Lightning Storm
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Contents
Story Synopsis
TV listing
Much to the Legion's disappointment, Lighting Lad accepts an invitation to join an older, "cooler" team. Once there, however, Lightning Lad realizes these new heroes aren't exactly what they seem. Now, caught between the Legion and his new friends, Lighting Lad must decide once and for all where his loyalties lie.
Expanded synopsis
While Superman, Colossal Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Triplicate Girl fight a giant space squid that has not only the Legionnaires but also some space ships in its tentacles, Bouncing Boy attacks it in a Legion Cruiser. Nothing seems to be working. Suddenly a new ship appears and several people fly out towards the fight, announcing that the professionals are here.
Tyr, the leader, sends Wave out to distract the creature while Esper sends a mind-blast. Ron Karr shapeshifts into a clawed creature that makes some of the tentacles let their prisoners go, while Hunter uses weapons and Tyr blasts it with a gun attached to his right hand. The two groups team up to fight off the squid, but the Legionnaires get sprayed with a green goo before it leaves. Tyr suggests that the Legion clean up the mess the squid left to make themselves useful. Lightning Lad shakes his head in disgust. Back on the Cruiser, Colossal Boy leaves to finish his patrol while the rest of the group tries to figure out what happened. Lightning Lad, in particular, is impressed by their attitude and spaceship. They see on the viewscreen that the new group's ship is docked at the 3rd Rock Diner station nearby and head there for a round of Jupiter burgers. Lightning Lad goes over to the new group to congratulate them on a good job, and Hunter tells him that he ran into a space squid like that back on Rellin 5, so he knew how to handle this one. Tyr tells Lightning Lad that he did a good job and introduces him to the rest of the group as the Light Speed Vanguard. They tell him he seems too old to be a Lighting "Lad", and too old for the rest of the group too - as Lightning Lad is introducing himself to the LSV, Bouncing Boy has stuck straws up his nose and balanced a hamburger on his head, imitating a walrus while everyone laughs. Esper gives the embarrassed Legionnaire the card with L-S-V on it. Back at the Legion Clubhouse, a number of prospective applicants are awaiting tryouts, with Bouncing Boy giving a weeklong seminar. Lightning Lad speaks to one of them, Porcupine Pete, whose control over his quills is not quite up to Legion standards yet. Lightning Lad is not amused. Outside, he touches the card Esper gave to him and a portal opens up. He walks through it, but on the other side not only does the portal disappear, but he sees the leader of the LSV: his brother Mekt, who tells the rest of the LSV that he knew Lightning Lad would show up.
Lightning Lad isn't happy to see his brother, reminding him how he helped the Fatal Five almost kill the President of the United Planets (in the earlier episode Champions). Mekt says it was a mistake and he's moved on, he's a member of the LSV and Mekt vouched for his brother. Esper scoffs when Lightning Lad says he's still with the Legion, calling them his "little friends", and Tyr invites him to hang out with them for a while to see what they're like. He calls the Legion on the LSV's commlink and tells them he needs a change of pace for a little while. Saturn Girl has a bad feeling about the people he's with, revealing that back at the diner, she tried to read their minds but couldn't because Esper was shielding them. Timber Wolf suggests a stakeout. On board the LSV ship, Lightning Lad recalls "old times" with his brother, which Esper sees in his mind as the time when Mekt and the twins Garth and Ayla got their powers from the Lightning Beasts of Korbal. Mekt had tried to save them. Lightning Lad is surprised that she read his mind, to which she replies that everyone has a past. Outside the ship, Superman and Timber Wolf wait in a Legion Cruiser that Timber Wolf had modified to have Level 8 cloaking. The LSV ship leaves, with the Cruiser in hot pursuit. On a distant planet, the LSV sees some Sand Raiders attacking a transport, and fight off the Raiders. Lightning Lad tries to fight a large robot by himself but is knocked around, and Superman and Timber Wolf come to his rescue. Lightning Lad is upset that they made it look like he can't take care of himself. Superman is surprised to see Mekt, who replies that people change. Lightning Lad is further angered to find out that they were tailing him to make sure he was OK, and tells Superman that because of that, he's going to stay. After they leave, the LSV presents the transport captain with a bill for their services. The ship is carrying decontamination units to a colony in Sector 10, so Tyr says they will give the captain a few days to pay up. Lightning Lad is aghast that the LSV charges for rescues, and Esper argues that cruisers aren't cheap. Tyr adds that they aren't heroes, it's a business. Lightning Lad might have second thoughts about joining the LSV.
