could easily argue the second.

Other than that I'm really happy to read all your commentaries on this board. It really adds to my enjoyment of the comic.

Traditionally, Cham's antennae scanned any object he encountered and allowed him to replicate its form. His ability to duplicate imaginary forms, as well as to perform other feats of shape changing such as moving his internal organs around, was a learned ability, acquired over time.

Like everyone I thought the dueling covers on 1 and 7 were a hint as to the factions. As of issue 7, so much for that theory.

NEW THEORY: legionnaires behind the candidates are the members that B5 and Cos are unsure of respectively.

My reasoning (Using Cos Cover):
Cos is now sure of Ultraboy and Element Lad because of the Tripgirl dates (Both against him) but still needs more info about Sunboy, hence another conversation with TripGirl in #7. In issue 6 he mentors Starboy like a college recruiter trying to get a star quarterback to enroll. He's suspicious of DreamGirl because she likes to go to B5's lab for no reason. Even though Lightning Lad is his yes man, Garth has not yet delivered either his sister or girlfriend. He also hasn't even interacted with BigBoy on panel so thats the question there.

As for the B5 cover, he hasn't really interacted on panel with any of them aside from Cham and Cos this whole series. We know Jo doesn't like him.

So that's my story and until I'm presented with more info I'm stickin' with it.

Which explains why pre-boot his antennae were always visible given the vast amount of objects to scan (though I do agree there is a limit once the environment is more familiar )

However, it seems that Cham can only imitate living things which he has scanned now, doesn't it? Otherwise, the very clever twist of LSH#7 would not make sense at all.

I am not complaining about this limitation. Just wondering about the implications though.

Rationally, Cham's antennae should always be shown whenever he gets out of the HQ as he is bound to come across beings (sentient or otherwise) which he has not scanned yet, and it is supposed to be subconscious and involuntary.

It's interesting if that is how his powers now work, then the main preboot story in which the scanning ability came into play (the Mantis Morlo story), wouldn't have worked, since he wouldn't have scanned the chemoid duplicates of Morlo as an automatic response, since they were unliving!

A few more thoughts after reading LSH#7

1. Given Cham's involuntary scanning, isn't there an inconsistency when he met Invisible Kid for the first time way back in LSH#1? His antennae should be all over Lyle

2. The way his antennae were depicted scanning the konapple, why is it not pointing straight at Lemnos? Of course this would take away the contribution of Light Lass and the very dramatic revelation, but surely it makes consistent sense?

3. Lemnos's power seems very similar to Projectra's which could explain why her planet was destroyed, besides the financial disorder reason. Pre-boot, there was a story entitled 'Girls' Night Out' when the Princess used her power to make her and the girls undetected by the Science Police even when they were right in front of the guards. Assuming Projectra still has this ability, the destruction of Orlando could very well be an attempt to destroy her because she may be able to counter Lemnos' power, making what is undetectable obvious.

Perhaps Chams antennae are merely his means of scanning something's genetics. Thus, he would need to scan each genetically different individual, though not necessarily each genetically identical fruit of a particular propogated variety. To mimic objects, or perhaps even creatures on a less intricate scale, he may have means of scanning other than his antennae.

Now that Waid has referred to Brainy as "the smartest person in the galaxy" (Wizard article), I trust we can focus our attention on more important topics, like who's sleeping with whom, and what color lingerie Light Lass prefers.


I protest. Element Lad has his own agenda, but his political loyalties are still up in the air. Personally, I think he's a better match with Brainy than with Cos, but we could be in for a surprise.

You're right about Jo, though.

I confess I was glad NOT to see Ultra Boy for an issue, but disappointed we didn't see any more of T-Wolf or Projectra since they were introduced in #5 and #6. Ayla, Cham and Imra all had nice moments in #7. Invisible Kid and Triplicate Girl have come across as "weak" characters so far, an unfortunate throwback to the Adventure era.

I would like to see Colossal Boy, Shadow Lass, Element Lad, Triplicate Girl, T-Wolf, Projectra and Sun Boy get more panel/action time in upcoming issues, as well NOT have any more Legionnaires introduced until then.

Is the form Cham takes between his Saturn Girl and B5 forms ... his true form. Many of the protrusions looked abit like his antennae.
Discuss

I wondered about that too. After seeing Lemnos' silhouette in the lab, I thought Cham 's antennae were detecting him instead of the Coluans... But then, Cham's antennae detected him again later on, and his anteanne only do that with new things.

Unless he wasn't able to "scan" Lemnos completely the first time, and so his antennae resurfaced the second time?

I agree with Kid Quislet, I was glad not to see Ultra Boy again. I find this version too much of a jerk (no offense to Jo fans), and I have to deal with people like that in college fairly often.

This issue turned me into a major Light Lass fan, and I'm starting to like Cham and Imra a lot better too.

Overall a god issue.

