Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #67 (1995)
written by Tom McCraw, Tom Peyer & Mark Waid
pencils by Chris Renaud
cover by Matt Haley
Time for a rematch with the original Reboot supervillain.
That would be Tangleweb, who if possible looks even more disgusting.
Cosmic Boy has to make the decision of who to send on the mission to take care of Tangleweb.
Obviously everyone wants to go, in order to avenge Kid Quantum, but this is a realistic decision: it’s not like every single mission is going to require the ENTIRE Legion.
I can see the viewpoint of the excluded Legionnaires, but I have to agree with Cosmic Boy on this one.
Tension is high because this is a very personal mission for the team, but you don’t have to be a dick about it Leviathan.
Out of the Legionnaires excluded from the mission, Triad takes it the hardest. She probably has doubts about her usefulness to the team, which… look I love Triad but let’s be real, she’s useful in very specific circumstances.
This is the beginning of an exploration of Triad’s personality. Or rather, personalities.
Unlike her original incarnation (which didn’t have this aspect) and her SW6 counterpart (which had it as an afterthought), Triad is very much three distinct characters.
The team reaches one of the ships attacked by Tangleweb, with Apparition doing the investigation since she’s the only one who doesn’t have to touch anything.
This is an awesome bit of worldbuilding: after their past encounter, all United Planets ships have been equipped with technology that can help track Tangleweb.
Which means that the United Planets finally DID SOMETHING!!!
Invisible Kid is SO certain that the team will need him that he uses the shady contacts from his past as a freelance agent to find a ship to follow the Legion.
Even if he believes this is a suicide mission.
The Legion might actually need his help.
Tangleweb escapes after their first confrontation, with Leviathan taking charge for the pursuit.
Once they reach Tangleweb’s nest, however… he’s not alone.
That’s the cliffhanger for the main plot. But in the meantime on Earth, Triad is confronted by a bunch of thugs wearing a white triangle symbol.
This however is only ONE of Triad’s bodies, and the other two feel her pain.
And we close the issue with the gut-wrenching splash page of Triad’s body laying in the street after a savage beating… marked with the white triangle symbol.
Legion significance: 8/10
The hunt for Tangleweb is a mostly self-contained storyline, but the assault on Triad kicks off MAJOR other plots.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really, especially not with the story ending with a hate crime.
Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
Guest artist Chris Renaud fits the series slightly more than Lee Moder in my opinion, but it’s still an unfair comparison next to Jeff Moy.
It has good character dynamics, and while Tangleweb isn’t particularly interesting he’s creepy to an effective degree. My only minor complain is that Invisible Kid insisting that he’s useful to the mission without outright saying WHY is an unnecessary contrivance that only happens to further the plot, and the early Reboot tends to be better than that.
Who did it better?
No direct comparison comes to mind.
We are legion
- 13 active Legionnaires (4 volunteers, 9 drafted)
- 1 resigned member
- 1 deceased member
- 15 people have been members
- 2 Legion leaders (Leviathan, Cosmic Boy)
- 2 members have been rejected
Even though Moder and Renaud could be compared unfavorably to Moy (a tough act to follow), I think both served the needs of the story. In this issue, Renaud’s facial and body expressions convey the tone perfectly. Gim’s expression when he’s making fun of Imra captures his immaturity. And the various Triad scenes sell their different personalities. The final image of the battered Lu is chilling, as it was meant to be. I can’t imagine Moy pulling off anything so visceral.
Great post, as usual. There are three things that stood out to me here. The first is Andromedas reluctance in touching aliens, which is an interesting way to limit a Daxamites power set.
The second was this being a big entry in the “Invisible Kid can do no wrong” aspect of the reboot. Pre-DnA he’s almost a Gary Stu.
Third is obviously Triad. Her personality development is an interesting twist from prior versions. And the plot development remains relevant in 2026 which is sad.