posted
As I've in recent months become somewhat vaguely dissatisfied with the current re-imagined Legion, I have decided to give the reboot era a thorough re-read. Many of these stories I haven't read in years. I'll post reviews here as I go along.
REVIEW # 1:
The Beginning of Tomorrow/Planet Hell
LSH # 0 - LEGIONNAIRES # 23
Everything old is new again!
I rather enjoyed the bulk of TMK and TM-sans-K, but became mostly frustrated with what followed, so I was willing to accept whatever came after Zero Hour with open arms.
Little did I suspect that I was going to see the whole thing, this time from day 1.
LSH # 0:
Excellent Stuart Immonen artwork started the reboot (and ironically, it was his swan song for the Legion) with a bang. Usage of the word "stupid" in this issue clearly shows that this creative team (writers Mark Waid & Tom McGraw) knew their Legion stuff.
I think they handled it correctly; they wasted NO time in getting our 3 founders together with ol' R.J. and featured enough well-known characters (Ayla, Mekt, Luornu, Shvaughn) on the side that you KNEW these guys knew their nass.
Garth & Rokk become fast friends; leave it to Imra-- a bossy one from the start-- to interrupt the strokefesting.
LEGIONNAIRES (hereafter referred to as L*) # 0:
Moy's art was rough at this early stage, but strangely appealing too.
Again, our writers barrel things along at an approriate pace; one can almost sense that they were actively trying to keep old readers engaged while not confusing new ones.
The correct decision was made in keeping the first 5 Legionnaires the same in this reboot, as Apparition and Triad quickly join our founders three.
And if that wasn't enough, the stage is set, in a unique and realistic fashion-- for us to have tons more members added to the cast in even quicker succession. We glimpse Gim Allon, an unknown speedstress, some familiar faces on Xanthu, Durlan society, Lyle Norg and Brainiac 5.
The usage of characters such as Atmos and Kid Quantum once again says a lot (all of it good) about the writers!
LSH # 62:
Lee Moder comes on-board for art; I found it similar enough to Stuart Immonen's style to keep me happy.
One can almost sense the civilian chicks trying to think of ways to trick Cosmic Boy into marrying them on page 4, which is a good sign.
Our newer members (sans Brainy) make the scene; one can tell the UP is new at this point, as poor Durlans are apparently attacked on sight.
Quickly, the new, beefed-up-with-numbers Legionnaires are sent on their first mission, in an (understandable) attempt to gain some newsworthy clips to help gain support for the fledgeling team.
It is here that I think our writers made their first mistake: killing off a team member on the first mission.
Actually, it was their SECOND mistake; the real first one was changing James from the sweet-natured, well-liked guy he was in T&M's L* to the egotistical sassy-sister he was in the reboot. That set a precedent that was later taken advantage of: irritating character changes.
Nice "Cos as leader" moment with Gim, though.
L* 19:
Tom Peyer joins the writing team. A nice spotlight on the unknown XS; the usage of Probes, Marla Latham, the Legionnaires'penchant for funerals and Mano continue to show to me that these writers are trying to honor previous continuity (for the most part) while also trying to remain fresh & new.
LSH 63-66/L* 20-23:
The writing team continues to wow me by bringing in Tenzil Kem, Ayla (Spark) Ranzz, Ultra Boy, Karate Kid, Spider Girl (!!), Evolvo (!!!), Andromeda and Shrinking Violet.
They also frustrate me by putting Dirk Morgna's code-name and powers on an evil female, making Laurel a ateful xenephobe and giving Tenzil a very minor role.
We witness a prelude of sorts to what will become mass Legion tryouts.
Too-excellent-to-be-forgotten characters such as Gates are introduced, and yet another all-new Legionnaire becomes part of the team in Kinetix.
The Planet Hell storyline shows that these writers know their villains as well, as the likes of the Brain-Globes of Rambat and Carress mingle with all-new thugs like Titanor.
Moy's art begins hitting a stride with L* # 23 (his images of Laurel/Andromeda are lovely), and the Legionnaires get their flight rings in a pretty unforgettable scene.
And by the end of this issue, the stage is set for the nextbig reboot storyline, the "White Triangle" Saga.
posted
Well, I really liked the first couple years of the reboot. But, as a whole, the Archie Legion holds little favor in my mind.
To be fair, I didn't start reading the Legion til 2000 , when DNA was writing. Maybe if I had read the reboot issues as they came out, I'd look at them differently.
LSH #0 was a perfect origin/first issue. I've always thought that if a Legion cartoon were made, they could use this issue word for word for an excellent first episode.
And one thing those writers did a *lot* better than the current team (or DNA for that matter)was getting the story rolling and handling the large cast.
-------------------- "are you forgetting that I was a professional twice over- an analyst and a therapist. The world's first analrapist."
