LSH #7 A Choice of Dooms by Paul Levitz, art by Steve Lightle & Mike DeCarlo, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



The five Legionnaires in limbo land on a planet which is covered with factory machinery. Cham flies off to investigate the surroundings. The others suddenly realize that they on a giant conveyer belt leading into a massive furnace; Jo flies them away to safety.

On Earth, Proteans are protesting, demanding civil rights and citizenship.

At Legion HQ, Ayla demands membership although her power now duplicates that of her brother. She's surprised to hear that Garth and Imra had a baby. Rokk muses to himself that this fits in with his plans; when Wildfire asks him what those are, Rokk says he wants to share some ideas. Blok muses that they may lose a Legionnaire and is interrupted by Computo. Brin works out in the gym, is distracted, then tells Blok about having a detective track down Ayla.

On the factory planet, Cham returns; Jo explains that he surveyed the area but Cham notes that he missed the Control Center. Jan quietly congratulates Cham. They head to the Control Center, wondering what is being built that is causing so much destruction to the planet. Tinya investigates the Center and sees that someone is building a Sun-Eater.

On Earth, Marte Allon prepares to move, with help from Gim. Chief Zendak calls to report that he's requested Legion help to round up the remains of the LSV. Gim rushes off and Marte wonders what will happen to the Legion when she's no longer President.

Cham and Vi explore, following electrical circuitry, to find robot workers with sophisticated equipment. They are attacked but escape.

At Legion HQ, Legionnaires prepare to leave to hunt down the LSV. Lar says that his head has cleared after the Talok incident. Ayla runs into Brin and gives him the brush-off.

On Winath, two SP brothers examine a dead private investigator sitting before a monitor. They learn that not only was he an Earthling with a visitor's visa tied in with some Legion business, he was also a descendant of Batman.

The limbo Legionnaires, except for Tinya, enter the main command building and observe someone at a console, speaking in a language they can't translate. Through a doorway enters a Controller, who addresses the being as Armorer, mentally zaps him and commands him to follow. They leave through a star gate. The Legionnaires see different portals; one has an image of Earth above it. Tinya suddenly arrives with news of the Sun-Eater and Jan decides that they must give up returning home to destroy the machinery building the Sun-Eater.

Comments:
The Limbo Legionnaires are heavy with Espionage Squad members - a good thing, since they accomplish some detective work. There's some fisticuffs with big robots, but the story on the factory planet moves forward with stealth.

Jo's trying to be the problem-solver man of action - they probably wouldn't get to the planet without him (unless Cham changed into a variety of creatures to move the capsule to the surface) and he does survey the surroundings. That he was somewhat boastful about taking care of the survey business, while missing a critical area, clearly annoyed Jan. Cham pointed out Jo's omission; Jan, as leader, should have suggested that Jo take more care in the future rather than whisper behind his back to Cham.

Tinya has quite a record for discovering big things. The Sun-eater is a good surprise for readers. The last time the Legion dealt with a Sun-eater, nobody was willing to help them except the Fatal Five, who were more or less forced to participate, and the thing was destroyed only with the sacrifice of Ferro Lad. Tinya - and the others - have good reason to be alarmed.

There are a lot of stories promised in the interludes: Protean rights, dead Bat-descendant, Marte's worries about the Legion, Rokk's mystery plan, the LSV, Ayla's return and her ex-relationship with Brin.

The most solid of these is Ayla's story. Her fiery return, demanding to be admitted as a member, is evidence of her renewed commitment to the group, and her happy shock at learning of Garth and Imra's newborn son is quite a charming scene. I did find it peculiar that she didn't know, or figure that the baby would have been born by now, but perhaps she was staying at some secluded farming retreat on Winath that was cut off from all communication. Nevertheless, in the time she took between defeating Mekt and returning to Earth, she must have given her brother's future offspring some thought. She'd clearly thought about his membership in the Legion and how his power might preclude her.

She treats Brin coldly, harshly - but clearly states her position. It probably wouldn't have mattered if she knew he sent a detective to look for her - she's made up her mind and it's over. Ayla's moving on with her life.

Rokk has plans, which involve consulting with Wildfire. That suggests recruiting new Legionnaires from the Academy, which has been on the slate for a while.

The dead detective is most likely the one Brin hired to find Ayla, although it's not outright stated. I sort of rolled my eyes when he was revealed to be a descendant of Batman, but we've got Laurel Kent and Oli-3 Queen; it's the sort of thing that happens in 30th century stories. If your 20th century ancestor was a big deal hero, I guess you pay attention to your lineage. The twin SPs examining the scene look like they're based on somebody from real life, but I don't know who.

Lar and Shady refer to their mission to Talok VIII in Tales; he was last seen taking off to explore space alone. It's not clear how much time has elapsed but it must have been a rather short exploration.

Shvaughn Erin sees the Legionnaires off as they go after the LSV. In Tales, she's out in Dark Circle territory with Dev-Em; her part in that mission is either over, or this is one detail not coordinated between the two books. It's not a big deal, but keeping her with Dev-Em would have afforded an opportunity to develop another SP character as temporary Legion liasion. I wonder if they were considering ending her relationship with Jan at this point.

Element Lad's bad habit of making snide comments displays itself again. I was struck by Jan's whisper to Cham - "good thing SOMEBODY remembers that it's not what your powers are, but how you use them."I agree with you, FC. He should have told Jo directly, I prefer Cosmic Boy's habit of telling one outright.

LoSH v3 7

Having spotted a planet as they make their way through interdimensional space, the lost Legionnaires make a landing. Cham goes off to scout. The others escape from the conveyor of radioactive rock they’ve landed in that’s heading towards a giant furnace. The whole world is being consumed in a manufacturing plant.

Jo takes a proactive role as a confident jock in the absence of an El, much to the admiring glances from Tinya. He’s not quite as subtle with his powers though. He seems to have vibrated out of the containment sphere using superspeed. We see his penetra vision, but learn that radiation still affects him, even through his invulnerability.

Element Lad senses the elemental composition of things around him, which seems like a rarely used extension of his power. He scans the atmosphere, but not the ground, so he missed the radiation. He looks unconscious in the final panel from the radiation in the area. Perhaps the giant furnace was activated when they landed on it. Otherwise, it seems a bit odd that they didn’t notice it. They have left their containment bubble behind however, which could have been the point of the scene, along with the world’s introduction.

As Proty’s campaign for citizen’s rights, Ayla makes an overly aggressive demand about re-joining. She gets a dig in at Dreamy about the time Nura changed her powers. But no one has any issue with Ayla returning, making her outburst look a little foolish and pointless. Ayla also learns that she’s an aunt. I guess she hadn’t met anyone between her arrival and the meeting. Ayla’s more demanding personality is worth noting ahead of Vi’s return.

Rokk’s slide into becoming The Trapper continues as he’s caught talking about master plans to himself by Drake I got the feeling that Rokk was going to bring Wildfire into his confidence right after the meeting, but there’s no more on it this issue. This could be an important subplot for Drake, as he’s been shown in a few of the Academy stories, so we’ll see how this works out.

Blok links the meeting scene and talking to Brin in the gym. We see Brin;s bestial expression, and powers, as he beats the equipment. He’s received the results from the detective he sent to track Ayla. It’s a set up scene for Brin’s own subplot in a few issues; his meeting with Ayla later in the issue and also for a plot that would appear in the annual.

The detective he hired has been killed, and it’s revealed that he was a descendant of Batman. That’s quite precise considering all the knowledge that’s been lost over the centuries. “Dear BatEditor, Should you be thinking of having a Batman-of-the-Future story, please don’t as we have dedded him. Yours Keef ‘n Paul”

Back in limbo world, Jo’s confidence gets a knock when Cham discovers a control center his powers swept past. His overconfidence being undone was similar to Lar’s over in tales. But Jo was a little more brash about his capabilities than Lar was. Jo makes a defensive comment as cover. It’s notable that he defers to Tinya, when the espionage squad members go to investigate. It doesn’t take Tinya long to discover that some of the energy converted from the break up of the planet is being used to create a suneater.


Marte Allon gets an update on the capture of some remaining LSV members, as she talks about resigning form Earth president. Touching her life jewel she gives an ominous warning of difficult times to come.

Back on Limbo Land, Vi and Cham do some more investigating. We learn that Vi no longer likes enclosed spaces following her senstank experience. Following an attack by robots, Vi thinks there’s something wrong with the whole place, while Cham is determined to use its technology to get them home. They will need to, having allowed their bubble to be destroyed in the opening scene.

At Legion HQ, Ayla takes the front foot once again, declaring herself to be on a mission team. She meets Brin who wants to know why she left so abruptly. I guess he can’t remember so many issues ago. Ayla wanted Brin to be part of her new life and he didn’t put her ahead of the Legion. Since Ayla has returned to the Legion, Brin thinks they both now share the same goals and that everything should return to the way it was. He doesn’t realise what Ayla has gone through to reach her decision. I wonder if this treatment of Brin ever struck me as being harsh. Polar Boy would have struggled to give a colder shoulder. But to choose another route would have been to slip back to the lovelorn Ayla of old.The Ayla/Brin conversation here links nicely to the death of the detective on Winath. He was part of that subplot, but the death now starts another.

Lar and Tasmia remind us of their recent trip to Talok VIII. It’s a single panel and does well to show the two books are integrated.

Back on limbo land, the team enter the control tower. They find someone at the controls (proving Jo’s earlier penetra-scan to be incomplete), but he’s just a minion of a Controller. After an exchange, The Controller leaves through a portal. The Legionnaires discover that each portal connects to a different planet. One of which is Earth. They decide to go home, just as Tinya returns to tell them about the Sun Eater. Jan makes a ponderous statement about completely demolishing the planet, even if it means they can never return home.

There are thirteen pages of the main plot, and I just don’t think that there’s enough momentum in it to really carry the book. I get the feeling that on reading the next part, I’ll think it could all have been condensed into a single issue story. By the numbers it seems to work. The threat escalates from lost world and controlled robots to Suneaters and Controllers. The reappearance of Sun eaters and background on how they can be created by Controllers is certainly a Legion sized threat. The heroes are given a choice to return home or destroy a threat that might cause harm later. But I think it gets off to too slow a start. The Legion spend three pages getting off a conveyor belt just so that their transport is destroyed. Battles with ACME robots later also don’t add much.

There are some character reminders. Cham is methodical and shows off his investigative skills; Vi doesn’t like being enclosed; Jo is an action first-think slightly later character; It’s something that Tinya is aware of, but she loves him for other things. She discovers the Sun Eater, as Jan’s leadership is quiet. He praises Cham, but not doesn’t dent Jo’s wounded pride. Either that, or he’s siding with Cham. Elsewhere the Ayla/ Brin subplot reaches another turning point, as Ayla makes sure she’s integrated back onto the team and its operations. A few more character moments and less conveyor belt/robot fighting/ sub plotting might have given us more of an insight into Jan or Vi or Tinya.

There’s lots of little things going on in the subplots. Ayla’s reintegration to the team and her talk with Brin being the main one. It’s probably a stronger plot thread than the main one. Marte Allon’s ominous feeling and Cos’s plans for the future are throw- aways here. With Levitz’s view that he’d rather leave the rest of the DCU alone, the death of Batman’s descendant is a quite a turnaround. I’m not terribly interested in the JLA descendants in a Legion book, so perhaps the impact of this one was lost on me. I’m watching this one with the hindsight of DC editorial issues with character use both pre and post Crisis.

This is one that doesn’t really stand out, although there’s nothing terribly wrong with any of it.

De Carlo’s inks give Lightle’s pencils a different look Lightle doesn’t seem to experiment too much. But there are a few treats. There’s a nice vertical/horizontal establishing shot on page 2; out of panel gym bars and Vi on 7 and 14. Zendak’s LSV panel gets a technological border and Ayla’s ascension to the Legion cruiser takes place literally between panels on 17. That one is a very nice idea.

Comments




I didn’t see a panel where Jan was annoyed, but…

Jan tells Jo to bring the bubble down slowly. “Go for a gentle touchdown”
Jo retorts with “save your leadership…that’s common sense”

It is a bit of an obvious instruction, and Jo pretty much tells him that.
Jan compliments Cham (for being suspicious) and then Vi (for focusing on survival)
Tinya is looking admiringly down at Jo (who is flying them all) and says “and getting home”

At Jo’s landing it’s Jan who shouts “Hey!” although Jo does apologise.
It’s Tinya who supports Jo with “Good enough for me”


Only Jo and Tinya don’t get compliments, but they support each other as a couple. So, there’s a divide in the group.

Jan does then compliment Jo with a “good work” and Jo in full her pose accepts it.

That seems to set Cham off. “If you’ll excuse me,” he says as he goes scouting. “You wait here. It’s abrupt enough for Tinya to call after him. Perhaps having his heroic pose interrupted, or perhaps just picking up on Cham’s tone, Jo puts him down. “Oh let him go and “…but he likes to feel useful, humour him.”

There’s no love lost between Jo and Cham there

Later, Jo is surveying the area, attached to Tinya. Element Lad is clearing the air for Vi. Cham returns and goes straight into goading mode. “Oh, there you are… what did [b]you find out…”

Hero-jock Jo tells him pretty much what the planet is for. But he missed the control tower. Cham is only too pleased to tell him. Now Cham could have entered the scene and told them immediately about the control tower. But that’s isn’t how Cham operates. He deliberately sets Jo up.

Jo put in his place, Cham gets a whispered compliment and they’re off. The compliment is made clearer by Jan’s “that control tower sounds like our best bet.” That prompts a defensive comment form Jo. Cham offers a further explanation, to ensure he has an answer to anything Jo could come up with.

Jo’s still huffing when Jan splits the team. It’s Tinya’s lead he follows, not Jan’s.

Jo may have issues with leaders. He was huffy with Nura too. But he could just be a bit thin skinned, and it’s something that Cham is taking advantage of.

The Espionage squad splits again when they leave Jo and Jan. Vi and Cham work well together. No sniping, always focused. Tinya, more connected to the main team, goes it alone.

Jo disagrees with Jan later on about leaving Tinya behind, and wants to confront the minion. It’s Jan who shows some caution (that conveniently turns out to be right moments later). He’s also the one to make the final decision for the group.

I have noticed that Jan often decides on the shoulder of others who have reached the same conclusions. Cham had suspicions and Vi had survival instincts that the group acted on. Cham found the control tower. Tinya was the one who said that they couldn’t leave. That could be seen as either inexperience or as letting those with the correct skills guide the group.

So:-

Jan knows when he thinks he has to make leadership comments, to keep his team ticking along. He isn’t as direct or as strong-willed as Nura, but does let the group reach its own conclusions. That can lead to ego jostling beneath him.
Jo has an ego that likes to be pandered to, and he doesn’t take instruction terribly well. He’s completely committed to Tinya.

Tinya is the only one who doesn’t need anything from the others. She’s as comfortable with the team’s mainstays as she is with the espionage squad. She has Jo and loves him even if he isn’t the brightest. Or possibly partly because he’s not the brightest. She acts on her own initiative as much as Cham does, and has a habit of getting to the Big Reveal.

Cham would be suspicious of a My Little Super Pony get together. He looks for things to justify that. He’s also not above derailing group harmony if he can show off his own detective skill or puncture someone’s ego.

Vi doesn’t like enclosed spaces. I wondering if her getting clear air from Jan wasn’t also related to the gunk around her in her sens-tank. She’s focused on the group’s priorities and works to achieve these. Her decisions tend to absolutes. There’s something rotten with the world rather than just something being amiss.



Yes, she does. I like to think that she’s a very good investigator and that we’re not just missing out on all the dead end corridors she phases into first.

The Sun Eater and the Controllers should have been a Big Thing here. But I just didn’t get that feeling. Possibly due to all the jumping back and forth of…





The poor woman was kept in a cocoon so that Levitz could do all that for dramatic effect. Possibly being in that cocoon gives her another link to Vi.



I wonder if there was any back lash form fans sympathising with Brin’s treatment?



Having seen Grev over in Tales, and Lar’s idea to try again to convince Shady to travel with him, I wonder if there was a feeling that he could be a member?

From this set of rereads, I still think there was a really good opportunity to bring in members at the start of #318. Rokk is drip feeding his secret plans over months. But it’s convenient that the main team haven’t seen any real action since the LSV gated Orando away. The remainder of that story focused on the Legionnaires stuck on Orando. The next story was a Lightning Lass spotlight and this and next will again focus on the Legionnaires on Orando. With a team already stretched, they should be aware of what another major threat could bring.




Yay! Nice to know it wasn’t just me. Bats descendant reminded me more of Jonah Hex than Bruce Wayne though, No surprise that Giffen went on the do Hex. I wondered about the twins too.



Good spot on Erin. There was me complimenting having the Shady/Lar continuity tip of the hat. Considering what happens later, a lot of people would have liked an early end to that relationship.

Jan has made a few snide comments in the past year - mostly against Nura as leader. I think I'm biased against him at this point, so may have been reading more into his mood than is indicated. It may be for the readers' benefit, but he hardly needs to reassure Cham that his power is useful at this point. This group is somposed of well-experienced Legionnaires. It was different when Tinya reassured Jacques about the importance of the less-muscular powers; he was the new kid. And you'd think Jo and Cham would be better friends/more appreciative of one another, since Cham saved his bacon when Jo was accused of murder - but maybe everybody's on edge here.

You make a good point about the divisions in the group and the ego jostling, the sniping back and forth. I believe Nura would have put an end to this; Jan lets it slide, doesn't want to deal with it or doesn't see the need to crack down on his team here. It's a different management style. Jo does appear to have a problem with leaders, but isn't really up to the task himself. You've delinieated a lot of personality development in this story.



Agreed. Must have been a slow conveyor belt to take three pages. The robots were filler for me, but may have appealed to the action/battle readers. Perhaps if there was less time spent on belts and robots, there would have been more sub-plots disrupting the flow of the main story - or the story would have had to go past the big decision to forego returning home. We'll see if there are a bunch of scenes which could have been cut from #8.



There should have been, among fans of Brin! I'd have to check the letters, though.

I was looking for a panel where he looked visibly annoyed. Oh, he snarks a lot. I'd like to see someone do it while he's leader as he was happy to do it as deputy (The "I snarked the Dream Girl, but I didn't snark the Element Lad" single should be out for this Klordny). On the plus side, I've a better grasp of the different leadership styles Nura and Jan have.



ACME robots are only really added when the writer realises it's been too many pages in an action based comic without a fight scene or when the page count doesn't add up and needs some padding. (AD: ACME Robots are delivered directly to your Omniprinter and their tharok circuits means quick self assembly! (and some minor death-dealing))

Baxter # 7

Once again, I enjoyed reading the reviews of the issue more than the actual issue. Thoth's breakdown of the characters' personalities and interactions was particularly insightful; these traits are present in the actual story, but they don't come out quite as strongly as in the summary. To me, it looked more like typical Legion bantering--the kind we've seen in countless issues of countless super-team titles. The personalities just don't come off that strongly to me as some did in previous stories. Maybe Giffen's departure reveals that he had quite a lot to do with developing the characters.

It doesn't help that none of the five featured Legionnaires were among my favorites. Here Levitz misses an opportunity for me to really admire and care for them, as he did with Cham back in 301 and Jacques in the Dream Demon plotline. Those stories showed us different sides to the characters and gave us traits to admire (Cham's self-knowledge and determination to get his powers back; Jacques' loyalty to a man he'd never met but to whom he felt he owed so much). Here the Legionnaires go through the motions, and I felt there was no one to root for.

Jo, for example, goes nuts and flies the others away at the merest mention of radiation--leaving behind their space bubble and only apparent means off the planet. Cham one-ups Jo, and Jan secretly compliments him for doing so. The girls are more subdued, though Tinya stares admiringly at Jo. Vi doesn't get much of a chance to express herself (other than the tight spaces comment), though she does shine in battle.

One of the cardinal rules of story-telling for me is that I must be given a reason to care about at least one character, and it doesn't matter if I've cared about the character before. Every story is a new experience. "A Choice of Dooms" failed on that rule.

Another cardinal rule of mine is that every scene, character, and setting must demonstrate sufficient reason for being there, and there can be no wasted scenes or "bloating." The wasted scene of the ACME robots has already been mentioned, and it takes our heroes too long to get where they need to go: to the portal room where they spy the Controller and his lackey. I, too, feel the story could have been much shorter if not for the numerous subplots that had to be updated. Most of these subplots are good, but they highlight how little substance can be found in the main story.

While this is not a cardinal rule, another thing that bugs is the entire Controller/Sun-Eater angle. I think this might be the point where Levitz really started to hammer home the connections to past stories to a point where they ceased to be enhance the present stories or fill out our understanding of the characters. Instead the connections to the past become the central focus of the book. In my view, we don't need another Sun-Eater/Controller story (especially right on the heals of an LSV tale); that story has been done. I'd rather see some new adventures with new villains.

(And it seems rather odd that, in the vast cosmos and infinite dimensions, the Legionnaires just happen to stumble upon a world where a Sun-Eater is being produced! Small universe.)

So the main story--despite the magnitude of its stakes and the fateful decision Jan makes at the end--gets off to a slow start for me. How about those subplots?

It's great to have Ayla back, though she comes off as childish for picking a fight with Nura (who once again impresses me with her calm control and refusal to be baited). Her reaction to learning about the baby sure took the wind out of her solar sails! Since Ayla left the Legion before the pregnancy was announced, she may never have even known a baby was on the way.

I'm on the fence about her encounter with Brin. When I first read this story, and even on re-read, I felt sorry for Brin. He's clearly hurt by her rejection, and it was hard to see her cut him down in the hangar. However, Brin had it coming. He never tried to see things from her perspective. Instead he hired a private detective to track her down and acts mystified as to why she left him in the first place. He practically demands an answer from her. No wonder she wants to keep their relationship strictly professional.

A few other things happen, including Marte Allon moving out of the presidential suite. In hindsight, I regret her leaving office as she provided a sympathetic foil for the Legion--someone who was in the Legion's corner but constrained by the politics and duties of her office. Being Gim's mother provided an additional source of tension and story possibilities. I can't remember much about her successor, President Desai.

The private detective hired by Brin meets an unfortunate end--nothing wrong with a murder mystery subplot. But was it necessary to throw in that he was a descendant of Batman? This is another one of those convenient connections that just seems too much.

I've come to enjoy the fact that modern dramas such as those on Netflix run nine or ten episodes and then take a break. This format alleviates the need to come up with something every week and keep the story going. I feel like Baxter # 7 is one of those "keep the story going" issues. It keeps the Legion moving but, like a treadmill, there isn't much to see.

You touch on a number of things I found flat about the story HWW. In a title that's devoted a substantial amount of time to the heroes stuck on Orando, in this story, as well as since they were stuck there, I'd expect to have a strong idea of how they felt about their lives and each other. Perhaps there's a balance to be struck between '60 Avengers at each other's throats and characterisation that's subtle to the point of leaving a character vacuum to a lot of readers. There's a few things that can be teased out of this story, but not enough to make me think that there was an awful lot more going on.



I think it was just the Controllers/ Sun Eaters turn. Not to mention that the Controllers would be part of the plans for Crisis, so perhaps Levitz wanted to get in there first.

Mordru didn’t wake up in the Annual his story appeared in. Starfinger was beaten in a couple of panels by Garth when he reappeared. A lot of the LSV turned out to be fodder, despite that oath form the first issue. Levitz has often been quoted as admitting not being the best creator of villains. Perhaps the Omen/Prophet feedback didn’t help there. Like Omen/Prophet, there’s a better story in the bones of this one, than we got when it was fleshed out,




Next planet over from Mr Controller…

Mr Controller 2: Darn it Gladys! I can’t focus on my work with all that racket next door! Bloody Legionnaires!
Gladys Controller: I’ve a good mind to call the … well, not the Guardians… but to call over there and give them a piece of my mind!
Mr Controller 2: Wait, it’s stopped. Now I can finish this Singularity Bomb in peace…



Like falling across the Controller planet, what are the chances that a Legionnaire’s parent would become president by computer selection? Slender, without a Computo subplot, I should think.



In an alternate world, the main team would get on with an adventure of their own, possibly brining in the Academy students. Later we’d learn what happened to the lost Legionnaires in a concise one issue story. One that will have repercussion in as they return to Earth.

As I've grown older, I've really come to appreciate the value of self-reflection--in life as well as in fiction. When characters don't reflect, it calls attention to the convention that they have to keep moving to keep readers interested. But as a reader (then and now), I lose interest if there's not something of personal significance happening.



I do give Levitz credit for finding some new and interesting things to do with the villains--especially in how Starfinger and Mordru were so easily defeated. As with any super-hero series, one expects to see recurring appearances by the rogues gallery. But the Sun-Eater was a one-time nemesis from long ago (albeit one which resulted in the death of a Legionnaire). Who's next? Morlock? Some stories should not have sequels.



I recently learned that the star of one of the most iconic music videos of the early '80s was the daughter of Nigeria's first president. Such connections are possible.

Re: the over-extended ACME robot fight, this comment by Harry Broertjes on the merits of the early Adventure stories is apropos:

"The Marvel influence had yet to hit DC and the Legion.... which meant that back then there was little in the way of agonized introspection and option-weighing, and that fight scenes weren't lovingly rendered across eight or ten pages." -from Archives volume 3

There are probably readers who enjoy the long fight scenes (and giant robots). Obviously not us.



Funny you should mention Morlock, given the return of Dev-Em in Tales.... and has anyone noticed how much Morlock looks like he could have been Chuck Taine's father?

Brin Londo using super acrobatics against a highly adaptable robot to prove his humanity could be a scene of beauty. The Legion clearing the lower level minions of uninspired Planet Videogame a bit less so,



Lost Tales of the Legion: Long had the outcasts, the disenfranchised and the lost dwelt below our cities. They build downwards, seeking a new, better life. For centuries they forged their society, beneath the shifting tides of our own. Beneath our hatred and beneath our wars. Until Supergirl tunnelled through their world during her Legion initiation, causing untold damage. In the turmoil of rebuilding they discovered the toxic dumps (v4) of mankind that threatened the destruction of both man... and Morlock. Would the builders of a subterranean utopia be able to save mankind from itself?

Yes! I noticed this when I read my first Legion story (Adv. 328), which features a bust of Morlock.

"Coming up . . . Taine family secrets on Legion Insider!"

Tales #320 The Magpie Complex by Paul Levitz & Mindy Newell, art by Dan Jurgens & Karl Kesel, Colors by Carl Gaford, Letters by Adam Kubert



Oli-3 Queen is giving a tour around Legion HQ. A yellow-skinned humanoid with multi-faceted eyes, named Magpie, has his own reasons for being there - he has plans to tour the HQ himself, for some shady purpose. He's pleased when he sees Dawnstar and a one-man cruiser leave; with his super-sight, he sees Gim and Dirk on the roof and hopes they'll also depart.

The two Legionnaires share their hopes that Dawnstar will be able to find the lost Legionnaires now that Brainy has boosted her tracking ability. They then discuss plans for the evening and Gigi Cusimano.

By 2 AM, Magpie finds the area deserted and enters the HQ with a dematerializer. Since this mimicks Tinya's power, the security system allows him in. He's been supplied with security codes and also has a scanner which imitates Chief Zendak's identity. Magpie wonders who has ordered this heist, although the Monitor hired him.

He passes through a hall with statues of dead Legionnaires, another one with villains. What he sought was not in the trophy room. As he enters a room with statues of inactive Legionnaires, he sees Brin approach a statue of Ayla, then sit down and mope beside it. Although Magpie considers Brin to be one of the less intelligent Legionnaires, he's relieved that he has escaped detection. Consulting a floor plan, he finds his way to the multi-lab and retrieves his target, a multi-chip. Suddenly, he's interrupted by Thom and Nura; she foresaw his intrusion. As Nura attacks, Thom increases the mass of the dematerializer so that it sinks into the floor. However, Magpie has a panic button, hits it and disappears. He's left the micro-chip behind. Nura is puzzled, since the lab should have been teleportation-proof and Magpie got through all their defenses; Thom wonders if Brainy has messed up Dawnstar as well.

Magpie is glad to be done with the Monitor, who he considers creepy. The Monitor and Lyla discuss the failed heist; the Monitor contacts Universo to report failure, but Universo says he no longer needs the timechip, since he's put other plans into motion.

The next morning, Brin encounters Computo and asks why it failed to defend the HQ. Computo offers an explanation of a burned-out unit, claims it has been solved, then leaves; Brin discovers that he can't open the door and wonders what Computo was up to.

Comments:
The story is very simple: Magpie gives us a tour of the HQ, while trying to steal something, supplying us with a variety of interesting tidbits. Additionally, players are put in position for upcoming stories.

Magpie describes himself as the greatest thief, apparently displacing my beloved Ben Pares as primo heist-master in the Legionverse. He has the advantage of super-eyes but otherwise relies on gadgets which were given to him by his employer, the Monitor. He should have had to use his own gadgets to qualify as super-thief, but it's implied that even he couldn't break into the HQ otherwise.

Thom, Nura and Brin may have a different opinion; all voice distrust of the security systems in place.

It's only at the end that we learn the object to be stolen is a timechip and Universo was the client. Although some suspense is created by wondering what Magpie is after and why, I don't think it would have altered the story had we been given this information at the start. The story is essentially a tour of the HQ and, even at the end, we don't know what Universo wanted with a timechip - or how the Monitor got involved as middleman.

We do have forebodings: Universo has some plan in place, Computo is acting suspiciously, Dawnstar may be in some trouble with her boosted power, is there a Gim-Gigi-Dirk triangle? The Monitor's role in all this is still unclear.

The big feature of this issue is the detailed sketch of the Legion HQ with descriptions of different areas. It's great fun for geeky readers, although it whets the appetite for still more detail. The complete blueprints with photos of each area would be a start... Of note, there's a lobby with a reception desk (is Computo the receptionist, or a civilian?). Gim has kept a room there, although he lives outside; Garth and Imra share quarters, but no other couples do (Comics Code?). Would Yera have been allowed in as a Legion wife, are quarters only for members or is there enough tension regarding her deception that she's still not welcome there? Chuck and Lu don't have a place, but Superboy and Supergirl do... and there are plenty of spares for new members. There's an interrogation room (!) and an office for "visiting SP officers", which implies that they (not just Shvaughn) drop in on occasion to file reports or something.

I thought statues went out with the Adventure era. Tribute to the dead, okay - but villains and inactive members? They haven't gotten around to taking down Ayla's statue (maybe Brin could move it into his quarters). Val Armorr isn't there; could Ayla have brought news of his death or was she not aware he had died? In any event, the statues panels were wasted on me.

More reminders that Brin is a dope (because he wasn't before?) and lovesick over Ayla. It should provide Magpie with a tasty bit of gossip for other villains, since the thief seemed oddly taken with Brin's behaviour.

Thom and Nura appear to be on good - or even cuddly - terms at this point. I liked how Nura took the physically aggressive role with Magpie and Thom waited; he could just as easily handled the whole thing himself. They make a good team, in that respect, and their dialogue is relaxed. However, I was surprised that Thom couldn't turn off his power; it's something I hadn't thought of before.

TotLoSH 320

The background on the cover offers plenty of detail, while it’s uniform colouring highlights the characters and the logo. Having Nura, Thom and Magpie on different levels really helps the perspective of the shot too. the title placement, also aids that angle of perspective. It’s a lovely cover. Of course, it was some time before I’d see an Eisner cover. Spoiled rotten by that, I’d quibble that the title could have been incorporated into a futuristic billboard more than it was.

The captions narrate the story through the well-trained eyes of our villain, The Magpie. An Ollie-3 tourist bus introduces us to him as he reconnoitres the Legion HQ. It could be argued that he should have already known the plans beforehand. But in the world of Levitz plotting, the scene is there for other reasons too. The HQ is shown on the splash because the story is also about its layout. Ollie-3 is shown because it’s a set up for the Laurel Kent subplot. As the villain pays off the kid, we see Dawny and Brainy depart, leading us into next issue.

The interchange between the passengers raises the value of the story. The kid’s attitude grows from blunt politeness through frustration to rudeness. But he’s well brought up enough to realise what him mom would think about getting money from a stranger. The villain is not a cackling madman. He’s just focused. Money talks in his world and that’s how he resolves this. That it worries the kid must really get to him. This approach would be lifted for Roxxas in v4 when a kid returns a holo-vid. Of course, the kid has other things to worry about. That’s Granny Goodness V sitting beside him and when she says “Little boy, please be quiet,” you’re in trouble.

Watching Dawny and Brainy depart from another angle (Jurgens even shows us Ollie’s tour bus at the bottom) are Dirk and Gim, also setting us up for their scene, continuing their subplot, and also acting as a lead in for the back up story.

It’s three introductory pages, and yet they really highlight the craft and layering that Levitz brings to the Legion books.

Dirk and Gim discuss their plans for the night. Gim only assumes Dirk might be seeing Gi Gi. Dirk doesn’t confirm anything. Of course, later we’d find out that Gim doesn’t mention her name by accident. It’s a good exchange, complete with friendly baiting, between two men who have known each other a long time, and who have different values. One’s only recently married (that gets me out of saying “happily” in case there’s v4 repercussions) and the other very much on the singles scene.

Dirk is worth watching closely in this issue. He’s keen to go off duty and get ready for a night on the town. But that hasn’t got in the way of his genuine concern for his colleagues. It’s Dirk who’s worrying over the monitor screen about the missing.

Of course, Levitz is also layering here too. Gim and Dirk don’t specifically mention why Brainy and Dawny are leaving in the opening panel. It’s a good lesson in avoiding exposition, as both men should know why they are on the roof waving. It’s through Dirk’s hopes in the final panel that the reader learns what’s going on. Dirk’s mention of it being a “big galaxy” is also a reinforcement of the shortage of Legionnaires subplot. That also pays off in the Magpie’s captions of infiltrating when the group is low on numbers later on. The night on the town also helps put the readers mind into thinking that it’s the end of a day, leading into Magpie making his move in the next scene. Writing craft at work again.

The Magpie makes his move at 2am, using advanced gadgetry to circumvent the Legion’s security systems. The villain, anticipating the reader, wonders how his supplier knew all the codes. Jurgens, having shown Magpie in a coat on the tour bus, switches visuals for the villain by showing that his mission outfit is designed to be as form fitting, and light weight as possible. The Magpie may be the first male villain to have a man bag, giving him metropolitan credentials. There’s a balance between a silent scene of the infiltration and having too much internal dialogue, and Mindy Newell strays too much to the latter. The captions used earlier could have provided us with the balance, and told us about Magpie’s time on Galtos, his hatred of Zendak, and his self-proclaimed status as best thief in the galaxy (this would be mentioned in v4 again, with Ben Pares and Spider Girl). But hey, she’s doing the dialogue and it would have been brave to return the pages with very little of it. We’ll see how she gets on in her own plots shortly.

The Magpie’s backer is given away needlessly in the thought bubbles. That reveal is coming later in the issue. It could be argued that, since it’s a direct link to a scene in #319, that the backer had already been revealed. But I think it could have been kept quiet within the story itself. (Shoemaker (not the artist in #320) drew really great bracelets for Shady in #319 – Look Back For Link Lad.)
The issue reminds me of a take on the Adult Legion story where Superman is taken on his tour of the building. Magpie goes through reception and, the hall of heroes to the trophy room.
Magpie’s dematerialisation device mimics Phantom Girl. The idea is that the building is attuned to her powers. But Tinya set up the HQ (well, previous ones so why not this one) to prevent other phantoms from attacking it. It’s not just her phasing that the HQ is attuned to.

Oddly, the villain wishes to have a statue among the great Legion villains. All of whom were defeated more than once.

The villains’ plans go awry when the device he’s after isn’t in its case. Doe anyone recognise what else is in the case, and where it came from?

He’s interrupted further by the arrival of a lovelorn Timberwolf. Sculptor Lad had created statues of inactive Legionnaires to go with the fallen and the villains. Ayla is just back as Lightning Lass, and Brin is getting in some last-minute moping in front of the woman he thinks of her as; Light Lass. I’m not sure how the cross-book time is working here, but I think this is after he got told off. If only he had communicated to her while they were still a couple.

Having to come up with plan B, The Magpie looks for a floor plan. Like the tour bus, the best thief in the galaxy presumably would know all this. But it’s just a tease to give the reader a double page splash of the Legion Headquarters layout. Magpie could have just called me, as Li’l thoth must have devoured this splash page. Mind you, this reread gave me a faint echo of when I read the ad for Spanner’s Galaxy for the first time too.

The schematic is a lovely companion to the single page exterior splash in #311 (-Look It Up Lad at your service!). It’s also acted as source material for any number of RPGs.

It’s given away by the captions, but to those that know the symbols off by heart it’s immediately obvious that Brainy is kept well apart due to his experiments. There’s something else about it I’ll come back to.

Newell give Magpie the lovely line of “Boy, this place is complicated” but he does get to Brainy’s multi-lab. He even gets to hold his prize; a micro-chip (strong parallels with the v7 story by Levitz on the theft of the Tharok chip). As we get ready for the Magpie’s escape, he’s interrupted by Nura and Thom.

It’ reminds me of the opening scene in the Baxter book. Nura just happened to be within earshot of Micro Lad’s attack. Coincidence? Here, it’s definitely an active premonition that brings them both down to find the villain. “When have I ever been wrong, Thom?” could have brought a “maybe he’s a carboard cut out of a villain, Nura” as a response, but Thom knows better. Thom does wonder how the villain knew where to look. The pair share some comfortable, couple dialogue. They seem confident and in control of the situation. It’s just an excuse to get in a Mandated by the Comic Gods fighting scene but, by chatting, they’ve not actually been doing their job and the Magpie opens fire.

As per recent battles, including that opening Baxter scene, Nura shows just how capable she is in combat. Magpie has been shown to be very agile, but he’s no match for her. By Thom not just pinning the guy to the ground, the Magpie gets to teleport away. We get a nice Nura-in-combat scene, showing the readers just what an effective character she is overall (although she obsesses about nails). But the Legion have had their spangly new HQ breached, by a villain they should have captured but now can’t trace for reasons unknown. Thom doesn’t seem to be able to cancel his power once activated, and there’s a tease regarding what effect Brainy’s experiments have had on Dawny.

The following page offers the reader an explanation. Jurgens draws a lovely satellite for the Monitor. It sits undetected above Earth’s polymer shield. Another clue, above the gadgets, on his advanced The Monitor’s Plot Pushing Handwavium technology is. The caption tells us that the Monitor also took back the Magpie’s gadgets, and we see Lyla holding the bag. There’s some good synergy/ attention to detail between Jurgens and Newell that can add a lot to the book. I’m not sure that was the dematerialisation device that Thom nailed to the floor, but the villain did have any number of them.

The real treat for the reader is that The Monitor was acting as an intermediary to Universo. The villains’ goal was to retrieve a time chip. Although the plan failed, Universo tells the Monitor that he has new plans to deal with the Legion. It’s ominous stuff. We spoke about the return of both Controllers and Sun Eaters as a mixed blessing in the last Baxter issue. Universo falls into the same bracket. This is a very early Tales Tease for a subplot that would have a very long life in the Baxter book. Likewise, that Controller subplot would also make a later return in Baxter. Yes, Universo is an old foe. But a new foe wouldn’t have given me the same reaction on this page.

This whole main story is essentially a Crisis crossover, before Crisis launched. There was an editorial mandate that the Monitor make tow appearances in each book before the Crisis. Not a lot was known about the Monitor at this stage. As Wolfman’s plot changed, so di the Monitor’s goals, and this worked out to be a real blessing. What had been revealed, and what had been suggested to writers and editors, was that The Monitor could be used as a plot hook for a story where he sells his services as an intermediary to villains. Being a good DC trooper, as you’d hope for in his position, Levitz has used The Monitor in exactly that way. In addition to functioning as the Monitor’s appearance, Levitz has also threaded it with several Legion subplots including:-

Laurel Kent/ JLA descendants; Brainy/ Dawnstar; Brainy’s experiments on Dawny (and by extension Jacques to come); Missing Legionnaires; Size of the team/new recruits; Gim/Dirk/Gi Gi; Ghost of Ferro Lad; Brin/Ayla; Thom/Nura (the key word is “spat”) and, of course, the return of Universo.

Although it might have been relief considering plotting for two books, Levitz might well have had fun taking Wolman’s suggestion as a plot spine and then building all that extra information in. Because of all the layering going on here, this issue is one of a number of Levitz issues that has a certain extra depth to it, beyond the basic main plot. I was going to say plot density, but “dense” is what The Magpie calls Brin. That, the Ghost of Ferro Lad, and “freak” to describe Brainy gives the reader a hint that the Legionnaires are often discussed by the criminals they catch.

Speaking of Brin, the final page shows a post mope Brin angry at Computo for not stopping Magpie. Computo conveniently was put out of action. That’s the problem when you tighten comic HQ security. You have to have a way of getting past it every time. Fortunately having Els and Daxamites around, gives Legion writers plenty of practice at this sort of thing. Here, it was presumably down to Magpie’s devices. It could have been The Monitor, although he didn’t intervene at any other point. There’s also the very real chance (and the way I read it first at this reread) that Computo has reverted to villainous type again.

One downside to this being inspired by Crisis meetings is that the team don’t investigate what happened far more thoroughly. Where did the Magpie come from? How did he get that equipment and what does that mean for security? Magpie has been in prison before. Can the Legion look for him again? Is the reason they don’t do this because Brainy and Dawny aren’t here? Will Brainy not be worried about Computo being taken out of action? Especially considering what’s in the Computo majordomo and that last page?

Lost Tales of the Legion: Six months of issues having the Legion investigate the Magpie incident, other Monitor villain-backing plots, and finding themselves involved in a Universo’s scheme as well as a direct lead into the Crisis, as befits the era with Time Beacons and Brainiac 5.

The issue reminds me of Val and Jeckie being attacked by Pharoxx on their honeymoon. When the LSV did attack, Legionnaires couldn’t say that they didn’t know it was coming. When Universo comes, they should only look to their lack of investigating the Magpie Complex.

Second Story (use the grav lift for access)

This one leads off from the first story in a few ways, so I’m adding it early this week (and I’ve got spare time for a change - yay!)

The latest Metropolis club, the Lone Star Café, is a bit desperate looking. Perhaps Superboy being recruited really has had a lasting retro effect on 30th century society. Now we have creepy, and dull, singles joints. Extra icky points for showing Charles Xavier picking up Kitty Pryde (surname Storm here) at the bar, in front of a jilted Colossus. How old was Pryde in the X-Books? Ewwww.

In the opening story, both Dirk and Gim tell us that they have plans for the evening. Gim asks if Dirk is seeing Gi Gi, and Dirk assumes that “hen pecked” (and that could be literal with Yera) Gim has to get home. Dirk has been shown as being easily made to be jealous, and he still asks Gim about how close he and Gi Gi were.

As pointed out above, there was already a lot going on in this scene in how it connected plots such as Brainy/ Dawny; JLA descendants; the missing Legionnaires and new recruits. The Gi Gi/ Sun Boy/ Gim triangle had also being going on, overlapping the Gim/ Year/ Vi plot. That last batch gets a pay off here.

As he boasts about his heroism to a not unattractive girl at the bar, Dirk spits Gim and Gi Gi in a booth. There’s some close chatting and a hug between them. But it just throws Dirk for a loop., completely distracting him from his date. Dirk though he and Gi Gi had “an understanding”. In other words, Dirk thought he could play the field and didn’t think for a moment Gi Gi wasn’t completely beholden to him and his hero status, or had ideas of her own.

The above sums up Dirk. He is heroic. He possibly really did save his colleagues. But it’s something he uses. He loves being a hero and he loves what he thinks of as being the life of a hero and the social perks it provides. There was a scene where he flew Gi Gi from her apartment. Every bit the hero, going into action, wooing the girl along the way and with the Legion to pick up the bills.
Add to that, his reaction here. He can’t believe that someone he’s playing around with would find anyone else. Surely, he will always be able to be the hero again when he chooses to get them back?
Now lift and drop what we’ve learned about Dirk in this scene into the start of v4 and you can see where it all went wrong for him. He is a hero, but there’s only so long people are going to wait and, in the end, it might be too late to come back.

I think there’s also a bit of Dirk that can’t believe someone would prefer Gim to him. He’s very quick to directly confront people in this subplot. That tells me that he thinks he should be the centre of attention. Gim is smiling an open with his friend, as he gets on with his early morning gym work. He’s completely honest about his relationship with Gi Gi. He always has been. They are old friends. Possibly very close ones, but that’s in the past as Gim’s married.

Dirk isn’t having any of this. His brow furrows at Gim’s happy brush off. The next panel gives us Dirk’s thoughts. It’s a dark panel as he stalks off to confront Gi Gi “Well, if he won’t play straight with me, I know someone who will! … At least she’d better, if she knows what’s good for her!”

I like to think a little better of people, let alone Dirk, than what is shown in this story. But there of plenty of people just like this about, all waiting for any number of scenarios to push their buttons. As such, it also connects directly to v4 in the issue where we see a lot of Dirk’s past, his relationships with his parents and, more pertinent here, how he treats his partners.

Gim’s “what’s he so mad about anyway?” is an odd thought as we’ll see. Dirk does confront Gi Gi. Bear in mind his anger from the last scene. For Gi Gi, he’s changed back into his romantic, flame powered hero role (could it be argued it’s a guise and not a role in this scenario?). Gi Gi plays up to being smitten with him, both in front of Dvron and on the way to the park.

And this is another dark moment for Dirk. He uses the fact that Gim is his colleague to try and break up that relationship up. It is nothing to do with Gim, or his marriage of course. This is all about Dirk. This is Dirk’s plan to control events. It’s seeming selflessness goes along nicely with the heroic flight down to Gi Gi, use of powers and demand to talk (not ask mind, demand.) we just saw.

Like Gim, Gi Gi is bright and breezy about the whole thing. She thought she and Dirk would fool around when Dirk arrived (on duty officer?) But when he wants to talk in the park and set up a later date, she brushes him off. Dirk mumbles something about having been busy with the Legion as an excuse for not returning calls. As Gi Gi goes off to a party with Dvron, Dirk is the one left thinking on a bench. Gi Gi is open and honest about her past with Gim, just as Gim was. Being up front is something that Dirk really struggles with in conversations with both.

The last page reveals this has all been a setup. Yera was the blonde at the bar on a date with Dirk, just so Dirk would see Gi Gi and Gim together. It’s a lesson to Dirk about the way he treats others. When Dirk arrived to meet her, Gi Gi was interested in a kiss and then fooling around. But if Dirk wasn’t available when Gi Gi wanted him, then there was someone else (Dvron) she was meeting up with later anyway, after a previous evening with Gim. If Dirk wanted to talk instead about a serious relationship issue, well that’s too bad, and he’s literally benched.

The trouble is that Gi Gi had to plan something that comes naturally to Dirk. While there’s an opening left for her relationship with Dirk, you get the feeling that he hasn’t learned a thing. His thought bubble of “Dvron? Nuts!” says that he’s wondering how he lost out to Dvron. Just as he did to Gim. It hasn’t crossed his mind what he’s really doing wrong. He might not be able to come up with that answer. Sadly, with all the v4 links, we know that he doesn’t learn the big lessons here. Honestly, Gi Gi is better off out of it.

Despite all of the relationship messages in this story, and I’ve just touched on some of them, it’s all told in a light hearted manner that’s to the credit of Levitz, Newell and Jurgens. It can be read just as easily with the summary of “Dirk gets his comeuppance” without having the other levels dumped on you.

Interestingly, in the run up to the Baxter books the creative teams discussed the scope of Baxter as being able to provide more mature stories. Could they deal with certain levels of sex or violence or message?

But Levitz was already writing plenty of mature stories, such as this one. Ironically, as groups of super villains run around the opening Baxter book, it’s the Tales book that’s providing the comics for grown ups.

The grown up nature of the relationships shown here connects back to the first story, and it’s view of the HQ. In the schematic, only Imra and Garth are sharing quarters. But in the Talok story, Shady refers to Lar as her lover. Tinya and Jo are clearly intimate, well before that Reflecto story. Nura gets Thom out of bed to confront Magpie, and I don’t think she had to go up a level and down a corridor to do it. Yet, the chaste HQ diagram shows them all in separate quarters. It’s like the discussion on the tone of the Baxter book. There are codes in place, but the depth and maturity in the stories is already there without having to be explicit.

Chuck is also shown as having quarters. I like to think that’s because he’s Legion morale officer and liaison with the Academy or even a printing error. But I keep thinking about some marital issues with Lu shown in v4

I’ve covered the Crisis impact on this issue, but behind the scenes we also see the departure of Terry Shoemaker as penciller. According to his interview in the Legion Companion, Shoemaker had found out that some of the faces on his first issue had been reworked to make them a bit more expressive. This was probably as much to make the transition from Giffen smoother as anything else.
Shoemaker says that he made a late might call to Karen Berger and quit. As personal as something like that must feel, it’s been done often enough all through comics history, including some top artists. But how many new artists starting out would know that? Kirby, Toth and Sekowsky to name three have had heads occasionally tweaked to fit in with DC editorial. Ironically , the style they were tweaked to was often Curt Swan, who Shoemaker cites as an influence and is one you can see in his work.

Shoemaker comes across as a huge Legion fan in the interview. But even if he hated the assignment, which he didn’t, his art really helped me become interested in the Legion. The quality of his work stand out after all these years in these rereads.

I thought above that the use of The Magpie as a Monitor villain was used as a convenient Crisis tie in on both a creative and editorial level (Levitz showing how much buy in he had to other creative teams). But I’m also thinking that the decision to have the Magpie story based on the Legion HQ was helped by having a time saving two page splash of the Legion HQ prepared previously (was it prepared by Giffen?)

Elsewhere Li’l thoth got DC Comics Present 78 (It has the Forgotten Heroes and Villains – so my first look at the Immortal Man, Animal Man and the Enchantress); Justice League 235 (Steel spotlight);; Wonder Woman 323 (Etta Candy as Wondy on the cover); Flash 342 (flash gets a new face); Superman 404 (you can say how good Moore’s whatever happened to the man of tomorrow was. I’ll disagree and also point out it was being done for years already. Like here. ) Action 564 (Supes doesn’t know he’s Supes!); All- Star Squadron 43 (Liberty Belle against the enemy!); America vs the JSA 2; World’s Finest 312 (against the Network!)

I was still having to get whatever was left at the newsstand, but that’s quite a haul.

Of Legion Interest:-

Superman: The Secret Years – This takes place between Clark’s time as Superboy and his appearance as Superman. I guess it was canon for the time. It’s an odd one for me. I got it with the others, but the local newsagents weren’t known for miniseries and the like. I also had no Superboy reference whatsoever. Out of the pile, this one was read least. Well, that and Wondy probably. There’s no mention of the Legion I could see, and a quick read shows me I was probably a bit too young for the story.

