Newsarama has a preview of Legion #6 with both covers. Check it out!

Didn't Levitz say the url to the Vote for Leader website would be on the cover? They probably didn't want us voting early because of this preview, so maybe it'll be somewhere else.

the pages seem out of order. i like the art.
Brainy's ring modification explains Earth Man's heroic nature.
notice that Yera is mentioned.
can't wait for this issue!!

Oh, the Titanian mistook Phantom Girl for a tulpa.

It's just little things like this that blow me away.

When he's on, he's on.

I really liked the art as well. All right we are getting more Colossal Boy! Hmm, Shady did seem pretty authentic here...

I can't wait also!

Nice preview. Welcome back, Marte Allon. Totally agree with Set's tulpa sentiment.

Looks like another nice issue.

That was one of the best hugs in Legion history.

Gosh - the art in that preview is excellent! We are really lucky to have Portela on this book. And Cinar too.

The effect on Shady's cape is weird but I think I really like it.

Nice writing as well. Between this and the much-improved Adventure Comics I think Paul has definitely found his groove again.

My sad prediction though - Marte Allon is going to be the next victim of the Durlan Revenge Squad.

Beautiful art.

I'm glad I embraced Umbra long ago as MY Shady.
I can't stand this one, her look or her personality (although, I like the cape effect, it's just not all that original.)
But oh, well.

This development, if it stands, just goes to point out how retro boot this really is.

I wonder if we'll ever see the REAL original boot, someday.
Probably just in reprints.

You got that feeling too, huh? I reaaalllllly hope not. I like Marte (more than Colossal Boy to be honest!), and I really don't want to see any more of the Legion's support cast taken out for a while...

This preview has served to make me want to give the Shady/Earth-Man thing a second chance. I have been outright condemning it up till now, but if it's being used to show how Talokkian mores/ethics differ to Earth's, that's at least an interesting path to take with it. Plus, I was coincidentally reminded today that Shady pretty quickly and immediately shifted her affection from Brainy to Mon-El once upon a time, so there is precedent I guess. I still don't LOVE it, but I am willing to see where it goes.

On an unrelated note, I kind of dig the subtle implication that Tinya has issues with respecting privacy too....I have always wondered how natives of Bgztl feel about privacy when it must be really hard for them to actually ever genuinely have any...

It's just a shame that the Titanians are all drawn as Caucasions despite their Asian ancestry.

This topic comes up in Tinya's origin story in Secret Origins #42, although that story was written by the Bierbaums, so Paul is probably ignoring it.

Best Legion story I've read in a long time. The Legion Academy piece will blow some people's minds I'm sure. Paul is getting his writer's instincts back.

The artwork was excellent. Enjoy folks!

OMG, I've got a new favorite Legion Academy student!!!

The first story in this issue was very, very good. I loved the focus on Shady and Tinya, and it was nice to see Vi and Ayla together. Paul did a great job of getting lots of characters into the story.

I wasn't quite as impressed with the second story, but I just don't like Phil Jimenez's artwork. Of the Academy students, Variable Lad was easily my favorite.

Here is the review I posted on Facebook:
I love the Legion. I always have and I always will. With the new series, I have been waiting for things to switch into high gear.



I didn't and still don't care for Earth Man. But now that his initial arc is over, I am interested in seeing what he does next. Do I trust him? Nope. And while I understand the need to rotate characters in and out, we still haven't seen XS or Night Girl or Star Boy. With 25 active members, I fear it will be later rather than sooner that we see them. But I REALLY want Thom back!



The Legion Academy Story was amazing! Although I love Gravity Kid's costume, I really don't understand why that particular power set when Thom is floating around unused. Chemical Kid? Hell yea! Dragonwing rocks too! Actually, I love all the new class but I hope that doesn't mean the last class won't be around.



A couple other notes:

1) Cosmic Boy confirms Pol's death which means Magic Wars DID happen.

2) Duplicate Damsel! YAY! She kept those powers!

3) Karate Kid - What the hell is up with jeckie? It kind of creeped me out and endeared her to me all at the same time!



Oh and Leader Elections. Yes, I voted for Sensor Girl because Thom wasn't available. Dreamy would have been my next choice.



Looking forward to whatever comes next!

It just, I, I don't-

MANDALLA! WESTERNER! LAMPREY! NIGHTWIND! THE FLOATING FISHES!

I'm in love.

Vi taking Ayla on vacation and a hand on the hip.




new characters



Jimenez

1. Wouldn't it have made more sense to switch this cover with the last one?

2. Love the artwork!

3. I like the IDEA of Shady's cape trailing blackness behind it, but the execution wasn't so hot.

4. Still not buying Shady and Earth Man together, especially considering his parting comment about not having to like aliens. Uh, didn't you just sleep with one? And wasn't Mon-El enough of a he-man warrior for her? Why can't we have Duplicate Boy instead of Earth Man?

5. Didn't like Brainy cowering before EM either. Hello? You have a force shield and you're WAY smarter than he is. Being intimidated doesn't suit you.

6. LOVED seeing Luornu again, but wish she was an active member. I like the costume ok. Better than some of the others anyway.

7. Why oh why do we have to keep bringing K Kid back from the dead? Enough already! Kinda creeped me out that Jeckie is sleeping with his bloody uniform. Holy Jackie Kennedy, Batman!

8. Is Chemical Kid related to Condo? He has the same powers and is from the same planet, but Condo was a mutant. I think somebody must be confused about everyone on Phlon having that power. Seems like he should've had a clue about fire being a chemical reaction.

Lots to like with this issue. Levitz and Company are on a roll.

Portela did a great job on the first story. I like Cinar's work, but the Legion really does work best with two solid rotating artists. Portela is welcome to stay for the long haul, as far as I'm concerned. The opening page with Gim, Tasmia, and Tinya flying over the Himalayas is beautiful.

Tasmia tending to cactus. Nice touch as she comes from a desert planet. I wonder if that was Levitz' idea or something that Portela added.

Hmm. It looks like Tasmia has a real attraction for Earth Man. I'm surprisingly okay with this. Her explanation works.

I'm taking the Vi and Ayla scene as evidence that they are a couple. Hope I'm not reading too much into it, because this is a development I want to see.

The second story was also top notch. Did someone say they didn't care for Jimenez? Really? I'm stunned. His work here is awesome. I would have expected nothing less. Comet Queen is great fun and I'm glad to see her. The new kids are all great.

It was nice to see Pol's status confirmed. My only quibble is with the Sensor Girl/Karate Kid interlude. It seemed out of place.

Next month: The mystery of Dr. Harmonia Li. I'll be there.

I enjoyed this issue completely. I am still not an Earth Man fan, but he definitely is getting interesting.

Love Chemical Kid! I am already a fan.

Urk and the Fishes... Yay!!

I am confused about Karate Kid. Do the three sticks symbolize that this is his third life? Does he have 9 lives like Wildcat? I want to know more.

Dragonwing? OMG.. i'm in love!

Jeckie... you're getting a bit creepy..

Am i the only one who doesn't like Timber Wolf's ID box? His powers should be Agility and Super Speed.. not enhanced senses and claws.

I'm with you Crymsun Kid. Brin's powers should include agility but not claws.

What? No healing factor?

I liked the cactus too. It's appropriate that Shady would enjoy plants that can grow in the shade.

