Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 11/30/19

• Pope Francis considering adding “ecological sin” to the Catechism of the Catholic Church

As part of his progressive agenda, Francis will soon be adding sins against the ecology to the Catholic catechism. Catholics are taught they must successfully obey the Ten Commandments and church rules in order to possibly merit Heaven. Christians are certainly commanded to be good stewards of the Lord’s gifts, which include this planet and its resources, but Catholics are not stewards/servants because they are not trusting in Jesus Christ as there Savior by faith alone. Instead, they are seeking to establish their own righteousness (Romans 10:3). How will Francis roll out his guidelines on ecological sins? Will throwing gum wrappers on the street be a “venial” sin and disposing of four old tires in the woods a “mortal” sin?

• Pope Francis wants sex-abuse claims against Brooklyn bishop ‘cleared up quickly’

After months of pleading from outraged Buffalo parishioners, pope Francis finally relented and tapped bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn to look into allegations that bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo had repeatedly covered-up for abusive priests. But a former altar boy has recently sued DiMarzio himself for abuse. Responding to the allegations against DiMarzio, the pope stated that he wants the matter “cleared up quickly.” Throughout this double-decade of scandal, the RCC has consistently put its predatory priests and bishops first and victims last by seeking the “quick fix.”

• As data shows most Catholics don’t accept transubstantiation, new book seeks to help

The Catholic church teaches that at mass its priests transform bread wafers and wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ and that the congregants receive special graces by consuming the Jesus wafer that help them merit their salvation. But recent research (see here) reveals that only 31% of Catholics believe priests actually change bread wafers and wine into Jesus, an amazing statistic! Whether they believe in transubstantiation or not, these lost Catholics are attempting to merit their salvation rather than trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior by faith alone.

• Italian bishops face pushback for opening communion to divorced/remarried Catholics
• Italian Catholic bishop apologizes to unrepentant adulterers, invites them back to the sacraments’

Pope Francis guilefully lifted the ban on communion for remarried divorcees via two footnotes in his 2016 Amoris Laetitia encyclical, leaving it up to the discretion of the administering priest. As liberal bishops and priests continue to roll out Francis’ novel teaching, conservatives and traditionalists rant and rail.

• Study: Just 30% of Americans Have a Positive View of Evangelicals

Christians should not be concerned about society’s approval. The Gospel will offend. However, much of society’s aversion is due to some evangelicals’ outspoken support of President Trump and Republican politics (see Jerry Falwell, Jr., Robert Jeffress, Franklin Graham, etc.) rather than for proclaiming the Gospel.

• ‘Bible business has really gone soft’: Philly printer to lay off 174, shut plant by Christmas

We are so blessed to have God’s Word, the Bible, but society is more concerned with the trendiest shows available from Netflix or HBO.

• New Ultrasound Technology Can Detect Up To 50 Genders (SATIRE)

The Babylon Bee takes the culture’s irrational crusades to their illogical conclusion.

Catholicism’s Flying House!

The Miraculous Flying House of Loreto: Spreading Catholicism in the Early Modern World
By Karin Vélez
Princeton University Press, 2019, 292 pp.

About a month ago, as part of my Throwback Thursday series, I republished a post about the so-called Holy House located in Loreto, Italy. Catholic tradition has it that the small (13′ x 31′), stone structure was the childhood home of both Mary and Jesus in Nazareth in Judea and that angels miraculously transported the building, first to Trsat (in modern Croatia) in 1291. The inhabitants of that city were said not to have accorded the holy relic the proper degree of veneration, so the angels moved it to Recanati, Italy in 1294, and to an initial and then final location within Loreto in 1295. My those angels were quite capricious!

I had learned that a scholarly work on the “flying house” had recently been published and I discovered that our library had a copy much to my delight. Well, delight quickly turned to frustration as I began reading the book. The acadamese was as thick as pudding and I suspected the book was an expanded doctoral dissertation. A quick internet search confirmed that to be the case. Anyway, either my brain adapted to the affected pomposity or the author gradually toned it down because the last three-quarters of the book read pretty easily.

