Why is the Great Darkness Saga Considered So Great?

[Timothy Hunter]

Hey it's Tim here. I have a few questions about the Legion of Superheroes, the Great Darkness Saga arc in particular.

The Legion of Superheroes, despite it's large fanbase, hasn't been a comic book franchise that I am really knowledgeable of. Factors for this may be that the history of the Legion being perceived as continuity heavy and convoluted, lack of information on jumping on points, and my relative disinterest in the science fiction genre as a whole. (outside of 2000 AD, Kurt Vonnegut novels, and a few other outliers.)

From my understanding "The Great Darkness Saga" seems to be the most critically acclaimed and well respected storyline in Legion history. It even was in the top ten of the top 100 comic book storylines of all time posted by CBR a long ways back.

I have checked out and subsequently read the first few issues of "the Great Darkness Saga", and quite frankly I'm not that impressed. To be fair, it's definitely exceptional for it's time. The charictarization is good. Some action sequences are more proficiently handled than typical. There definitely is an early Claremont Uncanny X Men / Wolfman Titans vibe to the whole thing. In spite of all this, it's inaccessabillity overwhelms it's strengths. There definitely is a feeling that this was a story arc meant solely for those who have followed the title for a long time.

Despite my greviences, I will not give up just yet. So I have some questions that if answered might prepare me for the "Great Darkness Saga".

1. What do you think of this story? Is it as good as it is considered to be?

2. Is this the best Legion jumping on point for new readers?

3. If this storyline is not a good jumping on point, tell me what is. I am really only interested in the pre - Zero Hour stories. I am apathetic towards the post Zero Hour and Post Infinite Crisis run

[caj]

I re-read it about once or twice a year. I usually begin a few issues back - usually at #286. It is IMO as great as people say it is. I love the slow build-up and the way it unfolds. Levitz took his time revealing so many clues. The Levitz/Giffen combination has never been matched.

What you need to remember is:

- Readers didn't know who the master of darkness was. It was a mystery. For most of us, we were expecting someone the Legion had already fought before.

- Darkseid wasn't as big of a deal at that point. This story sort of propelled him to greatness and made him bigger than life. Not only had he survived a 1,000 years, but he was able to manhandle the Legion's greatest enemies like the Time Trapper and Mordru.

- Giffen's art was brilliant. No artist had made the 30th century so advanced and futuristic. This was written in 1982. While the computer graphics and technical art seems archaic now, it was cutting edge back then. I spent so much time matching up all those symbols with each Legionnaire. Some were obvious, like Saturn Girl or Ultra Boy. But others were a challenge.

- It's probably known as being the Legion's biggest moment. The mystery kept readers glued for months. Levitz was the master of juggling the large cast and building mysteries.

- Levitz seemed to know what to do with each character. Some members had never been fleshed out very well. Characters like Dream Girl and Blok had no direction until Levitz got ahold of them.

- For the first time in their lives, you got the feeling that the Legionnaires weren't sure they could defeat the Master. It was an epic moment IMO.

[byrd156]

Because it's really awesome and epic.

[caj]

I guess some of the 'magic' of that event could be that it came after several years of very mediocre writing and art on the book. But I still think the story itself is a superior work and holds up well even today.

[Spiderboy12]

I re-read it about once or twice a year. I usually begin a few issues back - usually at #186. It is IMO as great as people say it is. I love the slow build-up and the way it unfolds. Levitz took his time revealing so many clues. The Levitz/Giffen combination has never been matched.

I think you mean #286. Anyway, I agree about the Great Darkness Saga. Perhaps my all-time favorite Legion story, and high on the list of favorite comic book stories still.

[caj]

I think you mean #286.

Yes, I did and it's been fixed. Thanks.

[Jim Kelly]

It's Great because the Great Darkness spreads all over the United Planets--thus a great darkness rather than a lesser darkness.

One might as well start with LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 284, when the Levitz run gets underway (although he co-wrote a couple issues with Roy Thomas before that) and which has Pat Broderick joining him as artist--Keith Giffen comes on board the following issue (in a back-up story). I remember the Broderick art made me sit up and take notice, moreso than Levitz writing.

[CaptCleghorn]

It was big without being artificially epic. Darkseid was used better than than in at least 95% of his appearances since then. I still think about Darkseid making a planet of Daxamites carve the planet into a likeness of his face showing the power of the Daxamites and of Darkseid.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

The Great Darkness Saga is indeed a great story, but it's not a great jumping on point any more than Avengers: Infinity War is a great jumping on point for the MCU.

