Legionnaires 80

Legionnaires #80 Reboot » Post-Zero Hour Cover by Olivier Coipel, et al Story title Legion of the Damned Part Four: Damned for all Eternity! Previous story Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #123 Next story Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #124 Publication date 8 December, 1999 Cover date February 2000 Creators Writer(s) Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (DnA) Penciller(s) Olivier Coipel Inker(s) Andy Lanning Letterer(s) Comicraft Colourist(s) Tom McCraw Editor(s) Mike McAvennie Cover artist(s) Olivier Coipel (pencils) Andy Lanning (inks) Patrick Martin (colours).

Legion of the Damned Part Four: Damned for all Eternity!

Aprophos tells M'Onel how there is one way to end their curse - using a catalyst, they plan to send a vast energy wave through the Doda's network, causing a detonation of "life energy" throughout the galaxy, which energy will reverse the Blight's state of entropic decay and "free" them at the cost of every other living thing. M'Onel is told that he will be the catalyst as the Blight begins and he screams.

The Legionnaires, with Chameleon posing as a Blight, infiltrate the Stem posing as captives. Saturn Girl guides them, searching for where they need to go - until she locks onto M'Onel, and pain knocks her off her feet. She whispers Atrophos' plan to Cos, and he breaks from the "prisoners" act, and they rush for where M'Onel is being held. Monstress is knocked unconscious by the Blighted Ultra Boy, but the sight of Apparition stops him in his tracks. As he stands confused, Tinya tells him he can beat anything, their bond is stronger than the Blighting, reaches out to him... and phases through him.

The others make their way to the central chamber, where Cos tells Brainy to block the door with his forcefield, and unleashes a great mass of metal at Atrophos, knocking him to the side. He rushes at the controls to where M'Onel is being held, but Saturn Girl tells him to leave them, and knocks him out when he refuses. As the others stand baffled, Atrophos gloats, and Chameleon attempts to stop her and is knocked back as she asks him to believe in her. He can't, and is about to shoot her with his blaster when XS intervenes and talks him down, based on the impressions she got from Imra in her mindblast, and he lowers it.

A spike of energy from the energy vortex now surrounding M'Onel knocks them off their feet, and Saturn Girl links with M'Onel, telling him she intends to guide him into using his link with the Doda into freeing it from the Blight's corruption, allowing it to flower and finally complete its' life cycle. As the others wonder what's happening as the vortex changes from purple to cream-coloured, Brainy struggles to block the entrance - then steps aside, as Atophos, realising what's happening, lunges at the crontrols... to allow Apparition, Monstress and the no longer Blighted Ultra Boy through, who promptly picks him up and hurls Aprophos into the doda's energy vortex.

The Stem then blows apart, and the Legionnaires are tossed around as the liberating pulse, borne from M'Onel's power, speeds through the Doda's tendrils everywhere, evaporating the Blight, and Saturn Girl and M'Onel, linked to it, watch as it finally flowers.

She then comes back to reality, and XS looks down at her and tells her to "come and see the light show" as everyone, including the formerly-Blighted, look up at the sky. Brainiac 5.1 is left almost speechless, and Imra reconciles with Cos and Chameleon - and then, as she wonders what she'll do without Live Wire, is alerted to Garth, Lyle and others coming up from where the root of the Stem had been.

While they savour their victory, however, "tomorrow [they]'ve got work to do", repairing the wounds left on Earth and in their hearts.

Roll Call

Planets and Settings

• Earth
  • Metropolis

Solicitation

LEGIONNAIRES #80

Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; art and cover by Olivier Coipel and Lanning.

The battle against the menace of the Blight reaches its heartbreaking conclusion of the 4-part "Legion of the Damned." Only seven Legionnaires remain to make their final stand against Atrophos and the Blight, who intend to use M'Onel's Daxamite energies as the catalyst to destroy life everywhere and achieve immortality. Even worse, there may be a traitor among the un-Blighted Legionnaires.

32 pages, $2.50, ships on Dec. 8.

Cover images

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  Solicited cover art

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  Published cover

See also

• Legion Publication History - Other issues published (late) 1999-2001
• Legion Publication History - Other issues of Legionnaires
• Post-Zero Hour Chronology