Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Long Live the Legion! Name your 5 most hated Legion stories

Been too busy to get back to this board for a while. I think I should've said 50 most hated stories. 5 just doesn't cover it.

6. The original Bizarro Legion, Adv. 329

7. The Dynamo Boy story, Adv. 330-331

8. Fortress Lad

9. Mantis Morlo returns

10. Magnetic Kid's death/Dark Mage

1.Pocket Universe Superboy story: This was the bullet that killed the Legion,Thanks John Byrne.

2.End of an Era: This was the final nail in the coffin,Thanks Mark Waid.

3.Death of Karate Kid: Pointless if you don't like a character don't use him,Val already left the Legion,but Giffen brought him back so he could kill him off,and he didn't even stick around to finish the story himself,Thanks Kieth Giffen.

4.Laurel Kent/Manhunter: No Kal-el,no Kara,no Dev-em,no Mon-El,and no Laurel Kent,Thanks Mike Carlin.

5.Magic Wars: Yuck!

Hmm. I wonder if we need 2 categories of hate: One for stories and art that are just so awful and pathetic that they didn't deserve to be printed in the first place. One for stories that did unforgivable things to our beloved heroes.

For example, Fortress Lad and Jamm would fall into the former category.

Assassinating Superboy and Supergirl and then erasing them from history would fall into the latter category.


Oh, yeah. Add Jan merging with the Omniphagos and then later with Garth to my hate list. I think this could go in both categories.

1. "Bound Together" from v4 #112. "I can't be friends with you because 1/3 of you thinks I'm stupid." Blecch.

2. "One of Us is an Impostor" from Action Comics #379. The impostor is Shadow Lass. How could they tell? Because she used her powers proactively and accomplished something by doing so.

Good one, Tim. But I actually liked that story. Seems like Mon could've just used his x-ray vision to examine the other 4 and see who was wearing a mask, but he can't think of everything I guess.

"Kill a Friend to Save a World" from Action backups would be on my hate list though.

I'm working on my own graphic novel and I sometimes have my doubts that my story and artwork are good enough for the job. Then I think about some of the stories we've mentioned here that were produced by "professionals" and it makes me feel a whole lot better.

I am not sure 5 is going to do it but...

1) Proty as Garth....yuk.

2) Shvaughn (sp?) is a guy?

3) Space Circus of death

4) Lord Romdur's castle

6) the dirigible dictator story, which was basically Levitz trying to wrap up some incomprehensible plot threads so he could move on.

Y'know, I might be the only person here who actually liked the Jamm story. I mean, I didn't think it was great or anything, but I didn't hate it.

Rather than pick out particular stories that I hate, I'll just make the blanket statement that I'm most displeased with the events that have screwed up Legion history. Taking away the Superboy aspect first of all. Then the mess with Mon-El and Supergirl. Frankly, I'd need a roadmap to figure out who's who/when. I just gave up. I hate that there was a Glorith-boot Mordruverse, then the altered return kinda. I hate that there was a full-on reboot! Then another one!!!

Those are the stories that bug me most.

Sketch Lad, I feel the same way - as do several other people on this board. It also bugs me that Laurel Kent was shot with a Kryptonite bullet - then turns out to be a Manhunter.

I'm sure I'm going to think of ones I hate more later but these are the first ones that come to mind -

1. (Preboot) That old back-up tale where Cosmic Boy refused to use his powers because it was a Saturday or something. Even though his teammates were dying. And then he punched Ayla out for questioning this stance. What a weird story. I hate it for its sullying of Rokk's character (but I secretly love it for it surrealistic entertainment value).

2. (Reboot) Dark Crap Rising. I think this was the final nail in the PMS-era coffin for me.

3. (Threeboot) All of it. But especially that tasteless Bloc/Tyroc/Dawnstar fake-out issue for (as someone mentioned earlier) rubbing our faces in the fact that a much better Legion was floating around in limbo somewhere while the Waid/Kitson brats were wasting pages.

4. (Reboot) That "Meanwhile" issue during DnA's Robotica arc. Almost a masterclass in how not to tell a good interlude story.

5. (Reboot) The Team 20 arc. With the exception of a couple of gems it was a total fail.

I honestly don't know if I can name 5. I tend to find something fun in even the worst stuff...

For example:


the Jamm annual... featured the return of the Shady/Lydda team and a teen who gains a power that allows him to... well, make everyone get nekkid. Makes sense... I mighta done the same thing. He didn't actually do anything other than ogle, so he wasn't a total a-hole...

Dr. Mayavale... actually this story was Nura's first appearance as the ass-kicker she would become later with Levitz. And the Doctor's peculiar m.o of blaming you for causing his death in a previous lifetime was rife with potential...

The infamous Cosmic Boy backups in S/LSH 212 and 215... but these brought Sinde into Legion Lore and without her, Quislet Esq would be short a favorite obscure characters... plus it gave Light Lass-haters a story to enjoy...

Legion on the Run... yeah, pretty terrible... BUT it featured the return of some long-unseen characters in Legion Lore...

But I *do* have some issues I can list now that I think on it.


THE QUIET DARKNESS

Incomprehensible gibberish right up there with the worst of Vertigo's offerings (and this coming from someone who understood the Mayavale issue). I love the rest of the TMK run and the Bierbaum run that followed, but this 4-parter (written, iirc, by the inker of the time-- maybe Al Gordon?)... not good. DISCLAIMER: I have never tried to re-read these issues and perhaps should have before posting, but oh well.


UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED

The 2-parter that gave Lori Morning to an unsuspecting LSH fandom, I did re-read it a few years back and it is truly awful. Cannot even be salvaged by the uncommonly high usage of the word "stupid" throughout it, something I normally enjoy.

In general, I find I don't care as much for the Adventure-era stories not drawn by Forte, Swan or Mortimer, but wouldn't list them as 'hated'...

The numerous coloring and costume errors of the Jimmy Janes era used to annoy the crap out of me...

1) The whole Starfinger II saga-- it just seemed to go on forever.

2) Dark Man saga: pointless, except for squarelly placing Block on the side of the good guys.

3) 5YL: the Legion's single, most emberassingera.

4) The time the Reboot Legion had to spend in the 20th Century-- totally contrary to the Legion's basis premise.

Right now, I don't remember a fifth, but certainly there are several. I just forgot about them...

Was the Quiet Darkness that horse crap story about Ariel and her identical twin brother? I'd totally blocked that out! Move that to the top of my most hated list please. What utter nonsense. I hope the trees that were sacrificed to print that garbage are haunting the "creative" team to this day.

Put Omen and the Prophet in there too.

I never thought The Quiet Darkness was that bad, at least compared to whatever came afterwards. It actually got better in a second reading. I mean, Legion on the Run!!! Reboot!!!!

So, if I read a story and never bothered to pick it up again, that doesn't really indicate hate. I suppose it's apathy. I sort of want to start a thread called "Legion Stories that cause Apathy." but I think many of the entries here would end up there as well.

Well, not necessarily. DnA's run, especially the White Triangle story, was a great snoring sequence of books, but hardly unreadable. Close, but not too much.

Legion of the Damned and Legion Lost and the complete 5yr Later arc with it's incomprehensible characters. (I still haven't figured out Bounty, Kent Shakespeare and the other minor characters introduced - nor do I care to.)

Legion on the Run - awful, awful, awful.

Virtually anything before Shooter (first time around)- the group were spiteful kids with shitty personalities IMO. Uggggh, I now regret paying so much out for the Archives. Although, in their defence, Swans art was quite cute.

Archie Legion.

Laurel Kent becoming a Manhunter.

Reboot up to Legion Lost.

I don't think White Triangle was a DnA book?

No, it was back in the "Archie" days.

You and Triplicate Boy are right: I was thinking about Dream Crime. What a letdown was that. It seemed nice, but the ending was just meh.

wow...too many to name..

1. DR. MAYAVALE - just awful all around.

2. SPACE CIRCUS OF DEATH - yuk!

3. THE ENTIRE ARCHIE LEGION RUN - Except Emerald Violet story which I liked.

4. THE ENTIRE WAID LEGION RUN - perfect example how you can't just toss 1957 - End of an era out the window and start all over again.

5. THE ENTIRE DNA RUN - with the exception of Legion Lost which I thought was well done.

I'm not terribly familiar with what 'storyline' it was, but there was this Blight thing that either was followed by or proceeded by a Robotican thing and then the destruction of the moon, Earth, and pretty much everything else.

I hated that whole arc. Everything was so un-Legion-like it made me sad to read it. The future *sucked,* the Legion felt helpless and pointless, just running around and watching people die, by the planetsfull.

I like seeing heroes *challenged,* but watching them lose, over and over, and millions of people die, and the world get blown up, was just a little too soul-crushing for me.

I just remembered another awful story. The one where Ra's al Ghul blows up his own body so that his sentient blood can ooze away and inhabit one of his own clones. WTF?!?! Then at the end he just gives up and lets the Legion imprison him anyway.

The reboot Mantis Morlo was pretty awful too.

And then there's "The Legion's Space Odyssey."

1. Profem. You don't take the hottest chick in the 30th century and turn her into a dude. Especially not to justify your own "Jan must be gay" agenda.

TMK was my all-time favorite Legion story/era. All the retcons made sense, the drama was phenomenal, then this. The blemish which I try not to think about too often.

2. Reboot Ferro is a 20th century kid afraid of his own shadow? With a brother named Ingot? What a poor reimagining.

3. Reboot Bizarro Legion story. Bang your head.
4. Reflecto story. Against a wall.
5. End of an Era was exciting while it was happening. Then white out... Then origin story... alright... then FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR OWN AFTER A FEW MONTHS THAT IT'S A REBOOT! A little help here, please?

Dream Girl becoming a tacky old cougar as High Seer of Naltor. No, I didn't mention that she got fat.

Dreamer being a ditzy narcoleptic joke who gets rejected and placed in "Legionnaire's girlfriend" status.

Dreamer getting trained to use her powers better at the cost of becoming a zombie-esque Khund warrior. Then, when it seems to stabilize and she becomes a Legionnaire, the series ends.

Dream Girl being an awesome Legionnaire who gets killed, but not really... she's a spirit who exists in Brainiac 5's mind. Or is she just his fantasy? Will she come back? Well, let's ignore that for a while. Then, when we're ready to get back to it, let's make Dreamy a dopey plaything, who thinks Brainy has an amazing mind. Let's beat the precognative gift right out of her face. Then, rather than let her go to the great beyond, let's have her insist on staying in Brainy's amazing mind as his little dream wife.

Why must being a Dream Girl fan be so challenging? All I want is to read stories about her being awesome, but that's been too much to ask for YEARS!