Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #15

In a Flash

Jake Black Writer
Robert Atkins Penciller
Rick Ketcham Inker
Heroic Age Colorist
Pat Brosseau Letterer
Alex Szewczuk Cover Artist
Jeanine Schaefer Editor

Our cover shows us what Impulse might have looked like had he appeared on the short-lived Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century animated series. And I have to say he looks pretty good. The show itself was rather slow and simplistic, but I think Impulse could have been an interesting addition to their cast. Unfortunately, this issue does not feature all the characters on the cover.

Our story begins with Bouncing Boy taking Triplicate Girl on a date to John's Virtual Reality Game World. They hook up to the VR and enjoy some jungle and deep-sea adventures before their visors suddenly go to static. Our heroes soon find themselves in what appears to be Keystone City in the 21st century.

Bouncing Boy is frightened by what appears to be a bolt of lightning zooming right toward them, but it turns out just to be Impulse, who immediately demands to know why these two are "erasing" his world. Bouncing Boy insists they haven't done anything, but Impulse explains that something has happened to the Keystone City program, causing buildings and people to start disappearing. So Impulse does not consider the sudden appearance of these two people to be a coincidence.

Bouncing Boy gets a little heated by this accusation and tries to explain what happened to him and Triplicate Girl. Impulse asks, "Are you for real?" — by which he means, "Are you flesh and blood?" Triplicate Girl is able to calm things down and give Impulse the full story. He asks how long they've been at the VR center, and when she says only half an hour, Impulse realizes they aren't causing the erasing, since things started disappearing days ago.

Bouncing Boy asks Impulse who he is and why he brought them here. Impulse says he didn't bring them here, and his name is Bart. He explains that he has these crazy abilities, but he's not great at controlling them, so he was sent to this VR world to get them under control. He kisses Triplicate Girl's hand (much to the chagrin of Bouncing Boy) and asks if there are any more like her at home. Triplicate Girl coyly says there are a couple, actually.

Bart then apologizes to both of them for not giving them a warmer introduction, explaining that no one else from the outside has ever entered his virtual reality world before. Bouncing Boy then begins to wonder who did bring them here, and Bart speculates it might just be a glitch in the network. He's never heard of the Legionnaires before, but Bart is hopeful they can help him figure out what's going on. Triplicate Girl is enthusiastic to help, Bouncing Boy ... a little less so.

Bart says that everything in this VR world is real to him and the people that live here. He buys a hot dog from a street vendor, explaining that he has a super high metabolism and needs to eat a lot. Bart gets Triplicate Girl an ice cream cone, speculating that she should be able to taste it. He says the reason he's so worried by the erasing is because all the people in his VR world experience it like it's real. When buildings disappear, homes are lost and loved ones are missing. The people might be fake, but the trauma they experience is real. After giving this speech, Bouncing Boy is fully on board, saying they'll help Bart save these people, since that's what they do.

As soon as this new alliance is formed, our heroes hear a shriek coming from the Keystone Bank building. But by the time they get there, the building is already gone, with one lone surviving bank employee, who happened to be out at lunch when the building disappeared. Bart asks his companions if they have any ideas, so Triplicate Girl decides to fly up high in the air to see if she can spot any patterns. Bart tells Bouncing Boy that she's "really something," and Bouncing Boy says he doesn't know the third of it.

Bart quickly grows impatient as Triplicate Girl continues flying around the city. In an attempt to get Bart to sit still for a minute, Bouncing Boy asks him where Bart really lives while he's plugged into this VR to get his powers under control. Bart says he's not hooked up somewhere and literally lives in here. And even though he knows it's all fake, it is home to him, which is why he needs to stop the erasing. Triplicate Girl then tells the others she's spotted another building disappearing near the clock tower. So Bouncing Boy follows Bart to the corner of Waid and Wieringo, but once again they're too late.

Impulse can't understand how even with his great speed, he's still not fast enough to get to these buildings, and he laments the pointlessness of having powers that don't even help. He wishes he could somehow run into the middle of the network to see the glitch for himself, and Bouncing Boy says that might not be as hard as he thinks.

