LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
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Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again |
Legion Elseworlds
Alternate Legions + Parallel Universes + Out-of-Continuity Tales
This section covers Legion-related series which are (intentionally or not) "out of continuity." Listed alphabetically by title or theme. Since the Infinite Crisis, some Elseworlds tales have been given their own Earth in the new multiverse. Some of these tales may turn out to have taken place on parallel Earths in the multiverse. It remains to be seen which Earths the major Legion timelines inhabit.
- Get-a-Life-Boy has assembled an insane listing of Alternate Universe Legions, many of which I don't mention on this page.
- For Legion take-offs done by other publishers, read Legion Fanfare: Legion Parodies
The Adult Legion
Adventures
in the DC Universe
Issue #10 (January 1998)
By Steve Vance and John Delaney
A Legion cruiser carrying a large group of Legionnaires is caught in the tractor beam of an amorphous space-blob. Saturn Girl eventually ascertains that it is a sort of "galactic antibody" that perceives them as germs. As she learns more, she realizes the truth... Sensor has been unconscious from their most recent battle and has been subconsciously creating the whole incident in their minds.
Meanwhile, at Legion headquarters, their distress call fails to make it through. Brainy's lab is invaded by the super-burglar Magpie, Benn Pares. The newest Legionnaire, Ferro, helps to bring him down.
This story
actually sits in mainstream post-Zero Hour continuity. It seems to follow
the team's reunion in Legion v.4
#100 (1.98). The Legionnaires make reference to the White Triangle battle,
and Sensor is still unconscious from their most recent battle. Pretty
much every active Legionnaires puts in an appearance.
Saturn Girl, from The Dark Knight Strikes Again #3.
Art by Frank Miller (2002).
Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again (Earth-31)
3-Issue Limited Series, Prestige format (2001)
By Frank Miller
Since this is an official Earth in the multiverse, one can reasonably assume that there is a Legion of Earth-31. In issue #3, a 21st century Saturn Girl says "It's not really my name, but the real Saturn Girl's letting me borrow it. She's not using it right now, on account of she's not born yet." Also, the Joker appears in a Cosmic Boy costume, then an Element Lad one (issue #2). (The two pink ones, hmmm...)
STORY: Batman —
whom the world believes dead — assembles a covert League to bring
down the American establishment. The heroes of the Justice League have
been captured and hidden away for years. Batman's sidekick, Caroline
Keene Kelley, the former Robin now aides him as Catgirl. She recruits
the Atom, the Flash (Barry Allen), the Question,
and Green Arrow. 
This
draws the ire of Superman,
who is allied with Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel. (#1)
The Joker as Cosmic Boy and Element Lad.
From The Dark Knight Strikes Again #2.
Art by Frank Miller (2002).
Superman is beat back by Batman's kryptonite gloves, and Diana introduces Clark to their daughter, Lara. Batman recruits the Elongated Man, the psychotic Plastic Man, the Martian Manhunter; and the Thanagarian hawk-children. Meanwhile, the Joker kills the Guardian and the Creeper. And in space, the retired Hal Jordan leaves his alien family to return to Earth. (#2)
Kara attempts to save Kandor by sacrificing herself to Luthor, but Batman's allies intervene and take him down. In space, Hal and Lara disables Brainiac's satellites with the help of the freed Kandorians. The "Joker" is revealed to be a genetically modified and raging Dick Grayson, whom Superman helps dispose of. (#3)
DC One Million Event (November 1998)
The Justice Legion L
The DC One Million event chronicled events that took place one million months in the future, in the 853rd century. Though not officially labeled as "Elseworlds," the future depicted is very remote. This story is within the same continuity as the "Legends of Dead Earth" Annuals. Both of the "One Million" issues depict Wildfire's 75th century Legionnaires.
Legionnaires #1,000,000
By Tom Peyer and Sean Philips
The Year 85,271: Maintaining an exclusive affiliation, the United Planets is a cluster of planets held together by magnetic forces. They are patrolled by the Justice Legion L:
- Brainiac 417 hails from Colu-Bgztl where the two worlds and races have long since merged into one.
- Cosmicbot is from the U.P. center of Braal, where its people are now made of metal. Cosmicbot is the ruler of the U.P., Leader of the Justice Legion L and keeper of the Wildflame.
- The Chameleon is a secularist from the Chameleon World, which is closed off and mistrusted. He does not believe in using his powers for anything other than camouflage, but if a friend is in danger, he comes through.
- Dreamer is forever sleeping. From the screen on her forehead, the Justice Legion L keeps ahead of imminent crises.
- Implicate Girl wears a "third eye" which contains the entire world of Cargg. Through it, she can access any of its inhabitants' knowledge or abilities.
- The M'onelves of Daxam-Imsk—joined worlds for the betterment of both races.
- Titangirl is from Titan which has become a high-priced nursing home. There, the elderly are hooked into a sophisticated telepathic network which creates the appearance of heaven. Titangirl herself is the manifestation of the Titanian people.
