When fanservice is essential to the plot who you gonna call? ADAM HUGHES!

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I originally planned on posting this as a quick scan of Triplicate Girl's swimsuit, as I love the notion of a costume that splits into three different outfits to match the personalities. However when I dug the issue out, I realised that this was a golden opportunity to showcase how to best utilise your artist... You get Adam Hughes on art, then give him a story where the entire cast of sculpted young Adonises and curvaceous Aphrodites ARE IN SWIMSUITS... and it's not gratuitous, it's a PLOT POINT!



Genius!

Some backstory - This is the Pre-Zero hour Legion... or to be precise, the Legionnaires. Long story short, the now grown up Legion discovered a group of teenage incarnations of themselves (known as the SW6 batch for no real reason) held in stasis by the evil Dominators . Much discussion was had as to which group were the originals and which were the clones, but that doesn't really matter here.

As a result of the Dominators actions, the planet Earth was destroyed, but though the deathtoll was eventually phenomenally large since not everyone could be evacuated, many cities managed to use their long established bu unused defensive domes to escape destruction, and be linked together into a spectacularly enormous single ship, a sort of interplanetary Eden Project. The young Legionnaires were based on this earth-ship

This is by Tom and Mary Bierbaum and ADAM HUGHES. Now the Bierbaums have their critics, and some of their story choices were rather unfortunate (the Shvaugh/Sean bit being the one which still makes me facepalm) but you have to respect their courage in changing s

They were the first to indicate that the three bodies of Triad/Triplicate Girl had different personalities, a move which has been. They revealed that the older Lightning Lad was the personality of Proty living within the body of Garth, and that Imra had, at some level, known all along, and when the SW6 Lightning Lad showed up he was FAR more outgoing, rebellious than he had been in years, taking the new name "Livewire". Their Sun Boy iteration, known as Inferno was a far more... or perhaps that should be MORE sexually active guy even when younger. Together Inferno and Livewire could also be REALLY obnoxious, which I'll try and show in another post where we meet their new version of the Emerald Empress.

Their Supergirl equivalent was Daxamite Laurel Gand, who used the codename Andromeda, and she was romantically involved with a a still getting used to the idea of emotional relationships Brainiac 5 (He's not as much of an uptight asshole as some incarnations). Other relationships were still being formed and tested. Jo and Tinya are, as always, a very much a couple.

So, on to the issue; After several exhausting missions the team are sent for R&R and a group (Andromeda, Braniac 5, Shrinking Violet, Matter-Eater Lad, Apparition, Ultra Boy, Triad and Inferno) decide to go and vacation in one of the domed cities they've never been to; Atlantis. (It's such an obvious choice for a domed city survivor since it already HAD one!) It's one of two waterbased domes, the other being Marsala) and though it had never encouraged visitors before, it was finding tourism was now one of it's only sources of income... (We also see at the start, a little merkid exploring some caves being grabbed by a clawed monster

They arrive at their hotel in Tritonis



Hey, Atlantis got Asian merfolk! That's their daughter Keiki behind them. The Legionnaires settle in, with M-E Lad insisting they have the best rooms available, and Inferno and Keiki hitting it right off...

So they head to the facilities... and that means swimsuits for EVERYONE! :) And clearly Laurel has seen "The Little Mermaid" a couple of times too often...



Check out Inferno's less than subtle speedo's and Triad's nice red white and blue number... (I should add that Inferno is looking for a partner to go out on some souped up jet bikes rather than any other kind of jousting you might be imagining.



I love both the way that even though Triad as a whole isn't keen on the notion, her aggresive personality is interesting in trying it, and the way her outfit splits. A red bikini for her aggressive personality, a modest white full torso suit for her shy personality and a blue one piece, but with a boob window, for her balanced personality. It should be noted that Matter-Eater lad, in his fetching dental-patterned shorts has an apparently unrequited crush on Shrinking Violet

After the race (Inferno and Triad Red win) the Triads have a little self recrimination session, which suggests that their separate personalities have a rather more separate life than might have been hinted at before....



OUCH!

