Iron Mike's Legion: Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes 219

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #219 (September 1976)
"The Plunder Ploy of the Fatal Five"
Ken Klaczak/Jim Shooter-Mike Grell

Karen: If you've been reading the BAB for a while you might be aware that although both Doug and I grew up primarily Marvel readers, there was one DC book we both followed fervently, and that was Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. There was just something special about that combination of teenage super-heroes and futuristic space action. Plus, there were just about a million characters each issue! It was absolutely irresistible.

 
Doug: Yep, as it was available, I managed to amass a spotty run of around 40 issues. As we all know about distribution woes, I might have five or six issues in a row and then miss three. No idea how or why. But when I saw an issue on the stands or racks, I snatched it up. I was also able, through flea markets, to put together a collection of quite a few earlier Superboy books.

Karen: For many of us who began reading Legion in the 70s, any thought of the book instantly brings to mind the art of Mike Grell. Grell came onto the title with issue #202 in 1974, inking outgoing artist Dave Cockrum's final story, and then became the regular penciler with the next issue. Grell brought a very sleek, sinewy look to the title, continuing the modernization that Cockrum had begun. These Legionnaires had updated costumes and hairdos, and the spaceships, planets, and aliens they visited were all updated as well, creating a much more visually appealing book than before.

Doug: I love Curt Swan, but there's no comparison to his Silver Age work and the revolution in this book wrought by Cockrum and Grell. Night and day.

Karen: You're not kidding. It's still stunning to look at those Silver Age Legion tales and then compare them to the 70s era resurgence. But although there were many changes, DC didn't ditch the things that kept the book great -- and that includes some of the Legion's great foes. Case in point: in this issue, the Legion squares off against one of their greatest set of adversaries, the Fatal Five.  Let's get to the 100 (or so) word review:

100 Word Review:

The Fatal Five commit a string of robberies throughout the galaxy. While stealing a factory from Imsk, Shrinking Violet’s homeworld, the Five critically injure Violet’s boyfriend, Duplicate Boy. The Legionnaires head off in pursuit, but are puzzled by the seemingly unrelated thefts: a miniaturized microcircuits factory, android parts, poisons, and half of a planet! Back at Legion HQ, Saturn Girl uses her telepathy to try to get the comatose Duplicate Boy to copy Superboy’s recuperative powers. Brainiac 5 discovers the Five’s hiding place -the chunk of planet was hidden behind a moon. Turns out, they used the stolen goods to make a home for themselves. They capture all except Tharok and Validus, who escape. Back on Earth, Duplicate Boy has recovered. (Doug: This is 121 words. Karen cheats.) (Karen: Hey, I said "100 (or so)" !!)

The Good:

Karen: First off, this was a full-issue story, so that was a real plus. Let me explain: it was very common, if not usual, for the Legion to feature two short stories per issue back in those days, so getting a complete issue-length story was a thrill. Also, seeing the Legion go up against a name group like the Fatal Five was truly exciting. I also liked the mix of Legionnaires in this issue: Superboy, Brainiac-5, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Shrinking Violet, Colossal Boy, Light Lass, Sun Boy, Ultra Boy. It should seem crowded, but it didn't.

 
Karen: Certainly some of the Legionnaires seemed to be more important or 'special' than others -at least to my mind. I knew Superboy was important, his name was in the title! After him, you knew his copy-cat 'cousin,' Mon-El, was on that same level as a powerhouse. But Brainiac 5 and Saturn Girl always seemed to occupy important space as leaders and thinkers. Although not appearing in this issue, Wildfire was quickly elevated to A-List status.

Doug: That's a classic line-up, isn't it? Ten heroes, and you're right -- it should be crowded, particularly because this story isn't 20-21 pages, but only 17. Every team member had something to do, with of course a star turn for some -- no way for all because of limited space. You know, among that group you can see how the Legion might have had a A-list and then the rest: Brainiac-5, Superboy, Mon-El, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl would seem to me to get more screen time in general; the other five, while important, usually seemed to be a bit more in the background.

