Bits of Legionnaire Business

I've got a backlog of stuff to go through for this episode of Bits but here are a few recent items:

• In an article about how certain comics characters are created, former editor KC Carlson recounts the creation of Fortress Lad when he ran into Mark Waid one day.
  
  

  So as a joke (and because I knew that Mark had a hammer in his desk drawer and might use it on himself), I suggested that the origin of the LSH Clubhouse was that it originally came from a planet were all the buildings were living creatures. I said this for the following reasons: 1) Virtually all the origins of the individual Legionnaires were that they came from a planet where everybody had the same super-power (the lamest origin in comics, repeated ad-nauseum), 2) It was in my contract at DC to say as many stupid things as possible, and I was way behind my quota that week, 3) I thought that this might actually make Mark’s head explode and then I would be the new Legion editor! Bwah-ha-ha!, and 4) I never expected Mark to take me seriously.
  

  
  
• Supergirl Comic Box Commentary begins a series looking at how Supergirl was used during the writing reign of Paul Levitz (LSH v2 #300, #301 so far)
• Comic Creators United goes to the longbox and pulls out LSH v2 #308 to review. Unfortunately that was the first part of the Omen/Prophet story. Ouch.
• This Europe-only version of Cartoon Network still has some animated Legion promo videos (which apparently can't be watched in the US), even though the Legion isn't listed as one of the currently-airing shows.
• Diversions of the Groovy Kind had Kung Fu week. Among the spotlighted martial artists were Karate Kid. Here's issue 1 posted, if you've never read it before.
• Chuck's Comic of the Day to review was LSH v2 #290, part 1 of the Great Darkness Saga.

JMS on the Legion in "Brave & Bold"

Via CBR, an interview with J. Michael Straczynski (aka "JMS") on his upcoming Brave & Bold storylines:

The next two issues (Brave & Bold #34-35) fall into the experimental category.

The first of these features the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Doom Patrol. A crisis sends the Legion back in time to get the right team to pull off the job. They come back to the future to handle it, only to find new and unexpected complications springing up. But they do deal with it. It's a serious issue with lots of action.

The next issue features the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Inferior Five, which is set at the same time as the previous issue. In this one, the Legion has learned of the same crisis, and decides to show the Legion that they're just as capable as anyone else, so they go back in time to get the right team... only to end up per accident with the Inferior Five. Determined to make the best of it, they come back to the future to deal with the problem, and everything they do keeps screwing up what the Legion is doing - so now we learn the source of the constant and unexpected complications. The Legion story is mainly a comedy of errors. It shows how you can take the same basic story and tell it two ways, one serious, one funny. It also lets me play with parallel timelines and narrative structure in ways we really haven't seen much before.

Even the covers are parallel. The first cover shows the Legion and the Doom Patrol in a victory pose in front of the time bubble, with shadowy figures barely visible on the other side. The second cover shows the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Inferior Five posing on the other side of the bubble, with the Legion of Super-Heroes barely visible as shadowy figures on the other side.

That's what I mean in terms of doing more experimental sorts of stories, and taking chances. It could blow up in my face. Or it could be insanely fun. You never know and honestly, that's the fun of it.

Trivia Answers #43

Thanks for playing the Special all-Levitz edition trivia quiz. Nice job on the answers this month.

1. For the sake of this question, assume that the writer and artist are equal co-creators of a Legionnaire (not necessarily true). How many Legionnaires did Levitz co-create?

Under these rules, Levitz co-created Dawnstar, Invisible Kid II, Karate Kid II, Tellus, and Quislet, all of whom joined while he was writing. He also co-created Danielle Foccart, the future Computo, and Yera, the future Chameleon Girl, both of whom joined after he stopped writing. White Witch, Polar Boy, and Magnetic Kid joined under his reign, but they were pre-existing characters.

2. How many regular, non-fill-in editors has Paul Levitz had on his Legion-related books?

Denny O'Neill edited from Levitz's first issue, Superboy 225, through S&LSH 233. Al Milgrom did 234-246. (Levitz did all but a few of those issues). On his second run from LSH v2 281 to v3 63, he had Mike W. Barr (281-287), Laurie Sutton (288-295), and Karen Berger (296-313, Tales 314-325, and all of v3). Note that I said "Legion-related", that also included the miniseries Cosmic Boy (Berger) and Who's Who in the LSH (Berger and Mark Waid). Not sure yet who's going to be the editor of v6.

