The Ultimate Legion

This account of an unfinished article for Wizard got me thinking it'd be a good post here, something for you to think about over the weekend.

...While the main feature was proving a bit difficult to pull together, Andy and I came up with a killer sidebar we were having a lot of fun with: we'd pick the best members from all the various Legion incarnations and put together our own Ultimate Legion. We had a blast talking that out and would schedule meetings "officially" to talk about the news section or whatever and then have hour-long closed door sessions on who was the best Ultra Boy--awesome.

...Andy and I realized we wanted to include so many characters that our team was going to be huge even by Legion standards. We did not have much trouble mixing it up as far as having a diverse selection of creative eras represented as, while I can't recall our full team, but I believe we had Element Lad and Saturn Girl from the early days, Dawnstar and Wildfire from the Levitz/Giffen run, Gates and Live Wire from the reboot/Legion Lost era, and the Brainiac 5 and Triplicate Girl of Waid and Kitson's team; heck, I think we even threw "Five Years Later" Cosmic Boy/Rokk Krinn and Inferno from Legionnaires in for good measure.

So just for fun, who would be on your Ultimate Legion team? You can have anyone from any era or even any issue, with no restrictions at all on who you get, including multiple versions of a character through various timelines, reboots, alternate Earths, Elseworlds, animated, etc. You can justify your reasons or not.

Well, only one restriction: for tax purposes, you can't have more than 25 members.

New action figures are here!

Nice delivery times for Mattel. I ordered the new Legion 4-pack from the mattycollector.com web site on the afternoon of May 15th, and it was waiting for me on my front porch when I got home on the 20th.

So here's what you get for your $38 and change: four action figures based on the Superman: The Animated Series ("New Kids in Town") and Justice League Unlimited ("Far From Home") episodes. Click to embiggen.

For grins, I put one up against one of each of the other series of figures to see how they stacked up in size. From left to right: the Super-Hero Clubhouse PVC figures, the DC Direct Lightning Lad, the Super Powers Tyr, the new JLU Lightning Lad, the Mon-El/Lightning Lad Pocket Super-Heroes, and in front, the Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, and Live Wire Heroclix and the Wildfire pewter figure from Mayfair. (Size-wise, the PVC figures fall between Tyr and JLU Lightning Lad).

Coming Distractions: August 2009

Things to watch out for in August:

SUPERMAN SECRET FILES 2009 #1
Written by Sterling Gates, Geoff Johns, James Robinson and Greg Rucka
Art by Pete Woods, Jamal Igle, Renato Guedes, Julián López and various
Cover by Aaron Lopresti
There’s never been a better (or busier) time to be a Superman fan! With so many new characters and locations to keep track of, DC brings readers the definitive guide to the ever-expanding world of Superman. Here you will get profiles of characters like Nightwing and Flamebird, General Zod, Supergirl, Mon-El and more, plus maps of locations such as New Krypton’s Kandor and Metropolis.
Also included is a bittersweet story about the friendship of Supergirl and Flamebird, and a story revealing the dark legacy of Pete Ross’ brief time as President of the United States. Plus, a week in the life of Science Cops Billi Harper and Jonathan (Mon-El) Kent. This SECRET FILES issue serves as an excellent primer to this month’s “Codename: Patriot” crossover in the Superman titles, so don’t miss out!
On sale August 5 • 64 pg, FC, $4.99 US

ADVENTURE COMICS #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Francis Manapul, co-feature art by Clayton Henry
Covers by Francis Manapul
It's the return of one of DC Comics' longest running books and one of its greatest modern-day heroes – Conner Kent! In our first heroic issue, Superboy can't wait to jump back into his life – but which life will it be? With a clarity he's never had before, Conner makes a beeline for the greatest place on Earth...Smallville?
Plus, in the wake of FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS, Starman heads off on an all-new mission in the present. And it's one that will not only impact Superboy, but the future of the DC Universe itself. Fortunately, the off-kilter Legionnaire won't be dong it alone! And in the upcoming months of ADVENTURE COMICS look for Lex Luthor! Brainiac! Lightning Lad! Superboy's pal Simple Simon! Sun Boy and Polar Boy! Ultra, the Multi Alien! Wonder Girl! Black Lantern Alexander Luthor! And many, many more new and familiar faces!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Francis Manapul), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Francis Manapul and renamed ADVENTURE COMICS #504). Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale August 12 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

(note: this is the Standard Edition cover)


R.E.B.E.L.S. #7
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Andy Clarke
Cover by Kalman Andrasofzsky
As Vril Dox tries to rally resistance to the overpowering forces of Starro, Dox learns that allies are difficult to come by and that one planet holds the key to Starro’s further conquest. Unfortunately, that world suffers the consequences in brutal fashion!
On sale August 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US



SUPERMAN ANNUAL #14
Written by James Robinson
Art by Javier Pina
Cover by Renato Guedes
Since Superman freed him from the Phantom Zone, Mon-El has spent all his time learning about Earth and its diverse cultures. But how much does he really know about Daxam, the homeworld he fled years ago? A gift from the Legionnaire Tellus allows Mon-El to explore the ancient history of Daxam – from its founding as a Kryptonian colony to its connection to the Mayans of Earth to its bloody civil war. Join Mon-El as he discovers that the planet he always believed to be peaceful and dull is actually anything but.
On sale August 19 • 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US



