Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion-related March 2010 Solicitations a

Spoilers: Big Bits of Legionnaire Business

I haven't seen much of the recent Legion News from Newsarama and other sources posted anywhere on the forum so I figured I'd start a thread that collects most of it.

Major Legion Spoilers for March and beyond.

The 21st century Legionnaire subplots are going to lead into a story called:

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">

Brainiac and the Legion of Superheroes.

Adventure Comics will come out twice in March and the first issue of the month will kick off the Brainiac and the Legion storyline.

Details will no doubt make it into the March Solicits thread but until that time, here they are:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091218-superman-march-2010-solicitations.html

Among the things we'll see are a showdown between Mon-El and Brainiac to save Superman and between Supergirl and Superboy(and there are several references to Superboy and the Legion in these solicits)...

This also should be the conclusuon of the Legion in the 21st century storyline that began during the Lighning Saga and it looks like the writers that will finish that storyline off are James Robinson and Sterling Gates.

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Speaking of Supergirl and the Legion:

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">

In an interview at www.ustownhall.com Jamal Igle says upcoming storylines include Supergirl meeting Brainiac 5 and this Legion and what exactly is up between them.

Jamal also says there will be another crossover between Karan and dotRebels</span></span>


And finally, a recent DC nation by Paul Levitz himself about returning to the Legion. I know many think his return is going to be something great. So with that in mind...

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text"> a recent DC nation by Paul Levitz gave some major hints by Paul Levitz about his return to the Legion and the things he intends to do.

Among them are:
Blow up a Legionnaire's homeworld
Kill them
Screw up their lives
Marry them off
Starting adulterous affairs</span></span>

Personal opinion on the return of Levitz. It's pretty negative so don't click this if you don't want to read negative comments about Levitz and his impending return:

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">
First of all, I hope he was joking in that DC Nation column.

Does he really think we are clamoring to see a homeworld blown up? It's only been two years since the last time it was done, and absolutely no one cared.

Sorry folks but every other time Levitz has written the Legion he has been the most knowledgable person in existence on the Legion, and that is no longer the case. In fact I would bet money that he is going to be the least knowledgable person about the Legion to write it regularly since the end of his run.

It has been 20 years since Levitz wrote the Legion regularly, he was never a truly great writer outside of his Legion work, in fact Jim Shooter has been a successful writer since Levitz has. So when I hear Paul talking about where he intends to pick up and what he intends to do, I know the Legion is pretty much at the end of it's road. They will not come back from this, at least not for a long time.

It's only been a year or two since the last time they blew up a Legionnaire's homeworld, and I notice many of the people celebrating Levitz reutn were also the ones keeping track of Johns' death toll in LO3W. So I am wondering how they reconcile that with Paul gleefully admitting how much he enjoys killing Legionnaires. Something else else I was well aware of from the last time he wrote the book. He doesn't just kill off obscure ones...he kills off the big guns.

It's great until he kills off one that's your favorite. And every Legionnaire is someone's favorite.

I don't look at Paul Levitz as the writer of note the last time the Legion was great, I look at Paul Levitz as the writer of note when the wheels came totally off and the decline started.

He is not going to pull readers on name alone. Certainly not to the degree Johns did.
He's certainly not going to be more in touch with the modern audience than Geoff Johns is, in fact I believe his writing style is more or less the embodiment of the most recent era to fall out of style in comics.

And imo, he was clearly out of touch with the Legion fans the last time he wrote the book.

It also sounds like he is going to create a confusing mess by incorporating things into the continuity of this Legion that Johns clearly didn't account for. I mean I already see clearly the status of Mon-El does not fit in any way with what he intends to do. It's great if it adds something, but it seems Paul is intent on subtracting more than adding,and that's always been his forte on the Legion anyway, subtraction, not addition. You can even tell he thinks it's this vast base of resources to slaughter at will...he doesn't realize this book has had it's resource base completely eradicated over the past 2 decades.


