LSH (v8) #8

Legion of Super-Heroes #8 (October 2020)
title: The Trial of the Legion of Super-Heroes part 1
writer: Brian Michael Bendis
artists: see list of credits, shown below
colorist: Jordie Bellaire
letterer: Dave Sharpe
associate editor: Brittany Holzherr
editor: Brian Cunningham
covers: Ryan Sook (main); Dustin Nguyen (variant)

reviewers: Jude "Sarcastic Kid" DeLuca and Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Overall Summary: 
General Crav Nah and his forces attack the Legion of Super-Heroes. Newly elected Legion Leader (and the General's son) Ultra Boy leads the team against them. The fight continues until Ferro Lad lets loose with so much force that General Crav explodes. The Legion then surrenders to the United Planets. UP President RJ Brande calls her son, Chameleon Boy, to her so she can review "where the Legion went wrong," which includes viewing several Legionnaires' auditions. Meanwhile, Cosmic Boy begins to deal with having been voted out as Legion Leader.

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #50 (Part 2)

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #50 (March 1993)
title: "L.E.G.I.O.N. '67"
writer: Alan Grant
penciler: Denis Rodier
inkers: Denis Rodier
colors: Digital Chameleon
letters: Gasper Saladino
editor: Dan Raspler
reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

(Last week, I covered the first half of this issue, which resolved our heroes fight against Vril Dox's former girlfriend, Ig'nea. We are now turning to the second story in this anniversary issue, which is a "What If?" style tale from Alan Grant and Denis Rodier. So lets skip the detailed recap of recent events and start off with the Forward to this story.)

Forward: It's not every day that monthly comic book science fiction adventures series reach their 50th issue. In honor of this auspicious event, we have dug through some of the DC Comics' archives and selected the following backup feature as a tale out of time.

It is unlikely that many current L.E.G.I.O.N. fans will recall this plucky, fun-loving group located somewhere between here and the Pre-Crisis DC Universe. In fact, some have said that such simple-hearted stories are not to the taste of today's sophisticated readers. To that we can only say, "Hey! You! Get offa my cloud!"

The League of Infinity Debuts

“The Hoaxers from Beyond History”

Supreme 42  (September 1997)

Writer: Alan Moore 

Art: Joe Bennett and Rick Veitch

Review: Emsley "Ultra Fan" Wyatt and "Sarcasm Kid"

The League of Infinity was a group that appeared in Supreme.  Before getting to them, however, we need to take a look at the greater universe that spawned them.  Supreme existed as a comic for a while, basically as one of many Superman knock-offs out there in comic-land.  But then, with issue 41, Alan Moore took over.  He took that knock-off status and embraced it, ramping it up to eleven.  

Supreme acquired a Supreme dog, Radar; a female counterpart, Suprema; and a raft of deja vu inducing supporting characters. Moore walked, no make that gleefully danced, on the line between tribute and satire, between parody and plagiarism, between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowle......whoops, wrong intro.  Retcons were acknowledged, even by characters themselves, as “reality revisions.” Many comic tropes were stood on their heads, turned inside out, and put through a meat grinder.  One interesting technique was that many tales were told with “framing stories,” done with modern-style comic art but in the flashbacks the art would revert to classic silver-age style, often with internal covers referencing past issues that were never published.  

The League of Infinity, in case you were wondering when I'd get around to them, played prominent roles in at least five stories, and did cameos in a few more.  They were introduced in Supreme # 42. Note the styling: at once reminiscent of the classic DC Annuals but with a hint of Adventure #300.  

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #50 (Part 1)

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #50 (March 1993)
title: "Showdown"
plot: Barry Kitson
dialogue: Mark Waid
penciler: Barry Kitson
inkers: John Stokes & Robin Smith
colors: Digital Chameleon
letters: Gasper Saladino
editor: Dan Raspler
reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Stealth went undercover as a slave, with new recruit Haak posing as a trader, in an attempt to bust a slavery ring. Lobo had already arrived at the Buyer's Club before them and was enjoying the debauchery, while Garv and Telepath hid nearby with an army of L.E.G.I.O.N. troops. Dox was monitoring the situation and encouraged Haak to accept when a buyer offered a price to purchase Stealth. Garv and Telepath led an attack on the Buyer's Club, but not before Stealth and her "buyer" got away. Stealth soon found herself aboard a ship and she attempted to comfort a young girl who had also been enslaved. Once the ship arrived at its destination, she learned that her new owner was really Ig'nea, escaped criminal and former lover of Vril Dox. 

