Legion of Superheroes Homage to Mavel Team-Up Issue 11

Tyroc has had a history within the Legion mythos of the " Hero everyone loves to Hate..." To put it mildly his orgin and initial appearances instead of bridging gaps between cultures reinforced horrble racial sterotypes...Marzal is the island/31st Century Ghetto where black people live..and the loud angry black man is presented in a costume that Mike Grell famously once described as "Elvis meets Street-Pimp". Its no wonder that he was shunted off-stage after a few appearances, to an inter-dimensional version of Space Brigadoon.

Saying all that was/is wrong with this character, I still have a soft spot for him and this story, that I first read as a kid. Yes, its heavy-handed in its political-correctedness messaging , its no coincidence that the Legionnaires featured in this story are selected because of their diverse skin-tones (blue, green etc etc ) as opposed to their powers and abilities. However growing up in the sectarian violence of Northren Ireland during the 70's, the message in this story did ring true.

His costume is horrible but,Tyroc's power is cool . It is a kick butt powerhouse ability with some very weird side effects. After all neither Banshee of the X-Men or Black Canary of the JLA can use their sonic scream to makes plants grow or teleport !!!.

Handled right, Marzal could be a Wankanda type enviroment. I think his leadership skills were highighted when later in in Legion history, Tyroc becomes President of Earth. The potential always has been there and lately despite some strange outfit choices, his powers have been used in some very cool & creative ways in Legion stories.

But this cool Inhumans/Great Refuge/ Insider Vs Outsider cover makes a great backdrop and homage to a story that was filled with good intentions , failed miserably and was so BAD that it almost becomes Gloriously Good in a slightly goofy way.

Saying all that, I still liked the story and I think in an organization that embraces Matter-Eater Lad and Bouncing Boy..the hero from Marzal deserves his time to Shout, Scream and Shine.

Peter Temple did an excellent job with the pencils and Chris Ivy finished it off and I think they both managed to give it a Cool & Groovy Retro Vibe...I am under NO ilusions that this will ever be in the top 10 most viewed CAF images in my gallery, but I am thrilled to have Tyroc in my Re-Legion collection.

Peace out...Enjoy
Aidan