Life is a battle that we all lose. Which is why you can’t live it like it’s a war.

We have a banger for you this time around Legionnaires. Jim Starlin joins Legion HQ and not only handles the layout but also the plot. If I may say, a Paul Levitz/Jim Starlin combo is a very powerful thing indeed.

Also this is an Ultra Boy centric story with a Chameleon Boy team-up. When reading this for the first time I realized we had not seen too much of those two as of late. And I must say, this is a very nice pairing.

Finally, Levitz and Starlin begin a very powerful B-plot that leads to a very classic storyline. I really cannot wait to reach this and it is an absolute thrill to see the first breadcrumbs here. So with that, put on your flight rings, dust off your sleuth cap, because a game is afoot!

Murder Most Foul

The hotel is the Orion, on the planet Rimbor, it can be politely described as ‘seamy.’ The man who just entered it is obviously out of place. The man? Ultra Boy! He wonders why An Ryd asked him to meet her at this hotel, and how she managed to get a message through LSH communications. It was his first girlfriend so it would be nice to see her, but still, he is suspicious. After getting the directions to her hotel room, he knocks on the door and hears a sultry voice welcoming him in. And sitting on the coach is a very seductive looking An Ryd. 

She mentions that he has not been back to Rimbor in such a long time and that times have been rough. So rough that it has been very difficult to earn money, and she had to do whatever it takes, including selling herself. And now she has to sell him. And, as she finishes it off with an ‘I’m sorry,’ Ultra Boy is blasted in the chest and sprawls onto the floor. The gunman appears and An Ryd reminds him that he now must pay her. He sneers and shoots her as well.

Ultra Boy slowly wakes up but he is no longer in the hotel room but in some sort of starship. He quickly checks his surroundings, and observes that from the sky he is not in Rimbor anymore. He holds up his hand and also sees his Legion flight ring is missing. This is not good. Suddenly, he hears a command and a squad of the Legion of Super-Heroes have arrived. He asks them how they managed to find him so quickly and Superboy replies that they had to, otherwise the Science Police would arrest him. Wildfire adds that they are going to give him a chance to explain himself to them first. He then grabs Ultra Boy’s wrist and asks him to explain where his flight ring is. He does not know and asks where they are. Marla, the retired Legion’s adult advisor steps forward and informs him that he is on Rimbor’s fourth moon and he is in big trouble. He is being investigated for the death of Ay Ryd. Ultra Boy backs away and Marla continues. He was seen going into her hotel room right before she died, and her death resulted from exposure due to an intense heat beam, must like the one he uses when he turns on his flash vision. Ultra Boy backs away further and Marla sticks his finger right in his face and demands that he explain himself. 

There is a dead silence with his fellow Legionnaires’ eyes on him. Finally he utters the words, I can’t, and Wildfire binds him to take him in. Phantom Girl asks to have a minute with him, and she tells Ultra Boy she believes he is innocent. Ultra Boy knows that the honor of the Legion is at stake and now he alone has to prove his innocence. He asks Phantom Girl to step back, and turning on his super-strength, he busts loose and goes on the offensive, quickly kicking Dawnstar, Wildfire, and Timber Wolf. He then moves to Colossal Boy who has already grown, punching him in the face, but he is dragged down literally, by Star Boy who catches him with his super-strength still turned on. Ultra Boy’s mass increases, and he is pinned to the ground. Ultra Boy tries to get up but Star Boy continues to increase his mass. Desperately he digs his hand through the soil and finds a rock. He turns and hurls the rock at Star Boy, hitting his face. He jets skyward but the two most powerful members of the Legion are already on his tail: Superboy and Mon-El.

Ultra Boy switches on his super-speed and Mon-El and Superboy are still on him. UB weaves in and out, through a complex series of maneuvers. He stops just for an instant, and sees Mon-El and Superboy rushing him at opposite sides, and he darts out of the way at the last second, allowing these two powerful members to collide into one another, knocking each other out. 

He returns with only Phantom Girl and Shadow Lass left. He apologizes to them both but he has to take the cruiser otherwise he will lose a lot of time. When Mon-El and Superboy regain consciousness they will find a way to bring them both home. He tells Phantom Girl he loves her and that he will see her soon. She hopes so. As Phantom Girl and Shadow Lass watch Ultra Boy escape in the Cruiser Phantom Girls asks her why she did not try to stop him. She replies that if Superboy and Mon-El could not stop him, what chance did her shadow powers have? Besides, she knows how it feels to have the whole Legion against her, referencing the events of Adventure Comics #365. 

