Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #244

Welcome back to the Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes blog! We have reached the penultimate issue for the Earthwar storyline, with a big reveal at the end that had a huge ramification that we can now finally talk about.

Also, in a panel that was definitely a catch it or you will miss it variety, a major continuity thread that was left dangling was acknowledged but still has not been resolved. More on this in the Creative Team section.

Strap on your spacesuit and pick up your blaster because we have a Khund invasion to thwart!

The Dark Circle That Crushed Earth

A band of the Legion of Super-Heroes, led by Wildfire, race from Weber’s World to Earth before the Khunds can fortify their positions. Inside a Legion Cruiser, Element Lad gives the order to Sun Boy to use Dawnstar’s heading as the mark since she is better than their navicomp.

Meanwhile, Ontiir continues to look and act menacing, asking why Colossal Boy does not fly with his teammates. Colossal Boy then summarizes the past events from the previous issues to bring the readers up to speed. But as you are reading along you do not need to do this so we can skip a page or two. 

Sun Boy then announces they have a sighting and Dawstar signals that something is up ahead that should not be there. They descend on what appears to be a half-finished space-station that is also heavily armed. The space station starts blasting the Legionnaires, and Dawnstar just manages to dodge a blast while Wildfire gives the command to take it down. Superboy and Ultra Boy fly into action and Dawnstar warns them to be careful. Mon-El jumps into the fray and Superboy uses his telescopic vision and confirms there are only robots and no organic life in the station, thus they can really let loose. Wildfire uses his powers to take out a group of robots and now they have time to actually check the station itself. Dawnstar states that Superboy is wrong, there is life outside of the robots, but it is hidden deep within the station itself. 

Dawnstar leads the way inside and they quickly come upon a cube of inertia, which was able to resist Superboy’s x-ray vision but not Dawnstar’s tracking power. Superboy and Ultra Boy spring into action and hit it, to try to figure out what is inside. Element Lad quickly moves in and though inertia is an artificial element, it is still an element and he quickly changes it into helium, making the cube disappear, revealing the Dominator delegation that were on Weber’s World. They give the Legionnaires their thanks and reveal that when they discovered that Ambassador Relnic was in truth a member of the Dark Circle, they were trapped in the cube (also a plot point that was not in the previous issue!). They then give them their pledge that the Dominators will fight by the United Planets’ side to save Earth and that the Dark Circle must be destroyed. 

Chapter 2: The Last Line of Defense

We move to Earth where the Khunds have moved the Disruptor Cannon in position to take down the force shield currently surrounding Legion Headquarters. The cannon fires and the last defense protecting Earth’s stronghold falls. The Khunds move in and quickly take out some of the minor self-defense systems. They make their way to the armory in order to steal the powerful devices given to the Legion for safekeeping. But there is just one problem. And that is our married Legionnaires have arrived! Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Duo Damsel, and Bouncing Boy all stand defiantly in front the group. The order is given to fire on them and they move into action, taking out the group quite easily. And all of a sudden, Earth has a chance again, albeit a slim one. 

Lightning Lad surveys the result and Bouncing Boy’s confidence shines through saying they can now take care of the rest of the invaders. Lighting Lad snaps at him but quickly apologies, confessing that this ordeal has been quite a strain. Saturn Girl agrees but reminds her husband that it is their duty to fight for their adopted world and they would not be able to live with themselves if they tried to hide from now on out. She then finds the Khund Commander and reads his mind. He is also at the mercy of the Dark Circle who have also sent reinforcements and they should arrive soon. 

Meanwhile, the battle for Earth goes on, as isolated pockets of resistance prolong the battle. And out of all the pockets, none are more firmly entrenched than the Science Police fighting to save their headquarters. The Khund Commander encourages them to give up because their planet is finished. But Shvaughn Erin hits him in the head with her pistol and knocks him down. The rest of the Khunds move in and capture her. Just as they are about to shoot her, Karate Kid comes kicking in who has just arrived from the twentieth century with Diamondeth in a Time Bubble (FINALLY, HOORAY, as picked up from Karate Kid #15, Kamandi #58. It’s about time!).

With the Khunds quickly mopped up by the universe’s greatest martial artist, Karate Kid explains how he could not get a signal from LSH HQ so he brought his Time Bubble to the Science Police Building. And perhaps she could explain what the heck is going on since he has been in the Twentieth Century this whole time. 

Chapter 3: The Secret of the Earthwar

A few hours earlier, the Khundish warfleet crushed a Legion team in scant minutes. Their monitor displays another group of Legionnaires approaching and they expected to easily crush them again. However, these heroes are the fighting cream of the Legion, each and every one of them capable of destroying a starship singlehanded. And you guessed it, Wildfire and his group of Legionnaires have made it Earth!