3. Historically speaking (in terms of DC history), what was significant about the death of Nemesis Kid at the hands of Queen Projectra?

He said that "Projectra's execution of Nemesis Kid was the first time in DC history that we had a superhero deliberately killing a villain."

4. Historically speaking (in terms of DC history), what was significant about LSH v2 #294, the last issue of the Great Darkness Saga?

I can't find the quote, but it was the first time that DC had published a double-sized book without it being mostly reprints (like the DC 100 Page Super-Spectacular books), while the series was regular-sized, and without it being an anniversary issue.

5. What three reasons has Levitz given on why he likes writing the Legion?
In his own words:

I think there's a few levels to answer that on. The first, most primal, one is my inner five-year-old. Legion was the first book that I really fell in love with as a kid, the first book I collected... My bound volumes still include a lot of my subscription copies with the damn crease in the middle. I used to make little Legion figures out of paper dolls and Creepy Crawler molds when I was really young, so it's very satisfying to a very small person within me.

On a more professional level, one of the things that's always been satisfying to me as a writer is working in the corners of the DC Universe where I didn't have to play well with others all of the time - things like Justice Society [of America] and Legion where, although they fit the continuity of the line, you didn't have to do a ballet around "Why isn't Superman just flying in from Metropolis to solve the problem this week?" That's always been attractive.

Most significantly, and what I think is key to the readers of the Legion, is that it's a world that is large enough and imaginative enough that you can really fuck up the lives of so many different characters, and there's always someone new to play with.

6. When asked which Legion story he'd like to forget that he wrote, what story (or storyline) did Levitz reply with?

A number of times, including at the Legion's 50th anniversary in San Diego in 2008, he replied that it was Superboy & the LSH #235, in which he tried to explain how they Legionnaires were still teens even though they were really older.

7. This is Levitz' third stint on writing the Legion. What other writer or writers have had three or more terms writing the Legion (separated by enough time that the person was not considered the regular writer at the time he/she came back)?

Jim Shooter (1966-69 on Adventure; 1975-77 on Superboy; 2008-09 on LSH v5).

Keith Giffen helped plot late v2 and early v3 as one continuous run, then late v3 and some of v4 as one continuous run; and Mark Waid helped plot v4 before and after the Zero Hour reboot as one continuous run, and v5. So neither of them get credit for 3 runs, only 2.

Now on Facebook too

Follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook!

I finally got around to setting up a Facebook fan page for the Omnicom. In theory, I'll be posting here, which then goes to my Twitter account @LegionOmnicom, which is then supposed to post to the Facebook fan page.

Still haven't worked out the bugs of going from Twitter to Facebook, though.

New Perez drawings on Facebook

If you're on Facebook, you might want to check out this album on George Perez's page.

Back in 2008, when I was just starting on LEGION OF 3 WORLDS, the folks at WIZARD Magazine commissioned me to do 10 sketches of various members of the Legion of Super-Heroes as some sort of promotional stunt. I'm not exactly sure what the stunt was, or if anyone actually got to see these, but I figured I'd post them here for the Legion fans among you. With only 10 I had a hard time choosing the characters, but decided on a tiny sampling from all three versions. Hope you like 'em.

Here are a couple of examples. Any WIZARD readers out there recognize these?

Trivia Quiz #43

Special all-Levitz edition!

1. For the sake of this question, assume that the writer and artist are equal co-creators of a Legionnaire (not necessarily true). How many Legionnaires did Levitz co-create?
   
2. How many regular, non-fill-in editors has Paul Levitz had on his Legion-related books?
   
3. Historically speaking (in terms of DC history), what was significant about the death of Nemesis Kid at the hands of Queen Projectra?
   
4. Historically speaking (in terms of DC history), what was significant about LSH v2 #294, the last issue of the Great Darkness Saga?
   
5. What three reasons has Levitz given on why he likes writing the Legion?
   
6. When asked which Legion story he'd like to forget that he wrote, what story (or storyline) did Levitz reply with?
   
7. This is Levitz' third stint on writing the Legion. What other writer or writers have had three or more terms writing the Legion (separated by enough time that the person was not considered the regular writer at the time he/she came back)?
   