As for what IS a great jumping on point, that's hard to say, and that might be why the Legion's popularity waned post-Crisis and even two reboots and a retroboot couldn't rekindle things.

To me, the Legion's appeal is not the plethora of amazingly fantastic stories, it's the large cast that can be mixed and matched in different ways keeping stories fresh and relationships evolving.

The classic Legion stories are a product of the Silver and Bronze Ages -- and they read like it. Reading those stories as a kid will fill your imagination with wonder as you pick out your favorite characters, but reading Silver and Bronze Age stuff as an adult will simply not give you the same experience. So, your enjoyment of the Legion might be influenced by how much you like comics from that era in general.

However, DC has recently published a Legion collection that MIGHT be a good starting point. It still begins by plopping you into a grand story right away, but the cast isn't the same size as The Great Darkness Saga that contained pretty much every character who ever appeared in a Legion comic up to that point.

This new collection is called Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 2, and contains Superboy and the Legion Of Super-Heroes #241-258, Legion of Super-Heroes #259, and DC Comics Presents #13-14. Superboy/LSH 241 begins Paul Levitz's first attempt at a Legion epic. It was called "Earthwar," and really shows the potential Levitz would achieve in later years with Great Darkness as his writing became more polished.

You should know that the art was uneven during these years because fan favorite penciler Mike Grell had left over a year prior, and the next fan favorite, Keith Giffen, was still some years from arriving. However, the stories are fun, and this collection, which has one epic plus the "Who Is the Legion Traitor?" story by Jim Starlin plus a bunch of good standard fare is an easier way to get to know the characters and develop some kind of affection for them. Then, you can re-read The Great Darkness Saga once you have become invested in the Legion's canon.

Below is a sample image from page 1 of the Earthwar Saga containing the best of the post-Grell/pre-Giffen artwork. It is drawn by James Sherman and inked by his best inker, Bob McLeod.



Here is a link to buy it at Amazon.com for under $30. At the very least, they let you look through sample pages, so you can get a sense of what you're getting.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 hardcover (472 pages, under $30)
https://www.amazon.com/Superboy-Legi...JC7C6J5HX25QQZ

Here's a link for Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 1 (312 pages) hardcover for under $35. This book reprints the wedding of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl Collectors' Edition tabloid. Reprints SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #234-240, ALL-NEW COLLECTORS’ EDITION C-55 and DC SUPER-STARS #17.

https://www.amazon.com/Superboy-Legi...948W57JV67BFXJ

If you can afford them, these two books are an easier way to familiarize yourself with the Legion and their world.

[LifeIsILL]

There are better Legion stories out there

[CaptCleghorn]

There are better Legion stories out there

Which would you put in that category?

[Jim Kelly]

Unlike Marvel at the time, I think that most DC books were pretty easy to jump into. Yes, there's a lot going on with the Legion, but you don't really need to know that much to pick up an issue and get into the story. Very few of us started with the Legion from day one. And that immersive feeling is part of the charm of the LSH. Like what if you suddenly time-travelled a thousand years into the future--you'd have to figure out a lot of things--and the LSH is a bit like that.

[CaptCleghorn]

Unlike Marvel at the time, I think that most DC books were pretty easy to jump into. Yes, there's a lot going on with the Legion, but you don't really need to know that much to pick up an issue and get into the story. Very few of us started with the Legion from day one. And that immersive feeling is part of the charm of the LSH. Like what if you suddenly time-travelled a thousand years into the future--you'd have to figure out a lot of things--and the LSH is a bit like that.

I got into the Legion just before the Great Darkness Saga and it wasn't tough to realize who was who. It took a couple of issues to get the hang of most of the characters, but it wasn't tough. Now Five Years Later for a new reader I'd imagine would have been a harder task to get to know every character again espcially without the traditional costumes or code names as a means to identify them.

[caj]

I got into the Legion just before the Great Darkness Saga and it wasn't tough to realize who was who. It took a couple of issues to get the hang of most of the characters, but it wasn't tough. Now Five Years Later for a new reader I'd imagine would have been a harder task to get to know every character again espcially without the traditional costumes or code names as a means to identify them.

Same for me. I think I picked up LSH #288 (Legionnaires Made For Burning). Cool cover.

I actually enjoyed the challenge of learning the characters and their powers. Instead of it taking ten or fifteen minutes to read the book, I would spend hours drinking it all in, trying to match those symbols with each hero. Reading the background of each planet and learning some of the Legion history and relationships was fun and exciting.

[Anthony Shaw]

Feel free to avoid any Legion story written by Gerry Conway.