- The Umbra is the evolutionary result of Talok VIII's Planetary Champion. Though the planet itself has hardly changed in millennia, the Umbra evolves to cope with changes in the universe around them.
- Cosmicbot uses the Wildflame for guidance. This is none other than the original Legionnaire, Wildfire.
The United Planets are on a slow drift back towards Earth, where they
hope to replenish their genetic diversity. On a rare occasion, they encounter
a rogue calling himself Agent If, who threatens peace by misusing
a childrens' toy that alters reality. If manages to affect the system's
artificial sun before inadvertently killing himself. Afterwards, Cosmicbot
is troubled that Dreamer still predicts a dire future for their sun and
system. For answers, he contacts the Wildflame. It reveals potential
in a Superboy from one thousand years in the past. This Superboy
is one in a long line of Superman clones.
Before they can make
a plant, they're attacked by ancient beasts, and the magnetic integrity
of the United Planets is affected. The timing of these things leads the
Legionnaires to postulate treason. Not surprisingly, some blame the Chameleon.
Brainiac travels one thousand years into the past and retrieves Superboy
to help them ...
Story continues in the following issue
Legion of Super-Heroes v.4 #1,000,000
By Tom Peyer and Keith Giffen
... continues from the story above.
The 853rd century: Superboy — from the 843rd century — uses his telekinesis to help hold the planets together. The Legionnaires continue to battle the ancient beasts. Meanwhile, Umbra attacks the Chameleon, believing that he is behind the system's magnetic failure. Chameleon is able to subdue his teammate long enough to take him to Titan. There, Chameleon reveals that the Titanians have constructed an engine to propel them away and separate them from the United Planets.
Sensing that the ruse is up, Titangirl reveals her true colors to her teammates. When the Titanians are awakened from their telepathic slumber, Titangirl ceases to exist (she herself was a manifestation of the planet's will).
At some point within the next thousand years, the Wildflame was ensconced within a rune, a picture of the Justice Legion L, and left within Earth Tesseract 63060 — a fold in space where worlds can inhabit the smallest spaces. In the 863rd century, three youths (Dav, Vara, and Chec) discover the rune and are changed by the image of the Legionnaires.
Their world is one of uniformity, and the image sparks the desire within the teens to explore beyond their home. When Dav's father tries to destroy the run, the Wildflame is released and reveals the story of the Justice Legion L. Afterwards, the kids' recollections of the Wildflame's stories are taken for delirium and they are hospitalized. But the Wildflame returns to them, and promises an exciting future. They close their eyes and see themselves leading lives of adventure.
Cover of DreamWar #5
DC/Wildstorm: DreamWar
6-Issue Limited Series, Prestige format (2008)
By Keith Giffen and Lee Garbett
When a boy known as Chimera dreams, the heroes of multiple Earths are collected across space and time, and come into conflict in the Wildstorm Universe. Along with the original JLA and New Teen Titans, the Legion Clubhouse is unceremoniously dropped in the midst of Earth-50. (#1)
The entire Legion (wearing a mix of Adventure and 1970s costumes) holds a meeting about their predicament, and mention following the lead of Kid Chimera. (#2) When they attack Stormwatch (then changed to original costumes), Element Lad and Sun Boy are killed. (#3)
Elseworlds Annuals
In 1994, all of DC's annuals were bannered with the Elseworlds logo and explored other, "imaginary" worlds. The following Annuals all depicted different versions of the Justice League.
Legionnaires
Annual #1 (1994)
By Mark Waid, Ty Templeton and Paul Pelletier
This Camelot-inspired story was an interpretation of the SW6 Legion, not their similar post-Zero Hour counterparts. They did not use code names, only their given names.
STORY: It has been centuries
since the forces of the Dark Circle reordered the galaxy. In 2990,
R.J. Brande works with the young Rokk Krinn to unearth a special
metal with antigravity properties. Brande dubs it "Nth Metal" and uses
it to construct a space refuge called Avalon. Some young refugees
became ambassadors for their worlds; their organization, the Legion.
Five years later,
Rokk marries Imra
Ardeen. After the ceremony, a commotion is caused by two strangers,
the brothers Garth and Mekt Ranzz. Mekt is an assassin
for the Circle, and Garth had followed him, but had originally intended
to join the Legion on Avalon. He now asks them to accept them and after
a mind scan from Imra, he joins their ranks.
The Legion discovers that Mekt was allowed into their compound by a traitor
in their own midst: Hart Druiter. His punishment? He is reduced
to ash by Jan Arrah.
