Starting with Sprouse giving a lovely review of
what had come before, the 1990's "Who's Who"
focused on the transformation of the team in
the new storyline, preceded by the "Five Year Gap."
Giffen's take on the gathered team (although
they were consistently fractured in the series itself.)
(Assists by Al Gordon and Tom McCraw.)
My fave, Luornu, had quite the role,
as ably co-written by Tom and Mary Beirbaum,
alongside Mr. Giffen. (They also produced the
gritty and engaging dialogue.)
Mekt (yes, another older, white-haired,
aristocratic, magnetism-wielding ex-villain!)
was given a great redemption, alongside the reveal
of his sexuality.
As with the post card set, these Who's Who
entries provided a lot more info on the characters'
behind-the-scenes doings both in the series and
in the interim since the last publication.
As such, they are indispensable as companions
for reading the series, which I heartily recommend!
Some bizarre additions dotted the landscape as
allegiances changed and characters matured...
and a lot of previously-written-off as
comic relief characters were given a chance to shine.
Other friends were taken to less-than-grand
logical extremes
in their character development.
Old code names found new usage...
mysterious transformations plagued others....
and new nerd-beefcake abounded!
(Anyone notice a certain SG1 resemblance?!?)
The next generation arrived
(as well as new races...)
...and old friends were put through the
wringer, only to find what they were truly made of.)
New roles provided a greater sense of
impact for some...
...and separation proved disastrous for others.
Old friendships turned into Body-Heat-level
'relationship-status-updates'...
...and interesting rewrites were done to preserve
history within the confines of editorial crucifixion.
Logical Spiritual awakenings continued, leading
to new paths,
including open-minded love...
and further fall-out from the Crisis was met
with Glorith's wicked time machinations and
manipulations.
Old fan faves stole the spotlight as reinvented
bad-asses, (once again saving the day...)
...and the Legion proved that even with a cast of
thousands, cool supporting cast is essential!
Anyone else think the 'Glory' character on Buffy
may have been based in part on ol' Glorith?
Full circle with Chris Sprouse's SW6 kids.
(By the way...anyone else notice the cool
swiping of the specifically Five Year Gap
that's occurred in other medium lately;
Desperate Housewives, Young Justice: Invasion,
Mad Men--well, they
did a 10 year jump; is that twice as cool?)
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