After reading this issue, I fully understand why Shady is sleeping with Kirt. I don't really approve, but it seems entirely consistent with her established character.

i feel robbed!
after the cover, i was expecting a blow out issue, but it was just more set-up. the cover made no sense as we knew it was Shady last issue. i guess Shady must be Shady if her cape is leaking that shadow effect. (looks more like hair!)
her warrior explanation did read like her, although it didn't address why she left Mon-El. so, what are we left with?
Brainy's ring was giving him morals, now that he took it off he'll revert to being a bigot. bye bye Shady?
i didn't buy that Brainy would feel intimidated by this jerk after facing much greater threats.
the art all around was great. the back-up was interesting. liked Gravity Kid's Grell-like costume, although i ca't figure out his facial hair thing. Chemical Kid!! Yay! not a Comet Queen fan but she didn't annoy me here.
interesting that Chuck is away at a reunion when new GL is to be chosen soon. the Projectra interlude was very WTF, although i applaud the KK issue being addressed. i'm all for him being back. all in all an interesting issue, although i'm strongly hankering for a strong villain. i've seen the "Earth Man in action" scene too many times already. how can someone who borrows powers be a greater hero than those who rightfully possess those abilities and have years of experience? it reads false. i want Tyroc to scream this guy into oblivion. bring on Harmonia Li.

I'm glad Paul addressed the privacy issue between Shady and PG. It really bugged me last issue and I'm glad it bugged Shady too!

So happy to finally see Lu (and so many of her) in these pages. She looked great but I admit to finding her kind of dull when she is in instructor mode. I want her involved in a real adventure!

I thought the main story took a back seat to the excitement of seeing the Academy again and Cos' involvement in it. Plus seeing Duplicate "Girl" (typo?) was really nice, so much potential with her power augment.
I think Jimenez's sleek style suits the 31st century and I predict his run on Adventure Legion/Academy will be a memorable one.
We are introduced to some really cool new heroes and powers (can't wait to hear the explanation of how another mutant with the exact same powers as Condo came out of Phlon), I already cannot wait to see more of Variable Lad! Plus .... and this is the best part of the whole book for me personally was, ... ... VAL ARMORR IS BACK!!!
ALLLLRRIIGGGHHHHHHTTTTT!!!!!!! YEAH! YAHOO!! SUCCESS AT LAST!!!!!
lol
Sorry guys, the kid in me (no pun intended) just came back alive. Karate Kid was/is my favourite Legionnaire; always has been, always will be.
I like his new no-collar look. It's cleaner looking. I started a thread on LW asking for KK to return, and my hunch was that he would return with amnesia. Let's see if I was right.
I do agree though that Projectra was acting a bit freakish, what with sleeping with the charred remains of Val's costume. Ick!

Back to the main story.
I hope Paul Levitz knows what he doing with the character of Shadow Lass. I do not like her or respect her more now for her new choices and connections (E-Man), quite the contrary. I will go so far as to say I do not like her any more, all current things considered.
Speaking of Earth Man, it's hard to put into words how I feel about the character ... it's like having to peel off the messy shell of a piece of shrimp in order to get to the delicious part. You have to get thru it in order to get to the stuff you like. That's how I see him in my favourite comic book now. Like an annoying ad appearing while you're watching your fav show, or a pop-up on your computer ... that's life!
Oh well, some of you out there like him, right?

I have to agree with what somebody else said earlier, Brainy was portrayed as an absolute weakling the way he cowered to E-Man's idle threat. Come on, seriously? If Brainy was that spineless (which he's definately not) he wouldn't be the iconic hero-with-the-smarts he is today. But Earth Man? Seriously?? Come on, who is HE anyway, a second-rate reject-turned-villian-turned-nazi? So now he's a formidable threat to Querl? Sorry, I'm not buying any of it.

Looks like Ayla and Vi might be an item again ... guess we'll have to wait for the annual to come out before we have confirmation on that.

I really, really liked Portela's artwork on this issue. He's welcome to stay as long as he likes in my opinion.

I sure hope nothing diabolical happens to Gym's mom ... no more killing our supporting characters! Enough is enough!

Finally, how great was it to see Matter-Eater Lad again, even if it was in a comical/endorsement way. I guess Paul still sees him as a comic relief character as opposed to a unique power with endless potential. *sigh*
Oh well...

Anyways, I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of the book, not to mention another chapter in the lives of the Legion Academy. Yay!!!

Super strength, not speed.

I would've been happier with the Brainy/Eman scene if Brainy had simply turned on his force shield and gone back to his work, ignoring Eman, who would've had no choice but to walk away in frustration.


When PG is inside the speedster early in the story, we see Shady on a view screen using her power to cast shadows. Why? What purpose is she serving? When we next see the exterior of the ship, she and Gim are just flying alongside it. No shadows in sight. For that matter, why did she jump on top of the ship in the first place? And how did she do it without breaking an ankle with those spiked heels of hers?

Should it not be both? I seem to recall a letter response by Mr Levitz where he explains that whilst Brins speed is certainly not in the Mon El/Ultra/Super Boy level it should still be considered super as he is substantially quicker than the average person.

Don't know about that, but I do recall an in-story reference that said he was faster than anyone WITHOUT super speed, which implies that he doesn't have super speed, but yes, he is very fast.


In his intro story, he is said to have super strength and super acrobatic agility only.

Wow, great issue. My favorite issue so far. New characters? The Academy! (Power Boy!) Magic Wars did happen! Phil Jiminez!

Loved that page with Jeckie! Jo & Tinya! Good stuff.

I personally liked seeing Imra, Garth, and Brin by Jimenez.

Out of the new students it's a tie between Dragonwing and Chemical Kid.

I don't see why Brin has to be limited to powers that he had when he first appeared.
We know that he's entering a time when the chemicals in his body mutate him further.
Paul may not go as far as TMk did, but seeing his speed increase isn't much of a stretch.
And perhaps the acrobatics was just not included in the list. Unfortunately, since that has aways been a part of his abilities.

As for the Shady development, none of this goes with HER established personality OR even Umbra's.
We never saw her go after men according to their 'warrior' status before now, nor has she hopped quickly into bed with someone, either as the original Shadow Lass or Umbra.
Shady might have had a crush on Brainy, but Lar was her only partner, the same with Umbra.

Paul is copying Waid's Shadowlass Prime.
And I hated her.
She was brainless, manipulative and a complete user.
I just can't stand it that Paul can't come up with something original in his characterization of her, something wonderful instead of something cold and ugly.

Anyway, I'm done with her.

I get my copy today and I can hardly wait to see the new Academy kids!

I don't object to Brin's powers mutating, but I object to him mutating into a Wolverine clone, which is what everyone seems to want to do with him over the past couple of decades.

I don't.

i was wanting to drop the lsh with number 5.

the whole 'Earth Man and the Legion of Super Heroes' thing wasn't doing it for me. the strange in continuity but not quite in continuity that seems to be going on. and Tasmia bedding someone who should be busy being tried for war crimes. not to mention .... there's hasn't been a villain or plot yet besides Earth Man and his emotional development. and i'm not bowled over by the art.


but i picked up this issue at the store just to flip through it. and i'm a sucker for new characters ..... especially ones named chemical kid and dressed like gravity lad. besides i think this is the best jimenez art since his Otherworld. (props to scott koblish ad hi fi colors)

so ... im back for now ...

In another thread (the Leadership one) moments ago I also pointed out that some legacies, behaviours, and predispositions should be coming into play in some characters, based on developments during the 5-Year gap that should apply even if history doesn't unfold in exactly the same way again.

In regard to the controversy about Tasmia's romantic switch to Kirt, I'm okay with this development for several reasons, including her own explanation.

As for Brainy's seeming cowardice, yes, it bugs me, too. But we have to keep in mind that it may have been motivated by guilt, as I'm sure that Querl was well aware on some level that its morally wrong to to surreptitiously tamper with someone's free-will.

btw has anyone else had the very negative thought that Pol may have died some other way ... I'm not getting my hopes up that just because he's dead means the MW happened. (which is one of my favorite stories) and that we are in some sort of 5YG reboot or untold stories that took place right before things went to hell.

re: brainy


haha the only reason he would be cringing is if he plotted that encounter (moments after his birth) and it somehow benefits his larger plan to cringe at that moment in front of Earth Man.

he dosn't cringe in front of the Time Trapper but he cringes in front of Earth Man.

Maybe the reason he cringed from Earth-Man was that he was taken by surprise that Earth-Man knew that his ring included some mind-tampering.