The Best of Blue Ribbon Digest 57 was all about the Legion:-
The Legion of Super Outlaws (Adv 324), Lex Luthor Meets the Legion of Super Heroes (Adv325), Revolt of the Girl Legionnaires (Adv 326), The Lone Wolf Legionnaire (327); The Lad Who wrecked the Legion (Adv 328); The Bizarro Legion (Adv 329). There’s also the Origins and Powers of the Legion of Super Heroes (Adv 316)

Giffen was off doing The Immortal Dr Fate, whose costume appeared in the GDS. The mini might have included Nabu, who got into v4.

The Supergirl Movie Special came out. We’ve spoken about the fate of Supergirl and the wait for the movie figures to come in and seal her fate. I don’t even have the humour to connect Supergirl and seal with an Aquaman crossover event joke.

Of LW note, Terry Long gave up chasing college girls in the Titans wedding special. My newsagent wouldn’t have stocked it. But was that college remembering tears in the eyes of the woman behind the counter? Had she had a fling with Mr Long?

320: "The Magpie Complex"

I think I would like this story better if it weren't so obviously a Crisis tie-in and an excuse to show the blueprints of the new HQ.

Back up a bit. In late 1984, it was an exciting time to be a Legion/DC fan. Crisis loomed on the horizon, and the various tie-ins promised great things. The Monitor's role in this story was exciting and full of promise. Superman: The Secret Years #1 had just been published, which was intended to guide our ace Kryptionian into adulthood (and presumably transition him into some new kind of relationship with the Legion). Unfortunately, neither of those promises amounted to much so far as the Legion was concerned. The Legion isn't really affected by Crisis (other than the death of the long-forgotten Kid Psycho and the death of Supergirl, who was always a peripheral character). Superman: The Secret Years # 1 doesn't even mention the Legion (thanks, thoth, for confirming this).

As for the blueprint . . . chalk it up to growing older, I suppose, or being jaded as a fan, but I couldn't get excited about this. To be sure, I loved the diagram of the Legion's citadel headquarters published in one of the tabloids and the cutaway of the cruiser in 219. But these blueprints are bland. Further, I don't care where the Legionnaires' personal quarters are. This information really doesn't impact any story. And the blueprint loses the charm that the earlier diagrams had; they featured panels from the actual comics and images of the Legionnaires doing stuff. This is just . . . there. But, for all the fans who loved it, more power to you.

So, for me, "The Magpie Complex" must be judged on its own merits. The idea is sound: we get to see a criminal's-eye view of Legion headquarters as he infiltrates it to steal something. I just wish there had been more meat to the story. Magpie isn't that interesting a character: a second-rate Ben Pares without the sense of threat the latter posed. (Pares wanted to steal the Miracle Machine and openly boasted about doing so.) Magpie talks a good game about being "the best thief in the United Planets," but he's thrown for a loop when the object he expects to find isn't where he expects to find it, and he's unprepared to deal with two Legionnaires. (Since he manages to escape, he makes Thom and Nura look even worse.)

The Legionnaires are of secondary importance to this story since it is told from Magpie's point of view. It's kind of interesting to view them as Magpie sees them: Brin swooning over a statue, Nura being a proactive fighter but worrying over a nail, and Thom hanging back until the situation requires him to act. If the Legionnaires don't come off looking good in this story, maybe it's because that's how they appear to the villain.

Subplots, subplots . . . Oli-3 Queen is there to remind us of the JLA descendants (I had forgotten that the murder of Batman's descendant actually leads somewhere), and Universo is revealed to be the Monitor's employer--a revelation that will not go anywhere for quite some time yet. It's interesting to note how far in advance Levitz planned things (if he planned them ), but it does take a long time for some of the ideas to pay off, and, in the meantime, tension is lost.

Dan Jurgens' art is competent but a letdown after Shoemaker. Jurgens would eventually develop into a first-rate draftsman--I fondly remember some of his Valiant work. Here he seems to be finding his way.

I assume it's because none of the other couples are married. Couples living together was still a radical concept at the time, at least in middle America.



I assume (though I have no evidence) that there would be nothing wrong with Yera staying overnight or even an extended stay; her name obviously isn't on the blueprint since she's not a Legionnaire. But that brings me to . . .



Chuck apparently does have a room. if I remember the icons correctly, his quarters are next to Superboy's. However the diagram does not match up with the caption boxes. Chuck's quarters are described as "vacant." The caption on Page 9 omits Cham, even though his icon is shown between Jo's and Mon's.



Good point. The statues are very retro and unnecessary at this point, except, perhaps, for the statues of deceased Legionnaires. Perhaps the Legion or Brande had a contract with a statue maker and had to continue to find work for this artist until the contract ran out.



Good question. Do any of the Legionnaires know he died--or what became of Orando? Only the currently missing Legionnaires would seem to possess this knowledge.

Ah, so that was Darkseid's real curse.





Good points. There is a lot of storytelling craft on display in this issue.



Mindy: But, Paul, there's no reason for a thought balloon here. The art conveys what the reader needs to know.
Paul: Gee, you're right. I guess that means we don't have to pay you the full rate for those pages.
Mindy: On second thought, a little extra clarity doesn't hurt.



Judging by who is "honored," Magpie would need to be defeated at least twice more to earn his statue. When you're a villain, any ego gratification will do.



It looks like Brainy's force field belt and a ray gun of some sort (the one Thom used to kill Kenz Nuhor, perhaps?). No idea what the other objects are.

320: "Triangle?"

I had completely forgotten this story; re-reading it was like reading it anew.

What a delight it was! We all know Gim would never cheat on Yera--this is a Code-approved book, after all; infidelity may be suspected or alluded to, but it would never be actually shown or acknowledged. So, something more must be going on other than what Dirk sees--and something is.

This story does not put Dirk in the best of light (heh); in fact, he's a real cad--a clueless boob who thinks it's all about him and who expects to have an "arrangement" with women that allows him to play the field while they dutifully wait for his call (which likely never comes). Gim recognizes these traits, and now that a friend of his is involved with Dirk, he's got an excuse to act. Further, he has a talented shape-changing wife who's willing to participate in teaching Dirk a lesson (which Dirk nevertheless fails to grasp--though maybe it gives him something to reflect on).

The story presents a mature and honest look at both Dirk and Gigi. Her comment about being "on green while the light was flashing red" rang true. There were signs that Dirk was not going to give her what she wanted, though she may initially have been blind to them.

(Dan Jurgens draws a lovely Gigi, by the way. I couldn't help thinking he modeled her after Suzi Quatro.)

It's sad to look back on this story in the context of 5YL. Dirk had a real opportunity to learn something here, to grow in a new way, and to appreciate Gigi as a woman and not a plaything. He blew it.

True, and it's refreshing to see a bad guy who's rational.



This is one aspect I really enjoy about the Legion at this time. There's a lot going on, in different areas, and Levitz keeps track of all the threads, going forward and back.



LSH was always such a trend-setting book! Internal dialogue, comic book villains do tend to be chatty. Maybe Magpie was chattering to himself because he was nervous.



Universo was a good surprise and, knowing his history, did pack an extra punch. We never found out what his original plan was with the time chip, but the mind races to many possibilities.



I was also attracted by the possibility of villainous gossip. Too bad we never had a Villains Picnic Reunion issue in which they swapped stories and tips about the Legionnaires.



It would have been easy to slip in a panel or two in future issues referring to Magpie, even if just to suggest that they have no leads on him. And certainly everyone should be keeping a log of Computo's "errors".



Oh, I'm sure he was just recruiting her for a mission, or offering her a scholarship.



Quite sad, when you think about how he ended up in v.4. Here, he's just a bit of a jerk with women who gets his comeuppance. Indeed, it doesn't change him; it's more for Gigi's benefit. She tells him she has a date with Dvron, rather than confront him directly about how he's treated her. Perhaps she knows it would be no use to have a serious conversation, so she might as well get a laugh out of ending the relationship.



Good heavens! Dirk, Xavier and Terry Long hitting on women in one month? L'il Thoth must have been overwhelmed by the possibilities!



I'd pretty much forgotten it as well. Odd, since it's quite a good story. Geoff Johns and Gary Franks missed an opportunity when Brainy had Yera turn into a brunette and kiss Dirk to revive him - supposedly Dirk preferred brunettes - she could have resumed the blonde's appearance and give him an extra jolt. If he even remembered a particular woman....



At least she had the sense to bring it to an end, on her terms. One wonders how many broken hearts Dirk left behind (seeding the ground for future villainesses).



Never read the Secret Years series and often wondered about the gap between Smallville and Metropolis/Superman. It is disappointing that some link wasn't maintained with the Legion, with occasional appearances by Kal.

Comments 1



It is only The Magpie who calls himself this however. I’m sure Pares and, later, Spider Girl have other ideas.



I took it to be access to time technology so he could further what he glimpsed in the Green Lantern retcon issue also done by Levitz. Actually, that’s one heck of a plot seed way back then.



I’m glad you thought so too. But I don’t think anything happened from that.



Delivery Kid: Hi! I’ve used my power to enure this package is dilvered to Leigon reception in record time.

Computo: We have no record of such an order. You must be a villain and the sentence is death1 >ZAAAP!<

I’d have liked to have seen the others interact with Yera, or even the prospect of her moving there briefly after her marriage to Gim.

Chuck is there, but I can only think of bad reasons why. So, I hope that’s just an error.

The interrogation room is just a portal for Imra to come through and a Superboy mind wiping machine for later.


Sculptor Lad pops in to make sure the HQ is fully statue compliant. I think you’re right about the status of some of them. They’re there not only for tradition, but because Levitz is giving us a set up to a Ghost of Ferro Lad spotlight years in the future.



Like the Titans spotlight issue where they all have a picnic, you could do a Lost Tales of the Legion mini with the villains all at a bar or in SP therapy groups or on Takron Galtos, exchanging stories about the heroes, but form their perspectives.



From Magpie’s words and from issues like the Annual, I think there’s supposed to be an edge as the couple trade lines.

They were ever so handy for RPGs. Actually, this is just the sort of thing that was in the Mayfair RPG for the DC Universe.



Definitely that Lost Tales villain group therapy mini series



If you take that GLC issue (295- Look It Up Lad!) this one (320) and Universo’s plan being revealed, that’s quite an arc. I seem to remember some more Universo hints to come first though.


And


I thought the closest thing was Brainy’s belt too. I hadn’t thought about that being the gun. I thought all the items would be connected, but it could well have just been an Easter egg collection.

Connector Kid tells me that they are all connected. In 295 Universo, and others, had problems dealing with the energy fired upon them form the dawn of creation. Brainy’s forcefield belt is to protect Universo from this effect. The time chip is to get to the dawn of creation, while the gun is to kill the god of DCU and take his place. Little does Universo know that Julie Lad is the god of the DCU and that he has no chance of winning. I guess there’s another Lost Tales of the Legion in Universo actually getting his paws on the chip.



Credit to all concerned, it makes for a very powerful and poignant character arc.



One for Bits!



I think GiGi was leaving open the possibility of them getting back together. I don’t think she was trying to get a laugh at his expense. Just teach him what it was like, and hope he learned enough from it to perhaps build something from. But it didn’t work.



We all used to think it was just applicants that Dirk loved shouting “Rejected!” at. Now we know it was partners too.



For me Superboy is a cameo in the Talok story and then a later cameo or two as I worked my way through back issue buying. I had to discover his connections to the tam as I went, rather than reading it first-hand. So, I never really had a feeling for any missing years or for the timeline of him as a character. You can sense the importance of Clark’s decisions in some older issues (someone telling him that they know he didn’t rejoin, his mind wiping issues etc.), and I guess that’s what this mini was trying to show. But it was a bit lost on me at the time.

Speaking of RPGs earlier, this issue continues to promote the DCU game and it also had a big advert for Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths. I’ve mentioned that a lot of the plot was still being nailed down, including the role of the Monitor. But you can see that they hadn’t quite decided on the title either.

Ah. I was never into RPG's. A friend tried in vain to interest me in D&D, but all the hit points, charisma point, ad nauseum made the game much too complicated for me. I loved the first Mayfair Legion Sourcebook for the timeline and concise descriptions of each character. I never used it to play a game.



Good to know. I'm never quite aware of the behind-the-scenes events that affect quality. A raspberry to Shoemaker for quitting like he did--very unprofessional.



Good catch! The level of detail Levitz infused in the stories is quite astonishing. It's not something I would have noticed at the time. I wonder if anyone did.

LSH #8 To Destroy a World by Paul Levitz, art by Steve Lightle & Larry Mahlstedt, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



The Legionnaires contemplate the Sun Eater and discuss what to do. As they agree it must be destroyed, Jo flies off to take action, attracting the attention of more robots. The team defeats them and return to discussing what to do.

At Legion HQ, Rokk is working on his plan when Lydda walks in. She invites him to go home with her; he agrees to, once the missing Legionnaires are found. He tells her he's considering leaving active duty, which might be good to give a needed shake-up to the team and proceeds to pack a bag.

In space, Shvaughn, with some special equimpment, assists Tasmia and Jacques to capture Sun Emperor. On a planet below, Wildfire, Gigi, Blok, Lar, Mysa and Ayla round up some more LSV members. Wildfire and Shvaughn share a moment over Takron-Galtos and missing Legionnaires.

On the Limbo planet, sensors alert the Armorer to the intruders as the Legionnaires work together to dismantle the Sun-Eater factory. Another robot attacks, capturing the three men and transporting them to the Armorer. Tinya and Vi follow; Vi shrinks to enter the controls and determines she can blow up the factory by crossing some wires. Tinya interrupts, saying she has a solution.

At the Legion Academy, some students are enjoying the waterfront. As Laurel dives into the water, she is shot. Pol pulls her out of the water; she's in pain and bleeding, despite her invulnerability.

On the Limbo planet, the Armorer reads Jo's mind to learn about them. He's surprised that they could have defeated a Controller in the past. Jan revives and turns some machinery to mercury, asking why the controllers want to build such a weapon. The Armorer dismisses and blasts Jan, but is attacked by Jo. The Controller enters and distracts the Armorer, who is knocked out by Jo; the Controller was actually Cham. Jan follows Tinya's suggestion to change the elemental structure of the building; she pushes the Armorer through the portal to the Controllers' world then joins the others exiting the portal to Earth. Jo, as he leaves, hurls a rock transformed into fissionable material, blowing up the entire planet.

Comments:

More robots! And the Armorer has some god-like powers with which to fight back on his own. When he asks "Another one?" as Jo approaches, it suggests that humans all look alike to him, since he had already spent some time reading Jo's mind through physical contact.

Vi and Tinya take the lead after the boys are captured; Tinya sees it as an opportunity for self-initiated action. She's also the one who comes up with the ultimate plan to end the Sun-Eater threat using all three guys' powers, rather than her own and Violet's. She's the one who pushed the Armorer through a portal before the planet was obliterated; one assumes this was pre-arranged although it looks as if the others were going to leave him there.

Jo continues to act without thinking first, but the team does come together as a team to accomplish the destruction of the factory planet. We see how Tinya manages him, although "helpfully directs his attention" might be a more benevolent description, telling him to pay attenion, what they must do. He, however, directs her in battle: she's the strategist, he's the action man. She calls him Jo, not Ultra Boy, and he calls her Tinya, which I like; the code names are so formal. I'm not enthused with the dumb jock attribute for any Legionnaire (now we have two, Brin and Jo), although Jo is perhaps more impulsive than dense. He does get the last shot in, throwing the rock to ignite the explosion, as well as knocking out the Armorer.

As Jan revives after being captured, he demonstrates how easily he can destroy at least part of the factory by turning it to mercury. His power must have a fairly limited physical range, or he could have destroyed the whole place. Nevertheless, it's his power which creates the set-up to blow the place to pieces. We've seen Jan knock out Daxamites by increasing the lead content in the atmosphere, or change something into inertron. It's a bit of a deus ex machina power, so limiting its physical scope makes sense. His personality often strikes me as too cautious, holding back; he could have ended battles quickly in many cases. However, with a power like that, quite apart from the story considerations, one would do well to exercise caution. It's a trait that would have been strongly conditioned for young Trommites, and it makes sense that such caution would affect his personality.

So the Sun-Eater factory is destroyed; we have no idea what the Controller was up to. Maybe it just looked like a Sun-Eater, but was an energy source. It's an isolated adventure in an isolated space, with no impact on the Legionnaires' universe, IIRC. At this point, however, readers may wonder if there will be Controller payback for what the Legion has done. After all, the Armorer has lived to tell the tale to his masters.

The round-up of LSV remnants had a twist compared to the usual: SP officers Gigi and Shvaughn had specialized suits which give them special powers to fight alongside Legionnaires. Otherwise, we had a good, but not outstanding, display of Legion superpowers at work. (And I was alerted to the source of the "Scrofulus" mentions here at LW - although a search only turned up a mention by thoth, I thought there was an entire thread devoted to the term.)

Rokk thinks the Legion is getting stale and that his departure will shake things up. His withdrawal from active status has been developing for a few issues now, so it's not a great surprise to readers when he announces his consideration - not clear intention - to Lydda. News item: his clothes are magnetic, too. Laurel gets shot, which gives Pol an opportunity to act calm, competent and level-headed - i.e. be a good candidate to take his departing brother's place. These two sub-plots I found less interesting due to a personal lack of enthusiasm for Cosmic Boy (just go, already!) and this batch of Academy students, although both interludes promise big changes ahead for the Legion.

LoSH v3 8

The splash page gives us a quick summary of the previous issue’s cliff-hanger to catch the readers’ attention. I wonder how long it would take a sun eater to eat a galaxy. How fast do they travel? Could the Controller po it in and out of limbo as required? It looks as though a Galaxy Eater is what you’d want, and that’s what they did in the Legionesque EGOs comic.

The team have decided to destroy the sun-eater, and Levitz gives them all a line or two to keep them part of the process. Jo has a pot shot at Cham. He’s also the one to have to have something explained to him, and the first to leap into immediate action. Tinya doesn’t get a lot o say, so Lightle gets a lot of credit for showing her relationship to Jo visually. Jo acts on TInya’s statement. Her look is part determination and part signal to Jo.

Of course, when he does it lots of ACME robots appear. If it were Superboy or Lar, it would have been fine. But Jo’s leap in first approach is emphasised this way. Like the dialogue, each of the team gets to take out a few of the robots. It’s essentially filler so that Tinya can reach the conclusion that the whole planet has to go. Note that it was Tinya’s discovery of the Sun Eater that prevented the team departing for Earth last issue. She’s quiet, but her words and expressions have a lot of impact. As Jo continues to push Jan for a plan, she’s the one to keep him in step too.

The immediate threat could be a lot better, but the Sun Eater discovery- realisation that the whole planet must be destroyed – chance that they might have to sacrifice themselves to achieve this is solid plotting (although I’d have thought Cham or VI could have come up with a remote detonator to take care of the last point).

There’s a two-page interlude on Rokk’s decision to perhaps not return to active duty. While it seems that he might be quitting the team, Levitz leaves enough clues that something else is going on. I hadn’t realised until this reread just what a drawn-out subplot this one had been, and there a few more issues of it to go. I can’t argue it’s a big change to the team. The team also take the constitution extremely seriously. But the missing Legionnaires should have already provided action, and it you can see Levitz’s plot diagram a little too much. This of course, will not stop me squealing with delight when the membership issue comes around. But it could have had to have come earlier, with a seriously understaffed Legion holding of a number of threats.

In a Lost Tales of the Legion I’m wondering if the Lost Legion team could have been kept away to combine both of their stories together, while the main team has to reform without them.

Here, Cos gives a few hints to the reader and brings Lydda into his confidence off panel. I’m not convinced by his “they need something to shake them up—to change things around here” as a decent reason for what he has planned. Considering the length of planning, it’s surely more to do with the life choices of the founders, while enabling a retention of their knowledge within the team?

On Braal, deliveries, such as clothes, are done magnetically. The economic recession there started off by overinvestment in delivery companies, only to find out that locals did it all themselves.

Elsewhere, the LSV members in Zimyr’s bubble have returned and are captured easily by the Legion and some SPs in robotic combat armour (was this seen again?). Sun Emperor remembers their oath, but is taken down quickly, having completely failed to hear or see two mechanical suits creep up on him and put a power dampener on him. Shady’s shadow field seems to absorb Sun Emperor’s blasts.

When the tide turned against the LSV in the opening arc, they really folded quickly. I’d have preferred them to have been an ongoing threat, offering problems relating to their oath. By being beaten so easily, they reduce their threat for future encounters. But considering Starfinger and Mordru under Levitz, perhaps this is an intentional result, ahead of new/revised threats to come.

The good news is that Esper Lass was part of this group of villains. So, with her captured Mysa can use spells of similarity on the technology to enter limbo, or Brainy might have more luck with the tech, or Imra can pluck the information easily from Esper Lass’s mind in a contest-of-wills subplot. Whichever way it happens, it means that the Lost Legionnaires will be found. Except, Esper Lass is noticeably missing form those captured, and this subplot doesn’t get off the starting block. Lightning Lass says that only Micro Lad is missing before she captures him, so where is Esper Lass? Has she mentally slipped away, removing all traces of herself form the encounter? If, so that’s one villain that’s worth seeing again.

Like Jo’s supervision not being a solution on the Controllers world, Lar doesn’t have much luck finding Chameleon Chief, until Mysa steps in. We’re reminded of the differences between Light Lass and Lightning Lass, while Blok looks at his former Super Assassin (pending- once they kill someone) with a thoughtful look. There’s that reminder of his dark past in there, if only now to show that he wonders how he could have been close to people like that (although even then he was a reluctant member). Shvaughn reminds us of how much some of the Lost Legionnaires are missed.

Back on Controller World (kids go free- after all, it’s a one-way trip!) the Legionnaires have been detected. The Controller’s minion reacts by opening hanger doors unleashing… an ACME robot! Another one. Although this one is a little bigger and tougher! It interrupts Element Lad showing us that whenever something involving the periodic table comes up, he’s your guy. Jo is doing the heavy lifting and is first to confront the robot. Reinforcing the look-before-you-leap trend, he’s the first to fall to it. Cham and Jan also fall to it. Considering that the world is there to build sun eaters, it’s surprising that the robot’s weapons are set to stun. Does the Minion have his own plans?

Jo being unconscious allows Tinya to work on her own. She’s happy when these chances arise, but it’s Violet who is even more proactive. Comic Book Cliché insists that all power plants can be detonated by crossing a couple f wires, that must be no more than a comic book panel apart. Having told us what a mammoth task it is to stop this world, and all of its weapon building factories, it turns out that shutting down the one sun eater and then the control tower they visited will do it. Rather than rescue her colleagues, Vi seems about to blow up the building, herself and them along with it. Seemingly imbued with Imra’s telepathy and Dawny’s tracking ability, Tinya finds and interrupts Vi.

Tinya has come up with another solution, that will enable them to destroy the world and get them off the planet first. Like last issue, she arrives to the others with a revelation (well, Vis’s with her too). In the meantime, the Minion (called the Armorer) has discovered that the Legion have previously beaten a renegade Controller. For no apparent reason other than Plot dictate, the Armorer possesses mental blasts, super strength and invulnerability. This provides us with another fight scene, as he holds of Jo and defeats Jan. As Armorer raises the stakes, informing the Legion that he will annihilate them, he’s interrupted by the return of a Controller.

Ever his master’s servant, the Armorer bows, only to be punched out by Jo. The Controller was a disguised Cham. Except that we’d just seen Cham lying in front of Tinya. So how did he get behind the Armorer? A missing Cham or a visual cue would have been nice. Jo had been shown using a super punch earlier with no effect, so it’s a bit convenient that it works even with the Armourer’s guard down. Following this logic, Karate Kid must have terrified every villain in the galaxy. It’s a decent enough switch, but let down by the visuals a bit.

And why does the Big ACME robot do nothing? It’s almost as if it is entirely Plot powered.

We don’t hear Phantom Girl tell the others her plan. Element Lad tells us that they are acting upon it. I can see why, as space is to be conserved (perhaps another ACME robot will turn up). It also further Tinya’s quiet but effective personality. But it would have been nice for her to get the limelight. The plan turns out to be having Jo release energy by throwing some fissionable material converted by Jan. It’s a combination of powers that gets them off-world.

We will see the Controller’s reaction at a later date. But where does the Earth portal come out? Can other Controllers use it? Is there a way for the Legion to access other worlds through the portal on Earth? What will be the fate of the Armorer? What was with Vi looking as though she was going to blow herself up?

Lots of questions, and the answers are… sorry... you’ll have to wait until I’ve got rid of this robot horde…

In a last sublot, the invulnerable Laurel Kent is shot by an unknown assailant. It’s one heck of a shot, and I half expected someone like Bounty to be behind it. Some super-sniper anyway. Lightle overdoes it as by the time Comet Queen gets back, Laurel will have bled to death considering how much she is bleeding. Pol looks a little steroid enhanced too. He reminds me of Karate Kid, which isn’t a good omen. Kent being a descendant of Superman, continues the JLA descendants subplot. It’s also another peek at Comet Queen, Magnetic Kid and Laurel ahead of the membership issues ahead.

There are 15 pages relating to the main plot this issue. About half of them have an appearance by a ACME robot. Having discovered the Suneater, the Legion team destroy that building and then trick the Armorer and destroy the control tower, and then the planet. There’s just not enough meat on the plot to make this any more than an okay (and a bit of a dull main) story.

The best visuals are between Jo and Tinya. Other than that, it’s all just a generic factory world and not much stands out, or is allowed to by the story. I even took a second look at the cover thinking I had a double of last issue.

There’s a few more personality bits: Jan quiet “good work” leadership while others have the plans; Cham’s delight at being sneaky; Jo’s headstrong attitude; Tinya’s quiet power and guidance of Jo and Vi’s determination leading to her possibly making some very unwise decisions.

Years, later when I heard about the DnA Legion Lost, I thought about these issues (and the follow up), and my interest plummeted.

Comments



Good save on a possible scripting boo boo Cramer.



That code against killing is hopefully a reminder to writer/artist not to forget the supporting cast when planets blow up.



I think you’re right that he’s going to react physically and then let his brain catch up. It makes him distinctive from Supes or Lar, which is something a team of this size needs. The Jo/Tinya interaction is something that I’ve learned more about from this story.



Levitz does seem to have done a bit with trying to define the range of Jan’s powers. But in the LSV arc, he transformed a large area of air into helium, and at other times it seems his range might be more restricted. I think that’s why he’s shown as being too cautious. If the writer brings him in too early, then every villain is encased in inertron. It lends itself to the sociopathic tendencies I see in these rereads. By sitting back and letting things play out, gives the feeling that Jan simply isn;t terribly connected to the others, in some ways.



That’s a good point. Levitz knows what the next instalment of this plot will be. But the reader wouldn’t.. There’s no sense that there will be any repercussions. No Armorer reaching the Controllers and being punished. Interrogated. Perhaps it was Levitz’s intent to have the next part appear out of nowhere. There’s certainly no foreshadowing here.



Shockingly underused!



I had noted the appearance of the students. But you’re absolutely right regarding Pol’s personality here as standing out. Particularly in the same issue as Cos is suggesting leaving.



It does seem to be particularly drawn out. Is it because we’re reading these fortnightly, so it’s fresher in our minds? Is it because in the Adventure days the entire team could be sacked, replaced by villains and then reinstated in a single story? Is it really just that the little teases are taking far too long to go anywhere concrete? Or is it that the days of Avengers and Legion constitution changes having a huge impact are in the past? Dunno

Baxter # 8

The Sun-Eater planet story concludes with our five lost Legionnaires realizing they have to destroy the entire planet, smashing up a lot of robots, and then finding a way to fulfill their mission while still returning to earth.

It’s a by-the-books story that should have been more exciting and thought-provoking than it was. The potential was there. Last issue, while the natural planet was being devoured by the machines, I thought there might be an opportunity to explore a theme of technology versus the environment. The Legionnaires’ decision to destroy the planet even if they must sacrifice themselves should provoke reactions, reflections, and regrets. But the Legionnaires take it all in stride and engage in petty sniping. Worse, they never consider the possibility that the Controllers might be creating a sun-eater for some other purpose than destroying galaxies. Their myopic view leads them to make a fateful decision that will come back to haunt them.

The story also lacks gravitas because the Legionnaires don’t behave like heroes. Instead, they act like petulant teenagers. Jo again rushes into action without thinking and alerts the planet’s robot guards to the Legionnaires’ presence. Jan and Cham are, for the most part, just there (though Cham does get to use his shape-changing power in a way that brings about the resolution).

Vi and Tinya come to the forefront, once again showing Levitz’s dedication to making the female characters equal to the males; however, he fails to create any depth in their personalities or decisions. Vi never considers alternatives to blow up the planet and herself and her teammates with it. (Maybe being in the sens-tank left her feeling disconnected from her life.) Levitz really works overboard to give Tinya much to do—she figures out the solution to the problem, stops Vi from committing a planetary suicide-murder, and even remembers to kick the Armorer to safety. She’s such a positive force in this story that she reminds me of the trope of characters being portrayed as saints only to be bumped off (e.g., the third season of Downton Abbey, the “Act of God” episode of The Crown). Either Tinya’s doomed or she should run for leader.

So, the main story offers no surprises. The Legionnaires act confident and cocky. There’s no sense that the incredibly high stakes of this story matter to them. It’s just a day at the office.

Of the subplots, I enjoyed the Rokk and Lydda scene the best. In a matter-of-fact manner, Rokk drops a bombshell that he might not return to active duty. At the time, this “revelation” went right past me. Heroes were always threatening to quit super-teams, and it seemed unthinkable that Cosmic Boy would actually leave the Legion. Though he’s rarely been one of the prime movers of the team, he’s always been its lynchpin, its “rock,” appropriately. He was one of the first Legionnaires I saw in the first Legion story I read (Adv. 328), so his central role has always been unquestioned even though he’s easy to take for granted.

However, his decision makes perfect sense. Sometimes, an organization needs a change in leadership to shake things up. I’ve experienced this more than a few times in my career; some changes lead to good things while others prove detrimental. But such a change forces a team to refocus, assess what’s working and what isn’t, and take necessary action. It can also force people to stop taking things (like Rokk) for granted.

The scene also works because of the intimate glimpse into Rokk and Lydda’s relationship. She’s stunned by his announcement but appears supportive. She’s long been accustomed to taking a back seat to his Legion career and even confesses that she thinks the Legion matters more to him than she does. For his part, Rokk initially comes across as condescending (“Which was a very silly way . . .”), but I interpret this as a playful remark—the same as her “Have you lost your mind?” These are two people who know each other very well and show comfort in expressing what’s on their minds.

Elsewhere, the Legion rounds up the villains who escaped from Orando. It’s a largely unnecessary scene—and a wasted one. I’m not clear on if the Legionnaires even know Karate Kid has died. Only Ayla might possess this knowledge, but she was rather busy when KK died and during the aftermath. So, the villains miss a chance to gloat over killing a Legionnaire, and we miss a chance to see their reactions. Instead, the “payoff” of the scene comes in the form of Shvaughn’s tear—but is she crying because Jan is missing or because Wildfire hurt her feelings with his abrasive remark? Either way, maudlin sentimentality doesn’t work in her or the story’s favor.

Another subplot emerges with Laurel Kent being shot by an unseen sniper. It’s fair enough as far as subplots go, but it goes on a bit too long—drawn out by unnecessary exposition from Comet Queen (whose Valley Girl-speak trips me up as a reader. When a scene begins with “the starshine’s integral today,” I wonder if I’ve missed something).

Steve Lightle’s art is good in places but uneven in others. I like his “quiet” panels the best—the Rokk and Lydda scene, the close-ups of Laurel, Pol, and Comet Queen. The action scenes convey the necessary information but come across as harsh and crude. Some of his figures appear stiff, like action figures posing.

Even so, my copies of #7 and #8 are signed by Lightle; he lives in the Kansas City area, and I met him at a convention some years ago.

In doing these re-reads, it’s interesting to pick up on the snails-pace development of the Rokk subplot and other arcs. One of the letters printed in this issue even asks if Hill Street Blues is Levitz’s favorite show. The editorial response acknowledges that HSB is one of “our” favorite shows but suggests that the series’ style is more influence by “director Robert Altman’s use of organized chaos.” Even so, it seems that Levitz is more interested in these developing subplots than in the “main” action stories.

Like a good diplomat, she just lets him he think he's directing her.

The panel that jumped out at me, regarding how they relate to each other, came at the top of p. 5. Jo's wrist is at such an odd and silly angle. Chalk it up to Lightle awkwardness, perhaps, but Jo could also be trying to show off his muscles for Tinya and doesn't have time to get into a macho pose before the robot collides with him.

Letting the robot smash into him--and telling her to remain in phantom form--is his way of showing off.



I suppose it could be argued that Jo is a dumb jock, and Brin is just dumb. Of the two, though, I'd put my money on Brin. He thinks things through in battle; it's in his personal life that he lacks clues.



Jan's power is far too ill-defined and convenient in serving the needs of the plot. He pulls off instantaneous transformations as if by magic. However, I like your theory that he is overly cautious because of his upbringing.



Try looking up "scorfulus." It seems there are a couple of different spellings. Maybe it's the difference between "damn" and "dang."



Perhaps the LSVers cannibalized her. How long were they trapped in that bubble?

Sun Emperor (who has already proven he knows how to barbecue a human being): "Okay, who wants a leg?"



It was indeed convenient how Tinya knew where to find Vi and what she was up to. But who has time to write a plot that makes sense? We've got to build up the drama of Vi sacrificing herself and others.

. . . except, as I noted, there isn't much drama in this scene or anywhere else in the story.



It's an apt comparison. DnA really captured the desperation and uncertainty of being lost in an unfamiliar galaxy. Although this story was intended to be much shorter, some of that hopelessness would have helped.

That could have been a shocker - the five return to find their places taken and, barring a Constitutional amendment, have to go off and form their own team. Or take over the Subs. With or without Rokk.



I did find his "shake them up" comment a bit arrogant. Sure, he's a founder, but hasn't yet been cast as the heart and soul of the Legion (in 5YL).



Good point. You can never have too many villains on the back burner for sub-plots and assorted complications.



Wow! Major gap in the story which flew right by me! Perhaps having read Zymyr's mind, she's got bigger plans and decided to ditch those LSV losers.



Ah, but should she cut the blue wire or the red wire? That's usually the dilemma in movies. Regarding her willingness to blow everything up, could Vi have a PTSD-related death wish?



ACME robots just don't measure up to Computo. Perhaps it's our current age, when we expect robots to have personalities, as well as devious and dire plans for humanity.



True, this could have been a multi-layered story. Fewer robots, more thoughtful reflection panels.



Vi does display a certain fatalism. I don't recall if this continues but will be watching for it. The sens-tank incident would be a good excuse, plot-wise, for her to behave more recklessly. Tinya does shine here, as she has in a number of Levitz stories. I think he likes her - and she does get bumped off eventually. And runs for leader....



Interesting. It may be my lack of enthusiasm for the character generally, but I didn't have the sense that he was the lynchpin of the Legion until it was drummed into my head in 5YL. However, the roots for that portrayal are certainly there, especially in these scenes in which he's trying to engineer to future of the team.



His decision is rational, but did he discuss it at all with Garth and Imra? I don't recall. It's understandable that they'd be all absorbed with the baby, so he'd keep it to himself (and Wildfire).



I'll give the old boy credit that he's thought about the importance of the Legion vs Lydda, and has decided to make time for her by accepting to visit her home. It does portray the real push-and-pull of priorities in any relationship.



When the reveal of Val's death comes (I'm assuming it's in a near-future issue), it will seem almost like a let-down. Old news for readers.



She has been shedding a lot of tears over him. He hasn't even had a thought balloon about her.

A few additional thoughts on Rokk's impending retirement.

I realized, after reading FC's post, that in referring to Rokk as the "lynchpin" of the Legion, I may have been imposing later interpretations of the character on his present circumstances. I may also be drawing assumptions from my own interpretation of the character. Certainly, Rokk has rarely been portrayed as central to the Legion--and much of his value to the team rests on his historical roles--being a founder and the leader for the first two years (per the Sourcebook). So, in some case, Rokk may have spent much of his Legion career resting on his laurels (but not on Laurel--she wouldn't like that).

As far as his personality goes, Rokk has also been a difficult character to pin down. In most stories, he's just there doing his job. There's nothing wrong with that--there is a place in heaven/the afterlife/Myla's dimension for those who quietly do their jobs and bring little attention to themselves. However, when Rokk has been featured, it's not been in the best of light: manhandling women and behaving like a pompous jerk. This is a shame because his power of magnetism is potentially one of the Legion's most exciting and powerful abilities. But, until Levitz, he's rarely displayed a dynamic personality to go along with that power.

Levitz has also made an effort to subtly position Rokk in a more central role. The writer has emphasized Rokk's connections to Garth and Imra (who, I think most would agree, have always been central to the Legion). Rokk was the first Legionnaire they told about their impending parenthood. He remained in contact with them during the LSV war. By association, he has been positioned as one of the most experienced and senior Legionnaires--someone who is primed for an advisory role.

His role as a founder should not be downplayed, however. There is something to be said for having a "figurehead" or "big brother" figure to quietly give assent to the Legion's actions by virtue of his presence. I've learned a lot by watching "The Crown" and its depiction of the early days of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Elizabeth is counseled by her grandmother, Queen Mary, that the sovereign should not express an opinion because once having done so, she's taken a position; it was better, Queen Mary argued, for the sovereign to remain neutral, to wave, and to maintain an image that ordinary people can aspire to. Of course, Rokk is not a sovereign, and this advice need not apply to all leaders everywhere. Still, there is great value in leading quietly from behind--in letting the Jos and Jans and Drakes compete for leadership and attention. Too many cooks spoil the broth. A quiet leader can season the broth without adding too many main ingredients.

Or maybe that's how Rokk sees himself. Maybe he sees his role in the Legion very differently than others see it. In his depictions, even under Levitz, he comes off as a tad full of himself and imagining himself to be in charge (certainly in his relationship with Lydda). Perhaps this is a personality trait he's developed only lately as he's matured and gotten to know himself better. In leading the Subs during the Tales adventure, he truly was in charge and didn't have to compete with those who possess stronger powers and personalities. The death of his mother may also have signaled a shift in priorities. The death of a parent often causes one to reassess his/her role in the family.

Whatever the internal dynamics, his retirement truly is significant for the Legion--particularly as it will come in conjunction with Garth and Imra's retirement. The parents are leaving the nest, and the children are on their own--at least until Imra returns.

Bob the Robot: So my cousin Phil...
Bill to Robot: The one from Universe 247?
Bob the Robot: Yeah. So, he's joined this robot revolution called Robotica. See the galaxy, get spending money for upgrades.
Bill to Robot: Sounds great.
Bob the Robot: He says that as soon as they can convert a Cosmic Treadmill they'll be able to recruit. I've a Omnicon interview next week for the waiting list.
> Button flashes above them<
Bill to Robot: Here we go. It's the Armourer again, wanting us to crush puny fleshlings or something...right... into character...
Both: Whirr! Buzz! Destroy! Whirr! Buzz! Destroy! ...



More points for sociopath Jan.



I'll be rereading the scenes where she's cutting bomb wires on Webers World more closely in future. Just for that whispered "ah, stuff it" dialogue before she cuts one at random.

Tales #321 Red Dawn or Into Exile by Mindy Newell & Paul Levitz, art by Dan Jurgens & Karl Kesel, Colors by Carl Gaford, Letters by Ben Oda



Dawnstar heads to a planet, followed by Brainiac 5, where she expects to find the lost Legionnaires. Brainy's ship has problems as he passes by a nebula. As Dawnstar admires the beauty of the primitive planet, she is shot by arrows. Brainy glides his now powerless ship to a landing.

A disoriented Dawnstar revives, surrounded by warriors speaking in an unknown language. One thinks she may be a messenger of Kol.

At Legion HQ, Nura mulls over the low active membership. Thom tries to cheer her up but angers her when he suggests they return to their Ventura vacation.

On the planet, priests of Kol perform their rites. One of them, Jhodan, prepares for a journey and calls his student novitiate, Ina, to join him. Brainy is baffled by the absence of electrical signals, then remembers Dawnstar is missing. He sets out to find her, is amazed to see 24th century Terran wheat growing, then is attacked by spears and arrows; his forcefield and flight ring do not work. Injured, he evades his pursuers by jumping into water.

On Medicus One, Dr. Gym'll completes Imra's post-partum exam and tells her she should stay home with the baby. She seems to be considering that.

Dawnstar is captive in a cage, tormented by her captors and praying that Wildfire will rescue her.

Jhodan and Ina ride through the countryside. He condemns people as sinners and refuses the flowers Ina wants to accept as their request for forgiveness.

Brainy is injured, weak and helpless as he tries to navigate the forest; he faints as a shadow approaches. He awakens the next morning to find that a youth has been taking care of him. The young man speaks English (which disappeared from use in the U.P. centuries before). Calling himself Spliff, he babbles like a nature child but is angered when Brainy touches him.

Ina enters the cave, commanding all to prepare for the priest. Jhodan enters, sees Dawnstar and is entranced by her. Jhodan commands that she be released into his custody, to be taken to face the wrath of Kol. He threatens her, although she does not understand, but silently thinks that he could not harm him. She, in turn, feels safe with him.

In the company of Spliff, Brainy falls asleep, wondering how he can find Dawnstar. Jhodan tells Dawnstar that, although it is wrong, he will protect her. Ina is jealous.

Comments:
This is a rather unusual Legion story: focus on two characters, very limited sub-plots, fairly detailed world-building. Despite being a set-up story, it captures my interest, for a number of reasons:

Technology vs primitive society: usually the story centers on the effects of high tech coming to primitive society. Here it's the reverse: the technologically advanced are thrown into the primitive society, with none of their gadgets functional. The primitives have the upper hand, at least for this issue.

Religion: We haven't seen too much of religion in the Legionverse so far. This story develops a harsh and fear-based religion worshipping some figure named Kol. It's quite different from the spirituality of the rather-less primitive Starhaven. The priests' chant is a mixture of various old Earth prayers. There's a surprising factor that women appear to have equal access to the priesthood as men, not something we have encountered often on Earth.

World-building: It's sort of classic primitive society, with a wild tribe hunting whatever they can to eat, and a more advanced and comfortable temple-based priesthood. The character Spliff suggests that there's some freedom of movement and lifestyle for individuals. Add in the mystery of the 24th century Earth connection and we have a fairly detailed world, given the few pages available to develop it.

Character interactions: They may be somewhat stock characters, but the residents of Kol's planet are realistic. The tribesmen are aggressive, but fear retribution. They dispute among themselves what to do with the mysterious creature they have captured. Their children taunt Dawnstar like normal children and are reprimanded, not for cruelty but fear of acquiring evil. Jhodan is a devoted priest, severe in his devotion to the rules of his religion. He's swept off his feet just like a character in a romantic drama and immediately begins the internal struggle between desire and religious devotion. Ina is the eager student, perhaps devoted more to Jhodan than Kol. She's a young girl with a serious crush on her teacher and seethes with teenage jealousy regarding Dawnstar. Spliff is the fool; like most fools in stories, one suspects that he knows more than it appears.

Dawnstar's first thought on reviving is that Wildfire is there and when she realizes her situation, she prays for Wildfire to rescue her - not Brainiac 5, who came to the planet with her. This says a lot about the co-dependance of Dawnstar and Wildfire.

Brainy's at his best here, in terms of character. He's using his big brain, but he isn't displaying the arrogance which has arisen in the past. He's annoyed with Dawnstar for flying straight down to the planet, but doesn't condemn or blame her and he doesn't insult Spliff's intelligence.

Mystery: Many questions are raised. Why did Dawnstar think she had found the lost Legionnaires? Was it the nebula which caused the failure of her power and Brainy's ship, or was that misdirection? What's the connection with 24th century Earth and this planet? Why is this planet unknown and uncharted? Could the lost Legionnaires be here after all, having gone through a portal to an alternate Earth which is this planet? Is Dawnstar falling for Jhodan?

Legionnaires in unusual environments: This is a big change from battling robots; even if they don't know what's going on, Legionnaires are trained to operate in a high-tech society. Here they face unknown language, unfamiliar society, unlcear motives, no technology (including their own), in addition to hostility. It's a different sort of challenge and I enjoyed following Brainy's attempts to reason with the situation while accepting that he must go with the flow.

TotLoSH 321

I think this three parter is also Mindy Newell’s first of this length, following some shorter stories and dialoguing Levitz. It’s not one I had the issues of at the time, with #323 being bought some years later. I was expecting that issue to tie up any loose ends with the story. Instead, all three issues were also supposed to be the set up for a sequel that never came to pass.

I don’t remember really feeling that the story itself desperately begged for a sequel. That’s not to necessarily say that the story didn’t have any suspense or interest. Just that it was able to stand as something self-contained. In later days, characters would be torn down, with no resolution as creators moved on. Any deconstruction would end up as simply destruction. Newell’s tale, that creates insight by building on characters, while continuing the world building of Levitz and Giffen should make for an interesting reread.

The reason for putting the above first in the review is that I later read something that made it seem that the background to this story was hugely mysterious, when I wasn’t carried away with it to the same degree. It’s something that’s stuck in my mind, and is probably down to the way a single article was written, rather than anything from the creators. We’re also not far from the Baxter LSV whose villainous oaths turned out to be hyperbole, despite numerous opportunities. So, I’m interested to look at just how mysterious the mystery of Kol is too.

Jurgens’ cover goes much further than a Legionnaire in distress, and past damsel, with painted on costume, in peril too. It wouldn’t look out of place on a medieval woodcut showing the torture of a fallen angel in that martyr fixation they had. It has a more primal punch, as a result, which must have given some mixed feelings at the time. The polar backdrop, that I don’t think appears inside, adds even more to Dawnstar’s isolation and danger.

The story opens with a surprise. Certain plots in the Tales book have to have a holding pattern in order to fit within what we’re seeing of the Baxter book. But Dawnstar says she has found the Legionnaires. We’re nicely reminded that Dawny’s powers have been amplified by Brainy in the dialogue, just before we see him in a shuttle that’s having some problems.

Dawny races down to the planet’s surface, leaving Brainy behind. Even Brainy mentally admonishes her for leaving him behind. But her characterisation, and the story supports this. Brainy’s also thinks that she’s becoming as impetuous as Wildfire. Considering they work as a team, and that they spend so much time together off duty, it’s not surprising that Drake has rubbed off on her. Adding Dawny’s need to find the Legionnaires, which she sees as the purpose of someone with her powers, the effects of Brainy’s amplification, which have made Dawny feel unusual, and it’s fitting that she flies ahead.

Dawny’s feeling of belonging on this world are sharply contrasted by the nature of the first people she sees. Considering the height she’s flying at, it’s not likely that she would be shot down in the way she’s shown here. Perhaps she’s flown down to the people she’s just spotted. It’s not clear if her flight ring was of any use in breaking her fall, as she plummets from quite a height into the mountains.

Despite clearly being human, the locals are looking to kill and feed her to their children. Dawny can’t understand their intentions. It may be that it’s another sign that technology has failed, with her translator now inoperable, or if the local dialect is beyond its capacity.

Things don’t go too well for Brainy either. Normally, you’d see a heroic attempt to survive a crashing shuttle, to increase story tension, but Brainy manages to glide it in without any problems. He falls into an analytical moved, trying to figure out his problem, before realising that he should be acting and not thinking. It’s interesting watching Brainy switch between thinking and acting. It doesn’t take overly long for his to be shown where his priorities should be. Even if he is having to talk to himself too much, for the readers benefit. Brainy also encounters hostile locals and narrowly avoids being speared. Considering the superhuman accuracy of the marksmen who shot Dawny, Brainy should have been hit here. Instead, he’s injured in a jump while being pursued.

I’d have thought he would have tried his flight ring first to find Dawny. It would have robbed the reader of the surprise that his Coluan force belt doesn’t work either. Realising that he’s not the fittest, and injured from the chase, Brainy finds himself reduced to saying “Gotta.” Perhaps the chase would have been shorter, if Brainy didn’t keep talking out loud, presumably attracting his pursuers

The third main strand of the Kol adventure concerns Jhodan and his disciple of a year, Ina. Jhodan is a priest in the service of Kol. He is to leave his temple, and Ina looks for an opportunity to be seen in his eyes as something more than a pupil or a girl in his eyes. The order that Johdan belongs to is a mish mash of Earth cultures, religions and traditions. Perhaps something that was pieced together from the planet’s first settlers and then enforced, or something that’s simply been distorted over half a millennium. It’s followed with strict obeyance by both the order and the locals. Jhodan is seen by the people as representing the arms of Kol. They bow before the travellers. Those of his order see themselves as vessels of Kol, holding no privileges. But you wonder how often this is taken advantage of. They travel to pass the judgment of Kol on the people. We find out a lot about this because Jhodan’s disciple is a really poor one. It doesn’t seem that she’s been able to adopt many of the key principles that Jhodan wanted to teach her. I’m surprised she got this far as his pupil, considering how harsh the order and the world seem.

Elsewhere, Dawnstar is kept sitting in mud in a tiny cage, her wings bolted and her wounds untended. She is concerned only with staying alive, as the children of a tribe taunt her. They see her as something to kill, and probably as food. Since they are all form the same genetic stock, cannibalism doesn’t seem to be beyond him. Their elder, referred to as taking a lot of drugs, blames her for the children’s taunting. It’s harrowing material, not least because it’s touches on so many real-world precedents. Newell captures this very well.

Brainy doesn’t seem to have lasted a day. It’s unlikely that he wouldn’t have taken a survival course, considering the situations the Legion gets into. But I don’t think it’s come up outside something like the RPG. Unlike the rest of the locals, he’s found by Spliff (another drug reference) who tends for him during the night and feeds him. Brainy discovers that his new friend may be schizophrenic, but also learns that he speaks an old Earth language, that he dreamt of Dawny’s arrival (possibly misremembering seeing her), and travels tending the animals in Kol’s universe.

Jhodan and Dawny are both smitten kittens at first sight, regardless of the situation. Dawnstar’s ancestors are from North America, where Johdan’s people are also from, perhaps providing some reason for her sudden attraction. Jhodan fights what he thinks is a spell, but his words and tone betray his feelings. They certainly do to Ina, who sees Dawnstar as a threat to be disposed of. Jhodan seems to have another choice to make. He’s only moving Dawnstar to face the wrath of Kol, not exactly delivering her form the tribe that saw her as dinner.

