Why I *LOVE* the Legion of Super-Heroes

[JulianPerez]

I don't think I'd be alone if I said that I was a Marvel Zombie until I discovered Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. This was my "entry" book into the entire DC multiverse.


1. The Legionnaires were the best and brightest of their era and their battles had HUGE cosmic villains and stakes.

Calling the Legionnaires just another "teen team" is severely underestimating them. "Teen teams" tend to be inferior versions of adult heroes; Teen Titans was only really interesting when they stopped being a "Junior Justice League." The Legion on the other hand, was IT: they had prestige and gravitas. They had A-1 clearance to any spaceport in the universe. The Key to the defense fleet of the UP was located inside Legion Headquarters. If the Legion ever actually was a future version of the Simon/Kirby "kid gang" as some have described it, they dropped it very, very early on in the Ed Hamilton years, when they saved Metropolis's first fusion powersphere, and Lightning Lad died fighting Zaryan the Conqueror.

In terms of physical power and sheer superior numbers, the Legion may actually be the most powerful superteam ever.

As a result of this, they fought terrifying cosmic-level enemies with truly terrifying powers: Mordru was Thanos, before Thanos was Thanos. All the huge cosmic Marvel stories of the 1970s (Kree-Skrull War, the Thanos War, Celestial Madonna) owe a debt to the Legion of the 1960s. This entire style of storytelling goes back to the fact that the writers had to come up with challenges big enough for the Legion.

Don't forget the Sun-Eater, which was going to eat the sun and cost millions their lives, or Computo building hundreds of computer versions of himself, or the introduction of the Controllers, or the first Khund and Dark Circle invasions of Earth. Paul Levitz took the Legion "big, epic story" formula and ran with it: there was the colossal Earthwar epic of his, and he dedicated the first few issues of his baxter paper series to a gigantic Legion of Super-Villains run by Nemesis Kid.

Not to disparage in any way a great team like the Teen Titans, but...how truly picayune and minor their stories were. When the Titans were fighting the generation gap, the Legionnaires were plotting their escape from the Stalag of Space.


2. The Legionnaires were "disposable."

This was, by the way, Paul Levitz's wording, not mine, so go get mad at him and not me. :)

Who was the knucklehead that called the Legion "the Archies in space?" Because the Legion has a strong undercurrent of death. Their stories were so high-stakes that it was entirely likely

Now in the Silver Age - the SILVER AGE, mind you, when death was much less common - the Legion had four deaths: Lightning Lad, the first Proty, one of Triplicate Girl's bodies, and Ferro Lad. There was also Kid Psycho, who lost a year of his life when he used his powers.

If you're a DC reader in the Silver Age, you're used to fakeouts and dishonest covers that screw you. But...when ADVENTURE COMICS had Triplicate Girl grewsomely vaporized by a tentacle of Computo - from the waist-out, WRATH OF KHAN-style...it wasn't a fakeout. Triplicate Girl was D-E-A-D, and stayed so.

Come the Bronze Age, we have Cary Bates's ERG-1 story where he dies at the end, Chemical King dying to prevent World War VII, Nemesis Kid butchering the hell out of Karate Kid, and so on, but I think you get the point here: the Legion was as a friend of mine put it, "a lot like the French Foreign Legion: you join for the exotic adventure, but you're more likely to end up massacred."

It isn't so much the Legionnaires could die, but WHY they could die: the Legionnaires lived four-dimensional lives. They could get married, they could retire, they could GROW UP with the reader. Compare how different this is, to...say, Superman or Batman: part of their problem is they have to always be young and unmarried so their pictures can sell beach towels or something, so no change to their status quo is entirely lasting.

Because the Legionnaires developed over time, and changed, and grew up, it was possible to really have an emotional investment in their lives. It was possible to CARE about them, because of how REAL they felt.

(This by the way, used to also be true of the X-Men, until the resurrection of Marvel Girl in X-FACTOR - the single greatest break of trust between creators and the audience ever performed.)

[Joe Rice]

It isn't so much the Legionnaires could die, but WHY they could die: the Legionnaires lived four-dimensional lives. They could get married, they could retire, they could GROW UP with the reader. Compare how different this is, to...say, Superman or Batman: part of their problem is they have to always be young and unmarried so their pictures can sell beach towels or something, so no change to their status quo is entirely lasting.

