posted
So did I in almost every page. Yera, the Legionnaires in those boxes and the old Clubhouse with an updated, yet recognizable look and Garth, Imra and Rokk's "portraits", especially Garth's screamed of "this is IT". No, I don't mean "original" or anything. That was not the point. The point was/is this story is about a redefinition of the Legion's values and spirit. The plot and dialogue show what this arc's point is. It's more than shared history or common backstory with the classic Legion. It's about who Superman is, what the Legion stands for, who they are, why they are, and the legacy they share with Superman. Spirit and values. That's the basis of Superman AND the Legion. It IS a dark story with a Legion on the run, but what better way to redefine the basis of an entire imaginary universe than showing how those values expressed through the personalities of the Legion and Superman (a powerless Superman yet) stand in the face of extreme adversity? That's why I, for one, am not bothered at all by the darker elements and don't believe it's got something to do with 5YL other than a few superficial similarities.
From: Somewhere in the Multiverse | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
I don't really feel like I belong in this discussion, because I don't have a real good memory of the Adventure years, although that's the Legion I grew up on. However, three weeks ago, I picked up the last two issues of Supergirl and the Legion of Super Heroes and the first issue of the Legion in Action. I've read every issue of the Legion of Super Heroes faithfully until the last two issues. So I started with Action and was enthralled. I then picked up the LSH issues and tried to read them. I set them aside for later, when I could better "concentrate." What did that tell me? The Action Legion is my Legion. The other one is right now of minimal interest. No offense to Denis Calero, but the art does not draw me in for Legion. It might for a different type of book. However the Action story has me hooked.
So today I braved Northern California holiday traffic to get the latest Action. It was worth every horn-honkin' moment of stalled traffic on I80 for the 45 minutes it took me to go 10 miles to the next town. This is my Legion. I don't care if there are some mess-ups in continuity. The spirit is there. Somebody has really been listening.
Now I hope DC continues to listen. My theory is that they are testing out 2 Legions to see which one, from a business point of view, makes sense to continue. If that's true, I hope it's my Legion, the Action one.
[ November 24, 2007, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: Semi Transparent Fellow ]
Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Semi Transparent Fellow: I don't really feel like I belong in this discussion, because I don't have a real good memory of the Adventure years, although that's the Legion I grew up on.
Hey, if you have to remember the Adventure years to be part of this discussion, I'll have to bow out since I wasn't born yet...
From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
Oh well, the Adventure years have an "iconic" status of sorts, since that's where a lot of new characters and concepts first appeared that made the Legion what it is/was. It isn't necessary to have read them all (even though I'd recommend it, now that many early issues have been reprinted in glorious b+w in Showcase). The Legion in Action is much closer to the 70s and 80s than the 60s anyway.
From: Somewhere in the Multiverse | Registered: Apr 2006
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-------------------- I tried to rip their soul out.I tried to make them forget Superman. But they won't.
From: Kentucky | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Ok, I got it today! I loved it. Sure I don't love everything but the story is so powerful? dramatic? It just wins me over.
In a way I think it's far fetched that this Earth-Man movement actually convinced all of Earth that Krypton never existed and Superman was from Smallville originally. Nice to see the Legion still operating off earth as well as the UP.
Big bad? Is Universo originally from Earth?
The Justice League? It's fun. I recently read all the old Adventure issues where these guys got rejected (except Absorbancy Boy/Earth Man). I became a fan of Spider-Girl in v4 so I hope she IS under a spell. Same with Golden Boy. B
I think the founders should've wiped the floor with them.
Back to Superman and three of my faves! Gim mentions Yera! #305 was my first issue ever so that warmed my heart.
Gary Frank just took the prize from Dennis Calero for drawing freaky kids. I mean the panel with "Long Live Humans" may be the scariest thing I've ever seen in a comic.
And ofcourse the page Gary already posted with Invisible Kid II, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, Violet and Blok! BLOK!!!
Blok has never looked better. The rest?! Ugh! Phantom Girl and Invisible Kid I don't mind. Ultra Boy and Violet? Maybe the worse costumes I've ever seen them in. Same goes for Cosmic Boy.
I am really enjoying the art! But the freaky eyes and some of the costumes I am not.
I am nitpicking. I love this issue.
