The Legion goes back to Smallville! Shadow Lass makes the literal worst decision of her character's existence! Let's look at Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 6) #5 & Adventure Comics #519

Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 6) #5

Let's recap what happened last issue. Earth-Man had a falling out with his other xenophobic allies and is going to absorb Sensor Girl's powers to figure out what they're up to. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl rescued their twin boys from an Avalonian who's obsessed with Darkseid (and Imra may have killed him). Shadow Lass is spending more time with Earth-Man. Cosmic Boy called an election for the new Legion leader. And the Titanians, who lost their home when a bunch of scientists at the Time Institute (including Professor Harmonia Li) looked back at the beginning of the universe, are living in camps on Earth while the United Planets try to find them a new home.

This issue was written by Paul Levitz, pencilled by Yildinay Cinar and Francis Portela, and inked by Wayne Faucher and Portela. Wow - five issues in a row for the art team. Nicely done!

We begin at one of the Titanian camps, where a starliner that was supposed to take the refugees somewhere ended up crashing into the camp. Sensor Girl and Timber Wolf are there to help them and also provide a recap. Colossal Boy says that he heard this might have been due to a Xeno attack (yes, the xenophobes have been reduced to a nickname) while Sun Boy lets us know that there are more people dying than they can rescue.

Dirk burns a path through the wreckage so they can lead the Titanians to safety... and then cracks a joke about how he can't date telepaths because "they won't let you fake being sincere."

Instead of calling him out for being a callous and insensitive jerk, Timber Wolf smells something ugly. Sensor Girl calls for backup. Who smells? An armed force calling themselves "The Earth Force." They're a bunch of masked soldiers, heavily armed, and looking for a fight. I honestly never thought this series would become as prophetic as it has.

We head to Naltor, where Dyogene (the Oan who gave Earth-Man the Green Lantern ring in an attempt to find the first new Guardian in a long time, only to have it rejected and cast into a swamp) announces that the ring has chosen Professor Li as the latest honoree. She immediately rejects it, stating that the ring has the "taint of your so-called guardians, least wise of all the immortals." Dream Girl says this is bizarre, while the High Seer responds with, "What a woman!"

I'm going to assume that she's turning this down because she saw how the universe began and because of the damage that caused, but that's only a guess. It would've been nice if they had actually clarified it. But honestly, I think handing the ring to someone who wants to make amends for the destruction of Titan would've made more sense. I guess she hasn't learned from her mistakes.

On a crankier note, if this is all they're going to do with Professor Li, I'd prefer they spend time showing some Legionnaires who haven't gotten any time so far in this series.

And yes, I know these comments are going to come back and bite me, but I wanted to share my thoughts as I was reading. 

Back to the camp as Colossal Boy grabs a fallen Sensor Girl out of the sky and the Legion discusses how there's a private army on Earth, which supposedly has "weapons control laws." Gim says that they had a special weapon to take out Jeckie - I always love when the Legionnaires are able to immediately explain things in the heat of battle. Sun Boy wonders if they're holding back against himself and Gim because they're Earthlings. Which is when they shoot Gim in the shoulder. 

Also, isn't Gim a Martian? 

We get a great moment showing Timber Wolf on the attack. He rips through some of the soldiers, angry because the telepaths are communicating their fear. Then, in a moment where we have decided to completely forget that Brin is super-strong, he gets attacked by a bunch of soldiers and gets defeated off-panel. Do the soldier suits grant them extra strength? Has Brin lost some of his powers?

Apparently Colossal Boy got knocked out as well, because the soldiers state that only Sun Boy is left. They bring out an energy damper and blast him. As he fights back, it starts getting colder around him.

Who's there to save the day? Earth-Man. But even Kurt asks the important question: "Who is he here to help?"

Back at Legion HQ, we get a moment where Cosmic Boy, who's angry Brainiac 5 isn't going to help the team, shows his frustration at his teammate not following orders. Brainy's busy getting the Time Bubble back in working order with Circadia Senuis, otherwise known as the Chronarch.

Rokk then runs into Chameleon Boy, who's also ignoring the orders to stay behind. He figures one more alien face isn't going to make it worse.

I just realized something - for a character who's been historically written as "the greatest leader of all time," Cosmic Boy's really bad at his job.

