Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Reboot Re-read: DnA Legion

So in the spirit of Nixon going to China, I've decided to pick up Invisible Brainiac's awesome reboot rereads reviews, but in the DnA era, which will be a nice contrast to the reboot reread for the SWMP era. These will be overviews of the DnA era books starting with Legion Worlds then moving into The Legion itself. Aside from a few core events of this series and The Legion, I don't remember a lot of this as I did the pre-DnA stories, so a lot of this will be rediscovery for me.

So let's jump in!

Legion Worlds #1

Released April 18, 2001
DC Comics, Color
38 Pages

Story 1: You Are Here:Earth
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Yvel Guichet - Pencils
Dexter Vines - Inks
Tom McCraw - Colors
Mike McAvennie - Editor

Synopsis

M'Onel plummets to earth over North America fighting an upgraded Tharok. We go through several pages of Lar struggling against Tharok a lot more than he should, which suggests that Tharok's upgrades are rather dangerous, making the urgency of stopping him that much more important. They chase through the sky clipping a cargo ship and Lar contacts the Science Police for rescue. They impact against a building that looks like the Chrysler building by way of Coruscant and eventually land on an elevated roadway. A drone of some kind launches from Tharok's body, which M'Onel promptly dispatches with freeze breath.

We then switch to a news report hosted by Vigo & Trudy giving us a text synopsis of the prior nine pages, but then transitions into an interview with Leland McCauley, who has now become president of the UP following the impeachment of RJ Brande at the end of the last series. Leland uses this opportunity to glibly talk about how great his administration is, interspersed with scenes of life in Metropolis, a person at the park, someone skating, people in mass transit just going on about their lives. Then our exposition turns to the fate of the Legion. Leland makes a big show of getting emotional about the apparent loss of the missing Legionnaires from the rift crisis, and doubles down on disbanding the Legion on the grounds of endangering children (no discussion of the Age of Majority here). McCauley refers to M'Onel as if he were a son, much to M'onel's chagrin.

The next section is an internal exposition that informs the reader what's really going on from M'Onel's perspective. It's been at least a year since the rift incident, McCauley was elected due to his efforts rebuilding Earth after the Blight, but that he's still suspicious. Oh yeah, and Mon's working for McCauley.

He zips into SP HQ to discuss Tharok's drone with Shvaughn Erin and encounters Zoe Saugin, the former Kinetix, who is now apparently a Junior SP officer relegated to fetching coffee for her team. We also find out that Dyrk Magz, the former Magno, has also become a full SP officer on Braal. She parts with a cry of "Let's go Legionnaire," making Mon ruminate about the fact that he's lonely without the Legion, but that's short lived as they investigate the drone. All hell breaks loose when the drone begins to communicate with the equipment and it comes to life attacking all the SP personnel, infecting several with cybernetic technology, which reveals that the technology originates from, of course, Robotica, introduced in the first DnA issue of Legionnaires.

Mon travels to visit McCauley to talk about the Robotica situation. McCauley, behaving much more aristocratically than in the earlier interview, brushes off any threat that Robotica provides, but M'Onel urges vigilance. Venge, a new character and McCauley's right hand man, is introduced and agrees with M'Onel.

On a grimmer note, M'Onel then goes to the Lost Legionnaires' memorial, where we meet a Cloaked and triplicated Triad, who removes her cloak and promptly re-integrates. We learn that it is a year to the day of the events of LSH 125, Brande has completely disappeared and Luornu is running his company, keeping it alive. Lu wants to talk to M'Onel about something more serious, but he has to take care of an emergency, apparetnly annotehr Robotican incursion.

A massive, Lovecraftian machine emerges out of nowhere in space and Monel engages in combat. M'Onel ruminates during the battle about Luornu's intention - should he reveal that he is the legendary hero Valor? He never answers the question, as the lost Legion Outpost emerges into the solar system.

Story #2 - The Earth Spins
Dan Abnett - Writer
Oliver Coipel - Pencils
Andy Lanning - Inks
Tom McCraw - Colors
Mike McAvennie - Editor

A second story revolves around a triplicated Luornu arriving home watching the news. This section largely serves as exposition interspersed with dialog from Luornu arguing with herself, providing information for the new reader on the subjects introduced in the issue: Tharok, M'Onel, his new organization called the Presidential Oversight Watch, an overview of the Legion and a quick recap of the "Legion of the Damned" and "Widening Rifts" storylines. Quick overviews of McCauley and Robotica are provided along with a mysterious pandemic ravaging Gates' homeworld.

