Legion #4: “That Which Is Purest Among You”

Last month, at the conclusion of Legion #3, we witnessed what I thought were the Ranzzes landing on the planet Avalon and spotting Darkseid. Silly me. It was only a statue of Darkseid.

Legion of Super-Heroes #4: That Which Is Purest Among You
Writer: Paul Levitz, Pencillers: Yildiray Cinar and Francis Portela
DC Comics, October 2010

Plot

Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Lightning Lass arrive on the planet, Avalon, in desperate search of the Ranzz’s twin sons. They encounter a religious cult dedicated to Darkseid. But what do the fanatics want with the twins?

Meanwhile in Metropolis, Earthman attends a clandestine meeting of Earth-firsters, but rejects their invitation to lead them. At Legion headquarters, current-leader, Cosmic Boy, announces the upcoming election of a new leader to assembled members, including Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Quislet, Sensor Girl, Shadow Lass, Sun Boy, and Timber Wolf.*

On Naltor, Dream Girl, accompanied by Dawnstar and Gates, convinces Beren Kah to allow thousands of Titan refugees to settle on the planet.

Back on Avalon, the three Legionnaires are in a life and death struggle with the Servant of Darkness and his right-hand-creature, Zeemith.

On Oa, Dyogene admits to failure because Earth Man rejected the Green Lantern ring, but Sodam Yat prods him to find a new candidate.

Returning back to Avalon, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Lightning Lass defeat the Servant of Darkness and recover the twins.

At Legion headquarters, the team conjectures about the unpredictable Earth Man and his possible connection to the “xenos.”

Comments

With all of the jumping back and forth between planets, as well as the kidnapping of the Ranzz twins storyline ending with a resounding thud, this issue rates only three stars. I had fully expected an epic battle with Darkseid. Some dangling plotlines include the destiny of Earth Man in relation to the Earth-firsters, the Durlan conspiracy (referred to in #3), the election of the Legion’s next leader, and Dyogene’s search for the next Green Lantern candidate.

*At the meeting, Cosmic Boy mentions the Legion roster is comprised of 26 members. From the first four issues, I’ve culled the list of 23 heroes below. Who are the 3 Legionnaires who have yet to make an appearance?

1. Brainiac 5
2. Chameleon Boy
3. Colossal Boy
4. Cosmic Boy
5. Dawnstar
6. Earth Man
7. Element Lad
8. Gates
9. Invisible Kid
10. Lightning Lad
11. Lightning Lass
12. Mon-El
13. Phantom Girl
14. Quislet
15. Saturn Girl
16. Sensor Girl
17. Shadow Lass
18. Sun Boy
19. Tellus
20. Timber Wolf
21. Tyroc
22. Ultra Boy
23. Wildfire

Postscript: Hmm. There’s semi-credible rumors floating around out there that DC may be bringing back the LSH. See here.