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perletwoHello s_d! As promised back in my last Legion Lost post, here is a Chameleon Girl retrospective. Because this is gonna be too huge, I'm breaking it into two parts: pre- and post-Conspiracy. Second part will go up tomorrow if my computer cooperates. Images from Legion of Super-Heroes 288-305 in this part.
In this part we ask the eternal question, When is a Shrinking Violet not a Shrinking Violet? Is it when she suddenly starts entertaining advances from the guy who's had a crush on her forever? Or is it when she gets called out on same by her boyfriend of record?
Or is the answer...something far more sinister? dun dun DUNNNNN
As we begin our tale, Chameleon Boy has Done Something Stupid. Still in an emotional tailspin from the revelation that Legion patron R.J. Brande is both a Durlan and his biological father, Cham convened the Legion Espionage Squad for an ethically questionable and almost certainly illegal mission into Khund space. The mission went pear-shaped almost as soon as they set foot on Khundia, and they're saved only by the timely intervention of Saturn Girl, who's gone looking for Timber Wolf at her sister-in-law Light Lass' tearful request. The timely intervention and escape was cut short by an even timelier Khund laser blast, though, and the Squad crash-landed on a frozen asteroid in the hind end of space.
Freezing cold, unable to call for help, and pretty sure they're going to die here, Colossal Boy decides now's the time to act on his longtime crush on Shrinking Violet.
They're rescued, of course, and the Legion plunges from there straight into the Grest Darkness Saga. Gim and Vi don't appear in most of it, but they do answer the all-hands-on-deck call in the Saga's finale. On the way there it's clear from their conversation they've been continuing offscreen what they started on the asteroid. Though Vi frets about what little use their size-changing powers are likely to be, she acquits herself quite nicely, taking down a Servant of Darkness more or less single-handedly:
On the Day After Doomsday, Vi does two very un-Vi-like things. One, she trades in her classic green/black costume for a purple version with either a jacket or vest (and given that she's twice nearly turned into a Vi-cicle I can't blame her for wanting something warmer); and two, she canoodles with Gim in public, first at a Legion party, then in the hallway, and on the final page in a disco.
Trouble with semi-public canoodling, though, is that people will notice....
I include this page mainly for the beefcake. You are welcome. :D
Duplicate Boy's one of the Heroes of Lallor, and Vi's longtime long-distance main squeeze. He spotted the cuddly curls thing via telescopic vision and has been spying on our couple ever since.
As Vi sobs "Please! Please don't hurt my Gim!" Ultra Boy takes Duplicate Boy down with a minimum of fuss. When he wakes, he shrinks back to normal size and assures them he's done fighting, to everyone's relief.
Suspicions: aroused.
We take a brief break for the #300 anniversary issue, and resume with Gim and Vi joining Sun Boy, Brainiac 5 and Supergirl on a mission to Weber's World, the artificial planet the United Planets uses as its vasty administration building. They are promptly ambushed by the Emerald Empress, who plans to weaponize the planet. (She also breaks Sun Boy's jaw BTW, hence the mumbliness here.)
Our wee Vi rescues Supergirl!
Back at home, strange things are afoot in the shadowiest corners of Legion HQ.
The reckoning is at hand in LOSH #305. In orbit over Imsk, with sincere apologies, Element Lad handcuffs Gim while Cham sprays Vi with an aerosol.
Y HELO THAR convenient future-tech device never seen or heard of before or since! I like to call it the Exposition-O-Matic 2983.
"Violet" lands on Imsk and is promptly swooped down upon by the conspirators. Since you've hung in with this post this long, I figure y'all deserve a page of The Big Reveal, even though it bulks up my page count for this issue more than I'd prefer.
But whoops, wrong Durlan! It's Chameleon Boy, and he and the others - including an enraged Colossal Boy who basically tears their hideout to shreds - apprehend the rebels and rescue the real Violet.
It is can be Happy Ending tiem naiow?
B'awwwww! Gim's mom BTW is Earthgov President Marte Allon and le grande dame formidable. And yes, by all means don't worry about the real Vi, she'll be fine. Except, y'know, for the raging PTSD and apparently permanent sub-Wolverine hardcore badass personality change.
So ends part 1 of our tale. I don't think it's much of an exaggeration to say this plot was the most interesting thing to happen to Shrinking Violet and/or Colossal Boy in years. Plus, it falls during my personal pick for Keith Giffen/Larry Mahlstedt art at the top of its game.
