The Threeboot: A Requiem

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interrèd with their bones. 

Mark Antony from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Friends, Legionnaires, UP residents, lend me your ears.

Because after 15 months of reviews, my look at that Threeboot Legion has come to a close.

It is hard for me to believe that I have come to the end. But in some ways I am happy it has as the last several months of reviewing the Shooter run hasn't been easy.

More than any run, it seems like this volume has both good and evil. I unlike Mark Antony, I don't want the bad portion of this run to live on. And I don't want to bury the good. I want to take a broad look at the Threeboot one last time. And really, what I want to hear most is from everyone out there. What did you think of this run of the Legion? Did you love it? Or hate it? Are there moments that stick out? What do you think?

And unlike many versions of the Legion, despite the Threeboots' short run, there are definitely  discrete and distinct runs within the 50 issues. So let's dip our toes one more time.

Epilogue: The Waid/Kitson Threeboot

My review for Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #36 is in the book and it seemed like the right time to look back at this title and get a sense of everyone's thoughts, mine included. I know there is another year of issues in this title but, to be honest, the Shooter book jumps the rails a bit. I wanted to look back at this era as its own experience.

Threeboot: Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes # 36

Recap: Cosmic Boy is missing. Timber Wolf, Atom Girl, and Shadow Lass didn't find him on Lallor, finding Wildfire instead. Sun Boy, Tenzil Kem, and Star Boy didn't find him on Winath, instead arresting Mekt Ranzz for (purportedly) running a mind control lightning cult. And now Supergirl, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad are in the Gobi Jungle, fighting Evolvo Lad, and hoping to find Cos there. But they are in a fight and it isn't an easy one.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #36 is the final issue of the interim creative team of writer Tony Bedard and Dennis Calero. Mark Waid and Barry Kitson left the book 6 issues ago. Since then Tony Bedard and Dennis Calero have been giving us The Search for Cosmic Boy. The plot has been three away teams searching three areas where Brainiac 5 feels Cos may be hiding. While each story has been interesting, bringing in elements of the old Legion into this new continuity, it has somehow shrunk the book. We haven't seen much of the cast of this book since this turn. And that seems to rob the book of some of its energy.

This issue actually marks the end of this creative team. It was pretty widely known at this point that Jim Shooter was coming back to the Legion with #37 and so Bedard also has the job of sweeping the deck and setting everything up for the next regime. One of those elements is Supergirl, who is removed quickly and efficiently. Was this an editorial decision? Was it Shooter's idea?

As usual, Dennis Calero's art just doesn't work for me. But, ironically, I think this is his strongest issue to date. There are some nice shots in this issue.

But for me, unofficially, this is another ending in this book. In my mind (because I haven't reread the Shooter issues yet), this book takes a big turn creatively once Shooter comes on. As a result, I think this issue slams the door on the Waid era.

On to the book.

Threeboot: Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #35

Recap: Cosmic Boy has gone missing. Brainiac 5 has sent three away teams to investigate possible sites where Cos is hiding. But Brainy seems to have a hidden agenda as well. The away missions included a team on Winath where a Validus cult was thwarted resulting in Mekt Ranzz thrown in jail. Meanwhile, Atom Girl, Shadow Lass, and Timber Wolf are on Lallor. There, they have been thrown into an assassination plot against the Lallorian president. The assassin? Wildfire!

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #35 continues the Tony Bedard/Dennis Calero run on the book. Much like last issue, Bedard seems to be relishing the opportunity to inject some Bronze Age sensibilities into the book while bolstering some of the newer characterizations and fresher look at the team. Bedard is walking the fine line that Mark Waid was walking earlier in the book.

If any character has a very new persona it is Atom Girl and she is the star of this issue. Once again we see her as a vicious fighter with a sort of sensual streak. She seems ready to devour the world in many senses. As a fan of Shrinking Violet, I will admit to took a little time for me to get used to this Salu given how well developed she was at the end of the Levitz run and the 5YL run.

As a Wildfire fan, I was happy to see him again and to see his history basically intact.

Once again, I have to say that Dennis Calero's art on the book is just too rough for me. After Barry Kitson, this seems like a inky, blobby mess.

On to the book.

Threeboot: Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #34

Recap: Supergirl has been elected leader. Cosmic Boy is missing. Three Legion away teams are sent by Brainiac 5 to sites where Cos might be hiding. But Brainiac's motives seems a bit worrisome. The teams seem set up to create conflict, perhaps clearing the way for Brainy to take over. Timber Wolf, Atom Girl, and Shadow Lass are on Lallor trying to track down their missing friend when they get caught up in a planetary conflict. 

Threeboot: Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #33

Recap: Cosmic Boy has disappeared and new Legion leader Supergirl (with some nudging by Brainiac 5) has sent three away teams to try to find him. It is unclear if Brainiac's motivations are above board as each team has a volatile makeup and has been sent into explosive environments. On Ranzz, Sun Boy, Star Boy, Mekt Ranzz, and Tenzil Kem run into a cult worshipping the Lord of Lightning, Validus. The cult seems to want Mekt to fulfill a prophecy and become Validus.

Threeboot: Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #32

Review by Anj

Recap: The Dominator War is over. Cosmic Boy shunted the Dominion homeworld to the Phantom Zone but let everyone believe he destroyed the world, committing genocide. Afterwards, Cos, without telling anyone, slipped away into the future to be a hero there. With UP Prosecutor Tenzil Kem hunting Cos down for war crimes, the Legion (now led by newly elected leader Supergirl) sends three away teams to try to track down Cos. In the background, Brainiac 5 seems to be scheming and manipulating everyone and everything.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #32 marked the second issue written by Tony Bedard. And with this issue, we get a glimpse into Bedard's style and his take on the Legion. One of the things that is very apparent is that Bedard is going to take advantage of the new continuity by writing his own. Last issue we saw a much more serious take on Tenzil Kem. This issue we get a very new take on Winath and the idea of Validus. I wonder if this might have been too much of a jump away the old continuity. Would old timers accept such deviation?

Bedard also does an interesting story-telling swerve in this issue. Last issue, we saw three away teams seem to head into danger. This issue, we stay with only one of the teams. We barely hear about the others. And that gives us some time to really dive deep into the one team we stay with.

The art on the book is now by Dennis Calero and I have to be frank. It has never worked for me. After the smooth clean look of Barry Kitson, Calero's is much muddier and rougher. It just isn't clean enough for a Legion book.

On to the book.