Legion of Super Heroes Five Years Later Reviews

[kcekada]

I would guess that Giffen was more interested in storytelling over marketing. Otherwise, the characters would have all be more recognizable. Was Lightning Lord in the previous issue? If not, I doubt that anyone recognized him -- even though there are some sparks coming from his fingers.

Again -- the art here seems much cleaner than what I recall from the interiors. Looks like Gordon's inks.

[caj]

Legion of Super Bloggers review of issue #11 - Brek Bannin (Polar Boy) has been put in jail for his rebellion against Earthgov. Tenzil Kem (Matter-Eater Lad) to the rescue. Plus, we get updates on the conditions of all those injured in the bloodbath from last issue.

http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspo...heroes-11.html

[kcekada]

Calorie Queen was another character who got a boost in this run. Prior to that, I think she only made one appearance in the Mike Grell run, but I thought she should have been brought back way sooner.

[Zero Hunter]

I loved that issue so much. You can see that Giffen comedy in full effect here with Tenzil. He is a clown, but he is a very smart clown.

[Sutekh]

I have a fondness for what I call the Legion of One World, various Legionnaires that *don't* show up in multiple continuities, like Tyroc or Kid Quantum 2 or Gazelle, and in this iteration, I kind of like Devlin O'Ryan, because he took the 'Reflecto' character that didn't really exist in the previous continuity (save as a guise worn by someone else, temporarily) and made him a character of his own. I'd love to read a story about these singular Legionnaires, who, unlike the Founders and Brainy and the dozen or more who have versions in the classic, reboot, threeboot, bendisboot, etc. continuities, tend to be more unique, like Dragonmage and Glorith and Dream Boy and Monster Boy.

Unfortunately, from what I (perhaps mistakenly...) recall of this run, Devlin sometimes got lost in the crowd, after a brief push.

[bearman]

One of my favorite issues of the Giffbaum run. A clever Tenzil being set up as comedy foil/snarky observer and occasional odd hero, launching a younger, more competent version of himself in Legionnaires. Great interlude, subtly tied into the main narrative by a throwaway line of dialogue.

[caj]

Legion of Super Bloggers review of issue #12 - The Legion is officially back and they finally defeat Roxxas, Furball makes a temporary transformation, and the green energy field following the Legion finally finds a host.

http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspo...heroes-12.html

[caj]

Legion of Super Bloggers review of issue #13 - The return of Persuader, Mano, and Starfinger. Plus, after fighting on opposite sides in the Imsk/Braal war, Rokk (Cosmic Boy) and Vi (Shrinking Violet) finally have a heart-to-heart. And didn't the Time Trapper die in issue #4? Perhaps not.

http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspo...heroes-13.html

[caj]

Legion of Super Bloggers review of issue #14 - Things don't look so great for Tenzil Kem (Matter Eater Lad) when he comes face-to-face with Evillo. Plus, Calorie Queen becomes a Congresswoman.

http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspo...heroes-14.html

[caj]

Legion of Super Bloggers review of issue #15 - The beginning of the Khund War with their new weapon The Red Terror. Plus, the return of Queen Projectra, Shadow Lass, and....Valor.

http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspo...heroes-15.html

[caj]

It's been so long since I read this - does anyone remember if they ever explained why Projectra stopped being Sensor Girl?

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

It's been so long since I read this - does anyone remember if they ever explained why Projectra stopped being Sensor Girl?

According to Tom Bierbaum's LiveJournal, "It's Okay, I'm a Senator", dated March 25th, 2018 https://itsokimasenator.livejournal.com/33714.html:

Here are some notes on our "2995" Legion Mayfair Sourcebook. We're currently in the section covering Legionnaires, who are listed in the order they joined...
....PRINCESS PROJECTRA : The Projectra section pretty much sums up the strong character of the Orandi Princess with her answer to the “Legion Groupie” question “If you were a flower, what kind of flower would you be?” Her grim answer: “Like Orando, a beautiful Fire-Rose, with deadly thorns for those who dare attack it.”

One treat to re-reading this Sourcebook that I seldom get when looking back on the comics is that I’ve forgotten a great deal of what we put in the Sourcebook so it can really surprise me, and of those nice little surprises is that the naive writer of Jeckie’s “Legion Groupie” entry makes a superficial deduction and guesses that there might be romance in the cards for the Princess and “noble knight’” Ferro Lad -- which makes some sense since they did join at the same time. For me, it was a good chance to show how often people who pose as “insiders” have to pretend they have some sort of privileged knowledge even when their guesses are no better than their readers’.

We also learn how and why Orando was back in the Legion’s dimension with Jeckie no longer in her “Sensor Girl” persona – the planet was dying in the new dimension they impetuously shifted to, and the Council of Orakills came to realize Orando’s woes weren’t being caused by the invasion of 30th century sci/tech -- in fact, their determination to hide the planet from modern advances by living in isolation and superstition had nearly killed their world.

Jeckie renounces the “Sensor Girl” penance she’d submitted to and proudly vows to lead the planet to an exciting, prosperous future.

I've long assumed that Giffen and/or the Bierbaums just didn't care for what Levitz did developing Projectra into Sensor Girl, and so they just used the off-panel five-year time jump to explain completely reversing it to 'restore' her back to her 'traditional' form as Queen of Orando (and in the process, removing her from the position of prominence she'd achieved both in the Legion's ranks and amongst fans as Sensor Girl.)

[caj]

According to Tom Bierbaum's LiveJournal, "It's Okay, I'm a Senator", dated March 25th, 2018 https://itsokimasenator.livejournal.com/33714.html:



I've long assumed that Giffen and/or the Bierbaums just didn't care for what Levitz did developing Projectra into Sensor Girl, and so they just used the off-panel five-year time jump to explain completely reversing it to 'restore' her back to her 'traditional' form as Queen of Orando (and in the process, removing her from the position of prominence she'd achieved both in the Legion's ranks and amongst fans as Sensor Girl.)

Thanks for that.

While the explanation of her returning to the throne as Queen makes sense, I agree that Giffen & Co probably weren't interested in using Sensor Girl in their Legion. In a way, Sensor Girl was basically replaced with Laurel Gand.

My biggest complaint with the 5-Years-Later Legion is the disposal of so many great Legionnaires because the creative team just wasn't interested in using them.

[caj]

Legion of Super Bloggers review of issue #16 - The Khund War continues, but who is really behind it? And who would you rather have running the planet Earth...the Dominators, Universo, or the Dark Circle?

http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspo...heroes-16.html

[Zero Hunter]

Thanks for that.

While the explanation of her returning to the throne as Queen makes sense, I agree that Giffen & Co probably weren't interested in using Sensor Girl in their Legion. In a way, Sensor Girl was basically replaced with Laurel Gand.

My biggest complaint with the 5-Years-Later Legion is the disposal of so many great Legionnaires because the creative team just wasn't interested in using them.

I mean Giffen even killed off the SW6 versions of Projectra and Karate Kid latter in this run so it shows he really didn't like either character. I do agree with you about him killing of or getting rid of the ones he didn't want to use. It is the same as when Waid came in. They just concentrate on the Silver Age members while sidelining or killing the more popular 70's members like Widfire, Dawnstar, Blok, and to an extent Timber Wolf.