LSH v4 #23 annotations: Quiet Darkness part 3

Annotations for Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #23

• On sale date: August 20, 1991
• It's OK, I'm a Senator: https://itsokimasenator.livejournal.com/10786.html
• Legion of Substitute Podcasters episode 591 (February 10, 2020)
• Timeline: April 21, 2995 

Not a lot of notes this time, it's mostly self-contained. Anyone recognize the bold names "Skan'l-la", Tilley, or Heiple as Interlackers?

Notes:

• Cover: similar version of what will later be on the cover to the 2995 Sourcebook
• Page 1 panel 7: Chief Commander Skan’l-la (named after TBD)
• Page 2 panel 1: Kent is called “Impulse”, one of the few times that happens in 5YL
• Page 11: Celeste finally greens out. Last time we saw her with a green glow, she was being healed by it back in issue 11 on 12/05/94 (that was a year ago our time, it’s now April 2995 their time). Talk about a slow moving plot thread!
• Page 20 panel 8: Laurel disguises herself as Celeste (which I didn’t catch, but it’s revealed in IOKIAS)
• Page 22: Devlin O’Ryan is getting powers
• Page 23 panel 3: “Old Legion business from before your time” – recall that Shadow Lass joined in ADV 365, the samples that created the clones were taken from circa ADV 351
• Omincom 1: Rhent Ustin (aka Visi-Lad)’s first and only appearance was in LSH v3 Annual 3 as a member of the Legion Academy
• Omnicom 2: continuing the story of Sussa Paka
• Notice the heading is “The Matter of the Assistant Chief’s Helmet”, wonder what that will be?
• Arrest report K2B 7G9 is named after a postal code in Ottawa, Ontario 
• Officers Tilley (after TBD) and Nanco (after Chip Nanco), both mentioned last issue; Dr Heiple; Attorney N.A. Northcott (after Nancy Northcott)

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Here's what we know of the timeline to date. I'm color coding them based on whether the date appeared in the 2995 Sourcebook (yellow), it's a confirmed date that was given in the comic (green), or an estimated date based on keeping track of events and days (blue). Bold text is something new added this issue.