Exactly!

I read number 6.
And still without news of Nigth Girl, XS and Star Boy.
Till now no explanation of they status in the team.
The appearance of Matter Eater Lad, I must say it seemed to me to be a shame.
It is good to see Luornu again, but it preferred seeing her in the group that in the academy.
Phill Jimenez has drawn the best legionnaries of this new incarnation. Excellent Timber Wolf, Projectra with the color of suitable hair.
A new Chemical King is interesting and Karate Kid's return is a response to the order of the fans.
In addition Projectra deserves a little happiness.
Still there are too many good absent legionnaries..
Mon-El and Polar Boy in Daxam, now Imra and Garth leaving the group momentarily, Duplicate Girl in The academy..
This team needed two books, no one academy spin-off.
Nice touch in the hall of heroes with Kyd Psycho statue...but Reflecto?
Another dark point is...If the Magic Wars happened...the Sorceress World was destroyed.
Where are now Mysa and Blok?

I for one am happy Garth and Imra are leaving.

Speaking of Star Boy...it looks like he got replaced by a 70s vintage half naked character.

Possibly, but the Archmage is in the pannel where Cos is reflecting on Pol's death, suggesting that it did happen. Of course, his mother is in the pannel also and he questions if she will ever forgive him for allowing Pol to become a Legionnaire and die in his place.... even though she was long dead from the terrorist attack on Metropolis (LSH vol 1 #297) before Pol joined the Legion (LSH vol. 2 #14). Suggesting her death didn't happen. More contradictions. Go figure.

I think Rokk was referring to his mother's spirit/memory, not her living body when he was thinking about her. My parents are both deceased, but I still "talk" to them.

The Arch-Mage was shown in the panel that mentioned Pol's death, so we can assume that the Magic Wars did happen.

EDIT: And someone else already made that point. Oops. In order to salvage this post, I'll make a different point instead. Maybe Brainy was scared of Earth-Man because he felt ashamed of tampering with Earth-Man's ring.

thans guys, i didn't catch that, i was so excited i was reading too fast .....

LOVED- Chemical Kid!

HATED- Brainy cringing over Earth Man's bullying!

LOVED- Ayla & Vi's casual intimacy!

HATED- Tasmia letting her hormones overtake her common sense!

LOVED- the playfulness between Jo & Tinya!

HATED- the uneven-ness between Portela's pages. Some were brilliant, some were awkward!

LOVED- Paul addressing so many dangling plot-lines & continuity-cop's annoying questions so seamlessly & unobtrusively!

HATED- Variable Lad being drawn with only three arms instead of four, as natives of Jaquaa have!(as per Dr. Gym'll's first app & designer/artist Pat Broderick)

LOVED- Phil Jimenez' art!

HATED- still no Latinos in the 31st century!

LOVED- Gravity Kid's skin-tastic Grell homage costume!

yeah there's not a lot of brown in the 31th cent. i pretend that many of the dark haired legionnaires are latin, middle eastern, asian, or some brownish mixture by that date.

I absolutely loved this issue. it was like the 1980s all over again with the multiple subplots and abundance of characters. i loved seeing the Legion Academy again, although I can't believe that Comet and Jed (and some others...Crystal Kid, etc) are still there after all of these years!!! Although I loved the Academy, I'm not too sure they sustain a solo book so soon, but we'll see.

A couple of other things...shouldn't Luornu be married or maybe she's not usung her maried name. I was hoping that there would be mention of Dacey and Dorritt. Maybe there whereabouts are being kept secret. Perhaps this is the real reason Garth and Imra are taking leave...unless she's pregnant!

Otherwise, I loved the issue and the art was fantastic. THIS is the Legion I began collecting 30 years ago (WOW...just realized 1980 was 30 yrs ago!!!).

Dacey & Dorritt are from the 5YL stories. They don't exist in this continuity...yet.

I'm surprised no one's picked up on the first part of Cosmic Boy's monologue as he flies to the Academy. It seems to confirm the worst fears about the long-ago mindwipe.

Seeing Rokk, Imra and Garth bantering together like old friends isn't the positive reading experience it used to be back in the day. Now they make my skin crawl.

For the record, Pol didn't die in Rokk's place. Rokk wasn't even there when Pol flew into the giant keyhole -- which Rokk would never have done even if he had been there because he isn't a complete idiot.

The skankification of the Legion continues with Shady's moronic "warrior" speech. I don't buy it, and I don't buy Niegrigh's miraculous redemption.. But the part that bothers me most isn't Shady's astonishing bad taste, it's the unvoiced implication that she dumped Mon-El because he isn't manly enough for her. As a Mon-El fan, I resent her for that.

The only thing that bugs me about Ayla and Violet's holiday on Imsk is, last I remember, Ayla was all cozy with Timber Wolf. I don't care for LL/TW as a couple but I like the idea of cheating on your boyfriend even less.

Memo to Mr. Levitz: Don't think you can repeat your old habit of empowering female Legionnaires by emasculating the male ones (writing the men as weaklings, pawns, victims, dummies, a$$wipes, and losers whose manhood wouldn't fill out a junior-sized jockstrap.). This time it won't go unchallenged.

Jimenez gets props for his nice visuals, but the new Academy members are a disappointing bunch except maybe for Variable Lad, who might get better buzz as "Deus Ex Machina Boy" or something. Comet Queen is every bit as annoying as she was 20-something years ago (how many times did she get left back?). The Legion doesn't need another gravity manipulator or firestarter, let alone a Chemical King clone (as cute as he is). I predict it won't be long before they're standing out in the cold with Babbage, Amp, Retro, Flying Foxlike Creature, Turtle Boy, Sizzle and all the other junior wannabees who got shut out in the past.

Something else else tells me Chuck is going to be hit by a space-bus on his way home from the reunion.

This new Karate Kid thing has to be a joke. Maybe Levitz is doing it just to yank Keith Giffen's chain.

The artwork continues to outshine the writing, which is sloppier and more confusing with each passing month. It would be tolerable if I liked the characters, but with a precious few exceptions, I don't. Having plodded through the entire first arc with the help of a jug of my uncle's homemade wine (someone could hit you with a mallet, you wouldn't feel any pain), it's now my considered opinion that LSH v6 is the worst Legion relaunch since the pre-0-Hour "Legionnaires" in 1993.

IIRC During the 5YG the world fomerly called Tharn became the new Sorcerer's World.

I tend to read these issues in the context of the last Adventure, and, sure enough, in the last Adventure, we have a much younger Brainy acting a certain way to convince his friends that he's someone they might be a little more comfortable with (allowing them to think that he 'made a mistake' a year ago, because he knew it made them happy to think he was fallible).

Given that context, which may have been 'in-story' years ago, but was written probably in the same week as this story, I prefer to think that this is the exact case, with Brainy allowing Earth-Man to think he's all intimidated and stuff.

Whatever makes him happy. It's not like Brainy seems like the sort of person who really gives a crap what most people think of him...

Yeah, craps all over the 'Trust Paul to not go there!' theory I was beaten over the head with when I complained about the long-term ramificatinos of the mindwipe earlier.

He's definitely 'going there.' I don't think he would have bothered dedicating an issue of Adventure to it, if it wasn't going to mean something.

Other thoughts;
Interesting that Brainy's force field belt can extend a force field around someone else. (The xeno on pages 12 and 13.) I think that's the first time I've seen him do that to someone who wasn't in the same force field as he was.

Hey, check out the piping on Batman's new costume on page 14! All he needs to do is go sleeveless and he's an honorary Legionnaire!

Hmm. Ayla gets munchies after sex? Ahem.

And in the same-sex shenanigans front, Mon-El went to hang out with Polar Boy on Tharr, and now the two of them are vacationing together on Daxam? Not the rebound choice I was expecting from Mon-El...

