A bad buddy cop movie, lovers in dangerous times, and yet another retelling of Superboy meeting the Legion for the first time... we look at Adventure Comics #3 & 4 and Superman: Secret Origin #2

Adventure Comics #3 or #506

We're going to be jumping around a little bit this week, moving from the backups in Adventure Comics to yet another retelling of the first time Clark met the Legion in Superman: Secret Origin. Hope there's no whiplash as I'm trying to cover these in (kinda) publishing order.

This 10-page Legion tale was written by Geoff Johns and Michael Shoemaker and drawn by Clayton Henry.

We're on Tharr this issue, Polar Boy's home world, and also the hottest planet in the universe. People are lounging by a pool, at what appears to be a resort, and Sun Boy is being Sun Boy. Which means, of course, that he's hitting on a couple of women.

Sun Boy pulls Polar Boy into his efforts and the two women sitting at the bar immediately start ripping poor Brek apart. They ask him if he started the "Legion of Rejects" and wonder if he's subbing for someone right now.

Polar Boy is more than a little upset. After all, he not only joined the Legion, he was also their leader at one point. Okay, so that part of continuity is still true. The women ask Sun Boy what his powers are and he says he makes it hot. Their response? "On purpose?"

As the women walk away after rejecting our heroes, we finally get to why they're on Tharr. A villain, Cryo-King, has been freezing places all over the U.P. to get noticed by the Legion of Super-Villains... who rejected him. So we have the villainous version of Brek.

After Polar Boy finishes his exposition, Sun Boy burns his way through an ice wall to discover Cryo-King in a back room. No idea how he knew the villain was there, but since we only have 10 pages, and we needed to spend a ton of time showing Sun Boy fail to pick up two women, we're sprinting through the rest of the story.

Placing my cards on the table here - I had to double-check my memory here to try to understand why there are ice structures everywhere at this poolside bar. According to Wikipedia, many people on Tharr have undergone genetic engineering to be able to generate intense cold. So does that mean they've never adjusted to the heat? Or are they constantly generating cold? Wouldn't everyone have that power so no one would suffer? Would the act of generating ice be an incredibly labor-intensive act on a super-hot planet? Would creating ice by worth the effort?

Once again, I'm fairly certain I've spent more time wondering about this than the writers did.

Cryo-King escapes fairly easily, so the two Legionnaires chase after him. We get more exposition about Tharr - it's frozen underneath the surface so there's ice and cold everywhere. That cold air is funnelled to the surface to keep the people cool. Is that where the ice comes from? If this is true, why would anyone spend time on the surface unless it's enclosed? Is there no technology in the 31st Century to allow you to be on the surface but still enjoying the cold? Does anything related to Tharr make any sense?

Brek is pretty testy as he says he understands Cryo-King - he knows what it's like to be rejected. He can't understand why our villain would want to kill someone to get the attention of the LSV (really? hasn't he met more than a few villains by now?). But before we get to any depth, he and Sun Boy combine powers and blast the King, capturing him and ending the threat(??).

Sun Boy compliments Polar Boy, telling him how good of a leader he was. Either Dirk is lying or we're changing continuity again because I remember most of Brek's leadership being pretty mediocre at best. Then I remember that he's one of Johns' favorites, so of course he was great.

We get the big reveal at the end, which seems to be the point of all of these backups. Introduce a couple of Legionnaires, show them fight someone, and then reveal some big twist.

The twist this time? Cryo-King has a paper map of the 21st Century on him. How? "Come on, Sun Boy. You think you're the only Legion with an Espionage Squad in the 21st Century?"

Let me wrap my head around this: Cryo-King was rejected the the LSV but they gave him an ancient map to carry around? A map that would have no value at all? And told him they had sent people back to our time?

I'm just going to assume this will tie into something in Superman or Action Comics... let's move on...

 

Adventure Comics #4 or #507

I barely remember the Blackest Night stories so I'm just going to ignore all of that and focus on the Legion. Interestingly (or sadly), because this issue is all about Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 (two heroic characters from Crisis on Infinite Earths who either became evil or died), and Prime is on the same Earth as the Threeboot Legion, I've gotta look at the main story as well.

It's written by Geoff Johns and Sterling Gates with pencils by Jerry Ordway and inks by Bob Wiacek. Ordway and Wiacek are definitely going for an old school vibe here and I like it.

We get a ton of back story about Alexander Luthor, Prime, and then Luthor comes back from the dead and gets a Lantern ring. Told you I'm going fast through this. 

