Legends #6

Hey all, not much to say by the way of an introduction, save to point out that my podcast, 20 Minute Longbox, is out there, awaiting your ears. Go check it out after we wrap up our coverage of Legends!

Finale!

Plotter: John Ostrander

Scripter: Len Wein

Penciller: John Byrne

Inkers: Karl Kesel, Dennis Janke

Letterer: Steve Haynie

Colorist: Carl Gafford

Editor: Mike Gold

Cover Art: John Byrne

Cover Date: April 1987

Release Date: 29/01/1987

Darkseid relishes his imminent victory, listing to Phantom Stranger the various ways that he has destroyed humanity’s faith in their modern legends. The Stranger warns that Darkseid has overlooked one crucial factor that will lead to his downfall.

In Washington, Godfrey faces off against Doctor Fate’s heroes, using his PA system to maintain his control over the crowds. Martian Manhunter arrives, despite not being summoned, just as Godfrey orders the warhounds to attack.  The heroes use their various powers to remove the controllers from the warhounds, allowing the stronger heroes like Superman to unleash their full powers. As the final warhound hits the ground, Godfrey opens up a boom tube, summoning legions of parademons from Apokolips. Doctor Fate reveals that this is why he brought the various heroes together, charging them with the fate of humanity.  As the heroes head off to fight the invasion, Fate turns his attention to the crowds. Seeing his distraction, Godfrey sends in a parademon who wrenches the Helm of Nabu from Doctor Fate, carrying it off into the skies. Unmasked and having lost most of his powers, Kent Nelson flies away to safety.

Leaving the Lincoln Memorial, Godfrey moves on to where he has captured Captain Boomerang. As Boomerang prepares to tell Godfrey all about Task Force X, Deadshot takes aim with a sniper rifle. Rick Flag disrupts his aim, revealing an alternative plan. The Enchantress steps up, turning the warhounds into Jell-O, sending Godfrey running. Bronze Tiger confronts Godfrey, but falls foul of his mind-controlling powers, letting him go. Boomerang is reunited with Task Force X, and Flag tells him that his televised threats have resulted in him being permanently assigned to the Suicide Squad.

Batman patrols Washington, controlling the rioters and looters. Guy Gardner unleashes his power ring on the warhounds. One warhound terrorising innocent civilians suddenly finds confronted by Wonder Woman, who has decided that she cannot remain concealed from the world whilst innocents are in danger. Gardner is impressed with Wonder Woman’s powers, and the two continue to battle.

Several of Godfrey’s troops blast their way into the Oval Office, attacking President Reagan. The President is unharmed by their attack, quickly defeating them, before revealing himself as a disguised Martian Manhunter. As Manhunter moves on to continue the fight, Reagan officially rescinds his executive order, giving all of Earth’s heroes free reign to join the fight.

In the skies, Superman and Captain Marvel corral the parademons, whilst Flash, Changeling, Black Canary and Blue Beetle help control the crowds on the ground. They are quickly joined by Batman, Guy Gardner, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate and Superman, and the heroes face off against the controlled mobs. Godfrey arrives with Bronze Tiger, urging the crowds to attack and destroy the humans, watched from afar by a gloating Darkseid.

Suddenly, a gang of children, led by Lisa, burst through the crowds. The children line up in front of the heroes, confronting their parents in the crowds. Robin arrives, imploring the mob to see through Godfrey’s words and see sense. Lisa stands up to Godfrey, who tells her to be quiet and hits her. The act of violence dispels his control over the crowd, and they turn on him. In desperation, Godfrey reveals the Helm of Nabu, which he dons. When he tries to use the power within, the helm destroys his mind. Kent retrieves his helm, whilst Bronze Tiger slips away into the crowd to reunite with Task Force X.

The crowd asks for forgiveness, but Guy berates them for already distrusting heroes, which allowed Godfrey to take control. Captain Marvel suggests that the heroes themselves may have been responsible for this, necessarily having to stand apart from humanity to face the threats that only they can face. Wonder Woman agrees, and Doctor Fate suggests reforming the Justice League, to which all the present heroes agree to, save Flash and Superman, who offer themselves when needed, and Wonder Woman, who has slipped away.

On Apokolips, Darkseid vows that Earth will one day fall to him. The Phantom Stranger states his pride in standing with the legends of Earth.

