The Lightning Saga continues, the pages get crowded, and more Legionnaires appear in the 21st Century... We look at Justice League of America #9 & Justice Society of America #6

Justice League of America #9

Let's get something out of the way before I begin. Last issue I said that Batman kicked Karate Kid in the nuts to cheat and defeat him in a fight. Two different readers pointed out that he didn't, he just simply shifted so that Black Lightning could zap Val... and that's cheating too.

I guess this says something about where my mind goes...

I think it also shows that Karate Kid would've beaten Batman in a fight.

The third chapter in our JLA/JSA/LSH crossover is written by Brad Metzler with art by Ed Benes. This chapter is named "Suicide," so I'm not expecting anything happy...

For a quick recap - seven Legionnaires are stuck in the 21st Century, sent there by Brainiac 5. Starman is a member of the JSA and is suffering from badly-written schizophrenia. Karate Kid was caught by the JLA when he was disguised as a villain named Trident. Dream Girl was stuck in Arkham Asylum. And Wildfire was a statue in the Fortress of Solitude. All had lost their memories and, in the case of Wildfire, was unable to move.

They're activated when they hear, in Interlac, the words "Lightning Lad." Dream Girl gave the horrible prophecy that one of them is going to die. Wildfire blasted something and produced Batman's belt.

I don't know who is narrating the book (I think it's Mr. Terrific), but I love the first two lines of this issue:

Clark calls them the Legion of Super-Heroes. They act like a JLU - a Justice League of the Universe.

Can this be how the Legion is treated going forward? 

We begin with Mr. Terrific analyzing the belt while discussing everything that's going on with Black Canary. We get another big reveal - Wildfire is actually occupying one of Red Tornado's bodies. No idea how this happened or why it would've happened. I mean, why send him back in time if he can't bring his suit. And why would he have any powers without his suit? Would he have Red Tornado's powers as well?

Also, there's nothing special about the belt - Terrific calls it a paperweight - which is what Batman discovered as well.

Where's Batman now? Interrogating the Legionnaires.

Dream Girl can't enter the dreaming (the series that we cannot talk about is affecting everything, isn't it?) and Karate Kid thinks that's because time travel can mess with memory. Not sure when that's happened before, but if anyone would know, it's Val. He also refers to something called "the Middle Crisis." Oooooh... does that mean there's another one coming?

Batman and Karate Kid talk about the triggerword and Val mentions that they were all thrown randomly around the world. But Bruce doesn't think it's random. "Life is never random." Also, we'll learn that they weren't thrown around the world, either.

This is a really weird comment, but it struck me that Benes chose to draw Batman so we don't see his ears. His head is cut off just above his eyebrows. Batman without those dramatic ears is really just a guy in a blue cowl. It just looks weird... I don't know if I can think of another time when we see Batman without his ears... yes, I know I'm rambling here...

Back to the story - Bruce figures that someone put each of the Legionnaires in their own personal hells and that can't be random. There has to be someone behind what's going on. I like it... a mystery villain at work...

We go to Congo, Africa, where Wildcat (the young one), Vixen, the Flash (Jay Garrick version), and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan version) have come to Gorilla City to find the next missing Legionnaire. They greet NNamdi of the House of Solovar and he recognizes that Vixen has "the power of the full pride." No idea what this means but they all look a little concerned... and they talk about a baby.

The baby is a Nzame, an albino ape, and there's only one born every thousand years.

Oh, and the missing Legionnaire, the Lone Wolf, arrived months ago and the bands embraced him. But that's less important than this new baby. Once again, I'm trying to figure out how all the super-heroes on 21st Century Earth didn't notice these new super-powered beings that somehow just appeared all over the planet.

The Flash and Vixen sprint off to scout the city and somehow Vixen's cheetah powers, strengthened by her being in Africa, allow her to keep up with Jay. What did they find? A race. A race of dinosaurs being ridden by apes. And Timber Wolf is on one of the dinosaurs.

