Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Re-reading the Threeboot

So I've started reading the Threeboot again for the first time in many many years. I'll probably be doing an issue-by-issue breakdown of the run pretty soon, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I've enjoyed the writing of the first six issues.

On this read, so far anyway, I'm still nagged about the WHY this Legion exists in this universe. What triggered Rokk, Imra and Garth to form this team and do this?

I also can't STAND the Threeboot Jo Nah. He's just an ass and I actively hope for him being in pain.

But for the first six, so far I'm liking this.

I was intrigued by some of the changes. 'Micro Lad' being a shrinker from a city of giants. Atom Girl being considered a myth by some newer Legionnaires (and the connection between Imskians and Coluans, suggesting that the Imskians of this 'verse are descendents of people shrunk by Brainiac). Whatever was going on with the Cargg of this 'boot.

Other stuff did not float my boat. The whole bit with Projectra seemed a bit stale to me. Woman goes cray-cray with great power. Blah, blah. Sing me this thrilling original tale of how Jean, Wanda, Zoe, Projectra, cannot handle great power because... uterus?

It was an interesting new take. The teenage rebellion thing was fresh, and there were some WHOA moments in the first story arcs.

I also emotionally dealt with it replacing the Reboot by reminding myself, it was a different team and reality: so I tried to judge developments on their own merits. instead of saying, "oh come on, Ultra Boy would never say that!" yeah, this is a different Ultra Boy...

I haven't gotten to the latter stuff (which is I think where you're going w/the Projectra comment) as I seem to remember it really not holding my interest after the Vi reveal and the battle with Terror Firma. That stretch of story, I'm finding very rich, to the point of me wanting to click through to the next issue immediately (I think I'm at issue 9 or 10), but I don't want to burn out. So the first year+ of the run is REALLY good. I'll have to see where the burnout point is for me. I'm pretty sure it was during the Supergirl run prior to Shooter's return.

LOL yeah, I actually didn't mind the Reboot Jo so much (it was Tinya's characterization that I had a problem with), but this guy is just a regular douchecanoe. And I get the hormonal oversexed angle they had going on (makes sense with a bunch of unchaperoned teenagers) but they hit us over the head with it a lot, especially around Ayla. I know Shooter always had an unusual obsession about that, but it was curious with Waid.

And I understand the reason as to why the kids are rebelling and all that, but to me the how, when and why the actual Legion formed is important to me, so I hope they tell that story.

oh gosh yes. Threeboot Ultra Boy was a jock-bully type, arrogant, self-absorbed, selfish. Not much to like about him, I found him abhorrent and repellent!

One thing that I remember really bothered me was the introduction of a very strong representation of Dream Girl who then, only a 10 issues or so later, gets killed off. That was pretty much a game changer for me. In a negative way I mean. I know she came back in peoples' dreams or whatever, but it wasn't the same for me after she was killed for no reason. I continued to support it by reading it until this threeboot version ended but I always felt it was handled all wrong.

I just got to that point in the story (it was issue 10 when that happened) and it felt a little weird especially after the whole "we'll be married" comment to Briany.

On the one hand, all the introduced Legionnaires had strong characterizations within ten issues (Bendis take note!), and the stakes were so high in the story, that the death made sense and had impact (unlike the Kid Quantum reboot death at about this point). I remember on the original reading that I was shocked by it, but I was really waiting for the Shrinking Violet reveal. This death felt more like the Apparition or Leviathan death in the reboot, which were shocking and impactful at their time.

On the other hand, its a death of a Legionnaire, and I never like that.

I do agree re the strong characterizations. By about 6 issues in we had a good handle on the personalities of every character... and they were introduced in small groups, so we could get to know them well. Each was distinct enough (they mostly shared some of the same quirky humor, but there were enough differences!)

Okay, so I did the DnA R/R last year, and a more augmented version for 5YL.

I'm now going to do a more in depth R/R of the Threeboot. Its one era that I've never gone through completely. I remember reading this monthly when it first came out, even though I was upset about the cancellation of the reboot, and I very much liked the first year or so of the run. But I don't remember a whole lot after that, or much at all from the Shooter run.

So let's get started with the Intro story that appeared at the end of the Legion/Titans special that ended the Reboot.