I’ve not been kind to various part of this crossover. Read issue by issue, there was a lot of monologuing from Darkseid, and way too much repetition by constantly touching base with the same heroes, operating outside of Reagan’s edict. Here, this weakness turns into a strength, as Ostrander unleashes the new Justice League onto the forces of Apokolips. Every hero gets a part to play in the battle, and the use of such a wide variety of heroes allows for a very unexpected moment, where the first hero to encounter Wonder Woman is Guy Gardner!

Wonder Woman’s appearance here, although brief, is superb. A shadowy female figure observes Guy Gardner facing off against the Warhounds, resolving that to stay hidden would be a disservice to her Amazonian heritage. We then see her move, quite literally in a blur, before John Byrne unleashes one of the best pieces of artwork we’ve seen from him, a full page spread of Wonder Woman lifting a Warhound

It should be noted that Guy Gardner isn’t the only one taken with Wonder Woman. Superman here notices Wonder Woman, becoming gently obsessed with her over the next few months, before agreeing to a meetup/gentle date in Action Comics #600. It’s interesting that John Byrne teased this 25 years ago, with the rumours that one major element of the relaunched DC Universe in September will be a relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. With the knowledge that both Action Comics and Justice League will initially be telling stories set in ‘the past’, my hope is that this fledgeling relationship will be given more room to grow, but with Superman ending up with Lois Lane, as per the last 20 years or so.

I like the way this story ends. It’s a very circular ending. Darkseid’s actions against Captain Marvel led Billy Batson to meet Lisa, strengthening her belief in heroes, leading her to be at the front and centre of the revolt against Godfrey. I would have liked to have seen more made of the fact that a child achieved what the heroes were unable to, breaking Godfrey’s spell, although the message that all you need to save the Earth from Darkseid’s machinations is a little child abuse is probably not one DC were wanting to play up! On a side-note, the last time Superman met Captain Marvel there was a definite air of unintentional paedophilia around. Here, Superman meets Marvel and a child gets beaten up. Maybe the two should stop having meetups! (I mention this, as one of the most popular posts on this site is my coverage of Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder #4, and I’m wondering if my audience are a bunch of strange, dark people who enjoy Superman endangering children. We’ll see what the hits are like for this page in a few weeks!).

Although Superman again declines membership in the Justice League, it is clear that his presence is a powerful and inspiring one. He takes the lead against the parademons when they appear, and his words are a big part of the reformation of the Justice League. It would be several years before Superman would become the leader of heroes that we are used to, but seeing him stand up and be counted amongst the heroes of the DCU is a rarity at this stage, and a pleasure to see.

I’m going to wrap up by simply stating that I have really enjoyed the appearances of Task Force X in Legends. I love the way Ostrander wraps up their story whilst setting the scene for further adventures, and it’s a pretty safe bet that if I had been reading comics at this time, I would have definitely been out there picking up the first issue of Suicide Squad when it hit the shelves.

The Geeky Bits

The new Justice League would be written by Keith Giffen and JM Dematteis. The series would become notable for the way the writers worked around the restrictions of not being able to use many of the A-List superheroes. Characters like Booster Gold, Blue Beetle and Guy Gardner would find their feet in Justice League International, and the title would become renowned for the use of humour, becoming colloquially known as the ‘Bwa-ha-ha’ League. This incarnation of the Justice League is well worth seeking out, as are the ‘sequels’ from the mid-2000s, Formerly Known As The Justice League, and JLA: Classified #4-9.

Wonder Woman would return to her own title, having been completely rebooted in the wake of the Crisis, in 1987. George Perez initially handled the character - the various trade paperbacks that reprint his issues were recently plugged in the letter columns of DC comics - with successive runs from creators such as John Byrne, William Messner-Loebs, Phil Jiminez and Greg Rucka.

Next on World of Superman: Probably another 3 week break. Either that, or Superman facing off against a gun-toting ex-marine called Bloodsport.

Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #4

Hero


Story: Louise Simonson
Penciller: John Paul Leon
Inker: Dennis Janke
Letterer: Todd Klein
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Assistant Editor: Chris Duffy
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Artist: Walt Simonson
Cover Date: Annual 1995


The Knight

Superman races to the rescue after a Quraci terrorist organisation attempts to derail the elevated subway. He stops the train before it crashes through a section of demolished track, then heads inside to deal with the hijackers. He brings the gunmen to the police for arrest, and is swarmed with adoring and grateful fans. A comment made by one of them makes him think back to the day Pa Kent showed him the ship he arrived in. Later that day, in the Daily Planet newsroom, news of Batman's appearance in Gotham City breaks. Clark rushes out.