SUPERMAN #691
Written by James Robinson
Art by Renato Guedes & José Wilson Magalhães
Cover by Fernando Dagnino & Raúl Fernandez
It’s a slam-bang, knockdown epic fight in the sewers of Metropolis in this fourth and final chapter of “Codename: Patriot”! What are the stakes, and who are the players? Everything and everyone, Superfans! Except one key player is missing – Superman! He has to stop the shooter from taking yet another course of action that would cause the situation between Earth and New Krypton to grow exponentially worse. Which, of course, is just what General Lane wants…
On sale August 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US



SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN SPECIAL #2
Written by James Robinson
Art by Bernard Chang
Cover by Pere Pérez
Jimmy Olsen has put all the pieces together regarding the mysterious Project 7734, and it’s worse than he imagined. With The Man of Steel temporarily out of the picture, though, it’s all up to Superman’s Pal to take action. Thankfully he has the help of Mon-El and Steel’s niece Natasha Irons – but will they be enough to defeat Codename: Assassin?
On sale August 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US



FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS HC
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by George Pérez & Scott Koblish
Cover by George Pérez
Superstar writer Geoff Johns and legendary artist George Pérez deliver the Crisis of the 31st century as the Legion of Super-Heroes reaches out for help against a powerful foe they can’t beat alone. From the moment Superman landed on Earth until the end of time, the Time Trapper has sought to erase Superman's impact on the universe. But the Legion of Super-Heroes have always been there to stop the relentless villain. Now, one Legion isn’t enough as the Time Trapper taps a twisted mirror image of The Boy of Steel from a parallel Earth long dead: Superboy-Prime! Who will answer the Legion's call for help?
With ties to INFINITE CRISIS, FINAL CRISIS and the history of the DCU, this tremendous hardcover collects the entire 5-issue miniseries and is not to be missed!
Advance-solicited; on sale October 21 • 168 pg, FC, $19.99 US

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.
  

Adventure Comics news from Bristol

News from the Bristol Comics Expo in the UK this weekend:

From CBR:

The return of “Adventure Comics” to the DCU looks like an exciting prospect, with Vice President of Sales Bob Wayne explaining that each issue will have a variant cover numbers -- as if the original series had never ceased publication, so readers could choose to start with number #1 or continue with #504. The man who never sleeps, Geoff Johns, is on board with artist Francis Manapul on art duties in a book which will feature Connor Kent as Superboy in the main feature, with the Legion of Super-Heroes as the back-up. The Legion stories will act to reintroduce the futuristic super-team following the events of “Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds” (which DiDio promised would finish sometime!), focussing on individual key characters (starting with Starman) and then the team as a whole. If successful, there exists the possibility that the Legion will be spun-off into their own main series again at some point in the future.

Trivia Answers #35

I keep forgetting to post the answers to the trivia quiz in a timely manner, so here are the results of the May quiz.

Theme: In the news... these questions are based on things happening recently in the real world or in the latest issue of L3W.

1. With the H1N1 swine flu in the news, can you name five 30th/31st century diseases?

The ones I thought of off the top of my head were Grandian Gender Reversal Virus, Validus Plague, Yorggian Fever, Crimson Plague, lead poisoning, and stress-induced "space madness". There are plenty more, including the ones you guys came up with like influenza, Pain Plague, the disease on the planet Kol, Shrinking Plague, common cold, Proactian lava-pimples, Rimborian Rhinovirus and Tiburian Ptomaine. It would probably take a whole page just to list out what Infectious Lass has been shown to have given out.

2. May 1st (aka May Day, aka International Workers' Day) will be Gates' favorite holiday. Name three other 30th/31st century holidays or celebrations that we've seen.

Klordny, of course, as well as Christmas, Chanukkah, and Sun Boy's birthday. Add Election Day, Founder's Day, Parents Day, Apollo Day, and Halloween.

3. On May 15, Mattel will release four new action figures. Prior to this line, what is the combined number of times these four Legionnaires have been made into some sort of 3-D figure (traditional "action figures", statues, game pieces, etc.)?

The answer I was looking for was "20x". Peter got it right:

Saturn Girl (5x): Legion of Super-Heroes PVC, DC Direct, Pocket Super-Heroes, Heroclix Cosmic Justice, Heroclix LSH Starter

Brainiac 5 (4x): Legion of Super-Heroes PVC, DC Direct, Heroclix Unleashed, Happy Meal

Lightning Lad (6x): Legion of Super-Heroes PVC, DC Direct, Pocket Super-Heroes, Heroclix Cosmic Justice, Heroclix LSH Starter, Happy Meal

Cosmic Boy (5x): Legion of Super-Heroes PVC, DC Direct, Pocket Super-Heroes, Heroclix Cosmic Justice, Heroclix LSH Starter

4. Superboy-Prime is an example of a villain who was created outside of the Legion universe, who became significantly associated with the Legion. Name at least three other characters (hero or villain) who have also been associated with the Legion (not including any of the Superboys or Supergirls).

