Review: Managing An Intergalactic Crisis In ‘Legion Of Super-Heroes’ #6
by Tony Thornley
As Jon Kent acclimates himself in the future, the Legion of Super-Heroes continues to battle the villains as well as the politics of the future. That may be the downfall of the entire team.
Now, upfront, I love the cover of this issue. However, don’t expect the focus to be on these characters. Doctor Fate doesn’t have any dialogue, and Gold Lantern and Monster Boy only have a couple lines of dialogue. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t an incredibly fun issue from Brian Michael Bendis, Ryan Sook, Wade Von Grawbadger, Jordie Bellaire, and Dave Sharpe.
New Earth is in crisis. Horraz pirates are in orbit, with Aquaman’s trident in hand. The United Planets still has the Science Police banging on the door of the Legion Headquarters. Can Superboy and his new friends save the day? Or is New Earth doomed to share the fate of its predecessor?
This is a chaotic mess of a story, but given the situation and the plot, that works in its favor. Bendis juggles the large cast, and thrusts them into a war- the perfect setting for the Legion. He’s also able to take a step back and allow for some solid character moments. It still doesn’t quite feel like a classic Legion story, but it gets closer and closer by the issue. I’m still not 100% on it, but Bendis keeps giving me reasons to come back.
The art continues to be fantastic. Sook and Von Grawbadger’s lines are extremely clean, but it has a level of detail that just makes each page pop. With Bellaire’s colors, the team makes the future come to life. The chaos of the story does come a bit to their detriment, as things jump around so much that it’s hard to get a handle on things. Overall though, it continues to be the best part of the series.
With their first arc completed, I hope we can see Bendis and team build on the potential that the series has shown so far. It doesn’t quite hit the hopeful feeling of classic Legion of Super-Heroes, but it’s close and getting closer each issue. If the next arc slowed down a bit, and played with the soap opera tropes of classic Legion, I would be extremely happy.
Legion of Super-Heroes #6 is available now from DC Comics.
