Long Live the Legion

  Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #27 This is the first page of this book... it should be the cover:   The Dominion invasion has begun. Last issue, a big robot released something red into the air and Brainiac 5 let the Legion know that they were already defeated. Other stuff is going on but who cares... let's get into the action. This issue is brought to you by writer Mark Waid, penciller Barry Kitson, and inker Mick Gray. Three issues in a row - congrats! We begin on the Dominion Homeworld, where two of the leaders are happily providing exposition and bringing us up to speed. It was the A.I. Virus that they released in the red cloud last issue and all technology is now under their control. Everyone on Earth is panicking because there's no more food and the Dominators are confident they've already won the war. The one with the biggest disk on his head (so the leader) turns and we see that Sun Boy and his team are being held captive. The Dominators have scraped thei...

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #17 Is this all a dream? Have we entered Supergirl's mind and we're in deep REM sleep? Does the sight of Ultra Boy leering at Supergirl on the cover fill me with dread? Is Micro Lad hitting on Shadow Lass? We answer some of these questions this week as we continue rereading the Threeboot Legion. This issue is brought to you by writer Mark Waid, penciller Barry Kitson, and inker Mick Gray. We begin somewhere dark. A robot comes to life, surrounded by other robots, and they start talking about carbon reduction. Is this the DC version of Ultron? The S.P.s and the Legion burst inside, both groups intent on stopping this new threat before it starts. Phantom Girl gets to be the sarcastic team member this issue, ripping apart the Science Police and the officer criticizing her. As the robot changes into a huge electrical threat, the Legionnaires start to realize that they may be in big trouble. Supergirl shows up, unplugs the robot, saves the da...

Legion of Super-Heroes v5 #15 On one hand, I'm happy to see Dawnstar, Blok, and Tyroc, three of my favorite Legionnaires from my childhood. On the other hand, I really don't trust this title to not turn them into jerks. Sigh... We have a guest creative team this issue: writer Stuart Moore, penciller Pat Olliffe, and inker Livesay. I'm not expecting much as Moore's last Legion short story was pretty mid at best. Fingers crossed. We start with three underagers gathered around a lantern, sitting outside and talking about how they can't be Legionnaires. After all, the HQ is in shambles after the previous storyline and no one knows what's going to happen next. I'm going to assume this story happens before last issue so this makes a little bit of sense. Wow... crazy that the editor couldn't have mentioned that... A mysterious, almost phantom-like stranger appears, clad only in long blue robes that cover their face as well. They talk about how being a Legionnai...

Legion of Super-Heroes v5 #13 This is it! The final battle! Legion versus Terror Firma and Lemnos! Dream Girl is dead! Atom Girl (Shrinking Violet) has returned! Three Legionnaires are fighting 10,000 soldiers! Cosmic Boy has taken over the intergalactic communication system the United Planets have been using and is broadcasting his own message of resistance and rebellion! Oh, and we get another amazingly good cover! Our creative team this issue - writer Mark Waid, layout artist Barry Kitson, and inker Mick Gray. We begin on Lemnos' planetoid... or headquarters... Karate Kid, Ultra Boy, and Brin Londo (who we know as Timber Wolf) are fighting their way through 10,000 of Lemnos' soldiers. Terror Firma, minus their critically-injured leader, Elysion, are ready to kill as many Legionnaires as they can. The soldiers have orders to storm the transmatter gates and begin their assaults on the different U.P. planets. But the gates are flickering. What can that mean? It turns out, it me...

Legion of Super-Heroes v5 #9 Where did we leave off? Oh right, everyone on the Legion is acting like a jerk and they're splitting into two teams. One follows Cosmic Boy and the other follows Brainiac 5. Not sure why you'd follow either, but since I'm not an underager, things in this book make less sense to me. Actually, that's a good aside - if anyone reading this was a teenager when they first read this series, did the young versus old plot line work? Did the book accurately reflect what it was like to be a teenager? Did any of this work for you? We begin with Legionnaire staring down Legionnaire and the crowd of "Legionnaires" congregated around the HQ are starting to leave. Everyone knows about the fight and everyone's taking sides. Invisible Kid shows up to stop a fight and they accuse him of being the one Legionnaire who's been playing both sides against the other. He let Cosmic Boy into Brainy's lab and then told Brainy what happened. Lyle ru...