Brainiac & the Legion schedule

Via Douglas Eide, here's the release schedule for the "Brainiac & The Legion" storyline coming up in a couple months. With the last issue in late April, that sets the stage for the new Legion v6 #1 to appear in May. (April solicitations and covers here).

Prologue:  Adventure #8 3/3

1. Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #1 3/10

2. Supergirl #51 3/17

3. Superman #698 3/24

4. Adventure #9 3/31

5. Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #2 4/7

6. Adventure #10 4/14

7. Supergirl #52 4/21

8. Superman #699 4/28

Epilogue: Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #3 4/28

More on the LSH v6 announcement

More from the Levitz announcement this morning:

• Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool has never "gotten" the Legion but will apparently be buying the book anyway.
• CBR recaps the Source and IO9 posts, but you can read the comments.
• Newsarama also has a recap, with comments (that haven't gone off the rails yet).
• Reviews and reactions at GeekSpeakBlog and The BEAT.
  

Yildiray Cinar, the new artist on LSH v6, is on Twitter at @ycinar and has a blog and DeviantArt page both with lots of sketches and pencilled pages from his Titans work.

Still waiting on the artist for the Adventure Comics run.

Artist on LSH v6: Yildiray Cinar; plus TWO Levitz titles!

The DCU Blog announced today that newcomer Yildiray Cinar will be the artist on the new Legion book - that's LSH v6, for those who are counting. There are a few sketches and a kick-ass looking cover/pinup:

(click to enlarge).

The post has this from Paul Levitz:

“It’s such fun to be back in the future, blowing up planets, undoing Legion marriages, revealing unrevealed factoids, and starting improbable new relationships. If there’s a better job in comics than writing the Legion, with its vast cast and creative opportunities, I’ve never held it.”

There's way too much for me to quote from the Levitz interview at IO9, but - get this - he'll be doing the Legion Secret Origin story in Adventure Comics AT THE SAME TIME as he'll be doing the Legion v6 book. Holy schnikies!

PL: On a more professional level, one of the things that's always been satisfying to me as a writer is working in the corners of the DC Universe where I didn't have to play well with others all of the time - things like Justice Society [of America] and Legion where, although they fit the continuity of the line, you didn't have to do a ballet around "Why isn't Superman just flying in from Metropolis to solve the problem this week?" That's always been attractive.

Most significantly, and what I think is key to the readers of the Legion, is that it's a world that is large enough and imaginative enough that you can really fuck up the lives of so many different characters, and there's always someone new to play with. I don't know when you were a Legion reader, what kind of terrible things I was doing that week...

IO9: So the Legion you're going to be working with in the regular Legion of Super-Heroes book, that's based on what you left behind, and as updated by Geoff Johns. It's come back around after a couple of reboots.

PL: I think I would characterize it by saying that we're picking up the story after some gap after my last issue and what we saw in Geoff's work in Legion of Three Worlds and "Superman And The Legion of Super-Heroes." Something's happened in that time that Quislet came back, Tyroc showed up, other stuff has happened - I don't have a complete list of things to be revealed, but it's quite clear that things have happened in people's lives. There's at least one major Legion romance that's gone to hell in the time inbetween. And that's a great liberty as well, it's not leaping forward but stepping forward just enough so that you have some abiguities to work with.

...My first story picks up more from the end of "Superman and The Legion of Super-Heroes" than Legion of Three Worlds, in the sense that you get [alien-hating supervillain-turned-faux-superhero] Earth Man back. The first page of the first issue deals with Earth Man getting dealt with by the Science Police, and not necessarily gently, and it kinda goes running from there. I imagine I'll go back and explore things that happened in the inbetween on occasions, but I don't think those will be flashbacks. I think you'll pick up the story when the story is and you might learn things that happened that you didn't know about.

...IO9:So what is "Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes: Secret Origin"?

PL: It starts from a challenge that Geoff [Johns] gave me, which was that if you want [a new reader] to pick up Legion of Super-Heroes, there's no book to hand them. You're bringing someone in in the middle of the story no matter what you're doing. You can say, "Here's 'The Great Darkness Saga,' this is the best regarded Legion story published," but then you have to hand them the Cliff's Notes to go along with it because of that wonderful insanity. [The challenge was] can you do something with what you're doing in Legion that would be a good first Legion book?