Some v4 ties? The unpopular Legion and the red sun just remind me of Black Dawn.
From: Tampa | Registered: Mar 2004
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
quote:Originally posted by Wild Jorge: I think the founders should've wiped the floor with them.
Hard to say, 'Earth Man' seems to have a lot of powers, such as whatever he did to blast aside Cosmic Boy's batarang barrage. We only see Blok, Violet, Ultra Boy, Phantom Girl and Invisible Kid before he adds the founders to his arsenalm 'though, so it's not clear how he did that trick. (Perhaps Tellus was in a tube we didn't see? Or was he absorbing Cos' power right then and there to block the attack?)
And hey, great rationale for why they aren't killing the Legionnaires. He wants them alive, so that he can steal their powers!
quote: Back to Superman and three of my faves! Gim mentions Yera! #305 was my first issue ever so that warmed my heart.
Major bonus points from me for mentioning Yera. She's hardly my favorite (and, to be fair, I don't think she was meant to be seen as a very likable character...), but I totally respect that she's part of the continuity I love.
It's a good thing they printed a second run, I missed 858 when it first came around, and it was sold out at my local store until this new run showed up, so I got to read 858 and 859 back to back.
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
[deep, ominous voice] In the future, all costumes will be sleeveless... and '80s punk. Even the hair. [/deep, ominous voice]
Okay, so I've only just started reading the Levitz/Giffen Legion run (I'm only about half a year-- 6 issues-- in); however, there are elements here that clearly draw from that. No question. And I do like that. It makes time a bit more linear in that maybe what I'm reading now could lead to what's being written by Johns. As someone who's mostly familiar with the re- and threeboots, it works nicely for me. But that's just me.
There are definitely elements I don't like though. Chief among my complaints is the art. I really don't care for Gary Frank's style or how it lends itself to the Legion. I get what he's going for-- that gritty feel-- but it just leaves me cold. The costume redesigns are... eh. Some are better than others, obviously. The expressions just bug the hell out of me. And Clark looks young... not in a good way. He's not Superboy anymore.
The story, while compelling, is also rather reminiscent of the Daxam xenophobia plot (reboot era). I get that it has deeper ties to the Legion and stronger ramifications but I feel as though it's a story that's been told before. More than once, even. But Johns does make it compelling (I'm still a fangirl, after all) and I definitely want to know what's coming next. It's sort of cool to see the rejects tearing the Legion apart. It was the seeds they sowed, after all...
Surprisingly, I like Drake and Dawny (who I have not been so fond of so far in LoSH v2). I always like Gim-- he's so nice!-- and here, with his care for his wife and everything... I felt like that was right. (Only the reboot got his personality wrong. But then they killed him so whatever.)
I'm wondering about Garth, Imra and Rokk, though, and the situation with the Legion at the moment. It's only been hinted at and I'm anxious to get a fuller picture. Who's leading, where are the survivors not in stasis, how'd the others get into stasis, which members of the espionage squad disappeared, etc. etc. (We haven't seen Dreamy, Brin or Projectra since Lightning Saga and KK, Starman and Una are in the present but what of the rest of Lu?)
Point: Very enjoyable tale so far. Especially interesting for me as the members are mainly ones I'm learning about from the older sources at the same time. I just hope the story carries on at a good pace and the art improves. (Though that last one may be a vain hope.)
-------------------- Abin: You know what to do with a Cali sandwich? No but neither do Cobie and CJ! CJ: Yeah, we do. She's smiling, isn't she?
Context... who needs it?
From: Sunny Cali-- er, Planet Earth? | Registered: Jun 2005
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Really enjoying it --- and it does a great job of capturing the classic Legion.
Artwork: B-
Gary Frank's new gritty style is mostly appropriate for a tale of a grim Legion future, but as others have stated, there are too many superfluous ink links.
Costume designs: C-
Some deserve a failing grade (Ultra Boy, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lad, Shrinking Vi). The best ones are those used for Wildfire (looks like a transparent body suit) and Dawnstar. The rest are just meh. Colossal Boy's costume is a big step down from the Cockrum classic.
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
True but at least he's not looking like a giant cowboy. I've always felt that some "classic" things should be left well enough alone. anywho..