Brainy is exposing cockroaches to weird energies he found on Avalon? Oh Brainy. Tainting cockroaches with the power of Darkseid? I expect better from you, Mad Scientist Lad. Save time and crossbreed them with Tenzil Kem and then feed them a Miracle Machine.

And the Academy. Montauk Point is purdy.

Comet Queen. Like, gag me with a space-spoon, totally. Hasn't she already used her comet gasses to smother a fire before? Did she forget how to do that? Isn't one eccentric quirky exuberant annoying-as-hell Quislet enough?

Chemical Kid. Why is this not AU / reborn Condo? I mean, really. I like the costume, and I'd love to see a good exploration of the powers (having once written a two page list of ways that Condo's power could be used in a superhero game), but a different Phloni mutant with the same power just feels like someone heard my cry for raw meat and handed me a tofu burger. No matter how it's sculpted, it's not what I was asking for, and when I want tofu, I don't want tofu pretending to be meat. Go long or go home! Heck, go Ferro Lad and have him be Condo's never-before-mentioned younger brother Timeshare Arlik. That's cheap, but at least not this cheap!

Gravity Kid. Sure is a daring costume choice he made there. That would have made an interesting tweak of Star Boy's origin, having his super-strength and invulnerability back in the old days be a result of gravity manipulation. Between Star Boy and Light Lass (and, to a lesser extent, Blok), people who can manipulate gravity / increase their density aren't exactly in short supply. I think I like his attitude more than his powers (sniping at Dragonwing for showing him up, which, from a Legionnaire perspective, would be outrageously out of line, but from the standpoint of a teen student, seems entirely in-character).

Variable Lad. Someone said Deus Ex Machina Lad, and that's what these sorts of characters turn into. Let me spin the H-Dial and turn into someone with the exact power we need to deal with this situation! I do like that a member of Gym'll's race was presented as a cadet. That's cool, I'm just not in love with his Nemesis Kid-esque squiffily-defined powers. Didn't we just retcon Tyroc's powers because they were squiffy? Do we need more squiff? Why do I keep saying squiff, anyway?

Plus, like Earth-Man, I'm not delighted by characters whose entire schtick is borrowing / duplicating the powers of others, and, hey look, first thing Variable Lad does is turn into Brainiac 5! Boring. We already have one of those...

Dragonwing. Her visual makes me gasp, it's so amazing. She looks something you'd see in a Top Cow book (Spirit of the Tao, particularly). Wow. Totally distinctive and exciting and, I fear, so hard to draw that she'll have to change into something less complicated for the artist to render on a regular basis... Even her *hair* (which I also like) is going to be a pain to draw. With a name like 'Dragonwing,' I wonder if she also has some sort of innate flight power, as well. Fire breath is neat. Making it green, evocative of Fire (from the JLA), is intriguing. Acid venom, 'though? Yikes.

Karate Kid as some sort of 'eternal champion?' Hmm. Jury remains out on that concept. Certainly would make mastering every martial art in the galaxy a little more realistic as a life-goal, if one is going to keep reincarnating and coming back...

Those three sticks mean something. Some sort of I Ching thing that I'd know about if I wasn't such a Philistine.

The gray alien face between the Sensor Girl and Karate Kid symbols? I got nuthin.'

Background pictures of Crystal Kid, Power Boy, Urk, Flotsam & Jetsam, Visi-Lad, Nightwind, Lamprey, Westerner, and, uh, big bearded dude and some chick with a target on her chest (is that Mandalla? I've never seen her, so I have no idea). Very cool. They still exist, even if I might not get to see them in action for awhile!

This is the first Legion issue that's got me really excited. It shouldn't have taken to issue 6 for me to get here, but I'm here now, so it's all good.

I forgot to say I really hope Marte Allon gave Yera the brisket recipe. Another "shocker" we can see coming a mile away. (Oy vey.)

I believe Marte Allon is the one behind the Durlans

Did anyone notice the Allon table was set for three? The dialogue seemed to imply that the family had suffered some loss. Did Gim's dad die and I missed it? Or is it something that happened during the "new gap"?

I was wondering the same thing rouge. Did Gim's Dad die, or maybe he and Marte divorced?

Maybe it's nothing and he's just off planet or something.

Oooh! What a great idea! What a way to get her digs in on the in-laws!

I took Cosmic Boy's memory gaps to be due to the Timetrapper's manipulations and all the crisis/reboot nonsense and the possibility that he will still become the Timetrapper someday. . .

Dear Set, I love your reviews. Hugs, rhino

Hey! Everybody shut up about Comet Queen. Her existence is one of the things that got me to buy some really old issues of Tales of the Legion when I was, like, in elementary school.

So SHUT UP!

Okay so I'm totally kidding. I'm just in a good mood and feel like acting a little dumb.

BTW, was that Mentalla's statue in the hall of fallen Legionnaires? I thought it was another Duo Damsel one.

Like a few others mentioned, I thought it was odd to see Comet Queen (and a few others) still in the academy, much less a member of the "new class"... reminds me of the TV show "Fame"... maybe she had to start back as a "freshmen" after leaving the academy to join the new Legion of Substitute Heroes back in LSH annual #3... regardless, I'd rather see more of the new cadets...

I agree. This is the first issue where everything came together. If they can stay on this path, I predict good things.

Portela solo is an improvement over sharing the work with Cinar. Portela has a bit more flair. Maybe if he inked Cinar's work?

Jimenez introduced some visually stunning designs for the Legion Academy. Too bad the Legion looks like they are in Silver Age hand-me-downs. This needs to be fixed.

Finally, a break from all the Green Lantern nonsense! It was bad enough that Legion seemed to be the guest-stars in Legion of 3 Worlds, but I've really grown tired of too much GL stuff in the Legion series.

And then there's Earth Man. I guess Paul chose to use him as a way of bringing in people who liked Geoff's Legion arc in Action Comics, but I think he's getting way too much spotlight-- especially when several characters are still MIA.

I loved the unexpected return of Val Armorr.

I just thought about another possible LSH conflict. We were briefly introduced to a "Karate Kid III" type character at the end of Legion of Three Worlds series. Now we see the "return" of Val Amorr (from which reality...who knows). what sort of issues is this going to cause when/if these two meet up. I got the feeling that the one introduced in Legion of Three Worlds is arrogant and self absorbed, much like Myg was when he was first introduced. It will be an interesting dynamic to say the least!

hmmm I am gonna tell Paul Levitz that he really wrote Brainiac 5 the wrong way...in fact, it is so OUT of characteristics of B-5 when he "cringed" or "afraid" of him....in fact B-5 should have expected that SpaceMan would figure out eventually and congratulated him to figure out and will continue to monitor his behavior no matter what. thats how B-5 should be written like. Look at Vril Dox...and Brainiac....both of them would not be afraid of Kurt...geez. I am so much disappointed.

did someone invite Paul L over here and let him read our feedback? hmmm...

And also...
wow...Legion Academy ......LOVED IT....but Gravity Kid....gahhhhh - I can predict that his costume will be the ones most talked about since Cos's infamous black corset. LOL!

absolutely love Dragonwind...but sure wish to see Xao, April, and Danielle....sigh. someday perhaps.

young Karate Kid? hmmm...I am not sure but I am holding my judgement. hmmm...now that's interesting.

so glad to see Vi and Ayla together...and they will be appear in the Annual fighting Em Empress. hmm...gonna be cool.

so no XS? no Starman? no Night Girl? is Paul trying to copy a pattern from Adv. Comics where Matter Eater Lad, StarBoy, and Phantom Girl has been absent for one year? hmm.. *rubbing chin*

Ok, another subplot from the latest issue of LSH came to mind. I thought that Brin and Ayla were back together...at least that's what the Legion of Three Worlds series led us to believe anyway. So is she seeing both Brin and Salu or what?

