Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-Reading the Legion: Archives Volume 17

We'll be kicking off the 17th Volume with Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes, starting tomorrow - or whenever anyone wants to post something on that issue. The future is open!

The future is open? I see what you did there!

Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 17 contains the following for your weekly review pleasure:

- Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #1-3
- LSH v2 #273
- Superman Family #207
- LSH v2 #274-279
- Brave & Bold #179
- LSH v2 #280-283

#273 The Past... Seen Darkly by E. Nelson Bridwell & Paul Kupperberg, art by Jimmy Janes & Frank Chiaramonte, colours Gene D'Angelo, letters Ben Oda



The Legionnaires assemble around a hospital unit, in which R.J. Brande is dying of Yorrgian Fever. This disease baffles the doctors; it's the first case on Earth and only the second time an Earthman has been infected.

Meanwhile, the HQ is unguarded and two masked figures break into the files on Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad. After viewing details of their childhood and how they came to form the Legion, the two conclude that these are not the people they're looking for. They continue on with files on Duo Damsel and Phantom Girl, revealing a previously untold story about Lucifer Seven, who threatened to destroy the Eyth System. After capturing Lucifer Seven, R.J. Brande gave them a Time Bubble in order to recruit Superboy and Supergirl from the 20th century.

The two intruders continue through the files on other Legionnaires in order of membership, up through Star Boy. When the Legionnaires return to their HQ, they discover the two intruders, who are unmasked as Marla Latham and his blonde female associate, Arlayn. Marla explains that one of the Legionnaires' files might hold the key to saving R.J.'s life. Brainiac 5 wonders if a Legionnaire is trying to kill R.J. Brande.

Comments:

What do the doctors know that we don't? Why do they think there's some link between R.J.'s fever and the Legion? Does Marla know what he's seeking in the Legionnaire's files, or is he fishing for clues? That's the big mystery, the rest is pretty much filler for old Legion fans. At the end of the issue, we don't know if this is a medical or a murder mystery.

I'm not sure how much of this material is new, other than the Eyth System incident. There have been so many origin stories over the years; was this the first for some of the Legionnaires depicted (such as Gim Allon's Israeli heritage)? There are also some details which were dropped or omitted in future origin stories, such as Rokk's father was a wealthy industrialist who fell on hard times, the time bubble was a Brande Industries invention.

There really isn't any purpose for Marla and Arlayn to dress in black with masks other than to hide their identities from the reader. Given that Marla has been an infrequent character to date, it's unlikely that readers would have recognized him in any event.

Blonde female associates all look distressingly the same to me and Arlayn not only receded to the background once the Legion showed up, she soon joined the ranks of Very Obscure Characters, along with Lucifer Seven.

Another excellent cover set, Future, featuring a great mix of characters and an enticing mystery!

Thank you, Cramer and Future.

Now then...the coffee's kicking in, I'm in my nightgown, breakfast has been taken care of, the first few rays of the sun are starting to break through the dark sky, AND most importantly, SotLSH #1 is lying right next to me. Gods, I'd forgotten how much fun this is.

Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #1

As I've mentioned a couple times previously in other Legion forum threads, the main reason I bought these back issues in the first place (circa 1996), was because of the artistic involvement, if only on the front covers, of the late, great Dick Giordano. So I thought I'd start there.

The cover to the first issue, unfortunately, is only inked by DG. Jimmy Janes, the Legion's default artist at the time, provides the pencils. And while, overall, the results are palatable -- with Imra looking especially adorable in her soon-to-be-discarded Cockrum-brand pink bikini -- there's a few things about JJ's pencils that not even DG's inks can save.

For instance, as cute as Imra is, it's downright giggle-inducing that she looks like she's doing calisthenics ("Up, down, one, two. Our secret's out? Oh, poo.") And Cham -- even in his default form, he just can't seem to switch off the actor within, can he? I mean, those OTT hand gestures are straight out of the school of bad ham!

Open the issue, and the first thing I notice is not that R.J. Brande is dying, but how utterly mediocre JJ's splash page is -- interchangeable poses, samey faces, downright clumsy layout. And the interior-art inker, Frank Chiaramonte, a hit-and-miss journeyman, is definitely a miss on this opening image, IMHO.

Page 2 -- Paul Kupperberg's dialogue and captions are barely functional at best, cringe-inducing at worst (with my boy Wildfire getting the worst clunker: "Yeah, well, you're the doctor, Doc, just do what you can, okay?".) Also, Imra gets her first closeup, and...GAH, she should sue her hairdresser for giving her such awful bangs and such limp tresses! One redeeming quality -- it's my girl Tasmia who calls Brande "Our dear, dear friend." I always knew she was a softie under the warrior-woman hauteur.

The break-in sequence on Page 3 is a far, far inferior cousin to the break-in sequence that opened Mike Grell's first Legion issue, the one where Lyle is killed by Validus.

Page 4: A Readers' Digest version of third-wheel-among-the-founders-Rokk's back-story, with the intruders quickly decided that "He's not the one." I could've told them that!

Page 5: Imra's origin...now, this is more like it. The revelation of her extraordinary telepathic potential is the seed from which shall blossom her finest hours in the years to come -- single-handedly saving the galaxy from Universo, keeping the near-omnipotent Progenitor from running amok...I could go on, but then I'd be off-topic.

Pages 6-7: Mostly-the-numbers Ranzz sibling backstory drama, though Mekt's verbal jab at Garth -- "Quiet, you idiot!" -- is amusing enough. Then we see Garth and Rokk meet on the space liner, and we learn that Rokk is a caffeine field, drinking it by the mugful. Moderation, you jerk, your temper's hair-trigger enough as it is! And then he's intimidated by Imra's telepathy -- well, of course he is, he's got one of the ugliest minds in the galaxy!

Page 8: Enter Brande, allowing JJ to stage one of the all-time dullest and stiffest re-enactments of the three kids' rescue of him. And, up close, Rokk looks just like David Schwimmer, whom I've never liked either.

Pages 9-10: More by-the-numbers re-hashing of the Legion's founding...but wait, are the three founders VOGUING at the top of page 10?? Also, they're not wearing the original Al Plastino costumes, the first sign that continuity is not a priority for this era of the Legion's creative/editorial team.

Page 11: More ridiculous JJ poses as the founders' first mission proves to be a walk in the park -- look at how the bad guy lets out a "GASP" of embarrassment as Imra glares at him and reads his thoughts; clearly, he's got some real doozies locked up in that cowled head of his.

Page 12: The diamond amidst the plastic toy jewelry is this All-Luornu Page -- clearly, inker F Chiaramonte has a thing for brunettes, because he goes above and beyond in making her look DEEE-GORGEOUS! Rather timely, too, because I had already recently stopped being a Lu hater. In fact, I just might go as Lu instead of Titania for Halloween this year -- I am a natural brunette, after all.

Psge 13: Enter Tinya, and I can't recall ATM if the crossing-the-vibratory-planes-between-dimensions origins had been established, but even if it's only reiterated here, it's still an awesome concept whose potential will continue to elude Legion creators all these decades later.

Page 14: Training session gone awry -- so it turns out that Imra once saved Rokk's life. Well, nobody's perfect.

Page 15: Lucifer Seven is utterly hideous to look at, downright nightmare-inducing, with his sharp teeth, demonic eyes, weird brows, and, worst of all, fashion-victim hair on both his face and head. And while it's nice to see Tinya taking the initiative, it's hard to figure out how she was inspired by an old video of Superboy sending an Oompah-Loompah into the Phantom Zone.

Pages 16-18: The Legionnaires take down Lucifer Seven, with Lu being a bad-ass and looking pretty doing it, while yet more of the awesome potential of Tinya's power is showcased (presumably thanks to plotter E. Nelson Bridwell)...in vain, sadly.

Pages 19-20: Ye Gods, how TIGHT are those pants that Brande and Latham are wearing? That's a male-senior-citizen fashion faux pas if I ever saw one. Poor Supergirl, she really gets short-shrift here, and Kara's face would be indistinguishable from Imra's if she didn't have the better hairdo.

Pages 21-22: Reep and Gim's origins. Is this the first time we find out that Gim is of the Jewish faith? I'd always thought Paul Levitz was the one who'd established that, but I guess not (unless he did it during his first Legion run?)

Page 23-24: Wah-huh? Boring old Star Boy gets TWO WHOLE PAGES?

Page 25: Uh-oh, Latham, BUSTED! So why all the voyeurism? I haven't re-read this mini-series in years, but something tells me we're not going to get a satisfying answer. That last panel, though, with Querl wondering if one of the team members is under suspicion of trying to kill Brande, is admittedly intriguing.

Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #1

At long last, I’ve gotten the chance to read the Secrets of the Legion miniseries! This is my first time ever doing it and I have to say that even with some high expectations, I was not let down at all! I enjoyed it from start to finish and found myself smiling and enjoying every inch forward in Legion history.

E Nelson Bridwell, a man who loved the Legion perhaps more than any one, shows both his unequaled knowledge of the LSH (at the time) and the aforementioned love of the franchise. Paul Kupperberg’s script is seamless (for the most part) and the art by Jim Janes and Frank Charamonte is fantastic, continuing their excellent run of Legion stories thus far. All of this makes for an issue that dumps a huge amount of information but never feels like an index—instead it is full of mystery, action, intrigue and just a huge swath of great characters.

Of course, the best part is how Bridwell builds off his late Silver Age origin of the LSH to further condense and lay out the Legion’s still murky history. While a lot of it is familiar to all of us, it must have been quite a treat when it came out. Even more than that are the little things that he includes, like the by-now-ultra-obscure Concentrator, Marla Latham’s involvement, etc. This issue particularly does such a good job showing the earliest days of the Legion that you can see how it was the single biggest influence on the first few issues of the Reboot, which Waid & company so brilliantly delivered (which made me a Legion fan for life).

The Lucifer 7 sequence provides a nice break in the story, and also lets Luornu and Tinya have a chance to shine.

Of course, the opening panel with all the Legionnaires is wonderful. It’s amazing how few of these types of panels there have been thus far in Legion history. The entire team just didn’t get together all at once that often.

All in all, it’s hard to find any negatives here. I’m anxiously awaiting the next issue!

Future: love, love, love this cover set! As usual, you have your fingers on the pulse of the issues encompassing the Archive.

FC, you are correct that this is the first time Gim is mentioned as coming from Israel! Very interesting addition to the mythos! We already knew he was Jewish an Archive or two back (the Christmas story?).

It’s also interesting how some of these details which Bridwell painstakingly lays out eventually get shuffled around, such as Gim joining before Lyle, and Star Boy being the 13th Legionnaire. That is all done by Levitz in the next few years, showing that perhaps there has never ever been a single point in Legion history where the history was set in stone.

I’m also interested in Arlayn! Who the heck is she? Why hasn’t she ended up being a super-important character in Legion lore?

Secrets of the Legion #1

The story opens on a lovely groups shot of the Legion worrying over their founder, RJ Brande. Only a miracle can save him, and let's hope it's not needed in a hurry, as no one could get through the throng of heroes to administer it. Just the mention of a miracle, would have previously brought in the miracle machine for a very short mini series. But that's been eaten by Matter Eater Lad.

The doctor is a bit light on the facts and heavy on the hints. Brande is the second person to contract Yorrgian Fever (a close relation to Handwavium Hangovers according to the Drura Sehpt Bumper Book of Boo-Boos and Sniffoos).

