Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes LSH #23 Preview and Review [SPOILERS!]

I disagree there. I suppose the Legion Academy stories were passable but less so after Jimenez left. Phil clearly injected that run with most of it's charm, and Paul was nearly rudderless without him.

Secret Origin, I felt was an absolute snooze-fest from start to finish. Batista put in a valiant effort, but nothing could save the meandering, lifeless script that Paul gave him.

My opinion, at least, for what it's worth.



Totally agree there. I think Levitz also hangs in there as a DC company man because of their supporting his 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking book. Seems I read about him talking up some sequels to it, iirc.

In regard to this last issue, I really enjoyed the artwork. Kevin Maguire did a great job, and I would have loved to see more of his Legion vision.

I congratulate Paul Levitz on wrapping up this run in a competent and satisfactory manner, considering the one issue constraint placed upon him. Duplicate Damsel was a shining star, and having Colossal Boy back were favorite parts. Admittedly, I was disappointed how Star Boy's grave was not shown at all, even as Dream Girl was nearby. I would have also liked to have seen Phantom Girl do Something else else...

I agree with previous posters who said the "revelation" that our Legion has all along been on an alternate Earth, or pocket universe/different dimension/nether galactic realm/thingy is a real slap in the face by a gauntlet to all Legion fans and all creative teams who have built up and supported this terrific 50+ year monument of work to date.

If they really wanted to actually run with this plot point, and establish "Steppenwolf" as Superman's killer in some indeterminate point in Superman's future, they can just create a new character using the Steppenwolf name, without necessarily connecting him to the New Gods mythos at all. After all, "continuity be damned" seems to be one of DC Editorial's mottoes these days.

Fair enough. I only meant that Levitz was the only named writer attached to this issue, so at first glance, it's easy to point the finger at him for the shoddy way this series was ended. No doubt he had bigger and better plans that were shelved by DC Editorial's decision to can the series.

The CBR review of this issue.

Also, in his weekly Buy Pile column, Hannibal Tabu gives it an "Honorable Mention" and says:

Kevin Maguire's artwork on "Legion of Super-Heroes" #23 was perfect, down to the facial expressions, but Levitz' story made the machinations of Coruscant's Galactic Senate seem like a roller coaster ride with the JLA and the Avengers by comparison. Quite a lame ending for the future's finest super team.

You know, as much as I know they'd never have done this, it occurs to me that there was a way to set this "New 52" Legion up as existing in a different timeline (Earth-2 or otherwise) while reconciling all the continuity glitches in this run (like the Fatal Five seemingly not having met the Legion before this last arc, the Steppenwolf "error", the Legion Lost/ECHO time travel inconsistencies, or Phantom Girl's characterization, to name a few) with everything that came before Flashpoint, and doing so in a manner that would have been less insulting to longtime fans. In fact, I think it would have been a real treat...

Just imagine -- what if this entire run were nothing more than one of the alternate-reality visions glimpsed by Douglas Nolan (brother of Ferro Lad) from way back in Legion v.2 #300 (1983)? Levitz wrote that one, too. Kind of coming full circle.

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Then there's my favorite tongue-in-cheek way to end the series. Going out on a something of a high note, the whole team together once again as the universe collapses around them, too damaged by Tharok's destruction of technology to survive long. Perhaps having the Legion's universe/timeline fade to white as it has a few times before. The second-to-last page would be all-white, with one line of dialogue in the last panel: "Hello, anybody here?" (turn to the last page of the series, a splash page of Quislet, finally returned after so long away, delivering lines like "Woohoo! Quislet finally made it back to Legion's universe from who-knows-where! Now to find Legion buddies and celebrate!" and (last line) "Hello? Legion friends, where are you? Yoo-hoo! Anybody here? Anybody at all?"

Oh, but we know Batman is ALWAYS right. If someone else makes a mistake, he or she is worthless.

If Batman makes a mistake, he probably did it on purpose!

Since Levitz already opened that door, why not? And at least now we'd know where the heck Quislet is!

There's also (I think someone suggested it already in this thread) Dream Girl waking up from a dream, and going all "oh, at least it's not a PROPHETIC dream";

or we could have had it revealed that Tharok was dreaming all about this, and a knowing Saturn Girl or Sensor Girl going, "Even in their dreams, evil never wins."

