Geoff Johns back on Legion of Superheroes?

[Will Evans]

Another contestant has entered the game: Mask Man!:

Attachment 136517

That belt... that belt!!
And his civil identity really fits right with the profile of the new JSA than Huntress is building right now.

Good find. Same costume except the cape.
You really think the current version is he-who-shall-not-be-named’s descendant like in the original story?
Why would he have a Legion ring now and supposedly a LoSH member?

[Thor-Ul]

Good find. Same costume except the cape.
You really think the current version is he-who-shall-not-be-named’s descendant like in the original story?
Why would he have a Legion ring now and supposedly a LoSH member?

Honestly, I don't know. It could be the legionnaire is using the costume inspired in Mask Man, but be someone else. But the Legion have a long history of diguised members and mystery applicants, so this Legionnaire fits the theme of being related to the JSA using a Legion tradition.

[Vordan]

Never got shared here but Bleeding Cool claims that yes, LoSH was supposed to spin out of JSA:

There were also plans for the Justice Society Of America to be reformed, as well as a new Legion Of Super Heroes series spinning out of Geoff Johns and Mikel Janin's JSA 12-issue series, but John's decision to go exclusive with Ghost Machine at Image Comics changed those plans at DC.

Of course Johns bailed (again) so once again there’s no plans for the Legion. The War of Four Legions goes on the shelf next to Rise of the Seven Seas.

[Factor]

It’s usually bad news whenever Johns has dibs on a character. They tend to stay in limbo for years and if/when he eventually gets around to them, the run is incredibly short (Shazam) or doesn’t really deliver (JSA).

[HsssH]

I think that Shazam will actually end up being longer than JSA?

[Vordan]

It’s usually bad news whenever Johns has dibs on a character. They tend to stay in limbo for years and if/when he eventually gets around to them, the run is incredibly short (Shazam) or doesn’t really deliver (JSA).

Can’t argue with you there. Shazam could’ve really benefitted from having a series during the boom period at the height of the New 52, or even the start of Rebirth, but instead he only got a series long after the sales boost wore off and now even a Shazam series relaunched by Waid and Mora doesn’t sell. DC has to do something big to reignite interest because right now most of their roster can’t sustain a book.

[Frontier]

Can’t argue with you there. Shazam could’ve really benefitted from having a series during the boom period at the height of the New 52, or even the start of Rebirth, but instead he only got a series long after the sales boost wore off and now even a Shazam series relaunched by Waid and Mora doesn’t sell. DC has to do something big to reignite interest because right now most of their roster can’t sustain a book.

Although now that Johns has taken so long and the movie based on his work has kind of petered out they've slowly started transitioning the character back to a more classic take.

[Vordan]

Although now that Johns has taken so long and the movie based on his work has kind of petered out they've slowly started transitioning the character back to a more classic take.

Which hasn’t actually translated into better success as far as I can tell. Waid’s pandering to a group that doesn’t seem to be all that large.

[Frontier]

Which hasn’t actually translated into better success as far as I can tell. Waid’s pandering to a group that doesn’t seem to be all that large.

Sales wise maybe but critically it seems well-received.

I don't think any other approach would've done all that better.

[Robotman]

Damn. I was really looking forward to Johns having another run with the Legion. That’s a huge bummer that the LoS will most likely rot on the shelf for years to come.

It’s usually bad news whenever Johns has dibs on a character. They tend to stay in limbo for years and if/when he eventually gets around to them, the run is incredibly short (Shazam) or doesn’t really deliver (JSA).

And the issues come out once every 6 months or so.

Which hasn’t actually translated into better success as far as I can tell. Waid’s pandering to a group that doesn’t seem to be all that large.

I’m enjoying Waid doing a more classic take on Shazam. The New 52 arrogant man-child Shazam had definitely gotten tired.

But I guess it wasn’t selling well. Super and Bat books being the only thing that sells is pretty par for the DC course. Their mid tier characters hardly ever have sales success.

[HsssH]

WW, Titans and main GL book are doing fine, I think.

[Vordan]

Saw this floating around social media. Guess the Legion is involved in whatever Johns had planned, but at this point we will actually be in the 31st century before the last 3 issues come out.

[Frontier]

Saw this floating around social media. Guess the Legion is involved in whatever Johns had planned, but at this point we will actually be in the 31st century before the last 3 issues come out.

Was Johns reading Young Avengers when he came up with this?

[RogueWhistler]

The Iron Lad comparison makes sense, but what I thought of first was the Stargirl special, where Johns basically did this in reverse: Clock King was going to go back in time to convince his younger self to become a hero.

This is the second issue now to end with a Legion-related cliffhanger, maybe now there'll be some progression there.

[K. Jones]

I've got mixed and crazy and occasionally conflicted feelings about Johns after the Green Lantern run ... or even the latter half of it, which I celebrate but wasn't exactly the first half. But I'd greatly appreciate it if he voided out the Bendis Legion, easily the weakest Legion take of all, in a run of Superbooks where each giant decompressed arc had one great idea, but one great idea that should have been a single issue. But I could dig it if some of the cooler costume designs and a couple of different looks survived the erasure/merger.