#legion people do you even like gim

[jewishcissiekj]

DC Comics JewShowdown round 1A part 8

Future boys! One of them gets huge tho

[somewherefornow]

Can you name your top 6 LoSH ships? (maybe why you choose them too? – I'd love to know)

Hi!! This is so hard bc LoSH has a lot of great ships! I’ll preface this by saying I’ve really only read the Preboot, Threeboot, and Retroboot so, yeah, probably missing a lot of good ones. But, in no particular order:

6. Block x Mysa

They have a lot of really good tropes going for them, the quiet girl with untapped power and the gentle giant. I like how they're both more introverted people who have this history of feeling sort of isolated from the rest of the Legion. It really allows them to create the sense that they're two people who can find a home in each other. There's interesting constrasts with them too, in that Blok is this super powerful person who would never want to hurt anyone, and Mysa is exactly the same, but while Blok's power you could see by looking at him, Mysa's is hidden. They have a really sweet arc in the Retroboot where Blok sticks by Mysa even after the dark energy she's absorbed has sort of stuck her in this constant battle for herself. Blok swears to be there for her, always, to remind her of who she is, and that's very sweet.

5. Gim x Cham

Like a lot of great ships, they've got a solid foundation of friendship. The later '84 series really had them teaming up a lot and working to try and protect each other. They've got some good chemistry too, with Gim more the jock and Cham more the theater kid. Gim is sort of straightforward while Cham can be unreadable, the contrast of the two makes their dynamic really interesting to me. I think there's also a crazy angst you could imagine in Cham not pursuing Gim out of a fear of rejection (because of the prejudices against Durlans) only for Gim to marry a Durlan (that isn't Cham). It's pretty wild! It's also interesting because Yera has such a dislike for Cham, it's easy to read it a different way. I also think Cham just should have gotten more to do in general. He's a top 10 legionnaire for me, for sure!

4. Brainy x Nura

I genuinely love their dynamic. Obviously, I'm very into Brainy x Kara and Nura x Thom, but I think the way these two characters both contrast and complement each other is really fascinating. I wrote some meta on it in the tags of a post about them that I'll leave here kind of speaking to what I find interesting about these two characters in relation to each other but yeah,

I actually got in a fight about this once where I said I thought Nura and Brainy felt like two of Levitz favorite characters (keeping in mind, as far as I've seen, he usually contends that his favorite was whoever he was writing in the moment). They just both feel like they're written with so much affection and their interactions always come across with so much charm and care, I think I just really started to look forward to seeing them on-page together and that really led to appreciating their dynamic more as a whole.

3. Garth x Imra x Rokk

"Funny I never realized how lonely my life had been until I met those two."

Rokk is sooooo in love with these oh my god. I genuinely just think this ship is the sweetest thing. These three came together with a dream to make the world a better place and they stuck together through it. The way these always seem to struggle so much when they're apart, you just know these three are meant to live their lives together. The Garth/Imra, Garth/Rokk, and Rokk/Imra are all equally compelling so it just makes Garth/Imra/Rokk feel intuitive. I love Rokk's relationship with Lydda and I think that's also pretty fun (to have the one of the main Legion Leaders with one of the Subs) but I always look forward to seeing the founders come back together. Garth and Imra face a lot of difficulties in the Preboot Era and things generally just feel so much more right and calm when Rokk is there with them. I really love all of Legionnaires 3 for showcasing their relationship. It's also sweet to see Rokk's pining in the Retroboot.

2. Brek x Dirk

It just makes sense, I really don't know what else to say. Fire Guy x Ice Guy. It's gonna get me every time. Dirk as the more cynical one, Brek as enthusiastic as ever! They're sweet. I feel like they're really only together in the Retroboot (I am thinking about Adventure Comics 09 and Legion of 3 Worlds specifically). I really can't say much else except that I think they're relationship's just really cute and they seem like they each give the other person some much needed balance.