Another one I guess wasn't worded well enough. I was looking for people like Mon-El and Dev-Em, who were created outside of the Legion books (in "Superboy", in both cases) and then later joined Legion continuity, and whose appearances are most often associated with the Legion. Basically, when you think of this character, does the Legion come to mind?

The following people you mentioned, while they have met or interacted with the Legion, do not fit this criteria: Ra's al Ghul, J'Onn J'Onzz, Bart Allen, Lobo, Green Lantern (not counting Rond Vidar), Brainiac, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bizarro, Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, Prof. Ivo, Xotar the Weapons Master, Ambush Bug, Scavenger, Chronos, and Amethyst.

The ones I was thinking of were Dev-Em, Mon-El, Darkseid and Thunder, along with Jimmy's and Lana's identities as Elastic Lad and Insect Queen (but not their civilian ID's). The H-Dial is debatable, as it was (part of) a major character for a while, but I think it's still more associated with Silver Age "House of Mystery" and 1980s "Adventure Comics" than the Legion. I suppose Time Trapper would go here since he was introduced in a Wonder Woman comic (even before the Legion's first appearance) though it was only a 1970s retcon that said as much.

These people started out in Legion continuity and moved to the "mainstream" DCU (which wasn't my question, but would have made a good one): Persuader, Mordru, Emerald Eye, Controllers, Durlans, and Daxamites.

5. In "Legion of 3 Worlds" so far, we've lost L3 Sun Boy, L3 Element Lad, L2 Kinetix, L1 Rond Vidar, and L1 Karate Kid II. When was the last time three or more Legionnaires died in the course of a single storyline (not counting Elseworlds or alternate realities)?

I was thinking of the deaths of the SW6 Princess Projectra, Karate Kid, and Chameleon Boy, but a good argument could be made for Monstress, Element Lad, and Live Wire at the end of "Legion Lost".

6. The recent Easter holiday brings to mind Easter Eggs, such as Spider-Man and Garfield being hidden in the group shot of LSH v2 #300. Name three other Easter Eggs in Legion publishing (not counting Tuckerizations).

There are tons of them. Various X-Men; Martian Manhunter and Tars Tarkas (from Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars" series) at the wedding of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel; Grell and Levitz in the wedding party of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl; Spock in S/LSH #197; Deanna Troi in Legionnaires #35; Garfield's owner Jon Arbuckle, Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues)and Lando Calrissian during Universo Project; various famous robots including Twiki, Cybermen, and a Dalek appeared when Xotar attacked the robot Museum; and many more. My favorites are Eccentrica Gallumbits (from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), who showed up on a sign on Rimbor, I believe, during the later v4 issues; and the USS Enterprise and Jupiter II in the spaceship graveyard when the Substitute Legion got the old Legion clubhouse for their own.

7. Here's a multi-parter about the Ric Estrada-drawn issues of "Karate Kid". Who was Karate Kid's sorta-girlfriend in the 20th century, where did they meet, what villain did she turn into, which 20th-century hero helped fight her, and how was she cured?

One of the anonymous commenters got it all: Iris Jacobs, a teacher, Met KK at her apartment building. Jealous of Val's love for Jeckie, she volunteered for a S.T.A.R. Labs experiment and became Diamondeth. KK was helped out by the original Robin, Dick Grayson, to help subdue her. After a sidetrip to Kamandi's reality, KK returned to the 30th Century during Earthwar. Iris was shortly cured by a group of doctors on Mercury, and Val returned her to her home time.

New action figures available today

Don't forget that you can order the new JLU Legion action figures starting today at the Mattel website. With shipping, it comes to $38.70, which is actually cheaper than the DC Direct figures (typically $15 each).

This is a great story from Augiewan:

From what I’ve been able to tell from listening to the “comic geeks” at the local comic shop, you either really like the Legion of Super Heroes, or you couldn’t care less. Crazy super-powered kids from the future saving the galaxy and messing with Superman’s time line. My 13 year old daughter happens to be in the “really likes” category, in fact she’s obsessed with them. She’s been gobbling up every back-issue she can get her mitts on and can talk Legion history with the older guys (the majority of Legion fans would be men in the 40’s and 50’s).

She’s known about the 4 exclusive JLU-style Legion figures (Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Braniac 5) coming out on MattyCollector.com for some time now and has been reminding me often that I’ll need to be online on May 15th to order them as soon as they go on sale.

What cracked me up this morning (May 15th) is that I woke up to a house filled with reminder notes that she has placed about before heading off to school. On my night stand, on the refrigerator, by the coffee pot, on my computer desk… Pretty much anywhere she knew I’d be today.

Go here to read more.

Retweeting Geoff Johns

Geoff Johns (@GeoffJohns0), on Twitter:

With @JamesdRobinson at a Mexican Bar plotting Legion stuff. No food, just drink and Tellus.
7:55 PM May 12th from Twitterrific

Animated cel for sale

The Van Eaton Gallery in California deals in animation. I got an email from them today which includes this cel and description:

Excellent Production Cel featuring Clark Kent, Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy, and Saturn Girl from the "New Kids In Town" episode of the "New Batman/Superman Adventures". The untrimmed Animation Cel measures 9" X 10.5" and has been placed on a color photographic background.

