Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion Archives: Volume 28

This was one of my favorite issues of the run, possibly my absolute favorite. It showed a mastery of perspective, seeing Legion events as the subject experienced them rather than as the reader experienced them. It gives incredible insight into his character, gleaned from the writers' encyclopedic knowledge of Legion history. I loved the symbolism at the end, just before the powersphere explosion, of the hero costume no longer fitting him.

Great work all around. Sad for the character, but a well-executed piece.

4 Issue 28

Dirk?s fate in the volume was a controversial one, but it was one I?ve always thought built really well on both his Adventure and Levitz days. TMK weave it all together to give us a flawed hero. It?s an issue that gets better with each reread. Perhaps there?s more perspective to see and appreciate flaws in others. Dirk isn?t evil. He doesn?t join up with the Dominators as a cackling hero-turned-villain. He?s someone whose upbringing hasn?t really given him options to deal with events when they haven?t gone his way. He was a brat as a kid. He was taught to win instead of whine, without anyone showing him the flaws in both. His parents didn?t provide him with any models to show him differently. I?ve seen kids grow up in this way, so it?s one that rings true for this reader. Being parachuted into management in his first job, probably didn?t help. Nepotism allows generations of flawed people to ?win?. I enjoy the shifting perspective of Dirk ruining Regulus? experiment. There were suggestions before this, that Dirk was responsible for the accident.

Dirk?s childhood, as shown here, adds a lot of depth to the Space Mutiny story. It also shines more light (ouch) on his failure to hold the team together after the Magic Wars. Dirk tries to be the hero, but he doesn?t have options if it doesn?t work. He should get credit for staying (even if it was his home world, and he would have enjoyed having his ego stroked by being leader.). Perhaps this is why they stayed on Earth. Dirk just couldn?t see having things turn out his own way. Ironically, the Subs were also stunned into indecision on how to deal with Dirk at the end of the issue.

The often (but not necessarily always) distorted perceptions of his teammates and colleagues show how insecure Dirk was. Insecurities that were never far from the surface, when things went wrong. The art does a great job in amplifying Dirk?s trauma as he relives his past, combining really well with the speech around him sparking memories. It was interesting to see that it extended to Gim, Yera and GiGi, following his dumping of her. That was an opportunity for him to learn but, seeing his past here, is one he never saw the lesson for what it was. Instead, he holds a grudge against Gigi; a hint at possibly even darker tones in his personality. He seems to have seen a number of female Legionnaires as potential partners. I recall he later got a drink thrown on him from Tinya for telling her what he did when he got back on a mission. The elements we see here were always there.

But so were his heroic actions, seen briefly in #1 and again in trying to keep the team together and his final appearance in front of citizens in this issue. Why he thought it would go better than the time the SP had to vaporise the protestors around his car indicates how desperate he was to be a hero in the eyes of others. He wanted it to all go back to him being an admired Legionnaire. Nothing says those days are gone than the old costume no longer fitting him. That was a nice artistic touch, that underline the effort that went into all of those distortions throughout the issue.

Meanwhile, those who saw Earthgov for what it was are the resistance fighters freeing captives, like Dirk ended up being, from the chambers. It would have been interesting to hear if Dirk had denounced them as terrorists, as he justified the imprisonment of Brek. That Polar Boy was the guy who actually supported Dirk to the end of the Legion, and then tried to keep it going himself, makes that betrayal particularly hard hitting.

This issue gave a number of hints about what happened during the 5YG (for those without the RPG, which was published around this time), showing us Impulse and Echo. It also shows how Dirk ended up working for Earthgov. Personally, I?m a little surprised he was in such a state. He never struck me as poor, or likely to be so. Perhaps he tried to maintain a sport star?s lifestyle until he ran out of funds. Perhaps his Legion connections resulted in funds being made unavailable or him personally liable financially for his actions.

Dirk did try to be a hero, but wanted the perks that went along with it. Since I don?t see too many celebrities saving people on a monthly basis, it?s hard to be too critical of his outlook. It?s an all too human one, and perhaps a fitting take on the people of Earth.

Legion of Super-Heroes #29 by Keith Giffen, Tom & Mary Bierbaum, Tom McCraw, art by Jason Pearson & Tony Harris, Letters John Workman, Colours Tom McCraw, Editor Michael Eury, assistant Editor Bob Kahan

Brainy avoids talking to Rond about Rond's relationship with Laurel, then gets advice from an ailing Brin to talk about his feelings. Lar arrives with news of a possible cloned LSH.

On Earth, Dominators breach the Subs' defenses and after some firefight are repelled by Staq Malvin's fire blast. Elsewhere, Dominators access a chamber unknown to the Resistance and prepare to release four mind-wiped humans who have been given superpowers.

In Africa, Jacques learns of the Dominators' experiments on humans.

In the chambers, Grinn opens one pod, releasing the assassin Monica Sade, who has been given teleporting powers. Staq convinces her they're on her side. Ulu tries to disconnect Dirk's life support, but can't bring himself to do it.

The SW6 Legionnaires remain at Universo's New Mexico compound. Lyle has decided to trust Universo for the time being. Devlin pleads with him to have Imra mindprobe Universo. She very reluctantly agrees and discovers Universo's alliance with the Dark Circle. This alarms Devlin but doesn't phase the young Legionnaires.

Circe tells Bounty she cant get her into Pinnacle Command; Bounty is interested.

President Wellington addresses Earth with reassurances but breaks down and admits that the Dominators are enslaving and murdering people. A Dominator soldier assassinates her and her V.P. (?) is immediately named President and told to get on with the job.

Text pieces detail SW6 Brainy's notes on the failure of flight rings and there's another page from Violet's diary, writing about the team's reactions to their missing history and her big crush on Devlin.

Comments:
The opening pages with the older Legionnaires communicate a real sense of authentic, long-term friendships. Brainy's hurt by Rond and Laurel's relationship, but won't admit it, Rond tries to patch things up, Brin talks about his own heartache over Ayla, Jo and Lar enjoy a playful greeting but get right down to serious matters.

The scene with the SW6 kids is amusing as see Imra's staunch moral stance about reading an ally's mind and the others' reluctance to disagree with her. She was a tough one from a very young age. Violet's diary page, however, emphasizes their youth; she especially comes across as a very young teen girl. These teens seem more prone to pranks and jokes with one another than deep emotions.

Staq Malvin proves himself an effective leader. He presents a counterpoint, as a flame/fire power, to the tortured, dying and disgraced Dirk Morgna. The Subs have grown up a lot. Ulu's failure to disconnect Dirk's life support feels real; he an the others must have been saddened or angry at Dirk's recent behaviour, yet Ulu remembers Dirk the hero. (Or he might be torn between ending suffering and a personal prohibition against taking a life, for any reason.)

Monica Sade promises to be a compelling character, exotic and dangerous. She's one of a number of deadly women in this arc: Circe, Bounty, Sussa are all characters of uncertain background and unproven loyalties and motivations.

The murder of President Wellington doesn't have much emotional punch; we haven't gotten to know her as a character and it just looks like another Dominator screw-up at this point. Like Dirk, she's sold out Earth for her own purposes (whatever they may be) and tries a last-gasp attempt to do the right thing. To little avail, I should think. By now, most Earth residents (and U.P. officials with an eye on Earth) must have some awareness of Dominator interference and control of the planet.

