Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion of Super-Heroes August 2013 Solicit

I probably wouldn't buy a Giffen-produced Legion book. I hated 5YG right up until he left, and would rather have no Legion than see him do the same thing again.

I'd buy a Giffen book, at least at first. I have pretty strong feelings about 5YG and place most of those at the feet of the Bierbaums. The part of 5YG that Giffen was responsible for was generally very good, save for some sick fascination with Tenzil.

What I'm very curious about with the news of cancellation is what made Giffen storm off of the book after 2 issues? I mean, surely the cancellation decision had been made so what limits could they have placed on him? Shouldn't they have pretty much been open to anything at that point? I mean, I'm thinking that Giffen didn't get mad because they were forcing him to be more controversial. It had to be about stifling what he wanted to do. If nothing else, controversy would have sold more books...curious.

True, there were both weaknesses and (over)-hype.

Yet, I can't help feeling that poor Levitz was doomed because he was naturally being compared to the ideal Legion run... which, by the way, was written by himself (albeit a long time ago), thereby making the comparison even more inevitable.

However, complain all you want, but seriously: this run was still better than the atrocious 2nd half of V6 (or whatever we're calling the "kid-legion" reboot these days), and the similarly atrocious final 3rd of the V5 Legion (post-zero hour).

So, yeah: not perfect, but a damn site better than most of the other recent attempts.

Yet, damned for not being good as anticipated. Which, I daresay, is probably part of why its being cancelled: if Levitz couldn't fix it, then I guess the perception would be no one can.

For my own part: I'm appalled at the most recent blood-thirsty approach (I wonder now if that's a function of the cancellation?), but I still enjoyed the book quite a bit (though the Earth-man thing bugged me.)


The problem is: if feels like there's no way for it to come back. There've been so many reboots, no one has a taste for it.
What (and from where) would be the impetus to just pick up where whatever mess Giffen and co. have created leaves off?

I feel like the Horta near the end of its (TOS) Star Trek episode: "it is the end of life...!"

....sigh...

and the *one* hope I would have held out fro was the version of the LSH currently being visited in the Smallville comic... maybe a spin-off on that?

And yet, just got the first issue of that today... and...

either it is *the worst* coloring error in history, or they chose to make Braniac 5 Caucasian instead of green? Auggh.

I suppose that should be complained about in another thread however.

... sigh ... and to think that just a handful of years ago, we were on the verge of an awesome 3rd season of the cartoon which was doing a great job canonizing the essence of the LSH while bringing it to the mainstream.

... sigh ...

Well, Brainy was caucasian in the Smallville series, so the coloring was correct for this version.

True, true (presuming you mean Brainian 1, as we never got to see 5)...

actually, that points out that it never made sense that Braniac 1 (a machine) should have been the same color as Brainacs 2 and above (Coluans, a green living species), unless (and if I ever knew this, I've forgotten) he was made by Coluans to look Coluan.

Braniac 1 in Smallville is a Kryptonian machine, so Brainiac 5 not being green means that either he's not Coluan, or Coluans aren't green.

Or, there was a horrific coloring error.

Then you are going to be equally displeased with the latest issue where (someone who I think is) Shadow Lass is not blue.

Really? (is that on the online version?) Indeed, I am displeased (or will be, as the case may be).

Ironic that I should hear that now, right as I have come to apologize to Spellbinder - someone corrected me on a separate thread and reminded me that Brainiac *5* had appeared in one episode, played by the same (white) guy that played Brainiac 1.

I could see where off-color skin would look a bit cheesy in live-action TV, but no reason to avoid it in a comic, so indeed I hope that wasn't really Shadow Lass you saw.

they could do "Tiny Legion", a la Tiny Titans!

I actually would enjoy such a book... provided there was ALSO a serious Legion comic as well!

Perhaps something may come of the backup stories in Action?
Perhaps Legion Lost could hook up with a Superboy, or Supergirl, and take him/her to the 31st century?

Anyway, though, I still say that if Paul Levitz had written under the name "Joe Schmoe", the complaints would have been reduced by about 30-40%, not the other way around. I think there was MORE complaining due to his name, not less... much more was expected of him.

Also, let's face it ... he's a throwback. Comic readers expect something different today than they did in the 70s and 80s.

Well, apparently Waid was a little miffed when the Legion was rebooted-- in JLA, when he was still on the threeboot Legion book.

And it is pretty hard to reconcile this Legion with the Lightning Man / Saturn Woman / Cosmic Man that made a cameo in Superman 52 about a year ago, or with the history of the entire New 52-verse as we know it. I mean, now that Brainiac is the Internet, how does Brainiac 5 have any connection to him at all?

And this Retroboot Legion is pretty clearly not the same Retroboot Legion of the Lightning Saga, or the Retroboot Legion of Superman vs Earth-Man or the Retroboot Legion of Legion of Three Worlds.

So Legion "continuity" has been kind of a mess since the end of the threeboot (which at least had an internally consistent history) and I'm not sure how you can write characters whose backstory changes every six months (or even issue-to-issue) rather than every few years.

Do you know what I think really would sell in the 21st century?

The Legion of Super-Assassins.

I mean, assassination isn't necessarily bad, right?

(Hint: yes, it is.)

I wonder: Could Mon be the catalyst for this finale? Mr.Levitz could've easily offed him had he no part yet to play in this and it was his punch out of the Time Trapper that reset Legion continuity all those years ago.

I was also wondering myself if Star Boy could somehow still be alive under all that - maybe a revived Mon-El will find him huddling under all that rublle after he used his powers on himself to give him quasi-invulnerability.

Make sure that DC gives you full credit when they start grinding these stories out next month.