Total image size is 5.25" X 6.5"...$600

If you're interested, here's the contact info, and please let me know so I can tell Wanda I have her the referral:

Wanda Carnes
818-788-2357
800-599-3693
Van Eaton Galleries
13613 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
http://www.vegalleries.com/

More with Geoff Johns and Adventure Comics

Thought I'd post this one while it's still timely. Geoff Johns spoke to Newsarama about Legion of 3 Worlds and Adventure Comics. An excerpt:

NRAMA: Are you writing the co-features in Adventure Comics?

GJ: Yeah, I'll be writing or co-writing. The Starman one I'm doing myself, but the next one focuses on Lightning Lad, which I’ve co-written with a “new” writer named Mike Shoemaker, who worked on Saturday Night Live and works on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. He’s a massive Legion of Super-Heroes fan and there’s really a focus on character here with the shorter format, rather than spectacle. You’ll also see stories focused on Sun Boy and Polar Boy, Wildfire and Dawnstar and plenty more that have been in the spotlight in Legion of 3 Worlds.

NRAMA: Brainiac also brought back Bart Allen in this comic, and you're using him in Flash: Rebirth. What role does Bart Allen play in the DCU now that he's back as Kid Flash?

GJ: Well, you'll see that in Flash: Rebirth and beyond that. Kid Flash and Superboy both play pretty big roles in the DCU coming up. They're both in Blackest Night. They're going to be front and center in the DCU over the next year. As will the Legion.

NRAMA: Beyond Adventure Comics?

GJ: There are plans for the Legion beyond Adventure Comics too. You should be reading James Robinson’s Superman.

Well, on the one hand, it's new Legion, but on the other, we're now back to the early 70's with the Legion as a backup strip (within Action Comics or Superboy). Everything in cycles...

Trivia Quiz #35

Theme: In the news... these questions are based on things happening recently in the real world or in the latest issue of L3W.

1. With the H1N1 swine flu in the news, can you name five 30th/31st century diseases?

2. May 1st (aka May Day, aka International Workers' Day) will be Gates' favorite holiday. Name three other 30th/31st century holidays or celebrations that we've seen.

3. On May 15, Mattel will release four new action figures. Prior to this line, what is the combined number of times these four Legionnaires have been made into some sort of 3-D figure (traditional "action figures", statues, game pieces, etc.)?

4. Superboy-Prime is an example of a villain who was created outside of the Legion universe, who became significantly associated with the Legion. Name at least three other characters (hero or villain) who have also been associated with the Legion (not including any of the Superboys or Supergirls).

5. In "Legion of 3 Worlds" so far, we've lost L3 Sun Boy, L3 Element Lad, L2 Kinetix, L1 Rond Vidar, and L1 Karate Kid II. When was the last time three or more Legionnaires died in the course of a single storyline (not counting Elseworlds or alternate realities)?

6. The recent Easter holiday brings to mind Easter Eggs, such as Spider-Man and Garfield being hidden in the group shot of LSH v2 #300. Name three other Easter Eggs in Legion publishing (not counting Tuckerizations).

7. Here's a multi-parter about the Ric Estrada-drawn issues of "Karate Kid". Who was Karate Kid's sorta-girlfriend in the 20th century, where did they meet, what villain did she turn into, which 20th-century hero helped fight her, and how was she cured?

RIP: Ric Estrada

Mark Evanier is reporting the death on Friday of artist Ric Estrada.

Longtime readers will remember that Estrada was the artist on the first 11 issues (out of 15) of Karate Kid, in addition to drawing several Legion comics - Superboy and the Legion #232 (Klordny/Immune), #234 (Bounty and the Composite Legionnaire), and Legion v2 #261 (Space Circus of Death).

Here's the Estrada-pencilled splash page from S/LSH 232, one of my favorite pieces ever and one that I'd love to eventually add to my meager original art collection.

Confirmed! The Legion returns to Adventure Comics

Via Geoff Johns' blog:

Finally.

I can talk about it.

This week, with LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #4, I can finally talk about August’s upcoming ADVENTURE COMICS #1/#504!!

The series will feature one of my favorite characters to write and a mainstay of my run on TEEN TITANS - SUPERBOY.

You can get a look at some amazing pages from issue #1 illustrated by Francis Manipul at the DCU Blog. Francis and I have been talking about Superboy since last San Diego Comic Con and it’s nice to finally see it come to light.

But that’s not all. It can’t be, right? I mean, it’s called ADVENTURE COMICS. It’s not called SUPERBOY. That’s because the series won’t just be featuring Superboy, it’ll be co-featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes fresh from the Crisis of the 31st Century in LEGION OF THREE WORLDS. More on the details of the book, and Superboy and the Legion, will be coming out in the following weeks, but I think it’s safe to reveal that STARMAN will be the Legionnaire taking front and center stage with our first issue.

Interesting that he references issue #504, which means that they're including "Adventure Comics Presents Dial H for Hero" and the digests in the numbering. We had that discussion here a few months ago. And don't forget that this is actually Adventure Comics v3.

The DCU Blog post shows the cover to Adventure Comics #1, with the center figure now revealed to be Superboy, but with the lower left figure still obscured. Based on the cape, it's likely to be Mon-El, but who knows.

