Winath native Garth Ranzz persuades prodigal big brother Mekt to say hello to their parents. Unfortunately, there are already dinner guests.
The Persuaders. And behind the mask of one of the brutal law officers is Ayla, Garth’s equally lightning-powered twin, who has agreed to turn Mekt in on condition no harm comes to him.
Garth and Mekt get another surprise when they’re rescued by two strangers disguised as Persuaders. Matter-Eater Lad and Brainiac Five want to know why Mekt murdered billionaire RJ Brande.
On the planet Braal, meanwhile, discontented magnoball star Rokk Krinn has thrown in with the leathery Grimbor and wound up at a show.
More seriously, it seems he’s being recruited to either kidnap or rescue a princess. Presumably Princess Imra of Titan, who’s having a meeting with the Emerald Empress of the Green Lantern Corporation.
It’s another excellent issue of world – sorry, worlds – building for the new Legion of Super-Heroes as we follow the plotlines set up in the first issue. And we glimpse more, presumably, future members in the shape of Kid Quantum, Timber Wolf and Triplicate Girl. And the last of these looks to be running the show so far as the yeah-it’s-a-kidnap is concerned, which is very intriguing.
Oh, and we also get a look at the boss of the Persuaders who was sitting in shadow last issue, the guy everyone was assuming was Mano, a classic Fatal Five member alongside Emerald Empress, Tharok, Validus and, of course, the Persuader. Is it Mano, the man whose hand can disintegrate anything it touches? One cast member learns, definitively.
Murderer though he is, I felt a little sad for Mekt, he’s deeply upset at the way he feels his parents have treated him. From what we see here, they actually want him to get treatment, they’re not rejecting him. But he’s fallen in with ‘Superman’, that is, probably, the thoroughly evil Cyborg Superman last seen plotting to create his own Legion in Superman One Thousand.
I hate the term ‘bad ass’ because I am British, and ever so proper, but goodness me, Ayla is bad ass here, throwing her big brother across the room with a gesture.
That last line, it’s a cracker, and the word over the page, beyond the elliptical dots, is ‘sacrifice’. Given the winged Persuader seems to be another classic Legionnaire, Dawnstar, I wonder what’s given her that attitude.
It’s interesting just how anti-United Planets the Emerald Empress is. Her words are full of compassion for those under the boot, but is she actually on the side of good, or is it that she wants to rule everything? After all, she uses the phrase ‘My dear’ to Imra – that’s usually an indication of dodginess. And what does she mean, ‘People who go in search of Superboy… never return the same’?
Perhaps they come back better.
Writer Joshua Williamson, illustrator Hayden Sherman, colour artist Tamra Bonvillain and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou combine their considerable talents to give us another dazzling chapter. They’re laying out the story deliberately, but not slowly; there’s plenty happening, at quite the clip.
Williamson has a real knack for laying out the story points that aren’t in Sherman’s art in sharp, character-specific dialogue. Each scene is long enough to develop the story while leaving us wanting more, and the compelling moments keep on coming, right through to the powerful last page.
Sherman’s characters blaze with emotion, while the worlds they live in are full of fascinating detail. Character designs honour artists of previous eras, their modernity appropriate for a book looking to the future. And the page compositions lead the eye through the story while being attractive nuggets of art in themselves.
And Bonvillain’s colours are a big boon to the book, each world has a different feel, characters are lit delicately, the balance of tones is spot on.
Meanwhile, Otsmane-Elhaou puts enough flourish into his work to help the story, without going over the top.
The only page that’s mildly disappointing is the cover, it’s just Garth looking soft and pouty – a Lightning Lad should be spikier, more dangerous. And it was several views before I noticed the looming figure, obscured by the insipid Legion logo.
Still, under editors Chris Rosa, Sophie Philips-Roberts and Paul Kaminski this is a terrific chapter; a new Legion of Super-Heroes is coming together and I am thoroughly entertained.
