Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes # 26
DC Comics
WRITER: Mark Waid
ARTISTS: Barry Kitson, Mick Gray
COVER: Barry Kitson

Supergirl and the Legion track down their kidnapped comrades, only to discover that many of them weren't kidnapped. They willingly joined a new group to prepare for a war that they don't think the Legion was willing to wage. But don't expect too much Legion-on-Legion violence. Instead, most of this issue is devoted to a tense confrontation between quarreling siblings, Lightning Lad and Lightning Lord (with Light Lass butting in). The origins of the Lightning triplets is revamped in this issue-- altered just enough to stay faithful to the original version but with enough new elements to raise the stakes in this family feud. Longtime fans will enjoy this but newcomers may wonder why so much time and panel-space is being devoted to just three members of the group. In fact, when the cliff-hanger ending is revealed in the last page, readers will feel justified in thinking that the Legion could have prevented this mess if they hadn't just spent so much time arguing. This is actually one of the strengths-- and weakness of this series. The conflict between the characters makes it interesting but it also makes it hard to get into a series where everyone has shadey motives. If you didn't know better, you would think this series was a continuation of Waid and Kitson's last collaboration, "Empire" -- which was about a supervillain conquering the world. Kitson's art is good but it doesn't make for exciting comics in itself, especially when most of the book is devoted to people arguing. Its painful to say, but for all the skill and craftsmanship evident in this book, I would still give it only two out of five stars.

Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes # 24