Shazam and Superboy-Prime

He's back.

God help us all, he's back.

Shazam #10 featured the surprising return of a DC villain who hasn't really been seen in over a decade, and that's how most of us preferred it! The solicits for the release of Shazam #13 even had Superboy Prime on the cover having decimated the main cast (as shown above). Surprisingly none of them are missing limbs, implying that he must've held back. Of course he'd be on the cover for unlucky #13.

Prime's appearance deserves a mention on Super-Bloggers since he's ostensibly a Legion villain, whether we like it or not. Below I'll be offering a refresher on Prime's history, why he's connected to the Legion, and how his appearance in Shazam #10 went down.

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #121

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #121 (November 1999)
title: "End of the Line"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins

inker: Ray Krissing
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Phil Jimenez

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5.1, Chameleon, Element Lad, Ferro, Gates, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Kinetix, M'Onel, Sensor, Triad (photo only), Umbra, Violet

Guests: 
Dreamer, Explorers Institute President Tenzar Kegg (interview), Koko, Magno, Ree; Tenazorians, Tenazorian monkeys

Opponents: 
Emerald Eye of Ekron, Empress, Persuader, Tharok, Validus

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #120

Legion of Super-Heroes #120 (October 1999)
title: "The Fatal Four... Plus One!"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins

inker: Scott Kolins
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Phil Jimenez

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5.1, Gates; in flashback: Apparition, Chameleon, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Ferro, Invisible Kid, Katate Kid, Kid Quantum II, Kinetix, Live Wire, Monstress, Saturn Girl, Sensor, Spark, Triad, Ultra Boy, Umbra, Violet, XS (others hinted in shadow)

Guests: 
Ba Bwain (voice-over), Koko, R.J. Brande; Takron-Galtos guards/staff

Opponents: 
Emerald Eye of Ekron, Fatal Five (Empress, Persuader, Tharok, Validus); Takron-Galtos inmates

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #119

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #119 (September 1999)
title: "Eat the Poor"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins

inker: Ray Kryssing
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Phil Jimenez

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Apparition/Phase, Brainiac 5.1, Karate Kid, Live Wire, M'Onel/Valor, Triad, Ultra Boy

Guests: 
Captain Comet, Gear, Koko, Lobo (cameo), Stealth, Strata (cameo), Vril Dox; game avatars (not true appearances): Batman, Deadman, Demon, Doctor Fate, Enchanteress, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, Phantom Stranger, Sentinel, Spectre, Superman, Wonder Woman; cover only: Garryn Bek, Lady Quark, Lyrissa Mallor

Opponents: 
Bishop Lokke, Bishop Lode, demons (game avatars), Emerald Eye of Ekron (cover only)

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #118

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #118 (August, 1999)
title: "Shadow of the Sun"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins

inker: Ray Kryssing
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5.1, Ferro, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Kinetix, Live Wire, M'Onel, Spark, Thunder, Triad, Violet

Guests: 
Koko, Superintendent Javert and his wife

Opponents: 
Doctor Deacon, Doctor Savant, Lord Pernisius

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #117

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #117 (July 1999)
title: "The Machine in the Ghost"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins

inker: Ray Kryssing
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie
special thanks: Jeff Johnson

cover: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5.1, Invisible Kid, Live Wire, M'Onel, Sensor, Spark, Thunder

Guests: 
Gear, Koko, Magno; Blackstar inmates

Opponents: 
Dr. Aywebn, Dr. Deacon, Kprkrn, Lord Pernisius, Shroud-troops

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #115

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #115 (May 1999)
title: "Imperfect Bizarros"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins
inker: Ray Kryssing
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5.1, Ferro, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Kinetix, Live Wire, M'Onel, Sensor (computer image), Spark, Thunder (computer image), Triad, Violet

Guests: 
Biz-Koko, Koko, Magno, Marla Latham, R.J. Brande

Opponents: 
Biz-Brainy, Biz-Ferro, Biz-Karate Kid, Biz-Kinetix, Biz-Leviathan, Biz-Live Wire, Biz-M'Onel, Biz-Magno, Biz-Spark, Biz-Triad, Dr. Deacon, Lord Pernisius, Scurrches (computer image)

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #114

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #114 (April 1999)
title: "Imperfect Strangers"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins
inker: Ray Kryssing
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Ferro, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid, Live Wire; in flashback: Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl

Guests: 
Biz-Koko, Marla Latham, R.J. Brande, Superman (flashback)

Opponents: 
Biz-Brainy, Biz-Ferro, Biz-Karate Kid, Biz-Kinetix, Biz-Leviathan, Biz-Live Wire, Biz-M'Onel, Biz-Magno, Biz-Spark, Biz-Triad, Bizarro (flashback)

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #113

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #113 (March 1999)
title: "The Anywhere Machine!"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins
inker: Al Gordon
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5.1, Ferro, Invisible Kid, Katate Kid, Kinetix, Live Wire, M'Onel, Sensor, Spark, Thunder, Triad, Violet

