Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #317

Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #317 (Nov, 1984)

title: "Death Trip!"

writer/plotter: Paul Levitz

plotter: Keith Giffen
dialogue: Mindy Newell

penciller: Terry Shoemaker

inker: Karl Kesel

letterer: Ben Oda

colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger
cover: Terry Shoemaker & Karl Kesel (signed)

Mission Monitor Board:  
Wildfire, Invisible Kid, cameo appearances by Dream Girl, Duo Damsel, Bouncing Boy, Cosmic Boy, and dream versions of Ultra Boy, Mon-El, White Witch, Blok, Timber Wolf, Colossal Boy, Sun Boy, Cosmic Boy, and Superboy

Opponents: 
Dream Demon

Synopsis: 
In the Dream Dimension, Wildfire suddenly appears, having been called by Invisible Kid, who claims that Lyle Norg is actually a terrible monster who tricked him into coming back to his (its?) dimension.

,,,or FLY. You have Flight Rings, ya know.

On Earth, Dream Girl calls in from Orando to report that Wildfire is missing. Duo Damsel and Bouncing Boy, who had been on Monitor Duty, hand the job back over to Cosmic Boy.

In the Dream Dimension, Invisible Kid proves that Lyle Norg really is the Dream Demon, who suddenly attacks. The two Legionnaires, (with Wildfire thinking he has been "cured" and is now normal Drake Burroughs again) race to escape him. They are captured but escape, feeling more and more desperate. Suddenly, Invisible Kid realizes that this is exactly what the Dream Demon wants. He slaps Wildfire, yelling at him to act like a Legionnaire. "Drake" reverts back to Wildfire, and they both realize that their thoughts are what can help them. They think of the Legion, and as these dream Legionnaires keep the Dream Demon busy, Invisible Kid and Wildfire return back to the real world. 

In space, Science Police officer Erin meets up with Dev-Em for something she calls "cloak and dagger nonsense." They have been assigned, her by SP and him by ICC (the Inter-Stellar Counter-Intelligence Corps) to investigate something...Nearby, Lyla reports to the Monitor about who Dev-Em is (another Kryptonian survivor?) and what he is doing in the 30th Century.

Commentary: 
This is a silly, convoluted conclusion to a silly, uneven plot. If the Dream Demon wanted more Legionnaires in his (its?) dimension, why not try to get the old friends of Lyle Norg to come, instead of Invisible Kid? If it really was Invisible Kid who brought the demon back and brought Wildfire there, why couldn't he just "fade away" again? I guess I am trying to think too logical about a plot that demands you don't think too much about it. Oh, well. I'm just glad it's over.


There were some nice bits, especially Invisible Kid slapping Wildfire and telling him to "act like a Legionnaire!" He *tells* Wildfire that Dawnstar loves him, which all fans already knew, but I thought it was a nice touch that the Legionnaires knew it, too.


The one thing I really didn't like about this story is the ending. After Wildfire and Invisible Kid get back to our dimension, they stop at Shanghalla, the cemetery/memorial for dead heroes. Wildfire lights an eternal flame at Lyle Norg's grave, and Invisible Kid says he is happy in knowing that the first Invisible Kid is happily at rest. Uh...what? How does meeting a Dream Demon who told him nothing but lies about Lyle Norg suddenly convince him that Lyle is "at peace"? I thought that was stretching it to the breaking point.

The best part of this story is the art. Terry Shoemaker and Karl Kesel continue to do a great job, making all of the main characters attractive and distinguishable. Drake Burroughs is cute, although I always thought DC dropped the ball when they didn't make him African-American. That would have been a pleasant surprise.
 

title: "Once A Hero..."

plotter: Paul Levitz

dialogue: Mindy Newell

penciller: George Tuska

inker: Karl Kesel

letterer: Ben Oda

colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger

Mission Monitor Board:  
No Legionnaires appear in this story. Instead, it features The Heroes of Lallor: Gas Girl, Life Lass, Evolvo Lad, and Duplicate Boy. 



Synopsis: 
I guess this is a story that had to be told? Duplicate Boy showed up in an issue of Legion (v2) #298 and beat up Colossal Boy for making out with his girl-friend, Shrinking Violet. Then he realized that the girl that was making out with Colossal Boy was not the real Violet, but instead of calling either one of them out on it, he flew off in a huff. Later when it was revealed that Violet had been kidnapped by revolutionaries on her home planet, Duplicate Boy felt like an ass. Now he has "performance anxiety" and is no good to anybody. His team-mates figure out a way that might "cure" him, and put their plan into motion.

Commentary: 
I never knew too much about The Heroes of Lallor, other than that Duplicate Boy and Shrinking Violet had a "long-distance" love affair. When "The Kidnapping of Shrinking Violet" story played out, I agreed that Duplicate Boy was an idiot. Perhaps writer Paul Levitz got all sorts of letters of criticism for making Duplicate Boy such a jerk? I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. Even with the beautiful women drawn by George Tuska, this story was a waste of seven pages. And as far as I know, we never read about or saw The Heroes of Lallor again. 

Science Police Notes:  

• This story is placed chronologically after Legion (v3) #3 and before Legion (v3) #4 because Wildfire participated in The Battle of Orando (#3) but was "missing" in #4. The action in these two issues and Legion (v3) #5 all occurred basically simultaneously, so this issue was placed here.  

Status: 
This issue has not yet been reprinted.