Legion of Super-Heroes #3 – Brian Michael Bendis, Writer; Travis Moore, Artist; Ryan Sook, Penciller; Wade Von Grawbadger, Inker; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 7.5/10
Ray: Bendis has been jumping all over the place in his short time at DC, from Metropolis to Gemworld and now to the far future with Legion of Super-Heroes. His take on the Legion so far has been intriguing and added some unique flourishes to the 31st century, but with Legion of Super-Heroes #3, it seems like the scope of the story might be getting away from him.
There are a lot of elements that don’t seem to fully go together, especially with the addition of Damian Wayne taking a field trip from the present day. Bendis wrote Robin and Jon a few issues ago in Superman, where Damian seemed to get a much more appealing personality (that seemed a lot like Peter Parker). Damian and Jon still seem like friends this issue, but Damian doesn’t have all that much to do in Legion of Super-Heroes #3. He mostly wanders around seeming confused before being abruptly sent back to the present because his presence in the future could unbalance the timeline. There are also some major hints dropped about what Damian will grow into.
While Jon and Damian are trying to find there way in the future, the Legion is dealing with other crises. The attempt to steal Aquaman’s trident in the first issue has led the Legion to Rimbor, where Ultra Boy battles his crazed barbarian father. This is an amusing new character, but very one note. He plays like some sort of C-list Conan villain willing to beat up his own son to prove a point.
According to the bizarre rules of the planet, whoever wins when fighting the leader becomes the new leader, which leads to amusing complications for one of the team. A confrontation between Saturn Girl and Mordru in the mindscape seems out of place, especially given how terrifying the villain was in the recent Justice League Dark arc. Overall, a Legion title is always going to be somewhat overstuffed. Bendis has some interesting plots going on here, but it feels like he needs to focus the book a little as we head towards a central plot.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
Well this was kinda frustrating. Normally I don’t let a whole lot of what happens in fictional worlds sway me but geez. I wish writers would abandon this Damian is destined to for evil motif. And having been given this only makes me want to have the Super Sons back .
I don’t disagree on the latter points! This has been a long-running DC problem, but I actually think Bendis writes Damian as more nuanced and human than most other writers do.