1. Thom x Nura

I'm just obsessed with them, tbh. They have such a complicated relationship, it never fails to draw me in. The way Thom is secure enough in their relationship to let Nura flirt. The way Nura flirts but Thom is the one she always knows she's coming back to. Nura's strong independence at odds with her desire to communicate that she wants Thom with her, Thom's insecurity of not being enough for Nura at war with his need to love her despite that. I genuinely think I was gone on them the second Thom called her "my dream girl." That just got me, so good.

Thanks for the ask! I could talk Legion ships allllll day. :)

[sebeth]

Legion of Super-Heroes #3 (Bendis)

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

The issue opens with Dawnstar giving an infodump on herself:

Her name is Dawnstar Gr’ell. This is the first time in the history of Dawnstar that she has had a last name. Gr’ell is a reference to Mike Grell, the artist who co-created Dawnstar.

Her home planet is Starhaven which has a “deep connection to the earth’s 13th century”.  In the original continuity, Starhaven was an “Amerind colony world”. Starhaven had connections to Earth’s indigenous people and their cultures.  A quick google search shows that the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations were occurring during this time. Is Bendis hinting Starhaven was founded by one of these civilizations. Is this going to be another “my father was a wolf” moment where he drops a random bit of information and doesn’t follow up on it?  I am not an expert on the various histories and cultures of the First People, if anyone has any other ideas on what the “deep connection to the 13th century” could be, I would love to hear them.

Dawny’s name is derived from “the appearance on earth of the planet Venus, the ‘morning star.”.

Dawnstar takes a moment to gush over Jon Kent even though Dawnstar has never been the type to gush over anything.

Dawnstar’s appearance has been updated. The top half of her face is covered in blue paint/tattoo with a white star on her forehead. Her costume has been updated as well. I’m not sure how I feel about the new costume but I do like it more than her original bathing suit costome.

We switch to Rimbor where General Crav Nah has discovered that Jo is a member of the Legion. He’s not happy about it.

Jon has brought Damian to the future. Damian passes out after meeting Dawnstar.

Back to Rimbor. Cosmic Boy and his team (Ultra Boy, Colossal Boy, Shadow Lass, Mon-El, White Witch) have arrived.

Cosmic Boy is briefing the team on expected behaviors while on Rimbor. Shadow Lass and Cosmic Boy are in a relationship. Which is new. And apparently is news to the rest of the Legion. A Shady-Cos pairing could be interesting but Cos & Night Girl are one of my OTPs so I’d rather have that.

Colossal Boy hasn’t decided if he will keep the code name or adapt another.

Crav Nah arrives and he wants his Trident.

We receive more info on Rimbor. One half of Rimbor has been in constant holy war with the other. Crav intends to unite the world by force (under his command, of course). Jo also wants unity for Rimbor but minus the war and domination.

Cosmic Boy introduces himself and offers in assistance in settling the Rimborian disputes. Crav finds the offer insulting and hurls Rokk across the building. Cue a brawl between Crav and the Legion that Mon-El ends in one punch. Cause, you know, Daxamite. Daxamites are basically Kryptonians with a different weakness (lead instead of kryptonite).

Jo informs Mon-El that per Rimborian law Lar is now the ruler of Rimbor since he defeated Crav.

Mon-El does not want the role.

Gim mentions Rokk is the elected leader so that answers my question from last issue.

Lightning Lad’s team arrives at Dini City in Planet Gotham. Dini is a clear reference to Paul Dini, one of the creators behind the Bataman: The Animated Series and the greater DC animated universe.

Garth’s team consists of Saturn Girl, Triplicated Girl, and Chameleon Boy.

The team is greeted by December Sevenbergen, the commissioner of Gotham.

Tortor arrives to free Mordru from police captivity: “If word in the galaxy gets out that I let you, a master daemon, rot in the bowels of a Gotham jail…”

Bendis has downgraded Mordru on a massive scale if the Science Police are able to contain him.

“Tortor” is revealed to be Saturn Girl’s attempt to enter Mordru’s mind. It doesn’t last long. Mordru is still stuck in a simple containment cell in police headquarters.

Dawnstar summons the team back to HQ before any further attempts to interrogate Mordru.

Crav’s official title is the “Warrior King of Rimbor”. Cosmic Boy’s team has brought Crav to Legion HQ.

