Analysis Notes
| Cover |
The cover of this issue is non-representational.
The costumes, flight rings, and clubhouse do not appear in this issue,
and the clubhouse will look significantly different when it does appear. |
| 1:1 |
Mekt Ranzz is apparently the eldest of the Ranzz siblings. |
| The “frameless glasses” seen on Mekt were introduced
during the Giffen/Bierbaum era, worn by Kent Shakespeare. |
| Pronunciation: There is no consensus on whether to pronounce
“Ayla” with an initial long “A” sound (to rhyme with
“Layla”, as in the song by Eric Clapton) or with an initial
long “I” sound. The name comes from Hebrew for “mighty
oak.” |
| 1:1, 2:4 |
Ayla Ranzz is studious and level-headed in comparison to
her brothers. This is in contrast to the behavior she will display
when she later joins the Legion. |
| 1:2 |
Interlac Translation (readout): “charge” and
“7.924” The numbers presumably refer to the power level
of the ship’s drive. (Alternately, there could be some connection
to the date the artwork was completed. With an October 1994 indicia
date, July 1994 - 7.94 - is about right for artwork being done.) |
| 2:2 |
Korbal is characterized by continuous atmospheric electrical
storms and large land animals with the ability to create powerful electric
discharges. |
| 2:5 |
Korbal’s Lighting Beasts have been redesigned for
the postboot, no longer having the “rubber tire” noses of the
preboot. Instead, the lightning is emitted from forehead horns,
making them look more like rhinoceroses or Kryptonian rondors. |
| 1-2 |
Since this dream holds well to the preboot origin of the
Ranzz siblings, there is no reason to doubt its general accuracy.
However, the facts may be distorted somewhat depending on how Garth views
his siblings and the event. |
| 3:1 |
Used in conjunction with “Holy” (2:6), “Grife”
is probably a religious epithet, akin to uses of “God” and “damn”
in 20th century English. (Curse words in human society typically relate
to religion, reproduction, or bodily wastes.) A possible origin is a transmogrification
of “grief”, as in “May the Deity cause you grief.”
The religious connotation is later confirmed in Legionnaires #63. |
| 3:2 |
The incident with the Lightning Beasts occurred three years
previous, when Garth was 11. |
| 3:4 |
One potential reason for Winath cops not being patient
with runaways is the traditional “twin” status of Winath: running
away is often a symptom of socialization problems, and on a world of twins
where nearly everyone has a very close “match”, such problems
would be indicative of more serious problems (such as mental difficulties).
However, runaways are certainly not unknown on Winath, based on the comments
here. |
| 3:5 |
There is a drop of water hanging off Garth’s nose.
He has just splashed his face to wake up. |
| Note that Rokk apparently never attended the magnoball
exhibition he travelled to Earth to participate in. |
| 4:1 |
The Magnoball Cosmic Games is presumably a sports contest
akin to tennis’ Wimbledon, as magnoball itself doesn’t seem
to be broad enough to support an Olympics-like series of events. |
| 4:2 |
Cosmic Boy’s codename was bestowed on him by “the
Internet,” a nod to the body of fandom on the real-world Internet. |
| Note that the “Cosmic Boy” nickname is a reference
to both Rokk’s age and his Magnoball Cosmic Games championship, indicating
that it must be unusual for a teenager to do so well in the Games. |
| Rokk does not deny the connection to Sindy Paller.
