It has been recently announced that a new Legion of Super-Heroes series would be coming in Spetember, with writing by Brian Michael Bendis, and art by Ryan Sook. It'll likely be a new version of the team, as considering how badly DC has mangled its own canon with the New 52 and Rebirth, I doubt any previous version of the team would fit. This announcement inspired me to revisit one of my favorite Legion storylines. So let's take a look at Action Comics #859!
The cover is a Gary Frank piece, and it's a good one. You got a statue of Superman and the Legion that has been defaced. There's graffiti on it, and one of the statue's heads got cut off. Poor Cosmic Boy. The graffiti "Aliens Go Home" has a base on it. The black background forces attention on the statue, and it's very well-drawn.
"Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes (Part II of IV) - Illegal Aliens"
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Gary Frank
Inker: Jon Sibal
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editors: Nachie Castro, Matt Idelson
Executive Editor: Dan DiDio
The story begins with the three Legion founders: Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl. The three are doing a little bit of spelunking. However, they're not doing it for fun. They're looking for something. The three reach their destination, but there's no light. Where are they? Well, Lightning Lad provides some illumination.
Yup, they found the Batcave. It's amazing how much of it is in rather decent shape considering it's been a thousand years. It's also amazing that Batman as seemingly left no legacy of any sort after one-thousand years. I mean, Superman is remembered, why not Bats? Anyway, why are they in the old headquarters of the long-dead Batman? Well, they're looking for one item: A ring with a piece of Kryptonite for the gem. It will prove that Superman was from an alien world. You see, thanks to the villains of this story, people have become convinced Superman was an Earthling. The ring was given to the Dark Knight by Superman as a safeguard in case he lost his mind or was controlled by a telepath or something like that.
Lightning Lad thinks this is a waste of time. They should be taking the fight to the ones responsible for this whole mess. Cosmic Boy reminds him that taking the bad guys down now will change nothing. It won't win back the people's hearts and minds. Saturn Girl reminds Lightning Lad that this is about more than getting the Legion back together. This is about stopping a universal war...all in the name of Superman. A rumble is heard, and the telepathic Titanian picks up some thoughts. The Legion Founders...have been found.
Meet the villains of this story: Tusker, Spider-Girl, Golden Boy, Storm Boy, Radiation Roy, and Earth-Man. They comprise this time's new "heroes": The Justice League of Earth. All of these characters have appeared in past Legion stories:
- Tusker/Horace Lafeaugh and Golden Boy/Klint Stewart first appeared in Adventure Comics #331 (April 1965).
- Spider-Girl/Sussa Paka first appeared in Adventure Comics #323 (August 1964)
- Storm Boy/Myke Chypurz first appeared in Adventure Comics #301 (October 1962).
- Radiation Roy/Roy Travich is likely the most well-known of this bunch. He first appeared in Adventure Comics #320 (May 1964).
Fun Fact: Most of these characters share Jerry Siegel as a co-creator. Yeah, Jerry Siegel. The same Jerry Siegel that co-created Superman. Also, something about Spider-Girl that bothers me. Her power is that her hair is prehensile, like Medusa of the Inhumans. She doesn't have spider-based powers. Why is she called Spider-Girl? What, Hair-Girl was too silly? She was created in the 60s!
Cosmic Boy tosses a Batmobile at Earth-Man, but he shreds the ancient vehicle, saying they should have left like many of the Legionnaires have. However, many of them left because their homeworlds broke out into violence. Violence the League's crusade and lies about Superman caused. Tusker tries to punch out Lightning Lad, but Garth Ranzz sends him flying on Lightning Bolt Airlines. The three Legion founders put up a good fight, but ultimately, the League's superior numbers overwhelm them.
Back at the Braal Embassy, Colossal Boy, Superman, Dawnstar, and Wildfire are convalescing. Dawnstar is bandaging up Superman's injured hand, while he gets caught up. He wants to know why the Legion didn't want his help. Wildfire points out that it was not because they didn't want Superman's help, it was just that it was too risky to bring him to the future now. The sun's been red for the past few years. Solar shuttle research accident. Could have been worse, could have unleashed some hidden monster there. And under a red sun, Superman is powerless. Which means he can be hurt...even killed. The Legion could not afford that. Superman is too important to history.
He was more than just an inspiration to the Legion. Superman helped create world peace, and his principles spread to the stars. The United Planets came about because of him. If Superman dies in the future...none of that will come to pass. It will all be gone. Colossal Boy laments that it already is gone. Earth is seceding from the UP. His wife Yera, aka Chameleon Girl, has vanished. Dawnstar peps him up by reminding him the Legion will be back together. They will stand strong again. And they will be seen as a symbol of peace and unity again. They do have to get Superman home, though. It's too dangerous. The Man of Tomorrow is not deterred.