In the 31st Century, Brainiac 5 wants to dig up any old comics Superboy-Prime might have left in his home in San Diego but the government wants to stop that. He's hoping to see their own history and, since they did find a copy of Legion of 3 Worlds, they might have been able to prevent the deaths of Element Lad and Sun Boy.

An alarm goes off from the early 21st Century - something just pierced the multiverse and caused a temporal anomaly. What was it? He left his house.

This is one thing that never makes sense to me - if you're 1,000 years in the future, how would one event cause an alarm to go off? That event already happened. This is unless you're going with the concept that the future that the Legion is living in isn't set in stone and whatever's happening to Prime is changing the future. Which means that they'd be in a different branch of time and not actually on the same planet. Or it's just a confusing mess, right? 

He forces his parents to drive him the comic shop where dead Luthor, wearing a black costume and carrying an evil ring that contains all the rage of the people of Earth. Oh, and he's not really Luthor - the ring is controlling the body.

Superboy-Prime gets angry and Luthor gives him his costume back, the rage fuelling his stronger powers.

Yay...

Prime and Luthor start fighting and then a bunch of other dead, evil Lanterns show up. I don't know how they expect anyone to cheer for Superboy-Prime, or is this some failed attempt to turn him into a hero? They literally retold the fact that Prime killed his one female friend and his parents are deathly afraid of him. And they think they can turn him good?

Let's get to the Legion backup.

Written by Geoff Johns and Michael Shoemaker with art by Clayton Henry, we start with Blok demanding to leave and find the White Witch. They said some bad things happened to him but he looks pretty much the same as expected.

Brainiac 5 laments that Legionnaires always run off without thinking whenever something emotional happens, so he calls Wildfire and Dawnstar to help deal with whatever Blok's going through. Brainy also wants to get back to deciphering the map Sun Boy and Polar Boy obtained last issue. Wow - they're actually referencing something that's happened in Adventure. That's a first.

What happened to Blok? Mordru started some biological alteration within him and Brainy has no idea what changes are coming. That's why he doesn't want Blok heading to Sorcerer's World.

Oh, and I know I sound like a broken record here, but this is not the OG Brainiac 5. Maybe in the Silver Age. But by the time we got to the Seventies, Brainy was never this condescending and nasty to his teammates. This reads more like Reboot Brainy.

As I was afraid of, Blok's outer shell is breaking apart. This makes it easy for the Legionnaires to track him, but stopping him is another matter. Blok tells them that, since he loves Mysa, he's got to put her before himself and help her after she absorbed Mordru's power.

So the three fly to Sorcerer's World and we get a nice moment where Blok compares his relationship with Mysa to Dawnstar and Wildfire's. He says that not only can their love never be consummated, it must be hidden from the xenophobes. The universe doesn't allow them to get together and so they must hide it.

I'm really getting tired of the xenophobic future being shoved down my throat at this point. Did the multiple years the Legion existed not change anyone's opinions? Is this galaxy-wide, or just on Earth? If it's this bad, could you not argue that these xenophobes would have just as many problems with, say, Shadow Lass and Mon-El? Or Lightning Lass and Timber Wolf? Or Colossal Boy and Chameleon Girl (still getting used to this one)? Is there anything that makes these four special if we're going to say that everyone in the galaxy doesn't want people from different planets dating?

On Sorcerer's World, they discover that the entire planet has changed. It's become beautiful, Mysa's powers changing it to a fantasy world where everyone feels better and stronger.

But when they enter the main castle, the one place that hasn't changed, Blok is in pain again. They soon meet the Black Witch, sitting on the throne. There are carved (at least I hope they're carved) heads in the stone around her, all showing anguished faces of DC characters. According to the GCD, they're Blue Devil, Kid Devil, the Green Lantern Torquemada, Raven, Green Lantern Alan Scott, and Zatanna. Thank goodness for internet references because I've never even heard of two of these characters.

The Black Witch freed the world of the dark magic but she is still full of that evil that made Mordru so powerful. She's afraid of sleeping and the evil taking her over. But she can control the magic and save Blok. She changes back into the White Witch and touches Blok. There's a flash of magic and he becomes black as well, with no more injuries and seems almost shiny instead of, well, blocky. They kiss and all seems good for once.

Wildfire and Dawnstar hold hands but the good news ends quickly.

The Black Witch returns and she knows she can defeat the evil and use the dark magicks for good if Blok stays by her side. He agrees to stay with her always.