Lu continues to argue with herself and Purple decides to go to bed. Orange expresses her loneliness. The mini concludes with the news report of the Legion Outpost's return.

Commentary

The core purpose of this issue, and the series itself, is to give the Legion fans an idea of what's been going on back home, after being in the hell of Legion Lost for the proir year. My first thought was "WOW, this book is BIG". Its a huge comic read for 38 story pages. It's a lot to get through, but I felt that the writing could have been a little tighter. The opening battle with Tharok, for example, took seven full pages, primarily of three panels per page. The mystery of what's going on with Tharok is interestingly presented, although readers from the prior Legionnaires series will likely assume correctly that the thread is from Robotica.

The "slice of life" exposition sections for both stories are necessary for the new reader, and generally handled in a smooth way, getting us up to speed. To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the choice of referenceing "The Earth Spins" and its contents in the main story, as I felt like I was missing something that may have been presented earlier. I kept wondering after if they could have just integrated that differently into the body of the story.

The art by Yves Guichet is servicable, although he seems to be better with the angular needs of the Robotican technology and environment versus the people. However the action scenes were very dynamic and handled well, especially the fights at the beginning and the end of the story. Coipel's art is very different, and being completely honest, I was not a fan of early Coipel at the end of LSH, but you can tell here that he's starting to come into his element. The Legion splash page is really good, although I found I wanted better quality for the rest of his section.

Zoe's introduction here is really strange to me. It's great that she's finally given dialog for the first time in over a year and a half, but given her dynamic personality, I can't see her in a job that requires a strict uniform where the only thing she can change is her lipstick and fetch coffee, so her taking a SP job just seems like a wrong choice by the writers.

Triad's introduction is obviously done to show new readers what her power is, but it seemed completely inefficient. Why would you be triplicated, take your jacket off, then reintegrate when you can be integrated the entire time to avoid suspicion? She also had a kind of bitchy take on Zoe. I mean, I don't see any other Legionnaires there, but presumably they'll be addressed in the rest of the Worlds books. Her appearance in the story seems only to show the new reader her different personalities.

It's really interesting to me that there is such a different style of expression between the interviewed McCauley and the Leland that M'Onel visits, and it makes me wonder if there is anything to that. I'm also looking forward to how DnA pursue the Valor angle, as it had been literally dropped for many years at that point.

Overall, an interesting and much more hopeful Legion story than a reader at the time would have read in over 18 months. It's not a perfect book, as I feel like the editing could have been slightly tighter. The switching between 5+ action pages with few frames, followed by very dense pages of exposition was a bit jarring, and did not help the flow of the book. It also bothered me a bit that most of the recap section only really dwelled on the DnA Legion contributions. I get why, but c'mon, there was five+ years of history before they came on the scene, so it would have been good to reference some of that. But overall a good read to tell the story of the reboot Legion beyond the Lost Legionnaires.

glad you're doing this, GL! and thanks for the shout out!

Agree re the art. Coipel's art just suddenly seems to improve in this issue versus in Lost.

Zoe as SP... I do recall a couple of self-referential fun-poking panels at this, especially Shvaughn's reaction when Zoe first brings the subject up in Worlds 6. but yes, it was so strange... maybe Zoe's use of green lipstick this issue (which Shvaughn says is contrary to regulations) was an acknowledgement of how strange it would be for such a free spirit to join such a disciplined org

What I didn't like was how they crossed the line and made Zoe borderline ditzy (Mon: I don't think she even realized what day today was... Triad: sounds like her)

Re Triad, she definitely comes across better in the backup issue

also indeed good to reference some of the Legion's earlier victories, like Chu or the Fatal Five or Mordru. but, ah well...

Hey, youve set a high bar, my friend!

Coipel is a VERY good artist now. I was never sure if Damned was just him practicing and getting used to delivering on a monthly comic, or a conscious style choice. I do know that I don?t enjoy his work on Damned at all.


Yeah, both items were problematic for me. I get that Zoe would definitely make a choice to do SOMETHING. But joining a paramilitary org seems to be just way off character. As well, you?d figure Vi and XS would be lobbying her to help out with the other goings on (well, maybe not, given Zoe & Jennis penchant for blab! ), but honestly enlisting is more a Vi move than a Zoe move, IMO. Granted, with what we know of the overall arc, it was done for a specific reason, but to me that just speaks of either the editor or the writers not liking her or an inability to figure out creative ways to use her powers.


