Legion (5YL) #9-17, Annual #1 - A Tale of Two Legions

Welcome back as we continue the re-read of the 5 Year Later Legion of Super-Heroes, this time focusing on the rebirth of the Legion, lots of flashbacks, and their first real "mission".

Reading the feedback for last week's column was very interesting. I thought I was being positive about the book but, judging from what many people said, I guess it came across very negatively. Or people are very, very protective of this version of the Legion. Which lead to my next thought about the LSH.

The Two Legions.

I've started to contemplate the two versions of the Legion. I'm not talking about the different reboots - I'm talking about the two versions of the Classic Legion. So basically, everything up to the end of 5YL and then into the relaunch in 2007.

The first version of the Legion, which runs from the origin in 1958 up to around 1974, and then the 5YL Legion, is one of odd powers and weird, funny characters. It's the Legion where no member can have the same power, so characters like Matter-Eater Lad and Chemical King get selected but Night Girl, Calorie Queen, and ERG-1 are rejected. The power level of the character, or the usefulness of their powers, are irrelevant. What matters is that they're different. Supporting characters like Proty are introduced and become key to certain stories. Holding lightning rods to revive a dead Legionnaire makes sense. It's fun and campy and I think most Legion writers before 2007 love this version.

The second version of the Legion, which runs from 1974 to 1989, and then the 2007 relaunch, is one where the strength of the characters and their contribution to a team that needs to face tough battles is more important. I would argue that this version starts when writer Cary Bates removes most of the "weaker" members in the span of 12 issues - Bouncing Boy, Duo Damsel, Invisible Kid, and Matter-Eater Lad all disappear quickly. Chemical King really doesn't do anything until his death a few years later. The Science Police become far more important and the "reality" of being an intergalactic super-team moves to the forefront. The only times it gets weird is with the Substitute Heroes, who are played strictly for laughs. Duplicate powers don't matter anymore (so we get two lightning-based members) and I think any Legion writers after 2007 prefer this version.

I think longtime fans drift into loving one of these two versions, depending on how they were first introduced to the team. If, as a child, you read the old Adventure Comics, you probably find yourself loving the strangeness of the older characters. If, instead, you grew up on the 80's comics, you're probably drawn to the more serious version.

Both versions are great, in their own ways, but represent different kinds of stories. And different readers have different reactions to characters they love from their childhoods.

Please remember this when I get to the Matter-Eater Lad issues this re-read. I am someone who grew up on the second version...

 

First, let's talk about the flashback issues: Issue #9 and Annual #1

With the complete re-writing of Legion history courtesy of a Mon-El punch and mystical sacrifice, it just makes sense the creative team would slow down a little to explain what actually happened in the past. First, they show just who Laurel Gand is.

She's basically an amalgam of Mon-El and Supergirl - if that wasn't obvious enough, she's in a version of Mon-El's costume with Supergirl's short skirt.

I really liked the introduction of Laurel Gand and was glad to see that they created their own updated version of Supergirl. One, it's always good to have a super-strong female member of the team who can help them when the battles get really rough. And two, she humanizes Brainiac 5. I know that her value shouldn't come from how she helps other characters, but I think that she's the perfect 'partner' for Brainy. There are certain pairings in the Legion that I feel should exist in any reboot - this is one of them. The fact that she's with Rond Vidar now and Brainy's obsessing over her is a great triangle.

When I was re-reading Volume 3, I often commented on how different the tone and artwork was between flashbacks and the current day stories. This is even more prominent in the 5YL Legion. Paris Cullins is the artist on this book and, although I usually like his work, I really didn't think it worked very well here. I'm not sure why he gave Brainiac 5 such a receding hairline, but that's a small quibble.

LSH Annual #1

Is this the best Ultra Boy story ever written?

I've always thought that Ultra Boy was wasted when he was just penned as "the dumb jock" who punched first and thought much, much later. I think of some of his best moments and I always go back to the idea that he's smart enough to make others think less of him. It's easy to just categorize him as the idiot who got lucky all his life, but he's much more than that.

This annual focuses on, basically, his entire life and how it's been tied to him uncovering Glorith's secret manipulations of the Legion for her own purposes. He's been investigating this for his entire career, playing everything as close to his vest as possible, and hiding the truth from everyone, including Phantom Girl. Considering the only other Legionnaire who uncovered this is Brainiac 5, I think we can safely say that Ultra Boy is one of the smarter Legionnaires.

This issue also, with an almost breakneck pace, rewrites multiple old story lines to fit into the new continuity. Ultra Boy's mission to earn a spot with the Legion now took him back to aid Valor in stopping the Dominators. Brainiac 5's insanity actually came from Glorith messing with his mind.

And the Legion conspiracy now occurred because Glorith murdered the entire planet of Daxam.

So why did Duo Damsel, Brainiac 5, and Saturn Girl get involved with this? It makes sense that Valor and Laurel want revenge. But why the other three? Can anyone explain this?

At the end of the book, we see that Glorith's final revenge on Ultra Boy was to send Phantom Girl back into the past and make everyone think she's dead. Or she killed her. This all depends on which reboot you want to 'believe' here.

In my mind, Tinya Wazzo was sent back to the 20th Century, memory wiped, and I'm just going to ignore every other bad attempt to explain what happened.

 

Let's get back to the regular timeline:

LSH #10

Am I the only one who didn't know that Roxxas is pronounced Ro-Shahs? Not Rock-Sas? I swear, writing this column has taught me so much it's scary.

Let's talk about the costumes.

To be honest, I've always wondered why we don't see anyone in the future wearing non-skin tight clothing. I'm including people who aren't super-heroes. I remember an issue from the early 80's where we meet a bunch of Legionnaires' parents and they're all in amazing shape and dressed in whatever is the 30th Century version of spandex. All I could think was, how many people in their 40's and 50's would dress like that?

So it's nice to see some clothing that actually looks like something an adult would wear.

This also makes this book really stand out, especially as we're entering the 90's and everyone's wearing tons and tons of belts, pouches, and have boots with no feet. If nothing else, I have to admire the creative team for making a conscious choice to create a style for the book. I may not like it all the time (not sure why some characters would dress that way), but I think it's a great way to create a cohesive universe.

The violence in this issue is really shocking, especially after the calm of the beginning. And that's when it works the best. You show these characters relaxed, happy, reunited, and then you blow it all up by having Roxxas almost kill multiple team members. It's a real gut punch to the reader and so incredibly effective.

I remember reading this the first time, seeing Cham take a bullet to the head, and almost dropping the comic into my lap. I couldn't believe they were doing this. The others (Mekt, Bounty, and Celeste) I was less concerned with... mistakenly thinking that Bounty wasn't an important character... but seeing Cham drop was stunning. They had already killed Blok quickly. Could they do it again?

Just when you're getting over the shock, reminding yourself that they won't kill Cham because he's a longtime character and the writers love these old-timers, they blow up Jo and he's gone.

Jaw drops again.

LSH #12

I have had many conversations about super-heroes with friends and family. I'm considered the resident expert on all things cape-related, which usually results in them asking me to explain some of the side characters in a movie or me saying "Do you want me to tell you what's going to happen, or do you want to just enjoy the movie?"

When I try to explain what makes a super-hero, it can be tough to explain, especially in the more cynical world we live in.

But a scene in this comic explains everything.

Jan, Vi, and Ayla are standing over a defeated Roxxas, still suffering from the beating he took at the hands of Jo. The two women comment on how they could just choose to do nothing and let nature take its course. Roxxas would die and they'd be relieved.

And Jan, long the soul of the Legion, says this:

"This isn't about him, or his atrocities. Or even justice. It's about us... and how much of us would die in this room with him."

For all the darkness, for all the tragedies, for all the violence, the Legion is, at its core, a team about making the hard choices that are also the right choices. The easy move is to let him die. The correct move is to save him and take him into custody. It's about being true to the goodness inside them.

Jan, who has more reason than anyone else to let Roxxas die (heck, he tried to shoot him in the early 70's), is the one arguing to save him.

That's a hero. That's a super-hero.

Oh, and the Legion is back! We have uniforms (and a very funny text piece at the end regarding those) and Rokk is the leader. Damn, that feels good to type.

If you have never read this issue, go and do it now. It's one of the best Legion stories ever. Nothing I say is going to do it justice.

LSH #15

Here's a little more conjecture, so bear with me.

To show the team in action, now that the Legion has reformed, the creative team had a great idea to have the Khunds, with the help of Glorith, invade the United Planets and wreak havoc. It would lead to tons of action, lots of character work, and they could re-introduce a few Legionnaires we haven't seen before. They plotted it out for multiple issues and intended it to be an expansive tale.

And then DC told them that with issue #19 they had to crossover with Superman to tie into that character's story where he jumped through different times. At least I think that's what happened. I only read the one issue the Legion appeared in.

So they had to rework the story and cut out tons of stuff. Or just rush through what they had planned.

That's what this three-part story feels like. Rushed.

We also see the first time in this series that a new artist takes over for more than one issue - Brandon Peterson joins the team for four issues. It's his first work for DC and, I know this may sound rude, but I doubt he looks back at this with any fondness. He will go on to become an amazing penciller, but he doesn't get to show off his skills here. It's also a rough transition from Giffen's work, made more so because, up to this point, no one else had drawn the current Legion.

There are some great bits to this story that I wish they had had a chance to flesh out more. For example, we see a new version of the Espionage Squad as Cham, Laurel, and (in a surprise) Vi go to Khundia to figure out where they got the technology they're using. We learn more about Khundian society and the jockeying for power. We get more information about Glorith, propelling her into the role of main Legion villain. I would have liked more of that.