Annotated "Legion of Three Worlds" #4

Four issues down, one to go - allegedly due in June. Fingers crossed.

Also check out the annotations by Douglas Wolk's Final Crisis Annotations, Gary Greenwood's The Annotated Final Crisis, and Tim Callahan, who might all have theirs up shortly.

Keeping my Annotations notations, the three Legions as L1 (Pre-Crisis + Lightning Saga), L2 (Post-Zero Hour), and L3 (Post-Infinite Crisis).

The solicitation:

Written by Geoff Johns; Art by George Pérez and Scott Koblish; Covers by George Pérez
Don't miss this issue as lightning strikes again in the DC Universe! The Crisis of the 31st century continues as a great hero falls and another returns to help Superman and the Legion combat the murderous Superboy-Prime! Meanwhile, the Time Trapper makes his move against the three Legion founders, Polar Boy's bizarre mission comes to an end and Superman makes a shocking discovery that will redefine the terms of this war.

DC Universe | 40pg. | Color | $3.99 US
On Sale Apr 29, 2009

Cover A (full): L1 Brainiac 5 with Kid Flash (Bart Allen) appearing from the lightning rod
Cover B (sliver): TBD

Page 1

• The digger is Tom Kallor (aka Starman, aka Danny Blaine), last seen in JSA #? taking the job of a grave digger. At the time we didn't know why.
  

Page 2

• Panel 4: "Gold star" might be a reference to his old costume, which was purple with a gold star on the chest.
  
• Panel 8: Mr. Kent... given the 20th century events of last issue where the Legionnaires got a strand of hair from Lex Luthor, it's pretty obvious who is buried here.
  

Page 3

• Panel 3: L3 Timber Wolf, L3 Element Lad
  
• Panel 4: L3 Element Lad covers up the headless body of L3 Sun Boy, killed last issue.
  
• Panel 5: L2 Umbra fights off shadow demons.
  
• Panel 6: L2 Shikari, L3 Timber Wolf, L2 Violet, L3 Princess Projectra vs. Hunter and Black Mace.
  
• Panel 7: Mordru must be talking about his earliest encounters with Superboy and the Legion, as in ADV 369-370.
  
• Panel 9: L2 Kinetix and L2 Sensor magically fight Mordru. Kinetix refers to her Legion's fight with their Mordru (Legionnaires 48, 49, 50).
  

Page 4

• Panel 2: L1 Blok, L1 White Witch, L1 Phantom Girl, L3 Phantom Girl
  
• Panel 3: L2 Apparition
  
• Panel 4: L1 Night Girl, L2 Dreamer
  
• Panel 6: Superman, L1 Cosmic Boy, L1 Saturn Girl
  
• Panel 8: Kid Flash's fist makes its first appearance
  

Page 5

• Panel 1: Kid Flash is back from the dead!
  
• Panel 6: Jenni "XS" Ognats, Bart Allen's first cousin. Her mom and his dad were Dawn and Don Allen, the Tornado Twins.
  

Page 6

• Panel 1: L1 Lightning Lad and L2 Spark
  
• Panel 2: L2 Live Wire, L3 Lightning Lad, and L1 Lightning Lass add their powers
  
• Panel 3: L3 Light Lass, L2 Gates
  
• Panel 4: L1 Brainiac 5's hand holds the lightning rod, L2 Brainiac 5 in the background
  
• Panels 3-8: OK, if you'll remember, Bart "died" (as the adult Flash) the same week that we saw the Lightning Saga finale (June 2007), in which we saw the Legionnaires capture something in the lightning rod. Speculation at the time thought it was Barry, but it was actually Bart's essence. If I get this right, Bart had been accelerated to an adult which caused him to age rapidly even further, so "bottling his youth" in the lightning rod saved his life. Why did they do that? Because L1 Dream Girl, who is still MIA, dreamed that it was necessary. (Note: I've lost track. Which L1 Legionnaires are still missing besides Dream Girl and Chameleon Boy?
  

Page 7

• XS and Kid Flash vs Emerald Empress. L2 Kid Quantum appears.
  

Page 8

• Panels 1-2: Sodam Yat, the last Green Lantern, attacks Superboy Prime
  

Page 9

• Finally, the Time Trapper reappears! That's L2 Timber Wolf, Grimbor, L3 Invisible Kid, L2 Ferro, L2 Gear, L2 Violet, L3 Triplicate Girl, L1 Blok, L2 Saturn Girl, L2 Cosmic Boy, Persuader, L3 Shadow Lass, L1 Shadow Lass, L1 Mon-El, L3 Star Boy.
  

Page 10

• Panel 2: flashback from Final Crisis?
  
• Panel 4: Flashback to Time Trapper and Glorith from ADV 317
  
• Panel 5: Flashback to the Conspiracy against the Time Trapper, LSH v3 50. That's Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Duo Damsel, Brainiac 5, and Rond Vidar.
  
• Given what we know by the end of the story about who this Time Trapper is, why would he have focused on the Legion for what they did to him? They've got an issue to figure that out.
  
• Notice that the Conspiracy arc is still canonical. That was well after the Crisis issues of LSH v3 (17-18). Time Trapper says that he attempted to remove any true memories of Superboy from the Legion but was not fully successful. Does that mean that the v4 Legion has not been erased, as that Legion used Valor as a Superboy substitute?
  