Agree on both. McAvennie basically took a hands off approach and let the writers do whatever they wanted. That also included, apparently, ignoring most of what came before DnA, unfortunately.

Good summary, Gaseous Lad . Your review inspired me to revisit the issue. I probably haven't read it since it came out 20 (gasp!) years ago.

I agree that there's too much exposition and recap. I could have done without the page showcasing the reporters (p. 10); if the narrative had gone straight to the interview with McCauley, I think we would have learned everything we need to know. I also found the "futurespeak" used by the reporters and elsewhere ("post-noon," "outsystem," "planetary insertion") distracting. Whenever writers try to come up with futuristic slang for Legion stories, it usually falls flat (though "Sprock!" and "Grife!" in the reboot worked well).

On the other hand, I found myself drawn into M'Onel's prolonged fight with Tharok. A real sense of urgency is created through the narration and the events, such as Tharok endangering a ship. In a touch of realism, M'Onel does not stop to help the ship; he radios it in to a rescue team while he stays in pursuit of Tharok. This decision perhaps establishes Mon as distinct from Superman, who would easily abandon pursuit of a villain to save civilians. Perhaps it is also meant to establish a sense of high stakes. Clearly, Mon perceives Tharok to be the bigger threat , and he is later proven correct. I also enjoyed the military precision of Mon' s dialogue with the control team. I get the sense that DnA brushed up on pilot and rescue terminology when they wrote the issue. DnA don't get a lot of credit for their dialogue, but here it's effective in conveying split-second decison-making.

Another reason the opening scene works for me is the art, which is breathtaking and expansive in the shots of Mon and Tharok falling to earth. The close-ups and figures in general are less successful. The exaggerated shot of Mon on Page 2, middle panel is grotesque, but the long-distance shots are quite effective.

The first story leaves me with a couple of impressions. First, Mon is established to be a solo hero who embodies the best of Superman's qualities while maintaining his own personality. For example, he is conflicted about serving McCauley. Mon won't go against his planet's duly elected leader, and abandoning his adopted world is unacceptable. That's a very Superman attitude. On the other hand, the loneliness he feels without the Legion harkens back to Mon' s deep loneliness and trauma in the preboot. Mon seems to keep busy to avoid dealing with the trauma of what he's lost. Even his brief encounters with Zoe and Luorno seem unsatisfying for him. (On the other hand, he related to Shvaughn on a more open and comfortable level.) I wish this loneliness had been dealt with in more detail--in this or later issues. Once the Legion Lost craft returns, it's all brushed aside; yet there was a real opportunity for character growth if he came to terms with his feelings.

My other impression is that, with Mon being set up so effectively to be a solo hero who earns two very impressive victories (against Tharok and the Robotica creature), I wish Legion Worlds had continued in this vein instead of jumping to different characters and settings every issue. Once the Legion Lost craft returns, I'm ready to see the story move forward instead of catching up with what everyone else was doing. Instead, we had to wait another six months before seeing that happy reunion. It was a delay in storytelling that seems anticlimactic in hindsight.

I do agree that the ending is hopeful. However, I'm not sure what the purpose was of having Triad watch the news report of the return. It's just more exposition in a backup story that serves almost entirely to catch readers up to speed. I agree that much of this could have been worked into the main story or eliminated altogether. Long-time Legion fans would have already known the back story. New readers only needed a truncated version: Earth's young heroes were disbanded after 11 of them were lost in a cataclysmic event. But we already know all this from the main story.

The saving grace of the backup story was, once again, the dialogue. Lu's arguments with "herself" over what to watch seem like real sisters bantering. Of course, never mind the fact that she's having conversations with different sides of her own personality. Who needs logic when you can have exposition?

LW 1 holds up better than I might have thought. But it does leave me wishing some different choices had been made in the Legion's relaunch back then.

thank you GL, you are too kind

Yeah, I always thought - given Zoe's power set she would have been perfect for building Legion World, helping Gear out. And Vi could have reached out and invited her along. Ah well...

HWW, I still swear to myself using Sprock and Grife I love those words. I also use Nass a lot...

Good points from HWW re M'Onel's characterization here. There was definitely that elevated status granted to him, and indeed comparisons to Superman. found it interesting that Mon and Shvaughn related to each other so well, or seemed to - hence why I wrote a romance between them in my own fic. It really stood out, especially as he seemed to enjoy her company more than Triad's or Kinetix's. Maybe because Shvaughn is also an adult...?

also agree that the dialogue was great. DNA had a good handle on Triad's 3 personalities for example. Even Zoe's dialogue shines!

and yes, I did enjoy the Mon/Tharok fight. DNA did a good job upping the drama and stakes, for what "should" have been an easy fight. Having Mon need to be conscious about civilians added to the drama.

