The main communication device of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Via Legions of Gotham: One of the forum posters captured the video from what appears to be the Legion panel at San Diego and uploaded it to YouTube. Check it out here. Unfortunately, the music was too loud for the video camera and it's very distorted and you can barely make out what it sounds like. This clip runs 47 seconds.
And via LegionWorld, photos of each of the cast members plus some of the creative staff. (Thanks to Monkey Eater Lad for the pics.)
Part 3 of our look at Legion toys, in anticipation of new stuff from the animated show coming soon.
Previously:
Part 1 - Tyr, of the Super Powers set, 1986
Part 2 - Legion lead/pewter figurines from Grenadier, 1986
After the metal figurines for the role-playing game in 1986, it was over a decade until the Legion got three-dimensional again. By the late 1990s, DC was producing its own line of figures and figurines under the DC Direct banner. The Legion got into the act with a box set of PVC (plastic) figurines in 1999.
This was the first time the Silver Age Legion were immortalized in plastic. We got Chameleon Boy, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Colossal Boy, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, and Mon-el.
Click photo to enlarge
They came in a unique box, too - instead of being a normal box, this one had red fins to make it look like the old clubhouse. Very geekily cool.
Part 2 of our look back at Legion toys. Previously:
Part 1 - Tyr, of the Super Powers set, 1986
Legion figures next showed up in a set of 1" figurines sculpted out of lead similar to those used in miniature wargames. This set, made by Grenadier as #6503 (there were also sets for the JLA, Outsiders, Watchmen, and Teen Titans), was meant to be used with the DC Heroes role-playing game (RPG) series from Mayfair. Here's more about the Grenadier sets.
The front of the box has poses of Dawnstar, Wildfire, Tyr, Persuader, and Blok lifted from various places.
In anticipation of the onslaught of toys and other collectibles based on the upcoming Legion animated show, here's part 1 of a look back at what Legion-related toys we've seen up to now.
In 1986, as part of the 3rd wave of the then-popular Super Powers action figures, someone decided that a kewl-looking villain should be added to the cast. Why they went all the way to the 30th century to get Tyr is beyond me, but he gets the distinction of being the first honest-to-goodness Legion-related action figure. Toyotter has a great writeup on all the characters, including Tyr.
Today's my birthday. Do I get birthday wishes from Ragnell, Kalinara, Random Panels, or Beaucoup Kevin, like Chris Sims did? Not yet. But I do share my birthday with Don Ho, Alfred Hitchcock, Fidel Castro, skater Midori Ito, Billy Tucci (Shi), Jim Mooney, and Danny Bonaduce, for whatever that's worth.
In my honor, I'm starting the Legion birthday list. The 1976 DC Calendar had nearly every day of the year as someone's birthday, and with a couple dozen Legionnaires and another dozen friends, that's about one per week. So, here are the birthdays and anniversaries for the upcoming week of Aug. 13-19 (with years taken from the 2995 Legion Sourcebook):
According to today's Comics Continuum, the KidsWB! network has been showing new promos for the Legion's animated show. Can't find the video yet, but I'll come back and update this when I do.
Here's one image, showing the three Legionnaires (Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, and Bouncing Boy) who went back in time to get Clark. Of course, it should have been Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Cosmic Boy.
There's a bit from Michael "Bouncing Boy" Cornacchia, who says that there's more to his character than just his "goofy" powers: "Just because I bounce and I may not have the best powers in the world, I have other abilities that get the job done." Check it out for more.
Answers to last week's trivia questions:
1. Over the years and through the continuities, the Legion has had several members with direct familial ties to various Justice Leaguers. Name them. (Alternate timelines, dreams, hoaxes, Imaginary Stories, or stuff like "Invisible Kid II once met Superman" don't.)
I was deliberately vague on this one. Of course, the original Superboy grew up to be Superman, and the original Supergirl was his cousin. As for the other Supers: Connor Kent, the third Superboy to join (after the pre-Crisis and Pocket Universe ones), is derived from Superman's genetic material, or at least he was last time I heard. And the new Supergirl is yet again Superman's cousin. And also of course, XS was (and might still be) the granddaughter of Flash II (Barry Allen). It could be argued that Thunder should be on this list, as she was part of the extended Marvel Family and got her powers from the wizard Billy. It was suggested that Kent Shakespeare was a descendant of Superman and RJ Brande was the Martian Manhunter, but neither of those two storylines ever got resolved. I think that's it.
