Legion of Super-Heroes v3 Annual #4 (1988)
by Paul Levitz & Garry Leach
The backup feature of the Annual focuses on Dream Girl, who is out on a date with Atmos.
It plays on the role the Legionnaires play as galactic celebrities, something that doesn’t get much attention lately.
In fact, the opening narration is provided by what I assume is the writer for a gossip column.
Aleza is great. Really wish we could get her (him?) as an occasional support character.
Atmos is doing his best at being The Worst, as usual.
And Dream Girl is Dream Girling. She will get a raw deal in the artwork department during Volume 4, so enjoy the fanservice while you still can.
Despite Atmos doing his best to bring down the mood, it’s a neat little story about people admiring the sunset from space.
It’s such a great party that a Skrull is visiting from the Marvel Universe, together with a bunch of really creative alien designs.
It’s not just fluff. It’s the first real hint at the idea that something is really wrong with this relationship.
Not a good sign when your date is seriously tempted to send a distress alarm to her co-workers.
But Atmos shuts her up so they can dance in space.
Good news: since Atmos was rejected by the Legion, he’s going back to his planet.
Bad news: he’s bringing Dream Girl with him.
“What the hell” indeed: since issue 51, the Legion has lost Rond Vidar, Brainiac 5, White Witch, Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Colossal Boy and Dream Girl.
That’s SEVEN MEMBERS IN THREE STORIES.
To put it in other words: ABOUT 15% OF ALL PEOPLE WHO HAVE EVER BEEN MEMBERS RESIGN OVER THREE STORIES.
Legion significance: 6/10
Dream Girl shows up a couple more times in Volume 3. Thankfully Atmos will get his comeuppance at the very end.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
It’s a neat little 8-page story with good artwork. It sets up Dream Girl leaving the Legion; it’s not really the fault of THIS story that the plot is not explored in the main book until literally the last issue of Volume 3.
We are legion
I’m counting Dream Girl as a reserve because (unlike Brainiac 5, White Witch and Shadow Lass) she doesn’t seem to completely shut down contact with the Legion.
That leaves the team with “only” 18 members!!!
To give you just how low that is: we have to go back to the Hamilton era for such a low number!!!
At the time I distinguished between Legionnaires present in the story and Legionnaires that were not showing up, since the concept of reserves had not been established yet.
But for Adventure Comics 342 everyone showed up for the Trial Of Star Boy, and that was the last time 18 active Legionnaires were shown.
That was TWENTY-TWO YEARS before this Annual!!!
18 active Legionnaires
7 reserve members
6 resigned members
2 on sick leave
12 deceased members
45 people have been members
50 people have been rejected
The redhead in the black-and-transparent outfit in the party scene is Leeja Clane, from the MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER comic published by Gold Key.
I don’t think it does, but I’ll check.
I also did not remember ANYTHING about this series before going into the review. But having re-read all 13 issues before this first batch of reviews, and without spoilers for the others which I’ll review next… I can’t believe the insanity that I forgot because it goes COMPLETELY BONKERS in the finale.
Just checked and issue 4 includes a reference to the Controller finding the Wanderers dead after a mission when they tried to stop “the monsters”, meaning the adult Hatchlings.
So yeah, they BARELY addressed how the original team died.