Because the Legionnaires developed over time, and changed, and grew up, it was possible to really have an emotional investment in their lives. It was possible to CARE about them, because of how REAL they felt.

I'd agree with a lot of this part. It's why I, in particular, thought Giffen's 5YL era was the finest bit of Legion comics ever made, and one of the finest longterm runs on a superhero book. Real change, real development, and endless possibilities were explored. And, contrary to some folks' belief, it was not a 90s grim and gritty exercise. It was really quite the opposite, about climbing out of grimness and finding joy, family, friendship, etc. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Of course, they rebooted it a few times since then, which, to me, kind of said, "No, actually, they don't change all that much." Could be why I've never been able to stomach a Legion comic since.

[Kid Kyoto]

For me it was that the LSH grew up with me. I started reading about 81 or 82 and was simutaniously getting the Adventure comics reprints and the current stuff. The silver age reprints were a bit below my level, Levitz was a bit above and it worked.
The 5 year gap started just I was finishing high school and blew my mind, just as I was getting ready to walk away, they sucked me back in. Heroes vs economic collapse, enviornmental devestation, political corruption? No more nut jobs trying to rob the interstellar bank? PERFECT.

I don't know if that can be done again but the 90s teen legion were typical comic book teenagers who look and act and think just like adults and the 00s legion is frankly a bunch of asses vs a bunch of straw men. I hate both sides in the kids vs adults conflict Waid made central to the storyline.

[mrc1214]

I have not read enough Legion at all Ive only read the Darkness saga. And I loved it. Where should I start with the Legion?? And who wrote the best Legion??

[JulianPerez]

I don't know if that can be done again but the 90s teen legion were typical comic book teenagers who look and act and think just like adults and the 00s legion is frankly a bunch of asses vs a bunch of straw men. I hate both sides in the kids vs adults conflict Waid made central to the storyline.

I actually like the Tom Peyer Legion reboot a great deal, don't get me wrong, but I don't think they entirely grasped what it was that made the Legion so special.

They made the Legion teenagers again and gave them nostalgic, improbable adventures. As an old Silver Age fan, I should like this, but the thing I liked about the Legion were not the over-idealized teen romances at all, but the big cosmic battles, high-stakes, colossally powerful enemies, and the very real, fearful possibility somebody might not come home. It sounds strange to say something had "too much of a sense of fun," but the Peyer Legion was trying to be playful and didn't take itself seriously. The Legion would really have benefitted from some gravitas.

They had Legion try-outs, sure...but not for the same REASON. Back in the day, the Legion had prestige, so everyone wanted to join (and why chicks like Calorie Queen became so bitter when they were rejected). That's why they did tryouts, to showcase that high status the Legion had. Come Peyer and the rest, they kept the jokes about Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, but not the prestige.

I haven't read enough of the Waid Legion to really be entitled to an opinion, but from what I have read, it is very, very much in the spirit of Jim Shooter, where Jim had the Legion face-off against armies of mind-controlled grownups that just didn't get it in stories like the one with Mantis Morlo or Universo becoming President of Earth and outlawing the Legion, etc.

I have not read enough Legion at all Ive only read the Darkness saga. And I loved it. Where should I start with the Legion??

Sure!

Well, Legion stories build on each other, so it's best to read them in chronological order. If you can only pick up one Archive Edition, start with Volume 6, which contains Jim Shooter's introduction of the Sun-Eater and the first appearance of the Fatal Five, which is to the Legion what the Coming of Galactus is to the Fantastic Four. It also has the aftermath, "The Ghost of Ferro Lad."

For the next period of Legion history, try Cary Bates's "One Shot Hero!" in SUPERBOY #195 with art by the incredible Dave Cockrum. Possibly the saddest comics story ever written.

If you love "Great Darkness," you'll LOVE "Earthwar," which alas, is not in TPB but runs between SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES from #241-245. People talk about "Great Darkness," yet Earthwar was the more "Legionish" of the two stories: It's about a war that is manipulated by the Dark Circle through the Khunds and Dominators.

Then there's the colossal battle with the Legion of Super-Villains, which runs from the baxter paper version of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, around issues number #1-4.

