Legion of Darkseid. That doesn’t sound good. It certainly isn’t the Legion of Super-Heroes Superman is hoping to meet as he bids to solve a recent mystery.
If you’ve been keeping up with the Summer of Superman you’ll likely remember that Lana and John’s wedding was crashed by a familiar figure from Superboy’s Legion days – Validus, a near-mindless giant with mental lightning blasts. Superman hopes to visit his old pals and see if they know why the Fatal Five member would be in the 21st century. There may, though, be a glitch.
As it turns out, the fly in the ointment comes to him, when someone calls him Kal-El and he sees the face of Saturn Girl, aka Imra Ardeen, one of the three Legion founders who recruited him for the team.
As for the other two founders, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad.
And after they hit the League’s HQ, with several of Superman’s pals in residence, Superman realises that it’s not only heroes this dark Legion plans to kill…
This is intense stuff. Artist Dan Mora delivers a moment that has me gasping – he and writer Josh Williamson aren’t kidding around as they deliver the opening salvo in the second sequence of DC’s three-part All In storyline. I’ve rarely seen the powers of Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy used so effectively – and terrifyingly. Superman is lucky when someone he’s recently tussled with shows up to give him a surprise hand and, later, reintroduce him to another player – someone immensely powerful who is, to say the least, mercurial.
Yes, this is one of my vague days, I really think you should buy this issue and enjoy the shocks without being forewarned. As well as action it has the splendid scene with Ma Kent, usually relegated to Wisdom Giver Number Two behind Pa, but here allowed to show that while super-battles aren’t her world, she certainly knows people.
Ever since the DC All In Special we’ve been told Darkseid had ceased to exist, but here we learn that’s not true. We also learn that Darkseid fears someone, but their threat to him may actually involve their death.
I do think Williamson is deliberately nodding to Adventure Comics #247, the Legion’s debut, when he has Evil Imra surprise Superman.
It’s not exactly the same, but the vibe is there.
One interesting thing in terms of modern comics is that while Saturn Girl reads Superman’s thoughts, we’re not allowed to see them, oh no, that’s sooooo old-fashioned. So it’s a bit like a human stooge telling us what a TV puppet such as Sooty is saying. I think Williamson misses the boat here, ignoring the perfect opportunity to bring back word balloons, a piece of comics grammar that’s a lot more elegant than narration.
Otherwise, I’ve no complaints about Williamson’s script, which is cleverly plotted and moves at a heckuva pace. Clark’s thoughts on what the Legion meant to him chime with what we know without feeling tired. And the storm that follows the calm is engrossing.
Mora always impresses with his illustrations, but here, working with colour artist Alejandro Sánchez, he takes things up a notch. The visuals are somehow even more exciting than usual, the marriage of panel layouts and internal compositions perfect. There’s even a nine-panel grid for old-time Legion fans, and a sneaky homage to the cover of Superman #1 back in the Golden Age. And while the look of the Kents in DC Comics tends to be almost as inconsistent as the Daily Planet globe, Mora’s Martha is familiar yet particularly strong. Check out the denims for a look at how much thought and skill Sánchez is putting into his work.
And Ariana Maher does a neat job of giving everyone different narrative boxes – she’d probably kill to be allowed to use a few nice word balloons.
Mora’s cover is a tiny bit over-busy around the logo for me, with evil Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy looming while using their powers. Less space junk and the villains repositioned maybe?
Overall, though, this is a fantastic issue. Don’t miss it.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
Great issue. I knew Saturn Girl was in Superman’s head, but it was still riveting to see. Superboy Prime’s appearance was definitely a surprise, and in a “pocket universe” no less. A nod to the pocket universe Superboy to explain DC and John Byrne’s ridiculous removal of Superboy from the mythos. I am “All In” to see what comes next. Oh, one criticism about the review:
“Ma Kent, usually relegated to Wisdom Giver Number Two behind Pa”.
With all due respect, try not to fall into the “Elevate the Woman” trap. Jonathan Kent is Superman’s Earthly father and his thing is to give fatherly wisdom. That’s HIS thing. Martha Kent doesn’t have to, and shouldn’t, do the same thing for parity. There’s plenty of room for her as there are more virtues than just wisdom. What about being nurturing? Compassionate? Empathetic? There is a dearth of positive father characters in all forms of media, and since we recently lost one in Jor-El, let not sell the father and son theme of Superman and Pa Kent, short. Let’s also develop Ma Kent’s role beyond siphoning from Pa Kent. I would love to see her show motherly concern for Superman, even if he is the hope of DC Universe. Thanks in advance for you patience here. As always, a great review!
