COMICS FOR DUMMIES #10: THE FALLEN LEGION

[Joel Phillips]

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/logos/cfdlogo.jpg" align=left border=0 alt="Comics For Dummies logo">By Raul Grau, RJacknite@aol.com

The Fallen Legion

Once upon a time, three perky teenagers invited a mild-mannered fellow to join their club, which consisted of several other equally perky teenagers. Despite the fact that their particular clubhouse was located one thousand years in his future, the boy agreed to join them, and (presumably) they all had the 30th Century equivalent of cake to celebrate. That, in a nutshell, is the origin of The Legion of Super-Heroes, the oldest consistently running superteam on the shelves, or, at least, it was their origin. Legion history is marred by more reboots, restarts, and relaunches than any other franchise (though the Avengers are running a close second), so it should come as no surprise when December brings the latest Legion #1 (the seventh, by my count). Now, let us a take a moment and follow the breadcrumb trail of Legion lore, looking at the past (well, future), in order to see how bad our future (well, newer future) will be.

Though Superboy was initially declined Legion membership for having easily duplicated powers (admittedly, having one each of the most generic superpowers is, frankly, pretty generic), he was the lead in Adventure Comics, and big stars always get what they want. In 1958, DC was still in the midst of their first line-wide reboot, taking beloved characters and reinventing them with scientifictitiousness in mind. Fortunately, one of the three surviving holdouts from the Golden Age (have you figured out who those were yet?) was already steeped in pseudoscience (being an actual alien), so he was spared the cleansing brush of editorial. In addition, Superman had the added bonus of being his own teenaged counterpart, fulfilling another requisite of the era. The Man of Steel and his pre-Smallville younger self were the darlings of DC (with a total of six books in their little Kryptonite-filled corner of the universe), so if the Legion wanted to make a second appearance in this century, you just know that the Boy who would be Super had to get a membership ring.

For the first few years, Legion appearances followed a predictable, if slightly silly pattern. Hero (in this case, Superboy) gets into trouble, the Legion (with nothing better to do in the 30th Century than periodically drop by the barbaric 20th Century) shows up, saves Smallville, and vanishes back into the timestream. If the foe-of-the-month is too powerful for even the future force to handle (as was the case with a certain collection of Brain Globes from Rambat), then the Legion of Super-Pets are always waiting in the wings (well, actually, Beepo the Super-Monkey, Comet the Super-Horse, Streaky the Super-Cat, and Krypto the equally Super-Dog did not have a pair of wings between them). And those were the action-oriented tales, let us not forget the instances when Legionnaires would utilize the awesome powers of time travel in order to research newsletter articles, or allow Lana Lang (the incredible Insect Queen) reserve status (another fine plotline for the writers of Smallville to adapt). Remember, these were Superboy's series, the Legion were his supporting cast, and supporting casts merely provide support.

By the way, setting the tone for later characters like Wolverine and Cable, it would take an entire decade of regular appearances before the Legion finally had their full (at the time) backstory revealed. Superboy #147 told the tale of three naive, but superpowered, youths, brought together by fate, and conscripted to the defense of a universe that loved and celebrated them... those poor poor kids. Garth Ranzz (looking for his missing, soon-to-be supervillain older brother), Rokk Krinn (hoping for that Earthian Dream), and Imra Ardeen (ready to join the not-terribly-scientific Science Police) worked together to foil an assassination attempt on a fourth stranger, who just so happened to be the wealthiest man in the universe... those lucky, lucky kids.

Their new sugar daddy fed them, clothed them, housed them, and named them. Garth became Lightning Lad (perhaps because he could project bolts of lightning), Rokk became Cosmic Boy (because he possessed the powers of cosmic... I mean, magnetism), and Imra became Saturn Girl (well, she was from Titan, which is near Saturn... she's telepathic, by the way). In a show of futuristic clarity, their first leader was chosen by their computer, so at least we can rest assured that the fad of democratic elections will be over by the year 2973. And, so, the Legion of Super-Heroes was born (admittedly, ten years after their first appearance, but an origin story is an origin story).

I wish I had the space to fully explore the next two decades of Legion lore, but I fear your minds may crumble from all the Matter-Eater Lads, Jungle Kings, and Calorie Queens it would entail. Just to hit upon some highlights, Jim Shooter bowed to the Kung Fu craze by creating the Karate Kid, he inducted Nemesis Kid (and you would never guess that Nemesis Kid would turn out to be a spy), and he had the Lad of Iron knock out the Boy of Steel with one punch. Dave Cockrum almost introduced Nightcrawler and Storm as failed Legion applicants, before being snatched away by Marvel to do some Giant-Size X-book. Roy Thomas took over the scripting chores briefly in 1981, and... well, he wrapped the Earth in giant energy-chains, brought the Legion into conflict with a leather-clad villain, and pulled a brain-switching subplot that would leave even die-hard soap opera fans scratching their heads (The Kree-Skrull War it was not).

