L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 #10

L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 #9 (December 1989)
title: "Internal Affairs"
plot/breakdowns: Keith Giffen
script: Alan Grant
penciller: Barry Kitson
inker: Mark McKenna
letterer: Gasper Saladino
colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
editor: Art Young
cover art: Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon
review by: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Vril Dox successfully conquered the Planet Cairn, overthrowing the drug lords that ruled it, but then Stealth began exhibiting increasingly bizarre behavior that culminated in her raping and murdering Dox. Lyrissa steps up to take over the army he had united and tries to direct it to noble goals. While Garryn Bek works with his estranged wife, Marij'n Bek, to clone Vril Dox, the Durlan disappears and is replaced by a mysterious woman who can phase through walls. Bek tries to capture her but he mistakenly frees Lobo, who then tries to destroy Dox's cloning chamber.



The mysterious woman who appeared in their headquarters is worried about the madhouse she has landed in. Bek passed out after Lobo found himself free, and she pulls his body away, planning to try to get whatever helpful information she can get from him. 

Lobo busts open Dox's cloning chamber intending to kill him but is annoyed to finding the body still breathing. Dox starts to wake up and Lobo is clearly determined to kill him but Stealth shows up to protect him. Given how powerful Lobo has been shown to be, its surprising how well Stealth holds her own.

While they fight, Lyrissa is visiting Marij'n, concerned over how long her cloning project of Dox is taking. Lyrissa acknowledges that Bek has not been helpful, and promises to deal with him, but still feels that Marij'n has not been honest. Marij'n feels ashamed and starts to breakdown, noting that Bek still means much to her.

Elsewhere, Lobo has defeated Stealth and turns his attention to Dox. But Dox has fully awakened and is ready to confront Lobo. When they battle, their mysterious visitor attempts to interrogate Bek.

Dox and Lobo continue to battle, and Dox surpringly holds his own. While a reader gets the sense that Dox is superior in brute strength, Dox is superior in strategy and sheer persistency. It is also revealed that he has been conscious in the cloning chamber for a week, and has been manipulating the instruments to give him maximum strength.

Larissa is conferring with Strata over her conversation with Marij'n, who has been prolonging her project to hang on to Bek. She is concerned that the Durlan apparently knew about this and also that she has not scene the Durlan in a while. Their conversation is interrupted when they notice tropps gathering, and are informed about Lobo and Dox's battle.   

Dox wins the battle, in part due to Lobo's sheer exhaustion. The gathering troops cheer in his honor and are thrilled to see him for the first time since they conquered the drug lords of Cairn. Lyrissa goes to visit him in the infirmary where he is recovering from his battle.

This was an interesting issue that tied up several lose ends. Dox's cloning was teased alot and not specifically mentioned but it was very interesting where they were going. I was still surprised that he had the same personality and memories of the original.
I still feel a bit uncomformtable with how quickly Stealth was accepted although she did try to help protect Dox this issue. Speaking of Dox, he does not generally get physical in this series, and instead relies on his brain. But having him beat a character as strong as Lobo definitely tells the reader that he is powerful.
This was another issue with no clear villain outside of our main cast. But it still manages to stay suspenseful as always. As people pointed out in the comments on the last post, yes, the mysterious visitor is obviously meant to be Phantom Girl, or at least that is what the reader was led to believe. There will be some twists and turns as to that revelation, however. What they intended is not necessarily where they will end up.