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I’ve never heard of this trope you mention. It’s only post-Crisis that Pa has apparently had to be the Wise One – why should one parent, whichever one, always be the one to see clearly through the clutter? I had two incredibly smart, empathetic parents, I’d go to either for advice. They had different skills, too, but both were wise owls.
And have you seen how Ma Kent is written in the new Superman movie. Of dear.
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Yes, I have. She’s “country strong” and Pa is Mr Mush. I would happily split the difference between the two. Again, this isn’t about Ma Kent being unwise or Pa Kent being the only one who can see through the clutter. If Superman has been raised with the best of humanity’s values, surely Martha can offer more than just additional wisdom? Yes, it’s only since post-Crisis, which is a mere 40 years, but if it’s been associated with Jonathan that long, perhaps we can let him have it to himself? There are still other virtues to be had and they can be all hers. Thanks for the reply!
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You’re welcome. I guess we had pretty different parental units.
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I kind of liked the movie take on Ma and Pa, it did take me a minute to get there and I was a bit worried it was laughing at them, but I come from farming stock, and from a realism point of view feels slightly more likely than the traditional takes on the Kents, who always seem more city than country, though I wouldn’t necessarily trade that in and have the comics align with it that way. The movie versions are more in line with the sort of people my dad would have us visiting.
Stu
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Oh, that’s great to hear, my problem is that new movie Ma is pretty much played for laughs. I just can’t see a women who raised an alien kid with godlike powers having problems with FaceTime.
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Dark Legion makes me literally sick to my stomach to think about without ant of the umpteen heroic versions about. I’ll sit this one out and follow your reviews but only get the issues if these abomonations get to encounter the real deal. Well, I might be tempted by Dark Matter Eater Lad…
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I shall keep an eye out for him. Gawd, he probably vomits on folk.
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Levitz never wanted to make the Legion like the X-men but they really should be good at their powers. Knowing that they are credible threats as villains gives me hope that writers can also make them valuable heroes.
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I’m surprised more writers don’t relish the chance to come up with creative ways to use known powers.
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Spoilers………
Disappointed about the return of THAT character. They were given a good send off in “Death Metal.” I just can’t get excited about this new looming Crisis despite the writing talent involved – Williamson, Snyder, Waid. For me Morrison wrote the definitive Darkseid event with “Final Crisis.” This all just feels like new spins on old hits for this longtime reader. – Brian
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I enjoy loads of Scott Snyder’s DC work pre-JL and Metal, I just think he’s better at single character pieces. Metal was such a mess.
And yes, why would he return after he finally got home?
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Snyder began to lose me when he introduced the Court of Owls. Way to make the World’s Greatest Detective ™ look like a moron by having him never, ever notice a very large criminal organization shadow ruling Gotham since before Bruce was born.
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Tell me about it, it’s fair to say that came up in my reviews.
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I’m back to reading on paper for this Legion three-parter, so for once I’m fairly timely with my thoughts! I love seeing the Legion here, even a twisted version of them. Like Anon, I think making the Legion into formidable villains will elevate their stature enough to eventually bring us a (heroic) Legion book next year that’s back on solid ground.
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It can’t come soon enough for me, Rob. I really need the memory of the last two Legion runs wiped away.
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Anj here. Great review.
Some interesting comments. I am a huge fan of ‘Pa Wisdom’ but the Kents both raised Clark and seeing Ma give him some of her take makes perfect sense to me. I learned a lot from both my mother and father.
The most interesting thing for me was not only that it seems Darkseid is back (I thought killing himself made the Abs Universe … although I suppose he could be some spirit-like voice) but that there is someone who can both endanger the plans that also needs protection. Odd conundrum … Booster??
As always spot on and great to see that Adv Com 247 riff. I think you’re right!
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I’m looking forward hugely to Booster taking a big role in the story, it’s rarely mentioned but we know he was a Metropolis character in his early days, at first an annoyance to Superman, and soon, a pal. I’m ready for them to team up again. In the meantime, I don’t like seeing Michael suffer.
Thanks for your comments on Pa Wisdom, let’s hear it for both parents.
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