Guests: 
Koko

Opponents: 
Bizarro Kinetix (others hinted), Doctor Deacon, Emperor Goss, Lord Pernisius, a smuggler

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #112

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #112 (Month, Year)
title: "Bound Together"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins
inker: Ron Boyd
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Ferro, Triad

Guests: 
Takron-Galtos guards

Opponents: 
Metal Eaters, The Plague (Gronk, Howl, Murdermaton)

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #111

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #111 (January 1999)
title: "Possession"

writers: Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer

penciller: Scott Kolins
inker: Ron Boyd
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie

cover: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5.1, Ferro (cameo), Invisible Kid I, Karate Kid, Kinetix, Live Wire, M'Onel, Spark, Thunder, Violet

Guests: 
Koko, Magno, the people of Sataar

Opponents: 
Sarei and Redin Klerrgh

Reboot: Legion of Super-Heroes #110

Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #110 (December 1998)
title: "The Power of Thunder!"

writers: Tom Peyer and Tom McCraw

penciller: Scott Kolins 
inker: Ron Boyd 
lettering: Pat Brosseau
colorist: Tom McCraw

assistant editor: Frank Berrios
editor: Mike McAvennie
thanks to: Jerry Ordway

cover: Alan Davis and Mark Farmer

reviewers: Siskoid & Shotgun

Mission Monitor Board:  
Brainiac 5.1, Invisible Kid, Live Wire, M'Onel, Spark, Thunder (joins), Violet

Guests: 
Captain Marvel (flashback), Cece's foster parents (flashback), Inspector Javert (flashback), Koko, S.H.A.Z.A.M. Computer; human and tiger citizens of Fawcett-World

Opponents: 
Dash Noir (flashback), Dr. Savant, Objective Order

The New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes: A Eulogy

Hey all, it's Anj.

I have been manning Fridays for a while here on the blog, reviewing Legion books and reliving my fandom one issue at a time.

But sometimes it is a hard job.

Last week I finished my retrospective view of the New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes. And I can say, it wasn't easy. So allow me a brief post to sort of put together some overall thoughts about this volume. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts about it.

I had issues with the New 52 as a whole. I was not excited for a company wide reboot. I especially didn't like the fact that it was mostly company wide with Batman and ancillary books like the Legion basically unscathed. And I didn't like the darkening of the universe as a whole. This was not a fun or inspirational or uplifting universe at all.

As for the Legion? Well, as a New 52 book which was following its older continuity, it is neither fish nor fowl. Is it a new team? No. Is it a good jumping on point for new readers interested in sampling the New 52? Not really. Is it the Legion that old school fans wanted? I don't think so.

The whole run seemed to struggle with trying to find itself. Was it a darker Legion in a more dystopian future? Was it a new younger team with its rookie recruits leading the way? Was it a classic Legion? Was it trying to be all of those things, ultimately being none of them?

And looking at the book as a whole, did the pace of the run make sense? Were their 'fill-in' issues that seemed oddly placed? Were there arcs that made sense? It seemed to stop and start over the two years. And that sputtering hurt it as well.

On to some moments ...

New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes #19

Hoo boy.

We are approaching the end of the New 52 title and Legion of Super-Heroes #19 continues the funeral dirge of this series and these characters. All the problems I have been having since Keith Giffen rejoined the book - the odd characterization, the senseless killings, the grimy art - are all magnified here. The writing should have been on the wall that this was coming to an end.

My opening comments on the old review hold true. I don't know if DC gave the creative team the ultimatum to shake things up to save the series but it feels like it. And I wonder if Levitz and Giffen thought the easiest way to do that would be to sink into the grim, gross comics of the time. We have on screen deaths, off screen deaths, and on screen loss of limb. It all feels so 'Forever Evil'. It all screams New 52. And I don't mean that as a compliment. Add to that Phantom Girl acting like a coward and Emerald Empress acting like the Joker and you can understand why long time Legion fans were scratching their heads. It might say Legion on this gatefold 'WTF' cover, but that's not what it read like.

The art is a mix of Scott Kolins at his Kirby-est and Jeff Johnson. It is an odd mix of Kolins' rough look and smoother looking pages by Johnson. 

It still amazes me that this book was the last formal look we had at the Legion.

New 52 legion of Super-Heroes #18

Another month, another death, another crazy issue in the decaying orbit of the New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes. Like many, I have been clamoring for a new Legion book to hit the racks. But I want it to be the right book. I'd rather have no Legion than the wrong Legion. And when it is clear that people who understand the Legion as well as Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen were struggling, that worries me.

