Superman goes back to the future to face... the Justice League?? We look at Action Comics #858 & 859

Action Comics #858

With the success of the Lightning Saga, and the continued sales dip of the actual Legion of Super-Heroes book, DC continued with the Retroboot Legion in the pages of Action Comics.

Or this is just Geoff Johns continuing to relive his childhood... 

May 2007:

JLA #9 - 129,243 (ranked 3rd)

JSA #6 - 98,869 (ranked 16th)

Supergirl & the Legion #30 - 30,757 (ranked 79th)

October 2007:

Action Comics #858 - 53,758 (ranked 35th)

Supergirl & the Legion #35 - 27,341 (ranked 91st) 

Just to put these numbers in perspective, the last time a Legion-related comic sold over 100,000 was back during volume 4. And Action Comics #858 outsold almost every issue of the Threeboot Legion - which was the best-selling Legion book since volume 4.

It is very clear that DC was moving quickly towards a complete reboot of the Legion and that the regular Legion of Super-Heroes series was going to be cancelled as soon as possible. These issues are all coming out just before Jim Shooter takes over the book. Legion of Three Worlds (next on the reread list) starts the same month as LSH #45.

So the one thing I can't wrap my head around is how Shooter thought, for even a moment, that his book was going to continue. Was he kept completely in the dark? Were his editors lying to him? Was he ignoring all the signs? If anyone has the answer, please let me know.

After that prologue, let's start. This issue, titled "Alien World," is written by Geoff Johns, pencils by Gary Frank, and inks by Jon Sibal.

We begin in 3008, and the Superman origin is happening again. Only this time, it's a different planet, with a different set of parents, but the same result. The planet blows up and their child is sent to Earth. Why Earth? Because 1,000 years ago, a Kryptonian couple did the same thing and Earth embraced their child and made him a hero.

The child flies through space, crashes into Smallville, and is discovered by an older couple. What do Juun and Mara do this time? Pull out a gun and say, "We do what all law-abiding citizens would... We kill it."

Okay, so the future isn't what we're expecting, is it?

We go back to 2008 and the Daily Planet keeps turning. Perry White lays into Jimmy Olsen for a bad photograph and then tries to give Clark Kent some advice about making friends his own age. Perry thinks Clark needs to reach out and meet people. As he's trying to help Clark, an alien robot approaches the city... which means, of course, that Clark has to fake an illness and rush off.

The robot is a Brainiac design so Superman immediately punches it. But the video screen on the front reveals that it's from Brainiac 5. Brainy tells Superman that, although the rest of the team didn't want to get him involved, he knows that without Superman's aid, the "New Darkness" will just get worse.

But Superman has no idea who he is. So the robot zaps him, causing him to remember.

We go back to Smallville, back to Clark being a teenager who couldn't fit in because of his powers. After being rejected by his classmates, he heads home, jumps in the air, and starts flying.

But after he lands, the familiar (to us, at least) font of Interlac fills the page. Flying over Clark are Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad. They've come back to the past to meet Clark and to thank him. They give him a flight ring, not that he needs it, because every member of their organization has one.

We also get a nice little moment where Saturn Girl, reading Clark's mind, says, "Sometime soon, the world will accept you for who you really are... and, no, I don't have a boyfriend." 

Then they head to the Time Bubble to return to the late 30th Century. Clark asks them to take him with them. And Cosmic Boy wonders, "What's one more broken rule?"

Brainy's voice returns, asking Superman if he remembers when he joined the team in the future, when he joined the Legion of Super-Heroes.

And we get this great two-page spread:

Superman's memory has come back and between the memory charge from Brainy and the Lightning Saga adventure, he's making sense of all of this.

So now I'm wondering this - if Superman, as seen in the Lightning Saga, has statues of all the Legionnaires, why does he not recognize Brainiac 5? I mean, I get the different haircut and the fuzzy picture isn't helping, but this is Superman, right?

Also, why does he need to be reminded of anything? It's not like he forgot the Legion - he just hasn't seen them in a while. Or has Johns forgotten his own previous story? We learned last week that the creative team on Countdown forgot what happened in the Lightning Saga so I guess it's not a huge stretch that it's been forgotten again. 

The robot opens up to show both a Time Bubble and a Legion flight ring that's calibrated to the bubble. Superman gets inside, eager to help his friends, as Brainy continues explaining about the trouble in the future.

The Bubble takes Superman forward in time, leaves him stunned, and he stumbles out, wondering where he is. Everything around him looks damaged and there's graffiti on the Legion statue in front of him. As he stares at his likeness, Superman is surrounded by Science Police officers who can't believe what they're seeing.

But before they can shoot, the wall smashes inward and Colossal Boy has arrived to grab rings. Superman asks him what's going, what's happened to Legion headquarters, and then Dawnstar and Wildfire enter.

Superman explains that Brainiac 5 sent him but Dawnstar says that they haven't seen Brainy in over six months - a few weeks after the events of the Lightning Saga. Wildfire wants to send Superman back right away but, of course, the S.P.s shoot and destroy the Time Bubble.

As the shooting continues, the S.P.s say that seeing Superman with the Legion is blasphemy and that they need backup - the Justice League.

