"Enemy Manifest Part One: Monster in our Midst"

Despite being chapter one in a larger story, this issue of Legion of Super Heroes has a beginning, a middle and an end. Shooter starts with a threat. He creates a plausible means to combat the threat then, in the third act, he has the Legion succeed in defeating the threat. Simple and satisfying. This is the skeleton on which the meat of the story hangs.

The main plot runs on smart science fiction. A planet with "the mass of Saturn" has materialized near Jupiter's orbit, and it's gravity is wreaking havoc with all the other planets in the system. Shooter appears to have done his homework. He seems cognizant of the terminology describing planetary forces and has apparently checked up on his science. The issue uses one term that even I had to even look up on wikipedia.

In the midst of the tale, Shooter sheds much of the new continuity that structured Legion of Super Heroes since the newest version's conception. Shooter already softened the main characters' personalities so that they actually now act like heroes and behave like teammates. With this chapter, Shooter discards more. The older denizens of the universe as well as the Science Police will now have to respect the Legion. The author elegantly deals with this annoying artificial conflict through the character of M'rissey. The political and economical genius smoothes over everything that felt false and does it with style.

The battered away teams return to Legion headquarters and split off for rest and reccuperation. In these scenes, Shooter reinforces the crumbling of twenty-first century social mores. The dialogue and behavior of Shadow Lass exhibits a very different cultural viewpoint. Meanwhile, Shrinking Violet's wounds from last issue's bout against a female science police officer go deeper than broken bones and bruised skin. Colossal Boy's attempts to comfort her are genuinely touching.

Complications arise from a more unexpected pairing, and it's this moment, borne from the characterization, that serves as the cliffhanger, a doozy for any fan of the Legion. Shooter realizes that he's been given a clean slate for redoing the characters that he loves, and he's taking full advantage. How unfortunate that his work will likely be chucked after Legion of Three Worlds probably reforms the Legion from what's left of the heroes that survive the onslaught of Supersnot Prime.

Jim Shooter accomplishes a helluva lot in Legion of Super Heroes, and he does this without sacrificing characterization, plot-strength and world building. Francis Manapul complements Shooter's writing with a distinctive cast of thousands and exciting choreography that, enhanced by Livesay's inking and Jo Smith's colors, essentially animates a battle that takes place while the main characters sit down in comfy chairs. Bonus points for the return of Night Girl in cameo.

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