Legion of Super-Heroes #10: the Legion will disavow all knowledge...

[perletwo]

LOSH #10 is just out, and it's setting up for the next big story arc. I bring you 3 & 1/3 pages to give you the general idea.

Last issue: Some creepozoid monsternasties teleported into Brainiac 5's lab to kidnap him, despite Harmonia and Dream Girl's best defenses; Brainy got snatched, and Dreamy got taken along for the ride.






Technically the kidnappers are unidentified, but the Legion has, let us say, a very strong suspicion. But despite a covert intel assault on the suspects' Earth embassy and current leader Mon-El's impassioned plea to the council, the United Planets and Earthgov have forbidden the Legion from making any move against their suspects.

So what's a team to do? Splinter over the issue, of course.






That last jab of Bouncing Boy's is a resignation letter from Comet Queen, Chuck's go-to groupie girl. She hasn't been active much, but she was inducted into the Legion with the rest of the most recent graduating class to replace the Legion Lost crew.


So help is on the way, and that's a good thing! Right?





It's a little early to start placing bets, but it should be interesting to see how the odds on that prophecy of Dreamy's shape up as the arc progresses.

Incidentally, I think Star Boy is in that chair because of ongoing effects of the process of restoring his sanity after his return from the 21st century. (Unless he got whomped in the Saturn Queen's New Legion of Super-Villains arc and I've forgotten? Anyone?) Reference has been made to his having rehab sessions, but I believe the end of last ish was the first time we'd seen him use an assistive device to get around.

Comments

[darkknightjrk]

Damn--Duplicate Damsel had a pretty good badass moment there. :O

[icon_uk]

Up to a point, yes, but since her power is INFINTE replication, death really isn't an issue any more so it's a weird twist to self-sacrifice.

Personally, since there seems to be no core/primary Duplicate Damsel, I'd hope she's left spare selves across the UP as a defensive measure.

[sir_razorback]

Jamie Mardox, your blind date has arrived.

[darkknightjrk]

Or: The ULTIMATE Quadruple Date.

[jlroberson]

WHERE DO THE CLOTHES COME FROM?

[icon_uk]

Ummm.. isn't this exactly why you have the Legion Espionage Squad in the first place? To carry out the Black Ops (Well, Black-ish) missions?

[perletwo]

Recall how well that worked out when Cham led a spyraid on Khundian space, though. Cold & lonely corner of Hell, anyone?

There's an exchange when Ultra Boy rescues Cos in the Dominators' embassy to the effect that the Espionage Squad is off-planet and he couldn't wait for them to get back - Cos has spent the last few issues obsessing over finding the Legion Lost crew - but we don't know what the Squad's up to.

[icon_uk]

Although consider how WELL it worked when the post ZH Legion basically brought down a corrupt UP President, by dint of minsinformation, misdirection and good tactical thinking. (My favourite reveal being Chameleon Boy revealing that he'd been able to speak perfectly good Interlac pretty much since the inception of the team, but had kept up the facade of "Alien bumpkin has difficulty communicating" as it serves as an excellent cover.)

[q99]

The Threeboot Legion was also pretty good at sneaky.

[perletwo]

Wasn't reading then, tho' I really should go back and pick some of that up - you mean the Barry Kitson-era Legion, right?

In any case, the pols specified on record, no actions overt or covert that might increase tensions between the Dominators and the UP unless and until the council decides a formal state of war needs to be declared. On which they're taking the advice of the Star Fleet, not the Legion. Basically, Cos' botched intel raid ended up making matters worse for the Legion's position with the council.

[icon_uk]

Nope, never liked the Kitson Legion at all, I mean the 1993 post Zero-Hour Legion reboot with the Bierbaum's, Tom McCraw and Mark Waid writing and Chris Sprouse and Stuart Immonen on art

[jlroberson]

It was one of those of Waid's(though I am very much liking his DAREDEVIL, though my god, too much crossover for my taste) that was trying way too hard to appeal to what he thinks the kids want. I especially found the way he wrote Brainy's dialogue irritating, and he also mostly lost the likable elements of the character, leaving only the superior dickweed. Brainy is supposed to be smart, and arrogant. But always to a larger and surprisingly unselfish purpose. While Waid and Kitson's Brainy simply cut off a piece of Cham without asking to study him. Which was not funny at all.

It rang about as wrong as the "Clobberin' Time" rap in his FF. On that: Waid, when you write rap it's like someone's dad trying to dance. Just. Don't.