Legion of Super-Heroes #18 continues the insanity of last issue with the Fatal Five attacking, a team stranded on a Promethean Giant, and technology failing throughout the universe. In this older review, I call it the reverse Magic Wars and in many ways that feels appropriate. It is a universal threat with the infrastructure of the universe crumbling. There are Legion deaths that seem superfluous, a way to make the story 'feel' important. And, of course, it marks the end of the book. 

But this comes so out of nowhere, that in rereading (and, of course, knowing all that I know) it reads more as desperate. Sun Boy dying last issue felt like a stunt. Star Boy dying here (crushed by a collapsing door of all things) feels unnecessary. What purpose does it serve in the story?

The art is done by Scott Kolins and Tom Derenick. I have always found Derenick's art pretty plain. And Kolins does his best to bring a Giffen-esque feel to his pages. But it isn't pretty.

So one more step closer to the end ... On to the old review.

New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes #16

This is the end ...

The New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes #16 is the end of Paul Levitz writing the team. And it had been a very good run, several decades worth of excellent stories. It is a shame that Levitz's lend with the team came with a whimper and not a bang. And I wonder how Levitz would look back at this time. Clearly the run from Great Darkness through the Sensor Girl mystery was about as good a run as any. But then came the later Baxter run and then this retroboot.  I doubt he would hold the New 52 stuff as being his best material.

And in rereading this run, I have seen glimpses of the old excellence. But I don't know if what I like is what new fans are interested in. Take this issue for example. We have a Legion election. We have some interesting character moments, in particular Dreamy and Star Boy. But you have more hints about Glorith being something more than she is (which I think never bears fruit) and we have a clunky Validus scene. Perhaps worst of all, you get the hope of Phantom Girl having won the leader election. I say this is the worst because I know how she is treated moving forward.

Anyways, this was a good Legion issue and the character bits reinforced what I think is Levitz's best strength and therefore is an interesting end of his overall run. Scott Kolins is on art and he has a smoother look here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes #14

The last review I wrote about New 52 talked about how I felt the book had taken a turn for the worse. It seems like the 2012 Anj hit that point with Legion of Super-Heroes #14. As I read this issue now, I couldn’t help but question the need for this arc. With a Fatal Fuve brawl about to happen, this side story of Braalian pirates seemed a bit useless. And the only new story bit which came from this was the possibility of Cos losing his powers.

It is a shame because the pages not involving the main story are interesting. Levitz has an understanding of a broad universe. The Comet Queen reveal, the scene with Tinya (a scene I understand more now in these days), even the Brainy stuff builds up the universe. But the Element Lad plot? Kind of a snooze.

The art is by Scott Kolins. An artist whose work I like much more now. But if only Francis Portela was still on the book.

My grade of C- stands. Hopefully, I like the upcoming issues a bit more.

New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes #13

Legion of Super-Heroes #13 could be the sort of tipping point in my reviews of this title. 

During this reread I have been a bit more forgiving of the book. That might be that I have given it more of a chance. Or it could be that I am hungry for a Legion book again. 

But this issue felt like something of a tipping point. And it is funny how quickly my feelings changed. Because it seems like some of the things that irked me with this issue are things I have pointed out before. Could it be that I have lost my patience?

I also have to point out that Scott Kolins is on art. I like Kolins art, especially on Flash and JLA 3000. But for the shiny future of the Legion? It doesn't work for me. And it is very different feel to the Francis Portela art we have seen here. Could the art change be it?

There are good points, of course. I like Mon-El acting like a leader. And I like the Dreamy/Duplicate Lass scene. But the rest ...

New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes #0

It was 2012 and we were one year into the New 52. And DC decided to 'celebrate' the victory of the New 52 with a zero month. In theory, it was a 'jumping on point' for readers, a time to maybe head to a book you hadn't thought of reading. It was supposed to be an 'origin issue', time to learn about the new history .And each issue had a character-centric cover, a striking image to grab you.

Legion of Super-Heroes #0 was a flashback issue concentrating on the Brainiac Five origin story. It is a look at Colu and its culture. And it builds on, of all things, Legion Secret Origin, a book I just happened to recently review here. 

My points about this issue stand. I like Phantom Girl here, flirting with Ultra Boy but also still harboring a crush on Brainiac Five. I like Brainy, trying to move past his family's troubled past. And I like a new origin for Tharok, even if it feels a little coincidental. 

But I don't know if I like a semi-Saiyan Cos. I also remain confused about Brainiac and Collector of Worlds and Action Comics and the new origins.

Anyways, while the Legion remained relatively unscathed from the New 52 reboot, this is definitely a new wrinkle to Brainiac Five. And I suppose having this title get a little facelift was worth it.

Scott Kolins is on art and brings his usual grit to the proceedings.

On to the old review!

Art Institute of Zwen: Sprock Yeah Legion!

There is a lot of Legion of Super-Heroes art out there. On any given day you can go on Deviant Art and type in Legion of Super-Heroes and find all sorts of things that may tickle your fancy.

Or you could go to Sprock Yeah, Legion!

The Subs by Tom Fowler