All The Tropes

Legion of Super-Heroes (comics): Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Legion of Super-Heroes (comics) (view source)

Revision as of 19:14, 1 July 2014

499 bytes added ,  9 years ago
Cutting some text (this is still too long) and a post-Infinite-Crisis update
VisualWikitext
m (update links)
(Cutting some text (this is still too long) and a post-Infinite-Crisis update)
Line 4:
The original version of [[Superman]]'s origin had him becoming a superhero when full grown. However, in 1945 DC introduced ''[[Superboy]]'' as an addition to Superman's backstory, [[Retcon|retconning]] in prequels and earlier meetings with DC characters.
 
At the start of the [[Silver Age]], one story, in ''Adventure Comics'' #247 (April, 1958), introduced the "Legion of [[Superhero|Super Heroes]]", a trio of super-powered teenagers from the future who committed many acts of [[Super Dickery]] while initiating Superboy into their club -- [[Secret Test of Character|with the best of intentions]], ''really''. The triogroup became popular enough to be seen again,many asmore Superboy began travelingtimes in time to team up with them, and the other new members they'dguest recruitedappearances.
 
The Legion gradually became more prominent in ''Adventure Comics'' (which at the time was a second Superboy book) and took over as the main feature in "Adventure Comics" with issue #300 (September, 1962), reducing Superboy to supporting character status onin what usedwas topreviously be ''his'' second comic book. They are remembered for their wide-eyed idealism, not to mention corny touches -- their clubhouse was ''designed'' to look like a crashed rocket. [[Bigger on the Inside|How they all fit inside]] was [[A Wizard Did It|never explained]]. However, their series was surprisingly sophisticated for the [[Silver Age]]; with one of the earliest comic book characters [[Killed Off for Real]] in Ferro Lad (and, for that matter, one of the earliest [[Back From the Dead|comic book resurrections]] with Lightning Lad), a trial for a Legionnaire killing in self-defense, and dealing with [[Fantastic Racism]] even before ''[[Star Trek]]'' did.
 
To become a member, you had to demonstrate at least one superpower not dependent on devices. Thus, telepathy, Saturn Girl; electricity powers, Lightning Lad; magnetic powers, Cosmic Boy, and so on. Applicants with [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|ridiculous powers]] (and some members of the Legion proper had pretty ridiculous powers) were consigned to the Legion of Substitute Heroes, who included Chlorophyll Kid (ability to make plants grow really fast), Stone Boy (ability to turn into an inanimate statue), Color Kid (ability to... change the color of things), and Double Header (whose name speaks for itself).
Line 12:
At the end of the [[Silver Age]], the Legion's slot was swapped with [[Supergirl]], leaving Supergirl as star of ''Adventure Comics'' and the Legion as a backup in ''[[Action Comics]]''. After the retirement of editor Mort Weisinger, the Legion was reduced to an occasional backup in ''Superboy''. Dave Cockrum, who would go on to design many members of the Bronze Age incarnation of the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]], became the Legion's regular artist, and started redefining their look. With this, their popularity started to inch upwards again, and eventually, ''Superboy'' became ''Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes''.
 
This incarnation used plenty of the [[Soap Opera]]-style storytelling that was popular in the days of ''X-Men'' and ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]'', but kept on a level of solid yet unexciting sales, even after they booted Superboy out of his own book. This changed in the early '80s, with the Paul Levitz/Keith Giffen Legion. Classic stories like "The Great Darkness Saga" appeared during this run, but it was interrupted halfway through by the ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]''.
 
Since the entire premise of the Legion was centered around Superboy, and Superboy no longer existed in the [[Post-Crisis]] universe, the history and continuity of the series didn't work any more. DC's initial patch was to say that, during the Crisis, one of the Legion's foes, the Time Trapper, had created a pocket dimension containing an Earth where there waswith a Superboy. However, this issue kept coming up over time, with more and more patches needed just to keepfix things together.
 
Eventually, Keith Giffen took over the book, along with [[Running the Asylum|fans-turned-writers]] Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and the series ''really'' jumped into the [[Dark Age]] with the "Five Years Later" [[Time Skip]]. Earth is ruled by alien invaders. One character was [[Retcon|retconned]] into an [[Applied Phlebotinum]] [[transsexual]], and another into a shapeshifter who only ''thought'' he was the character. The Legion are [[Cloning Blues|actually clones]] -- unless the other, younger Legion (Batch SW6) that were discovered in [[People Jars]] are the clones, as one might think at first. The moon was destroyed, [[Earthshattering Kaboom|followed by the Earth itself]].
 
