Showing posts with label DVD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DVD. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

New Animated Movie Trailer

The trailer for next year's (sometime in 2023) animated movie in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU), aka The Tomorrowverse - not to be confused with the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), home of the TV series "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League Unlimited" - came out today and I screencapped the video to see what I could see.

Here's what we already knew, from the 10/13/22 Hollywood Reporter:

Kara, devastated by the loss of Krypton, struggles to adjust to her new life on Earth. Her cousin, Superman, mentors her and suggests she leave their space-time to attend the Legion Academy in the 31st century, where she makes new friends and a new enemy: Brainiac 5. Meanwhile, she must contend with a mysterious group called the Dark Circle as it searches for a powerful weapon held in the Academy’s vault.

It seems certain to me that the powerful weapon must be the Miracle Machine.

The cast, as listed in the article (with some spelling mistakes corrected):

  • Meg Donnelly voice stars as Supergirl/Kara
  • Harry Shum Jr. stars as Brainaic 5
  • Darren Criss as Superman
  • Matt Bomer as The Flash
  • Jensen Ackles as Batman
  • Cynthia Hamidi as Dawnstar
  • Gideon Adlon as Phantom Girl
  • Ely Henry as Bouncing Boy
  • Robbie Daymond as Timber Wolf & Brainiac 4
  • Yuri Lowenthal as Mon El
  • Eric Lopez as Cosmic Boy & Chemical King
  • Darin De Paul as Brainiac & Solomon Grundy
  • Ben Diskin as Arm Fall Off Boy & Brainiac 2
  • Victoria Grace as Shadow Lass
  • Jennifer Hale as Alura
  • Daisy Lightfoot as Triplicate Girl
  • Zeno Robinson as Invisible Kid & Brainiac 3
Screencapping the video, and not worrying about images of Superman, Batman, or Solomon Grundy, I noticed that none of the following with voice actors appear in this trailer: Flash, Chemical King, Alura, and Brainiacs 1, 2, 3, and 4.

This is a new version of the Legion HQ we've never seen before. Note the tilted "L" with the comet, that's the Bendis/Sook version. Their influence comes up a lot in this trailer. Zooming in, we can see Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad at the center - none of whom have listed voice actors, by the way - along with Ferro Lad and Sensor Girl in a purple glow above them. Below them, it could possibly be Tyroc, Lightning Lass, and Karate Kid. At the bottom of the screen is Wildfire in an orange glow. (Maybe XS and not Ayla? Or even the Jazmin version of Kid Quantum?)

Then we have a shot at characters in the Legion Academy. From left to right: Quislet, Dream Girl, Triplicate Girl, Phantom Girl, Monster Boy, Invisible Kid (Jacques), Bouncing Boy, and Arm-Fall-Off Boy, with Timber Wolf as the instructor. Interestingly, Quislet and Dream Girl don't show up elsewhere in the trailer, while Monster Boy makes an appearance, but none of those three have listed voice actors. So either they don't make it, they get killed off, or they are just background extras with non-speaking roles. (Or maybe it's the Retroboot costume on Stone Boy and not Monster Boy?)

Triplicate Girl has a different skin color than we've seen before. Arm-Fall-Off Boy, Bouncing Boy, Monster Boy, and Phantom Girl are behind her. (Although now I'm leaning towards Stone Boy and not Monster Boy.)

Mon-El is introduced to Supergirl by Superman. Since he's not in the Academy class, he must be an experienced Legionnaire....

As is Dawnstar, who lands before Mon-El and Supergirl

Bouncing Boy shows off his powers. Only Invisible Kid and AFO Boy join Chuck from the Academy class, wonder where the others are?

Triplicate Girl uses tri-jitsu against a Dark Circle member...

... While Arm-Fall-Off Boy uses his powers. Rather than using them as clubs to swing, he controls his arms at a distance (similar to TDK in "The Suicide Squad").

Shadow Lass talks to the Academy kids, she must be a veteran as well.

The trailer shows everyone in a fighting stance, including the newly-introduced Brainiac 5 (with no hair). 

Brainiac 5 looks a lot more like his ancestor than any of the other versions over the years. Note that this movie has voice actors doing roles for Brainiacs 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well.

Brainy and Supergirl's meet-cute.

This is a call-back to the holo-statues outside the clubhouse, as seen in the first image. This is Cosmic Boy (who does have a voice actor), Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad in front, with Sensor Girl and Ferro Lad flying overhead (none of whom have voice actors).

Closeup of Supergirl, revealing the details of her costume.

Supergirl mentions that she has met the Dark Circle before. 

Three rookies: Triplicate Girl, Phantom Girl, and Invisible Kid.

Dawnstar drops off Phantom Girl... 

...who plummets and pummels a Dark Circle guy.

Timber Wolf Wolverines his way through the Dark Circle.

Chuck flattens a Dark Circle guy in his own method.

An angry looking Supergirl flies out of LSH HQ.

Note that this is the name of the movie, it's not "Supergirl and the Legion". This is reminiscent of the 2006-08 animated series which also had the Super-S but didn't have Superman's name in the title.

Coming sometime in 2023. I notice that it does not say that it comes on DVD, and it doesn't say that it's streaming. I'd expect it to come out on physical media first, and then some short time later it will appear on HBO Max.

On the team (characters with voice actors known so far are in bold):
  • Veterans: Cosmic BoyDawnstar, Ferro Lad, Karate Kid(?), Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass(?), Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Sensor Girl, Shadow Lass, Timber Wolf, Tyroc(?), Wildfire
  • Rookies: Arm-Fall-Off BoyBouncing BoyBrainiac 5, Dream Girl, Invisible Kid, Monster Boy, Phantom Girl, Quislet, SupergirlTriplicate Girl
  • Unknown: Chemical King

Saturday, September 12, 2020

LSH animated series: Live, from the DC Fandome, it's Saturday Afternoon!

