I didn't think it would get worse, and yet here we are... it's Titans/Legion Universe Ablaze #3 & 4

Okay, so I was hoping that this diversion into this prestige format mini-series would be a nice change of pace and we'd have a little fun.

Sadly, I was wrong.

To recap, some of the Titans are dead, some have been frozen for 1,000 years and are now awake and working for Universo in the 30th Century. Even though they were outnumbered and under mind control, the Titans were able to easily defeat the Legion at almost every turn. And the end of the 2nd issue, Saturn Girl rescued Starfire, who somehow broke Universo's control of her, and they were both captured by Blackfire... who apparently has lived for over 1,000 years...

Yep, this didn't make sense to me either.

Universe Ablaze #3 

Once again, we get a 5-page recap/flashback to start the issue. It's easier for me while writing these, but it seems like Dan Jurgens is just padding this story to the outermost limits. Omen is reliving everything that occurred, realizes that she's the reason Nightwing died when she distracted him, and is then interrupted by a very Asian-looking Universo.

Do I need to point out why having an Asian villain with pointy ears is bad?

He's nice enough to brag about his successes, bringing us even further up to speed - they've "liberated" numerous planets, such as Braal, Winath, Cargg, and Orando. But what he doesn't have is a computer access code that is on the Hydra computer on Winath.

So if you can explain why there's a supercomputer on a farming world that's not at the center of anything in the U.P., you have a better understanding of this comic than I.

To continue with the "nothing makes sense here" motif, Universo then says he'll send his agents to Winath to get the code. Last page he said they had taken over Winath. So why does he need to send agents? Is anyone paying attention to anything here?

To Blackfire's ship we go, where the two Tamaranian sisters are playing games. We learn that it's been two weeks since Starfire and Saturn Girl were captured by Blackfire and they're just... hanging out and playing games? Oh, and can someone tell me how tall Starfire is supposed to be? Because Jurgens is drawing her like she's a WNBA player.

In two panels, they're able to explain how she's still alive after 1,000 years - genetics (Tamaranians live a long time) and a bargain with the H'san Natall. Blackfire can also fly now, so I guess that's good...

Saturn Girl interrupts to let everyone know Universo has taken over another planet, Kathoon, and then Blackfire makes the big reveal - she's the commander of a gigantic fleet of warships that is hiding in unexplored space. But Blackfire has promised that she won't resort to military force to take back Earth - they have to do things the Legion way. The don't know if any Legionnaires are still alive, and Universo is literally taking control of trillions of people who will fight to the death for him, but yes, Saturn Girl, let's not use the military. Such a dramatic shift from what we just saw in Legion Lost.

To Winath we go, where Live Wire, Spark, and Cham are trying to get the access codes before Universo does. The Flash is waiting for them but two blasts of lightning take him out amazingly quickly. Is this like how in professional wrestling the two combatants trade wins before the big pay-per-view? Wow - this was anticlimactic. Oh - shock - the Flash starts vibrating to try to escape before Invisible Kid attaches some device to his head. Brainiac 5.1 (hate going back to that) has built something that disrupts Universo's controls. The Flash puts one on Troia's forehead and we have the beginning of a rebellion.

Does anyone know why the Titans are so easily controlled but the Legion aren't? I mean, wouldn't it make sense for Universo to get control of all the heroes? Is there any logical reason why he took control of the Titans? Couldn't he have just taken control of R.J. Brande and accomplished everything he needed to do?

Omen continues to struggle against Universo's controls and Imra reaches out to her, using a telepathic amplifier, to try to get her to see the truth. Again, how does Universo not notice this?

Staying on Earth, the Legionnaires destroy some ships and Arsenal somehow jumps through one of Gates' teleportation circles, only for Brainy to attach one of his devices to his head. We also see that M'onel is wearing one of them - I guess that's how they hid from Universo. Of course, Saturn Girl and Starfire don't have them, but since they're so far away, who cares, right?

There's a battle in Atlantis and Tempest is causing problems. The Legion is trying to shut down... something... and he's able to defeat all of them. One of the Atlantean creatures (the one Cosmic Boy and Argent met last issue) is able to swim away and because he has psychic powers, he's not affected by Universo... wow... he swims to the cave where Cosmic Boy and Argent have been hiding... so yes, they've been living in the cave for a week with no food or fresh water... or bathrooms... I swear this is just getting dumber and dumber with every page.

Saturn Girl and Starfire arrive on Earth and Imra's telepathically cloaking them from everyone. Once again, she talks about how much she hates reaching into anyone's minds and I keep wondering if there's ever been a character whose personality changes so much from writer to writer. Does anyone actually know who Imra is?

