Legion of Nothing

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The Legion of Nothing is a Web Serial Novel about the Grand Lake Heroes League of Grand Lake, Michigan, a team of teenagers with superpowers.

They are the children and grandchildren of the members of the original Grand Lake Heroes League, a group of former World War II soldiers who were part of an elite unit of superpowered soldiers. They came home after the war and continued to use their powers to combat organized crime and other villains, powered and otherwise in the 1950's.

The lead character, and the one through whom the story is told is Nick Klein. His grandfather was the Gadgeteer Genius known as The Rocket. Among his inventions, a suit of Powered Armor equipped with numerous weapons and a rocket pack (yes, fans have noted the similarity to Iron Man). Nick isn't really sure he wants to take up the superhero mantle, but a group of his friends decide to revive the League, and Nick in turn dons his grandfather's armor.

As a part conventional Superhero story, part Coming of Age story, Legion is highly effective. Its big selling points are its sense of humor and its very effective pacing. Cliff Hanger endings are not uncommon, but this is okay due to the timely update schedule.

Tropes used in Legion of Nothing include:
  • Above the Ruins: A massive battle took place at the mansion of Red Lightning, aka Giles Hardwick, a former Heroes League member turned arch-villain. Nick's grandad, the original Rocket, Joe Van Der Sloot, defeated him but only after the mansion was completely destroyed. In the present, the current Heroes League, including Hardwick's grandson, Vaughn visit the ruins and comment on how fresh the damage looks.
  • Alliterative Name: Chris Cannon, Kayla Ketchem and Martin Magnus, it wouldn't be a superhero story without this one.
  • Awesome Yet Practical: One of the new Rocket's inventions is a Guitar Hero controller... that also generates lasers, blinding lights and fires explosive charges.
  • Backstory: Considering that main characters are the descendants of a famous Superhero group and that many of them have assumed their forebears' identities and abilities (and it some cases their enemies), this is a given.
  • Badass Crew: Every super team seems to qualify for this.
    • There is a team of superhero assassins called The Executioner, which managed to murder several superheroes and their families. Evil? For sure. Badass? Most definitely.
    • Subverted with Three, a trio of teenaged supers in California. The group themselves are pretty badass in a fight, but their nominal leader, Alex aka Paladin, is a retard who seems to excel at getting them in trouble. In particular, one ill-advised prank almost gets them and several other people killed. Brooke (Alex's girlfriend) and Nick stepping up is what keeps them from being obituaries.
  • Badass Bookworm: Nick is a stereotypical nerd in classic Peter Parker-style. However his smarts are the basis of some his best ass-kicking.
  • Badass Grandpa: The original Rocket was active from at least the forties and didn't retire until the eighties. If he was in his twenties when he started, he was in his sixties when he quit.
  • Badass Normal: Nick is capable of beating up the big guys even when he's not wearing the Rocket Suit. He Knows Kung Fu, after all.
    • Remarkably, most of the super-villains in the story are un-powered folks who use cunning and technology to give the supers hell. One team, the Executioner(s), succeeded in murdering several supers and their families before the Legion took them down. Or did they??
  • Badass Unintentional: Brooke, aka The Portal. A teenage superhero and the girlfriend of Alex, and, a member of 'Three'. On the surface, she talks and acts like The Ditz. When her boyfriend's dumbass prank and even dumber-ass counterattack get himself, her, Nick, and Jenny captured; it is she who steps up to the plate. For starters, while everyone else gets stunned with paralysis rays, she fakes it, just so that she can get a drop on the bad guys. And then she helps Nick come up with the plan to not only escape but to beat up the bad guys on the way out.
  • Battle Couple: Rocket and Night Cat, at least until she tells him that he should give her some space.
  • Beware the Superman: A common theme, as although vigilatism isn't legal, it's generally accepted by mainstream humanity providing that supers police their own kind.
  • Bold Inflation: Red Lightning's "I will stop you in the name of TRUTH and JUSTICE".
  • Brought to You by The Letter "S": The Rocket, and Big C, amongst others.