Years pass
and the Legion continued to improve upon Avalon, and Garth forgets about
his brother. And among
the Legionnaires, Garth and Imra found themselves hopelessly drawn to
one another and spending time together on the astral plane. Meanwhile,
Mekt rises to leadership among the Dark Circle and sabotages a Legion
satellite pod. The Legion fails to stop the pods fall towards
the planet and it explodes,
killing Brek,
Querl, and others. For answers, they travel to the Orando sector
of Avalon to seek counsel from the Princess Projectra (her dream-servant
Nura Nal had foretold their coming). The Legion hopes to find
the Miracle Machine — the ultimate scientific creation — to help them
defeat the Dark Circle. The Princess' investigation leads them to Mordru,
who is supposedly in possession of the Machine.
After Mekt
pays Garth and Imra a visit, they allow him to leave. For this, and for
their indiscretions, Rokk orders that they be detained. Imra enables
Garth to escape and narrowly escapes a death penalty. Days later, a team
lands on the Sorcerers' World and discover that Mordru has long since
destroyed the Miracle Machine to keep it out of the Dark Circle's hands.
Back on Avalon, Mekt attacks Rokk and Imra kills him. Without Mekt's
leadership, the Circle falls.
More years
pass and the Legionnaires complete more work on Avalon. Imra becomes their
leader, marries Garth and they bear a son.
ROLL CALL: Rokk, Imra, Garth, Querl, Luornu, Reep, Jo, Jan, Dirk, Tenzil, Xao, Salu, Ferro, Leviathan (Gim), Hart, Lyle, Brek, Projectra, Nura, Val, Danielle, Tasmia, Jacques, Thom, and others unnamed.
Legion of Super-Heroes v.4 Annual #5 (1994)
By Tom McGraw, Stuart Immonen, Curt Swan, Ron Boyd, Mark Farmer, and others
The story begins in mainstream continuity, after Glorith has altered the ages of many of the Legionnaires and they are on the run, taking new identities. Ayla is now a child, and Vi reads to her a fairytale with some familiar characters ...
STORY: "The Long Road Home." On
Winath, the young children Garth and Ayla engage in horseplay
that results in Ayla becoming trapped in a space craft. The craft takes
Ayla into space, with only her "Dreamy" doll to keep
her company. She lands on Imsk, where the White Witch protects
the elf people against Starfinger. Just as the Witch suffers defeat,
Ayla's craft lands on top of Starfinger, killing him. Ayla is distraught
and wants to find her way home. The Witch proposes that they go to see Valor,
prince of Gandia. Ayla is joined by Violet, an elf. They soon
encounter two mischievous Shadowkin folk.
Ayla defeats them by unleashing light from a nearby star gate.
Ayla runs
through the star gate and finds herself in a maze, where she meets a
boy genius named 5.
She helps him out of the maze and they wind up in a lake inhabited by
large sea monster (Tellus). Next they find a helpless robot whom
they save from being melted and recycled. Erg, as he is called
joins them, too. After escaping a construct made by Starfinger's evil
sister, they meet Furball and continue on to see Valor.
On the way,
two imps — Sun Baron and Polar
King — are sparring with heat
and cold. When they finally reach the castle, Starfinger manifests a
great storm, and the Princess Laurel advises them on a course
of action. Prince Valor has been missing for some time, after a battle
with the Starfingers.
On their new
quest to find him, they are harassed by Wind
Riders and
head into another star gate Ayla and Vi lose their comrades in a mass
of sentient goo, and on the other side, are greeted by Blok. Finally,
they reach Starfinger and in a moment of prophetic clarity, Ayla dodges
the villainess, who dives into a furnace. She restores Valor, and the
White Witch locates her at last. Together, they sends Ayla home.
From Superboy v.1 #117 (1964).
Art by Curt Swan.
The "Evil Legion" (pre-Crisis parallel Earth)
In Superboy v.1 #117 (December 1964), Superboy accidentally travels to a parallel Earth and meets evil counterparts of the Legion. Set in the 20th century, this tale begins with Superboy in space. After a solar explosion, he returns to Earth. But when the Legion visits, he discovers they are up to no good. He eventually deduces that he is in a parallel universe and he contacts that Earth's Superboy to help him.
This was several years after the introduction of the concept of parallel universes (in Flash v.1 #123, 1961). In this issue, Superboy explicitly mentions his knowledge of infinite universes. The previous issue, Superboy #116, also featured a visit by the Superboy from a parallel Earth.
The Official Legion of Super Heroes Index #4 (not published by DC) speculated that these evil Legionnaires were from Earth-3. That's a hard sell, since the Superboy of this Earth was good, which goes against everything Earth-3 was (and is) about.
Justice League of America: Another Nail
3-Issue Limited Series, Prestige format (2004)
By Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
In a double-page spread that depicts hundreds of characters, one can see Alan Davis' interpretation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, which remain pretty true to the characters designed for his (wonderful) Superboy's Legion (2001). This fast-paced story spans throws entire DC Universe and nearly all its Silver Age-to-1980s characters into crisis mode ...
