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Author Topic: Legion of Super Heroes - Why can't DC make them work?  (Read 4800 times)
Jeff
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« on: January 30, 2014, 11:08:44 PM »



Ok - I was actually looking for a Legion pic from the 80's but I couldn't resist the one above when it showed up in my google search.   Grin

But seriously,  the Legion of Super Heroes was one of favorite comics of my child hood.  I actually purchased the famous Great Darkness Saga of 1982 as it came out.

So why can't DC bring them back to greatness?  There were great characters on this team; Wildfire, Dawn Starr, Brainiac 5, Element Lad among my favorites.



Anyone have any thoughts?  I miss my Legion!!
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“If I could go back in time and like tell 11 year old me that like not only do you get to go to Comic Con but you go every year.  So much so that you get greeted by Stan Lee when you show up.  And 11 year old me would be like - How did we get so fat?”- Kevin Smith
Perry
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« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2014, 08:12:31 AM »

Not sure how I missed this ...  Cheesy

I, like you, love the Legion. One of those rare DC titles that held my heart for many years, but I honestly believe that they, like many a character or team that can't hold their own title, fail not because of who they are, but because of who they battle.

Quick, name me 5 good villains of the Legion that are not primary villains of other heroes or related to them in some fashion.

Kinda hard. I mean yes, you have foes like Darkseid, Vandal Savage, Mordru and the like ... the "eternity bad guys" and then you have the blood relative or race related bad guys like Lightning Lord, Chameleon Chief, Cosmic King. And of course you have the great Fatal Five (who only work for me when they are a team), but other than that, the pickings are slim. At least as far as I can remember.

Same with most characters that don't have a good villain base. Characters like Moon Knight or teams like the Defenders just have lame ass bad guys. I think the Legion falls into that area as well.

Of course, you could almost claim Darkseid as the Legion villain, because he was an all forgotten character until they brought him back into the DC realm with that bestest of the bestest "Great Darkness Saga" which we (and everyone else  Grin) both love.
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Avatar mash-up is from Ross Pearsall... and of course those that own the original characters Smiley
Jimmy T
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« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2014, 02:54:19 PM »

In a (lame) response, I think the Legion is TOO superhero-y.

It's a Boys & Girls Club of America, all of them wrapped in primary printing color kid themed superhero suits, singing and smiling and laughing as they play heroes.

Editorial at Marvel would laugh at publishing this book. "Well, which one was sexually abused by a father? Which one killed someone when they discovered their powers? Which one is actually a reborn villain?"

***

I am throwing banal generalities out there. I really dig the Legion; they were a favorite of my MOM's when she was a kid, and I got to read some of those as a wee l'il lad.

It just seems that no matter what update DC does to them, they just don't take off and go. I actually really question how good the current crop of titles the last 5 years have been. Suprisiginly, preNew Levitz Legion I was really enjoying. Jim Starlin coming on? Not good.

I even sit here now, and wonder if an 'Avengers World' type theme applied to the Legion would carry the book. I don't know.Sad

All I know is that the final scene from 'Justice' by Alex Ross will never come to pass, where Ross does a 12 issue painted series simply called 'Legion' and we could read one really awesomely classically designed Legion tale. Cheesy
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Jimmy T since 2001
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« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2014, 05:53:10 PM »

I think it's just a sign of the times.

Teen sidekicks are a former generation thing. It was something that the Golden Age and Silver Age crowd grew-up liking. But the modern generation didn't. Sidekicks were something most of us (kids from the 80s and 90s) laughed at as kids. We wanted Batman, not Robin. We wanted Flash, not Kid Flash.

And the Legion is basically a team full of those type of characters. Technically they aren't sidekicks, but they are the same type of teen, happy-go-lucky, colorful characters.
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Perry
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« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2014, 06:16:33 PM »

I can see the thought process there, but I never considered the Legion a side-kick league. However, with most of the names ending in either "boy", "girl" or "lad" I can see where the essence of side-kick'atude would be implied.
 Grin
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Jimmy T
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« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2014, 07:19:38 PM »

Then again, if they started acting like Stormwatch, or Justice League Elite to really draw in the grim'n'gritty crowd, I wouldn't care for it either.

But, as for nostalgia, I DID enjoy Levitz first 2 years on it pre-New. It just had that...feel to it. That it was Legion!
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Jimmy T since 2001
Perry
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« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2014, 07:28:26 PM »

Then again, if they started acting like Stormwatch, or Justice League Elite to really draw in the grim'n'gritty crowd, I wouldn't care for it either.

Very, very true. I don't want/need the Superboy, boy-scout aspect they once modeled their club after, but I am not one to desire ssing Colossal Boy ripping arms off or crushing the skulls of the Science Police into a paste either.  Smiley
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Avatar mash-up is from Ross Pearsall... and of course those that own the original characters Smiley
Jimmy T
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« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2014, 07:39:28 PM »

M-E Lad devouring Mordru's hands as he casts! LOL
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Jimmy T since 2001
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