Legion of Super-Heroes v3 #13 (1985)
by Paul Levitz & Steve Lightle
Timber Wolf hasn’t done anything in a while, so it’s about time for him to get his own solo story.
I guess normally it would’ve been on “Tales of the Legion”, before it switched to reprints.
Auditions for new members are right around the corner, and apparently there’s going to be a lot more than usual.
I’m only going to count those who are explicitly seen to participate in an audition, which is a shame because some of the guys here have an interesting look but don’t really show up.
Also this is a good change to have a clear view of Blok’s new costume, which is a vast improvement over his previous looks and is probably as close as a “classic” he gets.
This is when Blok gets a message from Timber Wolf: he’s in trouble.
Or dead. Which I guess can be troublesome.
Timber Wolf is on planet Lythyl, which in addition to winning second place for “Most difficult to pronounce world” after Bgztl, is definitely a sketchy place.
Timber Wolf is on Planet S&M to fulfill the last request from Karate Kid’s will.
We’ll learn the fine details later, but Timber Wolf is not allowed to have anyone help him except Karate Kid’s sensei.
But back to Timber Wolf, in order to make his way on Planet S&M he’ll have to prove himself in the eyes of three judges…
…two of which, Horn Guy and Loincloth Man, are not going to be important. Keep your eye on the third one however, Myg.
So it’s up to the first challenge: defeat a dragon. No big deal, especially since Karate Kid’s sensei can help.
I mean Timber Wolf would probably win on his own, but the challenge is not one of strength.
Turns out this planet is significant because it “spins around the Multiverse Nexus”, whatever the theck THAT means. I wonder why we never saw Planet S&M during Crisis.
Time for Myg to show what he’s made of…
…by beating the crap out of an old man.
I’m kidding of course: the sensei taught Karate Kid, so taking him out is no easy task.
This is probably the only moment where Lightle’s artwork feels disconnected from the story.
Because Timber Wolf’s thoughts say “I’m very impressed by this”, but his expression says “I wonder if they sell tacos around here”.
Getting past Myg is the only way to reach Timber Wolf’s true objective, so he teams-up with the sensei to take him down very efficiently.
This is how Myg is rescued from this planet. He’s going to play a role later in the series, but to be honest I’ve always found him immensely boring.
Once they get at the end of the road, Timber Wolf gets into a big fight with everybody.
Eventually Timber Wolf reaches his destination: rocks.
But there’s still the problem of fighting back an entire planet.
Meanwhile the Legion is looking for Timber Wolf to make sure he’s okay.
They sent Mon-El for power, White Witch for stealth, and Invisible Kid for just standing around doing nothing.
And while I don’t have trouble believing Timber Wolf would’ve defeated all the weirdos of Planet S&M…
…he’s ultimately teleported to safety by White Witch.
So what was this all about? Well, it turns out that Karate Kid’s father had turned evil while he was on Planet S&M…
…and he wanted to get back at the planet by planting a seed.
Should’ve recruited Clorophyll Kid for that.
In other plots, the rest of the Legion is busy playing D&D. That’s not a joke.
Also Shrinking Violet hits on Sun Boy, something unexpected considering Violet’s later development.
And Leland McCauley is back! I’m so used to him being an important figure in the reboot that I keep forgetting that he was around pre-Crisis as well.
We haven’t seen R.J.Brande’s biggest rival since Adventure Comics #377 from 1969.
He’s interested in Brande making business with the Proteans.
As long as they don’t bring back Proty II, I’m fine with it.
Legion significance: 2/10
As I said Myg will play a role, and while it might be my disinterest in the character showing, but that’s not an important role and his background is not particularly significant.
Silver Age-ness: 1/10
That ending is at least a tiny bit Silver Age-y.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
It’s fine, but I had fonder memories of this one. It’s a nice self-contained adventure, but despite being the protagonist Timber Wolf doesn’t really seem to care all that much and his characterization remains pretty shallow. If anything, the sensei is the one to be invested in the adventure.
The ending is a classic, with the final panels definitely being the most remembered part of this issue, but the rest of the adventure feels a bit generic and the world is not as well-developed as we’re used to in the Legion series.
We are legion
19 active Legionnaires
8 reserve members
10 deceased members
We haven’t seen Leland himself since that long ago, but we did see his kid, a former employee, and ship named after him in Superboy # 214.
It was nice to get a Timber Wolf solo story after he had been dumped on for so long, but I think the story ultimately fails to deliver anything meaningful. It’s poetic for Karate Kid to ask his friend to risk life and limb to plant a seed of beauty on a barren and harsh world, but we never see what comes from it. The story is a setup to introduce Myg, who I suppose was to be next Karate Kid, but little was done with him. It was at this point that I felt Levitz had too many plotlines going on and not enough space to develop any particular character. For instance, it would have been nice if Brin had come to some sort of personal enlightenment about who he is and why people treat him like sh*t, but that doesn’t happen. The Lythyl adventure is an interlude that goes nowhere.
This was a fun outing for Timber Wolf, and the threat level was perfect for him, his fighting ability and his low-level super-strength. Someone like Mon-El would find it trivial, and other Legionnaires would struggle, but it hits the sweet spot for Brin.
My only gripe with this story is that there was nothing in previous LSH stories to indicate that Brin and Val were best friends. Or am I wrong about this?
Val treated him as such at his wedding in LSH Annual # 2.
After Light Lass dumped Brin, I felt he kind of existed without having any real character development. It’s a shame as he has an interesting power set (with the acrobatics)that led to some cool art sequences and one of my favourite costumes.