For a full synopsis, see JLA Elseworlds
STORY: A cosmic space creature called the Limbo
Cell causes galaxy-wide chaos and temporal distortions. When Wonder
Woman and Aquaman are thrust trough time, they meet the Legionnaires Ultra (Boy)
and Princess Projectra (his second wife) and Ultra's two children
from his first marriage. The Legionnaires take the heroes back to the
future. During the worst of the battle, many Legionnaires are seen being
thrown into the time-turbulence. The
Cell is ultimately defeated by Oliver Queen, who inhabits the body of
Amazo.
Kingdom Come — Earth-22
4-Issue Limited Series (1996)
By Mark Waid and Alex Ross
This Legion has appeared twice, both times in single-panel snapshots. The first was first was a cameo, in Kingdome Come #1. It's an interesting image because the Legionnaires shown are basically the Adventure Comics Legion plus the new SW6ers. According to the official Waid/Ross annotations, they are:
from the lead: Superboy, Supergirl, Saturn Girl, Live Wire, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Light Lass, Mon-El, Karate Kid, Inferno, Dream Girl, Ultra Boy, Timber Wolf, Invisible Kid, Alchemist, Apparition, Leviathan, Star Boy, Chameleon, Matter-Eater Lad, Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, Princess Projectra, Chemical King, Dragonmage, Ferro, Triad, Bouncing Boy, and XS.
XS is the sole character from the post-Zero era. One can't hope to read much into any of this, as Kingdom Come was clearly labeled as Elseworlds. The official annotations do not reveal the identities of Superboy and Supergirl but suggest that they are inheritors to the titles. NOTE: These official annotations were called the "Kingdom Come: Revelations," a supplement inserted into the deluxe hardcover slipcase edition (now pricey).
In their second appearance—in Justice Society of America v.3 #22 (2.09)—the roster appears to be identical. Many Legionnaires are better identified. The only change appears to be the addition of Andromeda, obscured at the end.
This Legion is very similar to the post-Zero Hour Legion, but they are clearly meant to be separate. Because JSofA #22 specifically depicts the same Legionnaire anomalies as Kingdom Come #1, it's clear that Geoff Johns intended for this Legion to be distinct.
For
a fuller review, see JLA: Elseworlds:
Kingdom Come • Kindom Come Annotations
Legends of Dead Earth Annuals (1996)
"Earth is dead. Those who once might have called it home are long scattered to the endless stars.
But in that scattering, on a thousand different worlds, by a thousand different ways ... Earth's greatest legends live on."
DC's 1996 Annuals were all dubbed "Legends of Dead Earth." Though not officially labeled as "Elseworlds," the futures depicted are very remote — like the DC One Million event.
However, one of these Annuals (Power of Shazam Annual #1) did give birth to Thunder, a real Legionnaire from the 90th century, who joined the post-Zero Hour Legion.
Wildfire's first team.
From Legion v.4 Annual #7 (1996).
Wildfire's second
team. Art by Mike Collins.
Legion of Super-Heroes v.4 Annual #7 (1996)
By Tom Peyer and Mike Collins
STORY: Even after watching as all his friends aged and died, the immortal Wildfire remained committed to the concept of interplanetary cooperation. 4500 years after the formation of the Legion, Wildfire attempted to keep the spirit alive, but his dream was hindered by the ever growing spread of xenophobia throughout the galaxy. The Legion of this time consisted foremost of Wildfire's confidants, Membrain, a telepathic creature; and Gizi and Ziga, his aides on Rimbor. For many centuries, Wildfire had failed to stop the destruction of whole suns, which occurred every 100 years. His latest team would fail to stop the cannon again. Its members all perished in the attempt, in part because of their mistrust of one another. They were Metrox of Colu, Graft of Durla, Nervosa of Bismoll and Phase of Bgztl.
Membrain survived and restored Wildfire's energies to a new suit on Rimbor. After this, he delved deep within his own memories to get at the root of the original Legion’s success. He concluded that the members' interpersonal relationships were key to that bond. His next team was built on pairs of young heroes from different planets: Magno-Boy and Lodestone of Braal; Triad-III and Triplicate of Cargg; Argent and Silverwing of Renii; and Shape and Shift of Durla. As planned, some of these members developed feelings for one another, and this team worked much better together. But it would not be 100 more years until the next appearance of the sun-cannon. The cannon's creators were in fact the Durlans, and their members in the Legion betrayed Wildfire. His team succeeded in stopping them and destroying the cannon at last. Their success inspired , resulting in the destruction of the cannon... and hopefully, a new beginning to interlanetary communications and a new United Planets.
This story could
be considered the canonical (in-continuity) for the Legion of Earth-247. It
doesn't much matter since that timeline has ceased to exist with the Infinite
Crisis.
At the time of its publication, Wildfire's appearance was a novelty because he had not yet been reintroduced into post-Zero Hour Legion continuity, and the character hadn't been seen in print for years. This annual was published in 1996 and Wildfire did not re-debut until 1999.
