Comics Archeology

Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #76 (1996)
written by Tom Peyer & Tom McCraw
pencils by Lee Moder
cover by Alan Davis

Wouldn’t you go on a rampage if you had the chance to be on an Alan Davis cover?

The Legion HQ has been thrashed, but there’s a familiar face ready to have it bounce back.

He might be familiar, but he won’t be Bouncing Boy in this continuity: he’s just Chuck.
Exactly like Matter-Eater Lad, his original identity was considered to be too silly for the Reboot: that’s why they are both civilians in this version.
Unlike MEL, however, Chuck will be integrated MUCH better with this continuity.

Mon-El is not doing a very good job at keeping the secret that he’s actually Valor.

We need to have SOME excuse for the cover, so Colossal Boy and Cosmic Boy are fighting.

But that’s okay, because finally Gates is here!!!

He doesn’t get to do much THIS issue, but Gates is the best addition to the Legion lore in a looooooong time.

ALL HAIL COMRADE GATES!!!

But he’s not the only new recruit, because Star Boy also joins.

One of the reasons for admitting new members is that there are currently several absences: XS is lost in the timestream, and Kinetix is about to FINALLY get her own plot.
But while both girls are explicitly still considered members, considering that Brainiac 5 has been arrested and Cosmic Boy didn’t object to it means that Brainy has been expelled.

Notably, Star Boy SHOULD have joined the Legion sooner… as a replacement for Kid Quantum… but got into a space accident.

Good thing that Chuck is here, since there isn’t a lot of optimism in the Legion right now.

Meanwhile, someone is training to kill Legionnaires. I’m sure that won’t be important.

Oh, I almost forgot about an absentee member that just came back.

Cosmic Boy is in his “harsh leader” phase, but he’s not entirely in the wrong to punish Spark.
She left to help her brother Live Wire, sure… but she could’ve told the Legion and most likely they would have helped!

Chuck is a great addition to the cast, but he needs to find his sweet spot.

Kind of awkward for the Espionage Squad to ask to be left alone to carry out their secret meeting.

Good thing that the Legion is composed of heroes, otherwise having a sub-team that can do whatever it wants would cause trouble.

Apparition’s mother is still furious at the Legion, but she’s softening a bit on Ultra Boy.
Don’t get used to her being on your side, Jo.

Especially when she is on your side… in her own way.

The Legion is not the only organization in trouble with the United Planets: the Time Institute is its latest target.

Which could not have happened at a worst moment for Rond.

Although it’s not like it could have been good news at any other moment.

Can’t really fault him for not being in the mood to deal with Lori right now.

Spark definitely gets a better welcome.

Lots of coming and going in this issue.

And all this time, Violet looks like the ONLY Legionnaire who cares about Kinetix’s disappearance. Understandable that she’s the most affected, since she was her best friend in the team (and a sizeable part of the fandom swears they were more than that)… but kind of harsh from the rest of the team.

Yeah, I’m not the best fan of this look myself.

Speaking of Kinetix, she FINALLY shows up in more than a cameo.

Her subplot also introduced Mysa.
Who is definitely intended to be the Reboot version of White Witch (they the same first name), although in this version she won’t get her codename.
I don’t think she’s ever established to be the sister of Dream Girl yet (possibly because Dreamy will take longer to show up).

Well that’s a red flag if I ever saw one.

Believe it or not, Violet’s bedroom is not the most depressing place in the headquarters right now.

That would be the cafeteria, where everyone has a long face.
Especially Chameleon.

They’re either taking this out on poor Chuck…

…or on the system.

But this right here is the reason why having Chuck around is SO important…

…perspective.

Perfect speech, no notes.

And we have reached the last scene, with Saturn Girl leaving the Time Institute after having lost Lori ALREADY.
Several things come to mind from this panel:
1) the adult form of Lori is officially confirmed to be older than the Legionnaires
2) she has to specify that Lori is “Earth-Caucasian”. So what’s the 30th century word for white people from other planets?
3) how does A TELEPATH lose track of somebody THAT quickly!?

I mean… the officer DOES have a point.

And we end the issue with a mysterious figure attacking the Time Institute.

Legion significance: 7/10
We are gearing up for the ending of the draft era, but also adding new Legionnaires and supporting characters.

Silver Age-ness: 2/10
Seriously, Saturn Girl, how DID you lose track of Lori that fast!?

Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
Lots of moving parts without a specific plot taking up most of the space, but any good run needs issues like this one. My only complain is once again Moder’s artwork when it comes to faces, but I didn’t find it distracting enough to lose much.
Not a particularly memorable issue, with one exception: Chuck.
I think he’s one of the secret weapons of the Reboot, a supporting character that is a civilian that can bring some perspective to the Legion while also staying close enough to the action to avoid falling into the background.
This is far from the first civilian of course, but think of the precedents.
Shvaughn (who by definition isn’t even a “civilian”) didn’t give much in terms of perspective from regular people, and once she becomes Element Lad’s love interest she stops interacting with other characters. GiGi Cusimano followed the same track.
Colossal Boy’s Durlan wife, while an excellent character, didn’t either. Plus, as a former spy, she wasn’t exactly a regular person.
But Chuck? He’s just a dude. And sometimes superheroes need to be reminded of what they can mean to regular people.

Who did it better?
Lots to get through here.
I think I prefer Chuck’s introduction to Bouncing Boy’s: is power was the least interesting thing about him, and he IS going to interact with multiple members of the team.

Star Boy’s introduction is also vastly superior, mostly because the Reboot has the advantage of already knowing what to do with him… the original was stuck with him being introduced on a Superboy story, and it took forever for the main series to truly incorporate him.
The Reboot also includes a nod to the explanation given for both his long absence and his change in powers during the original continuity. At least this time he broke only his arm and not every bone in his body!

I will discuss Mysa once we learn more about this version, but of course this is not the first time that the White Witch is first introduced as an old hag.
The Reboot will actually DO something with this form… so while the Reboot doesn’t exactly have a White Witch, at least that part of the character is done better here.