Legion of Super Heroes - the Levitz/Giffen Era Reviews

[EmeraldGladiator]

That Sensor Girl story is, IMHO, one os the most underappreciated classics of the Legion. Great Greg LaRoque art, cool cliffhangers, the spotlight on little used legionnaries... All-around great. I think it was Levitz's best outting without Giffen. Really wish DC'd collect it.

Peace

yeah the Sensor Girl swerve was a great one everyone "knew" it was Supergirl when it wasn't. It reminds me of when everyone "knew" Reflecto was Jo (Ultra Boy) but it was really Clark. When done right the swerve is a trope worth redoing. I remember the last time they got me was Young Avengers, you thought you knew who the characters were legacies of but oh no you were wrong.

[EmeraldGladiator]

Legion of Super Bloggers review of Legion of Super Heroes Annual #3 - Four villains scheme to revive Mordru's powers, Lightning Lad confronts Starfinger, Saturn Girl gives birth, and Darkseid's curse on the Legion involves Fatal Five member Validus.

http://legionofsuperbloggers.blogspo...al-3-1984.html

The Great Darkness Saga the gift that keeps on giving, I remember having my mind blown that Garth and Imra had twins and that one of them was Validus. I never ever put the mental lightning thing together. I wonder if that was a letter column idea that Levitz/Giffen decided to steal or if it was one of those Avengers Forever facts that was a seed planted to be harvested at the proper time.

[kcekada]

It was sad that shortly after Sensor Girl's reveal, the series ended and Giffen basically ignored the character. Then the reboot make her a literal snake. We finally saw Sensor Girl again in the Retroboot, and there was that intriguing appearance of Val Armorr. I think he turned out to be an illusion as well.

[Uncanny X-Man]

The Great Darkness Saga the gift that keeps on giving, I remember having my mind blown that Garth and Imra had twins and that one of them was Validus. I never ever put the mental lightning thing together. I wonder if that was a letter column idea that Levitz/Giffen decided to steal or if it was one of those Avengers Forever facts that was a seed planted to be harvested at the proper time.

Oh yeah, it was such a brilliant reveal because it makes total sense even though it wasn't planned from the start, one assumes. Has Levitz ever commented on where he got the inspiration?

[Uncanny X-Man]

It was sad that shortly after Sensor Girl's reveal, the series ended and Giffen basically ignored the character. Then the reboot make her a literal snake. We finally saw Sensor Girl again in the Retroboot, and there was that intriguing appearance of Val Armorr. I think he turned out to be an illusion as well.

Sensor Girl was probably my favourite character of the whole Baxter series. She was such a bad-ass character up to the Magic Wars, it's such a shame Giffen completely ignored her in the 5YL Legion and deprived us of any further character developments.

[caj]

Oh yeah, it was such a brilliant reveal because it makes total sense even though it wasn't planned from the start, one assumes. Has Levitz ever commented on where he got the inspiration?

I can't remember where - maybe in the letter column of this particular Annual - where Levitz stated that he remembered where a reader of Legion had commented that if Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl had a child, it would probably have the same powers as Validus. He gave credit to whoever wrote the comment for giving him the idea to do this.

[caj]

yeah the Sensor Girl swerve was a great one everyone "knew" it was Supergirl when it wasn't.

According to Levitz (and artist Steve Lightle), Sensor Girl originally was Supergirl. Then Levitz was told he couldn't use her. Kara Zor-El was permanently dead. No Superboy and no Supergirl. Even Laurel Kent had to be dealt with.

So Levitz re-wrote his story with Projectra's new powers. I've always been curious what Levitz's plan for Projectra would've been if Sensor Girl had turned out to be Supergirl. Would Projectra have disappeared for good the way Tyroc did? Who knows?

[Sutekh]

Sensor Girl was probably my favourite character of the whole Baxter series. She was such a bad-ass character up to the Magic Wars, it's such a shame Giffen completely ignored her in the 5YL Legion and deprived us of any further character developments.

Tellus was my favorite, but Sensor Girl was right up there. A female Legionnaire in a mask? A female Legionnaire who is *not* going to be quickly assigned a boyfriend and paired off? Plus the shoulder-pads.

I had this fanwank that Sensor Girl was sometimes Imra, in disguise, sneaking away from her boring retirement (while leaving Garth behind to watch the kiddo, because Garth kinda didn't need that stress in his life), but also sometimes Projectra in disguise, and also at other times a 'chronal echo' of Supergirl that Brainy had attempted to save via time travel (and failed and only got a 'fragment' of her that only possessed her Kryptonian senses, and also lacked any memories of ever dating Brainy...).

And so her powers and personality might occasionally be a bit inconsistent, because at different times there were three different women under that mask!

(And all three fit Saturn Girl's recommendation of 'Sensor Girl' as suited to join the team 'because she'd been a Legionnaire before!')

[kcekada]

I don't recall when I realized Sensor Girl was Jeckie. I think it was when Ultra Boy tried to see what was under her mask -- and there was nothing there -- indicating she was a mirage/illusion.

[caj]

I don't recall when I realized Sensor Girl was Jeckie. I think it was when Ultra Boy tried to see what was under her mask -- and there was nothing there -- indicating she was a mirage/illusion.

Same.

I wasn't 100 percent sure, but it was a huge clue.

And like Violet, when Projectra returned, her personality changed 180 degrees. But I really did like Sensor Girl and didn't mind that Projectra seemed nothing like her old self.

[Sutekh]

And like Violet, when Projectra returned, her personality changed 180 degrees. But I really did like Sensor Girl and didn't mind that Projectra seemed nothing like her old self.

It didn't hurt that her old self was kind of 'eh.' It felt less like an unwelcome retcon and more like a conscious course-correction away from a dated one-note characterization as 'the one who always faints,' and one that was organic to the character, as she had been through some traumatic changes and no longer was defined by her relationship to Val.

[caj]

It didn't hurt that her old self was kind of 'eh.' It felt less like an unwelcome retcon and more like a conscious course-correction away from a dated one-note characterization as 'the one who always faints,' and one that was organic to the character, as she had been through some traumatic changes and no longer was defined by her relationship to Val.

Good point.

Dream Girl used to play that role as well and Levitz made her much stronger and much more intelligent. Yet, Dream Girl also remained flirty and a little self-involved which made her a much more complex character IMO.