• 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)
• 2/17/89 – Mekt admitted to Labyrinth Penal Institute (LSH v4 #10)
• 6/23/89 – Magic Wars end (LSH v3 #63)
• October 2989 – the Great Collapse
• 4/13/90 – Communique from Earthgov President Wellington, trying to legally disband the Legion, with Imra, Rokk, and Cham “currently out of the picture” (LSH v4 #1) 
• April 2990 – Validus Plague ravages Winath; former Legionnaire Brainiac 5 helps (LSH v4 #3)
• 6/7/90 – Legion Academy closes (LSH v4 #16)
• 7/6/90 – Former Legion Academy heads Chuck and Luornu Durgo Taine open the United Planets Militia Academy (LSH v4 #16)
• TBD 2990 – Earthgov secedes from the United Planets, and the Science Police Earth splits from the Science Police Proper. (LSH v4 #2). Since then, “resistance forces have opposed Earthgov since the introduction of repressive measures… but with little success to date.” (LSH v4 #13)
• 4/12/91 – Tinya goes missing (LSH v4 #2)
• 5/8/91 – Search for Tinya called off; Sun Boy is leader (LSH v4 #2)
• 5/27/91 – Mekt released from Labyrinth, rehabilitated (LSH v4 #10)
• 6/9/91 – Planned date of wedding of Tinya and Jo (LSH v4 #2)
• 10/8/91 – Imsk sets off the Damper weapon on Venado Bay on Braal-13 during the Imsk/Braal War. Rokk lost his powers, Loomis lost an arm. Salu was head of security on the damper project and knew what it would do, but fought against it (not hard enough, in her admission). Imsk won, as the army is occupying Braal. (LSH v4 #1) She says that Braal attacked Imsk, and they were just defending themselves. (LSH v4 #10)
• TBD 2991 – Garth and Imra, having left the Legion, start the Lightning Ring Plantation (LSH v4 #3)
• 1/21/92 – Rebirth Summit (LSH v4 #1) 
• 7/6/92 – LSH leader Polar Boy disbands the Legion, mentions Black Dawn which “cost” the Legion (LSH v4 #1); Mordru coronated as the Supreme Teacher of Sorceror’s World (LSH v4 #6)
• TBD 2992 – Brek Bannin arrested for insurrection (LSH v4 #11)
• 4/11/93 – Announcement of upcoming wedding of Grev Mallor (of the City People) to Kahnya Nahtahnie (Lady Memory of the Hill People) on Talok VIII
• 8/14/93 – wedding of Grev Mallor and Kahnya Nahtahnie 
• 1/17/94 – Marzal reappears over Africa and the corrupt Earthgov destroys it, but not before Tyroc escapes (LSH v4 #16)
• 10/22/94 – Raid on anti-government terrorists, but ringleader Vidar (aka Universo) is not captured; Cham tells Marla he’s leaving (LSH v4 #1) 
• 10/23/94 – Cham begins to recruit members for the new Legion, first approaching Rokk; Vi leaves the Imsk army for Winath; Dominator agents help Roxxas escape from Labyrinth (LSH v4 #1)
• 10/25/94 – Attack on Jo and Kono on Rimbor; Loomis and Lydda en route to Kathoon (LSH v4 #2)
• Fri 11/21/94 – Blok is killed by Roxxas the Butcher (LSH v4 #3)
• Thu 11/27/94 – Mordru crushes Rond Vidar’s ring; Rokk and Cham finally meet up with Jo and decide to go to Tharn to rescue Mysa; Dominators and Shvaughn Erin watch the tape of Roxxas and Blok, whose body is delivered to Winath; Mon-El resurrected (LSH v4 #3)
• Fri 11/28/94 – Mon-El goes to Talok VIII, then Shadow Lass and Mon-El visit Brainiac 5, then Mon-El destroys the Time Trapper (LSH v4 #4)
• Sat 11/29/94 – Mordruverse (LSH v4 #5)
• Sat 11/29/94 – Cham, Rokk, Jo, Kono, and Furball arrive on Tharn and are captured by Mordru; after being hired by Earthgov to find Blok’s killer, Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty leave for Trom (LSH v4 #6)
• Sun 11/30/94 – Celeste, Devlin, and Bounty meet Jan on Trom (LSH v4 #6); with the help of Laurel Gand, Rokk’s crew rescues Mysa and Rond from Mordru but are teleported to Grocz; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, and Jan leave Trom for Winath (LSH v4 #7)
• Mon 12/1/94 – Rokk, Cham, Jo, Kono, Furball, Rond, Laurel, and Mysa travel from Grocz to Zirr (LSH v4 #8)
• Tues 12/2/94 – Rokk, Laurel, and Rond take some R&R time on Zirr with baby Lauren, while the others go to Winath; Marla reminisces (LSH v4 #8); on Cygnus IV, Roxxas watches a holo of Laurel Gand; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, and Jan arrive on Winath (LSH v4 #9)
• Wed 12/3/94 – Rokk and Rond arrive in the morning, having left Laurel behind on Zirr; everyone (Rokk, Rond; Cham, Jo, Kono, Furball, Mysa; Celeste, Devlin, Bounty, Jan; Brainy, Garth, Ayla, Vi, Imra) is on Winath when Roxxas attacks; Bounty, Mekt, Cham, and Celeste are seriously injured, while Jo disappears and is presumed dead; Earthgov linked to Roxxas; Tenzil arrives on Earth (LSH v4 #10)
• Thu 12/4/94 – On Winath, Roxxas is on the loose, and kills a doctor and nurse in the Bloomfield Free Clinic. On Earth, Tenzil participates in the Batcave dig, meets with Shvaughn and Brek (who is released for the first time since incarceration 2 years prior), has dinner with Prosecutor Jakobi, then falls asleep. (LSH v4 #11)
• Fri 12/5/94 – Tenzil and Brek in court; Holo Scene news article on the trial (LSH v4 #11); Celeste is healed by a green glow; the former Legionnaires team up to capture Roxxas, who reveals Dominion control of Earthgov (LSH v4 #12)
• Wed 12/10/94 – All-points bulletin on Persuader, who meets Kent Shakespeare in on Quarantine trying to attack Char Burrane Jr. (LSH v4 #12) Persuader is defeated by Kent and SP Captain Gim Allon, who then takes Kent to Toonar. (LSH v4 #13)
• Thu 12/11/94 – Kent leaves Toonar for Winath; Laurel fights Khunds in deep space; Tenzil and Brek on Gnogg. (LSH v4 #13)
• Sun 12/14/94 – The Legion is formally reinstated
• Mon 12/16/94 – Tenzil, Brek, and Calorie Queen are taken to Tartarus by Prince Evillo; Tenzil banished to the Realm of Darkness (LSH v4 #14)
• Thu 12/25/94 – Garth, Cham, and Rokk remotely survey Talus (LSH v4 #14)
• Fri 12/26/94 – Tenzil and Sugyn return from the Realm of Darkness, only to hear that Tenzil has been declared dead and his Senate seat vacated. (LSH v4 #14)
• Sat 12/27/94 – Loomis writes his report on Talus’ suitability for being the new HQ; Tenzil leaves Brek behind on Tartarus and heads for Winath (LSH v4 #14)
• Sun 12/28/94 – The reformed Legion establishes headquarters on the asteroid world of Talus
• Sat 1/3/95 – Tenzil Kem rejoins the Legion
• Sun 1/11/95 – Orando falls to the Khunds  (LSH v4 #15)
• Mon 1/12/95 – The Legion agrees to team with the United Planets Militia to beat back a Khundish invasion that threatens the heart of the United Planets.  (LSH v4 #15)
• Exact date unknown – Cham meets with a Khundish double agent; Venegar falls to the Khunds, who then make a deal with the Hill People of Talok VIII; the UP Militia tries to decide if Xolnar or Talok VIII will be attacked next; Valor and Shadow Lass appear on Talok VIII; Khunds attack Xolnar; Circe wants Dirk to give a pro-Dominator speech (LSH v4 #15)
• Exact date unknown – Last stand on Xolnar; introduction of the Resistance on Earth (LSH v4 #16). 
• Fri 3/13/95 – SP Officer Roon Dvron’s police report on Sussa Paka (LSH v4 #22, 23)
• Sun 3/22/95 – Khund decoy fleet arrives at Talok VIII, while the main fleet attacks Xolnar, leading to the death of Jed “Power Boy” Rikane; after destroying the Talok fleet, the Legion and the UP Militia arrive at Xolnar to finish the Khundish fleet; Glorith sent to the end of time; the Khunds are driven back to pre-2995 borders, and the Legion concludes its participation in the war against Khundish encroachment (LSH v4 #17)
• Wed 3/25/95 – Don and Dawn Allen are arrested by Earthgov (LSH v4 #17)
• Thurs 3/26/95 – Don and Dawn Allen are put on trial (LSH v4 #17)
• Fri 3/27/95 – Tensions increase on Earth with the execution of Legion friends Don and Dawn Allen. (Note that 3/27/95 is a Friday, while the comic says it happened on a Monday) (LSH v4 #17)
• Sat 3/28/95 – Daily Planet article on the Allen executions (LSH v4 #17)
• Exact date unknown – Valor and Shadow Lass help counter a Dark Circle attempt on Queen Projectra’s life on Orando, then remove the Dark Circle cultists from Carggg; Universo and Jacques meet; holo studio bombing allegedly by one of the Resistance groups (LSH v4 #18)
• Thu 4/9/95 – Valor and Shadow Lass leave Carggg on their way to some R&R in deep space (LSH v4 #22)
• Sat 4/11/95 – Luna is destroyed, ravaging Earth. (LSH v4 #19). The mysterious “SW6 batch" awaken in an underground Dominion chamber on Earth. (LSH v4 #20)
• Sun 4/12/95 – Jo Nah returns from an extended journey through time (LSH v4 #19) and is added to the reformed adult Legion team (LSH v4 #20)
• Mon 4/13/95 – Dacey and Doritt Ranzz are born to ex-Legionnaires Garth and Imra Ardeen Ranzz. Rokk recalls the events of Venado Bay as the Dominators start executing Science Police Earth officers who are revolting against the Dominators. (LSH v4 #20)
• Wed 4/15/95 – Furball meets Aria on Zuun, unaware that she’s being hunted by Darkseid; Atmos revealed to have been killed by Project Champion; the Dominators begin harsher punishment of insurrectionists on Earth. (LSH v4 #21)
• Fri 4/17/95 – Jo, Celeste, and Kent on the way to Zuun to get Brainy and Furball; on Talus, Kono reads Nura’s unanswered messages to Mysa; on Altair, Valor finds troubling news from a Dark Circle computer (LSH v4 #22)
• Tues 4/21/95 – Jo, Celeste, and Kent arrive at Zuun  (LSH v4 #22).They are briefly detained but they escape to the surface and meet up with Brainy and Furball, but Lobo captures and leaves with Aria; during the escape, Celeste generates a burst of intense green energy. On Earth, Resistance leader Jacques has Laurel and Bounty meet up with Circe, who has turned against the Dominators and Earthgov. Valor leaves Shady to go to Earth to check into what he found. (LSH v4 #23)

Unknown dates:

• Black Dawn: something big and bad happened. Polar Boy says “you know what that cost us”. Sun Boy was a previous leader. By the time it happened, Chameleon Boy had left the Legion and “watched everything fall to pieces” (LSH v4 #1). Timber Wolf was irradiated during Black Dawn, eventually turning him into Furball. Char Burrane (Starfinger II) was somehow involved. (LSH v4 #12)
• Kent Shakespeare and Gim Allon are both ex-Legionnaires, but it’s unknown when or under what circumstances they left. (LSH v4 #12)

From Beyond the Unknown Giant!

As mentioned here and elsewhere, there's a new Legion story out today in "From Beyond the Unknown Giant" #1, available at your finer Walmarts everywhere (that's what the indicia says on the inside back cover). The issue will also be sold at your local comic shop on March 25, with a new cover. In any case, the Walmart version has "Mass Market Edition" in the indicia, we'll see what the LCS version has next month.

