Friday, April 24, 2020

LSH v4 #25 annotations: The Terra Mosaic part 1: The SW6 Batch at last

Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #25


Notes:
  • Cover: Dusty Abell and Bob Smith
  • Page 1: same as the last page of issue #24. Saturn Girl says “after all these years the Legion is back”. They just woke up with their last memories being 2978, but we’ll see on page 3 that they already know it’s 2995
  • Page 3 panel 7: they awake on April 11th, having awoken when the Chambers were damaged by the explosion of Luna, as seen in issues 19-20.
  • Page 3 panel 8: they thought it was 2978, which (as we found back in issue #22) was the Sourcebook revised date of the time they were cloned (ADV 351)
  • Page 4 panel 1: Garth got his arm back in ADV 351, but the cloned cells were taken from earlier in the issue before the arm was regrown. So apparently when you’re cloned, you keep your memories (somehow) up to the point when the cells were taken.
  • Page 4 panel 3: how does Ferro Lad have a mask when everyone else is nude? IOKIAS: “We kept Ferro Lad’s mask on, which people made fun of, and that made me realize I’d always assumed that his mask had some sort of respirator/protective/life-support function of some sort and it seemed logical that the Dominators would have fashioned a mask to serve that function for this specimen (or kept using his original mask if these were “real” Legionnaires).”
  • Page 5 panel 3: Invisible Kid takes charge because in 2978, he was the Legion leader (with Valor as his deputy)
  • Page 7 panel 7: Originally I thought that this implies that the Legion escaped, got their costumes, ran from the Dominators, wandered through the tunnels, and met up with Devlin, all on the same day. The timeline of the last few issues say this can’t be the case, since we've spent the last few issues (and days) following the Legionnaires running from the Dominators. But after pondering it, I think there's a 10-day time jump between the end of the flashback in panel 6 and the "present" in panel 7, which is the only way this makes sense:
    • 4/11: Luna was destroyed and the SW6 batch escaped (Sourcebook; LSH v4 #19-20)
    • 4/15: Atmos revealed to have been killed by Project Champion (LSH v4 #21)
    • 4/22: BION discovers the adult Laurel Gand while looking for the SW6 version, then the SW6 batch reveal themselves to Devlin (LSH v4 #24)
  • Page 8 panel 9: the Legion really did have a glow in the dark flag, that was visible for miles.
  • Page 11 panel 6: that’s the v3-era Legion HQ, last seen as Flight Ring Village in the pre-issue 1 promo
  • Page 19: the SW6 batch meet Universo. This version of the Legion had not been the Outlawed Legion (from ADV 359-360) yet, and in fact had only met Universo once before, right before they were cloned (they met him in ADV 349 and they were cloned in 351).
  • Page 20 panel 8: S’cardas mentioned (after ???)
  • Omnicom: Shrinking Violet’s diary. She’s got the dates as April 12 (the day after they escaped the Weisinger Chambers) and 13, which suggests that Devlin was out of it for about 10 days: in the last issue, Devlin met the group on April 22. 
  • Per the Sourcebook, the oldest Legionnaire is Colossal Boy and the youngest is Ferro Lad. If they were cloned or put into hibernation in 2978, here are their chronological ages and birth years. From this issue, Ferro Lad is NOT drawn as if he’s 14, and Violet is NOT portrayed (especially by her diary) as if she’s 18.
    • 2956 - Gim (22)
    • 2957 - Tinya, Luornu (21)
    • 2958 – Tenzil, Rokk, Dirk, Lyle, Imra (20)
    • 2959 – Querl, Jo, Garth, Ayla (19)
    • 2960 – Salu, Laurel (18)
    • 2962 – Jan, Val, Projectra (16)
    • 2964 – Andrew (14)
  • Letters page: Editor Dan Raspler leaves with this issue, with Michael Eury coming back (he did #6-12)


