Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #94

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #94 (July 1997)
title: "22 Pages About the Legion of Super-Heroes"

writers: Tom Peyer and Tom McCraw

pencillers: Lee Moder, Jason Armstrong, Philip Moy, Derec Aucoin, Stuart Immonen, Val Semeiks, Phil Jimenez, Jeffrey Moy, Paul Pelletier, Walt Simonson, Tom Grummett, Mike Collins

inkers: Drew Geraci, Ron Boyd, Walt Simonson
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, Ferro, Gates, Inferno, Saturn Girl, Spark, Triad, Ultra Boy

Guests:
Captain Comet, Koko, Phase, Shvaughn Erin, Wimena Wazzo; L.E.G.I.O.N. officers, a senator and his interviewer Sally, grocery shoppers, soup kitchen staff and patrons

Opponents (sort of): 
Nosy Doctor Midwich, Koko's army?, Murl Wazzo, Roxy Leech; a bartender, a mall cop

Recap: 
Part of the Legion is still trapped in the late 21st Century. During a fight with Doctor Psycho, Cosmic Boy was left in a coma, but with help from a 30th-Century medi-kit, he seems to have pulled through. They've recently asked the young local hero Ferro to join the team...

Synopsis: 
As pulled from the files of Science Police Shvaughn Erin:
Not only does Ferro accept the Legion's invitation, but he's designed and sown new costumes for the Legion. Much dread.
Ultra Boy and Shvaughn have built a craft for the Legion to fly around in. Apparition races off in a jealous fit.

Doctor Midwich comes to consult on Cosmic Boy's condition and really really wants a look at that medi-kit. Denied!
On Cairn, the L.E.G.I.O.N. looks for Phase's lost "touchstone", but she might have left it on Earth. Captain Comet lends her his ship.
Ultra Boy confronts Apparition on why she feels threatened. Dummy only too late realizes it's because she's immaterial.
The Legion watches TV and comment on politics.
In the middle of the night, Koko leaves the HQ and meets up with an army of white monkeys.

Gates confronts Brainiac 5 as to why the Coluan never talks to him. Brainy just can't stand someone who is all about opinion and not facts.
At the grocery store, Ferro scares a little girl. He wonders if something in the medi-kit could fix his face.
Inferno tries to buy a beer, but gets carded. She's 1001 years too young.
In the 30th Century, Wimena Wazzo misses her daughter Apparition. Her ex-husband shows up begging for money. As he leaves, it is revealed he is a Carggite.
In Hawaii, Triad drops in on Superboy, but he isn't there. Roxy Leech answers the door and is seen wearing the Legion flight ring. Triad gets the hell out of there.
Ultra Boy and Gates go help out at a soup kitchen.
Ferro makes himself a Legion belt buckle.

The Legion retrieves the flight ring from Roxy, saying Superboy has forfeited it.
Ferro unveils his new costumes for the team, but Inferno burns the box thinking they would all be terrible. Ironically, only hers survives (it was fire proof), but it's actually good.
Inferno is aware of Ferro's crush on her.
Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl announce their engagement. Spark's spit take.
In a department store, some Legionnaires are victims of ageism when a mall cop accuses them of shoplifting. Shvaughn sends him away.

Commentary: 
Shotgun
Ooff… That cover though. I know I said I’m a hopeless romantic and that I’m always down for some good old romance in books, movies, and now comics. I just feel like this is waayyy too much.

*Actually reads the comic*

Oh… OK! That was fine. The cover is misleading, but I can’t blame them as I’m not sure how I would advertise a compilation of short stories. It’s also pretty hard to review without getting into too much detail or not enough. I think I’ll basically focus on three characters: Ferro, Cos and Apparition.

Ferro joins the Legion and seems so much happier now. I like his enthusiasm, but I’m also glad he didn’t get to change everyone’s costume. What every Legionnaire imagined was very funny and, I’m sure, pretty far from what Ferro actually created for them. Just have a look at Inferno’s new look to see he wouldn’t have gone overboard with it. I’m digging that outfit! I mean, I never was a fan of the shoulder-pad-of-death look anyway. Does that make her an official Legion member as well with the belt and all?

Cosmic Boy’s eyes on page 4... They look so empty!

I'm glad they address the weird brain waves, I knew it just couldn’t be *that* easy to completely bring him back. Imra’s influence? Hard to say. At least, we see him without her when he reclaims Superboy’s flight ring, so I might be looking at it from a pessimist's point of view. Yet, their engagement is raising so many red flags for me. Why there? Why now? It feels like they’re rushing things and I can’t help but feel it’s to ensure they never get separated.

Poor Apparition. It must be hard to be in her position. She’s clearly overreacting when confronting Jo and Shvaughn, but I can’t blame her either. At least, we might get into more information on how this happened to her. It’s revealed that Tinya’s father has the same powers as Triad. So, I guess he’s from *Google Search* Cargg too. Maybe that’s what explains why she remains alive after her body got burned. A mix between her phasing and triplicate powers created this entity living inside of Jo until it was released. Again, can’t stress enough how I like the detail of the phasing cat-like creatures when we visit Winema’s home! Hope to learn more about her lineage and how it can help fully bring her back or, worst case, end her torment by really letting her go.

Siskoid
If you have to, for some reason, give your lead artist a break, you could do worse than this structural conceit where different art teams do different pages. I've always liked the downtime issues of the Reboot Legion, and though it seems odd that Shvaughn even knows about some of the more intimate moments here (at least enough to write entire files about them), the final page gives the disparate subplots the sense that it's all the same story - of her keeping tabs on the kids, protecting them and making sure they're okay psychologically too. You know, in the original Legion continuity, Shvaughn was the same age as fellow Legionnaires (certainly a contemporary of her boyfriend Element Lad), so I didn't really realize she might be older in this continuity. Of course, Leviathan was also Science Police, so they take some pretty young recruits. But she does seem more mature than they are, and naturally acts as den mother, albeit from a distance.

The random stuff that struck a chord with me: Phase is about to come crashing into the book because by now we need an explanation of why there are two Tinya Wazzos in the 20th Century - Apparition and an amnesiac Phantom Girl from the previous continuity. Koko building an army... What is up with that? Is there something sinister going on there? Superboy giving Roxy his ring? Classic Roxy more than classic Kon-El, but the important thing is that it breaks Triad's heart. The Legion does have another team-up with Supeboy coming up, so whatever promise is made here may be kept. My favorite bit is probably the shot of the little girl crying in the reflection of Ferro's helmet. We get no answer on the face fix, but it's probably no.

The character I do want to address though is Inferno. First, I looked and the "L" buckle has been there a while, which makes me wonder if I should go back and make her a member in the roll call from the moment she wears it. There's just no scene where she's accepted into their ranks; it's more a matter of being stuck there. And she's still an outsider. Not only is she an even more of a stinker than Brainy is, but her own attitude speaks to a feeling of isolation. Twice in this issue she's seen tearing up - at the bar, and then being mean to Ferro, just about the only person who overtly likes her.

Science Police Notes:  

• All-inclusive Legion numbering: 1997/14.
• Every page is pencilled and inked by different artists (with some repeats), credited at the bottom of each. The credit box describes them as the Legion of Substitute Artists.
• Ferro officially joins the Legion.
• The issue introduces a new costume for Inferno.

Milestone: 
Ferro joins the Reboot Legion.