Page 12

• Panel 3: Kid Flash says that magic doesn't affect Superboy Prime. I thought it did, am I mistaken?
  
• Panel 5: Kinetix is killed. I'm a bit surprised, as I figured they wouldn't kill off the "unique" characters from each of the Legions.
  
• Panel 6: Interestingly, she calls out the name of Leviathan, who was the L2 Gim Allon. He died early in the L2 run. Did she see him as she died, and if so, how? When last we saw him, he was being taken into a room that suggested (to me, at least) that they were testing out something that might bring him back to life.
  

Page 13

• That's newscaster Marella Tao, who dated Timber Wolf after he broke up with Light Lass. To recap: the dead Legionnaires (so far) include L2 Kinetix, L1 Karate Kid II (shown with the rest of the Substitute Legion 2.0), L1 Rond Vidar, and L3 Sun Boy.
  

Page 14

• L2 M'Onel and L3 Element Lad join the fight. Element Lad makes the version of Kryptonite from Superboy Prime's world that hurts him, as kryptonite from other worlds don't hurt.
  

Page 15

• Death of L3 Element Lad and possibly Zymyr (if he can live outside of his bubble). Cosmic King changes the kryptonite radiation to yellow sun radiation, which appears to be a new use of his power (previously he only changed elements and compounds).
  

Page 16

• Panel 2: Mordru predicts the triumphant Legion: L1 Invisible Kid II, L2 Invisible Kid, L2 Chameleon, L1 Timber Wolf, L1 White Witch, L1 Blok, L2 Saturn Girl, L2 Sensor, L2 Cosmic Boy, L3 Atom Girl, L2 Violet, L2 Kid Quantum, L3 Colossal Boy, L3 Chameleon Boy, L2 Ferro, L2 Timber Wolf, L2 Shikari, L2 Apparition. Fallen bad guys include Mordru, Titania, Tharok, Dr. Regulus, and the Emerald Eye.
  
• Panel 7: Green Lantern, L1 Mon-El, L3 Wildfire, and L2 M'Onel head north
  
• Panel 8: Following them are L2 and L3 Ultra Boys, L2 Star Boy, and L2 Andromeda.
  

Page 17

• Panel 1: The new version of Superman's Fortress, resembling that on the Smallville TV show and the Superman movies.
  
• Panel 2: Three Brainiac 5s, Gates, and Light Lass wait for the Time Bubble.
  
• Panel 7: L1 Wildfire, L1 Polar Boy, and L1 Dawnstar return with Lex Luthor's hair.
  

Page 19

• Hmm, who has Kryptonian DNA and needs reviving?
  

Page 20

• Ooops, the only ones who knew what to do are unconscious, along with some heavy hitters (M'Onel, L2 Ultra Boy, Green Lantern, and Andromeda).
  

Page 21

• More cannon fodder: L2 Wildfire, L3 Ultra Boy, and L1 Mon-El. Polar Boy is the last line of defense, but he's just buying time.
  

Page 23

• Polar Boy won't go down easily. His dying speech (or what he thinks will be that): "You can kill everyone wearing a Legion flight ring, but the dream Superman started will never die. Long Live the Legion."
  

Page 24

• L1 Sun Boy to the rescue as L1 Dawnstar and L1 Wildfire complete the resurrection/regeneration process.
  

Page 25

• Panel 2: Polar Boy calls Sun Boy "Drake" instead of "Dirk". Drake is Wildfire.
  

Page 26-27

• It's the return of Conner Kent, aka Superboy! That shirt and those pants look pretty good after 1000 years.
  

Page 28-29

• The assembled Legionnaires vs Superboy Prime at the north pole, with the three L1 founders with Superman at the end of time. The big reveal --
  

Page 30

• The Time Trapper is Superboy Prime!
  

So we've got a couple of months to analyze this before issue 5. There are some things I want to address, like can the Trapper's previous appearances be reconciled with this, especially the story in which he hinted at XS's role in the big picture scheme of things; how this ties back to the Lightning Saga story; and a look at the hints and spoilers over the last couple years.

Remember, we know that Bart and Conner survive to make it back to the 21st century, and that L1 Brainiac 5 shows Superman the Miracle Machine

Mark Waid interview on AICN

Thanks to Murray for pointing this out (and also for pointing out what seems like half of the links I post here nowadays!). Mark Waid did an interview for Ain't It Cool News (AICN) on Monday, in which he speaks at length about the Legion. I don't think there's anything new, as Mark covered it back in December with a CBR interview, but it's still interesting to hear him speak about it. (The Savage Critics, however, call this new interview "pretty much the balls-out closet-opening light-shining festival on the perceived insanity behind DiDio's DC that I've been waiting for.")

Here's a chunk of a very long (and very thorough) interview that pretty much covers Waid's entire career.

Bill Mitchell (BM): Was the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES a difficult property to tackle given the numerous incarnations and histories involved with the team even though you essentially relaunched the book? Was this a book you had always had your sights on?