Karen: We also briefly got to see Duplicate Boy, from the Heroes of Lallor, who is probably the most powerful hero in the universe, since he can copy any super-power.

Doug: Duplicate Boy vs. Ultra Boy. That would be a rasslin' match for the ages.

Karen: There was some nice character bits with Brainy trying to figure things out, Violet distraught over Duplicate Boy, and Colossal Boy dealing with his unrequited love for Vi. Oh, and how about that sweet full page diagram of the Legion cruiser? I think that owed a huge debt to the Star Trek USS Enterprise blueprints which had come out in 1975. According to that diagram, the Legion cruiser has warp drive, impulse engines, and even a transporter room!

Doug: The cruiser really didn't seem all that big, if the characters were drawn to scale. I thought that was disappointing, as the basic design and diagram were cool. Execution was not. I tend to like the blueprints and diagrams of buildings and vehicles. But overall Grell's art was comfortable for me. Maybe now, in my advanced age, I am more cognizant of the so-called stock poses. It felt like a Legion story to me, though. I do have an additional comment about the presentation, but that will be in our next section.

Karen: I think you're right about the size of the cruiser -they must have been using Imskian micro-circuitry to fit all that technology in there! The design is fun though -  they basically slapped the Enterprise's saucer section on the front of a Klingon battlecruiser.

Doug: I always enjoy the consistency of Brainiac-5's personality. Maybe it's not difficult to write a

callous jerk, but the various writers always seem to pull it off. I also felt that the story's conclusion initially made me look on the Legionnaires as the bad guys, or over-reacting. Yet in the end the Fatal Five did steal much of what they needed... even if it was for leisure purposes. So that I had cause to think and rethink about the story was a good thing. 

Karen: 'Callous jerk'? Aw, come on, Doug, Brainy isn't that bad, is he? At least not at this point. He's certainly no Reed Richards when it comes to being cold and clueless. Later, when he goes insane and tries to murder everyone, well, OK. He was a little harsh with Vi, I'll admit. Maybe he didn't come off in the best light here? 

The Bad: 

Karen: It's not terrible, but I was a little disappointed that we got one-on-one battles...again. It seems like every time a DC super-team battles another DC bad guy team, they break into pairs and it's small units fighting. You never get a big battle. Here Superboy faces the Emerald Empress by himself and winds up fighting a bunch of androids. That was a little underwhelming. The Mon-El and Lightning Lad vs. Validus battle was more interesting, and actually fun at the end. I can understand why writers do this, I'm sure it's easier to break it down into these small fights. But it would have been a blast to see all the big guns slam into Validus.

Doug: Colossal Boy seriously went to the same tailor as Galactus. What's up with the bare legs, bro?

I also didn't care for the split up of the team members, but at the end of the story I was satisfied with why it happened. There was no way for the Legion to fight as a team simply due to the proximity of the Fatal Five to each other. Speaking of Gim, he was a little outward with his feeling toward Vi. Sort of uncool with her boyfriend clinging to life. 

Karen: Yes, you almost wondered if Colossal Boy was hoping Duplicate Boy wouldn't make it. But that wouldn't be very nice of him, would it? If they wrote this book today, that's exactly what he'd be doing!

Doug: I used the Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, volume 12 for this review. I found the inks to be a bit on the heavy side at times -- lots of cross-hatching. In many of the panels, backgrounds were completely void. While I don't know if this is due to the reprinting process -- I wouldn't think it would be affected by the paper upgrade (quite the opposite) -- it was noticeable. 

Karen: I used the original comic, and it is in probably VG-G shape. I didn't notice the blank backgrounds until you mentioned it. It looks like there were more of them towards the end, so I'm guessing that either Grell or the inker got rushed and just left them out as the deadline approached. I just consulted Comic Book Database, and they credit the inks to Grell, but I don't know that we can consider that 100% accurate.