Element Lad has the appearance of a blond, green-skinned Shaggy from Scooby Doo. He also has a purple and green striped costume. I don’t like it.

Jo’s costume has spontaneously turned green and red on his return from Rimbor.

Crav is brawling with the Legion. He’s apparently knocked out Jon, which would indicate Mon-El is more powerful than Jon. Makes sense as Mon appears to be older than Jon.

Damian is confused over what is happening.

Imra attempts to telepathically knock Crav out but only succeeds in knocking Brainiac 5 and Wildfire out. Crav is now the third villain to no-sell Imra’s powers. This is the second time Imra has taken out her teammates instead of the villain. It’s only been three issues. Not loving incompetent Imra.

Jon recovers and knocks Crav out. Mon-El states he knocked Crav out first, gets into a hissy with Jon and flies away. Finally, a Legionnaire who doesn’t fanboy over an inexperienced and under-accomplished Jon!

Triplicate Girl tells Jon that Mon-El is really sensitive “which is funny because he’s actually your…” What?! I’m not loving the “Bendis drops a tidbit of info and then ignores it” approach to story-telling.

Damian’s been in the future for five minutes and he already has criticisms: “You need a stronger penal system and clearer sense of the rule of law…”

Brainy has fixed Damian up with a bio-patch so he can breathe/exist in the 31st Century. Imra pitches a fit over Damian, erases his memory, and takes him back to the 31st Century. Jon rightfully calls the Legion out on the hypocrisy of bringing Jon to the future but having a fit over Damian.

Damian’s whole trip to the future was pointless, a waste of pages, and would have been better spent focusing on actual Legionnaires.

Chameleon Boy refers to Damian as “Baby Hitler” and Brainy states “That is a deeply unfair assessment of Damian Wayne…Therefore, we as a group, have dedicated our entire existence to rooting for his success.”

I’m assuming this is a reference to Morrison’s adult Damian storyline. More importantly, is Bendis serious? Why does he think Legion fans want the team to be dedicated Superboy/Robin fanboys?

That’s the purpose of the Legion’s existence? To make sure Damian remains a good boy? I’m starting to remember why I dropped this run at the third issue.

The issue ends with the Trident being stolen – again!

Pros:

Ryan Sooks’ art is pretty

Cons:

Dawnstar and Mon-El’s tidbits could have been interesting if we’d received actual details.

Weak-ass Mordru

Incompetent Imra

Damian’s pointless cameo

The Legion continues to be reduced nothing but cheerleaders for Jon and now Damian.

[apotouheliou]

Tagged by @ciceronian

• Rules: Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better.

— Relationship Status: nope

— Favorite Color: blue-ish

— Lipstick or Chapstick: lipstick

— Last Song I Listened To: lost on you by lp // auld lang syne

— Last Movie I Watched: the force awakens to start the year off well i.e. w rey and finn and poe

— Top 3 TV Shows: legion // great british baking show // wynonna earp

— Top 3 Bands/Artists: y’all i don’t even know. love me some brown bird // maitre gims // guilty pleasure is serebro/серебро or carla’s dreams

— Books I’m Currently Reading: k2: life and death on the world’s most dangerous mountain by ed viesturs // shadow of the wind by carlos ruiz zafon

I tag: anyone who wants to please do it!

[sebeth]

Legion Of Super-Heroes #13

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 “State Of The Universe” by Keith Giffen, Tom & Mary Bierbaum, and Al Gordon

 The issue opens with the continuation of the Shakespeare – Persuader brawl.

A few children in the pediatric wing of Quarantine worry over Shakespeare. Garridan, the son of Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, comforts Ivy: “He’s gonna be all right, Ivy. I just know he is. My dad says Legionnaires are real strong. Like they’re real, real hard to kill.”

Garridan is dressed in an adorable version of Colossal Boy’s silver age costume. I wonder if Gim is Garridan’s favorite Legionnaire?

Speaking of Gim, he has arrived at Quarantine and is working with the Science Police to find a way to evacuate patients near the Shakespeare/Persuader brawl.

Gim and Kent unintentionally tag-team the Persauder, causing his capture.