Mark Waid (MW): I'd actually already written it for a while back in '94. And next to Superman, it's always been my favorite longtime DC property. Paul Levitz is the only person I'll allow is a bigger lifelong fan of the Legion than I am. I love everything about their history and know it better than I know my own family's. Problem was, that history was badly broken. CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and the John Byrne SUPERMAN reboot and a few other storylines had really wrecked the Legion's continuity beyond repair, and no matter how fast we ran around trying to patch the raft, some other ripple in DC continuity was blowing another hole in it, to the point where Legion history seemed like nothing BUT hasty patches.

The absolute, irrefutable reality was that by the early 2000s, new-reader perception of the Legion was that it was an impenetrable read full of mismatched history that made no sense. You can argue all you like that this perception wasn't fair or accurate, if you're so inclined, but it didn't matter. That was the series' reputation, and it hardened around the characters like cement. We couldn't give that book away no matter how good it actually was. In fact, it's forgotten, but the last time it was relaunched around about 2000 (as THE LEGION by Abnett and Lanning), you could not have asked for a greater promotional push. Wizard Magazine promoted it with giveaways, and they NEVER promote DC. Ads were everywhere, retailer incentives were created...and it was still pretty well D.O.A.

So in 2005, I was asked if I wanted to come aboard, and I felt there were only two ways to go--either try to get back to Silver Age continuity, which was flatly impossible in part because of the ongoing litigation between the Siegel estate and DC over who owned Superboy--or plant a giant flag that said, "Everything starts fresh here, it's all new, it's a total reboot and we're all on the same page, readers and creators." I chose the latter path, for good or ill. Barry Kitson and I worked out their entire world, including origin material you'll never see, and (at the suggestion of writer Tom Peyer) rethought the Legion as less of a super-team and more of a political movement. And we got some mileage out of it, and I like what we did.

But now we're back to what I was saying before--how liquid DC continuity was at the moment. While we were busting our asses to rebuild the franchise (and getting periodic fan notes from Paul Levitz, which were gold to me), a whole different editorial office was allowing Brad Meltzer to undo absolutely all our hard work for one of his JLA stories, which (he'd been told) could star the 1980s Legion, as if ours never existed. I don't blame Brad at all, but boy, was that mismanaged on all levels--because it was deliberately kept secret from us until it was on the verge of being printed. I would have JUMPED at the chance to play along somehow, thus strengthening a new Legion series that were on about issue four or five of, rather than sending a message that our Legion was just some sort of aberrant fan-fiction. (Yes, I'm still pissed.) Barry and I were dealt with in unbelievable bad faith, which I could have endured, but it wasn't just about Barry and me; it made DC as a whole just look stupid and uncoordinated, and I still love DC enough to hate when that happens.

Eventually, long after Barry and I finished our run, Superboy was returned to DC and Geoff Johns now has the opportunity to re-re-re-relaunch the Legion as its Silver Age incarnation, and more power to him. On the one hand, I wish we'd had that chance, but the timing wasn't right and it wasn't in the stars. On the other hand, I have no regrets because I have to work extra-hard sometimes to convince some readers that I'd much rather move forward than backward.

1000 Posts Later

Huh. If I posted just once a year, I'd be in the 31st century already.

So it turns out that my last trivia quiz post last week was my 1000th post here at the Omnicom. It's hard to believe that I've kept at it for that long (first post: November 8th, 2005, 3-1/2 years ago).

Over the last few years, because of the blog, I've been in contact with members of creative teams past and present, I've heard from people involved in the animated TV series, and Paul Levitz even told me (in San Diego last summer) that he pops in here from time to time. I was even consulted for a minor (non-spoilery) story element in "Legion of Three Worlds". A lot of people found me at San Diego last year just from my Simpson-ized icon, and I've met more people through this blog than I ever expected. (I'm just disappointed that The CW people didn't invite me for a set visit last fall, though, during the Legion episode of Smallville.) And I've had fun, especially due to my regular commenters, through trivia quizzes, annotations, review roundups, convention reports, sales charts, and more.

So here's to another 1000 posts. Long Live the Legion!

More Bits of Legionnaire Business

More stuff...

Toys

• The Matty Collector Facebook page has some more pictures and info on the Legion action figures coming out next month. The 4-pack will retail for $30 and is only available at mattycollector.com. Note: per mattycollector.com, you must be 18 to purchase these figures (this must be the Adult Legion).
  
  
  

Reviews and other random miscellany

• Siskoid found an odd reference in Star Trek #39, June 1987, written by Len Wein.
  
  
• Comics Bronze Age reviews LSH v2 #279, part of the Grimbor/Reflecto saga. Note the George Perez cover from 1981.
  
  
• Brian Hughes at Again With the Comics looks at the late v3-era Polar Boy-era Legion and takes another look at the Space Canine Patrol Agents.
  
  
• Jonathan at Living Between Wednesdays reviews Adventure Comics 315, the story where Stone Boy was given the opportunity to join the Legion. The review is MICHAEL APPROVED.
  
  
• Matthew at Legion Abstract tries to analyze Lightning Lad's Lightning Saga personality in terms of what his personality has been like in his various incarnations (Silver Age, v4, Post-Zero Hour Livewire, SW6 Livewire, etc.).
  