The pacing is fine in the story. I note that Levitz got a plot assist. We get a vengeful cliffhanger, that had been built up to in the characters’ personalities. Brainy is a bit easily taken down by his environment. Even if we do think he’s spending all of his time in the lab. Something else else simple like some infection would have worked nicely. Something else else he couldn’t analyse without his equipment working.
The world of Kol is well realised. Spliff is a bit convenient and Ina is a really poor student (as she’s the exposition point for the reader). The harsh brutality of the people and their traditions comes across very strongly. Whatever mysteries lying behind the world don’t get in the way of the characterisation and central plot.

I am hoping that Dawnstar comes out of this story well. She gets thumped around a lot in the stories. Add in being joined at the hip to Wildfire and the plot driven problems with her powers, and she has a hard time of it.

Back at Legion HQ, Dreamy thinks over the short-numbered Legion once again. “Maybe the universe is getting too big for the Legion as it’s set up now” certainly adds a different spin on Cosmic Boy’s plans. That makes me think more of Legion World than the 25 limit currently on the team due to tax purposes. Nura weighs this with Thom’s counter of “we can’t allow anyone who calls himself a hero to join.” Wildfire would be the first to point out that this is why the Legion has an Academy. To be able to bring in recruits after they have had suitable training.

Since the start of Baxter the main team has stopped Micro Lad, but not prevented his escape; stopped a Takron Galtos riot, but not the escape of many prisoners; Failed to prevent theft of Powerspheres and the warping away of Orando; Stopped fleeing LSV members both in ship and in returning bubble (surely they would have been told by them about KK?)

In Tales, they have failed to prevent the escape of Ontiir, although they have set back Dark Circle plans; Cos and the Subs hampered a smuggling ring; a revolution was stopped on Talok VIII (although Dreamy hadn’t wanted to send anyone); a burglar escaped Legion HQ without taking what he sought.

It’s just as well for Dreamy and the others that nothing major has happened in all those issues, or they’d have found out just how short staffed they really were. While it’s something I’ve only noticed in this reread, the real moment when members should have been considered was in #318. Cos could have gone off to talk to Wildfire in that issue, while Dreamy and the others looked to start recruiting then.

Incidentally, with the team so scattered, there are all sorts of Lost Tales that could have worked with a major incident keeping the team apart, only to reform at the end.

Thom and Nura’s relationship gets what seems like a repeat scene. Like so many relationships under Levitz, it works on a number of levels. Thom seems to be supportive of Nura, trying to cheer her up and complimenting her. But he’s doing it as much, if not more, for himself. Since Nura’s been leader (or now acting leader), he should have learned that this is completely the wrong approach. Nura brushes him off and leaves the mission monitor room. It’s a long arc, but there will be more on how things turn out there.

The only other subplot concerns a post-natal exam for Imra. Handy having a nurse writing the story. It also gets in a bit of gender equality too. Ironically, considering the founders’ plans, it’s not active duty that they’re thinking of returning to. The threat of Garth’s cooking is greater than he faced when dealing with Starfinger on another of the many satellite trips the Ranzz’s go on. There’s not really much going on in this page, but it’s always nice to check in on the JLA satellite in the 30th century.

This issue continues the ads for Universe: The Crisis on Infinite Earths as well as the DC RPG. IN the letter column, we learn that Alan Moore has a fondness for old Legion tales.

The Mystery of Kol:
The planet is in uncharted deep space. Despite flying there, Brainy can’t recognise the stars
The planet, or a nearby nebula, fool’s Dawnstar’s powers, while in space, into thinking she has located people she knows well. The planet, or a nearby nebula, also disrupts technology, such as a Legion cruiser. The effects include energy dampening and possibly more. Specifically calibrated hand-held sensors don’t work. The effect is sufficient to disable Coluan technology and Legion flight rings.
The planet has Terran wheat crops. The specific wheat they have was developed by botanical geneticists in the late 24th century. Their language is English and specifically North American. Dawnstar’s ancestors are also from North America, perhaps providing some reason for her sudden attraction.
Dawnstar’s people left Earth at some point, and perhaps the people of Kol did likewise.
The culture on Kol is derived from a number of current Earth religions, which have survived in a combined form.
Kol is considered to be a “he”
Jhodan is referred to as one of the Arms of the core. This is presumably a reference to a ship’s core. Perhaps the power derived from the core of the spacecraft that brought them to the world is still respected as a source of life, and the basis for their religion. It would follow that either the ship was called Kol, the captain was, or that they came from Sol and the name has just been distorted over time.


Leia Cat’s review:-
[p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’p’--------‘’’’’’’’’?

Elsewhere in the DCU / li’l thoth’s comics
There wasn’t any real way of picking and choosing what I’d get at near the bottom of the newsagent’s shelves. I guess they got in a few extra copies of Superman, Batman and Justice League. (I only got Action this month) Beyond that, it could have been anything. It was DC though. I don’t remember ever having to go through Marvel titles to get to the DC ones. Perhaps they were kept somewhere else. Perhaps close by, but I never went through them.

This month was still very early on for my DC reading, and I got some very different titles this month. 9 titles in all.

Atari Force 15 has a cover of Dart about to be caught by giant bugs! This issue was a big hit with me. For a series I think of as being by Conway and Garcia-Lopez, it’s Baron and Barreto that got me into it. I reread this one a lot, and I’d recommend it now.

Conway did write Firestorm 33 that saw ‘stormy go up against some flame-based terrorists with Killer Frost and Plastique waiting in the wings. Firestorm appeared in my first US style DC comic, and this was a very early issue for me.

JLA 236 spotlighted Gypsy and completed their adventure against the Cadre.

Swamp Thing 34 is the story of Alec and Abbey making love. Not quite so simple since Alec is no longer human. Li’l thoth wasn’t ready for this one and wouldn’t be for quite some time. Not due to any explicitness. But because the themes of maturity and love ran deeply through the issue. As far as comics goes, this issue is still so very far ahead. Superb writing by Moore with art from Bissette and Totleben. It was a lonely Swamp Thing issue for a long time.

Conqueror of the Barren Earth #2 – a tale of warriors beneath a red sun, mixing sci fi with a fantasy setting. Our protagonist has been captured and the story is essentially her slowly changing her mind regarding the man she had viewed as a despotic overlord. Li’l thoth may have been distracted by our heroine in her bikini top. But there was always something very uncomfortable about that relationship. Looking at it now, and you can see the Stockholm syndrome kick in as the main character goes through lots of abuse before siding with the man she originally hated. Icky!

Although I didn’t get this one, Dan Jurgens was also drawing Teen Titans #6 in addition to the Legion. I mentioned his pinch hitting. That issue would have been after Perez but before Garcia Lopez. I wonder how much time he had to do that one.

I didn’t get the zombie hand coming out of the earth in Flash 343 either. I guess I didn’t see this one, or it was just before I was watching horror movies.

More Ambush Bug in Action 565. Had Giffen not quit the Legion, would we have seen so much of the Bug? We travel to an alternate universe where Giffen is living in a mansion off of his Legion royalties, but is forever haunted… tune into Forever Ambush…

Rich Buckler drew the Tales of the Titans issue #51. This would be a very early Titans comic for me off the stands. It has the first appearance of Azrael! This sequence has a lot of similarities to an opening one from Hellboy. Yet one became a huge success, while Hellboy…no…wait…

I would pick up a lot of the earlier Wolfman & Perez issues on holiday, where I was spoiled rotten when it came to going to every newsagent in town. That’s what really cemented me as a DC reader. I think my parents quietly got another case, just so I could take my haul back with me. Lots of JLA issues too.

The All-Star Squadron was the go to place for DC characters. Issue 43 had more of Ted Knight and some new villains as Thomas was looking to shake up the title a bit.

Who’s Who 1 came out this month. It was a great time to learn about everything related to DC. I think I must have started going to the city comic shops not long after this. I doubt the local shop stocked Who’s Who, and I might have picked up this one no more than a few months after it came out. I’d get them all pretty much at the time of publication, showing just how diligent my dad was in taking me.

At the end, I would have liked to know more and have a follow-up, but as you say, a sequel wasn't desperately needed. It works just as well if the readers fill in the gaps themselves.



She's often demonstrated a desire to prove her ability, as well. Probably someone who doesn't take failure too well, so her eagerness is understandable, especially given the factors you listed.



We get confirmation later in the Brainy scenes that tech isn't working; at this point, it isn't clear. But we did see a failure of the translator in last week's issue, with the lost Legionnaires trying to understand the Armorer.



Hmmm.... hadn't thought of that, but maybe it was a different group of less-skilled hunters.



Missed the drug reference, but he's certainly the most druggy character in the story.



Screaming for connection! Is this a lost tribe of Starhaven and was Dawnstar tuning into that sort of vibe as she approached the planet?



Doesn't say much for Academy training that nobody is up to snuff yet!



This could be the moment when the relationship starts to collapse; before it was just on hold while she tended to leadership duties, but now there's a breach in how they view their roles. I had thought of this as just retreading the same old "we're understaffed" line, but you highlight the relationship aspect.



Nebulae are such handy things to generate mystery and confusion!



Ah, ship's core! I was wondering what the core reference could be, in terms of the original settlers.




Comet agrees.



Are you storing your comics in chronological order, regardless of title, or do you just have a super-cataloguing system? I enjoy this "look back at comic history" section you've added.



That's one I haven't read but would like to.



Enlightened parents!

Tales 321

It's taken me awhile to process how I feel about this issue. I did not appreciate its considerable strengths until I read FC and thoth's reviews. To me, it reads like a mishmash of stories and tropes. Some of this may be due to the difference between Mindy Newell's writing style and Levitz's (how odd to read a Legion story during this era with Levitz credited only with "plot assist"). It could also be that the tone is jarringly different from the other Legion stories of this time. I just took Levitz to task for writing a story in which seven lost Legionnaires display no emotion whatsoever over their predicament; here, we've got two more lost Legionnaires, and Dawnstar really expresses her feelings over the matter--even going so far as to say she wants her mother. She also expects Wildfire, who is not even on this mission, to rescue her. I'm not sure if her depiction in this story makes her vulnerable or weak--a bit of both, I imagine.

"Into Exile" certainly thrusts our heroes and the reader out of our comfort zones. It all begins with that cover, which depicts Dawny--as thoth noted--like a medieval religious figure pierced with arrows, reaching out to an unseen presence (God, perhaps). She resembles a fallen angel, which ties in nicely with the religious theme of the story. Dawny and Brainy find themselves trapped on a planet where the culture's dominant religious order exerts harsh control over its subjects. Sin--even the sin of being late to a gathering--is severely punished. This culture is quite at odds with Dawnstar's initial impression of the place. She flies over a beautiful mountainside and walled-in city and comments how serene everything looks. Her impression is shattered when the arrows come flying and strike her in the shoulder, leg, and wing.

The Legion and/or the UP apparently has no prime directive regarding first contacts. Dawny never considers how the appearance of a winged, flying woman might be perceived by the locals. In a twist, the locals do not regard her as a goddess or demon--only as an animal to be used for food (though they do believe their children will "catch" evil from her). Enter Jhodan--the leading man of the tale--who releases Dawny from her cage and acts as smitten with her as she is with him, to the obvious jealousy of Ina, his young novitiate.

Meanwhile, Brainy--following Dawnstar to the planet--finds himself equally marooned with none of his gadgets--ship, force field belt, flight ring--working. He remains analytical as he eludes capture, passes out, and revives to find he has been cared for by a local man with the odd name of Spliff. It's a good thing Spliff captures and cooks an animal, as he saves Brainy from having to take a life. The first time Brainy exhibits any emotion in this story is when he seems delighted at the prospect of dinner. The second time is when he loses his temper and somehow thinks Spliff is responsible for Dawnstar's disappearance. It's certainly odd to see Brainy play the role of the action hero: escaping spear-wielding locals, running and jumping over terrain, and slogging his way through a body of water. He mentions that he should have taken a survival course, but he acquits himself well and learns some valuable clues about his and Dawnstar's whereabouts.

So, the story reads to me like an episode of Star Trek or any number of mainstream science fiction TV series. Our heroes from an advanced culture find themselves at the mercy of a primitive culture that turns out to be much more than they bargained for. In particular, this issue echoes the ST episode, "The Omega Glory," in which Kirk and company become trapped on a world modeled after the then current tensions between the US (Yangs) and USSR (Kohms). Here we learn that the mysterious world has Terran wheat and an earth language that dates back 600 years. The planet somehow renders technology useless and may exert an influence over people's emotions (which might explain the trope of Dawny and Jhodan instantly falling head over heals for each other). So, there are plenty of mysteries to keep us going.

However, none of this seems to hang together smoothly. We've got themes of romance, religion, ties to earth, and mental illness and/or drug use--but any one of these could be the central focus of the story, especially if Newell is going to thrust the Legionnaires (and us) into uncharted territory. Whereas Levitz mines the Legion's rogues gallery and history for inspiration, Newell seems determined to give our heroes something entirely different to do. Good for her. I just wish it didn't feel as if the Legionnaires had been thrust into someone else's story.

That's a good point, that Legionnaires just barge into any planet as they see fit. Dawnstar's lack of caution may be explained by her exuberance with the thought of finding the lost Legionnaires and/or the effects of Brainy's power boost. However, she doesn't give a thought to what or who she might encounter on the surface.



Hadn't thought about the planet itself affecting emotions. Just checked the synopsis for "The Omega Glory" and there certainly are a lot of similarities!



I think you hit on the aspect that makes this story a bit odd - that it's not entirely the Legionnaires' story. It's almost like a cross-over, with Dawny and Brainy as guest stars.

Comments



I agree that there’s a different focus in this tale. Having only two Legionniares to focus on gives additional time to develop other areas. Levitz hand on the plot assist means that wider Legion subplots leep the main story anchored.



Wildfire as romantic as well as work partner and friend did come across strongly here. She knows that Wildfire won’t leave a stone unturned or unblasted until he finds her. He feels at least as strongly.



Good point about Brainy’s approach to others. I think he’s at his best when he has questions that have interested his curiosity.



This is one I’d expect to get answered. It’s the sole reason for Brainy and Dawnstar’s arrival on the planet. The story loses some credibility if it’s just a writing fudge to put them there.



[sing song voice] Smitten…they’re smitten kittens… [/sing song voice]



Lost Tale:-

Jhodan: And now you will face the Core! >pulls open curtains with dramatic flourish<
CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK!
Brainy: Hmmm… ACME-bots… guarding an energy sphere that seems to be powering all those portals.
Dawny: Look Brainy! Each of the portals has a planet symbol above it… and there’s Earth!
CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK! The ACME-Bots approach, only to be clattered into by another robot thrown from behind them.
Jo: Hi guys! I guess we stepped through the wrong portal in the Baxter book.
Dawny: Ha! I was right. The missing Legionnaires were on this planet. Jhodan? >smitten kitten eyes< Will you return with me?
Ina: Noooooooo! >races forward with knife only to be turned into an inertron statue.<
Jan: Her scream was interrupting me trying to find a candy floss setting on his Core machine.
Brainy: It must have been supplying food to the locals.
Tinya: Mana from heaven.
Jan: >bored< Shall we go?
>slightly scared of sociopath Jan, the missing Legion return home…<




Yeah, the Tales books have all been very good at providing some quality stories, each with a different take on 30th century adventure.

more comments



Since I often feel Dawny’s fails far to often for plot reasons in this era, finding her flight ring in the morning should be considered a victory.



I think Levitz used the tech on the fritz signposting as late on as v7 (not including when all of technology went in Magic Wars and Tarok chipping)



With the earlier ganga comment, perhaps there's a hint of connecting drug use with religious/shamanic practices as well as other societal issues.




I’d be surprised if this wasn’t in Newell’s plans, or at least a connection made to a number of civilisations leaving Earth to start up colonies in earlier centuries. I think there’s also a connection to the amplification of her powers to becoming in tune to the planet, almost as if the planet were calling her home – or to a very similar home to the one she knows.



It’s something to bear in mind for the issues close ahead too.



We had his outburst at not being called upon by Dreamy and I think there were a few things in the annual too. I think it’s a relationship that has been bubbling away with resentments and tensions since Dreamy got the leadership role. Or rather, that role made a lot of things in there relationship clearer once the dynamic in it changed. It’s been really, really understated for a comic book relationship. It makes me wonder about any others I’m missing. That layer of writing is one of the Levitz highlights for me.




You try and get specifics and all you get are nebulous answers.



It’s cataloguing…Why all of these comics are in order and a pile of cross referenced index cards has been left beside them! It must have been Catalogue Kid!



Thanks. I’m enjoying the self-indulgence of remembering my first DC comics.




Some early ones are a little hit and miss. I think there’s a Supergirl one that falls in the latter camp.



I think they also quickly discovered that a happy, reading kid was a quiet kid and they could get on enjoying their holiday in peace.




While I really liked the opening Baxter arc, I thought the quality fell away. I had always liked the Tales stories. In this reread, the Tales continue to impress, while the Baxter book has lost some of whatever impact it had.



Good point about the relguious tie in. When I was reading it, I wondered why they would need a walled city if the place was so lovely. What would you need protection from? Just the weather?



Another good point. The Legion don’t often come to planets where they have to consider such things. I imagine that one reason for this is to move firmly away form any Trek connotations.



That’s interesting. How far does the Legion code against killing extend?



I’ll need to take a peek. Thanks.



So far, Tales has provided a lot of variety. So, this story doesn’t seem as jarring to me. Certainly Kol is essentially a character in its own right, with the heroes taking on explorer roles, while going through their adventures. Brainy does have a character arc, as he’s been placed into an unfamiliar role for him. He’s already had a couple of realisations; reminding himself to think of others before his equipment and his reliance on gadgets over survival courses. So that’s not at all bad. Dawny, despite her predicament, could be about to embark on a big romantic subplot that has ramifications for her own people’s history too. So neither has been neglected yet.

I’m really hoping that Ina returns with Brainy at the end to be inducted to the Legion as Withering Look Lass.

If her flight ring were off planet, she might have a chance.




Spliff's name reminded me of Spaceman Spiff, Calvin's alter ego in Calvin & Hobbes. I wonder how long it will be before Spliff talks to imaginary tigers.




Agreed. I don't want to ruin any spoilers or prejudice readers, but I have a feeling that the best of the Levitz era is behind us. There are many good stories to come, but I don't think Levitz really challenged himself or the characters after this point, except perhaps writing out the three founders (and even that turned out to be temporary in one case). I hope I'm wrong.



I saw it as a clever bit of foreshadowing--a hint that the world isn't as serene as it seems. If you have a dominant religious order that keeps people under its thumb, you'll need walls for protection against competing groups, insurrections, and whomever else you regard as devil-spawn.



It's understandable that Levitz or whomever would want to distance the Legion for ST, given all the science fiction trappings. However, it's only common sense that the Legion would want to avoid alarming cultures that know nothing about life on other worlds. They don't have to call it a prime directive or even give such a policy an official name.



I don't think it's ever been clarified. I'm sure we've seen Legionnaires eat meat before, so it's okay to eat it if someone else kills it? Or maybe killing animals is okay (but where do Proteans and other "pets" fit in?).

I would like to have seen Brainy wrestle with this dilemma. Having him enjoy the fruits of another carnivore's labor dodges the issue.




All good points.



Once they learn Ina's last name is Godda-DaVida, they will instantly admit her as Iron Butterfly Lass.

More Comments



My inner pedant stopped me typing “…fly a Legion shuttle, never mind fly to a planet with her friends.” Because, of course, Dawny has no need of a shuttle. I should have known that inner voice would have friends My inner pedant even got me to go back and add “of course” into the sentence above.



Oh, I’d vote in Calvin Kid to the li’l Legion! Imaginary friends! Alter egos! One for the Applicants from other books thread!


I think it’s the spark from the Giffen collaboration that’s missing. Something else else that brought out the best in both. Levitz did try to get that from others on the book. I guess we’ll see how it works out.


The Proty thing was awkward as it was. But imagine if everyone had been eating them? Yikes! I hadn’t thought about the changing diets of the future. All vegans? Machine processed food? Or, keeping with this story, something that a spaceship would also be kitted out to provide?





In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, honey,
Won’t you take my hand
So we can run away together
From Kol’s marauding band

DCCP #80 "A World Full of Supermen" by Paul Kupperberg, art by Curt Swan and Dave Hunt, Colors by G. D'Angelo, Letters by Ben Oda



The Legionnaires arrive through the portal from factory planet to find themselves in unrecognized space. They see a 20th century Earth city floating in space and are pulled toward it. A metallic creature observes them a station in space and analyzes the situation. Jo breaks free of the tractor beam and flies to the city, only to be attacked by Superman. The others, still held in the beam, begin to feel heat and see Superman attacking them with heat vision. Jan creates a lead shield; Cham, Vi and Tinya use their powers to escape while Jan stays shielded. They are met by three Supermen.

The metallic creature watches this, learns they are Legionnaires, informs us that this is a limbo between realities and that he is Brainiac, recovering from a previous battle with Superman.

On real Earth, Clark Kent gets a headache from ultrasonic beams and changes into Superman to investigate. Meanwhile, the Legionnaires are battling multiple Supermen, having discovered that they are biological robots. After destroying them, they rescue Element Lad from his lead shield. Brainiac observes all this and concludes he can use them to defeat Superman.

Tinya suspects this place is an anti-Superman testing ground. Many more Supermen descend on them and the Legionnaires fight back, wondering if there's anyone alive in the city.

Superman arrives, having followed the ultrasonic beam through dimensions. As he explores the city, he spies the Legionnaires, then is overrun by a wave of Superman robots seeking the Legionnaires. The Legionnaires fight this group; Jo k-o's Superman and realizes this one's not a robot.

Brainiac appears, encases Superman in a force field, then tells the Legionnaires that he has been controlling their minds and is preventing them from rescuing Superman. He begins to atomize Superman. However, the mind control program has disengaged and the Legionnaires are free. Jan tells Brainiac that his molecular disassembler is backlashing; Brainiac is confused, Superman revives. Brainiac destroys his equipment then teleports away. Jan explains that he caused smoke to come off Brainiac's metal body to give the impression of equipment failure. Superman thanks them, and the Legionnaires leave to look for a way out of this place and time.

Comments:

Yawn....a real filler story as far as the Legion is concerned. No personality stands out, the individuality and tensions we've seen in the Levitz stories are absent. The Legionnaires' powers are used adequately, but the endless Superman battles are boring and the lost Legionnaires are no further ahead in their quest to return home.

I'll bet 10 credits that thoth calls them ACME Supermen, because that's exactly what they are.

I don't really see why Jan had to hide in the lead shield, but he did. His powers could have disabled the Supermen somehow, but this is one of those instances when Jan's powers aren't miraculous. Compared to the LSH issues, Jan seemed rather flippant when talking to Brainiac, Adventure-era flippant. I half expected all the Legionnaires to start laughing and pointing at foolish Brainiac. It's a real shift in tone from what we've been reading.

Brainiac performs miracles of science but goofs up with controlling the Legionnaires by using the word "End" and can't tell that his own machinery isn't malfunctioning. Not much of a super-genius, although he did acknowlege that his brain functions weren't fully functional.

The ending is incredibly abrupt. There's not even a "what are you doing here?" from Superman. The portal the Legionnaires came through leads to a destroyed planet (and presumably, destroyed portal) so where they go from here is the most interesting aspect of this story.

It will be a little later on for me this week, as I've not kept the DC Presents with the regular issues. I don't recognise the cover though.

I don't think I've ever read that DC Comics Presents. Doesn't sound like I've missed much.

DCCP 80

This seems like an attempt to recreate the Silver Age appeal of the Legion. Curt Swan is on board to handle the art, and the dialogue flies straight out of the campy '60s: "Look alive, Legionnaires!" "that seems to fall into the realm of easier said than done," "so hot it's got me bothered!" Kupperberg spares no corny cliche. I get the impression that the story was an attempt to create a fun romp: the Legionnaires find themselves battling a world full of Superman robots. When the real Superman shows up, they mistake him for a robot. Hilarious hi-jinks ensue.

But this sitcom-y approach falls flat. The story isn't clever or surprising. The dialogue of the Legionnaires is interchangeable. And the ending makes no sense. Why are the Legionnaires walking away from Superman when he could return them to the 30th century or at least contact the rest of the Legion to let them know where their lost members are? This is a "done-in-one" issue taken to extremes. It has no context with any of the events surrounding the Legionnaires or Superman, evidently. Only Brainiac gets a subplot--though his references to a war with "the Master Programmer" elude me.

Nor is there any warmth in the Legion's encounter with the real Superman. If I were a new reader, I would get the impression that they know each other, but I have only Element Lad's parting shot--"What are old friends for?"--to indicate that they are indeed old friends. Furthermore, Superman looks abandoned as the Legionnaires stroll off together and leave him behind. He must be remembering the cruel joke the Legion played on him in their first encounter.

I wouldn't expect much from any issue of DCCP. The series existed just to show Superman fighting alongside a variety of DC's other heroes. (However, in looking for this issue, I discovered I do have an extensive collection of the series. I must have seen some value in following it.) Still, I would hope for a better thought-out story and at least some of the old camaraderie between Kal and his friends from the future.

Very nice weather prevented me doing any re-reading or re-finding in this case.

LSH #9 by Paul Levitz, art by Steve Lightle & Larry Mahlstedt, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



At HQ, Legionnaires discuss what to do about their low numbers and decide to have new member tryouts in a few weeks. At that point, the lost Legionnaires walk in. After happy greetings all around, Jan finds Shvaughn in a park helping a child trapped by a fallen tree. Later, the Legionnaires relax together, with SP friends, Rond Vidar and Yera. Violet has a sharp talk with Yera and tells Yera to never impersonate her again, then stomps off, colliding with a distracted Brin.

Brin checks out on leave and meets Zirf to discuss some business. Jan and Shvaugn share some alone time away from the Legion but are interrupted by calls from both Zendak and Dream Girl regarding a situation in Hong Kong.

Elsewhere, R.J. Brande meets with Proteans, as someone spies on him. At the Academy, Dvron takes the kryptonite bullet which struck Laurel and hopes he can solve the case.

In Hong Kong, someone is blasting SP officers and causing destruction; Jacques reports that he saw Sklarians fleeing.

Brin and Zirf, on a flight to Tokyo, pass over the smoke from the destruction in Hong Kong. Brin has learned that he is Val Armorr's executor and will inherit several billion credits after performing some task.

In Hong Kong, the Legionnaires wonder why Sklarians attacked since they are at peace with the U.P. and even have an embassy in Hong Kong. Jacques suggests that it may be individual Sklarians after something. Cham disguises himself as a Sklarian; Vi hides in his/her hair, Jacques turns invisible and Ayla shorts out the security system. They enter the Sklarian building, Cham switches to a flying insect and they discover illegal shipments of frozen organs. A Sklarian tries to swat Cham, Violet grows and hits her; they escape. Jacques has proof that the Sklarians were raiding Hong Kong's organ mart. This leads them to the ship being loaded; Jan disables the cargobots. When the other Sklarians arrive to load the cargo manually, they are apprehended by Legionnaires.

As dawn breaks, Jan returns to Shvaughn's apartment and they resume their physical reunion.

Comments:
There's a lot going on in this issue, wrapping up some old storylines and starting several intriguing new ones. It also provides a lot of character moments and some insight into personalities and couple dynamics.

The only complaint is that the return of the lost Legionnaires is unexplained. It's a big gap from where and when we last saw them, but perhaps the writers consider the readers sufficiently creative to make up their own connections.

One other minor point is the characterization of Dvron as the not-too-bright rookie. It's a common type of character, but, given that there are so few SP officers, why wouldn't each one be among the best and brightest? Does Dvron have connections?

My favourite scene is the one with all the Legionnaires and friends relaxing in some recreation room with illusions of clouds, waterfalls, bubbles and fish, along with floating chairs. Most of the Legionnaires are out of uniform - except for Lar, Ayla, Mysa,and Thom (and Wildfire of course; he doesn't seem to have a casual containment suit). Did they just not bother to change, are they the on-call team or are they more comfortable in costume? Brin is not only in his uniform, he's not even joining the festivities; just looking on at Ayla's group from a balcony. Mysa interrupts Blok's advances, the Jo-Tinya-Lar-Tasmia cliques sits apart, there's a bit of an SP-clique with Shvaughn, Gigi, Gim, Yera and Jan - to which Cham has joined (as friend to Gim and fellow-Durlan with Yera). Wildfire and Jacques are together, an unlikely pair of friends but for their experience in the demon realm. Rond and Dirk discuss inventing a time search-beam, reminding us that Dirk is a scientist - and they invite Thom to join the discussion, implying that he can keep up with the technology. Ayla, Rokk, Nura and Zendak are involved in some dispute regarding Shvaughn (possibly related to her ICC mission with Dev-Em).Unlike other couples, Nura and Thom are separate. Computo is malfunctioning, overpouring a drink. And Vi stands apart, simmering, preparing to confront an oblivious Yera.

There are two extended stories - the Jan-Shvaughn reunion/romance, with Shvaughn clearly the more eager one for sex - and the mission to Hong Kong. I sort of felt like Shvaughn must have felt - this is dragging on a bit, let's see some action - but it does illustrate Jan's reluctance for physical contact. He mentions secrets; we can only guess what they may be. Given what we know now about Shvaughn, this panel has a certain poignancy. The facial expressions alone could have told the whole story .

The Hong Kong mission brings back the Sklarian raiders and continues primarily with the lost team - Jan, Vi and Cham along with Jacques and Ayla. It's not clear that Jan knows the nature of the trouble in Hong Kong - so how does he choose the team? I'd guess that he's become comfortable working with Cham and Vi. He didn't select a powerhouse like Jo or Lar (is he fed up with Jo?); Ayla's the one with the most punch on this mission. She seems to be relishing her renewed powers; Jan is surprised at the force she wields.

The Sklarians are stealing organs for transplant; when we last saw them, they were appealing to be given the same level of tech as other U.P. members and were, it appears, denied. One can sympathize with them to some degree, but they're painted exclusively as villains here.

Violet loses her temper, which complicates the mission, and acknowledges her error. She throws a number of punches and looks pretty happy to do so. Her confrontation with Yera surprised the others; Yera herself met Vi's anger with a simple defense but no apology, leaving Vi fuming - but one has the sense that she might have lost her temper in Hong Kong regardless of meeting Yera.

There's a good sense of continuity within the story, weaving in old plots and starting new ones. There are plenty of futuristic details in the artwork. All in all, a very satisfying issue.

If so, the writers were being extremely lazy.

From my view, there's no justifiable reason for leaving out such an important part of the story. We've been following our lost Legionnaires for quite some time; we've seen the effect their absence has had on the team as a whole. To be denied a resolution to this story is just wrong.

My other major complaint about this issue is the "oh, by the way" manner in which the story handles news of KK's death. There's no moment of shock or disbelief as the returning Legionnaires cut the happiness of their return short by revealing what happened on Orando. As a result, we're denied a major emotional pay off.



Not only does Dvron's behavior make no sense for a by-now experienced officer, he is also referred to as a lieutenant by Gigi in 320.



Good analysis of the different relationships. I, too, thought it was interesting to note which Legionnaires wore their costumes while hanging out.



Indeed. Though I doubt Levitz and/or Giffen had planned the outcome of Shvaughn's story this far in advance, it's truly ironic that she's the one keeping secrets.



Indeed again. the last panel on P. 10, with Shvaughn crying while exposing her cleavage speaks volumes about the rejection she must be feeling.



Plot expediency powers.



Vi's portrayal in this story is very interesting. She approaches Yera to give her a what-for, only to be reduced to babbling when Yera remains calm and refuses to be baited. Vi's self-righteous anger has to go somewhere, so she takes it out first on Blok and then on the Sklarian swatter. Vi really needs to sit down with a therapist.

Ayla also strikes me as someone who feels the need to overcompensate. She comes off as being overly aggressive on the mission to Hong Kong and confrontational with Chief Zendak during the party. This could also be why Ayla wears her costume at the party, to drive home that she's back as a Legionnaires.

Both Vi and Ayla have gone through serious and traumatic experiences. Both have ended long-term relationships. Both may still be trying to find themselves.



Agreed. This is the first issue in which I've really enjoyed Lightle's work. He seems to be coming into his own as an artist.

A few more thoughts on Baxter #9:

Overall, I like this sort of "breather" issue which celebrates the Legionnaires as friends and colleagues. The full-page party scene is a classic, and the Shvaughn/Jan sequence takes their relationship and the book in a new direction. Levitz plays with the trope of our hero's long-awaited intimate encounter being interrupted by duty. But this isn't a funny exchange. Shvaughn's expression, as I noted above, betrays real hurt. The final page rewards the reader's patience (and Shvaughn's) by giving us what we want to see. I truly admire Jan on this page. He's grown up as a Legionnaire and as a man. He shows that he is not only more confident with himself as leader but also as a lover.

Relationships form a recurring theme in this issue. The story ends with Jan and Shvaughn coming together and begins with Thom and Nura drifting further apart. In 321, Nura rejected Thom's advances and accused him of being selfish (which, to a degree, he was). Here he openly contradicts her during a meeting. This clearly takes her by surprise. She even backs down from her position of not adding new Legionnaires. In its own way, this scene, too, moves our characters in new directions.

Blok and Mysa also have a very brief but telling exchange. He approaches her as if he is about to ask her out (something it takes most men a long time to get up the nerve to do), but she cuts him off because he unthinkingly interrupts her illusion. Worse, she describes his interference as "unaesthetic." Way to go, Mysa! Calling someone ugly is a good way to shoot him down.

All of which makes the image of Jo, Tinya, Lar, and Shady sitting together and chatting very comforting and reassuring. These four form a clique, but it's not an exclusive or insular one. They appear very comfortable in their relationships. I get the impression of church members having a quiet get-together: a sanctified gathering of people who love and care for one another. In their own way, they provide an image of stability among all of the changes the Legion is going through.

Romantic relationships aren't the only focus of the story. Brin--who is alone and isolated not only from the woman he loved but from the rest of the team--finds himself named as executor of Karate Kid's will. He has a relationship with a dead man--and one he doesn't seem to have been particularly close to (he admits that he isn't mourning Val). But Val thought highly enough of him to entrust "billions of credits" to his safekeeping. Given how his other teammates regard Brin as untrustworthy, incompetent, and just plain dumb, this is shockingly high praise indeed.

Meanwhile, R.J. Brande is observed having a clandestine rendezvous with Proteans. All we really know at this point is that he regards the meeting as ridiculous. I don't recall where this plotline goes, but, in light of what we know about Brande (he's a Durlan), his relationship with Cham, and that Cham regarded Proty and Proty II as pets, it makes for intriguing and unsettling possibilities for future relationships. Is Brande being blackmailed? Is he a political supporter of the Proteans, as the observer suggests?

So, although the issue had a few bumps, as I noted above, I quite enjoyed it. The action plot with the Sklarians is handled in a brisk fashion, showing our heroes to be quite good at what they do and giving quality screen time to each participant. But the focus remains on the ever-evolving relationships of several Legionnaires.

You know, it was so by the way that I forgot to expect a big, sad announcement of what happened with Val, Jeckie and Orando. It's not clear how much time has elapsed between the return and the relaxed get-together from which Brin departs to meet with lawyer Zirf.



He does seem to have gained a lot of confidence, no more griping and waffling about what to do. I didn't like Jan much in the issues we've been reading, which surprised me - guess I only remembered this more adult Jan.



That was harsh! It wasn't the case in the story about her life, but Mysa can be rather socially awkward at times. Perhaps oblivious to social niceties is a better way to put it.



Brin's been so battered around lately that this turn of events is quite uplifting. At least, Val recognized that he's the right man for the job - he doesn't need accounting skills where he's going, but quick wits, street smarts and courage.



I don't recall either if this plotline goes anywhere - at least not until 5YL and the Soul of Antares. It does generate a lot of questions, though.

LoSH v3 9

The cover sums up the content. Against a background of romance with Jan and Shvaugn, the SP alert the Legion to a small scale mission and there’s a gathering of characters.
Following the team meeting in Tales #319 and then Dreamy musing about membership at the monitor board in Tales #320, the topic of new members comes up again in this issue. The difference is that Thom sides with Cos’ desire to recruit new blood.

Cos makes the point that the whole team is exhausted. Now I’ve been wondering in recent reviews just what the main team has been up to while the focus has been on the Orando team. Although the mission in this issue is a relatively small one, it does go some way to answering that question. Lots of smaller missions gradually taking their toll on the team.
Lightle gives us a close up of Nura’s eye when Thom sides with Cos. Because it’s Nura I’d have to include she’s seen something of the future. Is it something to do with the new recruits? Or is it because it’s thom who says “otherwise we’re all gonna get killed, love.” A hint of Nura crying over Thom’s departure, rather than his death which was even further way?
Nira is certainly quick enough to agree, following her realisation, whether precognitive or not. She passes comment in an offhand way, (“well, then, I suppose I go along with you, boys.”) but I do think there was something deeper going on there.

It’s nice that she defers to Wildfire to get this organised. Fortunately Cos was going to let Wildfire into his plans ages ago, so all the recruitment has been sorted out… oh, it hasn’t because that subplot went nowhere.

Just the mention of “tryouts” brings a smile.

As Nura resumes the meeting the lost legionnaires return. Blok seems terribly smiley, leading me to suspect he’s been replaced by something else or he’s off his rock-er
There are some interesting responses. Brin is a bit slow. Ayla seems a bit bothered. As she’s already re-established her place in the team, she has no reason to be.
Gim’s “you’re looking good, chameleon boy” to Cham is interesting. Perhaps he’s learning all sorts of things from Durlans.

Considering how backwards comics were/are, there some liberating ethnicity in Zendak’s family tree, as Element Lad helps Shvaugn rescue his nephew. A little touch snuck in there by either Levitz or Lightle.

The rescue is a nice set up page to Erin’s reunion with Jan. It’s a quiet scene fitting well with all those moments they’ve had. Zendak’s nephew goes from being a little scared to being a little bit ignored. Look for Symyn Zendak to become a slightly less patient chief of the SP when he grows up.

The scene did spark off fears among Legion world that Jan had accidently killed Tree Lad, who was on protective duty on key Legion allies. Considering Jan’s state of mind, some thought Jan had decided to settle a few scores, in keeping with Ayla and Vi of this period.

I’ve not a big fan of the party page. I think it’s just the fashions. As it’s set so far ahead, I probably shouldn’t; like them. Looking at it now, there’s a lot going on. The Jo/Tinya/Lar/Tas clique (LaTaJoTi ?) is rejoined, and we get some book crossover chat. More crossover chat, as Ayla reminds us of her assertiveness while telling us that Officer Erin is about to appear over in Tales.

Dreamy’s firm response is very much in keeping with her leadership duties. Where there’s a decision going on, there she is. Thom, on the other hand, is being drawn into a science conversation. Are they apart on purpose. Blok makes another failed attempt to approach Mysa. I thought Vi was overly snarky, but she’s looking at Yera, when she says it. She, Gim and GI Gi are reminding us of another Tales story. Another looks-telling-a story is Brin, back to being Lone Wolf and looking down at Ayla. That can’t be good for the team, so it’s no bad thing he has a solo coming up. Cos is looking at Ayla, as if she represents the new Legion that he’s transitioning towards.

So, what may seem like created chatter in the scene has plenty of payoffs to the other book.

Lost Tales here include Rond’s comment leading into a Doctor Regulus taking over the Time Beacon; Jacques wearing Kid Eternity’s belt around his neck as he continues to look into the origins of the Dream Demon; Computo’s glitch links to other recent errors and a bigger story; and Zendak really being there to investigate the murder of Tree Lad.

Vi finally confronts Yera. Gim speaks up for his wife. Thanks Gim. That’s the person you thought was Vi, but couldn’t tell the difference. Vi lets Yera off. The key is that she’s “decided to believe” the story. Yera must have been lost in the role, very thick, or just didn’t care enough about Vi not to have some suspicions. Yera passing the buck back to Vi’s people, isn’t endearing and doesn’t get her own actions off the hook either. “ooooopppfffff!” indeed. I’d have liked to have seen some scenes with Vi and Chameleon Girl n later volumes, but Legion Lost put paid to that.

Levitz likes using corridors to link Brin Londo scenes. Here, he runs right into Vi. She observes that his attitude is down to Ayla. Blok is perceived as naïve but, as with the Universo story, is a character with insight. He knows his friend has other things on his mind. It turns out that Brin is looking to fulfil the last wishes of a deceased friend. Not so Lone Wolf as his look at the party would have you think.
Despite his confident return to Erin, he’s a bit hesitant when in private later. He has secrets he wants to tell her. Secrets that he’s a little embarrassed to share. In light of what did happen later, there’s a ton of Lost Tales here. Typically, Zenkak interrupts them, resulting in Erin even commenting on the cliché. Although Nura’s all business, there’s an touch (dare I say, an element) of reasserting himself form Jan. That he feels the need to is telling.

So, ten pages in and the opening scene of the story arrives. That’s not a criticism. It’s no bad thing to have variation in plot structure in an ongoing book.

There’s been an attack on a mall in Hong Kong. The Legion take over form a suicidal officer Kyung. The Legion go in as the blasts reduce in intensity. A cleverer Element Lad wold have created a parallel flanking tunnel. Still, we see Ayla show just how powerful she’s become and how much control she has over electricity. She can stop energy beams with it, create huge destructive busts, but also has the subtly to be able to blast away debris from around a colleague.

Jacques gets to use his two main Legion powers too. The power to be trapped under debris without suffering serious injury. And the power to further the plot through invisible observation. He’s recognised the attackers as Sklarians. He also preps the reader as to what sort of things the Sklarians are often after. The next four issues deal with the diplomatic negotiations that go absolutely nowhere. Then Jan goes back in time, and just has them raid the embassy as we see here.

It’s a job for the espionage squad! We get to see the work Cham puts into his disguises. It’s not just the look. It’s the bearing, the gait and the personality. Vi goes in with him. She got a nice visual evading energy bursts earlier. Here, she’s the perfect companion to Cham allowing them both to shrink to investigate more closely. They find that there’s frozen organ shipping going on. The pari talk about it. But to a full size person, this sounds very much like the buzzing of an insect, and they nearly get swatted (points for the “swat” sound effect) Vi doesn’t take to kindly to that, growing to full size and punching out her attacker. Vi says “I don’t think we were recognised” That’s despite both wearing their distinctive uniforms of the most famous super group in the galaxy. It’s also despite Cham shouting her name, saying her name again and shouting that she’s a Legionnaire. Good work espionage squad! The remainder of the team are standing right outside the embassy for any passer-by to see.

Jacques “Plot Furthering Kid” Foccart is the one to return with some evidence. Can he make other things invisible too? Looks like it here. The Legion work well as a team to trap the Sklarians. Ayla shorts out docking robots, as she did with the embassy security system. Vi knocks out the Sklarian organiser. Cham mimics their voice patterns and impersonates one of the crew, to get all the Sklarians together. Jan and Ayla act as muscle to get the Sklarians to surrender after Jacques acts an element of surprise (An Element of Surprise is also the name of a Lost Legion tale where Jacques investigates all Jan’s embarrassing secrets hinted at earlier in the issue.

There’s more effective teamwork from this group, than there was on Limbo world. Levitz tries to be fair to each of them, as he did then, but the personalities come across a little more clearly here. It’s a grouping without a Kryptonian or Daxamite, and works better as a result.

Two other subplots share a page. RJ Brande is meeting some Proteans in an alley. Despite what you read on the Post-a-thon booth walls, this is an espionage subplot. This is one of those intriguing plots I with lots of potential. Elsewhere, the investigation into Laurel Kent’s shooting doesn’t work because Officer Dvron is an idiot. We recently had a story showing us all the rigorous screening the SP officers went through. I guess that took all the time away from learning simple police procedure. He’s clearly out of his depth and is my favourite for getting bumped off as the story progresses. Chuck’s gentle advice does his job for him.

It’s another better than okay issue that’s a little bit of an improvement over the Limbo World story. The mission team works well together, and the story does its job of spotlighting Jacques, Ayla and Vi and Cham. It’s also a Jan spotlight issue, as he returns to leadership, progresses hi relationship and goes on a mission. Despite that, we don’t learn any of those secrets. Nor do we get beyond the occasional surface him that there’s more going on with him than meets the eye.

The mission was of the standard variety, with Levitz putting in a procedural approach across the scenes that worled well. The group gave themselves away completely during the embassy infiltration, which stretched credulity. Despite the twist of Jacques getting the evidence, the Legion didn’t seem to be in any real trouble of failing. So, there didn’t seem to be much threat this issue. Which is odd to type, considering that a building should have crushed Jacques and someone shot running straight into laser beams.

We also don’t get to know why the Sklarians are looking for this technology. That would have added an extra layer to the plot. Especially as there’s Earth-gov issues coming up. It could have added more political edge to the story.

Comments



Without having read that DC presents issue, I just took it that they went through the conveniently tagged Earth-portal and that was them back. Karate Kid’s death Is mentioned, but there was no ceremony. It can be a writing issue to always move onto the next new story, without closing down the impact of the previous one, beyond a couple of lines of dialogue. In plotting, Brin’s subplot continues the story, and KK is mentioned. But there’s not a scene devoted to one of the fallen. I see HWW makes a similar point. I think they might have learned a lot form the villains and then Ayla. But again, these are things we should have seen. The LSV ended and came back form Orando in a whimper.



It's a shame that the upcoming plot didn’t reveal him to be a descendant of Olsen or something.


If we both noticed, there’s definitely something going on.


Ah, Jan’s secrets. So many possibilities in light of later events.


Good point about three of the mission team having been a focus from the bulk of the Orando mission onwards. You’d think they were due some leave. A good point about why Jo is left behind. That would extend to Tinya as well.


Having their past hinted at would have raised the story quite a bit, I thought.


It wasn’t until I was going through the party scene that I really realised how well linked it all was. Brin, Laurel and RJ plots along with Cos (well, a look from Cos), Yera/Vi etc all pack out the main story.



I think that sums up where both are nicely. Yera holding her ground was something of a twist. A good assessment on the rest of the team too.

I’m the odd sentient out on that one. There’s loads going on and I usually like that. Maybe I’m repressing a memory of being caught on the train turning a magazine in another direction and what that suggested to the other passengers.

This issue is fine, and has all the usual hallmarks of a Levitz issue. I’ve just found the main storylines of the last three to be a little flat. But a flat Levitz issue, is still pretty decent stuff. Particularly with Lightly coming into his own on the book.

I had been wondering about where the Protean thing went, and I see that our memories pretty much match. I do agree that Brin is being picked for what he can do, rather than for any particular closeness with Val. Although there could well be Lost Legion stories of Lone Wolf Brin finding more of a place within the team, through training with Val. Plenty of other members have mentioned similar training.

Good point, the small missions adding up, especially with a reduced team and people still feeling the effects of Darkseid, as well as the emotional drain of the missing Legionnaires.



Because she already knew how it would turn out? Or perhaps had already made up her mind but let the others think they'd convinced her.



There's a plot limbo land where unpublished panels explain all.



Ouch! for the pun, but I hadn't noticed the smile.



Odd he didn't call her Officer, but "lady". The little touches like making this kid a Zendak add a depth to the Legionverse.



So what did Tree Lad have against the kid?



Or find out why Tree Lad tried to murder Symyn.


Even though they patched things up, to some degree, in 5YL, you wonder if resentments didn't linger on both sides. Perhaps the 5YL rapprochement was the result of consuming some of those Winathian mushrooms.



Interesting. Symbolic of...Brin going nowhere? Between lives?



He and Tinya are often the ones to figure things out or see the crucial bit of information. Maybe it has something to do with their extra-dimensional powers.



Too tired after their recent adventures, they got sloppy. And lucky, since the mission still worked.




Wow! They missed that one, with all those 20th century descendants showing up.

I definitely think it's the former. I like to think that it's linked in to something she sees regarding her future with Thom too. While the outcome of their relationship is some time away, the arc has been going on for some time too.



Wildfire could have done with a positive subplot. We'll see how much involvement he has in the try outs soon though.




Blok: Unbalanced minion of the Dark Man after all.




It turns out that Zendak was investigating a villain from within the Legion. That villain had anonymously threatened his family, and so Tree Lad was helping protect it. The scene we see look as though Erin and Jan are just helping the nephew. But Jan had actually killed Tree Lad and then returned to the scene to assist Erin. We saw Jan about to confess to Erin later on. But that chance was interrupted.




Maybe they put Brin out at night, and he prowls the corridors. If you look closely at some panels of the HQ entrance, you can see the cat wolf flap.

Tales #322 Lost Among the Missing by Mindy Newell & Paul Levitz, art by Dan Jurgens & Karl Kesel, Colors by Carl Gaford, Letters by Ben Oda



An elderly priestess denounces Jhodan as having betrayed Kol by consorting with "the winged demon".

Dawnstar arises, while Jhodan and Ina sleep, and tried to fly with her damaged wings. She fails and Ina attacks her with a sword. They fight until Jhodan intervenes. He berates Ina; Dawnstar realizes that Ina loves him.

Brainy bathes in a pool. Spliff tells him his clothes stink. Brainy is thankful that Spliff is friendly even if he is a schizophrenic. He finds Spliff chanting and drawing symbols which indicate Earth along with symbols.

At Legion HQ, Nura tells Jan she's happy he's back as leader - and he admits he's glad as well. After complimenting one another, Wildfire bursts in, angry that Dawnstar is missing and blaming Nura for letting Brainy experiment with her tracking abilities. Jan defends Nura.

Jhodan stops their journey home to tell Ina to hunt for food since her prayers brought no manna that morning. He prays at an altar as Dawnstar is baffled by the demands of this religion. The sky rumbles and he appeals to Kol that he is loyal.

Back at the temple, the head priestess as riled up the warriors with her story of Jhodan's betrayal. As the storm gathers, she commands them to ride out and find Jhodan, but to destroy Ina and "the weirdling". She is saddened by Jhodan's fall, but proceeds to meet penitents. One describes a dream of a fish falling from the sky and disgorging a green-skinned man. The priestess is alarmed, thinking this signals the Time of the Infidels.

As Spliff chants, flying creatures drop a basket of pink globs from the sky; this is the manna that people eat.

Troops confront Jhodan. Dawnstar manages to fly away. Ina's loyalties are divided. As she sees Jhodan attacked from behind, she decides to help him and joins the struggle, picking up a fallen sword. A soldier traps her against a tree, then slips and falls on her sword.

On the Dark Circle planet, Dvron continues his spywork, having discovered something big, and tries to contact Shvaughn. He is being monitored by the Dark Circle and has been all along, falling into a trap they've set.

Spliff brings Brainy to a town, where people fear his green skin but his association with Spliff and a lick from a giant pet convince them that he's not dangerous. He enters a building and finds computer reels.

