Festivus 2009

Today is December 23, and you know what that means... it's Festivus time!

Festivus, which originated on an episode of "Seinfeld" in 1997, is a non-denominational holiday celebrated on Dec. 23 (or sometimes earlier, to avoid the Christmas rush). Instead of a tree, a simple unadorned aluminum pole is displayed, in opposition to the highly decorated Christmas trees. Two of the main elements of the holiday that involve people are the annual Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength. There are Festivus Miracles too, but they're not officially required.

So to celebrate, here are my list of Legion grievances. Please add your own in the comments, but remember they only can cover calendar year 2009 (so no whining about anything that happened last year). In no particular order:

The first two are leftover grievances from 2008:


• The Superboy lawsuit is STILL not settled.
  
  
• Whatever happened to that Jim Lee/Paul Levitz Legion story that was supposed to come out months ago? Delayed until sometime in 2009, so I've heard, but nothing specific.
  
  
• The Legion is reduced to a backup strip for the first time since the early 1970s.
  
  
• In the Smallville episode, the Legionnaires saying: "The only way to stop Chloe is to kill her."
  
  
• The end of Final Crisis #6 had L1 Brainiac 5 showing the Miracle Machine to Superman. Not only had the Miracle Machine been eaten years before, but this scene was not seen or even referenced in L3W.
  
  
• Not only that the Legion v5 book was cancelled, not only that the Final Crisis/L3W story forced Jim Shooter's story to get cut by four issues, but also that Shooter either walked out on the last issue and forced a ghost writer or chose to use a pseudonym to close out the series.
  
  
• The latest retelling of the story of how Superman/boy joined the Legion lost the intention of the original story, how Clark Kent had to audition for a spot (even though it was all a joke). Now, they just asked him to join.
  
  
• It took 11 months for the 5-issue monthly L3W to come out.
  

Now to temper the List of Grievances, we also have some Festivus Miracles:

• George Perez. STILL on the Legion, even if L3W is delayed.
  
  
• The Legion on Smallville. The Legion. ON LIVE-ACTION TV. By Geoff Johns. And it's one of the highest rated and most-liked episodes of the season.
  
  
• Mon-El in a starring role in the Superman titles.
  
  
• The return of Adventure Comics, featuring (at least for now) the Legion.
  
  
• The return of R.E.B.E.L.S.
  
  
• Action figures!
  
  
• I hit my 1000th post.
  
  
• Paul Levitz will return to be the full-time writer on the Legion. The internet broke in half at the news that he was leaving DC Corporate.
  
  
• L3W returning all 3 Legions
  

The last of the Festivus traditions is the Feats of Strength, in which the guests wrestle with and try to pin the host to the floor. I think I've been doing that all year long with my trivia (see past quizzes here), but here are three bonus questions for you to wrestle with.

1. Which Legion-related heroes and villains have been shown on both live-action and animated form?
   
   
2. Who said this, and what were the circumstances? "Mmm... this is nice! I must kiss her again!!"
   
   
3. Where did we see the Jaguar Court?
   

Action figure roundup

This month's Q&A with Mattel (by various action figure sites) had a few Legion figure questions and some vague answers. As always, I'll believe it when I see them. (round up via Toy News International)

Cool Toy Review:

Cool Toy Review: I know we ask about the Legion of Super-Heroes quite often, but that's because the Legion is cool! Can we look forward to more figures from the 30th century?

Mattel: Absolutely.

Action Figure Insider:

Q5. Whenever the Legion of Super-Heroes are released for the DCUC line can we expect to see them have a whole wave like wave 8 was for JSA or will they be peppered into other waves?

A5: We have some great plans for LOSH but it is too early for us to get into these specifics.

Kastor's Korner:

Kastor: With the Legion having such a large roster, Matty, what era is your favorite? Any characters from the team that are your favorite besides the big names (Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5)?

Matty: When we do get to the Legion, we’ll most likely lean toward each characters most well known appearance. Aside from the big names, Wildfire, Ferro Lad, Mon-El and Dawnstar are personal favorites of Toy Guru.

Last Stand of New Krypton: no new Legion book (yet)

From today's DC blog The Source comes more info on the 8-part "Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes" arc.

Note that this article reveals that the "soon to be named" title from the previous article is "Last Stand of New Krypton", to go with "Superman", "Supergirl", and "Adventure" (but for some reason, not "Action"). No new Legion book yet.

What is the LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON? Well, it’s basically New Krypton’s worst nightmare come to life, as Brainiac attacks the planet, determined to recapture the city of Kandor.

But General Zod has prepared for this moment since Brainiac first attacked the original Krypton. Only problem? Zod’s plan to save New Krypton will mean the destruction of the future.

So it’s up to Superman, Supergirl, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes to save the people of New Krypton and ensure the Legion won’t be wiped from the future’s existence. Good luck! Or, to quote editor Matt Idelson:

“This is the story that ties together tons of threads that have run through all the Super-books up to now, clearing the decks for the war we all knew was coming. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting months to see Brainiac restored to his full, horrific glory. And at last, we’ll get to see Superboy interact on an ongoing basis with the rest of the Superbooks’ characters.”

