Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion on Smallville

I couldn't see it, had something else pop up. How was it? Good, cheesy...really rocked...?

There is a thread in the Future is Forever part of the board. You can read some of the comments on the episode beginning here .

I'm pretty excited by this, and I can't wait for tonight. I've never actually watched an episode of Smallville, seen a few minutes here and there. I was always too AR continuity-wise to accept the forced multicultural retcon of Pete as African-American and Lana as Asian-American. Dude, Lana's a redhead, always has been! I'm not prejudiced, I'd just rather they leave things that already worked alone. Introduce new classmates and friends we just haven't met before who could be Asian-American, African-American why don't you? That would be fine! Chloe is a great example of an all-new character for Smallville who is still around all these years later...of course, because they messed with Pete and Lana, they made Chloe Caucasian too...my point is, Lana could have stayed a redhead, and Chloe could have been Arab-American or something, no problem at all! Just bugs me! Ah well, I'm the guy that hated Superman-The Movie because he was able to fly backwards through time to save Lois. Anyone whose ever read a Superman story involving time travel knows that's not possible!!!!!!

Sorry, wasn't meaning to rant here. I am looking forward to tonight's show!

I will say the one thing I already believe will be missing is the fact that in comics, the Legion meant a lot to Clark because he was pretty alone as a teenager, having powers and being an alien, and the Legion became a place Superboy belonged. In Smallville, for the drama and action of the series, he's already met a ton of people with powers, alien and human, and weren't scores of people over the years powered up by Kryptonite meteors? So, what I'm getting at is that the Legion will get the chance to meet their idol, but Clark already has super-friends to hang with in his own time. Can they be as special to him in the Smallville TV universe as they are in the comics? They were like a lifeline to him as a teen!

Hey, maybe if this episode is well received and Welling re-ups for another season, maybe the Legion can show up again and yank him to the 31st century to save the future for an episode too (from what I read in Geoff's interviews, that probably wouldn't be financially possible though...I'll just dream about it then).

LLL!

Pretty good so far but GEE WHIZ can we get a modern Legion story that doesn't deal with Xenophobia or whatever, I'm so SICK of that plot point. I mean, would it be so hard to say he's a criminal from the future (Fatal Five) and wanted to mess with history by killing Clark (you can even throw in the cheesy "you are destined for great things" line). Sorry, but I wish writers would get off that kick, its NOT interesting.

Plus, not so sure about their solution to the Chloe problem, but I'll wait and see how this ep ends to see if it was just an "initiation prank"

Anyways, I haven't watched Smallville in ages, but fun ep so far and I'm liking everyone well enough (I mean, you can't give the characters too much depth in one ep)

Well, writers tend to react to current events, and our recent history (U.S.) seems to be rife with resurgent xenophobia-- certainly there's a lot of it in this neck of the woods. YMMV.

BTW, is this a good time to mention that I have everyone's home phone #'s and I'm going to call you all while the show is on just to bug you ? If you want to outsmart me and my evil, you'll have to take the phone off the hook at broadcast time. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I liked when Lightning Lad said "It's for my sister" and them giving Clark a Legion ring and offer to visait them.


The big major thing of the Legionnaires saying "We must kill Brainiac's host!" Hated it. If one thing should have come down through the 1000 years it should be the non-killing aspect of Superman. They know about the stupid baseball which was "missing", but not about Superman not killing? How about instead the Legionnaires said something like "the best we can do is contain Brainiac within Chloe and she needs to come with us to the future where she will be put in stasis."?

That was alright. It was REALLY weird seeing Legionnaires ready to kill.

The characters themselves came across as rather flat. I imagine they seemed exceedingly random to Smallville viewers unfamiliar with the characters.

I think the Legion would have been better served with a playful "Legion of Super Jerks" initiation episode. They came across as a cut-rate JLA with a prophetic twist.

I don't watch Smallville (as I really don't watch tv at all), but I really enjoyed it. Definetly exceeded my expectations. Garth was pretty immature but that happens a lot with people of their age (rage of maturity levels). Rock was quite the thinker, leader, which I really liked as well, and I think Imra was best represented in appearance. I though Persuader would have a bigger role though. They made a reference to Brainaic 5, stated that there were other Legionnaires and invited Kal-El to visit someday. Loved the close-ups and emphasis on the Legion Flight Ring. I liked that they showed the Kal-El's influence over the Legion. Didn't care for the Legion willing to kill Chloe but they learned from Kal-El in the end that there is always another way to solve things; they made it their #1 rule (so good show of influence there). I really hope this episode flies, a spin off would really be the greatest thing. I'd give the episode an 7.5 out of 10.