He comes in third and is angry because he thinks the other riders cheated. Vixen, who's narrating this part of the story, says that he was stuck in this city to surround him with people who were exactly like him - his own personal hell. Not sure how she knows anything about him, or how she would know this, or why this would be a personal hell, but Metzler is sprinting through this story to get to the final page so it's best not to spend time thinking about it.

Green Lantern speaks the magic words, Timber Wolf gets him memories back, and Brin immediately wants to leave. He says that he doesn't belong here and wants to rejoin his team.

Hmmm... I guess we're just ignoring every bit of character development that Brin went through after Paul Levitz took over the team the second time.

On Thanagar, Power Girl and Red Arrow talk about what happened with Timber Wolf and then Roy reveals that he's worried about what's going to happen with the Legion. He knows a fight is coming. Hawkman and Hawkgirl, piloting their ship the Javelin, agree. Hawkman comments that people only come back in time to change things.

Why are we on Thanagar? Why did only one Legionnaire get sent into space. I would think that if I was a super-powered villain from the future, and I wanted to mess up the Legion's plans, I'd scatter these Legionnaires across the galaxy if I could.

We also get a weird comment where Red Arrow says that Power Girl should take Karate Kid first - he's the fastest. I guess he doesn't understand either Wildfire's or Timber Wolf's powers.

Another awkward moment between Red Arrow and Hawkgirl when he refuses to wear a pair of hawk wings to get around Thanagar easier. We get this dialogue:

Hawkgirl: Lemme ask you: does it physically hurt when you lie to yourself like that?

Red Arrow: And that's your best retort? Where'd you steal that, season three of Mama's Family? Besides - you know what they say about couples who dress alike?

A Mama's Family reference? Wow... I guess Metzler was as glued to TBS as I was.

And does this mean Roy and Kendra are dating? No wonder Hawkman looks so unimpressed.

We interrupt what I guess is flirting when Power Girl tries to give Red Arrow advice about dating a Hawkperson. And why it never ends well. And how much it's going to hurt when she rejects him. Which Power Girl knows because she hooked up with Hawkman.

Okay, I don't ever want to hear anyone complain about how the 80's were too focused on soap opera plotlines...

To the future we go, some time in Metropolis. Three, I'm assuming villains, are standing over a woman's body. The top of her head has been removed, exposing her brain and there's blood everywhere. They talk about how time is in flux and they needed to come to the future to defeat... someone.

The three: Per Degaton, Ultra-Humanite, and Despero.

Oh, and if you thought I knew this just from the clues in the book, you're giving me waaaaay too much credit. The dead woman on the table is the Ultra-Humanite who was picked up from the past in the last JLA issue. The Ultra-Humanite now, a white ape, is, I'm guessing, the albino ape baby they're celebrating earlier in this issue.

Is any of this clear to the reader? Nope.

Back to Thanagar, in the present, and we learn they're searching for Dawnstar. It won't be hard to find a someone with wings on this planet, will it?

They spot the Legion flight ring 240 flights up but the woman they meet doesn't respond to the triggerword. It's not Dawnstar but a Thanagarian woman who looks remarkably like Dawnstar. She says that Neela isn't there but, as she could feel her friends in the galaxy, left to find them. She even left her ring with this woman, promising to come back. But this woman, who they can't even bother to name, realizes that Dawnstar, or Neela, isn't coming back. She's already found her friends.

Hmmm... so how is this Dawnstar's personal hell? She finds love... finds a planet where she fits in completely... where's the downside?

I mean, it would be hell for Wildfire to see, I guess...

Back on Earth, Timber Wolf joins his teammates and asks the JLA/JSA members to leave so he can talk with the other Legionnaires. Once they're alone, their rings spark up and the JSA can no longer spy on them.

Timber Wolf seems to be the most aware of what's going on and he grabs the "rods" on the side of Batman's belt. They enlarge, revealing what they actually are: lightning rods.

