It's the end of two eras?? We lose a writer and we end a mini-series. Let's take a look at Legion Lost (volume 2) #6 & Legion Secret Origin #6

Legion Lost (vol 2) #6

Legion Lost #1 sold 41,726 copies.

Legion Lost #6 sold 17,502 copies.

That's a 58% drop.

I think I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall inside DC Comics offices when these sales numbers were coming back. "But we have Fabian Nicieza writing this! He's super popular. Remember when everything he touched at Marvel was flying off the shelves? We have artist Pete Woods, who did some amazing work on some of the Superman books... and he's doing some of the best work of his career.

We even added Tom DeFalco to help with the scripting and he's taking over the book next issue. And to help Pete make his deadlines, we've got Matt Camp providing some artwork, too!

Let's get an amazing cover as well, showing the entire team bursting off the page. We've brought back Gates and Yera, so all the fans should be happy. Right? Right??

We've got three of the most popular Legionnaires of the past 40 years - Wildfire, Dawnstar, and Timber Wolf. Heck, one of them is kinda like Wolverine, and every one of his books sells, right? And let's add Tellus - everyone loves telepaths. And let's make Tyroc into the leader and fix all of his problems. How can this go wrong?"

So many, many, many ways...

Let's begin so we can get this over with.

We're in some sort of secure facility. The Martian Manhunter has taken on the time-honored role of "provider of exposition." He lets us know that he "rendered" Timber Wolf "unconscious in the wilderness" last issue. Except it wasn't the wilderness. It was a train depot. On the outskirts of a city.

Did anyone actually read these comics while they were producing them?

J'onn J'onnz is getting angry - he doesn't understand how Timber Wolf recognizes him. He knows there's some of time signature emanating from Brin's body, and he knows that his friends are out there and he has to find them.

You would think that he'd be more familiar with time travel at this point, right? Or at least open to the possibility.

Anyway, let's jump away to the main story. Tyroc is our narrator this issue, judging by the three circles that have become his logo. Why no, it's not confusing that both Tyroc and Brainiac 5 use three circles. No, it's not irritating that it has absolutely nothing to do with sound or sonics.

Gates is teleporting around the military base that is currently holding Timber Wolf and Chameleon Girl (I was almost certain they were going to forget about her), yelling inane political slogans. "Fascist taxidermists!" "Spew teeth, not dogma!"

Gates is able to disarm all the guards, so Tyroc sends Dawnstar and Wildfire in as the next wave. How does he communicate with his team, considering the flight rings don't work? They're using headsets Gates grabbed "from the loading bay of an electronics store." Wouldn't it have been nice if this had been introduced in the previous five issues while, you know, the team was communicating with each other over great distances?

Continuing with our exposition, Major Nicholson has returned to explain the team's powers to Timber Wolf. I actually like this bit of dialogue. What does she call the team? "Faceplate," "Lenny Kravitz," the woman with "Pretty Wings," the "little bug," and "a huge yellow frog."

Timber Wolf points out that there's also a huge green alien, but J'onn is telepathically blocking anyone from seeing him. The Major tells Brin that this is a medical observatory and that Yera is sedated and alive. Brin points out that he could've escaped at any time and she better bring Yera out right away or things are going to get violent.

Dawnstar's powers continue to change as she can now sense magnetic fields, bioheat signatures, and an intravenous line. Just as she's starting to get more specific, Gates teleports in and lets them know that Yera's being held two flights down and isn't being guarded.

No idea why he didn't just grab her and then we'd only have to rescue Brin, but the day this series makes any sense at all is the day I stop drinking while reading it. Wildfire tells them they need to split up to perform two rescues... again... Gates... teleports in... grabs Yera... Ugh...

Tyroc believes he's wrong but he's too insecure and uncertain to stand up for what he thinks is right. I think I preferred cocky Tyroc better than this guy. He is a great enough leader to make the worst possible choices for rescues. Gates and Dawny go grab Timber Wolf, who's surrounded by tons of soldiers, while he and Wildfire will grab Yera, who's sedated and not under guard.

