Action Comics #864

Batman and the Legion of Super-Heroes

Geoff Johns
Joe Prado
Jon Sibal – Inker
Rob Leigh – Letterer
David Curiel – Colorist
Nachie Castro – Assoc. Editor
Matt Idelson – Editor
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Our cover by Kevin Maguire shows Superman bursting through a wall of many different realities and alternate worlds. This would be interesting if you knew who all those other characters were. Superman looks pretty good, but I think the broken shards are too neat and uniform. And at first glance, it's all the same color and rather bland. I also don't think this cover ties in too well with this particular issue.

Our issue begins with Batman visiting Superman in the Fortress of Solitude. He's upset to see him casually visiting with Lightning Lad, since Batman's still mad at the Legion for lying to them about their ritual that helped Wally West return to Earth. Batman also points out that they've met three different versions of the Legion. One they met during a fight against Mordru. Another on a quest for the Book of Destiny. And finally, the one we know best on this blog, the Legionnaires who helped during Final Night.

And that's all we get of Bart in this issue — just a cameo flashback of Impulse helplessly looking on as a bunch of other heroes tried to save the Sun from a Sun-Eater. And don't let that big Earth in the corner confuse you. It's just there to symbolize that this Legion is from a different Earth. Unfortunately, its placement in this panel makes it look like all these heroes are flying up to Earth.

Anyway, that was a well-drawn Impulse cameo, even if it didn't make much sense, as he literally did nothing during Final Night. But the main takeaway from this issue is the idea of there being three different Legions out there. And in a roundabout way, that will be the key to bringing Bart back to life.

There weren't any Bart appearances in July 2008, so we'll move on to August, starting with the kid-friendly Inertia in Tiny Titans #5.