Random Books My Son Picks 8
If there is one thing that being a parent is teaching me, it's that kids are so consistently inconsistent. But there is one lesson we always try to teach them, and that's "Don't judge a book by its cover." My son doesn't follow that advice, he always seems to pick from the covers. In the case of today's book, he said: "Look at all the colours of the heroes, Papa," and chose this book. He then asked why there were so many Supermans? (When I answered I was informed there as a Shopkin named...this is for another column, perhaps?)
Anyway, so today's choice is DC Comics Presents 80 (April 1985), which features a team-up between Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes (the above-mentioned "colours" since Shrinking Violet, Chameleon Boy, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl and Element Lad and lots of Supermen.).
One note before we start, the cover date for this book is the same month that Crisis on Infinite Earths begins, so this story will still fit in Pre-Crisis canon. None of the characters in the story are in Crisis issue 1, so I think this should not bring many contradictions for the time.
"A World Full of Supermen."
Writer: Paul Kupperberg Penciller: Curt Swan Inker: Dave Hunt Letterer: Ben Oda
Colourist: B. D'Angelo Editor: Julius Schwartz
The splash page features the Legionnaires Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl , Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, and Ultra Boy arriving at a strange destination after they had traveled through a stargate (the book notes this happened in Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #5; another book I think I have somewhere; it was the finale to the Legion of Super-Villains storyline that launched the volume) After looking around to try and get their bearings, the team discovers a floating asteroid with a replica of a 20th century Earth City on it. They are caught in a tractor beam that pulls them towards the chunk of rock. (cue a cutaway of the nemesis of the issue. Regular readers of Action and Superman from this era would recognize who it is, but remains a mystery for now.) Ultra Boy uses his powers for invulnerability and escapes the beam, looking for the source. At this point, a strange(r?) encounter happens.
Ultra Boy is attacked suddenly by a streaking figure, and when he changes his powers to super-strength, practically breaks his hand on him. He then realizes that he is being attacked by...Superman! We then go to the rest of the team, still in the tractor beam, they see Superman flying towards them as well. Using their combined powers, the Legionnaires manage to protect themselves from the attack, but are confused as to what is happening. They come across three more Supermen and are truly confused.
We now see who our nemesis is, the New Brainiac (introduced in Action Comics 544 in a special DC 50th birthday anniversary issue). Brainiac has identified the intruders as Legionnaires and then activates a ne device. On Earth, Clark Kent is wrapping up a telecast when he is suddenly hit by a large noise in his brain. As Superman he decides to follow it.
Meanwhile, the Legion team is still fighting the Superman duplicates when Ultra Boy catches up to them to inform the team the duplicates are mechanical/organic hybrids. They win a small battle and free their last member. The Legion then land on the streets of the replicated Metropolis and begin to battle all of the Superman robots. Superman then arrives near the planet. (In a cutaway, we see that Brainiac has designed this to be the end of Superman.) While scanning the planetoid with his super-vision, Superman discovers his Legion friends inside the mockup Galaxy Communications Building. Unfortunately for him, a group of robots attack at the same time and the Legion does not realize they are also attacking their friend. After the Legion win this fight, Brainiac makes an appearance. He explains that he had taken mental control over them and conditioned them so that they would be ready to fight everything that came in their way, thus not realizing they were fighting the real Superman. The Legion, still under Brainiac's control do nothing as Superman is put in a machine created to destroy him by turning him into his composing elemental atoms. Brainiac then turns off his control machine, and the Legion fight back. Element Lad uses his powers to convince Brainiac that the process is also destroying him, and once it is realized that he is trapped with Superman, Brainiac teleports away. The book ends with the Legion trying to find a way home, (although why they just don't ask Superman is beyond me.)
Writing: What a fantastic plot. This is the type of Superman story I loved as a kid, it had fantastic and scientific elements and Superman to boot. (DC from 1980 until Crisis was like a golden age for me as a fan.) It was obvious that the writer was very familiar with how the five Legionnaires in the book's powers worked, because they were used smartly and effectively (and Ultra Boy is still the reckless "go in first and ask questions later" type.) Also, the new Brainiac was still being developed (and never fully was, due to the Crisis), and the writer added a new dimension to it, that the new Brainiac still had kinks to work out. 4.5 out of 5.
Art: Curt freakin' Swan. Moving on. 5 out of 5
Overall: I really enjoyed this book the first time I read it back in 1985, again when I bought this copy and again while reading it for this review. It stands as a reminder of how different and good comics can be in different eras. This is before the Dark Age (before the Empire! just kidding) of Comics where everything got crass and heavy. One last hurrah before the Crisis changed my world forever (not badly, just different, as my articles on the Man of Steel miniseries should show.) 9.5 out of 10. Probably one of the best 5 books in the DC Comics Presents series.