Doug: Did you think it was odd that Validus spoke? That threw me, as my recollections had him as mute. The scene with the baby rattle struck me as odd, and I couldn't decide if Lightning Lad's suggestion that he and Mon-El play with the creature was sarcasm, or if he was serious! By the way, wasn't it revealed later on that Validus was the offspring of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl? Did it happen in a Legion Annual in the 1980s? 

Karen: I did a double take when Validus spoke. At first I thought it was Tharok, using some sort of voice projection device. So yes, it threw me too. I'm still on the fence over it. Towering silent menace, or dangerous childlike giant? I don't know which I prefer. I do believe you are correct about that Validus origin, because I have the same memory. I didn't care for that at the time, and I still don't. It was a parting gift of Darkseid after the Great Darkness.



The Ugly:
Doug: The Emerald Empress aside, who's the ugliest member of the Fatal Five? Now that's a tough one!

Karen: I gotta go with Tharok. Creepy metal half-body. That's just weird.

Discuss: Do-badder Super Groups

 

The Greatest Hero of Them All - Superman 8

Superman (Volume II) #8 (August 1987)
"Future Shock"
John Byrne and Karl Kesel

Doug: That John Byrne fella could draw Superman, couldn't he? But what kind of guy would put Clark Kent in pants held up by a belt with a monogrammed buckle, as Byrne showed us on the splash page? Hey, if that's the worst thing that happens in this story, I think we'll be OK. For those of you not here last week, we began a 4-part review of the last Superboy story -- at least as it concerns the pre-Crisis Superoby. The Legion, in an effort to take their ongoing war with the Time Trapper right to the source instead ended up in 1950s Smallville where they encountered The Greatest Hero of Them All. But their teammate did not offer to help them -- instead, he used a time-stasis ray on Mon-el, Ultra Boy, Cosmic Boy, and Night Girl to imprison them. He barely missed using it on Brainiac-5, Sun Boy, Blok, and Invisible Kid -- all of whom escaped into the time stream. Their time bubble, by the way, looked like it was heading for 1987. Hmmm...

Doug: We open in Smallville, Kansas in the "present". Clark Kent is uprooting a tree to the astonishment of Lana Lang. Lana remarks that even though she's known for years that Clark is Superman, it still amazes her. Byrne uses the first three pages of the story almost as a primer for anyone who'd been living under a rock for the previous year, through the Man of Steel mini-series and the first seven issues of the Superman re-numbering. We get some backstory on the Clark Kent disguise (establishing firmly that Superman is real and Clark is fake), Superman's powers (he's using super-strength and heat vision to set posts for a fence for Lana), and Clark's life in Smallville. But as Clark, Lana, and the Kents enjoy a picnic basket, Clark suddenly bolts from the scene, sensing trouble on the other side of town.

Doug: Clark changes to Superman at super-speed (but having been shirtless, where did he get his costume?), and arrives at the abandoned Simonson Limestone Quarry in seconds. He quickly locates the disturbance -- a large clear bubble and four "aliens". Two of the "guests" are not human. But in the previous scene, Clark had experienced trouble with the reliability of his heat vision. As he surveys the situation, it inexplicably goes off, scattering the unknown visitors. Of course on the ground, the Legionnaires think they are being attacked by Superboy. And Sun Boy returns fire -- literally! Byrne uses a thought balloon to tells us that a) Superman is stunned by the intensity of the heat and b) he has no idea who his assailants are. Brainiac cautions Sun Boy to tune it down -- there's no way Superboy would try to harm them. But Sun Boy, addressing their nemesis as Kal-el, says to tell that to the four teammates they left in the 1950s. Blok decides that Super"boy" is circling for another attack, and lifts a limestone column hard and fast. Superman knows that if he doesn't do something with it, it will land in the middle of town. So he does what a Superman can do -- he shatters it with a single punch. The Legion uses it as a distraction and flies up to meet their "crazed" teammate. Superman is thrown off guard when Invisible Kid does his thing, and Blok uses the moment of hesitation to drill Super"boy" from above. Superman hears the name called, and is again a little mixed up.

