Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Would you buy a new Legion ongoing if.......?

Time to stir the mix folks, so let me put a hypothetical question to you all...

Clearly, a new ongoing Legion title is a must and I doubt that anyone here would argue that point. But, what should this involve?

Think like a publisher rather than a fan and consider (logically) what would sell? What was wrong with the previous version(s) that they didn't sell?

Should another reboot be considered or should it be avoided? Or, would it be essential?

Or should the entire series receive an "Earth-1" graphic novel approach, really changing things around?

Or... you tell me.

Think it over, folks and lets see if we can't come up with something that the powers that be at DC might have missed.

I would rather have new management at DC than a new Legion ongoing first. The retroboot Legion had tons of potential when it first started, but it was quickly ruined by editorial meddling and the Nu52.

Until a talented writer (preferably someone whose name recognition generates sales) asks to do a Legion series because they have stories they need/want to tell, I think DC should do an out-of-continuity digital first series like the Adventures of Superman, and Sensation Comics. Put together a string of kick-ass 'takes' on the property by top talent to demonstrate why the Legion is so cool, promote the hell out of it, and see what happens.

And I really believe any new on-going should avoid bringing back previous Legion writers (no offense to Levitz, Shooter, or anyone else) because the only thing that will make the Legion successful is NEW stories. I think part of the reason non-fans perceive the Legion as so hard to decipher is because since the 5YL iteration, an unhealthy obsession with making the continuity "work" has led to the same stories being retold time and again.

As much as I love the Legion, I think they need to reboot it in a way that makes sense. Have a starting cast, preferably the three founders, go back in time to have an adventure with a character. Then follow those heroes that came back in time into the future and show them recruit and have adventures.

Modern Legion stories tend to just drop you in to the middle of things without taking the time to introduce the characters or the fact that they are really just a club of teens. The Legion is not the Justice League. They work best when they aren't dealing with huge world-threatening crises and there is time to develop the team and their dynamics.

I demand try-outs. I demand bizarre rules. I DEMAND FRIVOLOUS SPENDING!

I agree with Indy. DC under its current management will almost inevitably screw it up. History has proven that the Legion needs strong editorial guidance. All the Legion eras that mean the most to me had good editors at the helm: Karen Berger (Levitz Baxter), Mike McAvennie (DnA), KC Carlson (early Postboot), and, of course, Mort Weisinger (Silver Age). DC currently has editors who are either bad or who have their hands tied by the people they have to answer to.

I also agree with Rob-Em that they shouldn't bring back previous creators. All the writers I can think of that I like are 45 or older, but DnA were no spring chickens, and neither, for that matter, were Edmond Hamilton and Jerry Siegel, so I'd like to see Mike Carey, Andy Diggle, or Dave Gibbons have a go at the Legion. Alan Grant is a favorite of mine, although he already did L.E.G.I.O.N., so I don't know if lightning would strike twice. I'd even like to see a Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely take on the Legion, although since Morrison is better when he's working with a net, and since Quitely is a slow, meticulous worker, it would have to be a mini-series or a graphic novel.

My intuition is telling me that it would be best to rework the concept from the ground up, even though it's a dicey proposition, as it could turn out as good as the early Postboot or as bad as the Threeboot.

I don't think that another reboot is the way to go. I think the original version of the team was the least convoluted version and the retroboot was the closest analogue that DC was able to restore after they had mucked around with the team's history with bad retcons. Re-creating the team again would only serve to alienate new readers who are confused about why their are 4 versions of the team already and irritate long time fans who have to see a new version instead of the version they were already fans of.

To buck the reboot trend, I'm reasonably content to wait and see what the next few appearances are going to be like. I'm not running around with excitement. However, it's the Legion characters/boot I like best. The people doing it have just had a few issues of Legion-lite in EGOs. They were OK, and it will be interesting to see how it works out. I'll be buying it to see.

While I'd not write anything off before reading it, I've never stuck with any of the previous reboots for long. Having said that, had DC started off DnA #1 with the Blight storyline, I'd have been around for that run at least.

Indy, Thoth, you guys make good points, but I liked the retroboot much less than either of you (and, yes, I finally did try some of the trades from the library, and, no, it didn't change my mind). I've never seen a so-called "definitive" version of a superhero team that didn't, at some point, become an excuse for either lazy re-hashings of old stories or horrifying character abuse.

The original Legion had many moments of greatness, and of course we should respect and celebrate them. But we also have to move on.

Good point Fickles. Why read through inevitable retreads, when the writers can be pushed to advance characters who have already been through those events.

I don;t think I lasted long with the threeboot. A few issues at most, possibly just the first one. I did think it was better when read as a whole later on, but it didn't catch my imagination as an ongoing.

You make a good point about retreading old ground, Fanfie. My solution is this: tell NEW stories with OLD characters. Don't kill characters off. Don't blow up planets. Don't keep retconning the past. Removing these elements only cuts off story potential in the future. Instead, build off what has come before and move on, creating new concepts to expand the universe for future writers to use. That's something Paul Levitz did really well in his original run back in the 80's. People often say that comic fans don't like anything new, which just isn't true. We love new comics as long as they respect the past that they are built on, which is something modern DC management largely forgets.

Unfortunately, I don't there will be new stories with old characters unless/until the creators get some kind of partial ownership and monetary compensation for the new settings, concepts and characters they would have to introduce to keep the book moving forward.

That brings the problem back full circle to the management. Warner Bros. has prevented DC from ever writing comics as their own art form. Instead, comics are now corporate manufactured products created to maintain IP farms for future media projects. It's just sickening and depressing.

Sad but true, Indy. Unless DC makes some serious changes to its business model, I really don't think there's any hope for the Legion or any other DC characters.

In the meantime, what I think we need more of are quality Legion analogs from the indies like DnA's The Hypernaturals.

I was going to do Hypernatural reviews at some point. I'll need to dig those out again. I think I've an issue of EGOs to do too. Ta for the reminder.

You're very welcome, Thoth.