Legion of Super-Heroes #4 – Brian Michael Bendis, Writer; Ryan Sook, Mikel Janin, Wade Von Grawbadger, Artists; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: It’s probably the best issue of this short series so far, as Legion of Super-Heroes #4 flashes back to the origins of the founders with three creative segments by guest artist Mikel Janin. Jon Kent is still getting used to life in the 30th century, and Computo has a unique way to get him acquainted to this unique world. Computo is a combination of an AI with some sort of biological lifeform from the future, and it has a less than ideal bedside manner when it gets Jon into its head.
From there, Jon is transported into the minds of the three Legion founders one by one, starting with Saturn Girl. This is an inventive segment that shows the psychic space that people function in on her planet, constantly sharing their minds with other members of their family. The minimalist art style of this segment combined with the omnipresent captions does a great job of putting us into Imra’s head literally.
Things couldn’t be more different for Garth’s origin story, which finds him and his sister battling against Science Police agents persecuting refugees on their planet. While Ayla is a radical who has no tolerance for the United Planets, Garth is more moderate and is intrigued by their offer to join a secret mission for the UP. Cosmic Boy’s story isn’t political, but is one of a star athlete with magnetic superpowers who makes his name by throwing down in the ring against robots in what looks like a superhero wrestling ring. When he gets the chance to join the UP, his manager/father thinks it’s a great opportunity for the family.
This leads to the three of them meeting the United Planets President, a very different version of RJ Brande – just in time for a crisis to occur. But Jon doesn’t get to answer all his questions, because another crisis emerges in the current time that pulls him into action. It’s an intriguing issue that works to better establish the characters we’re going to be spending most of this run with.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
