Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #1 (Preview & Spoilers)

I loved the art from 5yl, except for the blacked out faces.

I'm excited about the pages I've seen so far.

And, from what I saw, the girl isn't crazy, he was going to kill her and he's the power for that region. There was no one to go to for justice, so he deserved his fate.
Afterwords?
I suspect she went crazy.
sigh

I'm glad the Eye healed her.
Sarya's face was destroyed on the same side just before she died, so that was a nice point.

This Eye looked like it was there for a very long time.
Perhaps it's the second Eye, the one that showed up for Cera.
I hope so, cause I want Cera back.

I'd love for Giffen to do some arcs for the Legion, but I want Cinar, too.
And Lightle and . . .

Regarding Gates' powers, we've never seen them used to travel great distances like across the hemisphere or even to another planet until Geoff Johns' Legion of Three Worlds. This was also around the time Gates magically went from having a claw to two fingers and a claw thumb if I'm not mistaken.

Gates' reference to needing to see to teleport (from LSH v4 #85) said more that he preferred to see where he was teleporting. It's likely not an actual limitation but a guideline he chose to live by. Much like a "Nightcrawler" mentality, he probably didn't want to teleport into a wall. I'd like to think his true power potential lies somewhere in the middle: he could travel as far as he could fathom a portal to go, but light years away seems pretty hard to grasp. A visual would certainly help his focus, adding credence to Gates' previous preference to see where he's teleporting. Though perhaps paired with Dawnstar and linked to her mind by Saturn Girl or Tellus, Gates could "see" faraway places more easily and open a portal to another planet in dire emergencies.

Something else else about his powers in this annual that did work with previous continuity, though, is the limitation of only being able to take a small number of people through a portal at a time. He had stressed this before in an issue of Titans/Legion: Universe Ablaze and in general had only been pictured as being able to transport a few people at a time.

Did anyone notice that Gates' homeworld was returned to its original spelling of Vyrga in the issue? Nice to see and I always imagined the misspelling was just an oversight somewhere rather than intentional.

No BB, you aren't the only one. I have never been a Giffen fan artwise. If I had to pick, I'd go with his first run on the Legion back during GDS as the style of his I prefer...but again, not a fan overall!!! His writing on 5YG was pretty good though.

Well, aren't stars in his field of vision? Teleport to the star--you can see it even if it's light years away, now you're close enough to see the planet, teleport to the planet.

This annual would have been a lot better without that stupid board game.

See the Legion continuity list for a list of all the things wrong with it (and I bet I missed something).

What is 'Salic Law'?

And when the Eye in .LEGION left she remained her slim self, so I think that if the Eye heals you of something, like her face, it's healed.
I don't know about her eye.
In the story where Sarya lost her eye in the fight, the Eye didn't heal her eye, it replaced it with itself.

And I don't know about the board game yet, but it's obviously set up as Paul's way of telling the readers the way things are going to be.

I find it extremely irritating that Paul Levitz is riding roughshod over the world created by Geoff Johns.

Prior to Levitz coming back, the Empress was back as part of the Fatal Five/LSV. Johns also had Validus around and clearly Shady and Mon-El were never married. Night Girl and Chameleon Girl were full Legion members.

Levitz has also included the Death of Superboy/Conspiracy on the 'Board Game' which makes no sense whatsoever in the post Infinite Crisis universe.

So because Levitz wants to recreate the world of the 80s Legion, he has just ignored everything Johns had scripted. Leaving us with a continuity mess.

Oh, please. Johns left a continuity mess by ignoring everything that Levitz scripted before Levitz left a continuity mess by ignoring things that Johns scripted.

Aside from "Legion History, The Board Game", which I'm choosing to ignore for the moment, I liked this first Legion annual!