(Rokk briefly dated a girl named “Sinde” in the preboot in Superboy
and the Legion of Super-Heroes #212.) |
| Rokk’s manager, Cuspin, walks with a cane. He
may be a former magnoball competitor who got injured yet stays active
in the sport by coaching, as often occurs in 20th century sports. |
| Cuspin’s first name is “Alux”, but that
is unrevealed until Legionnaires #70. |
| Interlac Translation (spaceport gate labels): “planet”
and “braal”. This is presumably an orbiting shuttle depot,
and the signs direct passengers to “Braal” and “Off Planet”
locations. |
| 4:2, 5:2 |
Rokk’s brother and parents will later be confirmed
as Pol, Hu, and Ewa Krinn, as in the preboot. |
| 4:4 |
Interlac Translation: no way to tell; starts with a “d”. |
| 5:2 |
The bulk of Rokk Krinn’s earnings from endorsements
and appearance fees are supposed to go to support his family. In
the preboot, Braal was economically depressed, and this would seem to
support that. |
| 5:3 |
Braal and Titan have a shaky treaty; they will later be
revealed to have been at war. |
| The United Planets is a relatively new organization at
this point (only a few years old at most, probably). |
| 6:1 |
Imra is “alpha class;” presumably this is the
same as her being the highest rated telepath on Titan (see 6:3). |
| Imra is the only one wearing a Saturn ID badge. There
is apparently a significant number of non-Titanians living on Titan. |
| 7 |
Coloring errors: Sgt. Bendah is the dark-skinned Science
Police officer who spoke in 6:1-2. In 7:3, it is obviously the other
officer speaking, despite the incorrect skin color; his skin is thus miscolored
in 7:1, also. |
| 7:5 |
Imra is not yet a full-fledged Science Police officer.
Although she is later referred to as a cadet (see 14:2), here she is called
an “Agent”, which probably means she has been specially loaned
to the Science Police for this case. |
| 8:2 |
Interlac is the standard language of the quadrant Braal
and Winath are in; presumably it is standard for the entirety of the United
Planets. In the introduction to the Legion of Super-Heroes: The
Beginning of Tomorrow collection, it will be revealed that Interlac
as a “universal” language was somewhat controversial. |
| Note that Rokk is much more “worldly” and travelled
than Garth; since Winath will later be shown to be an agricultural planet
(as in the preboot), Garth may be something of a “hick”.
As a result, Garth may well not have been sure that Interlac was indeed
anything but the language spoken on Winath. |
| Rokk is extending his left hand to greet Garth; he is left-handed. |
| 9:1-2 |
R.J. Brande is the third richest sentient in the “cosmos”
(known galaxy, probably), and is responsible for stargate technology.
The United Planets depends on stargate technology to provide a reasonable
cost method of transport over interstellar distances. |
| 9:3 |
Stargate technology doesn’t require the expense of
normal warpspeed fuel, the cost of which can allegedly bankrupt entire
worlds. Given the prevalence of faster than light craft in the 20th
century comics, whatever fuel is used must become increasingly scarce
throughout known space over the intervening millennium. |
| 9:4 |
Stargate travel appears to involve teleportation or the
creation of wormholes, rather than direct physical movement across the
intervening light years. An example of the space “between”
stargates is seen in Legion of Super-Heroes: Secret Files #2. |
| 10:1 |
Rokk observes “more V.I.P.’s” boarding the
shuttle at Titan. These are presumably United Planets delegates
making the trip to Earth for the meeting seen in Legionnaires #0. |
| It is hard to imagine Brande not travelling First Class,
and sports-star Rokk and the VIP’s probably would be, too (although
Cuspin might have booked Rokk on cheaply just to have more money for himself).
As a prize cadet travelling on behalf of the Titan government, Imra might
travel First Class, but as a runaway, Garth almost certainly could not
unless he managed to bluff his way into the status. As will be seen in
Legion: Secret Files #1, Brande is intentionally travelling Tourist
Class. |
| Here, Ventura sounds like a resort planet, but it was a
gambling world in the preboot, and will be seen to be such in the postboot
in Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #99; it could be like today’s
Las Vegas, and be both. |
| “Konos” is a derivative of “kono juice,”
a favorite drink from the preboot, possibly somewhat alcoholic. |
| In the preboot, of course, Garth eventually married Imra. |
| 10:2, 10:4 |
Telepaths from Titan are required to wear a Saturn-shaped
I.D. badge (this has echos of Nazi Germany’s requirement that Jews
wear a yellow star and homosexuals wear a pink triangle). Telepaths
are not well liked by the general public, which fears unwanted mental
intrusion. |
| 11:2 |
How primitive, having the passengers disembark right onto
the tarmac. There must not be safety concerns with regard to pollution
fumes, inclement weather, or passengers encountering service vehicles. |
| 11:3 |
Garth’s reference to “break the ice” alludes
to her preboot “ice queen” status, which was due to distancing
herself from people in order to avoid accidental mental contact. |
| 11:3-4 |
Imra is just picking up surface thoughts, not actively
scanning. |
| 11:4 |
The assassins after Brande are wearing uniforms labelled
with pink triangles. Presumably, these are spaceport worker uniforms
rather than some reference to sexual orientation. (Given that they
are probably White Triangle assassins, the triangles may simply be miscolored.) |
| 12:3 |
“Live wire” alludes to Garth’s eventual
code name. |
| 14 |
Based on Legionnaires #0, 21:6, the female Science
Police Officer is probably Gigi Cusimano. |
| 14:1 |
The assassins are using “psi-screens”.
