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  1. #1
    Mighty Member ducklord's Avatar
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    Default My Silly Idea: Legion of Super-Heroes, Generation II

    Wild thought of the day. I was contemplating all the sturm und drang of the Bendis reboot of the Legion, and all of the Legion reboots and deboots that have come before, and I got to wondering - why hasn't DC ever just done a full-on time jump to the next generation of Legionnaires?

    The benefits seem obvious:
    1. You can keep the continuity of the original, now much older, Legionnaires intact (perhaps shuttling most of them off to a neighboring galaxy for some reason).
    2. You can introduce newer, interesting characters to your heart's content.
    3. You can have goofy and wonderful teenage Legion kids!

    Okay, mostly this was an excuse to come up with Legion kids, including:
    Wildstar - the daughter of Wildfire and Dawnstar (obvious)
    Ghostdragon - the son of Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl
    Sparkler - the daughter of Lightning Las and Vi
    Validus - Canonical son of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl
    Nightpole - Daughter of Cosmic Boy and Night Girl
    Shadowvalor - Son of Mon-El and Shadow Lass
    Multiball - Daughter of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel

    Some of those names suck, and need to be improved. And I still don't know what the kids of, say, Star Boy and Dream Girl should be called. Thoughts?

  2. #2
    insulin4all CaptCleghorn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ducklord View Post
    Wild thought of the day. I was contemplating all the sturm und drang of the Bendis reboot of the Legion, and all of the Legion reboots and deboots that have come before, and I got to wondering - why hasn't DC ever just done a full-on time jump to the next generation of Legionnaires?

    The benefits seem obvious:
    1. You can keep the continuity of the original, now much older, Legionnaires intact (perhaps shuttling most of them off to a neighboring galaxy for some reason).
    2. You can introduce newer, interesting characters to your heart's content.
    3. You can have goofy and wonderful teenage Legion kids!

    Okay, mostly this was an excuse to come up with Legion kids, including:
    Wildstar - the daughter of Wildfire and Dawnstar (obvious)
    Ghostdragon - the son of Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl
    Sparkler - the daughter of Lightning Las and Vi
    Validus - Canonical son of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl
    Nightpole - Daughter of Cosmic Boy and Night Girl
    Shadowvalor - Son of Mon-El and Shadow Lass
    Multiball - Daughter of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel

    Some of those names suck, and need to be improved. And I still don't know what the kids of, say, Star Boy and Dream Girl should be called. Thoughts?
    Everything I was going to comment on and say "well, what about" has been covered in your three benefits.

    A LSH-TNG does have what you said. Code (and actual) names are details to be haggled out. I'd like to see what given non-hero code names would be used as some old-time LSH fans would be interested in seeing what Legionnaires would name their kids. I feel the need for new characters is important as just having current (and long time as well) Legionnaires ignores the LSH as a group that wasn't just heroes from Adventure Comics but a group which grew, expanded, and changed. Even decades later, we hopefully would see new characters.

    Plus we old time fans might get fixated on our faves so finding a way to put the OG on the shelf for a while would help develop this as a new concept.
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  3. #3
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    Not a bad idea.

    But I would still prefer a continuation of the Levitz Bronze Age Legion. Surely there's a great writer that could do justice to that.

    But your idea sounds fun.

  4. #4
    Ultimate Member j9ac9k's Avatar
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    A lot of people speculated that the Bendis Legion might've been the "Next Gen" when the images first surfaced. It's not a terrible idea, but introducing a Legion of (mostly) new characters would be challenging. With most things, it would come down to the execution. Personally, I'm more inclined to be into it since my favorite is Wildfire and he's immortal, so there's a good chance he'd be one of the few old guard to stick around.

    Quote Originally Posted by ducklord View Post
    Wildstar - the daughter of Wildfire and Dawnstar (obvious)
    There was a Wildstar in the 21st Century in Vril Dox's L.E.G.I.O.N.- what ever happened to her?
    Last edited by j9ac9k; 10-26-2021 at 07:21 PM.

  5. #5
    insulin4all CaptCleghorn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by j9ac9k View Post
    A lot of people speculated that the Bendis Legion might've been the "Next Gen" when the images first surfaced. It's not a terrible idea, but introducing a Legion of (mostly) new characters would be challenging. With most things, it would come down to the execution. Personally, I'm more inclined to be into it since my favorite is Wildfire and he's immortal, so there's a good chance he'd be one of the few old guard to stick around.
    This makes the presence of some first generation members so important. It's Legion. Many of the challenges the concept faces are its separation from the main DC Universe and as a result, a lack of familiar characters. Replacing a whole cast under these circumstances would be difficult. But we're really NOT doing it, just talking about it.
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  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by ducklord View Post
    Wild thought of the day. I was contemplating all the sturm und drang of the Bendis reboot of the Legion, and all of the Legion reboots and deboots that have come before, and I got to wondering - why hasn't DC ever just done a full-on time jump to the next generation of Legionnaires?

    The benefits seem obvious:
    1. You can keep the continuity of the original, now much older, Legionnaires intact (perhaps shuttling most of them off to a neighboring galaxy for some reason).
    2. You can introduce newer, interesting characters to your heart's content.
    3. You can have goofy and wonderful teenage Legion kids!