I'm trying to do something that will be an introduction to the characters, an introduction to the worlds, an introduction to some of the history in it, without being a version of the old Mayfair Games Sourcebook that I did. I've done one chapter that I had a ball with, which is "The Last Will and Testament of RJ Brande." In one of Geoff's stories, [Legion founder] RJ Brande is assassinated, and this is a pre-recorded will as he's telling Brainiac 5 what a pain in the ass he's been since he's known him from when he was a child, apologizing to Chameleon Boy for abandoning him on Durla, revealing things about his own background about how he got off Durla, how he made his money, how he lied to the Legionnaires over the years... Over the course of it, we retell the incident that created the Legion, and we begin to show a little bit of the history and a little bit of the relationships. That may be the first or second story, we're playing with doing one that's very Superboy-focused as a way of edging into more easily than that, but I haven't hit the keyboard so I don't know how well that'll work out.

... IO9: When do the titles launch?

PL: May for Legion of Super-Heroes and June for the series in Adventure Comics. The delightful thing is, I'm ahead of schedule so far.

Interesting that the last couple of new artists the Legion has had - Francis Manapul and Olivier Coipel - have turned out well and have gone on to bigger and better things after leaving the Legion.

The new "Legion" movie

Sadly, the new movie titled "Legion" coming out later this month is not about the Legion of Super-Heroes, but the coming apocalypse (via IMDB):

An out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race. When God loses faith in humankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity's only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner with the Archangel Michael.

Now, leaving that all behind, let's suppose a live-action Legion of Super-Heroes movie were to be greenlit. Leaving out casting calls, what would your movie's plot be? Of course, since you're a big Hollywood writer who is not bound by comics continuity, your movie can pick and choose from among any and all continuities over the last 50 years (up to and including Mordru on a jet-ski).* Give me a paragraph.

My proposal:

In flashback, the Legion's origin is recounted as part of an anniversary celebration - we can get that out of the way and show that other Legionnaires have joined since then. Flashbacks show various failed applicants (from Spider-Girl and Double-Header to Plaid Lad and Stone Boy) and previous cases/missions (to show the United Planets and the world of the 31st century). One important flashback is how Superboy joined the Legion and that he's a member because he has found a group of his peers, which he does not have in his own time. In the present, the Legion comes back from a battle with the Khunds - they have taken some casualties (deaths and injuries) and they need to recruit some more members. Then we adapt Jim Shooter's Karate Kid/Projectra/Ferro Lad/Nemesis Kid story from Adventure 346 - 347. The movie ends with Nemesis Kid fleeing and being recruited some of the other rejects we saw earlier (in a method that recalls Superboy's recruitment by the Legion), they're building a new group opposed to the Legion, setting the stage for the sequel: the Legion vs a group of super-villains bent on revenge and raising hell.

*Bonus points for anyone whose movie includes Mordru on a jet-ski.

JMS loves the Legion, too

From the JMS mailing list, it looks like J. Michael Straczynski's "Brave and Bold" wish list wasn't just a wish list:

Atom/Joker comes out in a week or two, then it's Aquaman/Demon, then a combo of Batgirl/Wonder Woman/Zatanna, then a kind of experimental situation with two issues on a parallel track, telling different but related stories with different teams (first: Legion of Super-Heroes and the Doom Patrol, followed by the League of Substitute Heroes and the Inferior Five).

Tom G says that puts the issues in the April/May time frame.

David Finch loves the Legion

David Finch, a fan-favorite at Marvel on things like "Avengers Disassembled" and "Moon Knight", has signed with DC as an exclusive. Here's one thing he said in an interview with CBR:

When it comes to which characters he'd like to take on at DC, Finch was quick to run down a list of his favorite books. "I love the big three, obviously, along with every other comic book creator that aspires to work on superheroes. I'm a huge Lobo fan. Simon Bisley is the greatest, and his Lobo work still has a big impact for me. I love Legion a lot, and Doom Patrol. The Flash is great. Justice League may be the holy grail of the DCU, though. It's got so much in one place, and such a rich history of stories.

