The Legion of Super-Heroes #2 - No Escape

 

The Legion of Super-Heroes #2

Released 9/2/2026
DC Comics, Color
32 Pages

No Escape

Joshua Williamson - Writer
Hayden Sherman - Artist
Tamra Bonvillain - Colorist
Hassan Otsmane-Elhadu - Letterer
Chris Rosa - Associate Editor
Paul Kaminski - Group Editor

Synopsis

We open on a splash page of the Persuader Manual showing the entry for Bismollians while havoc is being wreaked in the background. We continue directly from Brande's office in Issue 1 with Tenzil taking a bite out of one of the Persuaders' helmets. He and Brainiac 1 of 5 jump out the very high window pursued closely by the winged Persuader. All three land easily, and Tenzil starts to eat random tings from the sidewalk, barfing up a wall of flame so that he and Brainy can escape, while the Persuader shields herself with her wings. The other two Persuaders join and are given orders to use their superpowers to eliminate the witnesses. One has cold frost emanate from his hand, the other has quills protruding and we see many panels of death.

On Winath, Mekt tells his story - he couldn't take it as a solo so ran away, living on the streets, planet to planet until he meets Superman. He trained Mekt to be a superhero and save the universe. Garth is enraptured, but Ayla doesn't believe a word of it. Mekt wants to train them both to use their powers, and while Garth is enthusiastic, Ayla will have none of it. Mekt tells them about a movement of something called Legion, and shows them his L brand just as their parents arrive home. Mekt flies away, while Garth vents his frustrations about Ayla directly to her, making her give Garth a pained look. 

On Braal, Rokk Krinn is working in the mines and is approached by a man named Grimbor about getting off world.  He also asks if Rokk knows anything about Princesses.

On Titan, Imra is still hearing voices about Superboy and is researching him. Her aides arrive and tell her she must meet with the Green Lantern Corp as they have arrived. Imra sullenly agrees and leaves the room to meet the Emerald Empress of the Green Lantern Corporation, hovering in the air surrounded by three other Lanters, all of different species on either side. Imra welcomes them and hopes they have not been waiting long. The GL Corp is there to broker a protection contract for Titan, but the Empress wants to learn more about Imra first. Imra tells her to follow and they go inside.

Back on Earth, Tenzil and Brainy decide to dress as Persuaders to get on the ship heading to Winath.  On Winath, Mekt spends a day (maybe two) training Garth, but Mekt insists that they go on a head-busting mission as part of the training.  Evening falls on a village and the gang that was causing problems in issue 1 is back harassing a town. The brothers attack and neutralize the gang quickly. After accepting a short round of thanks from the townsfolk, they leave, and Garth tells Mekt that he wants to join the Legion, and Mekt begins to brand him. 

A virtual holoconference takes place, with the winged Persuader kneeling before a mysterious figure in yellow with a black head. The Persuader (who is without helmet and sports long dark hair), informs him of the status of the pursuit of Mekt Ranzz as the spaceship lands on Winath. The Persuaders exit the craft and are met with another Persuader squad with someone who knows everything about Mekt Ranzz - his sister Ayla who is joining the Persuaders to save her family.

Commentary

The mystery builds as we add more questions to the pile that we want answers to, and with a great cliffhanger to boot! Like I said in my last review, I love the fact that we are going into somewhat unknown territory here. Once again, I think Tenzil Kem steals the show, biting off the helmet of a Persuader and then using his mouth as a flamethrower. Just as cool was the Persuader - ok, let's just cut to the chase here and call her Dawnstar, because that's who she is - using her wings to defend against the flames. Complete badass scene right there.  It ends on a chilling note, however as the two other Persuaders have to be Brekk Bannin (Polar Boy) and Pete Dursin (Porcupine Pete), and they massacre the crowd.  

Let's pause here for a minute and talk about this - based on the telepresence meeting that we see, the winged Persuader HAS to be Dawnstar as the boss who apparently CREATED the Persuaders is Mano, and he explains that he recruited her on Starhaven, the traditional home of Dawnstar. So a classical Fatal Five member has created this corp of super-powered people to use as facist muscle to "enforce the law of the United Planets."  Well *THIS* really hits close to home in 2026 America. The may be a good analogy to ISIS except for one fact - the three Persuaders we have been introduced to so far are, in classic Legion lore, Legionnaires (Dawnstar - well TWO if you count Polar Boy in v3) and Substitute Legionnaires (Porcupine Pete - with a nod to the fact that Polar Boy was also a sub first).  Given Joshua Williamson's penchant of late to tell redemption stories (ala his Superboy Prime instances over the last year-plus), I am betting (well, honestly HOPING is a better word) that these folks are brain-chipped in some way, and ultimately the destruction of the Persuaders leads to all these people trying to make up for what they've done, which provides a LOT of story possibilities. The fact that the Subs are usually portrayed as being kind of foolish and bumbling adds to the pathos here. 

We're not given much on Rokk this issue, but the appearance of Grimbor is certainly a surprise, so we'll have to see where this goes.  Is he the "Mekt" to Rokk in this instance?  I didn't see a brand, but you never know, and we are certain to see Rokk heading to Titan soon.  Speaking of Titan, how refreshingly different is the Green Lantern CORPORATION, run by the Emerald Empress? Based on the clues of having protection treaties drawn, it almost sounds like they are the 31st century equivalent of the mob (please cue the Godfather theme or any of the songs from the Goodfellas soundtrack). Its way cool that the Corporation has Lanterns from all kinds of species, but the Empress herself is SO imposing. Using the Eye as a head?  It makes me wonder if we get a reference to ANOTHER Emerald story. But pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

What I'm most nervous about is the Winath plotline. It was fun watching the interplay between the three siblings, and especially Garth and Ayla who were at odds on almost every subject. But when Garth says to Ayla, "Why cant you just be COOL?" the look she gives him just breaks my heart. And we know from there that she goes and rats to the Persuaders - this is an action where there's no turning back and nothing good can come out of it. I really like this version of Ayla and I'm honestly scared for her.  

The Mekt/Garth scenes were fun - you could almost hear the training montage music in those panels. But what was interesting to me was that Williamson and Sherman are showing Mekt being quite horrible, yet Garth has a blind eye to it all. Yet another factor - intentional or not - that will come back to haunt young Garth, I think.

Hayden Sherman again does a jaw dropping job with this issue, including Bonvillain coloring it all in. Each world is very distinct, as are the people on them. But so many little touches, like what I just mentioned above with Garth not noticing the bad side of Mekt, or Mekt and Garth adopting a Batman & Robin post atop the building, or again Ayla's heartbroken look at Garth. One of the best things for me, however was the interaction between Dawnstar and Mano.  Its very subtle, but we are never TOLD via dialog that they are having a conversation via a holonet (or whatever it is).  We are only given subtle visual cues as the two scenes "pixelate" apart for lack of a better term. While I love a sleek and streamlined spaceship, we are also given what looks to be a very asymmetrical vessel that lands on Winath, which is AOK by me - In space no one can judge your taste. 

So to summarize, another outstanding issue. The sign of a great comic book is when you get to the end and you're frustrated because you've invested in the story and it ends at a cliffhanger.  Its a job well done here, and I think THIS cliffhanger is even better than issue 1.  I just hope we don't lose too many Ranzz's in the resolution.

Grade: A+