Legion of Super-Heroes vol.3 #29 (1986)
by Paul Levitz & Greg LaRoque
cover by Steve Lighle
Ah, Starfinger. Has there ever been a supervillain with so many futile attempts to make a silly codename sound threatening?
Well SOMEONE must’ve liked the name, because on the very first page we learn that the original Starfinger has been killed…
…in a rather gruesome way.
On a less important note, Labyrinth is being used as the next super-prison to replace Takron-Galtos.
This is far from the last time we’ll see the place, but it doesn’t really replace Takron-Galtos as THE prison of the franchise. Possibly because it has a far more generic name?
But since there’s a new Starfinger in town, let’s meet him. He certainly has a better look than the original, but it’s not that hard to achieve.
He’s definitely more ruthless, not to mention impulsive: he murders a mercenary for little more than kicks.
Meanwhile, Magnetic Kid and Polar Boy are busy on Mars, which gets an amusing anonymous quote…
…and Polar Boy makes us question once again why he’s been languishing in the roster.
Definitely a better showing than Magnetic Kid.
This is connected to the main plot because apparently Starfinger runs some kind of protection racket on Mars.
Magnetic Kid is feeling down for his poor showing and… sorry kid but I can’t be as supportive as Polar Boy on this one.
You’ve been in the Legion Academy for a long time before joining the team, if you still need “more training” to handle a couple of non-powered goons maybe you’re not Legion material.
Starfinger then attacks Mars, and Phantom Girl is the one on the frontline. This happens often, which I guess it makes sense if your power makes it REALLY difficult to hurt you.
The main target of Starfinger’s blast is some kind of dance floor, which gives Greg LaRoque the change to draw a creative crowd.
He’s not as recognized as Giffen or Lighle for scenes like this, but LaRoque is no slouch either!
Also I’m pretty sure one of the civilians is 30th Century DC Dazzler.
This is naturally the chance Magnetic Kid was looking for to redeem himself.
I don’t like insisting on this, since he’s a good kid, but… this should be the BARE MINIMUM for a character with magnetic powers. He really shouldn’t be struggling THIS much.
It doesn’t help that he’s REALLY upstaged by Phantom Girl, who demonstrates you don’t need flashy powers to be incredibly useful.
Starfinger is NOT happy about the Legion interfering with his racketeering. But he does have principles: he refuses to attack Earth.
Mars is still fair game though, and he sends new troops.
Starfinger was smart enough to recruit people from Cosmic Boy’s planet, meaning they all have magnetic powers.
At least Magnetic Kid puts up a good fight against them.
In other plots, we’re going to visit the planet Tellus is from!
Don’t be shocked, but Wildfire complains about it.
Interestingly, Tellus’ people have asked for these SPECIFIC Legionnaires.
Hykraius is an interesting planet. Definitely one of the most alien ones, but at the same time oddly plausible.
Crucially, the planet was completely isolated from the rest of the Galaxy until the arrival of the Gil’Dishpan. Apparently planets with an environment suitable for their species are quite rare.
The Gil’Dishpan are not the only familiar faces returning: the Dominators show up again, apparently interested in peace now.
Although this time the Dominators may not be the ones scheming.
And finally, the Legion is adjusting to Star Boy’s resignation in the previous issue.
Dream Girl seems to be handling it just fine.
It’s a funny scene, but I’m starting to think Levitz is overdoing the “Dreamy plays the vamp” bit.
Legion significance: 6/10
Despite a rather limited number of appearances, the second Starfinger does end up having an impact.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
Nothing truly spectacular, but a competent issue with multiple plot threads. My only complain is that this is a bit late to hype Magnetic Kid: he’s been a member for 15 issues and he was in the Legion Academy for quite some time. I wouldn’t have a problem if he struggled this much with a nasty supervillain, but this should’ve been some really basic stuff for a superhero.
The new Starfinger is a bit of an improvement over the original, but he starts off as rather stereotypical.
We are legion
23 active Legionnaires
8 reserve members
11 deceased members
Interesting letters: how closely do the ranks of the Science Police follow those of 20th century Earth police?
We’re going to discuss A LOT on how Crisis changing Superman’s history impacts the Legion, so it’s fascinating to track the first time the question is raised in the letters page.
At least the other Legionnaires do call her Tasmia from time to time. But NOBODY calls Mon-El by his real name of Lar Gand, EVER.
As I recall, the Dominators were (at this point in Legion history) always interested in negotiating peace, their first appearance had the Legionnaires escort the peace negotiators to the peace talks to protect them from the warmongering (but not technically in charge) faction amongst them.
I loved this version of Starfinger. Even though he’s using an old name, he seems to be the best original villain created by Paul Levitz.
It’s so hard to believe Starfinger II is introduced here and it takes 19 more issues and 2 more annuals to FINALLY resolve him. He’s one of the worst villains in V3 and he takes up damn near 1/3 of the entire run. I realize that there were some continuity issues that needed to be resolved ASAP, but V3 as a whole would have had WAY better pacing if this plot was resolved immediately after Universo Project (or even before, but Universo Project had been teased for what, 15 issues at this point?).