 On Saturday Sept 12, the DC Fandome event (part 2) finally showed (recorded, streaming on demand) a 30-minute discussion with the producer, director, and voice actors from the 2006-08 Legion animated show. (It was originally to have been at the one back in August, before that was split into two, mostly movies in part 1 and mostly TV in part 2.)

  • Top row: moderator Damian Holbrook (TV Guide), director Brandon Vietti, producer James Tucker
  • Middle row: Andy Milder (voice of Lightning Lad), Shawn Harrison (voice of Timber Wolf, Ronn Karr), Adam Wylie (voice of Brainiac 5, Computo, Colossal Boy)
  • Bottom row: Kari Wahlgren (voice of Saturn Girl, Triplicate Girl, Shrinking Violet, White Witch, Ayla Ranzz), Yuri Lowenthal (voice of Superman)

After the introductions, here's the transcript. 

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Legion of Superheroes: The Complete Animated Series coming on Blu-Ray

Press release:


WARNER ARCHIVE BRINGS TREASURED ANIMATED SERIES TO BLU-RAY!

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES:
THE COMPLETE SERIES

PRE-ORDERS NOW AVAILABLE FOR JULY 14 RELEASE

Warner Archive Collection continues its proud tradition of distributing the best of Warner Bros. Animation’s robust library of DC-based productions with the release of Legion of Superheroes: The Complete Series on Blu-rayTM starting July 14, 2020. Pre-orders are now available via wbshop.com and your favorite online retailer.

Presented in full 16x9 widescreen across three Blu-ray discs, Legion of Superheroes: The Complete Series includes all 26 episodes of the popular show, which aired on The CW from 2006-2008, as well as a pair of bonus features: the involving featurette "We Are Legion"; and an Exclusive Audio Commentary on the series’ heralded two-part finale, "Dark Victory, Parts One and Two," with producer James Tucker, director Brandon Vietti and the voice of Saturn Girl, Kari Wahlgren (Rick and Morty, DC Super Hero Girls, Supergirl).



Also now available for pre-order is Legion of Superheroes: The Complete Second Season on DVD.


One thousand years from now, the legendary Man of Steel inspires a group of emerging young heroes from the 31st century to band together and defend the newly formed United Planets. That is, if they don’t kill each other first. In Season One, Legionnaires Bouncing Boy (Michael Cornacchia), Brainiac 5 (Adam Wylie), Saturn Girl (Kari Wahlgren) and Lightning Lad (Andy Milder) travel back in time to convince an awkward teen named Clark Kent (Yuri Lowenthal) to join their Legion of Superheroes and battle their archnemeses, the Fatal Five. The insecure teen is, in turn, inspired by his new friends and, with their help, begins his journey to become the galaxy’s greatest hero. Catching up two years later, Season Two presents Superman and the Legion with an even greater challenge: Kell-El, the Superman of the 41st century!

The direct link to pre-order Legion of Superheroes: The Complete Series on Blu-rayTM is https://www.wbshop.com/collections/all-blu-ray/products/legion-of-super-heroes-the-complete-series-bd

Warner Archive Collection continues to serve as host to some of the most beloved films, television series and animated entertainment in history – and many are now available on Blu-ray. WAC’s canon runs the gamut from restored and remastered Blu-ray classics such as The Americanization of Emily, The Big Sleep, The Great Race, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Victor/Victoria and Yankee Doodle Dandy to adored contemporary and classic TV offerings ranging from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Longmire and The Kominsky Method to Alice and Family Matters . The WAC library also includes feature-length animated films, like the Blu-ray release of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and animated TV series headed by Blu-ray releases of such popular offerings as Teen Titans: The Complete Series, Justice League Unlimited and Young Justice and a wealth of classic animated series on DVD including dozens of Hanna-Barbera classics – like Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series and Wally Gator: The Complete Collection; as well as a treasure trove of offerings for serious collector, like Porky Pig 101 and the recent release of three volumes of Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s. WAC offerings can be found via wbshop.com and your favorite online retailer.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Mordru on "Legends of the Super-Heroes" DVD cover

Via TV Shows on DVD, here's the cover art for the "Legends of the Super-Heroes" DVD which is available starting tomorrow (10/19) on the WB Shop page for the amazing low low low price of $19.95 and better quality than any bootleg VHS video you may illegally own (plus it's got outtakes that you've never seen).

Includes the most famous jet-ski chase scene in filmed history.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Coming soon to your TV

Two items of note today regarding Legion(ish) stuff on TV:

1. At the NYCC, Warners announced that the 1979 2-part miniseries "Legends of the Super-Heroes" will be released on DVD later this month. This is the infamous show where part 1 has "The Challenge" and part 2 has "The Roast". Both feature Mordru, who appears in part 1 on a jet-ski.

No, really.


2. James Marsters, last seen on Smallville as Brainiac being taken to the 31st century by the Legion, returns next Friday 10/15 in the series 200th episode as Brainiac 5 (but not a green version). TV Guide has a preview video with its article.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Bits of Legionnaire Business

I still have my San Diego wrap-up to do - you guys learned more about what happened at the con than I did, and I was there - but here are some Bits of Legionnaire Business to hold you over in the meantime.

