Hot: Francis Portela Brings The Heat

There wasn't a lot to overly praise about the last Legion of Super-Heroes title.

But one thing that definitely was a highlight was the super-slick art by Francis Portela. Portela's stream-lined look definitely worked with the idea of a gleaming future.

But Portela also brought a fair amount of hotness to the entire cast. Reading this book was like watching Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 in their heyday. Everyone was beautiful.

5YL Legion of Super-Heroes #42

Recap: The two Legions are still located on Earth, helping the "planet" stabilize. Meanwhile, an armored renegade has been seen kidnapping Legionnaires like Saturn Girl. Who is it? And who are they targeting?

Before I begin my review of Legion of Super-Heroes #42, I have to apologize.

You see, by the time LSH #42 had come out, there had been three annuals in the 5YL universe. And I haven't covered any of them  here. It is pretty sad to admit that I have missed these stories especially because they are relatively crucial in the re-establishment of much of the Legion mythos after the Mordru/Glorith reboot from early in the title.

Superboy starring The Legion #227

Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes #227 (May, 1977)
title: "War At World's End!"

writer: Gerry Conway

penciller: Joe Staton
inker: Jack Abel
editor: Denny O'Neil 

cover: Mike Grell
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5, Superboy, Wildfire, Colossal Boy, Princess Projectra, Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet, Lightning Lad, Shadow Lass; cameo flashbacks of Sun Boy and Star Boy

Opponents: 
Pulsar Stargrave, Quicksand, Holdur

Synopsis: 
Above Colu, a Legion cruiser approaches Brainiac 5 and his one-man ship when it is blasted by another ship hiding behind a moon. The Legion realize that this is not the real Brainiac 5, so abandoned the cruiser and were not killed. They find the real Brainiac 5 tied up inside his ship, but no one on the second ship.

Who's Who: The Legion of Super-Heroes

...and with that, we are at The End of Phase 1 of the Legion of Super Bloggers' "Who's Who of the Legion of Super-Heroes" column!

It's been 38 weeks, but we finished covering the entire roll call for the Silver Age-Bronze Age Legion of Super-Heroes. So from now on when you are faced with something like this: 

...you should be able to recognize a few of the characters!!

Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #27

The Legion of Super-Heroes (v3) #27 (Oct, 1986)
title: "Going Home"

writer: Paul Levitz

pencillers: Greg LaRocque, Colleen Doran, Shawn McManus, and Gene Colan
inker: Mike DeCarlo
ink assist: Arne Starr
lettering: John Costanza
colorist: Carl Gafford

editor: Karen Berger 

cover: Steve Lightle
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Sensor Girl, Element Lad, White Witch, Colossal Boy; cameos by Star Boy, Dream Girl, Quislet, Wildfire, Dawnstar, Invisible Kid, Blok, Timber Wolf, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, Sun Boy, Lightning Lass, Magnetic Kid, Polar Boy, Tellus

Guests: 
The Royal Council of Orando, SP Officer Shvaughn Erin, the Sorcerers of Xerox, Marte and Wynn Allon, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad

Opponents: 
Ignorance, Mordru

TOS: Adventure Comics #293 Group Review

featuring
The Legion of Super Bloggers Round-Table Discussion on
Adventure Comics #293 (February, 1962)
title: The Legion of Super-Traitors!
writer: Jerry Siegel
penciller: Curt Swan
inker: George Klein
letterer: Milton Snapinn
editor: Mort Weisinger
cover: Curt Swan and George Klein

Mission Monitor Board: 
Superboy, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad

Guests:
The Legion of Super-Pets (Krypto the Super-Dog, Streaky the Super-Cat, Comet the Super-Horse, Beppo the Super-Monkey), Lana Lang, Pa and Ma Kent, Mon-El, Supergirl (cameo)

Opponents:
The Brain-Globes of Rambat, Jax-Ur, General Zod

Ultra Boy: Hot or Not?

From one powerhouse to the next, a group of candid women with no real Legion knowledge will evaluate which is actually the hottest.

Participants
Our honorary Legion members are...
Art Girl - Can't look at orange next to another color. No, not can't. Won't.
DJ Nath - Can't read and walk at the same time. Follow her You-Tube channel, Mind Linked, which she telepathically shares with her sister Lip-Bomb.
Havana Nights - Can't put pictures and words together in her mind. So it's entirely ironic that she's contributing to a comic book blog.
Lip-Bomb - CAN read and walk at the same time. #MindLinkFail.
Shotgun - Can't listen to music and stop herself from dancing at the same time.
Moderator: Siskoid - Multi-tasking master.

5YL Legion of Super-Heroes #41

Recap: The Earth was destroyed and then rebuilt as a flotilla of floating cities. More importantly, it has TWO Legion of Super-heroes, the older ones who have lived throughout and the recently revived, younger, brighter SW6 Legionnaires. These cities aren't big enough for the two of them. It is time for the teams to take stock of their members and to move forward in this new Earth and new political landscape of the galaxy.

If Legion of Super-Heroes #41 came out in today's market it would be a #0 issue, or maybe it would be the dreaded #40.1. The title had a major upheaval when the Dominators' control was eliminated from Earth and the planet was subsequently destroyed. It also had a major creative upheaval as well. Gone is Keith Giffen. Gone are some of the quirkier stylistic points the title had. And the elephant in the room isthe presence of two full squads of Legionnaires. The title was still trying to find its footing. It was in the midst of getting settled into this new reality. And this issue was the turning point.

Superboy starring The Legion #226

Superboy starring The Legion of Super-Heroes #216 (April, 1976)
title: "The Dazzling Debut of Dawnstar!"

writer: Paul Levitz

penciller: Jim Sherman
inker: Jack Abel
colorist: Liz Berube

editor: Denny O'Neil

cover: Mike Grell
reviewer: Russell "Bilingual Boy" Burbage

Mission Monitor Board:  
Sun Boy, Star Boy, Superboy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Wildfire, Dawnstar; cameos of Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Timber Wolf, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Shrinking Violet

Opponents: 
The Resource Raiders

Synopsis: 
At Legion HQ on Earth, Sun Boy and Star Boy chase after escaped Resource Raiders and re-capture them. All the Legion got out of them was a set of coordinates. Lightning Lad has plotted them, but it is just an area in open space. Wildfire introduces his team-mates to Dawnstar, and asks for her help in tracking the Raiders.

Who Is Sensor Girl?

Who Is Sensor Girl?
by Bilingual Boy

Real Name: Unknown

Super-Power(s): Unknown
Planet of Origin: Unknown

Legion Seniority: Sensor Girl joined at the same time as Polar Boy, Magnetic Kid, Quislet, and Tellus. Tradition had her listed before her male team-mates, making her Legionnaire #34.