I've only been able to think of one possibility, but the merest detail of it, so early in the book would clearly anger the Plott Gods.

While the Legion are all with Brande, who's minding the store? Tee Hee, the writer is thinking the same thing, and the HQ is being infiltrated by two persons that the security system treats as allies. With a pause for the female burglar to strike a pose and show us her long blonde hair, it's off into the Legion's personnel files!

First up is Cosmic Boy, and we get an on panel origin from the text piece in Adv #352, with the addition of Rokk�s dad having been quite rich. We get more on Imra Ardeen. In v7 Levitz showed Imra using telekinesis as a mistake. But her mom did have those powers as shown here. I also think that a series of Imra Ardeen: Teen Agent is well overdue.

Lightning Lad's origin shows us both Mekt and Ayla, as well as Mekt's departure to what would eventually be a berth in the Legion of Super villains. Superboy 147 picks up nicely from that point, showing Garth going to look for him.

We learn that the two infiltrators are looking for a particular Legionnaire. But they don�t find that person in the origins of the founders.

We see the trio save RJ Brande, again much as per Superboy 147, and we learn that the person behind the assassination attempt, Doyle, died in prison. There's a hint that not much is known about Doyle, that will pay off later on.

The updated history allows for the inclusion of the Quintile Crystal from DC Super Stars 17. But it's not all dry files, and we see the early Legion tackle Lucifer 7 after the destruction of the Eyth system. Lucifer is used as the ret conned introducer of the concentrator, first shown in the Legion�s possession back in Adventure #321. Both this and the crystal would be part of the introductory issue of the TMK run in v4. Although there, the text said that the system had been saved.

So Bridwell weaves the early issues of the Legion around the Superboy 147 origin, tweaking things like Time Bubbles; order of membership; the omission of heroes with mechanical devices; and upgrading spacecraft along the way

But as the files start to become a bit tedious, the infiltrators also feel their time undetected is nearly up. The plot becomes very thin, when it's revealed that the male burglar is Marla Latham. He was shown in the origin files, earlier in the issue which is a nice touch. He was always best known from his association with Ultra Boy, and we know they later fell out when Ultra Boy was accused of murder. Perhaps it is this souring of relations that resulted in him entering the Leigon HQ in this way. It does seem odd. If he's there to find something to help Brand, then why not just tell the Legion, so they can help? If Brainiac's concern that there could be a Legionnaire behind Brande's illness doesn't go anywhere in the next issues, it would seem to be a very odd approach. Considering Brainy's own mental state, the most likely suspect would be himself.

Another strange thing is why Latham thinks there's a clue in the Legion files. The doctor wasn't exactly giving hints out earlier in the issue. Perhaps he's given Latham some additional information? I hope that thread also makes more sense next issue.

I can take or leave origin issues really. While this tries to weave a consistent origin for the team, I had no problems not knowing before I even read Superboy #147. I don't mind so much if it's a strong story in it's own right. This issue tries to introduce a mystery connecting Brande's condition to one of the Legionnaires, while giving us a potted history of each member. So, if you had to give the reader the details of each, it's as good a way as any. The plot form Bridwell is certainly better than the dialogue from Kupperberg though.

But it was all beginning to become a bit dry towards the end. While we got an adventure for the three founders and for the two that joined after them, the later part didn�t provide much context in terms of adventures as we jumped through profiles. There are the odd plot threads to be resolved too. The art is a bit of a let-down, particularly as I've seen much better Janes work elsewhere. It looks a bit rushed, between more regular jobs.

Great cover as always Future!

Yay! More reviews. I loved FC's succinct assessment of the issue as well as Fanfie's page-by-page breakdown. Cobie continues to find fannish joy in all this, and thoth provides his own detailed analysis.

And Future delivers on the cover once again!

When Secrets of the LSH came out, it was this fanboy's dream--though, in hindsight, it doesn't offer much that is new. Nevertheless, combining all of the Legionnaires' origins into a single volume is the stuff upon which fandom is built. I was always a sucker for such things.

Much of this issue is very dry, though, and some things get short shrift while others are expanded upon with no rhyme or reason. Cos's origin gets all of six panels, while Tinya's first mission is given six pages to establish her as a valuable member of the team. On the other hand, Lu gets a one-page recap of events we already know while Star Boy's origin (also info we already know) takes up two pages.

Fanboy writers such as Bridwell have to make difficult choices about what to include and what not to include when they retell old stories. At this remove, we probably don't need a recap of Thom's Superboy-like powers--but it's there nonetheless. The Quintile Crystal episode (the Legion's first mission) is significant, but it could be shortened. And then there's Lucifer Seven, the badass new villain of the Legion's past. He serves as nothing more than a bridge to explain how the Legion came to invite Superboy and Supergirl into their ranks. One would think that the Legion's victory over someone who had annihilated an entire star system would carry more weight.

I'm not clear at this point if Marla and Arlayn know what they are looking for in the files. They brush past Cos's origin yet spend an inordinate amount of time on other things. It makes sense that they would bypass the origins of Legionnaires whose parents are well established, if they know they are looking for



but why spend all this time on Gim's origin, for example?

The book does what it needs to do--present the origins and collective history of a large number of characters--and does so in a way that is more or less competent for the times: there is a plot concerning the Legion's benefactor dying, several mysteries, and some new information worked in. It's not perfect by any means, but it gets the job done.

He Who, thanks for the kind words, and for providing an important perspective...



...while still maintaining enough objectivity to see it for what it is, no more and no less:



Agreed, and I would add that I think it also comes down to a lack of firm editorial guidance -- Jack C. Harris is certainly not my least favorite Legion editor of all time, but from re-reading both "Secrets" currently, and the first few Conway issues recently, I get the impression that, for Harris, the Legion was nothing more than paycheck work. He's not without talent -- as a writer, he co-created the Modern Age version of the Ray back in the 90s -- but with the Legion, he seemed to be...indifferent. And with Conway (or in this case, Bridwell) appearing to have been an unsteady metaphorical helmsman, it's clear to me that Captain Harris was never going to inspire him to do his best. To stretch the metaphor to the breaking point, the good ship Legion completed its missions and made it back to port safely, but it just all seems so...humdrum. At least it does to me.



Good point. I admit I was too busy laughing at how ridiculous he looked to pay proper attention to the captions and dialogue.



It's a pity that this projects successor-of-sorts, "Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes", ended up getting the dry encyclopedic format. This time around, there were people involved who really cared about the Legion -- Karen Berger, Barbara Randall-Kesel, Mark Waid, and several Legion-fans-turned-pros on art (albeit with some artists admittedly being more talented than others) -- and I think if had been done in the sequential format, it would have been awesome.

I'll trust your insight on the editor and writers, Fanfie. I have no idea how they worked together or what sort of guidance Harris may have offered.

I do think that for many of these men (and they were almost always men in those days), it was indeed about earning a paycheck. Conway, in one interview, described being under contract to write a certain amount of pages for DC every month. No matter what your passion is, it becomes rote after awhile--a matter of meeting goals or metrics. It's difficult to sustain passion over several years of doing the same work when you have mortgages, taxes, and other things that demand your attention and finances.

I still have "Who's Who in the LSH," and I suppose I should re-read it before commenting further. However, I remember very little about it. There is something to be said about working all this information into a narrative--it's much harder to do and requires much more from the writer (and from the audience). Encyclopedias are very easy to put together--they require no creativity, only a repetition of already established facts and maybe a few added details. To write a compelling story around exposition takes talent.

Bridwell has diligently gone through the bits and pieces of previous stories and combined them into a single tale. That’s quite a bit of research, eased by the Superboy issue origin he did earlier. I’m sure he really enjoyed making the decisions involved in combining them all. Cobie points out all the little things he’s brought in, like the Concentrator, to make it all a ore seamless whole.

The trick is to make it worth reading as a story, and not have the exercise itself become the focus of a dry recap. It pretty much works, and when even the characters are wanting to get a move on, it would seem that Bridwell knows it’s time to move the plot on.




Yeah, it comes across as a device to take the reader into the story, but without the necessary pay off to make it work. I guess we’ll find out f Marla has any ulterior motives in the next issues. For example, he needed to determine the link to a single Legionnaire because that Legionnaire is a killer, or that Latham values Brande’s life over that of a Legionnaire and is willing to kill to get Brande back.



A recent OmniSurvey revealed that this is one of the most popular disguses for Durlan infiltrators. “Everyone in the books is a blonde goddess to the point, they all blur into the background,” revealed Durlan activist A’irr H’ehdd.

On the various Fickles (Welcome Back!) points, I agree that the dialogue is worse than the plot and that the art is weak by the standards of those involved. I didn’t mind the opening panel, and it even provides a plot point as they’re all away form the unguarded HQ. From recent rereads, it’s been well established that the HQ security is

Good comparison on the previous HQ break in, and I got a chuckle from the Rokk comments. Even in this recap, it’s clear that Imra is the star of the three founders, in terms of experience and potential.

The costumes, the original names, the inventions are all tweaked along with the removal of pretty much anything before a flight ring. If it wasn’t for those being a key invention by one of the team, I’d imagine that they would be in a retconned origin from the start.

Star Boy’s changing powers (due to being completely forgotten and essentially replaced by Ultra Boy’s power expansion) are always going to get him extra panels in an origin, it would seem.




Very much this. Bridwell has pulled together an internally consistent background. But there could be any number of interpretations from the same source material. I think there’s a lot to be said for the original writers being more concerned with delivering an entertaining story, that slavishly setting up a framework that all of their work had to fit within. There’s so many gaps where imagination can flourish.





I was wondering if the first mission got so much space, due to it being a more recent addition. It perhaps had a different weight to trying to summarise lots of the early adventure issues. That might explain the extra space devoted to Lucifer, and why what he had done didn’t have more of a lasting impact. I mentioned that v4 thought the Legion had saved the system.

Other panel space considerations may have had to do with upcoming character focus. Gim has been getting some subplots in the main book for example. Or perhaps, like everyone else, Bridwell has his favourites.




As has been mentioned, Conway’s contract, at one point, meant that he was guaranteed to get a certain number of books/pages in a month. That was pre implosion. After that, he’d get the books, but the choice of which books was a lot narrower. With fewer books, I could see a lot of people simply happy to have the work.




While I did think was silly looking previously, I did notice he has a certain bulk to him compared to the other characters, that sets him physically apart. And a certain Japanese demon quality too.




I only knew about the Legion Who’s Who well after I’d got the ain run. But I really like the format, and that whole Who’s Who series generally. It’s the narrative parts at the front of each book that I don’t go back to. I’ve used them quite a bit since joining LW.

Thank you for the kind welcome-back wishes, Thoth.



LOL



Yay! Thankies.




I agree 100%, Thoth, and, at the risk of sounding pretentious, I've become fond recently of referring to a 1976 comment from Todd Rundgren after an interviewer asked him why he would court controversy by recording covers of songs from the most highly-regarded artists of the previous decade -- Todd replied that he saw his artistic intentions as being in a similar mould to those of a classical-music conductor reinterpreting familiar symphonies. I think that applies to Bridwell's intentions here, and certainly to the overall concept of fan fiction as well.



Glad you mentioned the front-loaded narrative sections in each issue. They could have definitely been done better. It might have had something to do with Steve Lightle apparently jumping off the project shortly after it was already under way. Perhaps Berger & Waid were forced to cobble together any old things just to fill the allotted pages. Ah, well...