  • Brown Note: The Rocket's sonic weapons are capable of producing this, and have one at least one memorable occasion.
  • Building Swing: Although the Rocket can fly, he says he has two grappling hooks "in case I ever need to do the Spider-Man thing". This comment is a strong contender for Nick's Crowning Moment of Awesome.
  • Cape Busters: In Three, The Rocket goes up against Syndicate L, a non-superpowered organisation with capebusting potential, and a Humongous Mecha (which being the Rocket, he can't resist trying to get his hands on).
  • The Captain: Subverted. The Legion has no set Command Roster yet. They're trying out a rotating command schedule for now.
    • In one serial, Nick kind of jumps out to the lead in helping another group of supers when a prank goes wrong.
  • Captain Ersatz: The Rocket is very similar to Iron Man, just more likable.
  • Car Fu: Two distinct types. The first is characters wondering where heroes learn offensive driving. The second is the regularity with which cars are flung around as weapons.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Sean first appeared in Lighting Strikes Twice as someone Vaughn owed money to only to appear later in Bullies and Counselors as Haley's ex.
  • City of Adventure: A lot of things seem to happen in Grand Lake, but this is hand-waved as being due to the high concentration of supers in the area, which in turn may be partly due to a sinister breeding program started by Red Lightning.
  • Clothes Make the Legend: The League are legacy characters, after all. Captain Commando's sword is an example of this, too.
  • Code Name: Hero names are a big deal, there's even a register to ensure that no two heroes get the same name, which causes problems in King Of Storms.
  • Color Character: Red Lightning, Blue Streak.
  • The Commissioner Gordon: Isaac Lim, although whether he is a genuine good guy is yet to be seen...
  • Crimefighting with Cash: Nick was bequeathed 11 million dollars 'earmarked for "fighting evil"'
  • Crowning Moment of Awesome: The serial is about 3 years old now, so there's plenty of these
    • In "Three", Nick takes on a Mecha in a scene a thousand times more awesome than the Stane/Stark fight in Iron Man.
    • In a recent episode, Nick uses the weaponized speakers on his armor to generate a "brown note" to disable an enemy. Yes, The Rocket is so badass he can literally make you crap your pants.
  • Dating Catwoman: The original Rocket married Ghostwoman, a Nazi super he met while fighting for the Allies in WWII.
  • Destructive Savior: Both Rockets seem to break a lot of windows every time they use their sonic weapons.
  • Drama Bomb: The author Jim Zoetewey is really good at taking sudden turns from light comedy to Darker and Edgier in the space of a few paragraphs.
  • Dramatic Irony: Used regularly to great effect.
  • Elaborate Underground Base: Nick mostly used the League HQ, complete with ridiculous security measures to watch DVDs and play Guitar Hero before the League was reformed.
  • Evil Is Hammy: Martin Magnus
  • Enforced Cold War: The original Rocket and Man-Machine knew each others identities, but agreed to keep their conflict on streets and away from their families.
  • Fake Ultimate Hero: Sean keeps taking credit for the League's work. Between his attitude and his Magnetoesque powers, he has the makings of either an awesome Arch Nemesis or an Anti-Hero.
  • First-Person Smartass: Nick's POV, with its snarky little comments and light tone, really makes Legion Of Nothing stand out.
  • Flash Back: 1953 shows how the Heroes League reformed after the war, and introduces the original Rocket's Arch Nemesis Man-Machine.
  • Fridge Logic: If it the Rocket didn't have a rocket pack when he started out, why did he call himself The Rocket.
  • The Good Captain: Captain Commando
  • Grandfather Clause: A literal grandfather clause (possibly an example of the author reading TV tropes) results in the League being part of the FBI's National Hero Program.
  • Handicapped Badass: The Rocketsuit unsurprisingly gets banged up a lot in battles, leaving it with less than full capability. The standout example is the Alternate Universe chapter, "The Omnishpere" (by guest author Robert Rodgers, based on Jim Zoetewey's original characters) where Nick fights the supervillian War. By the time the battle climaxes, the Rocket has no jetpack or flight capability and completely loses function in one arm.
  • Heel Face Turn: Ghostwoman started out as a Nazi spy.
  • Heroic Build: Most of the heroes around, except Nick.