It depicts many glimpses of the Legion's "future," including …
- deceased Legionnaires, Galaxy (Andromeda?), Reflecto and Gates
- Legionnaires Quislet, Blok and Tyroc
- Brainiac 5 marrying Andromeda
- Cosmic Boy becoming U.P. President
- a romance between Wildfire and XS
Legionnaires Annual #3 (1996)
By Roger Stern, Chuck Wojtkiewicz, Tony Castrillo, and Dan Jurgens
STORY: XS takes the Cosmic Treadmill into the future and meets her grandfather, Barry Allen. Her arrival destroys his own treadmill and he helps her back into the time stream with his own powers. She overshoots the 30th century and arrives in the 100th! Earth has been dead for centuries, and on the planet Almeer-5, she is captured and imprisoned. When she awakes, she meets her cell mates:
- Ava, mortal vessel of the goddess Avatar who wielded the Spear of Destiny. Supposedly, the Spear has long since been rid of its evil and can now only be wielded by one who is worthy.
- Metallica, Melissa Trask, who invented a powerful armor.
- Bob Brunner, the Behemoth, who transforms into a hulking beast, and …
- Ultra-Man, Gary Concord, a mortal hero. He is supposedly from some time in the past.
These heroes were stripped of their weapons and imprisoned
by Nevlor, the iron-fisted ruler. Nevlor has also employed impostors
to take the heroes' places. After defeating their dopplegangers, they
thank XS and Ava helps her return to the time stream with the Spear of
Destiny.
XS emerges not in
the 30th century, but at the Vanishing Point, the headquarters of the
Linear Men. There the Time Trapper reveals that he has diverted her through
time. Before sending her home, he claims that she has in important
"cosmic destiny to fulfill."
Simply because
it involved XS, this tale could be considered the canonical future
of Legion 2.
XS'
future friends seem to be a parody of the original Avengers: Thor,
Iron Man, Captain America and Hulk. "Almeer V" may be an anagram
for "Marvel."
The
artwork itself also has the feel of the Legion 1.5 era.
Legion of Super-Heroes Cartoon
+ Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century
I consider the animated Legion an official parallel reality. The cartoon and it's accompanying book are reviewed in its own section...
Legion
Animated section: Members • Chronology
Legion
of Super-Heroes v.2 #300 (June 1983)
By Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen, Larry Mahlstedt and others
This story begins in normal (original) continuity. It takes place on the day of the Legion's anniversary. As the Legion prepares for the public ceremony, Brainiac 5 is called to the Time Institute by Rond Vidar. There is some change in the condition of Ferro Lad's long-comatose brother, Andrew Nolan. Vidar discovered that Nolan's madness was caused by his ability to glimpse other realities. They have devised a way to witness the things Andrew sees in his mind. Among the alternate realities they witness are:
- After Superboy's parents die, he resigns from the Legion (still in their early days) and vows to commit his services to his own time and planet. This is anomalous because Superboy resigned much later in the Legion's history, and of course had many spacefaring adventures.
- Computo kills several Legionnaires with the help of the Legion of Super-Villains. The Subs are recruited to fill out the ranks, but Computo kills even more of them.
- The adult Legion (Cham, Sun Man, Element Man, Karate King, Timber Wolf) battle the Fatal Five. When they return to headquarters, we see the Hall of Dead Heroes, which includes some from the famous cover of Adventure #354, and some new ones including Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Matter-Eater Lad, Projectra and Shrinking Violet.
- The members of the adult Legion (Wildfire, Ultra Man, Phantom Woman, Chemical King, Tyroc, Brainiac 5, Cham, Element Man, Superman, Sun Man) argue among themselves about how to deal with a Khund incursion. It leads to Superman resigning. The rule prohibiting married Legionnaires from serving is still in place. The former Dream Girl and Star Boy watch the Legion from home with their children. Some Legionnaires launch themselves into battle; Tyroc is killed. Karate Kid is memorialized on the wall.
- Mordru has decimated Earth. The White Witch works with the Orakills — mystics of Orando — to stop him. It strips all magic away from them.
- The United Planets moves to disband the Legion. Several Legionnaires have left or gone missing. Blok and Dawnstar express their growing disgust of their organization. Blok goes to communicate with his master, the Dark Man. Blok betrays the Legion and helps the Dark Man blow up Legion HQ.
- The final vision finally brings peace to Andrew Nolan: After his brother is laid to rest, the Legion invites him to join as Ferro Lad II. After seeing this vision, Nolan's powers allowed him to transport his own body there.
Find
pictures of these versions in Don
Sakers's Alternate
Legions pages.
Legion of Super-Heroes v.4 #105
By Tom Peyer, Roger Stern and Jason Armstrong
STORY: The Time Trapper takes several Legionnaires (mostly those who did not exist in the pre-Zero Hour Legion) outside their own timestream. He claims to have an infinite number of Legions from which he can call upon, and that he has been testing them. He claims loneliness and transforms Lori Morning into a glorious adult form. As further challenge, he unleashes dozens of Legions upon one another. One, an evil Leigon, causes a battle royale.