Dawnstar is inconsolable, blaming herself for the soldier's death. Jhodan tries to comfort her but a kiss is interrupted by Ina, who departs in a fury. Dawnstar considers that she might be able to have a life with Jhodan and they manage to exchange an understanding of each other's name.

At HQ, Thom arrives to take Nura to supper at a fancy restaurant, but she's tired, feeling grungy and only wants to rest. She calls him selfish and stomps off.

Brainy sees that the computer reels date from a time of the Great Wars. He hears people running toward a plaza, then sees them bowing before Jhodan and Dawnstar.

Comments:

This issue is a combination of doomed romance comic and continued world-building, with a bit of standard Legion fare thrown in. The mystery of Kol's planet and its connection to 25th century Earth only deepens.

We learn a bit more about the planet's culture, mostly the degree to which its harsh religion rules the people; there's not much revealed about any particular beliefs beyond obedience to Kol.

The manna suggests nourishment for a wandering tribe, seeking a promised land - but everyone here is settled. Possibly it appears in response to some prayer or chant in the wilderness; the children in town seem delighted to see it when Spliff arrives with some.

In a surprising twist of the primitive meets advanced culture story, it's Brainiac 5 who smells bad to Spliff rather than the reverse.

Dawnstar is horrified to have killed a soldier, albeit by accident. The cover is considerably more dramatic than the actual event of the soldier's death and I wonder if Jurgens was given story details which later changed. However, Dawnstar very quickly rebounds as her concern for and attraction to Jhodan strengthens. It does make you think there's some influence working on her emotions. Brainy seems oddly laid-back as well. He may suspect something is off, thinking that the manna causes hallucinations. On the final page, people bow before Jhodan and Dawnstar, although the Reverend Mother condemned them both: that's a good puzzle on which to end the issue. While it's credible that news hasn't reached this particular village, it's odd that Dawnstar has been viewed as a witch or a monster up until now; what's different about this village?

I seem to be missing something in the story: Brainy understands the speech of Spliff and the townspeople, while Dawnstar can make out no more than Jhodan's name. Does he have a better grasp of languages or are Spliff and the villagers speaking a recognizable dialect?

Back home, Nura and Jan are at last on good terms; Jan even defends her when she's verbally attacked by Wildfire. It's a relief to see Jan acting like the adult I remember from later issues. Whether it's the encounter with Wildfire and/or the tensions of leadership over the past year, Nura snaps at Thom. It doesn't look like any sort of permanent rift at this point, but she's the one moving away from him. She could be starting to contemplate her future as Naltor's High Seer (not sure if this is a given at this point) and appreciating the responsibilities she will have to bear; she's certainly had a good taste of leadership with the Legion.

It's an interesting issue for the details - in words and images - supplied about this strange world. However, it's a bit frustrating to have been given no answers about what's going on, only further questions.

TotLoSH 322

From a cover of a fallen angel, we now have one of a rising demon. It’s also a cover that gives away one of the issue’s big turning points. Still, it’s certainly dramatic. I remember wondering when I first got this, if it was Jhodan she had killed, even with the change of clothes. Just to give it that extra resonance. But it wasn’t.

I thought I had skipped an issue, and had to back to check. Last issue Jhodan and Ina were taking Dawny back to the Core. The villagers thought he was within his rights to do so. And Ina hadn’t told anyone of the problems.

Yet, our splash page has the reverend mother has declared Jhodan and Ina as traitors and deserving of judgement. How does she know what’s happened? The brotherhood also seem to know that there’s a bird-woman involved. How do they know this? Was Jhodan sent directly on a mission to bring her back last issue. If so, I don’t remember it being said. I do remember anyone who Kol doesn’t like faces either excommunication or death.

The splash page also has the face of the Blue Devil. One of my early posts on LW covered the link between Blue Devil, Kol and Hate Face

There’s a genesis story that tells of the “light of Kol” so it could be that the Core are the descendants of a crashed spaceship, while the locals are indigenous. Or that they are all descendants of the space ship crew, just that some had more senior/ key roles on it, and they are now the Core. Or the spaceship converted only some of the locals after a crash…

Behind the Reverend mother, we get a mix of technology and stonework, hinting again at the ship based origin for the Core. I wondered if there was any significance to the Reverend Mothers staff of office. If there is, I can’t think of it (unless it’s a converted Blue Devil trident of course). She later refers to it as The Crystal of Kol.

As to why Jhodan has suddenly run afoul of Kol, Dawny indicates that the two of them were intimate between last issue and this. After we saw them close to an embrace at the end of 321 Dawny says “last night, I felt I had known him forever” and “last night is gone.”

That could go some way to why Ina attacks Dawny with the knife, although her simply trying to fly would have been enough. It does also add weight to Drake’s outburst later in the issue. Their connection is so strong (turning up at the moment when Dawnstar was to find her partner is another example of this) that he knows something has happened and lashes out.

Dawny later refers to Jhodan as a friend. Perhaps Kol picked up that something was wrong from Ina’s prayers. Ina’s perspective on the matter might have made this a lot worse than it actually was.
Kol knowing what went on between Dawny and Jhodan would indicate it can survey its world. The space ship origins would suggest technology to do this. However, last issue Jhodan tells Ina that they are Kol’s vessels. Perhaps that’s to be taken more literally than it seemed. Something else else that marks the Core out as different form the others, could be something inside them or that has changed them. It would link Jhodan directly to the Core and then to the Reverend Mother.

Just before Dawny beats up Ina, Johdan calls his pupil off. Ina refers to Dawny as “it” while she’s a “she” to Jhodan. Both do this deliberately to show the other their feelings. Jhodan is always quick to impart his wisdom onto his pupil. She has always been wrong. But now the roles have changed. Jhodan knows he was wrong here as Ina stalks away with vengeance in her heart for the “weirdling”
There follows a Brainy beefcake scene as he bathes in front of Spliff, who has also moved his clothes. I wonder how many fanfics this one inspired. Perhaps Dawny won’t be the only one looking to return to Kol.

Spliff gives Brainy a big clue as to Kol’s origins. He draws out that men and women came from the third planet of the sol system.

Back at Legion HQ, Wildfire blames Dreamy for losing Dawny. He says that he thinks that she’s no longer a capable leader and that others called her “vain and selfish.” He’s about to go further before Dreamy and, as leader, Element Lad counter. There’s no apology and he stalks out thinking only about himself. It’s not a “I hope you’re well Dawny” It’s a Dawny, I know I’ve lost you. Lots of “I” in there. Just in the last review I was saying that Drake needed something positive. This goes in the other direction, reinforcing some of his worse traits.
The Core’s link to a surveying Kol seem to be confirmed when Jhodan stops to pray. It turns out that Ina’s prayers have brought no manna, presumably as Kol knows what has happened and informed the Reverend Mother. Dawny notes that the shrines are every 5km. Are those simply marker shrines, or part of Kol’s ability to keep in touch with it’s world? When Jhodan prays, the result is more direct and the skies turn an ominous red.

Funnily enough, Dawny would be front and centre when red skies sweep across everywhere is a couple of months. It would have been a nice throwaway had she made a connection between the two events.

The red skies add a spur to the Core soldiers tasked to bring Jhodan back, or kill him. The Reverend Mother sees it as a sign. The word balloons are mistakenly reversed for Rand and Lictio in one panel. As the guards leave, the Reverend Mother hears of a dream from one of the non-core people. He has dreamt of Brainy. It might be the thought of psychic phenomena in someone not in the core that shocked the Reverend Mother, but it seems just as likely that Brainy’s arrival is part of a prophecy she has knowledge of. That adds a layers of new questions to the story. Spliff also said he dreamt of Dawny’s arrival last issue. I thought he actually saw her, but perhaps it links more directly with what the local man’s dreamings.

Earlier, Jhodan mentioned that Ina’s prayers brought no manna. Now Spliff prays and Manna is delivered in a basket carried by four flying lizards. This would again suggest that Kol is able to connect directly with the world, and that it’s done through certain people. It would therefore suggest that Spliff was once one of the Core. Brainy mentions Spliff’s schizophrenia frequently. Perhaps this is a result of something Spliff has learned about Kol.

Two days later and the Core meet Jhodan. Dawny flies away, and Jhiodan prevents any arrows being shot at her. Ina has a true conflict of loyalties, while Dawny returns when she sees Jhodan about to be stabbed. Her feelings for Jhodan quickly outweigh her wish to leave the planet.

Although she’s injured, Dawny’s main asset is her speed. We’ve seen her flying an opponent through a ship’s hull before. But here, having dispatched one enemy, she doesn’t take to the sky once again for another attack. Instead, she picks up a sword. There’s an excuse of fighting by the rules of the people there. But we don’t see her use blasters or anything of the Khunds when she’s facing them. There’s what’s supposed to be a dramatic moment when one of the soldiers makes an unlikely slip onto Dawny’s sword. It’s self defence, but it’s the Legion and Dawny knows what a death at her hands means. That’s Jacques and Dawny’s action both having resulted in a death recently. Is the no killing rule becoming blurred? I look forward to Thom judging at the trial.

Speaking of Thom, one of this issue’s subplots is another brush off at the hands of Nura. Once again, Thom wants to do something together as a couple while Nura is thinking of Legion commitments. It’s becoming quite a repetitive scene. While Thom is indeed thinking about himself as much as the relationship, there comes a point that Nura is also only thinking about the team, and her place in it, and not the relationship. Rocky roads ahead, and I don’t mean that Blok gets involved (for Cramer who so enjoyed my last Blok pun )

There’s an ad for Crisis #1 in this issue (and last week’s Baxter issue). Dawny is one of the characters featured. Having killed, and found a new love, I wonder if readers are thinking that her time with the Legion could be coming to an end? The lettercol suggests that they will be going through some changes and Wildfire thinks that he’s lost her. (it also mentions a “long promised Titans-Legion crossover” That would be a lot later on in the end. It also answers why Drake is in the team if he needs a suit and confirms that Blok was never human, despite that dialogue in an early appearance).

A distraught Dawny (who thinks of Wildfire again) is comforted by Jhodan. Here, they are about to kiss and, seeing them, Ina stalks off breaking her ties to Jhodan. If she didn’t hear Jhodan and Dawny a few nights before, I wonder what happened to give Dawny all those deep thoughts. Jhodan is conveniently stopped from going after her, as Dawny wants to treat his wounds. That should give Ina a position in the finale issue.

The manna that Spliff collects he gives to others in his home village. He dispenses wisdom along with it, reinforcing that he’s likely to have been one of the Core. Exploring the village, Brainy comes across a temple with starship parts. He finds an old reel from the Great Wars and tucks it away. He’s drawn towards a crowd in the town centre, where the locals are bowing to Jhodan and Dawnstar. Jhodan shouldn’t look too shocked. Locals were bowing to him a couple of times in the last issue, as he’s one of the Core (well, he was). Both Legionnaires had considered the other to have died, so there’s going to be a bit of relief in the reunion.

The other subplot in this issue concerned Dev-Em’s infiltration of the Dark Circle. He’s found out a few things, but is unaware that the Circle watch his every move.

It’s a well paced issue, and the absence of much of the Legion isn’t really a problem, much as it wasn’t in the Lar/Tasmia spotlight issues. Dawny continues through her arc of her feeling for Jhodan, now complicated further by a possible infringement of the Legion code. Brainy gets to indulge his curiosity, although there’s lots of internal dialogue pushing things along. Ina is probably the most interesting, as she is having to go through some very rapid changes. Her anger and jealously some of it rightfully placed have now led her to abandon her teacher. She doesn’t know that the Core are happy to see her die, so hopefully she’ll stay away from them for a while.

Her “not any more!” outburst at Dawny and Jhodan mirrors Drake’s “from now on, stay out of my way!” blow up at Nura and Jan. I think it sums up Drake’s emotional security and maturity quite well.

Li’l thoth’s Elsewhere section

… Um… li’l thoth seems to have had an off month this time round. I’d have got the Legion (although I didn’t get next month’s) and…

JLA- 237 – The old JLA meets the new, with a quite lame reason as to why they didn’t intercede following Aquaman’s decision to disband the JLA.

But that’s it. So, definitely not the Legion DC Presents at the time.

I picked up Crisis 1, with Dawnstar and Who’s Who 2 shortly afterwards (I’m having a little flashback of picking up a few early Who’s Who’s in one go). I thought I’d raced up to a lot of titles a bit quickly in recent reviews. I guess this was a gap between picking up what was on the newsstand with trips to the City. But how long is this gap?! How long?!
Of the ones I’d pick up later…

Atari Force – 16. All the action takes place on a ship. But there’s a lot going on across the team. With it’s interesting aliens and strong characters there are a few things that would fit in very well with the Legion. Lightle is about to bring in some of that to the Baxter book.

Um… Azrael makes an appearance while Gar looks to pin the traitor tag on Joey as the Terminator’s trial approaches. Like The Legion without Giffen, the Titans just loses that edge without Perez adding to the plotting.

I see World’s Finest had The Executrix as a villain. Also the name of a RPG villain I had from ages ago. >tsk<

I’d have picked up the All-Star Squadron and the Flash at some point, but neither are stand out issues. The Squadron go to a masked ball where they fight Night and Fog, while the Flash’s trial moves along like a version of The Turtle.

So…tune in again in a fortnight when li’l thoth might have got his dad to buy him some funny books!

Possibly explained in next issue (don't recall either & haven't read ahead), but it's certainly a gap here. It suggests some surveillance ability - maybe the birds delivering manna have little cameras attached.



That Blue Devil face does stand out from the others. You could be on to something.



I was looking for some significance here as well, but only got more unanswered questions.



The idea of super A.I. wasn't very widespread when this was written, but something like that would explain how the planet was surveilled, controlled and managed. When priests were initiated, maybe they got some sort of implant or tech device (which they would wear like a crucifex) to connect them all as part of the Core. Alexa, bring manna!



Hah! They must have had some fun teasing the readers with that beefcake scene of the guy who's the most covered up in the Legion.



"Who's calling who vain and selfish?" Nura might well have responded. Drake comes off as obsessed - but it's implied that he does have some psychic link with Dawnstar, which he senses is faltering. But is he thinking she's physically dead or just lost to him?



Wifi towers? I hadn't made the connection between the shrines and the potential for surveillance/connectivity, just saw them as another example of the demands of this religion.



This also plays into the first issue's cover title, "Red Dawn", which I figured was just Dawnstar bleeding.



Spliff as an ex-priest is an interesting idea which I hadn't considered. Too nice and gentle for the Order?



I've unleashed a monster in the Re-Read threads!



What a pair Ina and Wildfire would make! Sounds like the basis for a conniving rom com movie. If Drake's body was destroyed as a teenager (and possibly an emotionally immature one), perhaps his psyche was also frozen at that time so that developing emotional maturity would be difficult.

Perhaps that gentleness is what resulted in his current state, after he was shown/discovered some of Kol's secrets as one of the Core's brightest prospects. Perhaps he followed the ideals more thatn the truths behind the Arms of Kol.



In his return to the Legion after "sacrificing" himself as ERG-1, Drake looked to possess one of the living. Flight rings contained something that prevented him targeting a Legionnaire, but he was seemingly able to try to do it to anyone else. Not only does Ina not wear a flight ring, but she's begun training to be a Vessel of Kol. I could see them having to inhabit the same body or have a Raymond/Stein / Captain Triumph / Randall and Hopkirk sort of relationship, but with much more bickering.

Tales 322

The cover introduces us to the newest Legionnaire . . . Dark Dawnstar!

I can’t help feeling that the cover plays on the riff of Jean Grey: the beloved female superhero who was given too much power and turned evil. If that’s not a trope, it should be one. The cover grabs my attention and makes me curious as to what happens inside. Too bad it’s based on a lie, or at least a gross distortion of what really happens.

By this time, of course, it was common knowledge that Marvel and DC used covers to entice readers by overdramatizing or outright misrepresenting stories. And, as fans, we accepted this because it was Marvel and DC, like a god who can do no wrong. Besides, we fans were smarter than that. We knew what was really going on, and we just played along. We would have bought the Legion if photos of Ronald Reagan had graced the cover in his underwear.

Today the cover feels like a cheat, which it is. And that’s a shame because I feel my intelligence as a reader isn’t being respected. Why not show Dawny leaning distraught over the man she’s inadvertently killed, if it’s necessary to spoil the spoiler at all?

All these reactions, and I haven’t even got to the story yet.

I, too, thought I’d missed an issue. The story begins with a new character, the Reverend Mother, delivering a long-winded monologue that vaguely hints of Jhodan now being regarded as a heretic for running off with Dawnstar. But wait, how did the Reverend Mother know this, and is that what Jhodan really did? The last issue ended only with Jhodan taking Dawnstar under his care. There was no indication that anyone (other than the jealous Ina) regarded him as doing something wrong.

Word travels fast on Jhodan’s world, and in mysterious ways.

Perhaps we’re meant to wonder how the Reverend Mother knows what’s happening—just as we’re meant to wonder why Dawny and Jhodan fell so fast for each other. Perhaps some sort of telepathic influence is going on in this world. But I’m reminded of Alfred Hitchcock’s admonition that a story teller never lies or withholds information from the audience. The characters may not know there’s a bomb under the chair and that it will go off in five seconds, but the audience should know this.

As a reader, I feel crucial information is being withheld from me—information that would not only help me enjoy the story but understand it.

Contrast this cold opening with Brainy’s actions later in the story. When Brainy encounters Spliff’s village, they fear him because he’s green. But when a local animal takes a liking to Brainy, they figure he’s all right. It’s a strange scene, but we accept it because we’re right there with Brainy in regarding it as strange. If he finds it odd, we do, too. He’s our viewpoint character—something lacking from the opening scene.

In fact, it’s through Brainy that we come to appreciate just how bizarre this world is. Spliff prays and winged creatures deliver food. The villagers ignore Brainy once they accept him. Wandering the village, Brainy discovers an altar made of materials too advanced for this culture and—the biggest surprise of all—three computer reels underneath the altar.

There are many mysteries afoot here, but only some of them are delivered in a comprehensible manner. Newell seems to have made a common mistake of novice writers: She knows so much about the world she’s created that she forgets readers don’t already know this, as well. This is why we need Brainy (and, to a lesser extent, Dawnstar) to make sense of things for us.

As for Dawny, she does what all good captives do and tries to escape. It goes badly for her. However, she gets a second chance when the Reverend Mother’s forces beset Jhodan. I like this portrayal of Dawny as someone who initially takes advantage of the confusion to escape and only then goes back to help the man who helped her. We’re used to Legionnaires always doing the right thing. It’s refreshing to see one struggle with her choices.

The running subplot, of course, is that Dawny and Jhodan are besotted with each other, but I find this less interesting than the reaction it provokes from Ina—who finally breaks with her teacher. Ina had better turn out to be a major thorn in Jhodan’s and Dawny’s sides; otherwise, all this build-up will have been for nothing.

This issue advances the storyline in several very intriguing ways—and it comes full circle when Brainy and Dawny are reunited at the end (which leaves us with another tantalizing mystery of why the villagers bow down to Jhodan and/or Dawny). The focus on just two Legionnaires is both refreshing and irritating (insofar as Brainy’s constant internal monologue goes). And the mystery over how Jhodan’s world is connected to earth (Blue Devil?!) makes me eagerly anticipate the next issue—something I couldn’t say for any part of the LSV War.

As for subplots, I feel sorry for Thom. Last issue, he came across as somewhat selfish in wanting to spirit Nura away for a vacation while she was struggling to hold the team together. This time she’s no longer in charge and he makes another attempt—an expensive one, I imagine—to take her out. She again cuts him down, accusing him of being both immature and selfish. In truth, it is she who is being selfish—complaining about her hygiene needs and belittling a man who has gone to so much effort to show her a good time.

Nura and Drake are made for each other. In an untold alt-universe story, Dawny runs off with Jhodan while Nura marries Drake. They can spend their years arguing over who is most vain without ever having to get intimate.

Dev-Em’s inclusion is for Legion completists. Levitz, like all good fans, doesn’t like to throw away an obscure character, so he gives Dev a mission and reminds us of his brief connection with Shvaughn. Reading this now, I find I don’t care enough about Dev to wonder where this is going.

The Tales run of original stories rapidly approaches its end and does so with high quality stories and risk taking, even if the delivery comes across as somewhat shaky.

It is indeed a harsh depiction of religion, which was very much common at the time. It suits the needs of the story, though, and Jhodan's world is in a sort of dark/middle ages, in which fear and intolerance rule and any hint of dissent is swiftly punished. It makes a nice backdrop to reveal Dawny's and Jhodan's characters and the mystery Brainy discovers.



Good point about the people being settled yet still relying on "manna from heaven." It does appear that the winged creatures brought food in response to prayer--food in a basket, no less!



Good question. I read it that Brainy recognized the dialect and, with his computer mind, possesses some understanding of it, while to Dawnstar it is completely foreign.

However, it would be realistic in earth terms if Spliff's village spoke a different dialect or even language than the ruling religious class.



Another possibility is that she's upset with him for not backing her during the Legion meeting in Baxter # 9. Nura remains something of a cipher--out of touch with her own emotions, perhaps, and preferring to focus on things she can control: her hygiene, her hair, etc.



Good eye for detail! (I hadn't even noticed Blue Devil until you pointed him out.) There also appears to be a row of "computer reels" similar to the ones Brainy later discovers.



Interesting interpretation. I thought Dawny's comments only referred to her feelings toward Jhodan when they first met.



Wonderful bit of dialogue here.

The question comes to mind of how much the reader has to be shown. We should be able to fill in some blanks, but need some indication of the connections. In mystery stories, you may only find out at the end what happened, but the logical clues were (or should have been) there all along for the reader to piece together. The crucial information which was absent in this story would have made for a much smoother read had it been included. I don't think it would have taken much in the way of dialogue to point us in the right direction. If all is explained in the next issue, that will be something of a cheat.



Hah! But you might be onto something there - like the marriage of two spoiled, self-centered celebrities. At least Dawny and Jhodan would be happy. Wildfire is able to inhabit the body of others (on occasion), so one wonders if some compromise couldn't have been worked out. I'm not sure to what degree Jhodan and Wildfire have the same personality. They're both rather demanding and arrogant.

Comment Comments



And the followers of Kol went out unto the world, spreading the Word of Kol with haste, as they liked a good gossip.



A bit like Cramer, I was holding off until next issue in case everything ties up nicely. I wish it was only novice writers that fell into this one.



That’s an interesting spot. Dawny comes from a professional background, before she entered the Legion Academy. Being a bronze age recruit may also give her a slightly less earnest approach. It’s good to see the writers make each member stand out.



She better get her act together, or she’ll be Ina lot of trouble!



As they bowed to Jhodan at the start, I took it to be the same here.



And Nura can always use Drake’s visor to see her reflection! A definite Lost Legion tale. What a leadership team they’d make!



I’m going to miss the Tales. I’ve been enjoying them more than the Baxter one.



Do you mean that religions were depicted harshly at the time this was written or that it’s a depiction of feudal life under a harsh religion of medieval times?



As we have hungry, desperate tribesmen at the start, yet manna from heaven, I wonder just how much of the suffering is controlled by Kol. A populace forced into subservience through hunger/fear may suit it and its followers’ purposes.




I was thinking that Brainy’s recognition comes form the time he spent with Superboy back in the Adventure days. For someone with such an interest in Time Travel and trips to that era, it seems logical that he’d learn the language. Dawny went back to the 20th century during the Reflecto saga, but she didn’t interact with anyone there.

Incidentally, the Legionnaires that were walking around Smallville thought that feisty Lana Lang would make a good match for Wildfire! A Drake-Lana-Nura love triangle?!

I meant the former, though I've been struggling to think of examples.




Good point about Brainy visiting Smallville. I think it's been established that the Legionnaires' earplugs act as universal translators (which, like other technology, probably wouldn't work on Jhodan's world), but it makes sense that Brainy would study the languages of places and times he visits. The last time I recall him visiting the 20th century was in issue 198, when he and Element Lad interviewed witnesses of Superboy's encounter with the Persuader and Emerald Empress. It might have been easier to conduct interviews by speaking the actual language rather than relying on a translator.



The Legion missed a great business opportunity by not starting a matchmaking service for disembodied blobs of energy.

Definitely a differing mileage on "harshly"



Do you have a misunderstood personality and sometimes struggle to contain yourself? Then come to Legion Love. We're open any time, and we mean any time. So why wait to get the partner of your clingy obsession dreams?

I'm not sure what you mean. Religion is always a contentious subject, and it's easy to depict its followers as narrow-minded, unyielding, and dogmatic (which many of them are). However, religions have also provided people with a framework for understanding their world and behaving appropriately towards one another. Many followers of Jesus Christ, for example, look to him as a role model for how to conduct themselves in the world (helping the poor, healing the sick, welcoming people who are less than perfect). Religion, like any other human institution, is a mixture of good and bad. Like politics and business, it is used to control people and keep the powerful in power. Also like those institutions, much good comes from religion (building hospitals, fellowship among people who previously felt lost, etc.).

The depiction of religion on Jhodan's world is very much on the harsh side from what we've seen. The ruling class dominates the peasants, and transgressions are swiftly punished. Yet this is counterbalanced by the depiction of Spliff and his village. When Spliff prays, food is delivered ("ask and ye shall receive"). The villagers seem happy if eccentric and are not terribly bothered by a strange-looking foreigner in their midst. How they receive Brainy stands in sharp contrast to how the Septi received Dawny. Could it be that some of Kol's followers are not as intolerant as others?

Perhaps this is meant to be a balanced depiction of a primitive culture dominated by religion. It reminds me of the even-handed manner in which Star Trek and Babylon 5 often dealt with religious themes.

Thoth's reflections on the other comics he was reading at the time reminded me that I used to keep my own "Top 40" chart for comics. I rated issues in terms of story and art quality (or how I understood quality in those days). I read about 30 titles a month and they were overwhelmingly Marvel and DC. (I had just starting to make forays into other publishers.)

Here is my Top 25 (plus two) of January 15, 1985:

1. New Teen Titans # 7 -- DC
2. America Vs. Justice Society # 4 -- DC
3. Star Trek # 13 -- DC
4. Legion of Super-Heroes # 9 -- DC
5. Jonni Thunder, A.K.A. Thunderbolt # 2 -- DC
6. All-Star Squadron # 44 -- DC
7. Elementals # 3 -- Comico
8. Batman & The Outsiders # 19 -- DC
9. Badger # 5 -- First
10. Dreadstar # 17 -- Marvel/Epic

11. Nexus # 8 -- First
12. Avengers # 254 -- Marvel
13. Captain America # 305 -- Marvel
14. Iron Man # 193 -- Marvel
15. Infinity Inc. # 13 -- DC
16. Power Man & Iron Fist # 116 -- Marvel
17. Amazing Spider-Man # 264 -- Marvel
18. Dalgoda # 3 -- Fantagraphics
19. Fantastic Four # 277 -- Marvel
20. Secret Wars # 12 -- Marvel

21. Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 322 -- DC
22. American Flagg! # 19 -- First
23. Marvel Tales # 174 -- Marvel
24. Blue Devil # 11 -- DC
25. Green Lantern # 187 -- DC
26. Thor # 354 -- Marvel
27. Flash # 344 -- DC

So, I thought highly of LSH 9 even then, but was less fond of Tales 322 (my current opinion is reversed). DC was clearly on a roll in those days, as their titles dominate the Top 10. I was less enthused by Marvel's offerings; hence, they are grouped in the middle.

One of my standout memories from this chart is Dalgoda, an off-the-wall science fiction series about a dog-like alien who interacts with humans. ("Dalgoda" spelled backwards is "a dog lad.")

I agree it can be contentious, he typed ploughing on regardless I’d like to run with your point on “Jhodan's world is very much on the harsh side from what we've seen” I’d suggest that alongside any harshness in the writing about Kol, we have also an idealistic perspective of religion. Unity has been achieved from many faiths, with all still having a place in current practices. There is a priesthood that actively rejects corruption in effectively upholding the religious and secular values of a society where there’s no separation of church and state. Finally, there actually is a higher power at work on Kol.

The people on the ship that crashed/ landed on Kol (it seems that this is what happened) look to have come from a wide range of religious and racial backgrounds. Centuries later, their descendants use language and practices from each of those religions and there’s multi-racial representation (well, it’s still an ‘80s comic book, but it’s there). Somewhere along the way, a single religion was formed, uniting all of the others. Each of our religions espouses peace, so that unity on Kol could be seen as a great achievement. There’s unity across the planet.

A more realistic view of our religions suggests that, instead of peace, they have engaged in every atrocity possible. So even if that was carried out on Kol, it couldn’t be any worse that what we’ve seen here. That there was a united outcome is to their credit.

The Arms of Kol live an ascetic life. Their temples are the largest buildings around, but this is partly because they’re formed from the starship that brought them to the planet. The Arms of Kol, or the Core, are rigorous in their self-discipline and, importantly, self-awareness. We see a lesson that self-indulgence is not a thing that is looked upon kindly, indicating an order that acts in service to Kol rather than in the advancement/desires of any individual. “The Core holds no special privileges, we are his vessels, nothing more.”

As you point out, HWW, every human institution contains plenty of people who would act only in their own interest. It only varies in the degree to which the organisation involved is content to support it. On Kol, as the Core are also enforcers (no separation of church and state here), so the rigorous enforcement is even more important.

The lesson of the local person giving the bowl of flowers is a good example.

At first glance, it looks as though Jhodan is being harsh when he throws their gift of flowers to the ground. But we’re shown the lesson through Ina’s reaction. All the people of Kol have duties to perform. That applies just as much to the Core. By not performing them adequately, the locals try to gain favour by providing a gift to The Core.

While the people of Kol bow before its priests, it shouldn’t be mistaken for them bowing to those priests. They are worshipping Kol. Jhodan’s lessons to Ina are quite clear. There’s “The Core holds no special privileges, we are his vessels, nothing more” again.

It’s essentially a bribe to curry a more favourable outcome. Ina would have accepted the gift, and that fundamentally changes the relationship between her duties as an Arm of Kol and everyone else. If that happens, the system begins to fall apart, with some being treated differently to others. Jhodan knows this and strongly reminds Ina of these principles. Jhodan is not punishing the locals. He enforces no punishment to them. He’s telling them, and Ina, of their responsibilities and that that those duties cannot be bought out of.

That the system has survived as long as it has without obvious corruption, is an ideal that we’ve not come close to.

The continuation of The Core’s practices without obvious signs of corruption is all the more remarkable as their god really is at work there. The Core are no group of charlatans peddling absolutions and salvations, while waving sacred relics of starship parts. Their direct observance of their beliefs brings tangible returns, such as in the delivery of manna.

The idea that there are direct rewards available, adds another layer to the incident with the villagers and the bowl of fruit. If The Core can be bribed, or otherwise look favourably on a place, then that town may really do better, possibly to the detriment of others. More manna, more rain etc.

Having a deity tangibly at work is a pretty idealistic outcome of any belief system. That it’s not descended into disaster due to the vessels of that god is quite something. Perhaps it’s the knowledge of a direct god that keeps everyone, including the Core, in check. Never mind flammable shrubs to help deliver messages. On Kol, as Ina is discovering, there will be no manna if your mind has darker motives. And there’s no hiding that, which puts it above anything we’ve got.

Kol has all sorts of variety in its people. We’ve seen fanatical tribesmen, overly penitent villagers and others who are much more relaxed in their lives. We’ve seen Core members who are questioning, others who follow without a thought and initiates of have a lot to learn. There’s hatred of “the other” and “the heretic” which we know about only too well. But Jhodan and some of the Core show that there’s hope there too.

It’s a world where technology has not reached the levels of other parts of the UP. But it would be doing the locals a disservice to think of them as backwards. If anything, I think the austerity brings the religious overtones of the story more into focus.

It may well turn out that its Awian plugging herself into the cryogenic chamber of the starship’s captain for advice and using the ship’s systems to enforce those instructions. But that’s not to say that there aren’t things there that our world couldn’t learn from.

Very well put, thoth. You made me consider things from a new perspective.

You're right that the rejection of a gift is not a punishment. Jhodan's reason for rejecting the give makes perfect sense.

Your post gives me new respect for Newell, who must have been aware of these ideas (or at least a very good observer of such cultures) when she wrote the story. The idea of the planet being a very successful and long-lasting integration of church and state went right over my head.

Loved seeing your Top 40 HWW! Hopefully there will be more of those? You were getting quite a lot of what were considered to be the top Indies.

I've never read Badger, but the art always looked good. Likewise for Nexus, which I have only one or two of, if that. I know of Dalgoda mainly through the ads I've seen in Amazing Heroes back issues. No surprise since it was the same publisher. I've picked up some of the Elementals and American Flaggs over the years. I think the first one I picked up was post Chaykin, but the earlier ones are better. With All-Star Squadron, America vs JSA, Jonni Thunder and Infinity Inc, Earth 2 was well represented. When I got the other issues of America vs JSA, it was fairly verbose. Infinity Inc struck me the same way. But they were packed with comic book history, which was a gold mine to a newer reader. It's no surprise that The Flash was hanging in there, with the trail still going on. Had you been reading the JLA?

1. New Teen Titans # 7 -- DC
2. America Vs. Justice Society # 4 -- DC
3. Star Trek # 13 -- DC
4. Legion of Super-Heroes # 9 -- DC
5. Jonni Thunder, A.K.A. Thunderbolt # 2 -- DC
6. All-Star Squadron # 44 -- DC
7. Elementals # 3 -- Comico
8. Batman & The Outsiders # 19 -- DC
9. Badger # 5 -- First
10. Dreadstar # 17 -- Marvel/Epic

11. Nexus # 8 -- First
12. Avengers # 254 -- Marvel
13. Captain America # 305 -- Marvel
14. Iron Man # 19 -- Marvel
15. Infinity Inc. # 13 -- DC
16. Power Man & Iron Fist # 116 -- Marvel
17. Amazing Spider-Man # 264 -- Marvel
18. Dalgoda # 3 -- Fantagraphics
19. Fantastic Four # 277 -- Marvel
20. Secret Wars # 12 -- Marvel

21. Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 322 -- DC
22. American Flagg! # 19 -- First
23. Marvel Tales # 174 -- Marvel
24. Blue Devil # 11 -- DC
25. Green Lantern # 187 -- DC
26. Thor # 354 -- Marvel
27. Flash # 344 -- DC

Thanks.

As they say, there's more where that came from.



The Badger was about a hero who was mentally ill, which made me uncertain how I was supposed to respond to the character: with pity, with laughter, etc.? In hindsight, I wish I had given it and some of the others (esp. American Flagg!) more of a chance--but they were so different from the mainstream super-hero diet I had fed myself for a dozen years that I didn't know how to take them. Had I read these after college and literature courses, I might have appreciated the incredible diversity, experimentation, and points of view available in the '80s.

The one indie on this list I kept up with was Nexus, which at least had the outer trappings of a super-hero (plus an off-the-wall science fiction setting and irresistible supporting characters like Sundra, Judah Maccabee, and Tyrone). Nexus # 8, I believe, even guest-starred The Badger. (Both series were written by Mike Baron.)



Agreed. Roy Thomas was a very verbose writer, but his JSA, All-Star Squadron, and Infinity Inc. were a universe unto themselves in terms of continuity and history. In fact, they were almost the opposite of the Legion as they were set in or tied to the past yet had complex, interweaving stories featuring large casts of characters.



Yes. In fact, there are quite a few titles absent from this list because the next issues hadn't been published in time for my "deadline." According to my list on the back of the chart, I was waiting on Crisis on Infinite Earths # 2, Fury of Firestorm # 35, JLA # 238, Superman: The Secret Years # 4, Tales of the New Teen Titans # 53, Iceman # 4, New Defenders # 142, and Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents # 2.

LSH #10 Election Day by Paul Levitz, art by Steve Lightle & Larry Mahlstedt, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Sun Boy, Wildfire and Invisible Kid protect the three candidates chosen by computer to run for Earthgov President: a man from Mexico, a wealthy man from India and a young woman student from China. A Khund warrior attacks each one and is defeated by the Legionnaire. In the fight, Invisible Kid suddenly and unwittingly teleports himself and the Khund into outer space, killing the Khund, who does not have a transsuit.

Above Earth, Element Lad, Dream Girl, Blok, Star Boy and Chameleon Boy join SP ships to watch for a possible Khund invasion - and engage in some debate and bickering. They pick up Invisible Kid after his teleportation disaster.

In Tokyo, Timber Wolf contemplates Karate Kid's will, which will leave him a share of the Orando's credits left behind when Projectra took the planet into another dimension - after he performs some very dangerous task. Karate Kid's Sensei offers to accompany him.

On a vacation asteroid, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl discuss returning to the Legion and the joys of parenthood.

Cosmic Boy announces that he plans to take an extended vacation with Night Girl on Kathoon and hints at making several changes in his life.

Colossal Boy and Yera enjoy an evening with his parents, when another Khund bursts in to murder Marte Allon. Colossal Boy fights him off, but passes out from his injuries.

Mojai Desai celebrates his election to President and is congratulated by a shifty looking character named Vid Gupta.

Comments:
Two things really stand out in this issue: Jacques causing the death of a Khund assassin through an uncontrolled new power and the promise of trouble to come with Vid Gupta.

Vid Gupta is a classic cliffhanger; we learn just enough about him to know that he's got evil plans. That glint in his eye made me think momentarily of Computo (like the sparks around Danielle Foccart as she left Legion HQ), although I know how the story turns out. Computo will eventually take over a Presidential Assistant in DnA, but for now, he could be a Khund agent. Another candidate that might come to mind is the guy who has a history of meddling with the Presidency, Universo. I doubt that I put the pieces together when I first read this story, however.

The Legion has been flirting with the killing question and here we have a clear case of a member directly causing a death. Jacques wasn't in control of this new power; although he had no intention of killing the Khund, it's questionable (in hindsight) if he should be an active member until he fully understands his power set. He's admitted previously that he doesn't understand or know all he can do. While I groan a bit at yet another new power, the situation presents very interesting practical and ethical questions (which I don't believe the Legion really address in future issues). Legionnaires are fretting over potential new members' inexperience and here's a full member who's a wild card.

We learn why Val was so rich, but not whether he shared half the spoils of Orando's wealth with Jeckie, or was just accorded a portion of it. His dangerous mission is still unspecified, so that keeps us interested, although it threatens to veer into cliché territory with the wise old teacher joining the quest.

The status of the three founders continues to be uncertain. I find this is dragging on a bit long, especially for Rokk, who is indeed a tease regarding his future plans. The case of Garth and Imra is far more understandable, torn between the desire to serve in the Legion versus devoting time to their child.

The Earthgov election process has been seen before, when Marte Allon was elected. It's refreshing to see a diversity of characters proposed for the Presidency and a ridiculously short campaign period, although the idea of a computer choosing them in this current age of A.I. (not to mention Computo running around, acting wacky) is worrisome.

The way our world has gone global, I wonder how much ethnic difference will remain in 1000 years but the Legion comic up to this period presented distinctions between Earth's races and societies. It seems a bit quaint now.

The fight scenes between the Legionnaires and the Khund assassins are well done and reflect the personalities of each Legionnaire but are personally of less interest than the promise of troubles to come

LoSH v3 10

The cover is overly busy. The Khund and the poster work. But then we have three Legionnaires in close, mid and long shot added. A space scape and a Legion cruiser are needlessly put in too. Only the first part works.

But the cover does introduce two of the Earth president candidates to replace Marte Allon. So, seeing one of them on the first page isn’t a mystery. The opening scene where Dirk stops a Khund assassin is supposed to inform the reader of an assassination plot while having a light tonal touch. The Khund is no match for Dirk who electrocutes him in the candidates off bedroom pool. The guy looks charred, but the incoming Science police look to prevent yet another violation of the Legion code against killing. There is the question of how the Khund got as close to the candidate’s bed as that, and why he didn’t just take a pot shot at him while engaging Dirk. The answer is simply that it enable Levitz to get everyone in the one room to move the plot along.

The plot is that Earth selects its candidates by computer. They are then given a day to campaign before the vote takes place. A Khundian terror team has targeted the candidates, and some see it as a diversion form an invasion. There’s no mention of who created the programme. Nor is the Khundian actions seen as an act of war. It’s as if it’s just the sort of thing the UP has to put up with. It does lack even the flimsiest deniability.

Blok acts as everyman to get most of this explained. Behind him Dreamy makes a snide remark and Element Lad calls her on it. Perhaps this comes from her last encounter with Thom, when she was thinking about how important the Legion was. Just an issue ago, the two seemed fine, but there is tension there.

Jacques stops the second attempt. He seems an odd choice to stop a cyborg Khundian assassin. It turns out that his invisibility power doesn’t work against Khundian optics either. If that applies to a lot of systems, then a sci fi world could be a problem for his effectiveness. It seems he’s there to push his own subplot further forward. With the Lyle Norg subplot out of the way, Jacques opens another portal to an unknown realm. No dream demon pops out, which must be a relief. The Khund isn’t interested and moves in for the kill. Unfortunately for him, Jacques warping abilities activate when he’s threatened to a certain level (but after Darkseid – actually I wonder if there could be a connection between them activating and the Boom Tube technology he went through in GDS). Jacques teleports him into space, killing him.

With Dawny killing someone in Tales, and Jacques here, it looks as though it’s going to be a busy time for Legion trials – Judge Kallor presiding.

We don’t learn much about surprised candidate one. Candidate two, Leung, has written a paper on streamlining government. That makes me wonder just how much bureaucratic fat there is in the UP. How do they all feel about a computer using a paper to point it out to them? The third candidate Mojai Desai is much more confident. His family have been leaders since the time of caste (see also The Dominion) He seems to be in a position of some power already that enables him to bestow wealth and comfort. That makes me think about Leung’s paper again.

Wildfire is the Legionnaire who stops this assassin. For a moment it looks as though he’s going to have problems when he’s attacked by a plasma weapon. But he absorbs it and defeats his foe at the cost of much of Desai’s home. Wildfire does nothing to ingratiate himself to Desai’s family, putting his feet on their table during a meal, and ignoring their conversation. He’s not exactly a good will ambassador for the team. But what do such things mean to Drake? He doesn’t eat, as he’s been trying to tell their serving droid. What family connections does he have now? E only has the Legion and he’s been waiting for a battle with the Khunds. No little part of this is wrapped up in his ego, which took a battering the last time he faced a Khund. There’s a lot to learn about Drake in this scene. The Lightle visual of his suit having absorbed the energy is a favourite.

Elsewhere, Garth and Imra who are enjoying being parents (did one of the creative team have a kid around this time?) , but also considering their place as Legionnaires. They’ve spoken with each other, with the other founder Cosmic Boy, and with Brande. Cosmic Boy also takes the successful resolution of the Khund attacks to announce his leave of absence. We get another nice little reminder of Shady and Lar’s Talok adventure (keep linking those books), as Cos tells the others that “it’s the beginning of several changes in my life that will make sense.” Despite one of those things being a need to “shake them up—to change things around here” and that he’s been going on about new members for ages, he tells Cham that the search for members isn’t one of the reasons for his LOA. Right Cos. As we’ll “find out in due course” some of the behind the scenes things for Cos wouldn’t quite work out as intended.

Cos is leaving a little early. Although their lost team mates returned, Brin immediately took LOA and now Cos is going. Later, Gim is injured. As the team were previously exhausted, there’s not a huge difference form how things were.

Lightle showing us groups on either side of the holo-call was a very nice touch.

There’s a sting in the Khundian plot. With the Legion called back form a potential invasion and the three candidates protected, the Khunds strike at the outgoing president, Marte Allon. Fortunately, Gim is there. His powers are neutralised in a way that makes you wonder why the Khunds aren’t better at destroying Legionnaires. But Gim is more than his powers and his sheer strength of will is enough to defeat the Khund. He’s shot in the shoulder by the villain’s multi-setting blaster. Gim remains a bit of a target no matter what size he takes. That Adult Legion story still echoes around. While it would have detracted a bit from a very strong scene for Gim, it could have also provided Yera with an opportunity to show her skills.

Desai’s confidence was well founded and he’s duly declared the election winner. At his side is vid-gupta, with a villainous (and distinctive) twinkle in his eye. Vid-Gupta (clue in the name) is known to Desai. Considering the plans Vid-Gupta has, I’m reminded again that no one asks who programmes the election computer. I doubt vid-gupta would have shown up at the side of the other two candidates. That means the computer has been tampered with. How long has that been going on and how often will it happen again, are questions could be a long time in being answered.

His comment about never having been referred to as “too kind” before is a bit on the nose. Normally, that would result in further questions. But it’s a finale here, to show just how villainous he must be.

There’s an interesting exchange between TInya and Vi. Vi is focused on the power, guts and immediate threat of the Khunds. It reflects the approach she’s taken since her return. Tinya has a broader view, pointing out that while the Khund failed their actions certainly drew a lot of effort from the UP.

Continuing the Orando plotline, Brin meets Karate Kid’s teacher, and we find out that Brin has inherited billions from Karate Kid, as his heir, Projectra has moved the planet elsewhere. There seems to be plenty of danger in fulfilling the terms of the request. But Brin is prepared to do it. It’s good to see him sense the approach of Sensei, and also to move away from the sometimes moping, sometimes comedy duo with Blok routine. Points to Levitz for not just settling in on one view of a character, which is all too easy to do.

This issue actually turns out to be another chapter in a wider plot that started when Marte Allon announced her resignation. The Khunds are useful distractions to put some of the pieces on the board. Considering the tension Levitz raised between the UP and the Khunds in Omen/Prophet, it would have been nice to have seen some repercussions following their actions here. That there weren’t any, is another sign that they were there for other reasons.

Despite the dangers they face, there are plenty of lighter moments. Dirk with other things on his mind while protecting his candidate and the reaction of Leung’s family, and Tinya’s reaction to Cos.

The subplots are particularly strong in this issue: A possible violation of the Legion code, Brin’s dangerous task and the founders possibly stepping back, with Cos actually taking an action towards it. All help support the main plot, which is neatly segmented and marked as part of a larger story to come. Similar in structure to a lot of the issues we’ve seen, but just a bit more engaging than the Controller story.

I might have seen Universo on a cover by the time the newsstand version of this came round, but I’d not have known the background. Occasionally Who’s Who would give a clue, but “U” is still a ways off in that title. On the plus side, everything I’m reading in the Legion at this time is fresh, as I’m being introduced to everyone. The stories have to stand on their own two feet, but don’t compare between a villains’ appearances.



I agree completely. The Legion have rejected plenty of applicants who can’t control their power. Imagine if Jacques was in an Adventure tryout. The invisibility would be fine, but when hordes of tentacles came out of the portal Jacques had just summoned, Dirk would be on his feet and saying “Rejected!” in no time. There have been hints up unto now. So it’s negligent that these had not been investigated. What if it was Element Lad’s transmutation powers malfunctioning, or Wildfire irradiating a street every now and again. They would be isolated until it was solved.



Jacques has often been a Legionnaire I’ve had problems seeing fit into the missions we see. He did well in the recent espionage mission. His gimmick is often to push plots forward. But that’s a writing device rather than a character finding a real role within a team. I don’t think it was until v4 that I thought he had a skillset.



A wise old teacher with a name that handily matches his function. I can’t wait for The Doctor and The Engineer to pop up form the Authority.



It just occurred to me that perhaps this is was part of the plotting session for the first year. The death of a Legionnaire in the opening arc and the removal of the founders in the closing one of the year. A membership drive opening the second. Everything in between is just pacing out the steps towards that predestined goal. It’s how a lot of books have been done since. And a lot of those plots drag on far too long. Maybe Levitz was ahead of his time, for better and worse on that one.

Perhaps I’m also underestimating what a big deal it was to have the founders transition into a new role in the team. Sure, other teams have changed members. The Fantastic Four had probably all quit for varying lengths by this point. But they’d be back. I don’t think Garth really came back this side of Zero Hour. With the Code against killing also under the spotlight and the membership drive, there is a feeling of lasting change within the book.


It was really refreshing to see such a diverse group all selected for President.



The way bronze age Legion stories would have it is that every ethnic group went to its own planet, ensuring diversity. What if centuries from now, babies are genetically modified to represent the ethnic cultures we have in our century, since in the future they’ve all but merged. It has both the quaint result and the sci-fi that we see in the Legion comics.



I agree. It was nice that it didn’t just focus on the winner and a straight line into the next part of the plot. Getting to see the other contenders, gave us a link to Jacques, Drake and eventually Gim subplots. Which I should have given some credit for in my comments above really

LSH 10

I actually like the cover. It has a movie poster quality, and contains enough information to capture the various aspects of the story (which are also rather disconnected). Wildfire’s hand reaching through the Khund’s eye and unleashing a blast makes an arresting visual. Sun Boy’s flaming arc at the bottom adds a nice touch.

Oddly, the one candidate whose face is shot out in the candidates’ poster is the one who gets elected. I don’t know if this is meant to be foreshadowing, but, as I recall nothing comes of it.

It’s also odd that the Interlac word on the left-hand side of the cover reads “Vote.” Yet the candidates are all selected by computer as is the eventual winner. I’m unclear on who was voting or why it was necessary for Senor Lopyt to campaign.

1985 was not a national election year in the US, though Ronald Reagan began his second term as president shortly before this issue was published. I can’t help but wonder if this issue is meant to comment on the inefficiency and bloating of the US election process. In the Legion’s time, candidates are selected by computer, and those selected are not professional politicians (though Mojai might be). They cannot spend months or years campaigning, running media ads, and slandering the opposition. Strangely, Blok asks if humans cannot choose their leaders in a simpler manner, but that’s exactly what’s happened here. I wonder what Element Lad means by “we’ve tried.”

The concept of computers electing the president makes me think of the Electoral College and the recent debates over its validity. In the 30th century, elections have been taken even further out of the hands of the voting public. The “leveling” the Electoral College is supposed to create is taken to extremes. But, it was 1985, and we had much more faith in computers than we do now.

The story itself fails to grab me. It seems all over the place, even though there’s a consistent theme: The Legionnaires protect three candidates from Khund assassins. But that’s it. The Legionnaires are relegated to supporting characters in this story and we don’t get to spend enough time with any of the three candidates to care for them or their struggles. (Leung is the most interesting—a high school or college student who was selected because she wrote a paper on government efficiency—and who has a sister (or mother?) who playfully questions her decency. There’s so much more I wanted to know about Leung, but, alas, we are only teased about her and her life.)