John Tane was one of DC's Western heroes of the 40's and 50's. In a "Whatever Happened to..." story in DC Comics Presents #28 he married Madame .44, and they had two children. The last panel of the story makes a reference to the heroes' bouncing baby boy. Knowing how the DC Universe works, we're just waiting for someone to make a reference to Chuck "Bouncing Boy" Taine's ancestor.
All of these shows provided an actor to do a voice of a Legionnaire in an animated series. Melissa Joan Hart of "Clarissa" was Saturn Girl in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "New Kids in Town", Adam Wylie of "Picket Fences" will be voicing Brainiac 5 in the upcoming series, and Matt Czuchry of "Gilmore Girls" was the voice of Brainiac 5 in the "Justice League Unlimited" episode "Far from Home".
The Nine Worlds Ice Cream Parlor, Interplanetary Fair, and Avenue of Heroes (B, F, and J) were not among the 7 Wonders of the 30th Century, which were introduced in Adventure 336.
I was going for Tellus, who joined the Dark Circle after he left the Legion during the Five Year Gap. I suppose the other answers would work too (Livewire, M'Onel, and Sun Boy) but I considered them to be more "let's fight, make up, and then team up" groups.
A couple of weeks ago, I touched upon one of the most endearing traditions in Legion history, that of the tryouts (and subsequent rejects). Robby Reed's "Dial B for Blog" had invited the assembled blogospherians (blogistanians?) to propose new characters who would surely get rejected, and the winner (or most rejected) would win the right to propose a topic for the blog.
There were four rounds of hysterical judging (here, here, here, and here) with ten rejected applicants apiece, then six semi-finalists out of the 40, with a winner and a runner-up.
None of mine made the semifinals. I had proposed:
In selecting the semi-finalists, I simply chose the entries that made me laugh the most. (One entry was miles above the rest in this regard.) Beyond that, I chose the entries I thought were the most clever, and the most comic-book savvy in relation the rejected LSHers.
As I figured yesterday, Comics Continuum today begins its profiles of the Legion animated show's voice actors. Today: Kari Wahlgren, voice of Saturn Girl and Triplicate Girl.
Highlights (read the article for more):
Saturn Girl is one seven regular Legion members on the series along with Superman, Lightning Lad, Timber Wolf, Brainiac-5, Bouncing Boy and Phantom Girl.
"Obviously," Wahlgren said with a laugh, "she's the mature one. After all, she's the girl.
"She's definitely much more of a calm, mature character. They wanted her to be one of the older ones on the team. She's very nurturing and focused and very much a leader in the group."
There might be a slight romantic spark with Lightning Lad in the series, but the ultra-disciplined Saturn Girl, always cautious about letting her guard down, will probably be too serious to notice.
"Sometimes she could stand to have a little bit more of a sense of humor," Wahlgren said. "But she always comes from a good place."
Saturn Girl might be physically one of the most vulnerable Legionnaires, but she is also one of the most powerful. Wahlgren described Saturn Girl's powers on the show as "a lot of psychic abilities."
"She can project different psychic images to distract enemies in battle," Wahlgren said.
OK, so I messed up the numbering, I didn't put numbers on the Animated Updates since the San Diego Con. Oh well. Just consider those a mini-series or something between regular issues.
Find #1, from last week: This Sucks. One of the directors of the Legion series, Lauren Montgomery, started her own blog. This lady is NOT the same as the porn star, by the way, so don't ask. (Via Eric Canete)
Find #2, from this week: Comics Continuum reports today that the Legion was part of DC's video wall at last weekend's WizardWorld Chicago con. Here's an image of Clark Kent as he arrives in the future:
The background seems like a combination of computer generated imagery (CGI) and traditional animation, just this image (for example) from the Justice League Unlimited episode "Far From Home".
More from today's Continuum:
Producer James Tucker said he is very aware from the property's fan base.
"The Legion has a long history in DC Comics, as you all know," Tucker said. "Legion fans are the most devout, passionate. I'm from Chicago and they're like Cub fans. Throw them a curveball and they're going to go with it. The Legion to them is dear to their heart.
"It's a great property, a great set of characters and a great concept."
More trivia... . Only five questions this time. I'll post the answers around this weekend.
1. Over the years and through the continuities, the Legion has had several members with direct familial ties to various Justice Leaguers. Name them. (Alternate timelines, dreams, hoaxes, Imaginary Stories, or stuff like "Invisible Kid II once met Superman" don't.)
