Every Group or even a single hero has its/his/her iconic symbols. Superman's 'S' through to the Titan's Tower.
The Legion seems blessed with more that most but which are true icons and which would you rather have ditched?
my list of the iconic symbols I have identified:
Flight Rings. Now so much part of Legion mythos that their development is being retconned to be much earlier than was originally shown. Every Legion continuity has had them.
The yellow and red 'rocket' headquarters. In the mid sixties Jim Shooter moved the Legion out of the original HQ and over the next twenty years the Legion had a number of HQs. But every Legion since the mid nineties has had the upside down rocket as a base and it is now part of Legion folk-lore.
L belts. Introduced in Legionnaires and now pretty much accepted as standard. I love Phantom Girl having a 'P' belt instead though.
Boy/Girl/Lad/Lass codenames. Surely the most iconic symbol of all. Would Ultra Man, Saturn Woman (or some derivative thereof) really be right for the Legion. Garth is Lightning Lad no matter what Mark Waid tried to do.
The Legion Flag. Dating back to the sixties, is the Legion flag unique?
Long Live the Legion. Not quite as well known as 'Avengers Assemble' but up there with the best.
Interlac. Apart from Klingon, what other ficticious language is so well know. with it's own font available!!!
Monitor Board symbols. Introduced way back and still recognizable today.
Time Bubbles. Not as iconic as the Tardis or a De Lorean but a firm third.
One aspect of the Legion that has not become truly iconic is the uniforms. Each era has generated new designs that have their own supporters. Only the sixties Adventure Comics and the Cockrum disco outfits seem to have met with majority approval.
What do you think?
[ September 21, 2010, 08:26 AM: Message edited by: Silver Age Lad ]
Posted by Lone Wolf Legionnaire on :
I think the Cockrum costumes are iconic, as well as the Legion cruiser designed by Cockrum, of course I started reading the Legion with SLSH #197 so I might be biased.
I myself could do without the L-belts.
I agree about the upside down rocket ship headquarters being iconic, but I liked later Legion headquarters just as much.
I would like to for the Legion to grow up a little and move past the Boy/Girl/Lad/Lass codenames,But it has not worked in the past, still it seems like they should be hanging out with Superman now instead of Superboy.
Flight rings,Long Live the Legion,Interlac,Monitor Board symbols,Time Bubbles and the Legion flag, I agree that they are iconic.
I would like to add Legion Tryouts and Leader elections.
Posted by Set on :
Other possibilities;
Elections for leader Few super-groups have had elections for leaders, and even fewer have had reader-solicited votes, with the writer(s) pretty much surrendering a degree of creative control to their readership.
Tryouts A classic of the Legion, pretty much from day one, with their hazing of Superboy, and one that's always put a smile on my face, with both the Baxter issue that added Sensor Girl, Tellus, Quislet, Polar Boy and Magnetic Kid to the team, and the Shooter/Manupul issue that added Gazelle, Night Girl, Sizzle and Turtle, being among my absolute favorite issues of their respective runs.
From your list, I could do without the 'L' belts (the Flight Rings already serve as a unifying L-themed accessory), and the 'Lad/Lass' names, but the others are classical goodness that I love, even the dorky upside-down rocketship (although I also approve of the Legion eventually outgrowing it and moving on to posher digs).
Posted by Quislet, Esq. on :
I really don't think of the Legion Flag as being that iconic. I like the L belts, but would not be heartbroken if they were gone.
I would say that some of the costumes are pretty iconic. Ultra Boy's, Lightning Lad's, Cosmic Boy's, Brainiac 5's, Dawnstar's, Wildfire's, Dream Girl's, Star Boy's star field costume, and actually both of Saturn Girl's. There may have been changes artist to artist and over the years, but the basic design and color scheme remained.
Posted by Sir Tim Drake on :
Phantom Girl's bell-bottoms costume is pretty iconic to me.
Posted by jimgallagher on :
I'd like to ditch the L belts and the Interlac. I don't want to have to decode the signage in every panel where Interlac is used.
Posted by googoomuck on :
quote:Boy/Girl/Lad/Lass codenames. Surely the most iconic symbol of all. Would Ultra Man, Saturn Woman (or some derivative thereof) really be right for the Legion. Garth is Lightning Lad no matter what Mark Waid tried to do.
To me Ultra Man, Saturn Woman, Shadow Woman, Sun Man etc... just doesn't do it for me. Star Man is about the only one that works for me. I don't care if they're in their mid to late 20s gimme the boy/girl, lad/lass code names.
quote:Interlac. Apart from Klingon, what other ficticious language is so well know. with it's own font available!!!
quote:I think the Cockrum costumes are iconic, as well as the Legion cruiser designed by Cockrum, of course I started reading the Legion with SLSH #197 so I might be biased.
I recall that when I first started going to local comic cons around the time of SLSH #197-200 I met a long time Legion fan who didn't like the new costumes.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
I'm happy to ditch the lad/lass/kid codenames for the Adult Legion.
The term "Interlac" for an intersteller language goes back to early sci fi pulps, I believe. The font is, of course, original with the Legion.
The statues of the dead are also pretty iconic.
Posted by future king on :
I wouldn't ditch a thing! Warts and all this is MY Legion ... why on Earth would I want to change anything about it? I like and have liked every iconic item mentioned above, it's all part of the lore for me so changing even a little bit of it is wrong somehow. It would take away from the Legion's greatness in general (and yes "being great" means having flaws as well).
Posted by jimgallagher on :
Legion figurines!!!!! Posted by Lone Wolf Legionnaire on :
My view on which costumes are iconic.
Adventure era: Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Matter-Eater Lad, Mon-el, Sun Boy and Ultra Boy.
Cockrum era: Colossal Boy, Karate Kid, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Star Boy, Timber Wolf (at least his face) and Wildfire.
Posted by Faraway Lad on :
By Icon’s I think I mean something you see and then instantly think Legion of Super Heroes, rather than just generic “super heroes”
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)