Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #239 (May, 1978)
"Murder Most Foul"
Plot & Layouts - Jim Starlin
Plot Assist & Dialogue - Paul Levitz
Finished Art - Josef Rubinstein
Letterer - Ben Oda
Colorist - Cory Adams
Editor - Allen Milgrom
Cover Price: $0.60
Gonna try a bit of "Legion Learning" today with a Bronze-Age whodunnit.
--
We open with Ultra Boy walking the streets of the seedy-as-hell looking planet of Rimbor. He is heading to the Hotel Orion to meet with a former lover, An Ryd, who had summoned him. He considers how his life has changed in the years since he'd last seen her... joined the Legion, started a relationship with Phantom Girl. He inquires which room she might be in, and heads upstairs. He finds her seductively posed on a couch in her room... looking trashier than he'd remembered. After she makes with the sweet talk, it's revealed that she'd lured him here in order to sell him!
Jo is struck by a blast from off-panel and lays kayoed on the floor. An Ryd turns to the gunman, and informs him that she's ready to be paid. For her troubles, the gunman nails her with a fatal blast.
Time passes, and Ultra Boy fumbles back into consciousness. He finds himself sitting in an unfamiliar spacecraft, and without his Legion flight ring. One look at the sky tells him he's not on Rimbor anymore... and he fears wherever "here" is, it's where he's going to be stuck forever.
As "luck" would have it, as he makes his way out of the craft, he is greeted by some very familiar voices... it's Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes! Jo is pleasantly surprised, thinking they'd come to rescue him... his tone changes quickly, however, when they reveal they are here to... arrest him, for the murder of An Ryd!
He pleads his innocence, but it's to no avail... the other Legionnaires just ain't having it. Well, all except for his current "better half" Phantom Girl, that is. The others feel that the evidence is far too compelling... Jo was the last person to enter her hotel room before the body was found, there were Ultra Boy-specific energy signatures on the scene... and perhaps the most damning (and really, kinda dumb if you think about it) Ultra Boy's Legion flight ring was found on the corpse. Rather than face trial, Jo decides it might be best to escape his captors and find the real killer himself! It's rough-going, but he's eventually able to out-muscle, out-speed, out-smart, and out-maneuver his teammates to get away. This certainly doesn't aid in his innocence, but it looks pretty cool!
Before leaving, he swoops in to tell Phantom Girl that he's going to prove his innocence. He then flies into the Legion spacecraft and takes off. As the Legion recover and lick their wounds, we learn that a nerve hold that Jo used on Dawnstar would keep her out of commission for an entire day... a wise move, considering she'd be their best bet to track him. We rejoin Ultra Boy nearing Rimbor, where he 'splodes the Legion spacecraft to avoid being traced. He hits the surface, and grabs a costume that had been stashed during an earlier adventure. Wearing the hooded tunic of an undertaker, he heads back to the Hotel Orion to investigate.
After using his Penetra-Vision, Ultra Boy deduces that there are no clues left in the hotel. He decides to crash for a bit at his friend Si's house. Inside, he is met by Chameleon Boy... disguised as a gaudily colored couch!
Chameleon Boy's all "sell me on your innocence"... but isn't quick to believe Jo's story. He reminds Jo that running away surely didn't help his claims... but concedes that there might be a frame up going on. Their discussion ends in a really cool way. Jo asks what "we" do now. Chameleon Boy goes "Me, I'm gonna research... You? You're a fugitive... I suggest you run." Ice cold.
We shift scenes back to the Legion, who are onboard a spacecraft. Legion adult liaison, Marla is calling for Ultra Boy's head... while Superboy tries to get him to settle his tea kettle. Wildfire pipes up suggesting that Ultra Boy most likely went back to Rimbor... as it's the only place he'd be able to clear his name. It's pretty conflicting, as if they were 100% certain of his guilt... what could he hope to find back to Rimbor?
Meanwhile, Chameleon Boy conducts his research... he rules out the possibility of an impostor being among the Legion, because everyone's physical IDs match up. He then considers that it was an "inside job". He checks the computer files, and finds that they were not tampered with. This (and a whole lot of trusting his gut) is somehow enough for him to suss out who is behind everything... all he's gotta do is prove it, and not die in the process!
The Legion arrives in Rimbor orbit, and Superboy and Mon-El are tasked with using their x-ray vision to scan the entire planet. After a few hours, Mon-El is able to locate a shielded location near the Hotel Orion... they know that's gotta be where Jo is holed up. At the same time, Jo is using his Penetra-Vision... and he knows he's been caught. So, using his one-superpower-at-a-time, he flees out of the city...
