Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #29 (1992)
plot and breakdowns by Keith Giffen
dialogue and story assist by Tom & Mary Bierbaum
pencils by Jason Pearson
cover by Al Gordon
Because we don’t already have enough characters, let’s give the spotlight to a new one.
We begin with Brainiac 5 attempting to get through the memories of B.I.O.N. to gather information… and failing at it, because Brainiac 5 is useless in this era.
The Reboot has the undeserved reputation of turning Brainiac 5 into a jackass.
Well, it’s not entirely out of nowhere… Reboot Brainy STARTS as a jackass… but I would argue even at his worst he’s never been as insufferable as 5YL Brainy.
And it’s not because he’s depressed. He was depressed for pretty much the entirety of Volume 3 and he wasn’t NEARLY as ineffective as this.
The Legion has been informed about the existence of their SW6 counterparts at this point.
While the Legion is busy navel-gazing and doing nothing about anything, AGAIN, the real protagonists of the book are now the Substitute Commandos that are STILL defending their stronghold against the Dominators.
The guy on the cover with the fire mohawk is Fire Lad, who you might recall as unquestionably the least utilized member of the original Substitute Heroes.
Other than the fact that he spits fire, I don’t know how you could POSSIBLY recognize him as Fire Lad considering A) he looks nothing like him B) he suddenly has a weird speech pattern
While they’re defending against the Dominators attempting to recapture their stronghold in the underground tunnels, Invisible Kid’s ragtag team of heroes is monitoring the situation and trying to figure out if they can
help.Keep in mind that nobody is calling the Legion, which remains oblivious to this entire storyline.
Someone has escaped from the Dominator pods, a naked woman called Monica Sade.
Monica is a badass fighter, but she really doesn’t have anything special about her… despite the coloring in these panels, she’s human.
This could have been any number of characters that we already know.
Heck why isn’t she Bounty!? You might have forgotten it, but she’s still a mystery going around.
Once we do find out who Bounty is (no spoilers in the comments!), in fact, it would have made perfect sense to have her locked up by the Dominators. It’s not like any of the Bounty scenes we’ve had so far were all that important.
We check in with the SW6 Legion, who apparently suffered brain damage while in stasis considering they simply cannot accept the idea that Universo is a bad guy.
Keep in mind that, considering what he’s done earlier, there should be PLENTY of tangible proof available.
Yeah this is dumb. I don’t care how naïve the SW6 kids are supposed to be.
Also dumb: Saturn Girl being THIS offended at the idea of checking if Universo is telling the truth.
I get that she’s always been reticent to use telepathy for petty reasons, but I just cannot buy that she would be THIS resistant considering the situation!!!
The Substitute Commandos recruit Sade, who is back to a more human shade.
Bounty also recruits Circe. I should highlight that at this point we know NOTHING about Bounty, Circe or Sade… WHY ARE WE SPENDING SO MUCH TIME WITH THESE PEOPLE!?
We currently have THIRTY-TWO ACTIVE LEGIONNAIRES!!!
The Dominators regroup in New Zealand, which was basically annihilated when the Moon was destroyed.
I don’t know whether I should be more impressed by the fact that the Dominators can even pronounce New Zealand with those teeth, or by the fact that NEW ZEALAND WAS DESTROYED AND THE LEGION IS OFF-PLANET DOING NOTHING.
They’re unsealing from the chambers a bunch of new minions under their mind control.
The only one we already know is Flare, who you might recall was part of Emerald Empress’s new Fatal Five. Everyone else is a new character, because WE REALLY NEEDED MORE!!!
SW6 Saturn Girl eventually picks up the fact that Universo is working with the Dark Circle.
This era seems convinced that the Legion of the early days was just a bunch of idiots fighting comic relief villains.
In one of the darkest moments of the 5YL era… WHICH IS SAYING SOMETHING… Color Kid considers euthanizing Sun Boy to end his suffering.
And we close with the Dominators shooting the President of Earth ON LIVE TELEVISION.
