Legionnaires #20 (1994)
by Tom Peyer & Jeff Moy
Continuing the awesome introduction of the new Mano.
We last left the Legion when Mano destroyed the dome of the moon colony, exposing the Legionnaires to the vacuum of space; this scene makes it look it’s not as destructive as the cliffhanger of LSH 63.
If this was any of the previous eras, nobody would seriously be THAT worried that Cosmic Boy appears to have surrendered…
…but there’s a reason that THIS is my favorite incarnation of Cosmic Boy.
This inspires XS to push through and save everyone…
…aaand she faints for the lack of oxygen, like everyone else.
Well… ALMOST everyone.
Chameleon to the rescue!
Also: I told you this would become a thing.
Moy Tongues: 2
I feel like Cosmic Boy would also thank Chameleon personally if he spoke the same language, but no wonder XS is crushing on him.
Don’t expect Chameleon to give much of a commentary for a while.
Also, this is a good occasion to point out that while fake swear words have popped up in previous incarnations of the Legion, the Reboot will quickly get consistent with them.
In fact, if those were real words the Legion would be one of the most foul-mouthed teams ever!
Pre-Crisis, the fact that Mano could easily destroy planets wasn’t given much weight; which is understandable, given that everyone short of Bouncing Boy seemed to be able to do that.
But the post-Crisis DC Universe doesn’t normally operate at that level… yet… so it is kind of a big deal!
Brande, it’s neat for you to care, but you DID assemble a team of superheroes… what did you expect?
Invisible Kid suggests asking the assistance of the only member of the team who isn’t currently part of the mission.
Moy Tongues: 3
He takes it well.
Meanwhile, McCauley shows how much he actually cares for the people living in his colony.
He’s definitely not going to care all that much that Mano kills one of his workers.
The good news is that this gives Saturn Girl some clues to Mano’s location.
Guys, I know that Brainiac 5 can be insufferable in this early period, but you REALLY should have figured this out on your own.
The Legion has spent a issue and a half on this plot, so they need to hurry.
This gives us our first proper group shot of the current team.
Close enough.
“I hate this place” was MY rallying cry during the 5YL era.
Cosmic Boy orders Apparition to search the living quarters; evidently XS isn’t yet fast enough to phase through solid objects.
Also, that Brainiac 5 snark got a genuine chuckle out of me.
We have already seen that telepaths and shapeshifters receive significant discrimination in this period. I think that Apparition’s people would realistically get the same treatment.
Leviathan has a more direct approach. Good idea to have him be the one to find Mano, he needed a victory to redeem himself from his mistakes in leadership.
Well… a partial victory anyway.
Out of sheer luck, Mano soon runs into McCauley.
Not the last words I expected.
Invisible Kid and Chameleon finally manage to subdue Mano.
Good news: Mano has been captured and won’t kill anyone.
Bad news: “anyone” includes McCauley.
McCauley is so impressed with the Legion that he offers to hire them.
Their reaction speaks for itself.
The Legion would rather arrest McCauley too, but unfortunately he hasn’t done anything illegal.
Well, nothing they can prove at least.
You might remember from LSH #0 that Live Wire ran away from home, and the President has finally discovered it… because his planet sent a different draftee.
This is Spark, the Reboot version of Lightning Lass… who has been sent to replace her brother.
Legion significance: 6/10
While this is the first appearance of Spark, we’ll get to know her from next issue so I’m not really counting her presence for the significance. But, on the other hand, this is the start of Live Wire’s problems caused by him running away.
Silver Age-ness: 1/10
Even if it’s less destructive than last time, breaking the dome should have been much harder to survive.
Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
The Legion taking forever to find Mano dragged on for longer than necessary, and as much as I love the Brainiac 5 snark… he was absolutely right, the Legion should have figured out things sooner. Most of the team is used well (although I still I think that even an inexperienced Saturn Girl should have done better)… with the exception of Triad, who did absolutely nothing during the entire mission. Brainiac 5 did more than her, and he wasn’t even in the mission!
Speaking of Brainy, his charming personality will probably rub off the wrong way readers that are more used to his polite original incarnation. This is absolutely not a problem for me, since I love characters that are insufferable in-universe, but I recognize that in this early period sometimes Brainy takes the bit too far.
Still, these are extremely minor nitpicks that don’t affect the score too much, plus Moy is absolutely on fire with the artwork here.
Moy Tongues: 3
Labs exploded by Brainiac 5: 5
Who did it better?
The only serious parallel I could make is how Spark is introduced to replace her brother, which is what Lightning Lass did… but the circumstances couldn’t be more different.
My personal preference goes to the Reboot version simply because the plot will develop throughout several issues, whereas it didn’t take too long for Lighting Lad to come back to life and serve in the team with his sister.
But they’re both perfectly fine introductions for wildly different purposes, so let’s consider it a tie.
Even if THIS version doesn’t make me wonder if the brother has an unusually high-pitched voice or if the sister has an unusually low-pitched voice.
“… with the exception of Triad, who did absolutely nothing during the entire mission.”
Displaying two Moy Tongues is doing something!
I like it that Triad doesn’t contribute much here. As with any team mission, you never know who is going to be useful or in what capacity. Comic book stories often bend over backwards to give everyone something to do, but that isn’t always realistic.
I wonder if there might have been a miscommunication about the severity of the damage to the dome. Waid and McCraw are not listed in the credits, so perhaps turning the reins over to Peyer resulted in the continuity error.
Also, I don’t recall if this is addressed in the issue, but wouldn’t the Legion’s transsuits (introduced an issue or two ago) have protected them?
Good point on not everyone having to contribute every single time; the important is that it’s not a regular thing (which, if memory serves, won’t really a be a problem in this continuity).
The Transuits are not addressed in this issue, but my understanding is that the Legionnaires have to put it on; they’re not constantly wearing it when they’re not planning to get to space.
Jenni could have put it on at super-speed the second the dome exploded, but I’m guessing she didn’t think of that.
Brainy’s “clock” line is an all-time favorite of mine as well.
Have you ever watched Blake’s 7? You’d like Kerr Avon I reckon.
I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never got the chance to actually watch it.
It’s an odd series, but there’s some gems in there. It’s hard to recommend it too strongly, but I give it a tepid thumbs up.
There is a review of Blake’s 7 on You Tube. Search for Stam Fine Reviews. He provides an extensive overview of the series, including its strengths and weaknesses.
Brainy may be pretty snide at this stage, but for those of us who were reading L.E.G.I.O.N. (now R.E.B.E.L.S.), Brainy isn’t nearly as bad as his ancestor Vril, aka Braniac 2, or the tyrannical Lyrl, Braniac 3.
Being better than your ancestors has to count for something.