Okay, back to the “flying house” itself. The author barely examines the actual origins of the flying house myth, which she attributes to imaginative Catholics who had immigrated from Dalmatia (Croatia) to Recanati and Loreto. However, Vélez provides some fascinating information regarding the following:

• Medieval Europe was awash with religious relics attributed to Jesus and Mary and claimed to have been brought from the Holy Land. Bishops and parish priests vied for the most spectacular relics. However, few relics could compete with the supposed house that both Jesus and Mary had allegedly inhabited.
• The Holy House of Loreto myth was spread via the writings of influential 16th century Catholic writers. The pilgrimage destination of the Basilica della Santa Casa encompassing the Holy House, which was encased in an elaborate, carved marble “screen,” was largely completed by the end of the 16th century.
• In that superstitious era, great spiritual powers were associated with relics. Pious pilgrims journeyed for hundreds of miles to view and possibly touch the relics. Vows were made and monies were contributed to the churches. It was big business. Evangelicals (and most modern Catholics) have no idea how popular pilgrimages once were as part of Catholicism. Many of the pilgrims to the Holy House scraped and collected dust from stone walls as a religious souvenir until the practice was prohibited. In a religion devoted almost exclusively to the sensory/tactile, a visit to the Holy House was to walk in the footsteps of the divine.
• Another important relic, a painting of Mary attributed to Gospel writer, Luke, was initially displayed within the Holy House. Pilgrims journeyed to Loreto to view the painting as much as the Holy House. Inexplicably, the darkened painting was at some point replaced with a darkened statue of Mary and baby Jesus with no explanation. Luke was also claimed to have painted the famous Mary and Jesus icon located at Jasna Góra monastery at Częstochowa, Poland. Existing painted icons attributed to Luke number at least 28 (see here) although they are clearly different artistic styles.
• Ignatius Loyola and the early Jesuits were champions of Marian veneration (i.e., worship) and adopted the Holy House of Loreto (174 miles from Rome) as their paramount Marian shrine. As part of their efforts to spread Catholicism throughout the world, they erected imitations of the Loreto flying house at several of their mission sites. While many of the painting and statue icons in Europe were purposely darkened to suggest antiquity as part of the relics charade, such as those at Loreto, in marked contrast no attempt was made to darken the icons created in Asia and the Americas because they clearly fell outside of the Medieval relics sham.

Despite its uniquely outrageous claim to contain the actual physical home of Mary and Jesus, the Basilica della Santa Casa was eventually eclipsed by other Marian shrines as pilgrimage destinations, such as those at Lourdes and Fatima. As a Catholic grammar school student, the nuns regaled us with tales of Lourdes and Fatima, but I don’t recall ever hearing about the Holy House of Loreto. No doubt the plausibility factor chipped away at confidence in the authenticity of this relic. Lourdes’ and Fatima’s apparition mythologies were safe and unassailable by comparison.

Although this book got off to a very slow start, I ended up really appreciating “The Miraculous Flying House of Loreto” for how it “deconstructed” Catholic relic “mythohistory” by example of the bogus flying house. The Holy House mythology and all of its trappings stands in marked contrast to the Gospel message of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

Above: In this fanciful mural, Mary with baby Jesus sits atop the Holy House as angels fly it up, up, and away.

An ornately carved, marble shroud encases the alleged “Holy House” within the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto, Italy

Pope Francis meditates inside the bogus “Holy House.” Note the icon of Mary and infant Jesus above the “altar.”

The capricious flight of the “holy house” from (1) Nazareth, Palestine to (2) Trsat, Croatia, to (3) Recanati, Italy, to (4) two locations in Loreto, Italy.

Throwback Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

For this week’s Throwback Thursday installment, I’ll just piggyback onto last year’s short post about something that never get’s old; being grateful to the Lord for His bountiful blessings!

