The Stop Button

Jim Shooter and Mike Grell contribute both stories this issue and offer little quarter. Grell’s art is slightly better than usual (or at least not as obviously deficient), and I guess Shooter could be worse.

The first story is about a bunch of Legion rejects busting into the Legion headquarters and kicking the Legion’s butt. Each of the rejects is from the same planet as their opponent and uses those same powers to overwhelm the Legionnaire. It’s not until Superboy shows up the fight ends.

Except then his teammates are mad at him for stopping them from getting their brains beat in. So they challenge the rejects to a rematch the next day. Little do the rejects realize the Legionnaires have a plan, and that plan is teamwork. You can beat the crap out of lots of people if you plan on how you’re going to do it.

Not really sure Superboy is a morally virtuous comic book.

Anyway, the rejects once again pair off against their opposites, with a different result this time.

There’s also a nonsense subplot about some cop coming to take away one of the Legionaries. He’s got a surprise (at least what Shooter considers a surprise) reason.

It’s a bad story about a bunch of teenagers trying to beat up a bunch of other teenagers.

The backup is about Legion of Substitute Heroes member Night Girl trying to take down a common criminal gang; only the common criminals know her weakness-she doesn’t have any powers in light. Thank goodness Shadow Lass comes along at the right time to save her, but they’re still not powerful enough together to take out the regular human criminals with guns.

I don’t think the crooks make any remarks about the heroes being girls and, therefore, lesser (though the first story does so), but Night Girl’s boyfriend, Cosmic Boy, will make fun of her for being a girl superhero. He dumps her for it only to discover his replacement date is wanting.

Too bad the crooks decided to start killing Legionnaires—him first so he doesn’t get mad at them for taking out Night Girl. Action, misogyny, and resolution ensue.

It’s another unpleasant issue. Even when Grell may have an interesting idea for the panel composition, his detail work is bad. Not as bad as some of his figure work, however; in Grell’s future, no one has rib cages when they fly. Or their rib cages are as high as their pectorals.

Doesn’t matter; bad comic.