Superman holds his hand up to show he's the real deal and to stop one of the blasts... but the laser goes right through his hand. Blood spatters on his face and he's in shock.

Dawnstar tells him that things are different in the future now. And that he'll need to activate his flight ring. Because in the year 3008, the Earth's sun is red.

 

Action Comics #859

Chapter Two, titled "Illegal Aliens," written by Geoff Johns, pencils by Gary Frank, and inks by Jon Sibal.

We begin with three people using cables to drop into a cave. Who are they? Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad. They don't have their flight rings so everything's just a little bit more difficult. At the bottom, Garth sparks up to light up the area and we see they're in the Batcave. I'm always amazed that these things can last 1,000 years, but I guess it's safe to say Bruce built everything to last.

They're looking for any proof Krypton existed but Garth doesn't know why they're looking through these fossils. Batman wasn't super-powered, lived in the dark, and covered his face - how could he be close to Superman?

We get our first recap of what's actually going on. The new villain of this story? Earth-Man and his rejects. The Espionage Squad disappeared, Ayla is in hiding, and the Legion have been turned into criminals.

And if they fail, the universe is going to war. All in the name of Superman.

She realizes that the villains have found them and, with little warning, they burst through the rock around the cave. They're nice enough to tell us who everyone is, their home planet, and what powers they have, so here are your villains for this story:

• Earth-Man (aka Absorbancy Boy) - Kirt Niedrigh - Earth - Super-power absorption and duplication
• Golden Boy - Klint Stewart - Earth - Midas touch, solid metal body
• Spider-Girl - Sussa Paka - Earth - Web-like hair
• Tusker - Horace Lafeaugh - Earth - Unbreakable skeleton
• Storm Boy - Myke Chypurz - Earth - Weather Manipulation
• Radiation Roy - Roy Travich - Earth - Living radioactive isotope

Figured out what they all have in common? The Legion's founders are all under arrest and Earth-Man quickly points out they're all aliens.

You also might recognize them from their previous appearances in Legion comics. All of them tried out for Legion membership and all were rejected.

A battle is quickly started as the Legionnaires try to escape. They call out these villains for their lies and their crusade against Superman. Tusker says they're telling the truth about Superman. As they fall, one-by-one, we see this new team is called the Justice League... and they're all wearing Legion flight rings.

Why would the Legionnaires give up their flight rings? And how did these bad guys get them? 

At the former Braal embassy, Dawnstar is wrapping a bandage around Superman's injured hand as she, Wildfire, and Colossal Boy explain what's happened.

The sun turned red after a solar shuttle research accident and the Legion knew they could never bring Superman back because he wouldn't have his powers and he could be hurt... oh, and he's the most important figure in intergalactic history. So that explains why we haven't seen the Legion since the first Crisis.

I'm just going to ignore the scientific impossibility of this and how if our sun was a red star, Earth wouldn't exist. 

But since the entire United Planets, the peace throughout the galaxy, and the laws everyone follows are built on Superman's ideals, if he were to die in the future, that event would ruin everything the future is built on.

Colossal Boy's wife, along with a lot of other Legionnaires, have disappeared and might be dead. This is why they grabbed the flight rings last issue - to give them to their teammates... and their purpose. As Dawnstar says:

To stand as a symbol of diversity, unity and tolerance. Long Live the Legion.

There's another reason why they didn't want to bring Superman to this fight. We go to The Human Cultural Center to find out what that is. The children are being taught that Superman was from Earth, and Mother Earth gave him his powers. And that the Legion lied about his background, claiming he was an alien. The Legion brought more and more aliens to Earth and rejected the humans who wanted to join.

It was Earth-Man who discovered the truth on an archaeological dig in the Arctic. He found the true origins of Superman and has spent his life teaching people what really happened.

Mid-lesson, the Justice League arrive with the three Legion founders imprisoned in glass coffins. These coffins are in the shape of Superman's symbol. As they clink into their spots on the floor, Earth-Man absorbs their powers.

Which is when he gets the news that someone dressed as Superman has arrived and there are remnants of a time sphere. He heads out and we see who else has been captured: Invisible Kid II, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, Shrinking Violet, and Blok.

Dumb question - since Invisible Kid II is an Earthling, wouldn't he be treated differently?

Now that Superman has been told what's going on, he's stunned. Wildfire explains that once the xenophobia started to spread, it didn't take long for people to believe the lies. Superman knows that if he's going to succeed, he needs to find Brainiac 5.

Dawnstar uses her powers and the trail is faint, but it leads to Alien Holding Camp 6736 - the old, upside-down rocket ship Legion HQ. And within is another Legionnaire who they hope can help.

Most definitely to be continued...

 

I liked these two issues. It's a great set-up for the most basic of team stories - you break everything apart and bring everything together to show the strength of the Legion. You know, what 5YL said was going to happen and then failed miserably at.

I like Gary Frank's work here - he hasn't started drawing Superman as Christopher Reeve and his redesigns for the Legion are good.

Yes, there are massive plot holes here and, like most of the stories, the Legionnaires have magically forgotten how to fight as a team, but I'll go along for this ride. Can't wait to see what comes next issue!

 

What did you think? Did this series get you into the Legion? Were you happy to see the OG Legion back? Please share in the comments either here or on Reddit.

Until next week...