Eventually, a combination of [[Continuity Snarl|continuity issues]] and low sales brought DC to the point where they said "screw it" and decided to rebootrebooted the series altogether. In 1995, as part of the ''Zero Hour'' [[Crisis Crossover]], [[Mark Waid]] and Tom McCraw wrote the first issue of an all-new all-different Legion. Some of the sillier characters were pruned, and others were introduced to fill the gaps. This incarnation of the Legion was a youth corps run by [[The Federation]], which was just forming as the series began, to symbolize its member worlds and species working together. (Although they were frequently dismissed as either a publicity stunt or a "teenage death squad".) This version sidestepped the Superboy issue by being inspired by the 20th century's age of heroes in general (although the Post-Crisis Superboy did become a member). The new version attempted to [[Adaptation Distillation|distill]] all of the Legion's history to date, while adding its own twists -- some of which [[Fanon Discontinuity|didn't work that well]] ({{spoiler|Sneckie}}) Still, this version lasted until 2004 with a few writer changes and [[Retool|ReTools]]; then, they were wiped out (or at least [[Put on a Bus|detached from the main line of DCU history]]) during the build up to the ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'' [[Crisis Crossover]], and replaced with a third version -- the "threeboot" Legion.
 
This version, ''also'' introduced by Mark Waid, brought back many of the more idealistic elements, including the [[Something Person]] names, while going for a more complex universe. In this incarnation, the Legion are firebrands and muckrakers in a future where those under 18 are almost entirely controlled by their parents and a paternalistic government; although only a chosen few are given flight rings (which are ridiculously expensive), anyone who follows their ideals is considered a Legionnaire. It also added twists to many of the characters; for instance, in this version, Colossal Boy is a member of a race of giants whose super-power is to shrink to six feet tall. (He prefers to be called Micro Lad.) Their inspiration this time is legends of superheroics as preserved in old comic books. [[Supergirl]] joined up about a year and a half into the series, having apparently made the trip during the "One Year Gap" in her own title (all DC books jumped forward a year after ''Infinite Crisis''), and been given [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]] before she was sent back. On the other hand, the [[Strawman Political]] aspects ("Eat it, Grandpa!") wore thin for some readers. This version lasted until 2009, when, despite fan favorite [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|Jim Shooter]] taking over writing duties, it was unceremoniously cancelled with a rushed final issue written by "[[Alan Smithee|Justin Thyme]]".
 
Recent storiesStories post-''Infinite Crisis'' have reintroduced [[The Multiverse]] and restored the ''original'' Legion, including Superman's past with them but diverging before "Five Years Later". This version first (re)appeared in the "Lightning Saga" [[Bat Family Crossover]] between ''[[Justice League of America]]'' and ''[[Justice Society of America]]'' and is the one currently appearing in DC Comics. As part of ''[[Final Crisis]]'', Geoff Johns wrote a miniseries called "The Legion of Three Worlds" which dealt with all three versions (original, Zero Hour, and threeboot) of the Legion.
 
The series was then revived with fan-favorite writer Paul Levitz, but is generally considered not to have achieved the heights it did in his earlier days. The New 52 was no help either; the Legion was one of the few series that didn't receive a complete reboot for the New 52, but changes to Superman, along with Executive Meddling (the Legion's spinoff series ''Legion Lost'' switched writers a few issues in and had a crossover with the DCU in issue 9) caused problems. It finally was cancelled with the August 2013 issue, after 55 years with only brief periods without new stories.
 
From 2006 to 2008, an [[Animated Adaptation]] came along, [[Pragmatic Adaptation|taking the most iconic versions]] of all involved (but taking even more inspiration from the [[DCAU]], despite, judging by Brainiac 5's [[Robot Buddy|being an android]], not being in continuity with it.) [[Legion of Super-Heroes (TV series)|See Here for that series.]]
Line 59 ⟶ 61:
* ''Adventure Comics'' (2009-2011)
* ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (volume 6) (2010-2011)
* ''Legion Lost'' (volume 2) (2011-2013)
* ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (volume 7) (2011-2013) (finally cancelled in 2013, after entering the New 52 without many continuity changes)
----
Line 129 ⟶ 131:
* [[Compelling Voice]]: Both Universo and Saturn Queen.
* [[Continuity Reboot]]: Twice, meant to untangle [[Continuity Snarl|Continuity Snarls]] -- but they created a [[Broken Base]] as a byproduct.
* [[Continuity Snarl]]: And how. Several different versions of the team, changes to the DCU constantly affecting it, and retcons to the point where nobody can keep track. This was even lampshaded in an issue of ''[[DC Universe: Legacies]]'' where many different versions of the Legion try to visit Superboy all at the same time.
* [[Continuity Snarl]]: And how.
* [[Cosmic Retcon]]: A lot. Most of the time, major changes to LSH continuity are explained on panel. The first such example was the brief "Mordruverse" story arc early on in the Giffen/Bierbaum run: {{spoiler|Mon-El kills the Time Trapper, eliminating his influence on the timeline and erasing the Legion from existence. In the apocalyptic [[Crapsack World]] that results, the universe is ruled by evil sorcerer Mordru, and Glorith, one of his brides, strikes a deal with the resistance and agrees to be sacrificed to take the place of the Time Trapper and the universe is restored... with some key differences}}. The post-''Zero Hour'' reboot gets similar treatment, as does the Mark Waid-penned threeboot.
* [[Crapsack World]]
Arromdee
186

edits

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1040281"