Thanks, HWW! I'll probably be cranking out the first couple Legion Worlds recaps in the next few days; during my recent move, I cracked open a couple comic long boxes and would read during breaks. I took some notes for these reviews on the first LW issues.


A hallmark of DnA seems to be their reliance on pseudo mil-speak, which readers have been exposed to since Legion of the Damned, and we definitely see it later as you point out. From reading through all of the post boot to this point, I was used to it, but yeah, when you pick up the book out of nowhere, it?s very jarring.



This is an example where I think the story could have been a smidge tighter, as I'm not sure that extra was needed. It could have cut down that whole sequence by a page.


Fully agree! The backdrop of the Earth getting closer was amazingly done.


All really good points, especially about the Shvaughn interaction. But its weird that they spend so much time with LSH callbacks to the earlier DnA stories, then vaguely mention Valor without more of a detailed exposition on WHY he;s conflicted about that situation and WHY he's touchy about being lonely. Missed opportunities, IMO.


Yes, as I recall, most of the Worlds stories end with this news and yeah it gets frustrating. After all, we just ran the gauntlet with Lost, now we still have to wait longer to see everyone back together! I hope that the build up is worth it!


That line cracked me up!

Agree - having just read Lost, then reading this, I really enjoyed seeing a brighter tone to both the story and the presentation.

Yeah, I didn't even THINK about using Zoe to help build the LW! I guess they were dead set to alter her from the jump. I'd love to know if that was a DnA choice or, like Monstress; fate, a McAvennie decision.


Yeah, I picked up that they are about the same age, so that's why they relate better, but I also thought of your fic here, Ibby!

Aw, you're great for my ego GL

The Mon and Shvaughn scenes (and later in that Ra's two parter) bordered on flirting though! "Let's engage in some teamwork" or something like that.

Now Shvaughn sending Zoe away / calling her out on her lip gloss takes on a slightly different light though I also think that Shvaughn and Zoe would not get along super well to begin with, Shvaughn is very lawful good / by the book, and Zoe is such a free spirit

re Mn and Tharok fight, I see a happy medium between your opinions (yours and HWW). I did like the fight, but also agree it could have taken up fewer pages. ah well.

and yes, the Valor thing. so much exposition in this issue, but not enough about the Valor thing in my mind. maybe DNA tried to summarize it and just gave up lol

SPOLIERS! Just kidding!!


Which is another point as to why SP would be a bad choice for Zoe. Someone who prides themselves in being a free spirit would typically not go to such an organization.


I didn't note it, but I'll go back and check, as I was definitely looking for it, but I don't think they even referenced his Phantom Zone stay. That seems like an important character point to me.

On the Valor subplot:

I agree that it's obliquely thrown into the story for no apparent reason. This is where DnA relied on audience familiarity with the characters. We have to know that Triad had worshipped Valor and that she, more than anyone, would encourage him to come clean about his true identity. Why isn't exactly clear, though. From Lu's perspective, revealing that Mon is the savior of the human race could have the effect of bringing humanity together and giving people hope. However, we have to read very deeply into her personality to draw this conclusion. Newer readers must have been at a loss to understand why Lar wanted to keep his identity secret and why Lu wanted him to expose it.

As I recall, this plotline goes absolutely nowhere. It's another reason why I wish the series had continued with Mon as the lead or at least as a unifying presence in the stories. Much could have been developed as he struggled not only with his loneliness but also with the decision to reveal his true identity. When people are lonely, they often make choices they regret. It would have been interesting to see Mon placed in that position.

I wasn't sure if they did anything with that, but I was suspicious that this was another DnA element that was a narrative dead end. Just as a sidenote, it was kittle details like this which is why I voted "Shouldn't have done the Legion" in Ann's poll from a couple months back. I didn't like the way that their Legion was kind of self-contained and only superficially referenced the prior writers contribution, although a lot of that is probably better placed at the feet of Mike McAvennie. Still, it is what it is.

And I *totally* would have enjoyed them writing a series with M'Onel as the lead. I very much enjoyed the retroboot Mon-El being Legion Leader and Green Lantern for a time, so yeah, that would have been a no-brainer, and really digging into the repercussions of Valor re-uniting the UP in a time of deep crisis would make a provocative story. That's a really awesome idea I may steal.