I just want to tell you guys that I have loved these threads on the 5YG l?gion archives. Even though I don?t sign in very often, I follow these religiously and very much appreciate your thoughts and insights. What a fun way to relive this period.

4 Issue 29

As we saw B.I.O.N. feeling twinges of guilt in attacking his ?father?, Brainy looks to pick up the pieces of his offspring, damaged by its association with the bad kids in town, The Dominators. Rond tries to build bridges with Brainy regarding Laurel, but Brainy is in a bit of emotional denial. I wonder if the others worry about him bringing BION back as a second Omega. It?s a great triangle between old characters. It?s a shame the volume didn?t promote Rond into another role, following the loss of his Lantern Ring. Perhaps this occasional meeting between the three ratchets up the feelings, more than having them all on mission teams together.

The subplots link together nicely as we now switch to Brin commenting on Querl?s problems. Furball has been transported back into Brin following the Quiet Darkness. He?s still having problems with radiation though, and it?s slowly killing him. So much for divine intervention. On the plus side, there?s a Lone Wolf inside him screaming at having to listen to this navel gazing relationship guru masquerading in his body. That Lone Wolf is no doubt hoping for a quick end.

The segueing breaks a bit, as Lar tells Cham about the Dark Circle plans he uncovered and the chance that they might be clones of the real Legion. There?s no recap of that huge amount of research TMK did, putting it all together. Instead, there?s always something new to add. Here it?s a quick hello between Jo and Lar. Except this shows Lar in his new post-Mordruverse version where he?s taken the role of Superboy and is something of a huge galactic legend. You can see why the two get on, with Jo keeping Lar a bit grounded.

Back on Earth, the Dominion get into the chambers (it?s been so long I forget why the Subs are even there, or how they plan on getting out). Oh Stone Boy tells us that they have no plan for getting out. The Subs? powers have been enhanced a little along with all their extra training. Stone Boy is animate in his stone for and Staq sends a massive fireball into the tunnels, causing the Dominators to retreat. Above it, there?s the threat of all the chambers self-destructing. The Dominators jam comms from the chambers to the frustration of the resistance leaders. Tyroc makes a mistake on suggesting the others go in and get the Subs. He?s ignored as that would require Legionnaires getting involved in some action in this volume.

The Dominators have a Fantastic Four homage to send into the chambers. But that?s to be in the next issue. This issue, the Subs meet Sade. She?s been released from the pods by Grinn. On her way to picking a side, Grinn suggests that she shoot Fire Lad. Fire Lad later punching him out shows that the tow strands of resistance are almost at war with each other. Sade seems happy to use guns, ad can teleport. She?s Jason Pearson?s character following a tradition of everyone involved getting to be part of the storytelling in the volume.

Elsewhere, more of the cast sit on their butts. This time it?s the SW6 Legion. The Adventure team are now reading about their old adventures rather than getting outside and actually having one. Ferro Lad finds out what?s happened to his older self. Lyle?s comment to Devlin regarding Universo being judged as a villain by Devlin regardless of his actions is well written. In the end Lyle has to ?strongly request? that Imra conducts a mind probe. Of course, Imra is outraged at this invasion (I guess Universo didn?t have a holo of all the times her older self would pick up the odd thought or ten)

She picks up thoughts of the Dark Circle, which worries Devlin a lot more than it does the others. In their time, the Circle weren?t a huge threat. Vi?s comments about the threats the Adventure Legion faced downplays the danger and effectiveness of the team at that time. I remember being surprised on getting the old issue just how deadly the threats were.

The issue is full of quick cut scenes, reminiscent of earlier issues. Circe is now to be helped infiltrating the Dominators Pinnacle Command with Bounty. Colour Kid can?t bring himself to shut down Dirk?s life support and Earth President Tinya Wellington is shot live on air, having denounced the Dominators. Tyroc gets his wish about the Dominators ruining their galactic standing. Nothing has gone right for the Dominators, and this would have been a much dramatic, had they not shot themselves in the foot at every available turn since #1.

It?s an issue packed with scenes. But they nearly all staging plot points for event to come. The older Legion don?t intervene; the SW6 Legion still do nothing and the Subs still sit in the chambers.

Brainy's inner dialogue with the Freudian slips are definitely the highlight of the issue to me. That's the exact sort of thing that makes me love this period of Legion history.

Oh, yeah, another thing about this issue - yours truly is mentioned in it twice, once on the letters page, and once in the company-wide newsletter in the back of the book (I forget what they called that column at the time).

I thought the Adventure issues showed a good mix of fun with kissing machines and Super Pets along side huge amounts of loyalty, bravery and self sacrifice. Youngsters playing (and being) soldiers to a degree? They might not have had the experienced weather worn emotions of their later selves. Vi's possibly the one who might have been shier than the others.



Ulu's decision was a hard moment, and it's been good to see all the subs in the spotlight in this run.


Good point about all these characters. I would probably have preferred to get a bit more depth into the plots of Circe, Bounty or Sussa rather than add yet another person to the cast. Even with Sade's appearance, she never struck me as anything other than supporting character. She's happy to kill and has killed before, pretty much ruling her out of being on the team form the start. They could have toned it down a bit and given us a teleporter in the team. Perhaps that missed opportunity led to us getting the (too far in the other direction) Veilmist.


It would have been nice to have had parallel plots with Dirk, Wellington and Circe. Dirk's need to have status and his attempt to be a hero progressively compromised. A more gradual shift of the power hungry Circe seeing the writing on the wall with Dominator allies that Wellington has been partly responsible for bringing in. It would have been an arc reaching back to Colossal Boy realising his mom was running for office and showing just how political systems are twisted. We're 29 issues in so there was plenty of space. Wellington could even at the end believe she had done the right thing.


I think the constant reminder of the Dominator comms block is supposed to indicate that footage of the civilian and SP targeting hadn't got out. Killing the Prez on a wider broadcast is a different matter.


Hats of to Cramer for keeping it going, Feel free to pop in even if it's a line or two. Hearing what everyone else thinks is always really enjoyable.

Legion of Super-Heroes #30 by Keith Giffen, Tom & Mary Bierbaum, Jason Pearson, art by Jason Pearson & Karl Story, Letters John Workman, Colours Tom McCraw, Editor Michael Eury

On Elia, the supreme leader decides to escalate the crackdown on Earth. The Khunds observe that Dominator forces are diverting to Earth and prepare for an attack on Aetia. King John and Anton Relnic discuss reclaiming Earth. The adult Legion also discusses intervening in Earth's problems.

On Earth, the Dominators murder thousands of protesters with armaments shot from orbiting ships. The teen Legion confirms Universo's involvement with the Dark Circle and plans to capture them and allow the Circle to take over earth after the Dominators are defeated. Devlin cautions that Universo has set them up to find the Dark Circle information and they should contact Foccart, but they ignore him. They leave the complex, deciding to follow their own path; Universo is particularly unconcerned when he hears they've left.

Bounty and Circe wade through sewers to secretly reach Pinnacle Command.

The U.P. fleet arrives at earth and warns the Dominion to not fire on citizens again. Pinnacle Command brushes off Relnics threats of intervention and vows to hold Earth at any cost.

In the Chambers the Subs and Universo's team are attacked by the Dominator-controlled superhumans. After a battle, in which Sade kills two of the four attackers, the Subs find an escape route.

The text piece concerns press coverage of President Wellington's death, the U.P. reaction, and a history of her career.