Ottawa News and Notes - I will be on vacation with the kids for the next week, and as I will be nowhere near a computer for a few days, I am taking a small break on the blog. When I return, I will be taking a look at some updated current news, and offering a review of the current Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (48th edition). Have a great reading time in the meantime.
Anyway, so today's choice is DC Comics Presents 80 (April 1985), which features a team-up between Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes (the above-mentioned "colours" since Shrinking Violet, Chameleon Boy, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl and Element Lad and lots of Supermen.).
One note before we start, the cover date for this book is the same month that Crisis on Infinite Earths begins, so this story will still fit in Pre-Crisis canon. None of the characters in the story are in Crisis issue 1, so I think this should not bring many contradictions for the time.
"A World Full of Supermen."
Writer: Paul Kupperberg Penciller: Curt Swan Inker: Dave Hunt Letterer: Ben Oda
Colourist: B. D'Angelo Editor: Julius Schwartz
The splash page features the Legionnaires Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl , Element Lad, Shrinking Violet, and Ultra Boy arriving at a strange destination after they had traveled through a stargate (the book notes this happened in Legion of Super-Heroes (v2) #5; another book I think I have somewhere; it was the finale to the Legion of Super-Villains storyline that launched the volume) After looking around to try and get their bearings, the team discovers a floating asteroid with a replica of a 20th century Earth City on it. They are caught in a tractor beam that pulls them towards the chunk of rock. (cue a cutaway of the nemesis of the issue. Regular readers of Action and Superman from this era would recognize who it is, but remains a mystery for now.) Ultra Boy uses his powers for invulnerability and escapes the beam, looking for the source. At this point, a strange(r?) encounter happens.
Ultra Boy is attacked suddenly by a streaking figure, and when he changes his powers to super-strength, practically breaks his hand on him. He then realizes that he is being attacked by...Superman! We then go to the rest of the team, still in the tractor beam, they see Superman flying towards them as well. Using their combined powers, the Legionnaires manage to protect themselves from the attack, but are confused as to what is happening. They come across three more Supermen and are truly confused.
We now see who our nemesis is, the New Brainiac (introduced in Action Comics 544 in a special DC 50th birthday anniversary issue). Brainiac has identified the intruders as Legionnaires and then activates a ne device. On Earth, Clark Kent is wrapping up a telecast when he is suddenly hit by a large noise in his brain. As Superman he decides to follow it.
Meanwhile, the Legion team is still fighting the Superman duplicates when Ultra Boy catches up to them to inform the team the duplicates are mechanical/organic hybrids. They win a small battle and free their last member. The Legion then land on the streets of the replicated Metropolis and begin to battle all of the Superman robots. Superman then arrives near the planet. (In a cutaway, we see that Brainiac has designed this to be the end of Superman.) While scanning the planetoid with his super-vision, Superman discovers his Legion friends inside the mockup Galaxy Communications Building. Unfortunately for him, a group of robots attack at the same time and the Legion does not realize they are also attacking their friend. After the Legion win this fight, Brainiac makes an appearance. He explains that he had taken mental control over them and conditioned them so that they would be ready to fight everything that came in their way, thus not realizing they were fighting the real Superman. The Legion, still under Brainiac's control do nothing as Superman is put in a machine created to destroy him by turning him into his composing elemental atoms. Brainiac then turns off his control machine, and the Legion fight back. Element Lad uses his powers to convince Brainiac that the process is also destroying him, and once it is realized that he is trapped with Superman, Brainiac teleports away. The book ends with the Legion trying to find a way home, (although why they just don't ask Superman is beyond me.)
Writing: What a fantastic plot. This is the type of Superman story I loved as a kid, it had fantastic and scientific elements and Superman to boot. (DC from 1980 until Crisis was like a golden age for me as a fan.) It was obvious that the writer was very familiar with how the five Legionnaires in the book's powers worked, because they were used smartly and effectively (and Ultra Boy is still the reckless "go in first and ask questions later" type.) Also, the new Brainiac was still being developed (and never fully was, due to the Crisis), and the writer added a new dimension to it, that the new Brainiac still had kinks to work out. 4.5 out of 5.
Art: Curt freakin' Swan. Moving on. 5 out of 5
Overall: I really enjoyed this book the first time I read it back in 1985, again when I bought this copy and again while reading it for this review. It stands as a reminder of how different and good comics can be in different eras. This is before the Dark Age (before the Empire! just kidding) of Comics where everything got crass and heavy. One last hurrah before the Crisis changed my world forever (not badly, just different, as my articles on the Man of Steel miniseries should show.) 9.5 out of 10. Probably one of the best 5 books in the DC Comics Presents series.
Ottawa News and Notes - I will be on vacation with the kids for the next week, and as I will be nowhere near a computer for a few days, I am taking a small break on the blog. When I return, I will be taking a look at some updated current news, and offering a review of the current Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (48th edition). Have a great reading time in the meantime.
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