Lori eventually realizes that the Trapper cannot be trusted, and uses the H Dial to shatter his control and release her captive Legionnaire friends. The Legions overcome their confusion and rally against their common foe. As he retreats, they return to their proper times and places.
Most of the Legionnaires
depicted in this issue are past versions, from throughout its publishing
history. The main exception is a new "evil Legion" (see picture
at right).
Click to enlarge
Mon-El destroys the Time Trapper. |
Andrew Nolan plots with Mysa, Mordru's wife. From Legion v.4 #5 (1990). Art by Keith Giffen. |
The "Mordruverse" Legion
This version of the Legion was presented in a single issue, Legion v.4 #5 (March 1990). This alternate reality grew from the original "Legion 1.5" timeline and was created by Mon-El when he destroyed the Time Trapper (in the previous issue).
As the editor explains in the letters column of issue #6:
Mon-El decides he must destroy the Trapper, no matter what the cost, and delivers the final, crushing blow.
Existence blinks out for a second, and we land in the universe that would have resulted if the Trapper and the Legion had never existed. Without those balancing powers, Mordru has dominated the universe unchallenged for the last seventeen years.
A group of underground resistance fighters concocts a spell to restore the previous order by imitating the Trapper's manipulations and substituting new pieces for those destroyed with the Trapper.
Mordru's cunning First Wife, Glorith, insists on performing the spell herself, to get the chance to become the balancing force that takes the place of the Trapper in the new order. She performs the awful rituals and once again, the universe blinks out of existence.
So original Legion history was restored. Sort of...
This issue was the first real Legion reboot (or perhaps realignment, as it didn't start with a completely fresh slate). After the Crisis, writers had already begun to explore how continuity stood in the absence of a Superboy (post-Crisis continuity). At first, Superboy was retained in Legion lore, but it he was made part of the Time Trapper's Pocket Universe. But according to writer Tom Bierbaum, "the Superman editor [said] we could no longer use any of the Superman mythos in the Legion."
So with the Legion v.4 #4-5, the Superboy linkage was completely jettisoned. Upon reversing the "Mordruverse," most original Legion events still happened, but the cast had changed. Most significantly, Mon-El was now called "Valor" (because the "-El" part of his name was a link to Superboy). Valor and the new Laurel Gand filled the roles in history previously occupied by Superboy and Supergirl. In the Legion 1.5 chronology, these changes are labeled the "Glorith Reality."
Key
pages from this issue:
04 •
05 • 19
Mr. Mxyzptlk (New Year's Evil)
+ "The Logjam of Super-Heroes," One-shot (February 1998)
By Alan Grant and Tom Morgan
This one-shot was part of the "New Year's Evil" event. When the 5th Dimension is threatened by a creature from the 10th Dimension, Mr. Mxyzptlk flees through a multiverse of parodies, including the Legion, the JLA, Aquaman, Fourth World, Lobo and Sandman. The Legion adventure takes place on pages 8-11. Many familiar Legionnaires appear, but are not named. Parodies include Negative Lass, Lightning Lice, Loud Kid, Beachball Boy and No-Brainiac 5. Eventually, Mopius, the zzzZandman puts the creature to sleep with a long, boring tale.
CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGES
The Outsiders
Created by Dave Cockrum
No, not those Outsiders. In 1973, Legion artist Dave Cockrum created a group of heroes and villains that he proposed as additions to the Legion universe. Only two made it into the series...
Superboy's Legion
Prestige format one-shot (2001)
By Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
STORY: In 2987, R. J. Brande discovers
a space craft in the debris from the doomed planet Krypton. Inside the
craft is an infant boy, whom Brande adopts as his son. As the boy grows,
he develops amazing powers, which the local Science Police find threatening.
One day, after a serious reprimand from his father, Superboy hurtles
himself deep into space where he meets a Green Lantern, Talu-Katu.
Talu inspires Superboy to form his own corps of heroes to protect the
regions of space where the Lanterns no longer patrol.
Superboy finds his
first recruits en route back to Earth on the luxury cruiser, Lystrata.
He helps young Rokk Krinn and Imra Ardeen save the ship from
an alien predator. Afterwards, he invites them to join his new crusade,
and the three advertise for new members to join Superboy's Legion.
The call brings
scores of young heroes from across the galaxy, most of whom are rejected.
Among those accepted are Sun
Boy, Colossal Boy, Shadow Lass, Shrinking Violet, Element Lad and Bouncing
Boy. Elsewhere, more
teens (Triplicate Girl, Lightning Lad, Light Lass, Sensor, Brainiac
5 and Invisible Kid) view the proceedings via video and make their
way to Earth as well.
