LSH v4 #12 annotations: "Five Years Later" (part 12)

Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #12

• On sale date: August 14, 1990
• It's OK, I'm a Senator: None (Tom replied on Facebook that he apparently just forgot)
• Legion of Substitute Podcasters episode 566 (August 19, 2019)
• Timeline: Part 1 on 12/5, same day that Tenzil and Brek are in court; part 2 on 12/10

A few names in bold are likely former Interlac people or others in Legion fandom, if the name is familiar, please let me know!

• Cover – the now-iconic new L symbol, which has made it through to the Reboot, Threeboot (slightly revised, with the comet going lower left to upper right), retconned into the Retroboot, both animated versions, and now slightly revised for the RebirthBoot. But recall it’s not the VERY first time we’ve seen it, which was in issue #5 (Mordruverse). Kind of appropriate that it’s showing up as we review this in August 2019, with the imminent return of the Rebirth Legion.
• Page 2: Cham isn’t dead, but he’s hiding in his traditional robes while he heals
• Page 3 panel 3: So Celeste McCauley is the cousin of Leland. Back in issue 6 we first heard the Dominators talk about her real name; this is probably Leland McCauley IV (first seen, as a kid, SBOY 214, and who will appear later in this series) and not his father III (first seen ADV 374, then once more in Adventure and twice in the Baxter run). 
• Page 5: Devlin is healing from the bee-stings he got on 12/3. Since Roxxas was on the loose and killed the doctor and nurse on 12/4, this would be 12/5, the day that Brek and Tenzil are in court in issue 11.
• Page 8: Confirmation that Furball is Brin Londo, who is now a were-furball due to the Black Dawn radiation’s effect on him combined with the zuunium in his body (and note that we still don't know very much about Black Dawn, see the stuff at the very bottom in the Unknown Dates section)
• Page 10 panel 5: Roxxas looks like Two-Face, and the blood on his forehead makes him look like a Dominator
• Page 11 panel 9: this whole page is a fakeout, with Roxxas’ split personalities on commentary
• Page 13: Jo finds the Khund with antiques and fossils
• Page 14: Roxxas claims Earthgov hired him to kill the Legionnaires, which does not make the Dominators happy. But any decent lawyer could claim those are the ravings of an insane person and not trustworthy.
• Page 15: Cham had Marla make uniforms
• Page 16: This marks the end of the first storyline, though it’s kind of odd how they just smash-cut to a page that’s nothing but a starfield (probably the same one from issue 1) and the name of the group. 
• Page 17: Start of the next storyline, which takes place 12/10/94 (via the Omnicom text page). Science Police officer Cavett named (after Christopher Cavett). And there’s an ex-Legionnaire working on Quarantine? Recall from the Omnicom story in issue 3 that Garridan Ranzz is on this world, which was first seen in ADV 313.
• Page 19: The ex-Legionnaire is named Kent Shakespeare, and he’s a new character. The guy in the green jacket is probably Char Burrane Jr., as we’ll find out in a few pages
• Page 20: Persuader has been hired “to do a job” but he’s not after Garridan.
• Page 21: It’s SP Commander Gim Allon. SP officer Nofzinger mentioned.
• Omnicom 1
• New uniforms will be space-rated, customized for colors and symbols, have long-range subspace beacons (after the “disaster on the asteroid”, likely a reference to the Legionnaires getting stranded in LSH v2 289) and long-range telepathic earplugs, plus the new L symbol. Murphy Caldwell mentioned (named for the son of Roger Caldwell).
• Omnicom 2
• 12/10/2994 - APB for Persuader, headed for Quarantine
• Planetoid 7RK, where he was last seen, was where Saturn Girl and Princess Projectra go while chasing a space renegade (ACT 392)
• The clinic is called the Luc & Perla Ranzz Memorial Clinic, after the parents of the Ranzz children who were killed when their spacecraft got stuck in a meteor storm (SBOY 207).
• Turns out he’s got a contract to kill Char Burrane Jr, son of Starfinger II, who is on Quarantine. Molock Hanscom (Starfinger III) is alleged to have had Burrane Sr killed in retaliation for Burrane Sr (Starfinger II) having Lars Hanscom (Starfinger I) murdered.
• Lars Hanscom was Lightning Lad’s doctor who secretly brainwashed him into becoming Starfinger in order to extort Rejuvium from Earth (ADV 335). Next appeared when he kidnapped one of Duo Damsel’s bodies on her wedding day (SBOY 200). Later had cosmetic surgery and assumed the identity of Dr Larsh, Imra’s obstetrician. Killed by Char Burrane prior to LSH v3 29.
• Char Burrane found a ring in which Starbright and Starlight lived, and decided to kill the first Starfinger and take over his criminal gang. Chameleon Boy and Colossal Boy went undercover to try to take him down, but he escaped in the end (LSH v3 Annual 4).
• We don’t know anything about Molock Hanscom to date, but it will be revealed next issue that he was first seen as Moloch the Merciless, the leader of the Cosmic Spy League (ADV 320), before being taken down by Dev-Em and the Interstellar Counter-Intelligence Corps. From this briefing, he has had Burrane killed off-panel and has taken on the mantle of the new Starfinger.
• The Burrane gang had some involvement in Black Dawn
• Persuader got the Atomic Axe in the mid 2960s from Wolf Behbach

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So here's the updated timeline of things we know, as of this issue (new stuff in bold):

