Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #72 (1995)
written by Tom Peyer & Tom McCrawpenc
ils by Lee Moder
cover by Alan Davis
After the cataclysmic events of the Annual, time for the Legion to deal with the consequences.
We begin with an acknowledgement that the remaining members of the White Triangle are being hunted down. I’m not entirely sure what the Science Police can even do to the Daxamite members, but they seem to have been confined to their home planet since they’re no longer a factor.
This issue will deal with the effects of the Daxamite attack on the Legion itself, but Earth has been hit pretty hard.
But the main story begins with the double funeral of Andromeda (who we know isn’t actually dead) and Apparition (who is presumed to be really dead).
Understandably, Ultra Boy is quite affected by Apparition’s death. Not only because he loved her, but because she was incinerated in his arms!!!
Well at least he’s not going to have to deal with McCauley anymore.
Despite the Legion’s victory, Cosmic Boy is having a really hard time as the leader.
He has to deal with the people from Kinetix’s planet complaining that her subplot is taking too long…
…and deal with Apparition’s mother.
Element Lad (who isn’t using the codename yet, but I’m using it for consistency) is also attending the funeral; mostly as a courtesy, since he never actually met the two “dead” Legionnaires.
He has a VERY unique way of looking at things; there are certainly shades of the original Element Lad’s philosophy here, but the Reboot version has a far more unique look at life.
I really like this; makes him feel more alien.
Since the Legionnaires (except Cosmic Boy) don’t know that Andromeda redeemed herself at the end, she doesn’t get the same reaction from her former teammates.
Well… for the most part: Brainiac 5 is REALLY affected by this.
I don’t think it’s only because he was blatantly attracted to her. The whole reason why the White Triangle was able to cause so much death and destruction is thanks to the anti-lead serum HE created for her, and he even hinted that taking the serum might have made the other Daxamites insane. So perhaps he feels partially responsible.
R.J.Brande has a bit of heart-to-heart with Chameleon. Considering that he mentions his father, this scene is 100% here as a nod to his pre-Reboot status as Chameleon Boy’s father.
Continuing the trend of making Cosmic Boy’s life worse: the President is taking the funeral as an excuse for some political stunts.
Come to think of it, Live Wire’s day isn’t much better.
The President is NOT going to like him leaving like this.
He takes the opportunity to give the team a much-needed pep talk, and even suggest offering membership to both Ultra Boy and Element Lad.
Too bad the President wastes absolutely no time making it absolutely clear she’s in charge.
Live Wire’s return proves to be incredibly short-lived, as he’s immediately un-reinstated.
Much to everyone’s shock, Cosmic Boy DOESN’T stand up to the President.
This is one of the many actions that completely alienate Cosmic Boy from the team.
Although I don’t think he has to worry about Invisible Kid: he’s DEFINITELY going to give his opinion on everything.
No wonder he’s Brainiac 5’s friend.
Speaking of which: Brainiac 5 is so distraught that he wishes to LEAVE THE LAB.
Cosmic Boy comes across as a really, REALLY bad leader in this part of the storyline.
Without giving spoilers, we will eventually learn he does have his reasons for acting like this… but I don’t think he figured out his eventual plan THIS early, so I’d still put this among his growing pains as a leader.
Because if he ISN’T doing this on purpose… yeesh.
Cosmic Boy, I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt that you’re ALREADY doing this on purpose, but you’re on thin ice.
In other plots, we meet a familiar face that hasn’t changed much in this continuity.
Guess who’s going to show up soon.
Legion significance: 7/10
As a reflection of the Annual; while it sets up Cosmic Boy’s subplot, it doesn’t come front and center until later.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
A mixed bag. Multiple reactions in the funeral are well done and quite powerful, but if you don’t know what the series is going to do with Cosmic Boy it REALLY comes across as cheap drama that nearly ruins the character.
Who did it better?
We’ll discuss Regulus once he gets the spotlight; other than that, I don’t see direct parallels.
We are legion
I’m counting Live Wire as being expelled after a 1-issue return. Technically speaking this makes him the first expelled member.
- 11 active Legionnaires (3 volunteers, 8 drafted)
- 1 expelled member (Live Wire)
- 1 resigned member (Andromeda)
- 2 deceased members (Kid Quantum, Apparition
- 15 people have been members
- 2 Legion leaders (Leviathan, Cosmic Boy)
- 2 members have been rejected
Interesting letters: I’m genuinely shocked by the fact that Gates was NOT originally intended to be a regular Legionnaire.
In fact, multiple letters in this issue praise two characters in particular: Shrinking Violet and Gates.
Comrade Gates is the best.
Indeed!
Goodbye, White Triangle. Hello, Love Triangle.
Garth and Imra are a classic couple, so it feels weird for Cos to be crushing on Imra. Granted, Garth and Imra were originally made into a couple just foil Supergirl’s plot to get her cousin married off, but they really made it work, even as later world building showed Winath as a loose, clothing-optional planet and Titan as a self-repressed society.
The Garth-Imra-Rokk triangle originated with the SW6 legionnaires, and that time it was Cos in the hospital. This time, with Imra in the hospital, it should have been obvious where her interests lie. While she was making paper dolls, she only put details on one, and those details were lightning bolts. But with Garth booted out again and Rokk very much around, anything is possible. I trust this continuity to do better than SW6 continuity did.