In the text pages, SW6 Brainiac 5 finds out that their Flight Rings are not working because Universo is actively sabotaging them.
Meaning he’s already contributed more than regular Brainiac 5.
We also continue SW6 Shrinking Violet’s diary, which for dumb reasons still writes with all the S replaced by 5. She has a huge crush on Devlin O’Ryan.
The Grid: 22 pages out of 24, IN A ROW. This comic hates me.
0 pages without a grid
0 splash pages
2 text pages
Legion significance: 4/10
The President’s assassination is the beginning of another dark period for Earth. As if they needed more.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
With all that murder and euthanasia?
Depression scale: 9/10
Our regular heroes are nowhere to be seen. Their young versions are morons. Sun Boy is in so much constant pain that euthanasia might be a blessing. The President of Earth is killed on live TV.
But hey, at least the Substitute Commandos are doing something… well, EVENTUALLY they might do something.
Does it stand the test of time? 2/10
The Dominator plot is advancing at a glacial pace, and we follow either people who are completely unrecognizable or that we don’t know at all.
All while the SW6 Legionnaires ignore everything Devlin presents as evidence, while blindly believing Universo. The regular Legion shows up only to complain about being unable to do anything.
I just can’t bring myself to care about ANY of this… but I have to admit that the brazen assassination of the President is a chilling and well-executed moment.
Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #30 (1992)
plot and breakdowns by Keith Giffen
dialogue and story assist by Tom & Mary Bierbaum
pencils by Jason Pearson
cover by Kal Story
Notice that the Dominators have recruited a stretch guy, a rock guy, an invisible girl, and a girl with fire powers. I see what you did there.
We begin with an article by Iris West… the Flash’s time-traveling widow, by the way… writing about the President’s assassination.
By the way, the Moon was destroyed April 11th 2995.
It hasn’t even been a month since then!!!
The assassination apparently wasn’t entirely sanctioned by the Dominator leadership, but it’s not like they really care.
The Khund are just going to watch the Dominators absolutely obliterate Earth.
The situation is so dire that the United Planets might eventually do something about it.
No promises though.
How is the Legion STILL DEBATING IF THEY SHOULD INTERVENE???
HOW ARE YOU GUYS SO USELESS???
If you stand in the sidelines when an enemy kills the President in front of the whole planet and sends an army to invade the planet… then WHAT’S THE POINT of calling yourself superheroes!?!?
This is the same Mon-El who almost single-handedly won a war against the Dominators so decisively that they retreated for centuries… and now he’s barely willing to do reconnaissance.
Is the fact that the Dominators slaughter all demonstrators through ORBITAL BOMBARDMENT not enough for you guys!?!?
Even the SW6 Legion is doing more, and they’ve barely discovered that Universo is working with the Dark Circle!
All while Bounty and Circe infiltrate the Dominator underground tunnels.
That’s nice, but A) we still barely know anything about them B) WHY ISN’T THE LEGION DOING THIS!?!?
Heck THE UNITED PLANETS ends up doing more, by sending their ships to stop the Dominator fleet!!! Sadly this is not Tellus, but just another member of his species.
I know I keep insisting on this point, but it bears repeating: THE UNITED PLANETS are doing more to stop the war and stand up to the Dominators than THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES.
Also we get more of a reaction from the SW6 Legion about the destruction than from the older Legion.
My reaction whenever the 5YL era mentions 99% of the Silver Age moments.
Devlin continues to be the only character associated with the SW6 to show any sign of intelligence. I’m telling you, the stasis caused brain damage.
In another scenario, I would have sided with Invisible Kid. But the SW6 kids has shown little indication of being able to handle anything.
Next we have the Substitute Commandos and Sade killing off the Feeble Four. It wasn’t super-clear to be in the previous issue, but she’s a teleporter.
Maybe I should have made a counter for the issues where the Legion itself doesn’t contribute to anything.
The text page has the reaction from the Galaxy. I’m guessing they didn’t print the Legion reaction since it would have been a blank page.
Also, FIVE BILLION PEOPLE died between the destruction of the Moon and the detionations of the PowerSpheres™.