Doesn't Suoerboy suddenly become the object of a religious movement once he shows up? As I recall, whatever plans they might have had for Valor seemed to have got shifted to Kon-El.

I remember that being referenced in the Secret Files:3003 or whatever it was, as Cosmic Boy is apparently a believer.

I'll keep my eyes out for it when I get to that part of the ongoing.

Not Kon as I recall. Superman (Kal) himself

Kon showed up wearing a copy of Superman?s costume, and Cos took it as offensive to the legacy of superman because Kon was not living up to superman?s standard

Legion Worlds #2

Released May 16, 2001
DC Comics, Color
39 Pages

Story #1 - You Are Here:Winath
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Enrique Breccia - Artist
Tom McCraw - Colors
Mike McAvennie - Editor

Synopsis

We start with a very TMK intro to Winath with a lot of astrographic and background information about Winath, including the key element about most Winathians are twins. Then we meet Ayla and learn that she's been travelling to Winath from Earth for six months! We get more background on her, Garth and the information around the current galactic situation as her ship docks at an orbital Tower. As she steps out she is immediately recognized, and we are treated to a slightly different reflection to the rift disaster from a 'regular joe' type character, as well as a reminder that her twin is assumed dead.

Ayla, wearing her Legion ring around her neck, boards a shuttle to go to the surface and has a flashback to the Outpost evacuation in LSH 125, but a new scene where she Cosmic Boy and Kinetix get in an escape pod. More introspection on how she misses her brother and is alone as the shuttle descends and the exposition talks about the "Winwood" trees that cover the planet and helps enable the planetary climate control.

An interesting Winath is presented to us here. A mix of exotic creatures and mechanized animals, including horses, rabbits and goats. And landspeeder-type vehicles. She encounters the Gulz twins. We are reminded of Garths loss again, yet the conversation turns to the economic destruction of Winath due to the interstellar travel situation, so many farms are banding together as cooperatives, as well as the tidbit that the weather control of Winath is failing with more frequent storms adding to the impact of the failing farms.

Ayla leaves the truck, reflecting again that she's a solo. This time its used to introduce the concept of her older brother Mekt also being a solo, and a real quick overview of their origin while she stares at Garth's memorial. A stuttering Mekt actually appears, apparently on parole after assaulting Garth and Ayla WAAAAY back in Legionnaires and blowing off his brother's arm, so yeah, just put at tracking bracelet on him!

We meet Ayla's parents, Kirth (dad) and Dalya (mom) as she drops by unannounced. Her father's been injured in a farming accident due to the freak weather storms. Family dinner discussion turns to the fact that the Gulz family's Co-op is cutting corners and has been pressuring the Ranzz farm to join in, but the elder Ranzz is too stubborn being an organic farmer to stoop to that level.

The next day, Ayla is out repairing a fence when a freak tornado appears and threatens to flatten the neigboring Begz farm. Ayla springs into action and puts her flight ring on and jumps in to save the children, even as the Outpost PTSD threatens her thoughts. She uses her lightning powers to disappate the tornado, but the entire Begz homestead has been flattened. Mekt suddently appears, making Ayla immediately suspicious of him and he tells of a story where he didn't feel like a solo freak on a childhood trip with Ayla. The flip side is that Mekt lost his temper due to her talking about Garth. The eternal question - was Mekt always a bad seed?

Ayla's mother assures her that Mekt has changed, but Ayla is still suspicious. She does a little research and notes that the storms have increased over time - since Mekt apparently came home six months prior. Mekt leaves on an errand that night, so Ayla changes into her Spark costume (sans Legion belt) and trails him to a climate control station. She confronts Mekt about what's going on, and the twist is revealed - he's been suspicious of the increase in weather problems as well, leading to a confrontation with the Gulz family, who, it seems is the true party behind the freak storms, programming them to take out their competition.

The ensuing fight takes out the weather control equipment, but the massive storm has already been triggered. Ayla tries to stop the storm, but the lightning is too powerful, even for her. She ruminates that because she's a - you guessed it - solo now, she's on her own and can't fight the storm without Garth's help. Cue Mekt, weilding a lighning vane to intercept one of the bolts and take the load off of Ayla. They successfully dissipate the storm but not without burning their hands.

The coda to the story is Ayla visiting Garth's memorial, only to be interrupted by Mekt, telling us of the Legion Outpost's return. Ayla is excited and wants to contact Garth. A suddenly non-stuttering Mekt blasts away Garth's memorial, and walks away having ditched his custody bracelet.


