Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion Cancelled with # 23

I'm not sure this is an entirely accurate assessment. The post-Zero Hour reboot was successful for around 10 years, before DnA ran it into the ground. I know a lot of people here love their work on the title, but I always felt it suffered from exactly the problem some have already mentioned in this thread: the Legion doesn't really work as a "dark" book; it needs to be set in a hopeful future. DnA's run was marked by a hopelessness that finally did it in. Up until DnA's run, the reboot was clearly following the bright, shiny future template.

I'll even add that the 5YL run, much as I actually love the storytelling, ultimately has the same problem. There comes a point with that kind of story where you just don't have anywhere to go but up; you can only plumb the depths for so long before you hit bottom and need to start climbing again. I think most comics in general are suffering that problem (how much can Batman lose before he's no longer believable as a functioning human being?). More and more, I'm finding that my current favorite super-hero comics are ones with a lighter tone, like Waid's Daredevil or Fraction's Hawkeye. Super-heroes are a kind of inherently ridiculous concept; taking them too seriously ruins the mood.

If Justice Legion is the successor to LSH, it will succeed with LSH fans if it can restore that hopeful future. Otherwise it's just more of the same and I think we've demonstrated that we're not interested in reading that.

I just found about about the Legion being cancelled tonight! I don't understand any of this! This latest incarnation of the Legion started off so great (with the Justice League crossover). It was promising and was the closest thing to returning this book back to its original 1980's glory. Then "The New 52" happened (which actually SHOULDN'T have affected our 31st century heroes), and everything crapped out!!! This should NOT have happened and definitely not under the Levitz regime!!! The only thing I can think is that this was "deliberate sabotage" to make way for "something new" in September. I agree, I don't think I could have stomached another reboot, but I can't say that cancellation was unexpected especially with the lack luster crap that was coming out of the 30th century as of late. I'm disappointed in the way Levitz allowed things to play out with the Legion book. I thought he had more love and pride for these characters but he either lost his drive or something, but then he should have declined and turned over the resigns. The Levitz I knew from the "old days" would never have allowed the recent writing & artistic debacle (if you can call any of the last fews months "writng" or "art"). Mr. Levitz, I've respected you and you made me a fan of the Legion (initially) 33 years ago. If the Legion returns (in some form), please have a nice life and please reframe from every returning to the halls of the 31st century again, until you regain that passionate flame of love and caring for these characters (and fans) that you once had.

Since you're catching up, let me be the first to tell you that things behind the curtain over at DC are not so rosy these days. Since the "New 52" started, many a writer thus far have quit outright because of constant editorial meddling. If the storylines have been lacking, it may not be due to Mr. Levitz' writing. You say that you liked his stuff before pre-new 52 but not post so.... maybe he's not the person you should be angry with.

I completely agree with Georgehaze on this ^^. Also, the current storyline not only smacks of editorial intrusion, but a strong influence by Mr. Giffen in regard to the rampant indiscriminate destruction as well as the maiming and dying of Legionnaires, even though Mr. Giffen supposedly left this storyline early. Mr Levitz has always been very generous with distributing credit and praise to others when he has had success but refuses to make excuses or place blame on anyone but himself when things are not so good. This last run by Mr. Levitz is more than just a disconnect on his past work - I believe he has been in writer's handcuffs the entire time.

Do you think then that Mr. Levitz has no responsibility, that he has had no input?

Do you think the following was all DC and no Levitz:

Earth Man - a murderer as a Legionnaire? Come on!!!!!
Shadow Lass - she leaves Mon-El and then shacks up with the murderer?
Colossal Boy and Yera
Phantom Girl

I could go on.

I think that Mr. Levitz had a great deal of input, and I hold him very responsible.

Ok...I'll accept that. But something needs to be done. Don't the powers that be realize what a disaster this "New 52" has been?!? I haven't heard a positive thing about it since it began. But with that said, the 31st century should have been virtually unaffected by "these events". I don't even know what to say anymore. I just hope that there are "Fall 2013 plans" to fix everything and soon!!!

I didn't say No responsibility for the latest run, but it seems to me there has been a lot of meddling. It can't be easy to tell your story when you have to accommodate others on the fly. Remember, he knew he was going to be the next Legion writer 6 months before he began, but then was forced to adopt some of Geoff John's story seeds, including Earth Man. There was also the Green Lantern elements (due to the movie) that were probably dictated to be included in the Legion title from the publishers. The remake of the New DCU drove the retelling of the original Adventure stories with retconned events, up to and including the Fatal Five not ever being together before the current saga??? (I still don't understand the reasoning for that - what about Ferro Lad??). The crash and burn style of storytelling by Mr. Giffen is not the style of Mr. Levitz, but again was probably imposed in this latest Fatal Five saga to try to shock the sales numbers up. The only real successful stretch by Mr Levitz in the Legion the last three years (IMHO) was the Legion Academy stories, which were vintage Levitz storytelling issues including consistent artwork by Phil Jimenez, and minimal editorial intrusion.

