Legion of Super Heroes v5 #41 - Busted!

Released April 30, 2008
DC Comics, Color
23 Pages

Enemy Rising Part 2: Busted!

Jim Shooter - Writer
Aaron Lopresti - Penciller
Matt Ryan - Inker
Jo Smith - Colorist
Mike Marts - Editor

Synopsis

We pick up where we left off in Metropolis with Projectra being approached for autographs and attacking the fans. Timber Wolf tries to hold Projectra back, but is clobbered by her instead. Just in time, Saturn Girl arrives and reverse-psychs Projectra to not waste her time. Thankfully, the man gets up and survived whatever Projectra did. Imra and Brin convince her to provide the picture. 

Brin and Imra both are mystified by Projectra's powerful punch. Brin followed her when she went to visit the lawyers. He also lets loose that he hoped Imra would do some more mind wiping. 

At HQ Command Center, Inivisble Kid, Brainiac 5 and Lightning Lad are all ranting about their own issues when a redhead SP officer appears, but it doesn't trick Brainy.  He tweak's the officer's nose and she turns into Cham. Its decided that Lyle will infiltrate.

Elsewhere, M'Rissey meets with Caulfield Zander and offers a trade of information for cash. 

Invisible Kid makes it into the autopsy while the Legionnaires monitor remotely. M'Rissey appears at the Legion infirmary and seems to return Star Boy's ring. Ayla arrives to the command center and freaks out when she sees what's going on. Brainy has Lyle turn and look to the observation deck and sees the "tryout" Legionnaires from a couple issues ago - they are the security measures in place - and it seems as if Gazelle is among them. Spy senses something amiss and goes on to the floor to get more information, just as Brainy detects that the creature may not be dead.  It comes to life just as Spy senses where Lyle may be and it attacks the scientists.  Lyle picks up the saw and dispatches the creature. He moves to escape out the airlock, but Gazelle knocks him out. 

Ayla promptly gives a round of I Told You Sos. In the operating theater, the creature dissolves. At HQ, Ultra Boy comes in to talk to Garth, cat calls Ayla, who promtly removes his gravity as she stalks out. Garth gets the news that Lyle is arrested, the Legion is grounded. Jo received word that an alien attack cruiser is headed to Rimbor.

Imra meets with her mother, who tells her that they can't meet anymore; Sydne has powerful enemies now that are hostile to the Legion. 

In the Lab, Brainy and Garth puzzle over the data from the alien. They travel at sublight speeds but have advanced bio tech, which means they have been travelling for millions of years. 

Elsewhere, Cham is moping and is talking to a bird.  He changes for to be of the same species and propositions the bird. 

At Garths room, the name of the new team is called the United Planets Young Heroes. Imra arrives for some sexy time and they hear that Lyle and Projectra both have been arrested. They also get word that they are allowed to go to Rimbor. Jo bursts in, and Imra will lead that away team. 

Commentary

First to acknowledge here is that we have the first guest penciler here in the run in Aaron Lopresti. I have to say that I am a huge fan of his pencils, so much so that I prefer him to Manapaul, but they are both great, so we kind of have a wealth of riches here. Lopresti gives the Threeboot characters a bit of his own spin, but they are definitely recognizable as the Threeboot. 

The story here is another fun read, but we start to get signs of overstretching and what seems like a kind of FOMO - the writer wants to play with as many toys as he can. Not necessarily a bad thing with the Legion, but it has to be done well, especially when there is as much plot and dialog going on as we have here. The main thread of infiltrating the autopsy seems to be enough for its own 22 page story, even with the drama around Projectra needing to be solved. Speaking of that, we get a good resolution to the cliffhanger, but then she's locked up off panel!  We do get some nice character moments, especially between Garth and Imra (who, oh yeah, are supposed to be in a relationship). 

The story just feels a little crowded somehow, with the drama of Imra's mother pulled in for a couple pages, and the schtick of Garth dealing with the overwhelming bureaucracy, which seemed to have been resolved last issue, gets another go round.  And then Cham, poor Cham. I say poor Cham because he did nothing this issue other than provide a Shvaughn Erin cameo that at the time would have appealed only to the older fans. Here its interesting for a panel, but he's literally a waste for the rest of the issue. And we have a page of M'Rissey doing something that will be paid off in a later issue, I'm sure.

Circling back to the main plot, the idea of the UP wanting their own controlled super teen force makes sense, and using the kids that Garth chucked out of HQ a few issues ago makes total sense.  What doesn't make total sense is Gazelle being part of that team. I'm sure it was some deal of "you'll rot here or be a team member." I guess we will see that soonish, but having her be so anti-Legion and anti UP earlier made an impression. 

Other thoughts:

Nice cliffhanger redirect with the alien man not being dead, but it does not bode well for Projectra, I think. It seems a bit false for Brin to be calling Imra to maybe mind wipe someone when he rightfully raged about it last issue.

Great to see how Imra's mom is still named after the Legion fan of the same name, which was established in the PZH Reboot.

Dark Circle is thrown out their by Brainy rather casually. 

This Projectra situation is officially a PROBLEM. I'm a little surprised they didn't show the arrest on panel. 

Ayla can't seem to make up her mind about whether her brother is a good leader or not. That says, I loved how she just put Jo in his place. Pretty sure they were just a one night hookup. 

Page 14 (digital) was well done - great telling of the action with zero words, but a lot happening. 

This UPYH team didn't do a bad job, considering. Maybe Garth shouldn't have tossed them.  

Cham was a waste this issue.  I hope Shooter does a better job with him.

Grade: B.  Couldn't find it in my heart to give it a B-