Legionnaires #19 (1994)
written by Mark Waid, Tom McCraw & Tom Peyer
pencils and cover by Jeff Moy
Tom Peyer joins the writing team: he’s going to be an important part of this continuity.
Since this issue focuses on XS, I’m taking the opportunity to praise the design of her costume.
It does have all the standard features of this era’s Legion costumes, but it’s amazing just how little they had to modify it in order to give it such a distinct look.
You see this costume and you immediately think “yep, that’s a speedster”.
We begin with Kid Quantum’s corpse being brought to Earth; understandably, this is seriously undermining the Legion’s credibility.
The Probes from the 5YL era sometime show up in the background, and they occasionally have speaking roles. I wonder if they are still androids in this era, or if they are just supposed to be aliens?
R.J.Brande is just FURIOUS about the whole draft idea.
Having Brande’s previous assistant in your team is a plus.
While the draft is a bit dodgy, I’m mostly on President Chu’s side on this.
What did Brande expect, these teenagers to be given unlimited police powers?
Brande is also not a fan of Leviathan.
The Legion hasn’t even MET all of its members yet!
One of Jeff Moy’s quirks during this run is drawing Legionnaires (especially girls) with their tongues out. It’s such an identifiable quirk that a reader suggested I keep a counter for it!
That’s such an unnecessary thing to do that OF COURSE I will.
Moy Tongues: 1
Meanwhile the investigation on the assassination attempt on Brande is still ongoing, even if the would-be assassins are resistant to telepathy.
They’re not resistant to lightning, though.
People who don’t like the Reboot version of Lightning Lad dismiss him as an impulsive brat.
I really don’t agree with that view, considering he shows VERY early that he’s smarter than you’d expect him to be.
Like I said this issue will focus on XS, and she’s already decided to quit the team.
Compared to the rest of the Flash family, I think we know the least about Jenni’s father.
As a reminder, her mother is the daughter of Barry Allen.
I don’t remember a single story pointing out that she’s biracial; obviously the 30th and 31st century would not care, but she would spend some time in the 20th century where you’d expect it to pop up.
Cosmic Boy was the only one to notice her panicking during the previous mission, and he wants to make sure that she’s okay.
This is one of the several reasons why Reboot Cosmic Boy is one of the best Legion leaders: he doesn’t just act as the field leader, he makes sure to keep everyone in check even off-duty.
As mentioned, there is a Legionnaire who has not bothered to show up yet: Brainiac 5, too busy with his experiments to notice he’s been drafted.
Notice he namedrops Talus: that used to be the 5YL headquarters for a bit.
Marla makes his first true appearance (he as in the very first issue but didn’t do anything).
You might remember him from Ultra Boy’s first story; while he did show up later, he wasn’t really a factor in the original continuity but, as Brande’s right-hand man, he will be a presence in the Reboot.
Also, a running gag for this version of Brainiac 5 will be him repeatedly blowing up labs, so…
Labs exploded by Brainiac 5: 5
And speaking of repercussions form the first issue: Brande’s former associate Doyle is finally discovered to be the man behind the assassination attempt.
Making the arrest are Invisible Kid and Chameleon, in a sort of prototype version of the Espionage Squad.
Time for Kid Quantum’s funeral, which also includes the first Reboot mention of Inertron.
Kid Quantum’s coffin has been filled with explosives, and XS instinctively goes into superspeed to stop it from killing everyone.
This was a rather nasty and ingenious trap: use Kid Quantum’s own time dilation belt to slow down the victims of the explosion!
Jenni once again doubts her own choices, since she failed to rescue Cosmic Boy in time…
…but as a true Flash, she manages to use slightly questionable physics to save the day.
This convinces her to stay. Funny to think that, prior to the arrival of Shrinking Violet (which won’t take long), Jenni was definitely the most shy Legionnaire.
The finale introduces the first “true” supervillain of the Reboot, who will be far more sympathetic than you’d expect.