I've seriously warmed to the new Cham. He is cute.

I burst out laughing at the "lingerie/worst compliment/no alibi" stuff. Perfect!! More, please.

If a planet is going to be "destroyed", I much prefer the way it was done to Colu rather than the apparent obliteration of Orando.

The one thing I can't seem to wrap my mind around is this notion that these super-smart Coluans ave allowed their planet to become so overpopulated that they have to shrink everything. Ummm.... no. Can't get it. Had no problems with Phantom Girl's new origin, but I just can't grasp this. Need more data.

i this issue !!

the interaction between the characters was brilliant !! Brainy's "insults" about the other LEGIONNAIRES were so funny, and the info given out by him was so interesting, Mark's writing this issue was probably the best yet !!

roll on the LEGIONNAIRE divide !!

Matthew.

Good point, Lash. It seems like some age-old concepts like contraception and emigration would be simpler solutions.

But those wacky Coluans decided to go with the most complicated, ridiculous solution instead.

Hmmm... if I look at it in "silver-age" logic, it almost makes perfect sense.

But I still can't let myself believe that they thought shrinking everything was a better solution...

Wasn't it technically "data storage" rather than overpopulation?

We've seen that the Coluans are wired to a grid. What if Coluans thought of themselves as components in a giant computer. Their view on population could be something like Moore's Law. (the exponential growth of computer chip density)

This would also prevent them from leaving the planet because they would sever the link with the other processing units.

"Data Storage" is just their word the sum knowledge stored in every Coluan or population.

Maybe that's why Brainy is "dumb". He could be smarter than any given Coluan, but stupid because he's off the grid. He may have been forced off because of his radical ideology contaminating the network. It would explain why he would describe earth's intelligence as a whole as well.

That makes a lot of sense. I hope we'll see it explored in the book.

I'm wondering if Lemnos' tampering with the Coluans is the "push" that made them decided to abandon their organics as stated by Brainiac 8/Indigo in Teen Titans #25. He did show them how weak their flesh is.

It would have been nice if Atom Girl/ Violet would have appeared next to them on Colu after they had shrunk down, after having been with them the whole trip.

On closer inspection I wonder if Saturn Girl _does_ speak. On page 2(why don't they use page numbers anymore!?), last bottom panel, the "Good! Now Lightning Lad" bubble is definitely speech. But, to me, it seems to be more a part of Saturn Girl's side of the conversation than Cham's.

Hmmm...maybe Brainy's biggest adversary isn't Cos...maybe it's Invisible Kid. Could be as soon as Brainy left Earth he went running to Cos to tell him about Brainy's supposed "secrets" so as to get into the lab unobserved by Brainy. On the last page, Lyle seems to be going directly for something, doesn't he? Keep your enemies closer, indeed!

I think it would be great if Brainy's "greatest adversary" turned out to be someone less than obvious.

Or he was affected by Lemnos' powers, so he kept scanning him, forgetting the result, scanning him, forgetting the result, etc.?

Q U O T E S F R O M S P A C E !

Well, Brainy does say that Colu is the most densely populated planet in the universe with a population somewhere in the trillions.

Yeah, but APB is right that the reason for shrinking the planet's population was the need to facilitate building "data storage facilities". The population is presumably needed to maintain and utilize those storage facilities.

It's hard to accept that such an intelligent society wouldn't automate maintenence. I still think some sort of collective/networked intelligence explains the need for unlimited population growth and lack of emigration.

That's pretty exciting, in a depressing sort of way! Lyle has a tradition of being an Earthgov spy - maybe this time he is indeed working for the SPs (or someone else) and that showdown with his father was just an act. Maybe his father doesn't even know he's a spy.

And that could shed some light on the cover for #10, where Lyle seems to be turning his back on the team! The virus he encoded his blood sample with could have been a decoy!

][/QUOTE] I still think some sort of collective/networked intelligence ... [/QB][/QUOTE]

Hmm...sounds too Borg-ish to me. I hope the powers at be don't tread too closely to this concept.

Had another thought. Given how cold and calculated Coluans seem to be, how do they express sexual/sensual passion? After all, with such an overpopulated planet, there's got to be a whole lotta' lovin' goin' on.

I wasn't thinking Borg when I thought about that but more of an organic form of the "body of knowlegdge" systems of the big consultancy or law firms.

Colu is the Consultancy firm .... OF SPACE.

Problem solving is their only export. Everyone on planet works for the firm and are called to bring their own knowledge when the system "calls" on their particular area of expertise.

Not unlike a business consultant or lawyer might bring in a pharmaceutical or tax expert from elsewhere in her firm to help with a particular issue a client has on a certain case.

I always thought there was something Coluan-esque about those McKinsey guys.

We had a hint of this aspect of Colu in the postboot, when the Coluans got into a fee-payment dispute over Planet Hell, the prison they had designed.