Being a Legionnaire wasn't always about hanging out in the old clubhouse playing holovid games. It was a dangerous job. Fighting foes like the Fatal Five, Mordru, even Darkseid. They weren't walks in the park. The Legion has seen enough deaths in its ranks to understand that. There's something more going on, and the Man of Steel wants some answers. Wildfire agrees to explain, but warns that it's not going to make the Man of Steel happy. We next look in on a classroom...that's on a space station that the Justice League of Earth uses as a base of operations.
The teacher is rockin' some serious Lady Gaga-style glasses there. And also, I love that the holo-image of Superman there references the cover to Superman #1 (June 1939), complete with the triangular version of the S-Shield that Superman wore on the cover. Anyway, the kids there recite an altered origin of the Mighty Protector of Metropolis.
In this false origin, Superman was given his powers as a teenager by the Earth as a defender against extraterrestrial threats. The Legion Founders (Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, and Saturn Girl) claimed he was actually from a destroyed world called Krypton, but it was a trick to get humanity to welcome alien beings as part of an invasion plan. Superboy's adventures with the Legion in the future were part of that plan. The Legion's ranks would expand, and many would try out to join them. However, not everyone made the cut. But they tended to turn away people from Earth.
One of those rejects was Kirt Neidrigh. Created by Cary Bates and Mike Grell, he first appeared in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #217 (July 1976). In that story, he tried out for the Legion as Absorbency Boy, thanks to his power to absorb the residual energy of any super-being he was around, gaining their powers for a period of time. For example, if he hung around Lightning Lad, he would get electrokinetic powers himself for a time. He would be rejected from the Legion as they felt his powers were too limiting.
Years later, Neidrigh discovered a crystal tavern buried deep under the ice in the Arctic. It revealed that Superman was actually an Earthling, and he took up the name Earth-Man. He gathered others like him to form the Justice League of Earth. And much to the kids' joy, they decided to visit.
They pass by the kids, carrying containers that are holding the Legion founders in stasis. The containers are placed in a special room. Earth-Man then absorbs their superhuman energies, allowing him to use Lightning Lad's electrokinesis, Cosmic Boy's magnetokinesis, and Saturn Girl's telepathy. Earth-Man then gets a call from Spider-Girl. They got a call about a break-in at the old Legion headquarters. Colossal Boy, Dawnstar, and Wildfire were identified...as well as a man that resembled Superman. Earth-Man waves off "Superman" as an impersonator, some Legion sympathizer. After all, the Man of Steel is dead. Long dead. It would be...but pieces of a Time Sphere were found. This shocks the human supremacist, and we learn exactly what happened to the missing Legionnaires.
Superman wonders how this all happened. How could people believe he was not a Kryptonian? Well, some people did. And then more people believed. It led to fighting, humans rejecting aliens, and a movement on Earth to secede from the United Planets started to grow. Superman blames himself, but Colossal Boy tells him it's not his fault, it's just a bunch of rejects wanting a day in the sun. This an important point here. The Justice League of Earth don't have to believe Superman was an Earthling themselves. They could accept the truth of Superman's origins themselves, they just have to string along people that actually believe the lies.
Superman points out that Brainiac 5 is the reason he's here, and he's gotta find the brainy Coluan. Dawnstar has found his trail, but it's old and faint. And it leads there.
Alien Holding Camp no. 6736...aka the old Legion Clubhouse. It does make sense. The Justice League of Earth would turn the Legion HQ into an alien holding camp. It's a good way for them to give the Legion the middle finger.
This comic is pretty good. I think this storyline is not only a very well-done one, but it's a very timely one. There are a lot of parallels between what is going on in this storyline and what has been going lately with certain events in the United States, particularly the spreading of fake news and the holding camps. It's chilling, but not surprising. The Justice League of Earth are tyrants, and this is what tyrants do. They're not the good guys here, no matter how much they want people to think so...and no matter how many people on Earth in the story think so. They've been described by Legionnaires as "a bunch of rejects wanting a day in the sun". And ultimately, that's what they are. Just a bunch of angry lunatics wanting to feel important. Too bad it has to be at the expense of decent people.
Gary Frank turns in some fine artwork in this issue. His faces can be a bit wonky at times, but I cannot deny he can make a character expressive. And as I said, I loved his designs for the Legionnaires. His takes on the JLE are pretty good, too.
Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes is a great story. It's also sadly, as I said, a rather timely story. I highly recommend it. It's a must-read if you like the Legion. It shows that Geoff Johns does get Superman.
Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! Join me next time, as we join the Armored Avenger, Iron Man during the start of the Armor Wars...
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