Dawnstar and Wildfire fly back to Earth, talking about how each of them made a huge sacrifice... and that they would make the same sacrifice for each other.

I don't think it's any surprise that Johns, who is obviously a fan of Wildfire and Dawnstar, turned in his best story of this run with this issue. As much as I'd prefer Blok and Mysa stay with the team, this is a pretty good way of having them leave and it sets up an epic story in the future. 

 

Superman: Secret Origin #2 

We're jumping off the Adventure Comics wagon and heading to another DC mini-series. I'm guessing this is the 2009 version of Man of Steel, so we're going to get another retelling of Superman's origin story and Johns is going to put back everything he was angry John Byrne removed.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't call out the Men of Steel podcast that looked at this mini-series. Please check it out - Case Aiken, JMike Folson, and Alex McConnell provide an excellent critique.

I haven't read the first issue, so if I end up missing something important, that's the obvious reason why.

I have to start with the cover. What is up with Superboy's mouth? Does he have a horrible overbite? Is that supposed to make him look nervous? Constipated? Can Gary Frank draw teenagers? Judging from the second cover (not shown here but it's the one with Phantom Girl and Triplicate Girl), he can't draw Superboy the same on two covers and Brainiac 5 is just angry all the time.

Let's begin.

Our tale is written by Geoff Johns, with pencils by Frank and inks by Jon Sibal. It's the same creative team as the Action Comics tale so I'm cautiously optimistic. I seem to be writing that a lot these days - I'm looking forward to these comics but always have one leg raised up on the chair, waiting for something silly to happen.

We're in Smallville, where a drunk and angry driver is about to slam his truck into a pile of large rocks that have fallen onto the road. The brakes don't work so he swerves off the side, through the "safety barrier," and plummets to the river below.

In a flash of red, Superboy, in full costume, has grabbed the truck and saved the man's life. I do like how Frank has drawn Superboy with a teenager's body here - the costume isn't skin tight and he's not a muscle man yet.

Superboy dumps the truck in front of the police station, where the Chief doesn't believe the tale of the flying boy. Chief Parker calls Lex Luthor about getting the truck fixed and Lex is already obsessed with the idea of miracles... I guess that's what they're calling Superboy's actions.

As the Kents talk about those heroics, worried that Clark isn't doing a great job keeping himself hidden, Superboy returns to his house, embarrassed by the costume. We also get the first view of his secret entrance to the family basement. Clark has to lift up a rock to expose the tunnel dug underneath.

At night, Clark uses his super-vision to scan the universe, looking for some sign of life. He wonders whether there are other people like him out there. As his father comforts him, we get a glimpse of some alien tech and a strange new language being spoken. Is this the new version of Interlac?

We get a scene where Clark and Luthor talk about what Luthor is going to do once he moves to Metropolis. He plans on doing big things, shaping the future and making his mark. He wants to change the world. Clark asks Lex if he wants to hang out sometime and Lex rudely turns him down. Well that was a whole pile of nothing.

Then we get the requisite Clark/Lana scene. Clark is saddened that Pete Ross hasn't talked to him in a week and wonders if Pete's really a good friend if Clark can't tell him about his powers. Lana tries to kiss him and Clark almost pushes her away, telling her that he's only looking for a friend. She runs off, upset, of course. I guess that's better than causing an apple to fall on her head, knocking her out, right?

To further reinforce Clark's loneliness, he overhears a bunch of kids talking about how weird he is. Okay, we get it. He's alone.

Then Clark overhears something more interesting. It's a few people speaking Interlac. Real Interlac, not what we saw before. Before he can register what's happening, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad fly to him. They introduce themselves, telling Clark they're from the 30th Century. And that they wanted to meet him. And thank him.

And they immediately head back to the Time Bubble to head home. Now that was a well-thought-out plan.

Clark asks to go with them and, since they've already broken a bunch of rules, they say yes. As they move through the time stream, the Legionnaires explain who they are and what their powers are. They ask Clark to change into his uniform - after all, where they're going, everyone already knows who he is.

It's best to not think about how they ended up in the future, got rid of the time bubble, and started flying over 30th Century Smallville (which is where their club house is located), but that's what happens. Superboy asks them what the Legion does and they're immediately called away to handle a threat.

Human supremacists are attacking aliens, wanting them off Earth. One aims a gun at an alien, telling her to say "Earth is for humans!" Cosmic Boy stops the terrorist, telling him that, as Superman said, "Earth is for everyone."