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends here on the WordPress blogosphere! May your time today with your family and friends be joyous as we contemplate all of our blessings in Christ Jesus!

DC Comics brings back the Legion of Super-Heroes with ambitious relaunch: Part Two

DC Comics geared up for the auspicious relaunching of the Legion of Super-Heroes with five prelude books spanning August through October. Last week, we briefly reviewed the first three lead-ins (see here), and today we’re going to review the final two.

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Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium: Part 1 of 2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Pencillers: Jim Lee, Dustin Nguyen, Andrea Sorrentino, Andre Lima Araujo
DC Comics, September 2019

Over the decades, DC Comics has created multiple universes, continuums, dimensions, and alternate realities. How to keep track of them all? A comic book reader these days needs a Sheldon Cooper-ish IQ to keep it all straight. One of the problems writer Brian Michael Bendis had in relaunching the Legion was in somehow connecting the team to the various future “realities” and dimensions. He attempts to do so, with the help of four different artists, via the character, Rose Forrest, who struggles with a split-personality. Her other identity, Thorn, is an angry, vigilante super-anti-hero. In the first sequence (drawn by Jim Lee), the very unstable Rose seeks help from President Supergirl. In the next sequence (penciled by Dustin Nguyen), she commiserates with an ersatz-Batman. Rose/Thorn then appears (courtesy of artist Andrea Sorrentino) in a desolate post-apocalyptic future that has something to do with something called “The Great Disaster” and a character named “Kamandi.” Finally, Rose journeys to a future reality featuring Tommy Tomorrow and the Planeteers (compliments of penciller, Andre Lima Araujo). Only an absolute comic book geek could possibly make heads or tales of all of these stops along the disjointed DC multiverse. But onward I pressed because I was confident that all of this chaos had something to do with the Legion.

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Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium: Part 2 of 2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Pencillers: Nicola Scott, Jim Cheung, Jeff Dekal, and Ryan Sook.
DC Comics, October 2019

In Millennium: Part 1, we followed tortured soul, Rose/Thorn, as she journeyed from one dissatisfying DC alternate future to the next. Part 2 continues along the same agonizing path. In the first segment, Rose travels to the 25th century and encounters an overenthusiastic Michael Jon Carter who would go on to become Booster Gold (drawn by Nicola Scott). In the following sequence, Rose meets up with OMAC after “The Great Disaster” (pencils by Jim Cheung). Next, we see Rose freefloating in the depths of space as she attempts to overcome Thorn, her violent second identity (art by Jeff Dekal). And then, finally, FINALLY, Rose somehow comes to grips with her raging inner-turmoil and shows up in 31st Century at the founding ceremony of the Legion of Super-Heroes (pencils by Ryan Sook).

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Comments: One of the main reasons why the Legion franchise progressively lost readership over the decades was because it was the mothership of the depressing “Sad Astronaut” genre. While the first three Legion preludes in “Superman” and “Supergirl” were optimistic and coherent, these two Millennium preludes were the epitome of “Sad Astronaut” bleakness and incoherent navel gazing. The only optimism in these two Millennium preludes is the last few pages of Part 2 when Rose shows up at the Legion’s doorstep. I sure hope Bendis keeps things positive and buoyant moving forward.

“I’m bewildered by the “Sad Astronaut” genre and there’s a lot of it in comic books.” – Brian Michael Bendis

Hmm. We’ll see. On the plus side, Nicola Scott’s artwork in Millennium: Part 2 is extraordinary and Ryan Sook, the Legion’s new regular penciller, isn’t far behind. After decades of uncomplimentary artistry adorning Legion tales (e.g. Keith Giffen), it will be sweet having a top-flight illustrator presenting the stories.

Next Up: The Legion of Super-Heroes #1! Yay!