• 2/17/89 – Mekt admitted to Labyrinth Penal Institute (LSH v4 #10)
• 6/23/89 – Magic Wars end (LSH v3 #63 – date as given in the 2995 Sourcebook)
• 4/13/90 – Communique from Earthgov President Wellington, trying to legally disband the Legion, with Imra, Rokk, and Cham “currently out of the picture” (LSH v4 #1)
• October 2989 – the Great Collapse
• April 2990 – Validus Plague ravages Winath; former Legionnaire Brainiac 5 helps (LSH v4 #3)
• 4/12/91 – Tinya goes missing (LSH v4 #2)
• 5/8/91 – Search for Tinya called off; Sun Boy is leader (LSH v4 #2)
• 5/27/91 – Mekt released from Labyrinth, rehabilitated (LSH v4 #10)
• 6/9/91 – Planned date of wedding of Tinya and Jo (LSH v4 #2)
• TBD 2991 – Garth and Imra, having left the Legion, start the Lightning Ring Plantation (LSH v4 #3)
• 1/21/92 – Rebirth Summit (LSH v4 #1)
• 7/6/92 – LSH leader Polar Boy disbands the Legion, mentions Black Dawn which cost the Legion (LSH v4 #1); Mordru coronated as the Supreme Teacher of Sorceror’s World (LSH v4 #6)
• TBD 2992 – Brek Bannin arrested for insurrection (LSH v4 #11)
• 10/22/94 – Raid on anti-government terrorists, but ringleader Vidar (aka Universo) is not captured; Cham tells Marla he’s leaving (LSH v4 #1)
• 10/23/94 – Reep Daggle begins to recruit members for the new Legion, first approaching Rokk Krinn; Vi leaves the Imsk army for Winath; Dominator agents help Roxxas escape from Labyrinth (LSH v4 #1)
• 10/25/94 – Attack on Jo and Kono on Rimbor; Loomis and Lydda en route to Kathoon (LSH v4 #2)
• Fri 11/21/94 – Blok is killed by Roxxas the Butcher [Sourcebook] (LSH v4 #3)
• Thu 11/27/94 – Mordru crushes Rond Vidar’s ring; Rokk and Cham finally meet up with Jo and decide to go to Tharn to rescue Mysa; Dominators and Shvaughn Erin watch the tape of Roxxas and Blok, whose body is delivered to Winath; Mon-El resurrected (LSH v4 #3)
• Fri 11/28/94 – Mon-El goes to Talok VIII, then Shadow Lass and Mon-El visit Brainiac 5, then Mon-El destroys the Time Trapper (LSH v4 #4)
• Sat 11/29/94 – Mordruverse (LSH v4 #5)
• Sat 11/29/94 – Cham, Rokk, Jo, Kono, and Furball arrive on Tharn and are captured by Mordru; after being hired by Earthgov to find Blok’s killer, Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty leave for Trom (LSH v4 #6)
• Sun 11/30/94 – Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty meet Jan on Trom (LSH v4 #6); with the help of Laurel Gand, Rokk’s crew rescues Mysa and Rond from Mordru but are teleported to Grocz; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, and Jan leave Trom for Winath (LSH v4 #7)
• Mon 12/1/94 – Rokk, Cham, Jo, Kono, Furball, Rond, Laurel, and Mysa travel from Grocz to Zirr (LSH v4 #8)
• Tues 12/2/94 – Rokk, Laurel, and Rond take some R&R time on Zirr with baby Lauren, while the others go to Winath; Marla reminisces (LSH v4 #8); on Cygnus IV, Roxxas watches a holo of Laurel Gand; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, and Jan arrive on Winath (LSH v4 #9)
• Wed 12/3/94 – Rokk, Laurel, and Rond arrive in the morning; everyone (Rokk, Rond, Laurel; Cham, Jo, Kono, Furball, Mysa; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, Jan; Brainy, Garth, Ayla, Vi, Imra) is on Winath when Roxxas attacks; Bounty, Mekt, Cham, and Celeste are seriously injured, while Jo disappears and is presumed dead; Earthgov linked to Roxxas; Tenzil arrives on Earth (LSH v4 #10)
• Thu 12/4/94 – On Winath, Roxxas is on the loose, and kills a doctor and nurse in the Bloomfield Free Clinic. On Earth, Tenzil participates in the Batcave dig, meets with Shvaughn and Brek (who is released for the first time since incarceration 2 years prior), has dinner with Prosecutor Jakobi, then falls asleep. (LSH v4 #11)
• Fri 12/5/94 – Tenzil and Brek in court; Holo Scene news article on the trial (LSH v4 #11); Celeste is healed by a green glow; the former Legionnaires team up to capture Roxxas, who reveals Dominion control of Earthgov (LSH v4 #12)
• Wed 12/10/94 – All-points bulletin on Persuader, who meets Kent Shakespeare in on Quarantine (LSH v4 #12)
• April 2995 – Imra & Garth’s twins due (LSH v4 #3)

Unknown dates, presented in the order they were revealed in the comics:

• Black Dawn: something big and bad happened. Polar Boy says “you know what that cost us”. Sun Boy was a previous leader. By the time it happened, Chameleon Boy had left the Legion and “watched everything fall to pieces” (LSH v4 #1). Timber Wolf was irradiated during Black Dawn, eventually turning him into Furball. Char Burrane (Starfinger II) was somehow involved. (LSH v4 #12).
• Rokk and Loomis are injured in the Braal/Imsk War at Venado Bay, and Rokk lost his powers. Salu was somehow involved on the Imsk side, which did some questionably legal things. Imsk won, as the army is occupying Braal. (LSH v4 #1) She says that Braal attacked Imsk, and they were just defending themselves. She was head of security on the damper project and knew what it would do, but fought against it (not hard enough, in her admission). (LSH v4 #10)
• At some point, the Science Police Earth splintered off from the main Science Police (referred to as Science Police Proper) (LSH v4 #2)
• Kent Shakespeare and Gim Allon are both ex-Legionnaires, but it’s unknown when they left. (LSH v4 #12)