The shadows attack! We look at Legion Lost #5 & 6

Just a quick note - I won't be able to do a reread next week (real life once again interrupting) but we'll see you all in two weeks! Looking forward to the back half of Legion Lost!

Before we start, let's do a little catch up. Some of the Legion is stuck in the deepest part of space, far away from their homes. They were able to build a light drive that jumped them closer to Earth, but weird space parasites ate the drive and they're stuck again. Oh, and Wildfire broke the Legion code by killing them. But since they're like moths, it's okay.

There's also a big pyramid floating through space, killing everything that enters.

Let's get back into it.

Legion Lost #5 

We start with Brainiac 5.1, going through his Omnicom and the massive list of problems he needs to solve. He then joins the latest team meeting (only 20 minutes late) and discovers that Shikari has led them to the aforementioned pyramid, believing that it's the key to get them home. Since they have no sensors, so no idea what's inside, Saturn Girl orders a boarding team to go and investigate. Who's leading the team? Brainy.

I know that I swore I'd be nicer about Olivier Coipel's artwork, and I am very glad he's back after last issue, but I swear Brainy's face and body change with every panel here.

I also wonder about the intelligence of sending the one scientist on the team onto a huge pyramid of unknown origin. Wouldn't you want to protect him more? Keep him onboard the ship to find a way home? Send anyone else?

Brainy continues narrating this issue, providing his indepth take on the rest of the "away team" - Wildfire, Chameleon, Umbra, and Shikari. He's worried about Umbra, who's getting testier and harder to work with, but content with everyone else. Shikari finds a door inside and Brainy is unable to explain how her powers work - thinking it might be something magical.

The first big reveal is that pyramid isn't actually made of rock - it's made of hard-light, coated in space dust. So Umbra's powers are responding to it, resonating with it. I'm glad to see they're expanding her powers and making her even more critical to the team.

Suddenly a weapon starts shooting at them and Wildfire discovers that it's a Progeny member, who thinks they're the Omniphagos. For those of you, like me, who don't know the Greek roots of this words (amazing how the translators work), it's the "All-Eater." The Progeny alien tells the Legion that when his ship attacked the pyramid, they woke something up that's old and dangerous. This creature destroyed them and their ship.

Because Shikari thinks this is the way home, they continue searching instead of doing the smart thing and getting out of the pyramid. They get a little deeper and discover what the "ship" should look like, just walls made of light. Umbra comments that she can smell the light, so more power expansion, which is usually a good thing.

Then they discover the heart of the structure, a phenomenon that is an inter dimensional doorway that's dumping out quantum energy. Brainy figures out that this is a prison, not a doorway, but he's too late. The Omniphagos has arrived.

The battle starts. Brainy is blasted and his force field barely saves him. While he falls unconscious, Umbra starts to panic and Wildfire blasts into action. His first attack does nothing and he's swatted away like a bug. The Progeny is eaten, upping the stakes. They are the perfect red-shirted fodder in this series, aren't they?

Cham morphs into a similar creature, hoping to confuse the Omniphagos. Unfortunately, it doesn't work and Cham is knocked down. Shikari rushes to help him, risking her life, and Umbra finally acts. She creates a dark field that stops the creature. Wildfire and Brainy work together, battering the creature back towards the portal, sending it back to its prison.

Brainy's final thoughts are of just how dangerous the Omniphagos could have possibly become before Shikari appears, apologizing for getting her directions wrong and putting the team in jeopardy. Which, of course, she really didn't because the device was a portal that could've transported the team if Brainy had been able to investigate. But he doesn't make her feel better at all, so at least that's consistent.

An aside at the end of this issue - I've mentioned that I like this new version of Brainy much, much better than anything that's come before in the PZH Legion and this issue confirms it.

I'm also really liking the fact that the writers are getting each character to narrate an issue, letting the reader get a better insight into who they are, what makes them tick, and why we should care about them. It's a great storytelling technique and it allows new readers to connect with these new characters. It's kinda like getting a "spotlight" issue each time. I really wish the previous creative team had done it.

I also find it funny that the writers have just reached the "we have the old Wildfire back and we're going to ignore anything that would prevent us from writing him as if he was pre-5YL" stage of this series. I mean, they're ignoring the multiple personalities, and the horrible origin story, and just writing him like Levitz would've. I really get the sense that they read a bunch of back issues, scratched their heads and wondered why the heck he wasn't in the PZH Legion, and immediately brought him back and made him just as he was. And honestly, it's the right choice.

Legion Lost #6 

Pascal Alixe is back on pencils so... ugh...

Continuing with each issue being narrated by a Legion member, now we focus on Umbra. Maybe they can make her slightly sympathetic and resolve some of the long-running plots surrounding her.

We learn that she's unable to sleep because she's become afraid of the dark. The previous champions of Talok VIII come to her in her sleep and, instead of how they used to help and counsel her, now they are driving her crazy.

We get a very nice multi-page conversation between Saturn Girl and Live Wire, discussing their problems, their relationship, and how the team is handling everything. I really wish they had done more of this from the very beginning of the PZH run, because we're finally seeing why these two are so connected and talking about marriage. Garth is very different around Imra, and far less short-tempered. They really compliment each other well in this scene, even if he's not happy at the way things are progressing.

As Imra tries to enter Umbra's thoughts and help her, she's immediately struck by the terror Tasmia's going through. It's too much, taking Imra over, and things quickly go out of control. A psychic shockwave crashes over the ship and Kid Quantum and Wildfire go to investigate. They're attacked immediately by more of the shadow creatures from within Umbra's mind.