Oh, and as for reference, my go-to resource of late has been not Who's Who in the LSH, but rather the Legion section of Michael Kooiman's Cosmic Teams website:

http://cosmicteams.com/legion/

We'll find out that Marla wanted to be a super-hero and was insanely jealous of the Legion, so he put on a costume any chance he got.

Arlayne went along because it was time and a half.



I'd totally read a comic starring A'irr H'edd.



Loved the opening panel--though it features Superboy and Supergirl, who both quit some time ago.



Absolutely. Who knew that decades later fans would be parsing stories, looking for clues, and trying to make sense of throwaway lines?

Levitz in an interview somewhere said that he saw the writers and artists as sort of a conduit through which information about the characters flowed, meaning the information would change depending on the writer and artist. In one way, this explanation is a cop out, a way of excusing inconsistencies. In another way, it makes perfect sense: Everything from Star Trek to the Bible is reinterpreted by different tellers.



Case in point!



Good point. It makes sense that current Legionnaires like Tinya and Gim would be emphasized over retired Legionnaires like Lu and deceased Legionnaires like Lyle (though we return to him later on, as I recall).




Lucifer Seven would have fit in quite nicely with the theatrical/glam rock scene in the '70s (Alice Cooper, Kiss, Angel, etc.). Too bad this comic was published in 1980, when that scene was pretty much passe.

I thought that's what Spiffany would turn out to be. "Look! In the Sky! Gem Lad will save us from this Jello villain!" "No, I won't. It's too stupid! Stupid!"





Yeah, it was a nice surprise to see them there. I wonder if this was plotted before Tyroc left, as he's there too. Actually, all three are next to each other. Superboy's appearance means that he can be front and centre on the cover




I've always liked the Levtiz explanation. I always felt it bolted on very nicely to all the times the reader is told "history is very vague on what happened to..." or "WWIIII/Infinite Secret Time Wars meant that so much of history was lost from that period." as a way of avoiding having to detail anyone's fate. But mainly, it's a nice way of saying not to worry too much about it, as interpretations are bound to vary and conflicting information is going to appear.



Yes, KISS posters from the 70s. I thought there was something familiar. Thanks HWW!

There was a Kiss comic book (a one shot?) which I confess to having bought but don't recall if they tried to take over the galaxy. I do wonder if Lucifer Seven could have been the inspiration for Lobo.

And inspiration for Ze Tongue

#274 R.J. Brande is Dying! by E. Nelson Bridwell & Paul Kupperberg, art by Jim Janes & Frank Chiaramonte, colours Gene D'Angelo, letters Ben Oda



Marla defends himself against Wildfire's angry accusations, but refuses to say why he's combing through Legion personnel files. An unusually modest Brainiac 5 recounts his own story, going back to the original Brainiac, followed by his ancestors Vril, Pran and Kajz, along with Supergirl's admission to the Legion; then a brief background on Shrinking Violet is read. Marla still refuses to say exactly what he's looking for. After the Superboy story, Mon-el is asked to tell Sun Boy's history then Ultra Boy chimes in on himself and Bouncing Boy. Projectra deals with Matter Eater Lad and bemoans his current state of insanity.

The reader is reminded of Lightning Lad's death and revival, the loss of his arm, Light Lass's impersonation of him, Mon-el and Element Lad's backgrounds, various tragic events, Karate Kid and Projectra, the Evillo/Devil's Dozen story, Dream Girl, Shadow Lass and Timber Wolf. Througout the retelling, Wildfire and Marla bicker.

Then Saturn Girl arrives and spills the beans, having read Marla's mind and berating him for “this farce”. She announces that R.J. had said, in his fever delirium, that he was the father of one of the Legionnaires.

Comments:
Different Legionnaires chime in to tell the stories, which helps the flow of this history lesson. It's pretty much a retelling of old stories, but there is a lot of material so I had the sense of reading a substantial issue.

Marla should have known all of these stories; at the very least, he knew Ultra Boy's history, yet no mention is made of his role in sponsoring Jo for Legion membership.

There are a few new nuggets: Mysa accompanied Nura to Earth, Projectra sought Legion membership because she was bored with being a princess, Bismollians evolved the ability to eat anything after their crops were made poisonous by microbes, the names of Brainy's ancestors.

There's also a text page on The Fatal Five and the LSV and a two-page spread of the Legion HQ. The HQ has a Missile Launching Platform, but I don't recall that it's ever been used in a story. The structure is “reinforced with thyno-plastic lined with maganium intertron” - they must have meant inertron and I believe thyno-plastic was a newly mentioned material.

The end-panel bombshell promises a more significant story in the next issue. Only Dawnstar and Wildfire have not had their histories told (although the deceased members Ferro Lad, Invisible Kid and Chemical King were skipped over), so one might wonder if one of them is R.J.'s offspring.

I can't say I loved the art; it seemed pretty rough in places.

Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #2

It’s kind of odd reading Secrets of the LSH. As a rabid LSH fan for so long, and someone who has enjoyed milking every ounce of minutiae possibly for years (well, decades now, but let’s not dwell), reading all of these origin stories is kind of…well, boring. I mean, I love that this miniseries exists and it’s cool to have all the continuity up to this point all in one place, but I can’t help but start breezing through it without reading all the dialogue since for the most part I know it all already. I think indexes such as this are much more effective for new or casual readers. In fact, they are probably the best thing for casual readers who are then converted into more hardcore, dedicated readers. I know when I was a kid and I read my Dad’s History of the DC Universe, Who’s Who and Marvel Index comics, I absolutely loved them and absorbed them.

So I didn’t really like #2 as much as I liked #1. At least there we had some sidebars where we got some new stories for a few pages. Here, it was all pretty straightforward other than some bickering between Marla and Wildfire and then the surprise ending.

The artwork was also a little rough here too. It felt inconsistent and therefore a little rushed.

I’m also interested in the parts that are left out, as if perhaps they aren’t quite as important and the pages can’t be spared. Where is Ferro Lad? Chemical King? Nemesis Kid? Once again, I’m also intrigued by the order presented here, which is totally tossed aside in almost no time. I never once in my LSH reading career thought the order of membership was anything like presented as it is here. By the time I was an avid reader, a lot of this had long since been replaced. Now that I’m reading it for the first time, it’s like find an apocryphal Gospel at Nag Hammandi.

If anything, this issue reminds me that when a story includes a large info dump and therefore needs a narrator as a tool, it almost never works to have multiple narrators. The "I guess I'll take over now" and "well, my turn to tell the tale" side comments as jarring and annoying. It's something I've noticed all my life (especially in comic books during the Bronze Age and 1980's), but I never really spent time thinking about it.

Secrets of the Legion was the first place that Gim was said to be Israeli, but he was already established as Jewish in the Legion story in DC Special Series # 21 (the holiday issue).

Secrets of the Legion #2

The Legion welcome their old friend Marla by threatening to punch him in the face. Wildfire is a complete tool. It’s another scene where no one gives a straight answer and the obvious follow up questions don’t occur. The secret to saving RJ Bande’s life lies within the computer. But rather than get help finding it, we go straight into the chronological membership files. At least there’s a decent segue from Brainy talking to Marla into his own history.

I always thought Supergirl’s retrieval of Excalibur was a little daft, but I suppose it’s all part of the charm. Besides, Levitz took care of it later. Some of the stories this issue covers aren’t huge favourites. But at least they’ve upgraded the Super Moby Dick of Space!

Marla drops a hint on what he’s looking for, but the flashbacks continue, instead of anyone pushing the issue. Other characters begin to wonder what’s going on, and drift into the room in time to tell their stories. When Jo appears, I thought we were going to see why Marla kept his infiltration secret. The two are far from being on best terms. But there’s not a mention. Nor is there a mention of Marla’s role as adult advisor and Jo’s guide to becoming a Legionnaire in the first place. In all of the origin stories, this is a missed opportunity to tie the story into more current tales, and provide a bit more personality to the proceedings.

Jeckie seems very concerned about Tenzil’s miracle machine inspired madness. Were there rumours about the two? Or was that Nura and Tenzil?

There’s a bit of a thematic grouping as Lighting Lad loses an arm, Bouncing Boy his powers and Star Boy is expelled. Something else else from a Luck Lords story. But then it’s back to the origins. In the end, Imra walks in and reveals that Marla has been investigating the files because Brande is the father of one of the Legionnaires.

Imra doesn’t usually go in for invading someone’s mind, so it doesn’t sit to well here. Neither does Marla stringing the Legion along, when he could just have easily told them.

I’m curious how Marla knows Brande’s links. Perhaps it’s to do with his history with Brande. It’s a shame that it also wasn’t linked to his time as an adult advisor too. His seeing a connection between some of the Legionnaires and Brande, as they joined would have added some depth to the proceedings. But if the story went that way, he wouldn’t have to sit through all the files. Nor is there a feeling that the reader is being let in on what could be the secret. There’s an isolated hint, and that’s about it.

In summary, we start with Latham discovered and end with the next plot point; the secret of Brande. Filling in all the panels between is a little pointless hostility with Wildfire and a series of origin stories.

Last issue, I noticed that Tyroc had been missed out of the text page. This issue, they’ve skipped on giving origin issues, realising that a lot of them are in this series.

Will post my review of SotLSH #2 sometime tomorrow, and catch up with all the comments after that. One thing I will say right now -- out of the 3 front covers, I think the one for the 2nd issue is easily the best. Gods bless Dick Giordano, as underrated a penciler as only someone with so many other accomplishments (as inker, editor, and executive editor) can be.

Yeah, all that time going through the computer and it was in The Legion File Book all along. The figures along the border, while distracting away form the main image, are lovely. It's a shame it wasn't a theme in the other two issues. Like the faces in the JLA/Squadron team up. The cover for #3 reminds me of the JLA cover where they're shown abandoning the Earth. Here, they're just trying to get away from Mr Selfish 2980. But that lies in the future...

Secrets of the LSH 2 is like listening to a song you've heard on the radio countless times. There's nothing new here, but it's an enjoyable experience nonethless. As FC notes, we learn that Mysa accompanied Nura to earth for the latter's Legion tryout, but nothing comes of this revelation. We also learn that Jeckie was bored being a princess, a nice character motivation but ultimately inconsequential. The revelation about Bismoll's microbes and the names of Brainy's ancestors' had been introduced before.

Even though the story employs multiple narrators, it seems to work here--especially the conversational feel to the origins. Things are presented out of order, as they would be if people were simply sitting around, chewing the fat. This non-linear retelling helps lump some information into themes (such as the unlucky Legionnaires) and requires some back and forth with Dream Girl's membership--but it works, and keeps the "talking heads" narrative less predictable.

I didn't much care for the revamped Super Moby Dick of Space or Thom killing Kenz Nuhor by causing a tree limb to fall on him instead of shooting him. I don't know if this was due to lack of reference or an editorial decision, but these depictions were jarringly inconsistent with past stories.

I also didn't care for the cover, which is misleading on two fronts: Superboy does not appear in the present story (and is even mentioned as having left the Legion), and there's no reason why the Legion's secret must mean the end of the team--but perhaps Brainy had forgotten to take his anti-psychotic meds.

It also must be noted that, in 1980, this comic and others like it performed a valuable service for fans. The Internet did not exist, and back issues were hard to come by. I lived in St. Joseph, MO, at the time, and the closest comics shop was in Kansas City, 60 miles away. Clint's Comics (which still exists on Main Street) had most of the back issues, but they were incredibly expensive--$3-4 each! It took me several years to collect these stories. But here are the main parts, all summarized in a nice, three-issue volume: The Legion's greatest hits.