Comments:We hear from just about everybody except Jacques Foccart's team in this issue (and he gets a mention). The action on Earth is really heating up.

The Dominators present an all too familiar example of holding onto a failing strategy, despite the pressures building on all fronts. The Khunds as well as the U.P. are quick to move on this growing failure, for their own expansion of empire (Khunds) or liberation, peace and democracy (the U.P., of course, because they're the good guys).

The teen LSH display continue to display a good degree of overconfidence and self-reliance, but primarily mistrust of those outside their group at this point. I wonder how the adult Legion would have behaved in a similar situation, finding themselves aligned with a former enemy after a number of blank years. More confrontational, perhaps.

There's a lot of action brewing in this issue, but many pages consist of people talking things out among themselves, which lends a sense of real human (sentient) experience in a calm before a storm.

The Wellington text piece covers three pages, supplying good background for this woman, who must have been based on Margaret Thatcher. My only quibble is that she's presented as 39 years old but looks like she's 70 (or even older, if physical aging has slowed in the 30th century).

A minor note of interest (to me): there's a Metropolis city scene on the page below with a building, home to Gecko Tech, which looks like a smartphone. Furthermore, why "Gecko"? I thought first of the insurance company Geico, but they only started that ad campaign in 2000. Then there was the idea of Gordon Gecko, the greedy investor in the movie Wall Street, but that came out in 1997. This comic was published in 1992. Retro-causality?

I'd say that the ubiquitous Omnicoms are much more similar to modern smart phones than that one scene in issue # 30. In fact, they're pretty much identical, at least in concept.

v4 Issue 30

We don?t hear much about Arlington Morse. But he?s the acting Earthgov President when Tayla Wellignton get shot in the head. It takes him no time at all to go along with the assassin being a Khund sympathiser, even though he saw it for himself. Perhaps he fears for his own life.
In the opening text page, we get a summary of events that updates readers on what?s going on in the volume. It also gives information on specifics of the 5 year gap, which have to be mined out of the book, in a good way. The RPG book T&M had written around this time, would have helped them pin down the chronology.

Another person we don?t hear enough of in the volume is Iris West. She?s the writer of this article that shows that the Dominion have failed to keep the news on Earth. She?s behind a lot of Devlin?s activities in the series (see previous posts on what seemed to be dropped sub plots) and there?s the connection to the Tornado Twins. She?s also related to Barry Allen II, mentioned in the Tornado Twins obituary. A recent Back Issue article revealed that there?s also a connection to Kent Shakespeare. Having had disastrous interaction with the Superman office, and being told that Green Lanterns were out, perhaps Iris?s behind the scenes influence is down to TMK not wanting to lose the Flash legacy too.

Despite outsourcing their every plan to Laurel V and Hardy V, the Dominion are determined to keep their hold of Earth. That now includes diverting fleets to oversee the planet, and just as likely to deter the rest of the UP from attacking. That driving need to hold Earth is one of the many things that?s only hinted at. The genetic experiments in the underground chambers are probably the clearest link to the Invasion series that Giffen worked on.

We?ve seen differing Khund outlooks in this volume. Here, they feel that assassination is cowardly. But we?ve seen similar Khundish plots to kill presidential candidates in v3 (which I think this is a nod to). Even in the future, some conspiracy theories have a kernel of truth. Form Jo?s time travel exploits, we?ve even seen a time when there were areas of crossover between the Khunds and the Dominion. A Khund sympathiser in the Dominion is not impossible. Even the ?honourable? Khunds aren?t opposed to taking advantage of a now poorly defended Dominion home planet. If they don?t have better strategists at home, the Dominion is in trouble.

Elsewhere, the UP have waited until the Dominion have sent additional fleets to Earth before thinking about going there. Clearly they felt reclaiming Earth while the Dominion only had a couple of fleets was unsporting. Buster Keaton V and Harold Lloyd V must be behind the UP?s strategies. It?s noted again, that as the economy of the UP fell apart, they still managed to fund their floating bureaucratic death star of Webers World. I wonder when the penny dropped for funding planets, that they had to continue contribution regardless of their own predicaments. The Levitz RPG book was the one that said there was no way to leave the organisation, as Imsk also nearly found out in a previous story. We have parallels in this time.

Another group from Talos limps along the path to actually doing something. It?s the Legion! Rokk worries about the cost of sending in the team. It?s about the only volume I can recall the heroes being so reluctant. If they were, we?d have been picking up Hint of Action Comics and Shadow of Adventure Monthly from the racks.

Speaking of Adventure, the SW6 Legion also moves ever so slowly forward. Cham finds out that there?s a Dark Circle guest in Universo?s HQ. He reports back. Devlin, who?s been reading recent issues, is asleep when he returns. We don?t see SW6 escape form Universo?s care (that would be action or adventure). It seems that it?s been planned by Universo, so he can end the schemes of the Dark Circle to control the SW6 subjects. A lot of Dark Circle cloning was adopted by the Dominion in order to create SW6. So you can understand why they?d want them so badly. We don?t get to see the Circle representative. I had thought it would have made a nice reveal to have be someone we know. I had thought Devlin was in league with them. It turns out that the very similar sweater was to show that Devlin was part of *another* group of characters with their own agenda. With that dropped, Devlin would have been a good reveal. But T&M had plans for their creation to be part of the main team, ruling out Universo dispatching him (or trying to considering Devlin?s new powers).

The new Dominion commander has no qualms about taking control of the situation on Earth. He activates firing from orbit to eradicate resistance nests. Some of those targets are in Metropolis, but no one in the cast seems to notice. Bounty and Circe are in Earthgov plaza, which would be close by. The pair walk down a hidden tunnel. Glacial to the point of being written on Tharr. I?ll wait until the end of the story to figure out if one or both of these characters could have been dropped. A lot of their early purpose was seemingly snipped in the early issues. So, I?m not sure what Bounty really contributes. Circe will have a few scenes with Dirk to come. But her about face, and the acceptance she gets to be with the others, rather than face trial seems odd.

There?s a Return of the Jedi / Legion crossover as the UP fleet drops out of hyperspace to face the death star. Darius stands in for Admiral Ackbar. Civilians on Earth have been getting slaughtered for ages. The UP didn?t do anything then. It?s only since the Dominion reinforced their position, that they?ve taken an interest.

Speaking of people who get to be with the good guys, Ron Karr gets a pep talk from Color Kid. This is the Ron Karr who was only too happy to sign off ton the deaths of every member of the Legion when he was part of the Legion of Super Villains. He was happy to enslave the people of Orando too. As we see a L.E.G.I.O.N. logo, the pair talk about proton jelly from the 24th century. This will become very important. I did wonder if this was ever picked up in the L.E.G.I.O.N. showing us how it got there. Another one of those references to other books only hinted at (which I don?t mind).

We meet the SW6 batch again. Devlin is trying to persuade them that their best option is linking up with Foccart. Devlin has taken the role of detective Celeste Rockfish for this scene. Suddenly, he?s able to determine the plans of Universo. Suddenly he?s tactically minded. It?s odd seeing him pretend to know more than Legionnaires who have faced terrible threats in their past. The Adventure Legion are now prepared to take action. Now we?lll see? oh, it?s just Lar nipping off to the UP for a chat. Oh well.

