Two good books in one week? Takron-Galtos is ravaged... again... and we head to Phlon to discover what happened to Chemical Kid's father. Let's read Legion of Super-Villains #1 & Adventure Comics #524

Legion of Super-Villains #1 

Here's some history for you: this issue comes out almost fifty years after the first appearance by the Legion of Super-Villains (way back in 1961). Considering how much Paul Levitz is a student of Legion history, I have to believe that this was on purpose. He's joined by Francis Portela on art for this special issue.

We begin with a guard, struggling to bring his key towards the woman who calls. He's all alone on some grim world, forced by her demands to free her. The woman? Saturn Queen, of course.

I guess all the S.P. technology in the universe isn't enough to beat her mind control powers.

They're on Takron-Galtos and a ship carrying Kodama (you might remember him as Sun Killer) is requesting permission to land. A laser blast wrecks the ship, sending it crashing to the planet's surface, and Saturn Queen tells us that permission is denied.

They pull Sun Killer's injured body out of the wreckage, wanting to bring him back to consciousness, but he doesn't wake up. He's too injured. So Lightning Lord blasts him with electricity. Sun Killer gets to his feet, stating that he needs no help, and apologizes for failing his queen.

Saturn Queen ponders whether she should let him die at his own hands but decides that he can serve her again and live with the shame, knowing he failed.

They turn to face the chaos on Takron-Galtos. It was the warden she controlled, forcing him to release her, and he now wonders if the battle between guards and prisoners is worth it. She only wants those strong enough to defeat the guards to join her on her new evil quest.

They walk back into the building and she begins a villainous speech while playing with a severed finger. She talks about how this escape is so chaotic that no one will be able to see the grand plan that occurred. I somehow doubt it, but as long as she's happy, that's all that matters right now.

Before they get onto their escape transport, Lightning Lord wants to kill the warden for the guards' treatment of him. Saturn Queen probes the man's mind first, finding the name of a prisoner who can help them. Once she has the information, Mekt blasts him and kills him.

Onboard, Saturn Queen makes it clear she's in charge, telling Mekt that he's never been a leader and will now follow her. He kisses her hand to show his fealty. Then she orders Questor, a villainous Coluan with "technologically amplified super-intelligence" to follow her. He offers to show her the wormholes that Coluan science has hidden from the U.P. She doesn't need that - she has Zymyr to warp them around the galaxy. She needs him for something else.

Before we find out what that is, we're introduced to the rest of the villains on the ship: Immortus, an indestructible Zuunian robot, Akka, a Sklarian fighter, Micro Lad (we all remember him), and Orion the Hunter (I'm sure we remember him, too).

Saturn Queen also announces her plans. They're not going to just kill the Legionnaires, or destroy the U.P. - they're going to destroy civilization and bring anarchy back to the universe.

Micro Lad interrupts, saying that he just wants to liberate Imsk. So Akka kills him with a knife to the back. They dump the corpse back on Takron-Galtos and continue on their journey. Wow - did not see that coming but we're certainly ramping up the evil here, aren't we?

Saturn Queen continues: They're going to destroy the worlds which preach the idea of good over evil, over what she calls "our rightful passions." She wants to destroy their false Dharma of good and evil. They swear an oath bound by blue flame, promising to destroy the universe and remake it to suit them.

Lightning Lord wonders if they're powerful enough to do this. Saturn Queen tells him that she's going to build her own Legion of like-minded villains, all of whom are "devoted to the true Dharma that power takes what it chooses!"

They start warping through space, following the vision Saturn Queen received when Titan was destroyed. They end up at Oa, their ship almost destroyed, and a voice tells them:

    "Oa must be the last of the three. First destroy their faith. Then their wisdom... only then, their will."

The power of the voice is too much for Lightning Lord and Questor. Saturn Girl protects them both. She orders them to rest, turn away from Oa, and get Zymyr to take them outside of ordinary space so they can shatter the "eternal..."

Back on Takron-Galtos, Admiral Allon has arrived to the chaos and mess. He's stunned that no one knows how many prisoners escaped - the computers have been wiped and the backups all corrupted. Wildfire and Ultra Boy arrive and Allon's a little disappointed his son isn't with them.

They spot where the escape began - near the special cells where they were holding Saturn Queen. Okay, so part of the plan worked. But knowing that it's Saturn Queen behind everything definitely gives the Legion a starting point.

