365 Days of Defiance, Day 359: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

A very Merry Christmas to you all, and here's your Christmas present: an ultimately successful act of defiance, even tho' it took thirty-five issues (and however many of those "Five Years Later" preceded the series) to evolve from an underground rebellion to all-out war. Let's check in on the defeat and surrender of the Dominator forces occupying and, well, dominating Earth in the year 2525 2997. Let's check in and see what the MSMoTTC (Mainsteam Media of the Thirtieth Century) has to say about that. And in a moment, a shocking rebuttal from Don-Al 71-Bot, who is clearly on the side of megas. That's "Make Earth Great Again*" *by selling it out to the creepy yellow aliens with big pointy teeth).


Panels from Legion of Super-Heroes (1989 "Five Year Later" series) #35 (Early November 1992); script by Keith Giffen, Tom Bierbaum, anf Mary Bierbaum; breakdowns by Keith Giffen; pencils by Jason Pearson; inks by Karl Story; colors by Tom McCraw; letters by John Workman
Slowly but surely Rokk Krinn and Reep Daggle have been re-forming the Legion of Super-Heroes, and against a resurrected Legion the Dominators can't stand for long. Heck, one or two of 'em ought to do a lot of the heavy lifting. We may not have Superboy in this continuity, but we've got the next best thing: Mon-El Valor Lar Gand, last son of Daxam! He'll get the lead out!


Luckily for Earth, they've got not one but two Legions fighting for their rights in spandex tights: the slightly older and wiser original, and the shiny classic Batch SW-6 clones — look, it's a long story, just go with it. The Legion is here, and they're bringing civil disobedience and giant shoulder pads back! (I just dig those middle panels, don't you?) Here's the Young Colossal Boy and Kid Ultra Boy to the rescue!


At last, the futuristic tide is turned, and the Dominator forces surrender under fire. This war and the occupation before it has taken a huge toll of lives (see center panel), but it's happened. Defiance, rebellion, revolt and revolution have won the battle. War is over, if you want it.


Imagine a joy and relief so huge that you shout and dance and cry and gasp. We've felt the pressure over three years of Legion stories bringing us back from a dismal future. We lost many (R.I.P., Blok, Dirk Morgna, and young Princess Projectra, Karate Kid, and Chameleon Boy) and we mourn them, but now is the time for celebration. (Let's not talk about what happens four months from now, okay?)


Now. I'd planned this sequence to be my Christmas post since earlier in the year, because I figured that by December, things would maybe not be much better than they were in early 2017, and we might be in need of some inspiration. The post was originally going to end with the panel above: the exuberance of successful defiance. But pal Matthew Elmslie (thanks again so much!), who runs the I'm-gonna-recommend-it-yet-again blog Legion Abstract, a celebration of all things Legionny, suggested this sequence with the addition of one more page (below) that puts the whole Earth/Dominator War in perspective, focuses upon our reasons for hope, and why, at least in the comics, the good guys win. May it be so in our world, too. Keep defying.


As always, there's a Jane Wiedlin song to express it all.

"Euphoria" by Jane Wiedlin (EMI-Manhattan, 1990), written by Jane Wiedlin and Paul Gordon
We want a better life
We won't get caught between
A world that suffers
And a world we dream of
You cannot quiet us
We just keep getting stronger
And all the walls you build
Won't hold much longer

So don't stop dancing in the fire
Our voices lifting higher

Merry Christmas, everyone.