Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special #1 Review and **SPOILERS**

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I Shoulda Made That Left Turn Mid-Century

Writer: Sam Humphries 

Penciller, Interior & Cover: Tom Grummett 

Inker: Scott Hanna 

Letterer: Josh Reed 

Colorist, Interior & Cover: Steve Buccellato 

Back-Up By: Juan Ortiz 

Cover Inker: Karl Kesel 

Cover Price: $4.99 

On Sale Date: June 14, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

I have heard it lamented that Looney Tunes cartoons aren’t really on television anymore. It’s sort of too bad, because they seem so timeless and hilarious, even on reflection. It’s not like I think kids today should have the same upbringing as me, hell if Looney Tunes somehow contributed to the crappy adult I’ve become, then it’s for the best that children don’t know Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as intimately. Thing is, Looney Tunes cartoons were already old when I was a kid—many of them were old when my parents were kids—and yet I still thrilled to their exploits long past the time that I should have known better. So if kids aren’t into Bugs Bunny anymore, then I guess the best thing to do is pair the character with the most popular folks in DC Comics’ stable…the Legion of Super-Heroes? Uh, okay, this is sure to be strange. Check out my review of Legion of Super-Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special #1, aquí!

Explain It!

So I’m just going to have to go through this under the assumption that you already know a fair amount about Bugs Bunny and the Legion of Super-Heroes, because the whole issue is steeped on call-outs to both properties and I don’t have the space here to elucidate. Right from the cover, a call-out to the Legion’s debut in Adventure Comics #247 (which I reviewed, right here!), we are wallowing in Legion of Super-Heroes and Bugs Bunny tropes. With that caveat out of the way, our story begins with Brainiac 5 feeling very frustrated over not being able to cure Supergirl infection of Rigel Fever, requiring her to be pristinely displayed on an incline underneath a sun lamp. This, and a lot of the stuff from this story are call-outs to Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen’s run on Legion of Super-Heroes, when the title was patterned more after Marvel’s X-Men in that the characters were full of angst. Indeed, members are paralyzed for entire panels, ruminating on their troubles in thought bubbles, which I have just now named “trouble bubbes.” Copyright me! No one steal that!

To make things weirder, Brainiac has built another Computo, brilliantly named “Computo 2,” but instead of ultimately wanting to kill the Legion it has been programmed to love…a lot. Brainiac 5 in particular. So when it’s instructed to go back in time and grab Superboy for some special curative element, Computo 2 decides to grab Bugs Bunny, underground burrow and all! After some goofy interactions with Wildfire and Shadow Lass, Bugs Bunny cops to suddenly being in the 31^st Century and tries to scram. After using some cartoon gags to thwart the Legion, Dream Girl surmises that Bugs must be a superhero, and he becomes the more traditional Super-Bugs having eaten one of his infused carrots.

That opportunity comes when Validus shows up for no special reason, and Super-Bugs cleans his clock. We later learn that Computo 2 tried to rig Supergirl’s rescue to fail because it is in love with Brainiac 5 and was jealous of his love for Kara. At that, Computo 2 conveniently destroys itself, and equally as conveniently the last infused carrot that Bugs has is just the ticket to bring Supergirl out of her funk. The future Legion is so grateful, they erect a Super-Bugs statue to stand next to their Superboy monument, leaning on his shoulder like the smug animated prick that he is.

The second story is…basically the same thing as the first? Seriously, it’s weird…more in the style of the Silver Age Legion, but still basically the same tale about Bugs Bunny being brought from the past to save Supergirl, except even more silly. I did like the gags, and overall I did like this issue—but I am familiar with Levitz/Giffen’s Legion of Super-Heroes, so I could laugh at a lot of the inside jokes. If you’re also a fan and can chuckle at some light-hearted poking of fun, then you might enjoy this. If you’re not familiar with this run of Legion, however, I can’t see what you’d get out of it. This comic is good for a few chortles, and for a buck less it might have even warranted a guffaw.

Bits and Pieces:

If you read Paul Levitz's run on the Legion of Super-Heroes, then you might enjoy this comic. Otherwise, I imagine you'd find it pointless. Essentially the same story is repeated twice, though the second one is closer to the Silver Age style than the other. Eh. It's better than Space Jam.

7/10