Originally Posted by
kcekada
I wasn't as fond of Levitz's creations as I was of the fan-created characters. I always wondered if that had something to do with great-looking characters such as Nightwind, Lamprey, and Crystal Kid not being inducted into the Legion. I recall Jimenez creating Gravity Kid, I think. His costume was nod to the Cockrum/Grell era -- and he had a relationship with Power Boy, but I don't think even he made it to the Legion proper.
Dragonwing and the other new characters Levitz created didn't seem inspired to me.
That Legion Academy issue, though, did show the scope of the Legion and its potential. I think that mostly got discarded in the Giffen era which seemed to be more limited in scope -- despite being well-written. One thing I did miss when Nightwind and company showed again in Adventure Comics (almost 10 years ago!) was the lack of zip-a-tone used in her costume. The same thing happened after Frank Miller redesigned Black Widow's costume. Eventually, it would just be colored a dull grey.
Levitz's stories in Adventure Comics were more interesting than the ones he told when Legion was relaunched. I don't know if that was due to editorial interference or not, but something was lost from one to the other.