Now let's head to Science Police headquarters. Chief Zendak and Officer Tekkali are rushing to get to a conference (no mention of the violence at the camp?). Zendak pushes Tekkali down the elevator shaft, ordering her to go on without him. Seriously - that's what it looks like. Zendak bends down to get the tablet he dropped when a bird hit him... because that makes sense in the 31st Century while indoors.

And then he's murdered by a Durlan. I forgot to mention this in the recap. There's a bunch of Durlans on Earth wanting to get revenge for the death of Brande. And they murdered Zendak? And took over his identity? Wow... this I did not see coming.

We return to the camp, where Earth-Man gives a nice long speech about how he doesn't hate Sun Boy (as he's saving him) and that he did everything for Earth's sake. And he's been thinking a lot since he put on the ring - maybe his old xenophobic friends are wrong. He blasts the soldiers and Sun Boy collapses, unable to take the huge amount of energy. Yep, always a good move to make the heroes look weak and the character everyone hates, who's just borrowing powers, the strong one.

Which is when the rest of the Legion arrives. Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl, Shadow Lass, Tellus, Shrinking Violet, Quislet, and Ultra Boy have arrived and they start kicking butt. It's a really beautiful two-page spread of action!

Back to Brainy's lab and we get a nice moment between him and Circadia Senius. They talk about how the Chronarch retired and how he was a pioneer in time travel. They talk about mentors and teachers and how a great one is crucial to the development of a student. Then Senius names his favorite teacher:

"...the first humanoid I could relate to, really. She's been studying time theory for so many decades, so obsessively -- she was determined to master it. Such a small woman... Professor Harmonia Li."

Yep, the same one who looks like she's the same age as the Legionnaires. The one who was in the Time Institute when they viewed the beginning of time. The one who just rejected a Green Lantern ring. I'm just a little confused.

The battle is over at the camp. As Phantom Girl tends to Ultra Boy's wounds (I guess he kept forgetting to turn invulnerable), the pair talk with Shadow Lass about how horrible this situation is for the Titanians. They wonder what's happening next. Tinya wonders if Earth-Man knew about the attack. Tasmia thinks this attack changed the minds of some people.

The xenophobes that Earth-Man rejected are having a meeting to discuss his betrayal. Kurt leads Sun Boy and some S.P.s to the room and everyone is placed under arrest. We get another moment where Kurt states that the ring has changed the way he sees things and he rejects the Xeno movement.

Okay, I know that this is supposed to be obvious, but is anyone else wondering what happens when he takes off the ring and Brainy's mind control device stops working?

For the final surprise of the issue, Phantom Girl phases into Shadow Lass' room and finds her in bed with Earth-Man.

Let's start positively. I always like seeing the Legion beating up hordes of faceless goons that are up to no good. Killing Zendak was the first genuine shock that I did not see coming at all. Levitz is writing the characters a little bit better than previous issues, although I think they've crossed the line with Sun Boy from "guy who hits on everyone" to "complete irredeemable ass."

The negative? What did Shady do to deserve this? I get they wanted to shock the readers and bring some sex into the book, but was this the best way? Are they still writing Tasmia as a character, like she was in the 60s, who was desperate to date any Legionnaire? Or did they want to show Earth-Man is closer to being redeemed? 

Or shall we all just accept that some Legionnaires are far better people than we, the readers? I mean, if someone had beaten up me and my teammates, held them unconscious in glass coffins so he could steal our powers, almost killed my idol, and then later joined in the bloodiest battle in Legion history and tried to kill us, I wouldn't want them on my team no matter what anyone said. But I'm just too hard-hearted, I guess. 

 

Adventure Comics #519

More recapping goodness! The team is trying to catch Zaryan, a thief who's stealing robots and responsible for the death of an S.P. officer who was friends with Saturn Girl. Imra blames herself for the death and is determined to prove her worth to the Legion. New teammates are joining every issue.

Oh, and if the idea of Earth-Man and Shadow Lass being in bed together didn't give you enough of the ick, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy slept together and them Imra wiped Rokk's memories so he wouldn't remember what happened.

Writer Paul Levitz, penciller Eduardo Pansica, and inker Eber Ferreira bring you the next chapter in our tales from the past.

Speaking of new Legionnaires, Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, and Shrinking Violet have snuck onto Zaryan's robot transport, even though this is Saturn Girl's case. I'm already loving this first appearance of the Espionage Squad...