2. Given the DC Universe's prediliction towards chistogenealogy (everyone who is related has the same name and all those who have the same name are related - see this Absorbascon post for some examples), which Legionnaire is probably the descendant of one of DC's Old West heroes?
3. How do the following television shows relate to this contest? "Clarissa Explains It All", "Picket Fences", and "Gilmore Girls".
4. Which three of the following are NOT included in the 7 Wonders of the 30th Century?
a. Sun City
b. Nine Worlds Ice Cream Parlor
c. Stratosphere Laboratory
d. Global Tunnel
e. Giant Hall of Fame
f. Interplanetary Fair
g. Reversed Waterfalls
h. Fusion Powersphere
i. Wind Control Center
j. Avenue of Heroes
5. Aside from Nemesis Kid's joining the Legion of Super-Villains, which other Legionnaire left the Legion to join a group that had opposed the Legion in the past?
The Legion is getting all the good convention love this season! Next up is WorldCon, of all things, to be held Wednesday, August 23 - Sunday August 27 in Los Angeles.
WorldCon, the World Science Fiction Convention, is the annual gathering of the World Science Fiction Society. This year is the 64th convention. Here's the con's web page. WorldCon is where the Hugo Awards are awarded.
Of interest to this blog is at 2:30 on Wednesday:
Why Do SF Fans Love the Legion of Super-heroes? Even fans who read few or no other comics seem to find something in the Legion of Super Heroes to keep them buying and reading the comic, some of them for decades. Just what is there about the Legion?
I'm rather a patchy Legion fan, as I say. I asked to be on the panel because the new version is my current favourite comic, so I'm sure I'll be speaking up for the new in the face of the old, comics fandom loving a bipolar debate as we always do.
Update 8/6: assuming the anonymous commenter below is correct, the information posted to the Wikipedia's episode list page is incorrect. I've update that page with the information from that comment (and I hope this one is right!).
When fearsome villains the Fatal Five set their sights on the newly formed Legion of Super Heroes, three of the Legion's members go back in time to get help from the greatest hero of all time: Superman. Instead they find Clark Kent, aware of his powers but not yet of his grand destiny.
A few items from Wizard World Chicago, from the two DC panels.
From the DC Nation panel:
Giffen on Legion after Waid? Giffen: (whines) No.
Levitz also shot down hopes of a new animated series done in the style created by Bruce Timm for the 1992 "Batman: The Animated Series," last seen in the recently-ended "Justice League Unlimited." Timm is moving on, Levitz said. "I think the biggest challenge is that Bruce feels like he's been there, done that." He has other interests that he would like to explore, though Levitz didn't elaborate or specify.
Levitz said that if the DVDs were successful, there would be a potential for more projects, and challenged fans to make suggestions on what stories they'd like to see in the future. He joked that the many fans who have been suggesting the “Great Darkness Saga” from the Legion of Superheroes series "because Keith Giffen has been giving you $5 bills: We've heard you."
Regarding a possible Johnny DC "Legion of Super Heroes" comic, DiDio thinks "there's a really good chance of that."
Will there be a Johnny DC Legion comic based on the new cartoon? Or an All-Star Legion? Didio: "I think there's a really good chance of that."
And just like that, it's time for the Wizard World Chicago con already this weekend. People still haven't finished writing about the madness that was San Diego yet. There are no specific programs about the Legion, just the two standard DC ones, with the additional bonus of Mr. Silver Age's trivia contest featuring Mark Waid vs a bunch of fans.
Friday, 3:30-4:30 pm:
THE DC NATION TOUR CONTINUES!
Christopher Reeve Theatre
The DC NATION is taking the world by storm, and Dan DiDio, Senior VP-Executive Editor DCU, invites you to be part of the revolution! Discuss surviving a Crisis, living in a world One Year Later and the weekly developments of 52. Rise up and join the NATION!
Saturday, 12:30-1:30 pm:
DCU EDITORIAL PRESENTATION
Christopher Reeve Theatre
Dan DiDio, Senior VP- Executive Editor DCU and Bob Wayne, VP- Sales are joined by Adam Kubert (Superman), Andy Kubert (Batman), Geoff Johns (52, Superman, Teen Titans), Tony Daniel (Teen Titans), and Keith Giffen (52, Blue Beetle) for a peek into what’s coming up in comics’ greatest universe!
