Legion Lost #2

Probably somebody I've never heard of before this comic.

On the second page of Legion Lost, somebody's thought boxes describe what has happened to create this comic book series. I say somebody because I don't know these heroes at all so I don't know who the little star with wings icon belongs to that is supposed to identify the person thinking the thought boxes. The thought boxes say: "If the Legion of Super-heroes had stopped the xenophobic uprisings in the future -- a brother wouldn't have lost a sister ... grief wouldn't have become hatred ... and hatred wouldn't have led Alastor back in time to release a deadly plague." Now this sounds like a story that has been told in a past comic book series. But since is the New 52, there is not asterisk and note from the editor saying where or when this stuff happened like there normally would be. Which is one of the reasons why fans should be upset at DC's half-assed attempt at a reboot. I would like to know where and when this happened or if this is just part of a new story and the reader isn't supposed to know exactly what went on yet. Perhaps these events will happen in Legion at some future date. I don't know because DC refuses to place editorial notes explaining things that happened pre-New 52 in an illusion to make the New 52 seem like a fresh start.

For the most part, I don't care if this is a fresh start or not. I was hoping there would be more chances taken in the changes made since Flash fucked up something in the timeline in Flashpoint. But I would like a little more clarification on things that previously happened that actually affect what's happening in the current comic book I'm reading. Maybe I should be reading the Legion of Super-heroes Secret Origin Files comic that is out right now as well! That might clarify things!

The pathogen that was released by Alastor has turned at least one man, Doc Scanlon, into an 'energy-based life form that still thinks he's a man'. It seems these thought boxes are Wildfire's. Wildfire mentions that he, too, is an energy-based life form'. Or she. I don't know which one is Wildfire.

Perhaps Wildfire is a result of this pathogen having been released one thousand years before?

This pathogen was created to merge alien DNA with human DNA as a punishment against xenophobic extremists from the future. So this first person they find, Doctor Scanlon, has had his DNA merge with an alien energy being called a Teallian. Did Legion Lost just become a 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo comic? Are they going to have to hunt down the 24 people who supposedly died in Alastor's explosion but really just became infected with alien DNA? And will they all have some special relationship to one of the members to fill the story with pathos?

This one revolves around Wildfire and his thoughts because he's an energy being that must remain in a containment suit or he will disperse and be lost. So he's trying to help Doctor Scanlon to remain as human as possible. But the doctor refuses, embracing his new form and eventually dispersing completely. Wildfire is left feeling [Legion] Lost after the encounter. Did he feel like he failed the Doctor or did he fail himself? Why is he desperately clinging to a human form when he's something completely different now?

It seems he is clinging to the shape because he has people he cares about and needs to continue to be a part of their lives. The Doctor was new to town and had no family. He was essentially alone and he seemed tired and dragged down by life anyway. He saw his new form as an escape from the drudgery and loneliness his life had become.

So maybe Wildfire didn't fail anybody. It's just two different ways of reacting to the change and to being true to one's own needs and desires.

I read this issue fairly quickly and none of the art really needed to be scanned. A lot of the same stuff. A bunch of heroes flying around. A few explosions. Energy beings and mushroom clouds! I'm still not entirely sold on this comic and, generally, the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo format is a bit of a cheat (even though I based my entire Dwarf Lover comic on the concept! But this concept seems a bit more like Lost which I loved. Maybe that's why it's called Legion Lost! So the comic highlights a specific character and the reader learns a bit about the character through flashbacks and how he deals with the conflict at hand. This comic is showing promise. From one I didn't give a shit about to one I think can be very interesting.