Doug: Blok drives Superman into the ground. All of this is happening so fast, that while Brainy is calling to Sun Boy that they are making a terrible mistake, Dirk's already on the way down to help Blok. While Superman strikes Blok, he recalls meeting a Superboy near the end of the Crisis. That Superboy was from "Earth-Prime", and here's where I'd like to take a time-out from the blow-for-blow description of this issue and interject some comments from John Byrne, and from Paul Levitz. Rather than re-type a half of a page from a full-sized magazine, I am taking the liberty of providing a scan from Jim Ford's article, "Too Much Time on My Hands: The History of the Time Trapper", published in Back Issue! #68 (October 2013). All rights are reserved to Ford and to TwoMorrows Publishing.

Doug: For my money, this was all very poorly imagined, executed, and bordering on plain ol' stupid. As Superboy had never existed on Earth-2, and as the Legion was going to be kept around (although from the post-Crisis onward, endlessly rebooted), I failed then and do now to see the necessity of this "housecleaning". While DC through the years has had many corners of their universe supported by rabid fan support, the Legion seemed to hold an almost cult-like loyalty among its adherents. This seems to have been a kick in the teeth and a "We don't care" from editorial toward longtime Superman and Legion of Super-Heroes fans.

Doug: So back to our little tussle... Sun Boy in particular was tired of the battle, so warned Blok to get out of the way as he was about to unleash the full intensity of his power on Super"boy". But he didn't reckon on the speed of this Superman, who easily dodged to his right. But Superman knew this was a powerful enemy, and noticed that the heat was much higher than when they'd been outside; he questioned his invulnerability. But as he gathered to knock Sun boy out of the battle, Brainy put up a forcefield from off stage. It was strong enough to repel the Man of Steel, but more importantly it gave a moment of breathing space for Brainiac to get everyone's attention and call a halt to the fisticuffs. Once the dust cleared, it was clear to the Legion that this was Super"man" they'd been mixing it up with. And so explanations began, as Brainiac-5 narrated the history with which we are all familiar -- best known to us as the events of Adventure Comics #247. Brainy continued to tell tales of Superboy's heroism through the many adventures of the Legion in the 30th Century. He concluded his remarks with the Legion's visit, albeit mistakenly, to what they thought to be Superboy's Smallville (reviewed last week). The last 2 1/2 pages of Brainy's recount have the same script as Legion #37, but with Byrne's art replacing Greg LaRocque's pencils. As Superman begins to grasp all that has been told him, he marvels at the fact that this "Superboy" could actually be more powerful than he, and could time travel alone and unaided.  And just then...

Doug: The five heroes are bathed in a red ray, and we recognize that as the time-stasis ray Superboy had used on the other four Legionnaires. Yep -- it is. Superboy now stands atop a building in the quarry, the ray apparatus in his left hand. He again states his regret at his actions, but tells the assemblage that for the fate of the universe, the Legion must die! To be continued.

Doug: I thought it was interesting that a fair portion of this book was a recap of the previous chapter. I suppose we can infer that John Byrne's Superman revamp was selling off-the-charts, while the Legion of Super-Heroes was perhaps middling on the sales charts? Another factor definitely would have been the Legion's status as a direct sales only title -- accessible to a much smaller readership. Whatever the case, I didn't really feel cheated, because Byrne's art was at the top of its game in this era under the inks of Karl Kesel. As I've gone on record several times in the past stating that I really don't care for Byrne's latter Fantastic Four work, his art on Superman perhaps refocused his mind. His figures seemed full again (as in the X-Men days), and not slight and spindly. This was really impressive work. I think the story here is really intriguing -- not saying that the result won't end up being disappointing, but at least halfway through it is definitely holding my interest. Next week it's Superboy vs. Superman, and then we'll conclude the month back in the Legion book with The Greatest Hero of Them All.