Inferno is flirting with Keiki when they are get involved with an Atlantean guard shooting at a marauding Devil Fish monster. Inferno investigates, and finds out that the Atlanteans are being advised by their human PR consultants to cover up the many attacks by the Devil Fish in order that their vital tourist trade isn't damaged. Inferno is determined to investigate.

The rest of the team head towards tourist destination "Atlantic Park", where they have such inspiring rides as "The Caravan of Extinct Species" (Triad White wants to ride the Beluga Whale... which is a depressing commentary in passing). But I pause for more barely dressed good looking people being happy with each other...





WOOF! on that last pic... Alas Violet isn't really interested in M-E "That way", and not because of the fact that adult Vi and Ayla were already a couple by this point might point towards any set orientation, but because she was sort of involved with a boy already, Devlin O'Ryan, a member of the adult Legion as "Reflecto", but I digress) They are interrupted by a group of Devil-Fish, and a squad of trigger happy Altanetan guards, who are about to feel the wrath of a PO'd Matter Eater Lad!



This is the sort of thing that makes the Legion special! :)

The other Legionanires discover a nest of Devil Fish, and resolve to stop hostilities on BOTH sides. Ultra Boy looks damn fine here, and B5#s white trunks are still very distracting, if slightly like a nappy (Sorry, not for Americans, that's a diaper). And whilst I'm sure there are many bad guys, and indeed many good guys who would occasionally like to slap a hand over Brainy's mouth, here's a beast who actually DOES it!



Violence continues until Brainy interrupts, ordering the Devil Fish, in their own language, to stop attacking (Sigh, I DO like my blond liguists)

I love Laurel's reaction to Brainy switching to academic lecture mode...



Most of the Devil Fish died with Earth, since they weren't aware of the threat, but a few survived in the Atlantis Dome, and assumed that the destruction had happened because the Atlanteans had wiped the rest of them out and so had started attacking Atlanteans in retaliation (As the victim we saw at the start couldn't have been much more than 10 and appears to have been murdered, I'm not sure how defesible their claims are, but that, sadly, happens in real life too)



The Atlanteans and Devil Fish agree to try, Inferno promises to come back and see Keiki, and the Legionnaires ready themselves to go home. Because the Innkeeper says nothing, the Legionnaires assume that they have been comp'd for their visit, all except Violet, who catches the innkeepers expression as they leave and puts two and two together. Vi breaks the news to the others (I'm mostly including this because of the great shot of Andromeda in costume)



Inferno and ME-Lad (Who had both indulged their every whim at the Inn) are reluctant to pay, but when Andreomda blackmails Inferno by pointing out that he left his flight ring behind anyway, and she'll tell Chameleon (the team leader) about it, which will result in him being docked a months duty allowance, he does go back, dragging M-E Lad with him.

Tthey go back, to find the Green Lotus Inn dark, and Keiki sobbing to herself.



And so the story ends with the Legionnaires all chipping in their fair amount (Including Inferno and M-E Lad, despite them trying the old "Let's split the bill equally even though we spent waaaaay more than you did" trick which has broken up many a friendship) and all is well.

Comments

[oldmanrain.insanejournal.com]

Kinda looks like....Conan O'Brien on the cover :)

[merseybeatler.insanejournal.com]

White bathing suits. That....that is not a good idea.

[interrobamf.insanejournal.com]

Silence, you fool!

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

It looks good against the green skin I think...

[mullon.insanejournal.com]

So, if one of the Triplicates gets all of her skin burned off and they merge together, does the merged girl also have burned skin?

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Pain is lessened by the merging as it's shared between the three elements, and healing is accelerated IIRC. There's an effective story where Neutral Triad is assaulted and left in a coma and the other two try to cope without their balancing element, and both come to appreciate the effectiveness of the other in their own situations.

[jlroberson.insanejournal.com]

Oddly, Hughes draws Laurel the least sexy of the bunch. I'm surprised how uninteresting she looks in that. (actually, in some ways she almost looks mannish--maybe it's the way she walks)

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

IIRC She was never the sleek and sexy type, much more solid and chunky like Power Girl than Supergirl in that respect. I can see where you might get mannish out of her body language though, but I like that he drew her that way.

[jlroberson.insanejournal.com]

Yeah, it's the body language, because I actually like that PG is muscular(particularly the way Jiminez drew her, which was full-on bruiser) but is still attractive. And no, it's nothing to do with the breasts, dammit.