    • Although even he has one temporarily while under the effects of Alex's power. He tells his girlfriend to enjoy it while it lasts.
  • Hero Insurance: "I hope this building's insurance covers rampaging giants".
  • Hot-Blooded: Captain Commando is more then happy to fight the most dangerous supervillains.
  • How to Give A Character Super Powers: A nice range. Many of the heroes have genetic powers that emerge in puberty (Night Wolf, Night Cat), some have had them since childhood (Accelerando) and some gain them by other means (Captain Commando it stated as having "had surgery for normality" and Storm King zapped himself with the Power Impregnator).
  • I Believe I Can Fly: The League is split about half and half between those that can fly and those that can't, but no two flyers use the same method.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Nick isn't so sure about being a hero, but events keep forcing him to take up the Rocket Suit.
  • I Just Want to Be Special: Cassie took treatments to be "cured of being normal".
  • Jet Pack: Newer models can apparently carry enough fuel for 3 hours flight. It's best not to look at the Physics in some of the devices in Legion of Nothing.
  • Lamarck Was Right: Most Kids seem to inherit their parents powers, but how their parents got them is mostly left to imagination. We'll have to wait and see how this one plays out.
  • Laser Sword: Captain Commando's sword isn't a lightsaber, but it might as well be.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Aka Cassie AKA Captain Commando II
  • Legacy Character: Most of the Grand Lake Heroes League are the descendants of the original League (Rocket, Captain Commando, Night Wolf), including those whose predecessor's names are still in use (Night Cat, Accelerando).
    • Don't forget Rachel, Nick's older sister, as Ghost.
  • Magic Versus Science: A literal case occurs when the Storm King (whose powers seem to stem from electromagnetic manipulation of the weather) and the King of Storms (an ancient avatar and weather magician) fight it out in King of Storms.
  • Mecha-Mooks: Syndicate L fields these in an attempt to keep up with the various super-powered factions.
  • The Medic: Alex/Paladin is this on Three.
  • Mirror Universe: One serial written by guest author Robert Rodgers based on the original characters created by Jim Zoetewey titled "The Omnisphere" deals with these, and even features an evil version of the heroes.
  • Never Live It Down: Vaughn's grandfather went crazy and became a super villain. Most heroes and some fans seem to be waiting for this to happen to Vaughn. That's right, he'll Never Live It Down for something he didn't do, and may never do.
  • Only Sane Man: Nick, the main character, is usually the one who comes up with the most sensible plans to fighting villains.
  • Outdated Outfit: The Rocket Suit is described as being 'Art Deco', an art style that was outdated by the 40's, when the Rocket came into existance. That's ok, though, because the Rocket has made it Classic.
  • Parental Obliviousness: Most of the parents have no idea that their children are heroes, because of the Mentalist's block.
  • Personality Powers: Storm King is broody and unpredictable, Accelerando is always in a rush and Captain Commando is irrepressible.
    • This is also inverted with Nick and Alex in Three. Nick's Powered Armor causes a lot of damage but he worries about hurting people, even the ones he's fighting. On the other hand Alex has the power to heal others but doesn't think about the consequences of his actions.
  • Police Are Useless: And they know it, they just wait for the heroes to show up.
  • Poor Communication Kills: At one point, Accelerando throws a car that the Rocket is clinging on to the back of. The League needs to work on its teamwork a little.
  • Posthumous Character: Most of the original league.
  • President Evil: The Mayor, although like all the villains, an understandable character with real motives, more of a Well-Intentioned Extremist than anything else.
  • Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Used by various speedsters with varying levels of effectiveness.
  • Refusal of the Call: Nick started out no wanting to become the Rocket and felt pressured by his late grandfather. Ironically, after the war his grandfather also tried to refuse the call, and focus on being a husband and a father.
  • Required Secondary Powers: Mostly averted, as the author describes most powers pretty accurately before they become useful, but Accelerando's catching a skin-eating acid bomb without harm due to her necessary super-strength still came as a surprise.