Teen Titans/Legion Special - "Teenage Wonderland"

Released October 6, 2004
DC Comics, Color
8 Pages


Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Artist
Chris Blythe - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

Shikari fades into a new reality. We cut to a scenes of adults deriding Legion symbols, comics and their rebellious ideologies. A couple's canoodling in a car awkwardly ends when the boy sees his girlfriend wearing a Super logo shirt.

Elsewhere a boy is writing a letter to his parents, planning to do something. His parents walk in and confront him with a similar Anti-Legion attitude, but the father is much more aggressive, grounding the son. The world order of the parents is there to protect the kids, but the son is angry about how stifling that world is and insults his father. He gets a slap from his father in return and the parents leave.

The boy jumps out the window as his note finishes, where he says he just wants to be free. As he falls out the window, he puts on a Legion ring which removes him from his parents' surveillance but also allows him to fly. He joins the Threeboot Legion waiting for him in the sky above Metropolis.

Commentary

This comic short is designed for one specific thing - to give readers of the reboot Legion a taste of what the new title will bring, namely a new look and thesis for this team. Given that the story is written by Mark Waid and drawn by Barry Kitson it does it's job extremely well.

The story is presented with the trope that the boy will try to commit suicide, but then ends up with the Legion instead because of his magic ring. It also provides a lot of other interesting tidbits about this run in a very short space:

1.The universe is very stable, to the point where children are almost cocooned in control and constantly monitored by something called the Public Service.

2.The Legion is a movement of rebellion from that control.

3.The adults hate the Legion.

It's really a master class in comic storytelling where the images tell as much as the dialog - its extremely economically done with panel density compressing into the middle of the story then expanding back out. And Kitson's art - its just great.

A couple other items:
* Even though he's not named, I've always assumed the boy is Lyle Norg.
* When Lyle joins the Legion at the end, Atom Girl/Shrinking Violet is clearly in the group shot although in the ongoing she's referred to as a myth until months down the line.
* In the first full story page, a parent is shown ripping in half, the issue #0 of the prior LSH run from 10 years prior when the Reboot debuted. I wonder if Dan DiDio made that call?

Grade: A

The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #1

Released December 29, 2004
DC Comics, Color
30 Pages

And We Are Legion
Mark Waid - Writer
Barry Kitson - Artist
Mick Gray - Inks, pgs 21-30
Chris Blythe - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

The first "threeboot" issue opens with a four page discussion about the need for heroes through the ages, showing scenes of valor from ancient Rome to the near future. The future of the 31st century, spanning star systems, is one of security, stability and order, and the kids all hate it.

We're then shown more about the world via an exposition scene with the Science Police - the Legion is a movement of over 75,000 teens, but only about 20 are the Legion we know. The Public Service monitors all minors at all times and the core Legionnaires are invisible to the service via their flight rings.

Shadow Lass, Ultra Boy, Colossal Boy, Sun Boy, Star Boy and Light Lass are taking out a rogue experimental Macrobot in a good showcase of all their powers except for Shadow Lass. The SPs intervene and the Jo tosses the head of the giant robot right at the SP officers before Light lass lightens it so the SPs can catch it. The Legionnaires take away a helmet and the robot head as a trophy, when we learn that Ayla dates everyone and Cosmic Boy is touchy.

The team returns to Legion HQ to a crowd of supporters in the plaza. Theena updates Sun Boy on the latest news across the UP of new recruits. They move to the roof of HQ and meet the new recruit. Sun Boy and Ultra Boy razz Kid, but seem to be impressed by his powers. Ayla names him Invisible Kid. We learn Colossal Boy prefers Micro Lad, since he's a giant who can shrink and we meet Chameleon, who is non-gendered, so no Lad or Lass. In the HQ Lounge, we see a monument to 21st century nostalgia.

Cos is in conference with UP representatives in the Mission room where Star Boy and Shadow Lass meet him to update their mission status. Cos asks if Star Boy had Brainy run a diagnostic on the robot. Shady needles Cos about his cozying up to the UP.

A sensitive situation on Lallor has arisen and the Legion rushes through a portal to the planet, finding scores of dead teens all around, bearing the Legion logo on flags and clothes. They were killed by the adults for rebelling. Sun Boy starts to organize an offense before Cos orders them to stop fighting as he is conferring with the UP senators. The UP is in negotiations to bring Lallor into the union and the Legion fighting Lallorian forces will threaten that.