Element Lad quickly questions why they are doing this, because there are just too many ships to destroy. Sun Boy agrees and points out that it takes him minutes to burn through even one, how can they possibly stop them all? Ultra Boy of course flies in and quickly punches a Khund ship showing that he does not have a problem with it taking too much time. Wildfire however agrees and asks Superboy and Mon-El to help him.

Wildfire believes they have done enough damage and if they keep at it, the Khunds will just bring hostages and force them to surrender. So how about beating them to the punch? He commands them to head for the U.P Presidential Palace and find some hostages of their own. And within the restored force-shield of Legion HQ, the command is heard and applauded. 

Lightning Lad cheers Wildfire on and the old members finally admire just how great of a leader Wildfire has become. Now it is their turn to help and join them in the fight. Bouncing Boy does not feel like bouncing through a city of kill-crazy Khunds and Lightning Lad smiles, and points to a very powerful looking Legion-Tank. Perhaps with this Battlewagon, they will not have to! 

They all hop in and leave Legion HQ. Lightning Lad asks Bouncing Boy to lower the shield but as he does so, a Khund throws an anti-matter grenade and it destroys the Battlewagon. Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad hop off but see that Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel are both unconscious. They have no choice but to leave them, and they quickly make their escape. 

And across the city at the Presidential Palace, Wildfire and the group arrive. They meet Khund resistance but the Legionnaires make easy work of them and within seconds, the Khunds fall before the Legionnaires. They make their way into the palace and Mon-El announces that the Dark Circle Lords are there. They then enter the room to find their fallen comrades, including members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes, encased in their own bottled prison, stealing a play from Brainiac’s book. The Dark Circle commands them to surrender and if they do, they may just let them live as their slaves. Wildfire laughs at his suggestion but the Dark Circle is not finished. They also have constructed a sphere of negative matter that will destroy them and Earth if they do not surrender. Ultra Boy cannot believe it because it would be suicide, but Element Lad reminds him that Deregon had a teleportation device and he was just an agent. The Dark Circle grows inpatient and asks them for their answer. 

Wildfire’s gaze meets Superboy’s for an instant and Wildfire gives them one.

“In a word, creep…no!”

And the Legionnaires rush in and take out the Dark Circle Team. Superboy, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, and Wildfire quickly circle the sphere and hold on, hoping to hold the planet together. For a single shattering second, enough energy is released to char the globe to ashes, but that released energy cannot travel far enough to wreak its full effect. For most of the sphere is blocked by four living forms, the four supposedly invulnerable Legionnaires whose invincibility is being tested to the very limits. And when the list of free-floating atoms begins to clear only one figure is still standing, the youth who will one day become the universe’s most legendary hero, the youth called Superboy. 

He looks down at his fallen friends but is relieved that it worked. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl have arrived in the meantime, along with Karate Kid and Shvaughn Erin. They quickly rush to the fallen Legionnaires to see if they are alive and Superboy announces that the Dark Circle are finished. But Karate Kid and Shvaughn Erin quickly tell him no, and that was Shvaughn’s message, a message she tried to deliver but was stopped from doing so. And she is stopped once again by a booming voice that calls Superboy a fool. A member of the Dark Circle steps through and quickly evades one of Karate Kid’s attacks. He pulls down his hood and it is Ambassador Relnic. He announces that he is not a mere Lord of the Dark Circle, nor is he that imbecile Relnic whose place he took in order to work his scheme. And then the final reveal of their true foe, a deadly foe who has been behind this the entire time and promises to destroy them all…

MORDRU! 

The Legion’s Deadliest enemy is back— and with only four Legionnaires standing against him, can anything defeat “Mordru—Master of Earth!?” Be here August 22nd to find out! 

Creative Team

With this issue we can finally address James Sherman’s departure from the series because of the big reveal at the end. Apparently, he did not enjoy the fact that Mordru was the mastermind behind everything, and for that he left. I did some digging on his Wikipedia page, and this statement is cited from the Legion Companion though I could not find any additional sources. I do find it odd that someone would leave the book because of this, but there you go.

Conceptually, I do find it exciting that there were layers of masterminds behind Earthwar and the potential destruction of the Legion of Super-Heroes. This of course started when Shvaughn Erin needed to deliver a message that was ignored because the Legion immediately went into action. Then we had the mystery of the Khund Commander being controlled by a hyper-beam and then the Legionnaires tracing it to Weber’s World. Just when you thought the Dark Circle was behind it, boom, the big reveal that it was the Legion’s arch nemesis Mordru whow as behind it the whole time. 

