When I really got into reading
comic books, I was a Marvel Comics fan first and foremost.
The adventures of the Fantastic Four, the
Avengers, and Spider-Man were so amazing and, to my mind, more sophisticated
than the Superman and Batman comics and cartoons I’d read and seen as a small
child.
It took me a while to try and
read some DC Comics after I had been exposed to Marvel goodness, and I still
find the Marvel characters more compelling.
But there is one group that has become my favorite organization in
super-hero fiction, and that group comes from DC!
The group of which I speak is the Legion of Super-Heroes!
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| The Legion of Super-Heroes vs the Legion of Super-Villains! By Levitz and Giffen! |
The Legion of Super-Heroes (LoSH)
is a group of young (originally teen) heroes in the far future of the DC
universe.
I think one of the things
about the Legion that appeals to me is that they are mostly separate from the
rest of the DC comics.
This means they
aren’t burdened with keeping up with current situations in other comics.
Plus, they “get away” with things other
heroes don’t.
For example, in the
Legion death is a possibility, and character have grown up enough to marry and
have children.
Another appealing aspect
of the Legion is their large roster.
The Legion usually maintains an active roster between 20 and 30 members,
and there are many supporting characters that appear regularly.
The Legion is an interesting mix
of heroes. They vary in planet of birth
and physical makeup for instance.
Though most of the team is humanoid, and the Legion headquarters is on
Earth, there are some very colorful members and some very non-human members.
Another interesting aspect of the
team is the great variety powers within the group. Some characters, such as Mon-El, Element Lad, and
sometimes-members Superboy and Supergirl, are extremely powerful. Some, such as Timber Wolf, Saturn Girl, and
Star Boy, are of average power. Still
other characters, such as Phantom Girl, Dream Girl, or the Invisible Kid, have
rather weak, or very specific powers.
Despite these extreme differences in power, the team works great
together. In fact, strength in
diversity is certainly one of the Legion’s themes.
The greatest thing about the
Legion, though, is how they interact.
It’s the interpersonal relationships of the characters that mostly carry
the plots. The romances, the break-ups,
the feuds, the friendships, and how, in the end, they are all heroes. This is what keeps me coming back to the
future every month to see what will happen next.
Of all the Legionnaires, and I
like all of them, my favorite character is Wildfire. Wildfire, real name Drake Burroughs, is incredibly powerful, with
the ability to project intense energy bursts.
Plus, because Wildfire’s body is composed of pure energy, he’s virtually
invincible. However, all his power comes at a steep cost. Drake doesn’t have a physical body, which
keeps him from doing many normal, human things, such as having a physical
relationship with the love of his life, Dawnstar. Wildfire is also the emotional hothead of the group. He doesn’t pretend to be happy about his predicament,
and he’s not afraid to express his feelings about anything!
I started reading the Legion when
they were being chronicled by the team of Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen. Many, including me, would consider this team
the best writer/artist duo the Legion ever had. Paul, in particular, by far writes the best Legion adventures, and
has done so with many great artists over the years. My second favorite Legion artist is Steve Lightle, who had a long
run as artist in the 1980s. There have
been a few reboots of the Legion over the years, but none seemed like the
“real” Legion to me, and I’m glad that Paul has returned to begin a new era of
Legion greatness!
Long live the Legion!!