Back onboard the ship, Saturn Queen combines Zymyr's warping power with Orion's tracking, Questor's intelligence, and her own visions to guide the next jump to somewhere that does not exist. A warp opens to...

A deserted asteroid. It's the Rock of Eternity, long connected to Captain Marvel. So, because it's important, they fly out to destroy it.

The first blasts do nothing and Questor hypothesizes that this is because it's magical. To further prove that theory, a huge purple demon arrives. According to the Grand Comics Database, it's Rath. He thinks Lightning Lord is actually Zeus and disappears after a few bolts of lightning.

Saturn Queen's not impressed by their failure, so she commands Zymyr to, once again, do something he's not capable of. The blue flame grants him all the power he needs and Zymyr generates two warps. Planets emerge from both and slam into the Rock of Eternity, destroying it.

We get a massive explosion, which Saturn Queen calls "pretty," and then they warp away. One of the three immortal worlds is gone and there are no survivors.

Well... kinda... a mysterious hand reaches out from behind a damaged stone chair.

On The Sorcerers' World, the Black Witch ponders this change: "a flame that has burned yellow... begins to burn blue. Power that was long frozen in rock is loosed." She wonder if she's still strong enough to hold Mordru at bay.

The new Legion of Super-Villains land on Rimbor and Saturn Queen orders Lightning Lord and Akka to find as many new members for the team as they can. And that's all they're allowed to do. Before the other members warp off to Colu, she tells Mekt to destroy the ship they came in. To no surprise, he's not too happy she's treating him like a servant and lackey. But he obeys, turning the ship into a huge fireball.

I know that Rimbor is the home of the scum and villainy of the universe... wait, is it? Is this the planet where you'd find the rest of the Legion's former enemies? Wouldn't characters like Cosmic King and Spider Girl have been on Takron-Galtos? Or would they all have fled here? 

Somewhere on Colu is the information to lead them to the second immortal world. They have destroyed the Rock of Eternity, the symbol of faith. They will destroy Oa, the symbol of will. For the third planet, Saturn Girl gives us this clue:

    "There exists a third planet of immortals, chosen as the wise. For untold millennia, they have taken to their number select individuals from the known worlds, and granted them eternal life to consider the great balance... the balance that we are going to destroy."

Now that's a cliffhanger.

I gotta say, if this is how you're going to start an epic Legion story, it's a pretty good way to begin. We know our villains, we know their goal, and we've seen how dangerous they are.

 

Adventure Comics #524 

Last issue, four of our Academy students (Comet Queen, Chemical Kid, Dragonwing, and new member Glorith) went out partying... again... when they weren't supposed to. Instead of the usual breaking and entering combined with the Kid paying for everything with his father's account, they discovered that he couldn't pay for anything and the S.P.s placed them under arrest.

This issue, brought to you by storytellers Paul Levitz and Phil Jimenez, with inks by Andy Lanning, is called "First Night."

The next day, Duplicate Girl (who's really settling into the Moira McTaggart role here) and Bouncing Boy are dressing down the team for their bad behavior. While Gravity Kid, who wasn't even there, feels guilty, Chemical Kid looks just as smug and arrogant as before. Luornu is pissed, having had to use up favors to get the criminal records wiped, and grounds the entire team. They're all responsible for each other so they all get punished.

Chemical Kid argues back - the problem is that he can't access his father's accounts so there must be problems there. And he rightfully points out that they're all adults and she can't tell them their bedtimes. Professional athletes with curfews might argue that, but he does have a point. Even Bouncing Boy agrees, reminding Luornu of what they were like at that age.

Outside the Academy, Chemical Kid promises to rust down the whole facility if he can't go and see what's wrong with his father. Glorith joins him and they talk about family. She never knew her parents and doesn't even have a memory of them. He owes everything to his parents - his father grafted his powers onto his genes so he's become a superhero. Man, if you were able to choose powers, why'd you choose those ones?

He decides to go back to Phlon to see what's going on and asks Glorith if she wants to join him. To no one's surprise, Duplicate Girl's "grounding" doesn't mean anything to him.

Bouncing Boy realizes that Chemical Kid took a practice cruiser to go to Phlon and isn't surprised in the slightest. Just as he's pondering who else went, Dr. Gym'll has arrived to protest the unfair treatment of his nephew, Variable Lad. Chuck defends the punishment, saying that he's hanging out with a fast crowd.