Even from within the VR world, Bouncing Boy is able to get a message out to Brainiac 5 in the Legion Headquarters. He explains the whole situation to Brainiac 5, who quickly does a search for Bart, Keystone and VR. Brainiac 5 finds out that something weird is coming from the city simulator itself and its affecting every VR system on Earth. So Brainiac 5 joins his teammates in Bart's VR world.

Brainiac 5 says it's an honor to meet Bart Allen, who immediately asks if he's flesh and blood, too. This version of Brainiac 5 is actually a sentient computer, but he does assure Bart that he is also a Legionnaire from the real world. Bart asks if he's found the glitch, and Brainiac 5 pulls up a map to show him the source of the problems are coming from the dead center of Keystone City. Bart realizes that's City Hall, so he leads his new friends off to save the day.

When they arrive at City Hall, Brainiac 5 begins to explain a hunch he has, but Bart doesn't stick around to listen to it and just runs straight inside. Brainiac 5 sighs, and follows him in, and sees that his hunch was correct — a half-man/half-machine villain named Tharok is behind this. Triplicate Girl tells Tharok to step away from the console he's plugged into, but Tharok refuses, saying he's using this computer to connect to the entire virtual reality network to download every VR program ever created. And once he's done downloading all that information, Tharok says he'll be able to destroy real cities, too. He then creates an army of virtual robots to dispose of the intruders.

Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl begin fighting the robots, but Brainiac 5 pulls Bart aside. He says he read that Bart is fast, so he asks him to blaze a trail through the robots to give him access to the computers behind Tharok. Bart agrees, calling Brainiac 5 "Greenie," and quickly helps him hook up to the computer. Brainiac 5 explains that he's rerouting the system to cut out Tharok and rebuild the city, but it's going to take some time, so he asks Bart to keep the robots off him while he works. So Bart creates a couple of whirlwinds to blow the robots away.

It doesn't take Brainiac 5 too long to work his magic, and just like that, Tharok is knocked out, the robots disappear, and all the buildings return. Brainiac 5 also makes sure to send a signal to the real world authorities letting them know Tharok is here. To all that, Bart says, "Kickin'!" Brainiac 5 then explains that Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl plugged into the network at the exact moment Tharok was erasing a structure to absorb the tech as an upgrade. Using a 21st century phrase, Brainiac 5 says their "lines got crossed."

Bouncing Boy asks Bart if he's ever considered joining the Legion of Super-Heroes, but Bart says he won't be let out of this VR world until he gains complete control of his speed. Triplicate Girl hopes that comes soon, and Bart says he looks forward to meeting her sisters. He then takes off to check on his city, saying, "Later, gators!" — a phrase that confuses Triplicate Girl. Brainiac 5 tells them they should head back to protect the real world, and when they take their visors off, Triplicate Girl tells Bouncing Boy she'd like to go on another date with him, but preferably one without bad guys and evil robots.




Well, I gotta give this comic credit — it certainly has the same look and feel of the show it's based on. Unfortunately for me, that look and feel is very slow and simplistic. It's intended for a younger audience, which is fine, in and of itself. But this particular issue was dreadfully boring. It took forever to figure out who the main threat was, and then he was defeated in an instant.

But I was thrilled to see that someone was still willing to write a new Impulse story years after Bart gave up that mantle and during a time when he was technically dead. I've always been interested in a what-if scenario where Bart stays in the future and joins the Legion of Super-Heroes (with or in place of his cousin XS). I have also always wanted to see more of Bart's time in the VR world, but this issue gave us a very bland, dull experience. And I don't understand why his VR world was based on the 21st century. Apparently whoever put him in there was preparing him for a trip back in time. But why? Well ... it doesn't matter, anyway. This is Bart's only appearance in this universe.

Next time, we'll return to the main DC Universe, which is currently embroiled in the big event of the year, Final Crisis. Since Bart's dead, he won't appear in the main story, but he will show up in a flashback in the off-shoot miniseries Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge.