L.E.G.I.O.N. '92 #43

L.E.G.I.O.N. '92 #43 (August 1992)
title: "Something in the Air"
writer: Barry Kitson
breakdowns: Barry Kitson 
finishes: Robin Smith and Jimmy Palmiotti
letterer: Gasper Saladino
colorist: Dan Nakrosis
editor: Dan Raspler
cover art: Kevin Maguire and Scott Hanna
review by: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: After the gangster G'odd used his daughter to manipulate Dox into dispanding the L.E.G.I.O.N., the team is trying to rebuild. Dox has taken them to the planet Arga-Prime to help deal with a group of insurgents, but finds the problem to be more complicated than expected. He soon learns that the planet's leaders have not been honest with him, and that the population has reason to be unhappy due to racial strife. While Dox tries to deal with the leaders, the new recruits are left having to deal with events on the ground, and the Khund is captured by rebels. He comes close to escaping but does not quite make it.

Phase infiltrates the heavily guarded and fortified headquaters of the Grand Council of Arga-Prime to reach their nerve center and search their files. She finds something that shocks her but is interrupted by guards.

The guards pursue her but she is able to escape. Elsewhere, Dox greets one of the captured rebels and escorts him to a room where they will be able to speak without anyone else overhearing.  A L.E.G.I.O.N. officer who is secretly an agent of the Grand Council is about to detonate an explosive device in the room when Phase arrives and stops him. Dox comes out and she explains that he was a traitor who has been selling out the planet and their team for months. Dox tells her he had already had the room scanned and had defused the bomb. He already knows everything that has been going on and uses Telepath to give instructions to the LE.G.I.O.N.

It does not take long for the L.E.G.I.O.N. to take out the elite guard. The rebel leader thanks Dox for joining them, but Dox clarifies that they are not joining them, but are merely no longer against them. He understands and is still grateful. He agrees to ensure the release their Khund hostage and the new recruits insist on accompanying him.

Phase expresses concern that she does not understand where the supposed racial tension is coming from. Dox notes that he thought it obvious and explains that the ruling class has no eye pigmentation. He laughs at the idiocy of it because they are genetically indifferent and that the lack of eye color probably came about through in-breeding.

The recruits arrive at where their teammate is being held but his captors are skeptical that the L.E.G.I.O.N. is on their side. Lydea is tired of waiting.

She does not kill them, but merely incapacitates them temporarily. They explain the situation to the rebels and free their friend. Elsewhere, Stealth accompanies Lady Quark, Captain Comet, and Strata from visiting her son. Quark is still surprised that she is willing to leave him behind but Stealth responds defensively that his safety is all she cares about. In that moment, Quark sees a vision of her dead daughter. In the cockpit, Comet is overwhelmed by more headaches and Strata encourages him to let Marij'n finish her tests.

On Arga-Prime, the people are flooding the street in rebellion since they have learned that the L.E.G.I.O.N. is not opposing them. Instead of wasting lives capturing the Grand Council, Dox offers them a strikeforce to do the job.

The new recruits successfully take down the Council's army and are on the verge of victory when the Council surrenders. Dox asks why they let things go so far since they had to know they were bound to lose. He is horrified at their answer.

So this arc is everything I love about this series. The team is dropped into a complicated political situation and struggle to find their way, and Dox ultimately takes control of the situation to turn it to their advantage. I may be simplifying it a bit but its still their basic formula. And it works.

Digging into it a bit more, I was very happy to see the new recruits playing a big role. I mentioned in an earlier summary that I felt they had been sidelined immediately after they first appeared, but they got to step up and play a major role here. Especially Lydea and the Khund who are the most intriguing of the group.

The actual conflict on the planet was not as interesting as watching things play out among our team. But I did appreciate the nod to the classic Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield."  That was the episode where two aliens brought their fight aboard the Enterprise and explained that the racial tension on their planet was due to two races being black and white on opposite sides. Its essentially the same as the eye difference in this story.

I do not have much to say about the subplot of Stealth and her crew since that was mainly intended to catch us up on what happened to her son. But the main plot line was a fun one and perfect for demonstrating that the team is rebuilding after the G'odd storyline. 

Please check back with me next week to see where things head for our team!