Yay... more futuristic xenophobia... ugh...

The Legionnaires start making short work of the bad guys and Lightning Lad encourages Superboy to join in. After a horrible electricity pun, "Watts your problem?", Garth tells Clark that they should enjoy stopping crime. After all, why not enjoy yourself?

Superboy smacks one of the terrorists and says, "Long live the Legion!" Which the other three like, so I guess Superboy is the one who created their motto.

The Science Police arrive, wanting to stop the Legionnaires. They fly away while talking about how it was Lightning Lad that caused the Science Police to dislike them.

Brainiac 5, who rips into them for stupidly bringing Superboy to their time, Phantom Girl, and Triplicate Girl arrive to greet them. Luornu is, in three bodies, all over Clark, asking him if he has a girlfriend while complaining that he's too skinny.

Brainy's not happy - bringing Superboy to the future could destroy the entire space/time continuum. But Cosmic Boy and the other two wanted to meet him. And now Superboy's their friend. So it's up to Brainy to figure out how make sure nothing is damaged by their actions.

Okay, now I see why Brainy is so nasty in this version. Nothing like treating someone like a pest and then expecting them to solve all of your mistakes.

They immediately head back to the past, Clark back in his regular clothing. The trio of Legionnaires communicate telepathically, wondering how they'll handle this and thinking that bringing Superboy to the future won't destroy time.

Cosmic Boy wonders how they'll keep everything they know a secret:

• Resurrection of Doomsday 
• Kandor
• General Zod and the Earth/New Krypton War
• The Super-Sun
• The death of Lex Luthor

Wow - nothing that's happening in Superman's early days, right?

They tell Clark to meet them at the same place tomorrow and Garth blasts an "L" into the closest tree. Then we learn that they gave him a Legion flight ring.

That evening, over dinner, Clark tells his parents what happened. He's excited because he's finally found a place where he can be himself, where he can fly with other heroes.

The ground shakes and we hear the alien voice again. Kryptonian, I presume. Clark makes a quick change and flies up to stop the small, green spaceship that comes dangerously close to the farm. They crash to the ground, Clark trying to figure out why this ship looks like his own.

Which when he hear a dog's bark.

Elsewhere in Smallville, Lex gets the news that his father died. And me, being the idiot that I am, just realized that the drunk at the beginning of this issue was Lionel Luthor. Once again, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed...

Lex celebrates, happy to know that will be his last day in Smallville - the life insurance policy will take care of him. 

 

Story-wise, I really wish we had gotten way more Legion stuff and way less everything else. Clark ends up being a bit of a jerk to Lana, which I never like to see. But then I remember that he's a teenage boy, so emotional intelligence isn't his strong suit.

I also know that they wanted to really focus on the Clark/Lex relationship, but that whole scene where Lex is bragging to him about what he's going to do in the future just didn't work for me. I know Clark is lonely... but is anyone that lonely? Those 4 pages really sucked the life out of the story.

In fact, most of this story seemed like Johns was writing as if the audience didn't understand basic concepts or anything about Superman. A lot of it felt like he was smacking the reader over the head. "See? Clark's lonely! And the Legion makes him happy! See?!"

Art-wise, I was really disappointed. I've always been a fan of Gary Frank's work and was stunned at how much trouble he had making characters look the same panel to panel. I'm not talking about little things either. Clark's face changed from oval to round to triangular on different pages. I also think there were far too many times where he was just trying to draw Christopher Reeve. Which didn't work.

 

But for a Legion story, I quite liked the retelling, even if it felt rushed. We got rid of the silly tests, and the bullying, and just focused on the friendships and what connected them. I thought it was a huge leap to go from one fight to "hey, we're friends now!" But with only 11 pages of story, there was only so much they could do.

Now I guess I have to read the entire series to see what they changed, what they got rid of, and what they kept. I know it's going to sound heretical, but I enjoyed any single issue of Man of Steel more than this one.

 

Thoughts? Did you enjoy these Adventure stories? Or Secret Origin? Please share your comments either below or on Reddit.

 

And if you're not listening to the Long Live the Legion podcast, you need to check out the newest episode. We interview (or just spend a lot of time talking about the Legion with) DC Metropolis group editor Paul Kaminski and get some great info about how he got started in comics, what it's like diving deep into Legion comics, and why Joshua Williamson is super excited to be writing the Legion. Also on YouTube - please like and subscribe there if you can!