Legion Obscura #200!

[Jef Peckham]

Hi gang!

Wow. 200 of these messages. I'm not sure I ever thought I would go this
far.

I delayed making comments on last months regular issues, trying not just to
be snarky and insulting about them. Plus, there wasn't anything other than
the regular issues last month to cause me to send out one of these. So I
waited until I had something else to talk about. Now I do. So, including
last month's books, we've got FIVE new issues to talk about. Details follow
the

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In order:

LEGION LOST (II) 12.

Finally, Alastor is defeated, by tossing him into the sun. Can we please
bring this group home now?

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (VII) 12.

Comet Queen was the traitor. Of the entire rescue group, did anybody NOT
see this coming? The Academy students were too new (and that would be to
remniscent of Nemesis Kid) to be the traitor, and all the rest were above
suspicion. Naturally, the Legion wins, with belated help from Mon-el and
Ultra Boy. It was also nice to see Projectra make an appearance at the UP
Council.

LEGION LOST (II) 0.

Timber Wolf's revised origin. Now instead of Dad just being a mad scientist
on a mostly deserted wild planet experimenting on his son, he's a researcher
on a hi-tech Zuun beset by gangsters wanting his research who kill his wife
and force him to experiment on his son. Made an orphan after treatment by
his Dad blowing up his lab to prevent the gangsters from getting his
research, TWolf tracks down the gangsters and ends up turning them in when
his instincts are to kill them. There is a reference to his original name
of Lone Wolf, but he takes the name Timber Wolf, even though there is no
evidence of him having any knowledge of that Earthly creature yet. In
keeping with this series receating the look of all the characters, He
already has the claws he would originally not have until after his exposure
to the Hypertaxis plague at the start of this series. I repeat, can they
please come home now? The last page is a Who's Who page for the series,
that doesn't say much, but reiterates that they can't go home again.

LEGION LOST VOLUME 1: RUN FROM TOMORROW trade paperback.

This reprints the first seven issues of the current series. If you've held
off on buying the series, now's the time to find out what you've been
missing. All my complaints about the series are still valid.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (VII) 0.

A tale from the early days before Brainiac 5 joins the Legion. In fact it
appears he joins at the end of the issue. The Legionnaires that appear here
are in their Legion: Secret Origin costumes, minus the Batista kneepads. (I
don't have a problelm with this, this is apparently the new 'original'
costume designs in this new continuity.) Anyway, Colu is beset with
problems caused by someone opening up the Brainiac spaceship/laboratory.
Guess who did this? Considering the title is Brainiac's Original Sin, I
knew you could. A petty crook named Tharok also sneaks in and gets the
modifications that will turn him into the future leader of the Fatal Five.
The Brainiac attack is stopped by tossing the spaceship/lab off planet and
cleaning up the robots still loose. A rescue is also made of the Coluan's
most precious thing: an infant girl, the first child born since Brainy, a
reference to the Coluan's long life-span and correspondingly low birth-rate.

Art is by Scott Kolins, former Legion artist (briefly), who tells the story
effectively, but nothing spectacular to get excited about.

This issue also has a Who's Who page, which interestingly describes the
Legion's first appearance as being in "Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (2011)."
Leaving out all the history Levitz has been referencing, and the fact that
this team is a continuation from the previous series (Volume VI), what is
that all about. Is DC denying they have been publishing comics for over 75
years? Sigh.

Until next time,
Archive Lad
Jef Peckham
j1peckham#earthlink.net
(replace the #, dummy!)