I know that some readers are sensitive to storylines where one character seems to leap in and solve problems that others have struggled with. People's concerns about Mumph and an "easy win" here are have set off alarm bells for me that maybe its not a good idea to have him around again because this is the kind of situation he tends to end up resolving.

My thinking was to illustrate how Vizh handles LL leadership differently from others. Hatman acted like a sports team captain. Finny played it like a square-jawed crimefighter. Mumph treated it like a gentlemen's club or officer's mess. Vizh is all about family and friends so he'd be far more likely to dig into his address book and call in the most useful contact to resolve things.

The intention was to resolve the Hodgekiss/conspiracy plotline without having a massive multi-part was against shadow government, that offered some payback satisfaction for readers, and that left things open for a return engagment later after we've had a chance to have other kinds of stories. This particular issue is also a series of short stories introducing or reintroducing the new team so it seemed economical to use Mumph to cap the Hodgekiss plot.

I was hoping the story would come across as Vizh being able to handle something that his predecessors struggled with by virtue of his different skillset and MO, to show that he had something to bring to the party as leader. I was hoping to remind readers of Mumphrey's and Asil's attitudes and characters in a fun way. I was hoping to give some kudos to Garrick and resolve his recent story arc.

However, I'm always very cautious with my "primary" characters about giving them too much spotlight at the cost of others. That was why I shifted Mumph out of the LL before and at one point was intending to kill him off at the end of the Parody War. I think I need to reflect further on how wise it is to have him back there in the cast.