I haven't been this excited about the Legion in years, hence my multiple postings. Anyway, I was disappointed when both Myg and Rond Vidar were killed off...two of my three favorite characters. I hope we get to see Grev Mallor soon and he deserves more than "Substitute Legionnaire" status after all of these years! He has the warrior skill and attitude to be a full fledged Legionnaire like his Cousin Tasmia (although in some incarnations she was protrayed as an older Sister). I don't remember if his "arranged marriage" on Talok VIII was pre or post Magic Wars...but it would be interesting to find out if any heirs came of that. Now that I think of it, I think that marriage came atfer.

Although it was stated that all continuity up until Magic Wars is intact, I don't think Levitz necessarily meant that EVERYTHING post Magic Wars is excluded. which means there's hope for a lot of good subplots that occurred during that time.

Can't wait to see what tore apart Rokk and Lydda and did they marry as in the post Magic Wars years? I guess we will eventually find out. Wow, there is just so much going on behind the scenes and I can't wait!

Now *that* would actually be a cool development.

rhino hugs get me through the week, right back atcha!

Ayla and Vi were just very close friends before Magic Wars --- so I assume that still applies.

While I'm getting the 'just friends' vibe, with the hand on the hip being a little 'easter egg' for those who remember them being more than friends in another continuity, it would certainly make sense for Winathians, already described as have some sort of dual marriages between twin-couples, in at least one continuity, being a bit more prone to 'double-dipping.'

Ayla + Brin + Vi would be amusing, and, if this model of Winathian dating holds up, it would be even more funny in regards to the current Garth + Imra + Rokk shenanigans. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to date Rokk, too, honey? We can just add him to the marriage..."

Ultimately the decision about who Ayla will end up with falls on Paul to decide, and I think he might keep us guessing a bit longer with this one.
Just a hunch.
Personally I agree with you Set about Ayla and Vi being just friends now, but we'll see.

So I'm assuming that Legion Annual #1 takes place on Imsk.

I'm just thinking off the top of my head here, but actually it's not out of character for Brainy at all, necessarily. There have been situations in the past where Brainy has been deferential and obsequious toward a villain... and it's always been when Brainy's got whoever it is right where he wants them. So if that pattern holds, then maybe some tables are about to be turned.

Like when? I'm drawing a blank.

^^^^One occasion that springs to my mind is the confrontation with the Time Trapper, just before he sicced the Infinite Man on him. Brainy was all "waah you're so cosmic and better than me" then BLAMMO! with the conflicting time theories!

well ... i really hope B5 does put the smack down HARD. and Earth Gov while he's at it.

I was just glad that Garth and Imra are going off-panel for awhile. Cos is stepping down as leader too. Now if only Brainy would take an extended trip to Colu or something, I would be happy. I really want to see other members shine.

Either that, or he was momentarily shocked, but he'll get over it.

Ah, the sweet, sweet sound of "canon repair."

Neither grouping is my primary OT3 of choice, but I'd read either, if the creative team handled them well. Sadly, that's an awfully big "if."

[snip]



Sorry. That needed to be let out in the worst way. [clears throat] Carry on, Fans.

There there. There there. Let it out.

[snif!]

<span style="font-size: 10px;">Thank You.</span>

Quote

Originally posted by Matthew E:
There have been situations in the past where Brainy has been deferential and obsequious toward a villain... and it's always been when Brainy's got whoever it is right where he wants them.

He WAS awfully quick with that replacement ring!
lol
"Oh, right, I just happen to have a new ring for you in my pocket, here."

Since the Magic Wars happened as Paul said and has now shown, Amethyst is out there waiting to be retrieved!
I wonder if it will be Mysa, who's already got too much power or if it will be someone else this time?

Everyone's made such interesting points and comments.
I don't know if I can add anything of interest.

I DO agree that I don't want Wolf to be like Wolverine, but I would like him to be more like his namesake, which isn't new information from me, but I think that being wolf like is very different from being wolverine like, although the names have the same root source, I think. Wolverine means little wolf, doesn't it?

I don't think that Brin would fit in to a Winathian society, especially if he's more 'wolfish'.
He's definitely an alpha and they like to be in control, even if he ISN'T wolf like.
I'd like Levitz to take this opportunity to switch up a few couples besides the ill considered Tasmia and Lar.
Brin works much better with Dawnstar, I think, and Ayla is better off with Salu, imo.

Wildfire needs an energy based girlfriend, or someone who won't get hurt by his fire - perhaps this new cadet, Dragonwing, for example.
Or perhaps, Comet Queen.
That's if the annoying ratio wouldn't fly off the charts with the two of them together!

Speaking of the cadets, they aren't redundent because they're sort of the next generation of Legionnaires, aren't they?
They can replace the older Legionnaires as they retire or take leaves or whatever.

And I was hoping to see Computo, Catspaw and Kid Quantum II as newbies.

And this isn't 'years' later for the cadets, it's just decades later for us.
They're in the Baxter years, so while they might have been branching out to the Subs or something, they're still okay in the Academy, aren't they?

I wish that DC would do Archives on all of those issues so that we had the stories from this era to look at, to refresh our memories and to consider what makes sense now and what doesn't.

And I certainly hope that Levitz doesn't make Rokk the Time Trapper!
ugh
I'd much rather it was Glorith than Rokk.

And I remember looking forward to Rokk's and Lydda's baby being born.
It was during the era of the Lords of Order and Chaos.
TMK had all of these hints and little symbols running through the parts of the story where their baby was concerned and I was so hoping that the baby would be a Lord of Order.
sigh

It was like when the reboot seemed to be grooming Dirk to be a fire elemental like Firestorm.
I was so excited about that possibility, too.
But both boots ended and nothing came of the possibilities.

Paul certainly has a lot of wonderful possibilities to play with, that's for sure.
Whether he uses any of that wealth is just a certainly up to him.
sigh

And I, personally, don't think that Querl was ashamed or worried about controling EM's mind.
Dox's, in general, don't seem to have that kind of capability - remorse or empathy.

And on Chemical Kid, I think he looks a LOT like my Adam Lambert Condo in Bits . . .!
Kewl!

He also looks rather Asian in origin and maybe he's not just a Condo replacement, but perhaps he's this boot's Dragonmage.

Was this the first time Computo was shown in the new series?

Anyway, it's the first time I noticed Computo in the new series.

Just read LSH #6 - LLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVEDD IT! Definitely the best issue yet. Probably the best comic named Legion of Super-Heroes I've read since... Legion of the Damned. Somewhere around there at least.

I don't know if I'm even going to be able to remember all the things I loved about this issue -

* Portela's artwork - is incredible! He cannot leave this book! Everything he does is on point - facial expressions, costumes looking good, action, different body language and positions, architecture, backgrounds, futuristic looking equipment and rooms, spaceships, futuristic looking clothing, hair... I could go on and on. But I am going to single out three fantastic things that Portela did this issue that you would not see from 99% of other artists -

1. Look at the floor-rugs in the Allon's home. Just look at them! How intricate and detailed are they!! How many artists do you see going to that much effort for a quick throwaway scene like that one? Amazing.
2. Brin and Kirt's take-down of that ship - I could almost literally feel the movement coming off the page as they flew past it, grabbing the wings and pulling them off. Fantastic sequence that could have been completely pedestrian in another artist's hands.
3. The copycat panel of Tinya imitating Tasmia's explanation of why she slept with Kirt. Inspired! Using the same 'camera' angle and same body position in the two panels with only Tinya's mimicing face the difference brought that scene to life. How many other artists are out there being as creative as that? Fantastic.

Francis Portela is a future comics super-star (or at least he should be). IMO we should be very grateful for however long we hold onto him (which I hope is a LOOOOOONNNG time).

* I loved seeing Kirt bully and intimidate Querl like that! Brainy has been elevated to near omnipotent levels by some writers (and fans) over the last few years. He is not indestructable and can still be taken by surprise. This more human/vulnerable Brainy is a thousand times more interesting to me than the old one.

