Reboot: Legionnaires #52

Legionnaires #52 (September 1997)
title: "Big Trouble"

writers: Roger Stern and Tom McCraw

penciller: Jeffrey Moy
inker: W.C. Carani
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: KC Carlson
adult legionnaire: Carmela Merlo

cover: Jeffrey Moy
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Chameleon, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Kinetix, Leviathan (flashback), Live Wire, M'Onel, Magno, Monstress, Sensor, Star Boy, Umbra, Violet, XS

Guests: 
Dragonmage, Kid Quantum II, Mysa, Night Girl, Polar Boy, Prefect Lamar, R.J. Brande; medical staff, U.P. Marines

Opponents: 
Emerald Eye of Ekron (flashback)


Recap: 
The Legion, with the help of Workforce and the Amazers, has just recently defeated Mordru... with some last effects: The witch Mysa is now young, Element Lad has been turned into living crystal, Magno's powers are gone, Monstress has decided to leave the Amazers, and Violet, now free of the Emerald Eye, collapses, convulses, and has a growth spurt!

Synopsis: 
The U.P. ships bearing the Legionnaires are en route for Earth as M'Onel rejoins them with the news that he wasn't able to convince Andromeda to stick around. No matter, there are more important things to worry about, like the size-changing Violet in the throes of a seizure. The working theory is that when she tried to make the Eye resurrect Leviathan after he died from his wounds at the hands of Dr. Regulus, it instead stole his powers for later use. Now, Violet has withdrawn into her mind, and Sensor manages to sense she's created a reality where Gim Allon is alive, but can't bring her out of it.

As the ships change their heading for Titan where a greater telepath might be found, R.J. Brande, for fear they won't get there in time, reveals he has some telepathic ability himself, and with the help of Sensor, enters Violet's mind, convinces her that Gim is well and truly dead, and that it wasn't her fault. She comes out of it with both her and Leviathan's powers.

By the time the Legion reaches Earth, Monstress has been voted into the Legion, Mysa and Dragonmage have said their goodbyes and are on the cusp of becoming a couple, Magno has left to seek the help of Braalian doctors, and Violet is ready to be introduced as the new LeVIathan.

Commentary: 
Shotgun
It’s been such a long time since we lost Violet to the Emerald Eye that I had completely forgotten that Gim’s death was associated with it. Even after she took control of it, was able to send it away, Violet still has to deal with the Eye’s influence. Keeping Gim alive by giving Violet the same power he had is pretty sad for our heroine. Now her own powers will remind her of the passing of the one she loved. Please tell me they’re not really going to refer to her as LeVIathan again. Using Gim’s code name to describe her would just be even more cruel to poor Violet.

I liked the way the comic was written and drawn. I was almost stressed while reading because of it. The expressions, the panic in the characters' dialogue, yeah… It worked with me. I also felt the annoyance expressed by Invisible Kid towards Brande. I figured that there was more than met the eye when it came to good old R.J. but a telepath… This is getting interesting. Could he be powerful enough to read minds without people noticing? No wonder he’s so successful! Good thing he was there and was able to help Violet get back. The gang is back on Earth, they’ve brought back their lost member and have a new addition in Monstress, and they gain a lot of prestige after their fight with Mordru. With everything being less chaotic in the 30th Century, maybe we’ll see another try at bringing back the rest of the group. I don’t know… during a wedding maybe? I would love to see Rokk and Imra having to explain all this to their teammates mid-vows! Have you noticed that I’m not too fond of the idea of their marriage yet?

Siskoid
You've made several predictions about the upcoming Legion wedding, so at least one of them is bound to be correct, right? We'll find out NEXT WEEK! Oh my! Meanwhile, Legionnaires is also the host to changes in the status quo. New powers for Violet (I refuse to call her LeVIathan as well), which will make more versatile, and for Element Lad too, let's not forget. If anything signals the return of Cosmic Boy sooner than later, it's the departure of Magno, a broken hero. And adding Monstress to the cast? I think she's an effervescent character, probably a good addition even if I'm not too clear on her power set, but I wish she had had a few more hoops to jump through before being voted in between panels. She wants it too much for it to be this easy.

I don't know what the deal is with R.J. Brande - is this an echo of the previous continuity's reveal that he was a Durlan? can't he just be good at business without a super-powered advantage? - but at least he needs Umbra, Sensor and Kinetix to work his magic. It's a team effort in a team book; I lie to see that. His mental operation finally puts an end to a storyline that's been going on for ages (from way back even before it was happening!) and I for one am ready for the next chapter. One panel I dearly love is Sensor flicking her tongue at Vi's forehead, like she's tasting her mind. Imagine the old Princess Projectra doing that!

And while I'm dishing out the love, my VERY FAVORITE panels are the Polar Boy and Night Girl cameos in the home crowd, and how Night Girl hits the person behind her with her beehive hairdo when she looks up at tall Violet. He's only doing half the books, but Jeffrey Moy really is the defining artist of this era. Cute and expressive and full of fun detail.

Science Police Notes:  

• All-inclusive Legion numbering: 1997/17.
• Magno leaves the Legion in this issue.
• Monstress joins the Legion in this issue.
• Shrinking Violet becomes the new Leviathan in this issue, gaining growth powers. She will be referred to simply as "Violet" in these articles for clarity and continuity's sake.