Cham turns into a mouse, Violet gets onto his back, and they're off to stop the bad guy.

They're in orbit around Rimbor, everyone's favorite haven for criminals, and Zaryan's buying tons of robot parts. Invisible Kid checked out one and spots the bioelectric circuitry... something's not good... and then one comes alive and looks like it's ready to attack.

We go back in time and Legionnaires Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, and Saturn Girl have gone back to Smallville to see Superboy. According to Brainy, they need to spend the next 14.4 hours in Superboy's time. He also has a list of things for them to do and we get yet another checklist of activities.

They experience natural weather, which is something none of them seem to enjoy. Brainy's protected in his force shield but the others get drenched. And they get it even worse when Superboy creates a "classic Kansas twister." Why? Why create a tornado that causes tons of property damage? Imra looks like she's ready to hurl.

Superboy realizes he's created an F5 twister and it's headed towards town. He speeds around it and shuts it down. What was the point of that, aside from destroying trucks and farmland?

Back to the future, and Invisible Kid is hiding from all the robots attacking his teammates. He's literally cowering behind a pillar while Cham, in full giant monster mode, and Violet battle the robot. They quickly defeat it - the machine is made pretty badly - and it's time to get back on task.

I guess there's no reason to complain about Lyle being a Gary Stu in this version, right?

Back to Smallville and activity number two is to help with a barn raising. They realize there are no machines to help so they've got to do all the construction by hand. Lana wonders where Clark found these clumsy kids who don't know how to do anything... but at least they're not weak.

Jonathan and Martha Kent welcome them to the event and make sure Brainy gets to try some of her famous apple pie. This is the third activity: meet the Kents.

On Zaryan's ship, the trio make their way to the bridge and Cham changes into another winged creature and attacks the leader. He and Violet go right after Zaryan, who fights back and then orders one of his troops to use the freeze ray on them.

The ray doesn't do much, Invisible Kid can't stop Zaryan, and even though they did a lot of damage, the villain escaped.

Back in the 20th Century, the five Legionnaires are standing beside the Kent's barn, watching the stars. Brainy shows off his impressive knowledge of astronomy... including, I'm assuming, the fact that the stars would be in different positions from what he's used to.

Something appears in the sky, something Brainy says is directly from Colu, so the Legionnaires change back into their costumes (loved that Superboy has to physically change and the other four just turn off their holographic projectors) and fly up to intercept... Brainiac Zero!

But too late - it slams into the barn, causing a huge explosion. Brainy says it tracked the most complicated piece of technology on Earth - Superboy's spaceship. The machine starts to attack. It's a primitive version of Brainiac but still a tough challenge for the team.

Brainy uses his force shield belt against the first version of Brainiac and destroys it. They complete the next activity - save the world.

The four get back into the Time Bubble and Brainy gives a nice recap. It's a probe sent by Brainiac to see what each world had as a threat and Brainy wanted to make sure Earth wasn't discovered until Superboy had become Superman. He also says that he first discovered records about the probe a year earlier... exactly when they first went back to the past.

Cosmic Boy figures out that Brainy hadn't made a mistake - Brainy wanted to meet Superboy and not Superman - and asks why he didn't tell them.

Brainy's response: "Seriously, Cosmic Boy -- weren't you happier thinking I'd made a mistake? I have to let you enjoy that feeling once in a while!"

I really enjoyed this issue. The heroes get along and we weren't dealing with any still subplots that had the Legionnaires acting out of character. Well, aside from Superboy starting a tornado. It would have been nice to show why he'd want to do it (maybe showing off for Saturn Girl), so it kinda came out of nowhere... especially when it started wrecking everything.

I know it's become overused by this point, but adding the checklist was a nice way to track Brainy's plans. I'm still not sure why Brainy is a nice character here and a jerk in the main Legion title, but I much prefer this one.

The art started off a little shaky, or I just wasn't used to Pansica's style in the beginning, but I enjoyed it more and more as I kept reading. Yes, there's a little bit of cartoony in there, and sometimes anatomy is a little shaky, but everyone looks like a teenager and it doesn't look like every other Superman comic at the time.

All in all, this wasn't too bad of a week for Legion comics... well, if you ignore the character assassination of poor Tasmia Mallor.