I have to admit I was a bit nervous at first hearing that Giffen would be handling the art. After seeing the cover posted a few months ago I starting finding other more recent work that Keith had worked on and I didn't mind his new stuff from what I saw.
It is a very Kirby-esque as everyone has said and this is ok in small increments and special occasions (ie: this Annual). So far so good.
I do not however wish to see Keith take over as regular Legion artist full-time. This is no disrespect to Keith whatsoever but I have become accustomed to the look and "feel" of the Cinar/Portela team, that's all. To me those two have a style that suits today's comics, imho only.

As for the story itself I think it was well written but I think that while this new Empress was great in her own unique insane way, she was merely a plot device for a potential Violet-becomes-the-new-EE that it seems the creators are planning here.
I honestly hope that this is not the case. It is not something altogether new as far as concepts go and I really didn't enjoy the whole thing the first time around with LeViathan story arc in Reboot.

Other items:

Colorists Hi-Fi were finally the first ones to get Dream Girl's hair colour correct for the most part (I still prefer her as a full platinum blonde but highlights are better that nothing, plus this is how Levitz and Giffen portrayed Nura since around the Great Darkness Saga).

Looks like Cos has decided to join the pack of sleeveless Legion males. It even appears that he ripped off the sleeves himself and is holding on to them in those two panels! LOL

I'm not happy with Jeckie staying on Orando but I think this might have lots to do with her upcoming search for Karate Kid (yeah!).

I need more than an implied or inferred status on Vi and Ayla's true relationship ... are we to just throw away the last year and a half of storytelling which clearly shows Brin and Ayla back together again? Maybe Ayla is being coached on the art of dumping boyfriends from Shadow Lass?

And did anyone else catch what the Empress said about "the meanness in your soul" to Sun Boy? WTF???
Oh well, she is insane and she did refer to him as Earth Man after all!

I thought Vi and Ayla's relationship was made more clear here than what was shown of Ayla and Brin previously. That relationship was inferred to be intact by many readers on slimmer evidence than what is present in this issue. I think it could just be assumed that Ayla and Brin are friends again.

As for the Fatal 5 appearing in the Legion of 3 Worlds, it's possible that they are from a different time period. In Superboy #199, they were shown using "time bridgers" and a "time sorter" so they do have time travel capabilities.

Also, this could be a different Emerald Eye, as we have seen that there is more than one out there.

I would like to see some connection between the eye and the Luck Lords.

I believe Chameleon Girl participated in the election, so I don't think leaving out her and Lydda really is ignoring history, rather than just not using some members much.

As for the Empress, Levitz did say he was ignoring some of Legion of Three Worlds.

I don't think the Validus situation is finished, and there's no reason Darkseid couldn't use someone else to make another Validus, anyway.

And Shady and Mon-El being divorced is from that board game, which is full of problems. (The Legion was inspired by Superboy? Yera impersonated Violet after the Great Darkness? What?)

Nope, you are not alone. After his first Legion run, Giffen went way down hill. It's almost like he makes a mockery out of the characters by drawing them so ugly. He didn't even get the costumes right. I hope he never draws another Legion issue again...EVER!!

Loved it. I'm with Jerry...I've been a Giffen fan forever and like his experimentation/changes, etc.

The colors looked great as well.

I don't have anything to nitpick. I was honestly excited throughout the story for various reasons. Hard to get a 35 year old giddy to turn the page.

Geoff ran roughshod over Levitz continuity by the way. I hated the Legion villains in Legion of Three Worlds...all old school sixties versions. ugh. (i'm a geoff fan, fyi)

I would like to see the girl that became Emerald Empress get trained by Jeckie to become the new Sensor Girl. Jeckie can become Princess Projectra again.

I love it when you agree with me on something!

And I love it when I agree with YOU!

Maybe Projectra showed Gates an illusion of Orando, which allowed him to port there . . . ?

I thought the backgrounds and supporting characters were drawn well and even the male legionnaires but this current style does not make for attractive female legionnaires. The heads are too square. The panel that introduces Jeckie's first head shot is downright scary. (I'm assuming this is the Jack O' Lantern look that Jim was referring to). The women's hair is too lank in all cases as well.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. Nice to see Vi get inside the EE for the first time. Have always wondered why this hasn't happened before. I thought she was going to lose an eye herself (like those unfortunates in the pit) and thus give a nod to the 5YL one-eyed Vi. I think that would have been a more interesting "changed forever" moment than the possibility of Emerald Vi being resurrected.