    Okay, mostly this was an excuse to come up with Legion kids, including:
    Wildstar - the daughter of Wildfire and Dawnstar (obvious)
    Ghostdragon - the son of Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl
    Sparkler - the daughter of Lightning Las and Vi
    Validus - Canonical son of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl
    Nightpole - Daughter of Cosmic Boy and Night Girl
    Shadowvalor - Son of Mon-El and Shadow Lass
    Multiball - Daughter of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel

    Some of those names suck, and need to be improved. And I still don't know what the kids of, say, Star Boy and Dream Girl should be called. Thoughts?
    My view is that it's a big universe out there, so such a group should be made up of not just descendants of "current" Legionnaires, but of brand new characters. Personally, I'd just prefer a new rendition of the Legion. I agree with caj that a continuation of the Levitz run from the 1980s (it was the 1980s, right?) would be ideal.
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  7. #7
    Astonishing Member Timothy Hunter's Avatar
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    Have a prestablished name like Barry Allen or Booster Gold be the mentor of the group.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by ducklord View Post
    Wild thought of the day. I was contemplating all the sturm und drang of the Bendis reboot of the Legion, and all of the Legion reboots and deboots that have come before, and I got to wondering - why hasn't DC ever just done a full-on time jump to the next generation of Legionnaires?

    The benefits seem obvious:
    1. You can keep the continuity of the original, now much older, Legionnaires intact (perhaps shuttling most of them off to a neighboring galaxy for some reason).
    2. You can introduce newer, interesting characters to your heart's content.
    3. You can have goofy and wonderful teenage Legion kids!

    Okay, mostly this was an excuse to come up with Legion kids, including:
    Wildstar - the daughter of Wildfire and Dawnstar (obvious)
    Ghostdragon - the son of Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl
    Sparkler - the daughter of Lightning Las and Vi
    Validus - Canonical son of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl
    Nightpole - Daughter of Cosmic Boy and Night Girl
    Shadowvalor - Son of Mon-El and Shadow Lass
    Multiball - Daughter of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel

    Some of those names suck, and need to be improved. And I still don't know what the kids of, say, Star Boy and Dream Girl should be called. Thoughts?
    Basically a Legion of Super-sons than others had proposed before and I said I would approve. Some of the names needs work, in my opinion and I would add certain charactes to add mystery to the cast, like XTC, the mysterious superpowerfull daughter of Brainiac 5 and.. who?

    Quote Originally Posted by caj View Post
    Not a bad idea.

    But I would still prefer a continuation of the Levitz Bronze Age Legion. Surely there's a great writer that could do justice to that.

    But your idea sounds fun.
    It does. But why not include a series about the secret years of the legion to serve as a bridge between the levitz era and this new take?
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  9. #9
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    I've been advancing this idea for literally decades. I have notebooks and sketchbooks full of my ideas on what characters, how they would look, their powers and their codenames.

    One thing to note is Garth and Imra had twins. Actually two sets of twins--first Garridan (Validus) and Graym and then Dacey and Dorrit. My fan fiction had Garridan and Graym as the two foundational characters, but each on their own quest before joining forces.

    In my head, I figured that if you did this series first, with a few of the old Legionnaires making appearances, you could then fill in the gaps later. But actually the point is to put the story far enough beyond the gnarl of continuity retcons and reboots, to avoid all that mess.

    Later on--if the next generation could build up a following--then the knotted continuity would be dealt with. I would favour saying that there was a continuity war that left the timeline screwed-up beyond all repair and a no-go zone for time travel. So now some people remember the past one way and others another way--but there's no way to know who is right and who is wrong--the past is multiple choice.

  10. #10
    Ultimate Member j9ac9k's Avatar
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    I think there are two ways to approach the idea of a future future Legion:
    - The Next Gen where you do have some children of Legionnaires and a few original members still kicking around, but retired.
    - Take it a thousand years in the future. Have the original Legion be the inspiration for this team like how Superman inspired them and explore the legacy of the Legion. Bring one or two members of the original into it, the way the original brought in Superboy and Supergirl as our viewpoint characters and for them to react to how the Legion has influenced the universe.

    The main difference being whether or not DC would want to continue with the original members. If DC wanted to retire the originals, then sure - go with the Next Gen. Otherwise you can jump a thousand years and not interfere with the current team and only have a couple tangential connections, the way LEGION had just a few nods to the LSH.

  11. #11
    Mighty Member ducklord's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    I've been advancing this idea for literally decades. I have notebooks and sketchbooks full of my ideas on what characters, how they would look, their powers and their codenames.

    One thing to note is Garth and Imra had twins. Actually two sets of twins--first Garridan (Validus) and Graym and then Dacey and Dorrit. My fan fiction had Garridan and Graym as the two foundational characters, but each on their own quest before joining forces.

    In my head, I figured that if you did this series first, with a few of the old Legionnaires making appearances, you could then fill in the gaps later. But actually the point is to put the story far enough beyond the gnarl of continuity retcons and reboots, to avoid all that mess.

