The Legion of Super-Heroes #3 - SACRIFICE

The Legion of Super-Heroes #3

Released 11/11/2026
DC Comics, Color
32 Pages

Sacrifice

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

Synopsis

On the planet Winath, Garth convinces Mekt to come in and see their parents, despite Mekt's reservations. They walk in and find their parents sitting at the table with three other Persuaders in the room, the winged one sitting at the table. The situation devolves rapidly as the Persuaders state the reason for their visit - to take Mekt into custody for murder. Mekt initially starts to beg his parents for mercy, but then begins to power up for a fight. Instead, he is zapped out of the front window by the shorter Persuader, who turns out to be Ayla. "The universe does not run on heroism or hope, it runs on SACRIFICE." Garth jumps out the window to be with Mekt, but finds two other Persuaders to be with him. They activate a teleporting beam called a "boom-bomb" and disappear. 

We next visit Braal, where Rokk and Grimbor are zooming across the barren surface to a pit in the middle of nowhere. They see a "power fight" inside the pit with Jazmin Cullen (Kid Quantum) facing off against Brin Londo (Timberwolf). The crowd instantly recognizes Rokk and he becomes the center of attention. Grimbor tells "Durgo" that they need power for kidnapping a princess, but she replies that its actually a rescue mission.

On Titan, the Emerald Empress and Princess Imra "talk" as they walk.  Empress gives us some backstory of the chaos in the universe and that the United Planets has just enriched itself at the expense of others. She wants Titan's aid to help spread a message of hope and unity. Imra thinks, "Empress, may I ask you a question? I've heard about Superboy but I can't find out anything about him." The Empress scolds Imra for even asking. "I keep hearing about him in my head and I'm hearing other voices." Empress ends the conversation - those who ask about Superboy never return the same.

We switch over to the Winath spaceport where Brainy, Tenzil (disguised as Persuaders from last issue), Garth and Mekt appear. Brainy gets straight to the point - why did you kill RJ Brande? Garth can't believe what he's seeing.  Mekt admits that he's killed a lot of people, and killing Brande was an assignment from "Superman" to save the future.  Garth is crestfallen as Mekt tells him that Superman is going to save everyone and fix the universe, even if it means killing. Mekt starts to walk over to his Kryptonian ship when Garth blocks his way. Mekt zaps Garth, Brainy and Tenzil.

Garth recovers quickly and they face off, as he tearfully tells Mekt that he's his hero. As Mekt's lightning begins to overtake Garth, a horde of Persuaders pours out of an arriving transport and quickly swarm Mekt. Tenzil and Brainy drag garth off to Mekt's ship. The Persuaders pull Mekt up to the open hatch of the transport where Mano awaits. Dawnstar tells Ayla that she must watch what's about to happen. Garth tells Mano that he can't beat the Legion because of Superman's plan, and shows Mano his Legion tattoo. Tenzil fires up the ship and they start to fly off. Mano shows Mekt his own Legion tattoo on his blackened hand, saying that he is well aware of Superman's plans. Mekt is stunned. Mano tells him he is an unneeded tool. "The truth is... WE are Legion." Mano disintegrates Mekt as Garth looks on helplessly as their ship zooms skyward.

Commentary

Boy howdy, what an issue!  DC has brought its A game for sure here.  This book is nothing but action from cover to cover, with the brief exception of the interlude on Titan (which is one page). 

I daresay that this issue is a perfect example of how to tell a comic book story.  Every panel has some kind of meaning to it, the stakes keep going up and you're left on the edge of your seat wanting more.  When you take that script from Williamson and marry that with Sherman's stylistic panel layout and art, you have something special on your hands. 