Well, personally....I thought it was a pretty damn good episode! Had me glued to my seat, wating for more. I hope we see them again, if not...Long live the Legion!

My love for this episode came to a screeching halt when they told Clark he had to kill Chloe. I still enjoyed all the touches Geoff threw in, but like Quislet said, they should not have been so quick to kill her. The whole knife bit was just wrong. I was waiting for Rokk and Imra to start chanting, "Kill her! Kill her!" They were just way too eager.

I don't care that they learned their lesson about killing in the end. It totally tainted the episode for me.

That said, the little bits of character they were able to show were pretty cool, and everything else about them seemed pretty spot on. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing Clark pay a visit to the future.

And someone should probably go in and add SPOILER to the thread title just in case.

it was ok have to re watch it to nit pick latter
two things quickly
1
i wanted then to end the episode with the legionnaires in the 31st century in front of the superman museum
2
love the look of rokk hated the jacket on close ups

Oh, I thought it was really good. A couple times I had a really big grin on my face. Yes, the fact that they kept trying to convince Clark to kill Chloe was sort of off, but I found it easy to let it go. I guess I'm too used to compartmentalizing different versions of the Legion. The fact that they didn't find it very easy to do themselves makes me guess it's not something they had any experience doing. I loved that they worked in mentions of Winath, the Time Institute and the Subs. Even though I knew the line was coming, when they said "Long Live the Legion" I was a little giddy.

On a side note, it was funny to see Crashdown from Battlestar Galactica turning into Doomsday. Poor guy, getting the short end of the stick again.

Moreso than being unfaithful to the concept, having the Legion ready to kill made them seem really, really generic. It's weird how being a bright and shiny future makes the Legion different...you'd think that concept would be hackneyed, but it's so sparingly used that it gives the Legion a unique flavor.

Also - anyone else think it's funny how Garth is totally different in every continuity? "Geeky fanboy" was an interesting take on him.

Uggghh. Except for two scenes -- Rokk and Garth taking down Chloe/Brainiac, and the final LLL salute -- this was AWFUL.

What a wasted opportunity, and what a goddamn shame the man who wrote this self-indulgent dreck has dibs on the comic book LSH. Geoff Johns wouldn't know the "real" Legion if they mugged him in a Kansas cornfield in broad daylight.

The first five minute scene, with the Legion spanking Persuader, was very cool.

I did not like the 'human supremacist' crap, because that's just Action Legion stuff that was invented last year for some Superman crossover and not part of the past 30 years of LSH continuity, but it was gotten out of the way fast enough that it didn't bother me that much.

Lots of shout-outs. Mention of some place smelling as bad as the sulfur pits of Tharr or Garth saying 'sprock,' for instance. Kind of irrelevant to the Smallville viewing audience, but cute nods to the LSH fans tuning in and they didn't seem distracting.

I was not fond of the fact that Rokk clearly knew about the fortress when Clark said 'go talk to Jor-El,' and then they didn't go there, they just wandered around and read Chloe's notebooks to try and find her, and chatted up Lana and stuff. Ugh.

The Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill bit was annoying, and then I got what they were doing by having Clark be the inspiration for the Legion's no kill code, and then I didn't like it anyway, since it came off really, really clunky. Despite the nature of the show, they've had some really elegant writing, at times, paying homage to stuff while incorporating it into their own universe. This was not elegant writing. It was awkward.

Still, there were several scenes in the episode where I was all misty-eyed, seeing *some* sort of Legion being acknowledged as relevant to even this very much alternate universe version of Superboy/man/bear/pig. The use of the Flight Rings to catch up to Clark made me smile, as well as wonder how fast those things go, since it's never really been terribly clear to me...

On a shallow note, Persuaders axe look fugly, Imra had too much makeup on, especially in some of the later scenes (and she looked like she would be pretty enough not to need to cake it on so heavily, which, IMO, is more of a Smallville makeup department problem and nothing wrong with the actors judgement, since they are famous for caking Lana and Lois in about 20 lbs of plaster, so that their faces look like death-masks...), and the chinless wonder playing Garth needs to 'roid up and wait for the other one to drop before he plays any grown-up roles.

I could get used to Rokk with a beard 'though.

Chloe once again survives certain death. Good thing, too, 'cause she's my favorite character on the show, and has been since season 1!

