"The End" Week: Valor #23!

I watched Beneath the Planet of the Apes again recently: I first saw it when I was 6 or 7; and I think every time I've seen it since I can't help but hope it will somehow end differently. It never does, and neither did this one; as I finally read two parts of the crossover that wrapped up the "Five Years Later" era: from 1994, Valor #23, "Infinite Valor" Written by Kurt Busiek, pencils by Colleen Doran, inks by Dave Cooper.

This was, like Team Titans #24, another Zero Hour crossover/last issue; but more importantly it was part 5 of the 6-part "End of an Era" crossover with Legion of Super-Heroes and Legionnaires. Yeah, the Legion basically had three titles then! "Valor" was Lar Gand, the post-Crisis version of Legion powerhouse Mon-El, finally returned to the 30th century, pretty much just in time for it to fall apart. Among other things, time seemed to be erasing the Legion and their friends, with heroes seemingly randomly disappearing; a fate Valor had avoided only with the help of Tasmia Mallor, Shadow Lass. She remembered them being married, and they were able to keep each other in place. Mostly: when Lar starts to slip out of reality again, an old friend lends a helping hand...

Meanwhile, sort of, since time was breaking; Rokk "Cosmic Boy" Krinn faces one of the Legion's oldest foes, the mysterious Time Trapper. Who tries to explain, that wasn't what he had been trying to do, at all: the Trapper had been trying to save the future, but, well, mistakes were made. He references three attempts to help that went south, and three tries to rebuild the timeline that also failed; and also cops to creating the SW6, the younger version of the team that had been discovered in Dominator pods. The SW6 had been a time paradox, which didn't help matters. Nor does the reveal, that the Trapper actually was Rokk Krinn! Also, on the planet Talus, the remnants of both Legion teams, were getting clobbered by Mordru and Glorith, who had stolen the power of the Infinite Man. Confused and demoralized, the Legion is on the verge of defeat, when Lar and Tasmia arrive with help: Superboy! Classic pre-Crisis version.

Lar is able to distract Glorith with a bit of dirty pool: offering himself to her, if she'll spare the Legion. She really seems into that, until Superboy punches her out; and the Dream Girls play a hunch, knocking Lar into absorbing the power Glorith lost. After fighting Mordru on equal footing for a bit, the Brainiac 5's tell Lar to release the power, let Mordru have it: the infinite power is too much, which gives them the chance to exploit his weakness: burying him. The plan isn't a complete success, since Mordru buries himself within Pocket Earth, which had been pulled into that dimension in a previous issue, but was going to explode soon...Worse, Tasmia had caught a stray blast. She has time to tell Lar--Mon--she loves him, before disappearing. Lar tells the others, fix this, he was going after her, and disappears as well.

It's a brutal loss, but before the Legion can fall into despair, Superboy rallies the team, one final time, before disappearing himself. Still, even without him, the team stays rallied, for one last push...

I had read the final chapter when it came out, and I knew Superboy wasn't in it, so I knew what was going to happen here and there was no avoiding it. I don't think I had warmed to Valor before, since Mon-El's final battle--against the Time Trapper, if I recall correctly!--was surprisingly affecting. I think I liked this better than some of his other, modern appearances; but then I like the character: keep giving him shots.