It would be cool to have him, though I think he's probably taken by some other book.

Any word on the artist for "Adventure" when Levitz returns? Or have I missed the announcement?

Levitz's first arc: "Secret Origin"

Somewhere on Newsarama, apparently, Dan DiDio said this (via Digital Spy)

DiDio confirmed to Newsarama that Levitz would be taking over the writing of Adventure Comics following the conclusion of the 'Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes' crossover.

"There's going to be a lot of Legion news coming out in the new year," said DiDio, "but the one thing I can tell you is that Paul is working on right now, for Adventure Comics, 'Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes: Secret Origin'."

DC has used the 'Secret Origin' subtitle to refresh and redefine the origins of characters - including Green Lantern and Superman - over the last few years.

Festivus Trivia Answers

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you're all back home safely from your vacations with nothing more than a sunburn. Here are the answers to the Festivus trivia from right before the Christmas holiday:

1. Which Legion-related heroes and villains have been shown on both live-action and animated form?
   

   From Smallville, we've seen Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and the Persuader (Brainiac and Luthor are quasi-related, and whether the ball of stuff from that episode becomes Brainiac 5 remains to be seen); and from the Legends of the Super-Heroes Roast, we saw Mordru. All were seen in the Legion animated series.

   
   
2. Who said this, and what were the circumstances? "Mmm... this is nice! I must kiss her again!!"
   

   Superman traveled to the future of the Adult Legion in Action 289 and hit on Saturn Girl at Christmas. Her husband, Lightning Man, was not too thrilled.
   
   

   
   
3. Where did we see the Jaguar Court?
   

   As Tenzil put it, better than I could, "the Jaguar Court was seen in the Five years later Legion Annual #1, where Ultra Boy entered a nonaggression pact with them even though they were allied with Mordru, thus preventing the Legion from facing Mordru before they were prepared to beat him."

   
   

Festivus 2009

Today is December 23, and you know what that means... it's Festivus time!

Festivus, which originated on an episode of "Seinfeld" in 1997, is a non-denominational holiday celebrated on Dec. 23 (or sometimes earlier, to avoid the Christmas rush). Instead of a tree, a simple unadorned aluminum pole is displayed, in opposition to the highly decorated Christmas trees. Two of the main elements of the holiday that involve people are the annual Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength. There are Festivus Miracles too, but they're not officially required.

So to celebrate, here are my list of Legion grievances. Please add your own in the comments, but remember they only can cover calendar year 2009 (so no whining about anything that happened last year). In no particular order:

The first two are leftover grievances from 2008:


• The Superboy lawsuit is STILL not settled.
  
  
• Whatever happened to that Jim Lee/Paul Levitz Legion story that was supposed to come out months ago? Delayed until sometime in 2009, so I've heard, but nothing specific.
  
  
• The Legion is reduced to a backup strip for the first time since the early 1970s.
  
  
• In the Smallville episode, the Legionnaires saying: "The only way to stop Chloe is to kill her."
  
  
• The end of Final Crisis #6 had L1 Brainiac 5 showing the Miracle Machine to Superman. Not only had the Miracle Machine been eaten years before, but this scene was not seen or even referenced in L3W.
  
  
• Not only that the Legion v5 book was cancelled, not only that the Final Crisis/L3W story forced Jim Shooter's story to get cut by four issues, but also that Shooter either walked out on the last issue and forced a ghost writer or chose to use a pseudonym to close out the series.
  
  
• The latest retelling of the story of how Superman/boy joined the Legion lost the intention of the original story, how Clark Kent had to audition for a spot (even though it was all a joke). Now, they just asked him to join.
  
  
• It took 11 months for the 5-issue monthly L3W to come out.
  

Now to temper the List of Grievances, we also have some Festivus Miracles:

• George Perez. STILL on the Legion, even if L3W is delayed.
  
  
• The Legion on Smallville. The Legion. ON LIVE-ACTION TV. By Geoff Johns. And it's one of the highest rated and most-liked episodes of the season.
  
  
• Mon-El in a starring role in the Superman titles.
  
  
• The return of Adventure Comics, featuring (at least for now) the Legion.
  
  
• The return of R.E.B.E.L.S.
  
  
• Action figures!
  
  
• I hit my 1000th post.
  