In 5YL, it was Nura and everyone. I'd have to check, but I know Jo was mentioned and I think Tenzil also, as "visitors" to Naltor's High Seer.



Pointless hostility seems to be the point of Wildfire in many instances. I felt in this issue he was still occupying the leader's role. Where was Garth?



New to my fading memory!



Good point; these issues would have been a great recap of history that a lot of readers would have missed. It's easy to forget that there were no Archives back then, and back issues were expensive, or unavailable. Like Cobie, I prefer the index-style for character histories but this series would have been a boon for Legion fans at the time.

Did DC or Marvel produce anything similar for other groups like JLA or X-Men?

I remember getting my paws on the Amazing World Legion issue and being impressed by the information in it. The RPGs too. It's a good point regarding getting a peek at a book's history through something like a more readily available Secrets mini.

As DC touted it as a collector's item sure to become a classic, newer fans could get an early opportunity to catch up on the whole group. Every issue is someone's first after all. I remember picking up a post Byrne issue of Alpha Flight and getting a nice history recap. It really helped me stick with the book. Later, I'd realise that a lot of issues had such a recap, as the writer was aware that every issue was a potential jumping on point.

As for similar books, the Teen Titans had a mini series where they recounted their origins at the Grand Canyon (somewhere like that).

I can't think of anything similar at Marvel, though specific issues of regular series would sometimes be devoted to recaps. Avengers #150-151, for example, showed reporters recapping the team's history while the current members decided on a line-up shuffle.

On the idea of there not being one definitive view of the Legion's timeline, I was reminded of our Continuity Match Up thread and our Order of Membership thread shows some retconning too,

Hey, all,

I got sidetracked from the re-read this week for various reasons, so I'll just wait until Tuesday, review both 2 and 3, and reply to the comments on 2.

Good to hear. Looking forward to that.

Thanks, Thoth.

Secrets of the LoSH #3 Revelation by Paul Kupperberg & E. Nelson Bridwell, art by Jim Janes & Frank Chiaramonte, colours Gene D'Angelo, letters Ben Oda




Legionnaires speak with the doctor attending R.J. Brande after learning that one of them is Brande's child. R.J. has a rare blood type and needs a relative with a matching type for a transfusion. Marla instructs the Legionnaires to recount the origin stories of the remaining Legionnaires, the deceased members, the Subs and the Reserves. None of these yield the clue that Marla seeks.

In the middle of this, the Legion receives an urgent call to help stabilize Varltul XVI, a sun with several inhabited planets. Wildfire takes on the mission, ordering Chameleon Boy, Shadow Lass and Element Lad to accompany him.

Saturn Girl suddenly realizes that she might be able to read Brande's mind and discover the truth.

The Marltul XVI team suffers an equipment failure and is unable to stabilize the star – but they do learn that it's an artificial star, created by Brande. Brande might have helpful information if only he were conscious.

Saturn Girl returns to Legion HQ with the information that Brande once had special powers, but lost them and was forced to live in the form of an Earthman. Consulting the computer, Marla learns that Yorggian Fever only affects selected races, of which four are human; Talokians have no natural powers, the Coluan Brainiac 5's ancestry is thoroughly documented. That leaves Durlans.

Marla contacts the Marltul team to give Cham the news and tell him to get back to Earth to save his father. The transfusion proves successful, Saturn Girl is able to extract the information needed to stabilize the star Marltul XVI. R.J. and Reep meet as father and son for the first time. R.J. explains that he, Reep's mother and Theg/Doyle contracted Yorrgian Fever; the mother died and R.J. and Theg left Durla to avoid infecting anyone else. Their next shape change would be their final one. Reep was left with an aunt who raised him as her own son.

Comments:
Saturn Girl's power was limited by R.J. being in a coma. It seems to be an odd limitation, although it serves the story. It's also convenient that she couldn't pick up any "I'm a Durlan" thoughts.

Why couldn't they detect exactly what blood type R.J. had? Wouldn't Durlan blood be recognized? We're so used to DNA today, I find it a real stretch that doctors couldn't analyze R.J.'s DNA. This wasn't a problem when I first read the story; that R.J. was Cham's father was a major surprise. There weren't many clues and the reasons for eliminating other Legionnaires seem flimsy, however. If Reep's aunt posed as his mother, why couldn't other Legion parents have fed their children a similar deception?

The story ended with a happy family reunion, but we know things between father and son won't be so rosy later on. I'd be pretty pissed if I found out my dad had stayed away from me entirely for 18 years – not even a “can't visit you as long as I'm contagious” - but I guess the first flush of revelation is pretty exciting for Cham.

Nice to see a quick run-through of Subs and Reserves.

They're still in touch with Marzal. Who knew? Or is that secret Brande Industries information as they work on developing interdimensional transportation, or stargates?

Winathians, Braalians and Imskians are humans. Talokians & Coluans aren't. Does this imply that they were settled by Earthlings? Or could Earth have been settled by one of those planets? Invasion was still 8 years away – is this the source of Lar Gand's seeding of the planets, or had that concept been established before this?

The mission to Marltul XVI adds a bit of action to the issue, although it's not necessary to the story of saving R.J. After mining, stars going nova could be the biggest industry of the 30th century.

Wildfire continues to act as if he were still leader. He and Marla are both pretty hot-tempered; they might play off well against one another, but their attitudes seem gratingly unrelenting and unprofessional. Arlayn serves no purpose other than to display a pretty face in a couple of panels, although her masked presence in the first issue added some mystery.

There are a lot of convenient plot turns in # 3 in order to make the story work, the least of which is probably the explanation for why Tyroc was at the med center back in # 1. (No explanation for why Superboy and Supergirl were there, though.) To me, it undercuts the emotional impact of Tyroc saying goodbye forever if he can return every few weeks.

# 3 does what it needs to do: It wraps up the stories by including the origins of Wildfire, Tyroc, and Dawny, plus every Sub, reservist, and honorary Legionnaire to date. Wisely, though, there's more to the issue than a recap. An actual world is at stake, and its fate ties in nicely with Brande's fate (convenient but nice).

Of course, the big revelation is that Cham is R.J.'s boy. I remember that this hit me like a bolt at the time, as it must have hit Reep. The notion that the very human-looking Brande was father to the very alien-looking Reep was one of those moments where the Legion defied culturally induced expectations, as the series did in the early days when Saturn Girl served as leader. This is the future, and race is not a barrier to parentage any more than gender is a barrier to leadership. (For context, it was still considered unusual and a bit odd in the late '70s to encounter people of mixed race, at least in my Midwestern neck of the woods. I can only imagine how such people must have felt about being regarded as "different," which was not intended as a slight but an expression of naive wonder, as if one were staring at a unicorn.) The Reep-Brande connection obliterated those expectations and did so in a way that left this reader asking, "Why not?"

It's rather nice that the writers brought in Reep's mom/aunt to wrap up the story. I have little problem with her and R.J. withholding the truth from Reep. I recall reading that actor Jack Nicholson learned the woman he thought was his mother was actually his grandmother, and that his "sister" was actually his mother. It happens, and families have all kinds of reasons for hiding such secrets. Perhaps Yorggian fever was considered a curse on Durla.

I also recall re-reading over and over again the page where Marla puts all the clues together. Yes, the evidence is flimsy in the sense that none of these clues were referred to previously and had no bearing on previous Legion stories. And, yes, Marla could have figured this out without listening to all of the Legionnaires' origins. Still, I thought it was a decent exercise in logic; he eliminated those of human ancestry, Brainy and Tasmia, and those born on earth based on the limited clues he had. Columbo had nothing on Mr. Latham.

And then . . . it was all forgotten. Reep's parentage was not mentioned again, as I recall, until a few years later, when Levitz used it as a springboard into one of the most interesting and defining character arcs in Legion history.

Secrets of the Legion #3

RJ Brande has been talking in the throes of his Yorggian fever, and has told his doctor that he’s the father of one of the Legionnaires. This has prompted the doctor to consider that a blood transfusion may save his patient. But rather than tell the Legion any of this, he drops a hint that there may be a solution and lets them go back about their business. Heck, instead of just asking the Legion if they’d donate some blood on the off chance it would help Brande, he lets them go.

Perhaps the doctor had already contacted Marla to look into it. Perhaps Marla was there when Brande spilled the secret. But instead of Marla asking the Legion about it, he tries to break into the team’s personnel files.

The above makes things a bit more coherent sounding than they are shown in the book, which isn’t really interested in connecting up the plot.

Still, now that the secret is out, the Legionnaires can all just give a blood sample (sorry Drake) and it can be DNA sampled against Brande’s. But no! Such things are beyond 30th century plotting and only origin stories can provide the link!

Tyroc gets a few origin panels, which is more than we’ve seen of him in the series, or elsewhere in some time. With Dawnstar’s origin out of the way next, we’re on page 7 and out of Legionnaires. Bridwell sets up some suspense by having some of the Legion go off on a mission. Then, as all good Legion summations do, we move onto the origins of the dead, the subbed and the honorary parts of the team. Disappointingly, there’s no Super Pets. For the dead Legionnaires, Brainy surmises that their surviving relatives may be able to still help Brande. Failing that, he could always dip into the Legion’s cell back, grow the Legionnaire required and take some blood that way.

To be fair to the writer, the away team aren’t just sent away because one of them is Brande’s kid. They also realise that the only way to solve their own plight is Brande’s recovery, as he’s the only one who can fix a star going nova. I wonder if the locals get a warranty on their star. I wonder if any of them can escape alive to activate it.

Meanwhile, Imra has figured out that she could just read Brande’s mind. Perhaps it’s tough to do because he’s unconscious and/or on Yorggian fever drugs, but Imra can only get a Plot Hint rather than the identity of the kid.

Marla gets to work to winnow down the field.
His assistant Arlayn seems to have turned into Dream Girl. Saturn Girl calls Dream Girl “Arlayn” in one panel.

The kid is identified, with shaky reasoning on Imra’s information, and is whisked back to save Brande followed by a father/kid reunion.

Poor kid. He’s about to inherit all of Brande’s debts after all the lawsuits pour in form systems with wonky stars.

It must really begin to dawn on the kid that their father has known their identity all along, and has left them to get over hostility and isolation. The reasons why Brande left his home planet are reasonable. But not the reasons for keeping everything a secret since that time.

It’s an okay issue that does its job of updating us on the Legion origins while giving us a framing story around them. The identity of Brande’s child is a decent left field choice, but still one of the main Legionnaires. As soon as his Plot job is done, Marla vanishes from the story. No thanks for him. Sure, his work in nearly the whole story was for nothing, but he did work it out at the end.

I guess Marla had ruled out bestiality.

Well, Comet occasionally turned into a human being. And Proty was just as likely as a Durlan.

Comet and Proty would have been bigger shockers - and Proty did turn into a human being eventually.

Wasn't there some dubious Reep goings on or was that Aviax?

I just felt that the letters page could have been dropped for another twist. Where it turns out that RJ was Reep's mom and that Streaky is the partner of the guy who financed the Legion and the father of one of its most influential members. Now *that* would stick in people's minds.

Quite possibly that was the basis for a lost/rejected Keith Giffen Legion annual. In 5YL, Catspaw would have been the obvious choice for Streaky's child/kitten/whatever. Nothing's too weird in the future.