The tension starts as soon as you turn off that front page and get into things.  The uncomfortable scene at the table with the parents just keeps getting worse, especially when Mekt begins to beg to his parents, only to get fired up when Dawnstar says they're going to take him in. THEN we get the revelation that one of the other Persuaders is, in fact, Ayla, which tells us that the Persuaders don't waste any time! It does make me wonder WHAT exactly the mind control here is - if there is any at all.  Ayla's word balloon is distorted as she takes off her mask, so I wonder if that's her being disoriented and seems to be somewhat controlled by Dawnstar, yet she later yells at Garth just before they activate the Boom Bomb - a short range Boom Tube.  Kinda cool reference there. Another nice touch is Dawnstar again using one wing as a shield when the tube activates. 

Braal is interesting in its own right just due to the two-page spread featuring Kid Quantum and a nicely designed Timber Wolf facing off in a pit. We get quickly up to speed here as Luornu Durgo appears to be recruiting/testing people with powers for what I assume to be the kidnapping/rescue of Princess Imra. It is unclear if the winner of the fight gets recruited or if this is mainly a demonstration of powers. In this case, Brin looks like he's holding his own against Jazmin's Q-spheres. Also, a nice meta comment from the crowd - "Can I get your remarque on my mind?" - a reference for comic art collectors who look for doodles from artists. 

Titan's back and forth conversation is very interesting.  We get a lot of information on that one page.  There seems to be some resentment against the UP by other worlds. Green Lantern Corporation views itself as a protection organization. Superboy is something that is not discussed in polite society. But the Empress had a strong reaction to Imra's question.  Why so defensive?

That brings us to the spaceport battle. Poor Garth.  He does the right thing for the right reasons standing up to Mekt, even though he's seen evidence - and an admission of guilt - that incriminates his older brother. The sheer number of Persuaders was wild - exactly how many people have powers who were "volunteered" for the Persuaders?  The Kryptonian vessel looked remarkably like the rocket from the very first page of issue #1, but I have to wonder who its really from given Cyborg Superman's role here. When we first met Mano last issue, and we were also introduced to the tattoos, I did wonder if Mano had one, and he proved me right.  That said, I was NOT AT ALL expecting the disintegration of Mekt!

Mano's design is REALLY cool, with the black hand seeming to serve some kind of function on his environment suit. But let's get into speculation here. First thing, I will not be surprised at all to see if Grimbor has a similar marking underneath his bracers.  And who knows about the Empress but I think she has something going on in relation to Henshaw as well. But it sure seems to me that "Superman" is playing puppet master here and playing sides against each other for his own purposes.  Mekt tells Garth that their "Future is a lie!" But yet, he killed Brande on the order of "Superman" and now is disposed of by ANOTHER "Legion" member. This is a tried and true trope called "You have outlived your usefulness" aka silencing the patsy when the killer themselves is killed to tie up loose ends. But they CERTAINLY are Legion!  There are so many Persuaders!  I wonder if the tattoo is given to all Persuaders or if that branding is only for individuals that have a specific purpose given specifically by Cyborg Superman. 

Its an interesting clash of philosophies that we have here.  On one hand, there is the idea of love, hope, heroism to serve as an inspiration, and on the other the way of the universe is sacrifice.  And not the good kind of sacrifice of "I will sacrifice my time money etc to help out."  No, this is I WILL SACRIFICE YOU TO ACCOMPLISH MY GOALS.  Very different takes here and I look forward to see how that plays out philosophically.

Speaking of playing out, I have a few theories here about what we're going to see in the next couple of issues.  First Bat Boy. Well, we already know that, but I'm wondering if he's from Zur En Arrh, as that's the symbol we're seeing on his robin costume.  Now Luornu Durgo is an interesting case here.  We saw her first as a drawing in Brande's diary, which tells you that Brande probably knew Luornu personally and told him about some of his ideals. So is she effectively continuing his work by recruiting Legionnaires?  We shall see, as we do know next issue that group is en route to kidnap/rescue Imra (which probably won't happen until issue 5 or 6 give the previews). Then we have Brainy, Tenzil and Garth flying offworld from Winath.  Where are they going?  Do they ALSO go to Titan based on the diary entry?  

I know I'll be reading to find out! 

Grade: A+. Freaking amazing.

PS - $3.99 for a comic THIS good?  In THIS economy?  Its almost a crime NOT to read it!