A great introduction for Richard Kent Shakespeare and a nice way to touch in with Garridan, Gim, and the Persuader.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a more of this mature, self-confident, and comfortable in his career Gim.

The Persuader is the second member of the Fatal Five that we have seen in this volume. We’ll see more members later on.

In orbit above Earth: Circe has been called to task by the Dominators – they want damage control, they want results, and they want it now: “When we gave you effective control of Science Police Earth, allowed you to shape Earthgov’s public relations strategy, we expected results. It is time for you to demonstrate that our faith in you was not misplaced…Madame Circe, when you procured the services of Dirk Morgna, you assured us the Earthers would believe anything the ex-Legionnaires told them. We are now holding you to that promise.”

The Darzyl System: Mano, another member of the Fatal Five, reports to Starfinger that the Persuader has failed in his assassination attempt.

Starfinger isn’t happy. It’s not a good day for criminal overlords.

Back to Quarantine.

Science Police Chief Gigi Cusimano credits the Persuader’s arrest to Kent Shakespeare: “If you ask me, the Legion is sorely missed.”

Gigi was a supporting cast member in the Legion’s Baxter series.

Gim offers Kent a lift to Toonar. It’s as close to Winath as Gim can take Kent: “That is, if you’re ready to turn in your scrubs to get back into a Legion uniform.”

“To be honest, I couldn’t get out of here a moment too soon. Once I heard the Legion might re-form, I’ve just been counting the days. Of course, some of the kids out here…it’ll just tear out my heart to leave them. I haven’t even worked up the courage to tell them yet.”

A spying Ivy is devastated to hear Kent’s plans to leave.

An isolated farm on Khundia: a confused Jo deals with an equally bewildered Khund: “You don’t look like a Khund yet you are not a master. You are soft-looking like a Khundish girl, but you have the voice of a man.”

Only a Khund would think Jo, of all people, would have a feminine appearance!

Jo appreciates the wife of the Khund man making a stew for him. The Khunder officer states the stew appreciation is another clear sign of Jo’s brain damage.

Two Dominators, without the trademark head discs, land on the property. Jo uses his ultra-speed to rapidly leave the property: “Bloody liberty! Dominators! I didn’t recognize them without their head discs! A couple of Khund cud-chewers I can handle. But the Dominion? This is getting real weird!”

Jo muses to himself: “Khunds and Dominators together?! Cats and dogs maybe, but Khunds and Dominators? I must be on the Frontier…some world on the fringe of both spheres of influence, maybe? Or maybe U.P. Intelligence is out to lunch, Maybe the Khunds and Dominators aren’t the blood enemies they’re supposed to be. Where the blazes did Roxxas send me?”

For those unfamiliar with the Dominators:  Dominators are a caste-defined society. The size of the red dot in the middle of the forehead indicates their status in the society. The bigger the dot, the higher the status. If a Dominator, doesn’t have a dot, he would be the lowest of the low in the society. A dot can be surgically made smaller or scraped off entirely if the Dominator has lost status in his society.

The Toonar Spaceport: Kent remembers his farewell conversation with Ivy. He attempts to reassure her that he loves her and will be back. It doesn’t go well and ends with Ivy stating: “I hope you die on your first mission.”

Children, so dramatic!

Deep space: Laurel curb stomps some Khunds. She deeply regrets not being on Winath during the battle with Roxxas. “If only I’d just stayed on Winath in the first place instead of running back to Zirr every two days to see how Lauren is doing. Baby daughter or no, I can’t ever forget my responsibilities as a Legionnaire.”

Laurel faces the modern dilemma of many women: motherhood vs career.

The Collingwood Inn on Gnogg: The bald head prosthetic Tenzil shoved on Brek’s head during his Earthgov trial is not coming off. Brek is quite put out and wants it off ASAP.

Tenzil: “Well then, I guess there’s only one thing left to try, now hold still!”

“Ow…ow! That’s my hair, you moron!”

“Hey! What’s going on in here?”

“My god! He’s eating that man’s head!”

“It’s okay! It’s okay! I’m a senator!”