SMALLVILLE

Via TV Guide:

What can you tell me about the returns of Brainiac and Supergirl on Smallville? — Jeff
ADAM: James Marsters returns as Brainiac 5, who, despite being a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the comic books, executive producer Kelly Souders describes as "a slippery fish" with a questionable moral compass. As for Supergirl, expect her to have a more dramatic impact this time around: "She's going to shake up the world for our superheroes," Souders says.
Members of the Smallville message board on the CWTV site discuss which Legionnaires they want to see this season.

TOYS

Toyfare #158 apparently cover-features the Legion figures from Mattel.

The Fwoosh has a very long discussion thread on the Legion 12-pack, starting the day they were revealed in San Diego up through today.

Joe Acevedo has some new custom Legion figures, as does glwannabe at the DC Direct message board.
 
LSH v6

Photon Torpedoes looks at the Jim Lee alternate version covers so far. Over on Twitter, Jim briefly discussed who's going to be on which cover:
So I've been doing these variant covers for Paul Levitz and @ycinar great run on Legion. Need a quintessential 80s Legionnaire for that slot

Had Superboy for 50s cvr, Chameleon Boy for 60s, Saturn Girl for 70s. Just did Mon-el in his "5 years later" Giffen costume for 90s.

Already locked in for 00 choice (a current Legionnaire). 80s still up in the air...any Legion fans out there?

Down to Tellus, Dawnstar, Sensor Girl and Timberwolf...
Kello explains why he doesn't like the Legion, while Chris Sims explains why the Legion does work. Let's you and him fight!

The trade paperback for the first 6-issue arc of v6 is available for preorder on Amazon: "The Choice" will be available next April.







Doug Wolk explains why the v4 "Five Years Later" Legion should be reprinted.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

SDCC 10: Geoff Johns panel

At the Geoff Johns panel today I asked two Legion questions. First, will we see the Legion in "Smallville" this next (last) season? The answer: "I'm not allowed to say." Second, when Waid & Kitson rebooted the Legion a few years ago, they were not able to use the original Legion. What changed in DC corporate policy that allowed you to use them a few years later? Answer: "I don't know, you'd have to ask the editors at the time, we didn't have anything to do with that."

Sunday, July 11, 2010

It's San Diego Time.... Programming part 2

Part 2 of San Diego programming, covering Saturday and Sunday. Some of it's generic DC stuff, one with Levitz as a panelist. (See part 1 for Thursday and Friday here).

Saturday, July 24


12:30-1:45 DC Universe: Event Horizon— Ian Sattler, senior story editor, and your favorite writers and artists are here for the main event: The DC Universe! What lies ahead for your favorite heroes and series? Got a question for your favorite DCU creator? Come on by! There's no greater gathering of top-tier creative talent! Room 6A

Sunday, July 25

10:00-11:00 Smallville Screening and Q&A— Comic-Con favorite Smallville returns for its last visit to Comic-Con in advance of the show's 10th and final season, as showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson join star/executive producer Tom Welling and series stars Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, and Justin Hartley to talk about the year ahead, answer fan questions, and give an exclusive sneak peek at clips from the final season. From Tollin/Robbins Productions, Millar/Gough Ink in association with Warner Bros. Television, Smallville airs Fridays at 8pm ET/PT on The CW. Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 7. Ballroom 20

2:00-3:00 DC Focus: Premiere Teams— DC Comics knows a thing or two about teams. From the company that brought you the first team in comics' history (Justice Society of America), don't miss this panel on the DCU's top teams roaming Earth (JLA, JSA, Secret Six, Titans), the farthest reaches of space (R.E.B.E.L.S.), and even across time (Legion of Super-Heroes)! Senior group editor Mike Carlin is joined by Tony Bedard (R.E.B.E.L.S.), Marc Guggenheim (Flash), JT Krul (Titans), Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes), James Robinson (Justice League of America), Matthew Sturges (JSA All-Stars), and others for this collaborative panel! Room 6A

3:00-4:30 Comics Pro/Fan Trivia Match— Len Wein (Microbots), Kurt Busiek (Kool-Aid Man), and Mark Waid (Batman Electric Talking Toothbrush) face off against fans Tom Galloway (former Google employee), David Oakes (college professor), and Michael Grabois (rocket scientist) in a match on significant pre-Crisis DC events in celebration of DC's 75th anniversary. Peter David (Captain America's War on Drugs) will moderate. Room 4

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Even more Bits of Legionnaire Business

I think this finishes my getting caught up.


  • Mike the Bold offers some advice on where to start reading the Legion, the top 5 technical trappings of the Legion (in a post where he mistakes early November as the Klordny season, instead of mid-August), a spotlight on Tenzil Kem, the top 7 smooch-buddies in the Legion, and the top 5 Legion deaths.

  • The Fanboy Wife doesn't like the Legion or their skanky costumes. She's not up on Lightning Lad, has words about the Subs, and thinks Saturn Girl is a skank.

  • MightyGodKing thinks Quislet is 92% Awesome and offers 20 reasons why.

  • Kandou Erik discusses who the Legionnaires are in the 21st century in the current Superman arc. Hey, another one appears this week!

  • Writer J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, Ninja Assassin) wants to write a "Brave & Bold" story featuring the Legion and the Doom Patrol.

  • Captain Toy reviews the DC Universe Classics Series 10 action figures, which include Imperiex as the "Build-a-Figure", meaning you have to buy the individual figures (Power Girl, Forager, Man-Bat, Robotman, and Beast Boy) to get the five parts of the large figure. Imperiex was the villain in the second season of the animated Legion show, but this version is from the regular DC Universe, from the "Our Worlds at War" story. I don't consider this to be a Legion villain figure, but your mileage may vary.

  • Legion Abstract, Get-a-Life Boy, Major Spoilers, and Comic Per Day review Adventure Comics #4.

