Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #32 - Lord of Lightning Part 1



Released July 25, 2007
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

The Quest for Cosmic Boy - Lord of Lightning Part 1 of 2

Tony Bedard - Writer
Dennis Calero - Artist
Nathan Eyring - Colorist
Mike Marts - Editor

Synopsis

This issue picks up right after the end of 31, on Winath where Thom, Mekt and Dirk are arguing with Tenzil about what to do with Rokk once he's rounded up. Tenzil records everything through his lie detector glasses, but Thom and Mekt do a decent job of threatening him to stand down.  They enter the Ranzz home and find it empty after a massive E-M burst.

Brainy is manning the nerve center on Earth where he is fielding calls from Atom Girl needing backup on Lallor while Thom calls to ask for Kara's help - no one is answering his calls for assistance on Winath as no one is around. Brainy leaves them to their own devices. The foursome goes underground to avoid an oncoming storm - which is where most of Winathian business happens. They find "Validus" graffiti on a wall, and Mekt freaks out, thinking Tenzil planted that, and a fight breaks out between Mekt and Dirk until Thom shuts them both down. 

Mekt gives the background of Validus - a lord of lighting myth used to scare children. We get a bit deeper into Mekt's origin as a solo and how his treatment as such drove him to the cult of Validus, and that was why he was traveling to Korbal, leading to him and his siblings to get zapped with lightning powers. But because Garth and Ayla also adopted powers, the cult rejected him.  Its strongly implied that he destroyed the cult himself.   

Elsewhere underground, Tenzil tries to get a signal out and encounters two young kids. They lead him to a door, telling him the Legionnaires are dangerous and they will lead him to the mayor.  Its a trap and they lock Tenzil in the silo and start pouring grain into it. The two kids go to a candle lit room. 

The three metas fly through the underground complex, and Mekt finds his parents, who somehow zap him out of the air, saying the Lord of Lightning demands his punishment. 

Commentary

This issue is a mixed bag, but ultimately worth the time, I think.  I was initially turned off by the different, and inconsistent, art of Dennis Calero. Some frames look great, but others look like a complete mess. But the story kept me going.  The first half of this story seems to focus on this new version of Winath, where most of society is subterranean, combined with the mystery of where everybody disappeared to following the energy surge.  The second half focuses on Mekt and the Cult of Validus - an interesting way to bring that character back into the Legion fold. Solo Mekt getting seduced by a cult seems to ring true here, as does his apparent dispatching of said cult, which leads to the confrontation at the end with his possessed parents. That is keeping me interested in this story angle.

I think I was used to Calero's style by the end, as his faces seem to be overly expressive, and I honestly laughed out loud at the first picture in the book as it seemed over the top. But when it works, it works, and it definitely did so by the end of the story.   

More observations:

We see a bit of the Ranzz kids origins, and interestingly, we know that Garth and Mekt get lightning powers.  Did Ayla, as well?  If so, how did she get the gravity-nullifying powers?  More unknown backstory that IMO held this team back from the start of the series.  But it's at least good we got SOMETHING.

Tenzil was a "glasshole" way before Google Glass was invented. :D

He calls out Terror Firma as a terrorist cell - good call, that. 

Neat bit of world building about Winath doing most everything underground.

Thom gets the best line of the issue - Acting like Uranuses - Hah! 

Tenzil getting trapped in the silo was funny, but I wasn't concerned about him. :)

Grade: B.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Abnett & Lanning Reboot Legion - A look back

Image
  I first started this effort of reviewing the post-Legion Lost Abnett & Lanning Legion works after examining my own extreme negative reaction in an online poll about how long DnA should have been allowed to write the Legion.   I voted on it after having read all the reboot up to LSH 125 just prior. I had read the full run of DnA back in the day (not in real-time though), and just remembered checking out in the latter half of the first year's issues. One world-busting, character-morphing event after another that did not include any of the characters I loved just seemed to leave me cold. But I was vehement and voted that DnA should never have touched the book. If I'm being honest, I still would wonder what a different creative team would have done; the book needed shaking up, but I am still not convinced it needed 5 years of DnA. By the end of the journey, I started appreciating what they did a lot more, but I do think they were on the title for much too long. Abnett ...
Read more

The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #15 - Ancient Times!

Image
Released February 22, 2006 DC Comics, Color 30 Pages Ancient Times Stuart Moore - Writer Pat Olliffe - Pencils Livesay - Inker Sno Cone - Colors Stephen Wacker - Editor Synopsis More pandemonium in Legion Plaza makes a group of young recruits run into the park and tell hero stories around a lantern at night spurred on by a mysterious robed figure. The first story is from the JSA/JLA era.  Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Alan Scott are trying to retrieve Flashes Barry Allen and Jay Garrick out of energy bubbles, but can't do it. Brainy, Bouncing Boy, Element Lad and Duo Damsel arrive. Chuck tries to bounce them out, but Element Lad is able to free them by temporarily turning them to oxygen. The kids listening to the story mock the idea of a Bouncing Boy among other things. The next story is Saturn Girl, Wildfire, Tyroc and Dawnstar negotiating with Relnic which is interrupted by Karate Kid and Captain Comet dropping in with the Secret Society of Super Villains from the 20th century. C...
Read more

Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes v5 #22 - Ultra Boy becomes Impotent Boy! (Or is it Impotence Lad?)

Image
Released September 27, 2006 DC Comics, Color 23 Pages Tony Bedard & Mark Waid - Script Barry Kitson - Layouts Adam DeKraKer - Pencils Rob Stull & Rodney Ramos - Inks Nathan Eyring - Colorist Stephen Wacker - Editor Synopsis Val is thinking back to a year prior when he was dating Shadow Lass and they broke up. Now she's coming to him to consult about her relationship with Jo, as he's feeling insecure thinking himself insecure. Val suggests Jo has a crush on Kara, but he'll look into it. In Metropolis, the kids debate the leader election as the Science Police try to disperse the crowds. A rogue Legionnaire tries to take matters into his own hands before Cos and Kara handle the situation. Kara kisses Cos on the cheek before taking the rogue back to HQ. Lyle proves to Cos that he's not in love with Kara; its some radiation interference. But its also revealed that Lyle is worshipping Kara, too and may have told Cos that to get rid of the competition. The former Terro...
Read more