* I also really liked the 'personality enhancements' in Kirt's ring as being a possible explanation for his conversion. Or possibly not? Keeps the mystery of whose side he's really on going. I like that. I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed Kirt's storyline in this book. I am still desperately hoping to see a smack-down between he and Troy though. That's been a long time coming.

* The Karate Kid scene - shocked me! I had glanced through this thread before reading this issue and spoiled myself to a couple of the events within it - but that one came as a total surprise. It's also doubley-surprising because I thought Paul (and pretty much every writer at DC) would probably want to wash their hands of that excreable Countdown series (and everything that happened in it - which Val's return and death were obviously a big part of) and we'd never see mention of it again. Yet here he (or someone like him) is again! VERY intrigued by this sub-plot.

* The colourist got Jeckie's hair colour right! YAY! Next stop Nura! And Dirk! And Ayla! And...

* Phil Jiminez' art was great too. I've criticised his work in the recent past but only because I know how absolutely fantastic he can be (check out his BEAUTIFUL Tempest mini from about a decade ago). But he really was wonderful here. His Luornu was gorgeous! (I wish she'd kept her cape though.)

* Speaking of whom - GREAT to see Luornu back in action! I missed Chuck though. But now I'm starting to really wonder if my Chuck as Green Lantern theory is going to come true. (I was the first to guess that, right?) I still love him as Bouncing Boy but since we're probably never going to see that again ( ) I'm actually getting really excited at the prospect of him as a Green Lantern. We'll see.

* The new recruits (and Comet Queen :rolleyes: ) - all looked fab. I can't help but feel this was a missed opportunity to introduce some more a) female characters, b) Earth-racial-minority characters, and c) non-humanoid characters to the Legion-verse though. I know we got one of each but I would've liked to see more! That said, Dragonwing looked AMAZING! Instantly my favourite. I like Chemical Kid too because of his similarity to the much-missed Condo but jury's out on the other two. Variable Lad's powers bore me and Gravity Kid seems superfluous. Hopefully they can die soon and more interesting characters take their place. Not to mention giving room to see Berta, Jed, et al. Talk about 'Always the bridesmaid, never the bride' When are those characters gonna catch a break?

* Rokk, Imra and Garth all taking a break!?! I approve!

* Poor Pol did die. I liked him but I'm glad to see Paul isn't doing any ret-conning here. P.S. It seemed clear to me that it was his mother's memory/spirit that Rokk was talking to there. Why some readers want to get their knickers in a twist and instantly jump to accusing Paul of senility/needlessly retconning things when there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that panel, I'll never know.

* Finally - no Green Lanterns! YAY!

This book is definitely firing on all cylinders now IMO. I was a little sceptical of Paul being able to match his glory days on this book so many years later but I think I'm a believer now! Can't wait to see where things are headed. Very much looking forward to the Annual too! Vi's hand on Ayla's hip was such a tease! I need to know what's going on between those two now.

That last scene with Imra and Garth telling Rokk that they are headed out, is the first time I've seen Imra with that hair and thought she looked good.

Amazing how a different artist can turn that look around.

With Ayla and Tellus on the team, the team seems covered on those fronts, making it a good time for Garth and Imra to take a break (not that it's ever really lacked for people able to shoot energy blasts...). Both Ayla and (especially) Tellus could use the face time, as well.

THANK YOU!!!!!!

I thought this issue was the best yet, as well. Like Blacula, I'm really quite enamored with Portela's artwork, which I felt outshone even Phil's in this issue. Portela's stuff just breathes and draws you into the story in a way that Cinar's (though admittedly hampered by Faucher's overpowering inks) hasn't so far. If Francis Portela became the regular solo artist, I'd be absolutely in favor of it! (Possibly, he can't produce 20 pages a month, though...)

As for the controversy over the Brainy/Kirt scene and Brainy cowering in it, I like the suggestions that Brainy was merely giving Kirt the reaction that he expected. However, no one has considered that Kirt is the first to really call out Brainy on anything so far in the current series. How many times already have we seen Cos simply roll his eyes when Brainy defies his orders? Maybe Brainy is simply shocked that someone's finally showing some cajones with him and seriously calling him out for something he did? The other characters really seem to keep him at arm's length no matter what Querl pulls, and suddenly we have someone getting in his face about something!

At times, Brainy shows autistic traits in his current incarnation (and there's precedence in prior ones), and they can be especially adverse to confrontation and physical invasion of their space (trust me, I have some firsthand experience there). But whatever explanation you buy, it's good to see that haughty veneer pentrated just a bit for once. I'm not a huge Earth-Man fan, but it's nice to see someone take Brainy down a peg!

Lots of other stuff I liked and thought about but not much else to add at the moment to what's already been posted by others.

P.S. I find the running cockroach gag pretty funny, personally.

Picked up my pull today at the CBS.

Haven't read anything yet but thought I should note this is the only Lee cover that got put in my pull of all 6 (and there were still a few copies of the standard cover on the shelf), which says to me demand for this series is DOWN.

I agree.

Of course, taking a leave of absence from the team doesn't necessarily mean we won't still see them. Hopefully less, but I don't think Paul will still check in on them occasionally.

I do like the idea of the founder and Brainy taking a back seat for the next arc.

I'm not a fan of the new look. I can understand the desire to shift away from the split look she wore ever since the 1970s, but this is another design that is too close to the Silver Age version for me.

I think any costume she's worn since the Silver age would be better than this.

I wonder if Portela could become the full-time inker and part-time penciler. That way he and Cinar could share pencilling duties -- and Francis's embellising could pull the artwork together. But hey, if Portela could do all the work monthly, I'd be all for it.

It was more her hairstyle and face I was referring to... but I do like her current costume too. Though I concede it is very-much a call-back to her Adventure-era one.

But I like that era and its costumes so I'm cool with it.

I kinda love Lu's funky haircut, with her hair bobbing up and to the side. Her face is drawn very mature as well, which I kind of like.

Her outfit is kinda eh. Not bad, not great. Just there.

I agree about Luornu's new look, hair and costume, I like both. Heck, just having her back, even with this new super SUPER power is enough to make this long-time fan happy!

I agree with CT about Brainy. I think he was more surprised than anything else tha someone would just get in his face that easily.

Liked this issue the best so far...although the Jeckie thing was creepy...in an ewwwwww kinda way.

I just picked up the issue today, and I totally agree it's the best issue so far. This was the Legion I was hoping for - so many characters packed into one issue. The artwork is Fantastic!!

A few comments/predictions:

1) Marte Allon will be threatened by Durlans, but not killed (some Gim/Yera panel time opportunity here).

2) Earth Man vs. Brainy - it occurred to me that maybe Kirt was able to negate and absorb the abilities of his "enhanced flight ring", the same way he absorbed the abilities of Sun Boy and Superboy thru the "Zoraz" costume way back when, and projected some kind of inhibitions on Brainy, which explains why B5 was taken aback so easily. It unconsciously was an empathic attack by E-Man on Brainy.

3) Jo and Tinya just rock together.

4) Maybe Vi and Ayla are just friends? It doesn't always have to be about sex.

5) The academy backup was awesome in every way. This is how backup stories can generate a lot of characterization (and action) in a large format title. The KK revelation, seeing Chemical King, and even the Lightle flying twin fishies was well worth admission price.

6) Prediction - Bouncing Boy is really on a secret Espionage Squad mission! Yeah!

7) Gravity Kid will be more visible than Starman in the Legion title. Maybe Starman has outgrown this title (age-wise) and will remain as a link to the 21st century DC?

8) The new Green Lantern will be Tyroc (complete with new uniform!). He is a legacy; a descendant from GL John Stewart, and will be a much more palatable character for Mr. Levitz with this new power.

[snip]

[blink blink]

I've read this review over and over again now for a few days running, but it's not helping. Were we even reading the same book back then, Tromium?

And... "skankification?"

Seriously?