Starfire starts attacking and their cover is gone. While she's destroying everything, Saturn Girl gets into the Satellite Defense System and shuts it down. Which is when Blackfire's warships attack. Surprise, surprise, she's attacking everything, betraying Starfire and Saturn Girl... Does Starfire never learn that she can never trust her older sister?

In a reveal that wasn't surprising in the slightest, Blackfire is working with Universo and Brother Blood. Her destroying parts of Earth are all part of the grand scheme so that she can take it over as the newest version of Tamarand.

Finally, we see that Nightwing's death was the result of being distracted by both Omen and Saturn Girl. Wow... I honestly wasn't expecting this comic to be worse than what came before DnA took over, but this is... just... bad...

Universe Ablaze #4 

Yay! The final issue. On the positive side, this is better than Inferno. On the negative side, I may have to take back all the nice things I've said about Dan Jurgens the writer. As an artist? Still amazing. This is a good looking book. The story, though...

Continuing with the "let's spoil the story before we start reading" front piece, all the deceased Titans are alive again. Wow - why even do this?

We start with the Earth under attack and Brainiac 5.1 telling everyone that the planet will be destroyed if they don't do something. They almost immediately figure out that the plan is for the Tamaranians to take over and make Earth their home and rush off to stop them. Brainy tells M'onel to not hold back - that the universe is on the line. And, of course, Arsenal continues hitting on Triad.

They start fighting the ships over Metropolis, look like they're getting their butts kicked, and Brainy concludes they don't have a chance. The key to the war is somewhere else - Atlantis, perhaps, since it's the only place not being attacked and they've mentioned it a few times.

We watch Nightwing die again, but this time it's Saturn Girl going back through Omen's memories to... I believe they're trying to say that she's gone to the past telepathically. Let me just wrap my head around that bit of idiocy and we'll continue. Imra determines that this is her way to save everything - she'll go back in the past and save the Titans.

Universo and Blackfire come to the cell Saturn Girl and Stargirl are being held in (no idea why they're locked up together), gloat, explain why they're doing what they're doing, and the heroes decide to give up because they're beaten.

In Atlantis, the psychic fish creature, who's now communicating with Argent and Cosmic Boy (no idea why they didn't do this last issue), leads them into the city to rescue the Legionnaires who were beaten last issue. The flirting continues unabated and, to complete Rokk's great timing, he gives Argent a Legion flight ring, telling her she's now officially a member. Why? Why now?

Should I even ask where the two got underwater suits? Or why Rokk had another flight ring? Cause they don't even try to explain it.

Next, we get to see Karate Kid do something that I know other writers have done, but I hate it every single time. He flies onto a huge craft, from which a bunch of attackers will be released. With one touch, he identifies the weakest point on the ship and strikes. Yep, part of martial arts training is to be able to figure out weak points on huge vessels.

The ship blows up in a huge fireball, so I'm guessing poor Val is dead. Or he's killed a huge number of people and he'll be kicked out of the Legion anyway.

An angry Brother Blood goes to get the truth out of Starfire and Saturn Girl. They tell him the truth, that Universo has betrayed him promised Earth to Blackfire. And then Imra uses her powers to get him to free them.

Okay, for those of you keeping score at home, here's what we know about Universo:

• While in prison on Titan, he was obsessed with Brother Blood and desperately wanted to work with him
• Once he escapes and helps Blood take control of multiple planets, he takes control of the Titans because... I'm guessing because it would make Blood happy
• He's able to take over numerous planets while working with Blood
• Then, suddenly, he betrays Blood to work with Blackfire so that she can... kill more people??
• His whole obsession is with killing as many people as he can

Insert your own "this is a bad story" joke...

Brainy finally figures out that Universo has built a huge power augmentation center on Earth. How does he figure it out? He spots it while just glancing over the Earth. He tells Starfire and Saturn Girl right before he's blown up. So, Brainy's dead...

Some of them get to the center, Saturn Girl zaps Universo (again, no idea how) and uses the device to amplify her and Omen's powers. They go back into the past and Saturn Girl is certain it's perfectly fine to change the past to save the future. Now is when I'd argue that the Titans have been frozen for the entire time the Legion existed, so maybe changing this would be a bad idea...

To no one's surprise, Saturn Girl goes back and saves the Titans. They are never killed or frozen. They don't end up in the future, and Saturn Girl and Omen fade out in the time stream. They're also created an absolutely massive time paradox, but let's ignore that.