If you were wondering where Tellus is,  and I kinda was, he's back at their hotel room with an unconscious Alastor. He's been probing our villain's mind and we're continuing the "Alastor wasn't that bad of a guy, it's understandable that he was mad because his sister died, and he didn't create the pathogen that's killing people, he just delivered it" plot line.

Wildfire and Tyroc get into the room where Yera's being held and they wonder what they're going to do if they can't change her back to normal. She's in the form of some other alien and we're, once again, throwing away decades of established Legion history to a stupid plot. Durlans return to their original form when they're knocked out. Right?

The Legionnaires grab Yera just as The Martian Manhunter arrives. Wildfire blasts the room just as J'onn changes into a monster and we get this great line from everyone's favorite Martian: "A most impressive display of raw power. One which indicates that you, too, are only assuming a human guise."

How? How does that blast tell J'onn that Wildfire's not human? How many humans has he met that can destroy things at will? Someone needed to tell the writers one simple fact: No one new is reading this book. The only people left are die hard Legion fans who are praying things are going to get better. Like me.

Just as the battle begins, Tyroc recognizes J'onn and orders Drake to stop fighting. They talk for a bit, he opens his mind so J'onn can learn the truth, and everything's resolved in four panels.

To make things even easier, and to tie up another plot line, J'onn tells Tyroc that Yera "needs to integrate more biomass into her form to regain control over it." And then tells them there's a Durlan corpse in storage.

No, I have no idea how J'onn would know this. And no, I'm not sure why he's so cavalier about using alien remains in this way.

No shock here, Timber Wolf didn't need rescuing (and Gates and Dawnstar took too long to get there - those teleportation circles are really, really slow...). He busts out of his restraints and immediately attacks Nicholson.

Which is when the "mechanical augmented exoskeleton" shows up and Dawnstar smashes it with one punch. Is it an exoskeleton? No. Does it look like a rejected ED-209 design? Yes. Did you know Dawnstar was that strong? Me neither.

Timber Wolf's happy to see Gates is still alive and I guess that's a new friendship we've never seen before. It's a lot better than when the Legionnaires were actively treating Gates like crap, so I'll take it.

Down in the cryogenic chamber, J'onn assists the unconscious Yera in absorbing the dead Durlan's tissue. Who's the only person who has a slight problem with this? Wildfire, of course, because it's reverse day.

Two panels later, and Yera is back to normal... and topless... No idea why she's wearing underwear, but it probably has something to do with people freaking out when they see a naked butt. Fifty cents says those lines were drawn in after editorial freaked out.

J'onn then tells them that he has what he needs, the energy signature from when the Legion first arrived. He's part of Stormwatch now (I had completely forgotten about that horrible idea) and now that his investigation is over, he's letting the Legion go.

He also drops the final bomb: "You already have enough problems if you are truly time travelers. Time travel is strictly a one-way trip. You cannot return home. You're all going to die here."

Geez, what happened to the J'onn who ate too many Oreos? Or, you know, was kind? Also, how would he know this?

The team goes back to the hotel and Tellus reveals that he fell asleep and Alastor disappeared. Like, literally, Tellus can't find any trace of him disappeared. Dawnstar?? Any help here?

Gates asks the most pertinent question: "How the splotz do we get home?" and I've just now realized that Gates has two different kinds of eyes. Why? No idea... 

I'd bet money that most of the dialogue this issue was written by DeFalco (who I'll talk more about next column), as a lot of felt like he was trying to figure out who was who as he was writing it. Both he and Nicieza fall into the Marvel trap of "let's provide a ton of exposition to make sure everyone knows the main characters, but ignore the supporting characters."

I'm also going to call out Matt Camp here, who probably drew more of this issue than I expected when I was going through the credits. It's another really good-looking good, so kudos to him. If nothing else, Legion Lost has been pretty on the eyes.