“I’m a senator” is Tenzil’s defense for all of his shenanigans.

Winath: Rokk researches options for the new Legion’s headquarters: “There just isn’t enough room on Brande’s planetoid. And we couldn’t risk bringing down an attack on the U.P. Council, so we gotta stay clear of Weber’s World. But by the same token, we sure as heck gotta get off Winath before someone else attacks the plantation”.

Garth interrupts – he and Rokk were supposed to get in a round of links.

“So what’s the big headache? You need a new headquarters? How’s that a problem?”

“Things aren’t so simple anymore, Garth. The Legion doesn’t have the kind of friends it used to.”

“Well, you’ve still got one friend you can count on. Consider your headquarters problem solved.”

“You don’t mean here? We really couldn’t stay.”

“No, no…I’ve got something a little better suited to your needs, Rokk. Trust me.”

Before Garth can reveal the location of the new headquarters, he spies Furrball (Brin) in a hallway: “Hey, look who just wandered in! I guess Kono’s going to be relieved!”

Brin wanders past an arguing Querl and Celeste: “I’m fine! So I have a tendency to glow green. So what? Green’s a lovely color. You should appreciate that more than anyone.”

Kono encounters Brin: “There you are, you big stupid furball! What the Nykx do you think you’re doing, disappearing on us for days like that? I don’t know whether to hug you or kick your stupid butt to Tombor.

Violet overhears Kono’s dressing down of Brin: “She can sure dish it out! Wish I had her brass when I was that age. But I didn’t come down here to admire out latest Firebrand. I’ve been putting this off long enough. It’s time to take care of business.

Violet enters the room and asks Rokk if he “has a sec”. Garth hastily excuses himself.

If you haven’t read the “5 Years Later” series, Rokk and Violet’s home planets, Brall and Imsk, went to war during the five-year gap between the Baxter series and the present series.

Violet voluntarily joined her planet’s military during the war, Rokk was drafted.

Imsk’s military scientists created a doomsday weapon to use against the Braalians. Violet served as the chief of security during the project’s development. Violet protested the actual use of the weapon.

The weapon is deployed. Rokk is onsite at the weapon’s deployment at Venado Bay. The weapon strips Brallians of their native magnetic abilities. It also causes death and dismemberment.

Rokk loses his abilites and is badly injured and deeply traumatized in the immediate aftermath of the weapon’s deployment. Violet is also there – she is deeply appalled at the carnage she witnesses. Violet recognizes Rokk and approaches him.

The badly injured Rokk does not recognize Violet and lashes out, causing her to lose an eye and suffer facial scarring.

Violet is imprisoned by the Imskian military for her protests and refusal to take back her criticism of the weapon and its deployment.

Rokk and Violet both suffer long-term PTSD from the events of Venado Bay and the war in general.

Back to the present day.

The duo awkwardly attempts to start a conversation.

Rokk begins: “Look, Vi, I know you’re upset. And you have every right to be. All those months you spent in prison, protesting Venado Bay, and I didn’t even have the courage to thank you. I don’t know what my problem was. I guess I was afraid you’d never forgive Braal for attacking your planet. Or forgive me for so blindly obeying Braal’s lousy leadership.”

“Rokk, don’t…I’m the one who should be apologizing…I’m the one…who helped kill all those…god.”

“’C’mon, Vi. It’s gonna be okay.”

“I told…I told myself I wasn’t going to fall apart like this…”

“You’re entitled.”

By the end of the conversation, both Rokk and Violet are crying.

One of my favorite moments in the series. Neither Rokk nor Violet magically healed their PTSD or emotional trauma but they’re on the road to healing.

Kathoon: A heavily pregnant Lydda is reading a letter from Rokk: “You know, Lydda, that woman has never forgiven herself for just doing her duty. Did I mention the scar she has over her eye? Vi told me she got it over her eye? Vi told me she got it at Venado Bay. She say’s she’s never having it removed. She never wants to forget what happened there. What she did. It just made me want to keep hugging her until the whole thing disappeared forever. But I guess Venado Bay will never go away. It’ll always be with us. Both of us.”