“From Beyond the Unknown” 100 Page Giant, complete with a sneaky new Legion story from ⁦@DCComics⁩. pic.twitter.com/HbRCN3NuCD

— Dan Jurgens (@thedanjurgens) January 29, 2020

The original From Beyond the Unknown, by the way, was a 1969-73 science fiction series from DC that reprinted stories from Silver Age titles like Mystery in Space and Strange Adventures, they're just reusing the title. And it's a 100-Page Giant, thus the name - it's the Giant version of "Beyond the Unknown", it has nothing to do with being beyond an Unknown Giant (I suppose if the Unknown Soldier gets Colossal Boy's powers, though....). The issue has a new Green Lantern story and a new Kamandi story, and reprints of Superman/Adam Strange from DC Comics Presents #3 and Batman/Metal Men from Brave and Bold #113, plus Alan Moore's F-Sharp Bell story from Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #3.

Here's what the two covers will look like. The Direct Sales cover was revealed on Feb 20, 2020.

From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 Walmart cover Art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (reprinted from DC Comics Presents #2)	From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 Direct Sales cover Art by Kenneth Rocafort (new art)

I didn't know why Dan Jurgens got to write a story about the Legion from the 1980s, so I asked him about it:

DC asked me if I had time to fit a short LSH story into my schedule and I wasn’t about to say no. We talked about different eras/costumes and settled on this. Your placement in issue numbers is generally on point.

— Dan Jurgens (@thedanjurgens) February 15, 2020

I wanted to try and figure out where it fits in continuity, because as I told Dan, I am a huge nerd at stuff like that. I thought I had narrowed it down to sometime between LSH v2 #295 (January, the Green Lantern story following the Great Darkness Saga) and LSH v2 #301 (July, new costumes for the Legionnaires), because:

• Jacques first appears in LSH Annual #1 and joins at the end of the issue, which takes place in between issue #289 and #290. He doesn't get the white stripe in his hair until the end of issue #291 in the Great Darkness Saga, right after he saw Darkseid, and this story does not take place during the GDS.
• Shrinking Violet, Chameleon Boy, and Colossal Boy all appear in their traditional Bronze Age costumes in this story (Violet in green, Cham in red and purple, and Colossal Boy with ornaments on his costume), and all had new costumes in issue 301 (Violet in purple, Cham in purple and yellow, and Colossal Boy without the eagle medallion). Each had their old costume at the end of #300 in the group shot.

However, while recording the podcast, Darren reminded me that Cham was either in custody or without his powers during that whole time frame. D'oh! I'll demote myself in rank from Captain Continuity to Corporal. So now where does it fit? Well, short answer, it doesn't fit between 295-300 after all:

• Cham gets arrested early in issue 291, he arrives on Takron-Galtos in issue #292, and it's revealed in #296 that when he's pardoned, his powers have gone. He leaves with Brande to go to Durla in 300, and gets them back in 301.

So we're left with one of the following:

1. Jacques is incorrectly shown with the white stripe in his hair, meaning this story takes place between LSH Annual 1 and LSH 290 (though he's more confident in this story than he was on his first mission in 290).
2. Cham, Violet, and Colossal Boy are incorrectly shown with the wrong costumes in this story, which takes place after LSH 301.

The easiest answer is that there is one thing wrong rather than three, so let's go with Jacques's hair drawn incorrectly and say it's in between the Computo Annual and the start of the Great Darkness Saga. 

That said, there are some other anachronisms which I'll just chalk up to artistic license:

• The Legion Cruiser in this new story is clearly the Cockrum version, which is distinguished by the teardrop shaped bubble on top of the saucer section, offset to the front (below, top). The Grell version has a round bubble that covers almost the entire saucer (below, left). Collectively, they were known as the Mark 10 Cruiser. But by 1983, they were using the Mark 494 version of the Cruiser anyway (below, right, from LSH 291).
  
• Wildfire's costume is also the Cockrum version. Cockrum was the only one who drew Wildfire with the black visor wrapping under his chin, while Grell and everyone else who followed had the faceplate stopping around the lower lip area, allowing Wildfire to have a chin. His chest symbol in this story is also closer to the Cockrum version, with a winged star beneath the helmet on the center of his chest; by 1983, the winged star had grown and stretched down to his waist, merging with the red piece at his stomach that was separate from the star in his earlier appearances. Below, a Cockrum model sheet on the left, and Giffen/Mahlstedt from the cover of issue 298.
   

Not to get all fanfic-y about it, but to make up an in-universe explanation, they had to grab an old Cruiser because there were no Mark 494s available, and Wildfire's costume was malfunctioning so he grabbed an old one just like he did in LSH v3 #15 (below), after his regular one had been destroyed in the previous issue.

Phantom Girl is displayed with an interesting use of her power - she is shown phasing out of Dawnstar's body, having been inhabiting it. We've only seen that a handful of times. Val Beasley reminded me that Tinya hides inside Lightning Lad to survive a tornado in Superboy #201 (1974), I recalled one when Tinya's brother Gmya phased into Sun Boy's body (accidentally "eclipsing" him) while an assassin phased into another Legionnaire's body in Superboy #215 (1976), and Val also remembered at least once during the Reboot when Tinya hid out in Ultra Boy's body after everyone thought she was dead (LSH v4 #82 maybe?).

Given that this issue is marketed to the general Walmart shopper and not the hardcore DC fans, it's safe to say that this story was not written to the level of fandom as the 5YL version. We meet some never-before-seen aliens on a never-before-seen planet. It's relatively low stakes, nobody gets hurt, lessons are learned, and everyone lives happily ever after.

For what it is, it's an effective story. In 8 pages, we learn who the Legionnaires are, their names and powers, and wrap up an adventure. It's not trying to be the Bendis-written ongoing series. This could have worked as a fill-in backup story anywhere in the 80s, and I bet that was the intention.

But given the finale of Doomsday Clock #12, the pre-Crisis Earth-1 is now known as Earth-1985, and the presence of a living Supergirl and Flash in panel 6 suggest that the cutoff point is prior to Crisis #1 where characters start dying. So this seems to be the first appearance of Earth-1985.

A Field Guide to Unpublished Legion Covers

The Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, Appendix A: Unused Covers

1958-2005, 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2012-2014, 2015-2018, 2019, 2020, 2021-2022, 2023-2026

Unused covers, Second printings 

Unlike my previous Field Guides to Variant Legion Covers, this one is a guide to covers that were NEVER published. For one reason or another, a cover was commissioned, drawn, colored, and solicited but then pulled for something else or significantly altered somehow. Here are the ones that I know about, with the unused solicited cover alongside the actual published cover.

Demand Classics #2, 1978
In 1978, DC was set to release several reprint titles, including Demand Classics. The first issue would have been a reprint of Flash #123, "Flash of Two Worlds", while the second issue would have been (for some unknown reason) a reprint of Adventure Comics #357, "The Ghost of Ferro Lad". The cover had been created, but then that series (and many others) was pre-cancelled in the DC Implosion, and so this cover was included in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade, "published" by photocopy to preserve copyrights. It was never colored or lettered.

Unused coverArt by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #34 - November 2007
The cover on the left was the one originally solicited, but DC decided to use a different cover for the final version. The solicited one was never published.

Unused cover Art by Dennis Calero	Published cover Art by Dennis Calero

Legion of Super-Heroes: 1050 Years of the Future - June 2008
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Legion (thus "1050 Years"), DC published a collection covering the team's history, focused on the pre-5YL run but also including the Reboot and the Threeboot. The book was originally solicited with a Neal Adams cover, reprinting his artwork from the 1976 DC Calendar (and more closely resembling the edited version of that cover that was used on the 1977 Tempo paperback reprint), but what actually saw print was a portion of the Mike Grell cover from Limited Collector's Edition #C-49.