And who wrote the best Legion??

Everybody's going to say Levitz, and as much as I love him, let me offer a dissenting view: for my money, it didn't get much better than Cary Bates and Roy Thomas.

Roy Thomas only wrote six issues in 1981, but he showed how well done a character-centered Legion could be. I like Blok, for instance, under Thomas better than Levitz. Levitz had him be kind of a big, goofy alien that didn't know his own strength. But Thomas had him as a surprisingly perceptive, intelligent and sensitive teenage rock being.

As for Silver Age writers...I love both Jim Shooter and Ed Hamilton but for totally different reasons. They're like blondes and brunettes. Shooter was hip and Marvel-style and counterculture, whereas Hamilton was science fiction centered and much more "classic DC."

I'd agree with a lot of this part. It's why I, in particular, thought Giffen's 5YL era was the finest bit of Legion comics ever made, and one of the finest longterm runs on a superhero book. Real change, real development, and endless possibilities were explored. And, contrary to some folks' belief, it was not a 90s grim and gritty exercise. It was really quite the opposite, about climbing out of grimness and finding joy, family, friendship, etc. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. First, the kind of change I'm talking about is a gradual kind, and isn't believeable if you take big galumphing leaps and breaks as Giffen did. There's a difference between watching someone grow up, and watch them morph into unrecognizeability by mischaracterization. For instance, Giffen's presentation of Polar Boy as a weak Legion leader. It's true that Polar Boy was always overawed and underconfident, but he had a quick mind and was more than meets the eye. Jo Nah as a gangster named "the Dragon?"

Second, I have a real problem with Legion stories that are derivative. This is why the post-reboot story about Ra's al-Ghul being the President in disguise bugged me: I liked this idea better when it was Universo in disguise as UP President. The idea of a damaged, destroyed Earth facing starvation was done all the way back with Gerry Conway in the late seventies/early eighties (and it wasn't that great an idea then, either).

Finally, IMHO, Giffen isn't that great a writer or artist either. The last great artwork that he really did that I liked was...ah...geez, back in the seventies with that issue of MARVEL PREMIERE featuring Woodgod, or maaaybe his fill-in issues of SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP. Since then, Giffen's abandoned his Tuska/Buscema style and gone for giving people heads that look like geometric shapes. And he's a better artist than writer (hooboy). Then again, it may not be fair to judge Giffen because considering the artistic pedigree of the Legion - from Swan to Cockrum to Grell in the best work of his career - clearly he'll suffer in the comparison.

[stelok]

I am a tad familiar with the pre-Zero Hour Legion. In fact I own some issues of them.

I also collected a majority of Peyer/McGraw Legion and some issues of the Abnett/Lanning who succeeded them. Peyer/McGraw was rather a decent co-writer run, but I liked Abnett/Lanning team much better.

But when I read the Mark Waid's Legion (#4-11, 13-14), it really amazed me.
I totally loved Mr. Waid's concept of the futuristic intergalactic society in the Legion. I also liked the new versions of Karate Kid and Star Boy. I really wish that Dawnstar and Wildfire will show up soon in the book. I liked both of them.

[Gingold]

Giffen's 5 Years Later Legion is probably my favorite Legion era. I loved the stories, loved the art, loved Giffen's commitment to the 9-panel grid, loved the changes and evolution of the characters. It's a lot different from the "classic" Legion, so I can understand why some hardcore fans arent' too fond of it, but that run is the only Legion that I really ever feel the urge to go back and re-read.

Plenty of the earlier stuff is fun Silver/Bronze age comics, and I've enjoyed most of them that I've read, but I don't think it matches the depth and characterization of Giffen's run.

The post Zero Hour stuff was well-intentioned, I supose but not really my bag. The hip new code names were terrible.

Waid and Kitson started off strong with their current run, but it's losing my interest lately. Adding Supergirl was a good idea in theory, but the execution hasn't been great.

[Ontir]

For me it was that the LSH grew up with me.

The 5 year gap started [and] sucked me back in. Heroes vs economic collapse, enviornmental devestation, political corruption? No more nut jobs trying to rob the interstellar bank? PERFECT.

