L.E.G.I.O.N. #93 #49

L.E.G.I.O.N. '93 #49 (February 1993)
title: "Family Ties"
plot: Barry Kitson
dialogue: Mark Waid
penciler: Barry Kitson
inkers: Robin Smith
colors: Digital Chameleon
letters: Gasper Saladino
editor: Dan Raspler
reviewer: Mike "Nostalgic Kid" Lane

Recap: Stealth went undercover as a slave, with new recruit Haak posing as a trader, in an attempt to bust a slavery ring. Lobo had already arrived at the Buyer's Club before them and was enjoying the debauchery, while Garv and Telepath hid nearby with an army of L.E.G.I.O.N. troops. Dox was monitoring the situation and encouraged Haak to accept when a buyer offered a price to purchase Stealth. Garv and Telepath led an attack on the Buyer's Club, but not before Stealth and her "buyer" got away. Stealth soon found herself aboard a ship and she attempted to comfort a young girl who had also been enslaved. Once the ship arrived at its destination, she learned that her new owner was really Ig'nea, escaped criminal and former lover of Vril Dox. 

Ig'nea and Stealth (as her prisoner) arrive at the Mother-Beast, a sentient organism that serves as a safe haven for endangered children. Stealth had entrusted her son to its care, believing that he was safe there than with his father, Vril Dox. The Mother-Beast normally only allows caring mothers to enter but Ig'nea is using her powers to ensure that the creature can only sense Stealth's concern for her child.

It does not take her long to locate the boy.

Back on Cairn, Strata and the others are worried that Dox is not showing more concern over Stealth's disappearance. Phase is convinced there was more to her undercover mission than they were told, and that Dox must have a bigger plan.

Meanwhile, Ig'nea's soldiers are torturing one of the newly arrived slaves for sport. She interrupts their games to tell them that she has Dox's baby and that he will make excellent bait for his father.

Stealth has been locked up in a dungeon below. Unfortunately, she soon learns that she and the others there are being held as food for the giant creature that Ig'nea's father, the gangster G'odd, used to have as pet.

On Cairn, Marij'n assures Lady Quark that she is fully recovered from the attack by the creature that had possessed Captain Comet. After they finish with her examination, Comet arrives to speak with Marij'n, and for the first time, he is wearing a L.E.G.I.O.N. uniform instead of his traditional costume. Sadly, the conversation does not go in the direction she was hoping.

She asks Comet if he no longer loves her and he replies that he does feel a spark. But he is not sure if it is a growing passion or a dying ember. He leaves to sort out his thoughts, leaving behind a broken-hearted Marij'n. Nearby, Bek has been eavesdropping and smiles as Comet walks away.

Dox receives a message from Ig'nea, which Telepathy senses so he informs Phase and the others. They rush to Dox and demand to know whats going on. He is still speaking with Ig'nea, who is holding both Stealth and their son prisoner.  She demands that he surrender himself alone, without back-up, and she will agree to free the child. Sensing the reluctance of Phase and the others to just hand over Dox, Ig'nea decides to use Stealth as an example of what she will do to the child.

Well, that was an interesting one for a couple of reasons, but especially the cliffhanger. Ig'nea has achieved almost super-villain status in this title now, and I like it. And establishing her so quickly in this arc as a legitimate threat to the L.E.G.I.O.N. does fix one of the few issues I had with her initial storyline, which was how easily Dox seemed to fall under her sway. 

Two of my favorite characters in this series are Captain Comet and Marij'n so I am troubled by their storyline. I have mentioned before what a rough character Marij'n started out as, but once we learned more about her father and her marriage to Bek, it became much easier to sympathize with her. And it was obvious early on that she had a strong sense of compassion. Comet was appealing in large part because I just have a soft spot for classic sci-fi heroes like him, and his noble nature stood in contrast to Dox's more modern, ends-justifies-the-means attitude. Let's face it, their romance was touching, so its sad to see them hit this rough patch. It was a subtle point, but having Comet wear a L.E.G.I.O.N. uniform for the first time reinforced that sense of sadness by suggesting that he really was a different person now that he was freed from the creature.

We returned to a subplot that was set aside for a while, which was the relationship between Stealth and Dox, and the whereabouts of their son. Stealth and Dox seemed to have made some weird sort of peace with each other, as much as they may dislike one another, but Dox not knowing what had become of their child was a lingering issue. They may not like Dox, but it is understandable that the team would be unwilling to just hand him over to someone like Ig'nea based just on her word. But Phase did mention that she believed Dox had a much bigger plan when he sent Stealth on her mission. It seems likely that Dox was well aware of Ig'nea's involvement with the slave trade when he did so, but it is less clear that he could have imagined her involving his son. But who knows? Dox is obviously not one to let the disappearance of his own son go away. Does he have some even greater master plan underway that did contemplate his son's involvement? Check back with me next week as we see if Stealth has survived and whether Dox has truly lost control of the situation.