A couple of plotlines are advanced—Jacques accidentally kills a Khund and may be the next Legionnaire up for court martial (after Dawnstar, of course); Rokk announces his leave of absence and hints at further changes in his life. (As a reader then, I thought he was going to propose to Lydda; I was disappointed when he didn’t.) There are several nice character moments. (One nice touch is that the Legionnaires are so highly regarded as professionals that it takes only one of them to guard each candidate.) But these are just crumbs of stories. There is no cookie.

This may be the first Legion issue in which I’ve admired the art more than the story. At best, the art and story have complemented each other for excellent narration and breathtaking visuals. More often, it’s the writing I gravitate toward, regardless of the quality of the art. But here Lightle shines (pun semi-intended). His faces are distinct and attractive. The action scenes move the story along with clear, concise images, and the mood is palpable, especially in the Brin/Sensei scene. (Kudos must also be given to Mahlstedt and colorist Gafford.) Unlike previous issues, in which Lightle seemed cramped to include so many visuals, here he has the space to stretch out and breathe. That’s one advantage of Levitz’s wafer-thin plot.

This plotline built so slowly and over such a long period of time that I didn't put the pieces together, either. It's interesting to watch it unfold now, but rather anticlimactic. This sort of build up would work better in a novel or TV series, I suppose, than a monthly comic book.



Good points. One might suppose that the Legionnaires have been stretched so thin with five of their members missing that everyone just took it on faith that Jacques had it under control (even though he would be the first to admit otherwise). Collective denial and groupthink are pernicious in any organization.



True, but this cliche, to me, is welcome. It reminds me of Brande and Cham back in 301, but Brin and Sensei are very different characters and have no prior relationship, except an indirect one through the deceased Karate Kid. It will be interesting to see their character dynamic.



That's an interesting point about ethnicity disappearing. I suppose (and hope) there would still be some preservation of ethnicity, culture, and tradition, such as Jacques speaking French. Ethnicity defines who we are to a degree, and diversity should be celebrated. I would hope the 30th century would be as diverse if not more so as the present day.

They are Khunds. They deny nothing. Of course, they have no brains, either, but . . .



Dreamy's behavior is certainly enigmatic. When she so quickly backed down from Rokk and Thom's assertion that a membership drive was needed last issue, I thought maybe she had experienced a vision of Jan returning. But now she seems resentful of having to give up the leadership. In a way, though, it's fascinating to watch the disintegration of her relationship with Thom--just as watching a burning building is fascinating.



A.K.A. Judge Dread?



It would have been interesting to see these two square off in a debate. Ah, missed opportunities.



Wildfire is put to good use here--his obvious lack of interest is meant to deflate the windbag, Desai. And Drake thinks nothing of wrecking the candidate's airborne home--the symbol of the latter's power and wealth--while preserving his life. The Legionnaires are reckless with private property, as we've seen before.

I agree about the visual. Stunning.

It is like two covers combined. Either lose the Khund or the Legionnaires and cruiser.


Madre de Dios! I woke up in bed with Sun Boy! The scene does illustrate Dirk's confidence and easy-going attitude, his defeat of the Khund seems almost effortless.



This seemed out of sorts for Nura, who seemed to have achieved some balance with Jan - so I attribute it to tensions with Thom. Jan isn't giving her a free ride, however. Maybe he's learned to cut the sniping in the bud.



The boom tube connection makes a lot of sense! The writers could have used that to explain the teleportation and the instability of that power. At least he didn't turn into the Hulk when threatened.



I guess she got an A+ on that paper. You raise a good point about Desai's wealth and how he's operated in his own region. The computer gives the people a chance at efficient government, but they go for the hope for hand-outs. Prosperity versus austerity.... I'd like to have read their campaign promises.



The suit is well done. And the behaviour is pure Wildfire at his ... what? neither best nor worst. Sulkiest, perhaps. He's no doubt been in a bad mood since Dawnstar left and gets to take it out on the Desai family with rude manners and the Khund with power.



They could have fought as a team (did they ever?), but I guess this was meant to be Gim's personal fight, defending his Mom. She should have hired him as her full-time bodyguard.



Oh, I hadn't thought about the computer being tampered with. Of course!



Just as Ayla had to leave to find herself, Brin gets the opportunity to come to terms with his life on this adventure. Had he stayed at Legion HQ, he might have been caught in an endless cycle of moping and Blok-comedy. I don't know if the Levitz intended that, but it works (or can work) in real life. And he won't have Tasmia and Tinya around to put him down either. (The Terrible Ts Tease - a new superpower.) Another thing I like about this situation is that Brin doesn't seem to care particularly about the prospect of great wealth; is it because he just doesn't care about money or that his senses are dulled by depression?



I was wondering if there was some greater meaning behind this, or if it was just a visual effect.



It's not specified here, but in the previous election, the computer chose candidates and the people voted.



True! Computers were going to manage everything. Then we got Windows... The Legion itself allows members to choose themselves to run for Leader, no computers involved except to tally results. There's also thoth's suggestion of tampering, which could apply even if citizens voted, as we sadly know.



It would have been interesting to see the script. How much of the action scenes were described to Lightle, or did he just run with his own ideas? Regardless, the result is, as you say, admirable.



A debate would have been fascinating! And too bad that Leung never made another appearance; she's clearly interested in government and to be chosen as a candidate must change one's life.

Thanks for the clarification. I couldn't remember how Marte was elected.

It does raise more questions. Since voters now have one day to choose, they don't have the opportunity to get to know the candidates or watch them develop or modify their stances on issues over a period of time. Are voters supposed to go with their gut feelings? Like answering a personality quiz, the first response is the best one? Perhaps this system is meant to give candidates less chance to be dishonest and the voters less chance to rationalize their biases.



Windows 10--yeah!

The Legion's first election was determined by computer. I suppose this was meant to get the team started and, with only three members, eliminate the possibility of everyone voting for him- or herself.

The notion that candidates are chosen without first deciding to run for office is troublesome. It reeks of totalitarianism or at least English monarchy. One thing I've gleaned from Downton Abbey and The Crown is that there's no legal mechanism for someone to refuse to be monarch or even an earl. Abdicating the throne, as Edward VIII did, is costly and creates uncertainty in a realm which depends on an orderly and predictable transition of power. It's unclear how much of this lack of an "escape clause" applies to the 30th century election process. There's no indication that candidates can turn down the nomination. However, Marte resigned as president--so it's okay to quit after you've been elected, apparently. (In this sense, the president seems similar to a prime minister. )

The built-in assumption appears to be that it's good to be president and no one would want to refuse. There also seems to be a sense of duty to the community outweighing the needs of the individual (a common theme on The Crown). Ironically, this is very much at odds with the individualism championed by US comics and US culture in general at the time.

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Yeah, I was expecting a scene where the candidate is killed and replaced. But our villain doesn’t need to do that to get control. So, its less a bullet hole and more the shattering of the mind of the targeted character.



The final winner is elected by the voting public, with the candidates elected by computer, from what I remember form an earlier story. Presumably the one where Marte Allon got nominated/elected.
I reckon that, even though the public voted, that the votes are tallied by computer and that this has been rigged. I see Cramer commented on this one too.



Thanks for the background, HWW. I think its exactly a commentary on political systems, much like the Allon one was too. I think the “we’ve tried” form Jan is really the writer expressing frustration with the systems used in our time.

Things are much better in the Legion’s time when a member can join and use the bylaws to oust everyone else in a villainous coup…um…




…I mean, trust in a computer to tally votes, safe in the knowledge it can’t be got at….er… or that there’s a villain called Computo around…um…



I think that can be one of the downsides to the Levitz approach. It’s important that there’s a sufficient payoff to each issue and movement in each scene. That means that there’s a pacing to the subplots, to make sure that there’s always enough drama/action in each issue, and that they don’t all fall into quiet moments. Otherwise, although there might be plot progress, the little ensemble pieces don’t add up to enough within a single issue.

The last few Baxter issues have been closer to the line than anything in Tales for me. Things like the character moments HWW mentions help to offset this.
Levitz could have had teams protecting each candidate, with a Khund squad for each to increase the action. I prefer that we got to see more of individuals. Besides, having a squad would have interfered with Jacques subplot. So that was possibly on purpose.



A Rokk/Lydda marriage seems like a probable outcome of all this, although it becomes a bit of a boring tease with the length of time its taking him to tell anyone.



As the team develops, hopefully we’ll see more of Levitz finding a good pace for Lightle to express himself. Also, where Lightle’s work inspires Levitz plots.



Well, it was his turn. There’s probably another computer election for that.



After a century or two of that, people were happy to put up with Planetary Chance Machine v1

I totally agree about the focus on individuals. As I said in my own post, it makes the Legionnaires look like professionals if only one of them is needed to guard each candidate--and they all succeed in their missions.

What's missing in the story for me is that there is no central character to root for, no one to focus on (except Jacques, briefly), no climax, resolution, or denouement. The story just isn't a story.

Several months ago, I watched some old episodes of Hill Street Blues on YouTube, and I found them very instructive. Even though there's a lot going on and several interweaving storylines, every episode still felt like it was complete. Maybe this is because most (all?) episodes took place during a single day--from roll call in the morning until late at night. I think, however, that Frank Furillo provided us with a focus--someone to root for, someone to sympathize with when he had to deliver someone bad news or find out what had happened to his officers. Through Furillo, we came to admire, sympathize, and relate to the other officers and detectives. Most TV series of this nature have had such a viewpoint character (Dr. Westphall on St. Elsewhere, Michael Kuzak on L.A. Law). When the viewpoint character leaves, the show inevitably suffers.

The Legion, of course, has never quite worked this way--although Superboy was its central character for many years. The role of central character changes with leadership elections, and Jan is only now coming into his own as an admirable and confident leader. If there had been more Jan in this story, it might have worked for me. However, it could also have focused more on one of the candidates--but we get only bits and pieces of who they are.

So, Legion 10 is a story without a central character to me.

Ironically, growing up with Levitz's Legion, I thought this was "good" writing--very similar to real life. But now I understand why the story felt incomplete to me even then.

Tales #323 Triumph... and Tragedy by Mindy Newell & Paul Levitz, art by Dan Jurgens & Karl Kesel, Colors by Carl Gaford, Letters by Ben Oda



People on Kol's planet are dying and it's accepted as the will of Kol, although some question if Jhodan consorting with demons is the cause.

Brainy and Dawnstar reunite; Jhodan attacks him until Spliff, "Kol's mystic", intervenes. Dawnstar realizes that Brainy understands Jhodan and asks to learn his language, since she may stay with him. Spliff finds the computer reel Brainy took and is angry.

At the temple, the Reverend Mother comforts Ina and absolves her of blame since she swiftly reported Jhodan's alliance with Dawnstar. Rand becomes Ina's new teacher, but she mourns for Jhodan. The Reverend Mother also mourns Jhodan's betrayal and wonders if his faith truly has faltered. As she prays to Kol, a lightning bolt hits the temple.

In space, Gigi relieves Shvaughn as Dev-Em's partner in the Black Circle infiltration.

Jhodan questions Brainy about the computer reel; he lectures Jhodan on minds closed by dogma. Dawnstar criticizes Brainy for his disdain of the culture and comforts Jhodan. An angry mob approaches, hurling rocks, blaming the strangers and Spliff for the death of their children. A tornado appears, which Jhodan takes as a sign of Kol's displeasure and Brainy sees as a coincidence. As they return to the temple, they encounter more mobs blaming them for the children's deaths.

As Rand and Ina in military gear prepare to capture Jhodan and company, Ina begins to fall ill. As she collapses, Brainy examines here and admits he and Dawnstar are responsible for the illness, but not because Kol is angry with them. An earthquake strikes, Rand falls into a crevice and Dawnstar saves him.Aiwan arrives with more priest-soldiers, captures the group. Brainy, Dawnstar and Spliff are bound to a semi-circle platform to be killed. Brainy wants to get free to access antibiotics in his ship.

On the Dark Circle world, Dev-Em is unmasked yet overconfident, until he realizes he can't fly away and is vulnerable. He awakens imprisoned and weak with kryptonite poisoning; a Dark Circle member says they already got what they needed from him and that his scorn for the Legion will help their plan.

As Ina lies gravely ill, Jhodan questions why Kol would punish innocent children. Rand speaks up to defend Dawnstar when Aiwan calls her a witch. After speaking privately with Aiwan, Jhodan addresses the crowd and renounces his association with Dawnstar and Brainy. They are released and Jhodan rejects Brainy's offer of medicine for the sick children. As he leaves, the computer reel falls from his robe and Brainy picks it up as Dawnstar weeps.

Epilogues: Brainy meets with President Desai, who tells him that a vaccine has been seeded in the atmosphere of Kol's planet and an expedition is planned to research the planet's link to Earth's 23rd century Great Wars period. Brainy wants to join the expedition and warns of a dangerous force of nature operating on the planet. Dawnstar reflects on her time with Jhodan and the emotions she experienced. She's distant with Wildfire and brushes off his questions about the man she met. When he leaves, she vows to return to Jhodan someday.


Comments:
The splash page with Dawnstar throwing her arms out to Brainy is one of my favourites. There's a lot of emotion there, all the more striking for two people who bottle up their feelings.

The soldiers and the priests are the same, which I didn't get in the previous issue. They just wear different clothes. Warrior priests, not so unusual.

Brainy and Dawnstar infected the planet, but only the children. That makes it rather more heartbreaking and leaves the adults free to cry for revenge. It does raise the question of whether there were original inhabitants of this planet wiped out by the Earthlings who arrived to build the present society. There's an interesting ethical question raised since Jhodan refused medicine for the dying children, but the U.P. went ahead and sprayed vaccines anyways. If there were unintended consequences, however, we'll never know.

Brainy's easy-going attitude vanishes as he collides with the closed minds imposed by Kol's religious order. He can't think his way out of this one, though - and it's only Jhodan's submission to the Reverend Mother that allows the Legionnaires to go free. That's unusual for a Legion story; they generally manage to battle their way out of everything.

Dawnstar mirrors Ina to some degree; she has loyalty to her fellow Legionnaire, but is siding with Jhodan when Brainy attacks his religion. Just as with Ina, the choice is made for her and she returns to the Legion. Had Dawnstar stayed with or returned to Jhodan, she might have been an agent for gradual, positive change. Rand changed his view of her based on their experience, when she saved his life. Dawnstar appreciated the spiritual aspect of that society, unlike Brainiac 5, who, in this issue, condemned and imposed his "enlightened" views (although in the Epilogue, he's talking about an unknown force of nature on that planet, not coincidental natural events).

Ina continues to be torn between her devotion to Jhodan and to her religion. Sadly, we never see the end of her story, whether she lives or dies, stays as Rand's novitiate or returns to Jhodan.

There are plenty of unresolved stories here. Mindy Newell, in the Legion Companion interview, suggested that she bit off more than she could chew with this story, too many ideas that didn't come together. These all could have been resolved if the story arc had continued, but it was dropped. We don't know what was on the computer reel, if Ina survived, what happened with the expedition, what was the deal with the nature force which so concerned Brainy. Dawnstar may spend a panel or two in future issues remembering Jhodan, but she never tries to return. So it's ultimately very frustrating to reread this story and know that these questions won't be resolved.

Ironically, in the letters column, Chris Miller asks for a future history of the DCU, the time between the 20th and 30th centuries, and is told that it will be made clearer in the Crisis series. Was this Legion story supposed to link to Crisis in that historical sense, with its big mystery about the 23rd century? I don't recall such details from Crisis (and have ordered the book from the library to find out) but does someone here know if there was such a connection? I also couldn't find anything on-line that Mindy Newell said regarding her ideas of where the story of Kol's planet might go.

TotLoSH 323

I didn’t pick up the finale for this story for some years, possibly ten at least for some reason. The baggy with this back issue comes with a very detailed sticker, telling me everything except the date I bought it. It was from an outfit that I mainly remember getting concessions in big stores. They had a much more technical approach to their inventory, compared to the other guys who just put little price stickers on the baggies. They ended up allegedly involved in some shady comics practices to improve the gradings.

As a body burns and we’re told a sickness inflicts the land, an old man dismisses stories of what we’ve seen in the last couple of issues. It seems like a fair amount of time has gone past for a sickness to take root in their society, and this comes over as a framing sequence. It could almost have been an elderly Jhodan failing to come to terms with the effects of the visitors to their planet. A quick peek to the end shows no old man or final look at a village coming to terms with the effects of the plague. It’s an interesting introductory page, but there’s no pay off to it.

There is a mix of cultures still in evidence, reminding us of the depth in Newell’s world. All of the main cast have been essentially travelling this world since the opening panel. Perhaps there’s a small incubation period for the disease, explaining why it’s spreading and killing so quickly. Ina will be carrying it back to the temple too.

Dawny and Brainy, two of the most reserved heroes on the team, give each other a genuinely warm embrace. Dawny then immediately distances herself, which fits her personality nicely. Brainy is a bit more in tune with himself. In truth, he always has been, as seen with his first appearance “be my girl” chat to Supergirl. The balance between his caring and analytical mind comes across very nicely in Newell’s dialogue. It’s a nice moment, that I’d hope to see carried on in some friendship capacity in later issues (v4 not recognising Bounty is a big minus on this relationship).

It lasts all of a few seconds as Brainy is tackled to the ground by Jhodan. Plot wise, this attack occurs so that the data reel is discovered. But Jhodan comes across as petulantly jealous. Perhaps Ina actually got some of her attitude from her teacher? We learn that Jhodan defers to Spliff, who turns out to be a Mystic of Kol. Having calmed the situation, it’s then Spliff who remonstrates with Brainy over the reel. Later, Spliff has settled back down but wants the reel returned. Jhodan recognises it as a tablet of Kol. The access to such tablets is restricted to Awian.

It’s interesting to see Brainy fib to try and keep hold of the reel. Both Spliff and Jhodan recognise it (although they must be hidden in a number of temples) while Brainy pretends it’s nothing. Although Jhodan refers to it as a tablet of Kol, he hasn’t said what his understanding of Kol is. That doesn’t stop Brainy going off on a rant about the world’s religious dogma closing them off from other possibilities.

The main issue is really that the data is only accessible by a single person, not the providence of the information. Brainy has figured out the chronology of the data and knows the rough origin of the people. But he hasn’t bothered to determine the historical context behind the world he sees. It’s a blind spot brought from exasperation, but it makes him as closed as the people he’s criticising. Dawny is quite right to call Brainy on it. Her own faith is different and provides a third cultural viewpoint in the story. Newell gets a lot of credit for providing strengths and weaknesses of each position.

The sickness is really spreading and the villagers turn on the group. Spliff seems to have been involved in angering them too. He seems to either be precognitive or directly able to influence Kol through his role as a mystic, as a tornado suddenly appears (Red Tornado and Blue Devil on the same world? ).

Awian also seems to have a direct connection to Kol’s storms. While everyone is blaming Jhodan’s actions for events, its Awian questioning Kol that seems to start it. She keeps a picture of Jhodan in her office. There’s a connection between them that runs deeper than just their positions in the order. That she perhaps treats Jhodan a little differently doesn’t sit well with what we’ve seen of the order. But she’s just as quick to declare Jhodan a heretic. She carries out her duty, even if she still trusts Jhodan’s faith.

While the readers are privy to all the information Brainy has, it’s nice to see him be the one waffling over the coincidental tornado that suddenly appears to be bearing down on them. Determined to hold his position, despite coming from Earth which has a weather control system. Again, it’s credit to Newell for reminding us that everyone is fallible. It’s also a switch to see the scientist being the one to come up with a clearly incorrect hypothesis, and the people of Kol knowing exactly what it is.

Brainy had also involved Dream Girl in sharing some responsibility for their predicament. On one layer Dreamy, as acting leader, authorised the experiments and dispatched the two to search for their missing colleagues. But on another, we’re reminded of her past where she altered Ayla’s powers to make her Light Lass.

As they travel back towards the temple, the extent of the illness is revealed, but the walking Venturian credit doesn’t drop into place. By looking to help in each location they go to, they would make things worse. The disease is targeting the young. We don’t see any evidence of it affecting other vulnerable groups, so is the disease influenced by Kol? Brainy thinks of the villagers as a mob. Jhodan retreats inwards, thinking of himself as an outcast. But the villagers may well be doing exactly the right thing. A lesson for both worldviews of Brainy and Jhodan when faced with the reality of the world people actually live in.

The group run into the Arms of Kol, including a sickly Ina. In battle, Dawny retrieves a sword and threatens Rand before stopping herself. This would have been the scene that last issue’s cover was based on. There’s not much choreography in the battle. A Kol-initiated earth quake (Kolquake?) separates the combatants. There’s only Rand and Ina (Since Ina collapses, it’s only Rand), so the Arms of Kol are actually outnumbered until Awian turns up with reinforcements. Had Awian appeared at the same time as Rand and Ina, we could have had a more effective battle. The subterfuge set up to disguise the sleeping party seems a little wasted. Still. It does allow the confrontation between Awian and Jhodan at the temple more power, I guess.

With the others captured, Dawny gives herself up, and they are all placed in the Arch of Agony as threatened earlier on by Awian as she departed with her troops. Newell gets the chance to show off her background as a nurse as Brainy diagnoses Ina’s condition. If only she could be sued as a comics consultant for other writers when this sort of thing comes up

We don’t see the arch actually do anything. It does resemble Awian’s staff of Kol though, so perhaps there’s a connection there.

As they await their fate on the arch of agony, Brainy continues to fill in plot blanks or “computing” as Dawny calls it. He recognises more structures as 23rd century starship parts. That one has possibly been overdone. He also confirms that it was they who brought the plague to the world. The Legionnaires are inoculated against various diseases, but the locals are not. Considering the number of lost worlds and distant eras the Legion has visited, it’s about time this sort of thing was brought up. But it would slow the action to a crawl every adventure as the team go through testing procedures. A way round this is to say that their transuits would normally protect the local lifeforms. But when these malfunctioned on Kol disease spread.

Elsewhere in the temple, compromises are reached. Jhodan concedes he’s a betrayer of Kol, in respect to the innocence of the others who have been struck by disease. He can’t recant if such punishment is meted out to the innocent by a jealous and vengeful god.

Having had his life saved by Dawnstar on a couple of occasions, Rand defends her from Awian, even in the face of a spot on the arch of agony.

Awian calls Jhodan “my son” and I wonder if that is why she has his picture in her office (it looked like a photo – did that tech survive? ) She tells him that the visitors might have been a test. She tells him that his love for Dawny is pure. But these are just the openings of negotiations. Jhodan rejects Brainy and Dawny from Kol, freeing them in the process and waring them never to return. Brainy thinks that Jhodan has chosen his religious ignorance to being with Dawnstar. He’s missed that Jhodan has sacrificed his love for her freedom.

All of which is very odd as Awian isn’t really in a position to negotiate on behalf of Kol. If Kol is annoyed then it has certainly shown it directly. What part did Kol play in Awian’s plans? Enough to return the use of technology to the Legionnaires. Enough to allow Jhodan to gift Brainy the data reel.

Which makes sense of Brainy’s assertion to President Desai (points for keeping up with Baxter) that the planet contains a force of nature and that it is expecting their return.

Decisions made behind closed doors and favours being asked of Kol and seemingly granted doesn’t look likely to prolong the order of things there for long. It might actually be Rand who’s the main agent of change.

Despite Jhodan telling Brainy that Kol did not need their help, the UP has vaccinated the world by satellite. Despite Jhodan telling Brainy that he must never return to the world, the Coluan immediately volunteers himself for an expedition that Desai is launching to visit.

Considering the time taken for Dawny and Brainy’s return and the quick deaths of the children we saw in the story, I don’t hold out a lot of hope for Ina. She was possibly older than a lot of the victims which might help her.

Last issue I suggested that Dawny and Johdan were intimate in the night they spent together. In the final scene Dawny thinks to herself that “I’m no longer innocent… I know what it is to love a man.” Dawny’s brief time with Jhodan immediately changes her relationship with Wildfire. What she thought was love for Drake has been eclipsed by something stronger. Drake is smart enough to immediately know what’s happened. Actually, he had a premonition of it last issue. He takes it well, and there’s that constant dark thought that shapes so much of what he does: “I’m not a man.” Dawny looks out at the stars, determined to return.

Except no one did and none of these subplots were followed up. That’s fine. Comics are littered with loose plot threads. But did this stack up as a story? On balance I’d say yes.

The development of Dawnstar’s character was significant. This was a moment of real potential for her, as she launched into the opening issue of Crisis. Her relationship with Drake was challenged. A knock-on effect from this story should have seen some changes in him too. With the try out issue coming, as well as a trans time Crisis, it should have been a strong time for Wildfire too.
Their last scene in this issue was as powerful as anything in this era.

Newell’s work in this story reminded us of the emotional side of Brainiac 5, even as he indulged his curiosity at every available moment. He was shown to be vulnerable, and rationally fallible. He had to figure things out as he went rather than having everything appear in a convenient plot dump.

We don’t get to find out if Kol was sentient and, finally encountering beings from outwith its system, using events to make stronger connections. We don’t know how it could disrupt technology or use its power through The Core and deliver manna. But, in the end, it’s an enigmatic addition to the Legion’s universe like the Puppet Planetoid and the Antares of the Llorn.

Considering what happened to Red Tornado during Crisis, a world which he could control the environment of isn’t such an off the cuff suggestion.

The depth of culture on Kol and its underpinning theology and Newell’s handling of it in the story were big plus points.

Jhodan made a compromise. Perhaps he broke this to give Brainy the reel. Perhaps Kol was involved here too. But his choice made, his arc in the story ends well enough. Likewise, having brokered/ enforced whatever deal there was to make, Awian gets a world that returns to normal. With the UP’s vaccination no doubt being hailed as the work of Kol, faith may be even stronger than it was.

We don’t see what Awian has learned as she took Jhodan through the compromise. There are some things she doesn’t seem to grasp about the nature of Kol, but she’s a lot closer to it than anyone else there. We’ll never get to find out if her position would change when faced with Kol’s plans for the future.

One definite plot link was Desai’s intention to send an expedition there. Considering who he’s under the thrall of, this could have opened up a further story nicely. His master is a man very interested in history, and weapons and knowledge of a lost Great War would be useful to him. It would also get a certain Coluan out of his way.

The subplot running through this issue was Dev-Em’s continued infiltration of the Dark Circle. They confront him and disable him using Kryptonite. The sight of Dev-Em half encased in a Kryptonite chamber is a harrowing one. There’s plenty of sign posts on what the Circle intended to do here. But I’d not have read those until later. Considering his power, that’s quite a threat to the Legion. Just imagine that was Superboy.

Newell was on dialogue duty for the next two issues. I think that was her last involvement in the Legion? In her interview in the Legion Companion, she recounts the unusual way she came into the business, and into the new talent programme. Karen Berger was the Legion’s editor at the time and the mature output of DC was beginning to take shape. Once Vertigo got started, I’d have liked to have read something from Newell. It would have been a fresh voice amongst all those whiny-protagonists-finding-themselves stories I seemed to wade through later on. With Berger books out these, perhaps it’s not too late.


Li’l thoth’s Elsewhere Section

Only a few again this month.

The Old JLA meets the new in #238 and there’s an unconvincing passing of the torch. Great Patton art though.

Action 567 has Supes up against the Yellow Peri. I didn’t realise she wasn’t a major recurring Supes villainess.

It’s a Liberty Belle spotlight in All Star Squadron 38, with Baron Blitzkrieg in the wings. It’s a darker issue this one.

I’d get Crisis #2 and Who’s Who #3 very shortly, along with…

Firestorm goers up against Plastique and Killer Frost in #35

The Titans chase after Azrael in #53, after he puts Lilith through some changes. At that point, they don’t realise he’s not worth chasing after. Gar glowers in a courtroom as part of Termy’s trial.

Elsewhere…

Alan Moore was comfortably into Swamp Thing with #36. But he also did the back ups in both GL (Englehart & Staton run begins here I think?) and in the GA story in Detective. The first brings us Mogo, the second has Black Canary shot for plot purposes. Moore wonders why heroes aren’t taken down more easily. I agree, but shoot GA for a change next time.

Atari Force 17 – There’s a mind link scene here that would later be lifted and dropped into a Star Wars movie.

Sgt Rock saves a bunny rabbit from the Germans in #400

DC Comics Presents – 81 – Ambush Bug switches places with Superman after some Red Kryptonite exposure.

The Shadow War of Hawkman begins. A storyline that would take the characters right out of DC’s first Event comics. Like the Red Tornado mini series, this one must have sounded a lot better in the pitch than in the pay off. The new JLA would appear in a scene somewhere in this series.

The Infantino/Adams Deadman stories are reprinted. Frank Miller does the cover to the final part of Superman the Secret Years.

Vigilante 17 has the first part of a dark storyline. It’s what I thought Vigilante would be, only to be less than impressed with some gimmicky early issues. There’s also a funny reference to the JLA. The JLA also get a mention on the cover of Blue Devil 12.

That would have been an interesting approach, to have elderly Jhodan relate what happened. The speed of the illness's spread baffled me as well - given what else goes on on the planet, maybe it wasn't even the Legionnaires who brought it. Brainy made a logical assumption but didn't do any tests.



Indeed! Jhodan is a bit quick to judge.



It's a good illustration of the tenacity of one's belief system, presented in a very realistic manner.



Meddling in people's lives, or fulfilling a precognitive destiny? Now I'm going to be looking for other instances of Nura messing with or advocating that others mess with someone's power.



I didn't really get why Spliff was put on the Arch. He seemed to have a special position as Kol's mystic, but is damned here by mere association.



Great and sensible explanation!



I kept expecting Awian to start using a computer or otherwise indicate that she knows how it all works and the religious rites are just cover. We never find out if there's some secret knowledge available only to the leader.



Rand and Jhodan - two apparently highly placed religious figures. Could be a Vatican II in the works.



This may have been meant as benign, but it certainly illustrated that the U.P. - with Earth the driving force - pretty much does what it wants with unclaimed planets.



Dawnstar underwent a major change in her life, so to drop that plot is particularly disappointing. Well, maybe it wasn't entirely dropped. Maybe her physical relationship with Jhodan encouraged her later to try and have some physical relationship with Drake. However, she seems to fall back into the Wildfire partnership pretty easily. You're right that Drake should also have changed. The two just seem to fall back together; maybe other options just proved too challenging.



Agreed, one of the better characterizations of Brainiac 5.




Oh, hadn't thought about that. Unintended consequences.

Interesting bunch of other comics from that time. What's rabbit stew in German?

Tales 323

Newell’s interview in The Legion Companion is most insightful. She made a lot of mistakes in writing this story that novice writers often make (and which I’ve made more than a few time): trying to say so much in her story that it lacks a clear focus and resolution. I commend her for her ambitious aims in writing this story. I also commend DC for giving her the chance to write a three-issue tale, even though, by her own admission, she wasn’t ready. And there is a lot of good in the wrap-up, even though it doesn’t wrap up everything.

For me, the biggest takeaway is that Dawnstar has indeed changed because of the story. I didn’t pick up on the carefully couched references to her having sex with Jhodan—and, even now, the wording is vague enough to pass the Comics Code. But it’s clear that her experience with him did have an effect on her. She learns she wants more from a relationship than Wildfire can provide.

I don’t think this lesson is meant to reflect just the physical sense. Jhodan is a very different man than Wildfire: someone who looks after her without talking down to her, who demonstrates intelligence and thoughtfulness, and who is willing to sacrifice everything—even his love for her—for her freedom. Drake has never exhibited any of these qualities. At best, he’s come off as clingy and condescending. Even during their brief reunion, he focuses on his own needs and not on what she’s been through.

I can also see why Dawnstar would want to return to Jhodan’s world—not only to be with him, but because the world itself represents a simple way of life with clear-cut standards of right and wrong. This setting suits her temperament better, I think, than the varied worlds and complicated relationships of the Legion. As a “weirdling,” she can arguably make more of a difference than she can as a Legionnaire—someone who inspires the Kol natives to question their long-held beliefs and assumptions, and, with the support of Jhodan and Spliff, might succeed in guiding them to become a more tolerant, educated, or open culture.

(Ironically, the cover shows several Kol natives bowing before a statue of Dawnstar—a scene which doesn’t happen in the story. Perhaps Newell had intended for Dawny to be worshipped as a goddess in the never-to-be sequel.)

Brainiac 5 doesn’t change—and that’s fine; this is really a one-character story. Brainy serves the needs of the plot, mostly in good ways which honor the truth of his character (such as spouting medical jargon while attending Ina—good move, Nurse Mindy!). The plot also forces Brainy into some less convincing roles, such as his intolerant rant over Jhodan’s intolerance. Brainy has been on enough missions with the Legion to know how varied cultures can be. Did he also not learn that calling people ignorant and foolish is not a good way to win them over? Worse, it could alienate the very people he needs as allies.

I’m all for Brainy expressing a bit of condescension towards dogma as well as magic (as he later does during the Magic Wars), but his open hostility toward Jhodan and the others doesn’t ring true.

My biggest gripe about the story, in fact, is that most of the characters act either out of character or with knee-jerk reactions. It begins with Jhodan attacking Brainy after Dawny throws her arms around the latter. Even if Jhodan had spent the night with Dawny in the conjugal sense, it seems out of character for him to jump this green-skinned foreigner and assume he’s seducing his “woman.” The Jhodan of the last two issues was more patient and willing to assess a situation.

I’ve already discussed Brainy’s out of character rant above, and Dawny gets her turn when she grabs Rand and nearly skewers him. Granted, it’s been a tough time for her and she did accidently skewer a soldier last issue, but the whole “I will brutalize you—oh my god, what am I doing?” routine smacks of cliché. It serves the needs of the plot and provides a payoff when Rand—in another convenient and out-of-character turn—serves as mouthpiece for the author: “We should not destroy what we do not understand.” If the people on Kol can be turned around so easily, then Dawny’s return as Goddess of Enlightenment is assured.

I was waiting for some revelation that the atmosphere of Kol or the hidden god him/herself was somehow manipulating people’s emotions and forcing them to act in bizarre ways. But such a revelation never comes. The real explanation is probably that Newell (who said in the interview that she’d never had a formal writing class) did not know how to let the characters reveal themselves without forcing them to meet the needs of the plot.

Another indication of Newell’s rawness as a writer can be found in the science fiction plot. I mentioned how the first part of the story reminded me of the Star Trek episode, “The Omega Glory.” In the conclusion, I see echoes of other episodes, as well. Many of these ideas are based on tropes (the humans’ bacteria proves fatal to aliens, the planet turns out to be the remains of a spaceship, connections to earth’s violent past since the 20th century are mentioned, religious intolerance prevents people from accepting scientific solutions to their problems). I can only assume that Newell drew from the same well I did as a fledgling writer—Star Trek and other mainstream sources—because I, too, thought they were original and did not understand the larger literary context.

(In no way do I mean to compare myself to Newell. As a writer, she accomplished a lot of things I haven’t. And she did develop into a fine writer, though I’m mainly familiar with her self-created series The New Wave from Eclipse Comics.)

Another example of this reliance on mainstream material appears at the end when the UP takes it upon itself to vaccinate the inhabitants of Kol without their knowledge. It’s an act of mercy, sure, but also one of arrogance and the unquestioned belief that advanced cultures know best for less advanced ones—an attitude that can be found in several episodes of Star Trek and other TV shows of the time.

So, “Look Homeward, Legionnaires” (the title on the splash page) leaves us with a lot of tantalizing mysteries and possibilities. However, it is also refreshing to see a new writer’s take on the characters after so many years of immersion in the Levitz Legion. Newell brings in a lot of fresh ideas to revitalize the characters and their universe—and there’s never anything wrong with that.

By the way, here's how these two issues fared in my "Top 30" of February 5, 1985:

1. Superman: The Secret Years # 4 -- DC
2. Tales of the New Teen Titans # 53 -- DC
3. Crisis on Infinite Earths # 2 -- DC
4. America Vs. The Justice Society # 4 -- DC
5. New Teen Titans # 8 -- DC
6. All-Star Squadron # 44 -- DC
7. Star Trek # 14 -- DC
8. Badger # 5 -- First
9. Green Lantern # 188 -- DC
10. Power Man & Iron Fist # 117 -- Marvel

11. Nexus # 8 -- First
12. Iron Man # 194 -- Marvel
13. Captain America # 305 -- Marvel
14. Superman # 405 -- DC
15. Shadow War of Hawkman # 1 -- DC
16. Infinity Inc. # 13 -- DC
17. Fantastic Four # 278 -- Marvel
18. Amazing Spider-Man # 264 -- Marvel
19. Zot! # 7 -- Eclipse
20. Marvel Tales # 175 -- Marvel

21. New Defenders # 143 -- Marvel
22. Legion of Super-Heroes # 10 -- DC
23. Justice League of America # 238 -- DC
24. Avengers # 255 -- Marvel
25. Fury of Firestorm # 35 -- DC
26. Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 323 -- DC
27. Uncanny X-Men # 193 -- Marvel
28. American Flagg! # 20 -- First
29. Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents # 2 -- Deluxe
30. Flash # 345 -- DC

. . . so, I didn't think much of either issue at the time. I'm only somewhat more impressed with 323 now.

I'm sensing you weren't a big fan of 'The Trial of the Flash' HWW.

As I recall, Blacula, the trial went on way too long and the art (by Carmine Infantino?) wasn't very good.

Good point. Our heroes don't win by any stretch of the imagination. But the story isn't about winning. It's about Dawnstar growing up, to an extent.



I kind of thought this might be where the story would head in the sequel, as well. I don't think DC would have been willing to let Dawny leave the Legion for good, so it's interesting to speculate on how the sequel might have turned out.



I don't remember anything from Crisis that addressed the time between the 20th and 30th centuries--unless there were some brief appearances by the Space Museum (25th century or so) and other characters who might have been set in that in-between future time.



People who criticize others for being narrowminded are often blind to the claustrophobic dimensions of their own views. It's a plus that Newell recognized this.



This, too, was a nice subtle touch. The "natural force" Brainy recognized is quite real and it interacts with the inhabitants in chilling ways.



Awian, Ina, and Dawny each held a special place in her heart for Jhodan. Perhaps his secret power is the ability to make women fall in love with him. He's secretly . . . Starfox!



The time element at the end of the story is muddled. Brainy says UP scientists have studied the reel for one month, suggesting it's been that long since he and Dawny returned. However, Wildfire suggests he hasn't seen Dawny in a month. Does that mean it's been a month since she and Brainy left on their mission or that she's been avoiding Wildfire for a month since her return?

Given how fast the disease spread, it could very well be that the entire population had died by the time the vaccines were sprayed.

Comments


It would make an interesting parallel to the events in this story. There’s also the possibility that Kol was there when the human arrived, is the spirit of the planet or is a combination of a planetary spirit merged with a spaceships AI.



The battle and their appearance on the arch was a little convenient plot wise, pushing events that little bit to get to the conclusion. The pacing in this issue wasn’t as strong as the last two, or perhaps the first two could have picked up a bit more to allow space here.



Dawny would definitely have kicked those mountain people’s butts. But since Kol is at the heart of everything that happens on that world, she may well have found that it was either conform, leave, die or take over.



I don’t mind that there are unanswered questions. Some, such as the fate of Ina could have been dealt with here. But the wider ones are the whole point of sequels. Compared to the huge number of “spotlight” stories that demolish characters without ever reaching their natural conclusion, I’m happy enough with what we got here.



The Great Disaster might have been a link to Kamandi. But the plot of Crisis was going through so many changes that the advice in the lettercol is more about the goals of the series than the actual detail. I imagine that Newell might have been given some advice not to be too specific, hence the repetitive comments about Brainy finding ship parts? Oh, and don’t have Kol be the home of the Zoo Crew.

I didn’t find anything more on a sequel the last time I searched either. I think there are a few strong hints in the story. The story on Kol is self-contained enough that it can sit there waiting for that sequel.



That’s one of the key things from the story too. It links back to the Imskian separatist story from earlier years, through to later tension in the reboot years.




There’s a lot here that should have pushed Dawny (and Drake) forward into new stories. It’s certainly a missed opportunity for both characters. Drake is also missing opportunities through the need for members in the Baxter issues too.



It's a very open interview. I agree that there’s a lack of focus just before the end, although the final actions of the characters were locked in well enough. There’s more hits than misses in the story. Quite a few more actually, which pushes it well above a lot of what DC has put out since.

One thing Newell should also be given credit for is having her first major story be an extended spotlight issue. The Legion’s ensemble cast meant it could have characters with cardboard personalities for a lot of its early years. It can easily be a very plot driven book. It was before Levitz got there, and again once he was no longer involved. Even later spotlight issues were often used to retcon some origins, such as the Star Boy issue or Wildfire. Newell does none of that, instead choosing to push Dawnstar forward. Despite a few rough edges, there’s some things much more experienced writers could be taking away from this story.



Ah, the code. On the recent HQ diagram, if you weren’t married, you got your own distinct quarters on the map. That is where the diagram was definitively saying that you would find your characters. Even if they’d actually been shacked up with someone down the corridor for several years in the book. Poor Chuck didn’t even get to share with Lu.



It's a shame for Drake that writers didn’t use this story as a push for him to try and address a lot of those issues, instead choosing to keep him in his character box (or containment box) going forward. It’s even more of a shame than Dawny got dragged into that too.



That’s an interesting spot. I could easily have seen a Angel of Kol sort of storyline take shape. Perhaps Marv Wolfman was reading this and used it to shape his Azrael plot when he joined Brother Blood.



We have seen Brainy be quite short with people over the years. But there’s little doubt that it did go over the line into writer’s sock puppet on this occasion. As you mention, Jhodan’s words when assaulting Brainy didn’t quite match up either. These are probably the two weakest moments, and I see you also think of them as your biggest gripe. Oh, and Dawny going a bit possessed by the wrath of Kol. That all three happen in the same issue suggests that the pacing/ plotting wasn’t quite right.



“But I do remember Karen saying to me “What do you do?” “I’m a nurse.” “Did you ever take any writing classes?” I said “Yeah, y’know, one or two.” Although enjoying writing, Newell just hadn’t done anything professionally at that point.

The tone of Newell’s set up was a little different to what you’d get in a lot of books. A lot of folks would have revealed more about the spacecraft. Others might have drafted the history of humanity’s exodus from Earth, before being tackled by Crisis Wolfman in the corridor. Roy Thomas would have charted the course of every JSA artefact out into the stars. There are lots of ways of executing this.
What we get is very Empire Strikes Back where the cast look out a viewport telling us that the search for Han has begun, without hitting us over the head with teasers for the next movie. And that’s a Leigh Brackett script, so that’s as valid an approach as any. (Leigh Brackett > Ed Hamilton >Legion!)

Here, Brainy wants to go back and soon. Dawny also wants to go back. Actually, she’s looking out a viewport too! So, that’s the two principles looking for a lot of questions to be answered. Newell’s also quite up for the sequel. It’s sort of poised at half way.



It’s fun reading old short sci-fi stories and realising the impact they would have on popular culture, whether lifted-and-dropped or just unconsciously taken from the well.



Yeah, they should have shown Desai only order the vaccination after the UP had determined that Kol’s assets were worth plundering, like the real world. Actually, that’s probably what they decided after reviewing the reel. In the sequel Rand will have been promised power. In turn, Rand will offer the people change. The only concession will be a few giant mines, drilling into the Heart of Kol. What could go wrong?





He Who Wanders Down Comics Memory Lane

A back up in Thunder Agents #2 paired up Keith Giffen with… Tom & Mary Bierbaum!

You buying this one helped forge that TMK team HWW!

I did eventually get the Thunder Agents book, as it has Perez art. It also has Cockrum art and stories by Englehart and Dann Thomas too. I don’t know if I’ve actually read it. I remember b&w reprints of the original series that I was probably reading around the time of your list.

A quick search tells me that Avengers #255 was leading up to key events with the Vision. I’d only heard about that when it was mentioned in the West Coast Avengers run of John Byrne. John Byrne was also the artist on four Captain America (also on your list) comics I just got around the 250 mark. The writer on those was Roger Stern who wrote that Avengers #255!

I also noticed New Defenders. Was that leading towards the end of that series? I remember enjoying the art and a bit of a darker storyline leading up to the end of that one. I’d get some of those some 6 years after you.



I guess Bates, who had been told of the books Crisis cancellation well before this, saw the big ending and padded out/ added several issues to get there. One plus point was that for readers who dipped in and out of the title, there was always the touchstone of that trial.

Newell contradicts herself. Later she says, "I think in some ways it was too easy for me, 'cause everything just sort of happened. I mean, I never really took a class in writing" (p. 156, middle column). The "one or two" comment might have been b.s., which she admits to using when Len Wein entered the office.



All true. I shudder to think of what Roy Thomas might have done to this story.



Interesting. I didn't remember that. Is that the backup in which Lightning reveals that his super-speed accelerates his aging?

THUNDER Agents is another series I wish I had given more of a chance. I only bought the first two issues, but that story of the terrible consequences of super-speed has stayed with me over the years.



It's great to have played a small role in Legion history.



Connections, connections, connections.

. . . or Six Degrees of Roger Stern?



New Defenders ran until # 152. I also fondly remember the somewhat darker, moodier take on the series, with a revamped lineup that included three original members of the X-Men. Angel's girlfriend, Candy Sothern was made the team's non-powered leader in another unusual move.

According to Wikipedia, the series was cancelled to make room on the schedule for X-Factor (and to free up the three X-Men to join that team). Up to this time, I loved the idea that the storylines in the Marvel Universe progressed and that characters moved on with their lives while still maintaining the close friendships they once had, such as Angel, Beast, and Iceman. When X-Factor was launched--complete with the resurrection of Jean Grey--that forward progression was halted, I felt. It was the beginning of my disillusionment with Marvel.



DC, as I recall, was very much into honoring anniversary issues--more so than Marvel--so the plan may have been to end The Flash with # 350, which is what happened. Unfortunately, the storyline was drawn out too long to make this happen.

Thanks. I meant to take that line out of my post, which is why it's sitting there with no context. I was sure I'd read your version, but only saw the one I used when I was skimming it. As Newell enjoyed writing well before her breakthrough, perhaps she'd dabbled in the odd thing, without it being a formal course. The middle ground between the two quotes. There was certainly more than enough in her pitch to get her into the Talent Showcase.




Considering that two of his books are in your top ten for the month and a third is at #16, I think you'd have been thrilled. It would certainly have had plus points.



Issue #1 showed that there was an ageing effect on him, due to the suit. Issue #2 by TMK showed him take off a young looking mask, to reveal a much older face. There was a another story in #2 which showed that Lightning was suffering from some serious health issues.

As the trial of the Flash continues, I'm just thinking about how that turned out for the Flash in Crisis. Also, about the power effects that Wally West was undergoing as Kid Flash around this time. Strikeforce Morituri would continue this theme, beginning in 1986.



Thanks for that info. I'll need to have another look at the art. I remember The Gargoyle as a distinctive member, and a battle against Moondragon. I agree on X-Factor. I have a few of those early issues. I kept thinking that whatever it was supposed to have built up to never really happened. I didn't know enough about Jean Grey at the time I read those issues to realise what a mess it was. But it was, and would only get worse.

A guy's allowed to change his mind.

I re-read some of Thomas' "classic" work--the '60s X-Men and the Kree-Skrull War--a few years ago, and I didn't think they were very good. The stories were imaginative and the plot points were there (mostly), but the dialogue was verbose, characters behaved in over-the-top ways, and, even though the events were significant, there was a sense that they existed just to get us to the next arc or issue (a common feature of Marvels in general at the time); they didn't "stand" on their own.

The Roy Thomas of the 1980s was a more mature writer, and he was working with characters he had loved since childhood. He was able to develop their personalities and worlds from the framework established by the stories of the '40s, which, I think, requires a somewhat different approach than creating everything whole cloth. Thomas excelled at "filling in the gaps" and building on what previous writers had established (especially in America Vs. JSA). It may be no coincidence that All-Star started to falter when he had to create new characters to replace those excised by Crisis. The new characters effectively thrust the Golden Age heroes into a "new" universe, one which engaged me less than the previous universe.

That said, I remember Thomas still being verbose during All-Star, Infinity Inc., etc.

Of course, all of this is speculation. I haven't re-read the All-Star output in many years; if I did, I might have an altogether different opinion.

I'm sure Thomas's take on the Kol story would have been entertaining, but it would have lacked the depth, risk-taking, and freshness Newell brought.




Thanks for that information. I remember the youthful-looking mask now.

LSH #11 Taking Care of Business: Old Business by Paul Levitz, art by Ernie Colon & Larry Mahlstedt, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Garth, Imra and Rokk talk together, after an all-member Legion meeting, about staying with or leaving the Legion. Baby Graym is in tow.

At SP headquarters, Zendak complains about paperwork, learns that Dvron has made no progress on the Laurel Kent shooting and meets with Sun Boy, who wants to discuss Gigi Cusimano.

The three founders (and Graym) travel to Glacier Point, an Antarctic prison. Rokk and Garth destroy several security drones which have failed to recognize them, since the codes are out of date.

President Desai finishes his inaugural ceremony and promises big changes.

In Antarctica, the founders find the two men who they stopped from assassinating R.J. Brande, thereby creating the Legion. They have been serving hard labour sentences but are to be released this day. They don't recognize the Legionnaires but attack them out of anger regardless, and will receive psychic rehab before final release.

At Legion HQ, Chuck mans the Monitor Board. Superboy tells him that he might rejoin the Legion and Chuck informs him that history says otherwise and he would face stiff competition from other applicants.

Comments:
Pretty dull as stories go. The founders decision to stay or leave is drawn out for yet another issue. It's nicely written dialogue for three old friends musing over their past and future, but even with a weekly reading this decision is taking a long time. Not that it wouldn't in real life, but one expects a faster pace in comics.

The various sub-plots, the Laurel Kent investigation, Dirk discussing Gigi, Desai's promises, new members are all pretty vague and serve more as reminders than advances in those stories.

The R.J. assassination attempt has been told many times. The version I prefer is the single assassin, his cousin Doyle, not these two unnamed memory-less characters. I don't quite get the point of them having no memory of the Legionnaires. We don't know what their motive was either. Hired killers? Personal resentment? The very concept of this particular prison, while visually interesting, is strange for a Legion book. The Legionnaires are surprised that the convicts perform hard labour in difficult conditions. Perhaps it's meant to indicate that prison conditions leave something to be desired, even in the future. Although they're subjected to psychic rehab, the prisoners are angry - there's no indication that they're about to become productive, peaceful citizens on release. Releasing the prisoners themselves closes a chapter for Imra, Garth and Rokk, but it's a peculiar way to do that.

Nevertheless, a few points to enjoy:

Imra is the practical one vs the action-oriented Rokk and Garth: she just opens the prison gate. She also displays appropriate concern for the baby while the guys are blasting security drones to pieces.

The pinching baby joke is well done and not overplayed. I do wonder if Graym is delivering little electrical shocks.