Sunday 3:30-4:30pm:
SILVER AGE PRO/FAN TRIVIA CONTEST!
Alex Toth Room
Renowned trivia geek and comics Pro Mark Waid (52, Legion of Super-Heroes, etc.) clashes with four long-time Fan experts to determine who knows more totally useless facts about Silver Age’s super-heroes! Moderated by Craig Shutt, author of Baby Boomer Comics, a collection of his Ask Mr. Silver Age columns for the Comics Buyer’s Guide.
The Superman Homepage has what appears to be a complete episode list and description of the entire Season One. My comments in italic.
(Earlier: coverage from Titans Tower Monitor, Legion World, and Wizard Universe.)
Comic Book Resources and Comics Continuum are finally catching up on posting full articles on the panels from last week's San Diego Comic Con.
There's not much new that we haven't already covered, but here are a few good quotes from the CBR article:
[Quoting Hoegee:] "They decide they need some help in a big way, so Brainiac-5 decides, 'Hey, let's just go back in time and get the greatest super-hero ever.' Only they don't end up in Metropolis Justice League-era. They get there a little too soon and find Clark Kent, who is certainly aware of his power but now quite yet of his grand destiny.
So, after convincing him, 'Pop in the time bubble and we'll bring you back in the past at the exact same moment you left,' he decides, 'Yeah, I think I will go. I think there's something else in this life for me and I want to find out about it.' And he goes to the future."
"The really interesting thing about playing this Superman is that he doesn't know his powers all that well," he said. "He doesn't know what he's supposed to do or was meant to do. They've taken him our of this place where he's still trying to figure out what it all means, whether he should hide it for the rest of his life or really do something important with it."
The Legion is famous for their rejects - some turned out to be pretty good Legionnaires later, some have similar powers as other Legionnaires, some have what we might consider to be useful powers, and some, well, some are just wrong.
Over at the original Legion Clubhouse, Jo and Terri-Anne recount the Adventure-era rejects. Other reject pages include the DCU Guide and Chaim M. Keller's Legion Help File.
Supergirl, Shrinking Violet, Bouncing Boy, and Sun Boy were all rejected on their first go-round. Polar Boy made a career out of being a Reject, co-founding the unfortunately-named (in retrospect) Legion of Substitute Heroes, before finally joining.
The other Subs - Night Girl, Chlorophyll Kid, Fire Lad, Stone Boy, and Color Kid - did pretty well for themselves as well. The guys even made it to the main team for a time during the Five Year Gap (a time of which little is known).
Lester Spiffany, Storm Boy, and Dynamo Kid all tried to cheat their way on to the team.
You'd think that some of them might have useful powers - Color Kid, for example, not only had as useful a power as Princess Projectra, but he could also change the chemical properties of Kryptonite just by changing its color (handy, if you have a Kryptonian on the team). Or Camera Eye, who could project events he's seen, rejected because it's not valid in court (yet someone who merely tells what he's seen is considered an eyewitness and is valid), yet useful as a member of the Espionage Squad. Or Rainbow Girl - she was better than Triplicate Girl, Sun Boy, and Polar Boy put together: she could split into four, each with a separate power of either heat, cold, light, or kryptonite.
Some of them even took it badly and either joined a super-villain team or came at the Legion on their own. Some struck out on their own (Jungle King), some joined the Legion of Super-Villains (Ronn Karr, Radiation Roy, Spider Girl), some formed their own teams like the Legion of Super-Rejects (Micro Lad, Magno Lad, Esper Lass, Calorie Queen, Phantom Lad and Chameleon Kid) and later joined the LSV. One even had villianous intents when applying (Alaktor). Absorbancy Boy tried to strike back as Zoraz. Cera Kesh tried to strike back with an Emerald Eye.
But then there are the ones that everyone fondly looks back on when thinking about Legion rejects. Like Double-Header, who thought that two heads being better than one was a worthwhile power, or Antennae Boy, whose big ears could receive random radio signals (even though both later did join the Subs). Eyeful Ethel had a ring of eyes on all sides of her head. The Mess could attract dirt. Polecat stank. Tusker could grow really long tusks. Calamity King caused accidents. Infectious Lass made people sick. Arm-Fall-Off Boy's power is self-explanatory. Plaid Lad. Porcupine Pete, Accordion King, Barber Boy, Calcu-Lad, Estimate Boy, Fortress Lad, Quake Kid, and X-Bomb Betty.
