LSH (v8) #5

Legion of Super-Heroes #5 (May 2020)
title: (Untitled)
writer: Brian Michael Bendis
artists: Ryan Sook, Scott Godlewski, and Wade Von Grawbadger
colorist: Jordie Bellaire
letterer: Dave Sharpe
associate editor: Brittany Holzherr
editor: Brian Cunningham
covers: Ryan Sook (main); Alex Garner (variant)

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

Overall Summary: 
As Brainiac 5 talks his way out of the Legion's conflict with the Science Police, Superboy (Jonathon Kent) continues his 31st Century orientation, including his review of the forming of the Legion.

Mission Monitor Board: 
Brainiac 5 gets the majority of the spotlight here, but the other members who have speaking parts or were identified in some way are in (kind of) the order of their appearance: Superboy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Bouncing Boy, Triplicate Girl, Dr. Fate, Shadow Lass, Dawnstar, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, Saturn Girl, and Blok. And we see the member who has never been named in-series but has been called "Monster Boy" in outside sources.

Supporting Characters:
UP President RJ Brande, General Crav Nah of Rimbor, President QMacc of Braal

Opponents:
uh...general evil? Also bad writer, worse editor

Summary:
This issue starts with a one-page close-up of Computo, who brings us up to date as to the conflict between the Legion and the Science Police. Brainiac 5 beams in to talk to them as a transmission and explains to the SP officer in charge that the President should never have had the SP fight the LSH. Brainiac 5, as the boy who told the UP to form the Science Police in the first place, is listened to by the SP and they back off. 

As Superboy goes back to his orientation video, Brainiac 5 requests Ultra Boy to lead a group to find Aquaman's missing trident. He then talks to Chameleon Boy about Cham's mother, the President RJ Brande. Cham is surprised that Brainiac 5 figured out that they were related, and answers Brainy's questions about her motivation: fear. 

Superboy returns to the the orientation video where he asks to see the forming of the Legion from the President's point of view. We see where the President talks to the founders about creating a new "Justice League," as well as when she went before the United Planets Council and gets approval to form the team. 

The founders agree to form the team, asking one of the President's body-guards, a Dryadian named Sgt. Block, to join. Then they decide to go to Colu and recruit Brainiac 5. 

Brainiac 5 enthusiastically agrees to join, telling the founders that they must form the Legion of Super-Heroes immediately, and also go back in time to ask Superboy Jon Kent to join, too. He tries to explain to them that if they don't, the future will not be guaranteed. They must learn how to be a hero from him, and he in turn must learn of the future and everything that they have built. 

Superboy is struck speechless by the implication that he is, literally, the lynch pin of the organization. Saturn Girl arrives trying to explain more, but then Brainiac 5 interrupts with an urgent announcement: Aquaman's trident has been found, and Earth must be evacuated immediately!  

Russell's Review: 
Have you ever been in a discussion with other fans about which is more important to comics, art or story? I have always argued that they are symbiotic; great art can elevate a so-so story, and a great story can make you forget you're reading rushed art. On the other hand....

I am just going to come right out with it: Although I love the pretty pictures, this book frustrates the hell out of me.

There are twenty-three pages in this book, but, I dunno, maybe twelve pages worth of actual story?

Let's start with the first page. A beautiful (?) full page portrait of Computo and ten voice balloons. That's roughly half a page worth of story; less if you picked up the last issue and could have jumped straight to the two-page splash page. Speaking of the two-page splash page, this could easily have been one page. So we basically edited down three pages into one. The rest of the book is the same ratio.

I know, I know, this is called "writing for the trade paperback." And yes, the art is pretty. But when I come across something so obviously slow-paced, it upsets me. Let me tell you what actually happened this issue: we learn that Brainiac 5 thinks Superboy coming to the future will save the future by saving the past. That is it. One long, convoluted speech over three pages is all the story I get for my $3.99.

Again, the art sure is pretty. But these kids are incompetent, and the pacing is glacial, and the character development is non-existent. Can we please get a new editor? Maybe someone who loves the Legion and isn't afraid to pull Bendis back from his grandiose world building and make him prioritize good story-telling?

J's Review: 
Russell hit the nail on the head: "writing for the trade paperback." After I finished this issue it struck me how much fantastic character development and resolved storytelling was told in a single Legion of Super-Heroes Silver Age issue. After five issues I feel like nothing has happened and we're no closer to any story development.

Why do we care about Aquaman's trident? What's with RJ Brande turning on the Legion? Any Legion fan reading this is bound to be disappointed by the lack of anything going on and that the Legion is a subplot. Any Jon Kent Superboy fan trying out this book is bound to be disappointed by multiple issues of him trying to watch a video. The revelation that Jon Kent founded the United Planets is really cool, but I take umbrage to him being known as "the one true Superman."

I still don't know much about almost any of the Legionnaires, so none of the story has any emotional weight to it. The Dr. Fate looks awesome and I'd love to know more about her, but almost every character is completely two-dimensional and disregarded after a quick appearance in a panel or two. Not only that, but there's no clear motivation for anything that's been going on. I've never read any of Bendis's Marvel comics, but I'm enjoying his Young Justice book so far. The pacing is great, the characters have personality, there's a clear reason behind the actions throughout each issue. It's basically the complete opposite of Legion of Super-Heroes, which is heartbreaking.

I've always loved Ryan Sook's art and it's fine here, but I just feel like nothing has happened, and nothing continues to happen. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth-- there's an ongoing Legion series, so it could certainly continue on with a different writer if Bendis finishes whatever story he's still trying to start. But for now we're all just going through the motions.

Extra Interlac Feature: 
On the first page there are two huge bits of text written in Interlac. I went to the trouble of transmogrifying the top passage into English. However, it's such an inane comment that I didn't bother continuing onto the bottom section. You be the judge whether this was worth actually reading, let alone "translating."

Also, it's annoying that it is printed in a hard to read font color.

"Computo named herserlf. It's a sarcastic non de plume. She finds herself obsessed with Earth's ancient op culture history of fictionalizing artificial intelligence as hostile. Especially since the first thing AI did at their creation was find a balance in their programming as it is the only way an AI could actully function. After centuries of AI horror stories, the best thing that ever happen ed to the galactic civiclations was AI discovinger itself just as we needed to get to the next levels of our galactic conversation. " 

 "Headlines" 

"Computo won her place with the Legion in a series of programming and intelligence tests against some of the newest AI programs in the galactic....." This is where I quit.  

Science Police Notes:  

• We learn that Blok was (unofficially?) the first recruit after the forming of the Legion.  
• The scene on the cover does not appear in this story. Most of the members featured do not appear in this issue.  
• The President of Braal is Qmacc, which is possibly an homage to Jack Kirby's OMAC.  
• This is the fifth issue in a row without a title. 

Status: 
This issue has not yet been reprinted. I'm sure the announcement for the trade paperback is just around the corner.