Why is the Legion of Superheroes such a hard sell?

[Robanker]

A whole host of characters in a setting disconnected from most of what DC usually trades in. Traditionally, the only connection is Superman, and DC isn't doing what they can to make him popular to a new generation so a tertiary brand associated with him isn't getting a big starpower boost.

A massive roster of characters that rivals the X-Men in some of the latter's incarnations, but all contained in only one book. Tons of interpersonal history and complicated origins. This is refreshing to some, a curse to others.

They're mostly all aliens. If SUPERMAN is too alien for some, hoo boy, the Legion is as far out as it gets. This is refreshing to some, a curse to others.

They're inherently a little silly. Matter Eater Lad. He either rules or you hate him, and a lot have similar premises. This is refreshing to some, a curse to others.

Nothing that happens in that book gets influenced or influences anything else. In an era where readers have been conditioned to follow the inertia of events, it's always left by the wayside. This is refreshing to some, a curse to others.

There are lots of reboots which provide hard beginnings and endings for each version. This is refreshing to some, a curse to others.

Seeing the pattern? It's not a traditional superhero comic as they've morphed into in ways that make it easily acceptable. Hell, it USED to be the last bastion of absence from Batman until we got Planet Gotham. Thanks, Bendis. :P

[bearman]

They need more Matter Eater Lad.
For me, some of the appeal was that everyone had something to offer, and goofy powers could still be written as effective on occasion. I applaud the need for diversity, but rebooting the Legion into strangers is not helpful. I’m of record for loving the 5 year later series... my favorite run, that Caj featured so well here...so I’m not purely driven by nostalgia. Ideas, execution, appealing characters...so hit and miss, now.
I am not fully conversant with Jon Kent’s current storyline, but if he is a 12 year old artificially aged up, he is in over his head.
And Robanker,, Matter Eater Lad RULES.

[Riv86672]

They need more Matter Eater Lad.
For me, some of the appeal was that everyone had something to offer, and goofy powers could still be written as effective on occasion. I applaud the need for diversity, but rebooting the Legion into strangers is not helpful. I’m of record for loving the 5 year later series... my favorite run, that Caj featured so well here...so I’m not purely driven by nostalgia. Ideas, execution, appealing characters...so hit and miss, now.
I am not fully conversant with Jon Kent’s current storyline, but if he is a 12 year old artificially aged up, he is in over his head.
And Robanker,, Matter Eater Lad RULES.

Matter Eater Lad would def. be one of the guys I’d pick for a team, no matter the size.

[CaptCleghorn]

This is refreshing to some, a curse to others.

I think this is a fit description. Legion, as it has been going, is polarizing. The "love it or hate it" aspects are just that. That doesn't lead to wide-spread attraction, just some very hardcore fans and some "meh"s at best. Why was the Levitz/Giffen run in the eighties so popular and why has that success never been repeated since? The universal storylines weren't there in the eighties. Books could and did stand on their own without tying into everything else. The superhero comic changed and Legion was unable to change with it.

[the COMET]

"Ok. Let's see which was the most popular Legion story of the past. It was one where a character died. I know! Let's write a story where a character dies, they seem to like that" - modern Legion Editor/Writer

[Robotman]

For new fans it may be a lot of the reasons already stated. The huge team roster, no connection to the “present” continuity, etc. For older fans like myself, the reboots definitely kills a lot of my excitement for a new LoS book. So damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

[Lee Stone]

I think it's more about the reader's own perceptions.
Batman's been around since 1940 and has been rebooted less times than the Legion, but people don't complain about not knowing where to start, or 'do I need to read every Batman comic since 1940?'

X-Men has had just as many, if not more, characters than Legion. And new readers are always finding new entry-points into their books. Without rebooting, I might add.
They even have their own version of Interlac now.

I agree that the reboots are not helping the franchise. If you want a writer to take the team into new directions, fine. Just pick up where the last writer left off and go with it.
Rebooting just adds stopping points and splinters the fan-base.

[Robotman]

I was really sad that DC squandered Johns and Frank’s LoS work. They did a great job of revamping the classic team. Superman and the Legion of Superheroes is one of my favorite comics and was a great jumping on point for new readers. It gave the LoS a pretty relevant mission statement. Some of the best comics take relatable issues and present them in a larger than life sci fi setting (basically the Marvel Silver Age). Having the Legion as a team of alien immigrants (like Superman) trying to overcome their differences and unit to fight against bigotry and xenophobia was a good angle. Obviously it doesn’t have to be that every story. Not every X Men comic dealt with anti-mutant bigotry. Sometimes they just fought bad guys.