Soon after this audition,
Superboy is approached by young reporter Lois Olsen. She tells
him about a huge asteroid heading for Rimbor. Though the others are hesitant
to jump into a mission so soon, Superboy takes the team and heads into
space. They are followed by Brainiac 5 and Invisible Kid, who have calculated
that Superboy's powers will not be sufficient to destroy the asteroid.
They call on that sector's guardian, Starboy, who helps Superboy
succeed. On Rimbor they acquire more Legionnaires,
Ultra Boy, his girlfriend princess Tinya, and her bodyguard Reep
Daggle.
Elsewhere,
the Legion are monitored by Lex Luthor, whose mind survived the
20th century inside the S.P.'s
Universo computer. Luthor spots
Brainiac 5, his ticket back to the secreted world of Colu and sends his
minions the Fatal
Five after
Querl. The Legionnaires are unprepared for such an onslaught. Cosmic
Boy loses his arm to the Persuader and Colossal Boy is killed. (#1)
Gim's death and Brainy's abduction lead many Legionnaires to blame Superboy.
The team splits up, and they acquire new members Karate
Kid and Ferro
Lad. On Earth, the Science Police's megacomputer, Universo experiences
malfunctions as Luthor exerts his control. Meanwhile, the villain sends
the Fatal Five to Colu after the Legion. It succeeds in its mission — to
find an intertron shell to house its consciousness. This shell is called Vril
Dox by the Coluans, which means "eternal
brain."
The Legionnaires
defeat the villains on two fronts. First, the Emerald Eye is released
from the Empress' control, and it assumes the normal control of the Universo
computer. Second, the Legion forces Luthor into self destructing. Superboy
and Ultra Boy fly his shell into space, where it explodes. Afterwards,
the Legion meets Querl and Lyle's parents, Coluans who exist in non-corporeal
form. Back on Earth, the Legion continues to expand. (#2)
Some of the
Legionnaires from this timeline series appear next amidst the chaos in
Alan Davis' JLA:
Another Nail (2004). It is conceivable that if the Nail timeline
receives its own Earth in the multiverse, that this Legion might belong
to that Earth as well. Of course, they'd have to explain how Superboy
arrived in the 30th century.
The Green Lantern
in this story mentions the destruction of Daxam and a "Sinestro War."
Light Lass actually manipulates light, not weight. It is suggested that
Projectra is a snake. Shadow Lass' powers are magic based. Tinya's mother
is queen of their world. Brainy is a "semi-sib" cloned from Lyle on Colu;
Lyle's parents died looking for Colu and the natives took him in. The
Vril Dox takes the form of the evil android Brainiac.
Find
cover images in the Gallery
The SW6 Legion
The SW6 Legion were "chronal duplicates" of the original Legion, made by the Time Trapper during the team's formative years. They are not really considered an Elseworlds Legion, but instead an official offshoot of the "Legion 1.5" timeline.
As described by the Trapper:
"[I] split them into two possible time tracks. I chose to make the divergence occur just before Ferro Lad's death—back when the team's camaraderie was highest. There wre exceptions. I had to take Luornu from a slightly earlier time—merge Garth with an undamaged temporal version... but it was important to restore them, to have the team unbroken and pure. ... They are not copies of any sorrt." (Valor #23)
His reference to Luornu implies that he made her duplicate from a time before Computo killed one of her bodies. Likewise with Lightning Lad, from before his quasi-death and restoration. The Time Trapper stored these duplicates in "time stasis" beneath the Time Institute in Metropolis, where they were later discovered by the Dominators (described in Legion v.4 #53, 1994).
After saving numeral Earth cities from the planet's total destruction, the SW6 Legion established this orbiting network as their home base. The adult Chameleon Boy joined them to serve as a mentor.
The SW6 Legionnaires operated simultaneously with their adult counterparts. They were quickly spun into their own separate series, Legionnaires. Their publishing history was brief. After Zero Hour, Legion continuity was rebooted and beginning with Legionnaires #0 & 19, Earth-247 Legion continuity begins.
Shadowed: Legion v.4
#20 (July 1991). Fully revealed: Legion
v.4 #24 (December 1991).
Legionnaires, #1-18 (1993-94)
Legion
1.5 • Legion
Gallery • Comics
Buyer's Guide #999: Looking to the future
Superboy of TV
Tara,
Wildstar and Shift.
From Superboy v.2 #5 (1990).
Art by Jim
Mooney.
+ Superboy v.2 #5 (June 1990)
These adventurers hailed from the year 2239. They appeared to Superboy one at a time with confusing knowledge of his secret identity and other facts. Wildstar, like Lightning Lad, had electrical powers. Tara, like Saturn Girl, was a telepath. Shift could teleport.
At first, Clark was excited to finally meet others like himself. But he soon discovered that these teens had come to the past illegally using time travel software. They invited Superboy to go back to the future with them, but the Boy of Steel was shocked by their disregard for the safety of civilians in the name of thrillseeking. Superboy figured out that they really only wanted him to return with them so that they would have more power against their "oppressor," an adult called Skaar.