Brin also reveals that Dream Girl's vision of one of them dying isn't just a vision, it's the mission. They all volunteered to sacrifice themselves to bring "him" back.

Dawnstar walks in, hears the triggerword, and says this:

We're here to save him, aren't we? I know where we have to go. 

Now we know why this chapter is named "Suicide."

 

Justice Society of America #6

This issue is written by Geoff Johns with pencils by Dale Eaglesham and inks by Ruy José. It's title: "Three Worlds." My nerd brag: I can read the titles in Interlac throughout the trade paperback.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I picked the Phil Jimenez covers instead of the Michael Turner/Alex Ross covers, I have three reasons:

1. Wildfire

2. The Turner covers are ugly and I think he ignored basic anatomy

3. The Jimenez covers join into one tremendous image that I've going to paste together next week... if I remember...

Let's begin...

We begin with another recap and another roll call. For some reason Sandman isn't part of the JSA roll call. We also get this point reinforced: time travel can mess with people's minds and none of them remember the story called "The Legion of Three Worlds."

Did I miss something? Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds doesn't come up for another year. Or is DC actually planning everything this far in advance?

Superman also tells us that he hasn't seen the Legion since the end of the first crisis. And he's nice enough to explain the lightning rods (31st Century science that is beyond Kryptonian science... what??) and how the Legion used them to bring Lightning Lad back from the dead. Geo-Force calls it insane and Superman defends it - this is just how devoted they were to each other.

I agree that it is and was insane and how it makes no sense that lightning rods are so technologically advanced that no modern or Kryptonian tech can make sense of it.

Elsewhere, the Legionnaires are flying somewhere to complete their mission. We even get a great Legion intro:

Inspired by the legend of Superman, teenagers from across the universe journeyed to Earth to form a super-team unlike any other in history. Representing diversity, unity and tolerance, they protect all planets and all races of the 31st Century as the Legion of Super-Heroes 

Between their recapping the plan, which is to find the last Legionnaire, we get Starman showing off his knowledge of constellations to Dream Girl, Timber Wolf and Wildfire making fun of each other, and the fact that this plan was done without the involvement of the big three. Karate Kid mentions that, even though they risked their lives to save him, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Cosmic Boy are too important for this mission. The Legion can survive without one of those on the mission - but not their founders.

This page really hit hard and I love it. Karate Kid was also the perfect character to deliver this speech. The Legion trinity is important to both the team and the 31st Century and I'm glad these other Legionnaires recognize that. 

As they fly into a swamp, Thom talks about Night Girl and Sun Boy and Dream Girl comments that there's nothing in this era to help his schizophrenia. Star Boy also didn't have clearance to travel back in time - he took Colossal Boy's place. Since the beam wasn't calibrated for him, something went wrong.

Dawnstar also says that Star Boy has "the mark of the multiverse" on him. I have no idea what that means but it's why he didn't immediately go back in time, he also ended up in a different universe. Nura says that she should have known this would happen - Thom wouldn't hesitate to help his friends. Thom says he did it because he loves her. And Nura loves him back.

Which leads to Wildfire wanting to say something to Dawnstar, but she's discovered that someone else got there first.

Who? The other team of heroes looking for the last Legionnaire: Damage, Hourman, Liberty Belle, Wonder Woman, and Black Lightning. We also learn that we're in Suicide Swamp, which is a fitting name considering the previous issue.

They arrive at an old Secret Society HQ and discover that someone's inside - the someone they're looking for. Black Lightning blasts the doors open and there are three people waiting. They say that someone is wearing Garth's uniform so they must be here to help.

But who is it? Triplicate Girl, of course. But unlike the rest of the Legionnaires, she has her memory and knows why they're there. She tells the others that the Legion came back to stop the world's first psychopathic artificial intelligence from being born.

Hmm... something's not right, judging from the person wearing the Legion flight ring who's hiding under a table.