More Legion out there is hunky dory with me. I like the story too. Someone mentioned Nardo upthread but I thought "Universo" while reading it the first time.
Come to think of it it looks a lot like the Blight hit 'ol Mother Terra.
JLA 3008 eh? Looks like I got my wish for a JLA to compete with the Legion. Not necessarily members that I would have chosen though, I see a golden opportunity here to create some 30th Century sci-fi type "Legacy" characters either blown or thrown away. darnit.
Is this an "Adult Legion" like the guys in the end of the Superman/Batman LSV story? There's not even a suggestion that they might have called on their friend Superboy to save their hash nope, always they talk to Superman as if that's expected, they're his age group, peers.
From: Smallville Sector : Greater Metropolis | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
It plucks at the old heart strings, it does.
Those JLA guys look more "alien" than the non-Earth legionnaires. I think this sort of conflict has more traction than the youth-adult one - it's a lot darker and sets the stage for more diverse action.
Nardo certainly does come to mind, but I'd see him as the guy running the prison under some more powerful authority. Maybe McCauley is president of Earth again.
The art's a bit of a jolt, as it is every time they change artists, but it works for me. Saturn Girl with big blue eyes - she looks all innocent, and I bet she's more iron-butt than ever. The costumes look more realistic and individual than in other versions.
quote:Originally posted by Fat Cramer: Nardo certainly does come to mind, but I'd see him as the guy running the prison under some more powerful authority. Maybe McCauley is president of Earth again.
Good theory and I was thinking of one villain that no villan have ever done in many times - turning the planet against the super team - as he did to the Legion at least three times - he stands as the vilest villain ever in the Legion history: UNIVERSO!!! That's my theory - he may found a way to hypnotize the Rejects and make the sun go red. Who else can do that? Maybe a combo of him, Leland McCauley (or Ra's Al Ghul), and Brainiac? Hmmm...I will wait and see to see if my theory is wrong or not.
From: Hayward, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Fat Cramer: Nardo certainly does come to mind, but I'd see him as the guy running the prison under some more powerful authority. Maybe McCauley is president of Earth again.
Good theory and I was thinking of one villain that no villan have ever done in many times - turning the planet against the super team - as he did to the Legion at least three times - he stands as the vilest villain ever in the Legion history: UNIVERSO!!! That's my theory - he may found a way to hypnotize the Rejects and make the sun go red. Who else can do that? Maybe a combo of him, Leland McCauley (or Ra's Al Ghul), and Brainiac? Hmmm...I will wait and see to see if my theory is wrong or not.
I think it's Universo too... he ran a work camp once just like Nardo... remember when he kidnapped all of the "strong-willed" legionnaires including Nura. Maybe she's in the camp. Fingers crossed.
-------------------- The poster formerly known as Carggaphile.
From: Hamilton | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Universo does seem to be the obvious threat, based on his past attempts at world domination, and it would fit his M.O. quite well.
Is it just me, or is anyone else feeling a bit like the Earth just went "Nazi"? With their efforts to purify Earth (humans only, and substituting aliens for Jews). Also the black armbands the Rejects are wearing with the red Superman logo...a bit reminiscent of a Nazi Swastika (at least with the color scheme)! It's like they turned Kal into a 30th Century Hitler!!!
On the whole, there's a real mixture of all preboot Legion at once here. You have the team based on the 70's & 80s timeframe (based on their uniforms and historic references, etc.), but heavily pulling from the Adventure era of the 60s (all the Rejects except for Absorbancy Boy, who was 70s), the "Legion Underground" aspect of the Universo story where the Earth turned against the Legion. Part of the team on the run hid out in the Batcave back then. You've also got the alien prison camp (a la Nardo). And touching on the Hitler/Nazi comparison from earlier, Superboy and Hitler actually swapped minds briefly back in Adventure #314!!!! <insert Twilight Zone sound effect here> Coincidence?? Maybe not!
I've really got to give props to Johns for this generations-spanning tale!! Way to draw from the LSH's rich history, Geoff!! I can't wait for the next issue!!!!!!!
Oh, and having Eyeful Ethyl as a teacher is hilarious!!! What other profession requires eyes in the back of your head?
-------------------- Craig C.
- Time travel stories are told in chronillogical order.
From: Santa Ana, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
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