The Legion #20 - Dream Crime Pt 2, or, Two Novas with a side of Hydros

 

Released May 28, 2003
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

Dream Crime - Part 2

Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning - Writers
Chris Batista - Pencils
Mark Farmer - Inks
Jason Wright - Colors
Comicraft - Letters
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Issue 20 begins with the same style of background crawl that was introduced in the prior issue.  The background drawing centers on Imra flanked by an embracing Tinya & Jo on one side with Jo glaring at an annoyed Timber Wolf on her right with XS just below.  The figures are surrounded with images of various other Legionnaires' heads with their eyes closed.  The story itself starts with Imra reading a comic book.

Except its not Imra.  She is inexplicably in a retro-diner called RJ's Clubhouse Diner as a daydreaming waitress ignoring her customers.  Jenni is another of RJ's waitresses serving Jo, Tinya and Wildfire, who hits on Jenni.  She notices two science police sitting down and she moves to attend to Rokk Krinn and Zoe "Saugs" Saugin. She notices Rokk's handsomeness, and Zoe's confidence and wishes that she could be a Sci Cop. She's daydreaming about leaving Titan where she's stuck due to her lack of Telepathy.  She shouts an order back to Tenzil then goes to serve Jo's group their food.  Jenni warns they are part of the "Emerald Dragon" gang and Jo proceeds to hit on Imra in front of Tinya.  Jo continues to silently flirt with her.

When Imra gets off shift, Jo's waiting for her on his bike.  She politely refuses and gets on the bus.  Some time later, RJ calls her in to cover Luornu's shift, but at triple pay (ha).  She sees Rokk at the diner and embarrasses herself when Jo rolls in and tries to aggressively get to know her.  This is interrupted by Timber Wolf's arrival. TWolf makes short work of Jo when Rokk draws his service weapon on them.  The whole scene deteriorates; Timber Wolf attacks Rokk, RJ pulls a shotgun out; Jo draws his gun in return only to have Imra swing across the counter and kick Jo in the face (yay!). Timber Wolf leaps at Imra, only to have her mentally shut him down. Imra realizes who she is and that this is some kind of illusion.

Imra is surrounded by faces of sleeping Legionnaires as an unknown voice comments on her strength and the need for the person to reveal the truth.

Imra then wakes up after the events of Legion Lost 7 after having retrieved Umbra from her fugue.  Monstress and Apparition are still with them.  Imra insists that they found the way home and does the fastest summary of the end of Lost and the prior 18 issues than I've ever seen.  Garth walks in and Imra forgets all her protests. 

In the outpost hydroponic garden, Imra and Garth have sexy time and she tells him about what happened to him at the end of Lost and tells more of the tale.  Some time later, the Lost crew is approaching the Progenitor's Rosette.  Imra insists that the Progenitor is Jan, much to Candi's annoyance.  Their ship is spotted and the Lost Legionnaires spring into action.

We change focus and see Imra held in some kind of stasis chair where her dreams are being manipulated and read by... Universo! 

Commentary

Just as a housekeeping note that as of this issue we are across the halfway point of the series, as odd as that sounds.

So, I'm a sucker for dream sequences, etc, when they are done well.  This, I thought was done well, with the mining of Imra's subconscious to create the fake diner full of alternate Legionnaires in various roles in the middle of a gang fight.  Seeing the characters act in odd ways was fun - the undercurrent of attraction between Imra and Rokk, the rivalry between Brin and Jo, Jo as the Bad Boy, the reference to Imra being paid triple for Luornu's missed shift.  Although I REALLY liked RJ pulling out a shotgun.  

Super fun until Imra realizes something's going on and that it *is* a pretty dumb setup - Gangbanger enters a diner to hit on a girl when there's a cop car in front, then a rival banger barges in to start a fight - and the manipulated dream shifts to Legion Lost where the events of the last 19 issues have all been a dream and Monstress is still alive. (Don't I wish...)  This is evidently much more grounding and believable for Imra, and rightly so since Garth is back, making her forget the horror of Legion Lost's events, but also for the reader.  It makes sense for Imra to sense herself in an odd dream and make her way out of it, but to wake up in another where the worst part of her life never happened but she is essentially herself.  

Good reveal with the manipulator as Universo.  The seeming misdirection of the person being Darkseid was done well.  Its good to see another classic Legion villain after so long.

That said, I've noticed a lot of parallels here between the first few issues of The Legion and the first two of Dream Crime, with the main antagonist reveal.  Its fine, as it works well, as does Batista's art, but it is repetitive after seeing it a few story arcs.  This kind of reveal definitely works better with a monthly release cycle. 

Other random comments:

As noted the Diner was a fun sequence.  RJ going on about Legions of diners, Zoe as a normal person again, Jenni as the fast waitress, Tenzil as the cook (I think this is the only time we see him in DnA, sorry Tenz).  With Zoe back to normal here, I wonder if there may have been an intention to return her more to normal in the prior story arc with Ra's.

I was kind of hoping the alternate Lost sequence was what really happened.  

Again liked the continuity from the LL perspective - the hydroponics were still intact, Monstress was still alive, etc. 

Overall grade - A-.