Fortunately, there was light at the end of this tunnel of mediocrity, and we were blessed with the twin titans of Legion lore, Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen. For eight years, these two honorary Legionnaires took turns broadened our heroic horizons, and matured a franchise that had languished in years of energy chain storylines. Beginning with the great Great Darkness Saga and ending with the explosive Magic Wars, they realized that the teens were not teens any longer, and added enough emotional depth and intrigue to even make me care about the fate of the Karate Kid, that anachronistic embarrassment. It was an amazing time to be a Legion fan... and then it was over. Paul Levitz made his departure, and Keith Giffen was returning, once again, to take the reigns, but he decided to do something a bit different with the book... Cue the Gap.

Fifteen years ago, Giffen tried something so bold and original that it took the writers of the X-titles nearly ten years to imitate it. At the end of The Magic Wars, the Legion had been decimated by death, but they were still several dozen members strong, and ready to face the next challenge that the multiverse was going to throw at them. Three months went by without installments, and then the Legion returned with a new #1 issue (the third, by my count), a Giffen-lead creative team, and... well, no superheroes to speak of. It seems that in the three months that had passed for us, five years had gone by for the Legionnaires (making this the first instance in history of comic time outpacing real-world time), and somehow the universe had become Legion-less. The characters were still here, but the silly codenames, colorful costumes, and gravity-defying Flight Rings were all absent... and things could not have been better.

Free of the trappings of superhero-based literature, Giffen was free to weave a tale of government intrigue in a frighteningly familiar, if futuristic, setting. The kids were grown up, and they had the affairs, failings, and male-pattern baldness to prove it. And for the rabid traditionalists, who wanted the wide-eyed innocents to be returned to them, a second crop of Legionnaires were crafted, devoid of all the interesting emotional baggage. In the midst of the ultimate battle for the planet Earth, Giffen raised the maturity bar of the genre with homosexual heroes, a transsexual twist, and more character moments than you can shake Proty at. The biggest shock was not the destruction that came with his swansong, but the realization that we could enjoy this epic storyline, without having information spoon-fed to us (though, having Earth go bye-bye was still pretty cool).

For nearly two years, the title (well, titles, the kids were apparently alright enough to earn their own series) continued on the course Giffen had set. Though costumes and codenames began to creep back in, the focus was clearly on the characters, and there were certainly quite a few of those... at least, there were, up until Zero Hour. Everyone's favorite time-shredding mega-crossover brought about the End of an Era, a very aptly named storyline. In the span of those six issues, every single Legionnaire met their unfortunate end, either in direct combat or via death by continuity hole, as the whole of the future was being systematically erased. Suddenly, there was no Legion... no 30th Century... no anything, and the characters we had loved were gone... for about a month.

In the wake of Zero Hour, the Legion of Super-Heroes, that thirty-six year institution of comic book derring-do was gone... right up until the very next issue, when they began again. Yes, Mark Waid delivered an origin story that was still fundamentally the same, with a trio of teens earning their place in future history. Yes, the members were very familiar, right down to their color-coded matching unitards. There were new creations added to the mix, like the Marxist revolutionary in the form of a giant bug, the girl with strong ties to that other title Waid was writing involving speedy folks, and a girl with ill-defined powers and a revealing outfit (so, basically, she was Image-esgue), but membership changes had always been the norm with the Legion. The slate was now clean enough for new readers to drop by for a visit... and good for them.

These were the characters that we had known and loved, but, at the same time, they were not. They had lost nearly forty years worth of convoluted, but well familiar, backstory. They were chipper and optimistic, just like they had been when they first began, but we had seen them change, and grow, and die. These teenagers were not the emotionally disturbed thirty-somethings they had been just a few months earlier, and that was enough to prompt me to quit reading a title that I had followed for the majority of my life. Sometimes a little nostalgia can be a dangerous thing.

From what I've seen of this newest Waid-sponsored relaunch, December's The Legion of Super-Heroes #1 will recast the recent tales of the rebooted Legion in a darker, more subversive light. Perhaps it will evoke the mature magic that Giffen brought to his relaunch, and not rewrite the past to chart a new future. Or perhaps it might be closer to Waid's first stint on the title, where he recaptured the past by erasing the present. Regardless, I must admit that my curiosity is peeked to the point where I must take a peek at this new arc. Though, if it does turn out to be another steamroller ride through history, then I say to those of you out there who are fans of the most recent incarnation of the Legion... Ha, now how do you like it?