The Legion fights Lallorian forces as Cosmic Boy negotiates with the senators and Sun Boy. With the thread of Intergalactic War, kids will be the de facto soldiers, and the Legion needs to be the voice. Sun Boy counters that the Legion was founded to fight their own battles, not be a tool for the UP. Cos hangs up on the UP and orders Sun Boy to "kick ass."

The next day, Sun Boy and Invisible Kid talk on the top of HQ. SB, a bit beat up, explains that the robot head was actually a bomb he had to deal with. SB explains the teens in the plaza are true believers who, six months before, made a human shield to protect the Legion from the Science Police. The Legion fights for those kids.

Commentary

Ok, well, where to begin? Its a new era with a new Legion in many ways. I'll start with the best thing about this new book, which is the art. Kitson does an amazing job with his pencils. My only single gripe is that a good many of his faces, especially of the guys when they smirk, look very similar. But that is a very minor gripe.

The book is densely written, and even with a whopping 30 pages (for a monthly!) there is a LOT of story in there. I almost passed out writing that synopsis! Seriously though, there is a lot to introduce, and with a book like the Legion, its good to have that extra space. The plot moves pretty fast and does its job well of introducing a concept, then moving on to the next plot point using a variation of that concept as the transition, so even though it was thirty pages, it moved briskly.

Waid throws us right into an environment where the adults in charge have everything under control to such an extent where they can't understand why the kids have such a problem with their bad attitudes. One aspect that is not connecting with me in the story so far is the fact that the implication is that the SPs are almost Nazi-like from an enforcement perspective, hence the constant surveillance and peace. But we don't really see that kind of threat until the Legion goes to Lallor to witness the massacre there - but Lallor isn't a UP world.

I mean, I get it. I have teenage girls. My oldest HATED an app called Life 360 that allows us to find where they are via their phone. Like REALLY hated it. So I get where this kind of an attitude can take root. I just am not sure that I am seeing the spark of WHY the Legion movement comes to take root. I know it is not really explained much in the first year of this title, so I hope that it is eventually. At the end of the day, especially given the social upheavals that have happened in the last few years, having a stable and peaceful society sounds really good right about now. So not only has this not aged well for me, it sounds downright complaining, so the natural response from an adult is, "Gee, sorry that you have everything that you need." All this to say that the world in which this movement of rebellion is needed to this degree isn't well fleshed out, in my opinion.

In a similar vein, the massacre on Lallor also hits home a bit closely given what's happening currently in Ukraine. The concept of anonymous adults murdering anonymous kids is meant to be chilling, and it is, but it seems a bit over the top, even for a Sci-Fi superhero book. We're also not shown how the situation on Lallor wraps up other than we're told the Legion won.

As to the Legionnaires that we're introduced to, its very obvious from the outset that these are all mostly different personalities from the characters we knew prior. Ayla, Dirk and Jo are oversexed social butterflies, with an extra dash of asshole jock thrown in for Ultra Boy. Cosmic Boy comes off as a major control freak. Thom has the best of intentions but ends up missing details and tends to screw things up somehow. About the only character that we're meant to connect with is the new guy - Invisible Kid, through whom we are meant to explore this new world.

It's a good story, well told, well drawn. The Legion exists to serve as a voice and arm of action for the UP's kids. The only problem, and the reason its not as good as it should be, is that we don't yet know why.

Grade A-.

A stellar review as always, GL.

I never read this issue or much of the Threeboot. I checked out after the Threeboot preview. Reading your synopsis, I think the sci fi concept is very interesting but not a Legion story. Even before I read your comments, I was thinking that it doesn't sound like Ayla or Jo or even Cos. It's like Waid took the names and powers and did his own thing with them. I would have been mildly more interested if this had been an original story with entirely new characters.

I said "mildly interested" because the whole "kids versus adults" angle was old by the end of the '60s. What I picked up on from the preview (and is reinforced by your synopsis) was that this story comes across as middle-aged men's interpretation of what teenagers are like and what appeals to teens--not unlike the original Teen Titans series as it was written during the '60s (and it was very badly written for much of that time). The idea of Lallorian adults murdering teens because of their Legion affiliation is horrific, but it comes across as an adult's idea of a teenager's worst fantasy--something contrived to make us love the Legion even more because look at how much the enemy hates them.