... where the Legionnaires are already waiting for him! He tussles with Timberwolf, and outmaneuvers one of Wildfire's blasts... only to find himself socked in the mush by Colossal Boy's over-sized fist.
Jo is thrown for a loop... but comes back with a super-powered punch of his own. He then kayos Sun Boy, and steals his flight ring... this way, he'll maintain the power of flight, and also be able to use another superpower. He thinks things might finally be going his way when... he runs right into Superboy and Mon-El, which is all she wrote for poor Jo Nah.
With Ultra Boy captured, Wildfire is quick to call for his head. Superboy again expresses the need to exercise patience. Grown up guy Marla says it's a matter of the courts... however, before he can finish his though, he is interrupted by Chameleon Boy. He reveals that a traitor stands among them, and it's... Wildfire! To be clear, it's a robot posing as Wildfire.
The Legionnaires make short work of the bad-bot, but make sure to save its head so that they might hook it up to the computers and study who might have sent it. Chameleon Boy reveals that the robot was not the killer, but just a way to help frame Ultra Boy. The real killer is still out there. He continues... saying he found the real Wildfire locked in his quarters, held by a force field. The reason all of the physical IDs matched was because the real Wildfire doesn't have a body! Chameleon Boy suggests he knows who the real killer is... but is not ready to name names.
We wrap up with the hooded killer watching Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl embracing on a monitor. He reveals that this little endeavor gave him all the information he was looking for... and promises that next time things will go his way for sure.
--
Okay. I really liked this. Like, really really.
I always think of Legion stories as only ever taking place onboard a spaceship... which is part of my disconnect with the franchise. That, and the far-flung future angle. It makes it hard for he to really care for the characters, or see any sort of urgency in their plights. This issue, being (relatively) more "grounded" really helped to convince me that there's something more to the Legion.
At its core, this is a mystery story. The fact that it all went down on the gritty planet of Rimbor made it all the better. It felt down and dirty, and perfectly fit the tone. Probably the closest I felt to seeing a "real" locale in my (very) limited Legion Learnin' experience. The strong focus on characterization here really helped to... especially Ultra Boy (obviously) and Chameleon Boy. I can see myself really digging a no-nonsense, tell it like it is Chameleon Boy. His "You're a fugitive, you'd better run" and "See you when they catch you" were excellent lines... that portrayed him as both thoughtful and sorta disconnected toward Ultra Boy's plight.
This mystery came with layers, which is also great. I can't claim to know who is really under the hood... but, just in reading this issue, my eyes darted from Legionnaire to Liaison and back again wondering who might have motivation to frame Ultra Boy. I thought for sure that Marla would be a part of it, considering how quick he was to condemn poor Jo... but now I'm not so sure. The Wildfire reveal worked well enough, however some of the "oomph" was lost on me when I needed to have it explained that he doesn't have a physical body underneath his uniform. I think knowing that going in may have given me a sort of "Aha" moment... but that's definitely not the fault of the story. I'd never slag on a serialized story for expecting its readership to have an understanding of the characters within...
I will say that the Wildfire reveal does make sense out of "Wildfire's" suggestion that Ultra Boy might be back on Rimbor attempting to prove his innocence. That should have raised a red flag for the other Legionnaires who were convinced of Jo's guilt. If Jo was guilty... why would he ever return to the scene of the crime? Wouldn't he just go on the run forever? I really like this little detail... which only really becomes clear after the big-bot reveal.
I really can't say enough how much I enjoyed this. I never felt completely out of my depth (though, I did have to check the DC Wikia for some code names). One of the things keeping me from the Legion was (and is) it's sprawling cast. It feels like there are hundreds of colorfully clad "-boy" "-girl" "-lad" and "lass"-es to keep track of... which felt just so daunting. Here, we had a crew of less than a dozen. Far more manageable for a "Legion Learner" like myself. The focus being primarily on Ultra Boy really helped me as well. This felt like a true "toe dipping" into this wacky and (perhaps) wonderful franchise... and I'm really looking forward to more.
Overall... this issue is definitely recommended. I believe that longtime Legion fans and newcomers alike could get something out of this. As luck would have it, it is available digitally.
--
Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
Ravagers #1 (July, 2012)
"Children of Destiny"
Writer - Howard Mackie
Artist - Ian Churchill
Inker - Norm Rapmund & Ian Churchill
Colorist - Alex Sollazzo
Letterer - Dezi Sienty
Assistant Editors - Sean Mackiewicz & Darren Shaw
Editors - Pat McCallum & Eddie Berganza
Special Thanks - Scott Lobdell
Cover Price: $2.99
Doing a little bit of a New-52! Retrial today. We're going to discuss a book that, when I first read it, I absolutely hated. Though, to be fair, I was pretty sour on DC Comics by 2012...
