Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Reincarnation and the Legion.

This has been something that has always interested me about the Legion.

It can't be proved or disproved in the real world if reincarnation is real but in the DCU, it's a fact. See Hawkman (I'm ignoring the latest retcon)for example.

The only times reincarnation has been touched on in the Legion, as far as I can recall, is the infamous Dr Mayavale story (that I actually rather liked being the weirdo that I am lol)and the thing about Reboot Star Boy being a Starman supporting character in a previous life. (I didn't read that title so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details!)

I always thought this would be an interesting topic to explore with the legion. There's a possibility that we have met all the Legionnaires before but we don't know it!

I had a personal fanon thing (I think we all have one in our heads don't we? It's a fan thing) when I was playing the 'let's reconcile all the Legion continuities into one' game and I came up with the idea of Laurel Gand being the reincarnation of Kara Zor-el. So explaining why Brainiac 5 could be romantically involved with two such similar women.

Of course, Laurel *was* a reborn Kara in real world terms, having been created specifically to fill Kara's place in the continuity. So it sort of fitted.

And I always had a sneaking suspicion that Nura Nal might be the reincarnation of Beatriz 'Fire' DaCosta, they having similar flirtatious personalities.

I think it would be overkill if every Legionnaire was the reincarnation of a known character but I think a few would be cool.

Of course we all know that Nura was some woman who did Dr Mayavale dirty!

An interesting what if.

The only one I could think of would be Invisible Kid (Lyle Norg) being a reincarnation of Ray Palmer. Both are scholarly (both having invented their power) but with a dash of adventure thrown in.

Hmmm... even the Mayavale story didn't really get me thinking about this subject very much. I'll have to ponder it now. First thought... Jo Nah being the reincarnation of THE Jonah!

I am reminded of the recent funeral for Martian Manhunter where Superman just blurts out that he hopes J'onn gets reincarnated. It seemed strange to me at the time, but the DCU is Definitely all about reincarnation.

As for the Legion, does Wildfire from Red Tornado count?

I do NOT get the whole Wildfire/Red Tornado thing and I wish the DC bozos had never even gone there.

Ditto

xerox

My first thought is that reincarnation, as certain above posts have speculated, could be used as yet another excuse to tie the Legion in with the rest of the DCU--an unnecessary and burdensome device, at that.

I was also thinking of the Vision, who was a reincarnation (of sorts) of the original Human Torch--before John Byrne ruined everything. That's the only instance I can think of where the subject of reincarnation was broached in comics and actually made a good story, as well as benefiting the character.

So, I guess I am yet to be convinced that reincarnation in the Legion would be a good thing. Even if some Legionnaires were revealed to be earlier heroes reincarnated, what would that revelation do exactly to enhance or change them?

Well I think this is just a good fan exercise and not something that should be incorporated into the actual comic or continuity.

The obvious character to connect with reincarnation would be Hawkman. When the link between the Legion Flight Rings and Nth Metal was canonized, I wondered if there was a connection--like maybe Garth and Imra being the 31st Century incarnations of Carter and Shiera Hall, perhaps with Rokk as the reincarnation of Hector.

I don't know that I would want it to be canon, but it's fun to think about.

Sure, and there's nothing wrong with that. I guess I'm just asking people to go a little deeper and speculate on the ramifications of such a concept.

Wonderful topic, but I'll have to think for a while about who could be reincarnated from whom. My reasoning would be that in reincarnation your soul is reborn to learn some lesson - possibly to move to a higher plain, but with the legionnaires, we're still dealing with "regular" people, no Bhuddas (although Element Lad has occasionally tried). For example, I might see some 21st century DCU character who's not too smart but still a hero be reincarnated as Brainiac 5, rather than Doc Magnus.

I had a fleeting moment here when I wondered if a responsometer could be reincarnated. And of course, we know that Keith Giffen will eventually be reincarnated as Karate Kid and will he ever regret some of his past life choices.

Over on the DCMB, I once read someone's wonderful suggestion: Wildfire and Dawnstar are Khufu and Chay-Ara. Think about it.