Since Imra cannot simply remove the screens or turn them off, they may
be implanted devices. The screens are sufficient to hide specific
information, but did not block surface thoughts. Given that Brande
is later revealed to be a telepath in Legionnaires #53, the screens
were perhaps meant to foil Brande’s own senses as much as those of
any random Titanian who might scan the assassins. (The screens probably
set up “feedback” in the cloaked person’s mind to prevent
telepaths from finding the information that they want.) |
| 14:3 |
Doyle is Brande’s business partner, and he apparently
would control Brande Industries if Brande were killed. Doyle’s
motive for Brande’s assassination is thus not just because he is
a White Triangle xenophobe who opposes the United Planets. |
| 15 |
The President’s name is Jeannie
Chu. Her first name is not revealed until < >. |
| 15:1 |
Some United Planets delegates are apparently not based
on Earth full-time. These travelling VIP’s may be mostly provisional
and observing delegates; full ambassadors undoubtedly have Metropolis
apartments and full staffs on Earth. |
| 15:3 |
The goals of the United Planets are “galactic unity,
shared tech(nology), and common alliance.” Interlac as a common
language helps on these points. Presumably we may one day see the
last one tested, when the Khunds show up. |
| 15:4 |
Brande presumably does not plan to finance the Legion indefinitely,
just until it finds its role within the United Planets. (Nor would
the United Planets want to be beholden to him for the continuation of
the Legion if it became successful. Imagine if Brande were like
Leland McCauley!) |
| 15:5 |
Brande provides the basic design of both
the Legion uniforms and the Legion’s “L*” logo. In
Impulse #9, XS tells Impulse that her uniform is based on the general
design of his, which originated in the testing lab where he was raised.
Thus, Brande probably had a hand in the lab’s funding. |
| The basic costume design adheres to the Chris Sprouse design
standard introduced in the preboot Legionnaires series. |
| Two of the other sample logos are the stylized “L”
logos from the Levitz/Giffen and Giffen/Bierbaum eras of the Legion.
A third logo idea is the United Planets “star”, which is partly
preserved in the final sketch. |
| 16:2 |
Commander Hagbard’s alleged hatred of Titanians is
probably something of an exaggeration, despite the fact that he is assigning
Imra to do gruntwork. As seen in Legion: Science Police #1,
Hagbard will eventually have no problem with Imra as part of his staff,
so any anti-Titanian attitude here can be attributed to unfamiliarity. |
| 16:3 |
According to the introduction in the
Legion of Super-Heroes: The Beginning of Tomorrow collection, Shvaughn
(and Gigi, and Gim) is just an “officer” at this point. She
apparently gets promoted to Sergeant by the time of the events seen in
Showcase ’< > #6. |
| 17:1 |
Magnoball is apparently a court sport
featuring a floating ball that is affected or directed by magnetic fields
above a court featuring different zones, one of which is a “grav-field;”
Legionnaires #<34> shows magnoball to be a goal-oriented
sport (a lá basketball rather than tennis), so this may be a solo
practice court. |
| 17:3 |
Luornu’s three bodies exhibit different personality
traits. Lu-Purple (the extrovert) is the one who comes to see Rokk; the
other two are undistinguished here, but can be determined in Legion:
Secret Files #1 (Lu-Orange visits Garth and Lu-Neutral visits Imra). |
| 18:1 |
Black Mace owns some sort of an establishment, probably
a bar, at which Garth had been seeking information about Mekt’s whereabouts.