  
• Paul Levitz will return to be the full-time writer on the Legion. The internet broke in half at the news that he was leaving DC Corporate.
  
  
• L3W returning all 3 Legions
  

The last of the Festivus traditions is the Feats of Strength, in which the guests wrestle with and try to pin the host to the floor. I think I've been doing that all year long with my trivia (see past quizzes here), but here are three bonus questions for you to wrestle with.

1. Which Legion-related heroes and villains have been shown on both live-action and animated form?
   
   
2. Who said this, and what were the circumstances? "Mmm... this is nice! I must kiss her again!!"
   
   
3. Where did we see the Jaguar Court?
   

Action figure roundup

This month's Q&A with Mattel (by various action figure sites) had a few Legion figure questions and some vague answers. As always, I'll believe it when I see them. (round up via Toy News International)

Cool Toy Review:

Cool Toy Review: I know we ask about the Legion of Super-Heroes quite often, but that's because the Legion is cool! Can we look forward to more figures from the 30th century?

Mattel: Absolutely.

Action Figure Insider:

Q5. Whenever the Legion of Super-Heroes are released for the DCUC line can we expect to see them have a whole wave like wave 8 was for JSA or will they be peppered into other waves?

A5: We have some great plans for LOSH but it is too early for us to get into these specifics.

Kastor's Korner:

Kastor: With the Legion having such a large roster, Matty, what era is your favorite? Any characters from the team that are your favorite besides the big names (Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5)?

Matty: When we do get to the Legion, we’ll most likely lean toward each characters most well known appearance. Aside from the big names, Wildfire, Ferro Lad, Mon-El and Dawnstar are personal favorites of Toy Guru.

Last Stand of New Krypton: no new Legion book (yet)

From today's DC blog The Source comes more info on the 8-part "Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes" arc.

Note that this article reveals that the "soon to be named" title from the previous article is "Last Stand of New Krypton", to go with "Superman", "Supergirl", and "Adventure" (but for some reason, not "Action"). No new Legion book yet.

What is the LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON? Well, it’s basically New Krypton’s worst nightmare come to life, as Brainiac attacks the planet, determined to recapture the city of Kandor.

But General Zod has prepared for this moment since Brainiac first attacked the original Krypton. Only problem? Zod’s plan to save New Krypton will mean the destruction of the future.

So it’s up to Superman, Supergirl, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes to save the people of New Krypton and ensure the Legion won’t be wiped from the future’s existence. Good luck! Or, to quote editor Matt Idelson:

“This is the story that ties together tons of threads that have run through all the Super-books up to now, clearing the decks for the war we all knew was coming. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting months to see Brainiac restored to his full, horrific glory. And at last, we’ll get to see Superboy interact on an ongoing basis with the rest of the Superbooks’ characters.”

LAST STAND is a three-issue miniseries, weighing in at 30 story pages each, from writers James Robinson and Sterling Gates and artist Pete Woods. The first issue sports an amazing Andy Kubert cover and kicks off the latest chapter in the New Krypton saga, “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes,” which we teased right here not long ago. “Brainiac & the LOSH” is an eight-part story (plus an epilogue and a prologue) that will run in LAST STAND, SUPERGIRL, SUPERMAN, and because you demanded it, ADVENTURE COMICS. Secrets will be revealed, loyalties tested and would-be lovers will be reunited—for the first time? And, knowing that all signs are pointing to an epic WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, why not hop aboard now?

SUPERMAN: LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON hits in March.

Trivia Answers #42

Trivia answers tonight:

1. List any five of Lori Morning’s aliases when she used the "Dial H for Hero" dial.

The ones I came up with, via Wikipedia: Future Girl, Fireball, Slipstream, Blip, Dynasoar, Chiller, Ink, Galaxy Girl, Plasma, Helios, and the Time Trapper.

2. Which of the following were the members of the Interplanetary Bank Beast Guards?

a. Asteroid Serpent
b. Hypno Beast
c. Jigsaw Creature
d. Invisible Eagle
e. Flame-Beast
f. Phantom Beast
g. Loudspeaker Beast

The three animals that made up the Interplanetary Bank Beast Guards were the Asteroid Serpent, the Jigsaw Creature, and the Loudspeaker Beast (a, c, and g). The Hypno Beast was from the planet Lurna (ADV 302), the Invisible Eagle was seen in ADV 247, the Flame Beast was from Krypton, and the Phantom Beast was from the planet Siria (ADV 308).