The rest of the gang slowly start to regain consciousness, all except for Dawnstar who seems quite hurt. Timber Wolf immediately recognizes what happened and conveys that Ultra Boy used a nerve block on her. She will be out most of the day, which was pretty smart of Ultra Boy since she is their best tracker. Timber Wolf almost seems proud that he taught Ultra Boy such a trick. Wildfire surveys the scene and points at Ultra Boy’s ship that he was put into for the frame job as an option to return home but Mon-El replies that he would rather fly himself. The group starts to bicker and Phantom Girl cannot help but smile. By the time they stop arguing Ultra Boy will be halfway to the next galaxy. He got his chance.

And not too far away, Ultra Boy uses that chance and sets the self-destruct on the Cruiser so the Legion will not be able to track him. He enters Rimbor and finds an old clothes cache they used when Universo outlawed the team and forced them to move underground. He decides on a disguise as an undertaker and hopes to gather enough leads to figure out who framed him and why. But as hours pass he scans Hotel Orion with his x-ray vision power turned on and ends up frustrated, because even the hotel where An Ryd was murdered services no clues. 

He walks through the streets thinking of a plan, when he remembers that a friend of his with an apartment on Rimbor is probably off world, which means his place is empty. Better yet, only Phantom Girl knows of it, so he can probably buy some time and he can trust PG not to tell the Legion where he might be. A few hours later he arrives and is happy to take off the undertaker disguise. He sits on the couch when a piece of furniture across from him starts to shake, and takes the form of Chameleon Boy.

He quickly tells Ultra Boy to relax, he is actually here to help. Ultra Boy cannot believe he found him but Chameleon Boy smiles and reminds him that he is the head of the Espionage Squad and he has had this place in Ultra Boy’s dossier for a long time now. Ultra Boy tells Chameleon Boy the whole story and asks CB if he believes him. CB smiles and tells him no, because he does not believe anyone nor anything. If he did, he would have to believe the tape that clearly identifies him as the person who rented the ship the he found himself in. Or his flight ring with his code number on it. And he would have to believe he was guilty because he ran. 

Ultra Boy gets it and begins to pace. Also he cannot believe that Marla is leading the team to take him in. Chameleon Boy also admits it is quite weird. He then tells Ultra Boy that Marla was off on a hospital planet getting youth treatments and when he heard of the crime he came rushing back. He would have access to all the systems and the means to frame him, but so would every member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. And that is what he finds the most interesting. CB tells Ultra Boy that he has some investigating to do and it may take some time. He advises Ultra Boy to run very far and very fast and he will see him again when he gets caught, and leaves, slamming the door and leaving a very bewildered Ultra Boy behind. 

Elsewhere, two starships rendezvous, docking in an age-old maneuver and within, an equally age-old maneuver begins; the gathering of the group that is going to take down Ultra Boy. Dawnstar is still woozy and Cosmic Boy is happy to have brought this ship that will bring back Ultra Boy. Marla cuts in and tells him they better hurry up and get him behind bars. Superboy gets in his face and questions why he is so eager to judge UB, they are or were friends. Marla replies that there are factions in the United Planets that hate the concept of the Legion of Super-Heroes and will use this as a reason to disband them. That is why they have to find him and put him in jail before anyone else can. 

Wildfire is back in charge and tells them the rest of the Legionnaires have decided what to do. Since Dawnstar is out of commission they will just have to outsmart him, which should not be hard to do. Since the problem started on Rimbor it is obvious that Ultra Boy will start there. Everyone agrees, even Marla, and Wildfire orders Cosmic Boy and Star Boy to take the controls and use every erg they have to give chase.

Meanwhile, within the computer center hidden in the ship’s inner recesses, Chameleon Boy is reviewing the physicals IDs in the databank and confirms that even the retinal patterns are matches and this rules out the possibility of an imposter. Still, he concludes that it must be an inside job. He continues going through the files and again, they are all clean except for Brainiac Five’s file because that one is always messed up since he plays with the computer all the time. Nothing has been tampered with and all the evidence points that there is nothing wrong. Still, he has to use instinct and he must believe that this is a frame up, because everything is so squeaky clean. He can think of only one Legionnaire, the most dangerous of them all, that would have the means to do this. But he has to prove it, and without getting himself killed in the process.

