posted
So I've been meaning to get a discussion going about the Legion's symbols for a while. Couldn't find any other threads that did so so I thought I'd co-opt this one.
You can see most of them above and here's a spiffy little page that someone has made (Nightcrawler?) that has more of them on -
So what are everone's thoughts on the symbols? Favourite? Least favourite? Do we see enough/not enough of them these days? Any ideas how some could be improved?
Here are my takes -
I love the symbols. They're such great device and another of the many little aspects that make the Legion mythos dense and interesting.
My Favourites
* Lightning Lad/Lass (the double lightning bolts) * Ultra Boy (of course - his is probaly the most iconic) * Blok (the current one - that cube is so hilariously cute, not a fan of the old one at all though) * Saturn Girl (another fairly iconic/instantly recognisable one) * Polar Boy (just a great design) * Night Girl (another cute one) * Timber Wolf (sleek and stylish) * Dream Girl (very meta - love it) * All the 'star' ones (Star Boy, Wildfire, XS, Dawnstar, Sun Boy - all great variations on a simple yet eye-pleasing design) * And a lot of the others too (Matter-Eater Lad, Earth Man, Tellus, Invisible Kid, the Karate Kids, Cosmic Boy - the current one, not the dumb 'magnet' old one) - all of these are good.
My Least Favourites
ALL the 'male'/'female' symbol ones, especially...
* Phantom Girl (the old one is awful - probably the worst of them all - but the new one is not much better) * Shrinking Violet (a slight improvement on the old symbol but still, is a mini 'female' symbol the best they could come up with?) * Chameleon Girl (just silly) * Duo Damsel and Colossal Boy probably have the best of these types but they're still not very imaginative - would love to see more interesting/stylish designs invented here.
I also don't generally like any of the Interlac ones -
* Especially Brainiac 5 or Mon-el's (new and old versions for both of them) * (However I do kinda like Element Lad's for some reason. It's simple and a unique design.)
* Gates' is another I'm not keen on. Where is that from? I don't remember seeing it anywhere before and it doesn't look like a good representation of his power. It's weird. * Quislet's is similar to Gates'. It doesn't tell me anything about his power or personality and looks totally out of place. I would never have guessed that symbol belong to him in a million years. If Evillo joined the Legion I could see that symbol working for him though. * Tyroc's current one looks way too much like a Brainiac symbol. As well as being boring.
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I don't feel we see enough of the symbols these days though. I know Paul had them on that Board an issue or two ago but I'd like to see them incorporated more onto their costumes or something. Something to give each member their own instantly identifying statement.
What are some other peeps' opinions on the symbols?
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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future king
Excuse me but can you please direct me to the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles?
posted
quote:Originally posted by Nightcrawler: How's this -
Thanks Nightcrawler ... you rock! I think Giffen was the first to draw this symbol board wasn't he?
From: ontario | Registered: Feb 2007
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
It would be fun to take these symbols and show them to someone who isn't a Legion fan, and see what sort of superhero they'd make from just the symbol.
Cosmic Boy - Hypno-Dude! Infectious Lass - Landro's Hot Nurse!
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
I love the symbols, I definitely think they are an iconic part of the Legion...and with so many members it makes sense from a storytelling point of view to have a shorthand way of visually identifying the cast too.
I have actually been tossing up the idea of using some of them as tattoo ideas, but I'm not really sure which I would use....all of them is a bit excessive, and some of them don't actually look that great in reality.
If I had to pick a couple that are my favourite, I would probably say Ultra Boy's just because it's such an iconic visual, and Dreamy's because it's a clever representation of her power and she's my favourite LSHer generally anyways..
-------------------- Read the alternate adventures of the Legion after Legion of Three Worlds! postlo3w
Registered: Nov 2009
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quote:Originally posted by Set: It would be fun to take these symbols and show them to someone who isn't a Legion fan, and see what sort of superhero they'd make from just the symbol.
Cosmic Boy - Hypno-Dude! Infectious Lass - Landro's Hot Nurse!
posted
Quislet's monitor board symbol is a slightly modified version of the symbol on his ship. Not that most people noticed the symbol on the ship. I love th elittle guy and even I didn't notice it.
-------------------- Five billion years from now the Sun will go nova and obliterate the Earth. Don't sweat the small stuff!
From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
quote:Originally posted by Blacula: * Duo Damsel and Colossal Boy probably have the best of these types but they're still not very imaginative - would love to see more interesting/stylish designs invented here.
The cool thing about Colossal Boy's is that it's also the symbol for Mars, thus being an indirect reference to his origin as well.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I must apologize for my erroneous statement above about "The very first appearance of such symbols was in LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES ANNUAL #1 (1982)."
In truth the first appearance was in LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES Vol. 2 #287 (May 1982) -
And to give credit where credit is due the Gates and XS symbols at http://www.legionofsuper-heroes.com/ are courtesy of LW's own Ger, who had this cool Reboot Legion website. I prefer his Tellus and many other symbols to the "official ones" quite frankly.
From: San Diego, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Blacula: * Duo Damsel and Colossal Boy probably have the best of these types but they're still not very imaginative - would love to see more interesting/stylish designs invented here.
The cool thing about Colossal Boy's is that it's also the symbol for Mars, thus being an indirect reference to his origin as well.
I did not know that. That is pretty cool.
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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