Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archive 35

Legion of Super-Heroes 67
"Insect Fear"

Issue Information

Summary

The Legion's first official mission comes back to haunt them as they follow up on a lead on Tangleweb. Cosmic Boy makes the tactical decision to split the team, leading to a few ruffled feathers. He brings Leviathan, Andromeda, Apparition, Chameleon, Kinetix and Spark (whom Leviathan calls power players). Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid, Saturn Girl, Triad, Shrinking Violet and XS (whose super-speed Cos says isn't much use on a spaceship), are asked to stay behind.

Can the away team including an emotional, guilt-stricken Leviathan and a xenophobic Andromeda save the day? The Legionnaires encounter Tangleweb pillaging a ship. Spark refuses a direct order to back down and gets captured; Tangleweb also takes Cosmic Boy before being driven away.

Meanwhile, Invisible Kid and Triad react to being left behind in different ways. Invisible Kid borrows a government ship to follow. And for Triad at least, her reaction puts her in danger, as she gets beaten by some White Triangle goons!

Thoughts

Minor quibble, but the story title is probably the worst one so far. It seems more apt for a horror movie than for a Legion comic, though it could also refer to Andromeda's disgust towards the spider-creatures.

The story opens with Tangleweb attacking a ship, and we learn that it actually eats the brains of its prey in order to get knowledge and power. Huh, interesting.

Leviathan is still feeling guilt for Kid Quantum's death, which makes him even more hot-headed and temperamental than usual. He handles the meeting poorly by insulting Saturn Girl, insensitively telling the ones left behind not to take the decision personally when they are obviously feeling inadequate (much like he himself does over James' death!), and deals with his guilty feelings poorly.

Zoe is actually the one who calms him down; she adroitly helps defuse the tension by asking about Tangleweb (notice that she speaks up instead of Laurel or Ayla!). You can also see her smiling happily at him and touching his arm to console him. Maybe she can be the Beauty to his Beast?

Cosmic Boy does a better job, calmly but firmly explaining his tactical reasoning in selecting the team. His reasoning is such that even Lyle and Lu can understand, though not like, his decision. "This isn't about who's better or stronger", he says - though he leaves out telepathic Imra, super-fast Jenni and microscopic Vi; the former CAN telepathically detect Tangleweb (despite what Leviathan says) and the latter two can easily evade his attacks. He brings Tinya, possibly because her powers allow her to keep out of harm's way; why not bring the latter two?

Lyle won't take no for an answer, and even borrows a ship so he can follow the team. Why? He mentions in one panel, "You don't understand, you're going to need me." In another he says, "but they can't do without me." But he doesn't reveal why he thinks that; his invisibility and brains are useful but neither proved to be an invaluable asset against Tangleweb. Does he just really feel so confident in his abilities? As he takes off he says, "it's not like I'm going to survive this anyway." So was all that "you'll need me" just false bravado? Is he going more because he wants to prove to himself that he can stand alongside his more powerful teammates?

"Time to repent your sins, pusbag. You're busted!" Oh Tinya, you go girl.

I also like that ships are now equipped with a device that can track Tangleweb. That shows quite a lot of foresight!

The Legion's fight against Tangleweb is terribly one-sided. Despite there being seven Legionnaires, they're taken apart like amateurs! Ayla gets in too close even though Cos warns her back, and if she hadn't been an established character she could possibly have been killed like James was! Andromeda needs to be told to use her non-contact powers; Zoe's powers can't hold her cage together (!) and Cham and Tinya do absolutely nothing during the fight. Gim also makes himself a bigger target - exactly what Cos told him NOT to do during their first fight against Tangleweb!

We can see that Andromeda is genuinely concerned for her teammates - she calls out Spark's name.

Gim, at least, manages to pull the remaining Legionnaires together in Cos' absence. With a little encouragement from Zoe, he prioritizes AND comes up with the good idea to have Andromeda provide propulsion, plus he knows the first priority is to get Cos and Ayla back safe. He's also sharp enough to notice that Tangleweb is smarter.

The five remaining Legionnaires catch up to Tangleweb on a planet full of spider-like creatures too. Uhoh. Thank goodness they have their flight rings.

Finally, we head back to Earth to see Triad again. Her mixed reactions are interesting to say the least; she argues with her selves as if each is a different person. She's also ashamed to let the rest see what she's like, which explains why she walked out. Once she calms down we see her act rationally. Sadly, her splitting up of her selves gets her in trouble as Neutral is cornered by a bunch of thugs; at three against one the odds are bad to say the least. The issue ends with Orange and Purple feeling Neutral's pain, and Neutral left for dead.

Whew. The writers sure know how to up the stakes. We have the entire away team AND Triad in deathly peril by the end of the issue.

