The Future of Legion of Super Heroes Franchise & The Bendis Problem

[CaptCleghorn]

That could also work. I liked some of the new Academy students in the last Levitz run (Dragonwing, Variable Lad, Glorith and Gravity Kid more than Chemical Kid, but they can't all be hits!). And I was a big fan of some of the older Academy students like Nightwing, Lamprey, Crystal Kid, Laurel Kent, Karate Kid II and Urk.

Just have a few regular appearances by the few (ex) Legionnaires who are actively involved in the Academy (Duplicate Girl, etc.) and it's essentially Legion-adjacent. No need for a huge cast filled with yet another version of the Founders, Brainy, Dream Girl, Ultra Boy, etc.

I get it. I like my founders, but if a change is needed, new cast with a few originals is a time-honored and tested tactic. Look at Trek: TNG, New X-Men, and even Cap's Krazy Quartet in Marvel's Avengers.

[Tugger]

Hell it didn't need to be the next generation. They could have given Bendis a Legion Academy book. He could have all his new characters learning and training to be heroes with the Legion members coming in as teachers.

Love this suggestion.

Titans have an Academy in print, so why not Legion? There are enough great characters mentioned above to make it work and it's not yet another re-reinvention of the wheel.

[kcekada]

I get it. I like my founders, but if a change is needed, new cast with a few originals is a time-honored and tested tactic. Look at Trek: TNG, New X-Men, and even Cap's Krazy Quartet in Marvel's Avengers.

Lightning Lad is one of my favorite Legionnaires, but I do get tired of the founders always being the cornerstone of the reboots. They played significant roles in the Bronze Age, but so did everyone else! With the reboots, they are ALWAYS front and center to the detriment of the other members.

[Thor-Ul]

Lightning Lad is one of my favorite Legionnaires, but I do get tired of the founders always being the cornerstone of the reboots. They played significant roles in the Bronze Age, but so did everyone else! With the reboots, they are ALWAYS front and center to the detriment of the other members.

Well, that the point with reboots, Again the old stories with a new wet paint.

[j9ac9k]

Lightning Lad is one of my favorite Legionnaires, but I do get tired of the founders always being the cornerstone of the reboots. They played significant roles in the Bronze Age, but so did everyone else! With the reboots, they are ALWAYS front and center to the detriment of the other members.

I agree. Just because they founded the team doesn't mean they always have to be at the center of the stories or be the most prominent members. The widely regarded best era of the Legion saw the founders step aside for the most part and allowed other characters to shine and lead the team. They were always "The Founders" and held in high regard. Letting others lead the team wouldn't diminish that. Maybe they're just that popular with the writers...?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

That’s what I would’ve done. Clark’s Legion was the 30th century Legion, Jon’s was their descendants in the 31st.

Bendis's Word Balloon interviews would seem to indicate that this was his original intention. Bendis wanted to set his new LSH in the 32nd Century, so as not to invalidate any of the previous incarnations of the team, regardless of continuity. Presumably, Didio mandated yet another reboot or Bendis changed his mind (which seems unlikely given how adamant he was about respecting the old stories in those interviews)

[upgrayedd]

It always annoyed me that Matter Eater Lad was somewhere in almost every issue but was never seen eating matter

[CaptCleghorn]

It always annoyed me that Matter Eater Lad was somewhere in almost every issue but was never seen eating matter

True power means never having to use it.

[Thor-Ul]

Bendis's Word Balloon interviews would seem to indicate that this was his original intention. Bendis wanted to set his new LSH in the 32nd Century, so as not to invalidate any of the previous incarnations of the team, regardless of continuity. Presumably, Didio mandated yet another reboot or Bendis changed his mind (which seems unlikely given how adamant he was about respecting the old stories in those interviews)

Really? Is that true or it is speculation? I didn't hear that podcast, but there are something than can be a clear explanation or is just an extrapolation from your side?