I am really enjoying Earthwar and it is incredibly satisfying to see every Legionnaire play a role throughout the story, including the Legion of Substitute Heroes. This is a very nice answer to the thought experiment on how powerful the Legion of Super-Heroes actually are, as well as how would they perform if there was an all-out war. Would they be restricted by the Legion Charter and be able to protect Earth and the other planets effectively? I think Paul Levitz thought it through, which is evident by the strength of Earthwar, and I do agree with his choices. The highlights so far have definitely been Wildfire’s leadership, the Legion of Substitute Heroes making their last stand to protect Legion HQ, and then the arrival of the married Legionnaires to save the day. 

With that said, you do notice there are a few issues with it as we head toward the conclusion. I thought the reveal of Ambassador Relnic being controlled by the hyper-beam was poorly done, in that it was a throwaway panel this issue, and it could have been better served to be the big reveal in #243. It is almost like they forgot to include this major plot point last issue and needed to rush it in here. In addition with Mordru being the ultimate baddie, if you have been following along with the series you had also just experienced that massive JLA/LSH crossover that also included the JSA. Mordru was the villain albeit in a weak kind of way. If they could have simply foregone that crossover and saved him until this moment, that big reveal would have probably been more effective and more of a surprise. My other minus point, is the use of the Battlewagon that did not last long at all. Levitz needed a mechanism to send the married Legionnaires to the other Legionnaires’ location, but it also felt like this was a lot of filler and a bit wasted. If the Legionnaires had at their disposal these powerful bits of technology, to see it taken out so easily was kind of a head scratcher. But again these are simply thoughts on a comic that is almost fifty years old. If there is one thing I can definitely state, it is that Earthwar is definitely the highlight of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes in terms of its size, stakes, and outcomes.

Moving on to Joe Staton, he is an exceptional artist who came through yet again with this issue. His ability to depict all these characters that are beautifully rendered with the help of Joe Giella, definitely helped elevate this storyline. Staton employed a perfect mix between his cartoony and comic book style and his ability to depict movement and explosive direction was put to great use to an all-out war. And we saw Diamondeth! Yes, it was a see it or you will miss it moment, but since Staton was the main inker on the book, I cheered when I saw that panel and felt like he drew it especially for us. Karate Kid does leave her in the Time Bubble (presumably), so I hope that we will see what the heck happened to her. If you read my ad interim – Brave and the Bold, we know that Karate Kid does go back to the time period and meets Iris but Diamondeth is never mentioned. Let us hope these creators cap this plot thread off, because at this point I am very curious. 

All in all a strong issue that sets things up nicely for its conclusion. We know that Relnic was manipulated by the hyper-beam, the Dark Circle was manipulated by the big bad Mordru, and we only have one issue left to figure out if and how the Legion of Super-Heroes will defeat Mordru and win the war.

Legion Outpost

This issue’s Legion Outpost is focused on the Jim Starlin issue, “Murder Most Foul,” which was quite fantastic. There are a few interesting tidbits, one being that the issue was meant to only be twenty-two pages but they stretched it to thirty-four in the process. Also, they promise the follow up to occur in the Legion Spectacular in the winter.

I do recall there is a follow up to the story but I do not know when. I only know that there will not be any additional extra Legion stuff, outside of a Christmas story that will occur at the end of this run. Thus, the follow up must occur in a regular issue and another example of our creative team stating something in the letters’ page that ends up not being true.

Finally, they state in the bottom of the page department that next issue will be the conclusion to Earthwar and there will be more changes. Stay tuned to find out!

The Legion Medallion of Merit

What makes Earthwar unique is that every Legionnaire is being used, literally. So it does make this hard because I do want to give this to different people. But golly, Wildfire just keeps proving himself over and over again. His leadership style really comes in handy when there is a war on because he just acts. He could have easily gave in to the Dark Circle’s demands but he just took one look at Superboy and he rushed in, never forgetting that he is a member and leader of the most powerful team in the universe. Also, he helped take out the negative matter that could have very well destroyed him because he is not as invulnerable as Superboy, Mon-El, and Ultra Boy. 

You have yourself a little streak going Wildfire, so I do hope these medals are not forcing you to find an upgrade in the neck portion of your containment suit. Wear them with pride!

And that is it for this week’s installment, join us next week for Earthwar’s conclusion, and remember, if someone is trying to deliver you a message about an old foe that might be walking around again out there, please be sure to listen. And after doing so, be sure to scream that mighty command…

LONG LIVE THE LEGION!