Story #2 - A Change in Climate
Dan Abnett - Writer
Darwyn Cooke - Art
Tom McCraw - Colors
Mike McAvennie - Editor

Synopsis

Dalya's twin Lilya drops by the Ranzz farm to chat with her sister. We're presented with more of the same information from the main story - Mekt is home and Kirth is recovering from an accident - but the reader is also given more backgroud information about Winath and the UP. We again hear about the pandemic crisis on Vyrgra, as well as a looming population crisis, with the Ranzz farm being required to make accomodations for housing citizens due to the extra space they have. The population crisis on Cargg is also mentioned. Dalya finds Mekt's stuffed animal and the sisters ruminate about Mekt being - you guessed it - a solo, before Lilya reminds her sister that Garth and Ayla have made a big difference.

Inside, the sisters talk about how Dalya misses Ayla and that it will be hard for her now that shes a, sigh, solo. Dal looks at childhood picture of all three Ranzz kids in better times, and feels like there was promise of a future that's now been dissolved.

Our final page is a nine panel progression from Lil leaving in her hovertruck to a cheery Ayla walking up to the door.

Commentary -

Just to kick this off, I'm going to say that they should have renamed this Solo: A Legion Story. Even as a long time Legion reader and fan, the solo bit was just WAY overdone. I got it after the first couple times. It didn't need to be beaten in at least six times. Good lord...

So. Now that THAT is out of the way....

I was really looking forward to reading this one again, as Ayla is one of my favorite characters. The world building here was really interesting, as it took the Winath-as-Oklahoma concept introduced during the LSH/Legionnaires Dark Circle story and dialed it up to 11. I thought the concept of Winath being a DCU version of Kashyyk with the Winwood trees was interesting. (Winwood? I'll just roll with it...) I'm not sure I'm really in love with the anachronistic display of Winath in this way, as I don't understand the need for robotic horses or cattle. It makes for an interesting funny hat for a planet, but I thought the pre-reboot Winath was more interesting. And more naked. But that's another discussion.

The main narrative was well paced and well told as a classic mystery plot with a red herring suspect. The flow and rhythm of the story was much better than LW 1, and I really enjoyed Spark jumping into action and saving the day with an assist from Mekt. That being said, the mood of this story was depressing and I felt like I was back reading Legion Lost with no hope for the future. And in the end, I couldn't feel Ayla's happiness at the end of the story, as we know of Garth's fate at the end of Legion Lost. DnA spends so much time having Ayla wallow in her Solo-ness, that it brings the mood of the book down, which is probably by design. But after a year and a half of straight up depressing DnA Legion stories, I don't want to go back to that mindset. They also should have spent more time on Mekt's nature - is he a bad seed because of his solo-ness, or because he's always been a sociopath? DnA spends a lot of time in Ayla's head, but this is a question I'd like explored more regarding Mekt, as its probably the most fascinating thing about him.

I did have a problem with a sci-fi book talking about the only space travel being sublight. Sci-Fi connoseurs such as DnA should know better and be able to invent some other kind of FTL, yet slower than stargate tech to reflect the slower six month travel times but not take a sci-fi reader out of the element with comments about sublight travel between stars happening at faster than light speeds.

The flashback to LSH 125 is problematic for me. Cos, Kinetix and Spark are never shown together during the abandonment sequence. Also - and I'm not sure if this is just the art style and coloring - but it really looks as if Kinetix is wearing her pre-anomaly uniform. Overall, and for the point of the story, it makes no difference, but it speaks to McAvennie's lack of attention to detail as editor of a series where details are important.

Dinner at the Winath house reminded me a lot of the dinners at the Lars homestead in Star Wars, so that was enjoyable, as was Ayla jumping into action. Nice to see a breif mention of Cham. The final confrontation is also very well done and brings the story to a satisfying conclusion. And then the coda with Mekt - I really enjoyed that. I'm looking forward to more DnA Lightning Lord.

Overall I wasn't a fan of Breccia's art. It was servicable and has a certain style that lends itself to the agrarian style of the story, but with him doing ALL the art, a lot of it seemed rushed, especially in the ink details. So I wouldn't go out and try and follow his work as an artist, but it did the job.

As far as the secondary story is concerned - I felt it was a waste of eight pages. Very little new information was provided in that short story other than stuff is going on with Cargg and a reminder of the Vyrgran situation. And although cheery Ayla was nice to see (finally), it was completely at odds with the rest of the story.