In Gotham, Superman grabs hold of Batman's line, and just as in Man of Steel #3, gets involved with Magpie's reign of terror. Once Magpie has been apprehended, Superman talks with Batman. Realising that the law is effectively powerless in Gotham, Superman agrees not to hand Batman over to the authorities. As he leaves, he discovers that Batman has no super-powers, but is a self-made man.

The Ring

The next day, Clark is relating his encounter with Batman to Ma, while the TV hosts an interview with the latest hero, Black Canary. Suddenly, the interview is cut short for a newsflash reporting that a LexCorp satellite has broken its orbit and is crashing towards Coast City. Superman rushes to assist, but is beaten to it by another hero wielding a green ring. The hero almost catches the satellite, but it breaks free. Superman is able to bring it under control and allow the hero to snare it. The hero introduces himself as Green Lantern, and he explains how he gained posession of the ring. When Lantern asks Superman about his origins, Superman is unable to answer. Green Lantern's ring identifies Superman as the last survivor of Krypton, but Lantern realises that Superman doesn't know this, and witholds the information. The two shake hands as friends.

The Speed

Returning to Metropolis, Clark files the Green Lantern story, to the ire of Lois Lane. He then returns home for dinner with his parents. While there, Pa tells him of a freak snowstorm in a neighbouring country. Superman heads off to investigate and finds the Weather Wizard causing havoc. Weather Wizard stuns Superman with a lightning bolt, but while he is recovering, Superman sees a red blur heading into the fight. The blur runs in a circle, causing a tornado to form that dissipates the Weather Wizard's weather, and topples him from his perch. The blur introduces himself as The Flash, and tells of his origin. Their meeting is interrupted by both Lois Lane and Iris West, who have been investigating the Weather Wizard. Superman discovers that the Wizard had intended to scare people away from the town so that he could rob the bank. He is disgusted that millions of dollars of property damage could have been caused to rob thirty thousand dollars.

The Tide

A little later, Superman investigates a suddenly-formed hurricane, expecting to find the Weather Wizard behind it. He is surprised to find an orange-shirted man trapped beneath a tree, recognising him as Aquaman. Aquaman explains that Poseidon is attacking him. Superman is sceptical of Aquaman's talk of gods, and attempts to dispell the hurricane. He is surprised when the weather takes the form of a face and attacks him directly, knocking him unconscious and sending him plummeting into the ocean. Aquaman recovers Superman, saving him from a mystical whirlpool. With Superman recovered, he and Aquaman lead the hurricane to a desert, where the lack of water forces Poseidon to withdraw. Aquaman suggests that the ocean is now angry at Superman, a claim Superman rejects, even after he has been splashed in the face.

The Alien

Returning to Metropolis, Clark wonders how he can file the Aquaman story and get ahead of Lois without drawing undue attention to his scoops. His thoughts are interrupted by a blaze in Denver, and he leaves to assist. The burning building is about to collapse. Superman helps hold it together, but is surprised to meet a green-skinned hero, who heads inside to save more civilians. Through the smoke and the flames, Superman sees the hero finish the rescue, but get caught in an explosion. In order to get away, the hero changes his shape. After the emergency, Superman tracks down the hero, who introduces himself as a Martian called J'onn J'onnz. J'onn tells of how he arrived on Earth by teleporter, not rocket. Superman tells him that reporters most likely saw his transformation, and that he won't be able to live in secret for long. After Superman has left, J'onn thinks about how the two of them were able to save the last trapped civilians, and wonders what could happen if more heroes worked together.


The League

A few days later, Clark hears that most of the public super-heroes have formed a Justice League, but that their first meeting has erupted into violence, with the heroes attacking each other. Superman arrives, to see the League fighting indiscriminately, with no tactics, just fighting. He notices a nearby robot, emitting a beam, and decides that the robot is causing teh violent behaviour. Superman attacks the robot, freeing the league, and discovers that is was being piloted by a small gnome-like being who vanishes. The gnome was Xotar, a being from the future who has managed to teleport himself into the hands of his era's police. Superman officially meets the League, and is invited to join. However, he turns down membership, instead offering to provide support when needed. Clark returns to the Planet, only to find that thanks to some contacts on the scene, Lois has managed to scoop him this time.