Ig'nea and Stealth travelled to Mother-Beast, the creature who was caring for Stealth's baby. After retrieving the child, Ig'nea contacted L.E.G.I.O.N. and demanded that Dox turn himself over to her in exchange for the safety of his son. To convince him, she murdered Stealth in front of the team.


Dox accepts Ig'nea's demand that he surrender himself in exchange for his son but he realizes that she does not expect him to really come alone. He orders the core team and the new recruits to assemble in the space dock in thirty minutes.

Ig'nea has gathered her army that she assembled from the remains of her father's criminal empire. She warns them that Dox is not coming alone, and that while she will handle him, it is their job to take care of the others.

As the new recruits gather supplies, Zena wishes she could have the confidence of Amon in regards to their mission. Strata reassures her that she and the new recruits will all do fine, and while Garv agrees, it seems that he himself may be losing faith in the L.E.G.I.O.N. Almost everyone is soon aboard, except for Captain Comet, who has stopped to get his new costume.

On their way to Bartok, Bek provides a briefing on the planet. He explains that it is one-point-three the gravity of Cairn so the anti-gravs, especially Davroth and Tashana, will have to compensate. He also explains that swamps and marshes dot the planet, making the atmosphere high in methane, which means their respiration may be strained. As they approach, Dox expects for them to be fired on by Ig'nea and he is right as always.

After crash landing, the team heads out with Dox reminding Borbb and Telepath to stay by him and remember their cue. They soon come under attack and Ig'nea's troops prove to be quite formidable.

Dox finds one of Ig'nea's soldiers, the spider-like Wreeth, and surrenders. Wreeth is suspicious but Dox drops his weapons and declares that he is still in love with Ig'nea. Once Wreeth escorts him inside, where Dox sees Stealth's body, he ensures that Telepath has relayed his location and Borbb teleports in with two grenades. Dox shoves one down Wreeth's throat and attempts to revive Stealth.

The team has started to turn the tide against Ig'nea's troops, and Zena gains the confidence she needed by proving herself in battle. Borbb had left his friend Darius hanging mid-fight to assist Dox but quickly returns to help. 

Dox locates Ig'nea but fails to sneak up on her before she notices. She uses her powers to light up his remaining grenade and he is unable to throw it away in time before it explodes.

Ig'nea's speech is interrupted by Stealth, who is alive but not exactly doing well. Ig'nea sicks her pet, Rebel, on Stealth and tries to flee. Dox follows and Stealth remains to take care of the beast.

In the swamp, Borbb finds the head of Darius, who is alive but loosing consciousness. He tells his friends that he can be rebuilt by his maker if they can find, which Amon, the Khund, swears they will.

The last of Ig'nea's troops bargain with Phase for their freedom, warning that they are in the gas swamps and one spark could blow them all to hell. Phase agrees to let them go because they need to find Dox and can always track them down later. Telepath says he has located Dox and is shocked to learn that Stealth is still alive.

Stealth and Dox track down Ig'nea, who offers their child in exchange for her life. She surrounds him with flame and is flown away by one of her soldiers. Dox sends Borbb to retrieve his son, and at first, everyone is concerned to see the child returned to Dox instead of Stealth.

In the aftermath, the new recruits ask Phase for a leave of absence to find Darius' maker, which she grants. Garv tells Strata that he is leaving because he is tired of Dox using the team to fulfill his own personal vendettas. He asks her to join him, but she cannot bring herself to leave her friends.

Stealth and Dox find a moment to finally make piece. She apologizes for hiding their child, and he acknowledges that she will make a much better mother than he will a father. The rest of the team are introduced to the baby, and (except for Strata and Lobo), they feel a new hope for the future of the L.E.G.I.O.N.

Valor #5

Valor #5 (March 1993)
title: "Go Directly To Jail"
writer: Robert Loren Fleming
artists: Jeffrey Moore & Trevor Scott
inker: Brad Vancata  (pp 17-22)
letterer: Bob Pinaha
colorist: Eric Kachelhofer
associate editor: Eddie Berganza
editor: KC Carlson
cover: Jeffrey Moore (?)

reviewers: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage and Jason "Anachronistic Kid" Knol

Guest-Star(s):
The Blasters

Opponent(s):
Kanjar Ru, Vril Dox

Summary:
Valor is shanghaied by Vril Dox's pre-programmed warp drive system, which sends him to the Starlag II in its red sun solar system. Depowered and confused, Valor is thrown in jail with the only change of freedom being a group of inter-stellar roustabouts called the Blasters.