Gonna give Ravagers a look with some less angry eyes, and see if perhaps my first impression on it was blinded by post-Flashpoint temper-tantrumy rage.
--
We open with our crew of kids still fleeing from the baddies from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. This spins out of the... abysmal The Culling crossover early on in The New-52! between the Teen Titans, Legion Lost, and Superboy titles. Man, that story almost made me drop Titans for the first time in... many many years. My damned completionist nature's the only thing that saved it... hell, it's the only reason I own this book too. Anyhoo... Terra's Earthy hoo-doo wears off, and the kids fall to the snow below. Fairchild depowers, and reveals that she might not be up to the task of leading them. I mean, she's trying... but she is woefully unprepared to reign these geeks in. This is also where we get our Pandora cameo.
And so, she loses four members immediately. Windshear and Bright-Eyes fly off first... then moments later, Terra and Beast Boy go their own way. The monstrous Ridge (Ridge, really?) suggests he might be better equipped to lead. Caitlin ain't really feeling that... and so, he grabs her by the throat and hoists her up. She then reveals that she saw their files before N.O.W.H.E.R.E. had nabbed them. Thunder tells Ridge to drop the redhead.
The crew is suddenly surrounded by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. agents... who, surrender? Like really, they drop their weapons... and explain that they were "just following orders" before. Thunder and Lightning join hands... and proceed to drop the hammer on 'em.
We rejoin Windshear and Bright-Eyes as they are being pursued by a N.O.W.H.E.R.E. (boy am I typing that a lot) aircraft. Windshear, being a complete jerk, throws Bright-Eyes at them so he can make a quick getaway. Turns out to be a pretty bad idea, however... Bright-Eyes has a run-in in with Warblade (who somehow looks even more "90s" than he originally did) while Windshear finds himself mounted by Rose Wilson.
Back on the ground, the crew is just wrecking the poor (unarmed) fools from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Fairchild powers up, talks some sense into Ridge... then heads over to try and control Thunder and Lightning. She appeals to their better nature, and finally convinces them to stand down.
Just then, Fairchild's hacked N.O.W.H.E.R.E. aircraft arrives to pick them up. The rest of the gang ain't so sure, after all, they just escaped from there... and when they met Caitlin, she was working for them! The point is soon rendered moot... as her craft has most definitely been compromised... and it crashes into the snow.
The culprits are revealed to be, Warblade and Rose Wilson. They start their attack... and wind up killing several "red shirts" as they work their way toward the main cast. I was wondering why some of these characters never got names... wouldn't want to leave an actual intellectual property bleeding out on the snow.
Fairchild has Lightning use his powers to chop away at the ground... which sends the crew into the water below. Probably not the smartest escape plan... hell, probably wouldn't have hurt to make it clear they were up on a sort of a cliff before now too. Either way, this is where we wrap up.
--
Nope, still didn't like this.
I will say, I wasn't as mad at it this time around as I was in 2012... but that's probably less to say about the issue, and more to say about where DC Comics is right now. Still, a pretty lousy read.
I suppose it would be a bit cliche and perhaps a bit unfair to simply say that this felt like an early 1990's Image comic. While I can't say that's untrue... I hate to hang my hat on that, because there is more to dislike about this issue than just that. Not that "being an early 1990's Image book" is something immediately worth scorn or anything.
At this point in the New-52 it feels like DC is just throwing out all of these second-string properties in order to reestablish them, whether they have a reason to do so or not. It's just too much. I mean, right here we've got new takes on (not counting Wildstorm characters) Thunder, Lightning, Beast Boy, and Terra. I'm willing to bet that there wasn't any sort of character bible done on any of them... it's just a matter of "get them out there", rather than having any sort of plan. It feels so cheap... and kind of a disservice to previously established and integral characters like Terra and Gar.
I think it was seeing those two characters that really turned me off initially... and seeing them now, I feel the same way. Such a waste. I know Terra's not everybody's cup of tea, but despite how briefly she was around, she had such a lasting effect on the Titans. She fundamentally changed the team... she forced them to rethink how they operated. Gar is here... and he's red, because "different". Though, I suppose it could be a result of his being tapped into "The Red", from that unending storyarc in New-52 Animal Man.