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
I have always maintained that the first years or so of the reboot Legion was extremely good. But when it falls, it falls hard. And never manages to get up again.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I'm really wondering, in retrospect, just how much direct influence Waid actually had in the first year. Yes, he pushed The Button that time too, but the codename and character (and costume) changes (mostly) came straight from the preboot SW6/Legionnaires book which was T&M's baby & he had little or no involvement with. XS was McCraw's, Gates was a one-scene joke until after he left; he didn't write a single issue solo, Peyer took over Legionnaires solo fairly quickly (#20, the third postboot issue - albeit plot credits were reinstated for McCraw & Waid, presumably because of the back-and-forth between titles meaning that he wasn't plotting in isolation rather than because they were working more on L*, as a credit for Peyer started appearing in LofSH at the same time), and Waid dropped down to scripting-only on LofSH by #68, only the fourth postboot issue of that title.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
posted
one of the main reasons why i liked the reboot(1994-2004) legion was because of legionnaires like XS,Shikari,Thunder,and gasp, even Gates!
From: Earth-247 | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
Reboot up to about v4 #80 was quite good. The 20/30 split weakened it, and it descended from there, until DnA lifted it up again.
DnA at their weakest were still better, story-wise, than anything Waid's done on Threeboot as of yet.
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Reboot: XS was McCraw's,
I'm surprised to learn that. I always associated her with Mark, both because of the Flash connection and because he wrote the best story featuring her (Impulse #12).
-------------------- Aaron Kashtan/Sir Tim Drake
From: Providence, RI | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
I also loved the early issues of the Reboot, and thought they were excellent. It wasn't really until Tinya was killed in the White Triangle storyline that I started to feel that things were a little off. However, those fears went away with the Chu Sting storyline, which was great.
At that point, the reboot was rocking along. Then came Emerald Vi, which ...eh...brought it down a little. the 20/30 split was a bad move, and the title quickly turned into crap. By Sneckie, the reboot Wildfire, etc. it was probably one of the comic books I dreaded more than any other, and there were some *weak* comic books at that time.
Still, those early years of the Reboot were great!
I do disagree with Kent though--DnA at their worst were as bad as Gerry Conway, the pre DnA reboot Legion and Legion on the Run at their worst. They really dropped the ball and screwed things up more. *However* DnA at their best was excellent. While Legion Lost IMO is nowhere near as good as some people make it out to be, the earliest issues of the relaunch were exciting and fun. Right now Waid is far ahead of DnA at their worst, but not at the level of DnA at their best. I guess thats a discussion for another thread though...
Looking forward to more Lash reviews!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Reboot: XS was McCraw's,
I'm surprised to learn that. I always associated her with Mark, both because of the Flash connection...
I'll admit, I was surprised to find it out too. But that was what first got me *really* wondering about whether Waid ever did anything significant with the postboot after the zero issues.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Considering that the first real indications that there was something seriously wrong in the reboot began almost as soon as Waid left, I think it's difficult to maintain that he didn't have significant influence on the book, if only in making sure it maintained quality.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: Considering that the first real indications that there was something seriously wrong in the reboot began almost as soon as Waid left, I think it's difficult to maintain that he didn't have significant influence on the book, if only in making sure it maintained quality.
See, I don't see that (certainly not "something seriously wrong"). For me, the first serious problem is when Andromeda comes back as a nun with a new personality.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
I see the trend of vastly inferior ripoffs of Silver Age stories/concepts as beginning shortly after Waid's departure, particularly with the whole Chu/Fatal Five story. That led into the massive jumping of the shark that occurred with the whole "Emerald Vi"/Death of Gim/Team 20-Team 30 split, shortly after which I quit reading.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: I see the trend of vastly inferior ripoffs of Silver Age stories/concepts as beginning shortly after Waid's departure, particularly with the whole Chu/Fatal Five story. That led into the massive jumping of the shark that occurred with the whole "Emerald Vi"/Death of Gim/Team 20-Team 30 split, shortly after which I quit reading.
I would more or less agree. The quality started to drop seriously after Legionnaires Annual #2, although I only notice it now in retrospect.
Perhaps they shouldn't have killed off the most interesting character in the series, and then brought her back as a nasty, jealous shrew and, later, a teenage single mother... sorry, I'm still a little bitter about that.
-------------------- Aaron Kashtan/Sir Tim Drake
From: Providence, RI | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
I will agree the turning point was the time split issues even though I did continue to enjoy the Legionaries book during the split. Legion on the other hand was pretty bad during that period. After the books were both put back into the 30th century it just got worse until DnA came on with Legion of the Dammned.
I thought DnA's run was fantastic until they brought in Superboy. That was were their run started falling apart hard.
From: Michigan | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Agree, agree, agree! I did not like the 20th/30th century split! Imra + Rokk = EW! EW, EW, EW!!
And then there was that really weird anomaly thingy... yeah, that still gets me. I'm just so not a fan of that. At all. At alllll.
Legion of the Damned was... like... so different than the series had been. I felt like I'd just totally missed a step between. but I did like where it went and I really enjoyed Legion Worlds.
Yes, I still have to read Legion Lost and The Legion (that's not gonna happen 'til after finals, though) but still!! Overall, I enjoyed the reboot, especially through that first year.
-------------------- 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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