    Later on--if the next generation could build up a following--then the knotted continuity would be dealt with. I would favour saying that there was a continuity war that left the timeline screwed-up beyond all repair and a no-go zone for time travel. So now some people remember the past one way and others another way--but there's no way to know who is right and who is wrong--the past is multiple choice.
    I kind of figured that it wasn't an *original* idea

    My personal feeling is that an LSH: TNG would be 95% a continuation of the Bronze Age Legion, with dollops of other continuities dropped in for funsies (like Vice-President Tyroc!). The new Legion would have a handful of Legion brats in the group, but would mostly be comprised of original characters. Critically, the founders of the new group would need to be an even mix of Legion kids and new characters (from new planets!), kind of like the New Teen Titans back in the 80's.

    Given that most of the original Legion would still be around in some fashion, care would need to be taken to properly position them as elder statesmen across the galaxy (and beyond), mostly retired from the business of gallivanting all over the place in search of adventure (get it?). The one thing you can't do with this group is having them constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering when their 40something 'rents are going to swoop in to show them how it's done.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by j9ac9k View Post
    I think there are two ways to approach the idea of a future future Legion:
    - The Next Gen where you do have some children of Legionnaires and a few original members still kicking around, but retired.
    - Take it a thousand years in the future. Have the original Legion be the inspiration for this team like how Superman inspired them and explore the legacy of the Legion. Bring one or two members of the original into it, the way the original brought in Superboy and Supergirl as our viewpoint characters and for them to react to how the Legion has influenced the universe.

    The main difference being whether or not DC would want to continue with the original members. If DC wanted to retire the originals, then sure - go with the Next Gen. Otherwise you can jump a thousand years and not interfere with the current team and only have a couple tangential connections, the way LEGION had just a few nods to the LSH.
    I believe this was the idea behind Grant Morrison's One Million (or one of the ideas). But there he set it so far ahead in time that he felt safe to do whatever he wanted with the characters, without having to worry about present continuity. He even had a Legion of Super-Familiars.

    But his 853rd century is probably undermined by all the things going on in the current continuity.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by ducklord View Post
    Given that most of the original Legion would still be around in some fashion, care would need to be taken to properly position them as elder statesmen across the galaxy (and beyond), mostly retired from the business of gallivanting all over the place in search of adventure (get it?). The one thing you can't do with this group is having them constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering when their 40something 'rents are going to swoop in to show them how it's done.
    Levitz seemed to be positioning many of the 'elder statemen' to indeed move into various roles in government or on their homeworlds, which would have lent very well to the idea of transitioning them out and bringing in new blood, whether legacies or children or just brand-new characters.

    Dream Girl, already foreseen to be the next High Seer of Naltor. Chameleon Boy, heir to RJ Brande. Phantom Girl, mom was the UP President, positioned to go into politics. Shadow Lass, Shadow Champion of Talokk VIII. Star Boy, planetary champion of Xanthu. Ultra Boy and Brainiac 5 both have unresolved issues with their homeworlds, both in need of some better leadership that they could provide. Cpsmic Boy has been foreshadowed to join Chuck and Lu as a headmaster of the Legion Academy (having even led his own sub-team of Academy students, at one point). Someday, Sun Boy is gonna inherit control of a major fusion generator company. Etc.

    Even back in the 80s, soft landings were being written for many or most of the 'old guard,' to clear the way for new characters like Karate Kid II/Myg, Comet Queen and Tellus, revamped older characters like Tyroc, or totally new characters introduced much later like Dragonwing, Glorith, Chemical Kid, etc.

    IMO, a faithful continuation of what Levitz was doing, even since the '80s, would begin phasing out the oldest members gradually, or, leap forwards five years and occasionally visit a world like Naltor or Talokk VIII and get to see some familiar faces, in very new roles, but no longer as active Legionnaires.

  14. #14
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    The hook for me as a reader was following the Legion as they progressed and changed. I was even on board for the five year gap, because it promised to show what happened next--but that was thrown out the window by issue 5, because their timeline changed, so it wasn't really about the same Legion (and the Legion's continuity had already been undermined by the removal of Superboy and Supergirl).

    So leaping ahead too far in time would not work for me. I'm fine with a next generation, because there would still be a connection with the original team--but pushing too far ahead in time would deprive me of all the things I want.

  15. #15
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    I think the idea of the Adult Legion back in the day was always in the back of your mind with the current Legion.
    The idea that eventually it would change, become something different. You couldn't count on the members
    being there many years in the future. It created a dose of reality that often is missing from comics. I know that
    many around here don't care for the romances, but to me the idea of heroes eventually evolving into grownup
    people is deeply appealing. What we often see with comic book characters is them being frozen at a certain age,
    a relationship that is equally unchangeable. I think that comics have become more open to showing a grownup life.
    Even Superman was allowed to marry.

    I do think that if you show the next generation as heroes, you also should have some who do not follow that path.
    It is unrealistic to think that small percentage of the population that are heroes, will suddenly have offspring where everyone
    is a hero. Of course, no one really wants to read a comic book about a college professor, an architect, a scientist. But complexity
    is a good thing.

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