Legion of Super-Heroes v3 #8 (1985)
by Paul Levitz & Steve Lightle
I’m not a fan of moving the logo of the series from its usual place, but if you have to do it having a giant alien looking down is a nice touch.
We’re going to follow the five Legionnaires who have discovered an entire factory that is building new Sun-Eaters.
The previous issue didn’t do a great job showing it, but this Baby Sun-Eater is HUGE.
Ultra Boy, why exactly should this be the home planet of the Controllers? I know they can’t be exactly sane if they build Sun-Eaters, but who would build one next to their home star!?
Considering Ultra Boy is also the one who didn’t anticipate smashing through the roof would attract security… despite the fact they’ve ALREADY fought the automated security systems of this place before… should tell you why he’s not considered the Legion’s brightest mind.
Levitz is always a lot of fun when he mixes the powers of the Legionnaires, especially with Lightle providing the artwork.
Also, your regular reminder that Element Lad is ridiculously overpowered.
So how do you stop a Baby Sun-Eater? Easy: you turn the system that it’s feeding it energy against itself.
The Controllers have the best toys, including a freaking giant robot that is powerful enough to stand up to Ultra Boy!!! Which is no small feat, considering his strenght and heat vision are at pre-Crisis Superboy levels!!!
This can’t be solved by brute strength, so it’s up to the Legion ladies to save the day.
I don’t exactly blame Phantom Girl for wanting to show off. She’s been overshadowed by Ultra Boy for the longest time.
Unfortunately for her, Shrinking Violet also wants to show off, so she shrinks down to sub-atomic size (!!!) to get inside the Controller’s computer system.
Shrinking Violet is ready to blow herself up if it means getting rid of the Baby Sun-Eater Factory… but luckily for her, Phantom Girl has a better idea.
The servant of the Controllers discovers the Legion defeated one of them all the way back in Adventure Comics #353 and freaks out about it.
I keep repeating myself, I know, but… again: ridiculously overpowered.
The guy working for the Controllers is tough enough to fight Ultra Boy hand-to-hand…
…but calms down when the actual Controller shows up.
Except that’s not a Controller, but a disguised Chameleon Boy: that’s the idea Phantom Girl had to save everybody! Alright, PG, that was AWESOME.
The servant is uncerimonioulsy sent back to the Controller homeworld…
…and the Legion leaves through one of the portals, after blowing up the entire planet since Element Lad transformed a large part of it into NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES!!!
The Controller story will continue in an issue of DC Comics Presents that is a team-up with Superman, which I’ll cover next time.
In other plots, Cosmic Boy is seriously considering quitting the Legion.
I’ve said it before, but the difference between how Levitz and Giffen treat the Substitute Heroes is remarkable. Levitz consistently treats them like respectable heroes (if occasionally a little silly), while Giffen treats them like a complete joke.
We also have some cleanup after the Legion of Super-Villains arc, because some of the villains who managed to escape are now captured.
When you’re defeated by the Science Police, you really have failed as a major supervillain.
Never change, Blok. But please put on some pants, your Thing cosplay is not working.
The way Chameleon Chief is discovered is great…
…but the defeat of Micro Lad is just the right combination of awesome and pathetic.
I’m honestly surprised more superheroes don’t tell the authorities “could you PLEASE make an effort to keep those creeps locked up!?”.
And finally, we have the Legion Academy enjoying a day at the beach. You just have to love how Laurel Kent manages to give more fanservice than Comet Queen, despite the fact the latter is ostensibly typically naked.
Until Laurel is shot, which is kind of a big deal since she’s supposed to be invulnerable.
This won’t be solved until the third Annual, set after issue #15.
What in stardust!?
Legion significance: 5/10
The Controllers storyline will be the last time the Legion interacts with the pre-Crisis Superman, since this is being published together with the actual Crisis. It would’ve had a higher significance if it didn’t take forever for the “Who shot Laurel Kent?” stuff to be resolved.
Silver Age-ness: 4/10
As a reflection of a Sun-Eater being around, plus the crazy Controller technology.
Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
Classic superhero fun, giving everyone a chance to shine in the typical Levitz fashion. Honestly, stories like this… solid without major impacts or new themes… are the hardest to review because I run out of things to say pretty fast.
We are legion
20 active Legionnaires
8 reserve members
9 deceased members
3 resigned members
1 honorary member
41 people have been members
41 people have been rejected
“Solid without major impacts or new themes”: Good way of putting it. This story just shows the Legion being competent heroes without the usual angst or artificial means of prolonging a story (such as heroes getting constantly defeated yet never permanently injured or killed). I rarely think of this as one of my favorite Legion stories, and I guess that’s a shame. It lacks the epic grandeur of the Great Darkness Saga or the heroic pathos of the death of Ferro Lad, but it shows the Legionnaires making skillful and inventive choices to eliminate a threat. A day at the office.
If who shot Laurel Kent is the mystery you spoke of, I already have a solid guess.
It’s someone with a long family history of set ups and hoaxes. sometimes to make a point, sometimes for fun, and sometimes just out of meanness.
I mean, of course, LK herself.
Wasn’t she introduced loitering on train tracks so she could be “saved” by and thus meet her ancestor Superboy?
Her idea to go to the beach. Striking that perfect for a sniper pose and then taking a shot to the guts. Guts are not where a sniper would typically aim.
Motive is unclear…sympathy from a love interest is the most obvious so far.
If correct, I hope to earn whatever the DC equivalent of a No Prize is. 🙂
It’s not the big mystery yet (that’s coming with the batch new Legion auditions), but I do like your solution FAR better than the eventual revelation about who shot Laurel!
That’s at least worth a Discount No-Prize.
“take forever for the Who Shot Laurel stuff to be resolved”? It was less than a year! Impatient much? (I can see why you hate Claermont X-Men! He had subplots on the shelf forever!)
This was a nice issue of super-hero action and adventure, and great review as always!