But there is some action. Pearson?s Sade and the chambers are attacked by the Fantastic Four! It?s a fun battle, and quickly over as Sade kills Ghost, while Flare kills her own comrade, Elasti-Kid. The Subs arrive. Staq has been shown to have increased the effectiveness of his powers. But it?s a choke hold that wins the day here, in a nice touch. Flare busting out of the Chlor?s plants reminds me very much of Phoenix (Rachel Summers) breaking out of chains in a X-Man comic. Stone Boy takes out Alloy 12.

I always wondered if Elasti-Kid was the post Mordruverse version of Jimmy Olsen. This guy had been given those abilities.

The entrance made by Flare, formerly of the Fatal Five, has given the Subs a possible escape route. Above them , the Dominion leader weighs up his many options. He seems pleased at the escalation of event. Of course, he?s just weighing them up. There?s not any action or anything. Maybe the Superman office ruled Action out of bounds along with everything else. In a satisfyingly callous finish he wondered why it had taken so long to kill Wellington. The cover of Iris West?s article nicely reminds us of the opening page.

There?s a lot of scenes packed into a busy issue. TMK take us round a lot of the cast. It?s well done, but it?s another issue of jogging on the spot, as events slowly move forward. It?s enjoyable enough, but I was getting tired of things not progressing even when it came out. I enjoy the arc a little less this time round.

Behind the scenes, there had been discussions about rebooting the book. The Legionnaires went from being a companion comic showcasing earlier adventures to being in the main book but with different plans mapped out for them. The time all this took to sort out, along with the usual v4 creator frustrations, is probably why the plot dragged on. It was held in place because that?s exactly what was going on outside the book too.

The Omnicom is uncanny in its resemblance to the smart phone! I was just having some fun with that image and the Gecko business after hearing a show about retro-causality. The building image may well have been based on the Omnicom itself.




She's one of the many undeveloped characters in this run; I hadn't thought that her presence was an attempt to keep the Flash legacy, if no others. Connection to Kent is curious (haven't read that article).



We might have been graced with Laurel & Hardy look-alike descendants, but Giffen was saving them up for that peculiar Chuck Taine story in The Legion. I don't remember much about Invasion - was there any mention of Earth chambers?



No doubt King John and Anton Relnic accepted no salaries for their U.P. work. The U.P. was amazingly reluctant to interfere with Earth politics. Of course, they let Lythyl run free, enslaving and assaulting people. Given how screwed up the Dominators have been, it's incredible that their operations on Earth weren't more generally known. Perhaps just ignored, as the rest of the U.P. rebuilt their resources.



Unless Devlin himself was cloned....you wonder if there were discussions of who the Circle rep could be and no one could agree, so he's left with a towel over his head.



Circe had her uses, although it is odd that she'd be trusted at all. She avoided trial by suicide, so the matter never had to be considered. I don't recall any trials of collaborating Terrans. Morse just got super-sick.



Cool, I missed the logo. Vril Dox was a plant guy (at least in R.E.B.E.L.S.), so he might have had an interest in Dominator tech. Another potential issue based on a few panels. And there is a jelly that conducts protons, something to do with electrosensitivity, from the torpedo ray.



Good comparison!

Legion of Super-Heroes #31 by Keith Giffen, Tom & Mary Bierbaum, art by Colleen Doran & Curt Swan, Al Gordon & Kal Kesel, Letters John Workman, Colours Tom McCraw, Editor Michael Eury

Jan Arrah breaks into a pharmacy on Earth for some Rokyn. He takes it to Shvaughn, who uses it to help her transition back to male since she can no longer get Profem. Jan wants to help her and says that their relationship was never just physical, but Shvaughn rebuffs him and retreats to a room, alone. Jan gets a brief glance of his SW6 counterpart but is distracted when Shvaughn, in pain, asks him to tell her the Tromian story about a cub who murdered his father. When Jan completes the story, Sean appears, dressed to go outside. He leaves, saying he has to find his own way.

Disobeying Lyle's orders, SW6 Jan and Cham observe the Dominator military advance through the streets of Metropolis. Jan changes the street to oxygen and some Dominators apparently die falling into the sinkhole. He's upset and runs away. Lyle explodes when Cham tells him, but both agree that finding Jan is the priority. Jan huddles in the street, thinking about the same murdering cub story that adult Jan is telling Shvaughn.

SW6 Jan hears a cry and rushes to help, finding Sean on the ground in pain. He tries to help him and offers to get a doctor; Sean looks up and realizes who it is. Sean tells young Jan that he made his life work and walks away; Jan's very confused at this person's ramblings. Imra tracks down Jan and reassures him that he has a family in the Legion.

Jan returns to the Resistance fighters, one of whom greets him with some sarcasm.

The two Valors meet aboard Admiral Darios' U.P. ship.

A report analyzes business growth opportunities on Earth (few) and among the United Planets. Someone reading it disagrees, considering Earth's potential, and places his hand on the Emerald Eye.

Text pieces: a Legion Groupie article on young Jan Arrah and an excerpt of a letter from Shvaughn to Gigi, explaining her history with Jan and Profem.

Comments:
This is, I believe, the most controversial Legion comic published. Personally, I didn't mind changing Shvaughn to Sean; it was a big surprise, with no hints in earlier issues that she had been male. This story differs considerably in tone from the Subs Annual, with their comedic, painless, instant Grandin Gender Reversal Germ. Withdrawal from Profem is serious business, painful physically and emotionally.

We don't know what conversation Shvaughn and Jan had before she underwent withdrawal. Was she ecstatic to see him? Did he hope to pick up where they left off, or was he just dropping by to see how she was faring? Regardless, the conversation continues throughout the issue and is almost as painful as the actual change Shvaughn was going through. It's Remains of the Day. Could they have had a more honest and lasting relationship as Sean and Jan? By the end, Sean seems to have resolved the relationship with more clarity than has Jan.

Shvaughn always struck me as an upbeat personality, much moreso than the other female Legionnaire-stalker, Lydda. "Stalker" is too rough a word, though; young Sean had a fantasy and actually made the dream come true, albeit through actions that he would regret. The idea that he was hiding his past from his closest friends makes one wonder to what degree the sunny disposition was a front - or perhaps he was truly happy as Shvaughn, succeeding in the SPs and establishing a relationship with the dreamed-of Jan Arrah. (You have to figure SP would have done a background check and discovered the early life on Duar, another planet which managed to bypass the openness of the U.P., or that someone would catch onto her bottle of Profem.)

SW6 Jan appears very young, vulnerable and emotional, to a degree not seen in the previous issues. He seems like the sort of person who would have been more welcoming of Shvaughn's advances, which often seemed to put off adult Jan.

The parallel Jan stories, pivoting on Shvaughn, are a different approach to tell a story. The two Jans don't meet; adult Jan sees his younger self through a window, but is distracted by Shvaughn. He must have wondered if he imagined it. At this point, he may or may not have heard of the SW6 batch, or rumours of it, from the Resistance. The two Valors are the first to meet face to face (apart from the two Tenzils across cyberspace). Both had some idea that there was a clone Legion, but this scene conveys their mutual astonishment when the rumour is confirmed. We didn't get that with the Tenzils - Violet's diary simply referred to them clowning around on-screen.

The Emerald Eye presents a good cliffhanger at the end. McCauley? Starfinger? or some unknown? He certainly doesn't have the tone of the missing R.J. Brande.

Can't say I loved the art, apart from the cover. It seemed rougher than Doran's work on A Distant Soil and the Curt Swan pages were classic Swan but unexciting.