Thanks Cramer! I had a little plot to go into Bits about who Reep would find as a successor, following some injuries, as he was RJ's. Catspaw is now the only choice

I wonder how long it will take for the resentment to start, as he wonders if Brande watched him join the Legion and laughed about not telling him his origins.



Back in #265 Dawnstar seems certain that they would be seeing him again. Perhaps she had seen the script for the mini series




I, Velcro Gand, take exception at the very idea of Lar seeding these worlds! He's a good boy and would never be involved in such things!




After it was pointed out form earlier issues, Wildfire does seem to be in charge. I wonder if it was just an easy personality for the writer to work with, or whether the seeds of the story were thought of some time before.



Had it just been Marla sneaking into the clubhouse, I'd not have been so interested. No matter what he'd done to his hair, or what make up he was wearing



Thanks for that HWW. That's an interesting view. I didn't read Secrets until well after all the later issues. I had seen it much more as a plot device, and hadn't thought about it in those terms.



Columbo Latham leaves Legion HQ for the twentieth time.
Wildfire: Jeez, I thought he'd never go.
Garth: I was *this* close to a breakdown. Those endless questions...
The door opens...
Columbo Latham: ...and just one more thing that's been bothering me....
Wildfire & Garth: Gah! We confess! We Confess! It was Brainy that did it!

LSH #273,The Man Who Framed Brainiac 5 or A Murderer – Among Us? by Gerry Conway, art by Jimmy Janes & Frank Chiaramonte, colours Bob LeRose, letters Ben Oda



President Allon tells the Legionnaires that they must, by law, disband. Wildfire asks on whose side United Earth Council is; Allon explains that since Brainiac 5 has killed and remained unpunished, the Legion has violated their charter. The Prosecutor General recounts the murder of An Ryd. Wildfire argues, but Brainiac 5 quits the Legion since his innocence is in question. Cham contemplates and proposes that the Legion further investigate the murder. Brin suffers headaches. Gim questions his mother and gets the brush-off.

Cham leads a team to Rimbor to examine the room in which An was killed. Thom finds blaster marks which could not have come from a Legion weapon; Cham, as Seekerhound, could not detect any scent of Brainiac 5. Suddenly, a blast rocks the room; Cham sees someone and realizes that person is the true murderer, someone they thought was dead, then falls unconscious from a bright blast.

Jo and Tinya bribe a port controller to let them examine records of ship arrivals and departures, finding no record of any vessel carrying Brainiac 5. The controller, enjoying a pipe outside, is confronted by someone, then choked by a green hand. Jo and Tinya hear a scream, investigate and Tinya comes face to face with Pulsar Stargrave. He claims that his goal is to destroy Brainiac 5, then blasts Tinya and takes Jo off-guard, making him disappear – or disintegrate.

Brainiac 5, in a spaceship above Earth, concludes that he could not have murdered, despite his bout of insanity. He presented this conclusion to the Legion and learned that the Rimbor team had already had the same idea; he leaves for Rimbor, concerned for their safety.

On Rimbor, he finds Cham, Tinya and Thom and takes them for medical care, saving their lives. Cham is blind, Thom is fully bandaged and Tinya is weakened. He tells them that he must confront Stargrave alone. They learn that Jo is believed to be dead.

Brainy finds Stargrave on Rimbor's moon, they trade insults, Stargrave blasts, Brainy activates a forcefield than encompasses both of them. Stargrave increases his radiant energy to destroy the forcefield. There's a big explosion and Stargrave disappears. Brainy reveals, talking to himself, that he had created two fields, one just around him and one around both himself and Stargrave. With his nova blast, Stargrave obliterated himself. Brainy speculates that Stargrave/Brainiac lost his logic and gave into the emotion of hatred, which always demands the ultimate tribute of life.

Comments:
Conway returns to revisit the An Ryd incident and absolve Brainiac 5 of murder. The defence of insanity clearly didn't sit well with somebody, perhaps Conway himself.

While I question the idea that you can't murder if you have a deep sense that it's wrong, it works for this story, emphasizing the high moral code of the Legion as well as Legionnaires' confidence in Brainiac 5. Their faith in him (and his in himself) may have wavered, but it was a temporary questioning. Although Brainy makes much of logic over emotion, he succumbs to a few emotional moments when he heads off to save his friends and teammates and some philosophical musing (à la Blok) at the end.

Earth government continues to lock horns with the Legion, despite Gim Allon's mother being the new President. Gim continues to behave like a petulant kid. Wildfire continues to act as leader.

Stargrave/Brainiac survived being hurled into a sun; one may wonder that he could survive his own apparent obliteration.

Although we're told that Jo might be dead, he's only disappeared for sure, having fallen into something that looks like a dimensional portal.

The console at Rimbor's space port appears to display an early form of the Interlac alphabet. It's a nice touch that Rimbor has strict entry and exit controls; no doubt they want to make sure everyone makes a payoff, like a planetary cover charge.

LoSH 273

It’s Wildfire front and centre as Colossal Boy’s mom looks to disband the Legion on the splash page.

She reminds the team that none of them shall kill, and points down to the group. Star Boy looks nervous, but she’s referring to Brainy. Brainy gives up rather easily in a Plot derived huff, while Cham does his best investigator chin rubbing. Janes loses points for not letting Cham change into a bearded detective head.

This story seems to be set up to get Brainy off the hook for a previous writer’s set up of having Brainy really go nuts. But it’s not really the Legion without Brainy in some capacity, so he needs to have his name cleared. Who better than the guy who got Ultra Boy off the last time?

While I wonder if Brainy walking off has allowed him to escape law enforcement, we are given some subplots. Has Marte Allon changed since becoming Earth president? If so, why? Perhaps she’s just peeved that her son is such a whiner, when she clearly has to remain impartial if she’s dealing with the Legion in an official capacity.

Brin’s getting headaches. While we know these have been caused by pushing his hair too tightly to form those points, he’s having some angst ridden breakdown in front of the long suffering Ayla. Ayla’s commitment to stay by Brin’s side doesn’t quite work out, as we’ll see later.

At the Orion Hotel we learn that blaster marks are really hard to get out of the furnishings. Cham’s theory is that an insanity plea doesn’t work if you’re too insane. Later Brainy will conclude that he couldn’t have been a murderer because the Legion’s traditions trump doing really bad things like murder when you’re nuts. Tell that to Omega buddy.

Star Boy realises after a cursory check that the marks didn’t come from a Legion blaster. Mainly because the Legion so rarely carry them around. Considering Marte Allon’s comment about the Legion not killing, I’m surprised they have blasters even capable of it. Cham bravely becomes a scent based creature in a Rimborian hotel. I imagine that this is the real reason he goes blind a few panels later, and not the encounter with the villain.

Cham finds no trace of Brainy. To have discovered so much in much a short visit, makes you wonder what was wrong with him the last time he accused someone else of the murder. Cham meets the villain, who he has encountered before. He’s blinded, but doesn’t become one of the many multi eyed organisms on offer preferring to take the form of a Screaming Legionnaire.

Meanwhile at the impeccable Rimborian immigration control (presumably to keep checks on all the Silverale shipments) Jo bribes an official. Surely there must be bylaws against that? They learn that Brainy never visited Rimbor.

When Brainy finds out how easily duped everyone was before they accused him, he’s going to be mad enough to build an Omega-Computo.

To be fair to Conway, who is writing out of a plot hole, the clues are solid enough. Cham’s been blasted by the person before; the person can travel through space under their own power; is considered to be a fake and can control advanced computers.
A final clue is the green hand that throttles the bribed official. Tinya faces Pulsar Stargrave. Conway may be trying to clear one dangling plot thread, but in the following battle another mess is about to start.

Stargrave, who was also considered to be Brainiac, has renounced any familial connection with Brainiac 5. Actually, he’s become quite obsessed with Querl. After all, he’s been hanging around Rimbor a long time, waiting on the investigators to show up. Jo’s invulnerability prevents him being “disintegrated” by Stargrave’s first blast. But he needlessly drops it when he sees Tinya injured. Then he’s blasted into nothing. This will end up being part of a fairly tortuous storyline to come.

Querl’s huff has led him to a ship in which he’s approaching Rimbor in. I just hope the other 30th century crooks don’t realise that the way to escape a murder rap is to walk slowly out of the court room with your head down, sulking. Brainy, after justifying to himself why he couldn’t be the killer, goes to help his colleagues. Star Boy showed a trick to his powers. He absorbed a lot of stellar energy, as that’s where his powers derived. We see him almost completely bandaged as a result. This would have been a nice moment, particularly with Jo’s removal, to restore his lost powers.

We’ve seen a Legion squad fall to Stargrave. We’ve seen Brainy look to help his dear friends, having admitted his previous alienation from them. So, obviously we’ll ignore all of those lessons and just let him go off to face Stargrave alone with Cham’s blessing.

After his standard maniacal rant, Stargrave attacks Brainy, only to become trapped in a force field. Rather embarrassingly, Stargrave then blows himself up trying to escape from it. Brainy had trapped him between two force fields, rather than one with access to Brainy’s force field belt as he surmised. Brainy ponders about the cost of hatred. He’s referring to how Stargrave had changed, but it also refers to his own insanity and the hatred he felt at his fellow Legionnaires at the time.

Trying to fix old plot holes can often make things worse. Brainy’s murder was important enough for something to be done. From his first cosmic appearance as Brainy’s possible father, Stargrave has declined into being a bit of a ranting acme, Plot powered villain. Later in v4 his plot to drive Brainy insane would be taken over by Glorith, and his status relegated further.

I quite enjoyed the Janes art this issue, from Brin’s sweaty angst (Lotus fruit withdrawal?) through Tinya’s shock at Jo’s possible death to Brainy’s stoic look out from the finale.

Confession time: I tried, I really did. But I find it hard to sustain a sense of snarky effervescence over a slog through three whole issues of numbing mediocrity, which is what I've found Secret of the Legion of Super-Heroes to be. So instead of reviewing the 2nd & 3rd issues, I'll just reply to some of the comments by other posters:



I concur for the most part, but I do have to say that I think Marla's attitude and disposition are just as bad as Drake's. And the banter between the two (which goes on and on and on and on) is so badly written, so puerile and so much another example of DC's inept efforts to "Marvel-ize" their books during what we've already agreed was an awkward phase for the publisher, which started right after The Implosion, and ended, IIRC, just a few months after this mini-series' last issue. There was an executive reshuffle at DC, which ended up leaving the estimable triad of Kahn, Levitz, and Giordano calling the shots, and subsequently led to at least a couple of pretty damn awesome years for DC overall, followed by a couple erratic ones, and then the whole post-Crisis continuity mess, and so on...



Indeed, and again, indeed.



It's a pity, IMHO, that lazy writers and editors (and not just those working on the Legion, but also those working at other publishers) often decide to simply phone in a character's default persona and/or the most reductive approach to said character. "If the consensus on Wildfire is that he's a hothead, well then, let's just make him the most obnoxious and one-dimensional hothead we can. Who cares about those annoying fans? It's just comics." :rolleyes:



I mentioned in a Gym'll's thread recently that I think the 1990 mini-series "The Atlantis Chronicles" would qualify as such:

http://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=923479#Post923479



True, but I think in the case of this mini-series, a little more quality-control would have been nice. Such as...



Actually quite good IMO, thanks to what I feel was a far greater degree of the aforementioned quality-control.



Beautifully (and hilariously ) put, Cramer. And to reiterate something I said RE: issue #1 of this mini-series, I think the lion's share of the blame for the plot holes and the rest of the overall sloppiness of this mini-series on just about every level should go to editor Jack C. Harris. As my hero Alan Grant (who has been both and editor and a freelance writer) once said, "A good editor is worth their weight in gold."