Superboy snatched their time travel technology and threatened to break it unless they agreed to return home. They did, but threatened to return.
The "Superboy" series ran from 1988–92. No Legion analog evre appeared in it. The comic book lasted 17 issues (1990–91).
+ Superboy v.2 #15 (April 1990)
Tarot, from Superboy v.2 #15 (1991).
Art by Curt Swan.
Amid strange fluctuations in the timestream, Clark Kent once again found himself in contact with these people. This time, he disappeared from 20th century Metropolis and landed in the year 2240.
He immediately came into contact with two rabblrousers named Glyder (a flyer) and Tarot (who could read astral cards). Like the previous three, these two were on the run from the Gemini Twins, part of that era's law enforcement. Superboy helped them escape from Officer Skarr just as they noticed that a huge section of a building had simply disappeared into a white void! He followed Tarot back to their home base, where he met their leader, Romo, a sentient tiger wh had saved these so-called "genejobs" from unscrupulous scientists.
Their headquarters was in the former Daily Planet building. He met two more: Diamond (super-crystalline) and Screamdreamer (a shapechanger). When he learned that they were allies with Tara, Shift and Wildstar, Superboy became skeptical of thir cause. All differences were soon set aside, however, as the threat of the white void grew worse. The teens worked with Officer Skarr and the Geminis to go after a rogue whom they assumed was causing the trouble: the Dancer.
They found her, back in time, but she was not the source of the time problems. they were unable to solve the problem before Superboy destroyed some sort of "beacon" and was thrust back through the void to his own time.
Superman & Batman:
Generations III
12-issue limited series (2003)
By John Byrne
Having loved the previous two Generations series, I was super excited to find that this third series began with the appearance of a Legionnaire — Saturn Girl. But the series soon became a big drawn-out disappointment. Though the premise of the story is rooted in the 30th century, it takes Superman 11 issues to get there and connect with the Legion. Even then, we only see a handful of them and they aren't central to the story. And it has the worst clichéd comic book ending of all time. Only the issues enumerated below have Legion-related content.
STORY: In the year 2925,
Darkseid has launched a campaign that would eliminate the universe's
greatest heroes from history. He begins a campaign against the Legion
of Super-Heroes. Brainiac 5 acts quickly to call upon their friend, Superboy.
As he and Saturn Girl prepare to take a Time Bubble back to 1925, Brainy
is shot. Before he dies, he orders Saturn Girl to complete the mission
and tells her that the Bubble will return to the 30th century if she
dies.
Although Darkseid
manages to bar all time travel forward to the 30th century, Saturn Girl's
trip precedes this barrier. Her Bubble can follow its own course home. (#4)
When Imra arrives in 1925, she is badly beaten herself. She lands in Smallville, where Darkseid's Parademons have already begun their attack. While Imra meets the Kents and finds Superboy, young Lana Lang and Lois Lane find her Time Bubble and take a joyride into the future — barring Saturn Girl and Superboy's chance of returning to the 30th century. Saturn Girl sees no way out. She is dying, and decides the best course of action is to let the Time Bubble return to the 30th century as a warning (not knowing the Bubble is gone). She broadcasts a mental pulse that makes everyone in Smallville forget the Parademon attack. (#1)
And so it was that Superboy grew up oblivious to the danger his Legion
friends were facing, and of Darkseid's backward march through time. As
the centuries passed, Superman leaves Earth and for a time in the 23rd
century, is trapped on New Genesis. There he marries Beautiful Dreamer.
The incident in 1925 continues
to nag at the recesses of his mind. Ultimately Metron senses Darkseid's
campaign and advises Dreamer to probe Superman's memories. At last, three
hundred years later, he remembers Saturn Girl and her call for help.
For all its good, Superman is still trapped in on New Genesis. (#4)
Superman and Dreamer
bear two children, Vara and Lar-El. (Vara's costume resembles
Triplicate Girl's.) It takes Metron two more centuries to create a portal
that enables Superman to return to Earth. When he arrives, he meets two
descendants of his and Batman's and travel to Smallville. Although
the historic farm home has been replaced by a hologram, Superman finds
the verification of his crusade beneath — Saturn Girl's corpse. (#7)
As fate would have it, the next time Superman is able to take the next
step towards the 30th century comes in 2825. There he meets the teenaged
Lana and Lois, who have just arrived in the Time Bubble from 1925! They
all return to 1925, but this time they save Saturn Girl's
life. They decide once again to wipe
everyone's mind of the meeting then take the Time Bubble back
to the 30th century — only to find it in apocalyptic ruin. (#11)
Superman soon locates
Chameleon Boy and Cosmic Boy. With the help of Wonder Woman and that
era's Green Lantern (Jordan Kelley), they take the battle back
to Darkseid and stop his plans before he has a chance to move back through
time. Of course, this means that the whole thing ... never happened.
(#12)
For
more info on the Generations books, see JLA:
Elseworlds