Convergence: Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #1 Review

Trapped in the 30th Century when his Metropolis was taken, Superboy and the remnants of the mighty Legion of Super-Heroes have held things together for nearly a year.  But will they compromise all their beliefs and fight for their freedom at Telos’ command?  Your Major Spoilers review of Convergence: Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #1 awaits!

CONVERGENCE: SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1
Writer: Stuart Moore
Penciler: Mark Farmer
Inker: John Rauch
Colorist: Pat Brosseau
Letterer: Pia Guerra
Editor: Marie Javins
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Convergence: Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes: As a boy, young Clark Kent had a somewhat difficult time, given his whole “superpowers” gig, socializing with other kids. That all changed when three teenagers from the future arrived to haze him and invite him into their ranks, giving him a large pool of super-buddies to hang out with. Those kids grew up, got married, had super-kids and became seasoned warriors, even battling Darkseid himself. Then, the Convergence arrived. This is a tale of 30th Century Metropolis, featuring the Legion seen in Crisis On Infinite Earths…

THE ‘WHEN’ IS A PROBLEM

There’s an asterisk on that last bit, by the way, as I can’t tell you exactly when this version of the LSH was plucked from the timestream, other than “sometime in the middle of Volume 3 of the Legion.” That’s not really a deal-breaker, though, as the Geoff Johns reboot of a few years ago likewise has some timeframe issues. This book takes place, like so many other Convergence books, after a year of powerless captivity under Brainiac’s dome. Superboy, having been in the future when the city was stolen, is broadcasting to the citizens of the city, trying to keep everyone calm and spirits up during their imprisonment. There is some nice character work here for Lightning Lass, and the variety of Legionnaires is interesting (Shadow Lass and the second Invisible Kid, but no founders, no Mon-El) as we see the state of the future world. The story even manages to give me a sense of loss over Wildfire, dissipated when the power-sapping dome was erected, regardless of the fact that it doesn’t make a lot of sense from a science standpoint.

SOME INTERESTING DYNAMICS

The downside of the issue, story-wise is that it feels rather bleak, with even Superboy having lost his mojo at the point where Telos insists that it’s time to fight, but that’s workable in the first half of a two-part tale, in that I can assume it’s going somewhere. The art, however, is an entirely different problem, one that vastly affects my enjoyment of this issue. Facial expressions are sketchy throughout, and size and body shape of the characters varies in a distracting manner from page to page. Colossal Boy and Ultra Boy both have scenes where their distinctive belts make them look as if they have massive beer guts (which might be interesting if it were intentional or consistent) and most of the issue feels really unfinished. The coloring is also puzzling, and even works against the story at a couple of points, notably when Lightning Lass recalls being tortured by her brother, the villainous Lightning Lord, but the scene is colored to depict her OTHER brother, Legion founder Lightning Lad. It’s a small, but crucial, distinction.

THE BOTTOM LINE: NOT WHAT I HAD HOPED

The third week of Convergence has confirmed for me that it’s pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, which isn’t a game-breaking flaw, but does make it feel like I’ve read this issue before. While it take some interesting steps (teasing romance between stranded Superboy and Lightning Lass, whose beau isn’t inside the dome), inconsistencies in the visuals really drag the issue down, and even with the final-page appearance of the original Atomic Knights riding giant dogs doesn’t overcome the drab and dreary atmosphere, leaving Convergence: Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #1 with a disappointing 2 out of 5 stars overall.
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