LAST STAND is a three-issue miniseries, weighing in at 30 story pages each, from writers James Robinson and Sterling Gates and artist Pete Woods. The first issue sports an amazing Andy Kubert cover and kicks off the latest chapter in the New Krypton saga, “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes,” which we teased right here not long ago. “Brainiac & the LOSH” is an eight-part story (plus an epilogue and a prologue) that will run in LAST STAND, SUPERGIRL, SUPERMAN, and because you demanded it, ADVENTURE COMICS. Secrets will be revealed, loyalties tested and would-be lovers will be reunited—for the first time? And, knowing that all signs are pointing to an epic WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, why not hop aboard now?

SUPERMAN: LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON hits in March.

Trivia Answers #42

Trivia answers tonight:

1. List any five of Lori Morning’s aliases when she used the "Dial H for Hero" dial.

The ones I came up with, via Wikipedia: Future Girl, Fireball, Slipstream, Blip, Dynasoar, Chiller, Ink, Galaxy Girl, Plasma, Helios, and the Time Trapper.

2. Which of the following were the members of the Interplanetary Bank Beast Guards?

a. Asteroid Serpent
b. Hypno Beast
c. Jigsaw Creature
d. Invisible Eagle
e. Flame-Beast
f. Phantom Beast
g. Loudspeaker Beast

The three animals that made up the Interplanetary Bank Beast Guards were the Asteroid Serpent, the Jigsaw Creature, and the Loudspeaker Beast (a, c, and g). The Hypno Beast was from the planet Lurna (ADV 302), the Invisible Eagle was seen in ADV 247, the Flame Beast was from Krypton, and the Phantom Beast was from the planet Siria (ADV 308).

3. In the future of the Adult Legion, which of the children were shown to have NOT inherited any powers from their Legionnaire parents?

We saw Timber Wolf and Light Lass's kids Loni, Brin, and Bran; Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl's kids Ronn and Arna; Shrinking Violet and Duplicate Boy's kids (names not revealed); and the son of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel. Brin, Bran, and Loni were specifically mentioned to have not gotten their parents powers, and they never revealed one way or the other about Vi's kids.

4. It was announced this week that the next big Superman story will be "Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes". When has Brainiac met the Legion or individual Legionnaires, not including any of the Superboys or Supergirls?

Roy said Showcase '96 #10 and #11, The "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" story (outside the Fortress of Solitude), and DC Comics Presents #80. I thought there must have been one scene somewhere in Crisis on Infinite Earths but I may be mistaken. But everyone forgot the last episode of the Legion animated series, the "New Kids in Town" episode of the Superman animated series where the Legionnaires went back to Smallville to track down Brainiac, and the "Legion" episode of "Smallville" where the Legionnaires went back to Smallville to track down Brainiac. The Adult Legion of Super-Villains plus Brainiac (and Electro) were in Action #286, but the Legion wasn't in there. I did not count Pulsar Stargrave.

5. Where should a Legion artist have written "after Michelangelo"?

During the Great Darkness Saga, Keith Giffen drew Shadow Lass and Darkseid taking the places of Adam and God in Michelangelo's "Creation of Man" painting on the Sistene Chapel ceiling.

6. Who was Mordru's eyes and ears in the 20th century?

I was thinking specifically of Lana Lang, but pretty much everyone in Smallville was.

7. Which team played the Naltor Dreamers in the 2995 Galaxy Series?

The Toonar Pilots, of course.

Trivia Quiz #42

First Monday of the month, that means it's Legion trivia time!

1. List any five of Lori Morning’s aliases when she used the "Dial H for Hero" dial.

2. Which of the following were the members of the Interplanetary Bank Beast Guards?

a. Asteroid Serpent
b. Hypno Beast
c. Jigsaw Creature
d. Invisible Eagle
e. Flame-Beast
f. Phantom Beast
g. Loudspeaker Beast

3. In the future of the Adult Legion, which of the children were shown to have NOT inherited any powers from their Legionnaire parents?

4. It was announced this week that the next big Superman story will be "Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes". When has Brainiac met the Legion or individual Legionnaires, not including any of the Superboys or Supergirls?

5. Where should a Legion artist have written "after Michelangelo"?

6. Who was Mordru's eyes and ears in the 20th century?

7. Which team played the Naltor Dreamers in the 2995 Galaxy Series?

Brainiac & the Legion of Super-Heroes

From the DCU Blog The Source about Adventure Comics #8:

ADVENTURE COMICS #8 is the start of a four-issue arc connecting ADVENTURE to the next big Superman story - “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes.” James Robinson & Julian Lopez will provide a 10-page story about the Legion members who are in the 21st Century; Sterling Gates & Clayton Henry will provide a 10-pager about the Legion in the 31st Century; and Eric Trautmann & DC newcomer Pier Gallo (wait till you see this guy’s stuff!) will provide a 10-pager about General Lane’s Human Defense Corps.

The Superman writers have crafted a really fun and epic story in “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes” (which will run in ADVENTURE, SUPERMAN, SUPERGIRL and a tittle-to-be-named-later in March). Featuring Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, Mon-El and the Legion of Super-Heroes, it not only brings to a head all the Legion subplots that DC has been laying down since the JLA/JSA “Lightning Saga” story, but also sets the stage for this summer’s blockbuster Superman event!

I found some sample pages pencilled by Pier Gallo on Andy Diggle's flickr page (Hawkeye and Batman), it looks good but I'm not sure if he's going to be doing any Legion stuff or just this one HDC story.

Here's the cover to ADV #8 (they've also got prelim cover sketches and a pencils-only version of this). I'm looking forward to the tittle to be named later - fanboy speculation, maybe a new Legion book, leaving Adventure to Superboy?