I think too that we're supposed to be dazzled by her sexiness in public that is making Brainy uncomfortable, and I'm not seein' it. If it weren't part of the point, I'd just say, "Well, some women don't care how they walk in a bikini," but it's at least a little important to the scene in a way you shouldn't have to ponder. And for Chrissakes, it's Hughes.

[fromtheaether.insanejournal.com]

So... Brainy is a cunning linguist? ;)

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

One can only hope! :)

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Well Yay!, fanservice. Pretty, pretty. Agree on the woof, and it's awesome that it's all plot pointy. Everybody wins!

[volksjager.insanejournal.com]

Yes. I clearly recall putting this issue under my pillow. Poor Legion, I just can become a believer again in somehing that might get rebooted every few years :/

[woogledesigns.insanejournal.com]

I had the same experience with that Jim Lee issue of X-Men that had them smimming in the lake. This one, in fact http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/issues/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=725

[jarodrussell.insanejournal.com]

Helllooo, nun!

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Not until the ZH reboot and the arrival and recemption of xenophobe Andromeda.

[jarodrussell.insanejournal.com]

Yes, but "nurse" would have made even less sense.

[lieut_kettch.insanejournal.com]

Dirk2's bright yellow speedos-- now THAT's a banana hammock. I also like how the Triads chose suits that reflected their personality.

[gwalla.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

I like how the Triads' suits are all parts of the design of the unified suit.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what sold the concept to me too!

[kenn_el.insanejournal.com]

In a purely design sense, yes...but in a practical way, not at all. The only issues in which Silver Age Luornu's power was in any way effective was if one didn't know how many of her one was dealing with, and that was only possible if they each wore exactly the same costume.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

True, but she's off duty here, so it's okay.

She wore a split-design costume from the 1970's onwards, and was a teacher at the academy for most of the time, so rarely had to act duplicitously (No pun intended).

When she came back a Triad here, her costume does split, but the design stays the same, just that one of her has a purple costume (with purple eyes), the second is all orange (with amber eyes), and the third is half and half (like her merged form) and has one eye of each colour. Most people probably wouldn't notice the costume on cursory examination.

Given the relatively weak nature of her power (and I say that as a Cypher fan, so I like my weak powered characters), I have no problem with the artist having a little fun with the concept.

[gwalla.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

M-E, you're a schmuck, but I don't blame you, because Vi is a-freakin'-dorable.

[lieut_kettch.insanejournal.com]

Poor Vi, she doesn't know what she's missing. Tenzil's an eater.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

No, I think that's probably for the good, since Bismollians have saliva like molecular acid.

[gwalla.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

IIRC the only thing they can't digest is organic material.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Nope, they can eat anything organic or inorganic, except for one metallic compound called Magnozite, which is still toxic to Bismollians.

[kamino_neko.insanejournal.com]

And Inertron. Even a Kryptonian and a Daxamite working together have to strain to make a dent on that stuff.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

I LOVE B5's reaction to Laurel's swimsuit. He's like 'EEK!' It's hilarious. ME-Lad's mouthful-o'-gun moment is pretty funny, too.

[cmdr_zoom.insanejournal.com]

It's a little hard to make out in these scans, but I remember this issue, and Vi's swimsuit is an in-joke: it's patterned like a TNG Ops uniform top.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I was going to comment on that because it really is, but I couldn't work out WHY it would be an in-joke particularly, did the Bierbaums or AH do much ST:TNG work?

[cmdr_zoom.insanejournal.com]

Hughes did some, IIRC. I mostly remember his beautiful (and actor-accurate!) art on the TOS-movie-era GN Debt of Honor.

Also, this was back when TNG was either still on the air or had just left, so it would be quite recognizable in the geek-o-sphere.

[04nbod.insanejournal.com]

andromeda saw the little mermaid one too many times it seems. Everyone is so adorable here. Hughes should draw topless brainy more often

[halloweenjack.insanejournal.com]

...I'll be in my bunk.

[aliatelilith.insanejournal.com]

I will forever laugh about that face. It will pop up randomly and people will stare and I will not care (Yay! Rhyming!).