But they pulled out all the stops for Superboy & LSH #250.
There was a traitor in the midst of the Legion, and unlike other comics, it wasn't someone they just introduced for the sole purpose of getting killed or turning on the team a la Terra and the New Teen Titans. Oh, no. The Legion has one, and only one rule that has kept it published for over 40 years: When you lose a member, be it through a death or otherwise, the send-off must be bitchin'.
So, who was it that framed Ultra Boy, struck down Chameleon Boy, kidnapped Wildfire and tried to destroy the universe? Give you a clue:
It's the one smirkin'. Not a great poker face there, Brainiac 5!
Hecks, yeah! One of the core members of the Legion betrayed them, which was quite awesome in that (a) it was a vital member of the team and (b) we saw it coming because Brainy had been quite the jerk for the past dozen issues or so. Sometimes, I'd rather be satisfied with a logical answer than surprised by something pulled out of the air a la the entire Millennium crossover event.
Yup.... the smart guy who seemed to save the day every other issue was tired of being taken for granted and wasn't going to take it any more. Could it get any more awesome?
By Superboy & LSH #251, it most certainly could. Who would be the only Legionnaire who could save the universe from Brainiac 5's instrument of revenge?
Oh, yes they did! Matter-Eater Lad schools them all and goes insane in the process to boot. Could this have been the same Superboy & LSH that had taken a dive-bomb in quality for the past two years?
Alas, it wouldn't last. Brainy would be cured in 6 issues, Superboy would wisely abandon the book in 8, the artwork would go back to crap and it would be a long time before the Legion was worth reading again.
But Brainiac 5 going insane and betraying the team was one of the best moments in comics history.
Almost as good as this:
Don't touch this thing! See what I'm touching here? We can't touch it or the hostage is screwed! See what I'm doing right now? Don't do that!
KA-BOOM!
Not really, but it should have happened. That would have been another great moment.
See you tomorrow!
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7 comments:
"Flipped out"? That's some mighty fine 20th century slang there Wildfire.
I'm going to work "mad as a treselgonian dementialist" into my conversation at least once a day from now on. Or at least until all my friends get really annoyed with me. Which I think they might already be. Hmmm.
And the moral is, never trust smart people, kids!
The McCain-Palin camp seems to embrace that idea, Sally.
"Alas, Matter-Eater Lad is finished... Good thing he comes from a planet of beings equally-qualified to eat matter. So, really, no great loss for us. Get Bismoll on the horn, tell them to have somebody else pack their bags, and send a straightjacket for this one!"
Oh GOD, De, don't get me started!
It's later retconned away even further that despite going insane and creating Omega, he never actually killed anyone, just driven to think he did. I kinda prefer it that way, I mean it's fine that he hates being under-appreciated, but not that it would drive him to murder.
I mean threeboot Brainiac 5 clearly knows how to deal with stress. He just cuts off people's arms. For Science!
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