Everything's back to normal and Universo is back in mind jail. Well, except for Argent waking up with a Legion flight ring that suddenly disappears. She acts like this was all a dream that is gone, like it never existed.

I just wish I could forget this mini-series ever existed.

Can I also just point out how stupid is to have a Titans' story without two of their most popular characters - Nightwing and Cyborg?

The only advice I can give to anyone who's thinking about reading this, please don't. I can't remember the last Legion story that was this horrible. It's insulting to both Legion and Titans fans. On that happy note, let's move on to the part everyone's been waiting for!

Our next Legionnaire in the spotlight... Wildfire!!

If my user name didn't already give it away, Wildfire is my favorite Legionnaire. When I first started reading the Legion, way back in the 80's, he stood out in a way that very few other heroes ever did. Maybe it was because he spoke his mind, even when he was usually wrong, without fear of anyone's opinion. Maybe it was because of his horribly tragic back story and unrequited relationship with Dawnstar. Maybe it was just the cool costume.

• I find it fascinating that Wildfire is the first "Bronze Age" Legionnaire because he's really the first Legionnaire who breaks the mold of everything that had gone on before. When you look at every Legionnaire that came before him, they're all the best-looking people who either were lucky enough to have their powers because they were born in the right place or they gained their powers through some accident that made their lives better. For the most part, the guys all looked the same - square jaw, brown hair, could be substituted for Superboy and no one would notice. Drake Burroughs was completely different. He got powers through a horrible accident that essentially destroyed any chance of having a normal life. I mean, if he didn't become a Legionnaire, what else could he do?
• At the same time I was first getting into the Legion, I was also getting into the X-Men (and had no clue about the similarities). Wildfire is one of the only Legionnaires who would probably fit in better on Xavier's team. He was angsty, badly-tempered, complained about life, and had been dealt a crappy hand by fate. He stood up to authority and questioned things. But at the end of the day, he was a loyal teammate and always fought to help and protect others. He was the Legion's Wolverine in personality. He was the only Legionnaire who had any interpersonal conflict with his teammates, which made him more of a Marvel character at that time. I wonder if that's why so many future Legion writers shied away from him.
• As much as his powers shifted over time, each suit doing something a little different, he was always one of the most powerful Legionnaires. Similarly to Ultra Boy and Mon-El, I liked that they gave him an Achilles' heel - wreck the suit and he's useless. So for all his power and strength, it was meaningless if someone had blasted him.
• Much like what I said about Timber Wolf last week, I will never understand why DC dropped the ball with him as badly as they did. Wildfire could've been another of their keystone heroes - he stands out, he's visually dynamic, he's got a distinctive personality, and he's a hard character to find a doppelganger of. He is remarkably unique regarding his design and powers. More kudos to Dave Cockrum for that.
• Yes, I will admit that his relationship with Dawnstar often ventured into annoying during the Baxter years and was dripping with soap opera melodrama, but they kept doing enough to keep it fresh and change things up. Having Quislet teach him how to make himself solid energy was a unique twist. But when his new energy form was causing Dawnstar pain as he burned her was yet another moment where we knew Wildfire was never going to get his happy ending. The tragedy kept grounding him. They were the star-crossed lovers of the Legion, imperfect but yet a better couple than many of the other pairings.
• One of my greatest annoyances with the Five Years Later Legion was the fact that they were so dead set on never putting him on the team in any way, shape, or form. As I read these issues, wondering where my faves were, I had no idea that there were Legion writers who would purposely ignore or sideline characters because they didn't like them. Or because they were created "too late." I don't know how you create a dark version of the Legion and not include one of their darkest characters.
• Legion Lost finally saw his return and I think DnA added him in a moment of "why has this guy not had a prominent role in almost 10 years?" They threw out everything that had been changed to his character during the PZH Legion (two personalities, etc.) and just went back to the basics. I just wish they had followed the same idea with Timber Wolf. I did like that they reunited him with their version of Dawnstar (Shikari) and kept that friendship going.
• Much like most new versions of Legionnaires in the Threeboot, his change was just badly done and pretty sad for the character.
• The other thing that I never realized until a heard a few interviews with Legion artists was how he was one of their favorites to draw because he was the easiest - not having a face was a blessing for them. Just a compliment to James Sherman here - I loved that he used Wildfire's "face" as a mirror to show the reactions of the other characters.

I could keep going but I'm going to reign myself in here. Thoughts about the Titans/Legion series? Thoughts about Wildfire?

Next week, I'm going to look at the Elseworld series Superboy's Legion. I think I can safely say that it'll be better than what I read this week. And then, another week off (last vacation this year, I promise) and we'll start on Legion Worlds! See you then!