There's a comedy sketch there for sure, preferably from a troupe similar to that of the first 2 seasons of "In Living Color." (David Alan Grier in a 'fro wig as Tyroc? A heavily-padded Jim Carrey as Brande?) Talk about giving Tyroc a good reason to act the Angry Black Man, sheesh!



That's a really good point, He Who. Thanks for broaching it. If only the execution had been better as far as art, dialogue, and plot, SotLSH might really have been the classic it was hyped as.





:roftlmao:

Not in the "Tijuana Bible" version of this story! ORALE, MUY PICANTE

Fat Cramer:



DC had a 4-issue mini-series called "America vs the Justice Society" which was basically a vehicle for comprehensively recapping the history of the JSA (pre-Crisis).

Just reading through Cramey's summary of 273, and a couple of things I noticed . . .

Why does Thom assume that if a Legionnaire killed An Ryd, said Legionnaire must have used a Legion blaster? Certainly Brainy is smart enough to buy a weapon on the Rimborian black market or somewhere else.

Likewise, isn't Brainy smart enough to forge travel records or travel in disguise?

Did the Orion Hotel not clean and rent the room in all these months since An Ryd's death? Pity to let all that business go to waste.

Perhaps bribery is legal on Rimbor. Maybe they call it tribute or taxes.

This is one of those stories that makes sense only if you don't think about it.

On the plus side, I do like the fact that the Legion gets in trouble for ignoring its own bylaws. The conflict between the president and the Legion was well-played, as I recall, as President Allon could not show any favoritism to the Legion.

If anyone's a Legion expert on killing people with blasters it's Thom



There's a reason why his disguise skills don't get him on the legion Espionage Squad missions....





You couldn't really go back from a trip on Rimbor *without* sleeping in a run down hotel room with an authentic crime scene in it. It's a *feature*

Leave it to thoth to have the answers! You should have written these stories.

Power has been out 2 days, then my computer failed, so apologies for being late. It appears that the quality of this story has not inspired anyone else to leap into the fray yet!

LSH #274, The Exaggerated Death of Ultra Boy by Gerry Conway, art by Steve Ditko & Frank Chiaramonte, colours D'Angelo, letters Costanza



Ultra Boy begins to regain consciousness in a strange place in space, but he feels nothing and can't tell if he's dead or alive. At the same time, Legionnaires hold a funeral service for him and, at HQ, dedicate a statue to his memory.

A spacecraft detects him and brings him aboard on a tractor beam.

Imra approaches the mourning Tinya; Tinya calls her “the ice maiden” and accuses her of knowing nothing of love. Imra calls up Tinya's many memories of Jo to comfort her and receives a hug from Tinya.

Jo awakens aboard the ship Antares, crewed by what appears to be pirates and commanded by Captain Frake. A crewmember attempts to question him with knives and is beaten by Jo, who is uncertain how he managed to overcome the attacker. Captain Frake appears, a sexy woman, and orders Jo to her cabin.

Rested and recovered, Tinya joins the others the next morning, just as the Deep Space Alarm from Pluto orbit sounds.

Jo is now dressed in pirate gear, but can remember nothing of his identity or what happened to him, beyond being blasted with energy in a battle. The ring he wears gives no clue, since it's face was melted by the blast. Frake tests his invulnerability, strength and kissing ability.

A Legion cruiser approaches Pluto and fires on Frake's pirate ship, which is attacking a space-freighter. Frake orders Jo to deal with the Legion's ship while her crew boards the freighter. Jo senses it is wrong, but must repay his debt of being rescued.

Rokk mans the guns and fires on the pirates. Val sees that the weapons pod is losing air and runs to rescue Rokk. Before he can remove him to safety, Val is attacked by Jo and knocked out, falling into the corridor. Jo attempts to burn through the hatch to the control room.

Garth tells Tinya to stop the intruder. She hits the space-suited Jo from behind; he reaches out and hits her unconscious, attempts to hit her again but, on seeing her face, is unable to strike. Jo returns to the pirates.

As Rokk, Val and Tinya like in hospital beds, Garth asks Jeckie why Imra appears so shaken. Jeckie claims that no one can understand a telepath. Imra's thoughts reveal that she knows a secret which would break Tinya's heart, but has to confirm it. Jo and Frake relax together as the pirate ship speeds away.

Comments:

This issue begins what I consider to be a tedious and drawn out story. Just a few comments because I'm rushing.

Some character development for Ice Maiden Imra, in terms of her disproving Tinya's catty comment. Tinya can be forgiven for speaking from grief, but Imra shows herself the true hero, not only for not reacting to Tinya's criticism, but for reaching out to help soothe Tinya.

Jo appears to be the only good-looking pirate on Frake's ship. Is the Captain a maneater, literally? Did her other toyboys walk the plank?

The Legionnaires seemed to give up on Jo pretty quickly! Brainy should have had some device to detect what happened, but then we wouldn't have a tedious and drawn-out story ahead of us. Am I being harsh? Could this story be improved by an affair between Garth and Jeckie?

LoSH 274

On the cover, an emotionally crushed Legion look on the statue of Ultra Boy in the hall of heroes. His partner, Tinya, has unveiled the statue and is on her knees in front of it. But all is not lost as Ultra Boy bursts in to tell them that he’s really alive.

Last issue Pulsar Stargrave blasted Ultra Boy. Jo had oddly dropped his ultra-invulnerability as he went to save Tinya from the villain. He was blasted into oblivion, which in DC circles is a small Pacific island in the 20th century where characters go for some R&R when no body has been found after their apparent demise. Jo’s journey reminds me of a later dimensional trip he made following his encounter with Roxxas in v4.

The opening pages intercut Jo’s ghostly cosmic journey with the Legionnaires conducting his funeral and unveiling his memorial statue. We’ve already seen the statue on the cover, but the scene itself goes well beyond repeating the image. It’s a well-balanced, sombre affair that weighs heavily on those present. There’s a nice transition linking the final parts of both scenes. The narrator wonders what Jo will think when he wakes up, having been taken aboard a passing ship, as Imra wakes up Tinya in the Legion HQ.

Imra looks to comfort Tinya, but she gets the brunt of the pain and anguish instead. There’s some uncomfortable words in there about how Tinya speaks of Imra, and it goes a long way to reinforce the theory that Imra is some sort of ice maiden. There’s even a pot shot at Saturn Girl’s marriage to Lightning Lad, indicating that there might have been a sense of duty involved after Garth sacrificed his life for her back in the Adventure days.

But these are just words, and Imra’s actions have always risen above them. They do so again here, as she allows Tinya to tap into her fondest memories of her time with Jo.

There’s another well worked link to the Jo and Tinya scenes. Following Tinya’s rush of memories, we learn that Jo has lost his. He’s been picked up on a pirate ship. He might not know how he can beat the aggressive crew, but he uses his powers to hold of a group of them effortlessly. The panel where he throws them all off was repeated in the first arc of the v3 Baxter story.

A rested Tinya re-joins her Legion colleagues, and she has bonded with Imra. There’s no sign that the latter has dwelt on the harsh words, wanting only the best for her colleague. The team are summoned to an alarm. Elsewhere, we may be about to see the cause of the emergency.

Jo is seduced by the leader of the pirates, Captain Frake. She’s quite happy to nearly kill him, to test his powers. Fortunately, Jo seems to unconsciously know when to switch his ultra-powers, as the scene treats him as if he’s Superboy.

Jo seems not to have been teleported away by Stargrave, but simply blasted off Rimbor entirely at super speed, which doesn’t seem to work as well. His Legion flight ring has been turned to slag, but there’s still enough of his costume left to form his Ultra Boy logo. But rather than ask about that, he gets a change of clothes and another link to his past is gone.

Sure enough, Captain Frake’s pirates are the cause of the Legion emergency, and the two plots combine. There’s an interesting look at the roles each Legionnaire has aboard a Legion cruiser, as they intercept the pirates. There’s six on this mission and it takes at least five to fully run the ship, which I like as a nice nod to the five man teams of Curt Swan’s time on the book.

Frake does the natural thing, and sends Ultra Boy to disable the Legion, mistaking them for a SP Patrol. Having shown the duties of each Legionnaire, we know where they are on the cruiser. This feeds into the resulting combat very nicely. Cosmic Boy falls, because he’s just where the pirates have struck the ship. The bridge is cut off, and Tinya gets to use her powers well in getting to Rokk and the blindsided Karate Kid. Karate Kid has a moment of doubt, in solid Legion tradition. Has his time away (which seems like quite a while ago) affected his ability as a Legionnaire? He acts decisively, but is ambushed by Jo, before he can get a good look at his attacker. As Tinya begins to phase her way through the ship, Imra makes a shocked discovery.

They are unable to recognise him in the space suit he wears, but Jo’s actions slow as the ghosts of recollection begin to haunt his mind. Tinya is the last to confront him, showing that she can disrupt someone’s biological systems by phasing through them. Jo does manage to knock her out, but flees when he looks at her. In another story, the love that we saw between them in Tinya’s memories would have been enough to shock Jo back, leading to a quite different ending. Here, he doesn’t quite remember, and flees back to the pirates.

In the closing scene, Garth and Jeckie wonder why Imra reacted strangely during the battle. In a reprise of Tinya’s insults earlier in the issue, we see that Jeckie, and even Garth in his silence, don’t know what goes on in the mind of a telepath. Imra’s abilities keep her at a remove from her team mates. Her team mates seemingly keep her at arm’s length a lot of the time. Probably not consciously but through the odd remark or reaction. But that will only have built over time.

Without anyone to confide in, she wonders if she imaged sensing Jo in the encounter. Perhaps she feels as though she was influenced by Tinya’s rush of loving memories. This reaction would also recur during Imra and Brin Londo’s time trapped on an asteroid in a Levitz story. There, Imra’s sense of love between Brin and Ayla resulted in her growing close to Brin, as if reaching out for that love. Looking at both together, seems to illustrate just how lonely Imra must feel sometimes.

I liked the shape of the story in this one. We have two plots, with Jo on one side and the Legion (through Tinya and Imra) on the other. The two interweave at the start, before breaking off into parallel solo development (memories), then combine once more in the space battle, only to separate into two ongoing plot threads again at the end of a single issue story. It’s a nice example of the craft that goes into writing a comic book.

In addition, we get a very close look at Imra, how she is perceived by others and how she acts as a result. The decision not to reconcile Jo and Tinya was interesting. Considering how clingy they are, any kind of break is sometimes welcome.

Ditko got in a few memorable panels, and the art complimented the story nicely.

The change of writers when Brainy was removed from the team, made that story a bit of a mess. I know we’re about to get into similar territory with the removal of Jo.

Bah! I have been taken over by Double Post Lass!




Yeah, I've posted on a few occasions that this was one part of the rereads I wasn't particularly looking forward to. But I think that feeling might have overshadowed this issue, which was fine to me.




I was wondering if Imra felt that she now had a bond with Tinya. I was also wondering just how much of that bond Tinya truly felt back, or more precisely how long it would last once she was back in her clingy relationship with Jo.



She's a maneater. No, literally. Supplies at in short demand and they're wanted pirates...




I was reminded of the old Adventure days, where the Legionnaires absolute sense of duty would override any personal loss that they clearly felt for their fallen comrades.



No, I'm still not looking forward to the rest of it.