Issue # 31 is terrible not because of its content but because of its source. It's what happens when a long-time fan gets the power of a writer and just can't let go of their old fan theories. Before Shvaughn was introduced, Jan's lack of a girlfriend had Legion fans theorizing that Jan was gay. Then Paul Levitz, whether ignorant of this or apathetic or antipathetic to it, introduced Shavughn, a female love interest for Jan. Instead of just dropping old ideas and saying, "Oh well, we were wrong," we get this tortured re-working of Legion history so that Shvaughn was secretly a man who turned himself into a woman because he felt something emotional for a man and culturally couldn't deal with the concept of same-sex attraction, and the man he had feelings for, who never knew he had been a man, fell in love with his womanly guise, but somehow that validates the old fan theory that Jan was gay. There's nothing (even in earlier issues of the TMK run) that even hints at this, let alone in the history of either character. Just a fan theory from the Bierbaum's old days in Interlac (or whichever fan group they belonged to) that they decided to shoehorn into Legion continuity now that they can make it happen.

A revelation of a Legionnaire as gay could have worked just fine, if it didn't require a re-write of established Legion history. Why not a boyfriend for Tyroc? Heck, why not establish Jacques and Tyroc as a couple? But rather than have Jacques, who has no prior revealed romantic history, hook up with a man (doesn't have to be Tyroc because of their skin color, could have been any of the Subs, or an entirely new character. Just threw the possibility of Tyroc out there because he was Jacques's second in command) instead of Infectious Lass, they had to make their old fan theory canon and somehow erase Shvaughn's femininity and Jan's established attraction to her as a woman.

BTW, will Annual # 3 be next? Personally, I've always seen that issue as occurring between issues # 30 and 31.

Annual #3 will be next, but I prepped #32 by mistake, so it will be a few days.

v4 Issue 31

I don?t think there?s been an issue since the early teens that I?ve not pointed out the glacial pacing in the resolution of the Dominators plot. Whenever the plot actually moved, the issues would be good, and I?d pick up the next couple. By the time we were in the mid to late twenties, it looked like the plot would go on for a long time to come. I wasn?t impressed by the SW6 clones, due to their inactivity rather than the plot twist. Looking back, I?m reminded of Levitz not knowing what to do with Lyle Norg when Giffen dumped him into the book. Now, Lyle had brought friends.

With no knowledge of the behind the scenes drama (that had more plot development than the actual book), I was losing interest.

I don?t know if I had dropped the book or not. It wouldn?t have been the first time that I?ve missed an issue only to pick it up with the following one. But I do remember not picking this one up. For a month or so, when I probably slipped it between issues of Doom Patrol and Shade at the checkout.

Sure, it was partly the slow plot, partly the art going in a direction I wasn?t keen on (I possibly thought the art used on the Sun Boy story, was the way it would be going forward). But it was mainly the Romance cover. This was possibly a time where I rolled my eyes at Super Pets and Supergirl?s tortuous love life across the centuries. I might not have read those stories yet, but they would not have fitted into my view of the team. A Romance cover, in the middle of that, was a step too far for me.

I was shopping at a store where all the comics were bagged and barcoded. There was no browsing there. So, I could only assume that it was another tangent from the main plot. I?m not a huge Doran fan either, so that wouldn?t have helped. But I have no doubt, feeling silly walking up to the counter with it played a part.

Which seems odd. I?ve always liked classic Romance covers. I realise that angsty storytelling on a cover plays a big part, along with the cracking artwork. This is more of Romance homage than one that elicited a real angsty response. The Doran artwork isn?t at the level of the classics either. But it hits some solid homage markers.

Inside the cover, it really does turn out to be another issue long distraction from getting the main plot moving.

The only real tie in that Erin?s story has with the ain plot, is that it gave them an excuse for Jan not doing anything since he got to Earth, seemingly ages ago with Celeste and the others.

Elsewhere, we have Mon El meet Mon El. This isn?t just slow, but repetitive. We?ve already had Tenzil meet Tenzil. It feels that was a while ago too.

The final page seems to have Leland McCauley become a figure in the story. It teases that he will figure prominently, but like so many of the cast he won?t.

In the main storyline, we learn that perhaps the Legion offered Jan a foundation from which he could explore his spirituality. Without that peer group , he once again became more isolated and that affected how he viewed his relationship with Sean. Jan felt his journey was a solitary one, and didn?t feel that it was one Sean could accompany him on. Later in this issue, Jan realises that he was a bit of a tool. It?s probably no coincidence that it took the return of the legion for him to realise this. Fittingly, it?s Jan who is the more unsure of the characters at the end.

I think it?s a misstep when TMK say that there came a point when Jan needed innocence and earnestness. Jan was always painfully earnest like the rest of them. Even when he added a bit of bitchiness somewhere along the way. He was always so dedicated because he had been given no life outside the team (even as far as v7 #23) and writers couldn?t let him cut loose or there would be no fight scenes (also something lasting into v7).

We learn that Sean took Profem. The message to GiGi indicates it was both to become comfortable with who Sean felt he was, but also in order to appeal to Jan. The latter means that Sean pretty much engineered his SP career to get close to Jan. I note the fundamentalist role given to the Dominators. Considering how they view humanity as a species, I think it?s a bit of a reach that they?d care. A better mirror would have been that the Dominator support had been given to fundamentalist views of humans. At issue?s end Sean seems to be the most comfortable of the characters, having overcome a lot of personal issues and feeling strong enough to go it alone. The danger is that Sean thinks that going it alone is the best way, falling right into a trap as Jan did. Still, it?s a

Sean projects a heck of a lot onto young Jan when they meet. Young Jan is very young and unsure here. TMK accentuate the differences in cast to show the personalities the team never had in their Adventure days. I think Young Jan only has an inkling at a lot of the conclusions Sean (TMK mouthpiece for their views on the character) has made about him.

An interesting point is that Young Jan had wanted to hurt the Dominators. It reminds me of his rage when he would have killed Roxxas, had it not been for Condo?s presence. At the issue?s end, he has been given the opportunity to learn the importance of being with friends a lot earlier than Older Jan did. It?s also worth noting that it?s the woman considered to be a bit frosty, that has mind scanned half the city to find him and give him words of advice. It?s a shame that Young Jan will surely be expelled from the Legion. There were loads of ways he could have disabled the Dominators, without killing them. Deep in the SW6 chambers a Thom-Clone is readying his appeal.

Like Young Jan?s rage, Older Jan leaving Sean to struggle in pain in the snow reminds me of an old reaction of the character. Here it?s shown as letting others find their own path, rather than a callous cotton candy eating indifference to suffering around him.

This issue stemmed from Al Gordon keeping Erin alive, when she was slated for death in #3 with the reason being a gender switch. I?ve posted elsewhere that the plot would have been stronger had Erin died back then. The actual arcs here, with each of the central characters learning about themselves is decent enough. But it?s surrounded by a seemingly endless lethargy in the book. Old Jan basically sits on a couch for an issue. Two Mon-Els meet in a scene already done. Two other SW6ers argue with each other, while the one out on patrol kills sentients and gets a free pass for it, by the end of the issue. Oh, and Leland rubs an Emerald Eye.

I never had a strong reaction to this issue, possibly because I was oblivious to all the fan theories about Jan being gay. This story didn't resolve that question one way or another. The letters column revealed a mix of feelings about what was done with Shvaughn/Sean, but they chose the letters.



Hah! How many sales were lost because guys didn't want to buy a girlie romance issue?



