Ultimately this issue is reminiscent of the last issue, but there are some important differences that give it a boost. Writer Fabian Nicieza devotes the narration to Dawnstar, and that bestows a distinctive voice to the proceedings. Nicieza and Pete Woods with Brad Anderson furthermore explore Dawnstar's powers, and they all show that she's more than just a tracker. She's a hunter. The escaped future criminal is her prey.
Not Just a Pretty Face
Dawnstar's high-speed extraction offers the best scene in the chapter. I don't believe I've ever seen Dawnstar perform such a feat, and I'm a big Legion of Super-Heroes fan. Most writers tended to use her as a softer hero. Of course, Wildfire through the years has always been overprotective of her. So she believably rarely got the opportunity to engage in combat or strategies such as those seen this issue.
Timber Wolf is the other asset in the book. Nicieza develops a dark sense of humor in the Legionnaire that suits his personality. He provides some very wry commentary and often takes the vinegar out of a situation that would be dramatic for anybody else.
Abandon Ship
Timber Wolf's comedic sensibilities also come into play when the creative team introduce an edgily named group that could have easily debuted in the nineties as bona fide superheroes. Timber Wolf isn't all that impressed, and there's a very neat contrast between the traditionally dynamic and colorful Legionnaires and the dark, well-armed and armored Black Razors.
Cuts as Close as a Blade
Timber Wolf isn't the only Legionnaire that exhibits a bit of fun. Wildfire and Tyroc, in excellent form this issue, also provide wit. All and all, a good, solid issue of Legion Lost.
Legion Not So Lost
Ray Tate's first online work appeared in 1994 for Knotted. He has had a short story, "Spider Without a Web," published in 1995 for the magazine evernight and earned a degree in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. Since 1995, Ray self-published The Pick of the Brown Bag on various usenet groups, where he reviewed comic books, Doctor Who novels, movies and occasionally music. Circa 2000, he contributed his reviews to Silver Bullet Comic Books (later Comics Bulletin) and became its senior reviewer. Ray Tate would like to think that he's young at heart. Of course, we all know better.