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Raul Grau is awaiting the return of the Legion of Super-Heroes with the same sort of sadistic glee he has reserved for Green Lantern: Rebirth. While he has never been a rabid Hal Jordan supporter, he eagerly awaits the delicious irony of Kyle fans bemoaning a changing of the green-tinted guard.

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The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of ComiX-Fan or its other staff in general.

[Zeb Aslam]

Heh...great column Raul. Couldn't agree more with the last statement (Although I did manage to stick with the post-ZH mess that was the Legion and was thankfully rewarded for my patience with the excellent Abnett and Lanning series in recent years...) But you're right. In the past 10-years after zero hour, the legion has never come close to matching the brilliance that was the 5-year gap storyline(s). I still remember with chilling glee the fact that Cosmic Boy put Shrinking Violet's eye out. I picture the Earth blowing to smithereens whenever Death happens to show up in Vertigo these days (That image was cool, no?) And I miss Devlin...

Personally I find it sad that a title with such a rich backstory (and if you actually saw the Shvaughn Erin thing coming...) had to be rebooted...by Mark Waid, and now has to be rebooted again...by Mark Waid (seeing a pattern here?) I just hope this Legion's beginings are better than the last ones...and I hope that someday in the future, I can finally see the reflections of the one, true legion within those pages again.

Again...GREAT column!

[ursabearX]

Great article, Man I loved the Giffen 5yrs later stories they were so much gritter and raw, but I miss Quasilet(sp?) White Witch, Tellos from the PL/KG years I remember being shocked when Pol sacrificed his life at the end of Magic Wars and those uniforms were kickin. I was really liking the abbnett/Lanning legion, they indroduced the cadets and Legion World as well as shakari ( whats to become of her). I have seen the previews of issue #1(to the 10th power) looks interesting and since I usually pick up most of the legion relaunches, ill pick it up.

[Foxtrot258]

Nice column. It's not all that often you hear a well-articulated rant on why the old is better than the new. Usually it's just "This stuff sucks. I like Hal Jordan. Bring back Saturn Girl's bikini."

I do think that you could have addressed the excessive rewrites which complicated the Legion continuity so much that it was legitimately inaccessible to the new reader, which ultimately prompted the Zero Hour reboot. (Myself, I've only been a fan since Zero Hour, so any Legion preboot comic I read makes no sense whatsoever. Didn't they ever hear about how every comic is somebody's first comic?)

Nonetheless, an amusing and entertaining read, as always.

[QBBEADLE]

Great column. I am definitely picking the new Legion up. But did you have to throw in the signature about us poor Kyle Rayner fans?? We know it's ironic and yes we're still going to complain no matter how little justification we may have. At least you won't have to worry about anything as ridiculous as HEAT that all the crazy Hal Jordan fans formed. Anyway, another excellent column.

[James Groves]

Great Column Raul - New Legion is a must pick up for me.

[raul grau]

Thanks guys, and I am quite happy to see so many Legion fans around these parts... all six of us.

Originally Posted by Foxtrot258

I do think that you could have addressed the excessive rewrites which complicated the Legion continuity so much that it was legitimately inaccessible to the new reader, which ultimately prompted the Zero Hour reboot. (Myself, I've only been a fan since Zero Hour, so any Legion preboot comic I read makes no sense whatsoever. Didn't they ever hear about how every comic is somebody's first comic?)

I wanted to get into the Superboy/Supergirl removals/replacements, and, of course, the introduction of the Kid Quantum (most hated retcon'd character ever), but I had to consider the length of the piece. However, despite the changes, I don't see how the issues themselves were that confusing. The characters were consistent in personality, and the fights were meaningful, so that totally trumps most recent comics.

Originally Posted by QBBEADLE

did you have to throw in the signature about us poor Kyle Rayner fans??

Why, yes. Yes, I did have to. And, I'm going to remember that you said that, QBEADLE, when KEAT is formed with you as their rabid leader.

Originally Posted by Zeb Aslam

And I miss Devlin...

I do too, Zeb. He was the perfect POV character for the reader... (mostly) powerless, easily confused, and immediately likable. However, my most missed character is Kent Shakespeare, the first (and greatest) Impulse. Sadly, after Giffen left, he became such a minor character that even people who read the books probably don't recall him now.

- Raul