Next up, pretty much all of Yera's post-conspiracy appearances.
In this part we ask the eternal question, When is a Shrinking Violet not a Shrinking Violet? Is it when she suddenly starts entertaining advances from the guy who's had a crush on her forever? Or is it when she gets called out on same by her boyfriend of record?
Or is the answer...something far more sinister? dun dun DUNNNNN
As we begin our tale, Chameleon Boy has Done Something Stupid. Still in an emotional tailspin from the revelation that Legion patron R.J. Brande is both a Durlan and his biological father, Cham convened the Legion Espionage Squad for an ethically questionable and almost certainly illegal mission into Khund space. The mission went pear-shaped almost as soon as they set foot on Khundia, and they're saved only by the timely intervention of Saturn Girl, who's gone looking for Timber Wolf at her sister-in-law Light Lass' tearful request. The timely intervention and escape was cut short by an even timelier Khund laser blast, though, and the Squad crash-landed on a frozen asteroid in the hind end of space.
Freezing cold, unable to call for help, and pretty sure they're going to die here, Colossal Boy decides now's the time to act on his longtime crush on Shrinking Violet.
They're rescued, of course, and the Legion plunges from there straight into the Grest Darkness Saga. Gim and Vi don't appear in most of it, but they do answer the all-hands-on-deck call in the Saga's finale. On the way there it's clear from their conversation they've been continuing offscreen what they started on the asteroid. Though Vi frets about what little use their size-changing powers are likely to be, she acquits herself quite nicely, taking down a Servant of Darkness more or less single-handedly:
On the Day After Doomsday, Vi does two very un-Vi-like things. One, she trades in her classic green/black costume for a purple version with either a jacket or vest (and given that she's twice nearly turned into a Vi-cicle I can't blame her for wanting something warmer); and two, she canoodles with Gim in public, first at a Legion party, then in the hallway, and on the final page in a disco.
Trouble with semi-public canoodling, though, is that people will notice....
I include this page mainly for the beefcake. You are welcome. :D
Duplicate Boy's one of the Heroes of Lallor, and Vi's longtime long-distance main squeeze. He spotted the cuddly curls thing via telescopic vision and has been spying on our couple ever since.
As Vi sobs "Please! Please don't hurt my Gim!" Ultra Boy takes Duplicate Boy down with a minimum of fuss. When he wakes, he shrinks back to normal size and assures them he's done fighting, to everyone's relief.
Suspicions: aroused.
We take a brief break for the #300 anniversary issue, and resume with Gim and Vi joining Sun Boy, Brainiac 5 and Supergirl on a mission to Weber's World, the artificial planet the United Planets uses as its vasty administration building. They are promptly ambushed by the Emerald Empress, who plans to weaponize the planet. (She also breaks Sun Boy's jaw BTW, hence the mumbliness here.)
Our wee Vi rescues Supergirl!
Back at home, strange things are afoot in the shadowiest corners of Legion HQ.
The reckoning is at hand in LOSH #305. In orbit over Imsk, with sincere apologies, Element Lad handcuffs Gim while Cham sprays Vi with an aerosol.
Y HELO THAR convenient future-tech device never seen or heard of before or since! I like to call it the Exposition-O-Matic 2983.
"Violet" lands on Imsk and is promptly swooped down upon by the conspirators. Since you've hung in with this post this long, I figure y'all deserve a page of The Big Reveal, even though it bulks up my page count for this issue more than I'd prefer.
But whoops, wrong Durlan! It's Chameleon Boy, and he and the others - including an enraged Colossal Boy who basically tears their hideout to shreds - apprehend the rebels and rescue the real Violet.
It is can be Happy Ending tiem naiow?
B'awwwww! Gim's mom BTW is Earthgov President Marte Allon and le grande dame formidable. And yes, by all means don't worry about the real Vi, she'll be fine. Except, y'know, for the raging PTSD and apparently permanent sub-Wolverine hardcore badass personality change.
So ends part 1 of our tale. I don't think it's much of an exaggeration to say this plot was the most interesting thing to happen to Shrinking Violet and/or Colossal Boy in years. Plus, it falls during my personal pick for Keith Giffen/Larry Mahlstedt art at the top of its game.
Next up, pretty much all of Yera's post-conspiracy appearances.