It's chaos - Saturn Girl is down so Live Wire is in charge. Wildfire and Kid Quantum are out, Apparition is missing, and one of the escape pods is gone. Oh, and Alixe cannot draw Monstress properly... They also later reveal that Wildfire is concussed... which is completely impossible since he doesn't have a brain. I know they wanted him out of action because he's too powerful, but they really need to come up with a better way to do it.

We move far away from the Legion, to get our first view of the Progenitor, the being that created the creatures that live in this part of the universe. They're the one that created the Progeny, and the other races that came and were destroyed before them. Yes, dear readers, we're getting out first view of the biggest, baddest villain of the series.

Back to the Legion ship, where Shikari, for some reason, has learned her own version of Chameleon but no other Legionnaires names. I'd make a comment about how this version of Reep seems to connect with all the women on the Legion, but I think they just like using this to show that she doesn't speak Interlac. They also show her copying some of Wildfire's slang, which is good to see. The more time she spends with the Legion, the more she becomes like them. Good to see this development.

Cham and Shikari face off against a shadow creature on the ship, fight the best they can, when Brainy suddenly realizes that it's a psychic projection from Saturn Girl's mind - and if they cause it damage, they'll hurt her too!

Monstress and Ultra Boy are tracking the missing escape pod and have discovered an entire city. And somewhere in that city, just sitting by herself and pondering what's going on, if Umbra. Unfortunately for her, this city has a superhero who's poised to attack her.

To be continued!

Even with the inconsistent and sometimes maddening artwork, this was a solid issue and, once again, I find myself really enjoying the character work they're doing. As I said before, this might have been the first time where I actually got why Live Wire and Saturn Girl are connected in the PZH universe. Yes, I could do without yet another moment of Ultra Boy freaking out because Apparition isn't in his presence, but I enjoyed almost everything else.

Our next Legionnaire in the spotlight... Karate Kid!!!

To write this, I've been trying to figure out how to explain why Karate Kid is one of my favorite Legionnaires. I know that sounds crazy to say - I mean, why try to justify something you like? But, strangely enough, Val wasn't a main character, or even a semi-recurring character when I was deep in Legion lore, so it really doesn't make sense that I was such a fan.

When I first started reading the Legion, it was just as Levitz and Giffen took over and they were already phasing him out. He and Projectra were on Orando, trying to earn the King's blessing, and there was talk of marriage and settling down. Then he did get married, and was gone, only showing up in the background of some of their big adventures. For some insane reason, the image of Val playing Space Invaders will always be burned into my brain.

And then he died. Which I will always argue is one of the most dramatic deaths in comics. Or maybe that's just my bias showing again.

So for the most part, my introduction to Karate Kid was through back issues. He was front and center during the Reflecto saga, which as a kid I thought was great and as an adult, the nostalgia kicks in but I can see why so many people can't stand it.

I think I was drawn to the one character who wasn't super, who didn't get powers because of a meteor or an accident, but was on the Legion because of a lifetime of training and dedication. He was the 30th Century's version of Nightwing or Shang-Chi. A bad childhood, a great mentor, a lot of training, and someone who could run with the heavy hitters even though he had no superpowers at all. He was a hero that earned the spot.

And no, I'm not going to acknowledge his super-karate...

Other points when I think about Karate Kid:

• It's a really weird part of 70's Legion to see Mike Grell draw Val as Chinese (Bruce Lee most specifically - check out the image above) when you know he's part Japanese and most other artists just draw him as a white guy (see all other images). I give Grell credit for trying to introduce more diversity to the book, even if it hasn't aged well at all. But to be blunt, the fact that a Legion editor let Grell make a character Asian, in the 70's, is ground-breaking even if it doesn't work very well to a modern audience.
• First Legionnaire with his own spin-off book. Yes, it only existed to cash in on the martial arts craze of the 70's. And yes, it was horrible. But it was the first.
• Does it make sense when I say that his and Projectra's wedding was the first one that actually worked, story-wise? They had been building it for years, showing how deep that relationship was, unlike the previous two Legion weddings. Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel's was, I think, just to get them off the team and Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl's was one of the selling points of the oversized format book. Neither seemed to have been built up in the comics. I mean, no more than any other couple in the Legion. But Val and Jeckie had been talking about getting married for almost a decade before it happened. Karate Kid's series was built around the concept of him going back in time to prove himself to Jeckie's father.
• I've always loved Karate Kid's costumes - and I'm including all of them in this statement. I don't think he has a bad one. Yes, the huge collar (or whatever that is behind his head) makes no sense, especially for a fighter, but it looks great.
• When I think of some of the best ways Levitz used Legion history, Karate Kid and his connection to Nemesis Lad immediately come to mind. The fact that he turned a simple story about four new Legionnaires and used it to create one of the best multi-issue arcs in Legion history is incredible.
• The PZH Karate Kid was a little less impressive and he just never made sense to me. I mean, why work for McCauley if you're looking to spiritual growth? And why work for him and not take any of his money? It just seemed like the original creative team wanted Val in the world but not in the Legion. And then he basically was wasted for the entire run, including after DnA took over.
• Threeboot Karate Kid was more interesting, and I did like that they showed him as more vulnerable, especially with that issue where he wants to date Phantom Girl, but even that seemed like they were using him to prop her up, rather than let him have any agency in the story. He ended up looking good but slipping into the background.

Thoughts? Opinions? Did you hate poor Val Armorr as much as Keith Giffen did? And what did you think of these Legion Lost issues - can't believe we're already halfway through this.

See ya in two weeks!