For a final postmortem on Fabian Nicieza's time on Legion Lost, I think it's for the best that he's done. Judging from his comments, he was treated like garbage by someone in DC editorial and was also incredibly busy writing other things at this time. So his heart probably wasn't in it. Of course, he also wrote what's in the running for worst six-issue run in Legion history, so I'm not going to cut him too much slack.

Let's hope things get better. 

 

Legion Secret Origin #6

For Legion Lost, we reached the end of the Nicieza run, which was probably the best for both DC and for the writer himself.

For Legion Secret Origin, we reach the end of the mini-series, which is a shame because it's the best of the three Legion books DC was publishing at the time. I honestly think writer Paul Levitz was enjoying writing his childhood team more than writing the new adventures in the regular book. Artists Chris Batista and Marc Deering were also producing the best-looking book of the three as well.

This issue, titled "Time and Again," begins with R.J. Brande being led to his death by Mycroft, the human member of the Security Directorate, while the latter is possessed by some unknown entity. At least, I think he's possessed. Considering he's the one narrating the beginning of this issue and is showing no sign that he's under any foreign control, I'm, once again, confused.

Brande is unconscious, hauled around by a robot that looks a lot like something John Byrne was drawing in the 70s (check out his early Charlton work), while Mycroft gives a speech about how the billionaire will no longer be able to bribe the U.P.

Isn't it cute that it was only 14 years ago that Brande was presented as a rich person who bribed the government and was not a villain?

Mycroft places a device on the table, turns it on, and we get the first big reveal. It's not Brande! It's Chameleon Boy. Cham tosses the explosive device away and is amazed Mycroft didn't know the Legion would provide more than one bodyguard.

The robot then shows off the guns on its arms, firing at the Durlan. Once again, the villains seem to spend most of the book underestimating the Legionnaires.

Brainiac 5 has finally reached Phantom Girl and is stunned that she hasn't realized that she might have travelled both from another dimension and another time. In fact, the invasion force that the Legion soundly defeated last issue might be from another time as well.

Tinya just shrugs and says that she's not a theorist and that she just goes where she's told. While Brainy spirals, she smiles and tells him that Bgtzl is just a place.

Somehow that's enough for Brainy to have yet another "a-ha" moment. He's figured out how to destroy it all, grabs Phantom Girl's hand, and drags her somewhere.

Oh, and I must point out that Tinya comments, "...for a complete lunatic, you're kinda cute." If he's trying to create a love triangle, Brainy is weird choice for the third member.

Speaking of the defeated alien invasion, Admiral Allon is congratulating his son, and the entire Legion, for the victory. Ultra Boy is nice enough to provide us with dialogue that doesn't match the scene in the slightest - he tells us that he was trying to figure out which gang to join on Rimbor when he was grabbed and made a part of the Legion. Hmm... weird way to add him to the team, but it all worked out.

Oh, and I have to give credit to a reader who mentioned last week how much they hated the fact that they're coloring Jo's symbol yellow instead of green. I agree completely - this looks horrible.

They talk a bit about how the Legion's going to help repel the next attack, and how the U.P. didn't recruit soldiers from Braal (Security, says Allon), when Brainy calls to let them know his latest plan.

To no surprise at all, the guns didn't work on Cham and he's changed shape, destroyed the robot, and wrapped Mycroft up in his tentacles. I also realized, because I'm not very smart, that Cham wasn't pretending to be Brande - he's still sitting there. Yep, I missed the arm in the background a few pages back. I still have no idea where Cham came from, or what he was pretending to be, but that's kinda par for the course for these books, right?

Mycroft just kinda collapses and Cham assumes that he's like the previous assassins - controlled by outside forces. The big black shape ominously hovering over Cham kinda proves his hypothesis.

I'm left wondering why Mycroft was still narrating at the beginning of the issue if he wasn't actually in control of his actions.