The opening page, with all the Legionnaires flying off after their meeting, is a great splash page. Of note: Dawnstar and Wildfire are apart, for once; there's an Ayla-Vi-Brin grouping, which might raise a question of whether a triangle is developing; the other regular couples fly together.

Rokk's face in the hourglass is meant to show the passing of time for them as Legionnaires, but shouts Time Trapper to me now.

(Second story to follow later in the week, unless someone wants to deal with it now.)

LoSH v3 11

Although this is a fill in issue, drawn by Ernie Colón, it does take one of the ongoing subplots as its basis. Likewise, although the splash page is just a group shot (Dawny going in a different direction from Drake for the first time in ever) there’s a reason of sorts given. The three founders have been discussing their place on the team for some time. Garth and Imra have a newborn. While they have lost a child, when Darkseid stole it away to become Validus, the one they have seems to be some time displaced version of Holdur, judging by the grip it has. In a constitution bound team of tradition, this must come across as a big change. It’s been going on for ages, as each of the founders begins to wonder about a transition to something else.

In fairness, I can’t think of any other comic at the time where heroes would retire from active service. Decades later, it would be used as the basis for Legion writers Abnett and Lanning’s Hypernaturals.

Imra: The Legion might grow better without us.

Rokk: I doubt it.

He would be right. There would be dark days following their departure. He would lead the Legion again in v4 and Imra would return to active duty before the end of v3.

There’s a one page scene where Dirk burns arrest papers. It’s reckless of him. It surely won’t help him in his chat over Cusimano. Not that we find out anything more. Is it payback for her payback? Other than surprise at them still having paperwork, and the hint of a v4 probe there’s nothing in this scene.

In addition to the numerous scenes of Rokk discussing his future, and then Garth and Imra doing likewise, all three have been kept apart from the team for quite some time. Other characters, such as Nura have been given more panel time. I do get the feeling this was a long term plan of Levitz. He’s allowed a new cast of core characters to have more panel time, to let the changes seem more natural.

Another example of the three reaching a “natural” end to their tenure is the release of the would-be assassins who tried to kill Brande in the Legion’s origin. The three founders are the ones to tell the prisoners that their sentences are at an end. They find the pair as they work on an Antarctic wasteland. Both men seem almost brainwashed. There’s mention of psychic rehabilitation. It seems the hard labour goes in hand with mind altering treatments on the prisoners. Their criminal tendencies are broken down and erased. It might not leave much, but they are supposedly built back up to enable them to reenter society. It’s the sort of thing Uli Algor would be immune to in the old days. The Legion seem impressed by it. But changing someone’s mind forcibly is open to all sorts of corruption, never mind the ethics of it in the first place.

In a nice twist the pair don’t even recognise the Legionnaires. It a little surprising we don’t get a recap of the team’s origin, or find out who the assassins were working for. I could normally do without another recap of how the team started. But there hasn’t actually been one in the Baxter run. This would have been a good time for a little reminder. The issue has a small cameo of the team’s inspiration as Superboy visits. While the Baxter book was showcasing the Legion standing on its own, a little reminder wouldn’t have gone amiss, since transition is a theme of the issue.

Superboy teases that he might return to active duty along with Garth and Imra. Usually the past has plenty of blank spots for the Legion. But Chuck is very sure Superboy never rejoins, closing a very big door on future stories. Of course, behind the scenes Crisis and the Superman relaunch was going to make sure that Superboy wouldn’t be back in the team. Actually, I’m wondering if next issue will be his last.

Seeing Chuck bounce around talking about the fate of Kal-El is a chilling foreshadowing of a scene in v7 #23, the team’s final issue to date.

So, we see our two prisoners shuffle off looking a bit broken and waiting to be rebuilt. As the sentences of the prisoners are over there’s a feeling from the three founders that their, if not sentence, but duty is over too. There’s a decent feeling of closure here, which was probably the thing being reached for. Imra and Garth might have returned to active duty, but their look indicates it might not be for long.

To make the passage of time even more visual, Colon shows us an hourglass with the young Legionnaires making their debut to Cos talking to the others now. It’s such a good image it would be used for a cover in v4 #5.

So the story has a feeling of decisions being made, and old faces; founders, Superboy and prisoners moving on to a new lives in a world that will have new Legionnaires.

But there’s a whole other layer to this story, to Levitz’s credit. The whole main plot also feeds directly into the other subplot in this issue. Under the guise of driving for a brighter, more prosperous Earth, President Desai tells the assembly that key institutional values must change. The repercussions are chilling. It all looks so promising and fulfilling, but there are shadows creeping in on Earths’ freedoms. It seems a little unlikely that Desai would push for huge changes all at one. But it has happened often enough here. It seems that the computer selected President has a great deal of power.

A quick peek out at our own world shows plenty of leaders (ugh!) willing to use all sorts of mechanisms to achieve, and hold onto, power. None of them are good ones. In this issue we’ve learned that minds of criminals can be altered to make them docile and programmable. Of course, the definition of who is a criminal can change as the law does and as the lawmakers/ tyrants decide. Let’s hope the President isn’t mixed up with someone who could use mind altering treatments that we’ve just seen used on the Legion’s first prisoners.

There’s more depth to this issue than it first appeared to have. It could have been a trip down memory lane to the Legion’s origin. It focused more on the passage of time since that origin instead, that will lead into the membership changes. But the whole thing also acted as a set up for a much longer arc.

LSH # 11

I’m going to go ahead and discuss both stories because there isn’t much to either one. It’s an odd issue, with the first story serving as springboard to the second—but, really, nothing much is accomplished here.

It seems like Levitz wanted to spend some quality time with the Founders, these old friends, before shuffling them off into retirement. What stands out is the relationship between Garth, Imra, and Rokk—the friendship, the shared history. They are (pun not intended) the rock of the Legion, the Holy Trinity, the Jagger & Richards, the Frey and Henley . . . the irreducible core of the team. Yet this core wants to move on to other things. Each feels the pangs of young adulthood. The club they formed so long ago no longer serves their own needs, and it’s time to explore life outside the Legion—the organization that has defined their existence for at least half of their young lives.

It's hard to leave, though, so no decisions are reached in this story. In hindsight, however, we know where this is going, where it must go. At the time, I couldn’t imagine anybody wanting to be anything other than a Legionnaire (or a member of a rock band, to draw on a real-world equivalent). I would have died to join the Legion or some other group where people were valued for their individual talents yet part of a collective that served some worthwhile purpose. Fitting in is a powerful motivator to adolescents and is one reason, I understand, why young people become radicalized. They are seduced into thinking they will find a “family” that their real families and friends failed to provide for them.

The Legion often served as my “family” in this regard.

So, it’s somewhat bittersweet to read about the three Founders laying plans to move on yet sharing in one last grand adventure together. Except it’s not so grand nor even an adventure. To fulfill their own need for nostalgia, perhaps, or closure, they travel to the Antarctica prison to participate—marginally—in the release of the two hired guns who led to them coming together as the Legion in the first place. But these hired guns don’t even recognize them. There’s no a-ha moment, as occurred when Batman—wearing the Halloween costume of his father—confronted Lew Moxon, the thug who hired Joe Chill to kill his parents. There’s nothing. The Founders’ foray to Antarctica is a self-indulgent trip for nothing.

Eight years after this issue was published, the bridge crew of the original Star Trek series would go on its final mission together. The film ends with Kirk directing the helm to take the first star on the left, “thataway.” There was a sense of closure—a leisurely trip to end the long journey of these old friends. I get the sense this is what Levitz was shooting for, but it just doesn’t come together.

There is no plot. Nothing changes. No one learns anything. No one grows. At its core, every story should include this element—something is different than it was at the beginning of the story. Otherwise, what is the point?

I guess the point is that “times change” (Imra’s last line), but we already knew that.

In lieu of a point, we get a one-page bridge in which Bouncing Boy entertains a shadowy guest who turns out to be Superboy. A hint is dropped that, from a historical perspective, Superboy never rejoins the Legion as a full-time member. There are all sorts of time paradoxes with this one (e.g., doesn’t telling Superboy he will never rejoin the Legion already change history?), but never mind. It’s just a setup for Bouncing Boy’s solo story.

The new-style Giffen artwork is jarring after the attractive images and inventive layouts of Ernie Colon, but it fits the odd contortions of Chuck’s rubbery body and the Valley Girl alien-ness of Comet Queen. Especially effective is the 10-panel sequence on Page 4, when Chuck listens with polite confusion as Comet Queen’s mouth dominates alternate panels, prattling on in what to him amounts to a foreign language. This is one of the few instances I can think of when Giffen’s sense of humor actually works. (Chuck, like Tenz, is made for Giffen’s off-the-wall humor.)

Chuck narrates the story of how he discovered Comet Queen and recruited her to the Legion Academy. It’s all a setup for us to expect CQ to join the Legion in the next few issues, but this doesn’t come to pass, making this pretty much a wasted origin story. It would be redeemed if we saw something heroic in CQ, but we don’t. It’s Chuck who saves the day by directing CQ to use her “comet-like gases” to short-circuit the machine. Furthermore, CQ’s origin—diving naked into a comet to acquire powers—should qualify her for the psychiatric ward on Medicus One, not the Legion Academy. However, it does establish her as someone who takes her Legion hero worship seriously (the comet episode was inspired by Star Boy’s origin), as do many fans. I guess we are meant to relate to CQ because she is “one of us.”

This story reminds me of the first Chuck solo story I ever read, “The Impossible Target” from Superboy # 199. That story has become a favorite of mine over the years for its simple message that, whatever his power, Chuck was as effective as any Legionnaire. The story in # 11 fails to convey anything of similar profundity. It ends on a punchline with Chuck saying he was worried about keeping CQ off him and admitting that having a two-in-one wife “is too much for me.” This tells me nothing about CQ or Chuck, except that the latter is rather full of himself –appropriate since he is also filling himself with food.

“The Impossible Target” undermined our stereotypes of who Chuck is and what he could do. “New Business” merely reinforces them.

LSH 11 is the second issue in a row that isn’t a story—just a collection of scenes. Some of these scenes are very good, but, without a structure to hold them together, I’m left feeling that I’ve been taken on a journey and dropped off in an out-of-the-way motel with no idea how to reach my destination.

Indeed. One of the hard lessons I had to learn about writing is that stories are not like real life. Someone once said that fiction is like real life with the dull parts edited out. This is good advice to all writers.




The two thugs were hired by Doyle, which I believe was established in the Legion's origin story in Superboy # 147. Doyle was revealed in Secrets of the LSH to have died in prison.

I wasn't sure where the loss of memory angle was going, either. I thought the Founders would discover something unethical going on at the Antarctica prison and step in to stop it. But that doesn't happen. I guess we're meant to conclude that the prisoners' behavior is just part of the mental reprogramming we've seen criminals go through before, but it does leave us with disturbing implications. The thugs must have known at one time who the three Legionnaires were and their own role in sparking the formation of the Legion. Are criminals not allowed to watch the news in the Antarctica prison? Other prisoners would surely not have allowed them to forget.



Ha! Hadn't thought about that.



The JSA retired in the early '50s, but the entire team retired--not just individual members. It was indeed a unique angle in comics that the founders of the team retired and expected the team to continue without them.



This seemed like an odd comment since Rokk has alluded that that's exactly what he wants to happen. Maybe he can't resist a good comeback.



Reading it now, Desai's speech is indeed chilling. It made me think of JFK's speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." But we've also had decades of presidents telling us this or that must be sacrificed for the common good. And not just presidents say this. Dictators are fond of this kind of rhetoric, too. Knowing who one of Desai's key advisors is provides an additional chilling subtext.



Yep. I don't know if Levitz intended for us to draw connections between Desai's speech and the reprogramming of criminals. If he did, he's a brilliant writer (or an overly subtle one. )



Good points. I just wish there had been an actual story. When you have to wait months or years for a plotline to bear fruit, there should be something else to make the in-between trips worthwhile.

Comments



I don’t know if it’s knowing how things turn out, or being used to different levels of pacing, but this one could have been shortened on the planner.



Very true, although a parallel to the Desai plot dawned on me. The rest are just holding in place. That could be due to the shorter story length so we can learn more about Comet Queen though.


I would read about this in flashbacks well before I ever read the actual origin issue. What always struck me about it was that, other than the founding of the team, there were few plot threads leading from it. This is probably because it was a retcon and the story served its main purpose. If it were done from scratch… well, I suppose I’ll have to wait for the Postboot Rereads.

With the origin in mind, it was possibly too late to have an espionage thriller here, as they uncover something about the team’s origins. Actually, no. It wouldn’t be too late. That would have made for a much more interesting subplot. Likewise, this story could have been done through RJ Brande visiting the prisoners, having spoken with the founders and learning of their decisions. We could have learned something new, or had a few plot seeds sown. This story serves its purpose, just as the origin issue did. Two would be assassins dealt with by three people, firstly in a small skirmish and finally in a back water prison.



You mention the closure of the visit, and that is really the point. Oddly enough, despite having heard Rokk go on and on about his plans and shaking things up, it’s Imra and Garth who take Rokk there to make their point. I think it’s taken Rokk a lot of convincing to get to this stage, hence all those issues. It took Imra and Garth five minutes with their newborn for them to really make up theirs. Perhaps Levitz even used some of those earlier hints to test the water of the readership? The Legion has jettisoned Kryptonians, moved to a Baxter book and is looking to change the team. Perhaps Levitz was aware of the implications of losing the founders as well on the book.

Using the subplot pages we’ve had to reveal something dramatic about the origins of the team would have been nice. But if there was only one short story left to do it, I’d prefer what we got to someone popping out of nowhere in a Bizarro costume claiming “Me No Create Justice League!”



I imagine that they will only be released after their further psychological treatments. Treatment that will instil the values of the society they will be re-entering. Imagine you took the values of your country in the 1950s and used that as a template to use for prisoner treatments now. In other words, the values of a society change very rapidly. Not to mention all the other things that will have been added to make them docile and conformist to authority.



Good Spot! So many signs!



Thanks for sharing that HWW. It’s always interesting to find out how the book connects with people and how much it can mean to them.



I think that there’s certainly some sense of closure of this part of the Legion’s story, even if it’s mostly confirmation of subplots we’ve had running for a while. The change, each time, is a gradual one towards deciding to leave. They’re closer each time, and tying it to the team’s origin makes this one a larger step than most. But I agree there should have been a more decisive moment at the end here, to cement that step.



The sound of the penny dropping in my head made me think it was deliberate. It’s one of those in his tenure where I wonder what else I’m missing just romping through the rereads. However, I don’t recall a direct link between this and later issues, so we’ll see. All the pieces are here though. The price of this is that some stories in isolation look to be a little static, because they are really part of a larger structure. The trick is to give each layer suitable payoffs along the way.



I agree. A lot of UK writers who began working for DC Comics around this time were bred on anthology comics where there had to be a weekly payoff, whether as a standalone or as part of a larger arc. So the plot would have to push every six or seven pages. Pretty much perfect for a Levitz Legion. While very often action packed, it didn’t always have to be, as Alan Moore showed with Halo Jones for example. There was plenty of scope to provide meaningful, poignant stories, but ones with more drive than the meandering founder one here. The Legion would see that sort of structure at work in the early arcs of Abnett & Lanning.

Thanks for the background info. That makes more sense. They could have done more with the memory problem - that they were deliberately wiped by someone (as suggested by thoth, like Universo - setting up a deeper layer re: the attempt on RJ's life and future plans) or that the rehab technology went wrong and has turned them into something else, to be seen at a later date, or they're faking it for some reason.



Agreed, more could have been done with this story. Bringing in RJ would have been a plus.



This was a good scene. I don't recall anyone else having trouble with or commenting on her strange language pattern.



That's my biggest problem with the story. It does show that Chuck is at ease dealing with people and the public and can figure out how to use different sentients' powers effectively (good for his Academy work). However, to leave his flight ring behind was just careless.



Great Galaxies! I hope not!

Back Up Story

Chuck shares a story with his good friend Kal. In the past, we saw how Lone Wolf reached the Academy. We quickly learned that RJ Brande hired Dawny away from her previous job. Here, we learn how Chuck met Comet Queen.

I’m trying to remember what I’d have felt about the art. I’d not have hated it as I’d been introduced to Ambush Bug quite a while before this hit the newsstands. I doubt I’d have loved the cartoony approach either. Being in an issue with the classic Colon art probably worked in it’s favour. Cartoony Giffen against shiny, bright Lightle might have been a bit more jarring.

Looking at it now, it’s a treat seeing GIffen really getting the most out of the visuals of Chuck’s powers. The expressions and movement are really nice. After the splash page, where Giffen can’t resist adding another panel, we’re back into the Levitz and Giffen story density. We get a lot of panels, anchored around the same circular one with narrator Chuck.

Chuck being a goodwill ambassador is a light hearted affair. But it’s also a nice reminder of all the work that the legion does when not fighting villains. It also fits in nicely with Chuck’s (at the time) reasonably recent role at the Academy. He can use the tour to scope out prospective students.

He’s not that impressed with the effervescent Grava though. His trouble understanding her is priceless, and it’s a payoff for having all those earlier panels. He tells her that he got rejected and then had to prove his worth to the Legion before he could join. Grava takes the hint. But Chuck’s point was that it wasn’t so straight forward to join. Grava, on the other hand, thinks that if she succeeds in something heroic, then she’ll be accepted. Chuck ungraciously refers to her as dense (in front of her dad too) it’s how Jacques, Shady, Blok and Mysa all got in.

There’s the one big plot fudge where Chuck hasn’t brought along his flight ring. Flight would have solved all the upcoming issues. As Chuck tackles Grava and they crash, even she’s grounded by breaking her leg (ouch!). We learn about her origin, which is a play on Star Boy’s.

Unfortunately, the ancient ruins Grava thought she was finding to prove herself, turn out to be volcanic vents. We get to see Grava’s powers at work as we’re reminded of just how tactically minded Chuck is. It’s good writing to make sure that both get their spotlight. Chuck instructs Grava to short out the venting system, preventing them from being incinerated.

Although things didn’t work out as planned, Grava does enough to prove herself worthy of a place in the Academy. As Chuck was the one who gave her the idea to go off and do something dramatic, and was the one who got her leg broken because he forgot his flight ring, it’s the least he could do.

We’re told that Comet Queen will be one of the candidates for membership at the next general meeting. It’s more of a definite statement than the founders inching towards a decision in the first story. It looks as though the plan is for both storylines to become one, which might explain a couple of the small steps along the way. It’s a shame we didn’t have a few issues with back ups showing us some of the prospective members. I imagine that readers would have thought Comet Queen would get membership, having had a whole back up spotlighting her. Time will tell.

After CQ was admitted to the Academy, perhaps Brainy reprogrammed the earplugs to accept Valleygirlese.




What? You don't have the desire to sleep in a nuclear reactor?

If I were going to emulate any Legionnaire's origin, it would be Lyle's. He's the only one who went looking for a power and used some intelligence to do so. Nearly everyone else acquired their powers through nature, birthright, an accident, or the machinations of a villain. Even Val, who was trained from infancy, didn't really have a choice in the matter.




Curiously, Kal does not appear in the backup story, nor is he referred to by name. I wonder if this story was commissioned and begun some time earlier, like the Orlando fill-in in #6, before it was decided to whom Chuck would be talking.




Ah, that explains a lot. Guilt-trip a Legionnaire. They've come a long way since their days of callous rejections.




That was certainly my impression. She was the most distinctive of the academy students, both in appearance and personality. Her comet powers would have been very useful in battle and open to a variety of applications, much like Jan's.

If Giffen had remained on the title, I imagine she would have joined since he created her along with Levitz. We'd have ended up with a different "special student" who turned out to be Tellus and Quislet.

I've always wondered whether fan reaction affected Comet Queen's chances for membership.

I don't remember her being thought of too fondly.

A peek ahead at the lettercol for #329, that covers this issue, has only the one mention and that's a question on why she's not in Who's Who. The answer is that she'll appear under the Legion Academy setting.

Psst! I don't want to spoil things, but it's not looking good for Karate Kid in that issue!

Peeking back, no one got a mention for the Academy appearances for the lettercol covering #304 either.

Tales #324 Dark Discoveries/The Secret of the Dark Circle by Paul Levitz & Mindy Newell, art by Dan Jurgens & Karl Kesel, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Bob Lappan



Jo, Mysa, Lar and Gigi survey the destruction of a U.P. fleetbase/refueling station and blame the Dark Circle. Gigi claims there was only one attacker and it was Dev-Em. Lar and Jo aren't certain; Lar thinks it could have been a Daxamite, whether disgruntled or under the control of Darkseid or the Circle. Then Gigi gets an alert that an orbital station is under attack; the three Legionnaires investigate.

The attacker is masked and wearing a Dark Circle symbol. While Mysa casts spells to save lives, Jo and Lar chase the attacker, who distracts them by further endangering lives.

The attacker escapes into Dark Circle space, pursued by the Legionnaires. They hear Dev-em's voice tell them that they're trespassing; there are four other masked Circle devotees with him. The three fight the five, not knowing which one is Dev-em, and subdue them - only to find that they all have the face of Dev-em. As a Dark Circle ship approaches with the real Dev-em held hostage, the Legionnaires realize the others are clones and that Dev-em has been poisoned with kryptonite.

Dawnstar sighs over Jhodan and confides in Laurel Kent.

The Persuader arrives on Takron-Galtos and is told that things have changed now that the SP have given the Warden free rein.

Comments:

I didn't get Gigi's quick condemnation of Dev-em. Last I recall, she was thinking he had possibilities. Perhaps she's got a Dirk Morgna hangover and is suffering from witnessing the destruction caused by the masked man. The Legionnaires are more cautious; their discussion implies that Dev-em has been a trusted associate. Lar's suggestion of a rogue Daxamite provides a good connection to the trouble suffered by his people under Darkseid and in the period of reconstruction.
We knew something was up with Dev-em and the Circle, but might have suspected brainwashing before cloning.

It's a bit of a retread to have Mysa missing a needed spell yet able to subdue three of the five masked men regardless. Still, it's pleasing to see Mysa holding her own - and then some - alongside the Legion's two heavy hitters.

However, I find it peculiar that this atrocity is being handled by three Legionnaires, not a full force of Starfleet or SP officers. Possibly they're the first on the site but there's no mention that others are on their way. It's as if two detectives and a psychic were sent after the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Two sub-plots: Dawnstar opens up to Laurel Kent, which possibly serves to suggest that Laurel may soon be joining the ranks. The Persuader story is more interesting, since it indicates that there's a new get-tough-on-criminals approach in the U.P. (something to do with dreams is implied). Earthgov President Desai's promise of big changes may be the reason. It may also be a more pervasive attitude: Mysa isn't averse to making one of the masked men suffer the agonies of those he destroyed and Lar promises that the guilty party may not survive to see the court system.


Second Story: The Missing Planet Puzzle by Paul Levitz & Mindy Newell, art by Ernie Colon & Gary Martin, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Bob Lappan

Jacques goes to the Ivory Coast to see an old friend who asked for help. Emil runs a holo-mapping company, Global Products, and has serious trouble mapping the planet Orsde. Each attempt fails, causing destruction to the equipment. Emil suspects poltergeists; Jacques is skeptical. He returns to Legion HQ to enlist Violet. He returns to Global Products, starts the program and turns invisible. Two small figures start running out of the computer. Jacques confronts them and captures them with a vacuum; they try to escape by shrinking and growing, but a special polymer holds them in place. Jacques tells Emil that they are Imskian terrorists who were sabotaging the mapping of Orsde, their sister planet, so that their secret bases would not be discovered. Violet had confirmed Jacques' suspicions and suggested the vacuum cleaner.

Comments:

Again, in this story, I seem to be missing something. Is Jacques able to make the computer running the map program invisible? One of the Imskians says it's disappearing and that's why they run. Although Jacques uses his invisibility, it's his detective skills that once again solve the problem.

The story serves to remind us that Africa is an ecologically healthy and balanced place. At the time this was written, there wasn't much (if any) African sci fi available and I don't believe we were aware of the
wholesale extraction of mineral and forest resources which is in progress today and portends a less happy future for the environment. However, there were no shortage of wars, famines and assorted troubles at this time, so it's an interesting and positive approach to present Africa as Earth's nature preserve.

We see the new Violet - angry, blunt and working on her combat skills - and are reminded that there's a Legion election soon.

One of Emil's employees is a Durlan - one of the rare ones off-planet who isn't a criminal.

The Imskian terrorists - who look like just a couple of goofy guys (and the fat one's the dope, of course) - are a reminder of continuing unrest in that sector and that all is not well in the United Planets.

But a vacuum cleaner? Well, the Roomba hadn't been invented yet; I guess it's as good a device as any and it does impart a light touch to a story with the darker underpinnings of political revolt.

TotLoSH 324

Despite the destruction, and implied carnage, there’s a slower pace to the opening scene than you would normally get. It’s a two-parter and, with the plot points paced out, there’s a few panels left to fill. The opening scene gets a robust five pages.

Cusimano has called the Legion for help after an attack on Amadus, a world close to the Dark Circle’s domain. The benefits of having space in this scene is in the character reactions. Newell’s dialogue is particularly good in conveying the changing emotions of the cast.

Jo thinks that the Dark Circle is responsible. They are, but not in the grouped attack he thinks. Cusimano has survivors guilt, but clearly could have done nothing. Mysa’s seemingly wise words of consolation are met with bitter anger and Mysa falters (excellent dialogue here).

Gi Gi’s anger then moves from herself to the culprit. Mon-El is the one to watch. Gi Gi tells us that she was a liaison with the ICC as Mon El scans the area as he would any other Legion mission. But as Gi Gi hints it was one person the shadows appear on Mon-El’s face. It’s reminiscent of the scene in the GDS where Ol-Vir had gone rogue.

In the Talok story, we saw ore on Shady and Lar’s relationship. Here, it’s Jo and Lar. You get the feeling that all three of Mon-El’s regular companions know that there are some dark, introspective areas in his mind.

He’s seen a millennia of seeing the darkest humanity had to offer. The GDS saw Darkseid pluck the potential of Daxam from his mind and turn its inhabitants into mindless killers. He’s seen Ol-Vir not change back. And now, he fears that the potential of an evil daxamite/kryptonian has surfaced once again. More, since Lady Memory drove him temporarily insane, he can only look on the destruction and fear that its something he could be capable of too.

Jo questions Gi Gi’s charge. In another good bit of dialogue, Lar criticises GIgI for letting her feelings cloud her judgement, as he does exactly the same thing having drawn his own conclusions. Jo then flies after Mon-El looking to ease his dark mood. He doesn’t let up, making sure to offer alternatives (almost pleadingly) to ease his friends mind. His choice of the word “insane” (bolded) is unfortunate, but at least allows Lar to express his feelings. Jo also lets the reader know (something Brin does a fair bit of) that there’s more going on that meets the eye.

I thought Mon-El would immediately go searching for the answer since Mysa confirms that there’s nobody left alive. Instead Jo and Lar find some extremely pliable comic-book debris to wrap up some of the destroyed buildings. Only then does Cusimano tell them that there’s been another attack. Had Mon-El gone out searching immediately, could that have been prevented?

The scene also stands out for putting Mysa (still floating – well done Jurgens) firmly in the Legion powerhouse category. Dawnstar told the readers of Mysa’s power back when she single handedly defeated a Khund in battle. Like Wildfire, she’s also got a different powerset to the Daxamite/Kryptonians in the team. That’s the gradual evolution of the cast from the invulnerability of the Silver Age to the more flawed characters here.

Another thing to note on GIGi’s reactions is that she knows that the ICC, and through their liaison the Science Police, were the ones infiltrating the Dark Circle resulting in the devastation.

As the three depart, we get a very nice summary of their characters. Jo is the upbeat one, happiest going into action and not having to think too hard, particularly at the implications here. Lar is resolute and grim, carrying the emotional weight. Mysa thinks in absolutes of truth, following her matter of fact initial comment to Cusimano. But there’s plenty of grey areas out there, and that’s where she’ll struggle later on. Behind them, Cusimano can’t shake her impressions of Dev-Em.

In orbit, the identity of our mystery attacker is drawn out a little more as his handlers have been thoughtful enough to provide a lead-lined outfit. I wonder if that was what they always did to prevent people finding out who they were. Mon-El and Jo are both more keen on finding out who they’re dealing with, than dealing with the threat. Mysa even points this out. Neither Lar or Jo have been bothered before about finding things out as they go. So, these few panels, that are there to give Mysa a role don’t really ring true. Even with the set up of Mon-El being preoccupied over the ramifications of a rogue Daxamite. She could have done the same thing while we got into immediate Action between Circle Lad, Ultra Boy and Mon-El.

As the story continues you can see why Levitz plotted it this way. Mysa proves to be particularly effective later on. So having her perform the same spell here, would have killed the mystery. Likewise, it’s Lar who saves on e of the crew thrown by their foe, so that Jo can go in first and get knocked out. Mon El is then distracted by his opponent who puts the lives of a crew at risk. Mon’s not that preoccupied with his foe this time to save them first. Which is how he should have been throughout this scene. Another down-side to this one is that we hear Circle Lad’s thoughts. We learn that he’s the last of his people, which is a bit of a big hint. We learn that he feels superior enough that lesser beings don’t deserve to live while his race are gone. Which is fine, but it should have come out through dialogue as the story progressed.

Having spent five pages on the opening scene, we get tow encounters with Circle Lad in quick succession. There are lots of pluses.

Ultra Boy’s powers are handled very well throughout. He couldn’t hear Cusimano’s alert earlier while Lar could; We’re told again about his one-at-a-time power; He can’t use penetra-vision until he’s used superspeed; he gets knocked out before he can switch to invulnerability; and he’s a punching bag while in invulnerability because he can’t use strength. You can see why writers get a lot more mileage from him plot-wise, while Mon-El has to get distracted/ diverted to get him out of the way.

The image of the three Legionnaires streaking through space in a Giffenesque page is a favourite, and it’s one that would be used in other books.

The components that reveal their opponent are all there. The powers; the distorted attitude; Mon-El recognising his voice; the one attacking the UP becoming five foes back in Dark Circle territory. But there are edges to it that could have been removed for a smoother story and improved pacing.

Would it have been better had Cusimano not quite have known what destroyed the planet?

Levitz has gone well out of his way to define Mysa’s powers. In the same way as the reader is told about Jo’s power limitation, we’re told that Mysa has Mysa has to prepare certain spells. This time out she has come prepared “to battle and save lives” giving us a glimpse of her capabilities. Those powers do seem to have a tendency to duplicate the powers of other Legionnaires. Jo mentions the tracking powers Mysa has previously used, encroaching on Dawny’s territory. Here, we have a force cube that duplicates Brainy; invisibility that copies Jacques; Mind Control that Imra would be reluctant to use too much and sensory control that was, and would be later on, the domain of Jeckie.

Mysa and Wildfire in his original costume could pretty much stand in for the entire team. It would have been interesting to see Mysa use similar terminology that she has used before as she used her spells here. There’s the suspicion that they are plot, rather than character, driven.

One Dev-Em is a chilling enemy. He has a history that’s not touched on here. Five of them is an army of Supermen as dangerous as an army of Darkseid’s mindless Daxamites. They even jokingly team up when fighting Jo. Mysa takes down three of them. The first is revealed to be Dev-Em… but so are the other four. In a handy cliffhanger a Dark Circle craft appears containing the real Dev-Em in a Kryptonite laced chamber. Their foes had been clones. Despite their brain washing, at least one of them remembered Mon-El. This is a very solid link to the old story of Brainy bringing back Lyle and Andrew clones all the way through to the personalities of the SW6 batch in v4.

Mysa’s personality here has direct links not only to v4, and Mordru’s exploitation of her, but to the later issues of the Baxter run too. Her beliefs and priorities here match her reaction to the way The Infinite Man was handled.

The appearance of the Circle will bring things to a direct confrontation next issue. Besides we’ve already invaded Dark Circle territory with Querl, Kara and Dirk. SO hiding Dev-Em on their world wouldn’t be new or shocking.

Mentioning Kara reminds me that Dev-Em states that “now, only I am left” It’s a reminder that Kal and Kara are visitors from an earlier era. We haven’t really had a close look at how Dev-Em has reacted to being the last Krytponian. Considering the publishing date, it’s hard not to think of Crisis too. We’ve seen Kara depart. Over in Baxter, Superboy is in what I think is his final story with the team. In a letter column, Levitz states that he doesn’t know all the dtails of what’s going to happen in the story. In his company position though, he’ll know the overall goals of the series. One of these is to simplify the mythos of each character. Dev-Em is a Kryptonian who may also be about ot have his last appearance.

Another character who falls into this category is Laurel Kent. In a subplot she visits her former academy roommate Dawnstar. Again, with Crisis here, that symbol on her cape stands out like an S-shaped target.

I had forgotten that there was a follow up scene to Dawny’s adventures on Kol. Not only do we get a lovely continuation of the friendship the two have form ages ago, we learn a lot about Dawny’s character progression too. She had thought her life was to be with Wildfire, and that this was love. Then, having experienced something deeper emotionally and I think physically as “shared destiny” in “having a shared destiny” is coded, she’s conflicted. To Newell and Levitz’s credit, she’s not merely lovelorn. There’s a deeper cultural meaning behind a lot of her problems. With the complication of the belief systems on Kol, it makes this a much more complex scenario than most comic books.

Spare a thought for Wildfire too. Already physically isolated, Dawny was one of the few ways he could feel like a person. Dawny isn’t just his companion, she’s his work partner too. Now she “can’t bear to look at him.” We’ve already been told that she’s been keeping her distance. A look at Drake would have been a very good follow up to this one. But I don’t think it can last the end of the next issue (if it’s even in there) as the end of the original Tales is almost here.

Anotehr subplot I can’t recall going anywhere is The Persuader’s return to Takron Galtos. The Warden is straight out of a course on maniacal supervillainry, complete with laughter. He’s also combined it with the look of a 1930’s movie vampire. If Manga Khan has a descendant, it’s this guy.

As I would have loved to have seen more of the Dawny/Drake plot, the possible absence of the Warden’s plot doesn’t bother me much. I think Takron Galtos is due for some destruction in Crisis too.

Li’l thoth in the Land of Elsenwhen

The Big Legion highlight this month is in the back up of Action 568. Superman picks up Jimmy Olsen to take photos of him capturing a crook about to arrive from the 30th century with some stolen technology. The capture is made and Superman flies off into the future. But the crook leaves a piece of technology behind, and Jimmy finds it. After his date for the night goes off with an old flame, Jimmy is left looking at the device. When it leads him to find his perfect mate, he thinks he’s discovered a love finder. He gets it to work for Lois and Clark too.

Clark falls for a librarian who also turns out to be Nova Woman. Even in love and dreaming of a career with his device, Jimmy still spots someone who’s been trailing him for most of the story. It turns out that it’s a guest appearance by Shvaughn Erin. The device actualises subconscious thoughts. With their dream dates fading away in front of them, the trio are found working overtime to get over their broken hearts.

So now we know where Shvaughn went after being relieved by Cusimano in #323. It’s lovely Silver Age fun, drawn by Bender and written by Craig Boldman, who did work for Archie. It’s also lettered by Ben Oda. It may have been one of his latest works as an obituary to him appears in the same issue.

In JLA 239, Vixen confronts the Ox, the culmination of her origin subplot. Vixen is a much stronger character than she would have been in launched as intended as the Implosion hit DC. Patton’s pencils are excellent. There’s a folk tale about Anansi at the start of the issue which was quite a departure from most books. There’s even more passing of the torch between Supes, Wondy and Barry to the new guys. Mainly based on what seemed to be a made up clause in the constitution.

I mentioned that the retirement of Garth, Imra and Rokk was unusual in comics. But Barry talks about their time being past for the League, leaving it to those with more fire and commitment to it than they currently could give.

As three founding Leaguers move on, so does Hawkman as he learns the scope of the Shadow War he faces. His home planet has designs on his adopted one, and he believes Hawkwoman has been murdered by them.

Conflicted characters are a theme continued in the Tales of the Titans #54. The Terminator’s trial concludes and it doesn’t go the way you’d expect. The heroes don’t all act in the way you’d expect either, as this story carries plenty of raw emotions from the Judas Contract.

Adrian Chase is the judge in the Titans story, and he concludes a dark two-parter in Vigilante #18. As I mentioned before, this was the sort of story I thought the Vigilante would have, only to find the opening issues a bit of a disappointment. This is a lot better.

Chase will have a trial of conscience after this story. The Flash, on the other hand, just has a tiral that’s nearing the final 350 issue, and Crisis.

Superman doesn’t need a Crisis. On the cover of Supes 408 he’s the only survivor of a nuclear war. It’s reminiscent of some of the old doom laden JLA covers, and obviously an inspiration for Kingdom Come. Inside there is a nuclear war, if only a dream. It haunts Supes through the issue as he wonders about his responsibilities about perhaps ending the cold war arms race. It’s fairly understated in the way that a lot of pre-crisis Supes stories can be and, in the way that recent writers feel the need to extract a ten-issue story from.

Alan Davis joins Batman and the Outsiders to continue finding the truth about Halo. They’re on the shattered JLA satellite this issue. Aparo left requiring what looked like a fill in issue interrupting the Halo story last issue.

Davis, of course, had that superb run on Captain Britain with Alan Moore. Moore writes the back up story in the Omega Men this month in addition to Swamp Thing.

The Shawn McManus art to the main feature in Omega Men #27 really gave them a distinctive look, taking them away from the more classic sci-fi look they had previously. Todd Macfarlane was also adding his own style to Infinity Inc#15 having been confirmed as new penciller after his guest spot last month. That followed the death of Don Newton who was to be the regular penciller.
On the first panel of Macfarlane’s first issue is a film poster of Supergirl, but with an Earth-2 super-symbol on the costume. The inspirations ran both ways.

In Earth-2s past, Liberty Belle gets superpowers as Ropy Thomas continues to add a little friction between some of the members of the All-Star Squadron #46

Another person getting inspiration from Superman’s original costume and cover is Ambush Bug in his first issue.

I didn’t get many of these at the time of publication. Pretty much just the Justice League this month.

Tales 324: “The Secret of the Dark Circle”

It’s great to see another Mon-El spotlight, especially so soon after the Talok adventure. It’s also great that he’s more in control here. Mon is understandably upset at the prospect of a Daxamite being responsible for the destruction on Amadus, and he goes after the assailant full of anger. Yet he pulls away and does the right thing when an innocent ship is threatened. He did have a couple of lapses in judgment, first by cleaning up the wreckage instead of searching for the villain and then in searching for the villain instead of making sure other innocents were safe. But I chalk this up to him gathering his thoughts and sorting out his emotions. When clear and present danger exists, Mon-El does the right thing. I like this depiction of him.

It's also interesting to get a glimpse of his friendship with Ultra Boy without either of their significant others present. Jo, who is always so impetuous, plays the reasoner here, the wise friend who tries to help his troubled teammate. I like this side of Jo, too.

The White Witch provides contrast. She’s not part of their clique and is still rather new and awkward as a Legionnaire. Her dialogue with Gigi betrays a still emerging social confidence. But when the action starts, Mysa knows what to do and holds her own—impressively defeating three Dev-Em clones.

This story works as a showcase of these three Legionnaires, offering a side to each we are not used to seeing. It also provides a fresh context for them to relate to each other. These pluses almost make up for a plot that reminds me too much of the Star Trek episode, “Arena” (in which the Gorns destroy a Federation outpost) and which follows the convention that our heroes must win despite unbelievable odds. One Dev-Em clone is enough to destroy the civilization on an entire planet (or at least a huge chunk of it), yet our three Legionnaires—two of whom have significant weaknesses (Jo can use only one power at a time; Mysa can use only the spells she’s prepared)—take out FIVE Dev-Em clones. It’s good to be a super-hero. You always win, no matter the odds.

The incredibility of the plot slows me down on re-read, though it’s a very well-told story if one accepts this convention. Skimming through it, I noticed that most pages have five or six panels on each page, and lot happens in those panels. Characters act, react, and something propels us into the next page. There is plenty of emotional drama as well as action. A lot happens, and it has enormous implications for our heroes and their society.

However, much of this is undercut (to me, at least) by Dev-Em. He truly is a minor character in Legion history. When he appeared in Adventure 320, he was portrayed as the bully Superboy feared. Removed from this context, he’s just another incredibly powerful character running around the Legion’s universe. The “knave of Krypton” image he originally had is long forgotten. I’m not sure how to relate to him as a character—or how the Legion relates to him. Clearly, they know who he is, but there’s no sense of him having any kind of relationship with the team beyond that recognition. I suppose Levitz felt it necessary to deal with this last survivor of Krypton (kudos to the writer for acknowledging this in an oblique way) being a spy in the 30th century, but it feels to me like this is just the sort of “fanwank” Fanfie has always protested: a way of accounting for every minor character just for the sake of it.

A better approach (to me, again) would have been to spend a considerable amount of time re-establishing Dev as a character in the Legion’s universe. The few glimpses we’ve seen of him have not been enough. I don’t get the sense that the Legionnaires care about him. If they don’t care, I don’t care.

Maybe we’re not meant to care. Maybe we’re just supposed to be horrified at the Dark Circle technology which creates Krypton-powered clones. But, again, if three Legionnaires can take out five clones, the rest of the team has nothing to worry about.

So, I like a lot of things about this story, but the overall stakes don’t impress me much.

In terms of subplots, I loved the Laurel/Dawnstar scene. Laurel is portrayed as a true friend who will not allow her bestie to mope around. If only we all had such a friend. If only Laurel could have continued as a character post-Crisis.

The Persuader scene is good for what it is, but I don’t recall if it leads anywhere. Shame.

So, Tales winds down with a story that tries to be more important than it really is. We do, however, get some good character showcases and wonderful Newell dialogue (she really did have an ear for how people talk and relate to each other).

Tales 324 Backup: “The Missing Planet Puzzle”

In order to properly understand and evaluate this story, I think it’s necessary to contextualize Jacques as a character. At this point (1985), he was still one of only two Legionnaires “of color” on the team (the other being Dawnstar). The died-in-the-wool humanist in me screams that race shouldn’t matter, but it does. Characters of color have faced a mountainous climb in comics—coming from no representation at all to token minorities to stereotypes to—the rarest gem of all—fully realized characters with unique personalities, strengths, and faults. Dawnstar completed that transition over the last few issues. Now it’s Jacques’ turn.

So it’s with no small amount of pleasure to see him featured on the cover of 324 with a promise of his first solo mission. The splash page of the story introduces us to his friend, Emil, who appears to be older and balding—offering variety among depictions of dark-skinned characters. And we have more wonderful Ernie Colon art, which gives the story a charming Silver Age atmosphere. The tale hits the ground running.

However, it quickly unfolds into a standard mystery plot: When something causes Emil’s holo-mapping equipment to explode, Jacques helps his friend. At first stymied, he seeks advice from fellow Legionnaire Shrinking Violet and then returns to capture the culprits—two tiny Imskians, who sought to keep the maps from discovering their secret bases on another world.

There’s nothing wrong with a standard plot. In fact, a bare-bones structure could be used to illuminate our central character, shed light on his personality and powers, and help him grow. Jacques does delight in solving the case all by himself—and that’s great, but the story omits key steps to show how he got there. I’m not sure what tipped him off to Imskians being involved. For expediency of the plot, we rush from the first explosion he encounters to his visit with Shrinking Violet. Couldn’t something else have caused the explosions—say magic, a Daxamite, a Bgztlian . . . or even a Durlan (there’s even one present)?

Only at the very end do we learn that the planet with the secret bases is a “sister planet” of Imsk—a detail which would have tipped the reader off immediately. That’s why we don’t learn about it. However, a good mystery story plays fair with the reader. This one doesn’t.

Jacques’ first solo story is well intentioned, but it doesn’t go far enough in telling us anything new about him as a character. We’re given some details of Global Products and its role in the Ivory Coast, Jacques’ homeland, but this is an infodump. I felt I’d learned more about Jacques from his interaction with his two sisters a while back.

While the Colon art is good throughout, it veers into silliness in places. Jacques carrying Emil under his arm in two panels presents an odd image, especially since Emil talks the whole time. The two saboteurs are stereotyped baddies, one of whom happens to be overweight and dimwitted.

Dialogue presents another challenge. It’s difficult to write characters with foreign accents. In college, I wrote an article (never published) about the use of accents in comics, and I came to admire writers who really have it down—who can convey unique speech patterns in a natural way. Newell doesn’t have it down in this story. The French words area are distractions, especially since Jacques and Emil would not be talking to other in both French and English. This clunky convention assists the reader; however, Newell found a much better way to show characters speaking in different languages during the Dawnstar story.

Whereas Dawnstar’s story represented a coming of age for her, Jacques story seems child-like in its execution and conclusion. Whereas Dawny emerged as a fully realized character, Jacques still has that mountain to climb.

And here's how the latest two issues fared in my Top 27 of March 12, 1985:

1. Tales of the New Teen Titans # 54 -- DC
2. New Teen Titans # 9 -- DC
3. Star Trek # 15 -- DC
4. Blue Devil # 13 -- DC
5. Crisis on Infinite Earths # 3 -- DC
6. All-Star Squadron # 46 -- DC
7. Infinity Inc. # 15 -- DC
8. Dreadstar # 18 -- Marvel/Epic
9. Dreadstar & Company # 1 -- Marvel/Epic
10. New Defenders # 144 -- Marvel

11. Fury of Firestorm # 36 -- DC
12. Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 324 -- DC
13. Fantastic Four # 279 -- Marvel
14. Iron Man # 195 -- Marvel
15. Green Lantern # 189 -- DC
16. Captain America # 306 -- Marvel
17. Shadow War of Hawkman # 2 -- DC
18. Badger # 6 -- First
19. Amazing Spider-Man # 265 -- Marvel
20. Nexus # 10 -- First

21. Sun-Devils # 10 -- DC
22. Marvel Tales # 176 -- Marvel
23. Legion of Super-Heroes # 11 -- DC
24. Avengers # 256 -- Marvel
25. Gargoyle # 2 -- Marvel
26. Justice League of America # 239 -- DC
27. Flash # 346 -- DC

. . . so Tales ranked much higher this time while the Baxter title still languished near the bottom.

Thoth's post above prompted me to re-read Tales/Titans 54. It still holds up extremely well. I enjoyed watching the Titans interact with the New York legal system and not look out of place. The dialogue is wonderful, especially in the Titans' scene with Lilith. There are a lot of wordy balloons but it all feels like natural dialogue. Marv Wolfman was also a master of character complexity, especially in how Gar behaves. He is very smart but still a 15-year-old kid caught up in his own emotions over Tara's death. The Titans' discussion over how they responded to Lilith's apparent danger from "the man with wings" also reveals a lot about each of them and how they interact. Brilliant stuff.

LSH #12 The More Things Change by Paul Levitz, art by Steve Lightle & Mike Machlan, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



A team of Legionnaires, with Superboy, fight a large number of pirates who have been harassing a space sector. One of the pirate ships flees, pursued by Wildfire and Superboy, but suddenly disappears. Dawnstar can not track it and wonders aloud if her power has been damaged by Brainy's treatments.

At Legion HQ, Brin uses a computailor for a new uniform before setting out to fulfill Val's legacy. He suggests Blok might also get a new look, then goes to vote before leaving.

Outside, the three founders salute the Legion flag before going in to vote for Leader. They're joined by Jan and Shvaughn. Imra worries about Brainy running because of the stress. Once inside, Nura says Jan has a chance since she isn't running, then proceeds to kiss baby Graym on the cheek and Jan on the lips.

In space, Dawnstar complains to Brainy about her powers; he tells her she's fine but not the right Legionnaire to find the pirates and that he's called in someone else. She is reassured when she does track the missing ship several hours later. As the Legionnaires attack, Tinya - Brainy's secret weapon - enters the ship and proceeds to the control center. The ship disappears; Wildfire is annoyed that Tinya is lost with it, but Dirk supports Brainy's theory. Indeed, the ship reappears, with Tinya hauling the Bgtzlian captain. A device had augmented his power to turn the ship intangible.

At Legion HQ, the three founders finish voting; they tell Jan they voted for him, then resign. He's shocked, but they proceed to tell him how the Legion must change.

Comments:

This is an uncomplicated story, with a brief little mystery. It's also a hinge between the Legion's past and future. Superboy joins a mission; Dawnstar worries about her powers, Imra worries about Brainy's stability under stress and there are pirates, an old Legion standby, including one Resource Raider.

The founders saluting their flag really does shout old school - have these three always done that, or is this just a nostalgic gesture? I'm reminded of that nice scene in 5YL when the SW6 Legion emerges from underground and stops en masse to salute their flag, much to the consternation of Devlin O'Ryan..

Brin has a new confidence; he's about to embark on a quest and doesn't need Ayla to help him dress.

Brainy is his usual clever self, a bit arrogant but the only one to solve the problem. Opinion is split among Legionnaires on how much to trust him, however: Dawnstar immediately blames him when her tracking fails to find the ship, Imra worries about him, Dirk and Jan are confident in him.

Wildfire is still very protective of Dawnstar, although she doesn't interact directly with him.

Dawnstar refers to Kol's planet as "the exile planet", indicating that there's a story that never made it to publication.

Just as Dawnstar's powers were augmented, so were the Bgtzlian pirate captain's. It's a nice parallel, but opens the door to a slippery slope: why isn't the galaxy full of super-powered criminals with augmented abilities?

The mystery of the disappearing ship raises several other questions: can Dawnstar not track intangible Tinya? What about invisible Jacques?

The scenes of the team fighting the pirates are very dynamic.

I figured it was because the ship fully crossed the dimensional barrier between Earth and Bgtzl so it was outside the range of Dawny's powers...I may be misremembering it but I think there was a scene in the last Legion series as well that implied Dawnstar was a bit awkward around Phantom Girl because when Tinya phases, it confuses Dawny's tracking power. I don't think Jacques would be a problem though, he's still physically in the same space even if you can't see him

Also again I dunno if I am remembering it wrong or not, but in that story the Bgtzlr guy who used his power on the ship looked like Phantom Lad, yeah? I don't think anyone's ever actually said it was him, but I wonder if it was an easter egg?

LSH 12

“Uncomplicated” is certainly the word for this story. It almost reeks of nostalgia, with Superboy returning just to hang out with his friends (because doing so allows him to cut loose more than super-heroing in the 20th century). The story is built on a simple mystery with a simple solution—one that is so obvious, it makes you wonder why there weren’t more Legion stories with criminals from Legionnaire home worlds. We’ve seen Daxamites and Imskians turning to the dark side (pun intended); now it’s a Bgztlian’s turn. The 30th century could be a very interesting and dangerous place if more people decided to use their native talents for bad.