It's this last list that Dial B For Blog is interested in. They're holding a contest for the greatest Legion reject as created by the fans. Deadline is next Friday, August 4th, 2006.
The whackiest DIAL B FOR BLOG contest ever! To be accepted, you have to be rejected! Your mission: create an applicant for membership in the Legion of Super-Heroes who would be rejected by the LSH! The winner gets to pick the subject of a future Dial B for Blog. (Sorry, but for security reasons, losers will not be getting a Legion flight belt!)
Also on eBay (of course!), the promo card given away at the Warner Bros. booth, and a postcard that was given out at the Legion panel. Too late to buy it, though.
Now that things are settling back down post-SDCC, here are the delayed reviews of issue 20, which came out on the eve of the con.
In no particular order:
Unfortunately I still wind up quite concused in regards to a lot of the plot. Earthgov, the United Planets, the Science Police...I don't really understand what these all are or why the Legion (and teenagers in general) are so against them. I guess it's just a case of me needing to track down the trades, but I wish Waid would do a better job of helping new readers understand why the Legion partnering with the UP is a bad thing.
While the Brainy subplot continueswith a nice nod to the past, a new arc begins on the main plotline (plus a bit of somewhat hamfisted comedy relief politics on the side). Colossal Boy's origins are finally revealed, and I think Waid is working from one of those "Is your character a Mary Sue?" checklists regarding Supergirl. Which could be hilarious, or could fall completely flat, but it's not really either yet. Recommended.
The teen versus adult plotline rears its tired and boring head again in the beginning of this issue. ... The Dream Girl resurrection storyline is starting to wear out its welcome. ... Waid continues to write stories that further bolster my position that Supergirl makes the rest of the Legion totally superfluous. ... The final scene in this issue was laughable. Seriously, I busted out laughing so hard that I sprayed Café Bustelo all over my computer. ... Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes is one of the slowest moving titles that I have read in a long time.
Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes #20 is a terribly average issue. Average art and a slow story with some cheesy dialogue at times makes for a read that is rather ordinary. ... I can’t recommend this title to anyone outside of a die-hard Legion fan or a die-hard Supergirl fan.
This issue was full of activity, and that's what I like to see. Not a lot of fighting, but still things happening. I also like... hey, I also like about everything. I like how we know the Legionnaires well enough after nineteen issues that the U.P. propaganda could be funny to us, because we know without them having to be there to say so how abhorrent the PR was to them. I like how, for the first time I can remember, Cosmic Boy looks completely out of his depth. I certainly like how someone (turned out to be Element Lad) finally told Brainy that he was wrong for trying to bring back Dream Girl. The only thing that would make this issue better is if it was the culmination of a storyline. Or maybe if it had some suspense--even with everything that's happening, there's no real tension surrounding the Legion at the moment.
Giant rampaging teens. Bizarro Brainiac. Informericals of the future. The coolest Supergirl we’ve seen since ... well, nearly ever. Ho hum, another fine issue.
The plot in Supergirl & the Legion of Super-Heroes reads something like an old Flintstones cartoon. ... This is not the Legion. This isn't even a bad imitation of the Legion. It's like Mark Waid squandered the money earmarked for personality construction on lapdances. Only one of the Legion displays likeable traits and talks like a normal person that has feelings and intelligence. That Legionnaire is Supergirl, and the irony of this whole thing is that Legion of Super-Heroes is the only place you can find her winning charm.
The story is absolutely back on track from last issue, although some of the flow seemed to get mucked up here and there. I don't know if this is from the addition of Tony Bedard, or exactly what input he had on the issue, but in a few places it felt a little off, especially some of the dialogue.
The reason I knocked it down from a 5 to a 4 is because some of the poses seemed odd or just entirely goofy, and I've not noticed that before. I don't know if that was Kitson or someone else, but either way I found it a little distracting at times.
It seems like writing 52 is too much for Waid, as Bedard joins him on writing duties. This is in keeping with Kitson, who doesn’t last on solo art duties for more than an issue now it seems, this time providing layouts for DeKraker (who does a good job with his slick superhero work, with a touch of Leonard Kirk softness to it).
The book seems to be building to something, which had better be spectacular, as the instalments aren’t dazzling. I hope its worth it – I shall have to review my decision to buy this if it isn’t.
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