Solicited cover Art by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano	Printed cover Art by Mike Grell

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #4 - June 2009
Part 4, Brainiac 5 gets the portrait this time. Notice that the printed version is different from the solicited version in the image that appears in the lightning rod (two other versions of Brainiac 5 vs Kid Flash).

Main cover (solicited) Art by George Pérez	Main cover (as printed) Art by George Pérez

Legion of Super-Heroes v6 #7 - Jan 2011
The cover was solicited with Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5, Timber Wolf, and Tyroc, surrounded by gunmen. The published cover kept the gunmen but changed the Legionnaires (swapping out Brainy for Ultra Boy) and their positions. The solicited one was never published. 

Original solicited cover (unpublished) Art by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher	Regular published cover Art by Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher

Legion of Super-Heroes v6 #11 - May 2011
The cover was solicited with Dream Girl carrying Star Boy, but it was replaced with one showing Timber Wolf vs Sun Emperor. The solicited one was never published. 

Original solicited cover (unpublished) Art by Yildiray Cinar	Regular published cover Art by Yildiray Cinar

Legion Secret Origin #4 - March 2012
From the "Bits of Legionnaire Business" cover variant blog post:

Another Secret Origins title was issued in 2011, and just like LSH Vol 6 #11, the covers solicited for one of the issues did not make the cut.

Issue 4 of LEGION: SECRET ORIGIN sported a cover featuring Colossal Boy as the central figure. But in the previews, two different covers had been spotlighted, with Star Boy in Gim's place, wearing either his purple or his white costume.

Artist Chris Batista lamented that the covers were done during a confusing time at DC, when the editorial team did not have a firm direction on the Legion's future.

I'm not sure which of the promo covers came out first, whether it was purple Star Boy and Red Ultra Boy or White Star Boy and Gray Ultra Boy, but at some point Editorial stepped in and said "Take out Star Boy altogether, move giant Colossal Boy from the background into Star Boy's slot and replace him with debris, then replace Lightning Lad with Invisible Kid and move Lightning Lad into Ultra Boy's slot."

Unpublished cover Art by Chris Batista & Mark Deering	Unpublished cover Art by Chris Batista & Mark Deering
Cover as published Art by Chris Batista & Mark Deering

Legion of Super-Heroes v7 #19 - June 2013
Via the Bits of Legionnaire Business blog post:

The cover, drawn by Keith Giffen, showed Mon-El in combat with the Emerald Empress. The previous two issues also featured covers by Giffen, so he must have been commissioned to draw the covers for this particular arc, which marked the end of the Legion. 

But for that month, DC decided to publish books with novelty gatefold covers, which flipped open to reveal little surprises … in this case, it was Mon-El losing an arm to the villain. 

JJ Kirby was summoned to provide the cover, with Giffen presumably tied up with other assignments by that time.

Solicited single-page cover Art by Keith Giffen	Published gatefold cover Art by JJ Kirby

Superman #15 - September 18, 2019

The first cover below was solicited in Previews, but when the decision was made to change Lightning Lad's skin color, DC opted to have a new, different cover created (both by Ivan Reis). The original cover with the light-skinned mohawk version of Lightning Lad was never published.

Original standard cover (never published) Art by Ivan Reis	Published standard cover Art by Ivan Reis

Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #2 - October 2, 2019
LSH: Millennium #2 was also caught up in the effort to change Lightning Lad's ethnicity. In the original solicited version of the standard cover, featuring Saturn Girl holding up a flight ring through which we see Superboy, Bouncing Boy (to the left of Superboy) was dark-skinned and Lightning Lad (to the right of Superboy) was light-skinned. For the final version of the cover, the ethnicities were reversed. The original version was never printed. Here's a close-up comparison:

And looking at the cover, you can see Light Lass change ethnicity too, just above Ultra Boy's shoulder from his raised arm, below Shadow Lass, and above Element Lad. A version of the entire Hitch image - left half as seen on issue 1 and the right half on issue 2 - was sold at the 2019 New York Comic Con as a convention exclusive. This version is a wraparound cover printed on foil.

Original standard cover (unpublished) Art by Ryan Sook	Published standard cover Art by Ryan Sook

Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - March 2021
The tie-in to the Future State line-wide event had the usual two variants, one on regular cover stock and one on cardstock. However, the issue was originally announced (though never solicited) as "Future State: Legion 5000" #1, but that was shortly changed to the final "Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes" #1, the title under which it was published. (Note that only one image of the Legion 5000 cover was ever released, and it was on Instagram so the cover was cut. I took that image and superimposed it on the final FS:LSH cover, you can see that the original was cut off partially through the barcode at the bottom and was missing a sliver at the top. The only difference between the two is the logo.)

Original announced (but never solicited or printed) standard cover Art by Riley Rossmo	Final solicited standard cover Art by Riley Rossmo

List of characters in Crisis on Infinite Arrowverses

Because I'm such a nerd, I kept track of all of the Arrowverse characters who appeared in the recent Crisis crossover. Legion tally: 1 Legionnaire and 1 ancestor appeared, vs 2 Legionnaires and 1 maybe who did not. Legionnaires or adjacent characters are in yellow.

Arrowverse heroes who DID appear in the crossover:

• Atom (Legends of Tomorrow) – Brandon Routh
• Atom II (Legends of Tomorrow) – Osric Chau
• Batwoman – Ruby Rose
• Black Canary II (Arrow) – Katie Cassidy
• Black Canary III (Arrow) – Juliana Harkavy
• Brainiac 5 (Supergirl) – Jesse Rath
• Captain Cold (Legends of Tomorrow) – Wentworth Miller
• Constantine, John (Constantine; Legends of Tomorrow) – Matt Ryan
• Dreamer (Supergirl) – Nicole Maines
• Elongated Man (Flash) – Hartley Sawyer
• Flash – Grant Gustin
• Flash – John Wesley Shipp
• Green Arrow (Arrow) – Stephen Amell
• Green Arrow II (Arrow) – Katherine McNamara
• Green Arrow II (Arrow) – Katherine McNamara
• Harbinger (Arrow) - Audrey Marie Anderson
• Heat Wave (Legends of Tomorrow) – Dominic Purcell
• Hex, Jonah (Legends of Tomorrow) – Johnathon Schaech
• Killer Frost (Flash) – Danielle Panabaker
• Martian Manhunter (Supergirl) – David Harewood
• Pariah (Flash) – Tom Cavanagh
• Ray (Arrowverse) – Russell Tovey
• Spartan (Arrow) – David Ramsey
• Steel (Legends of Tomorrow) – Nick Zano
• Supergirl – Melissa Benoist
• Superman (Supergirl) – Tyler Hoechlin
• Vibe (Flash) – Carlos Valdes
• White Canary (Legends of Tomorrow) – Caity Lotz
• Wild Dog (Arrow) – Rick Gonzalez

Arrowverse heroes who did NOT appear in the Crisis crossover:

• Al Gul, Nyssa (Arrow) – Katrina Law
• Arsenal (Arrow) – Colton Haynes
• Breacher (Flash) – Danny Trejo
• Clayton, William (Arrow) – Ben Lewis
• Commander Steel (Legends of Tomorrow) – Matthew MacCaull
• Diggle, JJ (Arrow) – Charlie Barnett
• Dr Mid-Nite (Legends of Tomorrow) – Kwesi Ameyaw
• Firestorm I (Legends of Tomorrow) – Robbie Amell /Victor Garber
• Firestorm II (Legends of Tomorrow) – Franz Drameh/Victor Garber
• Guardian (Supergirl) – Mechad Brooks
• Gypsy (Flash) – Jessica Camacho
• Hawkgirl (Legends of Tomorrow) – Ciara Renée
• Hawkman (Legends of Tomorrow) – Falk Hentschel
• Hawke, Connor (Arrow) – Joseph David-Jones 
• Human Target (Arrow) – Wil Traval
• Hunter, Rip (Legends of Tomorrow) – Arthur Darvill
• Jesse Quick (Flash) – Violett Beane
• Katana (Arrow) – Rila Fukushima
• Kid Flash (Flash) – Keiynan Lonsdale
• Miss Martian (Supergirl) – Sharon Leal
• Mon-El (Supergirl) – Chris Wood
• Mr Terriffic (Arrow) – Echo Kellum
• Obsidian (Legends of Tomorrow) – Dan Payne/Lance Henricksen
• Overwatch (Arrow) – Emily Bett Rickards
• Ragman (Arrow) – Joe Dinicol
• Ramirez, Zoe (Arrow) – Andrea Sixtos
• Saturn Girl (Supergirl) – Amy Jackson
• Speedy (Arrow) – Willa Holland
• Stargirl (Legends of Tomorrow) – Sarah Grey
• Tomaz, Zari (Legends of Tomorrow) – Tala Ashe
• Vixen I (Legends of Tomorrow) – Megalyn Echikunwoke
• Vixen II (Legends of Tomorrow) – Maisie Richardson-Sellers
• Wildcat (Arrow) – J. R. Ramirez
• Wu, Mona (Legends of Tomorrow) – Ramona Young
• XS (Flash) – Jessica Parker Kennedy

Then there are those characters who have appeared in any TV show or movie and were based on DC characters, who DID appear in the crossover:

• Batman (1989) – Michael Keaton (a character from his movie appeared, that's close enough)
• Batman (Kingdom Come) – Kevin Conroy
• Black Lightning – Cress Williams
• Crazy Jane (Doom Patrol) – Diane Guerrero
• Cyborg (Doom Patrol) – Joivan Wade
• Dove II (Titans) – Minka Kelly
• Dr Mid-Nite (Stargirl) – Henry Thomas 
• Elasti-Girl (Doom Patrol) – April Bowlby
• Flash (2017) – Ezra Miller
• Green Lantern/Hal Jordan (2011) – Ryan Reynolds
• Hawk (Titans) – Alan Ritchson
• Hourman (Stargirl) – Lou Ferrigno, Jr. 
• Huntress (Birds of Prey) – Ashley Scott
• Lane, Lois (Smallville) – Erica Durance
• Lucifer – Tom Ellis
• Negative Man (Doom Patrol) – Dwain Murphy/Matt Bomer
• Oracle (Birds of Prey) – Dina Meyer
• Raven (Titans) – Teagan Croft
• Robin (1966) – Burt Ward
• Robin II (Titans) – Curran Walters
• Robotman (Doom Patrol) – Jake Michaels/Brendan Fraser
• Spectre – Stephen Lobo
• Starfire (Titans) – Anna Diop
• Stargirl – Brec Bassinger
• Stripsey/S.T.R.I.P.E. (Stargirl) – Luke Wilson 
• Superman (Kingdom Come) – Brandon Routh
• Superman (Smallville) – Tom Welling
• Swamp Thing – Derek Mears
• Wildcat (Stargirl) – Brian Stapf 

And to round it out, those TV/movie heroes who did NOT appear, not counting actors who are deceased:

• Aqualad (Titans) – Drew Van Acker
• Aquaman – Justin Hartley
• Aquaman (2017) – Jason Momoa
• Aquaman (Smallville) – Alan Ritchson
• Atom (Justice League) – John Kassir 
• Atom (Legends of the Super-Heroes) – Alfie Wise 
• Batgirl (1997) – Alicia Silverstone
• Batman (1995) – Val Kilmer
• Batman (1997) – George Clooney
• Batman (2005) – Christian Bale
• Batman (2016) – Ben Affleck
• Batman (2021) – Robert Pattinson
• Batman (Gotham) – David Mazouz
• Batman (Titans) – Iain Glen
• Batson, Billy (2019) – Asher Angel
• Batson, Billy (Shazam/Isis Hour) – Michael Gray
• Black Canary (2020) – Jurnee Smollett-Bell
• Black Canary (Birds of Prey) – Rachel Skarsten
• Black Canary (Legends of the Super-Heroes) – Danuta 
• Black Canary (Smallville) – Alaina Huffman
• Blue Devil (Swamp Thing) – Ian Ziering
• Bromfeld, Mary (2019) – Grace Fulton
• Captain Marvel (Legends of the Super-Heroes) – Garrett Craig 
• Captain Marvel (Shazam/Isis Hour) – Jackson Bostwick
• Catwoman – Julie Newmar
• Caulder, Niles (Doom Patrol) – Timothy Dalton
• Celsius (Doom Patrol) – Jasmine Kaur/Madhur Jaffrey
• Changeling (Titans) – Ryan Potter
• Constantine, John (2005) – Keanu Reeves
• Cyborg (2017) – Ray Fisher
• Dr Fate (Smallville) – Brent Stait
• Fever (Doom Patrol) – Hina Abdullah
• Fire (Justice League) – Michelle Hurd 
• Flash (Justice League) – Kenny Johnston 
• Flash (Legends of the Super-Heroes) – Rod Haase 
• Flash (Smallville) – Kyle Gallner
• Flex Mentallo (Doom Patrol) – Devan Chandler Long
• Freeman, Freddy (2019) – Jack Dylan Grazer
• Green Arrow (Smallville) – Justin Hartley
• Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Justice League) – Matthew Settle
• Green Lantern/Hal Jordan (Legends of the Super-Heroes) – Howard Murphy 
• Hawkman (Legends of the Super-Heroes) – Bill Nuckols 
• Hawkman (Smallville) – Michael Shanks
• Hex, Jonah (2010) – Josh Brolin
• Human Target (2010 TV) – Mark Valley
• Human Target (1992 TV) – Rick Springfield
• Huntress (2020) – Mary Elizabeth Winstead
• Huntress (Legends of the Super-Heroes) – Barbara Joyce 
• Ice (Justice League) – Kimberly Oja 
• Isis – Joanna Cameron
• Jericho (Titans) – Chella Man
• Kent, Conner (Titans) – Joshua Orpin
• Lane, Lois (2016) – Amy Adams
• Lane, Lois (Adventures of Superman) – Phyllis Coates
• Lane, Lois (Lois & Clark) – Teri Hatcher
• Lang, Lana (Smallville) – Kristen Kreuk
• Lang, Lana (Superboy) – Stacy Haiduk
• Lobo (Krypton) – Emmett J. Scanlon
• Lodestone (Doom Patrol) – Lesa Wilson
• Martian Manhunter (Smallville) – Phil Morris
• Mary Shazam (2019) – Michelle Borth
• Mento (Titans) – Will Kemp/Dave Bielawski
• Mera (2017) – Amber Heard
• Nightwing (Titans) – Brenton Thwaites
• Pennyworth, Alfred (Pennyworth) – Jack Bannon
• Phantom Stranger (Swamp Thing) – Macon Blair
• Quinn, Harley (2016) – Margot Robbie
• Quinn, Harley (Birds of Prey) – Mia Sara
• Robin (1997) – Chris O’Donnell
• Shazam (2019) – Zachary Levi
• Shazam Jr (2019) – Adam Brody
• Stargirl (Smallville) – Britt Irvin
• Starman (Stargirl) – Joel McHale
• Steel (1997) – Shaquille O’Neal
• Strange, Adam (Krypton) – Shaun Sipos
• Superboy – Gerard Christopher
• Superboy – John Haymes Newton
• Supergirl (1984) – Helen Slater
• Supergirl (Smallville) – Laura Vandervoort
• Superman (2013) – Henry Cavill
• Superman (Lois & Clark) – Dean Cain
• Tempest (Doom Patrol) – Alimi Ballard
• Trevor, Steve (1975 TV) – Lyle Waggoner
• Trevor, Steve (2017) – Chris Pine
• Wonder Girl (Titans) – Conor Leslie
• Wonder Girl (Wonder Woman) – Debora Winger
• Wonder Woman (1974 TV) – Cathy Lee Crosby
• Wonder Woman (1975 TV) – Lynda Carter (appeared in the comic, I don't count that for this list)
• Wonder Woman (2011 TV) – Adrianne Palicki
• Wonder Woman (2016) – Gal Gadot