The Origin

Seven years later. Clark is at home for Ma's birthday when he is approached by a phantom of Jor-El. The phantom reveals Kal-El's Kryptonian origins, placing Clark in some sort of trance. Pa breaks the trance by whacking the phantom with a shovel, dissipating it. Superman then examines what he now knows of his origin, before deciding that although Krypton gave him his powers, it is his family that has made him a man.

This annual can pretty much be summed up as 'How I Met The Justice League' with a bit of origin-angst thrown in to tie all the meetings together. It's a bit like a cheap buffet - there's plenty of food, but none of it is overly satisfying. The vignettes are all good, but each one feels like it should be a bigger moment standing on its own, rather than 5-7 pages contained within one tale. This feeling stems from the fact that the annual uses Man of Steel #3 as its launching point. The Batman strand feels very much like a summary, rather than a retelling, with corners cut to make it fit into the space, and this feeling permeates the other meetings. What really gives this issue a sense of being rushed is that the needs of the story have Superman meeting the members of the JLA all within a few days of each other. Now, accepted DCU history has the modern age heroes appearing in the wake of Superman's appearance, but having them all occur within a week or so stretches credibility a little.

Out of all the meetings, I think my favourite is the Aquaman one. Not only does it echo the 'out of his depth' elements from both the Action Comics and Superman annuals, but it ends more ambiguously than with a handshake and a promise of friendship. Superman gets it wrong in dealing with Poseidon, by not following Aquaman's instructions, and is shaken by the discussion of Gods actually existing. There's a nice moment where Aquaman teases Superman by claiming that the ocean is angry with him, before splashing him with water, deflating Superman's dismissive attitude towards the Poseidon encounter. The ones I least enjoyed were the Batman retelling, and the first team-up with the JLA, both of which recap previously-told stories without bringing anything new to the table.

What does work, and resonates strongly with this period in Superman's life, is the ongoing thread of Superman's lack of knowledge of where he comes from. This element was downplayed until the last issue of Man of Steel, so to make it into more of a driving force for Superman during his early years helps to retroactively set up the resolution to the mini-series. Each of the heroes serves to pique Superman's interest, and each lets him down in their own way, wether by being a self-made hero, gaining powers by accident, or a gift from an alien, or simply by being an alien but stranded on Earth through very different means. Between this and the constant game of one-upmanship with Lois Lane (brilliantly interrupted by Iris West in the Flash story), this story is firmly placed in the early months of Superman's career. This story wouldn't work as well if it had occured post Man of Steel, or even more than a few months after Superman's first appearance, once his presence is accepted as the norm as opposed to something unusual and unique.

John Paul Leon's artwork is not a great fit here for Superman. One of the key elements of his art that I loved in Earth X was his use of shadow to complement what at times was some pretty minimalistic art. In a series that uncovered the secret history of the Marvel universe (only to be retconned as an alternate universe), the high darkness content in the art was well suited. Here, in a story that introduces the some of the key Silver Age heroes to the modern Superman, his use of shadow feels almost inappropriate. The first appearnace of Hal Jordan's ring contructs should be as alien and unusual as anything seen by Superman, but are rendered here as disappointingly pedestrian. Having said that, I do like his Lois Lane - he captures a keen intelligence and focus in her eyes.

The Geeky Bits: This is the second first meeting for Superman and the Martian Manhunter, following Martian Manhunter #20. Funny how J'onn doesn't feel compelled to mention that he has known Superman for most of his life... although in keeping with an issue not written for another five years he does keep Superman's origin to himself.

Magpie seems to have lost her henchmen who look suspiciously like Mike Carlin and Mark Gruenwald. She also uses her 'Happy Birthday' stick of dynamite in place of the corrosive gas  to cause a distraction, and has her secondary base in the same museum as her first.

As has been pointed out several times so far, the Batman segment is a retelling of Man of Steel #3. The Justice League segment is a retelling of The Brave And The Bold #29, although in keeping the with post-Crisis Justice league history, Wonder Woman has been replaced with Black Canary.

Next on World of Superman: Superman and Batman's rivalry has fatal consequences.