I don't really mind Paul killing off Legionnaires except for the fact that he habitually kills off good ones and leaves the crappy ones. And his replacements are never as good as the ones he kills off.

If you ask me it's a total disaster. I will stick around for the first major arc, which will probably his best(it always has been before) and skip the slow and tedious decline that will follow(it always has before). I won't even delude myself into waiting for him to follow up whatever initial success he has, because he's never come close to doing it before. I will not be reading the Legion regularly just to watch a more or less mediocre writer reign down hell and destruction on a Universe he never had the talent to create in the first place. I already did that once. It totally sucked.


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SUPERMAN: LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON #1
On sale MARCH 10 • 1 of 3, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by JAMES ROBINSON & STERLING GATES
Art by PETE WOODS
Cover by ANDY KUBERT
1:25 variant cover by MARCOS MARZ
The new Superman crossover event “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes” begins here, in this first issue of a 3-part miniseries! It’s New Krypton’s worst nightmare as Brainiac attacks the planet, determined to recapture the city of Kandor! But General Zod has been waiting for this moment since Brainiac first attacked Old Krypton – he has a plan to save his people, but at the cost of Earth and the future as we know it! So it’s up to Superman, Supergirl, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes to stop the two madmen before they destroy everything!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.



ADVENTURE COMICS #8-9
Issue #8 on sale MARCH 3 • Issue #9 on sale MARCH 31 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by JAMES ROBINSON & STERLING GATES
Co-Feature written by ERIC TRAUTMANN
Art by JULI¡N L”PEZ & CLAYTON HENRY
Co-feature art by PIER GALLO
Covers by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:10 variant covers by JOE QUINONES & DUNCAN ROULEAU
ADVENTURE COMICS ships twice this month as this spring’s Superman event “Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes” starts with a prologue in #8 and reaches a boiling point in #9!
Starting way back in “The Lightning Saga,” various clues have been planted about a group of Legionnaires undercover in the 21st century. Who are they and why are they here? And what does their mission have to do with the fate of New Krypton? James Robinson (SUPERMAN) and Juli·n LÛpez (WORLD’S FINEST) may have an answer or two!
Meanwhile, in a tale of the 31st century by Sterling Gates (SUPERGIRL) and Clayton Henry (ADVENTURE COMICS), the Legion of Super-Heroes infiltrates a hidden Legion of Super-Villains base! The horrifying plans Brainiac 5 discovers inside will alter Superman’s life – FOREVER!
Plus, in the co-feature by Eric Trautmann (ACTION COMICS) and newcomer Pier Gallo, learn more about General Lane’s Human Defense Corps – Earth’s best line of defense against the looming Kryptonian threat!
Retailers please note: These issue will ship with two covers each. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.



SUPERMAN #698
On sale MARCH 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art BERNARD CHANG & JAVIER PINA
Cover by JULI¡N L”PEZ & BIT
“Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes” Part 3! Superman is trapped on Brainiac’s ship while New Krypton burns! Mon-El will need to call upon all the skills he’s learned in the last year if he’s going to have a chance of freeing the Man of Steel! Plus, what secret about Brainiac will the duo learn that may help turn the tide?



SUPERGIRL #51
On sale MARCH 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by STERLING GATES
Art by JAMAL IGLE & JON SIBAL
Cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON
“Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes” Part 2! Amidst Brainiac’s assault on New Krypton, General Zod has brandished the Legion of Super-Heroes terrorists and imprisoned them! Superboy will do his best to free them, but he’ll have to go through Supergirl first! That’s right, it’s the Super-battle of the sexes you’ve been waiting for! Poor Ma Kent is going to be so disappointed in them...



SUPERMAN/BATMAN #70
On sale MARCH 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by JOE CASEY
Art and cover by ARDIAN SYAF & VICENTE CIFUENTES
As Batman springs his trap for the shape-shifting Durlan terrorist stranded on Earth, Superman and NRG-X battle out Round Two in the Fortress of Solitude!



