Long Live the Legion

  Adventure Comics #12/515 Welcome back everyone! Last week was one of my best-read articles in a long time, and we got some great comments both here and on Reddit, so I'm hoping this continues this week. Looking at this cover, I'm trying to figure out how long the female Legionnaires can stand in those obviously uncomfortable poses. Can the back really arch that way? Scott Clark is the artist on this one so I'm going to trust his anatomy class taught him this. This issue is brought to you by writer Paul Levitz, penciller Kevin Sharpe, and inkers Marlo Alquiza and Marc Deering. We begin in Smallville in the 20th Century. Judging by the idea that Superboy's tales take place 13 years before current continuity, this would be 1997. Martha and Jonathan are trying to figure out why Clark isn't home. And neither is the costume.  We, of course, know where he is. He's standing in a time bubble with Brainiac 5, excited to learn something new today. We get a great moment w...

Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol 6) #1 Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and didn't spend it, as I did, suffering from the flu that wouldn't go away... We have the latest version of the Legion of Super-Heroes, fresh off their guest appearances in Superman, Action Comics, Justice League of America, Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, Countdown, and the Last Stand of New Krypton (Yes, I'm saying they guest starred in Legion of 3 Worlds - they pretty much just stood around and watched the Teen Titans get resurrected). You would think that interest in the team couldn't be any higher. We're also six years removed from the last Legion first issue - that was the beginning of the Threeboot Legion. We also see the return of much-lauded Legion writer Paul Levitz. Can he bring the magic back to the team, as well as a bunch of new and older readers?   In December 2004, Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 5) by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson, sold 50,694 copies (ranked 25...

Action Comics #889 Does anyone else remember what had been happening in the last issue of Action Comics? It seems like such a long time ago, doesn't it? If my memory is correct, and it often isn't, the reborn Kryptonian god Rao is ravaging through Pakistan and is about to cause a nuclear war. The JSA is trying their best to stop it. Flamebird is fighting to stop someone who wants to date her... I think... And Nightwing has just wrapped himself in demon clothing while stuck in the Phantom Zone. He and his new demon friend emerged to save the day, disarming all the nukes. But looked fairly evil while doing it. Oh, and Lois Lane is somehow smack in the middle of everything. Okay, this is tied into the Last Stand of New Krypton with the flimsiest of strands, but let's wrap this up so no one can say I didn't get through the entire saga. This issue is brought to you by writers Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann, penciller Pere Perez, and inker Bit. We begin in the Daily Planet, ...

  Superman #699 Once again, we recap! Lex Luthor has stolen one of the bottled cities. Supergirl, with the help of Brainiac 5, destroyed Brainiac's ship's core so I guess it doesn't have any power. As happy as I will be when this story is over, the thing I will enjoy the most is not having to type out "Brainiac" over and over and over again. General Zod leads a group of Kryptonians (the Brainiac Revenge Squad) through Brainiac's ship to stop him and get revenge for Kandor being attacked and shrunk... again... The Legion stand around and do a whole lot of nothing. Superboy is trapped inside Kandor. Mon-El is hooked up to some machine and dreaming of being back in the Phantom Zone (okay, more like a nightmare). We've reached part 8 of this saga and it's brought to you by writer James Robinson and artist Bernard Chang. We begin with something I never thought I'd see - Superman and Zod fighting side-by-side against a bunch of drones. The entire Brainia...

    Adventure Comics #10 or 513 Let's recap, as we always do. Brainiac has bottled Kandor again. The Kryptonians within were bathed in red sun energy and have lost their powers. General Zod, the leader of the Kryptonian defences, is happy that happened and seems to think they're ready to defeat Brainiac. Superman, after futilely attacking Brainiac's ship, was blasted with red sun energy and is falling through space towards New Krypton. Mon-El was also defeated and teleported somewhere.  Brainiac 5 has travelled back in time to save Superman's life to protect the future. The Legion, Superboy, and Supergirl spend a lot of time standing around and explaining things when they're trying to save all the bottled cities on Brainiac's ship to make sure they get to their correct planets to ensure the United Planets develops the way it should. Oh, and to save New Krypton. Tellus wants to use his telepathic powers, combined with the telepathic powers of all the Lanothians (...