There's still no indication of when the Legion of Super-heroes will return in the DC Rebirth initiative, But last weekend, I finally caught up with Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes: The Early Years. This is a tpb collection of stories from 2010's Adventure Comics 215-520 just prior to the new 52.
These are twice-told tales, some of which I originally read in of my first giant Legion comics. We see Clark Kent hanging out with his pals in the 30th Century and the post-hypnotic command from Saturn Girl is reinstated when he learns about Doomsday. R.J. Brande's origins are retold and retooled somewhat via his holographic will; the LSH assist with a barn-raising and an attack by Brainiac in Smallville; the Espionage Squad makes its debut and the death of Lightning Lad is retold (and simplified) with a warning to Saturn Girl from Dream Girl.
The whole medallion subplot from Saturn Girl's first term as leader is jettisoned; Supergirl is quietly restored to Legion membership, Mon-El "haunts" Legion hq and we hear of the spires of the Dreaming City of Naltor ( part- Oxford, part- Imryrr). The only things I didn't like were the brief hook-up between Rokk and Imra and Lyle Norg being mistakenly identified as Jacques Foccart (I-Kid II)
It's a charming package, focusing on friendship, flirtation and destiny. It's actually about something, which I felt was the drawback to the new 52 Legion stories (with the annoyingly enigmatic Harmonia and the meaningless deaths of Sun Boy and Star Boy). It was also rather nice to see the LSH in their Sixties uniforms again.
The Bridwell/Bates/Tuska tales of the Legion in Action had ended in 1970- the first series was over. From July '71 to the early months of '72, the Legion was a pretty moribund concept, much like today, existing only in the form of reprints- and very rare original stories - in Superboy. Happily, artist Dave Cockrum's arrival would trigger an upswing in the fortunes of the LSH by 1973.
Matthew E asks what might happen if, on leaving Marvel for DC, Jolly Jack Kirby had taken over the Legion, instead of Jimmy Olsen.
Kirby's affinity for kid gangs ( like the Newsboy Legion or the Dingbats) and his Boy Commandos, plus the casts of Thor and the FF suggest he would be comfortable with a youthful assemblage of nearly two dozen Legionnaires. Weisinger, Siegel and Shooter's wacky 30th Century with its bizarre flora, fauna and rotten eggs ( Sentinel Plants, Camelphants, Starfinger, Computo) seems a fertile environment for the King's DNAliens, Hairies, the Mountain of Judgement and of course, the "tiger-force" that is Darkseid.
The very visual powers of many Legionnaires - Lightning Lad, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy and Princess Projectra- are reminiscent of some of Jack's Marvel heroes. I suspect some Legionnaires wouldn't make the final cut, however- with Superboy as the star, dull Mon-El, superfluous Ultra Boy and strongman/ acrobat Timber Wolf could be out. Star Boy, Cosmic Boy and Invisible Kid are bland; Phantom Girl and Light Lass too passive and ineffectual. Chemical King's power was just too complex for most writers and Matter-Eater Lad a joke.
Might the LSH of 1971 adopt these funky fashions?
I think we would see Brainiac 5, Karate Kid, Saturn Girl, Colossal Boy, Shadow Lass, possibly Element Lad and maybe Dream Girl. I think Bouncing Boy would be highly likely as comic relief. Jack might even have introduced new Legionnaires- maybe even the first black Legionnaire:
I can just picture Big Bear materialising in Legion Plaza on the Super-Cycle with a glamorous female Legionnaire plucked from the pages of Soul Love- maybe Sister Soul?!
Kirby would unleash other villains on the LSH: Mantis, Dr. Bedlam and Kalibak- but ultimately, I think the Legionnaires would confront a Khund army, commanded by Darkseid himself.
We might even see this image a decade early.
I would imagine that, in common with most of the Fourth World titles at DC, Jack's Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes might end after 10 or 11 issues. In that case, the official time-line could resume with the Bates/Cockrum and later Shooter/Grell versions of the Legion of the early -to- mid-70s. I suspect that any Kirby Koncepts in the LSH would be probably mined again later in that decade or in those to come- certainly that's been the case in our own experience. So, it's only an Imaginary Story- but aren't they all?
Coming soon: Earth-One Teen Titans ; Classic Doctors, New Monsters
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