The space pirates story turns out to be of secondary importance to the changes the Legion goes through. The three Founders finally announce their resignations from active membership, and the latest leadership election dominates the second half of the book. It’s almost a letdown that Jan gets re-elected. After the big build-up, one would expect another dark horse (Timber Wolf?!) to emerge as Dream Girl did a couple of years ago. But Jan gets the nod again. He deserves it, of course, and his leadership will provide continuity as the team takes on several new members at once. Still, it seems like a letdown.

This is one area where reality differs from fiction—and I’ve come to better appreciate this difference in the decades since this issue was published. In the real world, we want our heroes, friends, and organizations to be stable. In fiction, too much stability is boring. I think this is one of the reasons why the last few issues of the Baxter series have been lackluster: Levitz forgot to tell stories—or he told them in such a way that they lack drama.

I’m not saying the Fatal Five have to come crashing in to disrupt every election, or that somebody has to angsty lose his or her powers. But there should be a greater sense of danger, at least as a subplot. In hindsight, we get some danger over the long haul—with Universo working behind the scenes and Crisis about to engulf everyone—but these arcs move at such a snail’s pace for the Legion that Levitz should be dubbed Molasses Lad. As we discussed previously, having a payoff in every chapter of a serialized story keeps readers enthralled. There should at least be some forward momentum or sense of urgency.

Instead, the entire second “story” (which is really just the second half of the first story) drags on interminably, showing us how different people anticipate the results of the Legion’s election. We already know the Legionnaires are stars across the UP and that they make the news every time they burp. Most of these scenes add little to my understanding or appreciation of the characters or their universe—although it was fun to watch Shvaughn being teased mercilessly by her SP colleagues. Also, Ganglios (the future Tellus) is matter-of-factly dropped into a Legion Academy scene. We haven’t seen him before, correct? His appearance comes across as an intrusion. We’re expected to believe that this character has been interacting with Pol, Jed, Laurel and CQ for some time?

Where the writing excels is in the character moments—Brin adopting a new costume without Ayla’s input and looking forward to his mission to fulfill Karate Kid’s will; Dawny at first blaming Brainy for her apparent loss of power; Graym being not too impressed with Nura’s kiss (what a discerning infant!); and the Founders saluting the flag. But a story is more than just “moments.” Those moments should add up to something.

LSH 12 is by no means a bad issue, but it needs a lot of tight editing. Someone should have said to Levitz, “I know you love the Legion, and the fans love the Legion, but what about the hundreds of thousands of comic book fans who aren’t that into the Legion? How do we draw them in and keep them interested?” Of course, Karen Berger probably wanted to keep her job.

That's perfect! - and it could have been confirmed with one sentence from Tinya.



Jan certainly seemed more surprised than the readers! A dark horse could have shaken things up - we were pleasantly surprised with how competent Nura turned out to be as leader. As you point out, however, Jan provides continuity for a time when the Legion will undergo changes.



Good point. I wouldn't want my life to be one tenth as exciting as that of the Legionnaires.



Tellus first appeared in #9, hovering over Laurel along with the other students - but wasn't named.

The UP analysts discussing the election provided a nice collection of aliens (including someone from the Asterix planet?) but it was sort of a wasted scene since we didn't see any of these races again, except for the Gil D'ishpan (who I didn't think were part of the U.P. - but maybe he's a visiting scholar).



Over time, I think the moments do add to our sense of the individuals and their world but could have been put into the context of a more dramatic story. Nice snapshots, but I agree recent issues have been lackluster.

Thanks for the catch (figuratively and literally ). Something else else fishy is going on at the Academy.



The various aliens reminded me of Nexus, whose world was also populated with bizarre and silly looking aliens. I wonder if Levitz and Lightle were reading this series.



Some of these "slow movements" are quite successful, such as Jan coming into his own as leader and the gradual disintegration of Nura and Thom's relationship. But I've really come to appreciate how episodes of a TV series can build a slow arc over time yet still create a fully realized story in increments of half an hour or one hour. This seems to be what Levitz is shooting for but not quite hitting.

LoSh v3 12

Considering two excellent Lightle covers are coming up, I just don’t seem to be a huge fan of recent ones. The elements (composition not lad) are here; Space Battle, visual Legionnaires in Drake, Dawny and Dirk and a Superboy whooshing (well, in space no one can hear you whoosh) through a ship, while showing off his invulnerability. But Supes looks too baby faced, and he seems to have gone through the hull of that ship with his head. One guy doesn’t have a helmet, and Dirk looks to have killed a couple of others. The Mission monitor symbols are nice, but they don’t add a thing to the cover and their colour detracts from everything else.

The cover links in with the first scene, where the Legion intercept space pirates. I prefer the poses on pages 2-3. Effort is made to tell us that while Superboy is helping out, he never rejoins. Much like previous issues, it’s a done thing as far as DC are concerned. Perhaps Levitz was just enforcing Crisis. Superboy isn’t going to be around for much longer.

Superboy finding 30th century space pirates more of a challenge is a bit odd. There are plenty of 20th century villains more challenging. Perhaps pre-Metropolis was a really dull time for Clark.

One of the pirate ships manages to disappear. Dawny blaming Brainy’s experiments on her powers links in with previous issues. But it’s just another example of her powers being useless when required by the plot. As Superboy goes with his kryptonite, red solar radiation and magic, Dawny has a variety of clever foes that evade her abilities. Only, her other powers are written to stand out, so she becomes a bit of a dead weight to the team.

Back at HQ, where we get a little Giffenesque intro pic, Brin chooses a new costume. It’s a big improvement. The last one was as dull as his personality. Just as important is the line where he says he’ll do fine without Lightning Lass there to help him. It’s a sign he’s moving on too. Blok is left pondering a new look, with the pre-boot Arathamites floating around. It will be a big improvement too.

Elsewhere, the founders salute the Legion flag before going into vote on a new leader. It doesn’t seem os long since Jan took over from Nura. On one hand we’re told it’s for no occasion while a panel later being told that it’s a requirement that can be waived by the leader. I had read it, at first, as it being just something they do, rather than it being a Legion thing. Yet another little wedge to separate their time from the rest of the team as Levitz has been moving to do for a very long time. The flag saluting will be back in a couple of issues.

While flag saluting is what they’re doing we get little continuity nods like stress and Brainy and Shvaugn’s support of Jan’s long tenure in the group. She’s brushed aside by Dreamy at her best, telling us that she’s not standing for leader. The reactions are interesting. Jan is a bit hesitant, which reminds me of some of his time as leader. Erin is infuriated, and I wonder how much of their growing relationship has pushed Jan’s confidence into a leadership role. Garth and Imra are simply more interested in their child. Rokk, the one who ahs been worrying over transitions the most seems happy that he’s leaving the team in capable hands like Nura’s. With her as part of a developing core team, it makes the changes easier.

Back in the main plot, Dawny confronts Brainy about her powers, only to be told that they are working perfectly well, but that she’s not the Legionnaire for the mission. It’s a classic Brainy tease, although any friendship between Dawny and Brainy seems to have gone down a few notches compared to Mindy Newell’s work over on Tales.

What is similar to Newell’s story is seeing a happy Dawnstar forget herself while on a mission. Superboy covers her back, but Drake isn’t far away. He’s also the one who was most upset at the thought of Dawny losing her powers. Both are shown to throw space pirates around physically, which makes a nice change to how their powers are usually portrayed.
The correct Legionnaire arrives in the form of Phantom Girl. She enters the ship before it vanishes, enjoys tracking down the captain who turns out to be form her home world using a phasing mechanism to cause the disappearance.

The others wait for her to reappear. Drake, ever over protective, worries that Tinya has lost. Dirk, who knows Tinya a lot better, tells him to have a little fiath in their colleague. But everyone, but Brainy seems a little tense.

Lightle splits the page in two and then adds four panels showing the same space with the returning ship in the final one. It’s an excellent way of increasing the story beats waiting for the returning ship. Wildfire worry means he’s the most relived when she returns. In a little twist, he now feels obligated to trust Brainy for leader, where he was previously against the Coluan for the experiments with Dawny, not to mention the mission that made her meet Jhodan (although that’s not mentioned here).

Levitz cleverly gave us a science with the founders, Jan and voting for a reason. We now see them after they’ve voted. It’s their final act as active Legionnaires and they resign form active duty. Jan is hesitant once again. But that’s okay. The founders aren’t leaving before they outline a few plans.

“It’s time the Legion started to change…”

It’s been a long time in coming, but then It should be a key moment. The impact of even these changes is seen in the back up story.

The backup has the UP Council analysts, Legion Academy members, media sources and the SPs views on both the election and the membership changes.

There’s a variety of views with one saying “I think they’re only electing a new leader like they do every so often. And if they change who’s an active member, so what—they’ve had dozens of membership changes.”

That’s a functional look at the first story. As readers, we’ll see if there are further changes hinted at, that make more of an impact in future issues. It should be noted that a lot of the work has already been done.

The team that were headlined by Superboy, moved out into their own title and that title was popular enough to launch a Baxter book.

We see the celebrity status of the Legion here very prominently, as Levitz said they were in the RPG.

Both titles have seen the founders and their Kryptonite stars move into the background. Crisis is here, and it’s going to bring changes. Some unanticipated ones will have the biggest impact and controversy.

The back up also continues some subplots and hints at others. President Desai is the one who’s looking for the UP analysis on the Legion. Zendak too, but firmly second in the order.
Laurel Kent is recovery form her bullet wound and we hear that Dvron is still investigating.

At the academy we see Laurel, Jed, Grava, Ganglios and Pol. We’re told that there are 19 active Legionnaires, so there’s a chance a number of these will make the grade. The feeling among them , though, is that it’s Pol who stands the best chance.

Is this the first time we see Tellus?

At the end of the scene, Chuck wants to introduce them to some people. I’d have liked to have found out who. It’s nice that the plot leaves us hanging, but I wonder if it was Drake & Dawny or the founders.

Jan doubts himself, but only so that Imra can remind us of how Jan got into the team. It’s something that’s going to be very relevant in two issues time.
Jan wins the election and goes out to meet fan Flynt Brojj, in another reminder of how much Levitz knows his Legion history.

Finally, Garth and Imra’s kid really does look to have super grip powers. I wonder if there’s a scene where he gets an Invisible Kid action figure. Maybe he’s like his brother.

Comments



Well put.



Oh, well spotted. I did see someone with the same skin tone as Jed.



I don’t remember them doing it, for what my memory cell is worth. I used to think they spent all their spare time building statues.

As for v4 that flag salute in the middle of a battleground was…well, it deservedly didn’t end well. Id’ like to think it was a comment on the pointlessness of tradition in the face of changing conflict, but it was more likely a cheap way of getting rid of some of the cast.



If his new costume had come with laces, he would have been in trouble though.



I like to see divided opinions on the team. Dirk has settled into being confident in a relaxed way. He trusts Brainy and Tinya here, having worked with them for so long.



Another good spot. She’s going to be telling him to find his own panels soon, and then he’ll have to appear in another book if she has to get a restraining order out.



Look-it-up-Lad tells me that the first part of the Dawny story was called “Into Exile” Which may have meant that the story title had a lot more meaning, or it’s now being seen as a convenient title for the world. I think they were all Blue Devil worshippers, exiled from Earth. The Staff of Kol will turn out ot be Blue Devil’s trident and that eventually a Kid Devil II would have joined the Legion, once Briany and Dawny went back. Tomorrow, I may have another view…



In v6/7 they had an augmented Daxamaite. They hinted that his internal systems were burning out by using power at that level. Maybe there’s a risk when everyone else tries it too.


I think it’s because Bgtzl is not within our universe that stumped her power. Or the ship moved to the buffer zone, and that’s sort of outside the universe too. The same way she couldn’t track the Lost Legionnaires in the earlier issues. Actually, sicne it’s essentially the same thing, her powers not working here seems less of a plot fudge.

Jacques might be tough to trace if he’s in the Dream Dimension. But if he’s in ours then she would be able to find him. Besides, even when invisible, Dawny would find him because she’d hear things like “Mon dieu, I am trapped under debris again!” or “Mademoiselle, I have a convenient info dump to share!”

I see Raz has covered this



It seems that it’s just some random guy form her home dimension. I like to think of him as Phantom Lad too.




We get Braalians in a later issue of this volume too. If it happened often, you’d want part of the Legion’s set up to be to counter it.



Brin was 38/1 according to a police officer trying to get inside information to cheat the bookies. Apparently, the SPs get weekly scans, but it must be like confessional where everything they’ve done gets forgiven.



In one of the Titans’ Companions, the editor responsible for Titans Hunt said that every issue of the book had become “a very special issue of…” and that he wanted to inject more immediate drama into things. I think the success of both books meant that there was a little bit more of a hands off approach when the departure of Perez and Giffen should have required a bit more of intervention. Plot-wise, they’ve been fine on paper. Here we get movement with the Desai, Laurel, Founder, Brin quest, membership plots all within a little faux silver age opening short story. But a couple of issues of this would show that it’s needs a bit more direct peril. And that should have come at the end of the opening arc of the book.



I didn’t mind this so much, although the overly cartoony art didn’t really work for me. I’d rather have seen it combined in the main story though, showing how Legionnaires like Gim and Chuck deal with events of this magnitude while living away form HQ.



I didn’t think so either. He’s a Lightle design so he’s not been around for long. They do link him to the special student in the tank from #304, so technically he’s been around for a while.


Thanks Birthday Girl.



Berger has never struck me as being shy to express her views. Until you see the final product, things look fine. The Controller plot had more in it than you’d see in most other books of the period. It just lacked in the execution of the main plot a bit. That it’s become a bit of a trend should have been remedied by now. As you say, it’s an okay issue rather than being a poor one. Or a really good one. But then, the next couple…

The Legion really could have messed with Superboy: "We know who you're going to marry. . . . You're going to die, but you come back. . . . Be sure to major in journalism in college." Kal would never be sure if the Legionnaires were dropping hints or just goofing off. "Gee, I guess I'll major in architecture just to show them."

Superboy has at least a couple of appearances left, including, of course, the four-part crossover which writes him out for good.



Levitz seems to have revived the tradition of having a new election approximately every year of real time. The previous few leaderships (Mon-El, Wildfire, and Lightning Lad) lasted at least a couple of years of publication time. Not having so many elections gave the impression of each "year" of Legion time lasting longer and being more packed with significant events, just as a year in a life of any organization would be. Annual elections give the impression that not much has happened each year (though the events which have happened have been quite huge). It also left me wondering about the time span of certain events, such as how long Jan and the rest were lost.

Being told that elections occur "every so often" is comic bookese for not nailing things down by being too specific. Presumably, this prevented the time line from moving forward too quickly. I remember writing an article for Amazing Heroes (never published) in which I speculated that Legion elections were now held every nine months. This would allow for a reasonable passage of time yet still keep the timeline moving forward. However, it would (in hindsight) also complicate things unnecessarily and is something few writers would want to keep track of. (Although Giffen did keep close track of the passage of time in 5YL.)



Good observation. I like the changes Dawny has gone through in these issues.



Levitz was quite good at setting up scenes like this.



Well put. The Legion had certainly grown up, as had many of its fans. The fact that the Legion was still relevant to us, and vice versa, says something about how resilient, flexible, and positive the series was.



Thanks for sharing the info from the Titans Companion. It's the old corporate philosophy: If it's not broken, don't fix it. But I think the "break" in both Titans and Legion occurred gradually and came in the form of staleness following the departure of a key creator. Giffen did not "love" the Legion as a fan, like Levitz did, and he was not above shaking things up for the hell of it. He was yin to Levitz's yang. Without him, the book has lost much of its sizzle.

Fat Cramer:



His existence (though not his appearance) was indicated in LSH # 304, when there is an academy student communicating with the others by means of a hovering speaker/receiver, about whom it is said that for the time being, he cannot survive outside of his special environment chamber.

Ah, but is that really that Superboy?



The lettercol in this very issue that raised the same question of Jan's tenure seemingly being short, funnily enough. Levitz responded with "We're open to extending terms - maybe we should hold an informal vote on how many issues a leader's term should run. But when you're considering that, please remember that: (a) this year, we've got two issues a month, and (b) it takes many months for after the announcement of an election to work the results into our stories... the results announced in #306 were from an election in #296!" Combine that, and Element Lad had a thirty-one issue term by the time we concluded this election!"

The Election Results are also posted:-

91 - Jan
87 - Querl
71 - Brin (I wonder if Cusimano put money on him being deputy?)
70 - Tasmia
53 - Drake
43 - Blok
42 - Nura and Dirk
41 - Tinya
38 - Rokk and Mysa
36 - Lar
28 - Dawnstar
26 - Jo
25 - Salu
22 - Reep
19 - Imra
17 - Thom
12 - Garth
09 - Jacques
05 - Gim



Well put yourself, sir.




Before v7 Levitz did an interview where he was going to "f*!$" with the cast, and it just read as a ridiculously forced thing for him to say, to try and attract attention to the book. Giffen would do that, and even he would have/ seek plot related reasons for doing it (huffs aside), that would then be firmly guided by editorial (when there was a decent editorial to firmly guide). It reminded me of Wolfman going along with the editors of Titans Hunt and beyond because he was struggling with writer's block. I see the similar tone as a clear sign of writers whose time has come to seek new challenges.

Tales #325 5 to the Infinite Power by Paul Levitz, & Mindy Newell, art by Dan Jurgens & Karl Kesel, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Bob Lappan



The Legionnaires rescue Dev-em,primarily thanks to Lar's actions, and escape from Dark Circle blasts. The return to the ship orbiting destroyed Amadus just as Gigi hangs up on a reporter for celebrity news, seeking a story on her romance with Dirk. She still believes Dev-em is a traitor. Lar administers medical help, reviving Dev-em, and talks about the connection between Daxam and Krytpon.

At Legion HQ, Gim works out as Dirk teases him about Yera and brushes off the trick Gim, Yera and Gigi played on him. They join Jan, Tinya and Blok on a ship to rendezvous with Gigi and the Legionnaires. Now fully recovered, Dev-em joins the Legionnaires to seek out the Dark Circle, informing them that there are only five oribinal Circle members, but they have been cloned multiple times.

In their Citadel, each of the five Dark Circle members, including Ontiir, boast of their importance to the movement and claim to have thousands of worlds under their clones' control. Although they lost Dev-em, they still have his cells to enable further cloning. The Legionnaires burst through a wall, one of the Circle recognizes Mysa. There's an explosion and the Circle escape. As the Legionnaires are attacked by Dev-em's clones, Jo asks if it's okay to kill a clone and Lar tells him they're still living beings. Mysa prepares a spell, which incorporates the clones with Dev-em.

Gigi speaks with Zendak. She admits she was wrong about Dev-em, but is angered that Zendak sent her to Bismoll with the Subs and has stuck her with monitoring Dev-em's spy work.

While the escaped Dark Circle bicker, Tinya enters their ship, then the rest of Jan's team joins them to capture the five. One of the five (or all of them?) commits suicide amid a flash of green light and vows that no human can contain his power. Zendak reports that all the clones on the dark Circle world have died.

Epilogue 1: Gigi and Dev-em discuss events and he considers joining the Science Police, if it means keeping close to Gigi. She thinks to herself that he has possibilities.

Epilogue 2: Mysa and Blok reflect on the past year and settle down to review holos of various cases. The next morning, Garth and Imra find them asleep before the monitor and tell readers what stories are ahead for Tales of the Legion.

Comments:

Not too shabby for a wrap-up issue, which leaves more mysteries about the Dark Circle. The big reveal is that there are only five originals and the rest are cloned; we also learn that they have thousands of planets under their control. Is that an exaggeration, or is it just a very big galaxy? It would seem to dwarf the reach of the United Planets, the Khundish Empire and the Dominion.

It's not clear if all the five commit suicide (or are killed?), but the green light surrounding the one shown, his claim that the non-human power will live on and his recognition of Mysa suggest magic (possibly Mordru involved) or green energy (GLs or Emerad Eye). With all the clones dead at the same time, it looks like a major power vacuum has just opened up, but I don't recall any Circle activity until 5YL, at which point they've become very strong and are working with Universo. So perhaps we should add Universo into the mix of possible forces, along with the Green Lantern suggestion.

We finally learn that Ontiir was on the side of the Dark Circle - or maybe not, if his clone was capable of independent thought.

Lar really shines here. He's pretty much the one who rescues Dev-em, with assist from Jo and Mysa. He's the one who maintained faith in Dev-em's loyalty, who takes care of the medical treatment and who reminds (or reigns in) Jo about not killing living beings.

Mysa's reabsorption spell is quite spectacular. She was able to whip it up pretty quickly, given that she just found out about the clones. Good solution, but it certainly makes Mysa the go-to solution for any outlandish problem.

Gigi does a very quick turnaround on Dev-em - a rebound romance? He's pretty chauvinistic and super-egotistical, but it appears to appeal to her, although she just had that same personality with Dirk. She complains to Zendak about being dispatched to Bismoll before being put on ICC/Dev-em back-up, referencing the Subs Special, conveniently advertised in this issue.

Although the Legion crashes through a lot of walls when Lar, Jo or Kal are around, Jan makes a nice point that he was able to just change the hull wall of the Circle ship to oxygen. There's still a hole in the hull, though, which either got repaired by the ship's systems or he maintained that air bubble until they returned to the Legion cruiser.

TotLoSH 325

The Legion about to fight a giant Jan Arrah who, as the terrible Omniphagos, has his mouth open and is about to eat a planet, is a suitable dramatic cover for the final new story in Tales.

Inside, we get the concluding part of the Dev-Em story. The splash page picks up right where we left off. Jo points out that Dev looks to be dead, as he’s encased in the poisoning green of Krypttonite. All the other elements are there too (story ones, not to go with Kryptonite) form last issue. Lar and Mysa, are with Jo and we see two of the Dev-Em clones they’ve just finished off. The Dark Circle control the ship where Dev-Em is entombed.

The Circle try to blackmail the Legionnaires not surrendering, but Jo and Lar manage to free him easily and escape. It was far too easy, considering the build up. But they are tow of the most powerful heroes, and Lar was very annoyed. Besides, going along with villainous plots is just what the heroes are supposed to do, so that must have confused the Circle somewhat

Dev is rushed back to the SP ship where we get another hint of the Legion’s celebrity status. Reporters are calling on duty officer Cusimano for gossip on an affair with Sun Boy. Her reaction suggests that this one will continue, and that’s confirmed by Gim and Dirk’s near confrontation in the next scene. It doesn’t look as though Dirk has learned much. The two join Jan, Tinya and Blok as back up to Lar, Jo and Mysa.

No wonder the UP’s economy would later tank, if they fit all of their shuttles with technology to cure poisoned Kryptonians. Dev looked worse than any poisoning that Kal went through. Yet, like the rescue, he recovers very quickly. After setting the equipment up, the team have a chat about Kryptonian/ Daxamite heritage and Mysa traces her ancestry back to Earth.

A very healthy Dev-Em, in a new costume, joins the others as they head back into Dark Circle territory. Dev reveals that the Circle are really five individuals with lots of clones. They had wanted Dev to be the sixth. Unlike the five, he would have been a prisoner. The would have been better trying to entice Ol-Virr into their schemes. That would have made for a climax when the kid realised the Circle weren’t all serving Darkseid. We’re reminded that there’s still five Dev clones out there, and the genetic material to make more. Mysa seems determined to ensure that the cells will be taken care of. It’s a set up panel, showing that bit of writing craft that goes into the structure.

The Jurgens/ Kesel art also continues to be excellent throughout. We switch to a nice double page spread of the five Dark Circle members engaging in some recriminations, while telling us about what they brought to the organisation. There’s a very good set up panel as one of the circle dramatically removed his cowl.

As the Legion arrives (careless of the Circle to sign post their HQ & who needs Dawny when you have Plot Powers?) it allows Mysa to recognise the man. Cloning mixed with sorcery? The Circle detonate a bomb, but it doesn’t seem to hurt anyone. Mysa must have had a handy invulnerability spell active. Jo comments about the code against killing applying to clones. The dialogue is supposed to give the scene a little edge, but it just makes the Legion look as though they’re constantly on the look out for things that they can get away with killing, only to have their fun spoilt by the code.
Mysa gets time to prepare her spell and the Dev-Em clones are reabsorbed into the original. Jo does run some interference for her, but there’s nothing to really suggest that we’re dealing with five super powerful Kryptonite clones here. They took out Jo fairly easily last time, but there’s no panels showing a real conflict here.

The ease continues as the back up team intercept the main Circle craft. They smile and joke their way through easily beating some major Legion foes. The captured Circle boast that they will not be stopped by incarceration on Takron Galtos. They also reveal their plan is still to conquer Earth and that they will use their captured cells to achieve it. Threats made, the one Mysa recognised seems to mentally pull a switch and every Dark Circle clone dies. That includes those who were on the ship.

The SPs think that this has put the Circle’s plans back decades. But the spine of v4 involves the cells that the Legion strangely couldn’t find on the Circle’s ship, or form investigation on their now dead homeworld.

Dev-Em gets a commendation for the Circle’s defeat, and plays down the Legion’s role in events in that immodest way that prevents the heroes from ever really taking to him. There’s a hint that his options are open. Will he stay with the ICC, join the Science Police or… join the Legion?

The Legion let in Atmos and Myg eventually, and Drake’s already in there, so personality isn’t always a criteria for membership.

Cusimano has switched from calling Dev-Em a traitor, and not seemingly being too pleased to help him recover form poisoning to starting a burgeoning romance with him. She and Dirk may be more alike than she thinks. That’s something Mon El pointed out earlier. As Erin departed her part on the mission to turn up in a Superman story, Cusimano replaced her following another spin off; this time to the Legion of Subs Special.

A final epilogue shows Mysa and Blok update the records of the mission, as the curtain falls on the original tales. As they fall asleep watching the archives, two of the departing founders arrive to break the fourth wall. They tell the readers about the Baxter book and that Tales will be reprinting Baxter issues from next month. In a lovely touch, little Graym is shown playing with the subscription form at the bottom.

In the letter column, Margaret-Mary Martin talks about the Brainy-Kara relationship following #320. Levitz’s answer is interesting.

“The relationship fascinates us as much as it does you, Margaret-Mary, so don’t be surprised if we find a way to make it a more regular part of the Legion tales. In fact, there are some developments in the DC Universe that might make that necessary.”

That’s an early Sensor Girl hint, and we’re nearly into the start of those developments in the Baxter book. Unfortunately, whatever Levitz had thought was going to happen for Brainy, Kara and Kal, wasn’t how things would work out.

In summary, I did enjoy the Circle story. I’ve enjoyed all of the last year of Tales, and would have liked to have seen them continue, even if under other creative teams. Schoemaker & Jurgens were excellent Legion artists to follow Giffen, and Newell brought plenty of new insights to the book too.

I wonder if DC ever had discussions about multiple books, to cash in on the success of Titans and Legion, along the same lines as Marvel did around the X-Men, when the New Mutants came around.
The Circle story did get wrapped up a little too conveniently. It’s no bad thing to be left wanting more from a story. But Dev’s poisoning didn’t amount to much. The Circle’s plans folded very quickly, again, including bombs that did little damage and clones that were ineffectual. The Circle have been key protagonists across the last year of Tales stories, and all they’ve managed to do is kill everyone on their own planet. There is the threat of a different Circle Empire emerging. So perhaps, like Mordru, Starfinger, The Trapper etc, this is another evolution of the Legion's threats.

Li’l thoth’s trip to the land of Elsenwhen

The Atari Force return to New Earth in #19. Back when New Earth was an idea that hadn’t reached the Legion. Atari Force had a lot of very good back up stories, and this issue is no exception.
The cries from older JLA readers had been heard, and the original team return in #240. Even if it’s only a flashback story against a dull foe called Dr Anomaly. Sekowsky art though, and a Busiek story.
Regular artist Chick Patton, is helping out on Batman #385 this month, which is a Calendar Man story.

The current team turned up in Hawkman’s Shadow War mini #3. The Hawks are destroying all of their technology to deny it to their enemies. That includes all the Thanagarian gizmos the JLA has used over the years.

As I’ve mentioned in my Justice League Detroit thread, a lot of Leaguers had they’re own series in the pipeline just as Gerry Conway made a point of not including anyone who had a series. A lot of those series were touted as being a lot better than they turned out to be. The Shadow War mini was interesting, but the regular series that followed limped along.
The Red Tornado series, that promised huge changes started this month, and didn’t deliver. Crisis did that.

Likewise, the Martian Manhunter revision of J’Emm was also limping near its conclusion this month in #11.

Tales of the Teen Titans #55 has all of Gar Logan’s pent up anger unleashed against the Terminator. I probably didn’t appreciate it as much at the time, partly form not having read all the issues. But it’s one story where Wolfman could have gone in a standard direction, but chooses to let it take a more natural course with the result of an issue that really stands the test of time.
Eduardo Barreto did a superb cover for #55, and he also did excellent interior work in #19. Just as good as his higher profile predecessors on both titles.

Swan and Schaffenberger continue their classic looks in Superman. But DC’s art is also looking forward with McManus on Omega Men and Alan Davis on Batman & the Outsiders. Todd Macfarlane is the artist on Dr Fate’s origin in All-Star Squadron #47 (Roy Thomas seems to be shifting some gears on that one to change it’s approach). Kevin O’Neill gets to draw the back up in Green Lantern. Not with an Alan Moore story though.

The main story in GL features Green Arrow and Black Canary. Being a back up in detective was enough to keep them out of the JLA. Former Legion artist Pat Broderick was drawing the main story in Detective Comics this month.

Moore is writing “sophisticated suspense” in Swamp Thing before DC feel comfortable using the word “horror” never mind “vertigo”

Bender is another classic artist working in the back up of Action Comics. Aliens looking for a Superman to appear in their movie of the hero come up with some unlikely seeming candidates. There’s a solid message nicely placed under this one, as there is in the main story that I probably didn’t appreciate at the time.

Vigilante #19 has stereotypes throughout, but does have a good father/son relationship twist at the end.

The closing statements are being made in the Flash trial, as the Reverse Flash looks to be back from the dead. Has the whole trial been in error?

The big issue this month is Ambush Bug #2, introducing Quantis, the Koala that walked like a man! Visual gags! Wordplay! Caption gags! Just gags! Continuity gags guest starring Jonni DC! An amazing cliffhanger and a deep love of DC. It hasn’t dated a bit.

I got a DC booklet with some recent buys, and they were advertising Jonni DC in exactly the same role for one of the current books. It’s got its work cut out for it to come anywhere close to this one.
Crisis moved onto #4, with the death of the Monitor, while Who’s Who was on #5

As I got Ambush Bug #2, a limited series issue, li’l thoth must have been up to the city comic shops.

It was a great time to start reading, as I was being introduced to all of DC through Crisis and Who’s Who. I got a little nostalgic feeling from looking at both those covers, indicating that they were ones I picked up before some of the rest of the run. My trips weren’t regular so I’d be picking up a couple of issues at a time for titles I couldn’t get at the news stand.

From the newsstand I’d have got: JLA, Tales of the Titans and Legion, All-Star, Atari Force

From the Big Smoke – Ambush Bug, Crisis and Who’s Who. That seems like a flying visit, so perhaps I picked up some books form previous months as well this time round. I do recall getting a few Who's Who's at the same time. Comic book bliss.

I’ve also picked up Firestorm, Superman and Flash from some time around that period, but none of them stand out.

comments



Thanks for pointing that out. As I was reading it, I remembered that there’s five main worlds on the UP map under their domain 9I think). Certainly not the thousands. But the galaxy is a big place, they are an insidious lot, and perhaps we only get to see a small fraction of what’s out there.



I got the feeling that one killed all the others, with the others and perhaps even the one instigating the self destruct being a clone. Although that one recognised Mysa, there’s no reason why a clone wouldn’t either. The Nolan, Norg and Dev-Em clones were all capable of recognition. I was thinking Mordru, with a link having been made back in the Annual or Mysa’s origin back up issues.
Good spot on the Green Energy. That certainly opens up a lot of story possibilities.



There’s another fairly independent Ontiir coming up.



You’re right. He’s really the leader here. There’s only that slight anger form seeing power levels near his own abused that drives him into action. His scientific background, not just of Kryptonian genetics was another nice touch. It’s the sort of thing I like seeing with Nura too.



It was a lovely visual. It changed Dev-Em’s hair colour for a panel. She also survived a bomb blast moments before, and last issue scanned for life signs, created force cubes, kept a hull together, turned invisible and intangible, entranced someone and altered someone else’s senses. So, she’s a bit too handy really, despite Levitz going to some trouble to keep her reigned in.



Why rely on the in house ads if you can make it a seamless part of your storyline

What a connection there! How many other covers predict future storylines?



Or he's putting on a brave face. Gim doesn't seem to like Dirk very much at this point. Something else else to watch out for in future issues.



Apart from an interest to revive Dev-em, one has to wonder why Levitz didn't use Ol-Virr - or any of the other LSV.



We never find out who he was, do we? I thought he might be one of the sorcerers from Mysa's backstory or the group in Annual #3 (trying to revive Mordru), but no match. The thought just occurs to me that he could be Naltorian, so he was prepared for capture - and revival.



You have to wonder about fan reaction to Dev-em. It must have been neutral to negative, since he was pretty scarce (did he appear at all?) after this. This James Bond wannabe is very different from the members of the Legion Espionage Squad.



Hadn't picked up on that, but the scene does reinforce Mon-El's comment.



Oh, the might-have-beens... but perhaps better to have not seen this one come to pass than to have something horrible happen to one or the other (à la 5YL Laurel Gand) under the mad plotting of Keith Giffen.



Too conveniently sums it up. There may have been pressure to wrap up Tales with three fewer pages used for the Epilogues. At least there's the hint that the Circle isn't entirely gone. However, they have a lot of ground to cover between now and their 5YL expansion, which would be, what - 10 years max?



Comic book bliss indeed! Thanks for the memories.

Tales 325:

The cover provides us with a clear indication that something big (heh) is about to happen. It’s the kind of iconic, flag-waving cover (sans flag) meant to tug our heartstrings as it sends our Legion heroes off to the stars. This is the last newsstand issue to feature an original story, so there’s a wistful sense of goodbye implied in the image. At the same time, the Legionnaires are embarking on a new voyage for bigger and better things (actually, it’s a voyage that’s been ongoing for a year, but whatever).

I do question the choice of Element Lad’s head symbolically dominating the cover. Even as leader, he hasn’t generated the sort of emotional resonance that makes such prominence worthwhile. Superboy would have been a better choice, even though he doesn’t appear in the story. Kal inspired the Legion, after all, and it’s “his” book the team is leaving. The Legion has starred in Kal’s book for an unbroken streak of 129 issues. They really needed to stop by and say farewell to their former host.

The story plays up Dev-Em as if to suggest he will take Superboy’s place on the team. After being rescued by the Legion, Dev quickly recovers from the kryptonite trap in which they found him. He banters with Mon-El over whether Daxam colonized Krypton or vice versa and then joins the team for its assault on the Dark Circle. Along the way, he drops the bombshell that the Dark Circle is really just an army of clones generated from five guys—showing that his covert mission did reveal something unexpected about these long-time Legion enemies. Dev plays well with the Legion, and his full-of-himself dialogue makes a nice contrast to the play-nice Legionnaires.

This is the first story in which I’ve actually liked Dev-Em. We finally get to know him and see him interact with the Legionnaires. There’s a sense of kinship (and not just in the Daxamite/Kryptonian sense) that was missing from his recent appearances. I can also buy him as someone Gigi might be attracted to; he combines the dashing and derring-do qualities of Dirk but seems only superficially narcissistic. Either that, or Gigi is in a rut of being attracted to the same kind of guy.

To his credit, Dev doesn’t hog the story. Other Legionnaires get plenty of panel time. The bottom panel of page 6 is one of my favorite images of Lar; his playful grin suggests he genuinely cares about Dev, like a doctor expressing relief that a patient has survived. Jo takes an assertive role in battle and serves as the communication link between his team and Jan’s. He seems to have a knack for asking the right question at the right time—inquiring whether it is acceptable to kill clones needed to be addressed, just to establish boundaries.

Mysa is more subdued this time, though she once again demonstrates what a powerhouse she is in battle by whipping up a spell to reintegrate Dev with his clones.

Sun Boy, however, shows how nasty his nasty streak can be. We learn that he convinced Zendak to send Gigi to Bismoll as punishment for her attempt to teach Dirk a lesson. She failed miserably. (Why Zendak went along is unclear.) Dirk makes an inappropriate crack about Gim’s wife and lets Gim know that he, too, will be the target of score-settling at the proper time. What a piece of work!

Other Legionnaires serve the needs of the plot, and that’s fine. It really feels like Dev and Gigi’s story. However, we do get a resolution of sorts to the long-running Dark Circle plotline. The idea that this entire society is nothing but clones makes good use of science fiction, and I love it when a long-running mystery about villains is finally solved. However, I could have done without Mysa being recognized by the human Dark Circle leader. Likewise, the ambiguous ending of the leaders and clones dying but possibly rebuilding their empire at a later date served as a typical cliffhanger. But the Legion does win this time, and that’s enough.

Although there are few surprises, this full-length tale offers an appropriate and uplifting conclusion to the Legion’s tenure in what began as Superboy’s title. It offers both a sense of closure and a jumping off point into new adventures with Blok and Mysa cuddling up to provide a smooth transition.

Nevertheless, I could have also done without the final scene of Imra and Garth breaking the fourth wall. It reminded me of Invisible Kid’s speech to readers in the reprint of the Legion’s origin in Secret Origins # 6, telling us to stay tuned for a wedding of two Legionnaires in Superboy # 200. Such blatant advertisement worked when I was nine; now it just feels like the characters are talking down to me. Perhaps that scene reflects the evolving sensibilities and expectations of newsstand readers versus comic shop readers. As one of the latter, I certainly saw myself as more sophisticated than I had been when comics were available exclusively through newsstands.

And here’s how these issues, including the Subs special, landed on my chart of April 9, 1985:

1. Tales of the New Teen Titans # 55 – DC
2. Zot! # 8 – Eclipse
3. Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes # 325 – DC
4. Amazing Spider-Man # 266 –Marvel
5. Iron Man # 196 – Marvel
6. Blue Devil # 14 – DC
7. Dreadstar & Company # 2 – Marvel/Epic
8. Crisis on Infinite Earths # 4 – DC
9. Shadow War of Hawkman # 3 – DC
10. Captain America # 307 – Marvel

11. Power Man & Iron Fist # 118 – Marvel
12. Fantastic Four # 280 – Marvel
13. All-Star Squadron # 47 – DC
14. New Teen Titans # 10 – DC
15. Fury of Firestorm # 37 – DC
16. Magniton Man # 2 – Kitchen Sink
17. Justice League of America # 240 – DC
18. Marvel Tales # 177 – Marvel
19. New Defenders # 145 – Marvel
20. Legion of Super-Heroes # 12 – DC

21. Red Tornado # 1 – DC
22. Green Lantern # 190 – DC
23. Nemesis # 7 – Eagle
24. 2000 A.D. # 3 – Eagle
25. Avengers # 257 – Marvel
26. Flash # 347 – DC
27. Gargoyle # 3 – Marvel
28. Legion of Substitute-Heroes Special # 1 – DC

Heh. This reminds me of the old Jackson Browne song, "Lawyers In Love," repurposed below:

. . . the Dark Circle escaped while we weren't watching them,
As villains will.
Now we've got all their worlds
They didn't even have girls
And I hear Cloneland will be open soon
As vacationland for Legionnaires in love.



With Dev-Em clones and Universo clones, the Dark Circle would have been unbeatable. Of course, they still couldn't get dates.




It's interesting to speculate on if the Ontiir clone was capable of independent thought--and, if so, was it because he had been away from the homeworlds for some time? Are other clones capable of independent thought? This could be dangerous in a society of clones.




Lar acts thoroughly professional and focused throughout. His dialogue to Gigi, "Officer! Please set up the medi-assist system, immediately!" establishes his commanding tone and presence. (I suppose Mysa could have said "Officer!" It's unlikely that Jo did. I rather like the idea of Lar dispensing with familiarity and staying focused on roles and tasks.)




Looks to me like Jan is about to take a bite out of Mysa. "She's magically delicious!"




You never know when you'll come across an injured Kryptonian.




I enjoyed these stories, too. Ironically both Tales/Legion and Tales/Titans were hitting high marks with some of their most memorable stories, even though both series were about to revert to reprints. the Baxter titles, into which DC had sunk so much effort and capital, seemed to be floundering, if their rankings on my charts are any indication.




This could be why 240 ranks so high on my chart. I never really took to JLDetroit. In a letter to DC or Comics Buyer's Guide, I once referred to them as "Aquaman & The Insiders."

Further comments



Dirk makes a veiled threat at the end of their scene too. I think I read that Jan was supposed to wind Gim up too, but I’ve not seen any of that. A replacement for the Drake/Kal relationship might have been interesting.



I’ve been a little surprised at how unceremoniously they were dumped, even as the opening arc concluded. If I’m charitable I look at all the other villains Levitz brought back, adjusted, and moved on from. If I’m not, I’d think it was Giffen’s idea to bring them back and the moment he left, they were on a hiding to nothing.

With Ol-Vir there is also that shadow of Darkseid hanging over him. A writer, happy enough with GDS, but wanting to have some distance form it to create other stories might have been reluctant to go near too familiar territory.




I could swear he turns up somewhere, or that we’ve seen him before. I was thinking about the same issues as you were. I’ll think about that one.



It would have been interesting for there to have been some sort of time storm preventing Kal and Kara helping out in the 30th century. That’s followed by the Dark Circle plot having more of an impact on the UP and Dev-Em becoming a member due a prominent role in thwarting it. Some of the Legion don’t like it too much, and perhaps there’s a little bit of leverage from Desai.

Then things take their course as personalities clash. He could quit, he could be fired, he could just prefer the espionage work, and perhaps look to take a Legionnaire or two with him? All sorts of plot fun there.

But with Crisis coming up, having a prominent Kryptonian wasn’t a good thing. Had Dev-Em somehow filled the gap because of Crisis, then he would look like a stand in, and that wouldn’t go down to well with a lot of readers. Since that’s all wiped away too, it’s just as well that didn’t happen either.



Looking back, I’d have liked to have seen her stay. Giffen was long gone in v4 when Laurel’s time on the team ended. He would have been there for her battle with BION though.




I think this prompts there move into undermining worlds form within, rather than through masses of clone armies.



There’s probably a German word for the feeling of comic book bliss. It’s beyond nostalgia.




Like Comet Queen, and the increased Academy coverage since #304 (arguably since Levtiz took over) I think there is a bit of fun in teasing us with prospective members.



That would have been nice to see play out. Levitz would have had to have made some tough choices about the way he wanted Dev-Em to go, considering his past.



Reading your review makes me wonder if Jo could have been asking due to the treat posed by the clones being Kryptonian on power. But the clones just aren’t anywhere near as effective as they should have been this issue, and they were also beaten last issue. So, I’m still elaning on it being a bit of posturing writing.



This is one big outcome to the story. We’ve seen Mysa take down a Khundian warlord in single combat. But this is against a grouped enemy in a space battle. There was a recent letter splitting the team into various power levels, that Levitz seemed to have some interest in, or rather ideas of his own. I think this story feeds into those ideas where the team moves away form Daxam and Krypton, while retaining powerful capabilities.



Being left alone at the park by GiGi just gave him time to become a little bitter beer.




Yup, I liked the evolution of the Dark Circle. I wasn’t quite as convinced by the off switch they all seemed to have. I might have been more convinced if some of that epilogue space had been used to show us the impact of a galaxy free of the Circle. The troops of the Circle never seemed to look like any of the leaders, so who were they] clones of?




I don’t mind having stories seeding future plots, if it doesn’t obstruct the ending. I’m thinking of this story as something of a Mysa spotlight, moving her into a position of power (ability wise) in the team. Having something of a nemesis/ rogues gallery out there helps to build on her character.



Good point. Considering what the future holds, I should value reading the team win.



I was wondering what the reaction to that scene was. A bit of breaking the fourth wall fun, violating the integrity of the Legionverse, shameless promotion. I wondered why we didn’t just get Blok and Mysa commenting a bit more about it, and as they fell asleep the editorial could have a nice dialogue box selling us the Baxter book.



I’m going to have to find some Zot. Teeds put up a Zot cover recently too.
Tales does very well this month!
I’ve not even heard of Magniton Man

I see some Eagle comics on this list. Do let me know how you found those. The quality of the Eagle books (paper stock etc) was a step up from what we were getting.

What did you think of the Red Tornado mini?



I’d agree with that for both too. When I did get to read the Titans stories in the news stand edition, I can’t say I was blown away. Like the LSV arc, NTT opened very strongly with the Trigon story. On paper, there’s certainly nothing wrong with the follow up, and certainly not the artist. But I was never that taken with them. The Crisis issues seemed particularly muddled. Odd considering who the writer was. Perhaps understandable considering the burn out form that series. Wolfman could have done with a Mindy Newall.



I think I’ve heard someone quoting that. Your fame has lasted!

I got the opening arc, before I got the Annual that launched it. I didn’t mind the concept.

I had read a couple of letters in issues before that looking for more prominence for the B-Listers. Now, they are obviously there to support the changes, but there was a some more even discussion about it further back.

From my few issues, I was already seeing more of Green Arrow, Black Canary and the Hawks. It was Superman that stood out as being a little odd. The addition of Steel and Vixen were welcome enough. But it didn’t get very far out of the starting gate, before there were issues. Just going by the letters they printed. With all the background information now available (see JLD thread) it was really going to struggle.

But as for 240, I was bothered that it got in the way of the Justice League of Detroit story. I didn’t want to have an unknown flashback issue. My dad was getting me back issues for that. It seemed like it was a win for old readers at the expense of the new team. Which, looking back, it was and for any number of reasons.

Comic-Glück, per Google Translate.




This is Jo. Of course it's posturing.

I still think it's a valid question, though. Given that Brainy created Legion clones knowing they would self-destruct after 48 hours, it does open some grey area as to exactly what constitutes a living creature.




Breaking the fourth wall isn't intrinsically bad--Levitz did it with Cosmic Boy in a cute little aside back in 297 or 298. Having fun with the characters isn't bad, either. I recall a New Teen Titans "short" in which the team went up against a stereotypically mad scientist with a ridiculous name. But when the characters basically say, "Buy our next book! It's going to be unlike anything you've ever seen!" they become the company's mouthpiece.




Loved Zot! It became one of my favorite series of the '80s.



It probably should be "Megaton Man." I had created a character called Magniton, and he must have been in my mind.

It's funny the typos you see decades later.



I would have bought them at one of the two comics shops I frequented at the time: Captain Comics in St. Joseph, MO, or Clint's Comics in Kansas City. As I recall, they weren't hard to come by.



I don't remember it. The low ranking suggests I wasn't impressed. I saw an ad for it in the comics we've been discussing, and the art (Infantino, correct?) looked sloppy and cartoonish.




It's great to have made another mark on the comics industry.

And now, since this Archives thread is winding down, I hope everyone will permit me an indulgence. I re-read both JLA 240 and Tales/Titans 55 last night and think they are worth commenting on--if for no other reason than to provide a context for the Legion issues.

JLA 240 is indeed a throwback to the old JLA and even features their long-time artist, Mike Sekowsky (whose blocky figures look even more out of place in 1985, but they do have a quaint nostalgic appeal). The story concerns Dr. Anomaly, a physicist who in 1932 builds a time machine to travel into the future and find a cure for the Great Depression, which he hopes to bring back to his own time. In the "future" of the 1960s and 1970s, he witnesses the assassinations of JFK and MLK, student unrest, the Vietnam War, etc., and concludes, somehow, that gaudy super-heroes are to blame. He captures several members of the JLA and then, strangely, attacks the rest before he is defeated and escapes into the time stream—where he is discovered in 1985 by two STAR Lab scientists.

The story was written by Kurt Busiek, who would go on to explore the philosophical differences between the Marvel and DC U’s to great effect in Avengers Vs. JLA. Busiek’s desire to explore these “larger” issues and how people of good will can come to very different conclusions about how to solve problems is very much evident here. I started out liking and even admiring Dr. Anomaly. When a jobless man breaks into his home with a gun, Dr. A disarms the man and then feeds him and gives him food for his family. It is this incident which prompts Dr. A to build the time machine.

His dismay with the later eras is also understandable. How would one feel if one could travel from the 1980s into the present and see the horror of 9/11 and its aftermath? It would indeed look as if the world has gotten worse. It feels contrived, however, that he blames the decline of society on the JLA (although not far-fetched; I had a relative who attributed the decline of morals in society to the Beatles). From this point on, he becomes a stereotypical baddie—abandoning any pretense of nuance or ambiguity (which makes him the antithesis of Slade Wilson—The Terminator—who sees himself only as a legal mercenary and not the villain Changeling imagines him to be). Busiek tries to shoehorn too many ideas into this story—especially the professional/romantic entanglement of Daphne and Fred, the two STAR scientists. They are the two most interesting characters in the story, but the focus on them prevents Dr. A from developing into a more interesting and well-rounded villain.

Busiek, like many young writers, tried to do and say too much in this story. On one hand, it’s a nostalgia trip into a bygone era of the Justice League. On the other, it’s an attempt to say something deep and meaningful about a man who started out with great intentions but who became corrupted by his very ideals. On the third hand (!), it’s a glimpse into the lives of Fred and Daphne, and the tension between their professional and personal goals.

The lesson here (if there is one) is that a story should try to accomplish just one thing—like a thesis statement in an essay. It’s fine to work in other relevant ideas, but one story goal should dominate (which happens to a brilliant degree in the Titans story).

I’ll be back later to discuss Tales/Titans 55.

SPOILER WARNING: This thread discusses plot elements of Tales of the New Teen Titans 55; read at your own peril.


If JLA 240 represents a throwback to a simpler era, Tales of the New Teen Titans 55 is very much a product of its time: an effort to show how mature comics can be by focusing on complex personalities of the story’s two protagonists, Garfield Logan and Slade Wilson.

Wilson (The Terminator) gets an upgrade to protagonist status because the story is half told from his point of view, with Gar narrating the other half (red caption boxes are used for the former, blue for the latter). But while Gar and Wilson agree on the events depicted, each has a different view of what the events mean to him and why he chose to act the way he did.

The story resolves several years’ worth of story lines going back to New Teen Titans (first series) # 2 and involving Wilson’s deceased son, Grant (The Ravager), and the also deceased Terra (Tara Markov), whom Gar loved. Gar blames The Terminator for Tara’s death as well as Gar’s own recent demise (he was brought back by Amazon technology). Blinded by hatred, Gar plots to kill Wilson and, in previous issues, has gone to great lengths to discredit him by impersonating the Terminator while Wilson stands trial.