Giant-Size July: Legion of Super-Heroes 231

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #231 (September 1977)
"A Day in the Death of a World!"
Writer: Paul Levitz
Artist: James Sherman
Inker: Jack Abel

Karen: We probably haven't reviewed near enough Legion of Super-Heroes here at BAB. Although Doug and I are both Marvel-centric, Legion is a DC title we both are quite fond of and have fairly decent collections of. So to start rectifying this gap, we'll review this cool issue from 1977. While people typically mention Dave Cockrum, Mike Grell, or Keith Giffen when they talk about Legion artists, I want to sing the praises of this issue's artist, Jim Sherman. I think he does a really solid job, juggling a dozen costumed characters, depicting outer space, futuristic cities, and spaceships. Jack Abel's thin inks are not the greatest choice here (or anywhere, in my opinion), but the art is still very engaging and gets across the huge scale of the story. 

Doug: You are exactly right about having a nice Legion collection. In addition to a decent smattering of Silver- and Bronze Age "floppies", I also have the first 12 volumes of the Legion Archives. I am debating buying the recently-released 13th volume, as I have most of the books reprinted therein; however, if I can find a decent price at next month's Wizardworld Chicago I might be inclined to take the plunge.


Doug: I can't agree more about Jim Sherman's pencils in this book. Truthfully, when I realized that the book we'd chosen was just past Mike Grell's run, I was skeptical. After Grell departed there was an inconsistent run of artists, that in my opinion dampened my enjoyment of the title. But Sherman is just great here. I'd offer that, and I think many of you will know what I'm feeling, it still looks like a Bronze Age DC. But overall it's a great effort, with certain panels throughout done exceedingly well. As to Abel's inks, I felt he was hit-or-miss throughout the story. At times I found him "feathery" like Vinnie Colletta, but at other times I thought he added some mood to the piece with some nice blacks and zipatone. His portrayal of lighting in certain panels was really spectacular.

Doug: One more thing before we get to the plot synopsis -- I love face-off covers, and this one is cool.  Mon-el looks like he's about to dispense the hand of justice. Funny that Lightning Lad appears on the outside of the book, but is nowhere to be found inside.

Karen: I hadn't noticed that before but you're absolutely right! Guess it's hard to keep track of such a big group. We open with Karate Kid and Princess Projectra traveling to Earth in a star cruiser (definitely not the Legion cruiser we all know and love). Projectra is getting rather frisky with KK while he's trying to pilot the ship. She's basically all over him. Let's face it, in the 70s at least, the Legion always had a very sexual edge to it. It was most obvious in the costume design, but it also appeared in more subtle ways -although this scene is anything but subtle! It sort of makes sense - a bunch of teen-agers hanging out together in their co-ed clubhouse, no adults around. In any case, before she can get anywhere, their ship is caught up in a tractor beam by a gigantic starship and pulled into its cargo hold. The two Legionnaires exit only to be quickly put down by two old enemies: Validus and Tharok of the Fatal Five.

Doug: As to Projectra's "friskiness", I just personally found the Legion in this era more than my budding adolescent hormones could handle. And Jim Sherman really added to my suffering. I think Validus is such a visually-interesting character. His head's just a big (empty) brain, but the wrinkles at the forefront mimic eyes. So I guess he's really blind? The toes/fingers thing he has going is a curiosity as well. Tharok on the other hand was always the least interesting of the Five.

Karen: We switch scenes to the planet Mordan, where the Legion is assisting in a massive evacuation. It seems the planet's sun is going to go nova, and the Legion has about a million people they have to get to safety. Saturn Girl uses her telepathy to broadcast world-wide messages, while Ultra Boy, Mon-El, and Superboy put together space arks (they look a little like Lost in Space's Jupiter II), and Colossal Boy helps the Mordanites board the arks. In space, Brainiac 5, Sun Boy, and Element Lad try to slow down the sun's transformation into a supernova. Shadow Lass is also around, apparently to catch Saturn Girl when she collapses from straining her telepathy!