R.E.B.E.L.S. #14

On sale MARCH 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by TONY BEDARD
Art by CLAUDE ST. AUBIN & SCOTT HANNA
Cover by KALMAN ANDRASOFSZKY
The finale in the war against the new Starro the Conqueror! Can super-genius Vril Dox, Adam Strange and their grizzled band of rebels possibly gain victory against a mega-army from nine galaxies?



JSA: THY KINGDOM COME PART THREE TP

Advance-solicited•On sale APRIL 7 • 224 pg, FC $19.99 US
Written by GEOFF JOHNS, ALEX ROSS & PETER TOMASI
Art by ALEX ROSS, DALE EAGLESHAM, FERNANDO PASARIN & NATHAN MASSENGILL
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Collecting JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #19-22 and the JUSTICE SOCIETY: KINGDOM COME Specials MAGOG, SUPERMAN and THE KINGDOM, now in trade paperback! Picking up where PART TWO left off, The Justice Society begins to dissolve as Gog vows to bring peace to Earth in a way that frightens some and thrills others. Torn between Gog’s desire to help the world and the moral cost it comes with, it’s old guard vs. new as the line that was drawn is crossed.



SUPERBOY: THE BOY OF STEEL

Advance-solicited •On sale MAY 12 • 144 pg, FC $24.99 US
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Superboy is back — and can’t wait to jump back into his life in these tales from ADVENTURE COMICS #0-3 and 5-6, plus a tale from SUPERMAN SECRET FILES 2009. But which life will it be? Conner makes a beeline for the greatest place on Earth: Smallville. While Conner reunites with his former girlfriend, Wonder Girl, Lex Luthor and Brainiac form a partnership that will cause havoc throughout the DC Universe.

Having your terrorists brandished by someone is always a nasty ordeal. Especially when it's Zod that brandishes them.

Funny how with this super colossal woo-hoo major Legion crossover event that will shape the future forever, only one cover actually has the Legion on it.

This is not good. LO3W was the last Legion story I bought and I basically decided I'd had enough, and that after 28 years of following the LSH (including unwavering support despite the fact that DC has been more or less persistently fucking and refucking things for the last 20 of those 28 years) I was done. I've had a few moments where I thought I might waver on that and give it yet another try, despite the well-set precedent for heartbreak that DC has set in regards to anything Legion-related. I shouldn't have worried; looking at this cock-up, I can apply DC's current editorial practice and predict that the transition from Johns to Levitz will be messy and uncoordinated, huge portions of Legion canon (as well as most of the recent storylines) will be rendered incomprehensible and/or apocryphal (and you won't have a clue which things happened or didn't happen; any longtime Doom Patrol fans out there? And wasn't most of the Earth devastated during Final Crisis?), and the current mandate of "kill as many characters as you can get away with" will be faithfully adhered to.

The good thing is that this all proves that comic fans are the most dedicated fans you'll find anywhere and that the industry isn't going to die off anytime soon. Because, believe me, if Joe Quesada and Dan Didio running the two biggest publishers and a global recession haven't killed it, I don't know that anything short of the end of civilization itself can...

I'm excited for the Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes event. I've been following what's been going on in the Superman books and what's been happening with the Legion and it looks like everything is coming together here.

I wonder if part of the plot will deal with the LSV Espionage Squad that was mentioned in Adventure recently.

I'm excited about "Brainiac". I think these solicitations are geared toward non-Legion fans with the expectation that: a) fans will pick it up anyway just because LoSH is in it; and (more importantly) b) non-Legion fans will buy it for the Superman Family and get hooked on the Legion once they dig into the story. The jump in sales of Adventure Comics #4 shows that this kind of cross-marketing (or bait-and-switch, if you like) can be effective in exposing the Legion to a wider audience.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the Legion material produced since LSH #50, so I really am expecting good things just over the hill. I'm also going to light a candle for whomever brought Brainiac 5 and Supergirl into the Legion.

Hmmm...now I am thinking that "the shape-shifting Durlan terrorist" may be Reep Daggle, our beloved Chameleon Boy. If it's not him....Chameleon Chief?? If it's CC then where the 7734 is Cham!?!?!?