Invisible Kid seems to be the writers' darling here; he's set up to be the big hero (or a sad casualty?) by the next issue. I have to say he's one of my least favorite Legionnaires here. And though Leviathan does show some good leadership, I don't like his poor handling of his emotions either. On the other hand, both boys ARE written very realistically (especially considering their ages - they'd both be around 16 I think).

This is a pretty good issue as the action flows along really well and we still get quite a lot of good character moments. Most of the Legionnaires on the away team (except Chameleon) get to do something, and even many of the ones left behind do too.

We also see that the team is in need of serious work. Though they do work together alright, they're not as tight as they could be - the fight against Tangleweb, and the disastrous meeting, show that they still have a lot to work on.

Chris Renaudi's guest pencils are OK; he gives the Legionnaires very expressive faces which are appropriate for each scene (except for the middle panel on page 20 where Leviathan looks like he's about to faint, and the one on page 21 where he looks constipated).

Legionnaires 24
Me, Myself and I
Issue information

Summary:

The Legionnaires on Earth really to help save Triad, though they may not be able to do so without delving into her past and her experience of having 3 different personalities. it turns out that Triad is extremely unique among Carggites.

They also try to track down the thugs who beat Triad up, and learn that there might be a connection both to the Planet Hell case and the attack on the nightclub the Legionnaire girls tried to visit.

Thoughts:

Right off the bat this issue contradicts the last. The textbox tells us, "When Cosmic Boy took the unprecedented step of excluding the LEAST POWERFUL Legionnaires from a mission...". This despite Cos saying it's NOT about powers or who is best, but about who is needed (though of course, Leviathan himself had already contradicted Cos last issue). Not hard to see why many of the Legionnaires left behind were upset.

These "weaker" Legionnaires are certainly NOT comparatively useless: XS, Violet and Saturn Girl display good teamwork and use each of their powers to track an abandoned hideout of the racist thugs, while Brainiac 5 works to save Triad.

The abandoned hideout is disturbing for 2 reasons: the first, that a level of racism and hate such as that still exists in the 30th century; and two, Violet remembered the thugs Andromeda went after - and didn't bring back - also wore the same symbol: a White Triangle. Oooh. Violet's still too shy to tell her teammates though.

The Carggites won't help and Earth's hospitals don't know much about Carggite physiology. Brainy's experiences tell him that Triad's not like the other Carggites, which may be the key. And we delve into a very sad story...

Triad was born with each of her 3 selves experiencing different emotions, unlike the typical Carggite. An unaccepting Carrgite society persecuted her for it. It was so bad that her father left and her mother committed suicide - but a guardian angel came in the form of her grandmother.

Interestingly, Luornu's mom's name is Iruna Durgo. So she took her mom's surname. I'm guessing that Granny Murlu is her maternal grandmother and that Lu's dad blamed her mom's genes for the differences.

It's ironic that Granny Murlu encouraged Lu's differences but didn't exhibit her own to Lu until she died. I'm not surprised that she didn't; her deathbed comments make it seem like she was forcibly taught to not display her differences. And one of her comments is spot on: "You come on! It's easy to preach, but living on this world with these feelings..." It's hard to be yourself when almost the entire world tells you it's wrong. What's surprising is that she didn't share her own differences with Lu, while encouraging Lu to embrace her own. Perhaps she didn't want to display her individual personalities as it would be hard for her not to dredge up the painful memories of her own past?

Triad's differences - and Purple's reckless side - are displayed again when they make their first attempt at reintegration. Sometimes these differences can be a good thing, sometimes they are bad. It's odd that Granny Murlu says they're good for a Carggite's mental health, but we've seen Lu's 3 personalities give her a lot of trouble!

Reboot, Omni, razsolo and I had a really good discussion about they nature of the differences. Our consensus is that the majority of Carggites are born fully identical; for the minority with differences, the degree of difference can vary per individual with some successfully suppressing any outward display and others not being able to do the same.

Triad manages to escape the mental hospital she was put in, and lucky the ship she tries to break into was owned by one RJ Brande!

Saturn Girl has a moment of doubt on Brande's reaction to Triad's differences, but she tests her suspicions and thankfully they are unfounded.

One bright spot in the barbaric way these hospitals are run? It looks like you're only sent there if you're a ward of the state, or perhaps if your parents send you there voluntarily. Lu was able to stay out of them while she was under her Granny's care.

Cue the 2nd attempt at reintegration. Triad Purple and Orange overcome their differences by merging; their personalities are so far apart that it's the only way. Even with their merger, they hesitate briefly upon seeing Neutral's agony. But it works, Triad is safe, and their differing personalities may actually have contributed to their survival this time.

The story ends with Brande vowing to find the thugs responsible, and Violet worrying about Andromeda's possible complicity.