A resulting struggle apparently landed Garth in jail. |
| 19:3, 19:5 |
Cuspin is a lecher and a gambler: does Rokk know
how to pick them, or what? |
| 20:1 |
Takron Galtos is an infamous prison planet, dating back
at least to the 20th century. In the preboot continuity, it was
destroyed in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but it is evidently intact
in the postboot continuity. |
| 20:3 |
Garth is already acting as Imra’s protector. |
| 20:6 |
It would not be confirmed for several years, but as seen
in Legionnaires #70, Rokk did turn Cuspin in. Imra’s
assessment was incorrect, however, and Cuspin got only a couple year sentence
in a Terran prison, Roundrock. She may have been exaggerating here
for effect, or Cuspin may have been able to pull some strings to get his
sentence reduced; it is also possible that Rokk himself requested a lighter
sentence than the Takron-Galtos one. |
| 21 |
In the preboot, R.J. Brande was a 20th
century Durlan transported through time to the 30th century (see L.E.G.I.O.N. ’87
#<9> and Legion of Super-Heroes v4#<>) and later stuck
in human form by a bout of Yorggian Fever, although he kept these details
hidden for decades (see Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes #3).
If Brande is still a non-human in the postboot, he is not necessarily
still the Durlan associated with L.E.G.I.O.N. (or even a Durlan at all).
His love for the 20th century’s heroic age (and the specific examples
of members of the Justice League) may be a clue to his original identity.
Or it might not. (A handful of individuals survived from the 20th
century to the 30th century in the preboot, including the Durlan, Mon-El/Valor,
Mordru, and J’Onn J’Onzz, the Martin Manhunter.) |
| 21:3 |
Superman’s long hair here is a peculiarity.
Although he had long hair at the time this comic was published, it didn’t
last long enough to reasonably be expected to be shown in a 30th century
hologram. When this scene is shown again in Legion: Secret Files
#1 (1st story), the hologram still has long hair. As a result, it
must be assumed that whatever image source Brande used for the hologram
was from the brief period where Superman wore his hair long. |
| 21:3-4 |
Rokk recognizes Superman, possibly because Braal was allegedly
settled by transplanted Earth humans during the late 20th century as a
Gandian World. Garth does not recognize Batman, but Imra does (which
makes sense, given that he is the “world’s greatest detective”
and she is engaged in police training). |
| 21:6 |
In the preboot, the Legion was based on the heroic career
of Superboy (Superman as a teenager). This page establishes the
basis as being simply the 20th century’s heroic age in general, rather
than any one specific hero. |
| 22:2 |
Rokk and Garth have realized that Luornu Durgo has the
ability to “triplicate”. |
| 23:1 |
“Warring worlds” refers to Braal and Titan; the
war must be only recently settled. The settling of the war may have
been important in the founding of the United Planets. |
| 23:2 |
The blue sphere with smaller gold spheres attached is the
United Planets globe logo. |
| 23:4 |
Given how low sales had allegedly sunk prior to Zero Hour,
the “three month trial” may have had a real world meaning, too. |
| 24:1 |
Doyle’s masters are undoubtedly the White Triangle,
who profess a desire to keep alien races separate. Odd, then, that
Doyle’s underlings are non-human. Perhaps it is acceptable
to the White Triangle to use alien races as underlings, but not to associate
with them as equals. Or perhaps he doesn’t hold with White
Triangle ideals at all and is using them to achieve his own ends. |
| Since he makes no further appearances, it can be assumed
that Oto dies at the hand of those he reports to. |
| 24:4 |
There is no apparent connection between President Chu and
either Roderick Doyle or the White Triangle; her image here is merely
a connection to the United Planets. |
| Reprints |
This issue was reprinted in the Legion of Super-Heroes:
The Beginning of Tomorrow trade paperback collection. |