The Grid: 22 pages out of 25, IN A ROW. I am going insane.
0 pages without a grid
0 splash pages
3 text pages
Legion significance: 0/10
Did anything happen?
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Still too much murder.
Depression scale: 8/10
The Galaxy is not as complacent as it seemed in earlier issues, since the United Planets are doing something. Just not, you know, the alleged protagonists of this series.
Does it stand the test of time? 3/10
The Dominator and United Planets part is very well done, showcasing the growing detachment and ruthlessness of the Dominators and the shocking existence of a backbone of the UP. I still could not care less about Sade and Bounty, and I still very much dislike the use of the SW6 Legion and the non-use of the main Legion.
Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #31 (1992)
plot and breakdowns by Keith Giffen
dialogue and story assist by Tom & Mary Bierbaum
pencils by Colleen Doran & Curt Swan
cover by Al Gordon
The issue that is easily one of the most controversial Legion stories ever published has a cover that I can’t truly classify. Yes it sucks, but since it sucks on purpose (as a parody of the old classic romance comics), it’s kind of genius for it.
As you can tell from the cover, this issue will focus on Element Lad and Shvaughn Erin.
We begin with EL witnessing Earth being under curfew, thinking about something he just learned about Shvaughn (and we’ll learn soon).
Element Lad’s inner monologue is the first true examination from a Legionnaire about the actions of the Dominators on Earth. It’s really well made, making me regret that we spent 30 issues running in circles twiddling our thumbs when we could’ve had at least ONE Legionnaire give his thoughts like this!!!
He’s broken into a pharmacy to get some medicine that Shvaughn needs.
In what is either the most uncanny coincidence ever or the weirdest easter egg ever, the name of the medicine “Rokyn” is the same name of the planet where the bottle city of Kandor was relocated before Crisis.
Element Lad COULD make the medicine himself, but it’s a personal choice for Shvaughn.
This is a spotlight for TWO Element Lads, because the SW6 version is one of the few Legionnaires who ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING.
But when his actions result in the death of some Dominators…
…he breaks down, not knowing how to process those emotions.
Normally I would say this is not warranted given the war, but it does make perfect sense for Element Lad: remember that he lost his ENTIRE world in front of him, so obviously being the one to kill anyone would be hard to process.
In a very effective scene, the adult Element Lad is thinking about a legend or fairy tale from his planet, about a boy who kills his father. At least I think he’s telling the truth about this being a story… I wouldn’t be surprised if this era retconned Element Lad into killing his father.
But while the older EL narrates, it’s juxtaposed with the reaction of the SW6 version after killing someone. Great stuff.
With the Dominator curfew, Shvaughn is no longer able to get her hands on Profem, the drug that she desperately wants.
Considering her words and the legend, you might think Shvaughn is dying or contemplating suicide.
…but it’s something I don’t think anyone would have expected in 1992.
Turns out that Shaughn wasn’t born female: she was born Sean Erin, and she’s been using the drug Profem to turn her into a woman.
Element Lad doesn’t even care that she used to be a man, or that she’s reverting to being a man.
While this comes COMPLETELY out of the blue for Shvaughn/Sean, for Element Lad it has deep roots since there used to be a fan theory that he was gay.
Those roots are SO deep, in fact… back at least to some 1976 Jim Shooter comments… that I will soon do a post dedicated to it.
At Sean’s insistence, Element Lad finishes the legend from his planet… which ends up with the boy ending up killing his parents, his friends, his pet and everyone he knows, and eventually himself.
Trom sounds like a cheerful planet.
And after that cheerful discussion, Sean dumps Element Lad.
Only to meet the SW6 Element Lad, who OUT OF SHEER COINCIDENCE is hanging around in the same block!
And just a few small gestures of kindness restore Sean’s faith in both himself and Element Lad.
The young Element Lad is eventually found by the SW6 Saturn Girl.
Because while she draw the line at what is morally wrong with mind-probing Universo to figure out if he’s a supervillain, it’s perfectly fine if you have to look for a friend.