The story is a good allegory for homosexuality. Being born with it; some people thinking it can be "cured" and suppressed; it's something that you can't always tell about a person just by their exhibited behaviors or appearance. The intent is good and so is the execution - the messages aren't hammered into our heads, but rather they unfold through the touching story of someone we have grown to care about (and the parallels aren't too obvious either - I certainly didn't pick up on it when I first read this issue at about 15 years old).

There are 2 inkers for this issue, Tom Simmons and W.C. Carani. You can tell which inked which page; the Simmons pages seem a bit more rough and the characters' eyes are a bit off. The art is serviceable though and the action is very easy to follow.

This is a good issue and it fulfilled its purpose - it made me care more for a character, it moved the overall plot along, and it left me with a good message.

Legion of Super-Heroes 68
"Sticky Situation"
Issue information

Summary:

The away team gets captured by members of Tangleweb's species, and learns that they're not hostile. Chameleon is able to communicate with the spider-creatures, and uses his shapeshifting to tell the other Legionnaires their story. Tangleweb is a terrorist on their world, and became intelligent by eating brains.

Invisible Kid catches up to the Legion and (in a major part due to luck) manages to save Cosmic Boy and Spark. Andromeda (with some tough love from Leviathan) overcomes her xenophobia enough to find a way to save the day.

Thoughts:

The issue satisfactorily resolves an "open" story arc that began way back in LSH 62, and gives many of our Legionnaires some good development.

The away team of Leviathan, Kinetix, Apparition, Andromeda and Chameleon are outnumbered 5 to 1 by members of Tangleweb's species. The odds are so staggering that Leviathan appears stunned at first; it's Apparition who asks Andromeda for a quick scan of the situation. Leviathan decides to take the offensive, which is pretty disastrous; Andromeda is the only one who has a chance to win. Despite using only her long-range heat vision, a Spider-person tears her transuit and she collapses. The other four Legionnaires get taken down quickly.

The team's definitely still getting used to working together. Kinetix gets a face full of gunk when Apparition phases right in front of her; and I don't see any of them use their flight rings to give themselves an advantage.

Back on Earth, Triad is conscious but weak. Imra scans her memories and is horrified by what she sees. She also still disapproves of Cos' decision to split the team, though frankly Triad would still have been in danger if she'd gone after Tangleweb too. I give Imra a pass here though, as Triad's beating was definitely traumatic to "see".

Leviathan's team is still alive. Andromeda realizes she merely overreacted; we realize that her attitude isn't just derision and contempt for "inferior" races but also fear and disgust for the stranger ones - particularly non-humanoids. (Now I wish she and Gates had been on the team at the same time; Gates' retorts would have been hilarious). You can't really blame her for her fear, as she'd never left Daxam before being drafted. Likely she was raised that way.

The Legionnaires use their brains, with most of them staying behind in safety while sending a phased Tinya finds Cham.

Next we enter Invisible Kid, displaying little of the cockiness and arrogance he did in previous issues. He mentally admits that he's terrified, he falls into a trap, and he has to constantly reassure himself. It makes me wonder more than ever why exactly he followed the team? Was it to prove something to them - or to himself? Seems to be more of the latter, frankly. I get that the writers wanted him there because he was the only one (besides Imra) who could translate Cham's speech, but getting him there was clumsy. And so was the addition of a captive Science Police officer who did absolutely nothing except provide a blaster for Lyle to use. Convenient, and nothing more.

"Shame Imra or Lyle aren't around to translate... but I guess they're too weak to come along on this mission huh?" Good girl, Tinya. At the same time, a sign that even the "power player" Legionnaires - as Gim put it - don't approve of dividing the team like that. Cham brilliantly uses his shapeshifting to communicate to the others, and Zoe, Tinya and Gim not only do a good job interpreting it but also defend him when Andromeda raises her doubts. Good show.

Cos and Ayla do a good job combining their powers to take out Tangleweb. Cham's strong friendship with Lyle is demonstrated with their reunion, and we learn another crucial piece of info - not only does Tangleweb use technology to become stronger, he uses brains to become SMARTER. Leviathan's observation on Tangleweb's intellect was spot on. The reunited team faces a trio of Tanglewebs.

Gim helps convince Andromeda to work past her fears and end the battle quickly. It's a practical move, though I think the writers overplayed the drama; even with Andromeda reduced to a cowering xenophobic mass you still have 7 Legionnaires and a Sci-Cop against 3 Tanglewebs - far better odds than the opening battle.

Scene ends with Cos reminding Lyle that he's leader, but not punishing him because he did save them. I approve; it's clear that Lyle wasn't following because he had vital information or anything like that. Cos also takes time to praise and encourage Gim, who also thanks Laurel. It's a satisfying ending, and as Cos points out there aren't any new stars tonight. All's well, for now.

Next up? Well, we also get a curious scene on Durla, where what appears to be a living fluid creature escapes confinement and attacks some Durlans. Uh oh.