In this version, Mano’s planet wasn’t ruined by pollution but a chemical weapon sold by a human billionaire.
Mano decides to use his power to kill both himself and the planet…
…but he only manages to destroy the planet.
Legion significance: 2/10
It gives closure to the origin story (although we will see it was connected to a larger conspiracy), and it does introduce the new Mano… but you can just skip to the next issue for his proper story.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
XS is fast enough to escape an explosion even if she’s been slowed down by time dilation, but immediately afterwards she has to be saved by Cosmic Boy from falling debris? Uh?
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
A solid companion piece to the previous issue, with some character growth for Jenni and some good leadership from Cosmic Boy.
It also shows the Legion already chafing under government supervision; Brande as well, but he’s more than happy to have the United Planets pay for Brainy’s damages.
Moy Tongues: 1
Labs exploded by Brainiac 5: 5
Who did it better?
We will see next time that this version of Mano is FAR more complex than the original, but you can also see it by the scene of the destruction of his planet.
By the way, we’ve always known Mano is different from the rest of his people but we’ve never seen how they looked like; I think we all assumed they all had pitch black skin, but they were very much pale white. Unless that’s how they turn once they die.
The Reboot also has a better introduction of Marla. He did show up after Ultra Boy’s first story, and the 5YL era did show him as an early associate of Brande, but the Reboot actually turns him into a recurring character.
That’s not really the fault of the original continuity… they just inherited Marla from the time before the Legion was its own series.
We are legion
- 10 active Legionnaires (5 volunteers, 5 drafted)
- 1 deceased member
- 2 Legion leaders (Leviathan, Cosmic Boy)
I loved the way they introduced Mano, and hated how they later short-circuited his character because they were in a hurry to introduce the Fatal Five. This (plus the introduction of Ultra Boy, Karate Kid, Spider Girl and Evolvo as part of the Workforce, and the first Dirk Morgna story) was a great way to do the concept of “the Legion organically growing from the beginning like it always should have been”. That lasted through the Superboy crossover, and after that, the writers were in a hurry to use their favorite Legion characters.
I would give this story much higher than 2/10 for Legion significance. Sure, one can “skip to the next issue” to read Mano’s story, but Jenni’s story is not insignificant. If anything, it establishes what it takes to be a Legionnaire: doing what needs to be done, striving against impossible odds, and putting aside fear. This will be a recurring theme throughout the reboot as the Legionnaires face increasingly dangerous adversaries and lose more of their teammates in battle. Jenni remains a vital character until she is shifted aside during one of the time travels. This matters because she has no preboot analogue. Her prominence is a strong indicator of how this reboot will differ from the original series.
Brande’s argument with Chu further increases the tension between his vision and the government’s control of the Legion. Triad’s resourcefulness and Live Wire scaring the criminals into dropping their telepathic shields further establish ways that this reboot will differ from the original stories. The reboot Legionnaires are rapidly developing their own personalities.
Yes, I tend to agree: a 3/10 would be a better vote, as this issue lays more foundation to the renewed Legion’s lore. Jenny comes out as a brand new and VERY interesting character, without the burdens of carrying the Allen legacy defining her.
Mano is my favorite of the Fatal Five, and boy is he on a great start here!
I’m disappointed that Mano’s new story doesn’t have everyone on his planet in silhouette in every panel. I thought that was a wonderfully creepy and mysterious touch the artist added in the original tale. No reader knows what anybody on Mano’s planet looks like, and now the planet is gone.
Swearing revenge because a chemical weapon killed everyone on his planet is a cool story, though.
Livewire is more like a calmer Wildfire which is a huge upgrade on the mysoginist clone batch version. It’s good they highlighted the benifits of his approach from time to time. Pity Wildfire’s not here earlier.
I’m so glad you like this reboot. The 5YL reviews were getting depressing, not just because the series was so bad, but because it was obviously painful for you to review it.