Paul Levitz is back!! The Legion is back!! I crunch numbers!! Let's take a look at The Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 6) #1

Legion of Super-Heroes (Vol 6) #1

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and didn't spend it, as I did, suffering from the flu that wouldn't go away...

We have the latest version of the Legion of Super-Heroes, fresh off their guest appearances in Superman, Action Comics, Justice League of America, Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, Countdown, and the Last Stand of New Krypton (Yes, I'm saying they guest starred in Legion of 3 Worlds - they pretty much just stood around and watched the Teen Titans get resurrected). You would think that interest in the team couldn't be any higher.

We're also six years removed from the last Legion first issue - that was the beginning of the Threeboot Legion.

We also see the return of much-lauded Legion writer Paul Levitz. Can he bring the magic back to the team, as well as a bunch of new and older readers?

 

In December 2004, Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 5) by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson, sold 50,694 copies (ranked 25th in units sold).

In January 2009, issue #50 sold 22,320 copies (ranked 86th).

In May 2010, Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 6) by Paul Levitz and Yildiray Cinar, sold 44,415 copies (ranked 39th).

At first glance, this looks like the Legion is dropping fans. But let's compare this first issue to other firsts in 2010. I'm going to ignore any big event mini-series that everyone has to buy to understand what's going on in their regular series.

January 2010:

• Fall of Hulks Red Hulk #1 - 42,482
• Ultimate Comics Enemy #1 - 38,880
• Joe the Barbarian #1 - 25,543

February 2010:

• Ultimate Comics X #1 - 59,159
• Doomwar #1 - 43,241

March 2010:

• Kevin Smith Green Hornet #1 - 54,124
• Nemesis #1 - 53,733
• First Wave #1 - 38,364
• Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #1 - 38,205
• American Vampire #1 - 33,765

April 2010:

• Flash #1 - 100,903
• Ultimate Comics Avengers 2 #1 - 64,811
• World War Hulks #1 - 41,398

May 2010:

• Birds of Prey #1 - 50,428
• Zatanna #1 - 33,691

44,415 doesn't look too bad now, does it? I mean, they're obviously not going to do Flash numbers (and I purposely excluded some new Marvel books, such as Avengers #1). But they're hanging with a lot of other firsts and they're outselling some characters who we'd now consider bigger names.

But what blows me away is the fact that they outsold Last Stand of New Krypton #1 by over 6,000. Let's take a look at how they compare with other Superman books in April 2010 (they didn't publish any Superman books in May because of the War of the Superman story):

• 32. Superman Secret Origin #5 - 42,638
• 41. Adventure Comics #10 - 37,573
• 49. Last Stand of New Krypton #2 - 35,886
• 52. Last Stand of New Krypton #3 - 34,553
• 54. Superman #699 - 33,183
• 58. Superman Batman #71 - 31,714
• 62. Action Comics #888 - 29,536
• 63. Supergirl #52 - 29,490
• 66. Action Comics #889 - 29,106

So the Legion would be the best-selling book in the Superman line, based on these numbers. I have to assume DC was not happy with the way the Superman comics were selling and they probably couldn't wait to be done with the New Krypton stuff. I know I couldn't wait...

I'd love to be able to write that the crossovers didn't help the Legion at all, and that they had a bunch of fans that were dying to see the OG Legion come back into regular comics. And that Levitz's return turned the Legion into a strong-selling book and the new direction of the title made them relevant again.

I'd love to be able to write that. But I know that by issue 8, Legion sales are down to 25,063... That puts them dangerously close to the same numbers volume 5 had when that book was cancelled.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... let's take a look at this story. Maybe it's aged better than I expected.

 

The issue, written by Paul Levitz, pencilled by Yildiray Cinar, and inked by Wayne Faucher, begins in a facility in the arctic. The year is 3010. Earth-Man is being tortured... or, at least, that's what it looks like. He's not happy because he's suffering because of Earthlings, the same race he fought for back in the Action Comics story.