Earth Man - As mentioned before, Paul did what he could with his inheritance.

Colossal Boy and Yera - Probably dictated more by the Legion Lost writers than by Paul Levitz.

Mon-El & Shadow Lass, Phantom Girl - Probably all Paul to shake up some older characters. similar to his recent portrayals of Brainy and Chameleon Boy. I wasn't fond of how any of these have played out either.

That is why I always enjoyed Alex Ross' bright and shiny Legion art.

Speaking of ... I could totally go for a series of Elseworlds.

Flip this shit, DC you want to give us reboots and keep inventing the wheel ...

well ... what about a reboot every year, with new takes, and new creative teams each year for a while.

Superboy's Legion was one of the best stories in recent history.

Waid's run could've been nice and a story told in 12 issues.

... Just long enough to introduce a new concept and have a few adventures and a longer overarching plot. If books are going to be written fro the trade ... then reconceptualize the books for the trade ... rather than trying to fit square blocks in triangle shaped holes.


That would take some gumption though, and creative freedom ... which is on a tight leash at Definitely Crummy, right now.

I'm ready to give up and go with current marketing philosophy BUT ... let's make the new stories go with the new packaging ... rather than what we get now .. which is just "run on sentences".

I thin the fundamental problem isn't the formats ... if they need to be packaged in this way fine, with sensationalized reinventions every year ... FINE ... but make the stories good. Don't just keep repackaging New Coke to try to get us to buy it to try it.

The Legion would actually be pretty cool in an all-New, all-Now, all-Digital format!

Out-of-continuity, digital first like Batman Beyond or Adventures of Superman might work. The limited series nature of it might entice some creators who might otherwise want no part of a Legion ongoing.

Even better... How about a "Earth-1" graphic novel, like they've done with Superman and Batman (and soon with Wonder Woman)?

The Legion got me into Comics, the top selling Team Book of the Silver Age (Shooter and Swan), DC's top selling Team Book during the Bronze Age (Cockrum and Bates, Grell and Shooter, Levitz and Sherman) Not until Wolfman and Perez started doing New Teen Titans did it become DC's 2nd best selling Team Book (Levitz and Giffen then Lightle. Then came the Crisis on Infinite Earths and Byrnes Superman and it damaged the Legion beyond repair it seems, Long Live The Legion!

It looks like I haven't missed anything giving up on US comics in 2007. I did buy the collected editions of SUPERMAN AND THE LSH and LEGION OF THREE WORLDS. I also bought one of the Levitz TPBs after Lo3W, and the LEGION/TREK crossover. I enjoyed all of those, but it looks like I'm better off just buying a collected edition once in a while than keeping up with monthly comics.

From my sporadic visits to this site, it looks like DC is revising the continuity every year or so. Meh.

what can I say.....totally disgusting. As many of you might know i have been reading and collecting this book since 1978...we have been here before...but i think there is a huge change coming, one that won't look like our beloved Legion. I will agree with others..this might be the push I need to stop reading comic's all together. As it is I am only reading Justice League (which has plummeted since Jim Lee left), Titans and Earth 2. All are luke warm at best proving I think once and for all, that the new 52 has been a piece of shit.
When I think of all the open plot lines...Where is Colossal Boy? Comet Queen? Infectious Lass? The Legion Lost group? Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl? Projectra and Karate Kid? This group needs Garth and Imra just as much as Brainy if not more so...

With any luck, The Dominators have a batch of Legionnaires that are the real Legion somewhere...taken from around the Earth War and these current Legionnaires being maimed, killed and eaten are only their CLONES! One can only hope!

If not...I love these characters and have for 35 years...I will miss them all!

The real Legion will live in my brain until I die, and so if there be an afterlife, they will live forever.

I don't know if it's because of this news or coincidental but, this past week at my local comic shop, I saw all four parts of the Legion/Teen Titans "Universe Ablaze" miniseries. It made me want to dig out my copies and read them all over again (which I did, later).

However, it got me thinking... I very much liked the 'younger' Legion of the reboot era much more than I've liked the 'adult' Legion of the post-Johns' era.

Maybe this is one of the factors in the flagging sales? Who knows.

*nod nod nod*

I know it's partially nostalgia talking, but I miss them. Granted, I don't want DC to bring them back right now. Editorial would absolutely RUIN them. I have sympathy for the fans of the "original" Legion who have had to see their favorite characters put through the ringer like this.

How much IS it your favourite comic though, when it's an entirely different version with different characterisations of what characters overlap?

True enough. But I'm a Legion fan, and no matter what incarnation, these characters are always my favorite. Granted they're not "mine", but loyalty is strong. XD!!!

It's sort of like how I prefer Star Trek over Star Wars no matter who is playing the part of Spock, you know?

Right now I'm just going to go live with my back issues and my fan fiction

I cringe at the comparison even. Star Wars isn't fit to be in the same sentence.

no winky.

This is true as Star Wars is infinitesimally better than Star Trek it doesn't even bear thinking about

Unless you mean DS9 which was better than the others but its still quite a gap