Legion of Super Heroes (v5) #3 - It's a Magic Number!

 

Released February 23, 2005
DC Comics, Color
31 Pages

Cover Title - Three is a Magic Number

Mark Waid & Barry Kitson - Storytellers
Art Thibert - Finishes Pages 1,3,6-26,28-30
Chris Blythe - Colors
Phil Balsman - Letters
Harvey Richards - Asst Editor
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Triplicate Girl is dangling off a ledge above an inferno as an enemy steals her flight ring and threatens her. She pulls him off the ledge, and triplicates to dangle him further towards the fire below. He surrenders and is taken into custody.

Phantom Girl is reading old Batman comics in Element Lad's room while he preps for a date, and they are seeking dating advice from the comic book. He takes off his ring to switch his appearance to normal clothes when his date arrives - Triplicate Girl! Jan opens by saying he likes to be naked. Lu responds by talking about her story.

She woke to a ruined Cargg to find herself the sole survivor. She found the ability to triplicate and to keep triplicating until she found an upper limit and rebuilt Cargg. 

They fly (in their civvies) and go to a deserted tropical island. Jan explains his personality, being at the nexus of change, and how his race is all about Transformation. After an awkward demonstration of his power, Jan picks a flower for Lu.

Back at HQ, Brainy is talking to Lightning Lad over a communications link about the mystery leader that Nura dreamt about last issue but is cut off. Brainy and Cos butt heads about reinforcing Lightning Lad's team and debate leadership semantics. After Cos leaves, Brainy works with someone int he shadows about setting up a portal anyway.

Now Dirk and Triplicate Girl are hanging out in the Plaza. They are both wearing glasses and playing a game where they have to prove they are a superhero. Cham tries, but fails, to join in. Dirk and Lu share stories.  Dirk joined because he found Cos inspiring, and his parents encouraged him. Lu continues her story with how the UP contacted Cargg and she joined the Legion and found adventure. 

In an interstitial scene, Light Lass, Colossal Boy and Invisible Kid are helping to rebuild a skyscraper. The SPs come in and razz the Legionnaires, accusing them of terrorism if they don't leave the area. Notably, Invisible Kid is invisible the entire time the SPs are around.

Finally Triplicate Girl is on a date with Ultra Boy in his hot convertable. Jo states his mission statement - life is short, take pleasure. Conformity is for chumps. He'll ruin any girl for all other men in an hour. Next minute they're making out in her quarters when the other Trips arrive with their dates, embarassing all the men. The girls merge to share experiences, but seem unfulfilled. 

Cos comes in and we hear that there is trouble in the Legion, similar to Lu's experience. After a year with the Legion, she returned home, only to find that no one wanted to join with her and she was shunned from her peers. She thinks that the Legion is fracturing, due to the reasons they are there - Jan for circumstance, Jo for tribalism, Dirk for glory.  All different than the mission of the Legion itself.  Sensing a threat to his leadership from Brainy, Cos begins "stage two."

Commentary

In my memory, this is one of the most iconic issues from the threeboot.  Triplicate Girl's story is at once fascinating and tragic, having gone through many experiences only to be rejected by the people at home she left behind.  The framework of the date is great as we see Luornu's story in addition to the three guys she's out with. Element Lad seems spacy but well intentioned, Dirk seems fun loving yet attention seeking, and Jo is basically a selfish dickwad. But the slightly more sinister element of all this is that she went on the dates as an intel gathering mission for Cos for him to better understand the Legion's mindset. There is clearly trouble brewing between Brainy and Cos, and this is his way to figure it out, for better or worse. The issue works really well in storytelling and characterization, as everyone seems different (again, for better or worse), we get a lot of backstory, and the new storyline inches forward with a mystery at the edge of known space.

Kitson's work is great, and interestingly enough, he has a different finisher from the prior issue, yet the work looks as good as the prior issues, which says something great for both penciler and inker. 

A few other interesting notes:

Flight rings are rare, expensive, coded to wearer's DNA, and enable the wearer's costume. But there is a continuity error - if the rings are designed to provide their costumes, how are Lu and Jan flying to the island in their civvies?

Atom Girl is mythical to Jan, who has been on the team for a while, yet she's never been seen.  

The existence of the old Batman comics suggests that this takes place in OUR future.  

We get no word about Trom's fate at this point. 

We first see Lightning Lad and hear of Saturn Girl (but do see her in flashback) in this issue.

Based on Luornu's story, the Legion has been in play for at least a year and maybe two, as she visited after she was a Legion member for a year.  

Do these Trips have different personalities like the Reboot?  It seems like they kind of do, based on their dates, but its not stated outright. If I were to map it out, "shy" Lu orange is out with E-Lad, Neutral is with Dirk and Purple is, of course, with Jo.

Kono Juice apparently made it to this boot.

The bit with Cham was kind of cute, showing his attempting, but failing to fit into humanoid culture.

I really feel sorry for all the Ultra Boy fans. The noble and heroic (if reboot co-dependent) superhero has been turned into an insufferable ego-driven douchebag asshole. I want no part of him in this book. It's literally the part of this era that not only aged poorly, but also was no good to begin with.

Grade: A.  Even with this Ultra Boy. Triplicate Girl's story and its structure is that good.