As Chaim wrote, fan theories gone wild... I'd be curious if anyone has worked out an isue-by-issue timeline for this series. HHW was good at that sort of thing. It's hard to tell if something is taking weeks or months.



Yeah, a lot of pieces had to fall into place for that to happen. Where were the Luck Lords?



An odd bit of Dominator philosophy, which works for the story but could use some expansion.



There are quite a few personality differences. Of course, there wasn't all that much distinctive personality in the Adventure era. We can blame the Dominators' experiments for bringing out characteristics which were absent/latent/never there to begin with.

Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #3 Part I by Al Gordon, art by Rob Jaymes & Ian Montgomery, Letters John Workman, Colours Tom McCraw, Editor Michael Eury

Brin is dying. He asks to be left alone, but requests that Kono remain. He tells her that not all men are beasts, but stops when he sees an angel. It's Aria, who wants to help him but doesn't know how. Brin thinks the Zuunium in his blood is working against her, so she decides to take him back to a time before the zuunium injections began. Brainy's equipment is behaving strangely; he concludes magical interference. When he rushes into Brin's room, Brin and Aria have vanished. Brainy looks at a monitor and views images of young Brin, Furball and then a man-beast.

Part II: "Full Moon Fever" by Al Gordon, art by Joe Phillips & John Dell, Letters John Workman, Colours Tom McCraw, Editor "The Wild Eury"

Brin, as the man-beast, appears in a 20th century city (apparently San Francisco), holding an unconscious Aria and disrupting traffic. He runs and hides an ailing Aria in an abandoned warehouse. Government interests are searching for him. When he returns one night after stealing some supplies, Brin surprises some drug/gun dealers who have captured Aria. The Feds arrive to bust the drug dealers, get into a fight between Brin and the dealers, then a character named Thrust, working for the government, bursts through a skylight.

Text piece: Brainy analyzes what happened and concludes that when Aria tried to take Brin back to his pre-Zuunium time, they were bounced into the 20-the century since two Brins could not exist in the same time. Brin went on to be the 20th century Timber Wolf, who inspired 30th century Brin Londo.

Part III: Reunion by Tom & Mary Bierbaum, art by Brandon Peterson & Scott Hanna, Letters John Workman, Colours Tom McCraw, Editor Michael Eury

Former Legionnaires and friends reunite on Winath to attend the christening of Dacey and Doritt Ranzz. They catch up, gossip, relax, mourn the dead and party.

In attendance: The Ranzz family (including Garridan in a protective suit), Mekt's partner Holt, Rokk & Lydda, Loomis, Projectra, Nura and her advisor Tab, Jo, Kent, Kono, Ayla, Vi, Rond and daughter Lauren, Tellus, Chuck & Lu, Gim & Yera, Lar & Tasmia, Cham, Proty II. Clandestine attendance: six Proteans.

The new information:
Mekt has a partner, Holt.
Nura has put on weight.
Thom manages Naltor's batball team and is married to the owner, Yvyvva.
Tellus supports the Dark Circle.
Vi apologizes to Yera.
Luronu flirts with Gim, or maybe not.
Lydda gives birth after a difficult labour.
Garth is revealed (to the reader and to Ayla) to be Proty I, who has impersonated Garth for the past 20 years.
Garth/Proty owes something to a character named Kid Quantum.

Comments:
The first part, the vigil with dying Brin, is emotional and feels authentic. Friends at a loss for words, trying to be cheerful in his presence, feeling helpless. Weepy, desperate Aria muddles the farewell. I did like the idea that the timestream bounced them further into the past to prevent two Brins in one time and the idea that history was rewritten as Brainy watched his monitor. However, it's a total retrofit and inconsequential to the ongoing LSH story.

Part II did not entrance me at all. Another solo Legionnaire in the 20th century, trying to kick off his own series. Accompanied by Aria, who makes toasters appear (thanks to the Subs podcast for that catch) and is the step between man and god, which I still don't understand. I never read the Timber Wolf series, but did find this summary. Didn't miss much.

The reunion was a fun read, good to see old friends and no big bads crashing the party. Rokk and Valor talk to King John about the troubles outside, but the others remain in a sort of golden, memory lane bubble. Not without its little scandals and conflicts, but nothing amounting to planetary war. The shocker was the Proty/Garth reveal and the big question was whether or not, all along or by the end, Imra knew the truth. Proty/Garth was another fan brainstorm, like Shvaughn/Sean with more logical basis, and with equally troubling questions for their relationships.

Relationships take a bit of a hit in 5YL, mirroring real life. Some succeed, some don't. Garth and Imra, Shvuaghn and Jan, both based on a cover-up. Lu possibly unfaithful to Chuck. Jo lost Tinya, Jeckie lost Val, Dawnstar lost Wildfire, Brainy let Laurel get away (or pushed her away) and Nura broke up with Thom.

I didn't like chubby Nura, Cham and Proty II's song & dance routine (silly) or the idea that Luornu was messing around with Gim. That latter idea cheapened the happy marriage between Chuck and Lu, and the idea that ordinary nice guy Chuck won the love of the girl of his dreams. If that isn't Lu asking for a light in a bar and all-too-close to Gim in the pond, however, it's Yera imitating female Legionnaires. Consenting adults and all that, but an odd thing to do if the real Lu might happen to walk by.

The Timber Wolf mini-series was a complete waste, as was the entirety of his transformation and trip to the twentieth century, including the first story of this issue (with the exception of his conversation . I'm glad it got undone in the space of a year.

The reunion story was way better. The Cham and Proty song-and-dance number was silly, but a nice little reminder that the Legion used to be a kids' club and that they have memories they can look back at and laugh about, not just battles against Mordru and Computo. Remember, they used to use a computer to tell them who would be most fun to kiss? Dancing the shurg, the latest teen dance craze? Reading this as adults in 1992 is a bit cringe-worthy, but it fit very well into the way the Legion once was.

The Proty/Garth thing got a lot of flak, but at least there was some setup (aside from being an old fan theory). The revelation back in issue # 4 that Eltro Gand still lived inside Lar Gand's head made this a very logical corollary.

It's interesting that the sport that Thom is coaching is pretty much a carbon copy of twentieth-century baseball. The brief glimpse we have of Thom on the first page of issue # 3 looks very different. Not a big deal, but something I've taken note of, as the follow-up to the Thom story (issue # 37) will be the focus of my next baseball-in-comics post at Royals Review (I've been writing a series of these, and have posted four so far).

I think that Nura's figure showing some middle-age spread is just fine. And I'm of two minds about the Gim-Luornu/Yera thing. I like to think that after her Vi impersonation, Yera would have sworn to never imitate a Legionnaire again. But Gim always seemed like the straight-up type who'd never cheat on his wife. (Luornu being a bit wild is a new revelation, but supported by the old Nam'Lor story, at least.)

Annual 3

The annual introduces us to another version of Brin Londo. We?ve had the emotionally isolated youth who thought he was an android. It didn?t help that his scientist dad had mucked around with Zuunium radiation, to give the kid powers. We?ve had the pointy haired guy who was an utter git to be around, party due to that emotional isolation. We had the guy portrayed as not the sharpest tool in the box, but whose ?animal? senses often gave him plot solutions before the others. Peppered through this, Brin would sometimes show animalistic traits.