Wilson is sentenced to a minimum-security prison for a minor crime but released after less than a day. While he is in prison, Gar sneaks in and attack him as a rhinocerous. After destroying Wilson's cell, Gar flees before he can be spotted by guards. In a telling moment, Wilson refuses to tell the warden who attacked him, claiming only that it was dark.

After Wilson’s release, he agrees to meet with Logan, knowing the latter intends to kill him. Is Wilson truly tired, as he claims, and willing to put himself at Logan’s mercy or does he know that deep down Logan can’t kill him? A bit of both, I suspect. The showdown is powerful, with Logan diving toward Wilson as a hawk, talons outstretched. Wilson refuses to budge. At the last second, Gar reverts to human form and falls to the ground, defeated by his own inability to kill a man who does not give him the fight he wants.

At Wilson’s insistance, they adjourn to a diner where they have a heart-to-heart talk. That’s right. In this super-hero story, the climax does not come in the form of a battle but as a sitdown over coffee and Diet Coke. From Wilson's account, Gar learns what Tara really was like--a truths he had denied for so long. What has always stayed with me about this story, though, has been what Gar learns about himself. Tired of being perceived as an irresponsible kid by the other Titans, he gets solid advice from The Terminator: Don’t act like a fool if you don’t want to be seen as a fool. Gar also knows he must put his friendships in the Titans to the test by confessing all he’s been up to recently. But in the final panel, he believes he will be okay.

This is one of those stories that I think shows what comics are truly capable of. The characterizations are dense, and the characters change. Wolfman affords us a glimpse beyond the superficial designations of hero and villain and shows what Gar is truly capable of and that Wilson adheres to his own code of ethics. Wolfman teaches us that the truth is not so cut and dried.

This is also a very densely plotted story. Most pages boast eight to ten panels, creating the feel of a mini-novel. Almost every page is dialogue-heavy, and the dialogue goes through several peaks and valleys-especially in the diner scene, where Wilson confesses he still loves his ex-wife, Addie. A lot of exposition is delivered in this scene, but it all feels natural.

This story has stayed with me over the years. More, it’s the kind of writing I’ve always striven to achieve: something that challenges the reader and pushes the characters and genre to new heights.

. . . so, where did the Legion fit into all this? Somewhere between, I think. The Legion, like the Titans, grew up as a series during the ‘80s, but it couldn’t quite match the narrative and character complexity Wolfman pulled off with Titans. I don’t know if this is because of Levitz’s limitations as a writer or because the Legion’s large cast made it difficult to focus on just a few characters at any given time. Whereas Wolfman was able to develop the Changeling/Terminator arc over several issues, most Legionnaires were relegated to a spotlight issue here and there. Subplots and character arcs developed, but, as we’ve observed, many took a very long time to lead anywhere (the founders leaving, for example).

The Titans featured only seven core characters, which gave Wolfman a lot of leeway in developing their relationships with each other and with various antagonists such as Terra and Wilson. The Legion, by contrast, seemed like a self-contained group of heroes; supporting characters such as Yera and Marte Allon were generally kept at a distance. Shvaughn and Gigi had greater roles, but their ultimate impact on the Legionnaires was negligible. Villains such as the Dark Circle and the LSV are there only for our heroes to do their job; few of them have any lasting influence on the heroes. (One character who did have such as impact was Jhodan in the “exile planet” storyline.)

None of this meant to say Titans was better than the Legion (though, in terms of storytelling, it often was); however, I think some interesting comparisons can be made between these series—JLA and Titans—and the concurrent Legion stories. JLA floundered as its creative team tried to emulate Titans. But what made Titans so successful is that it didn't imitate anything. It was truly an original series built off well-defined characters and their relationships.

This reminds me why that was the period in which I read the Titans regularly. No TItans series since has captured my interest for long.

Working with fewer core characters must have facilitated the depth of their development. I've wondered if the future setting of the Legion could also work against the story. Space is devoted to building the 30th/31st century which may displace character interaction. They aren't mutually exclusive, but a lot of Legion panel time is presenting or explaining things like the Miracle Machine, HQ security, non-Earth planets , etc.

Interesting point about most Legion villains not having a lasting influence. That Titans story made me think of the recently-reread story of Ayla confronting Mekt and standing up to him. It was certainly a different resolution than the Logan-Wilson encounter, but strong on emotion and change. Mekt, as a villain, has the advantage (story-wise) of an established familial relationship as well as frequent appearances. Dr. Regulus might have had a similar effect, but I never got a sense of much emotional charge from his encounters with Dirk.

Legion of Substitute Heroes Special by Paul Levitz & Keith Giffen, art by Keith Giffen & Karl Kesel, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Bismoll has introduced a bill for computerization, which worries Senator Tenzil Kem, citing the Computer Tyrants of Colu. He's called in the Subs since he doesn't want to disturb the Legion on a mere hunch that something might go wrong. The computers appear to be copies of Computo.

Something else else within a star responds to a signal and takes flight.

The Subs prepare to leave for Bismoll. Color Kid shows up as a female.

Gigi Cusimano grumbles as she arrives at the Subs' Clubhouse to be the newly appointed Liason.

On Bismoll, Eyeful Ethel and Tusker prepare to sabotage the new computers in order to qualify for the Legion of Super-Villains. As they approach the machines, Pulsar Stargrave appears, summoned by the computers.

The Subs and Gigi arrive at Bismoll, are not permitted to land due to the Stargrave-induced blackout. They get to the planet surface via Levitzian Decree, although they're separated.

To cut a long silly story short, mishaps and disasters ensue, with Stargrave eventually defeated - and destroyed - by Tenzil, Brek and Dag.

Comments:
At the risk of being banned from the Archives Re-Read, I'll admit that I like this story. It's a series of goofy gags that depend on the incompetence and bad luck of the Subs and other secondary characters. Like a celebrity roast, it's good not to take your heroes (or yourself) too seriously.

The Subs are at their best in stories in which they succeed against the odds through effort, determination and mastery of their powers. A lot of fans deplore this story because it makes them look like idiots. (Everyone looks pretty much like an idiot here, except for Tenzil Kem.) I like to think of it as everyone having a really, really bad day. True to the Subs' tradition, despite everything going wrong, they don't give up. They aren't all able to extricate themselves from holes in the ground or garbage incinerators in time to join the main action, but that's the way it goes some days.

A few tidbits of enduring interest:

- a look at the planet Bismoll
- the return of Tenzil Kem, as a sober-minded Senator AND a hero
- the Grandin Gender Reversal Germ, a favourite of Legion World (and possibly Legion fans everywhere)
- a send-up of the Legion HQ blueprint at the end of the story

Two life lessons to contemplate:

- Gigi took her assignment as Subs Liaison with ill grace. She went grumbling, angry and resentful into the job. It was indicated that this assignment was punishment (or payback, engineered by Dirk Morgna) but she might have been better served to embrace the task with a more open and positive attitude.

- Stone Boy got the award, essentially for being in the right place at the right time and for no direct action on his part. Those who merit are not always rewarded.

And a question:

Urk is on the cover, although he's been affiliated with the Academy. He drops out of the story after page 7 (unless I missed a panel appearance). Was there some thought to send him to the Subs?

>Whew< Glad I didn't review the next Baxter issue last night.

I'll try not to let my 2 pages of recent Ambush Bug reading, colour my view of the Special.

I would like to chip in to say that I have very, very pleasant memories of this issue. Not having access to it right at the moment, I cannot make any more specific comments, but... yes, it was silly. Yes, the Subs and the Legionverse were played for laughs. But there is a reason they were called comic books, before the more serious "sequential art" and "graphic novel" nomenclature.

Also, it was a product of its time.

Subs Special

There’s a menace that is threatening a world! Worse, that menace now has another intelligence behind it! Fortunately, the world’s protector has realised the gravity of the threat. Eight brave heroes split up across the world to combat the villains, but only one of them will succeed!

Giffen and Levitz have layered this book. The spine above is the plot structure of a silver age Justice League comic. It’s subverted at the end, as the heroes don’t all re-join and defeat the foe together. There’s a reason for that final switch too.

Then there’s the Legion Easter eggs from Silver Age Legion comics thrown in, such as the Planetary chance machine. The convoluted explanation as to why Tenzil isn’t poisoned by eating things form his own planet, is reminiscent of previous continuity hoop jumps.

There’s not one, but three A-List Legion villains present. Pulsar Stargrave gave Superboy a run for his money. Here, he takes out the power to a whole planet, and is using new computer systems for his own ends. Those computer systems look just like Computo. There’s the shadow of a third group, the Legion of Super-villains present too. One of them has been recruiting, and two former Legion rejects are on an initiation test to prove themselves. The LSV has a history of including Legion rejects and traitors, so there’s nothing unusual here.

The magic hero group number of seven line up to fight these villains, when contacted by Tenzil Kem, a former Legionnaire.

The issue places the subs up against credible threats. It’s worth pointing out, as Giffen has a reputation of completely undermining the. But there’s a lot of solid, established structure in the setup.
Both Kem and the Subs act as heroically as they can throughout the book. Kem fears for the safety of his people. He has no evidence and summons the next best thing to the Legion; The Subs. The Subs have a good track record over the years in helping the Legion, most recently fighting Darkseid’s minions in the Great Darkness Saga, and easily defeating the Legion of Super Assassins.
Another example of the layering is Tenzil confrontation with Stargrave, where he makes a daring single handed attack, hoping that his powers will be enough to defeat the villain. It’s played completely straight, with the visuals providing the humour of what’s actually going on.

The sniggering of some other Bismollian citizens at the thought of the Subs, gets things off to a bad start. The secret missions of the early Subs may have fostered such an opinion, but they had long since proved themselves publicly. Probably the issues biggest mistake is in not showing us their triumphs, and increased stature. It wouldn’t have interfered with any of the plot, and would have actually added to their long known determination to see things through to the bitter end.

It’s the sort of determination that the Subs need here. They aren’t the A-List celebrities of the Legion. And they’re susceptible to all the things that can go wrong to more regular folks, who happen to have superpowers.

They get caught up in planetary customs. Where changing superpowers could be a big plot for a major hero, it’s an inconvenience here, and one caused by another team member.

In those Silver Age books, teleported heroes end up facing foes that they can overcome, perhaps helping to rescue their colleagues along the way. Here, the heroes are not being directed by anything in particular. There’s no foes to beat and they don’t have the power levels to combat what they sometimes face.

That random placement has pros and cons. On one hand it continues another layer of the book; one where we can see a comedic take behind the scenes of the book being made. Editorial messages; footnotes and barbed creative comments. It’s the sort of thing we’d see in Ambush Bug where the guys would be making up the plot in a bar, arguing over whether Rex was the Wonder Dog or not. It also leads into the type of threat the heroes will face. They’re just dumped on Bismoll with just enough connection to the plot through Brek, Pete and Dag to keep the plot going.

On the other hand, it looks very much as though Giffen had asked for a guest appearance form Ambush Bug and had it denied. The “pop” sound effect used to get the team onto Bismoll, is just the same as the Bug’s powers. Being unable to do anything with the plot beyond a deus ex machina push is a flaw, that they could have got around. A page of grumpy panels connecting things up; a crossover with Bug from a DC comics presents issue could have been done.

Ambush Bug had met the Subs previously, in DC Comics Presents 59 back in 1983. Actually, that issue had a lot of similarities to this one, with a sneezing Fire Lad and a Stone Boy who crashes head first into the ground. While this special gets a lot of criticism, Levitz and Giffen had actually covered similar territory with them before.

With all of the above, it shouldn’t be left out that it’s also about the creators having a bit of fun. Well, Giffen having fun at any rate and Levitz aiding and abetting. There’s a warning on the cover letting people know that this is the case. While the DC Comics presents issue had Giffen going for a Schuster look, here he’s channelling his latest influence. Perhaps the looser, more cartoonish style, also adds to the sense of fun at the Subs expense.

Only Porcupine Pete and Polar Boy land close to Pulsar Stargrave. And Porcupine Pete lands so close, that he’s quickly punched out by the villain before he can do anything. Again, it’s his determinisation even having been knocked silly that provides the humour.

Pete looks to have been a stand in for Night Girl, who is going through a period of appearances in the main book leading up to Cosmic Boy’s future, only some of which would come to pass. I’m not sure how Pete survived Stargrave’s punch.

Chlorophyll Kid is the victim of a joke from Hitchhiker’s Guide. Drura is only there to set up the Color Kid change.

Color Kid could have been seen to use hir powers to defeat the laser wavelengths from the garbage incinerator death trap (this low grade death trap being a stand in for all the ones big status heroes find themselves in when this happens to them).

We’ve just seen Dawny and Querl brings germs onto a planet in Tales. Here, Fire Lad is affected by pollen on Bismoll.

Not following through on the setups is another flaw of the book. A number of the heroes could have had their small victories, rather than it being down to Brek and Dag. But Giffen goes all the way with this approach, not showing us the actual defeat of Stargrave, preferring to show us a diagram in a news report. It’s a more stylistically European take, focusing on effect and editing over continuity driven plot structure. We’d see this further in v4.

It’s not much better for the Supervillains either. Stargrave, caught up in confused plots by previous writers, finds himself unable to execute his plan here. Things go badly for the LSV initiates. They realise Stargrave and get a bit fired, when they have something of a change of heart at the villainy they’ve unleashed. That change makes them a lot more sympathetic than their later villainous appearance in the JLE.

The book also ties into the main books too. We do see Night Girl, but it’s not mentioned that she’s on leave with Cos. We do get Officer Cusimano, possibly there as a result of Dirk Morgna’s interference. She provides an authority figure, but little else. We all ready have a “long suffering” character in Brek, and even Stargrave gets in on the “Why me?” act.

The finale to the book is also a direct lead in to Polar Boy’s appearance in v3 #14. Polar Boy being shown the Academies route to the team in v2 #316 is also part of this arc for Brek. Issue #316 also showed us Stone Boy’s reaction to a crisis. That leads directly into the payoff here, as the falling hero is the one to break apart a Stargrave, frozen by Brek.

Stone Boy got nominated for Legion membership back in the Silver age for doing not much more than he does here, but going in with an equally heroic heart. That goes back to my earlier points about a lot of this special being firmly taken form the Silver Age.

We also get a further look to the future as Brek’s solution here is exactly the one that defeats Tharok all the way forward in v7.

Despite being a comedy vehicle, it’s a story with its roots to the Silver Age, ties with the present books and with seeds that will bear fruit much later on.

Indeed. I don't think it would play very well today, given the reaction to recent Legion appearances such as that in Sugar & Spike. Perhaps slapstick and humour only works for those characters who are set up to be consistently portrayed that way.



You make it sound positively Shakespearean!



Good point. They could have had some wins among the disasters.



The pop! I missed the Ambush Bug association. It would have been a natural, but perhaps they feared over-associating the Bug with the Subs. Or vice-versa.



So they're even robbed of their victory scene.



Most likely to be awarded for standing around, thinking good thoughts. I guess it's something to be proud of.

Subs Special

Okay, I can take an April Fool’s joke as much as anyone, and I don’t mind a sendup of our heroes to keep us from taking them (and ourselves) too seriously. But my beef with the Subs Special is that it’s just not funny. It’s an attempt to be clever. There is a huge difference.

Humor usually comes from the characters and their reactions to the situations in which they find themselves. As a point of comparison, I’ve been re-watching Barney Miller, a sitcom set in a New York detective squadroom that ran in 1970s and ‘80s. Barney Miller is full of humor, but it never portrayed the cops as incompetent or as buffoons. In every episode, they caught robbers, talked potential suicides off ledges, and worked through layoffs and policies that made their jobs difficult. The humor came from their interactions with each other, their own human foibles (Harris’s obsession with writing a book, for example, or Wojo’s black and white view of situations), and their attempts to help the often crazy people who came through the squadroom. There was warmth and humanity in the show. Even though Barney Miller was a sitcom, real police officers—it has been said—regarded it as one of the most realistic cop shows on TV.

The Subs Special simply pokes fun at the characters for the sake of poking fun at them. There is no one to admire in this story, and the characters don’t even like each other. They win by accident as much as by anything else. Virtually everything in the story is a put down. Bismoll, for example, is regarded as an embarrassment of a planet—but why? Why is the ability to eat and digest anything inherently silly? Doesn’t it show the inhabitants’ ingenuity in creating a means to survive when all food on their planet became poisonous? Levitz and Giffen missed an opportunity to show us a way to admire these people whom others regard as a joke.

Instead, they simply play along with that joke—as they do with the Subs. Look, if the Subs were really that incompetent and ineffective, there’s no way an organization like the Legion would support them, encourage them, or ask for their assistance. Some of the situations they find themselves in are understandable—such as Fire Lad sneezing and causing a fire when he finds himself on an unfamiliar planet (but one wonders why he didn’t study up on the planet and inoculate himself first); but what does he do after he causes this unfortunate accident? Well . . . nothing.

On the other hand, Color Kid’s gender transformation happens because Infectious Lass cannot control her power. If her control is so poor, she should not even be allowed to join the Subs.

Cramey’s point about everyone having a bad day is well-taken—and I think this is especially true for Gigi. She has apparently been given a bum assignment as punishment for trying to teach Dirk a lesson. And she approaches the assignment with a negative mindset instead of choosing to see it as an opportunity. Tenz, too, is having a bad day: His peers in the Senate do not take his warnings seriously, so he calls on the Subs—the only help available—only to find out that the situation is much more dangerous than he thought. But even on a bad day, our heroes win and come out no worse for wear. They don’t learn anything or grow from the experience, and even situations which could truly test our heroes—such as Gigi’s encounter with the Kirby-esque monster—are conveniently not shown. As a reader, I feel cheated that situations are set up without payoff.

Thoth also makes a good point about the story subverting tropes of the Silver Age. However, a story should be more than a send-up of past literary traditions.

I’m glad Paul and Keith got this out of their systems. As a reader, though, I feel an opportunity was wasted to be both humorous and insightful.

I think this is the most graceful way of looking at the story. It could be used as fodder to discuss how one's expectations influence one's reality, or how awards do not always represent real achievement.



This is a good point. Silly super-heroes go back to the Golden Age (the original Red Tornado, for example). It might be worthwhile to compare those stories to this one and see if it holds up.



This, too, is a good point. I hadn't noticed that it plays off the old JLA formula until you pointed it out.



I'm not sure about this. Staq does nothing more than cause a fire by sneezing. Ral's only reason for being in the book is to get arrested for being overweight (which, in itself is problematic. People are overweight for a number of reasons besides overeating. Yet the story states that overweight people get arrested because they use up too many of the planet's scarce food resources. Not only does this imply a broad generalization, but it hardly seems logical since Bismollians can eat anything except, apparently, what's natural to the planet).

Drura does nothing but stay on the ship and wonder how things turn out.

The only people who act heroically are Tenz and Brek. Even Dag is just an object used by others.



A subtle bit of irony there: The Bismollians laugh at the Subs just as others laugh at the them. The pot and the kettle.



This "random dumping" reads like a role-playing game, where characters go down dark corners of a dungeon and encounter a variety of creatures and mishaps and maybe eventually find the treasure and rescue the princess. There's a reason why comics are not plotted like role-playing games.

I like the idea of not all of the heroes making it to the final battle--that reflects real life, to an extent. But real life is not what Giffen was going for. Clearly, the editorial asides take the reader out of the story on purpose. The whole point of the story is just to have a laugh. Unfortunately, that laugh seems to come from a mean-spirited attempt to make the characters (and the readers) look foolish.

LSH #13 If You Think the Khunds are Cuddly, You'll Love the Lythyls! by Paul Levitz, art by Steve Lightle & Mike Machlan, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Blok, in a new uniform, greets individuals who wish to try out for the Legion, telling them that Legion procedures will be followed. He's interrupted by Val's lawyer with a message from Brin.

Brin and Sensei arrive on Lythyl, a planet deemed dangerous by the U.P., with other would-be immigrants. All must earn freedom by proving their worth through physical prowess. Sensei whispers to Brin that Val's father became corrupted on Lythyl and that, for justice, Sensei killed him and raised Val. A guard hits Sensei for speaking and is in turn attacked by the old man. Brin joins the brawl; he and Sensei impress the head guard.

At HQ, some Legionnaires are relaxing. As Dirk and Thom play Dungeons & Dragons, Violet surprises Dirk by putting her hands down his shirt. Blok plays Brin's message for Jan; Brin reports what he's doing and says he can use the billions of credits to help kids. Jan decides to send Lar, Mysa and Jacques to stand by in case Brin needs help getting off planet. Jan mentions that Jacques has been cleared of the death of the Khund who he accidently teleported into space. Blok questions why Val would seek vengeance in this way; Jan believes there is some other motive, since vengeance wasn't Val's style.

On Lythyl, Brin and Sensei are separated from other immigrants to be put through further tests which will examine the soul, not just strength. They impress the three judges with their first test, battling a tentacled dragon.

On Earth, Leland McCauley gets an update on politics and business. The snetient who had been observing R.J. meeting with Proteans reports on that and other meetings; McCauley worries that a former pet Protean of his could betray him now that the U.P. has granted Proteans freedom.

Brin and Sensei continue with one judge, a young man named Myg, born on Lythyl. He tells them that Lythyl spins on the multiverse nexus, the source of its wealth and legends. Myg challenges Sensei to a fight.

Lar, Mysa and Jacques approach Lythyl under Mysa's spell of protection. She plans to use Jacques' invisibility in another spell. Lar admonishes Jacques that he should learn to use all his powers, even though he was cleared of the Khund's death.

Sensei appears to have lost the challenge, but after, he and Brin knock the young man unconscious. Sensei carries Myg and decides to train him to be good; Brin uses Myg's control bracelet to access the Sacred Oasis. Here they are attacked; as Sensei battles the crowd, Brin races to Lythyl's Sacred Stones to fulfill Val's last request. He then signals with his flight ring, returns to save Sensei and Myg and all three disappear. Mysa had made them invisible so Lar could carry them to safety. Brin explained that Val asked him to plant a seed by the Sacred Stones since legend told that if anything grew there, Lythyl would grow soft and crumble. In the final panel, a green sprout emerges by the Stones.

Comments:
For a Brin Londo adventure, I'd expect a knock 'em sock 'em story, but this tale has some more depth to it, with its hope for rehabilitation and change.

Lythyl is a strange planet with survival of the fittest immigration standards. I have to wonder why anyone would want to move there, but there appear to be promises of riches if you can fight your way through. It's all about physical strength, we're told - although cunning and intelligence must play a part.

Lythyl is "at the nexus of the multiverse" - I don't know how or if this plays into Crisis. Is Lythyl just there, or does it play some multiverse balancing role? Could planting a seed cause Lythyl to crumble metaphorically, or physically? It appears in Lo3W, so perhaps the legend was no more than a legend.

Sensei kidnaps Myg, with good intention, but aided and abetted by the Legion. Myg hasn't done anything wrong, so this could be legally questionable - although he'll later be free to return to his home planet.

Brin acquits himself well, although I question whether he could have made it without Sensei's help. Nevertheless, this issue restores the character, which has been quite downtrodden since the incident on the asteroid with Imra.

Blok gets Brin's message and kicks it upstairs to Jan, who nicely explains why he's sending that particular team to help Brin get off Lythyl.

Lar's admonition to Jacques about controlling his powers is well-delivered. I get a sense of annoyance from Lar in those few lines. He's a senior member and well-placed to make those comments. As mentioned before, Jacques has been given a lot of leeway with his unknown power set, while others have been refused membership for insufficient control or experience.

As Brin fights a real Dungeons & Dragons game, Dirk and Thom play the holo version in the safety of the HQ. Violet's physical advances on Dirk surprise him - and probably everyone else - although we have no idea how it turns out - or whether she's looking for sex or just having him on, as Yera, Gigi and Gim did. It certainly does show that Vi's personality has changed.

Mysa performs more amazing spells. Although we've seen the Spell of Similarity used before, she piggybacks it onto Jacques invisibility power in a new and powerful twist. Is there anything she can't do?

LoSH 13

The evening sun has rested on the little plastic pockets of the binder this week, making this issue lovely and warm to the touch.

Things are going to heat up inside too, if the cover is anything to go by. It’s Brin against a horde of alien foes. Including a Gordonian at the back.

An excellent opening scene combines the membership drive, with Brin’s solo adventure while adding a touch of comedy. A crowd of applicants have turned up for the tryouts, and Blok is telling them that they will all get their turn. One of the crowd suggests it’s humans only, so Blok is well placed to dispel that. That’s also a nod to Levitz and Lightle’s plan to bring in some non human characters. One of Giffen’s old ones is the applicant sitting in a puddle in the crowd. Of those there, The Skreaks and Energy Boy are two we’ll see again next issue.

Blok is interrupted to be told of Brin’s mission to Lythyl, where he will by now be “extremely wealthy…or dead.”

Blok has practically never looked better than here (Perez drawing him in Crisis and History are also up there) and this is the costume I thin he suits best. The traditional Legion statues have been replaced with wall murals like the Teen Titans Tower. Having Ferro Lad next to the newly costumed Lightning Lass sets a good tone for the applicants to appreciate.

We’re introduced to Lythyl along with Brin as he and Sensai dock. They have both signed released to become slaves there, as that’s the only way onto the planet (without using the Legion espionage squad, but then we wouldn’t have a story. Levitz actually covers this by adding that only Brin can complete the mission with Sensei if necessary to meet the terms of the will. ). There’s immediate physical threat as the guards there insult the group of newcomers as being weaker each year. We see signs of causal sadism as Sensei gives us a little of the back story of Val Armorr, with the addition that his father was corrupted on Lythyl. It’s only a touch of additional information, but it will be key to the story.

Overheard talking, Sensai is attacked and both he and Brin defend themselves. Despite being on a world where physical prowess is considered to be key, Levitz goes out of his way to point out how well suited Brin is for this sort of world. Super agility, strength and resilience are all at his disposal. He seems wary but confident. Levitz doesn’t downplay either our protagonist or the world he’s facing, making both look good.

In addition to his powers, Brin’s shown some smarts this time too. He’s made sure to tell Blok, and through him the Legion just what he’s up to. He tells them that once the terms of the will have been fulfilled he’s leaving the planet as quickly as he can, hinting that having a rescue team would be nice. Element Lad picks power players Lar and (shown most recently through Tales) Mysa with Jacques adding a bit of subterfuge if needed for that rescue team.

This scene picks up a few subplots. Jacques has been cleared of killing a Khund Assassin. He may not have full control of those powers, but Jan is sending him out there again. Vi hits on Dirk.

Elsewhere, Leland Macauley (formerly seen as an arrogant brat even when being rescued by the Legion) receives reports on President Desai and rival RJ Brande. He’s oblivious to anything deceptive around Desai. There’s mention of a Himalayan development. I recall Gim and Ord’s battle there and also an upcoming Manhunters story and wonder if there’s any connection. It seems that, in addition to being a bit obsessed with Brande as a rival, McCauley used to have a protean ”pet”. Levitz has been providing us snippets of the Proteans’ changing status in the UP. Now they are independent citizens, McCauley worries about all the secrets his protean might have learned from him.

Back on Lythyl and Sensei and Brin have fast tracked themselves into an audience with the world’s three leaders. The story is more than the endless series of fight scenes it could have been. There’s a philosophy behind the practices of separating the people of Lythyl. From servants to masters. Mastering a giant lake creature is the test set them by the three judges. Brin could knock it unconscious, but he and Sensei are playing a longer game, positioning themselves to the goal of their mission. Brin is getting some mentoring of his own along the way, and it’s unfortunate we don’t see too much of Sensei following this issue.
The big creature looks scary enough, but it’s really just window dressing for the pair to pass the test and command it, rather than punch it, away.
Of the three judges, Steggus and Gorax look as though they’ve fought their way into their position. Myg, on the other hand, tells them that he has been “blooded and born on Lythyl.” He’s something different.

Connector Kid: Hi! It seems to me that Levitz’s reveal of “blooded and born” on page 14 is linked to the Sensei telling Brin that Val Armorr’s father “came here and became corrupt.” Back on page 4. For those who think Myg looks a bit young to be Val’s brother, note Sensei pointing out that Myg has “mastery of skills that need a life time” and Myg’s “age isn’t everything” retort on page 15. Myg is older than he seems.

Despite many travelling to Lythyl for riches and power, it’s wealth and status that they will only get to use on that world, as no one gets to leave (well, Val’s father aside presumably). As Myg gives Brin and Sensei the tour, there’s the reveal that Lythyl spins on a multiverse nexus. There’s a mine of possibilities there, that would vanish as soon as Crisis came about no doubt.

Before the main story’s finale we see the rescue team approach. It’s been nice to see that side of the story built up in parallel. It makes a change from a deus ex machina rescue seen in other stories. Mysa is using Jacques powers as part of her spell to keep them all invisible. I wonder what she could do with the powers of other Legionnaires, or combinations thereof?

Lar is firm and fair over Jacques acquittal. He feels that Invisible Kid should know all his powers. I’m surprised the Kid hasn’t been benched. Lar’s use of “got you off” is telling of his views on the matter.
Having finished their tour Sensei and Myg spar. Alone, Myg doesn’t realise he’s been set up and he’s knocked unconscious by a double attack. Sensei chooses to bring Myg with them. He sees a young Val or Val’s father in the boy’s youth. Except that Myg has already stated that there may be more to him than meets the eye. It’s another unfortunate dead end. Myg would later become a Legionnaire, but only in the five year gap. He would make a more prominent appearance before then in an upcoming annual.

Presumably Myg’s tour enables Sensei and Birn to know the spot where they can fulfil their mission. They exit one of the portals only to find a crowded outer courtyard. There’s lots of action as Sensei hold off the mob, while Brin enters the inner courtyard. Fighting along the way, we see a lot more of his bestial face, complete with glowing red eyes. This is probably my favourite depiction of Timberwolf.

As Brin stands alone in what has to be the quietest spot on the planet, Sensei is overcome by numbers. Brin uses his Legion ring to summon help and goes back to help Val’s mentor. Wihtout the need to put up a pretence, we get more of a showing of Brin’s super-strength as he holds the crowd at bay. The rescue goes without a hitch, and Brin reveals that the will asked that seeds be sown at the sacred, rocky heart of Lythyl fulfilling a legend that such a deed would break apart the stony, barren hearts of the people there. Again, it’s not an issue where violence was the point, or the solution. There’s plenty of action but directed towards a purpose, which raises this issue far above so many other books, and makes this a very good Legion issue.

Much like Kol, it’s a shame that not many of the other seeds in the book were picked up on again. Myg would be underutilised. Looking at him here, he should be among the last Legionnaires to be mind controlled by the Dominators. There’s also hints about his age and possibly heritage. Myg would represent Lythyl in the UP in Lo3W, which seemed a bit pointless considering the ethos of the planet, and the secrets it held.

Sensei gets a mention as late on as before v6/7 when there was a sudden, brief flurry of Karate Kid’s about. He’s named appropriately enough to join Doctor and Engineer of the Authority in a group somewhere.

There’s no doubt that Lightle’s art in this issue really raises it up too. He deals with large crowd numbers, and makes them all look interesting and threatening.

LSH 13

I don't have a lot of time to do a full review, but I want to say that the Lythyl story is one from this era I've remembered most over the years. The last image of a plant growing out of solid rock has stayed with me, and I've found myself using a similar metaphor in my writing. This powerful visual illustrates how hardness and physical strength are not enough to live a good life; one also needs softness and nurturing, the green stuff (plants) as well as the brown (rocks). A self-sustaining culture cannot be built on just one value; it needs balance. Otherwise, it becomes as corrupted as Val's father apparently was.

I'm fine with not knowing how the growth of the plant affected Lythyl culture; it would probably take several years or generations for its effect to be noticed. But the seeds (hah) of it success were indicated by the mythology surrounding Lythyl's sacred space. If the people believe a plant will cause their society to soften or crumble, it will likely become a self-fulfilling prophecy . . . and one that may challenge them to grow in new ways.

This story is probably the only time I've really liked Timber Wolf as a character. From the first time I saw him back in Superboy 197, I always liked his dramatic wolfish appearance; however, his powers were too mundane on a team with other characters who were strong, fast, and agile. (To be fair, his powers were rarely depicted to their full potential.) Personality wise, he drifted from a non-descript Legionnaire to a loner who felt uncomfortable around people to a boob upon whom his teammates heaped their distrust and disdain. Brin filled this role especially well in Levitz's stories, but here we get a different side of him: one that displays intelligence, honor, and compassion. (I'm not clear on why fulfilling KK's will was necessary for "billions of credits" to be available to help orphans, though. Surely, KK wouldn't have withheld help from children for the sake of a quest. Or maybe it was Brin who decided to use the money now in his possession to help orphans. If so, it really gives us a glimpse into his compassionate side.)

Brin's relationship with the Sensei reminds me of any number of young hero/old mentor stories (especially--and fittingly-- the Karate Kid films), but these two play well off each other.

I'm not so sure about the Sensei's actions regarding Myg, though. By his own statement, Myg was "born and bled" on Lythyl; this is the only world he's known. To remove him against his will is kidnapping, whatever the Sensei's motives. (This story reminds me of an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," in which the Enterprise encounters a young man raised in a similarly harsh culture who turns out to be the grandson of a Starfleet admiral. Picard must make the difficult choice of returning the young man against his will to his natural family or allowing him to remain with the only father he has ever known. Picard chooses the latter.) The Sensei's decision--and the Legion's complicity--is a symptom of arrogance: *of course* their culture is better than the one Myg leaves behind, *of course* they should try to save this young man from life on a corrupt world, *of course* they should do the right thing. These "of course" assumptions are self-serving and judgmental. No one asks Myg what he wants to do.

Lightle's artwork is outstanding. This is one of several issues I have signed by him.

The subplots move the story lines forward without distracting from the main story. The focus remains on Brin and his quest, as it should.

Comments







It's not stated how people stay in power once they have attained it. On Khundia there’s the challenge courts. Since you can bump into someone and challenge them, I imagine that the more powerful stay off the streets. So smarts certainly play a part even there. On Lythyl, the 3 judges presumably aren’t constantly fighting off challengers. Their number may not even be limited to three.

It may be a rank, and it looks as though Brin and the Sensei would reach it fairly quickly. “The role they assign you is the one you shall play all your days on our world until you die,” said a guard. That does seem to undermine all the fighting we see. If there’s no moving form your role, are you just fighting to maintain it? Perhaps the guard simply has never ,oved form his role, and doesn’t see the larger picture.



I hadn’t thought of the seed having an impact on the multiverse itself… snatches back “You’re a hero badge” from Birn and replaces it with a “You’re a destroyer of the universe badge” instead.

I had thought that Lythyl has a number of gateways offering access to various parts of the multiverse. Challenges or access to creatures from other realms times and universes. My thinking was that the folks form Lythyl had built a culture around this nexus. Sort of if a civilisation came across a Reed Richards experiment in exploration and taken something different from it.

Endless adventures, not to be seen again in a Legion book. The Multiverse comes and goes in the main DCU, and the Legion shouldn’t really be beholden to the whims of it.



Really good point. We never get to see Myg’s reaction to any of this. We see him later at the academy and in a Subs annual. But there, he’s shorn of all the mystery he has here. The mastery he has to teach others and self confidence that this, and possibly ageing secrets, is lost. It’s replaced by a kid with an arrogance about him, if only to keep him young enough to get possible future admittance as a second Karate Kid. Such age limits go with Polar Boy and are definitely out, when Harmonia comes along.



Brin would have failed the challenge of the creature. He may have been provoked into doing something rash too. Sensei was good for Brin here and it would have been nice to see a little more of him.





Dirk must have been completely distracted by Gigi to not have REJECTED! Jacques. Mysa and Jacques do return to the academy for additional training, and I’d have liked to have seen Drake continue in a mentor capacity to them both, and those to come. Instead, Mysa has been put into the power house league already and Jacques is allowed to continue despite having no more control over his powers than he did before.



I was trying to recall if this was Vi testing the boundaries of her assertiveness, or if there was something more going on.



It is a concern, although I was less worried about a spell we saw used in a framework before than the ones she pulled out during the Dev-Em story.



Well put.



And you also get this Fun with Puns Prize, Sir! Congratulations!



I see it as a culture change. The end of the system of judges perhaps, but one that will take any number of bloody cycles to progress.



I was wondering if anyone would think along those lines, because it made me give it a second glance. I was imagining that KK would have found other altruistic means of routing the money. The kids thing is what Brin wants to do with it once it’s his. To make it his, he has to go on a quest. Had Birn failed it would be up to Accountant Lad to take on Calculon, The Infinite Machine! In order to get his hands on the money as per the next bit of the will.



Ah, I see you reached the same conclusion. That’ll teach me not to read the full paragraph. We never hear from those kids again, and we’ve not heard form them before. Could it be Brin has really invested in an android factory, where all the kids see him as their father figure, in a creepy reprise of his own origin? Could he also have blown a lot of the cash on Lotus Fruit? Mind you, it’s well known that excessive Lotus Fruit consumption turns you into a giant werewolf creature, and that’s not what… hey…



I think Myg’s headband is the essence of Karate Kid’s from across the multiverse. Myg uses Lythyl to harness in preparation for his ultimate task; to defeat The Giffen, killer of many Karate Kids in their childhood.







It was one where there was more than enough in the main story to drive the issue. A bit more depth, of this kind, in some recent issues would have raised them up to this level.

I suspect Lythyl's growth as a culture would indeed be bloody. Historically, most culture shifts usually have been. Your reference to judges is interesting--a reference to the Biblical judges? Lythyl, too, may experience periods of division and diaspora as it strives to figure itself out.

Come to think of it, I wonder if Brin could be charged with violating the Legion Code for instigating rebellions that will certainly lead to massive killings. Of course, since Lythyl is quarantined and any such change may be decades in coming, he may have nothing to worry about.

Here's how this issue ranked on my "Comics Survey" of May 28, 1985:

1. Zot! # 9 -- Eclipse
2. Star Trek # 17 -- DC
3. New Teen Titans (Annual) # 1 -- DC
4. Crisis on Infinite Earths # 6 -- DC
5. Legion of Super-Heroes # 13 -- DC
6. New Teen Titans # 11 -- DC
7. Tales of the New Teen Titans # 57 -- DC
8. Dreadstar & Company # 3 -- Marvel/Epic
9. Nexus # 12 -- First
10. Squadron Supreme # 1 -- Marvel

11. Fury of Firestorm # 39 -- DC
12. Justice League of America # 242 -- DC
13. Amazing Spider-Man # 268 -- Marvel
14. Action Comics # 569 -- DC
15. Dalgoda # 5 -- Fantagraphics
16. Captain America # 309 -- Marvel
17. Megaton Man # 3 -- Kitchen Sink
18. All-Star Squadron # 48 -- DC
19. Infinity Inc. # 17 -- DC
20. Jonni Thunder, A.K.A. Thunderbolt # 4 -- DC

21. Ambush Bug # 3 -- DC
22. DC Comics Presents # 83 -- DC
23. Flaming Carrot # 6 -- Aardvark-Vanaheim/Renegade
24. Batman (Annual) # 9 -- DC
25. Gargoyle # 4 -- Marvel
26. Flash # 348 -- DC
27. Mask Prevue -- DC
28. World's Finest # 317 -- DC
29. Saga of the Swamp Thing # 38 -- DC
30. Masked Man # 1 -- Eclipse

31. Marvel Tales # 178 -- Marvel
32. Aztec Ace # 10 -- Eclipse
33. Avengers # 258 -- Marvel
34. Shadow War of Hawkman # 4 -- DC

So, that's the second Top Ten in a row for the Legion--and in month with so many varied offerings!

Li’l thoth in Elsenwhen

Justice League 241 has the new League up against a very old foe in Amazo. The Tuska art underwhelmed me compared to Patton and Perez before him. It’s not that there weren’t good points (Mera is stunning for example), and I certainly appreciate it more now.

Of ex leaguers…

The Sword of the Atom #2 special keeps Ray firmly in his miniature John Carter world in South America. It’s an okay story too. This one has the plot seed that Jean Loring’s new husband is given the size altering belt, that he uses a few times throughout. Yet, it’s Ray who pops up in the Crisis. Perhaps this guy could have received a push through Crisis?

The Shadow War of Hawkman comes to an end with those behind it hoping for an ongoing series. They’d get it and Hawkman would disappear even further form the spotlight. In being away form the post crisis push, it would take Hawkworld (and some silly editorial) to bring him back.

Red Tornado’s mini hits #2. I don’t remember it fondly, and I first read it years after it was published. Flicking through it now, and I see that the big plot point of #1 was Tornado being told to stop being a super hero. This issue, the Construct pushes him to leave humanity as it mind controls everyone. So, that’s not bad and there’s a demented Superman who dismantles Reddy too in this one.

Atari Force comes to an end with #20. It seemed to be heading for this for several issues. Even then, it has some good points and plot seeds for more adventures. Keith Giffen must have loved doing the back-ups. If you like Ambush Bug, then you’ll find some fun here.

The Force’s former artist Garcia-Lopez was pencilling Kole’s origins in Teen Titans #11

Another title coming to an end was J’Emm. Just in time for him to make a big splash in Crisis and find a niche in the DCU. Except neither of those things happen. I think he was pencilled into Crisis as something of a crowd filler, and once, I think, right beside J’Onn who he had failed to replace. Considering the difficult beginnings for this book, DC missed an opportunity with it.

It’s a month of Mini-series. Roy and Dann Thomas’ Jonni Thunder comes to a close. I hadn’t realised form her other appearances that she no longer required the statue to activate her powers. They had transferred within her. I’m surprised we didn’t see more of Jonni in Infinity Inc, but there was quite a cast there already.

There’s a really good story in Superman #410. Kent has a story of Superman’s exploits. Except that there’s now doubt over its veracity. Superman weighs up the panic it would cause if people thought he wasn’t in control against Kent’s story credentials. And his decision gets Kent fired in a multiparter. Lovely Swan art throughout. It didn’t take a Crisis to provide some hard hitting Superman stories.

The Black Mask is introduced in Batman #386. In the Crisis #2 we see the Joker, but I hadn’t seen him in the Batman book, where they seemed to prefer a different, newer rogues gallery. Detective 553 would also have the Mask. I remember Morrison going for a similar effect in his stories to this, as well as seeing some Joker subplot to do with his face. Nothing that’s not covered here.

The trial of the Flash is about to come to an end. This month has Crisis #5 so a fair bit about the Flash is already out there.

Omega Men #29 looks moody, dark and has difficult choices for many of its cast. I read the recent revamp of them. As dark as that was it was par for the course in the old books, from what I’ve seen.
Firestorm fights the Weasel. This issue shows that there’s some merging of the Stein/ Raymond minds resulting in Raymond getting better grades and Stein perhaps becoming a bit better socially. It’s a fascinating subplot, but one that didn’t get used too much in the end.

The Best of DC Digest #63 was Plop!. The framing sequences contain Cain, Abel and Eve well before their Sandman days. Skeates, really good Ditko, Aragones, Alcazar (Batman as a Vampire gag well before Red Rain) and Wally Wood work too. Although I’d read a fair bit of Mad, this was probably out of my field of interest at the time.

Something else else else I wouldn’t have appreciated was that Kirby and Toth did the pencils on DC Presents #84 featuring the Challengers.

I always liked the Tales of the Teen Titans #56-57 story where Victor goes for a new body only to run across a revised Fearsome Five. I think this one has a Crisis lead in next issue. I see that’s it’s drawn by Chuck Patton, so that’s a big reason I like it. But it’s just a nice, compact superhero tale.

Nightwing guests in Vigilante #20. Someone, possibly Adrian Chase, has become something of an urban executioner, and Nightwing arrives to shut him down. Chase is having plenty of issues coping with his past here.

Before I knew about DC’s long history with giant Gorillas, one appears on the cover of Blue Devil #15. It’s the only Blue Devil issue I owned for many years. Coincidence or does the cover gorilla thing actually work? Blue Devil was too fun to be a normal super-book and not wacky enough to be something like Ambush Bug. So, not for me at the time. Mind you, I don’t remember getting the option of picking up other Blue Devil issues. So, if it was there, it might not have been there for long.

Helix make their appearance in Infinity Inc. That dead Kanga is upsetting, and it only gets more so as you realise that their background would go with Pre-Crisis. McFarlane’s art really compliments Thomas’ writing.

Swamp Thing #39 is a little like Salem’s Lot on steroids, and there’s a hint of just how powerful Swampy is here. There's a Crisis link to red skies and storms here.

I’d love to think I got Ambush Bug #3 the month after #2. But I think #2 stand out in my mind because there was a bit of a gap. I must have got it around the time of Crisis as I remember having some fun at the things like Egg-Fu that were going at the huge relief of Jonni DC.

So I got: Batman, Justice League, Superman, Tales of the Teen Titans and Blue Devil at the newsstand with Crisis and Who’s Who at the comic shop around the same time. I’d get Firestorm and Ambush Bug around that time too.

Myg does really stand out. His size alone would suggest that he's got a power or particular skill set that enables him to survive at the top of the heap. He seems pretty sociable, which is strange.



Grievously unexplored! The portals also could have been connected to the Controllers' Sun-eater factory. After the multiverse collapsed, did Lythyl become a simple planet which survived by hiring out thugs for security services?



I got the impression that it was Brin's idea to use the money for needful children, because at the initial meeting the lawyer just stated that Brin could be very rich. Could Val have left the bequest to the entire Legion (or a particular team) to perform the task of planting seeds on Lythyl? It might have ensured greater chance of success, although Val himself liked to take on solo challenges. Something else else about teamwork and Lythyl don't seem to go together and possibly that was how the quest succeeded - it was unexpected for two "slaves" to work together, so Myg underestimated them. This really was the stand-out issue for Brin - the next one that stands out for me isn't until 5YL, when he's dying as Furball.

LSH #14 by Paul Levitz, art by Steve Lightle & Mike Machlan, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza



Legion try-outs for new members. Power Boy is first up, but is voted down. Comet Queen follows and is told she'll advance to the next round. Then, Comet Queen, Tellus, Magnetic Kid are called to join Brainy and Lar on a mission to the California Coastal District, where the drains have failed and the cities are sinking and flooding.

The try-outs continue as Mentalla presents herself, with Legionnaires following on monitors or in person. Energy Boy's demonstration is interrupted and ruined by Polar Boy, who asks that the Legion waive the under-18 rule for new members so he can join, now that he's disbanded the Subs.

On Restaurant Row, R.J. discusses the changing Legion with the departing founders.

On the California Coast, Tellus has picked up thoughts of a saboteur. The team investigates and finds Dev-Em, who's trying to repair some damage. When he sees Comet Queen, he says the Legion must be desperate so perhaps he should apply; Lar tells him that offer was made and has passed. The ICC suspected remnants of the Dark Circle are the saboteurs and the team finds an Ontiir clone. Ontiir uses a device to create a tidal wave, knocking out Comet Queen and Tellus. Suddenly, a very small vessel arrives; the monitoring Legionnaires are baffled until Tinya pulls up the dossier on Quislet. Quislet's energy takes over Ontiir's weapons chair, turning it into an animate form which fights and defeats Ontiir, then disintigrates as Quislet's energy returns to the vessel.

The Legionnaires meet to discuss and vote on six candidates: Comet Queen, Magnetic Kid, Quislet, Polar Boy and either Tellus or Mentalla. Imra interrupts to ask that an open vote be held on her personal recommendation, a masked Sensor Girl. Wildfire is annoyed but the vote proceeds. Magnetic Kid, Tellus, Quislet, Polar Boy and Sensor Girl are admitted as new Legionnaires.

Comments:
This was a well-done issue. Gone are the days when applicants were ridiculed and rejected. Good thing, since there's no longer a Subs group for them to join. We see a variety of would-be heroes demonstrate their powers, some familiar, some not. The comments by active Legionnaires watching the try-outs add a lot of flavour to the proceedings, as does the active mission to coastal California.

Although we got to see Power Boy, Mentalla, Energy Boy and Comet Queen in some detail, none of them made the cut. There were also a number of applicants whose powers were never demonstrated, which does generate interest in what might yet be - will they return? As heroes or villains?

It doesn't say much for the Academy, if only two of the newbies trained there. As Jed Rikane leaves the room, Chuck suggests the Subs - indicating that news of their disbandment hasn't reached him, or even the Legion. After their recent mission to Bismoll fiasco, it's no wonder that the Subs are lying low. Only the ever-optimistic Polar Boy applies to the Legion now.

The mix of new Legionnaires is a good one. Two truly alien beings, one mystery girl, one old standby and one nod to nepotism (in my opinion). Would Pol have gained admission had he not been Rokk's brother? I'm not a fan, so my evaluation is biased, but he has and will be far too timid for the Legion.

Imra also pulls rank by encouraging a vote on unknown Sensor Girl. Did she use her mental powers to sway the vote? As readers, we only have her word that the applicant is worthy - no explanation or demonstration of her power. I believe this issue is concurrent with Crisis #7, in which Supergirl dies, so fans will surely have jumped to conclusions and approved of Sensor Girl.

The enthusiasm of the applicants is understandable, but it does make me welcome Dev-Em's snide dismissal of the Legion's self-importance (in favour of his own self-importance).

Lar has been a bit outspoken lately, which I think suits him perfectly. He's in a position to speak frankly, as he did to Jacques last issue. Here, he gives Dev-Em the brush-off, telling him the Legion doesn't need him.

I like to see more of Earth than Metropolis, so the California Coast scenes were welcome. The water problem makes sense as do the technological solutions. Floating cities have already been proposed in our time; to have built them supports the bright and shiny future we like to see in the Legionverse.

All is not sweetness and light, of course. The Dark Circle lives on.

I did find it a bit curious that Jed didn’t make it through. His power display was competent, and he even recovered well from Timber Wolf’s test. Some more reasoning from the team would have been nice. Perhaps his powers were too similar to current Legionnaires’?

Re Pol, I agree it smacks of nepotism. Even on the last page, someone says so. “He’s Cos’ little brother so we know he’s alright!” sigh, Legionnaire self importance indeed

Re Mentalla. while I do agree she’s second rate in terms of thought casting, I thought her power display quite impressive. Being able to take down someone as powerful as Ultra Boy is quite good

There was definitely a lot of subjectivity here. I got the sense that Legionnaires were judging each applicant according to personal, ill-defined criteria

I remember when Jacques joined. Wildfire objected, saying several Academy Kids like Nightwind and Lamprey were closer to being ready. We don’t see either, or Crystal Kid, here. Why? no mention, no explanation

Mon-El may not have gone about it the right way, but he was right in sending Dev-Em away. He would have wrecked the Legion’s teamwork.