Legion of Super-Heroes v3 Annual #4 (1988)
written by Paul Levitz
pencils by Barry Kitson, Bruce Patterson & Romeo Tanghal
cover by Brian Bolland
Time to cover the end of the Starfinger storyline before we take a break.
The Legion is looking for Chameleon Boy who (unbeknownst to them) was captured by Starfinger in #49.
Dawnstar is leading the search, and we get a look at her thoughts… where she’s basically blaming everyone else for all her problems, AGAIN.
Honestly I’m with Shrinking Violet at this point. Dawnstar has become both useless and insufferable.
Giffen is not co-writing this one, but Levitz continues the undergoing theme of Legionnaires disliking each other. Then again, Dawnstar has a loooong history of getting on the nerves of her teammates.
They also pass near Titan, where Dawnstar feels like someone is calling for her.
I used to like Dawnstar around the Great Darkness era, but nowadays I can’t stand her.
She’s just too wishy-washy.
We get a bit of lore for Chameleon Boy; considering what he says, “Reed Daggle” isn’t really his name, but it was “assigned to him by an emigration officer”, which I presume means another Durlan.
Which A) makes me wonder if it means anything in the Durlan language B) doesn’t make a lot of sense since we know OTHER members of his family take the surname “Daggle”.
You might remember there was a time where Chameleon Boy’s powers extended to making him able to become intangible. That was dropped, most likely to avoid making Phantom Girl redundant.
But if he can shrink so much he can “move between crystals”, doesn’t he make Shrinking Violet redundant now?
Well not entirely, since he can’t shrink as much.
But he’s able to escape anyway by turning into one of the crystals himself! Chameleon Boy is really outdoing himself throughout this entire subplot.
He’s even making Beast Boy redundant, and he’s not even in this century!
We also get a very neat insight into Phantom Girl’s passion for the Legion, with her highlighting the comes from a very serious civilizations meaning that she really appreciates the chance to have some fun.
This is a GREAT moment: finally she gets a moment of characterization that is not (entirely) centered on her relationship with Ultra Boy or her being a snob towards more recent Legionnaires!
It’s just a few panels but it feels like a breath of fresh air: where was THIS Phantom Girl!?
Also: if she’s looking for fun… yeesh, the next several issues are not going be good for her.
She’s also doubling down on her decision to ignore Polar Boy’s orders and avoid ruining Chameleon Boy’s mission. Considering that was an incredibly stupid order on Polar Boy’s part, I completely agree with her.
But when she finds Chameleon Boy THIS time, it’s a good thing.
Until SUDDEN EXPLOSION!!!
Phantom Girl is fine since she became intangible at the last second, but Chameleon Boy is nowhere to be found.
Dawnstar goes looking for him, reflecting on how the two have BARELY interacted.
Well that’s what happens when you treat most of your teammates like crap, Dawnstar.
Chameleon Boy is fine, by the way.
Things are not so great for Colossal Boy, who is being tortured by Starfinger to make his wounds even worse.
Starfinger has been around since LSH #29, a couple of years before this story. And we finally get to see who he is and why he hates the Legion in general and Colossal Boy in particular.
Ah, of course it was HIM, everything makes sense now!!!
…
…
Who is this guy again?
Two years for this mystery and… it’s just some guy that Colossal Boy once arrested.
That’s it.
Specifically, he was the guy he arrested in LSH #39, the flashback to his origin story.
You know, I gave that issue a score of 1/10 over the historical significance: maybe I should reconsider and increase it?
Nah, it’s just Starfinger. A score of 1/10 is even generous.
Also he managed to escape soon after being captured because THE SCIENCE POLICE SUCKS AT ITS JOB.
Okay Starfinger’s real identity is boring, but maybe his ring will get a cool origin story!
Or he could simply stumble into a magic ring after escaping his prison on Mars.
How do you make “finding a magic ring on Mars that summons two superpowered servants” feel so BORING???
You had so much potential, Starfinger, but I completely lost any respect long ago.
The real shock of this story isn’t the origin story of Starfinger. It’s the fact that Invisible Kid FINALLY DOES SOMETHING.
Have I mentioned already how much Starfinger sucks at this whole “supervillain overlord” thing?
Invisible Kid finds Colossal Boy. The Espionage Squad is having a great day!
Colossal Boy, not so much.
After Phantom Girl, we get some fascinating insight into Shrinking Violet.
Who apparently doesn’t like the Legion all that much, but likes her home planet even less.
She’s also shockingly negative about her usefulness!
Although I wouldn’t say she had the most useless powers when she joined: I would rate Invisible Kid, Triplicate Girl and even Bouncing Boy well below her, and they all joined earlier than she did.
And I don’t even think Bouncing Boy has useless powers, just that hers are better.
Even with the current membership I’d still say at least Dream Girl, Shadow Lass, Invisible Kid II and Dawnster are less useful to the team than her.
Case in point: she’s the one to knock out Starfinger. Although it’s not all that impressive, it’s Starfinger.
She even helps out rescuing Colossal Boy and take out the guards!
Starlight and Starbright are summoned to even the fight.
At least when Dawnstar shows up to kawhamm Starfinger into space!!!
Do I need to apologize to Dawnstar now for calling her useless?
Nope! It was all thanks to Colossal Boy.
Come on, Starfinger, it’s over. Don’t make this any more embarrassing for you.
Do you know how much you have to suck to be defeated BY THE SCIENCE POLICE???
Starfinger then decides to escape the same way he did last time: by hiding inside his ring.
Except LAST time was a neat idea because he left the ring floating in a debris field, not when anyone can just stumble into it.
And so Starfinger is left to live the rest of his days inside his ring, where he things he’s having his best life.
If I had any respect left for Starfinger that would be a great finale, but I’m just glad he’s FINALLY gone.
The Annual has a second story that I’ll cover separately.
Legion significance: 1/10
Just because it’s the end of this Starfinger, who never shows up again as far as I know.
Silver Age-ness: 8/10
There’s a magic ring buried on Mars that summons two superpowered servants and gives you vaguely defined energy powers.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
This is difficult to rate. On the positive side, the Legionnaires are great: everyone gets a moment to shine, and for everyone except Colossal Boy we even get a glimpse at their thought processes.
But on the other hand… Starfinger. I think I’ve said enough about my disappointment.
It’s also kind of a sad moment because this is really the end of the Levitz characterization for most of the cast, as the way they’re being treated in the main book is very different now that Giffen co-writes.
Also: what was up with that signal from Titan that Dawnstar was receiving?
We are legion
I’m moving Colossal Boy into sick leave, since because of the additional injuries sustained during the torture he’s unable to return to duty.
This is the lowest the Legion active roster has been since the death of Supergirl during Crisis.
19 active Legionnaires
6 reserve members
6 resigned members
2 on sick leave
12 deceased members
45 people have been members
50 people have been rejected
Interesting letters: I didn’t expect to see ANY letters, since they’re rare for Annuals.
There’s a discussion on one of the most recurrent topics for the Legion fandom: how many members should the team have?
Levitz does acknowledge he’s having trouble juggling so many characters.
I think some readers and some writes focus too much on having a large roll call: I wouldn’t have a problem with as little as ten members if everyone gets a fair share.
It’s also why I have a very high opinion of the Reboot: for the most part it had the luxury of TWO regular series, which helped having many members.
(Volume 4 will also get multiple books, but it’s complicated)
I like the way you think, Stephen.
It’s also the most Wildfire reason for voting Wildfire.