Yeah I know this is probably more surface-level than what she needed to do with Universo, but that earlier scene still bugs me.
You’d expect Sean and Element Lad to get back together, but not really.
The adult Mon-El meets the SW6 Mon-El. And he’s surprised by how young he looks, despite the fact that they’re often drawn EXACTLY IDENTICAL.
And finally a mysterious new figure has his hands on the Emerald Eye, because if there’s one thing this series needs are definitely MORE ONGOING PLOTS.
In the text pages, we have a in-universe description of the destruction of Element Lad’s planet. Turns out he was just 12 at the time.
But more importantly, a second page is a letter that Sean writes to GiGi Cusimano, explaining her backstory and her transition.
As an Italian, I find it funny that it was Shaughn that was revealed to have been born male… because GiGi is written exactly the same as Gigi, which is a WIDELY used diminutive of Luigi.
Meaning that we had TWO female Science Police liaisons, one of which had a name that to me looked masculine… but the one born male was the OTHER one!
Besides that, there’s a significant retcon involving Sean/Shvaughn… they were not born on Earth, but on planet Duar. Which I don’t think was ever referenced before.
I’m not trans and I don’t personally know any trans person (as least not to the best of my knowledge), but I have seen a lot of Legion fans criticize this for completely missing the mark.
For what it’s worth I think that THIS paragraph at least SOUNDS like it’s trying to give a sympathetic point of view…
…but I do agree with the critics about what follows.
First, Sean/Shvaughn feeling the need to clarify to GiGi that she wasn’t into her.
By far the paragraph that is criticized the most is when Sean/Shvaughn says that they transitioned JUST because they were in love with Element Lad!
Added to the previous paragraphs, it sure seems to suggest that Sean was just a gay man who transitioned into a woman just to get Element Lad.
The most charitable interpretation of this is that the Bierbaums are conflating gender and sex, while the most critical is that this is straight up transphobia.
On the positive, though, the paragraph about Sean/Shvaughn being unable to find Profem because of the Dominator attack certainly mirrors the trouble that trans people had with hormones during the Covid lockdowns.
The Grid: 22 pages out of 25, IN A ROW.
0 pages without a grid
0 splash pages
3 text pages
Legion significance: 2/10
Despite the enormous significance given to the story by the Legion fandom… in-universe, this doesn’t really affect anyone (besides Sean and Element Lad of course) to any significant amount.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
As if!!!
Depression scale: 6/10
The SW6 Element Lad has lost his innocence and we have broken up one of the oldest Legion couples, at least for now. Which is kind of weird because Element Lad seems perfectly willing to stay with Sean, so what the heck?
Does it stand the test of time? 6/10
Probably a controversial opinion, since this story is not exactly among the most beloved of the era… but I kind of liked it.
While I agree that from a 21st century perspective this leaves a lot to be desired… I’m willing to cut at least a bit of slack to the writers.
You have to remember that this is a 1992 story, and ALMOST nobody was talking about gender transition. I say “almost” because Sandman and Doom Patrol exist: Sandman had the first transgendered DC character in 1991 and Doom Patrol will had the first DC transgendered superhero in 1992 with minor character Coagula.
Even characterizing Sean/Shvaughn as transgender is problematic, though, considering the whole “I’m transitioning just because I’m attracted to this one guy”.
Despite the issue coming out of absolutely nowhere, the unfortunate implications are almost completely confined to the text page. If we don’t consider that one, I found the interaction between the two lovers to be quite compelling.
Given the subject matter, a general warning.
I trust my regular readers to be respectful in the comments, but for any newcomer that shows up to stir up trouble… don’t bother trolling or insulting, it won’t work.
Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #32 (1992)
written by Tom & Mary Bierbaum
pencils by Jason Pearson
breakdowns by Keith Giffen
cover by Al Gordon
I’m not a big fan of this art style, but this work with lights and shadows is great!
SW6 Invisible Kid is just the worst. First he didn’t believe Universo was a bad guy… and now believe the second Invisible Kid is just as bad.