The Science Police have been tasked with draining as much of Earth-Man's power as they can. We get a discussion between the officers - most are pro-Legion and don't have anything against off-worlders. But one isn't a fan of the "weirdo Legionnaires." He says that there are some powerful people trying to get Earth-Man freed.

We also learn that the Earth is trying to get back into the United Planets in a somewhat clumsy moment. Levitz is trying his best to get the readers caught up here and I think this scene would work better if they focused on why Earth-Man is being held and treated so badly. I mean, he did kill more than a few heroes, right? Also, am I the only one who's noticed that Levitz's future idea of the police is usually pretty sketchy?

Next, we head to Titan, where Saturn Girl has returned home. She meets up with Doctor Aven, who's not happy about Earth's xenophobic nature. He tells her that this is the reason the Time Institute has moved from Earth to Titan. Let's give some bonus points for adding a character from the Reboot Legion to this timeline.

They head into the Academy and Imra asks if they still have the room where she kept her journal. Aven tells her that of course it's there - they protect privacy above all else.

Now it's time for the first moment where the series goes off the rails, so to speak, and makes no sense. Cosmic Boy and Ultra Boy burst into S.P. Headquarters in Metropolis, directly challenging the S.P. Chief, Gigi Cusimano. They're not happy about something and Gigi tells them that the Legion needs to compromise.

The new plan?

The Legion takes on a new member, ensures his good behavior, and Legion HQ stays on Earth. And the Earth gives away the Time Institute and all of its discoveries to the outer worlds.

Why do I say this goes off the rails? First, why yell at an S.P. Chief when she didn't make the decision? Go and yell at the Earthgov President! Second, how does the Earthgov have this much power over the Legion? Especially as they kicked them off once before - you would think they'd be doing everything to keep the Legion happy since they, you know, saved them. Third, why wouldn't the Legion be willing to move off planet in order to control their roster? What is keeping the Legion there except tradition? Why couldn't they just make their HQ space-worthy and live on the moon? Or in orbit around Mars?

Of course, when they finally reveal who the new member is, this whole silly concept is even worse.

We head to the Time Institute on Titan, where three scientists are preparing to use the central viewing station and get things up and running. They're not happy to be on Titan, but happy to be off Earth. We meet Professor Li, who worked with Rond Vidar (remember that he died in Legion of 3 Worlds), and she says that she's worried about looking back into the past.

Back to Titan, where Saturn Girl reveals some more of her past and we finally get a mention of her and Lightning Lad's children. I was convinced they were no longer married in this version but I guess Levitz wanted to keep some things he remembered.

We also learn that Garth has headed off to find Mekt's twin. Anyone else remember that dangling plot line from a past issue of Adventure Comics?

To Legion HQ, where the new member is revealed: It's Earth-Man. According to Cosmic Boy, a xenophobic faction is blackmailing Earthgov to force the Legion to accept him. Brainiac 5 doesn't want him. Sun Boy hints that he's going to kill him. But Rokk says that Legion has "to keep him in line... and alive." Yep, a Legionnaire just intimated murdering someone... where is the Legion code?

Rokk tells everyone that if they don't accept him, they have to move their HQ off Earth. And if they can make him part of the team and show that he can work well with off-worlders, it'll help the peace plan.

Brainy, in a moment where he's drawn to look crazy, says that he's going to offer Earth-Man a very special flight ring. He leaves, mumbling to himself, and Phantom Girl tells him that this isn't healthy. Brainy tells her that recruiting and controlling a sociopath isn't healthy - and they he doesn't have time for this.

 

Let's break away from the story for a moment or two to talk about why this might be the single dumbest plot line in Legion history. Let's look at his crimes first:

First, Earth-Man murdered Double Header.

Second, Earth-Man captured and imprisoned numerous Legionnaires to fuel his powers.

Third, one of those, Sun Boy, he hooked up to a machine to use his powers to turn every sun into a red sun.

Fourth, Earth-Man beat Legionnaire Chameleon Girl (also Colossal Boy's wife) to a bloody pulp.