Loved Barry Kitson's art, and I generally like Waid's writing. But I'm glad I sat this one out.

Great review GL.

I remember really enjoying this at the time, but that might have been in part due to feeling grateful f the new team taking over after how poor the reboot had become. In hindsight, the art was superb, the characters were new and therefore interesting in the short term but the overall premise was very flawed. As HWW says, it's a middle aged man's take on Yoof Culture though the scene with the 2 SP officers talking through a screen despite sitting close by was quite interesting (that was issue 1 wasn't it?)

Oh yeah, a big plus was THIRTY pages! I wish we were still getting that.

There are a few issues coming up that I still believe are strong, but won't spoil anything as it'll be really interesting to read your reviews.

Thanks for the props, HWW & Harbi!


Stephen Schleicher on Major Spoilers posited to Waid in an interview that these characters are "Ultimate Legion" in the same vein as Marvel Ultimate - Character names are the same, but they are dialed up to 11 on various traits. Most of the powers are the same, but the personality traits are where things kind of took me away from the story - Ayla's sexuality and Jo's oafish behavior being the two immediate standouts.


A great point, as always, HWW. "You have to be on our side because look at how bad THESE guys are" is not a great selling point for a story. I think what got me was when I first read this book, not too long after it came out, I was a relatively new father, and I had the mindset of doing what I can to make sure my child can to grow up safely and securely. And to see these kids go, "nah" kind of turned me off, as the UP portion of the story didn't have anything worse that kids having a tracker on them. Now, 20 years later, I've literally lived through that experience, and I still don't see what the big deal would be to create a galaxy-spanning resistance movement when things are (supposedly) safe and secure and the only problem is mom and dad know where you are when you're out of the house.[/quote]



Yep, that's our intro into the world before we shift over to the Legion themselves. Having just recently read the DnA Legion, I am pretty convinced that they should have been replaced on the book a year before they left. New blood may have kept that team going, and I, being a Reboot fan, was sorely disappointed that they had stopped it after remembering the online discussions of 1994 and how a reboot was absolutely needed. So DC just tossing it away as blithely as they had tossed away the OG Legion stung. But l had (and have) a similar take on yours - some interesting bits here, but without a better explanation of the foundation of this world, it has a problem at its core.


Reading these are NOT a 'flip-through' exercise. There is a lot to take in and examine in both word and panel, and its why this is getting such a good mark, despite some of the flaws. But I love it. I don't want a comic that I spend several dollars for and am done in 10 minutes. And you're right, I actually started reading the first six as part of a project, then found myself reading the first 13 or 14. That's how compelling I found this arc - I had to know what happened next.

This first issue was much more of an introduction to the world and a bunch of the characters. The real fun doesn't start until issue 2.

Yep, that's our intro into the world before we shift over to the Legion themselves. Having just recently read the DnA Legion, I am pretty convinced that they should have been replaced on the book a year before they left. New blood may have kept that team going, and I, being a Reboot fan, was sorely disappointed that they had stopped it after remembering the online discussions of 1994 and how a reboot was absolutely needed. So DC just tossing it away as blithely as they had tossed away the OG Legion stung. But l had (and have) a similar take on yours - some interesting bits here, but without a better explanation of the foundation of this world, it has a problem at its core.


Reading these are NOT a 'flip-through' exercise. There is a lot to take in and examine in both word and panel, and its why this is getting such a good mark, despite some of the flaws. But I love it. I don't want a comic that I spend several dollars for and am done in 10 minutes. And you're right, I actually started reading the first six as part of a project, then found myself reading the first 13 or 14. That's how compelling I found this arc - I had to know what happened next.

This first issue was much more of an introduction to the world and a bunch of the characters. The real fun doesn't start until issue 2. [/quote]

I have a bit of a beef with the notion that a comic that only takes 10 minutes to read is not worth the price you paid for it. That's confusing quantity with quality. I have been enjoying every issue of Usagi Yojimbo that I paid $3.99 for despite it being a very quick read, while plenty of dialogue heavy DC and Marvel books have not been nearly as enjoyable for me at the same price, even though it took me around three times as long to read them as the Usagi books. A good story doesn't have to take half a day to read and there are plenty of bad stories that take way too long to go absolutely nowhere.