I caugth two possible nods to past continuities: 1) The reference to Dirk's "meaness of spirit" could allude to the childhood traumas-induced character flaws that were revealed during the five year gap; and 2) The green glow around Salu's eye which could indicate a secret connection to the Emerald Eye, ala the Emerald Legion of the Reboot Legion.

As for the Giffen art, yes it was somewhat "Kirbyesque," but with a great deal of 5-Year Gap style, too, I think. I'd be okay with it on an ongoing basis, so long as it was cleaned up a bit; after all, we know from the GDS that Keith is capable of doing almost photorealistic drawings when he puts the effort in. (Having said this, though, I think that Cinar is doing a fantastic job at the moment.)

I personally loved Giffen's latest evolution of his art style and wouldn't mind seeing him swing by for every annual. I've always adored his ability to draw panels as if the reader was an actual bystander, with just as many shots of Legionnaires' heads turned away or "around the corner" as close-ups of our heroes.

I actually quite liked the Legion History board game from an entertainment standpoint. Magnetic Kid died for your <strike>sins</strike> plot advancement!

As far as it stating that Yera's impersonation happened after the Great Darkness Saga, I interpreted it more as saying that Yera was found out after it, which is true. The images Ahern paid homage to for that event were all from the reveal issue, #305. But the long-stretching subplot was just given one square on the game, which gives the misconception that it happened at one time after GFS. I imagine it's not an intentional retcon on the side of anyone in DC, just an event that was left too succinct in its description to cover all the bases for everyone. In truth I thought it even acknowledged the fact the decepticon had been going on for awhile by having the player jump back a space to the Great Darkness Saga to "warn Colossal Boy." Obviously two spaces would have been more appropriate and chronologically correct, but I see the game board as a piece of fun and not a history bible that fans new and old alike should race to for references.

Heh. Decepticon. That could be my new favorite word. Sounds like a Brainy device.

"Quick, Brainy, activate the Decepticon, so we can see if Dynamo Boy is lying to us!"

Don't let Kid Prime hear you say that!

The memories that the Eye had inclued Sarya's death and revenge for it, so I guess the Eye that we see is hers.
sigh

I might have missed something, but I don't get the possibility that the Eye will seduce Salu.
In the reboot, Vi was a lot younger and she didn't realize that the Eye can only produce evil results, rather like a catspaw.

The retroboot Vi knows exactly how bad the consequences are.

I didn't mind the two of them not being in their Legion uniforms when they woke up, but then, I like when they act normal.

Liked the beginning of their relationship, even though it's starting a lot sooner then it did before.

The game was fashioned after Candyland, I think, among other, more recent game boards.
Shady divorcing Mon rings even less true than Shady dumping her boyfriend Mon.


I was sort of disappointed in the art, for most of the reasons already stated.
Giffen is still using his time saving no faces, etc. kind of stuff.
Liked parts of the art for some of the reasons already stated, as well.
Loved the costumes and backgrounds and colors.

I'd like to keep Cinar, though, and Jimenez.

Already I have have the annual.
The history is well enough, in spite of some faults.
Since it is that Jeckie don't have any news of Orando in the whole year?
Does not she have any friend or allied in her planet?
But the art....It is of the things more horrible, ugly, frightful that I have seen in a Legion Comic.
Thanks to Heaven that still we have Cinnar and Phill Jimenez.I wait for a lot of time...
Definitively Mr Giffen already it cannot draw girls.
At least, still I have the hope that the eye revives Sarya, to the best style Hammer's Dracula.

In the last panel, Vi has an emerald green flare around her left eye, and a green "badge" on her chest, peeking out from her uniform neckline. The caption at the bottom says, "the end?"

Why not?