The Legion of Super Bloggers! : Art Thibert

Showing posts with label Art Thibert. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Who's Who: R.J. Brande

René Jacques "RJ" Brande
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Ren Daggle

Super-Power(s): None (former: shape-shifting)
Planet of Origin: Durla

Relationship to Legion: Financier, ally, and secretly, a Legionnaire's father

Who's Who: Professor Huxton

Professor Huxton
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Ched Huxton

Super-Power(s): None
Planet of Origin: Earth

Relationship to Legion: Ally

Who's Who: Power Boy

Power Boy
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Jedidiah Rikaine

Super-Power(s): Density control, giving him super strength and endurance
Planet of Origin: Earth

Relationship to Legion: Academy student

Who's Who: Polecat

Polecat
by Russell & Siskoid

Real Name: Dafe Meron

Super-Power(s): Repellent scent
Planet of Origin: Earth

Relationship to Legion: Rejected applicant

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #9

Recap: The United Planets is under assault. Orando, Colu, and the rim worlds have been razed by Praetor Lemnos and his Terror Firma. The Praetor has been pulling the strings behind the scenes, leading to chaos and war. Planets are seceding. The UP is in economic crisis. And only the Legion is aware of the Lemnos and his plans. But the Legion itself is splintered from within. How can a broken team defend a broken federation against a powerful force!

Where prior issues of Legion has looked at individual members and made the plot revolve around them, Legion of Super-Heroes #9 is clearly a team book. Or rather, it is an anti-team book. I commented about this last issue but this is the most fractured Legion team I have ever read. Cosmic Boy and Brainiac 5 are vying for leadership, have their factions behind them, and have cracked the foundation of the team. Last issue, Brainiac 5 grabbed the reins, shoving Cosmic Boy out of the group's trust. Members fought each other. And in the end, Rokk was going to have to head back to Braal. His planet is seceding.

This issue shows the fallout of all this turmoil. One thing that classic fans know, it is that Rokk is the rock of the team. Writer Mark Waid brings that piece of history into the book. We see exactly what will happen without them. The team can't function. For someone like me, driven away from the book because Rokk became the Time Trapper, I greatly appreciated this.

Barry Kitson is again not on art. But he is replaced by Georges Jeanty whose work is lush and wonderful. It has a nice organic feel to it which fits the tone nicely.

Threeboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #6

Recap: The Legion is both a super-hero team and a youth movement, shaking up the stodgy and overly safe 31st century. The Legion's already shaky relations with the Science Police and the United Planets is put to the test when it is revealed that an intergalactic war is starting. The UP's rimworlds are being attacked by armies with a super-powered phalanx called Terror Firma. But who is behind this war? And why?

Legion of Super-Heroes #6 continued the pace set by the last issue, concentrating more on the impending intergalactic war and its fallout than in introducing us to new members. We have gotten to meet a core group of Legionnaires. We have seen them use their powers and learned some of their back stories and motivations. So now is the time for writer Mark Waid to keep the throttle down, pushing the team into this massive conflict. We learn about one new Legionnaire but that introduction is in the context of the bigger plot. What I love about this arc is the wrinkle of the Legion being an independent force, working as best they can with governments and groups whose politics they don't necessarily agree with. Unlike prior incarnations where the Legion is beloved, here they are looked upon as rabble rousers, maybe even feared.