The characters here are for the most part, unlikable... which makes them fit in with the New-52's other teenage heroes. They were all awful to one another... though, at least the Ravagers sort of had a reason to be that way. They had been held by (sigh) N.O.W.H.E.R.E. for as long as they can remember, so a chip on their shoulder is understood. I appreciate their distrust of Fairchild too, as, for all they know... this is just a field test for the bad guys, and not an actual escape.
Speaking of Fairchild, I think she was the first WildStorm character (who didn't have their own title, Grifter, Voodoo, Stormwatch) I noticed lurking in the New-52. I remember thinking it was pretty cool that they were being integrated, it's too bad they didn't do more with them. I guess that's just another instance of this initiative being half-hearted and not entirely thought out. While on the subject, Warblade's redesign is pretty lame. Like I said above, he somehow looks even more like a Chromium Age relic than he did initially... and dude had a top knot the first time around!
Overall... I'd say this is skippable. It kinda bugs me to say so, as I have a bit of a soft spot for Howard Mackie. I really dug his (pre-relaunch) Spider-Man work... hell, even liked some of his X-Factor, and (very early on) Mutant X. I didn't like the story, or the characters... compound that with my overall malaise toward the New-52, I can say it's certainly not worth my time... your mileage may vary, however. Not to end on too sour a note... I will say, Ian Churchill's art here is pretty great.
--
Interesting Ads:
1st Issue Special #9 (December, 1975)
"dr. fate"
Writer - Martin Pasko
Artist - Walt Simonson
Editor - Gerry Conway
Cover Price: $0.25
Today I was planning to cover a reader request... the same request I was planning to cover last week, actually. The thing of it is, I still can't find it! It stinks, because I know it's one of those books that I always see when trolling the bins... except, now that I need it... it's nowhere to be found. I'ma keep lookin' tho.
Today we'll do some more 1st Chrissue Special. I'm pretty sure this is the last one I actually own. The ones I need don't seem to show themselves too often. Still gotta track down Metamorpho, Creeper, the Dingbats and, of course... Lady Cop.
--
Dr. Fate is alerted by the Crystal Orb of Nabu that something is amiss. He ponders what it might be, as he has never seen it shine with such urgency. At the very same time at the Boston Museum, curator Professor Anderson is about to show a Dr. Magill their newest relics... from a religious cult, circa 2025 BC.
Moments later, Dr. Fate arrives... and finds both the Professor and Doctor, dead... their bodies are broken, and it appears that they died with a look of sheer terror on their faces. Before he can even stop to ponder whodunnit, Fate is "greeted" by the mummified form of Khalis! The mummy has the ridiculously convenient power of "getting stronger" while his enemy "gets weaker". Where can I get a power like that?
Anyhoo, it isn't long before Fate is overpowered... and Khalis has stolen his amulet. Fate staggers back to his feet, however, Khalis is long gone. Fate returns home... and drops himself off. That is to say, Dr. Fate drops his human host, Kent Nelson off... right at the feet of his exhausted wife, Inza. She tries to question him about what's just happened... but he cannot remember. Annoyed, she goes to fix him a cup of tea. She returns to find him already fast asleep... which is apparently all she can stands (she can't stands no more), because it's now that she decides to leave him.
Kent wakes up a bit later, however it is stated that "half of him" heard Inza's words... and that same "half of him" cried. We've got no time for that noise, though... it's time to study. Kent locates the story of Khalis in some old yellowed texts... and we get ourselves a bit of a flashback. Khalis was referred to as a "Mad Priest" who worshiped Anubis. Eventually, a mountain crumbled and crushed the existing temple... and Anubis showed himself/itself presenting Khalis with the Amulet of Anubis. It's pretty funny actually, we see the giant form of Anubis... and it's just like "Hey, good job... here ya go!"
From here, Khalis grew in power... and commanded his slaves to erect the "mightiest of pyramids" in tribute to Anubis. One day, a worshiper of Nabu made his presence felt... breaking Khalis' spell of control over the people. He was then... get this, mummified alive! These Nabu-types sure don't mess around. As he is wrapped, Anubis curse him with "life in death" until he can recover the talisman. Which leads us back to the present, and Kent Nelson's "Aha!" moment... the Amulet of Nabu is actually the Amulet of Anubis!
He reflects on how Nabu never told him what the amulet meant... only that Khalis would eventually return for it. We now go into Kent's own secret origin. When he was only 12, he accompanied his father, archaeologist Sven Nelson on an expedition of the Sumerian Civilization. He stumbled across the wizard, Nabu in suspended animation. The preserving gases escaped the chamber... and killed Kent's father. From here, Nabu wiped his mind of the pain of the loss... and, was given his Doctor Fate powers. Nabu is kind of a jerk, no?