Truth from Arkansas! Sunday sermon series, #7

It’s Tuesday, my friends, which means two new sermons from the brethren down in Arkansas. First, we have have Pastor Roger Copeland at Northern Hills Baptist Church in Texarkana, exhorting husbands and fathers and wives and mothers to take a stand for Jesus Christ in their homes.

Qualifier: At the 3:18 mark of the video, brother Copeland regrettably quotes G.K. Chesterton and cites him as a “great Christian.” Chesterton (1874-1936) was actually a devout Roman Catholic who was committed to propagating Rome’s false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit. I’m guessing that in his sermon preparation, Pastor Copeland grabbed the Bartlett’s from his bookshelf and selected Chesterton’s quote without realizing who he actually was. I did send off an email to Pastor Copeland to make him aware of the issue. 

Next is a sermon by Pastor Cody Andrews at Holly Springs Missionary Baptist Church in Star City that expounds on the glorious truth that our Savior, Jesus Christ, is risen and He lives! ♬ …Because He lives I can face tomorrow… ♬… Because He lives, all fear is gone… ♬

Pastor Roger Copeland – Me and My House

 

Pastor Cody Andrews – Because He Lives

Christian unity? But at what cost?

Seventy-years ago, following the ravages of the Second World War, people across the world were scandalized by the divisions within “Christianity.” They saw the thousands of denominations as defiance of the prayer of Jesus Christ in John 17:20-23 that all believers be united. To that end, the World Council of Churches (WCC) was created in 1948 and the National Council of Churches (NCC) was founded here in the U.S. in 1950. In 1964, at its Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic church reversed its former militant approach and issued the document, “Unitatis Redintegratio” (Restoration of Unity), which called for the unity of all Christians. In the decades that followed, nominal Protestant denominations have increasingly joined together and with Rome in an effort to unite all “Christians”

What are Gospel Christians to think about these ecumenical efforts? The mainline Protestant denominations that comprise the NCC and WCC drifted into liberalism/modernism generations ago. They no longer hold to the Bible as the Word of God and they no longer teach the Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. As for the Roman Catholic church, it teaches a false gospel of sacramental grace and merit. And while it pleads for unity, the “unity” that it refers to equates to eventual submission to the Roman pontiff:

“…when the obstacles to perfect ecclesiastical communion have been gradually overcome, all Christians will at last, in a common celebration of the Eucharist, be gathered into the one and only Church in that unity which Christ bestowed on His Church from the beginning. We believe that this unity subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time.” – Unitatis Redintegratio, Section 4.

Gospel Christians may differ on various secondary beliefs, but WE ARE UNITED in the Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. God’s Word warns us not to join with false teachers and pseudo-Christians who propagate false gospels.

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” – Matthew 7:15

“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting.” – 2 John 10

Christians should NEVER join together with religious unbelievers who call themselves “Christians,” but who propagate false gospels. We need to evangelize these lost souls, not embrace them as fellow believers.

Preacher, writer, and teacher, Will Graham (photo above), recently contributed the five excellent short articles below to Evangelical Focus magazine that summarize the guiding principles to Christian unity. When it comes to uniting with others who profess to be Christians, we must never, never, never accommodate false gospels or compromise Biblical truth.

A Manifesto of Church Unity – Introduction: Part One of Five
http://evangelicalfocus.com/magazine/4766/_A_Manifesto_of_Church_Unity

Church Unity is Unity in the Truth – Part Two of Five
http://evangelicalfocus.com/magazine/4800/Church_Unity_is_Unity_in_the_Truth

Church Unity is Unity in the Light – Part Three of Five
http://evangelicalfocus.com/magazine/4817/Church_Unity_is_Unity_in_the_Light

Church Unity is Unity in the Spirit – Part Four of Five
http://evangelicalfocus.com/magazine/4834/Church_unity_is_unity_in_the_Spirit

A Manifesto of Church Unity – Conclusion: Part Five of Five
http://evangelicalfocus.com/magazine/4847/A_Manifesto_of_Church_Unity_Conclusion

Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 11/23/19

• Former Rochester Catholic bishop, Fulton J. Sheen, moves a step closer to becoming a saint

Back in May, a New York appeals court settled the decades-old tug-of-war between the Catholic dioceses of New York City and Peoria, Illinois (the winner) over the rights to the cadaver of former archbishop, Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979), allowing the Vatican to finally place the former apologist and media pioneer on the fast track to canonization. The Vatican canonizes popular candidates quickly in order to exploit their celebrity. In 1966, cardinal Francis Spellman ignominiously assigned Sheen to the bishopric of our humble city of Rochester, N.Y. as punishment for defying his authority. Sheen quit in disgust in 1969, but in those three years, pedophile priests were undoubtedly shuffled around from one parish to another within the diocese by the future “saint.”

• Rochester Catholic diocese files action against insurers

Speaking of Rochester, the local Catholic diocese filed for bankruptcy back on September 12th due to the rising number of lawsuits filed by victims of pedophile priests in conjunction with New York State’s newly passed Child Victim Act. The diocese is now suing its insurers because they’re rightly balking at paying settlements to victims when the diocese knowingly covered-up for/enabled its abusive priests.

• Buffalo’s Bishop Malone dodges protesters as he returns from meeting with the Pope
• Buffalo bishop says Pope ‘understands the difficulties and distress’ of diocese

Down the Thruway, Buffalo’s Catholic bishop, Richard Malone, still retains his office thirteen months after being outed as a serial abuse-enabler by the investigative journalism television show, “60 Minutes.” Pope Francis tapped the bishop of Brooklyn, Nicholas DiMarzio, to make the perfunctory inquiries, but DiMarzio himself is now being accused of sexual abuse by a former altar boy. Pope Francis promised “concrete action” regarding clerical abuse and cover-up, but it’s still the good ol’ men-who-stalk-boys club.

• Controversial ‘Pachamama thief’ goes on U.S. tour

Austrian, Alexander Tschugguel, is the current darling of conservative Catholics for stealing and attempting to destroy the Pacahamama fertility goddess idols that received great attention at the recent Vatican Amazon Synod, including being blessed by pope Francis. The irony is that conservative-traditional Catholicism is bursting at the seams with icon/idol worship.

• How Kanye West put Joel Osteen’s prosperity gospel back under the spotlight

I’m expecting this will be the last news item I’ll be posting about Kanye West. If you haven’t seen the 21-minute video clip of Kanye’s regrettable appearance at Osteen’s heretical prosperity gospel “church,” you can view it here.

• Pope Francis: Religious fundamentalism is a ‘plague’

Pope Francis certainly views all blood-bought, born-again Gospel Christians who know God’s Word and separate from deadly Roman error as “fundamentalists.” The irony is that in his remarks cited in this article, the pope was probably making reference to his own conservative and traditionalist Catholic members who, unlike him, take their religion’s thick catalog of rules and regulations very seriously.

• Is there Biblical basis for the Assumption of Mary?

Leonardo Di Chirico regularly writes informative articles on Catholicism for Evangelical Focus magazine. The bogus Assumption of Mary doctrine was defined as a dogma of the Roman church by pope Pius XII on 1 November 1950, meaning all Catholics are obliged to believe it under threat of mortal sin.

• Joel Osteen Not Sure Who This ‘Jesus’ Fellow Is That Kanye Keeps Talking About (SATIRE)

Did I say I wasn’t going to write anything more about Kanye? Blame it on the Babylon Bee!

Question: What kind of guy washes windows when it’s 30F outside and snowing???

Answer: A husband whose wife is currently not working and needs a hobby.

The two photos were taken on Monday, November 11th. Check out the gargantuan snow-covered leaf pile in the foreground of the second photo and ALL of those leaves STILL clinging to the oak trees in the background! Sheesh! What kind of short-sighted ignoramus would consent to buying a heart-attack trap like that?

Throwback Thursday: 20 Former Nuns Who Left Roman Catholicism and Accepted Jesus Christ

Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. This week, we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on October 28th, 2015 and has been revised.