  • Toon Zone notes in their review of the "Complete Superman: The Animated Series" DVD that "the booklet that lists the episodes sports images from The Legion of Superheroes" (animated series). Anyone got a copy to scan?

  • Collected Editions reviews the Legion of 3 Worlds hardcover, which apparently includes not only all of the regular and variant covers, but "unused" covers as well. The only one I know of is the one that's on the cover of this HC (zoomed in), which shows Superman with all three Legions. I think that was a promo that early on was supposed to be a cover. Anyone got this that can explain?

  • TradeKey has a great look back at some awesomely bad Legion costumes. I may revisit this one next time Fashion Week rolls around.

  • Comic Reviews by Walt echoes what many have been saying. With the recent success of the Green Lantern emotional spectrum rings, why not issue a Legion flight ring?

  • The Legion 4-pack of action figures from the Justice League line are on sale for 15-25% off (depending on how many items you order) from mattycollector.com through Dec. 7th.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Bits of Legionnaire Business

Here are a bunch of links that popped up in the last few weeks that I didn't get to post, in roughly chronological order. Part 1 of 2 (or maybe 3):


  • Gene Gonzales has been posting Legionnaire sketches, including Shrinking Violet (pencils here and inked here), Princess Projectra, Timber Wolf, Wildfire, Duo Damsel, Brainiac 5, and Phantom Girl. More coming in the next post.

  • Todd Klein revised and updated his Legion logo project. It now runs an intro plus five parts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Note: for some reason, the images only seem to load in Internet Explorer, not Firefox. If you read this before, you need to read it again, there's a ton of new stuff including many unused logos.

  • In part 6 of the Wonder Girl/Supergirl teamup on Random Happenstance, the girls wonder why Supergirl can't remember the Legion.

  • Newsarama's Legion Blogpost discusses Officer Wilcox of the Science Police in the 21st century, who is really... wait, what?

  • From the 10/5 Ten Questions with Dan Didio:
    9)needcomicmoney wrote:
    Will Geoff Johns be finishing his Legion story featuring Starman and the others who are secretly in the 21st Century?

    DiDio: Some of the story threads will move over to be handled by James Robinson, because a number of the Legion members in the 21st Century are integral to some of the events in Superman.

    Nrama: Will Paul continue the Legion that Geoff set up? We're not going to see another Legion reboot, are we?

    DiDio: Not another reboot. We're picking up on the story threads with the Legion right now. Some of the Legion stories that involve the characters in the 21st Century will be picked up on by James Robinson, and some of the storylines, as they move up to the 31st Century, will be written by Paul. But all the stories are building off current continuity.

  • Legion Abstract tries to put the clues together to figure out just who is a Legionnaire in the current retro-boot.

  • George Perez, at the Baltimore Comic Con:
    ...He's also spoken with upcoming "Adventure Comics" writer Paul Levitz, whom Perez has known since their teenage years, about some future projects, and has even spoken with DC Comics honcho Dan DiDio about a project.

    ...The panel kept a casual air as Perez began to field questions from the audience. Among the first ones he was asked if there were any dream projects he would like to work on. "After 'Legion of 3 Worlds,' I pretty much completed the cycle of my fanboy dreams," Perez said.

  • Legion Abstract quickly reviews Adventure Comics #3, with the comments section longer than the review.

  • Jim Lee shows off a piece that he and the Wildstorm crew did for Paul Levitz on the occasion of his arrival/departure. Click the link for a bigger picture and to see the framed version. (Via CBR's Robot 6)


  • CBR has a Q&A with Geoff Johns:
    CBR: First off, I guess the big news since the last time we chatted is that, after only six issues, you and Francis Manapul are leaving "Adventure Comics" and outgoing DC Comics Publisher Paul Levitz is taking over the book. Michael, Eric, Matthew E, Christian and Dennis want to know what this means for Superboy?

    GJ: I just finished #6, so I've finished the story Francis and I were working on. Superboy is one of my favorite characters. I'm not really the one to tell you what is next for Superboy, but I know he features prominently in the Superman universe from here on out, and the Teen Titans, as well, for starters.

    As far as the Legion goes, I'm beyond excited for Paul Levitz to return to "Adventure Comics" and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

    CBR: HawaiiPJ1959 had a question regarding Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl's children, Graym Ranzz, and their son, whom Darkseid transformed into Validus and sent back in time. He wants to know if the children of Garth and Imra Ranzz are still in existence.

    GJ: That will be something to ask Paul.

    CBR: Slewo was wondering if we'd see any explanation into why Barry would allow XS, his granddaughter, to live away from him at such a dangerous time, instead of having her live a semi-normal life with him and Iris.

    GJ: There are very big plans for XS in the future of the Flash universe. "The Flash" book and the "Kid Flash" book start next year, and the Flash universe is something I'm very committed to, both in comics and film.

  • I haven't even finished last season of "Smallville", but a Legion flight ring is a continuing plot point in the 2009-2010 season.

  • Artist George Tuska passed away on October 16th. 20th Century Danny Boy has a good writeup. Tuska did several issues over the years:
    • Superboy 172's "Brotherly Hate", 173's "Trust Me or Kill Me", 176's "Invisible Invader", 183's "War of the Wraith Mates" (1971-72)
    • "Trial of the Legion Five" (S/LSH 235, 1978)
    • the Amalgamax/Composite Superman story (World's Finest 283-284, 1982)
    • Star Boy, on the cover to LSH v2 #300 (1983)
    • The Gim/Yera story "Guess What's Coming to Dinner" (LSH v2 308, 1984)
    • The White Witch origin story (Tales of the LSH 314-317, 1984)


Sunday, September 27, 2009

More Bits of Legionnaire Business

More stuff:

Former editor KC Carlson (late v4/early reboot) talked about Legion of 3 Worlds from the perspective of both a former staffer and a fan. Go read it.