Back in the present, Inza Nelson has checked into a hotel. She regrets walking out on her man, and decides to head to the Museum to see if she might find any information he could use.
By now, Fate has once again confronted Khalis. Rather than unleash his mystical energies all at once, he decides to first disorient his foe with physical attacks. When the time is right, Fate summons all of the light in Boston... and positively bathes Khalis in it! It was effective, however, the baddie fled before too much damage could be done.
As Dr. Fate recovers his strength, he is joined by Inza Nelson... who has a something that might just help out. When she rummaged through the museum, she was able to procure a fragment of the mummy's sarcophagus... which reveals Khalis' magical name of coffin-sealing hoodoo. Fate can use this!
Meanwhile, as the lights return to Boston... the normal skyline appears to have been replaced by an Anubis Sphinx and pyramids! Khalis holds the amulet aloft... and it's not long before Anubis itself shows up... and he's ticked! Not all that keen on being disturbed, Anubis refers to Khalis as an overzealous fool. Eventually Anubis comes around... saying he'll consider helping Khalis is he's able to kill Dr. Fate. Fair enough.
Fate arrives... and Khalis sics the "Claws of Anubis" on him. They look like ribbons with spiked ends... and they soon wrap around our hero. With a burst of mystical energy, Dr. Fate frees himself... and proceeds to read the the sarcophagus seal... Hetepkhet! Tefnakhte! Amon-Ra Menteptah! The Egyptian Hieroglyph Dictionary (and Google) reveals that Hetep khet is a district in Fayum, Tefnakhte was the first Egyptian King of the 24th Dynasty, Amon-Ra is the Egyptian Sun God and part of the Egyptian Zodiac, and Menteptah is likely a misspelling of Mernteptah who was the fourth ruler of the 19th Dynasty... of interest, Martin Pasko used Menteptah in an issue of Star Trek too. Anyhoo, enough remedial (and likely inaccurate) Egyptian Christory, all that matters is... this does the trick!
The story wraps up with Kent thanking Inza for her help... which is all his wife needs to hear, she now thinks there might be room for all three of them (she, Kent, and Dr. Fate) after all.
--
Dr. Fate isn't a character I think about all that much... I also don't know a whole heckuva lot about him, so this was a really good introduction for me. I was a bit tentative about covering this issue, because I was afraid it would bore me... and while it didn't completely rock my socks, I gotta say that I did enjoy it.
I appreciated how the backstory of Khalis was woven into the story via Kent doing research of his own. Rather than just give us an expositional info-dump, we were able to follow an interesting historical narrative. Kent learning the true nature (and origins) of what he believed to be the Amulet of Nabu led us right into a retelling of Dr. Fate's own origin. I think this worked really well, and dug its placement in the story. The issue didn't start with a boring/awkward recap of what we "should" already know... and I was happy about that.
Inza Nelson gets a bit of panel time here... and seems almost cartoonishly conflicted. I mean, I get that she's frustrated... but she turns on a dime more than once here. She walks out on her husband because Dr. Fate kept him out all night (and for falling asleep while she was speaking to him)... thinks better of it, comes to his rescue... then wraps up thinking that maybe Dr. Fate ain't all that bad to be around after all. Just weird. I guess with only twenty-odd pages to fill, the reactions and resolutions need to come quickly.
The battle scene was a bit of a letdown to me. I dunno, it's like... and I think I've used this analogy (if this even is an analogy) before... it's like when kids play make-believe, and like one pretends to shoot the other... only to learn they were wearing a bulletproof vest. Then, they throw a fireball... only to learn that the bulletproof vest is also fireproof... ya know? The stakes keep raising... and Dr. Fate and Khalis were able able to keep one-upping one another. I mean, during the open Khalis described his power as "getting stronger" while his opponent "gets weaker". Like, what is he... 10? That's a ridiculously overpowered way to be. It's a good thing he didn't think to challenge Superman, right?
I suppose it would be silly of me not to mention the early Walt Simonson art here... which was pretty fantastic. He has such an eye for amazing exhibitions of magical power... as well as for the more grounded human characters. Every panel was impressive.
Overall, I think this is one folks should look out for... Dr. Fate fan or not. As I mentioned, Dr. Fate is a character who (outside of his Justice League and JSA appearances) I know precious little about. This issue would serve any DC Comics fan well as a primer for the character... and hey, even if the story ain't for you, it's still got that Simonson art.
--
(Not the) Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