I’m a bit confused about the details in the war. My best understanding is that the United Planets managed to have a bomb ready to destroy the Dominator homeworld?
Next we have Universo not really enjoying the moonless night.
Wait so the Dark Circle is NOT working with the Dominators? Given the Annual giving their backstory, I thought they were on the same side.
I have no clue how Phantom Girl is supposed to recognize Fire Lad.
Once again, the ragtag team of heroes recruited by Invisible Kid II is doing more heroics than TWO ENTIRE LEGIONS COMBINED.
We’ve been hanging around those Dominator chambers for what feels like an eternity.
Great decision having all of them blow up if anything happens, guys, no notes.
Because what we definitely need is EVEN MORE CHARACTERS, Spider Girl has joined Sade and Bounty in the team I could not care less about.
Ladies and gentlemen, the SW6 Legion FINALLY DOES SOMETHING!!!
Only for the Substitute Commandos to surrender, with the Dominator leader taking them away.
Except that was part of the plan: the Dominator leader was just an illusion!
The Subs have now been rescued.
Sooo… happy ending, right?
Well this is the 5YL era, so we can’t have happiness: turns out that Grinn sabotaged the chambers.
So to recap: the Moon was blown up, all the major Earth cities were blasted with nuclear explosions when the PowerSpheres™ exploded… and now it’s happening AGAIN!?
This results in the death of the SW6 versions of Chameleon Boy, Princess Projectra and Karate Kid.
The original Karate Kid at least got a hero’s death. His SW6 counterpart didn’t do ANYTHING before he was killed off-panel.
In the text page, Chameleon Boy gets a report about the attempts to locate R.J.Brande.
The Grid: 24 pages out of 25, IN A ROW.
I have an irrational hatred of rectangles now.
0 pages without a grid
0 splash pages
1 text page
Legion significance: 0/10
I suppose the destruction of the underground chambers should have higher significance, but honestly it’s just drowned by the other million tragedies.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Just standard superhero action followed by the obligatory depression.
Depression scale: 9/10
Good guys just can’t win in this series anymore.
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
At this point I’m just numb. It’s just one tragedy after another, to the point we’re approaching parody. We can’t have ONE cool action scene where the good guys achieve even a MINOR victory, we must have YET ANOTHER senseless series of explosions and deaths.
We’re roughly at the halfway point of the 5YL era, since volume 4 has 61 issues in this era.
There’s MORE comics than just the remaining 29 issues of this series… a couple of miniseries, multiple cameos and of course the SECOND regular series… but I simply cannot wait to get out of this period.
This is just exhausting to cover.
We are legion
With the death of the SW6 Chameleon Boy, Karate Kid and Princess Projectra, the total count becomes:
29 active Legionnaires
3 reserve members
32 resigned members
14 deceased members
78 people have been members
62 people have been rejected
Interesting letters: Dani is right, the SW6 Legionnaires are used for both cheap deaths and interaction with their older counterparts!
The annual focusing on Valor has a very lengthy letter praising its quality (and rightly so in my opinion), but others made the same complain I made about Glorith.
Including Murry Fox who has a masterpiece comment on her replacing the Time Trapper.
The SW6 are identified as coming from right after Adventure Comics #349…
…which makes them trusting Universo even dumber, since THEY FOUGHT UNIVERSO IN THAT STORY!!!!
Readers did wonder if Ferro Lad’s mask was cloned.
Yeah that’s… not where Sun Boy is headed. AT ALL.
Regretfully, since Ivan’s idea sounds a billion times better than what actually happens.
In a letter that I’m cutting for brevity, Marc has a great question regarding B.I.O.N. (this is what happens when you give a characters more powers than you can track!), and a genius question about Triplicate Girl.
I commend the letters page for not limiting themselves to praise.
I can’t imagine how it must have felt for longtime Legion readers to experience this era.
Heck I only read the older stories long after the 5YL era was over and I hate how it’s treating the old stuff.
If only there was a panel that could highlight exactly how I feel about all of this.