They did look as though they shared a common thought there. Which is a real shame for Imra. It would end up being Imra's sense of closeness to others that would be closest to an affair with Brin. I recall a Super Sulky of Space Garth going on about it. What Imra saw in the Ayla/Brin relationship there was what she saw in the Tinya/Jo story here. Something else else she feels that she could never be close enough to someone to have, due to her abilities. Which is a shame. The real reason that she feels that her relationship is slightly remote, is that she married a Protean in a Corpse. That's just not going to come up in counselling sessions too often.

Good point, I'm trying to think if there are other stories in which he vanished. Levitz had a team disappear with Orando but I don't recall if he was part of that.



Hah! I guess that logo is so common (Marla could be marketing it), nobody thought to remark on it. Even the pirates - Ultra Boy shirt, Ultra Boy powers, who is this guy?



It's a good change from what we'd expect (the lovers reuniting) and serves to continue the story.



As we'll see in the next issue, she doubts herself a second time. This is pretty rare for Imra, isn't it? She's sometimes unclear, but I don't know that she has thought she's imagining the mental images she picks up.



True, and I was a bit harsh on this story. It is well balanced.

LSH #275, Of Pride, Passion and Piracy by Gerry Conway, art by Jimmy James & Frank Chiaramonte, colours G. D'Angelo, letters Ben Oda



Garth reviews the pirate problem and prepares another mission to find them; Imra is troubled but won't reveal why.

Jo, still without his memory, helps the pirates and discovers his innate super-powers as well as an aversion to murder.

Brin tells Ayla that she's the only reason he has stayed in the Legion, since he feels more affinity with wild beasts and feels caged.

In a restaurant, Gim moans to Tasmia and Lar about his mother's presidency, while Tasmia counsels understanding. Gim feels like a klutz, knocks over a waiter yet saves people from being scalded by hot food.

The pirate crew enjoys some recreation and mayhem on New Tartuga, while Jo watches in disgust. As he kisses Captain Frake, he sees an image of a woman (Tinya) and breaks away, to the great annoyance of Frake. Suddenly, Frake sees the Legion cruiser; Jo does not remember who the Legion is. As he and Frake take off for a fortress, she knocks a peasant woman down and kills her, angering Jo.

The Legionnaires blast the pirate ship, which sits empty on the ground, and are confronted by the angry crew. Putting their powers to good use, the Legionnaires effectively battle the pirates. Meanwhile, Jo is attacking the pirates himself and his actions are detected by Imra. This revelation brings tears to her eyes. The Legionnaires continue to mop up the pirates; Salu manages to stop Drake from blasting a room full of women, children and old men.

Frake reaches her fortress, which houses a powerful weapon, and targets the Legion cruiser. Just before Frake fires on the cruiser, Jo bursts in and intercepts the blast. The blast ricochets, causing the quintile crystal powering the weapon to explode, destroying the fortress.

A distressed Imra tells Garth that she saw Jo in her thoughts, then he suddenly wasn't there. She wonders if she really sensed him fighting the pirates. When she says, “Let's go home”, Jan questions if they can find the way after what they've done.


Comments:

Curious that on the cover, both women appeal to Jo to fulfill his team responsibilities, not to be their lover. I like that this is more than a catfight over a romance, even though we never see that scene in the story.

This story is like one of those Day in the Life tales we will occasionally get from Levitz. We get glimpses of what's going on with a number of Legionnaires: Brin's growing alienation, Gim's lack of confidence, Salu's cool head opposing Drake's trigger finger. Jo becomes increasingly repulsed by the pirates' behaviour; although he still doesn't remember who he is, he's starting to know what he is - a good guy.

Imra's happiness at detecting Jo fighting the pirates is soon undermined as he disappears from existence once again. Her doubt that she truly sensed him, as Thoth pointed out in the previous issue, could develop into a crisis of faith for her - but I don't believe it does.

The Legionnaires stopped the pirates; it doesn't appear that they killed anyone, but they did cause a lot of destruction. Jan's comment that they may not find their way home is a curious one, coming from him with his known distaste for pirates - but who better to say it? He knows what price vengeance demands.

I think he was (without having issues around) He went with Vi, Jan, Tinya and Cham to some Controller place where he was building a Sun Eater. They might have vanished again later on, when they had to go and fight Tyr's world, which was what the Sun Eater had been for.




They probably thought they were dealing with Marla Latham, who Captain Frake has long had the hots for.




It was a thing in DnA's postboot too, where she becomes more immersed in the Tinya construct she's created.

Poor Jo. Caught between a maneater and a rich girl. I guess no one ever taught him to say "I can't go for that, no can do."

He was afraid that private eyes were watching him.

It's best if you use your imagination.

LoSH #275

The Legion look to respond to the growing pirate threat from Captain Frake we saw last issue. Garth is firmly team leader and Drake is annoying team nag. It’s good to get that confirmed as Drake’s personality tends to hog proceedings. We learn that Cosmic Boy and Karate Kid are in hospital. We’ve only really just met the pirates, but Jo’s death and the injuries may have put them all on edge. Which is exactly where Imra is. Having sensed that Jo is alive last issue, she doesn’t trust her thoughts and powers. Not that this stops her dropping a little hint to her colleague, just to go all mysterious when they ask her more. It’s a shame that, after all this time, she feels she has no one to confide in.

Back on the pirate ship, we see Jo instinctively use his powers and morals to rob without killing. He’d now like to be called Seeker, although we’ve not seen him use his ultra-vision to find anything yet. Captain Frake is a little conflicted. She’s the undisputed boss, but can already see some moral issues getting in the way of her new crew member and partner.

As the Legion team leaves to capture the pirates, there’s a nice segue to another of the subplots. This involves Timberwolf becoming more of a loner and Ayla putting up with it like Doormat Damsel. It’s essentially more of the same this issue, but with a few more panels devoted to it. We get extra angst from Brin about how caged he feels. There’s a moment or two where you can see the conflict through the whining. But it’s mainly whining.

It’s nice to see Ayla actually asking him why he stays. Brin stays only for her, apparently. Or rather, only for as long as he can make her jump through the hoops of his relationship control.

The next subplot involves Colossal Boy’s moaning about his mother being president. Poor Jo’s dead, but they agree that it’s best just to carry on, so that Gim can talk about his issues. They also agree than Tinya’s on the mend. So, that’s all right then. Gim’s been getting a fair bit of attention, and he’s also the recipient of the latest self doubt sub plot. Lost in thoughts about his mom, he makes a clumsy mistake that makes him think of himself as a klutz. No words of wisdom form either Lar or Tasmia, who are there just to have people for Gim’s words to bounce off.

With our subplots acting as an interlude this issue, it’s back to the Legion hunting down the pirates. The Legionnaires were shown as dutiful following Jo’s death, and it continues here as they man their posts ahead of a military style attack on the pirates. What’s even better, is that we see they can manage to do this without Brainiac Five anywhere near the team. It’s a dangerous business being a superhero. Seeing the Legion as professionals makes a lot more sense than so many comics that have their teams run blindly into all sorts of needless danger.

The Legion launch their strike just as Seeker’s relationship with Frake falls apart. Seeing his new colleagues at play makes him realise that he’s not one of them. He’s thinking of Phantom Girl (not quickly enough to avoid Frake calling him “lover” I notice) and Frake isn’t used to being rejected. They travel through the city to launch their counter attack against the Legion. We’ve already seen one of the crew knock another out of the way, in what turns out to be a nice set up. Frake also does this to a girl, who dies after hitting her head during her fall. An incensed Jo stays by the body, and then goes on to attack the pirates himself.

We get to see each of the Legionnaires in battle. Shrinking Violet has come a way when she says that her name isn’t a reflection of her shyness. She later chides Wildfire, who is about to blast open a door. Violet uses her powers more subtly throughout to good effect.

Garth considers Dawnstar to be abrupt, but he’s no better in their exchanges. Dawny gets to show how her enhanced speed comes in handy during combat.

As the pirates fall, Frake reaches her secret weapon, a giant laser. It’s powered by a Quintile crystal in a nice nod to Legion history. As Imra picks up Jo’s presence once more, he throws himself in front of the laser blast, vanishing for the second issue in a row. Imra, who hasn’t told anyone about sensing Jo the first time, doesn’t reveal what she thought was going on this time either.

The issue returns to where we left off last issue. Jo has vanished in a burst of weapon fire, and Imra doubts if he really survived at all. Could we have jumped straight form last issue into next?

One the plus side, there’s more craft shown in building the parallel Legion, Frake and Jo scenes into the climax with the Quintile energy weapon. Both this and last issue have stood out on this.

Conway also continues with his solid character building, with Salu and Dawny getting some panel time this issue. Jo’s intrinsic grasp of what’s the right thing to do also shines through. It’s a theme that writers would build on him again, and this story lays a lot of the ground work of his later smuggling days, and what separates him from the villains. There’s more to being a Legionnaire than simply powers. All of the cast show that this issue (well, maybe not Wildjerk).

Like the main plot, the subplots don’t really go too far either, but there is some progress. Gim still moans about his mom, but there’s a suggestion that how his mom acts reflects on how he sees himself as a Legionnaire. Brin is still angsty, but there’s more of a definite hint that his, and by extension Ayla’s, time on the team could be limited. Both plots would be picked up by other writers.

While the Quintile Crystal was a nice nod to Legion continuity, the mention of Reflecto in the next issue box must have set some tongues wagging and hearts racing. His memorial statue had been seen all the way back in 1967, and many readers will have known that a new, and ill fated, Legionnaire would be making an appearance.

And that's goodnight for this issue Legion Worlders... Don't let the Talokian Night Wigglers...um....wiggle.

Perhaps both see Jo, not just as a mate, but as a means to gain something more ?



Yeah, I liked the build up of this over the two issues. Even an amnesiac Legionnaire is still a Legionnaire. A nice change from mind wiped characters doing all sorts of daft, out of character things.




This really could have been a character arc for Imra and it's touched on a few times here, and in issues to come. But I don't recall it going anywhere either.




He sure does, having pulled the trigger on Roxxas.

Jan: Home? I wonder, after this, if we can find the way...
Gartth: What do you mean?
Jan: I turned the navcomp into helium by mistake. We're stranded.

Well, it's been a few weeks since I've posted at all on LW, but I'm finally back and ready to start by trying to catch up on the Archive reread. It's been a difficult and frustrating few weeks at that, all on the personal side of things with work, some other personal stuff, selling / renting my old condo, my kids sports (that's been fun just time consuming) and various other things that of course relate to the root of all evil, money. But I'm here, it's been nothing I can't handle and it's time to get caught up.

I'll be brief since I'm behind. I had to read them rather than skip ahead as I'm determined to read every issue as we go through this!

LSH # 273
This issue was actually quite good! Conway at long last resolved the dangling plot of Brainy murdering someone, and uses a pretty natural resolution--a plot by Pulsar Stargrave--to do it. I liked this issue a lot because it was chalk full of character moments and because it gave us a lot of plot without dragging things out. I though Cham and Brainy came off especially well, while many others also shined. I also like the political tension with Marte Allon, Gim's dealing with it, and the continued usage of subplots, such as Brain's growing problem.

One thing I note is I'm surprised that Star Boy would be part of this group, as IMO, he probably is the Legionnaire who holds the greatest animosity towards Brainy. My personal theory is he joined this group for opposite reasons: to make sure that if the evidence proved his guilt, he'd make sure Brainy was prosecuted. However, he is a hero after all, and personal feelings aside, at the end of the day when the evidence points to Brainy's innocence, he's ready to step up and do his duty as a Legionnaire.