    • Arguably, most of Accelerando's powerset are these with respect to her super speed. She has the strength to push herself that rapidly, reflexes fast enough to react at that speed, and is tough just to survive the punishment her body undergoes to run that fast.
  • Rogues Gallery: We're slowly learning about the original Rocket's recurring foes, just as the new Rocket develops his own.
  • Secret Identity: All the League have secret identities, but some are better at hiding them than others. This is a point of friction with the many detractors of vigilante justice in the story.
  • Secret Keeper: Kayla discovers the identities of the Rocket, Storm King and Captain Commando, which gives the League a nice opportunity to consider the morals of using a phychic block like the original League used and come up with a new solution of their own that isn't so morally dubious.
  • Serious Business: Superheroes are serious business, with their own radio, TV and historians, but it's justified considering what they can do.
  • Sidekick Graduations Stick: Both Mindstryke and The Rhino were sidekicks to the original Rocket and The Mentalist before assuming their superhero identities.
  • The Smart Guy: Nick, Gadgeteer Genius and all-round geek.
  • Steven Ulysses Perhero: Who would have thought a guy named 'Cannon' would become the big-gun-wielding Man Machine?
  • Superheroes Don't Wear Capes: In fact, Nick is surprised when he comes across one who does.
  • Super-Hero Speciation: There's Night Wolf and Night Cat, rarely do they both appear at the same time. This troper would be surprised if one of them doesn't undergo a Face Heel Turn at some point.
  • Superhero Trophy Shelf: As well as awards, the League HQ contains relics from villains, numerous versions of the Rocket Suit and the other assorted plot points not yet defined.
  • Super Serum: Variously called 'Power Elixer', the 'Drink of the Gods' and 'Super Juice', apparently it is no longer addictive and dangerous, but who knows what to believe. Either way, it's turning into a very major plot point.
  • Super Team: Tons of them. The Grand Lake Heroes League isn't even the only one in Michigan.
    • Others include Three, The Elementals and The Defenders.
  • Supervillain Lair: Ranging from the secret area in Man Machine's garage to the sprawling underground deathtrapped palace of Red Lightning.
  • Taught By Experience: The New Heroes League lives by the trope.
  • Technical Pacifist: Nick doesn't like hurting people (an interesting perspective for someone who once 'just punched them until they stopped'), and is always concerned that he's killed those he defeats. Expect real problems when this eventually does happen, despite his belief that he could do it if required.
  • Tempting Fate: Both Cassie and Alex target Syndicate L because they don't allow super-powered members. While including the Rocket in their own plans.
  • True Companions: The New Heroes League grew up together. May also apply to the original team seeing how Rocket get mad when someone shot Night Wolf in 1953
  • Utility Belt: Captain Commando and the Rocket both have well stocked belts, and they both need them, too.
  • Villain Exit Stage Left: Man Machine was famous for these. It wasn't until after Nick defeated him that anyone but Nick's grandfather even knew who he was.
  • We Can Rule Together: Nick's first conversation with Martin Magnus had part of this in it.
  • What Measure Is a Non Super: Superheroes can take out "normals", even well-armed ones. This leads to the normals fighting back in ever-escalating fashion.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: The League gets a chewing out over all their mistakes in The Beginning, the hero giving the lecture even sends them to his website.
    • Nick and Chris give Sean one when he goes overboard protecting them from Jack Maniac by repeatily slamming him against the floor, that his Powered Armor started to come off.
  • Word of God: Because of how the site is up the writer, Jim, can talk to fans and give them hints or plain straight answers about what's going to happen and what has happened.
  • Wouldn't Hit a Girl: There's a great section in The Beginning where the Rocket feels bad about hitting a girl, even though she was firing an AK-47 at him at the time.
  • You Cant Please Everyone: Nick's dad is one of the most vocal opponents of superheroes, but thanks to a mental block he doesn't know Nick is one of them. Yet.

Superpowers exhibited:

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