Retro Review: The Legion 1-8 of 38 (2001)
Welcome back, legionnaires! We know you just watched three of your friends die, you've been stranded in another galaxy for a year and that you're most likely a bit traumatized, but heeeeey, what's another attempt at world domination between pals, right?
No, seriously, these kids cannot catch a break!
Our lost legionnaires have returned from their year long sojourn to find that the U.P has gone loony and some very unflattering stone effigies have been erected in their honor. What the hell is going on? I have absolutely no idea as I haven't read Legion Worlds yet. But on a side-note: what possessed DC to change the title of the comic? Why didn't they just go back to Legion of Superheroes once Legion Lost was over? I mean, it was one thing to cancel Legionnaires, but why cancel both running titles and then rename the entire concept something entirely different? Was that supposed to be new and edgy?
Friends, there has never been, nor will their ever be, anything "new and edgy" about the Legion of Superheroes. Cheese is their superpower.
DnA plop our returning heroes down in the middle of a conspiracy, where the notorious villain Ra's al Ghul has secretly transplanted himself (in the guise of Leland McCauley) as president of the U.P, warping it into a totalitarian state in what I assume is a matter of months. While i'm not entirely sure how he accomplished it, I am nevertheless rather fascinated by this more realistic, darker version of the 31st century. The only oddity, to me, is how in the world they managed to "fix" Earth when only the previous year Saturn Girl was begging for aide when the Blight had forced the planet to the point of death.
It got better?
Within the first two issues the group is dodging assassination attempts, fighting a government sanctioned group called the Oversight Watch, and trudging through a very nasty sewer. It is here that we discover that Leland McCauley is not Leland McCauley at all, and the plot thickens. OoooOooOooooo. However, the sewage is also thickening, and the group is nearly about to be in it up to their necks when they are rescued by the remaining legionnaires who promptly take them to...
LEGION WORLD.
Oh, my good lord, R.J Brande built a planet. And while I have to admit the concept is nifty, I can't help but laugh at the name. Couldn't they come up with anything better than Legion World? Whoever was in charge of that should be fired.
Besides, if it doesn't have the teacup ride, i'm not going.
The entire storyline picks up speed after this, and while it should have been confusing, I give the writers credit in that it didn't feel too rushed. In fact, the exposure of Ra's al Ghul coming in the middle of the plotline was a pleasant surprise, as I would have thought they'd leave his big reveal for later. I was also really impressed with the characterization of M'Onel in this arc. This reboot had sort of mellowed out his character a bit, but here we see a strong-willed, almost arrogant young man, unused to being in a position of vulnerability. This is a character that I can imagine seeding worlds. I hope, despite the fact that this series' run ends with issue #38, that they kept up his growth.
It's at this point that the arc has what I feel is its only lagging point. For whatever reason we're treated to an Afterschool Special issue, where we all learn a valuable lesson on prejudice and putting aside vengeance and extremism. Awwwwwwww. Really, the goal of the issue was to get the Kwai to help the Legion make super-awesome, inter-dimensional gates that they can use to travel around, so I'm not sure why we need this odd backstory to go along with it.
I'm sure it comes up later in the series.
Soon enough we're back to Earth, where everyone is getting turned into little eggs and Kinetix has been transformed...again. However, unlike previous transformations, this one seems somewhat useful! She's apparently now something of an evolutionary midwife, helping the human species to evolve during a cataclysmic event. Not only that, but they sort of threw her old personality out the window when they evolved her! Yay!
Best of all, thanks to her, we have the cutest scene in the whole arc.
OMGOD, BRAINY, WHY SO CUTE?!
Despite the fact that the storyline ends with a bit of a deus ex machina, it wasn't so ridiculous that I couldn't enjoy myself. Okay, okay, using Legion World to counterbalance the moon's gravity is pretty ridiculous, but who cares? Besides, I really like all the little threads of new storylines popping up while i'm suspending disbelief! Venge is not who he seems? Why all these clones? Robotica! Does this mean COMPUTO? What's going to happen to Earth now?! The depth of storytelling is way better than anything i've seen coming from the Legion in the New 52!
Not to mention, M'Onel saying "Just you. And me." was cheesy and awesome all at the same time.
So! All in all I found this first arc of The Legion series to be absolutely great. For the first time in forever this series seems fresh, and i'm including the current storylines in that. I've been told that i'll feel the same way about the Threeboot series, but i've read a few issues of it and...well...i'll leave that rant for later when I've managed to snag them all.
All that being said, i'm super glad I bought this series in full so I can keep reading! It's a hoot so far! And as always, science buddies!
IF YOU DREAM IT, YOU CAN DO IT!
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