Random thoughts;

Brainiac told Davis that after twelve days 'in the chrysalis,' he'd be irrevocably Doomsday. Two hours later, Brainiac is defeated and Doomsday hatches early. Sounds like potential for 'Doomsday' to be saved.

Brainiac is 'reprogrammed' to become Brainiac Five? Huh. I think I prefer a race of Coluans instead, but it's an alternate universe and that's as good an origin as any. (Why Imra would call him Brainiac 'Five' instead of Brainiac *Two,* I have no idea...)

Chloe looked like she was packing at the end of the episode, and not the 'going to visit my boyfriend in the hospital' packing, more 'looking over mementos of my past before leaving forever' packing. Gulp. They keep messing with my Chloe-loving heart!

[Probably because they know that if they endangered Lana I'd be all on the edge of my seat, rooting for the bad-guys!]

Omigod, if one more actor on this show decides to emote by staring at another actor and having their eyes go back and forth like they are watching a tennis match, I'm gonna go to Vancouver and pluck them out of their head! Act, damn you! Don't play pong!

Ooh, the actual EMP scene was WAY better than the previews with the placeholder graphic (some lame-o spinny white thing). Nice graphic! I like the barely decipherable babble of voices whenever Imra would telepathically assault someone too. Very nice way of 'showing' it without making pink bubbles come out of her head or something!

On Newsarama, they said that Brainiac had possessed 4 other people so far. The new incarnation, therefore, would be Brainiac 5.

"Omigod, if one more actor on this show decides to emote by staring at another actor and having their eyes go back and forth like they are watching a tennis match, I'm gonna go to Vancouver and pluck them out of their head! Act, damn you! Don't play pong!"

SET!!!! WORD!!! oh my god!! yes!! god thank you!! that drives me CRAZY!

special request, can someone tell me who the other 4 "brainiacs" are? my cohort is refusing to listen to the "the ball will become querl" idea, she thinks they were saying "querl will be happier when he has a brainiac ball"

i thought the episode was adorable and awesome. i like the "this is how the legion code no. rule was made" thing. this is the best smallville episode i've ever seen. whatsherface who plays chloe, this episode showed me she could act. i thought she sucked before but MAN! she should have brainiac in her all the time if she'll be that cool!!

holy crap, i love all the actors that played the legion, their interaction was great, they had distinctive personalities! ahhh! ;_; i'm so happy! imra was PERFECT! very calm and collected, the way she spoke was amazing! garth was hilarious!! and cos's actor was amazing!!! oh wow, his face! their amazing acting contrasted sharply to the welling cut-out that was wandering the set.

ANYTHING WITH CUTE FIST BUMPING AFTERWARDS IS APPROVED BY ME!!! this is the first ime i've watched smallville and not felt a little bit dead inside afterwards.

My two cents:

Rokk was way hawt. I think I may like my favorite Legionnaire more than ever!

The killing this was very disappointing. I'm glad it was resolved in the end.

Hearing "grife" and "sprock" on TV made my day.

I nearly teared up at "Long live the Legion".

Did this seem an awful lot like a backdoor pilot, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

If only. I know I would love a TV series or especially a movie (DC could always use the Legion to compete with Avengers...maybe?), but a TV series would push the budget really far. Smallville already has plenty of problems trying (and failing) to not look farcical.

I was pretty happy with this incarnation of the Legion. I thought they went a little too "Harry Potter's red-headed buddy" with the casting of Garth, but I can kinda see this as a younger Lightning Lad.

Johns definitely did his best to throw in as many homages as possible didn't he? My favorite might be how the "exorcism" was reminiscent of Garth's resurrection.

I didn't mind too much the Legionnaires' willingness to kill. It was clearly something they weren't used to doing (I appreciated that Garth ultimately couldn't do it) and it set up a way for Clark to directly inspire the Legion rather than just through legend.

The anti-alien thing in the 31st century might seem a bit too heavy-handed because *we* know it's a new addition to Legionlore and that Johns created it, but it does touch upon Clark's long-seeded insecurity about being from a different planet. For him to know that the Legion is made up of non-earthers is important for this Clark's development.

Well, I watched it and it was okay. Loved seeing the Legion, loved the references "we" would get (acting like a Sub, and Tharr's air, and the 31st century curse words)! I would have to say the "we have to kill her" aspect seemed beneath the Legion I know and love. You idolize this hero from Krypton who brings out the best in people, yadda, yadda, yadda, and he has to tell you to your face "No killing!"??? I get where Geoff was going with this, but I thought it cheapened the core foundation of the team.