This volume combined the above to give us Furball, a product of the radiation progression following Black Dawn. Although he was restored to human form, the radiation took its toll. It was tough to spot. With all of the Legion sitting around for a couple of years doing nothing, Brin not doing much didn?t stand out.

The opening part of the Annual shows Brin?s health deteriorate towards his death. Along the way, we get hints of another transformation. In this volume, Brin also becomes a self-reflective sage regarding relationships. Words of wisdom that are blatantly obvious, but said in a meaningful tone to maximise their effect. Elsewhere, Ayla has more than moved on. In real life, I?d suspect this was a sad tactic to try and win her back. The opening page of a heroic Brin saving unconscious damsel in distress Ayla supports this as Brin?s view, rather than anything that actually happened. Ayla isn?t unconscious from the leg wound. She?s passed out having to listen to Brin?s soul-searching monologues for five minutes.

Other irritants in this part of the book include:-

Jo saying to Brainy ?He doesn?t want his friends ? or you, for that matter, in there?? A very inappropriate crack at the guy who?s spent a heck of a lot of time looking after Brin.

Often, to launch something, it has to be reduced to a sales pitch. A new film is a combination of two others, that happen to be big hits. A new book is the setting of a previously huge book, with the characters of another. Here, Brin is suddenly the Legion?s ?soldier? while Aria is a ?step between man and god.?

As usual for the volume, there?s a lot of chat with no story progression. They all have a laugh at Brainy?s expense with Brin being one of the guys. Except he was never really like that. It?s also another opportunity to have Kent seem intrinsic to a past Legion that never was. He joined after the 5YG, so the boxer shorts incident must have happened after that, but before Tinya?s death, Black Dawn and Brainy?s departure from the team. It reads so much like a Silver Age retcon, you?d think Kent was some sort of Superboy stand-in or? oh, right.

Brainy spends a number of panels across pages, just getting past Jo and into a room. I think that even the characters were reluctant to have to walk through nine panels every page, just to do anything.

Brin?s ?it?s too dangerous? regarding Aria going back in time is a bit odd. The Legion hop back and forth through time on a regular basis. I don?t recall Brin desperately clinging to Superboy, begging him not to return to the 20th century. ?Clark?it..it?s too dangerous!? The same dialogue also has Brin saying ?don?t do this for me?? as a reminder of his new emotional martyr persona. His new insights are possibly occurring after being punched by Lobo, in the way Guy Gardner?s personality changed when hit by Batman. Now everyone has to put up with his ?insights? as they get on with their lives. There?s another ?Ayla? reference as Brin talks to Aria, showing that for all his introspection, he hasn?t moved on an inch. It?s creepily manipulative in a way.

I?ll come back to Aira in a bit. But Brainy?s ?I didn?t say dead, I said ?gone?.? is a classic. It?s odd that they all see he?s gone, but Brainy has to interrupt the wake. They seem to have been holding it before Brin had died.
Reminiscent of the annual?s first page, Brin appears holding a ?damsel in distress.? The ?damsel? to be saved in invariably unconscious in these sorts of things. That?s because the pay off is love through the act of saving, rather than love through actually building a relationship through little things like?talking.

I remember not minding the Phillips art, and it?s fine. We get some early plus points for having the cops, well one of them, being used to superheroes. This pair remind me of the ones in Legends. There, the gun went off, killing one of them who promptly blamed the super hero.

After a few ?sell the upcoming book monster poses? it loses a few more points as Brin reads a newspaper. The 1992 press and readers are amazingly fast. They?ve had time to write a werewolf story, publish it, have people read it and dispose of it in a run-down part of town. If I were Brin, I?d be after the writer of the article. If he knew Brin was coming, he?s possibly a time traveller too, and Brin can get help returning to the 30th century. Brin is also very good at reading non-interlac things.

Returning to their base, we see the ?damsel in distress? them continue. Aria is now conscious. But she?s very weak and can?t save herself. That?s what our hero does! To make sure she has to be saved, she?s tied up. It?s apparently a drugs operation going on in the warehouse. But I?d not be surprised if they ditch that so they can put Aria on some railway tracks and work on waxing their moustaches.

One of the crooks says ?No parlez English, eh? Oh, well, that?s never stopped me before.? That?s a good point to bring up something that?s bothered me about this story since I first read it. Aria is a child. I?d have hoped that the writer would bear that in mind. Having the only female character as a victim is bad enough. Having the crook make a sexual remark about a child makes it a lot worse. It could be argued that the character doesn?t know this. But the writer certainly did, and there?s a few warning alarms going off, ahead of the Timberwolf series.

It struck me as very creepy at the time, and it?s still what I think reading it now. I don?t think this is the only female character transformed into an adult, that then interacts on a more grown up level with other cast members. I can?t recall what this reminded me of at the time. Alan Moore?s Miraclewoman covers some unsettling territory, but I think there?s others.
The rest of the scene is standard superhero fare. Brin dispatches the crooks, Aria is saved, the police arrive and we get a confrontational cliff-hanger as Thrust appears.

Other than a child being about right for Brin?s level of emotional development, I?ve no idea why they thought this was a good idea. Mind you, later on we?d get Lori Morning and? never mind.


There?s a lot of blood as Brin stops the crooks. It does look as though he kills them, violating the Legion?s code. But this is Brin as Wolverine, so the writer/ artist is going for a similar shock effect. As a lot of Wolvie?s foes turned up as cyborgs later on, in A-Team fashion where no one really ever dies, it?s probably the same for this lot.

To this section?s credit, the Timberwolf character is realised from the previous Brin versions mentioned above, with a distinctive look. Presumably his trousers are the pyjamas Brin was wearing in his deathbed.

We get some acrobatics, as well as enhanced senses. We get some of Brin?s animalistic eyes from the old days combined with the furball look. It?s a heck of a lot better than the v7 Timberwolf that appeared in Legion Lost. That was a pretty hollow attempt to rip off Wolverine. They had Brin shoot out fingernails, rather than slash with them, just so we couldn?t possibly make a connection between the two >another sigh<

Thrust looked exactly as he is. A desperate attempt to appear relevant by adding some attitude. Thrust tells us that we might know his father. I looked it up and it?s Lobo, which just gets a >sigh<

Brainy?s Omnicom reference indicates that the name Brin chose in the 30th century was inspired by one from the 20th century. Brin will apparently go on to be involved in pivotal 20th century heroics in Lone Wolf: The mini! Oh wait, Brin picked another name, that was inspired by the 20th century. It?s amazing what survives and what doesn?t.
Despite having the same writer for multiple issues, the Timberwolf mini was even less interesting than the Karate Kid series. Perhaps due to it having one issue worth of plot (perhaps not even that) padded out across five, with pointless fight scenes.

Having had to read multiple groups of characters sit around for years in the main book, I really want to pay more for an annual that?has them do exactly the same.

By itself, there are a lot of Legion nuggets in this one. I?m sure I enjoyed it a bit more when I got it. I?d not been reading it off the back of an issue of the main book every week. The standing around wasn?t quite so obvious I?m sure I sympathised with Kono even then, though.

The big reveal is that Garth is really Proty, and that Proty was transferred into Garth when they brought him back from the dead, way back in the Adventure days. It?s one of those very well done retcons that picks up previous story elements and uses them to add depth, rather than trample over what?s gone before. TMK get a *lot* of credit for taking classic Legion stories and giving them added context. It?s brave work considering the number of DC rehashes there have been in other books.

