As just about every other element of this web page shows, we here at the bunker are Legion of Superhero fans. I’m even thinking of adopting a Protean for a pet, but the bunker may be a little small for him. And his dietary restrictions are much more, well restrictive than mine.
And a certain someone here at the bunker, with the magnetic personality, the very same visionary who introduced me to the ever changing Legion, is quite unsettled with the appearance of of the blue-eyed Supergirl pictured at left. We’ve already traded missives here and offline about it, and I still have faith in Mark Waid’s writing chops. I’ve read him in everything from, well, Legion of Superheroes, to Kingdom Come, to Flash, JLA Year One and Empire, and I think the gets the Legion. And knows that Supergirl cannot stick around. I see her role in this Legion as a catalyst, and a mystery to be solved.
With that being said, let us see how issue #18 turns out.
Creative Team
Writer: Mark Waid
Layouts: Barry Kitson
Pencils: Adam DeKraker
Inks: Mick Gray & Drew Gerasi
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating:7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis:
We open with prologue, our narrator recounting how “centuries ago” robots tried to eradicate biological life. They were defeated, but the Science Police has caught wind that a new Machine Uprising is brewing. As they start to scramble, someone calls for an Officer Daggle to do something, but that Officer is really legionnaire Chameleon Boy, who is off to warn the Legion.
Braniac 5 rants a bit, about how The Coluans were idiots to treat Imskians and himself as inferior. But the captured and comatose villain, Lemnos, will change all that. Timber Wolf interrupts this rant with a special delivery, something in a box that Braniac 5 requested for “protection”. Braniac 5 tells Timber Wolf that he is using the Imskians to rewire Lemnos’ negate memory ability to somehow bring Dream Girl back. As Timber Wolf is surprised by the sight of her body…
…The rest of the Legion is surprised to hear about it from a Naltorian official. The Legion, specifically Lightning Lad, apolgizes and promises to return the body, but the Naltorian states that they will have already taken “certain compensatory actions”.
The group hunts down Saturn Girl, who is trying to use Supergirl’s memories to find out what happened to her. They are reliving a vivid memory that Supergirl has no recollection of, one that would place her in outer space just after Alex Luthor was stopped from merging Earths in IC7. The other Legionnaires interrupt this memory session, and want to rush off to get “Brainy” but Supergirl speeds off without a word.
A one page scene of Star Boy stopping by at Princess Projectra’s apartment. She is penniless, essentially, and lonely, having lost her family, and essentially, her home planet. Star Boy asks how she is doing, and she is taken aback, and a bit touched by the sentiment.
The main group is following Supergirl, and wondering why they are doing so. Cosmic Boy explains that “We don’t want her flying around unsupervised. She’s Still new here”. She leads them down to the robot rebellion, and the Legion joins the fight, eventually bringing them down. They find that the leader robot is powered by a strange substance, which Supergirl finds has Atom Girl on it. The group then follows Atom Girl, who inadvertently leads them back to Braniac.
Brainiac explains that he has been working to bring Dream Girl back from the dead. That he captured her soul in his forcefield, and that he has a plan to bring her back. Ultra Boy interrupts, noting that Dream Girl does not have a ring, confirming that Supergirl got Power Girl’s ring.
And then “Dream Boy”, Dream Girls replacement from Naltor, shows up, taking the worlds literally out of Brainia’s mouth. Cosmic Boy complains about such bad timing from someone who sees the futire, End of Episode.
Comments:
The Good: Even the title of this issue, Who’s The Boss, is telling. Supergirl is the smartest kid in class (metaphorically speaking) and most of the Legion is starting to resent it. Except maybe Ultra-Boy, who is enjoying the view.
Otherwise, they are starting to pay of on little mysteries, and starting to build up our secondary plots. There is humor throughout, and clear, easily understood artwork. The writer is juggling an already considerable size number of characters, Sounds like the Legion to me 🙂
The Bad: Barry Kitson, it appears, is handling less of the art chores this issue, and while the art works, I think it works better with more Barry in it. This style is a bit loosr than I’d like. And no letters to the Legion? 🙂 Well, maybe next issue.