Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes LEGION:SECRET ORIGIN#1 (preview & spoilers)

I believe Secret Origins #42 predates the Glorithverse by several months.

I haven't read beyond the preview and so can not say with total confidence without seeing the situation, but..... Where I am from, if someone talked about your 'gratuitously upholstered form', they would be calling you FAT. Not overdressed, nor too stylish...

I had to pay for my ring, but it's worth it - just about $2.

Same problem with being Brek-sized though I'd wear it out but I'm afraid it'll fall off and I'll lose it!

Lot's of spoilers ahead!

EDE'S REVIEW

So, as we open yet another new version of the Legion, we find that Earth and the U.P. have been "peacefully connecting" with former colonies and alien worlds for the past three centuries! Apparently, peacefully connecting involves sending starships full of heavily armed soldiers! Which I suppose is a good thing, as it turns out that the previous visitors to the bucolic planet Anotrom apparently wiped out the entire planet! It's violence unheard of in human memory!

So they find a bunch of strange devices on the planet, which blow up when investigated! Bye-bye top fleet scientist Boffin! Though you do get my vote for best character name derived from British slang! Pip pip cheerio! So who could possibly solve the mystery of the strange devices now... oh, yeah, the Coluans and their kid genius Brainiac Five! Didn't see that one coming!

Incidentally, a couple of times I had to do a double-take when a character is referred to as "Earthman", thinking it was Absorbancy Boy making an early appearance!

Annoying secret council stuff... "Mycroft" is a reference to "Mycroft Holmes"? I was puzzled to the reference to Brande as a "fakir".

Anyway, totes agree that we should've gotten more explicit telling of the origin, as well as the meeting with Lu. I understand the reluctance for telling the story once again, but I don't think it worked this way. I also find the using of code name captions on the characters before they actually adopt the codenames a bit weird. Also annoyingly absent from this version of the story: any reference to Superboy and Supergirl as the inspiration for the team.

So, this version of Brande makes a fortune off illegal technology and buys off politicians. I suppose the Koch/Soros model of ---aire (liked how the number was conveniently covered) is more relevant, but I'll miss the Dickensian gentle old benefactor Brande that I always think of him as.

Anyway, Brainiac Five blows up too. Or doesn't because... personal force shield! (Kudos for the phrase "force shield" as opposed to "force field".) This Brainy doesn't once apologize for the evil deeds of his ancestors, but seems fairly proud of his "family secret"!

"Let's have a nice publicity photo... you, let lightning play between your hands, and you, levitate a metal ball in the air, and... hmm... how can we show telepathy. I hate to do another hands to your head shot, but that's all I can come up with!"

Quasi-organic tech... Dominators?

And Tinya pops up! Just came through a wormhole from Bgztl! Sure is convenient that her "travelling through a wormhole" outfit just happens to include a cape and an Interlac letter "P" on the front of it! Er... she apparently doesn't rate an identifying caption, however!

Like the incorporation of the Threeboot "great disaster" of Cargg into this version. And kind of digging Lu's outfit.

Summary

Okay, so there's some big points I'm not really sold on about this version of the team. As I've said before, the whole shadowy conspiracy manipulating things in the background idea is not something I'm really a fan of, whether it's on a cosmic level like the Time Trapper or the more mundane level like this Security Directorate stuff. And I'm definitely not digging the apparent changes to Brande. So I guess the most basic premises of this re-telling of the Legion's origin just aren't to my liking so far. I have to say that the artwork is absolutely stunning, however!

Good review, Eryk. It pretty much mirrors my feelings about the issue, which BTW is the first Legion comic I bought since #6 of the last Levitz series, especially on this point:

This is particularly painful for me, because I had an elderly relative die recently who was very much like old-school Brande: a self-made man who was kind and generous.

Agree on Chris Batista's art, too. That's probably the only thing that would keep me buying this mini-series.

I **love** when EDE reads comics!

Long story short:

The art is the highlight for me. I appreciate that Chris is updating the designs while keeping the "feel" of the original Adventure-era suits... Lu's is definitely my least favortie thus far though.

I find myself wanting to know more about this shadowy group watching the LSH forming.

Favorite page of the issue was absolutely Tinya "dropping in" on Brainy!

Personally, I think Levitz got Brande absolutely right.

The cuddly generous old man didn't quite fit with leaving son and family behind, adopting a new identity and becoming the richest man in the UP. There was always a darker side to RJB that wasn't shown and I think this story reflects that without detracting from the guy who will become a father figure to the Legion.

You don't get to be mega rich without having a steely streak and being able to play politics.

Levitz is making the 31st century more reflective of real world behaviour and I applaud him for that.

I wouldn't want him to become all Machiavellian and manipulative and stuff, since we've already gone down that road with threeboot Brainy, but the development that Brande was keeping big secrets (being Cham's dad) and using abandoned technology (firing up stars with fusion tech) to get ahead is hardly new.

He's always been both idealistic *and* pragmatic, kindly and paternal and yet also airily dismissive of the SP or UP's authority to stop him from doing whatever he wants.

If it goes so far as to have him funding hit squads or whatever, then I'll be concerned...

I flipped thru it in the store, but didn't buy it or the Star Trek teamup. Why they need new uniforms for a flashback story is beyond me, but I suppose it ties in with the new edgy DC 52 yadda yadda yadda nonsense that I'm ignoring.

That would be my guess, that it is supposed to demonstrate that this is NOT the original Legion, but the New DCnU version of the Legion. If it was spending more time establishing what the changes to their reality are and less wasted time with more stupid political intrigue, then I would be buying the series instead of just reading the preview and the comments online.

Given the definition of 'fakir' as 'wandering beggar,' it did seem like an odd choice of terms, particularly for a Coluan. Then again, if Brande, like many wealthy venture capitalist sorts, spends a lot of time hitting up others for political favors and / or financial partnerships for his various projects, even a fantastically rich man could be seen as a bit of a 'beggar,' always showing up hat in hand, looking for new partners for his latest venture...

(Although, it may have been a set up for Mycroft, who has a regionally appropriate appearance, to correct him with 'rich old fakir, you mean,' subtly poking the Coluan for getting his Earth-slang completely wrong...)

So I went back and bought it today because I thought the preview for #2 looked pretty cool. Like the artist, which of course means, he won't be sticking around long. Hoping to see more of Triplicate Girl in coming issues before it gets to be a Legion. Wish Garth's costume was closer to his original instead of the Cockrum design.

I was originaly not going to get this because I realy didn't wantt o sit through yet another retelling of the Legions origin. They took the right approach here I think with having it being more of what was going on behind the scenes as compared to a straight up origin story. Hit the high points, but also throw in enough new stuff to keep long time fans interested without changing the big stuff. I liked it alot.

Its sort of like what Casey did when he retold the Avengers origin in that Earths Mightest Heroes mini over at marvel.

At last, a new twist on the origin story - the origin story has grown up at last. R. J. Brande is much more realistic - you don't get that much money by being Mr. Jolly Altruistic. It makes so much sense to have the spy agency watchers, a Terran, a Coluan and a Naltorian (there must be other such groups), and one of them working for R.J. on the side.

Brainy's gotten a lot of panel time in recent years, but I thought he was very well played here: exceptionally bright and socially backwards, fine in his element but can't even say his name when confronted by Tinya. That was my favourite page; I got the impression that this kid had been kept apart from people his own age or any social life, and when he and Tinya touched fingers, it was like a great revelation to him. Charming.

I loved Chris Batista's art and costumes.