Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes #32

Or – “The New Order Ariseth… But Are They Any Goodeth?”

It’s always challenging when a new team takes over an established title, but in the case of Supergirl & The Legion it’s doubly difficult. For one, this newest incarnation of the Legion has only been around for a short time and has pretty much only been handled by Mark Waid & Barry Kitson. Also worth taking into consideration: this version of the Legion is a THIRD distinct version of a team that many people have been following for decades. Keeping the characters distinct of the two previous incarnations has been difficult enough, now we have a new take on both art and story, which could add to the cognitive dissonance. The LSH has embarked on their latest epic quest, and the main question in my mind is, “Can I enjoy this without constantly comparing to what came before?”

Previously, on Supergirl & The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Dominators attack on Earth was repelled by what seemed to be lethal force, but only a few Legionnaires know that the entire PLANET was actually hurled into the Phantom Zone rather than destroyed. Immediately after that battle, Cosmic Boy lost the Legion leadership election (presumably due to what seemed like the extreme nature of his battle plan and the seeming sacrifice of Mon-El) but rather than choosing his opponent Brainiac 5, the throngs of Legionnaires throughout the galaxy chose Supergirl. In a display of bad timing that you would have thought they might have seen coming, a 41st century hero team called the Knights Tempus arrived to offer Cos membership in their ranks, and he accepted, leaving behind only his flight ring and a statue of the Legion founders. Now, the United Planets wants to talk to Cosmic Boy regarding what they believe is the death of thousands of sentients, and Supergirl has sent out three teams to investigate three possible leads. One team has reached Lallor, (a familiar name to the old-school Legion fans) another is on Earth, but this issue focuses on the team sent to Winath, home of Lighting Lad, Light Lass, and their semi-evil big brother Mekt. Supergirl, with assistance from Brainiac 5, has assigned Sun Boy (leader of Terror Firma), Mekt (leader of the Wanderers), and Star Boy (Cosmic Boy’s right hand man.) It’s a team practically designed to create friction, and the presence of U.P. special prosecutor Tenzil Kem is doing nothing to help their stress levels. “Let the record show that Thom Kallor alias “Star Boy,” confirms incriminating statements made by the fugitive Rokk Krinn, alias “Cosmic Boy.” When Mekt points out that they’re on a Winathian farm, Tenzil points out that his glasses are recording, and that this is an official field deposition…

IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT

Heh. For a crazy man, Mekt was kinda cool there for a second… Of course it pales before the complete lack of intimidation on the face of the artist formerly known as Matter-Eater Lad. I like that the new art is a complete departure from Barry Kitson’s smooth and polished style, giving us a moodier and somewhat more photorealistic take on the 30th century. Tenzil reveals that he came to Winath because of massive electromagnetic disturbances, which resemble the sort of E/M fallout generated by Cosmic Boy’s magnetic powers. Star Boy calls in a Brainiac assist, and reports that Winath is essentially deserted, but Brainy is more worried about the presence of Tenzil. “Keep searching. I don’t know what happened to [Mekt’s] parents… That is for YOU to determine. Just DO NOT let Kem get the better of you.” The foursome considers flying, but the local boy knows better than try that…

IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT

Oh, goody. Spooky underground caverns. Mekt is surprised to find the underground chambers completely empty, explaining that these are the chambers where they actually harvest the grain, pulling it straight down and processing it. I’m suddenly getting a strange sort of Wizard of Oz vibe here, with Mekt looking for home, Tenzil looking for a heart, Star Boy for courage and Sun Boy for a brain. Tenzil points out that Mekt keeps saying ‘they’ rather than we, and the Ranzz singlet replies, “I haven’t really been one of them since…” Star Boy interrupts with “That accident that gave you your powers?” Mekt replies that it’s been much longer than that, but Tenzil interrupts his flashback.

IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT

Validus, you say? Interesting… Mekt flips out, szpping Sun Boy and Tenzil (“That’s a felony!!” Heh…) before Star Boy interjects. “You said Brainy put us together so we’d turn on each other! Wanna prove him right?” Mekt might have listened, but an angry Sun Boy leaps into action, putting his flames against the man once known as Lightning Lord. As the blasts start flying, Tenzil exercises the better part of valor and gets gone, while Sun Boy shrugs off the megavoltage with a sneer. “Is that all the juice you’ve got, Lightning Loser?”

IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT

“Acting like Uranuses.” I can’t decide whether that’s clever or childish, so I’ll let that one fly. Star Boy lets up on the hyper-gravity, and Mekt reveals the truth about Validus, explaining that he’s the local boogeyman, a storm giant who lives in the clouds… the lord of lightning. (Foreshadowing: Your key to quality literature.) Mekt, being born one of Winath’s rare non-twinned babies was teased throughout school that Validus was his real father, adding to his isolation and the anger that led him to leave Winath…

IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT

Mekt was apparently pulled into a cult of Validus worshipers, who convinced him that he was part of their prophecies, the solo child who could bring their God to them. For the first time in the various revisions of the Legion, Mekt’s trip to Korbal, the lightning planet, was more than just a joyride. Unfortunately for Mekt, his concerned younger siblings stowed away on the ship, and all THREE were given powers from the blasts of the lightning beasts. (I note that no explanation is given of whether Ayla got lightning powers and somehow changed to her Light Lass abilities, or whether she got the null-gravity abilities from the lightning bolts.)

IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT

Rejected by even the freaky cult that worships the secret cloud god when your life is already one big “Thanks, but no thanks” probably pushed Mekt over the edge into his current sociopathic head-butting glory. As for the fleeing Special Prosecutor, Tenzil is shocked to discover that the tunnels aren’t abandoned, after all. Two young boys ask him if he’s with the Legion, and when he tells them no, they lead him to meet someone called Mayor Simzz. “The mayor says those Legionnaires are dangerous,” remarks one of the boy. The lead him into a room, but when the door closes, Tenzil realizes he’s locked in a grain silo. “Tenzil, you stupid, stupid man…” he berates himselves, yelling to the boys to let him out.

IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT

Oh, no! The children of the corn crib! I’m not worried for Tenzil, knowing the capabilities of Bismollians like I do, but I expect there are at least some people who will be surprised by the end of THIS scene… As for the boys, they return to the mayor, who orders his unseen people to get into position. Star Boy, Sun Boy, and Mekt finally find the population, and Ranzz is amazed to see that he recognizes the people in the front of the crowd…

IMAGE REMOVED BY DC LEGAL DEPARTMENT

A horde of Winathians appear, all firing lightning, chanting “The Lord of Lightning demands it!” Annnd, scene! We leave our Legionnaires (technically one Legionnaire, one ex-Legionnaire, and one galactic-class loony-tune) at the mercy of their power…

Still, I wasn’t disappointed in this issue. Dennis Calero’s art, though a departure, is pretty fascinating to look at, and the underground tunnel system comes across as suitably creepy and unnerving. Tenzil looks much more intimidating and well-dressed, and even Star Boy gains a little gravity (no pun intended) under his pen. Tony Bedard is well-suited to the type of intrigues that have characterized this version of the Legion, handling all the characters with aplomb, even if he’s side-barred the “Young Vs. Old” conceit central to the first 30 issues. I suspect that the mystery of what happened to Cosmic Boy won’t be solved in any of our three locales, but I pretty much don’t mind. There’s a lot going on here, and it doesn’t let down fans of the current Threeboot Legion, while also reviving concepts dear to the original incarnation. It’s a 3 out of 5 star effort, and I like the potential I’m seeing in the collaboration here… If they know what’s good for them, they’ll make Tenzil a full-fledged member of the team, for me and the seven other M-E Lad fans out there.