 

Random thoughts from these issues:

• We learn more about our Legionnaires. There are the good ideas, such as Gim Allon now being a member of the SP, or Brin losing his Furball form during a full moon and falling deeper into depression over his changes. And there are the bad ideas, such as Projectra as Queen of Orando, something that really doesn't make sense after her Sensor Girl transformation, or Vi having her leg blown off and replaced by a robot leg, which is somehow able to shrink when she does... for reasons...
• We meet Kent Shakespeare, who really just becomes a prime example of throwing too many new characters into this book and not having the space/time to flesh them out. I'm sure he could've been interesting, especially if they had played up his medical training, or his Superboy origins, but he ended up just kinda falling flat. Especially in his early appearances.
• Celeste Rockfish is a McCauley... and a Green Lantern... kinda. Another new character who gets thrown into the mix and then kinda left behind. They could've done so much with her as well.
• Chuck Taine and Luorno Taine are now working for the UP Military Training Academy on the ice planet of Xolnar. Why? Why would they train soldiers? I know they trained potential Legionnaires, but there really isn't anything else they could've done?
• We meet Ivy, one of the children Kent Shakespeare is taking care of at the medical center. Although we didn't know it now, this annoying child would eventually become incredibly important in one of the worst Legion stories ever.
• Jacques Foccart, Troy Stewart, and the Subs are working together in the rebellion against the Dominators. Great to see these characters come back, although it will take a lot to make me take any of the Subs seriously. Throwing Universo into the mix as another rebel, working with the Dark Circle, is very intriguing. Glad that all of these characters are back, but really didn't like how they handled Troy's home island.
• Brainiac 5 commenting that the only reason Cham survived the bullet to the head was because he listened to his advice and moved his internal organs around was so brilliant. It perfectly encapsulated Brainy in one scene. Loved this!
• Sending Jo Nah back into time and forcing him to use his brains to figure out where he is and how to get home was a great subplot. It also forced the lower-powered members to the forefront, which was a great extra benefit.
• Behind the scenes, we're now on our third editor. Mark Waid quit to become a writer (not a bad choice), then Michael Eury left and we're now on to Dan Raspler. I'm going to hazard a guess and say this isn't a good sign.

 

Finally, the two elephants in the room:

Bounty.

We learn in these issues that she has "unexplained scar tissue", which I'm going to assume means two massive scars on her back from where her wings got cut off. Anyone who's watched the TV show Lucifer knows how long and obvious those are.

Roxxas even says that she reminds him of a Legionnaire.

But yet Brainy, the smartest man in the universe, doesn't recognize her. None of them do.

She didn't change her face, didn't get plastic surgery to change her appearance. She is Dawnstar, without wings. And no one noticed.

She didn't change her DNA, which would have shown up on any medical scan. And no one noticed.

When I make a list of the dumbest plots in Legion history, this is at the top. This is almost irritatingly brainless. I may be slightly emotional about this because Dawnstar is one of my favorites, but the complete lack of concern over her is astounding. Amazingly, it gets worse when they finally reveal who she is.

 

Matter-Eater Lad.

In this re-read, we get two humor issues starring Matter-Eater Lad. To say that I wasn't impressed at the time I bought these comics, and only slightly more impressed now, is a bit of an understatement.

The first comedy issue, number 11, comes right after the huge and shocking Roxxas battle. I remember anxiously awaiting this issue, wanting to see Roxxas face the team and see if anyone actually died. Instead, I get bad courtroom comedy starring one of the few Legionnaires that I didn't care if they came back or not.

At the beginning, I talked about the two versions of the Legion. Matter-Eater Lad is, in my opinion, the perfect example of the first version. A version that I'm less attached to. In my mind, he's in the same group as Bouncing Boy and the Subs. Nice to see, great for a tiny appearance every couple of years, but completely unimportant.

Him coming back and, even worse, dominating not one but two issues, was such a complete waste of paper that I couldn't believe what I was reading. Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad barely appear but yet this guy is the focal point of two of the first 14 issues? Valor and Shadow Lass barely show up, but this guy's a star? Wildfire's no where to be seen and they spend all this time on him?

They neuter Polar Boy, the one sub who worked hard and earned a spot in the Legion, to elevate Tenzil Kem?

I also think these books were so tonally different from everything else about the series that they stick out like they're a completely different book. Giffen and the Bierbaums throw in little bits of humor throughout the series to add some levity to the darkness and to give you a reason to love the characters a little bit more. But to go from Roxxas beating Celeste almost to death in a bloody mess to Tenzil doing broad physical courtroom comedy the next issue almost gives the reader whiplash. It was weird when these issues came out once a month. Reading one right after the other is even stranger.

I actually felt like they were trying to help sales and figured that since the broad comedy of the Justice League worked, they should bring it here. But those books are so very different that what worked in one really failed in the other.

Working against the idea of raising sales, they dig deeper in the Legion archives and bring back Prince Evillo, a character that no one wanted back and no one remembered. They are so deep into the first Legion lore, they are so desperate to impress the hardest of hardcore Legion fans, that they don't care whether these books make sense to anyone, even longtime Legion readers. The sales just keep shrinking with every issue and it is books like #14 that are the reason why. This issue may be hilarious, but the barrier to entry is so high that you almost need your copies of Who's Who in the LSH to make any sense of what's going on.

Essentially, they created an amazing comic book that drove readers away.

Rant's over. Hope that didn't offend too many.