Jim Starlin's work on the Legion started off great (just like Earthwar). In Superboy and the Legion #239, Ultra Boy is in quite a mess: he has been framed for the murder of An Ryd, an old girlfriend of his.

I'm willing to overlook several plotholes because overall it was a great story but I will at least mention them here.

1) We are shown Tinya's devotion to Jo, but never once did he feel the need to explain who An was. And she never even questioned why he would see her.

2) Marla Latham - why is be such an ass in this story. It seems like this may have been a setup for something else, but the way it comes off was totally out of character.

3 Why frame Ultra Boy - just for fun to see if he could? We all know that Brainy was stark raving mad.

4 - Chameleon Boy's ears - Really?

By the end of the tale, we find out that a Wildfire robot has perpetuated the frameup and that his master is a Legionnaire. Like I said, there were problems with the story, but it still had an epic feel to it.

It was about a year later that the sequel came out. I know that much has been said about the original story that Starlin wrote and that several pencilled pages never made the final cut.

The story started off ok. We are quickly reminded of the earlier story and Cham figures out who the culprit is. The thing is, he said he knew who it was in the original story. Why didn't the culprit takes steps during that time to remove Cham?

We find out that Omega is coming! This all pwerful being is fueled by hate and quickly makes mincemeat of of Mon and Kal. Wildfire reveals the traitor to be a totally insane Brainiac 5 who postures for awhile and then finally collapses.

When he wakes up he agrees to help them. He sends for Matter-Eater Lad and directs him to EAT the Miracle Machine to stop Omega. Oh yeah, at some point, Omega destroys Legion HQ.

I have to wonder if some of the missing pages would have made the story better.

1) more explanation of Brainy's madness - in the finished version, it simply said stress and losing the leader election. Ok. Really?

2) You would think that there would be an actual battle with Brainiac 5 but he simply allows them to incarcerate him.

I know that later stories would reveal Stargrave's influence, but I don't think that was the original intent. I think that this is one story that should have been told as intended, as the truncated version left many more questions and inconsistencies that I would have liked.

As I recall, Starlin was so upset with the finished version that he took his name off the story. Hence, it was credited to "Steve Apollo."

You're right that there are some major plot holes in the story, Matt, but I think that can be said of any Legion story of that time. Starlin at least deserves credit for trying to do something new and daring with the Legion.

Oh I agree, rereading this was was much more enjoyable than Earthwar!

I think that is why I'm so disappointed cause I think this could have been much more epic than it ended up being.

I haven't read the story in awhile. What stands out to me now is the mood. I really felt for Ultra Boy's haplessness (and I had never cared for him as a character before). I cheered for him when he battled his teammates and, showing ingenuity, disabled Dawny with a hold he learned from Timber Wolf. TW's embarrassment at admitting same also stands out as a humorous moment.

As for Marla being the heavy, why not? He was an obscure character from UB's first appearance, so that's better than bringing in a totally unknown character. Besides, someone had to be the heavy, and it wouldn't do to make one of the Legionnaires fill that role.

Regarding the format, the second part of the story was victim of the DC implosion of the late 70s. It was intended as a dollar comic size "spectacular." Too bad it didn't come out that way.

I agree, things might have been much different if it had...

Yeah. That first part, with finishes by Joe Rubinstein, was a beauty to look at, and it had that cool, noirish feel.
It was the first time we got to see how sleazy Rimbor was, and I loved it!
Starlin's art was so new & strange to me, that I didn't mind Cham's huge ears or how all the figures were bow-legged.

The second part, in #250 & 251, was a sliced up disaster! Dave Hunt looked like he inked those pages with a mop!
The few flashes of brilliance, like the sequence in space btwn Omega and Mon-el & Superboy, just made me more resentful that we missed out on what could have been a great conclusion.

BTW, Ann Ryd is a great drag name!!

"Fresh and strange"... perfect terms also for my take on Starlin's story in # 239.

I will admit to not really following who was writing or drawing what back then. I jusy knew who I liked. # 239 was SOOO different and, yes, kinda kewl.

Remember, he did that AWESOME wraparound cover for the OUTLAWED LEGION reprint in S/LSH 238 too.

Starlin was obviously keyed in to the LSH at that point. Things went tits up REAL fast, I guess.

makes me wish we had internet access back then to witness the DC IMPLOSION as it occured and be more in the know about stuff that really happened backstage.

I couldn't understand at the time why the editor issued that public apology on the inside front cover of that reprint!
I was thrilled to get it and to read it, especially with that drool-worthy cover!!
I had no idea issuing a reprint was some kind of no-no.

You are SO my Legion other half!!

I too was astounded that they would issue an apology for printing such a kick-ass story...

It quickly joined "Super-Stalag", "Forgotten Legion", "Adult Legion", "Evil Hand of the Luck Lords", "Legionnaire Who Killed" and the Mordru 2-parter in my LEGION OF FAVORITE ADVENTURE-ERA STORIES I READ IN REPRINT FORM AS A CHILD.

I liked the TMK revisiting of these elements into a more cohesive whole, as part of a larger focus on Jo, in 5YL annual 1.

but it is a shame Starlin got so screwed over. He would have been a natural for Legion, and we'd have had a better run than Conway/Staton (not that I hate Staton. His GL was magnificent. both runs).

The story with An Ryd may have been one of the first Legion comics I bought! It's definitely one of the earliest I remember as a discrete story.

I remember when I reread the my Legion run not that long ago, I enjoyed this era quite a bit more than I would have thought. It had problems but is able to still come out a pretty enjoyable read.

Omega was one of the best 'unstoppable threat' villains ever in Legion history!

I have recently reread everything up to Reflecto in the last few weeks.

I didn't care for the earlier stuff. Believe it or not, I don't necessarily like my Legion "silly".

Starlin's stuff was simply excellent. I noted the problems I have with the finished product but I do think that if the issue was published as intended that it would have been amazing.

I agree. I think before Levitz's 80s return, Legion's editors were the single biggest impediment to the book.

With an eye toward innovation, Legion, not X-Men, could have been the dominant team book of the past 30+ years. Legion books certainly had the talent in the 70s - but not the vision at the helm. I recall reading that Jack C Harris discouraged multi-issue stories (more than 2 parts) in the post-Earthwar period, for instance, and preferred self-contained one-shots over ongoing soap-style stories that made Claremont king of the 80s.

The period between the two Levitz runs are... painful

FYI: recent reviews of the Conway period can be found here .

This thread inspired me to search for a reasonably priced copy of #239. Luckily, I found one.

What a great issue. Firstly, it might be the best Starlin art I've ever seen, even though it's not the only time that Rubinstein inked him. There's something so rich and satisfying about Rubinstein's finishes, and Starlin's layouts, always his strongest suit, are at their most dynamic.

This is also the first time I've really liked Jo. His rough edges, like Brin's, have tended to remind me of some of my failed opposite-sex relationships from the past. But here, he's smart, sympathetic, self-reliant, yet also a bit vulnerable. A winning combination.

And while I agree it's a shame that Starlin didn't get to do much on Legion, I take comfort in the knowledge that, if he had stayed on Legion for an extended run, we might never have had Dreadstar, and I doubt he'd have been able to explore politics and religion in Legion to the extremes he did in Dreadstar. So it all balances out for me.

Thanks for starting this thread, Mattropolis, and thanks to everyone who posted.