I'll also just point out that, last issue, it was a Duo Damsel statue and not a Triplicate Girl statue so this has to be a trick. Of course, none of the current heroes would know this.

Suddenly, a machine comes alive, ready to attack the heroes. It's Computo and it wants to destroy everyone. They fight, destroying some of Computo's robot arms and Damage smashes a doorway so they can escape.

Outside, the other Legionnaires have arrived... as have the rest of the JLA and JSA. We get an amazing two-page spread of heroes battling against Computo, whose tentacles have escaped the headquarters as he looks to reach a computer system and destroy the world.

As they fight and Green Lantern realizes that something has shut off the ring's voice communicator, the Legionnaires know it's time to act. Dawnstar finds the Legionnaire hiding under the table and speaks the triggerwords. They remember everything and Dawnstar flies them away, calling them princess.

Suddenly, one of Triplicate Girl's bodies is killed and Superman realizes that he's seen this before and that it isn't right. He and Power Girl use their X-Ray vision and realize that there's nothing here. Triplicate Girl wasn't the final Legionnaire.

It was Sensor Girl. We have our seven Legionnaires and they're flying off to their destination. The lightning crashes around them as Dawnstar says:

You know where to go. It is time to say goodbye... and good luck! 

I guess this means we're going to lose a Legionnaire next time... ugh... 

 

Let's start with the positives. More Legionnaires means, of course, more fun for me. And we're getting most of my favorites as well, so I can't complain about their choices.

As I mentioned last week, I love the fact that they keep elevating the Legion and putting them up on the same platform as the JSA and JLA. These Legionnaires are equals to the stars of these books, something I haven't seen in a long, long time.

Another big positive is that the artwork has improved by leaps and bounds in these two issues. I've always liked both Ed Benes and Dale Eaglesham's work and they do an incredible job. I imagine handling such huge casts and trying to keep everything looking good and making sense must be a tremendous challenge. And unlike the first two chapters, we're getting more storytelling and less posing.

But I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't a little off-putting that we've have four chapters and four different art teams. I would understand two - one for JLA and one for JSA. But different artist each time? It just takes me out of the book a bit.

Another thing I've loved about this is how Superman talks about the Legion - they've done a masterful job showing just how important these characters are to him and what kind of an impact the Legion had and has on his life. More of this, please!

I'm also wondering about the big reveal: who is the last Legionnaire?

 

On to the negatives, and I really only have two.

First, I hate, hate, hate the lightning rod story and I wish they hadn't brought it back into this new continuity.

Second, there are just way too many characters so no one is really getting any valuable time in the book. This is a crossover that needed at least two more issues to cover everything Johns and Metzler wanted to shove into the book and we could've had some more great dramatic moments.

For example, the dinosaur race could've been epic and they could've shown Timber Wolf losing and getting "cheated." Or they could've actually explained who the villains are. Or who the woman without a brain is. But the book is moving at a break neck speed and can't slow down for someone like me who doesn't have a clue who a third of these characters are.

Third, one of the best parts of any super-hero crossover team-up is the cliched battle between heroes. We've gotten bits and pieces of it, but nothing substantial. I want to see Karate Kid/Batman round two. I want to see Timber Wolf and Wildcat go at it. I want to see Wildfire and Wonder Woman trading blows. I want to see Dream Girl and Sandman fighting each other while predicting each other's moves.

Yes, it's simple and basic... but it's a cliche for a reason.

Until next week, when we get the big finale... will we also get the death of a Legionnaire? Please share your thoughts on the Reddit Legion boards when you can.

 

I also wanted to mention there's a huge crossover happening the podcast world as well. The Men of Steel podcast and the Long Live the Legion podcast came together to record an epic, over 4-hour-long, two-part podcast focused on The Legion: Foundations. We even got Legion artist Chris Batista to join us!

Part 1 can be found here. Or here.

Part 2 can be found here. Or here.