Reboot: The Legion #37

The Legion #37 (Early October 2004)
title: "For No Better Reason, Part Three: A Sense of Confinement"

writer: Gail Simone

breakdowns: Dan Jurgens
finishes: Andy Smith
lettering: Rob Leigh
colorist: Sno Cone

editor: Stephen Wacker

cover: Greg Land and Jay Leisten 
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Apparition, Brainiac 5, Chameleon, Cosmic Boy, Dreamer, Gear, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Kid Quantum, Live Wire, M'Onel, Saturn Girl, Spark, Star Boy, Superboy II, Timber Wolf, Triad, Ultra Boy, Umbra, Violet, Wildfire

Guests: 
Chuck Taine, Dr. Gym'll, Legion Academy (named: Infectious Lass, Nightwind), Lialla, Trudy Trusoe; Metropolis citizens

Opponents: 
Karahdians, Oasis One inmates, Organ thief (gets the name Pinter), Persuader, Spike (Arrow, Canary, Devil, Lantern)

Recap: 
A super-powered terrorist group has kidnapped Dreamer to enhance one of their members' ability to shut down power sources within a certain radius. They want to show people just how dependent they've become on technology... and on the Legion. A group of Legionnaires is caught in the epicenter of the chaos while attending a dedication ceremony, a moment the terrorists have chosen to try and assassinate the U.P. president, Apparition's mother! Meanwhile, Karate Kid was delivering an organ thief to Oasis One, a maximum security prison hovering over Metropolis on the same day the Persuader's daughter came to visit. It has crashed into a park lake. Scrambling to help the Legion from a blind position on Legion World, Chuck and Gear send a cadre of Legion Cadets and Dr. Gym'll, who gets promptly shot down even as Timber Wolf gets speared by Devil...

Synopsis: 
Where is the rest of the Legion during all this? On Karahdia, a planet where two near-identical species with the ability to evolve at incredible speeds are at war. In three weeks, they've gone from living in caves to building star ships and the Legion has decided to give them a different target to save them from genocide, or from spreading across the galaxy. It looks like a losing battle, and they can't up and leave to help the Legionnaires on Earth.

Meanwhile, though there's no real word on President Wazzo's condition, Timber Wolf isn't dead, forced to listen to Devil's gloating while she twists her trident in his wound. She does leave him for dead, but he's only playing, and as his healing factor kicks in, he sniffs a small piece of her costume he ripped off, already tracking her location. Nor is Karate Kid dead, fighting the Organ Thief and other Oasis One inmates until they submit to his will (as the Persuader and his daughter watch from their hiding place). Nor is Dr. Gym'll dead, though his self-prognosis isn't optimistic.

Lantern and Arrow attack Chameleon and the Cadets, identifying Nightwind as the biggest threat. But they're not counting on Infectious Lass, who makes them puke their guts out. Will they give up their leader in exchange for some relief? Back in her apartment HQ, Devil explains the next phase of her plan to Canary: To get aboard Legion World and shut it down with Canary's powers just as the Legion returns via a threshold, thereby leaving them stranded in emptiness forever.

Commentary: 
Shotgun
I don’t know which I would have preferred: Seeing the Legion's other team trying to save both quick-evolution species from annihilating one another or never seeing them. If I’m being honest, I think it would’ve been the former. When I read about those civilizations and the team’s mission, it seemed so farfetched, I was ready to just let it slide like without a need to explore it more. My attitude basically was “Yeah… that sounds like a 30th-Century problem. Go team!” So as much as it was nice to see the stranded team for a short while, it felt underwhelming that we only saw them for 3 pages. I suppose it will all be tied together in the end.

My only complaint about the other part of the story is how everything seems too calm. Sure, Trudy explains it a bit by saying seeing the Legionnaires at work has a calming effect on Metropolis’ population, but to what extent? Where’s the rush, the panic we experienced since this short story began? Planning is important, but I can’t help but see a debriefing when Ultra Boy, Brainy and Cham are just talking together while Violet is fixing a building and Trudy is just there… sitting… writing… Tinya giving plush toys to what I suppose are lost kids – fun Quantum Kid plush toy by the way – it feels like something that would happen after all threats are long gone. Even the way Devil is playing with Timber Wolf feels too calm. I will have to assume this is simply the fake calm between two storms, the eye of the hurricane before plunging deep into it once again.

The three MVPs of this issue? Timber Wolf with his convincing fake-death and getting Devil’s scent.  Karate Kid for being a one-man army. And... Infectious Lass??!! Oh boy, was I excited when I saw her. The white uniform and red jacket suit her a lot more than the green leotard! Gimme that outfit, that hair, that body, PUH-LEASE!!! I hope we get to see more of her before the end!

Siskoid
I don't disagree that the Karahdan situation is just a bit of padding (though it technically stars Spark, one of my favorites), and it's such a crazy science-fiction concept no more believable here than it was (or will be) in Doctor Who's "The Doctor's Daughter", but as this is the last story arc of The Legion, it really does need to show as much of the team as possible. Only three pages may be a feature, not a bug. We get to see them a little bit, and it doesn't really interrupt the story on Earth, simultaneously explaining any of them can conceivably return as back-up.

IS THERE a lack of urgency? I felt like the previous issue was too fast, with too much happening 20 minutes into the emergency. Now, it's been 80 minutes since the so-called spike, and that's probably more settling into a more realistic pace. The Legionnaires are cut off from the world, trying to get their bearings, keeping an eye out for the terrorists who did this, dealing with people and damage. It's probably the first breather they've had. Bit of an infodump if somebody needed a recap. Then half way through, it's all action. Karate Kid vs. the world (leaving his stamp). The Cadets vs. Arrow and Lantern, and yes, so happy Infectious Lass isn't a mort in this continuity.

A lot of talking up front and a lot of action in the back, plus Devil telling us her plan instead of just enacting it... Yes, there are pacing issues. This is probably the weakest issue of the four-parter as a result, repeating information and beats... Come to think of it, we could have stayed on Karahdia longer.

Science Police Notes:  

• Live Wire is back in his original costume despite having Element Lad's body and additional powers.
• The Reboot's Infectious Lass was first seen as a Legion applicant in Legionnaires #43, but is only revealed to be a Legion Cadet in this issue.