Though I generally applaud DC's decision to lower all prices across their line to the $2.99 price point, I wish they'd let LSH remain at $3.99 with the extra pages. Issue 6 just shows the potential of this book at 30 pages so well that it's going to be a crying shame. The other extra-length books are hit and miss (mostly miss) with their co-features, but the extra pages and the potential for related backups as we saw this issue is just perfect for a team book with such a large membership!

Oh, well...

CQ says Rokk hasn't been to the academy in parsecs. Isn't a parsec a measure of distance, not time?

Unfortunately with sales lurching downward the way they are, this may be one thing that gets readers back (or new ones on board). Here's hoping anyway.

True.
But, CQ has always tended to talk in that 'valley girl' kind of way, like changing the meanings of words or not actually knowing their meanings or pretending not to know, anyway.
Inside joking, sort of.

Anyway, the 'valley girl' stuff seems dated, to me, but it might be in with the kids, now.
Perhaps, especially, the Japanese/manga/anima crowds.


(Paul might be more with it than we are!)

Yeah. I still don't "get" Comet Queen. I didn't then and I don't now. I guess I was hoping she would have grown up a bit now that a few years have passed. Oh well, I never really cared for her as a character anyway.
Her slang is definately way too dated for my tastes though. It's like she stuck in some retro time paradox or something like that.

WOW. Okay, I will need to go back and re-read everyone else's comments after posting this.

When I set this issue down last night, I was VERY SHOCKED... at how much I *LIKED* it. Far and away the best issue since Paul's return.

This was the first issue that left me satisfied upon completion.

We learn that Earth Man's changes WERE largely due to the flight ring manipulation... and he ISN'T such a nice guy at all (which he shouldn't be)... the Academy story was really good with GREAT ART... and Tenzil and the Legionnaire leader vote page was cute.

I was actually satisfied.

It was good to see Marte Allon, Chameleon Girl, Violet and hungry Ayla...

I liked this issue!

After re-reading the comments, I want to add:

yeah, the KK thing = MAJOR SHOCK and excitement! That came out of left space-field.

re: Brainy cowering... it struck me upon reading that he cowered a bit TOO much but by the time I finished the scene and thought for a moment, I realized-- he never suspected a dimbulb like Absorbancy Boy was going to find out about his master plan or whatever. Brainy... was GENUINELY surprised. And it freaked him out. The scene ultimatley works for me though it may have been portrayed as a SMIDGE over-the-top.

I see I wasn't the only one who felt this issue was the best yet.

I hope things continue to improve.

future king - remember that it really hasn't been a few years, story wise, for them.
For us, yes, but not really for them.

I've always liked CQ as a visual but not really much as a character because she was so specific in her language, appropriate for when she was introduced, but easily and quickly dated, like we've said.

Perhaps, now that she's been reintroduced in the retro boot, Paul will work on maturing her and bring her, like the rest of the Legion, up to date.
It's not just the hardware and techno stuff that have aged.

And about KK, someone here DID suggest that he should or would be treated like a Resurrection Man or someone of that nature, I think I might be paraphrasing.

It's a good idea, except, does he mature each time he's brought back and then, brought back at the age that he last died?
Or is it an eternal youth kind of thing?

I certainly prefer the former.
I'd feel very sorry for Jeckie if he always comes back at the same age as she met him, or like one of those 'there can only be one' guys and he never ages past the first time he was killed!

Fortunately, she could project a glamour to appear the same until she died but it would still be very difficult to deal with.

Looking over issue six again, I'm struck by how much I prefer Cinar's art to Portela's, from the first half.

Although, from the Academy section, I like Jiminez more than either of them!

Dragonwing's look still blows me away!

I kind of dismissed the Tenzil appearance at the end, but looked at it a little more closely this time and noticed that Polar Boy had a lot of election posters up (and Sun Boy had one), suggesting that maybe Paul hoped to do some more with that Polar Boy-as-leader thing he had going on all those years ago, with Deputy Dirk.

*If* he was hoping to plant the notion in the reader's heads of Polar Boy as leader with those posters, it sure doesn't seem to have had much influence, from the 'exit polling' I've seen...

Loved #6! My favorite issue so far. Lots of character scenes, Paul cleared up a lot of inconsistencies and we got to see several old friends (yay Marte Allon!).

Between this, Adventure and Supergirl Annual, I got three Legion comics in one trip to the CBS. I haven't been this enthusiastic and excited about the Legion since *I* was a teenager.

I like that Paul quasi-addressed the Karate Kid dangling plotline, since he obviously feels like we all do--that's it was a bunch of crap that Johns and Metzer threw in because they were smoking space weed.

I really liked the Tinya/Shady scenes.

Love that Ayla and Vi were obviously together in that scene but it's still up to interpretation.

Glad to see Gigi continue to be used as one of the to sci-cops.

The Academy sequence was awesome to see. Jimenez is just one of those artists born to draw the Legion. I hope he is the Legion Academy artist.

Luornu's new costume may be my favorite for her EVER. I wish some better explanation for her powers was used--perhaps the one Eryk and I speculated on in the continuity thread involving the Lu of the threeboot?

With the statues: are they all identifiable? I'll have to read through this thread to see if one of Legion World's posters were brillaint enough to list them all.

Having re-read the thread, I have 2 more comments:

- First, I thought the Karate Kid stuff was pretty vague and unclear. In other words, there is a chance that Val isn't actually back?

- Chemical Kid looked like he was drawn as Asian by Phil. Did anyone else catch this?

I did.

^ It was alluded to by me somewhere in my long post too.

That's the impression I got, and I think the scene in the memorial room (or whatever) was meant to quiet speculation on who is or isn't dead.

"The Eternal Champion" is a concept I first read about in Michael Moorcock's fiction, and Paul may be going for something similar here.

ill be happy to have Val back in the legion...i dont care about death being permanet in comics...death's perm in the real word let comics be a fantasy.

I agree as long as it doesn't keep happening again and again for the same character, which is the case here. That gets a little tiresome, imho.

If there's a good story behind it (as Paul suggests this issue), I'm all for it.

Has the obvious not been mentioned about the so-called return of Karate Kid? Could this not be some elaborate hallucination conjured up by Jeckie? Creating illusions is her power, after all. I'm feeling shades of Scarlet Witch's non-twins all over again.

They've done that with her a couple of times before, so it would be kind of redundant, but I hope you're right, because as I said I'm tired of KK being killed and revived repeatedly.

I for one am very happy that Val Armorr is back and will be bummed out if he turns out to be just an illusion.

Noone on here would be happier to see Val return than myself. He is the first, true Karate Kid, but I'm tired of him being killed and brought back also.
If he does come back I agree that it should be the final time as it would start to get a bit cheesy after that.

Bringing him back in a clever way that would be "believable" is the tricky part though.
I certainly don't want it to be someone new. It's just my own preference as I am a fan of the original. Having him have amnesia would be ok too. That would leave the door open to him becoming his own person again and forging new friendships/relationships instead what the fans, including myself, might want.

maybe KK will come back, dump Jeckie, and start dating Earth-Man.

If he does come back, I think they need to establish that he has Immorto's power.

Speaking of Earth Man. If he's staying with the Legion, I think he needs a new name and a new costume. It would help disassociate him from his former villainous ways and besides, his name should be more descriptive of his powers. His current name speaks of his prejudice against aliens. Leach springs to mind. Not a very complimentary name, but since I don't care for the character, it works for me.

Well, he could always reclaim "Absorbancy Boy"!

And he needs to shave off those "Banshee" sideburns

Maybe Val Armorr is the current (future?) incarnation of Immortal Man from a handful of issues of Strange Adventures in the mid-60s. Assuming Paul Levitz had access to the same comics I did at that age, he probably remembers at least one of IM's appearances. The only problem is that IM "erased himself from all existence" during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, since many other things that were eliminated during the crisis have since returned, why not him as well?

EM = Grab & Take

Not touching that one.