There was enough in issue 1, to keep me reading for a bit - and this, despite me being a big Reboot fan who was sad to see "my" Legion end.

did not like jock Jo. though he was still ok in this issue - if I remember it was issue 3 and some others later that made him truly abhorrent for me

the kids vs. adults thing, I agree it was a tad flawed as we are not given a super convincing reason for why the adults need to be rebelled against - Lallor attack aside, of course THAT was horrific, but it does not really show why the UP's adults are bad (as GL points out, Lallor is not a UP world...)

I do like how the first issue pans out in terms of pacing. We're given time to get to know the characters and the world. We're not introduced to too many new characters at a time. Everyone gets a moment, or two, or enough anyway that we know who is who and what each can do.

Ooh, Theena! One of my favorite parts of new 'boots is the shiny new characters. I could give a rat's tuckus about version 3.X of Lightning Lad or Ultra Boy or Brainiac 5, but new characters like Dragonmage or Kid Quantum II or Gazelle, oh yes, I'm there for them!

Theena seemed like she had a great power (a unique twist on the Super-cousins or Sensor Girl's telescopic-vision/super-hearing), but also, her sensor pods seemed visually identical to the later-introduced Dominator tech, which suggests that she was an unwitting spy for the Dominators (since she didn't know the original of her own powers, and the Dominators might have been able to intercept!), which would have given her a much bigger role, once the Dominator invasion began, in the back half of the Threeboot. (Making her unwittingly mimic the arc 'the Eyes of Tara Markov' from the classic Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans run, where it was Tara wearing contact lens cameras that served to betray the team's secrets to the enemy.)

It's a very good point you make. My above comment is all in my experience, and very much geared towards the more recent DC output, where I pay around $5 US for a 21 page book that has half the story as this issue from less than 20 years ago.

Yeah, we're getting there....


This kind of thing is definitely in Waid's wheelhouse. Do it a bit at a time and don't rush character intros at the expense of the story.

I'm really intrigued by Theena, as I felt like I didn't know how much of her was augmented versus natural with regards to these powers. Seems to me like she would be a much more integral Legionnaire than just hanging out with the kids, but whatever. I've read ahead through the Lemnos arc, so I know she doesn't do a hell of a lot more than she's doing now, but I'm hoping I get to see more of her.

By the way, you raise a really great point. Outside of the splash page from the intro short, Cosmic Boy is the only founding Legionnaire we've seen up to this point.

The Legion of Super Heroes v5 #2

Released
DC Comics, Color
31 Pages

Cover Title - Tomorrow's Heroes Today!

Mark Waid & Barry Kitson - Storytellers
Gray, Pascoe, Kitson - Inks
Chris Blythe - Colors
Stephen Wacker - Editor

Synopsis

A new ambassador and his translator assistant are introduced to a group of UP officials, but Brainy and Cos are suspicious and send Karate Kid, Element Lad and Dream Girl to stop the meeting. The translator is an assassin who has poison easily transmuted by Element Lad, but also has lots of backup weapons.

Dream Girl, being able to see the guy's next moves, handily dispatches the translator.

Brainy and Cos argue about Dream Girl; Brainy clearly doesn't respect her powers, and it drives him bonkers. He asks for goats in his lab. The team, Brainy, Karate Kid, Dream Girl and Shadow Lass head to Naltor - none of the kids has been able to sleep, and therefore not dream, for days. This leads to kids beind driven insane by deprivation, as sleeping and dreaming to a Naltorian is as important as breathing. Brainy puts his flight ring on one kid's finger and he falls instantly asleep; the Naltorian adults are up to something via the Public Service.

Precog police confront the Legion. They easily take down Shady and Val, being one step ahead of them. They confront Nura who monologues on her superior... capabilities are as a distraction while Val and Shady knock them out. Nura needs to be asleep so that she can dream the future, so Shady clocks her out.

The truth comes out - the public service is broadcasting a signal to prevent the youths from seeing a future of galactic invasion to which they will be sacrificed. The signal was meant to pacify and protect them by preventing the foreknowledge, but its driving the kids insane. Nura identifies one man at the center of it all in the dream, and rips out the circuitry so the kids can sleep again.

Back at Legion HQ, Brainy and Nura discuss precognition, fate and the ability for probabilities to shift. Nura states they will be married. Brainy, convincing himself she's messing with him, arrives in his lab full of goats.


