Legion of Super-Heroes Appreciation Thread 2024

[M@Bowers2014]

How is 5YL as a "jumping on point"? The Legion are big DC blindspot for me, but that era and LEGION seem appealing to me.

It's the opposite of a jumping on point because it requires tons of Legion knowledge to enjoy or even follow. Having said that it's one of my favorite Legion eras even though a lot of bad things happened to my favs during this run.

[Thor-Ul]

Mission accomplished, Adult Legionnaires:



Godammed YES!!

[RogueWhistler]

5YL demanded a lot of knowledge and attention. As the editor left Giffen to do whatever he wanted, Giffen really went to extremes on the characters.
But I guess the perspective was: "you don't know what is happenning, let's discovering together".
But even as I like Giffen work, I don't think this was the best work for the Legion.

It's the opposite of a jumping on point because it requires tons of Legion knowledge to enjoy or even follow. Having said that it's one of my favorite Legion eras even though a lot of bad things happened to my favs during this run.

Probably not a good place to start, then. Maybe LEGION would be better, where it's more grounded in the "present."

[j9ac9k]

Looks like Doc Shaner but I've never seen this image before. It's amazing.

Yeah, it appears to be his signature just beneath Ferro Lad.

[Anthony Shaw]

Mission accomplished, Adult Legionnaires:



Godammed YES!!

That's a great image.

Superboy & the Legion was my first ever comic as a child. I actually prefer Kal with the Legion over the League.

[warzon]

LEGION 4.jpgThis will ALWAYS be my LSH.

[caj]

LEGION 4.jpgthis will always be my lsh.

Completely agree!!!!

[kcekada]

I just recently read than it was Cockrum who was originally the penciller of the DC/Marvel crossover New Teen Titans/X-Men. And than the original idea was Legion of Super-Heroes/X-Men. When DC changed the team, Cockrum left the project. I don't know if this is right or just a legend, but there is certain degree of possibility, as the villian used in the crossover by DC was Darkseid, not a villian usually tied to the Titans. Why not Trigon or HIVE or Brother Blood or another villian more related to the Titans instead Darkseid, villian who has just recovered his mojo around that time in... yes, the Legion of Super-Heroes title. The great darkness saga sounds familiar?

Coincidence? Bad planning? Or Iam I reading too much where there is nothing at all?

That's likely from a post I made. I started reading comic books around the time Dave Cockrum was on Legion. Although I love Keith Giffen's work on his first Legion run, I still feel Cockrum's influence in his short run may have been greater -- especially in character, alien and costume design. Giffen brought a clean, modern look to his tales -- while Cockrum had a more cinematic feel. I have multiple publications regarding Cockrm's runs in Legion and X-Men from which I gleaned the info regarding the aborted X-Men/Legion crossover, but you can read a little about it here:

http://marvel1980s.blogspot.com/2011...x-men-and.html

[j9ac9k]

How is 5YL as a "jumping on point"? The Legion are big DC blindspot for me, but that era and LEGION seem appealing to me.

The 5YL Legion #1 was actually my jumping on point and it's what made me interested in the Legion. As long as you go in comfortable with the idea that you're not going to totally understand everything that's going on, it's not a terrible place to start. There's a lot of history that's touched upon which makes the book feel rich with world-building, but it can be a bit confusing at times. (especially when editorial made some decisions that derailed the series a bit during the first 6 issues) However, one of the benefits is that the characters are introduced individually at a slow enough pace that you get to know them rather than being inundated with the full lineup right off the bat. I was also hitting the back issue bins hard while reading the 5YL series which filled in a lot of gaps. Not sure if you have the resources for that, but it could be a good reason to sign up for DC Infinite and get access to all those old issues.

[kcekada]

Yes. 5YL is certainly not the best run in which to become familiar with the Legion. The vibe of that era is definitely leaning into the deconstructionist movement, and even someone like me who had been reading Legion off and on since the early 70s wasn't familiar with some of the references and characters. Had no idea Glorith was from the Silver Age. the approach was much more science-fiction than super-heroes. There are definitely interesting plots and stories, but it is not the optimistic view common in other Legion runs.

[Robotman]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned but Blue Beetle #7 was a tribute to Keith Giffen and the 5YL Legion made an appearance. Plus other LoS members on the cover.

[Anthony Shaw]

LEGION 4.jpgThis will ALWAYS be my LSH.

Yep, me too.

[Thor-Ul]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned but Blue Beetle #7 was a tribute to Keith Giffen and the 5YL Legion made an appearance. Plus other LoS members on the cover.

Indeed!

[caj]

This looks like an awesome issue.

[j9ac9k]

Who's that on the bottom left?