Back to the wormhole and Brainy has revealed his plan. They use the damaged Time Bubble we saw last issue to "unleash unstable chronal energy to destroy the wormhole..." Is it safe? Nope. Does Ultra Boy try to stop Brainy for absolutely no good reason? Yep.

Does Phantom Girl take over, wanting to go back home before they destroy the wormhole and then use the Time Bubble to close the "door" behind her? Yep.

 

Let's pause during this reread for the two-page DC house ad promoting the "graphic novel release schedule" for the rest of the year. Every single New 52 book is getting their first six issues collected as a trade and I can only assume DC took an absolute bath on these. The Legion Lost trade hit shelves in September and the series was cancelled by January. And was anyone screaming for a Men of War trade?

 

Sorry for that, I couldn't resist. Phantom Girl takes control of the Time Bubble, even though she has absolutely no idea how to use it, pilots it to the wormhole, and it explodes in a massive explosion. Her powers will keep her safe, and that's the only part of this that makes any sense.

The black ghost-like figure appears in front of Chameleon Boy and forces the Durlan into his true shape. If you were wondering for even a moment who this new threat is, he delivers this speech:

"I am he who waits at the world's end... and your Legion will not survive to challenge me. I twisted universes to reach out to keep your alliance from coming into being."

Yeah, so it's the Time Trapper. I always wonder if there's even been a story meeting where someone asks, "If the Time Trapper wants to kill Brande to prevent him from starting the Legion, why doesn't he go back to when Brande is a baby and kill him then?"

Before he can kill Brande, a huge purple explosion just appears, shutting down the Trapper's gateway and pulling him out of the world. I guess Phantom Girl accomplished more than she could've imagined.

Brande finally wakes up and Cham tells him he's safe, although Cham doesn't know why.

Post explosion, Cosmic Boy lays into Brainy for being so cavalier about calculating the death of a team member. He tells the Coluan that Legionnaires need to be able to trust each other, which is when Brainy points out that he's not one. Rokk says that if Brainy grows up a bit, he can be. He salutes Phantom Girl for her sacrifice...

And Tinya thanks him for the "sweet" words. The explosion didn't kill her and she decided this place was far more exciting than her home world. Also, she likes her "new buddies," hugging Brainy while Jo stares at them with... a kind of blank stare...

Back on Earth, Colossal Boy has taken on his time-honored role of construction worker and is helping build the Clubhouse. With the Legion's success, government opposition has ended and they can start thinking about adding more members. Triplicate Girl shows up with a list of good candidates and Saturn Girl lets them know that Brainy's fixed the flaw with the Time Bubble. 

So is it safe to assume that the Flashpoint barrier isn't a problem at this point in time? You're right, that makes absolutely no sense.

The two other members of the Security Directorate have arrived just in time to wrap everything up. Mycroft is fine and Brande dropped all the charges. The Naltorian member is also nice enough to give the new villain a name: The Time Trapper.

We end with a very nice two-page spread of the Legion, posing in front of their new HQ.

To be honest, that was a pretty flat final issue. There were some nice character moments with Phantom Girl, but all the exciting stuff happened last issue. We also didn't get any explanations about, honestly, anything.

And for a book called "Secret Origin," I'm not entirely sure what was secret about any of this. Yes, they changed a few things. But for the most part, they could've really pushed the Legion in a different way and refreshed a lot of what had happened before.

The New 52 should've been a great starting point to bring in new readers and revitalize this book. I don't know if this did the job. Even with better costumes, for the most part, there's not much here that would get readers excited about the other books. In the end, as much as I enjoyed most of it, I don't know why this mini-series exists.

 

Here's the bad news and good news department.

The bad news is that there's not going to be a column next week. I need a break...

The good news is that we have another great Long Live the Legion episode coming out today. We take a deep dive into the life and career of Brainiac 5. The podcast is here. The YouTube version is here.