Mon-El announces their arrival to Rimbor and Wildfire instructs Superboy and Mon-El to scan the plant with their x-ray vision to see if they can find him. Superboy counters that Ultra Boy will probably be hiding in some sort of lead-lined room, which would make this attempt useless. Wildfire says true, but look for lead where it should not be. They both agree. For hours four invulnerable eyes search the surface of Rimbor and it is only their invulnerability that keeps them from becoming a solid mass of ruptured, bloodshot veins, until Mon-El finds a lead shield spot in an apartment complex, in the same city as the Hotel Orion. 

Ultra Boy was also scanning the skies and realizes he was spotted. He crashes through the floor and goes all the way down the apartment complex and smashes through the underground to the sewers. Luckily there is enough lead in the pipes to mess with Mon-El and Superboy’s x-ray vision, and as quick as he can he uses the tunnels to get out of the city. He thinks he is safe but this mistake is quickly revealed by Timber Wolf pouncing on him. TB tells him he should surrender and Ultra Boy declines. He wishes this were a time when they were simply trading punches at a gym, but now it is a life or death situation and he cannot afford to be beaten. He delivers a nasty right hook that sends Timber Wolf flying. Wildfire arrives and blasts him, but Ultra Boy flies off and dodges it, thanks to turning on his flying power just in time. And as he finishes that sentence Colossal Boy hits him, thanking him for having his flying power on and not his invulnerability. Ultra Boy crashes backward and grabs the roof of a building just in time. Switching powers to super strength, he rips off the piece of the roof and slams it against Colossal Boy’s chest as a response. But then Ultra Boy is hit by a strong sun blast and Sun Boy is now on the scene. Sun Boy again asks him to turn himself in and Ultra Boy again says no and delivers a nasty punch. He grabs Sun Boy’s wrist and takes off his flight ring, apologizing of course in the process. 

He flies off and with the flight ring on his finger, he can now fly and use his ultra-energy for another power at the same time, which means he can face anyone. Well almost anyone as he sees Mon-El and Superboy approach him again for a rematch. He manages to hit Superboy but Mon-El also delivers a mighty punch, followed by a big one from Superboy who had quickly recovered. They both grab Ultra Boy, wind back, and hit Ultra Boy at the same time, finally ending his escape attempt. 

Hours later after the Legion Cruiser returns to Earth, Ultra Boy is constrained and stands before his peers during a special session of the Legion. Wildfire of course wants to wrap this up quickly so he can hand him over to the Science Police. Marla concurs and states there are not many options left since the evidence against him is overwhelming. But Timber Wolf comments that there is not enough proof that he actually did it. Marla shrugs off the suggestion and simply contends that it is now up to the courts to decide, to which Chameleon Boy interjects with a resounding no. He jumps in the middle of the group and announces that he has proof that Ultra Boy is innocent. That an imposter is amongst them, and he can prove it by exposing him right here and right now. And he points to Wildfire who immediately attacks. Chameleon Boy tells them all he is a robot and he is trying to kill them all. 

Mon-El and Timber Wolf quickly attack but Chameleon Boy tells them he needs its head intact. Superboy blasts it with heat vision, and melts down everything except for the head. Chameleon Boy picks it up and examines it. He will need to hook it to a computer to find out who sent it. He tells the Legionnaires they can find the real Wildfire held in a force field in his room. Star Boy asks how this robot could possibly kill the girl? Chameleon Boy tells him it did not, it was simply placed strategically in the group to continue the ruse. The killer remains unknown. He only discovered the robot because he checked out the physical ID’s of everyone present and it all checked out. Which is a problem since Wildfire does not have a physical body. He hands the head over to Marla and tells him he should bring it to the Science Police. He then suggests that they should all start focusing on searching for the real person behind the machine and they need to stop him before he destroys them all. Those words hang over the group and Mon-El mentions that it sounds like Chameleon Boy knows who it is. With grim certainty he answers he does, but he better have proof first.

Ultra Boy glares at Marla, who was against him the whole time and places his shoulder on Chameleon Boy. He thanks him for believing in him even when everyone else did not. He will never underestimate him ever again. He then approaches Phantom Girl who immediately tells him saying anything would be a waste of energy, and they embrace.

We leave this touching scene to find a man in an Executioner’s Hood. The Legion’s victory will be short lived because now he knows everything he needed to, and the next time he will be prepared. And the Legion of Super-Heroes better be prepared for him, because he wants to see if they can prevent the destruction of the universe.