LSH #274
Just as we end the dangling subplot of crazy Brainy, were pushed into another subplot which will end up dragging on: dead Ultra Boy. It starts here in a bit of a quirky issue, and that's mainly because Steve Ditko's art continues to be so ill-suited for an early 1980's LSH story. I actually think this is his best LSH issue, as his mystical sensibilities work well when depicting a near death Jo traveling through cosmic space. But overall, the art distracts more than anything. (And let's not get started on mis-coloring Cos and Tyroc as statues).

The story isn't bad at all, but it's hard not to sigh when you know that it will drag out immensely. Instead I'll focus on the good: I like the initial appearance of Capt Frakes and her crew, as she is an aggressive, dominant leader who also is sexy and proud to show it. I also love the Tinya / Imra sequence here, which I've long felt is the best interaction the two characters had during the entire preboot, which is interesting because they are two of the longest serving and most iconic female Legionnaires. Beyond that, this is kind of a standard "believed dead, really has amnesia with the enemies" storyline that was a trope in fiction going back to at least the dime novel westerns, though I'd be shocked if there isn't a story in antiquity somewhere along those lines. The only difference here is it isn't resolved right away.

I should hopefully have up #275 shortly and will be all caught up. Then I'll be back to the monthly schedule.

Good to see you back, Mr. Kid.



Looks ahead to Reflecto saga... you brave, brave poster Cobalt Kid...





Even in v7, Dream Girl had to remind Thom to let it go, and bury the hatchet. As you say, Thom is too much of a hero to express where he'd like to bury the hatchet, but it was a subplot pretty much right up to Thom's demise.



Although I noticed Cos and Tyroc beside the dedded heroes, I put it down to the room having statues of everybody (one of the many Statue rooms in the HQ), and that Cos and Tyroc's could be seen form the area where the Statues of the Dead (dum, dum... DUM) could be seen. I'd much rather that you've just uncovered a hidden Legion story. That Coz is really dead. The man who we think is Coz is really the Time Trapper. A few of the team know that the Trapper believes itself to really be Coz and have to keep it happy in case it realises and breaks loose on a temporal rampage. For anyone not convinced by this off the cuff idea, just wait a few issues and it will seem like a masterpiece.



Yay!

The Cos / TT theory is actually hilarious! It certainly explains why he was never elected leader again until continuity got all rearranged!

The big clue came in the Mayavale issue. It's no coincidence that the people looking at Cos here, were a shocked Imra and Garth who are having to keep the secret.

LSH #275

Catching up on #275, I don't have much to add as FC and Thoth have covered the issue quite well. It's a standard plot dropped into an LSH setting, though there's some nice moments.

Like you both, I like that Jo gradually starts to know who he isn't throughout the issue as he turns away from the pirates. That is well done and says more about him.

Also, as you both mention, I like how central Imra is in this arc but also feel there's a bit of missed opportunity in the follow up.

Overall, the fact that Jo is lost / presumed dead a second time doesn't have the intended effect on me. I'm not interested and more tired by the plot development, wanting them not to drag it out. And it's with that mindset that the Reflecto saga starts...(oh boy)...

I'm glad you're back for it Cobie. Strength in numbers, and all that.

^ That was the last time Cos wore contacts . . . of space.

E TU VIVRAI NEL TERRORE -- L'ALDILA

Superman Family #207, Look Homeward Argonian! By Jack C. Harris & Roy Thomas, art by Win Mortimer & Vince Coletta, colours John Drake, letters John Costanza



Linda Lee Danvers returns to college in Santa Augusta aboard a commercial flight, but when she deplanes, she's in Argo City. The residents don't see her and she can't touch them. Suddenly, this disappears and she's in the terminal, greeted by her friend Val. As they head for home, Linda uses her telescopic vision and instead of seeing remains of the city, sees a domed Argo in a new orbit around a yellow sun. Baffled, she pleads fatigue, then changes to Supergirl and flies out to investigate.

She lands in Argo City and speaks to the people but finds they are still immaterial. Kam-Par explains that some of them had survived, but in this semi-real state. He says that Supergirl could rescue them with a Density Intensifier her father had invented. Just as she finds the device in her old home, Argo City disappears and she hears laughter.

She finds the real Argo City in its red sun orbit, views it from afar and sees Universo with the Density-Intensifier. She follows him to the 30th century.

The Legionnaires detect a disturbance in the timestream; Brainy is summoned and declares that two people have broken through the time barrier and landed in front of the HQ. As they rush out, the Legionnaires see Universo attacking Supergirl with the device and delivering some corny lines. To Universo's surprise, she is unharmed; she destroys the device telling him it's really just a table lamp and slugs him.

She tells the Legionnaires that she was never fooled by the image of Argo, just played along to trap Universo; she knew that the Argonians could never have known about the Intensifier, which her father kept as a family secret.

Brainy begs Supergirl to stay a while; she refuses. She also refuses to tell them where her father's weapon was hidden, then departs with sorrowful thoughts of her parents and home.

Comments:
Legion editor Jack C. Harris turns his hand to plotting this Supergirl story and throw in a token appearance by the Legion. Too little Legion for my taste, but it's a short story.

The Supergirl history is sort of foggy for me, but a first time reader could follow the tale thanks to the explanations of Krypton's and Universo's histories. The explanations do drag this simple story out, however.

They mystery of the intangible Argonians isn't much of a mystery since Universo was on the cover. Someone not familiar with the Legion might not have suspected.

There's a discussion of our technology and Colu elsewhere on this forum, so it particularly struck me how odd it seems for an advanced civilization to have table lamps. Ugly table lamps. Argonians are too advanced to concern themselves with such trivial matters as home makeovers, no doubt. (Was there ever a story tying the Argonians to the Argonauts? That seems like a natural for the Silver Age.)

Why did Cham have to fetch Brainiac 5 – and why change into some sort of dog to find him? All communications devices down?

Brainy didn't add much to the conversation; he only deduced that two people had landed outside the HQ from the timestream. They could have opened the front door and learned that. I don't recall what the status of the timestream was at this point: were people from the past blocked? There was an iron curtain of time, but I think that was for traveling into the future.

Supergirl gives Brainiac 5 the brush-off, which is sort of disappointing for those of us who enjoyed this time-doomed relationship.

Wow! Does Supergirl not trust the Legion? Could they just be figments of Universo's power as well? There could have been a Part 2 to this tale in which Supergirl unmasks a second layer of Universo's deception.

Superman Family 207

Supergirl is flying back from a student councillors meeting somewhere, back in the days when being a student councillor was a jet setting, glamorous life.

Back in the old Action Comics Supergirl’s thought bubbles were always full of smug “If only they knew” comments. “If only they knew I had a green future boyfriend and a merboy-friend” or “If only they knew my secrets” after Lois Lane points out Linda Lee’s similarity to Supergirl. So, credit to the writer as she’s not changed a jot, thinking “of course I could have flown there and back in a fraction of the time, as Supergirl…”

She gives a really good excuse for not having done so, as it’s the everyday things like unused tickets that can trip up a global super heroine. She completely blows her secret identity by having a breakdown on the aircraft’s steps feeling that she’s now in “Argo—The Kryptonian city where I was born.” If it’s an illusion, everyone will now know her secret.

Whoops! An illusion is exactly what it turns out to be, as she passes through fellow travellers. Fortunately, everyone wjo is real just thinks she’s either drunk or stoned. Normal for air passengers. Her friend kindly puts it down to jetlag, but Supergirl has been in too many stories not to know that something is wrong. She uses her telescopic vision to see all the way to Krypton. Her destroyed home world is luckily in view from the taxi window. The super character’s powers were always difficult to control, but this goes quite a bit too far. Argo isn’t where it used to be, but that’s OK, super vision soon picks it up around another sun.

I wonder if, in her days as a student councillor, Supergirl considers helping out astronomy a bit.

Supergirl has often struggled to find her place in the world. It’s been tough for her. Form the orphanage to hiding away as Superman’s secret weapon. But it’s not helped by ignoring your friends at the first sign of super deed. Poor Valerie has gone to all the trouble to pick up her friend form the airport, and gets the brush off.

A pompous caption declares “..and she must learn, this day, if you can go home again.” Well, of course she can. She’s just seen it, and is now flying at beyond light speed through space to get to it. Even handier, it’s now under a yellow sun, meaning that Supergirl can keep her powers.

When she gets there, Supergirl is confused at the sight of people she thought long dead, in a city she though long destroyed. She discovers that the residents, like the people back at the airport, are immaterial. But they have a solution, and you should take a deep breath if you want to read it out loud.

Like all the superbaby stories, Supergirl was involved in lots of the Plot-Friendly activities that everyone on Krypton managed to cram in around the time the planet exploded. If the Kryptonians had spent less time setting up Super Family stories and more time saving their planet, and its cast off cities, they would have been fine.

Here, Supergirl’s dad was working on a device to project all of Argo city’s residents into the Survival Zone. The ray seems to have worked, in that Supergirl saved her parents. But the other residents were left in a sort of ghostly state. Fortunately, Supergir;s dad was well versed in Pointless Plot Twists. While he was working on the device, he was also working on a device to increase the mass of things and people. Just in case his daughter lost her superpowers on Earth.

Now, Supergirl’s dad presumably had a tea break in between all this inventing. That’s when he must have come up with the idea of disguising the mass increasing device as a table lamp. Why he would do this when it was to go with his daughter to Earth. Is there another rocket, full of furniture from Krypton out there somewhere, destined to come to Earth and gain superpowers?

We’ll never know, as the whole thing turned out to be another illusion. Supergirl spies the real Argo city, back under its red sun.

We don’t have to wait long to find out who’s behind the illusions. It’s Legion nemesis (and rejected member) Universo! His Super-hypnosis has enabled him to cast illusions all the way from Krypton to Earth. He’s created a completely illusory city and sun, exact in every detail from an earlier time. He then waits for Supergirl to explore it to find the device he really needs. Then he searches in the ruins of the real Argo City until he finds it.

Whew! I’m glad he didn’t go for something complicated. Like just going back in time to watch Supergirl’s father invent the thing in the first place.

Universo uses time travel technology (probably pinched from his kid) to return to the 30th century and get vengeance on the Legion. Supergirl follows. For all the super-super powers we’ve already seen, it should be remembered that Supergirl can also travel through time too. So she doesn’t have to follow Universo in the way shown.

Universo’s method of travel sets off all sorts of alarms. A group of otehrwsie incidental Legionnaires respond. Rather than using telepathic earplugs or HQ comms, we get to see Cham racing down a corridor to fetch Brainy as a small metallic dog. Which is quite cute.

Universo is about to blast the weapon at our heroes, only to find Supergirl in his way. She easily defeats him after the weapon has no effect on her. Apparently Supergirl had only been playing along with Universo’s plan and hadn’t been fooled for a minute. She certainly goes to some lengths to show she had fallen for it. All of her dialogue to herself also thought that the weapon had been captured.

That was the first time I’d read this story. It’s complete filler and the plot (by Jack Harris) doesn’t stand up to any sort of scrutiny. The set ups are ridiculously overly elaborate for a nice, but standard, pay off at the end. Roy Thomas’ script has a few touches, but can’t escape the story. At least the Mortimer/Colletta art was a nice treat. Things like the Legion reread makes me appreciate the artists of this period, more than I had earlier.