The Definitive 5YL Legion Timeline part 1: The Five Year Gap, year 1 (2989-2990)

The Definitive 5YL Timeline

• Part 1: Five Year Gap, year 1 (June 2989-June 2990)
• Part 2: Five Year Gap, year 2 (July 2990-June 2991)
• Part 3: Five Year Gap, year 3 (July 2991-June 2992)
• Part 4: Five Year Gap, years 4-5 (July 2992-October 2994)
• Part 5: Five Years Later (Oct 2994-Dec 2994)
• Part 6: Five Years Later (Jan 2995-April 2995)
• Part 7: Five Years Later (May-July 2995)
• Part 8: Five Years Later (Aug 2, 2995-Sept 20, 2995)
• Part 9: Five Years Later (Sept 21, 2995-Oct 1, 2995)
• Part 10: Five Years Later (Oct 1-2, 2995)

The month of May (5th month of the year) kicks off the Five Years Later timeline presentation, preceded by the Five Year Gap. It will run daily for a couple weeks.

From 2019 to 2022, the Legion of Substitute Podcasters covered the entire "Five Years Later" timeline, and while we did that, I kept careful track of how many days each issue took so I could make a definitive timeline for the entire series. The Bierbaums put a lot of effort into creating this timeline for both the series itself and for the 2995 Sourcebook, and I did find a handful of mistakes in their work (but nothing significant, like a date being off a couple days or saying something happened on a Monday when a real calendar for 2995 says that date is a Friday). So this takes the Bierbaums' timeline and expands it forwards and backwards, from the end of the Magic Wars (June 3, 2989) to the end of Zero Hour (October 2, 2995).

I had to make some estimates here and there; for example, that it takes a day to get from one planet to another. But I was consistent throughout the timeline. I also had to decide what "several days later" actually means, I think I did a reasonably good job at it.

So here is what I consider the definitive 5YL timeline - definitive because nobody else has done it before.

Also, I'm breaking this up into multiple sections just so it's not ginormous. So here's part 1, covering some notable events prior to the Great Collapse that were given dates in the v4 comic up through the end of Year 1, which starts 6/23/89 with the end of the Magic Wars.

In this table, rows are color-coded yellow if it was a date confirmed by the 2995 Sourcebook; green if it was a date confirmed in the comic itself; and blue for when I had to estimate a date. If the row is in italics, it means there was no specific date given. And finally, during Zero Hour, there were some things happening in 1994 (red text), in 2995, and at the dawn or end of time (blue text) "simultaneously". Once we get there, it's not strictly chronologically linear, but narratively linear instead.

6/11/1992	Aria tries to take the dying Brin Londo back in time from 4/30/2995 to prevent his father from administering the first Zuunium injection, but accidentally dumps them both in the 20th century	LSH v4 Ann 3
June-July 1992	Brin spends a few weeks in 1992 before returning to the 30th century on 8/2/2995.	TW 1-5
TBD 2949	The Durlan (later RJ Brande) arrives at the old Metropolis Spaceport and meets Marla Latham	LSH v4 #8
TBD 2959	Brande Industries formed	LSH v4 #8
2/8/72	Assets Magazine story on Brande Industries	LSH v4 #8
2/12/75	The inhabitants of the planet Trom are exterminated by the pirate Kivun Roxxas. The sole survivor is 12 year-old Jan Arrah	LSH v4 #31
3/26/78	Dark Circle obtained updated cell samples from when Dr. Zan Orbal restored bodies and powers to Matter-Eater Lad, Lightning Lad, and Bouncing Boy on Tartarus, to complete their collection	LSH v4 #22
10/78	Doppelganger substitution during Dark Circle invasion	LSH v4 #22
5/80	The Naltor Dreamers win the Galaxy Series, which they won’t win again until 2995	LSH v4 Ann 3
2/17/89	Mekt admitted to Labyrinth Penal Institute	LSH v4 #10
6/23/89	Magic Wars end	LSH v3 #63
9/89	Polymer shield around Earth removed, Earthgov debt soars	LSH v4 #30
10/89	The Great Collapse. Many, such as the Coalition For Human-Humanoid Preservation, believe the rumors that the collapse was the result of a Khund conspiracy. Months later, a leading group of economists would conclude that the collapse occurred for other reasons.
11/2/89	Tayla Wellington elected President, defeating Hass An	LSH v4 #30
12/14/89	Thom Kallor sends Nura Nal a letter, ending their relationship.
1/9/90	Laurel Gand resigns from the Legion to fight back the Khundish invasion of U.P. space.
1/19/90	Mutual assistance pact signed with the Dominion; Earthgov unofficially secedes from the United Planets	LSH v4 #30
2/26/90	Saturn Girl resigns to tend to her family and its business in the wake of the Validus Plague on Winath.
3/17/90	former Legion Academy student Nightwind joins the Legion.
4/90	Validus Plague ravages Winath; former Legionnaire Brainiac 5 helps	LSH v4 #3
4/12/90	Chameleon Boy resigns to accept the chairmanship of Brande Enterprises.
4/13/90	Communique from Earthgov President Wellington to the Global Council of the Planet Earth, trying to legally disband the Legion, with Imra, Rokk, and Cham “currently out of the picture”	LSH v4 #1
4/14/90	Richard Kent Shakespeare a.k.a. Impulse joins the Legion.
6/7/90	Legion Academy closes	LSH v4 #16