The fallout hits from their arrival as the pathogen has found its first full victim.
What They Say:
Trapped in time with two teammates already dead and unsure if they’re infected or can ever return home, the lost Legionnaires must confront the horrific reality about the pathogen released by the terrorist Alastor when they are forced to confront the very first Hypersapien!
The Review:
After quite enjoying the first issue of Legion Lost and the interesting group that it put together, I opted for this to be a +1 release rather than a same-day release simply because I can’t help but to feel that this is likely to be a decent limited series rather than a survivable longer series. So this helps me to minimize my investment, emotionally and financially, a bit and just enjoy it as it comes. And that really is how Legion Lost needs to be treated, as a fun title with a definite 90’s feel that works for what the story is all about. Throwing a group of Legionnaires into the present day to deal with the fallout from a botched mission that they all feel rather guilty about. That drama may feel a bit manufactured, but it’s to be expected even amongst the most seasoned of heroes and especially in a situation like this with what’s at stake.
And we as the audience get a good look at what’s at stake after the event at the hospital that has left quite a few people dead. This issue hands over the narration of the story to Wildfire, which makes sense as the doctor that was infected there, Scanlon, has become an energy being that is barely holding onto his human form but still attends the services even though everyone thinks he’s dead. Wildfire’s narration is pretty good as it lets us get into his head well and conveys the worry that he has about being stranded in the past, saying all the things to himself that he thinks they’re all thinking about. With Scanlon in particular, he takes this case rather personally since Scanlon is basically another version of him and he sees it as a chance to save himself in a way by convincing Scanlon to hold onto what makes him human. And as we’ve seen over the past with the Legion titles, it can definitely be a struggle for Wildfire.
There’s a good bit of action to the book, primarily focused on Wildfire since he’s the only one that can fight energy with energy (not that Timber Wolf doesn’t sort of try), but we do get to see others use their powers a bit. Wildfire’s long relationship with Dawnstar has us get a look through his eyes about how her powers work and the way she deals with it, as well as just how much he understands about it. The bigger point with the use of the other Legionnaires here though is with Tellus as they use him to convey their recent past to Scanlon. Having not read the Legion series that was running for the past year pre-Flashpoint since it wasn’t digitally available, the actual events weren’t anything I knew about. Getting a better look at it here, even just as a two page spread, helps to cement their mission more and why they’re rather long in the face about the whole thing, feeling like they may be the ones who will be bringing the world to ruin. It’s a helpful piece, even if it is an info dump, and while some may have wanted it in the first issue, I think that would have broken the flow of things in that issue.
Release Notes:
This comiXology edition of Legion Lost comes with the main cover as released with the print edition and no other extras.
In Summary:
While I don’t have high hopes for Legion Lost really lasting long term, it’s a book that’s definitely a lot of fun even if it may go the pathogen infected victim of the week. Wildfire has long been a favorite of mine and definitely one of the classic Legionnaires, so having him handle the narration and provide a view of the others on his team and their struggles works well. For those that were coming in cold here to the series with no real knowledge of the past, we get a good bit of useful background here that clears things up while still leaving a few questions out there. I really hope that the previous Legion run gets a digital showing soon so I can catch up on the full story, but what we get here fills in some of the bigger questions and makes clear that even though the action will be a big part of the book, the character drama is going to get plenty of play as well. It’s a title that you can easily say isn’t a huge work, but it’s fun and I will definitely be looking forward to more.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
