Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #90

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #90 (March 1997)
title: "Face to Face"

writers: Tom Peyer and Tom McCraw

pencillers: Lee Moder

inker: Ron Boyd
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: KC Carlson

cover: Alan Davis
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Apparition, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Gates, Saturn Girl, Spark, Ultra Boy

Guests: 
Aven of Titan (mind construct), Ferro, Inferno, Koko, Shvaughn Erin, mental institution personnel

Opponents: 
Dr. Psycho

Recap: 
The Legion lost in the 20th Century has just moved into the Justice League of America's old Secret Sanctuary. Over the course of her last outing, Saturn Girl accidentally woke up Wonder Woman villain Dr. Psycho with a telepathic blast. It now looks like she's under psychic attack!

Synopsis: 
Cosmic Boy brings a mysteriously faceless Imra to Brainiac 5 who identifies the problem as a telepathic projection from Saturn Girl herself representing her insecurities about her own (lack of) identity. She reasserts herself by taking on the faces of her team mates first, but her face changes one more time, to that of Dr. Psycho, who gloats about using her as a booster for his own powers.

The Legion tracks him telepathically to a mental institution outside Boston, while Brainy remains behind to work on getting the team back to the 30th Century, frustrating Cosmic Boy. When the Legionnaires reach the mental institution, they find an illusory Psycho who confuses them and makes them fight each other and who confronts Saturn Girl with the fact she's always uses institutions, like the Legion, to create her identity, something telepathic contact with others has always made difficult otherwise. And is this not what her relationship to Cos is really about?

Dr. Psycho's figure then enters Imra's mind and faces her internal defenses, in particular the mental construct implanted by her mentor Aven of Titan to keep the true scale of her powers inaccessible. Psycho destroys the construct, unleashing Saturn Girl's full potential. In an instant, he is expelled from her mind, the telepathic wave makes everyone for miles briefly become Saturn Girl, and Psycho is rendered disabled. From now on, all he sees is Imra, everywhere, and she fills him with fear. But for some unknown reason, Cosmic Boy has fallen prone as well...

Commentary: 
Shotgun
A villain that targets women, who's known for his violent psychic attacks on women and feeds on their insecurities. This almost feels too real. I hate that guy with a passion already and it's my first encounter with him! I guess there's at least one positive aspect about having such a predator as an antagonist and that's giving our female heroes a way to beat the heck out of him. The way he used Imra's own power to gain control on the whole team is pretty disturbing. Our mind can often become our worst enemy all by itself, so imagine having someone fiddling in there and turning it against you. *shivers* Plus, he used her doubt regarding her relationship to get to Cosmic Boy... That's a low blow, dude! I'm glad Saturn Girl ended up getting the upper hand on him, but I can't help worrying about the fact her safety net is now gone. What does it mean for her? And what does it mean for Cos? He seemed to be affected by the destruction of Imra's defense mechanism, but why?

One more thing I noticed and liked is how, by getting rid of her defense mechanism, Saturn Girl's appearance automatically changed. Her posture's more intimidating, her gaze more piercing, her face looks more mature than before. The most obvious change is her hair. She wore them in a tight ponytail, all secured and tamed. Once the safety net is gone, and she can achieve her full potential, her hair becomes loose and free, almost wild. I guess it all acts as a kind of metaphor to her new freedom. It's a look I think suits her, especially the confidence boost. Let's see if it stays that way.

Siskoid
I noticed that too, and I like it. Saturn Girl HAS been a cipher. Kind of plain. The OTHER Legion founder, essentially. Instead of ignoring that and giving her characterization late in the game, they acknowledge it, make it a part of her character, describe an in-story reason for it, and move on from it. That's pretty slick. Because it makes perfect sense that a telepath might be confused about her identity after she's touched many minds. Now let's hope they don't drop the ball and we start seeing Imra assert a stronger, more distinctive identity. And more power? How powerful will she be? All very intriguing. Another neat bit, by the way, is the way Brainy uses two keyboard stuck together like a rock star.

But back to the story. I know I've whinged about the team being trapped in the past perhaps too long, having now become just another Justice League or Titans group, lacking an identity (that theme again). But I really liked this straight-forward superhero adventure. It's basically about figuring out what the villain is all about and how to defeat him, though in this case, his own hubris defeats him, which is totally how every misogynist should meet his end. The visual cue that mind control turns the victim's head into the attacker's is quite interesting, and works to lead us to that finale where Psycho is forever seeing Saturn Girl in his dreams and his life. If Imra can now rewire a brain like that, her powers should be interesting to see grow and evolve. It's more than just range, it's scope. One final cool bit in the art: How Ferro tosses Psycho away once he's done. Hahaha.

Science Police Notes:  

• All-inclusive Legion numbering: 1997/6.