PS

[jlroberson]

Except: I DID like the way he dealt with the actual nature of Phantom Girl. No one ever thinks about the fact that when she phases out, she's phasing INTO her homeworld. And what must that do to her relationships? That was an interesting bit.

Re: PS

[perletwo]

Back in 1981, just before/as Paul Levitz was first coming on board as permanent Legion writer, there was a hairball of a plotline explaining a dead-hero statue seen in a Silver Age "grown-up Legion" story, for a member called Reflecto. Ultra Boy was missing and presumed dead; "Reflecto" had Jo's body; and for some reason Jo's mind had been displaced into Superboy's head.

Levitz came in at the end of the arc, and to straighten the whole thing out he had Tinya phase all three of them into the Bgtzl-dimension to get them fixed. Why that worked I don't recall; but I believe it's the only time in the 80's Legion renaissance that we spent any time in/on Tinya's home world/space.

Re: PS

[jlroberson]

And like many I love Tinya, but I have to wonder sometimes if what we see of her is really her, or if she is in fact some kind of Lloigor. ;)

I mean, "dimension," they always say, not "parallel."

Re: PS

[jlroberson]

...and by the way, THAT'S NOT EVEN THE LEGION'S UNIVERSE. Technically is she even qualified to be in the Legion? (and she's one of the oldest members!)

Re: PS

[perletwo]

Now that you bring it up, have we ever even seen anyone else from Bgtzl in the Legion universe? Other than Tinya's brother, who was an Academy trainee at one point - just a random rank-and-file Bgtzlian passerby? I'm pretty sure we haven't in the pre-COIE continuity...

[flidgetjerome]

Rather random, but I'd like to thank the artist for this wonderfully fan-service-y Brainy.

[perletwo]

That would be Francis Portela doing the art on the Brainy/Dreamy pages, and Andres Guinaldo & Dan Green on the "the word is no, i am therefore going anyway" pages, for those keeping track of such things.

[jlroberson]

In the latter pages it appears they're modeling Dreamy a bit on Lady Gaga. It's the nose. (I like the nose by the way; you don't see prominent noses on women often enough in comics)

[mishalak]

Rndom? Why random? I always say thank you for fan service, at least if it is my fan being serviced. Politeness counts.

[pallas_athena]

Motto that.

[mrosa]

Why is she called Duplicate Damsel if she can multiply herself into infinity?

[lieut_kettch]

Multiple Maiden doesn't sound as good?

[terrykun]

I'm still partial to 'Myriad' from that issue of Spider-Boy.

[cleome45]

I still think that "Riot Girl" would've been a great new name for her. :p

[darkknightjrk]

I like that better, actually--rolls off the tongue a little more.

[perletwo]

Because Final Crisis, basically.

[wizardru]

Presumably because she can make duplicate_s_, not just a 'duo'...and Duplicates Damsel doesn't sound quite right, even if it's technically more accurate.

[icon_uk]

A duplicate is a copy, a hundred duplicates are a hundred copies. A duplicate is a thing, not a number.

[crinos]

Anyone else like Sippowitz style Bouncing Boy?

[perletwo]

*raises hand*

I particularly like the coat. Good look for him.

[crinos]

Yeah. they took the guy whose origin and powers were basically one big fat joke* and made him into a gruff, kinda of awesome gumshoe type.


*Before people jump down my throat, I know that Bouncing Boy hasn't really been a joke for a long time, and he is a cool character, but its about time his look caught up to his characterization.

[darkknightjrk]

From what I've heard, he does become pretty awesome, but I recently read the issue showing his origin story, and at that point he was basically the Peter Griffin of the Legion. "Oh GOD this soda pop tastes horrible...OH GOD it's the serum that I was supposed to deliver...OH GOD I CAN'T STOP DRINKING IT."

[crinos]

Like I said, he was basically one big fat joke: He got powers because he drank something he wasn't supposed to, and his powers involved expanding and bouncing around.

The Silver Age was awesome, but it could also be kind of assholish too when it wanted too.

[darkknightjrk]

Seriously--their "initiations" were just a couple steps away from frat hazing, and a lot of the plots for those first story is, "this guy's being a massive prick, find out why!"

[big_daddy_d]

I have a question..is it possible for a whole race to be descended from certain DC Characters? I always had this thought about Dream Girl and her people being of the Wilson lineage.