Fifth, Earth-Man almost killed Superman. 

Sixth, Earth-Man joined Superboy-Prime to attack the Legion (and Metropolis) during Legion of 3 Worlds, happily working with the villains to kill Legionnaires and regular citizens.

And the plot problems:

Seventh, Earth-Man should be in Takron-Galtos, which is where he was at the beginning of that mini-series, instead of on Earth.

Eighth, wouldn't adding Earth-Man make the Legion look bad? How does this help anyone? And why would the xenophobes have any power, or the ability to blackmail anyone, after the events in Action Comics and Legion of 3 Worlds?

 

I get that Levitz is trying to up the drama, and add a Legionnaire who no one trusts, but there's no way that any Legionnaire would accept this, least of all Cosmic Boy.

I'm all for a good redemption story, but Earth-Man? Of all the options? I ranted before about not wanting to see a Superboy-Prime redemption story. I put Earth-Man into the same category.

 

Let's get back to the story: At the Time Institute, the other scientists, Adjapu and Usalus, talk about what to look at first. Adjapu decides to go back and look at the beginning of the universe. Professor Li, sounding more like a religious leader than a person of science, talks about how there are cautionary tales that tell us not to observe the birth of the universe.

Okay, we all know that she's going to be proven correct - we've all read Crisis on Infinite Earths - but the whole scene just doesn't read right, if that makes sense. It seems like we're just creating false drama. This would've worked better if all three were gung ho about this. That way, when it fails and everything blows up (and it will), whoever is left gets to rethink their choices and make changes.

Cosmic Boy, Brainiac 5, and Sun Boy make Earth-Man the offer - freedom and membership in the Legion. There's only one catch - they have a very special Legion Flight Ring for him. It's got extra security features, it's very hard to remove, and it'll blow off his arm if he does something wrong.

They hand him the ring and tell Earth-Man to consider their offer. We also get this great bit of dialogue:

Sun Boy: Why are governments always so stupid?

Brainiac 5: Because they are run by people, Sun Boy... and there are no more foolish creatures since the beginning of time.

Insert timely joke here...

At the Time Institute, they see the energies coalesce at the beginning of time, at the spot where Oa would be formed. We see the gigantic hand reach out, a huge ball of energy in its palm...

And then electricity blasts out, destroying the viewing screen, the roof of the building, and every satellite around Titan.

This, to no surprise to anyone who's read a Green Lantern comic, gets the attention of Sodam Yat, the last Lantern in the universe and someone who, apparently, has done a horrible job of finding new Lanterns since the end of Legion of 3 Worlds. He's a Daxamite who's been alive for over 1,000 years. Oa seems to break open, green energy flying everywhere.

Yat asks his ring how it's possible that Oa appears to be crying with him. The answer:

"Residual commands of the Guardians to this home world remain awaiting activation, undocumented in the book of Oa.

Violation of their primary commandment for the first time since Krona brought evil into this universe is likely trigger, not tears.

Consequences unknown."

So, basically, the universe is about to suffer and we don't know what's going to happen. And the ring is deliberately obtuse.

As Titan starts to fall apart, Saturn Girl rushes to save everyone. She comments that she brought her sons to the moon as well (shame we didn't see them earlier) and that it was a mistake. I kinda like the idea that she's saving everyone before rushing to her kids, but it would nice to see her questioning the choice.

On Oa, a new life form emerges from within the planet named Dyogene, who takes a power ring and flies away.

Dawnstar and Ultra Boy have rushed to Titan to help save everyone. According to them, the satellites that were destroyed before were actually keeping everyone on the planet alive - they're the life support system. And there isn't enough time to save everyone.

On the planet, Saturn Girl finally rushes to her children. It looks like a school dormitory, but it honestly could be anything. She bursts through the windows and quickly finds Graym and Garridan... I guess the Validus subplot's been thrown out, right?

Before she can grab a hold of them, a blast of energy surrounds the twins and it looks like they've been destroyed. Now that I did not see coming.

