Hey, guys. I'm thinking of picking up the 5 Years Later Legion run. Is it okay to go in without reading the Paul Levitz run?
Hey, guys. I'm thinking of picking up the 5 Years Later Legion run. Is it okay to go in without reading the Paul Levitz run?
Cyclops was right
Erm.
What kind of comics do you like, otherwise? Are you at all familiar with the characters? Do you feel like you pick things up quickly, without much exposition? Do you want more typical superhero stories and more straightforward narratives, or are you in the market for something a little experimental?
One of the huge things here; this is my personal favorite era of the Legion, but it's dense and they don't really do superhero costumes and codenames, so it can be a challenge for some.
I love the Legion, so far have read the entire DnA run. I like complex history. I'm very interested in the premise. I also want to read more Matter-Eater Lad.
Cyclops was right
Then dive in, I say. You should know enough about the characters (namely, their real names!) to make sense of what is going on. Some stuff might be lost on you, but nothing significant, and you can always go back and re-read it! You're in for a great time.
Like Deniz Camp mentioned, the 5YL Legion is really continuity driven and requires a thorough understanding of the Legion's history and it's characters. However, if you are willing to look things up that you don't understand, it can be a really fun read, though there is a serious drop off in quality around issue 13.
Also, read the Magic Wars storyline just prior to the start of the 5YL period as a good way to get the full story. It's Levitz's last arc during his original run and it provides the exposition you would need to get into Giffen's run.
P.S. One of my all time favorite comics is the last issue of the 5YL run, #61. It's great and I highly reccomend it.
Last edited by Pharozonk; 03-23-2015 at 11:17 AM.
"In any time, there will always be a need for heroes." - the Time Trapper, Legion of Superheroes #61(1994)
"What can I say? I guess I outgrew maturity.." - Bob Chipman
My first exposure to the Legion outside of event comics was the DnA series, and I had no trouble getting into the 5YG. The 5YG Legion is my favorite incarnation of the Legion, mostly because I enjoyed the sophisticated storytelling.
The Mighty God King talks about it a little bit; maybe this will help you decide http://mightygodking.com/2013/05/21/...the-v4-legion/
(the questioner references something of mine, making this a weird sort of self referential ouroboros loop)
That's about when the wheels came off, yeah. It became increasingly gimmicky; look, Element Lad is back! No, it's Garth in Element Lad's body! Death! Resurrection! An attempt to capitalize on the Legion's most popular story (Great Darkness Saga)! The move with Kinetix, and then...nothing. Wildfire just...gone (Keith Champagne ultimately had to figure that one out, as I recall).
They were flailing, and it was obvious. And then it became their definitive 'schtick' when they moved over to Marvel and started doing the Guardians book, where they CONSTANTLY killed off characters for shock value, only to resurrect them a 3-10 issues later. It's weak storytelling.
Love Legion Lost and Legion Worlds. Thought most of volume 3 a little moribund, honestly.
And thanks!
I thought the DnA Legion run was great up until about issue 16 of The Legion. After that it fell off quickly.
As for the 5 Year Latter run it is one of the best. It was very ahead of its time in story and tone and was almost for lack of a better word a "vertigo" like take on the Legion. Much more mature in tone than most of what was going on in at the time. Issues 1-38 are a must have and even issues 39-50 or good for the most part. The last year of that run was bad though. Like really and trully just some of the weakest Legion stories ever. I agree that it would not hurt to get the Magic Wars story (Legion of Super Heroes 60-63 of the Levitz run) so you really have a better idea what caused the Legion to be in the shape it is when the 5 Years Latter starts.
I like "The Magic Wars", but I don't think it informs very much of the Giffen 5YG. The dissolution of the Legion had more to do with the internal politics of the United Planets, something that's really fleshed out in the text pieces throughout the first year. Part of the beauty of the start of the 5YG wasn't that an external threat or catastrophe lead to the universe being in the shape it was in, but an internal threat that everyone largely overlooked until it was too late. That lead to things like the war between Braal and Imsk, the breakdown of universal trade, the black market that Jo and Kono were a part of, the strange bedfellows that made up Earth's resistance, etc. I always felt that the release of Roxxas was the party responsible for the "state of the universe" overplaying their hand, and if they had not done that, they probably wouldn't have been caught. Maybe I'm missing some of the links between the two volumes.
The "Magic Wars" seems to inform a lot more after Giffen leaves in the build-up to issue 50.
The Magic Wars explained the sudden and catastrophic dissolution of the United Planets by giving us a spark; the breakdown of the modern technology on which the future was run.
You're right that further revelations make it clear that there had long been a sickness growing from within the United Planets, orchestrated by...forces (I don't want to ruin anything) and by the wasteful ignorance of UP's policies (particularly the realization that the weather control machines used almost UP wide were, in point of fact, terribly destructive to the planets in question) but Magic Wars is the spark that ignites the fire.
(Further, you're dead on the money about Roxxas as well; they'd likely have continued successfully without that misstep).
I read the first couple issues when it came out then dropped it. When issue 11 came out I read 1-11 in a day and was hooked for life. It is far and away my favorite era of the Legion. Giffen really is a master story teller. I would love a couple omni of the run.
That was one of the best things to me was the way Giffen told the story. Issues 1-38 really were just one long story line. It would have a main story going but every issue there was subplots all building up to the Terra Mosaic storyline. You never even realize it until you do read a bunch of issue in a row and see all the little things he had been dropping in all along.
I read this run without having read any of Levitz's run. Actually, at the time, I hadn't read any Legion stories outside of a few issues here and there. I had no problem following the title at all. It's my absolute favourite run on Legion up to issue 40.
I'd also recommend the first 10 or so issues of Legionnaires.