Legion of Super-Heroes vol.3 #23 (1986)
written by Paul Levitz & Steve Lighle (co-plotter)
pencils by Steve Lighle & Greg LaRoque
cover by Steve Lighle
Steve Lighle is back on pencils, and if you thought he was great on his own, he’s even better with Greg LaRoque.
We begin with Mon-El screaming in pain so loud that he gets the attention of the entire Legion. It even overshadows the fact that, based on Timber Wolf’s cup, Playboy still exists in the 30th century.
We don’t see Mon-El lose his temper very often, but this time he’s completely justified.
The scene is making an excellent job at selling the utter despair. Not only is Mon-El in great pain with no chance of a cure, but last time this happened he had to spend A THOUSAND YEARS as a ghost!!!
Is it any wonder that, when Shadow Lass suggests keeping him in stasis in the Phantom Zone again… Mon-El just snaps and flees?
He tries to flee, but he’s already so weak that he can’t break through the polymer screen that surrounds the Earth (remember that thing? It’s been a while since it’s been a plot point)
He’s taken to the Phantom Zone against his will, and there’s a FANTASTIC scene showing his ghost lurking around Legion HQ. Without any dialogue, it really shows off his isolation and pain.
Brainiac 5 is obviously working hard on a cure, but Mon-El is not willing to risk another millennium of torture.
The horror of Mon-El’s exile doesn’t get explored very often. I think this is still the best exploration of the pain he experienced; that image of Darkseid standing over two naked people surrounded by corpses, as the ghost of Mon-El watches him, is just haunting.
Since Brainiac 5 asked him to stay as close to Earth as possible, Mon-El literally goes in the opposite direction. Which is a bit confusing to me; why exactly is that a problem? Superman never had any trouble getting people out of the PZ even if they were trapped on Krypton.
At this point, even if Brainiac 5 does manage to find a cure, by that time Mon-El might have lost his mind.
However Brainiac 5 has a plan, which involves time travel. Even if, thanks to Crisis on Infinite Earths, time travel is currently risky.
More on that soon.
But in the meantime we have to keep Mon-El close to Earth’s connection to the zone, and that’s going to be accomplished by two unexpected Legionnaires: Tellus and Phantom Girl!
Tellus is most definitely the first character EVER to straight up enjoy the Phantom Zone.
At least it doesn’t endanger the mission.
I’m still confused by the logistics. If distances are meaningless in the Phantom Zone, why is it a problem that Mon-El is not “close to Earth”? What does “close” even MEAN in the Zone?
Back to the time travel shenanigans: something is apparently seriously wrong with time.
But eventually they make it to their destination… Smallville.
Specifically, the PRE-CRISIS Smallville!!! This was published AFTER the end of Crisis.
John Byrne’s “Man of Steel” miniseries hasn’t been published yet, so I’m not entirely sure whether the fact that the post-Crisis Superman was never Superboy had been established officially.
Needless to say, this is going to be A VERY BIG DEAL down the line.
This basically means that, from a practical standpoint, the Legion book is completely ignoring the Crisis. In fact, if you were reading ONLY the Legion, the fact that Supergirl died was the only real impact from Crisis.
(sorry, Kid Psycho)
Meanwhile in the future (???), Tellus manages to restrain Mon-El and bring him closer to Earth. Notice his observation about his powers finally being useful: while he’s been a very enjoyable character so far, it’s true that he hasn’t been particularly effective.
The way to cure Mon-El is Brainiac 5’s masterpiece.
He takes a blood sample from Superboy, irradiates it with Kryptonite, and then injects that into Mon-El.
More on why Kryptonite being the solution works soon.
But this is a great move on Brainiac 5’s part for another grim reason: even if doesn’t work, he will still have respected Mon-El’s wishes.
But thankfully it works, and Mon-El gets his happy ending. He really deserves it.
In other plots, Shrinking Violet and Lightning Lass visit Rimbor (Ultra Boy’s planet). Apparently it was colonized relatively recently.
This is where Steve Lighle truly shines. Look at all those various aliens! He REALLY sells the seedy underground vibe.
The two Legion ladies are here looking for Persuader, who escaped with Emerald Empress last issue. Shrinking Violet is having the time of her life in this mission.
There will soon be a “which Legionnaire will be tempted to become a villain” plot, and I’m surprised Shrinking Violet wasn’t really considered.
Lightning Lass didn’t do much on that mission, but the two ladies are growing closer.
More importantly, Cosmic Boy and Night Girl are going to take a vacation in the 20th century.
This will lead to the Cosmic Boy miniseries, but it’ll be a while: this issue was published in March 1986, but the miniseries won’t start until September.
Kryptonite being the key to cure Mon-El’s poisoning is a based on a detail from his first appearance that is easily overlooked.
You might remember from Superboy #89 that Mon-El was poisoned by lead when Superboy exposed him to the substance. And Daxamites are affected by lead VERY quickly.
But an earlier scene is the often forgotten key.
Did you catch that?
Mon-El should’ve been poisoned by the lead box IMMEDIATELY, instead he doesn’t feel any effect until much later (possibly days, the original story isn’t very clear on that).
So Kryptonite negates the effects on lead poisoning on Daxamites. It was right there under everyone’s nose since 1961!
Legion significance: 8/10
Mon-El’s story, on its own, doesn’t have a huge significance. But the fact the pre-Crisis Superboy is still somehow around, plus the fact that time travel doesn’t seem to be working the way it used to, is going to be enormously important.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
Kryptonite countering lead poisoning does make sense in-universe, but it’s still a bit Silver-Age in its convenience.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
One of the best stories of this volume in my opinion. As I said it REALLY sells the horror of the Phantom Zone, the desperation of Mon-El, the resourcefulness of the Legionnaires, the solution hinges on the Legion history while not being overwhelming for new readers, AND the two already great regular Legion artists merge their styles beautifully.
We are legion
24 active Legionnaires
7 reserve members (I’m still counting Superboy by the way)
11 deceased members
Interesting letters: more Sensor Girl theories!
Considering his run on the Legion includes some of the periods with the least connections to the other DC books, it is quite interesting to see Paul Levitz admit he prefers it this way… especially when you consider he will later become the President of DC.
More than one reader has been complaining about the complete lack of Polar Boy. As they should!
I love that the seedy alien bar scene has both Spider-Man and Fred Flintstone hidden in it.
Is that bit about the lead shield actually mentioned in LSH 23? (My copy is buried underneath a mountain of boxes.) I don’t remember it from the story. Either way, it’s a cleaver reading of what was probably an error by the original writer.
I appreciated all the wonderful qualities of this story, yet somehow it left me cold. I think I’ve finally figured out why. Mon-El doesn’t really do anything in the story except whine, scream, and sound like a madman. Granted, he was going through a lot of pain and facing (again) the worst trauma of his life. Still, there was a chance for him to behave like a hero, to perhaps make a self-sacrificing gesture, or to grow in some way. Instead, all the choices are made for him by his teammates. This is a wonderful story about the team pulling together to help one of their own, but the man at the center of it all behaves like a jerk to the people who are trying to help him. His second chance at the end feels unearned.
I could’ve sworn it was mentioned before re-reading #23 for the review, but no it’s not talked about. I might have mixed it up with a different story.
Personally I feel like Mon-El earned his second chance by everything he’s done since joining the Legion, but you have valid points.
I was browsing through my local comics shop and found Hex #10, which advertises a “surprise appearance by the Legion of Super-Heroes” on the cover. They only show up for a page (they ended up in the wrong era trying to get back to the 30th century), but I figure it’s worth a mention. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other future-based DC comics published around this time that had something similar.