It’s safe to assume Violet didn’t inform Rokk that he caused the scar. Violet correctly assumed the revelation would only add more guilt to the emotional turmoil caused by Venado Bay.

The “hugging” line adds another dimension to Rokk’s character. Starting with the 5 Year Later series and continuing through the reboot, the three-boot, and the retro-boot, Rokk has been portrayed as the serious, no-nonsense, all business leader of the Legion. It’s nice to see a sweet, comforting side of Rokk.

The letter continues: “Now that we’ve finally nailed Roxxas, I’ve got to get going on the arrangements for Blok’s memorial. Brainy says it’s too soon to make it a double ceremony so we haven’t completely given up hope on Jo yet. But damn, it’s hard to get over Blok. I guess I never realized how important he was to us all until he was gone.”

Rokk ends his letter with “It really is happening. Uniforms, headquarters, roll call. The Legion is officially back.”

Lydda excitedly yells “All right!”

The next few pages consist of a Brande Industries Memo from Marla Latham to Reep Daggle.

Volume 1: Disposition Of Known Universe

Currently the known universe is divided into these political entitites.

1)      The Khundish Empire, 32%

2)      Independent, unaffiliated, disorganized, 29%

3)      United Planets, 24%

4)      The Dominion, 9%

The memo states Khunds have conquered Lallor, Sklar, Tsauran, and Rann.

The Dominion is in a state of collapse “as worlds on the fringe continue to achieve independence”.

The memo notes the Dominion’s attempt to enslave the now-decimated Daxamite race and the “alleged secret domination of Earthgov”.

The extent of the Dark Circle remains unknown but may be as large as the Khundish empire.

Volume 2: Growing Threats

1)      Mordru

2)      Glorith

The memo notes the “destruction of magic at the conclusion of the Mystic Wars have proven totally erroneous. While the greatest known nexus of Magic was destroyed with the old Sorcerers’ World, many known ‘sympathetic points’ remain, most notably Tharn, the new Sorcerers’ World, as well as Orando and Venegar.

Volume 3: The United Planets

1)      Current operations include “directing traffic, organizing defense, and enforcing the rules of the Recovery Initiative”

2)      Compliance remains low, U.P. membership is still far below pre-Collapse levels

3)      U.P. Militia has gained respectability as a barrier to Khundish encroachment

4)      The critical blow to the U.P.’s collapse was the secession of Earth

5)      The United Planets and the Science Police have relocated to Weber’s World

6)      The corruption of Science Police Earth has undermined the credibility of all S.P. agencies

7)      Organized crime has flourished.

8)      Molock Hanscomb (Starfinger) of Darzyl is the most powerful figure in the underworld.

9)      Leland McCauley III has emerged as the richest businessman in the United Planets. Rumors suggest that Leland McCauley IV has wrested control of the business from his father.

Volume 4: Earth

1)      “With poverty and paranoia flourishing on Earth in the wake of the Great Collapse, that planet has lapsed into a period of uncharacteristic xenophobia and acquiescence to authoritarian rule. It is now alleged that the population has been manipulated and covertly ruled by the Dominion.”

2)      Resistant forces have opposed Earthgov since 2990.

We end with an interlude featuring Glorith and the Time Trapper.

The Trapper informs Glorith of the “timelines that proceeded yours…what you owe me.”

He further reveals that “Mon-El obliterated my form, not my essence. All that was destroyed were my works.”

The Trapper and Glorith are referring to events that took place in issues #4 – 5.

Trapper continues: “I’ve seen how you performed my acts, lived my life to frustrate that poor fool Mordru once again. How you’ve become the new Time Trapper…but understand this, without me you can lose everything.”

Trapper issues the traditional “without me, you will fail but together we can rule the universe” speech.

Glorith rejects the offer, devolves Trapper into protoplasm and absorbs his essence. I don’t feel bad for Trapper as he did the same thing to Glorith in the Silver Age.

Glorith decides now is the perfect time to conquer the universe.

A great issue that wraps up the previous plot lines and sets up future storylines. The issue is a terrific example on how to handle a large cast – we checked in with 14 Legionnaires and 5 sets of villains.