Legion of Super-Heroes v3 #48 (1988)
by Paul Levitz & Greg LaRoque
cover by Ken Steacy
Despite not getting the cover, this is the last issue with Greg LaRoque as penciler.
We begin with Duo Damsel informing the rest of the conspiracy that Tellus is close to figuring out the mystery. Great job from LaRoque in showcasing Saturn Girl’s disappointment!
There’s also the problem of Sensor Girl knowing something is up.
However Brainiac 5 is sure that his new Kirby technology is ready to proceed with the plan.
There’s still the problem of powering this mysterious machine, which requires a power source that is not available anywhere on Earth.
So it’s up to Mon-El, the last member of the conspiracy.
This requires Mon-El to find a white dwarf star…
…and BRING IT HOME.
The fact that the white dwarf star is THAT small is ridiculous: yes they are extremely small… compared to stars! That thing should be the size of Earth!!!
Now if that was a neutron star it would be SLIGHTLY more believable, but those things still have a diameter of at least 10 kilometers!
The conspiracy has nothing to fear from Tellus.
It’s Sensor Girl that decides to take action.
The most extensive explanation of how Sensor Girl’s powers work that we will ever get.
Element Lad recognizes that the Legion mood is changing. That will CERTAINLY be the case after #50.
And then SUDDEN STAR!!!
Yes, Mon-El just BROUGHT A FREAKING STAR TO EARTH!!!
I don’t doubt that Brainiac 5 can build something that can hold a star, but HOW IS EARTH NOT ON FIRE???
Excellent question, Mon-El!!! Wouldn’t it have been more safe to bring the equipment to the star instead of the other way around?
Still, we get a badass boast from Brainiac 5.
Too bad even his tech can’t handle a full star.
This scenario would be far more believable if Brainiac 5 used the force field to contain the star!
That leaves the rest of the Legion to deal with this mess.
Dream Girl got a rotten deal with her time as leader… she started strong with the Great Darkness Saga but she was stuck with unimpressive results.
But watch her immediately take charge and use the various Legion powers to great effect!
Not a great look for the conspirators.
This is getting to the core of what is creating so much friction within the Legion: the old guard is doing whatever it wants, unchecked by the others, and the new recruits are too timid to do much.
That’s also why this was the absolute worst moment to elect Polar Boy as a leader, because he’s either completely absent like now or he’s not respected enough to make a difference.
In other plots, Starfinger is planning to get his hands on a Flight Ring.
Which means that Chameleon Boy, who I remind you is the only Legionnaire currently on the case, decides to sneak into the Science Police headquarters…
…to create a fake Flight Ring that Starfinger won’t be able to use to kill the Legionnaires.
The Science Police picked a bad moment to suddenly become competent.
Too bad Chameleon Boy is in the 30th century. If he was in the 20th he would absolutely get his own solo book because he’s just incredible on his own!
But Starfinger still gets a Flight Ring to use…
…courtesy of Colossal Boy, apparently.
Legion significance: 7/10
The conspiracy is going to be massively important, but since we won’t really learn what it’s all about until next issue it’s relatively low.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
Mon-El brought an entire star to Earth!!!
Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
Much like the previous issues, a lot of your enjoyment is going to depend on whether you like to see a dysfunctional Legion. I normally don’t, but I still think in this case it works.
As much as I’ve made fun of the sheer absurdity of Mon-El’s feat, that’s the kind of comic book nonsense you’d expect in a superhero universe.
Chameleon Boy’s solo mission is great: I still don’t care about Starfinger, but watching Cham be supremely confident and effective is very satisfying.
We are legion
24 active Legionnaires
6 reserve members
12 deceased members
Interesting letters: the Legion election is coming up, and we get a full ballot!
I know I have several readers who were Legion readers at the time… has any of you ever submitted an actual ballot?
I always assumed that bringing a dwarf star to Earth was a callback to when Superboy took a chunk of a star back to Earth in an attempt to revive Lightning Lad. The cover for this issue is also among my favorites for all of v3.
Are you planning to review Who’s Who in the Legion? I believe it was released as part of the Legion’s 30th Anniversary celebration, so this would be the right time for it, or maybe the better time would have been before getting into the middle of the conspiracy story.
And what about the Wanderers series? I’m pretty sure the Legion’s guest appearance in their third issue took place concurrently with LSH # 49, which is next in line for your review. Will you cover the rest of it as well?
I’ll definitely cover the Wanderers.
Not sure about the “Who’s Who”, since I’m assuming there isn’t a lot of new material there. Might have a quick look at it as a breather.
At the very least, there are framing stories in Who’s Who, mostly taking the form of 30th century TV programs. Also, it might be notable to check out some of the cute touches in the real names Who’s Who canonically assigned to old bit characters. One example I remember is that Legion reject Quake Kid is named “Shannon Dreyus”.
I don’t know which seems more boneheaded: Mon-El bringing a star to earth or the Legion burying an actual working flight ring with a deceased member. Comic book logic or not, these are the kinds of things that make one go . . . hmm, do these guys even think (the writers, that is)?
Of course, the flight ring business could be Colossal Boy’s way of b.s.’ing Starfinger. I don’t recall the story well enough to know Gim’s motives.
I do like it that the conspiracy quickly unravels as Brainy’s experiment goes awry. These guys are heroes but not infallible. Still, after Computo, no one should ever allow Brainy near a lab again.
My assumption was that it was just B.S. by Colossal Boy and he gave Starfinger his own ring.
A good way to explain the size discrepancy of the white dwarf star would be to say Brainy gave Mon-El some sort of gizmo to make its size more manageable, using similar technology to the one he used previously to make rooms of the headquarters bigger on the inside (TARDIS, I mean tesseract tech was the name).
I know this is a really random question, but are you @WyEastman on Twitter? The profile says he’s the owner of Comics Archeology, but it also says he’s from Florida, when I know from previous posts you’re from Italy, and he also seems to be a native speaker, which I know you aren’t. If he is you, then it doesn’t really matter, but if he isn’t, then I’m confused.
Nope, no relationship whatsoever. I see the term “Pilot of Comics Archeology” from his bio, but that’s a coincidence… and it’s not like I own the rights to the name “Comics Archeology” so I can’t complain.
Plus at first glance he seems to be a conspiracy nutjob that i wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.
Ok, back when this story was written, we still didn’t know enough of White Dwarves, ok with the homage to pre-crisis.
But.
Just.
NO!
This conspiracy is one serious thing, these moments are supposed to lay a weight on the Legion’s development -so, no, you can’t bring a f***ing STAR on Earth, AND without placing all possible redundances in action, no!
Brainiac had all the means and resources to run a risk outside Earth; as it is, he basically put a whole planet in danger! No way jose!
And what about the UP Government? Right off at the end of this single story there should be an order to close down the Legion HQ for such irresponsible attitude!
A STAR ON EARTH.
Plot armor sucks, man!