Maybe we'll see them in the next Crisis!

Crisis on Infinite Arrowverses, part 2

It's time for part 2 of the Crisis on Infinite Arrowverses, covering the "Arrow" and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" episodes to round out the 5-part crossover event.

There was a comic book with some original Crisis reprints and some new Arrowverse Crisis stories, in "Crisis on Infinite Earths Giant" #1, that took place in between episodes 2 and 3. The second issue of the comic immediately follows issue 1.

The 80-page giant will continue its retelling of the Crisis saga with the 24-page "Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two" from writers Marv Wolfman and Marc Guggenheim and artists Tom Derenick, Trevor Scott, and Andy Owens.

"The Multiverse is losing its battle against the Anti-Monitor. Felicity Smoak mounts one last effort to find a way to save Oliver Queen, and it will bring the team face to face with an entire corps of new heroes: A Green Lantern Corps!", reads the story description.

Then Wolfman and Guggenheim will team up with artists Tom Grummett and Danny Miki for the 8-page "The Council Part Two".

"Lex Luthor has been captured by a council of Luthors from across the Multiverse, and to stop them from destroying everything, he'll need to team up with people he hates: the council of Supermen."

Crisis Giant #2 will also feature a new cover from Jerry Ordway, and reprints of "A Flash of the Lightning," from Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (1985); "Aftershock," from Crisis on Infinite Earths #11 (1986), and "Aftermath," from DC Universe: Legacies #6 (2010).

 
The one on the left is the Walmart exclusive (Jan 2020) while the one on the right is coming to comic shops in February. Same interiors, which include the original Crisis #8 and 11 (so there's your Legion reprint).

You'll recall that in a recent Rolling Stone interview with Marc Guggenheim, the co-producer of the Arrowverse, says that “He told the creative teams of all the CW shows (including Black Lightning, whose title character will participate even though Crisis isn’t making an episode for it) to consider Crisis “a magic ticket” that would allow them to make whatever changes, big or small, to their continuity, in the same way that Superman and Wonder Woman got new origin stories and altered supporting casts in the wake of the original comic book Crisis.” This kind of mimicked the finale of the original merged-Earth Crisis. We start to see these changes in Episode 5.

When last we left our heroes, there were only 7 people left at Vanishing Point, all from either Earth-1 or Earth-38; all the other Earths in the Multiverse were gone. Of the ones we had seen in the first three episodes, that included:

• Earth-1: Green Arrow, Flash, Batwoman, and the Legends
• Earth-2: Black Siren, Jesse Quick, Harry Wells, evil versions of Earth-1 heroes
• Earth-9: Hawk & Robin (Teen Titans on DC Universe streaming) 
• Earth-16: an alternate Green Arrow
• Earth-18: an alternate Jonah Hex
• Earth-38: Supergirl, Superman, Martian Manhunter, and the Legion
• Earth-66: the Batman 1966 TV show
• Earth-73: Black Lightning
• Earth-74: an alternate Legends team has retired
• Earth-75: an alternate Superman who was killed by Luthor
• Earth-89: the 1989 Batman movie
• Earth-96: the Christopher Reeve/Brandon Routh Superman movie series
• Earth-99: an alternate Batman who killed Superman and his foes
• Earth-167: the Smallville TV series
• Earth-203: Birds of Prey TV series
• Earth-666: Lucifer TV series
• Earth-X: The Ray

Additionally, in the comic, we saw:

• Earth-12: home of the Guardians and the Green Lanterns
• Earth-76: the Wonder Woman TV series
• Earth-99: as above, also the Council of Luthors
• Earth-D: the Justice Alliance
• Earth-F: the Fleisher animated Superman cartoon
• Earth-N52: the New 52
• Earth-X: as above

Crisis on Infinite Earths, Episode 4 (Arrow, 1/14/20):

Stuck in the Vanishing Point, the Paragons search for a way to escape. The futility of the situation is compounded by The Flash’s disappearance. However, hope appears in the form of Oliver, who reveals that he has become something else. Meanwhile, the origin stories for The Monitor and Anti-Monitor are revealed. 

The Maltus and Speed Force stuff bounced back and forth, but I moved it all around to minimize bullet points. 