Oh I know, for a new codename, how about KickedOffTheTeam Lad?

Works for me!

This is an extremely bad idea, for the same reason as lots of other fan pet theories are a bad idea: the theory never works 100% and always requires explaining away discrepancies, and perhaps more importantly, the cumulative effect of lots of these things over the years makes a series impossible to understand.

I greatly enjoyed this issue as well. I liked the confrontation between Earth Man and Brainy. I seem to remember lots of those confrontation moments in the past in the Legion, and this was a good one. And no one got slapped! I loved, loved the delicious ambiguity of the Vi/Ayla page! You KNOW Levitz is f^@&ing with us! I thought the Karate Kid thing was totally out of left field, but that's OK with me for now. Maybe Levitz is just f^@&ing with Giffen, which is as noble a use of comics panel space as anything I can think of. I liked the scene with Imra and Garth. It makes sense what they are doing, and why. I like that their relationship is difficult, but rewarding for them. I'm intrigued about the Tibetan Plateau exclusion zone. What's shaking in Lhasa? I figured, from Saturn Queen's earlier discussion of self-immolation and funeral pyres, that the Titanians were descended from Buddhists. I wonder if their ancestors REALLY cam from Tibet, though. They sure don't LOOK Tibetan. I bet they are really descended from Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford, but consider Tibet their spiritual homeland (and things can get very scrambled after 1000 years).

I get what you're saying but I don't know that it always is true.

Ras Al Ghul(sp?) keeps coming back using his Lazarus Pit.
Vandal Savage is immortal. I don't know if he dies and comes back or not.

'The Highlander' was a pretty successful series about dying and coming back.
So is the BBC series 'Torchwood', who's main character dies and comes back over and over, forever.
As does 'Dr. Who', in a different way, of course.

The Wanderers have a character who dies and comes back, Immorto (I forget his newer name.)

I think that that scene was pretty much Jeckie and her powers, but Paul might have something else in mind.
That's Paul, not us disgustingly sentimental and crazy fanboys/girls.

It certainly wouldn't be the first time in literature, would it?
There's quite a few very successful and non-confusing 'returning from the dead' storylines, actually.

Well, again I thought this issue was very entertaining, the guest artists being quite good and the two stories providing a nice breather after the ton of action those first five issues.

Still some questions remain:

1) The Sensor Girl sequence - coming out of the blue - what did it signify?
2) Why do Mon-El and Polar Boy stay on Daxam (except for the reason to minimize the cast)?
3) Where is Element Lad?
4) If Levitz really was saying that L3W is not Legion canon, why taking over one of its most dumb stints - Duplicate Damsel???

2) probably exactly as you say. That's a classic Levitz taking someone off camera for a few issues. The implication is Mon is down after Shady & his split so he's hanging with Brek to try to get himself cheered up. I don't think there's much more to it than that.

Just read it - I didn't think that was the real Karate Kid, figured it was a new person who's taking on his name, since he was at the Academy.

Jeckie with the bloody shirt - creepy! If KK is some illusion she's conjured up, as Saturn Girl did in Legion Lost, that's even creepier! (I hope it's just a new Karate Kid.)

Was that a Starro ornament in Yera's hair?

Loved Dragonwing's look but not her personality.

I'd expected more criticism of Shady sleeping with Earth Man - maybe in future issues. Tinya just shrugged it off as something foolish. Could Saturn Girl have tweaked everyone's mind to lessen their anger towards him, so the team could function better?

Great story, lots going on.

I am glad to see the Legion Academy.

I will admit to possibly being over-pessimistic in the past.

http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?messageID=2005944749&#2005944749

Unnecessary speculation:

Condo Arlik was a "marvel"-like mutant.

Perhaps Chemical Kid is a "marvel"-like clone.

Heh, a 'Chemical Clone Saga' could be terri-riffic, depending on how it shakes out.

Who better to be a test tube baby, than a human catalyst?

Perhaps there is an evil company on Phlon that is causing mutations in the children and Condo was just the first.

Chemical Kid is possibly training at the Academy so he can go back to be the new Erin Brokovitch and bring them to justice.

LOL

Yeah but... Mon and Brek??? The combination seems odd to me. I hardly remember them ever entertaining a big friendship. But it#s been some years since i last read v3, so my memory might fail me.

Levitz generally does not seem too prone to handle Polar Boy right now. Since he took over, Brek was hardly ever seen...

Mon and Jo would've been more natural, but since Mon/Shady & Jo/Tinya were so into double-dating and hanging out together, it might be a little more awkward with the status quo having been changed. Maybe Mon never had much of a friendship with Brek before, but they just kind of clicked together when Mon went to pick him up.

I like that new friendships between longtime Legionnaires can pop up after a while when they hadn't been before. Sometimes, this happens in real life, ya know? And with the traumatic split with Shady, it makes perfect sense for this to happen.

Perhaps Mon & Brek are having a casual fling. Mon is on the rebound, after all.

They did meet on Tharr, and then decide to go to Daxam together. That's got gay space cruise all over it! (Unless they invited Brek's Tharran girlfriend, too, and made it a polyamorous space cruise!)

Or maybe they got kicked off of Tharr, because they were steaming up the place, and had to go back to Mon's place.

"Polyamorous Space Cruise." The 31st century revival of "Love Boat."

^If that's true, I guess Shady sensed Mon's latent gayness and decided to dump him proactively!

Poor Brek. Dumped by Sun Boy, being used by Mon-El.
When he comes back to Earth, he'll end up running tearfully into Element Lad's arms or something!

i really wished that had gone into detail of what caused Mon & Shad to break up? but since it seems like Shady is kinda the teams bicycle since Brainy, Superboy, Mon-el and now Earthman has had a ride on her. i guess she'll dump Earthman as soon as he shows signs of him getting intouch of his feminine side.

I personally think it will be revealed that Mon was with Polar Boy helping him get a new, organic arm (Daxamite cloning technology maybe?).
I think that's why Mon met up with him on Tharr and took him to Daxam.

Oh, I bet you're going to hear about it for that post! Brainy and Superboy never laid a finger on her anyway.

Ooh, I do remember Daxam being mentioned as having some decent medical technology, way, way back in the day. (Granted, it's a culture that was producing interstellar spaceships 1000 years before Earth, so it should probably have some decent technology...)

That's a cool idea!

Isn't that what they sent Mon to do in #1? Take Brek to Daxam to regrow his arm?

And yes, Daxamites are established as experts in biotech way back in the early Adventure era. Though one would think tracking down Zan Orbal would be the most efficient route to arm-regrowth.

Nightcrawler, I hate to be a broken record, but I really <span style="font-size: 16px;">really <span style="font-size: 18px;">really</span></span> want that smilie that depicts oneself beating one's own head against the wall.

Now moreso than ever.

Some days on this board I seriously doubt my commitment to the First Amendment.

:rolleyes:

okay,..would anyone take offense to me calling Sunboy a manwhore???

Wake me when that kind of thing happens to the degree that it's happened with Shady since the book got re-launched.

Four love interests in a character's entire career hardly makes her the Whore of Babylon, for pity's sake. Especially since in some cases the interest was more or less one-sided.

When was Superboy a love interest of Shady's anyway? I missed that.

I was wondering that myself, Jim.

[snip]

Re-reading this issue again today, along with the preview blurb about the Annual, it suddenly hit me:

I wonder if Ayla is pregnant with Brin's kid? I might be reading too much into the fact that she had a mouthful of food, and Vi being so protective of her with the hand on her hip and all...

Anyway, it's a long shot, and if the Annual preview blurb referred to that, it would point towards her miscarrying in the battle with the Empress. "She [the Empress] devastates the Legion so completely, one Legionnaire will never be the same!"

So I hope I'm reading it all wrong.

Quote

...So I hope I'm reading it all wrong.

Wow. That is some good observation. It certainly would be a first for the Legion if something like that took place.