3. In the future of the Adult Legion, which of the children were shown to have NOT inherited any powers from their Legionnaire parents?

We saw Timber Wolf and Light Lass's kids Loni, Brin, and Bran; Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl's kids Ronn and Arna; Shrinking Violet and Duplicate Boy's kids (names not revealed); and the son of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel. Brin, Bran, and Loni were specifically mentioned to have not gotten their parents powers, and they never revealed one way or the other about Vi's kids.

4. It was announced this week that the next big Superman story will be "Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes". When has Brainiac met the Legion or individual Legionnaires, not including any of the Superboys or Supergirls?

Roy said Showcase '96 #10 and #11, The "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" story (outside the Fortress of Solitude), and DC Comics Presents #80. I thought there must have been one scene somewhere in Crisis on Infinite Earths but I may be mistaken. But everyone forgot the last episode of the Legion animated series, the "New Kids in Town" episode of the Superman animated series where the Legionnaires went back to Smallville to track down Brainiac, and the "Legion" episode of "Smallville" where the Legionnaires went back to Smallville to track down Brainiac. The Adult Legion of Super-Villains plus Brainiac (and Electro) were in Action #286, but the Legion wasn't in there. I did not count Pulsar Stargrave.

5. Where should a Legion artist have written "after Michelangelo"?

During the Great Darkness Saga, Keith Giffen drew Shadow Lass and Darkseid taking the places of Adam and God in Michelangelo's "Creation of Man" painting on the Sistene Chapel ceiling.

6. Who was Mordru's eyes and ears in the 20th century?

I was thinking specifically of Lana Lang, but pretty much everyone in Smallville was.

7. Which team played the Naltor Dreamers in the 2995 Galaxy Series?

The Toonar Pilots, of course.

Trivia Quiz #42

First Monday of the month, that means it's Legion trivia time!

1. List any five of Lori Morning’s aliases when she used the "Dial H for Hero" dial.

2. Which of the following were the members of the Interplanetary Bank Beast Guards?

a. Asteroid Serpent
b. Hypno Beast
c. Jigsaw Creature
d. Invisible Eagle
e. Flame-Beast
f. Phantom Beast
g. Loudspeaker Beast

3. In the future of the Adult Legion, which of the children were shown to have NOT inherited any powers from their Legionnaire parents?

4. It was announced this week that the next big Superman story will be "Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes". When has Brainiac met the Legion or individual Legionnaires, not including any of the Superboys or Supergirls?

5. Where should a Legion artist have written "after Michelangelo"?

6. Who was Mordru's eyes and ears in the 20th century?

7. Which team played the Naltor Dreamers in the 2995 Galaxy Series?

Brainiac & the Legion of Super-Heroes

From the DCU Blog The Source about Adventure Comics #8:

ADVENTURE COMICS #8 is the start of a four-issue arc connecting ADVENTURE to the next big Superman story - “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes.” James Robinson & Julian Lopez will provide a 10-page story about the Legion members who are in the 21st Century; Sterling Gates & Clayton Henry will provide a 10-pager about the Legion in the 31st Century; and Eric Trautmann & DC newcomer Pier Gallo (wait till you see this guy’s stuff!) will provide a 10-pager about General Lane’s Human Defense Corps.

The Superman writers have crafted a really fun and epic story in “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes” (which will run in ADVENTURE, SUPERMAN, SUPERGIRL and a tittle-to-be-named-later in March). Featuring Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, Mon-El and the Legion of Super-Heroes, it not only brings to a head all the Legion subplots that DC has been laying down since the JLA/JSA “Lightning Saga” story, but also sets the stage for this summer’s blockbuster Superman event!

I found some sample pages pencilled by Pier Gallo on Andy Diggle's flickr page (Hawkeye and Batman), it looks good but I'm not sure if he's going to be doing any Legion stuff or just this one HDC story.

Here's the cover to ADV #8 (they've also got prelim cover sketches and a pencils-only version of this). I'm looking forward to the tittle to be named later - fanboy speculation, maybe a new Legion book, leaving Adventure to Superboy?