Summary - Good (but depressing) story, mediocre art

Legion Worlds is one of my favourite Legion series. Pulled out and reread it last night after reading this thread.

A few things struck me. There was a lot of exposition which seemed to serve a first-time reader; their intention may have been to get new readers. However, I liked having a lot to read!

There was a density of flavour to the art. The variety of people, of architecture, the portrayal of Earth going about its daily business, all that detail drew me into that world. (I did get a kick out of those rather large tablets people were holding to watch the news, as well as McCauley's 9 trillion credit rebuilding plan, which was supposedly a really big futuristic number back then.)

Lar's motivations stood out to me more on this reading, likely a result of reading the comments above. The idea of making him a central character through the following Worlds stories (and beyond) would have been very interesting, since he's quite complex and is the one flying all over the United Planets. Working for McCauley reminded me of Superman in The Dark Knight working for Reagan, very patriotic and devoted to the good of the people. Yet Lar isn't blindly serving by any means; he finds McCauley distasteful, but puts the importance of his service above his personal feelings. It's a heavy burden to bear and he appears to be without close friends; a light exchange with Shvaughn, an opaque conversation with Lurornu... has he shut himself off from the others, or just keeping incredibly busy to avoid dealing with a variety of emotions? Lu's objective in wanting him to present himself to the U.P. as Valor isn't at all clear and it is disappointing that this story wasn't pursued. With all that he's doing to protect Earth and beyond, he must have truly legendary status in any event.

I figure DnA had their plans set for Zoe at this point. Possibly they didn't much like the character and treated her flippantly, or they sought to contrast her cheery light-heartedness with her later, rather grim condition.

Agree. If there is anything that DnA *really* excel at, its worldbuilding.


This is such a bullseye take, FC. I hadn't thought about this, but it's spot on.


Oh, agree - the die had been cast as far as their plans at this point, as there is no other function for her being a SP. We solved the "mystery" as it were of Kinetix and the Emerald Princess, earlier. The only real mystery to me about this time of the reboot, is why the hell did McAvennie have such a problem with Kinetix? (and I'm assuming its him, as all the big changes happened under his watch) With him as editor, she was turned into a muted ditz, then given one word of dialogue across the LotD and Rift stories, then completely mutated in the new series. She was/is a popular character. I never understood those choices. But I'd really like to understand the reasons why. I'm sure someone could tell the story.

While you see a chance, take it.

I wonder if Winwood tree areas have lots of traffic.

Okay, I'll stop now.

After reading that, I'm back in the high life again!

I'm trying to work in a joke about "The Low SPARK of High-heeled Boys" as a segue into my review of LW # 2, but . . .

"You are Here: Winath" is another standout story and probably the one I remember most after 20 years. DnA really took advantage of two elements of LW: the expanded page count and the focus on a single character. Most Legion writers did not balance the Legion's large cast very well, but LW allowed DnA to focus on one protagonist at a time. This results in more traditional story structures which are used to great effect here as well as in the first issue. Ayla, like Lar, is conflicted in her post-Legion role. She returns home because there is apparently nowhere else for her to go. The Winath she knew is much the same but also greatly changed. The farm culture struggles to adapt to the loss of markets brought on by the collapse of the stargates. This situation parallels the very real problems faced by farmers since time immemorial. I kept hearing John Mellencamp's song "Rain on the Scarecrow" in the back of my head while reading about the formation of the collective, Kirth Ranzz's opposition to same, and the destruction of the Begz farmstead. Families who have spent generations working the land find their heritage and livelihoods destroyed by nature and commerce.

Sure, it's a bit cheezy to have so many stereotypical elements of farm life (trucks, cowboy hats, farmhouses) juxtaposed with futuristic elements (robot animals), but it works in the context of the Legion. There are enough legitimate science fiction elements such as the canopy of trees and a weather control gone amuck to make it all seem like a real planetary culture. DnA truly excelled at world-building.

But this is Ayla's story and the tale of her coming to terms with her life as a solo. It's also about her relationship with Mekt. However, there are a couple of standout scenes that make me sympathize with Mekt. The first is when he recounts picking pluberries with Alya when they were children. What starts out as a happy memory for him is brushed aside by Alya, who reminds Mekt that he had lost his temper because she kept talking about Garth. Mekt admits he shouldn't have lost his temper but that her focus on Garth hurt him so much. He is open and vulnerable with her for perhaps the first time ever. The second moment is when he tells Ayla that the Legion Lost have returned. It's significant that he tells her--not their parents or a news report. Mekt seems genuinely happy that Garth may be alive. But once again he is brushed aside when his sister runs off to try to get a message to Garth. Once again, he plays second fiddle to his younger brother. Once again he's denied a close relationship with his sister. The last few panels may be an indication of old, evil Mekt returning, but I think it could also be read as an expression of his life-long frustration. The book does a great job of leaving it uncertain as to whether the changes in Mekt's personality are due to medication or genuine. I like that ambiguity.