Doug: Everyone around here knows of my love of giant-sized characters, and Colossal Boy is no exception. There are some great panels at the beginning of this scene where the art team does a fantastic job with scale. Superboy floating on by to converse with Gim was a nice effect as well. Mon-el is my favorite Legionnaire -- can't beat that costume. Tell me -- you pick three characters and put 'em up against the Legion's Big Three. Tough call, huh?


Karen: Considering Superboy of this era had almost limitless powers, and Mon-El was essentially the same deal, they're pretty hard to beat. Ultra Boy is like the icing on the cake.

Doug: Is Shadow Lass slightly more valuable than Duo Damsel? 

Karen: Slightly, but I've always been a sucker for blue characters! The solar crew is unexpectedly attacked by another member of the Fatal Five, the Emerald Empress. She kind of reminds me of the Enchantress over at Marvel -beautiful but completely heartless. There's one panel here that I would swear was copied from a photo, it looks so odd. It seems the sun going nova fits into the Fatal Five's plans, so the Empress does her best to kill the Legionnaires. But Brainiac Five imprison s the Emerald Eye in a force field, and Element Lad forms an intertron coating around the Empress (Inertron being the strongest substance in the universe). But the villainess still manages to break through that supposedly unbreakable substance and she's madder than ever.

Doug: All boys know that we shouldn't hit girls, but I always, always, wanted someone to just take out the Emerald Empress! Could. Not. Stand. Her. The Legion's Transuits are pretty nifty, but you'd think after 20 years in print they'd have somehow evolved the fishbowl space helmets...

Karen: Back on Mordan, Saturn Girl and Shadow Lass are searching through what appears to be a deserted village. Saturn Girl had received telepathic feelings of helplessness there, "But I don't understand why." The two women discover a group of abandoned children inside, and Shady chides Saturn Girl for being insensitive, and starts to have some girl talk with her about opening up when the entire hut comes crashing down around them. They get the kids out and find that Validus, Mano, and the Persuader are responsible. It doesn't look good for the two Legionnaires, but then the cavalry arrives in the form of Colossal Boy, Mon-El, and Ultra Boy. Colossal Boy lands a right cross to Validus and it's game on. Unfortunately for him, Validus is far stronger than he, and he starts taking a beating. Mon-El and Ultra Boy think they've eliminated the Persuader as a threat by tearing out the ground around him, leaving him trapped on a little island, but he quickly uses his atomic axe to negate gravity and cross the chasm. Really guys? That was your bright idea? 

Doug: I recall being very excited when the Legion's big-hitters arrived to rescue their girls. Mon-el's attack on the Persuader was topped only by seeing Big Gim taxing his flight ring to the max! You know, I'd think that through sheer numbers the Legion would easily overwhelm the Fatal Five, but the fact that many Legion members have powers only useful in a strategic, specific team-oriented mission evens the odds pretty quickly. In regard to Mon and Ultra Boy's strategy, Jo must not have been using his ultra-brain. By the way, Validus' kick to Colossal Boy's head seemed out-of-character. Finesse -- not from him.

Karen: As the fight goes down on Mordan, in space above, Tharok watches the battle on a view screen, as well as the fight between the Empress and the Legionnaires. Realizing this is taking too much time, Tharok beams a projection of himself to both battle grounds and tells the Legionnaires that if they do not surrender, he will kill two of their team-mates that he has captured (Karate Kid and the Princess, of course). Like a good villain, he explains that he is causing the super-nova, because Mordan will become a big chunk of priceless energite. Why? Who knows. But Tharok plans to use that wealth to buy whatever they need to make their positions secure.