• Previously: a wave of anti-matter swept across the multiverse, destroying all Earths and all life. Only seven people made it to Vanishing Point, a place outside of time and space. Six heroes and Lex Luthor. Jim Corrigan told Oliver Queen it was his destiny to become the Spectre.
• On Maltus, 10,000 years ago, Mar Novu is an explorer, looking at the dawn of time with his wife. His suit of armor will protect him from chronal radiation. But his presence there caused him to breach the wall into the anti-matter universe, where he meets his opposite number.
• On Vanishing Point, Ryan Choi and Lex Luthor are trying to repurpose some Time Masters tech to create a teleporter. Kara volunteers Luthor but it doesn’t work, instead it brings back Flash, missing after months. For him, only a few seconds have passed while he tried to escape via the Speed Force.
• In Purgatory, Oliver relives his life, Corrigan says it’s all led him to this point, so he could fight the Anti-Monitor.
• Oliver, as Spectre, appears at Vanishing Point and tells the heroes that he is in tune with the multiverse, and that the Speed Force is the key to saving them. He tells them the multiverse is gone, and the Anti-Monitor is at the dawn of time trying to make it permanent. While some will go to the dawn of time to fight, the rest will go to Maltus and try to prevent Mar Novu from creating the anti-matter universe in the first place. Oliver touches Barry’s forehead and gives him the key to unlock his potential.
• Supergirl, Choi, and Luthor go to Maltus.
• Luthor promptly leaves; Supergirl and Choi follow, but he blasts them (he made some upgrades when he rewrote the Book of Destiny).
• Choi and Supergirl wake up and go after Luthor, who she suspects is trying to change Mar Novu’s experiment to his advantage.
• Luthor finds Mar Novu as he is ready to go back in time. He tells Novu that he’s from the future and he’s willing to share his future knowledge in exchange for Novu’s abilities that he’ll soon have. Luthor calls it “The Brave and the Bald” teamup. Luthor tells him that Novu tore a hole into the anti-matter universe and tells him how to prevent that, then Supergirl shows up. Choi takes Novu aside and tries to warn him not to open the portal while Supergirl fights Luthor. Then Flash grabs Luthor, Choi, and Supergirl.
• Barry ends up in the Speed Force, where he finds Oliver, using part of his essence to contact Barry but he’s lost in the Speed Force. He’s using part of his essence to keep J’onn, Kate, and Sara together, having been quickly defeated on Maltus. Barry needs to find everyone and get them out, by looking at the connections and memories they’ve made.
• Flash meets the DCEU Flash at STAR Labs, at the beginning of his career (he hasn’t picked a name yet).
• TV FLASH MEETS THE DCEU FLASH! ALL THINGS DC LIVE ACTION ARE IN THE SAME MULTIVERSE! Or will be, assuming this universe lives! Note that DCEU Flash is in his universe and taps into the Speed Force, while in Arrowverse Flash's time there is nothing but the Speed Force, which transcends the Multiverse.
• Kate finds herself in PalmerTech with Oliver and Ray.
• J’onn finds himself with Oliver and Kara, during the Invasion crossover. 
• Flash finds himself in the Elseworlds crossover, where Green Arrow and Superman stop Deegan with the Book of Destiny. He makes Oliver realize that he’s really in the Speed Force. Oliver tells Barry that this was when he made a deal with the Monitor to give up himself so that Kara and Barry would live.
• Diggle and Laurel are with a dead Sara, and he tells Laurel to take up her mask and be the Canary. Then Flash appears. This is before they met Flash, so they don't know who he is. Barry touches Sara and wakes her up, then leaves with her.
• Flash grabs J’onn and Kate.
• At the dawn of time in the anti-matter universe, the seven survivors find the Anti-Monitor, who tells them that in the infinite universes, there will always be one Mar Novu whose ambition causes him to go through the portal no matter what anyone says (Supergirl did stop one, but there are an infinite number of others). Oliver as Spectre appears and tells them they’re the Paragons and must hold the line and buy time until the universe can be "rebirthed". The team fights the Shadow Demons while Oliver fights the Anti-Monitor (he tells the Anti-Monitor that “you have failed this universe!”). The Shadow Demons vanish as Oliver gets the upper hand, and the group realizes that by focusing their Paragon “powers” on the fragment of the Book of Destiny that Luthor has, they can bring back the universe. Oliver wins, and appears to be human again, and they see the rebirth of the multiverse. Oliver says he’s at peace with dying, and tells them to keep going. Then he dies again, for good (apparently).

Crisis on Infinite Earths, Episode 5 (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, 1/14/20):

“Worlds lived, worlds died.  Nothing will ever be the same.”

Just like in the finale of the comics, the heroes wake up on the single Earth and learn about what has changed when the multiverse rebooted.

• Kara wakes up in her apartment with Alex, who doesn’t know anything has gone on. Nia calls and reminds her that she’s supposed to be at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, and it goes to Lex Luthor. She says it’s so great when it goes to someone who deserves it so much. Luthor winks at Kara. Luthor is now a good guy, and her #1 supporter aside from Lena, and Luthorcorp owns the DEO. She finds J’onn and he tells her that he remembers too, and that some things have changed. She finds Flash, and each think they’re on their own Earth. Marv Wolfman appears and tells them that they’ve always been friends.
• In Central City, workers in a tunnel find Nash Wells, in the spot that used to be the portal to get to the Anti-Monitor.
• In Star City, Sara finds Ray and then J’onn appears, and tells them that only the Paragons know how things used to be, but J'onn can fix that. J’onn restores Ray’s memories, and says he’s been doing that with their other compatriots. Sara goes to the Arrowcave and finds Diggle, Rene, and Dinah, who already know what happened. Rene says that even Felicity can’t find Oliver. 
• Back in Central City, J’onn fills Caitlyn in and tells her that Wells is the one who released the Anti-Monitor, but he got better. J’onn restores Wells' mind and says it was all Wells' fault.
• In Star City, Barry and Kara visit Team Arrow, who learn Oliver sacrificed himself. Then a giant Beebo arrives. Nate and Ava are back in Washington with the ship, but Mick is signing his romance books nearby. Flash, Atom, Supergirl, and Heat Wave try to stop Beebo, but no luck, and then Batwoman shows up. They realize it’s a diversion – Sargon the Sorcerer is robbing a bank nearby. Sara stops him with one punch. Back at the bunker, Wells appears and says he’s detected anti-matter.
• Later that night, Barry finds Sara, reminiscing about Oliver, he was her only link to who she was before. Then the Shadow Demons arrive, they fight off one and rescue Choi. Wells says he detects that the Anti-Monitor is still alive. He, Ryan, and Ray conceive of a plan to shrink the Anti-Monitor into the microverse. 
• The Shadow Demons are converging on Gardner Pier (after Gardner Fox). It’s Wild Dog, Dreamer, Spartan, Flash, White Canary, Supergirl, J’onn J’onzz (in a new costume), Alex, Batwoman, and Superman, but the demons disappear immediately, only to be replaced by the Anti-Monitor. 
• At STAR Labs, Killer Frost and Heat Wave are joined by Black Lightning. 
• The heroes fight Anti-Monitor but nothing gets through his force field. He turns into a giant. Flash runs back to STAR Labs to help finish the shrinking bomb that Ray, Choi, and Cisco are working on. Dinah tells them the shadows are on the move again, at Perez Landing. Flash brings Ray to Anti-Monitor, who tosses the bomb to Supergirl, who throws it at Anti-Monitor, who disappears along with the shadow demons.
• Back watching the President laud the heroes and Oliver, we see that Diggle and Lyla now have both kids, Sara joining her brother JJ. Superman gets a call from Lois, their sons are acting up. 
• Epilogue: the multiverse is back.
• Earth-2: Stargirl, STRIPE, Hourman, Dr Midnight, and Wildcat
• This is a different version of Earth-2, which previously had been mostly evil versions of Earth-1 heroes
• Earth 2012: Green Lanterns (probably the upcoming HBO Max series, not the Ryan Reynolds GL movie)
• However, Ryan Reynolds made a “cameo” via recycled footage of him in flight (you can’t really see him) heading to Oa.
• Earth-19: Swamp Thing
• Earth-9: Titans (Raven, Hawk, Dove, Starfire)
• Previously seen on Earth-9
• Earth-21: Doom Patrol
• Given a different Earth from the Titans, as this team is a different one that appeared early in the Titans series
• Earth-96: Superman (with John Williams theme) – he’s got his yellow “S” background now instead of black
• Brandon Routh gets a Super-sendoff, he'll be leaving the show soon. But with the yellow in the "S" shield instead of black, that suggests that he got a happy ending that reversed the Kingdom Come version
• Earth-Prime: the new merged Earth-1 & 38 & 73 (Black Lightning)
• The heroes gather to eulogize Oliver. The abandoned hangar that they used in the Invasion crossover that used to be a STAR Labs building (and which just happens to look like the Hall of Justice) is the new HQ in case they need to meet again to save the world. This new group consists of Superman, Batwoman, Flash, White Canary, Martian Manhunter, Black Lightning, Supergirl. With one chair left for Green Arrow. Then we hear sounds of a monkey running around, then an empty cage that says Gleek, and then we cut to the outside of the building, which is the Hall of Justice. It’s the new Superfriends!