The Truth Set Us Free: Twenty Former Nuns Tell Their Stories of God’s Amazing Grace
By Richard Bennett
Solid Ground Christian Books, 2010, 237 pp.

In this valuable book, Richard Bennett,* ex-Catholic priest and director of the Berean Beacon ministry, presents the testimonies of twenty former-nuns who left behind the false gospel legalism and ritualism of Roman Catholicism and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior by faith alone. The personal accounts average only about eleven pages each so there’s not a lot of detail about Catholic theology, but each testimony is a blessing.

When Christians refer to “cults” they usually have Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses in mind, but can there be a practice more “cultish” than a convent full of virginal women who believe they are married to Jesus Christ, replete with wedding rings? The inspiration for the Catholic convent was the convent of the vestal virgins of pagan Rome.

All of the twenty ex-nuns in this book joined their religious “orders” with high expectations, believing they were pleasing God by earning their salvation through self-denial and ritualism, but they found no joy or contentment in the convent. All were introduced to the Word of God and were saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. These women gave up the only life they knew to follow Christ, but what Christian can look back with regret at the corrupt things of this world when the glory of our Savior is before us?

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” – Philippians 3:7-9

I attended a Catholic grammar school for eight years back in the 1960s and was taught by nuns belonging to the order of the Sisters of Mercy. Our parents assumed the nuns were shining examples of love and contentment, but we students witnessed those women as they really were; troubled souls who sometimes vented their frustration, anger, and cruelty on their charges. Sisters Imelda, Annunciata, Tarcisius, Gemma, Mary Ann, and Virgina, whatever became of you??? By God’s grace, were you somehow able to see through through the religious legalism and ritualism you taught to us and find the Savior?

Convents are few and far between these days. The great majority of Catholics can’t even bother to attend obligatory mass on Sunday let alone take up a religious vocation. In 1965, there were 180,000 nuns in the United States, but by 2006 the number had declined dramatically to only 67,000. By 2014, the number had further dropped to 50,000.

These twenty ex-nuns with their testimonies are bold, uncompromising witnesses to lost Roman Catholics and to accommodating and compromising evangelicals who embrace the RCC with its false gospel as a Christian entity.

Copies of “The Truth Set Us Free” are available from Solid Ground Christian Books here.

*The Lord’s faithful servant, ex-priest, Richard Bennett, went home to the Lord on September 23rd, 2019.

DC Comics brings back the Legion of Super-Heroes with ambitious relaunch: Part One

DC Comics originally introduced the Legion of Super-Heroes way back in 1958 and the venerable franchise featuring a team of 30th, then 31st Century super-powered teenage crime-fighters from planets across the galaxy bounced around the DC Universe with several re-boots until it was shelved in 2013 due to low readership. In the last couple of years, members of the Legion made appearances in several titles, giving hope to fans for a relaunch. This past June, DC announced that it was finally returning the Legion, with Brian Michael Bendis as the writer. But it wouldn’t be a hurried revival. To build anticipation and an audience, DC would gradually reintroduce the Legion storyline in five books over a ten-week period prior to the publication of Legion of Super-Heroes #1 on November 6th. I picked up the five prelude books as they were published and am finally getting around to reading and reviewing them. Below are short reviews of the first three prelude books, which will be followed by reviews of the last two next week.

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Superman #14: The Unity Saga: The House of El, the Conclusion: Part One
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Penciller: Ivan Reis
DC Comics, August 2019

Superman/Kal-El and his father, Jor-El, are observing the ruins of Krypton from their spaceship when another ship appears bearing Zod, Jax-Ur, and Rogol Zaar, the destroyer of Krypton. Overcome with anger at the site of his former planet, Zod turns on Zaar, destroying their ship, which exposes the trio to deadly radiation. Superman and Jor-El watch momentarily, but Superman cannot allow the trio to die and intervenes. Supergirl and Superboy then show up and join in the fray. Units of the elite Thangarian Black Guard suddenly arrive and arrest everyone, but just as the dust is settling, the warlike Khunds invade Thangar. With the galaxy on the verge of absolute chaos and self-destruction, Superboy pleads for an inter-galactic governing body to resolve conflicts, in the mold of the United Nations. Superman seconds the motion, but the distrusting representatives of other planets are hesitant. At that moment, the Legion of Super-Heroes arrives from the 31st Century, honoring Superboy for initially inspiring the United Planets intergalactic federation, which continues to guide the galaxy in the future. In gratitude, the Legion invites Superboy/Jon Kent to become a member. But did the Legion jump the gun? It doesn’t appear a consensus had yet been reached regarding the proposed United Planets. Keep reading.*

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Supergirl #33: The House of El: United: Finale
Writer: Marc Andreyko, Penciller: Kevin Maguire
DC Comics, September 2019

The plotline for this book is very similar to that of Superman #14, above, but the story is told from Supergirl’s perspective.

Supergirl and Superboy come to Superman’s aid in capturing Rogol Zaar, the destroyer of Krypton, but, like everyone else, are arrested by the Thangarian Black Guard. The Khunds suddenly attack Thangar and Superboy wistfully proposes a peaceful “time-out.” Superman expounds on the idea by suggesting some type of agency for intergalactic cooperation. As representatives of the galaxy’s planets mull over the proposal, the Legion of Super-Heroes suddenly arrive from the 31st Century to commemorate the historic origin of what would become the United Planets. In a subsequent private moment, Supergirl has a virtual conversation with Z’ndr Kol, an apparent romantic interest, and relates that the Legion has invited Jon Kent/Superboy to become a member. Supergirl then says her goodbyes to her cousin, Superman, and finally returns to Earth after her year-long crusade to bring Rogol Zaar, the destroyer of Krypton, to justice.

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Superman #15: The Unity Saga: The House of El, the Conclusion: Part Two
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Penciller: Ivan Reis
DC Comics, September 2019

The book begins with Superman commiserating with Adam Strange following the events detailed in the two previous reviews. We then find out that the Legion did arrive prematurely* because of Brainiac 5’s miscalculation. But the Legion’s testimony to the success of the United Planets convinces the gathered planetary representatives to unite and to mark the occasion in perpetuity as “Unity Day.” Superboy then mulls over the Legion’s invitation to join them in the 31st century. Adam Strange informs Superman that his father, Jor-El, has been convicted of the crime of creating Rogol Zaar and sentenced to return back in time to Krypton at the precise moment before the planet was destroyed. A sorrowful Superman, along with Supergirl and Superboy, establish a truce with General Zod, his wife, Ursa, and their son, Lor-Zod. With the crisis over and the United Planets established, the Els return to Earth.

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Commentary: I jumped into this Superman storyline, endstream, but Bendis made it relatively painless. I quickly picked up the drift of what was going on. Of course, I especially enjoyed the re-introduction of the Legion! Brainy’s time miscalculation was a humorous slant. Excellent stories! Regarding Unity Day, Bendis no doubt had in mind the complete disunity in American politics these days. Pencillers, Ivan Reis, Kevin Maguire, and the rest of the illustration team do a fantastic job! Comic art has advanced by leaps and bounds since the Silver Age.

Next up: Next week, we’ll be reviewing the remaining two preludes; The Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #1 and #2.

Postscript: I was a fan of the Legion back in 1966-1968 and checked in every so often for 45 years until DC pulled the plug in 2013. See the index to my reviews of 35 Silver Age Legion of Super-Heroes tales here.

Trivia alert: It’s no coincidence that Superman/Kal-El’s surname is “El.” El is a shortening of Elohim, one of the Hebrew words for God, and Kal-El could be interpreted as “voice of God” or “vessel of God.” Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were both Jewish. In several aspects, the Superman mythos resembles the story of Moses.