Ayla, herself, doesn't change much in this story, and that may or may not be a good thing. There are opportunities for her to change. She could truly realize how alone Mekt felt and how much he desired connection with her. She could have valued his own heroic efforts in helping her dispel the storm. But there is no indication that she does so. Once again she takes Mekt for granted. Sometimes it's okay if a character doesn't change; that could be the point of the story. However, I feel this is more Mekt's story than Ayla's because she remains a flat character throughout.

I agree that the backup story is needless exposition, though I did enjoy Darwyn Cooke's unusual art style. Some shots, such as the stone fireplace/living room on Page 6, are breathtaking.

The main thing I remember about this issue was wondering what the point of robot cows were. Are they just some sort of artificial milk-making machine, in the form of a cow out of tradition, or what?

Also, it's a shame the great Darwyn Cooke's only contribution to the Legion was this rather pointless backup.

Having just watched the video of "Rain on the Scarecrow," I can see the point. In the future, we won't need to kill real animals for food. We won't need to milk real cows. We'll find some sort of artificial means for nourishment. At least, I think that was the intent.

There's a lot to world-building that is left unstated. And that's okay. Too much exposition and back story would take away from the main story.


Agreed.

I am a fan of Cooke's art, and it's used well in the back up (bucolic, farm type life). But indeed there wasn't much new there, and as I recall Delya and Lilya never appear again under DNA...

It was a pleasant look at Ayla. I did relate to her struggles, being alone, and how her solo-ness permeated everything. Yeah, she's a Legionnaire, but she's a solo, and many Winathians are uncomfortable with that. Funny eh? I could relate to it, because I know in my home country, I will be judged by many there. "Yeah, he has a good job, did well in school, is now living in Europe.. but he's still gay." So I appreciated this story for dealing with something like that.

I did feel bad for that one Mr. Gulz at the end, who was trying to talk everyone else out of shooting Ayla. But he got electrocuted anyway (not that I blame Ayla). I do hope he gets some clemency for that. (funny the details my mind picks up on).

Like GL, I noticed the continuity error where Zoe was wearing an earlier costume in the flashback on the Outpost. I don't care so much, but it's Kinetix so I noticed

Mekt was interesting. Last we saw him (L* 30), Ayla made it clear that Mekt was messed up and beyond redemption. Here we see him moving towards redemption... I do appreciate DNA taking a look at that. And I do wish there had been some follow up. Mekt killed many people, what does he think about those past crimes? Has he tried reaching out? Do any of his victims' families blame him still?

Hey, at least there are no farmers named Barleycorn who died in the making of this comic book...


The commentary on the farming industry is a really great take here, HWW. I hadn't really thought about it in anything other than terms immediate to the story, but this is an excellent observation.

I actually didn't mind the Oklahoma/cowboy imagery, especially since there had been precedent for it in the prior title. I felt it went too far with the robot rabbits and livestock. Like EDE said, do artificial cows make artificial milk? What is the resource expenditure to create an artificial goat? They had plenty of sci-fi elements to make this Winath unique, and those little items pulled me out of it. The Winwood canopy trees were a good addition, as it was new, yet didn't conflict with anything we'd really seen of Winath before. It's like DnA had a Higher Love for these trees...


Great points about Mekt. I guess that's why I wish the story, or at least the backup story, had gone into more depth regarding his nature/nurture struggle. I've always found it fascinating. The ambiguity of Mekt's ending is also good, however because he first uses his electricity with his bracelet on, then tosses it, tells me that his intentions have been less than pure. This ending really makes me want to see Lightning Lord and/or the LSV - similar to the mention of Valor in LW1, this seems to be DnA placing a Chekhov's gun on the mantle.

As to Ayla not changing, I think that may be the point, as we don't see much development from Mon in the first issue either. Its part solo adventure, part travelogue, so the development of Mekt is a bonus for us. But yeah, we see her ruminating all story about the nature of being a solo, then being told (apparently) that she wasn't anymore seemed to put us back at square one.

I really liked the 9 paned final spread focusing on that one camera angle as my fave from that story, as it said a lot with few words.