Two weeks later, Projectra's "makeover" still makes me wince.

Since Batman's dead and Supes is still in the Kandorian Army...I'm thinking the SUPERMAN/BATMAN storyline is a past or future adventure not related to the current stories.

Pretty sure it's set right after Invasion.

well...okay then where is Chameleon hiding!?!?

Totally agree. That costume is YYYUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!

I don't get why Projectra still wears a mask and that ugly wig anyway - surely the mystery of Sensor Girl is long since solved.

This character needs a major overhaul IMO.

Maybe because that part of her life is over.

LOVE the mask, the original, not this one. Everyone knows who Starman is, no one complaining about that mask so I think masks are okay, if not overdone. Wearing them around the clubhouse would seem a bit stupid.

Geeez, I'm having the hardest time reconciling that this was drawn by Francis Manapul. I can't recall ever seeing anything he drew that I didn't like. This one, it's not just the Sensor Girl outfit I'm not fond of. Tellus, Starman, the backdrop, those are great. It's the rest I'm just not feeling.

LOOOVVE the Joshua Middleton cover!!

I agree, lil'rhino!

Batman isn't my problem with the timing of the 'Durlan' story, it's Superman.
There IS a new Batman, Dick Grayson.

But Supes hasn't been in that outfit very often this whole past year.

Projectra's costume is obviously to go with Dawnstar's.
I hate both of those outfits, but Jeckie's comes with the mask.
I grew up hearing jokes about putting a bag over any woman's head and . . .

I was pretty enough that I don't think that they ment me, but the whole idea still makes me nauseous.


I hate the mask AND the peek-a-boo, but the combination is fatal.

you forgot... it's the mask, the boob window, AND the tiara!!!!!!
good thing it's all her illusion and can be altered in the blink of an eye.
what age IS this Legion these days? there's talk about about a Brainiac 5/Supergirl romance, but isn't she like 16 and Brainy is like 25?...30? i thought that the implication in the "Whatever Happened to the Legion?" story was that the Legion was now Superman's "grown-up" age. so they are in their 30's? but that seems to have been backpedaled so that they are younger than Supes, like Titans' age? it's weird they can't keep it straight.

Dev's right. Supes/Bats isn't in "real-time" anymore, it tells stories of past team-ups during DC's past events. They should have made that clearer in the soliticiation (they've explained in interviews). That's actually Bruce, not Dick.

Ditto on hating the Sensor Girl new costume - the first time I saw it I thought it was a coloring error on a not-officially-colored teaser, but now that it's appeared in the solicits, I have to resign myself to the fact that it's probably for real.

Give it fishnet stockings and Sensor Girl's costume was in Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" in that weird sex party sequence.

Thanks for the Superman/Batman update, Cobie.

And I can't see the tiara unless I hold a magnifying glass on the monitor screen.
Then, I can see the color change, sort of.
sigh

About the Legionnaires ages, Jan is Conner's chemistry teacher. Chemistry is a sophmore or junior class in high school, I think.
So, their ages aren't the same as the Titan's.

Unless Jan is a 'wiz-kid' type of graduate, which would certainly draw attention to him that he might not want, he's probably somewhere around 23 or 24.
Unless he just lied about his age, etc..

Jan's the youngest original Legionnaire (still?).

Supergirl is Legion-Prime/Titians age so, no, the ages shouldn't work well between her and Brainy.

The continuity is still pretty iffy, isn't it?
The whole thing is made more confusing by the Secret Origin story that shows Kal as rather young compared to the Legionnaires.
Maybe he was just slow to mature.

The Legion was shown as younger than Supes, I thougt, in the Lo3W, smaller and less mature looking anyway.

Why can't DC just come out with a page that explains ages and relationships and exactly when this is in the Legionnaires lifetimes, as someone has already suggested?
double sigh

Manapul didn't design Sensor Girl's outfit. I just found out on DA.

DA?

DeviantArt.