Commentary

I very much enjoyed issue 2. It took the setup farther along and began an actual story arc with the initial premise setup in issue 1. The other brilliant thing about this issue is that it wisely focuses on a different, yet of similar size, team of Legionnaires so that we can understand their personality and powers, especially as they differ from prior versions. Of the new group, Dream Girl seems to be the most versatile of the bunch. Not only can she see the future, but she packs a mean whallop! It's very much Nura's story with her intro at the beginning and then the thread on Naltor. I find the spar of worldviews between her and Brainy quite entertaining.

The main plot works very well, and Nura's competence, as well as her understanding of how she uses her looks, is well done. Keeping the kids asleep so they can't see the future works well at a very sinister level, as it made a great example of the road to hell being paved with the best of intentions. Nura's vision also kicks off the main plot of the book, as she sees an enigmatic individual leading the invading army. The Legion thus saves the day on Naltor AND sees the upcoming threat. The sum total makes a very self contained story AND starts an ongoing plot in an engaging way.

Kitson's art, here needing more of an assist on the inking, works really well again. He's a big reason that this book is as good as it is.

This is the first time we see the "new" roll call in this book, where the entire Legion in shaded but the standout members in the issue are given their tags. One of the silhouettes is the "mythical" Atom Girl.

Shady doesn't seem to be able to use her powers very effectively yet. This is the first time that we get to see her use them, yet she's taken out by the precog police immediately.

As I noted above, I also enjoyed the "sparring" between Dream Girl and Brainy - especially the importance of her statement about them being married, as it will have multiple impacts down the line.

The four main Legionnaires are shown to be quite heroic and interesting in their own ways in this issue, and I found that enjoyable after the dissonance of issue 1.

Also, we've still only met Cos from the founders.

Interesting note - this issue does not have an issue title, just a cover title.

Grade: A.

Agree, Kitson’s art was amazing

This is a very competent Nura, and an interesting take - she needs to be asleep to see farther away in the future, but I assume she can micro sleep and see just a few seconds as well. And yes, she used her beauty to her advantage, hah

I also like that they keep Tasmia’s great hand-to-hand. Yet, in a team full of tough fighters they endure Val stands out somehow

Great issue, with Brainy also potentially learning something … and a nice theme about precognition and fate and all that

The bit about a quick read not necessarily equating to poor quality is a good point - I am not really a manga person in general but I love Yotsuba, and I usually breeze through that really quickly and then go back and read my favourite stories again...but also I'm with GL, and (generalisation incoming) some modern day DC and Marvel just aren't as intelligently structured but also just aren't as fun as they used to be, and I could really live without ever seeing another Bendis 12 panel conversation that consists of three words repeated in different tones...

Another thing I agree with is it's good how quickly everyone is established as individuals with their own backstories and motives...some of it didn't always work, like I don't think Phantom Girl's whole thing with always being solid in one reality was that well thought out and Triplicate Girl's story had potential that literally nothing was done with, but on the other hand I kinda thought Colossal Boy being a giant who shrinks is a cute idea and Ayla and Nura were well-realised, so horses for courses

I have to assume it was a deliberate choice not to focus on the founders as a subset like we usually do, as another reminder that this is a different Legion...to this day I am not really sure if I like Imra being mute or not but I guess we'll get to that!

I mean, you can't have a character named Dream Girl who's also beautifully drawn and NOT!


THey have to at this point, as her shadows haven't been doing much.


This is a good point, raz. My statement was VERY MUCH a generalization, as there are a good amount of really good comics today, even in DC. I was really impressed with Far Sector and have been dying to read the new Human Target series. (It's not digital yet)


I would think so too, but the absence of that story in the face of this very different world is glaring. Because the inspiration of the threat that brough them together is too murky, their purpose isn't very clear except to thumb their noses at everyone.

And these kids are drawn as older teens - like I'd say most of them are 17-18 here, i.e., not that far from being adults themselves. I'd be curious to see these kids do some "adulting" as its called today.

That is a good observation actually...Levitz did some good work in the 80s making the Legion's legend larger than life with the way the founders became more important, Chuck and Lu taking an active role training the next generation, the way some of the girls developed etc...and the reboot did a really good job of building the team up from three inexperienced kids to a real Legion through organic storytelling, but the threeboot really missed any variation of that happening - I don't really remember there being even a sense of who had been around for what amount of time other than Lyle being the new kid on the block.