On board the LSV cruiser, Lightning Lad notes to his brother than there are riots on Garlax Prime, and convicts have escaped from a prison on Restfa 5. Mekt says they can't do anything about those because there are no credits in it for them. Tyr announces that the transport captain has declared he's not going to pay, and now it's time to go collect. Back at Legion HQ, Bouncing Boy is working with the prospective applicants, and invites them to practice their tryout. One volunteer announces he's going to be Breath Boy because he can hold his breath for hours or even days. Breath Boy takes a huge breath and stands there. Superman calls Bouncing Boy over to report they've picked up a distress signal from a transport carrying decontamination units, but they don't know who the hijackers are yet. Inside the transport, the LSV members are carrying out the units to cover the cost of their fee. Lightning Lad finally has seen the LSV for what they are and refuses to help, and blasts Tyr. Lightning Lad is blasted out of the ship and rescued by the Legion, and acknowledges that he's done trying to work with his brother to be something good. They shoot lightning at each other, and Mekt reminds his brother than he got more powers than his twin siblings in the accident. While Hunter fights Timber Wolf physically, Saturn Girl and Esper do the same mentally. Mekt tries to get his brother to stop by reminding him that he saved his life, but Lightning Lad replies that he doesn't owe his brother anything any more. Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl watch the fight from the Cruiser, and see Wave and Ron Karr in their own cruiser preparing for ship-to-ship battle. Bouncing Boy outmaneuvers their shots. Saturn Girl kicks Esper, who was unprepared for a physical attack. Saturn Girl distracts Hunter by making him see Glorgs, and Timber Wolf knocks him out. Superman finally bests Tyr with heat vision and super-strength as the LSV ship is caught from behind by Bouncing Boy. In the fight with his brother, Lightning Lad is trapped beneath some debris, but Mekt announces that he's not going to do anything, preferring to have his brother owe him one. He's got plans for the future and flies off. Superman helps out Lightning Lad and asks if he's coming to help them deliver the decontamination units, saying that it's not that they're taking Lightning Lad back, it's that he never left. The rest of the LSV are in custody by the other Legionnaires. Back on the ship, Triplicate Girl is telling the team what an amazing job Bouncing Boy did piloting the ship, and Superman notes that the two of them make a pretty good team. Bouncing Boy blushes, and Triplicate Girl smiles. Lightning Lad tells Saturn Girl that he thought the LSV was so cool that he forgot what being a hero was all about, but she replies that he didn't forget and that he's a good person. Meanwhile, back at the Legion Clubhouse, Breath Boy is still standing there holding his breath. Someone turns the lights off.
Cast
Legionnaires
The following appear in the episode:
Villains
- The Light Speed Vanguard
- Sand Raiders
Other Characters
- a Space Squid
- Pilots of ships held by the space squid
- Diners at the 3rd Rock Diner
- Prospective applicants for the Legion, including ones resembling Antennae Lad, Chlorophyll Kid, Infectious Lass, Double Header, Polecat, Invisible Kid/Jacques Foccart, Polar Boy, Fire Lad, Color Kid, Porcupine Pete, Stone Boy, Night Girl, The Mess, and Breath Boy.
- Captain and Crewmembers of a downed transport ship
- Lightning beast, Ayla Ranzz (in flashback only)
- Glorgs (as mental illusions only)
Miscellaneous
- Legion Cruiser, LSV Cruiser
Locations
- 3rd Rock Diner
- Rellin 5 (mentioned but not seen)
- an unnamed planet where a transport ship has crashed
- Sector 10 colony (mentioned but not seen)
- Korbal (in flashback only)
- Garlax Prime (mentioned but not seen)
- Restfa 5 (mentioned but not seen)
Trivia about the episode
- Colossal Boy makes his first appearance of the series in this episode.
- The Light Speed Vanguard is the cartoon continuity's version of the Legion of Super-Villains, from which it takes its initials. The members of this team all served together in the battle that ended with the death of Karate Kid.
- Lightning Lad is one of the team's founders.
- Ayla's name is pronounced such that it rhymes with "Layla" (with a long "A" in the first syllable).
- The episode hints at a possible relationship (as in the comics) between Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl.
Quotes
- Triplicate Girl (combined): "Ready to kick some squid butt!" Triplicate Girl (purple): "Wait, do they have butts?"
- Triplicate Girl (orange): "We thought they were stuck up." Lightning Lad: "That's how people act when they really have it together!"
- Superman: "Want to play some checkers?" Timber Wolf: "What's checkers?" Superman: "It's a game we have back in Kansas." Timber Wolf: "What's Kansas?"
- Tyr: "Who ever said we were heroes? This is business."
Adaptations
This episode recalls the first story with the Work Force in post-Zero Hour continuity. In that story, Live Wire quit the Legion to join the Work Force, whose members included Spider-Girl (whose Glorithverse counterpart was Wave). See Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #64 and subsequent issues.