Some thoughts on the individual Legionnaires:

Leviathan starts to mature. He's a lot less cranky this issue, and he actually deals with Andromeda quite well. It's still tough love, but he doesn't demean or bully her but appeals to reason to get her to fight. It's a very positive and welcome change.

Andromeda also comes through by working around her xenophobia to intelligently fly the Tanglewebs into the atmosphere. I'm glad the writers stopped at that; it was realistic and shows Andromeda has the makings of a smart and effective Legionnaire.

Cosmic Boy continues to grow into his leader role fairly well, asserting his authority naturally. The only poor bit was him yelling at Lyle for following them while Tangleweb was approaching, but the way he admonished Lyle while still not punishing him was good.

Lyle himself is a walking contradiction. He's outwardly cocky, but look at his face when Cos talks to him in the last page. He's clearly worried. He's definitely covering up for - for what, really? We only know he's scared this issue but it doesn't tell us much new about him except his cockiness is a facade for... approval seeking maybe?

Chameleon does a good job here, as his intelligence and craftiness shine through. It's good to know that despite his inability to speak Interlac he's just as capable as any other Legionnaire. The scene with him shaking hands with the Spider-people is good; maybe he could be an ambassador.

Spark, Apparition and Kinetix don't get to do too much, but each has her moments. Tinya and Zoe especially make a good pair standing up to Andromeda. I think these two would make good friends and would love to see them in battle together. Spark doesn't shine at all, and it would have been good for either Cos or Gim to admonish her for staying too close to Tangleweb last issue - that's what led to her capture, after all.

This is a solid issue and gives good development to Leviathan, Andromeda and Chameleon. Best of all, it all feels organic rather than forced.

Legionnnaires 25

Issue Information

Skin Deep

Summary: After Saturn Girl sees the inner workings of a Durlan mind, the Legion gets attacked by a Durlan who imitates all of their powers and has a vendetta against Chameleon.

Review:

It must have been easy to come up with certain story ideas for the reboot Legion. All the writers really had to do was delve into back issues of the preboot for plots and villains and then ?update? them for a ?90s crowd. In this case, they update the Composite Superman, a villain who appeared in World?s Finest and who possessed the powers of the Legionnaires which he gained while working in the Superman Museum, when lightning struck the miniature statues once used to summon Superboy.

In this case, the ?Composite Legionnaire? (though he?s not referred to by that name in this story) is a Durlan who has been genetically bred for war by assimilating the powers as well as the appearance of anyone with whom he is in close proximity. The makes him a truly formidable Legion foe as he is able to keep the entire team on its toes, shifting easily from Spark?s electricity to Cos?s magnetism, from Apparition?s phasing to Violet?s shrinking, and then to Brainy?s intellect?the latter ability making him realize that he can take on all the Legionnaires' powers and some of their appearances at once!

Even though very little new ground is covered here, either in terms of the villain or the storyline, what is delivered is expertly done. The story hints at a motivation behind the new Durlan villain, whose warrior caste apparently was at odds with the religious caste (shades of Babylon 5!), to which Cham belongs. So, the villain?s motivation is simple revenge, but it works. He also trumps Cham in being able to assimilate Interlac far faster than the Legionnaire has been shown to do.

The plot flows seamlessly from Saturn Girl?s voyage to the bottom of Reep?s mind to Gim?s visit to the Science Police, where he trades barbs with Shvaughn Erin before being attacked by the Durlan. Watching this on the viewscreen, Cos assembles the entire Legion to deal with the threat?a big mistake, as it turns out, since so many Legionnaires give the Durlan more powers to assimilate. The battle scenes which follow are well choreographed for the most part, though some Legionnaires are simply not shown after the group shots on Page 16, leading me to forget that Brainy and Tinya were even present.

The story feels disjointed, though, particularly in the early parts. The writers try to heighten the drama by creating Marvel-style tension in the ranks, but their efforts are not wholly successful. Saturn Girl muses that ?it?s all going wrong,? but this comes across as an overly dramatic interpretation of the past few issues. Imra also feels bad for throwing herself at Cos?a comment which made me think I?d missed an issue until I realized she was referring to their innocent near-kiss a few issues ago.

It?s nice to see a focus on Saturn Girl, but not when she comes off as a drama queen.

Likewise, Imra?s attempt to communicate with Cham?s mind goes on too long and pads the story?which leaves us with an ending that feels like very little has been accomplished. Unlike in previous issues where the plot development has been so tight that the cliffhangers seem natural, this one is too abrupt. It reads like a lot of the old-style Marvel comics of the ?60s and ?70s in which very little actually happened in the story.

Legionnaires 25 provides us with a successful update of an old character in a partially successful story that I almost want to grade as ?Incomplete.?