Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: 5g, 5g cancellation, brian bendis, dc comics, mon-el, superboy

Jonathan Kent's 5G Future – Mon-El As Well? Legion Of Super-Heroes #7

Today sees the release of Legion Of Super-Heroes #7 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook and this is the most Bendisy issue Brian has written for DC Comics yet. By which, I am slightly mean, and refer to what used to be a far more common trope of his, having superheroes whop could tear down buildings, cities, planets even, all sitting around in cramped quarters talking back and forth, with crosstalk dialogue, debate, divergences and arguments. For those Bendis fans who have missed that, you have it here in spade3s, as the Legion decide they probably have to do something about this own organisation, election, leadership and the lot.

But with the presence of Superboy, we also get the word from Madame President of Jonathan Kent's much gossiped about plans for his 5G/Fifth Generation future…

While we also get to meet this era's version of Mon-El. Not that Mon-El wants it known, or is walking around with his own captions like everyone else.

Originally Halk-Kar was an alien who crash-lands as an amnesiac alien on Earth in a rocketship and is rescued in the fifties by Superman, who believes him to be his own brother, later revealed as a friend of Jor-El. In the sixties, that story was reused in the Superboy comic, this time as Lar Gand of Daxam, named by Superboy as Mon-El, before being put into Phantom Zone stasis because of lead kryptonite poisoning, revived in the 30th century as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

In the eighties, Mon-El's history with Superboy was moved to the pocket universe, before that was rewritten and Mon-El/Lar Gand became the hero Valor. Then, after the Zero Hour reboot, his history was rewritten to having been an amnesiac again, put back in the Phantom Zone, revived and named M'Onel. Infinite Crisis was meant to have removed him again, Final Crisis returned him as Mon-el at which point everyone just threw up their hands and went whatever. We had another Legion reboot in the noughties, with a Mon-El from a different future, poisoned and trapped in the Phantom Zone, just to add to the complications.

After Infinite Crisis, Mon-El/Lar Gand was now an ancient Mayan human/Daxamite descendent, with Superman's history revised along with the lead kryptonite poisoning and Phantom Zone, but now cured in the present day, and living as 'Jonathan Kent', a cousin of Clark Kent. Now dressed as Hulk-Kar, he joins the Justice League but has to go back into Phantom Zone stasis, woken again in the 30th century.

The New 52 partially got rid of the Legion Of Super-Heroes, and Rebirth partially restored them, and we see him at the end of Doomsday Clock as Dr Manhattan puts them back in reality. But who this Mon-El/Lar Gand/Valor is now, what his relationship to Superman and Superboy is, and why he seemt to be keeping even his name Mon-El from Jonathan Kent is, as yet, a mystery… because while they talk a lot, they don't talk about that…

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #7
DC COMICS
MAR200553
(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A/CA) Ryan Sook
Jonathan Kent, intergalactic fugitive! The United Planets is less than thrilled with the decision to bring Superboy a thousand years into the future to protect the past. Planet Gotham is under siege. Ultra Boy's homeworld is on the verge of all-out war. And as if that weren't enough, new Legionnaire drama unfolds as Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy throw down over who should take on the Legion's leadership! Plus, Brainiac 5 will reveal a secret that will make one Legionnaire quit the team-and we ask the burning question: Who is the strongest Legionnaire? Find out in the only book telling you the future of the DC Universe every month! In Shops: July 28th, 2020 SRP: $3.99th century

Legion Of Super-Heroes #7 is available from your local comic shop this week. I bought mine from Piranha Comics in Kingston-Upon-Thames. Piranha Comics is a small south London comic store chain with a small south-east store in Kingston-Upon Thames's market centre, which runs Magic The Gathering nights on Fridays, and a larger south-west store in Bromley, which also runs Magic nights and has an extensive back issue collection and online store. If you are in the neighbourhood, check them out.

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