I had a lot to be worried about, especially after my normally loving wife had cynically put it into my head early in the series that “you know, a lot of the characters are just gonna be cannon fodder. They’re probably going to kill off ‘your’ Legion to make room for a new one.” Thankfully, a chance meeting with Geoff Johns at last year’s Wizard Chicago Con gave Geoff the opportunity to say “I hope you’ll be pleased with what happens with ‘your’ Legion – especially with XS and Gates, who I loved writing!” Thankfully, I was very pleased at how the whole thing turned out, especially since most of the characters did survive, although it was often a brutal and bloody fight.

...Yeah, I’m still a little bent about the Legion just being the back-up, although I hear from “knowledgeable insiders” that this is more of a placeholder as DC’s PTB work out the details of just what the Legion’s place in the new DCU will exactly be. And it looks like with the recent announcements, Paul Levitz may now be more of a part of those discussions.

...When Mark Waid, Tom McCraw, and I spent several months determining how to streamline the Legion and all its various far-flung stoylines and situations prior to the big Zero Hour event – now known as the Legion Reboot – I kept trying to break down what the Legion was in its most basic form. I kept coming back to this phrase: “Kids in the future in space.” That was the Legion that I grew up reading, and I felt that’s what made the series so special.

Legion Abstract has a long essay (with a neat little pun as the title) on the Great Darkness Saga (which DC should really put back in print now!) focusing on how Darkseid was portrayed in relation to the Legion.
I once said that what the GDS was really about was fear. I don't think that anymore, but I do think I had a point. What I think now is that Darkseid and the Legion never really understood each other.

I'm still several episodes behind in "Smallville" (and getting behinder) but apparently a Legion flight ring played a part in the season finale last May and in the season premiere this week. The FlickCast has a picture and a video clip. IO9 has more on this season of "Smallville" in general, but they also say that the Legion is rumored to reappear (wishful thinking or is this news?).

Asgard Press has the 2009-2010 DC Calendar with vintage covers. For whatever reason, they chose the cover to Superboy 147 for October 2009. (Thanks Mike for the tip!)

Get-a-Life Boy reviews the Legion in Comics for the 9/16 week.

Comix Secret HQ looks at the Adult Legion of Super-Villains.

And don't forget that the new miniseries "Superman: Secret Origin" ends issue 1 with a plug for issue 2 in which the Legion shows up. They used the 1970s "Superboy & The Legion" style logo.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

SDCC09: Superman & Geoff Johns

It was kinda fun following the Twitterers Thursday afternoon (you can follow me at @LegionOmnicom) and the live-updates of the panels. Thursday we had the Superman: Two Worlds and the Geoff Johns Spotlight panels. Newsarama had their coverage as a live chat, while Newsarama posted live material.

Highlights from the Superman: Two Worlds panel

Via Newsarama

Before moving to audience Q&A, Robinson piped in that he hadn't talked about Superman yet (an odd thing to leave out in a Superman panel). "I hope everyone is following the adventures of Mon-El," Robinson said. He discussed all the "fragmented pieces" in the book, and an upcoming story called "Mon-El, Man of Valor," that will include, among other things, a new costume for the Daxamite.

"What Legion or Legions is Connor going to be interacting with in Adventure Comics?" "You'll see every Legion in Adventure Comics, eventually," Johns answered.

Via CBR:
The [Adventure Comics] co-feature will have JSA's Starman, Lightining Lad, Polar Boy and Sun Boy in the first few issues, Johns said.

...Rucka noted that the Thanagarians arrive as the Kryptonians are moving one of Jupiter's moons to New Krypton. A Joe Kubert cover will see the Hawk characters fighting Commander Kal-El and Robinson added that he wants to turn Mon-el from a "weak J'onn J'onzz" to "the alien Namor."

Note: someone who was at the panel said that this was a reference to Jemm, Son of Saturn, not Mon-El.

"Coming out of 'Codename Patriot,' we're going to finish the finish the book up to #700, with 'Mon-el, Man of Valor,' which will see him return darker, with a new purpose, and a new costume."

The Superman Annual will be about the history of Daxam with art by Javi Pina.

What Legion/Legions in "Adventure?" "You'll see every Legion in 'Adventure Comics' eventually," Johns said.

Superboy Prime will appear in "Adventure Comics" #4-5, Johns said.


Highlights from the Geoff Johns spotlight panel

Via Newsarama
Nothing.

Via CBR
Briefly touching on his work on “Smallville,” Johns revealed that he and the show’s producers had discussed depicting the 31st century on the CW series, but that budget restraints made it impossible. For example, if such a direction had been pursued, Lightning Lad would not have been able to demonstrate any of his electricity powers, making the whole thing rather pointless.

Johns confirmed that Starman’s “new quest” has nothing to do with “Blackest Night,” and will be depicted as a co-feature in “Adventure Comics.”

Well duh! Of course it has nothing to do with Blackest Night. Starman is carrying a document that reads "Last Will and Testament of R. J. Brande" on it. Seems pretty clear to me that it has nothing to do with BN.

But very surprisingly, Legion of 3 Worlds concluded the day before this panel and not one question came up about the series.

Up tomorrow: the DC/Mattel panel and the DC Nation panel.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Bits of Legionnaire Business

Odds and ends...


  • Hero spotlights:

    Green Lantern Spotlight looks at XS as part of Flash Month.

    Kandou Eric looks at a number of Legionnaires, including Starman, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Dream Girl, Dawnstar, Wildfire, Mon-El, Invisible Kid(s), Brainiac 5, and XS.

    Blog@Newsarama looks at the history of Connor "Superboy" Kent and his return in L3W #4.

    Living Between Wednesdays introduces a new series called Super-human Delinquents of the Thirtieth Century, featuring all of the future’s most strange and incompetent bad guys. First up: Vibrex, Master of Vibration!

  • Other looks at L3W #4 from SpeedForce.org, IGN, Every Day Is Like Wednesday (which also includes a harsh but truthful discussion about DC Editorial), Reilly2040, Comic Book Bin, Major Spoilers, Newsarama, CBR,

    Two very long and thorough reviews at Rokk's Comic Book Revolution and Legion Abstract ("The Trapper is turtles all the way down"). They write better than I do.

  • Get-a-Life Boy interprets L3W #4 and how it relates to the multiverse, especially the one that Geoff Johns is working on.

  • Colossal Boy is listed as one of the top 10 Jewish super-heroes by io9, and links to a 2005 article with an interview with Paul Levitz as to how Gim Allon came to be portrayed as Jewish.

  • "Smallville" Magazine #32 features an 8-page interview with the actors who portray the Legionnaires in the "Legion" episode. Smallville Buzz has a long excerpt.

  • And speaking of Smallville - I totally missed posting a warning that Cosmic Boy was going to be on the season finale. I'm still a few episodes back, how did you guys like it? Television Without Pity gave it a D+. "It starts with Clark being visited by a rocket-boot-flying Rokk from the Legion of Superheroes (circa 1,000 years from now). He warns Clark that getting rid of Brainiac set off a chain of events with Chloe that leads to Doomsday killing Clark..." Also: recap at Newsarama.

  • At Again With the Comics, here are several fake Silver Age splash pages, including the infamous scene where the Legion rejects Young Darkseid. Also discussion on Metafilter.

  • Though it was cancelled at the end of the second season in spring 2008, it was still nominated for a 2008-2009 Daytime Emmy Award, for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing - Live Action & Animation.

  • As you've heard elsewhere, the new Adventure Comics #1 will have a variant cover labeled #504 (which is an homage to the original Adventure Comics #300). Check out Francis Manapul's page for a look at both.

  • Daily Scans reminds us of the Legion's Blackest Night (aka Legion Zombies) from when the v4 group fought Mordru. Braaaaaiiinnsss!

  • Ben Morse writes at the Cool Kids Table of a Legion article for Wizard that never saw the light of day but which will make an interesting post here soon. Don't write your answers down yet, but start thinking about who you'd like on your Ultimate Legion team.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

James Marsters, on being Brainiac (5)

IGN has an interview with James Marsten (Spike on "Buffy", Brainiac on "Smallville") in which he discusses his role as Brainiac and the possible evolution of the character into Brainiac 5 of the Legion. Note that he doesn't say that he's going to portray Brainy, just that it'd be a different take on the character for him.

IGN: It's been funny on Smallville this season, because Brainiac has been a presence, but you haven't been a presence unfortunately.

Marsters: [Laughs] They're sick of paying me so much money. They were very generous about offering me some money up front and something told me, "Yes, we're going to work with you James for a good amount of time..." But if you notice, it's been like that a lot. They talk about the character, but... It's a good group of people, but I think that may be over.

IGN: Ah, so you don't think there's much of a possibility of returning?

Marsters: You know what, who knows? That series just seems to be immortal. It's done so well. So if the future is long, I'm certainly open to it. If they need me, I'd love to come say hi to everybody. But at the same time, they may not need me. They're very imaginative about how they do things.

IGN: The last time they had your character, in some form, they sent him off to the future to become Brianiac 5 – the good character from the Legion of the Superheroes.

Marsters: Oh, cool!

IGN: Yeah, it seemed like there was a door there for you to come back in a very different way.

Marsters: That's cool! [Laughs]

IGN: [Laughs] I might be throwing you a curve ball here, but would that be something that would be fun for you, to play such a different take on Brainiac?

Marsters: Oh yeah. I think that would be wonderful. I would also like to go back and be evil for them too. It's fun to be evil! It's fun to play a robot who doesn't really care and who's only pretending to. But it would be fun to play a robot who actually did care at the same time...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Bits of Legionnaire Business

Stuff and more stuff, thirteen items.


  • The Life and Death of Ferro Lad came out in hardback a couple weeks back, reprinting Adventure Comics #346, 347, 352, 353 and 357.

  • Last time I told you about the Space Canine Patrol Agents. Now Brian Hughes at Again With the Comics brings the awesome sequel, where the SCPA fights not only the Mutt and Meow Gallery (including Fido Felon and Kid Kitty) but also the Phanty Cats, who were so evil that when their owners got banished to the Phantom Zone from Krypton, their cats got banished too. No, really.

    They appeared in SBOY 136 (3/66). For what it's worth, over at Marvel the same month you could have read Fantastic Four #48 which introduced Galactus and Silver Surfer. That's the difference between DC's and Marvel's Silver Age.

  • The BEAT has sales for the end of the Legion title.

    86 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
    01/2004: Legion #29 — 24,908
    01/2005: LoSH #2 — 42,261 [48,584]
    01/2006: LoSH #13 — 32,730
    01/2007: SLoSH #26 — 32,342
    —————————–
    01/2008: LoSH #38 — 33,045 (-27.9%)
    02/2008: LoSH #39 — 31,123 (- 5.8%)
    03/2008: LoSH #40 — 30,377 (- 2.4%)
    04/2008: LoSH #41 — 28,939 (- 4.7%)
    05/2008: LoSH #42 — 27,940 (- 3.5%)
    06/2008: –
    07/2008: LoSH #43 — 27,531 (- 1.5%)
    07/2008: LoSH #44 — 29,954 (+ 8.8%)
    08/2008: LoSH #45 — 25,783 (-13.9%)
    09/2008: LoSH #46 — 24,959 (- 3.2%)
    10/2008: LoSH #47 — 23,751 (- 4.8%)
    11/2008: LoSH #48 — 22,917 (- 3.5%)
    12/2008: LoSH #49 — 22,180 (- 3.2%)
    01/2009: LoSH #50 — 22,327 (+ 0.7%)
    —————-
    6 months: -22.3%
    1 year : -32.4%
    2 years : -31.0%
    5 years : -10.4%

    The final issue of the property’s current incarnation gets a slight boost, presumably on the basis that its number is a multiple of 25.

    In one of those baffling management catastrophes that seem to happen all the time at DC, the entire creative team was exchanged on short notice, just one issue before completing a year-long storyline — according to the credits, the writer is one “Justin Thyme” (a commonly used pseudonym for hack jobs), while the title of the story is “Hack the Infinity Net!”

    I’m sure this guarantees people are going to be standing in line for the paperback collections for decades to come.

    I'll be updating my sales charts shortly.

  • Richard Caldwell at ComicNews.info has a 2-part interview (part 1, part 2) with former Legion artist Mike Grell. He doesn't talk about the Legion, but I know that many Legion fans are also fans of Grell.

  • Did you hear that they made a movie about "Watchmen"? I keep getting these email alerts for various articles about the movie because it uses the words "legion of super-heroes" in close proximity, which in a way points out that the Legion is at the fringes of the mainstream. Some examples:
    Siu~V:
    Set in a gritty and alternate 1985 in US, it tells the story of Rorschach, a costumed vigilante who investigates the murder of an ex-superhero. His journey reunites him with his former legion of superheroes, thus unraveling some of the deepest darkest conspiracies and secrets about them.

    New York Newsday's Frank Lovece, in an article on Zack Snyder:
    “It may be too early to call him the next Ridley Scott,” he says of Snyder, “but visually he’s freaking extraordinary. Anybody who says he’s not, after they see the first 15 minutes, they’ll be eating their hats.” And unless you’re Matter-Eater Lad of the Legion of Super-Heroes - the very antithesis of “Watchmen” - that just won’t do.

    Black Voices:
    It took a legion of superheroes to bring Madea down. Dropping to second place after landing the top spot during the last two weekends was 'Madea Goes to Jail.'

  • Matthew at the Legion Abstract writes about what kind of Legion stories would he like to read.

  • The Legion Flight Ring made an appearance on the 3/12 episode of "Smallville" titled "Infamous" (read recap here).

  • The Bottle City of Kanga reminds us that Mon-El is starting his year-long(ish) run in "Superman", starting in issue 685.
    So this issue is the set up for Mon-El to take over as the lead in the Superman books which, supposedly, should have really taken place in the soon-to-be-relaunched Adventure Comics. But they can’t relaunch Adventure until Legion of Three Worlds finishes which will tell the reader which of three versions of the Legion DC are planning to stick with. That won’t conclude until George Perez actually pulls his finger out and finishes drawing the series though which already seems to be around a year behind it’s original conclusion date. Gah!

    So poor old James Robinson has to introduce Mon-El without giving away which version he’s supposed to be...

  • L3 Brainiac 5 returns in R.E.B.E.L.S. #2, where he tries to assemble his own version of the Legion.

  • Oklahoma's NewsOK has an interview with Yuri Lowenthal, voice actor of Superman on the animated Legion show. He talks about his audition for the show a few years ago. They also list his favorite episodes. In a third article, Lowenthal talks about his inspirations while voicing Superman.

  • The Idol-Head of Diabolu (a Martian Manhunter blog) looks back at DC Comics Presents #43 from 1982, featuring Superman and the Legion vs Mongul and a Sun-Eater.

  • Tilting at Pinwheels has a few more Legion sketches from what we saw last time.

  • Daily Scans looks back at "Legionnaires" #7 because everyone is drawn by Adam Hughes and is wearing a bathing suit. This is v4-era after the Earth had been destroyed.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Legion to return to Smallville

Thanks to Murray for pointing this one out to me, from Entertainment Weekly:

Question: How about some Smallville news? --D-rick

Ausiello: The Legion will return in the May finale -- in some form. Also, I'm told this season's final two episodes will focus on a manhunt for Chloe and Doomsday.

Not sure what "in some form" means, but we'll find out.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Smallville "Legion" rerun this week

For those of you who missed it the first time around, or who want to watch it again, the "Legion" episode of "Smallville" will be shown again this Thursday at its regular time (8pm Eastern/Pacific, 7pm Central/Mountain, other than that you're on your own).

Click the "Smallville" tab at the top for previous posts and discussion.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Smallville wrapup and other bits

Wrapping up last week's episode of "Smallville" (I was out of town on business and dind't have time to work on this), there was mostly praise for the story. Here are the other reviews and articles, in no particular order:


And more random bits of Legionnaire business:
  • Here's the iTunes link if you want to download the Smallville episode legally.

  • Artist Ovi Nedelcu reposted his Legionnaire character studies originally done for the Legion TV show, but of course they went with James Tucker's designs. (see the original report from 2006 here.)

  • Vinnie Bartilucci talks about Superboy and the Legend of Super-Heroes.

  • Amber's Fashion Tips looks at the Legionnaires' costumes on Smallville.

  • Geekshow Entertainment looks back at the Legion animated series.

  • Legion Abstract has a hero history of Saturn Girl.

  • Finally, White Party Palm Springs is having their 20th Anniversary Celebration: Legion of Superheroes Easter Weekend – April 10-13, 2009. It's certainly not the kind of party I had expected to read about.

Newsarama has an interview with Francis Manapul.
NRAMA: How did you end up on Superman/Batman?

FM: I've been talking to Dan Didio throughout the summer cons on what I could work on after Legion. I expressed to him my desire to draw anyof my 3 favourite characters at DC. I was lucky enough to get two of them! Well technically 3 of them. [laughs]

...NRAMA: Probably your most high profile work to date has been on DC's Legion of Super-Heroes with Jim Shooter. Although DC ultimately ended the series, it got your name out to more people than ever before. What did you think of the experience?

FM:This was my first work for DC. In fact it was my first work ever for either of the big two so it was a very big deal to me. I'm sad to see the series go but we did our best to try and revitalize the property. The people I worked with was fantastic I had the full support of my editor Mike Marts, and great collaborators with Livesay and J.D Smith, and of course it was a real honour to have worked with a legend like Jim Shooter. I learned a LOT from this experience and was glad to had been a part of it. Jim was very tough on me but in that hard ass coach kinda of way. He really pushed to try and make me better and pulled no punches. I learned quite a bit from him but I think in the end we had different styles in our approach to telling a story. But I wouldn't have traded the experience for any other.

Friday, January 16, 2009

More Smallville feedback

Some more reactions from around the blogosphere as well as TV-land...

E! Entertainment Online has the ratings info:

The introduction of Cosmic Boy and other Legion of Superheroes members helped lead CW's Smallville (4.3 million) to its biggest audience since early November, the network said. The show also did its anti-Gossip Girl thing, and won the 8 p.m. hour in men 18-34.


The LA Times blog Hero Complex had an interview with Geoff Johns the day that the show aired.
JP: And about the "Legion" episode tonight?

GJ: Well, we introduce Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl. Three founding members of the Legion.

JP: Any other characters that you may have wanted to add?

GJ: Well, we kind of introduce another one, but you'll have to watch and see. Legion fans will definitely get it.


TV Squad has a list full of in-jokes and references, most of which I got.

Screenrant calls it a "huge letdown".
Let’s cut to the chase - they were awful.

Now I get it - maybe in the comic books this is how “Lightning Lad” (Calum Worthy) acts, but to have someone as a member of something called the “Legion of Superheroes” who acts like a 12 year old twit was frankly, beyond annoying and just plain stupid. You’d think that 1,000 years in the future teenagers with such responsibility would be more mature.

On the other hand, Geekshow calls it "The single best episode of Smallville ever constructed".
The Legion of Superheroes took a visit to Smallville tonight in an episode written by comic scribe Geoff Johns. It was, without a doubt, the BEST episode of the entire series to date. Geoff Johns succeeded where every writer to ever work on the show has failed… he wrote the perfect episode of Smallville.

iFMagazine gave it a "B".
I liked the allusions to Clark’s future in this episode. Listening to Lightning Lad’s (Calum Worthy) criticisms of Clark lacking his cape or not being able to fly was just plain funny. Hearing Clark being called the Man of Steel or Davis being acknowledged as Doomsday for the first time was entertaining as well. As has been the theme for most of this season, SMALLVILLE is slowly catching up with Superman.

A recap from Beesite:
The trio that went back in time were perfect for taking down Braniac. They were kind of goofy though with Rokk reminding me of Mack from Always Sunny and Garth being a straight up dork. I am curious about what Lana is planning on doing and hope that her character stays on the show for a while.

Newsarama has the post-game wrap-up:
Was I the only one who viewed the trio of Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad as a sort of superhero version of Harry Potter, Ron and Hermoine? Certainly reminded me of them.

...My take on the Legionnaires? The telepathic Imra, Saturn Girl, was nice to look at, but seemed off at times, a tad distant and removed when communicating telepathically. Rokk, Cosmic Boy, displayed intelligence and good leadership skills at times on top of his power over magnetism. I just thought at least with the hair that he looked like a 1991 throwback, like someone you'd see at a Gin Blossoms show, or the movie Singles. Garth, Lightning Lad, definitely brought energy to the trio, not surprising considering his electrical powers. Way more geeky than I'd even envisioned LL, but still fun to follow. His fascination in Superman mementos, like Clark's letterman jacket (found at the "Levitz Museum," natch), was endearing.

io9 says that the future looks familiar:
...How did the Legion of Super-Heroes (and writer Geoff Johns) hold up in their series debut?

The honest answer would be an uncertain "Pretty well, maybe?" While Johns' script was perfectly fine, it was also more of a regular Smallville effort than what comic fans have come to expect from Johns. Yes, there were the geek-friendly shout outs (A Legion of Substitute Heroes reference? Really?). But the scale was smaller and the formula much more generic than fans of his Green Lantern or even his Action Comics runs would've expected.

Here are the Television Without Pity recap and forum discussion of the episode, the Zap2It recap, and the CW Source recap.

Previously:


You can also watch the episode online (for as long as this lasts) at MegaVideo and TV Dome.

Legion torrents and flight rings

Not surprisingly, my normal daily hit count tripled yesterday after the Legion episode of "Smallville" aired.

What was surprising, though, was the number of queries for flight rings. Sadly, there are none on ebay at the moment, though the first wave of Legion action figures from DC Direct in 2001 each came with a plastic flight ring. Chris at Atlas Comics might have some, but the official ones are hard to come by. Here's a closer look at my ring.

A number of people are also looking for torrents (keywords S08E11 or 8x11) to download the show: you can find a standard def version (350 MB) and a high-def version (720p, 1.09 GB) at these and other places.