Maybe he had a co-author: Justin Thyme.

I will take the generous position that the Earth-2 mixup was a simple failure to communicate. The Earth-2 death of Superman had no doubt not been published while Legion #23 was still being scripted; there may have been last-minute details of which Levitz was not aware.

I don't think this Legion #23 will have any real repercussions in the DCFU anyway; I mean, I don't think we'll see Harmonia Li on Earth-Two, or an alternate-universe Chuck and Lu still married in JLA3K, as might be inferred from the dialogue.

Considering Earth-2 #1 was published a year and a half ago, I'm relatively sure the script for LSH #23 wasn't totally completed yet.

I really like this idea. LSH #300 is one of my all-time faves!

While we're at it, can we declare the entire DCFU an Elseworld?

Considering how inconsistent it is, I don't know it can be declared any kind of world.

Kevin Maguire made the issue for me, I hope he gets to draw the inevitable relaunch/reboot.

It felt so much like Levitz was writing his version of a segue to the 5 Year Gap it was almost distracting.

I hope *WHEN* LSH comes back, it is under a name as huge as Johns or Morrison, or that it comes back under a completely unknown writer bursting at the seams with nutty ideas.

I vote completely unknown writer with nutty ideas, myself.

Unknown with nutty ideas, definitely.

I'm not that impressed with the art. Sure, it's better than Scott Kollins, but it's not even close to Yildray Cinar or Francis Manapul, IMO.

In defense of Scott Kollins, his art on the Postboot Legion (around issue 110-118 IIRC) was pretty good. Perhaps he just had poor synergy with the inker.

If Grant Morrison could launch an All-Star Legion title as an on going series with Kevin Maguire on art I'd be all over it.

You know who LOVES the Legion and has a bunch of crazy ideas for the group: Chris Batista. I started talking Legion to him at SDCC this year and an hour later he was still throwing out great idea after idea of what to do with the group.

Any hints, Dave? Or did he ask you to keep it quiet?

Well, he said no one at DC seemed interested, so I doubt it's confidential. A big component of what he wanted to see was emphasis that the Legion's in the future, so it shouldn't be running around with tech worse that Batman and the JLA use now.

Why can't they have teleporters, tech stealth suits, etc. Why are they stuck on monitor duty in a room full of screens when a modern cell phone could do all of that today? Shouldn't the rings be so advanced they can take care of that?

Even the (at the time) future tech that was introduced over the years has been forgotten about (Telepathic plugs anyone?).

If you try to imagine the Legion being at the forefront of an era that's already so amazingly advanced beyond ours, it opens up so many story possibilities from the Universe-spanning big stuff to just exploring what a future would look like.

He was really jazzed about it all and it totally made sense to me.

You are far more optimistic than I.

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I wonder if that's Levitz talking.

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One of the better parts of the Threeboot, for me, was that the rings *did* do all of that (well, okay, not the teleporting!). Flight, communications, translation, life-support fields, could change their costumes to and from civilian clothes, kept you from being tracked and monitored by the gubmint, etc.

Rings that *only* served as communicators and lower powered flight devices (pretty much the equivalent of the rings the latest team has been using!) were being sold as toys to Legion fans to help pay for upkeep and whatever, by the end of the run.

I would much prefer if Legion uniforms were at least a little bit bullet-resistant and energy-dispersant, so that they provided a measure of protection for Legionnaires who lack defensive powers, and if it were explicitly stated at some point that, like 'molecule-thin transsuits,' they have transparent cloth in the future, so that Dream Girl's bare legs and arms and face are as protected as her bikini-clad torso, even if you can't see the ballistic energy-absorbent cloth.

People running into fights in swimwear would make so much more sense if clothing (including protective clothing) could be transparent.

Although I'd prefer is some characters just kept their darn clothes on. Sensor Girl looked awesome when Lightle introduced her. The last thing she needs is to take her mask off, wear a crown and have bare arms and a boob window... The Legion ladies have hardly ever suffered from a lack of stripper-wear. There's no reason *everyone* has to adapt to that style.