Good luck getting Kal to join the team if you off his best friend. That never came up in Adventure #247...

I also liked the "We've never even heard of Chloe..." bit, good for those of us fans who know our Superman trivia.

Loved the rings and the "LLL" chant (but they all 3 should have said it, I only heard "Rokk's voice). You could see the budget at play, what with our 31st century heroes walking around instead of always flying. Trying to "blend in" with the locals?? Glad they left the door wide open for a return visit, but I doubt the budget of the TV show could allow for a tech trip to the future.

Long Live the Legion indeed!

You know as much as a Squee-fest as this episode was, I was really pissed off at the fact that the Legion kept trying to get Clark to 'pull a Morrison' on Chloe-iac.
Then they were even gonna go 'Batman/Darkseid' on her themselves.

I was like, WTF, Legion??????!!!!!!!!
Code, people!!!!
Legion Code!!!!!

And then Clark goes and Icons them into their newest and most important Legion Code...
Awww...

Also...
I LOVED all the QFT's the Legionaires lines gave us.
Waaayyyy too cool.

<edit>
By the way...
I vote YES on a Legion spin-off when Smallville ends.
Screw the early JLA now and Long Live the Legion!

I just watched this looooooong awaited episode and I have to say I was quite entertained.
It worked well within the current Brainic-Doomsday plot running thru this season. I'm glad it was the Legion that finally stopped Brainic (with Clark's help) and returned him to the future where they, I'm sure, will secure him.

The Persuader's appearance was way too short, but action-packed nonetheless.

Ok, on to the Founders....

Rokk - A bit of a cliched way-too-serious leader at times and a bit stiff, but not a bad first impression of the character as the actor played him.

Imra - She was the best represented of the three character wise. The actress did a good job maintaining the balance between truth and mystery plus the need for justice that is Saturn Girl.

Garth - No question about it...the comedy relief of the episode, but hey folks let's face it, he more than the other two really mirrored the enthusiasm of meeting "Kal" for the first time with our own inner child's giddy excitement with seeing our icons live on a hit TV show! Right???

Their use of their powers was spot on I felt.

I was also greatful for all the in-house references (that only we the die-hard fans could understand).

The only negative I felt, like everybody else here has already stated, was the whole willing-to-kill-Chloe-in-order-to-stop-Brainic thing. That was way out of character for the Legion, but I guess some tweeking is required in order to fit such a huge story into a one hour episode.
LOL, I imagine the Legionnaries, before meeting Clark in this episode, running around the 31st century killing foes with ease as they fight for truth and justice!
Oh well.

All in all a good episode (and way past due). This will get fans talking and hopefully wanting to learn more about these heroes of the future.

It was a fun episode for sure and well worth the wait.
I certainly hope we see them again.

i guess i'm the only one that didn't get miffed on the whole "Kill Chloe to save the world and the future" *i guess it's the old Needs of the many out weight the needs of the few scenerio* we really didn't know how long the Legion had been together since Smallville doesn't really follow DCU continuity at all. so for all we know the Legion could've been together maybe a few years and never had to face a challenge like this i'm sure killing to them was only a last resort measure, untill they met Kal/Clark and he taught them a better way.
other than that i must say it was the best episode of Smallville in a long while. (i still think the show should've ended a few years back)love how each Legionnaire was portrayed and the Pursader cameo was awesome!! and it was good to see that they left Kal/Clark a ring, maybe since i hear that there will be one more season maybe he'll pay a visit to the 31st century.

I don't really know much about Smallville, but I enjoyed it yesterday-- except for the ads.

My reaction to the character changes was similar to my first reaction when I first saw the cartoon last summer-- yeah, it's not the Legion I remember, entirely. But it is the characters as written, the acting was competent, the costumes were cute, and the story held my attention.

The core sentiment of the original was there. I had no problems with Clark being the one who persuaded his "followers" that killing his friend was out of the question. They kept hitting on the idea that while the Legion wanted to emulate their hero, there was a lot of his history that was lost to them. Once he set an example, they followed it. So it made sense and added some dramatic tension that wouldn't have been there otherwise.

mr_cleome has no history with anything Legion, but he totally picked up on the "You talk like a Sub" bit. I've been bringing him up to speed since we started watching the animated series.

Oh, the wonders of fan and/or Wiki-fueled crash courses !