Aboard the practice cruiser, Chemical Kid, Dragonwing, Glorith, and Gravity Kid argue about why they're going. Gravity Kid is there for a number of reasons, and has a number of reasons for not going. Oooh... back story...

They arrive on Phlon, a scientific, humorless planet where all the building look alive. Chemical Kid gives us a nice little recap and says that the last time his father smiled was when he gave him Condo Arlik's mutation. He wanted his son in the Legion, even though the Ethics Board fined him a ton.

Dragonwing reveals her background was much worse. Her family wanted her sent into decontam or to be sold. They viewed her as a freak. We also learn that Comet Queen came along too - kind of a shame they couldn't have showed her a few pages ago.

They get to Chemical Kid's home and, after Comet Queen offers to marry him for his money, they realize that there was a fight within. The housekeeper, which is an illegal humaniform, was damaged as well.

Dragonwing blasts... something... and our villain, Black Mace, is revealed. He's with a few other bad guys and the battle begins. After an initial strike that sends Dragonwing flying, Chemical Kid sees his father held in a choke hold. Black Mace knows who he is, referring to Chemical Kid as "the gene mod boy."

On that cliffhanger, let's return to the Academy. It's time for the final tests, and Lamprey, Power Boy, Nightwind, and Crystal Kid are anxiously awaiting their chance to join the Legion. Cosmic Boy has arrived to lower their spirits. Check out this amazing speech:

    "Don't lock in too much on Legion membership -- it's not for everyone. The risks are high, the tension incredible... and even if you don't get killed, you have to give up your life to the team."

Wow. Way to upsell the opportunity. Also, isn't the Legion incredibly short-handed? Shouldn't they be desperate to add some new faces to help? When you consider that these four have been training at the Academy since the 1970s, they should be more than prepared and ready to be Legionnaires. Or the Legion should know whether they can cut it or not.

Also, I'm starting to worry about Cosmic Boy. Is he suffering from depression? 

Back to Phlon and the battle continues. Black Mace is just a little condescending towards the trainees (which is kinda understandable), saying that he'd "be more annoyed by a shipload of Science Police".

Gravity Kid shows his knowledge of the villain, providing us important background and then Black Mace lets us know that the Taurus Gang is back. I do always love when they bring back old Legion villains and give them a makeover.

Unfortunately for Black Mace, Gravity Kid uses his powers to make the maces very, very heavy. He then uses his powers to do... something... again, I think this was supposed to be made clear with dialogue, but I think he made Black Mace super-light and then super-heavy, crashing him into the ground.

This is the second time where I wonder if Jimenez and Levitz were actually on the same page, metaphorically. It feels like there was a mix up. 

Chemical Kid threatens the other bad guy, telling him that he'll stop his body chemistry if he doesn't let go of his father. But his powers suddenly don't work.

A blue-haired woman has appeared and uses Chemical Kid's gene mod against him. Actually, against the whole team. They all collapse unconscious as the woman stands triumphant. Most definitely to be continued...

 

This was one of the best reading weeks I've had in a long time with these Legion reviews. I really enjoyed the Legion of Super-Villains special and thought Adventure Comics was a much stronger story than last week.

Let's focus on the positives:

• Whether the actual plan makes any sense or not, and I'm not sure it does, I love that the LSV actually has a goal and is growing their membership to work against the Legion. Moving Saturn Queen into the top spot is a great choice and she's so completely evil and crazy that you never know what she's going to do next.
• I said it last week and I'll say it again - just having Phil Jimenez on Adventure Comics elevates it to the next level. He brings every panel alive and tells a very compelling story. When we make a list of DC's bad decisions, choosing to end this so prematurely when you had Jimenez bringing life to a corner of the Legion universe is a big one.
• I've been highly critical of Levitz since he took over both books, enjoying moments and pieces here and there, but this was the first week where I felt he was firing on all cylinders in both books. I'm tempted to say it's because these stories are far more focused than we've seen. Adventure doesn't have to follow the A-plot, B-plot formula and we get a more concise, straight-forward adventure. And the special is the same way. Maybe when he stops the juggling, he's able to really bring the heat.

For the first time in a while, I'm actually looking forward to the next issues and where they're going to take these stories... I just wish I didn't know that Jimenez only has one more issue...