    Here's what we know of the timeline to date. I'm color coding them based on whether the date appeared in the 2995 Sourcebook (yellow), it's a confirmed date that was given in the comic (green), or an estimated date based on keeping track of events and days (blue). Bold text is something new added this issue.
    • 3/26/78 Dark Circle obtained updated cell samples from when Dr. Zan Orbal restored bodies and powers to Matter-Eater Lad, Lightning Lad, and Bouncing Boy on Tartarus, to complete their collection (LSH v4 #22)
    • 10/78 Doppelganger substitution during Dark Circle invasion (LSH v4 #22)
    • 2/17/89 – Mekt admitted to Labyrinth Penal Institute (LSH v4 #10)
    • 6/23/89 – Magic Wars end (LSH v3 #63)
    • October 2989 – the Great Collapse
    • 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) 
    • April 2990 – Validus Plague ravages Winath; former Legionnaire Brainiac 5 helps (LSH v4 #3)
    • 6/7/90 – Legion Academy closes (LSH v4 #16)
    • 7/6/90 – Former Legion Academy heads Chuck and Luornu Durgo Taine open the United Planets Militia Academy (LSH v4 #16)
    • TBD 2990 – Earthgov secedes from the United Planets, and the Science Police Earth splits from the Science Police Proper. (LSH v4 #2). Since then, “resistance forces have opposed Earthgov since the introduction of repressive measures… but with little success to date.” (LSH v4 #13)
    • 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)
    • 10/8/91 – Imsk sets off the Damper weapon on Venado Bay on Braal-13 during the Imsk/Braal War. Rokk lost his powers, Loomis lost an arm. Salu was head of security on the damper project and knew what it would do, but fought against it (not hard enough, in her admission). Imsk won, as the army is occupying Braal. (LSH v4 #1) She says that Braal attacked Imsk, and they were just defending themselves. (LSH v4 #10)
    • 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)
    • 4/11/93 – Announcement of upcoming wedding of Grev Mallor (of the City People) to Kahnya Nahtahnie (Lady Memory of the Hill People) on Talok VIII
    • 8/14/93 – wedding of Grev Mallor and Kahnya Nahtahnie 
    • 1/17/94 – Marzal reappears over Africa and the corrupt Earthgov destroys it, but not before Tyroc escapes (LSH v4 #16)
    • 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 – Cham begins to recruit members for the new Legion, first approaching Rokk; 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 (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 and Rond arrive in the morning, having left Laurel behind on Zirr; everyone (Rokk, Rond; 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 trying to attack Char Burrane Jr. (LSH v4 #12) Persuader is defeated by Kent and SP Captain Gim Allon, who then takes Kent to Toonar. (LSH v4 #13)
    • Thu 12/11/94 – Kent leaves Toonar for Winath; Laurel fights Khunds in deep space; Tenzil and Brek on Gnogg. (LSH v4 #13)
    • Sun 12/14/94 – The Legion is formally reinstated
    • Mon 12/16/94 – Tenzil, Brek, and Calorie Queen are taken to Tartarus by Prince Evillo; Tenzil banished to the Realm of Darkness (LSH v4 #14)
    • Thu 12/25/94 – Garth, Cham, and Rokk remotely survey Talus (LSH v4 #14)
    • Fri 12/26/94 – Tenzil and Sugyn return from the Realm of Darkness, only to hear that Tenzil has been declared dead and his Senate seat vacated. (LSH v4 #14)
    • Sat 12/27/94 – Loomis writes his report on Talus’ suitability for being the new HQ; Tenzil leaves Brek behind on Tartarus and heads for Winath (LSH v4 #14)
    • Sun 12/28/94 – The reformed Legion establishes headquarters on the asteroid world of Talus
    • Sat 1/3/95 – Tenzil Kem rejoins the Legion
    • Sun 1/11/95 – Orando falls to the Khunds  (LSH v4 #15)
    • Mon 1/12/95 – The Legion agrees to team with the United Planets Militia to beat back a Khundish invasion that threatens the heart of the United Planets.  (LSH v4 #15)
    • Exact date unknown – Cham meets with a Khundish double agent; Venegar falls to the Khunds, who then make a deal with the Hill People of Talok VIII; the UP Militia tries to decide if Xolnar or Talok VIII will be attacked next; Valor and Shadow Lass appear on Talok VIII; Khunds attack Xolnar; Circe wants Dirk to give a pro-Dominator speech (LSH v4 #15)