Creative Team

I could almost forgive Al Milgrom and company for giving us an all reprint issue after reading this gem of a book. Almost. Because all reprint issues are the ultimate evil and there just is no way of going back from that. Nevertheless, this was a fantastic issue, with a lot of credit given to Jim Starlin.

Jim Starlin of course would go on to create Thanos and that whole Infinity Stone saga thing. But he is also no stranger to DC because he also co-created Mongul with Len Wein. Why is this important? Because it just proves that Starlin is fantastic at big, epic space romps

Right off the bat we are pretty much dropped into the frame up, with a little detective sleuthing around. This story almost had that whole noir vibe and that is not a bad thing. The spotlight is on Ultra Boy who, face it, thought with his other brain, if you know what I mean, and that got him into trouble. Then it is him pretty much on the run, escaping the full might of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The biggest thrill was him warding off a few members until he turns and then of course he has to face the two biggest of them all, Mon-El and Superboy. Every one was used effectively, and the pacing was grand, with the story well thought-out, and there was never a moment where you felt like they made a stretch. Plus, we had a little mystery at the end that keeps us wanting. 

Furthermore, Murder Most Foul is starting to set up a nice event, which is badly needed since the Stargrave Saga. We are heading toward something big and it looks like there is foul play within the ranks. This is definitely a new chapter in the LSH and we can see it all form right here.

In terms of art, it is a gorgeous book. Starlin does seem to have issues with faces, and it does look like Chameleon Boy must have been redrawn in one panel. Also, I do wonder if Mike Nasser did a quiet assist because Chameleon Boy’s look does have those big ears that he was known for, so Starlin might of had some help. But his figure work on the Legionnaires is outstanding, and even right here he is a trailblazer of an artist, obviously influencing many future artists. But what else can you say? His layouts were perfect, there definitely was some Byrne-esque work, such as when Ultra Boy decides to smash down through all the floors, but the action kept moving and then slowed down when we needed the suspense to build for Chameleon Boy to make the big reveal. 

If it were not for the all reprint issue, and the admission that the editors were scrambling to find artists for this book, I would say we are in good hands and this is just going to get better. The big downsize of course is that we do have the tease for next issue and it does look like we are not going to get any ramifications of what happened here. So that is a pity. But once they get this train back on the track, we are definitely headed to territory that propels Levitz and the Legion to legendary status. 

The Legion Outpost

Unfortunately we do not have anything really of interest in this issue’s Legion Outpost. I was hopefully expecting a bit more insight or at least another apology from Al Milgrom from the one he delivered last issue. 

I suppose the only comment I can make is on the letter from Ed Vis who did not like the Composite Legionnaire, and states that Ric Estrada is not right for the Legion. As you might have read from my own thoughts of the issue I disagree with him on all counts and thought the issue was really good. Did I want Ric Estrada to be the full-time artist on the Legion? No. But only he, with his perfect balance between his realistic and cartoony figure work, could have pulled something off like a Composite Legionnaire.

The Legion Medallion of Merit 

The Legion Medallion of Merit is an honor we bestow on a Legionnaire who went above and beyond the call of duty and made a real different during the issue. Some would think Ultra Boy is a sure shoe-in but no, he is not. Look, it is quite clear in the beginning that he was thinking with his ‘other brain,’ and that got him into trouble and allowed the frame-up to happen. So throughout he was just reacting to get himself out of the mess. Was he resourceful, creative, and had guts? Yes. But he did not need to be if he was not in that situation.

Instead, the award goes to Chameleon Boy. He knew something was up and as the head of the Espionage Squad he put his experience to good work. His ability to look at something in a different way in order to figure out a motive and also how he uncovered robot Wildfire was a stroke of genius. But not only that, he had faith in his friend, Ultra Boy, and needed to follow it through to the end. This act of loyalty that ended up as an act of bravery is very much deserving of the medallion.

Wear it proudly Chameleon Boy! And though you do not trust anyone, and it is perhaps because of this distrust that you have the Medallion, I do hope there will come a time when this is no longer needed, and you can enjoy the friends around you without having to worry if they are a robot out to kill you.

That is all for this week’s installment! I do hope that one of your friends is not secretly plotting behind your back, while wearing an executioner’s hood. But if they are, remember to ring forth that rallying battle cry that acts like a hot knife of justice through tyranny’s butter…

LONG LIVE THE LEGION!