L.E.G.I.O.N. #93 #49

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #49 (February 1993)
title: "Family Ties"
plot: Barry Kitson
dialogue: Mark Waid
penciler: Barry Kitson
inkers: Robin Smith
colors: Digital Chameleon
letters: Gasper Saladino
editor: Dan Raspler
reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Stealth went undercover as a slave, with new recruit Haak posing as a trader, in an attempt to bust a slavery ring. Lobo had already arrived at the Buyer's Club before them and was enjoying the debauchery, while Garv and Telepath hid nearby with an army of L.E.G.I.O.N. troops. Dox was monitoring the situation and encouraged Haak to accept when a buyer offered a price to purchase Stealth. Garv and Telepath led an attack on the Buyer's Club, but not before Stealth and her "buyer" got away. Stealth soon found herself aboard a ship and she attempted to comfort a young girl who had also been enslaved. Once the ship arrived at its destination, she learned that her new owner was really Ig'nea, escaped criminal and former lover of Vril Dox. 

DC Cybernetic Summer 2020

DC Cybernetic Summer 2020 (Sept 2020)
title: Summer Lovin'
writer: Liz Erickson
artist: Nik Virella
colorist: Romulo Fajardo, Jr
letterer: Ferran Delgado
editor: Katie Kubert
cover: Dan Mora & Tamra Bonvillain
reviewer: Sarcasm Kid

It’s been a weird time for Legion fans. The release of the Bendisboot has gotten mixed reactions from veteran Legion fans, who have complained about yet another continuity reboot starting everything over. DC seems to have recognized this, which would explain why they featured a Bronze Age-styled Legion tale in the From Beyond The Unknown 100-Page Giant, and this Silver Age-styled Legion story in DC Cybernetic Summer.

“Summer Lovin’” is written by DC editor Liz Erickson, with pencils and inks supplied by mah gurl Nik Virella. The Legion roster consists of Superboy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Brainiac 5. Liz and Nik have provided us a tale set during the Silver Age in both tone and appearance (beyond just the costumes).

Admittedly the story’s shorter and goes in a different direction than I expected, but it’s still charming and rather bittersweet in a way that is easy to swallow. I can’t say much more than that because I don’t want to spoil anything.

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #48

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #48 (January 1993)
title: "Prices"
writer: Barry Kitson
penciler: Dan Lawlis
inkers: Ande Parks
colors: Digital Chameleon
letters: Albert DeGuzman
editor: Dan Raspler
reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Dox led the team to the planet Arga-Prime to deal with insurgents, but found the problem to be more complicated than expected. He learned that the planet's leaders had not been honest with him, and that the population was unhappy due to racial strife. The planet erupted in rebellion, and the Grand Council introduced a virus into the oceans that would be carried into the atmosphere, eventually releasing a deadly rainfall. Hal Jordan of the Green Lantern Corps arrived to help, and they successfully evacuated the planet. 

Meanwhile, Captain Comet succumbed to his seizures and lost control of his powers. It was revealed that he had been possessed by an alien entity and that it wanted Lady Quark. Dox used some of Lady Quark's DNA to create a biomass in hopes of attracting Comet, but the creature used it to build a new form. Much of the core team was incapacitated, leaving only Dox and Garv to confront the creature. Dox tried to reassure the creature that he was merely trying to protect Lady Quark and has done it no harm. The  creature slowly started to take a shape similar to that of Lady Quark's husband, who was killed in the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series. It noticed an army of L.E.G.I.O.N. soldiers gathering behind Dox and fled the ship, promising to return for revenge when it is at full power.

LSH (v8) #7

Legion of Super-Heroes #3 (March 2020)
title: (Untitled)
writer: Brian Michael Bendis
artists: Ryan Sook and Wade Von Grawbadger (pg1)
artist: Stephen Byrne (pp 2-22)
colorist: Jordie Bellaire
letterer: Dave Sharpe
associate editor: Brittany Holzherr
editor: Brian Cunningham
covers: Ryan Sook (main); Alex Garner (variant)

reviewers: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Overall Summary: 
The Legion apologizes to the United Planets Council, which leads to an argument between members and an election for the role of Leader. Cosmic Boy loses to Ultra Boy, just as General Crav Nah attacks.