Interviews

• Robot 6 at CBR interviews Tony Bedard, current writer of R.E.B.E.L.S.
  
  
• Over at Colleen Doran's A Distant Soil, guest-blogger Laurie Sutton talks about her history in comics. You might remember her as the Legion editor at the time a little-known story arc called The Great Darkness Saga was published.
  

Trivia Answers #34

Ooops. It's been quiet around here lately and I forgot to post the trivia quiz answers. In honor of April Fools Day, this month's theme was funny people and parodies.

1. When did a Mxyzptlk appeared with the Legion, and how often did Legionnaires die during those meetings?

The Silver Age Legion met the evil Mxyzptlk V (and everyone died except Superboy, in ADV 310), while their Adult counterparts teamed up with his good brother Mxyzptlk 5 (nobody died, in ADV 355). Everyone died in "World's Funnest". None of the Legionnaires died in "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow". And "Wild World" versions of Superman, Mxyzptlk, and the Legion appeared in Action 388.

2. Which Legion parody group included Negative Lass, Lightning Lice, Loud Kid, Beachball Boy, No-Brainiac 5, Batter-Eater Lad, Butter-Eater Lad, Butler-Eater Lad, Button-Eater Lad, Mutton-Eater Lad, Kid Lass, and Kid Kid?

The Logjam of Super-Heroes, from the Myxzptlk "New Year's Evil" one-shot from 1998.

3. Name any three members of the Legion of Superfluous Heroes from "normalman".

This LSH was so big that it took years for a complete roll call. There were at least 88 members (names listed here), including Ample Lass, Euphemism Lad, Flaccid Lad, Generic Lad, Nihilistic Kid, Sappho Girl, and Unavoidable Lad. The roll call appeared in the first 7 issues of "normalman" from Aardvark-Vanaheim and Renegade Comics (currently collected by Image, and well worth seeking out).

4. According to the commentary within "DC Comics Presents" #59 (Superman and the Subs vs Ambush Bug, recently reprinted in the Ambush Bug Showcase volume), when did that story take place?

"Don't worry about where this story takes place in continuity", or words thereabout.

5. Which Legion parody featured Badtmann, Bloatman, Boobin, Camel-Lion Boy, Cap Namerica, Career Girl, Cromag-Man, Dawn Spark, Dreaming Girl, Magnethead Kid, Maniac 5, Nom-El, Phantasmic Girl, Plastic Surfer, Soopaman, Thunder Lass, Tinder Wolf, and Water Boy?

This was Blackthorne's Legion of the Stupid-Heroes. See more here.

6. Which Legion included Bizarro-Brainiac 5, Bizarro-Chameleon Boy, Bizarro-Cosmic Boy, Bizarro-Invisible Kid, Bizarro-Lightning Lad, Bizarro-Mon-El, Bizarro-Saturn Girl, Bizarro-Superboy, and Bizarro-Ultra Boy?

The (Bizarro) Legion of Stupor-Heroes, of course, from ADV 329.

7. I've mentioned the Space Canine Patrol Agents a couple of times recently. What's their battle cry?

From Superboy 131, the SCPA's battle cry is "Big dog, big dog, bow wow wow! We'll crush evil, now now now!". No, really.

(And yes, Tom, I remember the year that the Black Ink Irregulars were the Space Canine Patrol Agency's Human Auxiliary. That was at the 2001 San Diego Comic Con's Pro/Fan Trivia contest, the only year I was on the team. See here for the gory details, but the BII lost that year.)

Blogroll update

Time for a periodic cleaning of the blogroll sidebar.

Out:

• Paul and John Review. John has moved over to Living Between Wednesdays, and the site isn't being updated any more.
  

In:

• Legione dei Super-Eroi, which (like the Omnicom) is all-Legion, all the time, all in Italian. Good job by Fabio “Mr. Kayak” Graziano! Looks like there's a lot there that I've missed for this site, so I'll have to dig through the last couple of months over there. Stuff to check out: the Heaven 4 Heroes modeler, a Mon-El costume redesign contest, and a benefit painting done by Francis Manapul with Superboy and the Legion. More later.
  
• It's OK, I'm a Senator! Recollections by v4-era Legion writer Tom Bierbaum about writing the Legion, reprinted from his various APAs over the years. More on this one later, too.
  
• Geoff Johns has his own site, apart from the message boards at comicbloc.com. He's a writer, too.
  

Legion of Three Worlds finale spoiler!

Spoiler warning for the ending to Legion of Three Worlds!



OK, you've been warned...



Bart Allen (aka Impulse, Kid Flash, and Flash) lives and returns to the 21st century! Surprise, surprise. But we know he lives because he shows up in the first issue of "Flash: Rebirth" from last week.

Some of Bart's dialog with Robin and Wonder Girl:
"I came here from the future so that everything could go back to the way it used to be. Wally's the Flash and I'm Kid Flash."

I know, that's not really much to go on.

And also, in case you hadn't heard, we have semi-official dates for the last two issues:

According to a shipping update from Diamond Comic Distributors, DC has rescheduled Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #5 and #6, originally scheduled to ship in December 2008 and March 2009 to May 13 and June 24, respectively.

As a point of reference, Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1 shipped Aug. 20, 2008.