That pretty much sums up my feelings. What's followed has at times been quite good, such as when DnA were at their best; but nothing's been nearly as good as Giffen's 2nd run.

[Kid Kyoto]

Something else about the 'disposable Legion' besides messy deaths you also had a chance for characters to grow up and leave the nest. The LSH used to have a rule that married members had to leave, keep in mind this was the 50s and 60s where everyone was married around 25.

So you had Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel marry and retire from superheroing.

Later in the Levitz legion at the end of the Great Darkness Saga Light Lass makes a short speach about how when she joined the Legion was fun, it was about stopping bank robbers but now with interstellar wars and other high stakes battles she was done. And she quit.

During the Giffin/Bierbaum era Star Boy retired and managed a baseball team.

Other characters did not quit, they stayed on fighting till the end but some did.

I kind of like the idea of people growing out of their superhero phase and feeling no shame in it. It was a very mature thing for writers to do.

Of course having a large cast in their own corner of the DCU helped a lot.

So for me
1 - High quality talent, I read the LSH with some of the best writers and artists in the business
2 - the team grew up with me
3 - Isolation from the rest of the DCU and marketing allowed for some permanent and intersting changes

[rick]

Giffen is an excellent artist, and his art on the Legion, especially the 5 years later jump ranks right up there with anything that Swan, Cockrum or Grell ever did.

[Paul Newell]

Giffen is an excellent artist, and his art on the Legion, especially the 5 years later jump ranks right up there with anything that Swan, Cockrum or Grell ever did.

Speaking of the creative talent, Legion is also great for seeing the beginnings of some top flight talant in the industry as well.

To name a few: Jim Shooter, Cary Bates, Dave Cockrum, Mike Grell, Kieth Giffen, Steve Lightle, Jason Pearson, Stuart Immomen, Chris Sprouse, Scott Kolins, Olivier Coipel all got their "big break" on the title.

[Ontir]

Brandon Peterson too!

I've always wanted to see Steve Rude do an arc! Given his Nexus work, not to mention his Norman Rockwell meets Dr. Seuss style, I think he'd be a perfect fit for the Legion, in any era.

[Calybos]

3 - Isolation from the rest of the DCU and marketing allowed for some permanent and intersting changes

That's a particularly important point to me. Every time the Legion had to interact with the rest of DC's "event of the month," it screwed with their continuity and they had to pretend they'd learned a different history all along. They needed to befriend a pocket-universe Superboy, change Dev-em's origin, invent Laurel Gand, erase Mon-el, and so on.

It was a completely unnecessary headache that could all have been avoided if they just stayed away from the modern era!

[JulianPerez]

That's a particularly important point to me. Every time the Legion had to interact with the rest of DC's "event of the month," it screwed with their continuity and they had to pretend they'd learned a different history all along. They needed to befriend a pocket-universe Superboy, change Dev-em's origin, invent Laurel Gand, erase Mon-el, and so on.

It was a completely unnecessary headache that could all have been avoided if they just stayed away from the modern era!

I agree with what you're trying to say, but at the same time, the Legion is very much defined by the element of time travel. The Legion should have time travel, and should (sparingly) interact with "modern day." They are, after all, a spin-off, and extension of the Superman mythos. Many great Legion stories utilize interacting with modern times. For instance, there was an extraordinary Marty Pasko written story in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD that has Batman team-up with the Legionnaires - a much better story than it sounds. Ed Hamilton wrote several stories featuring Lex Luthor against the Legionnaires. And if you want to see some great Curt Swan art, check out DC COMICS PRESENTS #80, with adult Superman and lost-Legionnaires vs. Brainiac and a city of robot Supermen.

The Legion might be interesting in modern times...maybe even in a big crossover. The Legionnaires have knowledge of the "future" (really, their past) which allows them to "cheat." Imagine a big-time crossover, and the Legion shows up in the middle of it, already knowing how it is all going to end!

[Calybos]

Maybe the standard for Legion time bubbles should be that they only to go previous stories in the modern era, not "current" ones.

So they could visit Armageddon: 2000 to their heart's content, or Identity Crisis, or the JLI days, or the moment Power Girl joined the JSA... they just can't show up on Beast Boy's doorstep to tell them who the traitor Titan is, because that story's going on right now.