The finale of "Arrow" showed one more change: a billboard in the background of a shot read "Van Wayne", which was the lead on the 2017 sitcom "Powerless", so that unnamed Earth got folded into Earth-Prime. Here's a list of other changes made to Earth-Prime as seen on Arrow, Supergirl, and Black Lightning.

A Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, 1958-2005

The Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, part 1: 1958-2005

1958-2005, 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2012-2014, 2015-2018, 2019, 2020, 2021-2022, 2023-2026

Unused covers, Second printings 

Up til now, I had figured that the first Legion cover variant was in 2006 with "Supergirl & The Legion" #16, but then I found that the "Legionnaires" and "Valor" issues at the end of "End of an Era" (parts 4 and 5) right before the Zero Hour reboot had been reprinted, all the way back in 1994. The corresponding Legion issue, #125 (part 6 of "EoE"), was not reprinted, suggesting that shops ordered enough of that one but not enough of the other two.

So this entry technically covers everything up to and including 2005, though only 1994 and 2005 have stuff I'm aware of. I'll mention here, but won't showcase, the so-called Whitman variants of 1978-80, because some people are interested in them, but I don't count them. 

I am also considering that the "newsstand" and "direct sales" versions where the only difference is what's in the UPC box (a bar code or some sort of DC character, slogan, or ad) are the same thing, all other things being equal.

Whitman variants (1978-80)

What we know today as "Whitman variants" aren't reprints, they are first printings with a Whitman logo in place of the DC Bullet on the cover.

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Whitman had a deal with DC Comics to reprint their comics and package them for sale in retail outlets like Woolworth’s, Sears, K-Mart, etc. They were packaged in plastic as a 2 pack or 3 pack, usually of the same title. These comics could be differentiated by the DC Bullet being altered to include the Whitman logo in pace of the letters in the bullet and the Whitman logo being placed in the stead of the issue number and cover date., among other variations. This did make for some unattractive designs at times, and odd replacements, such as the comic sometimes being titled on the cover as “Whitman Comics Presents.” (via)

For completeness, the following Legion issues have Whitman variants (click here to see them):

• Superboy & The LSH 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258
• LSH v2 261, 263, 264, 266

However, I'm not including all the pictures here in the field guide since they're not what we think of today as a cover variant. Here's an example:

Regular cover, S/LSH #244 Art by Jim Sherman & Joe Rubinstein	Whitman variant, S/LSH #244 Art by Jim Sherman & Joe Rubinstein

1994

Legionnaires #18 - September 1994
Legionnaires #18 was part 4 of "End of an Era". The second printing came out about 4 weeks after the original printing, and can be distinguished primarily by the different color Zero Hour logos (red with white letters on the first, yellow with red letters on the second). Additionally, there's a small "II" in the price box in the upper left corner, and the color palette is slightly different between the two - the blacks are darker on the reprint and the reds are more muted.

First printing Art by Stuart Immonen & Wade von Grawbadger	Second printing Art by Stuart Immonen & Wade von Grawbadger

Valor #23 - September 1994
Valor #23 was part 5 of "End of an Era". The second printing came out about 4 weeks after the original printing, and can be distinguished primarily by the different color Zero Hour logos (red with white letters on the first, yellow with red letters on the second). Additionally, there's a small "II" in the price box in the upper left corner, and the color palette is slightly different between the two - the blacks are darker on the reprint and the reds are more muted, just like above.

First printing Art by Stuart Immonen & Jose Marzan Jr.	Second printing Art by Stuart Immonen & Jose Marzan Jr.

2005

JSA Classified #2 - October 2005
The first four issues of this new series had Power Girl as the lead feature, but the Legion was only on the cover of issue 2. Issue 1 was an unexpected success (with two covers, one by Amanda Conner and one by Adam Hughes) that it soon got a 2nd and 3rd printing. The Threeboot Legion had a cameo at the end of issue 1. They joined Power Girl on the cover of issue 2, but only the first printing and not the 2nd or 3rd. Their part of the story ended in issue 3, which had a second printing. This version of the Legion was just a hoax by the Psycho Pirate though. See the original 2005 post for more.

First printing Art by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti	Second printing Art by Adam Hughes
Third printing Art by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti

A Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants 2012-2014

The Field Guide to Legion Cover Variants, part 5: 2012-2014

1958-2005, 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2012-2014, 2015-2018, 2019, 2020, 2021-2022, 2023-2026

Unused covers, Second printings 

The gallery, presented in chronological publication order along with cover date:

2012

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #4 - January 2012
Part 4 of the series continues the art lineup, with the A cover by regular artist Phil Jimenez, the B cover by a former Legion art team of Sprouse/Story, and the RI (Retailers Incentive) bridge cover by Mario Alberti.

"A" cover Art by Phil Jimenez	"B" cover Art by Chris Sprouse & Karl Story
"RI" cover Art by Mario Alberti

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #5 - February 2012
Part 5 of the series continues the art lineup, with the A cover by regular artist Phil Jimenez, the B cover by guest art team of the Allreds, and the RI (Retailers Incentive) bridge cover by Mario Alberti.

"A" cover Art by Phil Jimenez	"B" cover Art by Mike Allred & Laura Allred
"RI" cover Art by Mario Alberti

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #6 - March 2012
The final issue of the series continues the art lineup, with the A cover by regular artist Phil Jimenez, the B cover by series artist and former Legion artist Jeff and Phil Moy, and breaking with tradition, the RI (Retailers Incentive) non-bridge cover by JK Woodward.

"A" cover Art by Phil Jimenez	"B" cover Art by Jeff Moy & Phil Moy
"RI" cover Art by Mario Alberti

Action Comics v2 #6 - April 2012
A New 52 version of the Adult Legion guest-stars in the book and on the variant cover. The black and white variant was 1/200. The combo pack version was recolored, a higher price, and polybagged, but included a code for a digital download of the issue, with some additional trade dress.

Regular cover Art by Andy Kubert	Variant cover Art by Rags Morales
Kubert Black and White variant Art by Andy Kubert	Combo Pack cover Art by Andy Kubert

2014

Justice League United Futures End #1 - November 2014
Part of the "Futures End" story arc, we have one 3-D lenticular cover at $3.99 and one static cover at $2.99. Dawnstar is a member of the Justice League for some reason.

3-D cover Art by Mike McCone	Static cover Art by Mike McCone

Justice League Futures End #1 - November 2014
Part of the "Futures End" story arc, we have one 3-D lenticular cover at $3.99 and one static cover at $2.99. Wildfire is a member of the Justice League for some reason.

3-D cover Art by Mike McCone	Static cover Art by Mike McCone

Booster Gold Futures End #1 - November 2014
Part of the "Futures End" story arc, we have one 3-D lenticular cover at $3.99 and one static cover at $2.99. Bouncing through time, Booster meets the v3-era Legion as they fight Tharok and Validus.

3-D cover Art by Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund	Static cover Art by Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund