Who DIDN'T Join When

OR, “You're the next contestant on 'Who Wants to be a Legionnaire?'” 

by Emsley Wyatt

Having recently done a two-part article on the joining order of Legionnaires, I was casting about for an idea for my next article. Then I remembered that old writer's maxim: “Look at the flip side of the story.”  Well, the flip side of who joined is who didn't join. It seemed a natural, especially given that the Legion's first appearance was, in essence, a tryout story….! 

So today we'll take a look at the rejected applicants, in publication order.  If I left anyone out, please let me know.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #21

R.E.B.E.L.S. #21 (December 2010)
title: "To Be a R.E.B.E.L., Part 1"
writer: Tony Bedard
penciller: Claude St. Aubin
inker: Scott Hanna
colors: Tanya Horie; Richard Horie
letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Brian Cunningham
cover: Francis Portela & Santiago Arcas

Reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Vril Dox's son, Lyrl, now known as Brainiac 3, used a pulsar star to create a powerful entity, Pulsar Stargrave. He ordered the being to attack his father's homeworld, Colu, so that he could take their data-core. Dox happened to be on Colu visiting the supposedly inert body of his father, the original Brainiac, when he was alerted to his son's action. But before he could respond to his son's invasion, Brainiac awoke from his coma intent on killing Dox. The ruling council was killed in the attack on Colu, and Dox travelled to the Vega system to hire Lobo to help him against Brainiac. 

Dox convinced his son to help fight Brainiac while Lobo dealt with Pulsar Stargrave. Brainiac attempted to absorb their minds, but found himself overwhelmed by their memories and experiences. He fled with Pulsar Stargrave and the data-core, a loss that Dox said they will not easily recover from. Just as Dox and his son got their bearings, they found themselves confronted by two members of the Green Lantern Corps, who declared that they were under arrest.

Garfield in the 30th Century!

by Siskoid

It happened in the Legion of Super-Heroes' third volume, #32 to be exact. Heroes from the 30th Century had been kidnapped, depowered and kept prisoner on a planet. Heroes like Saturn Girl, Dream Girl, Atmos, and... Jon Arbuckle from Garfield?

Or possibly his descendant. But that would mean he procreated. Which doesn't seem likely from the strips, does it?

I wonder what his powers are. And if he'd have any chance at all in a Legion try-out.

Would they drum him out as soon as he started having conversations with his imaginary cat?

Or NOT so imaginary, as the Legion books would have it.

One theory is that the glacial pace at which the comic strips advance the story kept Jon AND Garfield young and alive for a thousand years. Garfield himself put in an appearance earlier in Legion of Super-Heroes vol.2 #300!

Looks like he's one of the Heroes of Lallor there! As is... Spider-Man!?

Well, that one I can't explain.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #20

R.E.B.E.L.S. #20 (November 2010)

title: "Sons of Brainiac, Part 3: Brain-Drain"

writer: Tony Bedard

penciller: Claude St. Aubin

inker: Scott Hanna

colors: Tanya Horie; Richard Horie

letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Brian Cunningham
cover: David Lynch

Reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Dox transplanted the planet Rann to the former location of the destroyed planet Tamaran to prevent disaster from the loss of so much mass in its solar system. He also restored the atmosphere of Rann, established a new L.E.G.I.O.N. headquarters on its surface, and allowed the surviving Tamaraneans to settle in its Southern hemisphere.

Dox's son Lyrl, now known as Brainiac 3, used a pulsar star to create a powerful entity, Pulsar Stargrave, which he ordered to attack his father's homeworld, Colu, so he could take their data-core. Dox happened to be on Colu visiting the supposedly inert body of his father, the original Brainiac, when he was alerted to his son's action. But before he could respond to his son's invasion, Brainiac awoke from his coma intent on killing Dox. The ruling council was killed in the attack on Colu, and Dox travelled to the Vega system to hire Lobo to help him against Brainiac. 

Who's Who in the Legion #5 EXTRAS

Continuing the series where we spotlight the features that appeared at the beginning of each issue of the mini-series Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes (1988). This time out the series features a guided tour of the Legion head-quarters by the one and only Phantom Girl. 

R.E.B.E.L.S. #19

R.E.B.E.L.S. #19 (October 2010)

title: "Sons of Brainiac, Part 2: Name & Number"

writer: Tony Bedard

penciller: Claude St. Aubin

inker: Scott Hanna

colors: Tanya Horie; Richard Horie

letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Brian Cunningham
cover: Kalman Andrasofszky

Reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Dox transplanted the planet Rann to the former location of the destroyed planet Tamaran to prevent disaster from the loss of so much mass in its solar system. He also restored the atmosphere of Rann, established a new L.E.G.I.O.N. headquarters on its surface, and allowed the surviving Tamaraneans to settle in its Southern hemisphere.

Dox's son Lyrl, now known as Brainiac 3, used a pulsar star to create a powerful entity, Pulsar Stargrave, which he ordered to attack his father's homeworld, Colu. Dox happened to be on Colu visiting the supposedly inert body of his father, the original Brainiac, and was alerted to his son's action. But before he could respond to his son's invasion, his father awoke from his coma intent on killing Dox.

Valor #20

Valor #20 (June 1994)

title: "Sudden Death Overtime Part 1: Ahead of His Time"

writer: Kurt Busiek  special thanks to Mark Waid

penciller: Colleen Doran

inker: Dave Cooper (Colleen inks page 11)

letterer: Bob Pinaha

colorist: Dave Grafe

associate editor: Mike McAvennie

editor: KC Carlson

cover: Stuart Immonen (signed)

reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage 

Guest-Star(s):

Wave Rider, The Linear Men

Opponent(s):
Descendants of Braal

R.E.B.E.L.S. #18

R.E.B.E.L.S. #18 (September 2010)

title: "Sons of Brainiac, Part 1: Brainchild"

writer: Tony Bedard

penciller: Claude St. Aubin

inker: Scott Hanna

colors: Tanya Horie; Richard Horie

letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Brian Cunningham
cover: Kalman Andrasofszky

Reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: With the defeat of Starro the Conqueror, Dox wanted to rebuild the L.E.G.I.O.N., but was surprised to find that the population of Maltus blamed him for Starro's attack. He decided that they need a new world for their headquarters so Adam Strange took him to the planet Rann, which had recently been decimated by a God-like being. The surviving population fled and the planet no longer had an atmosphere.

On the planet Kalanor, Desparo was about to execute Starro, when his former soldier, Storm-Daughter arrived to rescue him. She used her powers to restore Starro's strength and they fled Kalanor together. Meanwhile, Starfire was visiting the site of her homeworld Tamaran, which had been destroyed. She was in tears, watching the asteroids that once made up her world, when a bright light appeared and suddenly a planet was sitting where Tamaran once did.

She learned that Dox had transported Rann to its location to prevent a disaster from the loss of so much mass in the solar system. Starfire chose to join the L.E.G.I.O.N. while her sister, Blackfire, took advantage of the influx of refugees to mask the invasion of Rann by her army of Tamaranean survivors. But Dox, with the assistance of the Thanigarians, called for a truce and invited the Tamaraneans to settle on their new homeworld in its Southern hemisphere.

I Wouldn't Play D&D with the Legion

by Siskoid

 I won't deny it was fun to see Sun Boy and Star Boy (are they paired because they essentially have the same name?) playing Dungeons & Dragons whenever they had some downtime in the '80s Legion books. However, I just can't get into the way the role-playing game hobby morphed between then and the 29th Century. You might think it's cool that there's an impressive holographic display, but it's got more in common with the chess set aboard the Millennium Falcon than it does table top role-playing.

Click Read More (below) to read my specific complaints.