Who’s Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes – Issue #7

It feels like it's taken 30 centuries, but we've finally reached the conclusion of WHO’S WHO IN THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES! Shag is joined one more time by Little Russell Burbage and Siskoid of the Legion of Super Bloggers! This episode we wrap up our coverage with issue #7! We look at characters like: Time Trapper, Tyroc, Ultra Boy, Universo, White Witch, Wildfire, and The Wanderers!

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18 responses to “Who’s Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes – Issue #7

  1. Shag,
    It was the ‘Rokk is the Time Trapper’ plot that had me quit reading the Legion. After the brilliance of the early 5YL, the end of the Zero Hour stuff soured me.

    Thankfully Siskoid was able to pick up reviews on that book for the Legion blog because I was out.

    In fact, I read no Legion until the Johns/Frank Legion of Super-Heroes story in their run of Action.

    1. I totally get that drop-off from the Legion after that story. I think in my own head, I remembered the story where the Time Trapper had set up a Controller to take his place so I thought that the Time Trapper had done something similar to to Rokk.

    1. The great thing about the loose-leaf is you can take out whatever you want without ever damaging a page count!

  2. A couple of more comments.

    1) Mysa’s story in 5YL is completely tragic as she marries Mordru to try to keep him in check and ultimately becomes physically and mentally abused. It is gut-wrenching to see her body and will broken in the early issues. And then, later, she gives in to rage and takes a bit of a dark turn. But when she is ‘rescued’ by the team, taken out of Mordru’s harem, she is suffering.

    2) Wildfire is my favorite Legionnaire. Hard to believe he was destroyed in his first appearance by an indestructible wheat thresher! His relationship with the Academy is a great one, showcased nicely in Legion 304. He complains about the role but I think that is a front to keep up his gruff exterior. He really is a papa bear. I totally disliked the ‘construct’ era. He needs the suit.

    Great episode and series. Way to go everyone!

  3. Some quick thoughts on…

    – Tyroc
    “Troy Stewart”? I wonder if they were setting up that Tyroc was related to Green Lantern John Stewart? All the surnames they could have chosen and the writers pick “Stewart”. Seems like a possible story there…

    Also, with regards to Murray Boltinoff: the stories I’d heard were that DC was careful not to offend retailers in the Southern US. Books would be returned (so Boltinoff said) if newsstand dealers found something they didn’t like, which is how he explained not having a black Science Police officer. This was a policy that previous editor Mort Weisinger used to keep Ferro Lad from being black and Karate Kid from being Japanese.

    – Time Trapper
    I heard one theory that the Time Trapper was hinted to be Lex Luthor. Has anyone else heard this?

    I have a Time Trapper theory: I think the identity of Time Trapper is based on what Earth or timeline we’re talking about. For example, the pre-Crisis Earth-1 Time Trapper has one identity, which is different from the post-Crisis Earth-Prime Time Trapper. Then it gets complicated after Zero Hour. Then it gets more complicated in the New52 (I think?) where it’s hinted that the Legion came from Earth-2 (I think?), which suggests the possibility that some of the Legions that Superman/Superboy had met were from different parallel Earths.

    Unless, of course, The Time Trapper is really Doctor Who’s nemesis, The Master.

  4. Looking over Ultra Boy’s entry again… does anyone else think he looks a bit like Daniel Day-Lewis?

    I kept looking at the entry because he looks so off-model, and then it clicked for me who he looked like.

  5. Great job guys. You did it! I really enjoyed this series, and I do hope we hear a Legion of Super Bloggers podcast some day!

    The Time Trapper reveal didn’t bother me, but I’m not a diehard Legion fan. But it shocked me, so mission accomplished! I’m kind of surprised the Time Trapper hasn’t been tapped to be more of a CURRENT DCU (whatever THAT is) big bad, because he certainly COULD be.

    Chris

  6. This Who’s Who diversion off the main path was well worth it. Congratulations for all the hard work by Shag and all who participated. Sincerely very impressed by everyone who can keep this type of complex lore straight in their heads and articulate it so well. Bravo

  7. Nothing against the guys contributing to this project and in no way a reflection on the quality of the presentation, but after a year without the real Who’s Who podcast (judgmental much?) and some very long shows testing my limited affection for two sci-fi franchises for hours at a time, to quote (a tearful) Adam Warlock, “I welcome its end!”

    So… many… boxes. It’s a cool effect, but I need to care about these individual characters a lot more than I do to see past the rows and columns.