All I know is in one solicitation (one) there was mention to the 32th century to have a lot of people arguing than that was the original idea and then Bendis talking about there was an explanation for that. But I don't think that was something planned and it was most probably a typo. One of many goof than seemed miscomunication or simply the fact they were improvising along the way: Was the plan also change the race of Lighting lad just after the publication of some issues of Superman #14? Or than Superman knew the Legion in DDC but not in his own title?

I read Bendis X-men, and from then , I learned to bbe warry of his declarations (Or any writer in general. When a writer talks about how they love a character and how importan he is, I think "Oh crap, they are going to kill him or corrupting or something horrible to that character"). He promised a lot (about Matthew Malloy or the big situation with Cyclops at the end of his run) and both were lackusters payoff.

About the Legion, He (Bendis) started talking with this idea of an "Ultimate Legion", and he did, another Legion with his own new continuity, but without history. Bendis is a writer who don't respect even the continuity he himself stablished. Maybe Bendis indeed is not responsible for this reboot, Mark Waid admited he had the Threeboot imposed on him by editorial mandate, so it is very probable than Bendis had to create his reboot under DiDio insistence (the man obssessed with relaunches and Silver Age stagnation) and I'm being unfair to him. Bendis has strenghs as writer, but I don't think Legion was the title for him to showing them.

[Digifiend]

I get it. I like my founders, but if a change is needed, new cast with a few originals is a time-honored and tested tactic. Look at Trek: TNG, New X-Men, and even Cap's Krazy Quartet in Marvel's Avengers.

It was called the KOOKY Quartet.

Bendis's Word Balloon interviews would seem to indicate that this was his original intention. Bendis wanted to set his new LSH in the 32nd Century, so as not to invalidate any of the previous incarnations of the team, regardless of continuity. Presumably, Didio mandated yet another reboot or Bendis changed his mind (which seems unlikely given how adamant he was about respecting the old stories in those interviews)

But weren't the old versions of the Legion set in the 30th century? This series was set in the 31st, it wouldn't have affected the previous versions if he said the current ones were namesake grandchildren of, say, the post-Zero Hour Legion.

[Lee Stone]

But weren't the old versions of the Legion set in the 30th century? This series was set in the 31st, it wouldn't have affected the previous versions if he said the current ones were namesake grandchildren of, say, the post-Zero Hour Legion.

Old Legion, when last published, was entering into the 31st century, I believe.
Of course, there's still a lot of century left after 3012... They could've picked up in the 3060s or the 3070s and just moved the scale from '1000 years in the future' to '1050 years in the future'.
That would probably be too hard to remember, though...

Maybe '2000 years in the future' would be better.
That way they can drop all the conventions of the Legion that writers feel restrained by: the Legion Constitution, United Planets, Science Police, Interlac, Legion Flight Rings, Legion Academy, the planets and races that have been thoroughly defined...

[The Cheat]

It always annoyed me that Matter Eater Lad was somewhere in almost every issue but was never seen eating matter

He was, it just wasn't solid matter

[Thor-Ul]

Maybe '2000 years in the future' would be better.
That way they can drop all the conventions of the Legion that writers feel restrained by: the Legion Constitution, United Planets, Science Police, Interlac, Legion Flight Rings, Legion Academy, the planets and races that have been thoroughly defined...

Reduce the number of members to five, their powers, the fact they are super-heroes, the name of the title...

[mathew101281]

Reduce the number of members to five, their powers, the fact they are super-heroes, the name of the title...

Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the premise? They call it the Legion because their is a bunch of them. It would be like calling it the Green Lantern Corp, but their is only two of them.

[Sutekh]

Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the premise? They call it the Legion because their is a bunch of them. It would be like calling it the Green Lantern Corp, but their is only two of them.

I *think* Thor-Ul was being sarcastic and calling back to those inevitable posters who say that the Legion would totally work if it was set in the modern day, and had a much smaller team, and they didn't have silly names, and *wasn't the Legion at all,* but just another Justice League wannabe.