Doug: Aren't viewscreens incredible bits of technology? I mean, there are never any cameras, yet pictures always transmit to the super-baddie. How cool! Tharok's plan could have been torn from the 1966 Batman TV show. It's a wonder the book didn't end there and we had to come back on Thursday to see how it turned out.

Karen: The Legion is stunned by this terrible plan -all except one: Superboy. He's righteously angry. He zooms into space in a really nice set of panels by Sherman, heading straight for Tharok's ship. But he slams against it ineffectually, and goes falling back through the atmosphere towards Mordan, to land conveniently next to the Legionnaires. Tharok again repeats his threat to kill two of their group. The Legionnaires are defiant and continue to fight. Tharok then fires up his killer robot and sics it on Karate Kid and Princess Projectra. The Kid easily tears the thing apart. It really wasn't a very impressive robot to begin with -kind of spindly. Certainly no mandroid! Tharok is so sure of his robot's success, he turns back to his other viewscreens. This guy really needs to see some James Bond films. Of course, KK and Projectra soon make their way to Tharok. But Tharok contacts his partners on the planet, and the Empress, and all return to his ship just in time to keep Karate Kid from pounding the scientist into pulp. The duo are captured again.

Doug: I just love Superboy, and I could never stand Superman. I know that may be weird, but even to this day I can pick up a Legion book (or even Superboy's mag without a Legion appearance) but I won't touch a Silver- or Bronze Age Superman book. The splash page to Chapter 2 is really nice -- Validus looks like one bad dude! Hey -- who didn't want to be Karate Kid or Iron Fist back in these days?

Karen: They both had the high collars, which makes no sense when you're fighting. Nevermind, let's get back to the story. The Legionnaires on the planet return to the evacuation. Brainy has a plan, and he has Ultra Boy and Colossal Boy get inside a sphere that looks like a small asteroid. They use their flight rings to zip into space. Back on Tharok's ship, the Five gloat over their prisoners when suddenly the faux-asteroid comes crashing into the ship, breaching its hull. It seems Brainy gambled that Tharok's shield's would not be programmed against space debris, as this area of space was relatively devoid of such things. Colossal Boy and Ultra Boy hop out of the rock and start fighting again, and Karate Kid manages to break his bonds and join them. But suddenly, the viewscreen shows the sun go nova, earlier than expected. Tharok panics, and runs to his equipment, but the rest of the Legionnaires show up and the three man team of Superboy, Ultra Boy, and Mon-El manage to put Validus down, and the rest of the Five are also quickly dispatched. Brainy disarms Tharok's device, saying there's still time to save the Mordanites who haven't left yet. The Five realize that the explosion they saw was fake, and Tharok manages to trigger a self-destruct device. The Legionnaires flee into space, where Brainy's force bubble and Element Lad's oxygen-creating powers save them. The ship violently explodes seconds later.

Doug: So the asteroid Ultra Boy found came equipped with a sliding door? Hmmm... I thought Paul Levitz's script gave each Legionnaire a chance at the spotlight. I could tell from reading this that Levitz had some strong passion for these characters. The ending was pretty exciting; fast-paced for sure!

Karen: Back on Mordan, the evacuation is completed and the Legion board their own cruiser. Superboy explains to Karate Kid and Princess Projectra (and the reader) how the illusion of the sun going nova was created: using the powers of Shadow Lass, Sunboy, and Superboy. But Superboy isn't buying the death of the Fatal Five: he's certain they escaped, somehow. But he's determined to bring them to justice for what they did to Mordan. Makes sense, as the last survivor (give or take a few thousand) of Krypton.

Doug: DC's formula of a character explaining the plot twist to the reader was a hallmark of their magazines. It's somewhat quaint, although certainly not always necessary. But I can see myself back then on more than one occasion saying, "Ohhhh....".

Karen: I may have been a little hard on this story; it is formulaic and silly, but it was also a lot of fun to read. I don't think I noticed the flaws when I read it when I was 13. It was just exciting!