[Korath]

I think it's more about the reader's own perceptions.
Batman's been around since 1940 and has been rebooted less times than the Legion, but people don't complain about not knowing where to start, or 'do I need to read every Batman comic since 1940?'

X-Men has had just as many, if not more, characters than Legion. And new readers are always finding new entry-points into their books. Without rebooting, I might add.
They even have their own version of Interlac now.

I agree that the reboots are not helping the franchise. If you want a writer to take the team into new directions, fine. Just pick up where the last writer left off and go with it.
Rebooting just adds stopping points and splinters the fan-base.

That's an unfair comparison. Batman's origin are crystal clear and very basic : a rich got got his parents killed in an alley and vowed to fight crime. That's it.

The Legion is in the far future, with its most popular takes offering a very (out)dated vision of what said future would be, with horrible costumes (I really either dislike or am in a sort of guilty pleasure when I look at old Legion's costumes) and its has obnoxious fans, even more so than other old comic series.

And they are tied to Superman, who, lets face it, isn't resonating too much with the modern world either.

[Robanker]

That's an unfair comparison. Batman's origin are crystal clear and very basic : a rich got got his parents killed in an alley and vowed to fight crime. That's it.

The Legion is in the far future, with its most popular takes offering a very (out)dated vision of what said future would be, with horrible costumes (I really either dislike or am in a sort of guilty pleasure when I look at old Legion's costumes) and its has obnoxious fans, even more so than other old comic series.

And they are tied to Superman, who, lets face it, isn't resonating too much with the modern world either.

Not to mention that Batman is one guy, two if we're counting Alfred. The Legion is a conglomerate of, what, thirty people? All with unique origins, personalities and motivations.

It's not the same.

[Korath]

Not to mention that Batman is one guy, two if we're counting Alfred. The Legion is a conglomerate of, what, thirty people? All with unique origins, personalities and motivations.

It's not the same.

Yes, in today's world a tertiary franchise like the LoSH probably can't sustain such a large group. But a small group couldn't be a Legion of course.

[Robanker]

Yes, in today's world a tertiary franchise like the LoSH probably can't sustain such a large group. But a small group couldn't be a Legion of course.

It's tragic, but for Legion to survive, it has to develop stars and follow them like protagonists. Superboy or Supergirl work. The founding trio work. But they probably have to give up on the fully rotating cast. The rest should stay on the team, but I don't know if a classic Legion take can ru function anymore.

I hate that because I love the Legion, but it doesn't seem currently viable if I'm being honest. Would love to be wrong.

[SpiderTBliss]

Apparition is a cooler name then Phantom Lass

Phantom Lass is an awesome name. So much better than a generic "Apparition" in my opinion.

[Overhazard]

The bloated, all over the place continuity can be intimidating, or too difficult for new readers, though that's never been a problem for the x-men. Personally it doesn't bother me, half the fun of comics is diving in headfirst backwards and figuring it out for yourself. Some would find the codenames and costumes outdated, I never saw a problem with them, but I understand it.

I guess Bendis was a fan and wanted to write them, but the legion does not cater to his strengths at all.

[Korath]

The bloated, all over the place continuity can be intimidating, or too difficult for new readers, though that's never been a problem for the x-men. Personally it doesn't bother me, half the fun of comics is diving in headfirst backwards and figuring it out for yourself. Some would find the codenames and costumes outdated, I never saw a problem with them, but I understand it.

I guess Bendis was a fan and wanted to write them, but the legion does not cater to his strengths at all.

The X-Men have who knows how many books, they are strong enough to support a whole franchise, really. Most people only know about the core X-Men probably and if they want to read just them, they have often at least one book for them, and others where they can branch off. And they are contemporary. It's definitively a strength, especially since the world of entertainment seems to have largely left behind it the era of the unconnected episodes, even for freaking movies ! It means that what happens to the X-Men has to be acknowledged at least a little in other books.

Meanwhile, if in LOSH a planet is destroyed... big deal, 99% of DC's books will not care at all.