    An’ teh Sawn. So much Swan. I’m not Chris Franklin. I’m not built for this. Also unlike Chris, I’m a Mike DeCarlo booster who feels he’s saved many of the pieces here and many other comics besides, but his Time Trapper looks like it bullies Casper the Friendly Ghost.

    Another tough page. Because of Winn-Mortimer. Kyle Baker will make it all better. Tom Artis doesn’t hurt either, even if he makes Ultra Boy’s brain pan look like the Son Doong Cave when compared to the well documented size of Jo Nah’s brain. But then along comes Starr/Shaffenberger, who can even render a team of Diaboliks uncool.

    Universo was the villain of probably my favorite arc of the Greg LaRoque drawn run, and the art itself definitely contributed. Then The Hoover wanders in. Stop this. It’s brutalizing.

    The White Witch is pretty. Always liked her design. Another lukewarm Kerry Gammill drawing? How does this keep happening, Kez Wilson? But yes, the weak Wildfire redesign doesn’t help. Wait, we’re ending this project on Grant Miehm? How the frig are we not getting treated to Rob Liefeld’s Zoraz? What a missed opportunity!

    Is that everything? Thank Christ! Do they still thank Christ in the 30th Century? I don’t actually believe in the Messianic archetype and I’m not a Christian, and yet, thank Christ! Baruch atah Adonai! Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad! Orkun Buddha! What’s Interlac for “Bye, Felicia?”

    1. Well Frank, I think you are just anxious for WHO’S WHO IN THE LEGION to be over so we can get to the next episode. The Feedback episode (where we’ll read some of your comments)… AND that vaguely hinted at fan project related to WHO’S WHO. Sound familiar, Frank?!?!? Hmmmmm…

      1. I caught the hint, but I’m not holding you to any past promises on that front, given the inherent lunacy of the project. I also don’t want to feel compelled to start work on Volume II.

        A quick addendum: While my previous post reflects a certain exasperation with Who’s Who in the Legion on my part, the participants obviously had a good deal of fun and their enthusiasm spilled over into the episodes. I like the Legion, and I see the value in exploring the full breadth of their history and vast library of characters, especially in light of their recent discomforting absence in publishing after a lengthy uninterrupted run spanning decades. I just realize now that I never did buy a correctly sized metal Legion flight ring replica after having numerous opportunities to do so, so my commitment to exploration of this fandom falls a bit short, while also admittedly longing for the return of either a broader scope Who’s Who or a narrower one dearer to my heart.

  8. Longtime DC continuity nut and WHO’S WHO fan, love the show….

    One thing that kinda always facsinates me are comic book projects that get announced and never happen, so when at the end of your Who’s Who in the Legion cover you mentioned the never-realized Who’s Who in SUPERMAN, I immediately had memories of reading the announcement in one of DC’s promo-editorial pages (a “Direct Currents” page, maybe? Basically their version of “Bullpen Bulletins’…) and being intrigued, and then saddened the project never came to fruition.

    But….somewhere over the last 20 years or so, I’ve heard someone mention (and for the life of me I can’t remember where) that the Superman centric Who’s Who project actually evolved into something else: The three WORLD OF….miniseries we got in the late 1980s (KRYPTON, SMALLVILLE, and METROPOLIS ). Anybody have any clue if this is true? Just curious….

    And, in closing, I must admit that it’s tough being a fan of the Archie superhero properties, so I’m probably one of the few people on Earth who’s actually eagerly awaiting your coverage of WHO’S WHO IN THE IMPACT UNIVERSE. But….it’s a cross that I guess I’ll have to hear on my own…lol

  9. DONE!

    I Just finished the entirety of the Who’s Who podcast. All 45 episodes in a little over a month! Amazing job to all involved and I can’t believe I was this late to discovering this wonderful group of fans. I am really looking forward to the loose leaf edition.

    Specific to the Legion: I’m a huge Legion fan, especially the Reboot (Legionnaires was my first comic store pull), but I devoured everything Legion I could get my hands on. I didn’t get Who’s Who in the Legion until I was in college, so I never had time to pour over it like I did the original Who’s Who (which came out while I was in my single digits). Going over it entry by entry was a great way to revisit the series.

    Thanks again!

    PS: I never got the official Loose Leaf binders. I have all of my issues in individual page protectors, sorted alphabetically in classic Who’s Who style (Alfred is under A) inside 2 huge black binders. However, I rearranged them often as a kid. Sometimes they were by classification. Once I had them organized by 1st appearance. And I liked to pull the Legion characters out a lot. But for the most part it was the general alphabetical order.

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