    • Exact date unknown  Last stand on Xolnar; introduction of the Resistance on Earth (LSH v4 #16). 
    • Fri 3/13/95 – SP Officer Roon Dvron’s police report on Sussa Paka (LSH v4 #22, 23)
    • Sun 3/22/95 – Khund decoy fleet arrives at Talok VIII, while the main fleet attacks Xolnar, leading to the death of Jed “Power Boy” Rikane; after destroying the Talok fleet, the Legion and the UP Militia arrive at Xolnar to finish the Khundish fleet; Glorith sent to the end of time; the Khunds are driven back to pre-2995 borders, and the Legion concludes its participation in the war against Khundish encroachment (LSH v4 #17)
    • Wed 3/25/95 – Don and Dawn Allen are arrested by Earthgov (LSH v4 #17)
    • Thurs 3/26/95 – Don and Dawn Allen are put on trial (LSH v4 #17)
    • Fri 3/27/95 – Tensions increase on Earth with the execution of Legion friends Don and Dawn Allen. (Note that 3/27/95 is a Friday, while the comic says it happened on a Monday) (LSH v4 #17)
    • Sat 3/28/95 – Daily Planet article on the Allen executions (LSH v4 #17)
    • Exact date unknown – Valor and Shadow Lass help counter a Dark Circle attempt on Queen Projectra’s life on Orando, then remove the Dark Circle cultists from Carggg; Universo and Jacques meet; holo studio bombing allegedly by one of the Resistance groups (LSH v4 #18)
    • Thu 4/9/95 – Valor and Shadow Lass leave Carggg on their way to some R&R in deep space (LSH v4 #22)
    • Sat 4/11/95 – Luna is destroyed, ravaging Earth. (LSH v4 #19). The mysterious “SW6" Legionnaires awaken in an underground Dominion chamber on Earth. (LSH v4 #20, 25Earthgov authorizes executions. (LSH v4 #25)
    • Sun 4/12/95 – Jo Nah returns from an extended journey through time (LSH v4 #19) and is added to the reformed adult Legion team (LSH v4 #20)
    • Mon 4/13/95 – Dacey and Doritt Ranzz are born to ex-Legionnaires Garth and Imra Ardeen Ranzz. Rokk recalls the events of Venado Bay as the Dominators start executing Science Police Earth officers who are revolting against the Dominators. (LSH v4 #20) After being exposed to the null radiation from the detonation of Metropolis' powersphere on the 11th, Devlin is getting worse. (LSH v4 #25)
    • Wed 4/15/95 – Furball meets Aria on Zuun, unaware that she’s being hunted by Darkseid; Atmos revealed to have been killed by Project Champion; the Dominators begin harsher punishment of insurrectionists on Earth. (LSH v4 #21)
    • Fri 4/17/95 – Jo, Celeste, and Kent on the way to Zuun to get Brainy and Furball; on Talus, Kono reads Nura’s unanswered messages to Mysa; on Altair, Valor finds troubling news from a Dark Circle computer (LSH v4 #22)
    • Exact date unknown: members of the Dark Circle recount the history of Valor
    • Tues 4/21/95 – Jo, Celeste, and Kent arrive at Zuun  (LSH v4 #22).They are briefly detained but they escape to the surface and meet up with Brainy and Furball, but Lobo captures and leaves with Aria; during the escape, Celeste generates a burst of intense green energy. On Earth, Resistance leader Jacques has Laurel and Bounty meet up with Circe, who has turned against the Dominators and Earthgov. Valor leaves Shady to go to Earth to check into what he found. (LSH v4 #23)
    • Wed 4/22/95 – Lobo brings Aria to Darkseid, followed by Jo, Kent, Celeste, Brainy, and Furball. Lobo is revealed to be merely a probe and Darkseid vanishes him, and then turns Furball back into Brin. The Gemini Matrix activates and Aria turns into an adult Gemini and blasts Darkseid, per his secret wish, who then disappears. Back on Earth, BION discovers the adult Laurel Gand while looking for the SW6 version, and the SW6 Legionnaires reveal themselves to Devlin. (LSH v4 #24) The SW6 Legionnaires and Devlin escape the tunnels and link up with Universo and the Earth Resistance. (LSH v4 #25)
    Unknown dates:
    • 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)
    • Kent Shakespeare and Gim Allon are both ex-Legionnaires, but it’s unknown when or under what circumstances they left. (LSH v4 #12)

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