My actual response of the time was that I?d read this plot twist when they did it with Eltro and Lar in #4. So, I was actually a disappointed, despite everything else in it, with what I thought was a return to territory already covered

I did it a bit of disservice. It?s very well worked through this story. Proty II returns. Imra sees Garth meet with multiple Proty?s. At the end you realise she sort of knows more than she?ll admit at this point. Imra?s bringing up of Garth?s return as they talk about their own kids, is prompted from her reaction of seeing him with the Protys. There?s even some foreshadowing of a more terrible price to pay. It?s also no coincidence that Imra is standing right next to Proty as a group look at Blok?s statue. Imra talks again about death. The suffering of her children comment links Darkseid?s Validus machinations; the subplot with Garridan and Graym *and* the Validus Plague that affected them all, with Garth?s Protean make-up possibly helping him survive it?s effects. It?s a single sentence that packs a lot of meaning, which is another T&M trait in the Legion. They?re also standing in next to the Kid Quantum statue that will also spin off from the Proty subplots.

Validus? transformation is given extra depth. He is a combination of his parents abilities. Imra?s mental powers, Garth?s lightning? and Proty?s transformations, giving him a giant form.

The statues play an important role in the story, reinforcing the ideas of sacrifice and death. Ayla discovers Garth there, in a further meeting with the Proteans. Having overheard that Garth is really Proty, she realises that she also knew deep down. ?If you want somebody back badly enough? you?ll believe in anything? is a great line. It takes you right back to the desperation the Legion had to find any miracle cure to bring Garth back. It was a rarity to see such foreshadowing in a book back then. But their sense of loss was carried across a number of issues.

Having Ayla say this is also poignant. Not only because as his twin, she?s the most likely to know about Garth. But because Ayla herself tried something herself to keep Lightning Lad alive. She impersonated him, sacrificing her own identity to keep Garth?s legacy a living one. Ayla & Garth also discuss if Imra knows. It?s an important link of this plot. It reminds us of Imra?s worried look seeing Garth with the Proteans at the start. It also links to Garth trying to tell Imra at the end, and failing. Imra was prepared to sacrifice herself for Garth. Proty did sacrifice itself for Garth. Having survived, it made another sacrifice. That of being Garth, and sacrificing its heritage to stay with the person it loved.

At one-point Ayla remarks to Garth that ?brothers should be together.? This is after Vi comments that Garth is acting strangely, hanging around the statues of the fallen (notably Garth?s statue isn?t there, as they don?t think he?s dead.). it?s meant to suggest that the penny has dropped for Ayla. That the Garth she knows isn?t the Garth who died, and that the personalities aren?t seamless (possibly even with Eltro/ Lar parallel that here?s faint spark (tee hee) of Garth?s personality in there) It?s a bit of a jump, and I?d have preferred it to have just been Ayla find Garth and the Proty?s together and for the penny to drop.

In light of the Erin issue, having Ayla say that ?brothers should be together? could have revealed that Ayla was a secret user of Proman. It adds a layer to her impersonation of Garth all those years before, and why it took the others so very long to make the connection.


In between all this are the comments from the others. Lydda admiring Garth?s fatherhood and Imra and garth having a ?marriage made in heaven.? It?s very well told, and hats off to T&M for that.

TMK used this plot to establish that Garth was far less the caring man when he was Garth and more so when he was Proty. We?ll see more of that when Livewire makes more appearances. Garth?s Livewire personality was picked up in later boots, and is one of TMK?s legacies to the Legion.

But it?s not even my favourite plot in this one. That has to be Garridan and Graym. Right from the first page, we see how downcast Graym is about the arrival of two more siblings. Graym?s mood darkens when Garridan get a lot of fuss made over him on his return. It loses points for having Kent have to tell the parent?s how the boy was doing. Something else they would already know. The tension rises with Garridan being made the star of the basesball game (which seamlessly ties in with the Nura/ Tom subplot, Yera & Vi and Garth & Imra). The boys? argument is one a lot of brothers would have had. Something else that starts off in fun, but escalates from tensions bubbling beneath the surface. Progressing the Yera and Vi plot was a nice touch, weaving through this one, where Yera tells Graym how important he really is. The quick resolution with tensions buried in the prospect of fun is also pretty true to life. Graym will get a Garridan suit!

Years after this was published I read Jim Shooter?s breakdown of the Legionnaires that seemed a bit obsessed over their sex lives. I hadn?t given that any thought, so it was a bit of a chock. This one is done a with a lot more fun that Shooter?s summaries. They?re a lot more grown up than people queuing up to the kissing matchmaker machine. Winath seems to be the voyeurs holiday destination of choice, and that?s just the legionnaires. It?s a bit lecherous.

This story does seem to rock a number of relationship boats. Unlike the Garth revelation and others in the volume, does it add anything to the Legion? It?s suggested that Nura has had sex with Jo and Tenzil.

There?s a few throw away comments that could have used some development in the main book. They?re *still* talking about Bounty resembling Dawnstar. Mysa is off on her own, but we never saw her leave. In contrast, there are some nuggets that do fit in nicely. Tellus? political viewpoints adds a complexity to the book. He comes from a world dominated by the Gil?Dishpan. The circle may have offered the illusion of freedom from that. It does add another post Adventure Legionnaire to pile of characters for whom bad things happen in this volume.

TMK introduced the idea that Luornu had multiple personalities, that weren?t separate with her bodies. It placed her marriage with Chuck under a lot of strain. It?s one I?m not particularly keen on as I like them as a couple. Chuck doesn?t really deserve to have Luornu linked with having rumoured affairs with Lar and seen ones here with Gim. The fallout on Lar/ Tasmia and Gim/ Yera also doesn?t sit well Both Lar and Gim seem like faithful guys, so this doesn?t really work for me. Perhaps TMK wrote The Legion of Super Swingers in their fan days.

It?s a packed story. There are loads of little snippets of information, subplots and one big reveal. Lydda also gives birth, hopefully bringing her and Imra closer to active duty.

Lydda?s child had an iffy moment, but didn?t turn out to be cursed by Darkseid. Had that followed the Imra/ Garth model we would now be faced with the Night Slapper. A combination of Lydda?s super strength and Rokk?s treatment of women. I now propose that Pol Krinn II grows up to be the Time Trapper!

Good to know I didn't miss anything.



Interesting! Wouldn't have thought there was that much, but I'm not into sports.



Inheriting all that money, then turning into a furry beastie... makes you tnk about life's big issues.



I figured he thought it was too dangerous for her to do this without benefit of a time bubble, and she being just a kid in his mind, and/or to try to rewrite history by intervening in his Zuunium interjections,


Can't think of any others either, except the reverse in Jeff Lemire's Black Hammer, a 40-year old woman stuck in the body of a 10-year old girl, but a little digging might turn up more than we'd like to see.



Oh no! It figures. Who was his mother? A space dolphin?

No particular comments on your comments on this section, except that they were entertaining and spot-on.



All these bits contriubte to a very well-woven retcon. I didn't appreciate how it all worked together at the time.



I took the brothers remark to also refer to Mekt, although on Winath maybe twins are more important than other siblings. Ayla on Proman? That would have set the fans screaming. It might have been a faulty batch of the drug that allowed Dirk to detect her lack of an Adam's apple.



Wasn't my favourite, but it was well done and true to life.



Yeah, not a great development for Lu & Chuck - and particularly maddening that it's not clearly resolved whether she did or didn't.



Why not? Everybody gets to be Time Trapper!