On Earth, as Earth-Man thinks about whether to join the Legion or not, Dyogene appears, remarking that there's a lot of strength present.

Saturn Girl heads to the Time Institute, hoping that it was a time-transport beam that struck her boys. You gotta love when you can see your children vaporized in an energy beam and immediately know it's a beam that sent them somewhere in time. And no, I have no idea how you could tell them apart... but Saturn Girl has way more experience than I do.

Imra gets to the main viewing area and Adjapu and Usalus are dead. Professor Harmonia Li (shoulda mentioned her first name early - sorry) tells her that the energy blast knocked Titan off balance and this can't be fixed. When Saturn Girl asks about a time-transport beam, Li just apologizes.

The Legion is already in rescue mode on Titan, getting as many people off planet as possible. Brainy walks through the chaos, protected by his force shield (why not fly?), and continues towards the Time Institute to collect anything left intact. We get a few moments of his thoughts and I guess even Levitz is happy to write Brainy as a condescending jerk.

When he reaches the Institute, he sees that Saturn Girl is inside a Time Bubble and ready to go find her sons. She tells him that Li can explain everything and then disappears. In case you're wondering how she knows where to go to find her children, I can't figure it out either. There's no viewer to look through. The beam doesn't offer any clues. I guess Saturn Girl is just that good at dealing with time travel.

We move a little bit forward in time. The Legion has gotten as many people off planet as they can and Dawnstar is leading the ships towards Earth. Colossal Boy makes a sexist remark and none of them seem too concerned with the fact that they weren't able to save everyone. Am I the only one who remembers where heroes weren't content with just doing better than others, but wanted to achieve everything?

Titan explodes and Saturn Girl, even though she's no where near them and somewhere else in time, feels the thoughts of everyone who dies in the explosion. Because Titan is a planet of telepaths, the entire universe "hears" their deaths.

We get a nice nine-panel spread to show who's affected: Blok and the Black Witch on the Sorcerers' World, Polar Boy and whatever woman's in bed with him on Tharr, Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel at The Legion Academy, Lightning Lord on Takron-Galtos, and Earth-Man at Legion HQ.

Dyogene then lets Earth-Man know he's been chosen at the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. There are now two rings for Earth-Man to consider.

Wow... that just got worse, didn't it?

I'm trying to remember the last time I wrote this sentence:

We get a Legion book written by Paul Levitz where the art is considerably better than the story.

I honestly didn't remember how good Cinar was on this book. I really, really like the artwork. His Legion looks energetic and he does a great job of moving the story along and making sure every moment is clear to the reader. His breakdowns are good and he makes some great choices throughout. I'm now kinda regretting we didn't talk more about him during the podcast on great Legion creators.

I wish he had a better story to work with.

Actually, most of the story is pretty good. Levitz may not have won any awards (which is a shame, when you think about it), but he understands the Legion as well as anyone and wrote the textbook on how to write a team book. I may not want to see another "let's look back to the beginning of the universe" story, but everything else works. I always love seeing the Legion in rescue mode and, with one issue, he elevates Saturn Girl. Unfortunately, there's one gigantic problem. 

It all comes back to this - by putting Earth-Man center in this story, by making him both a Legionnaire and a Green Lantern, you're lowering the value of both. I mean, if he's good enough to be either, where's the bar? Should we expect Tharok to join? Or Grimbor to get a ring?

This is just a gigantic mental leap that the reader has to do and it goes counter to everything we've seen before. It was revealed that one of the reasons Absorbancy Boy (Earth-Man's prior identity) was rejected by the Legion was because of a mental scan performed by Saturn Girl. So she knew he wasn't strong enough, or good enough, or heroic enough, to be a Legionnaire.

Yet somehow we have to accept that he's worthy of being a Green Lantern?

And that the Legionnaires will forget all their values and morals to let him join the team?

Sorry, but it just doesn't work for me.

 

You may notice I'm only covering one issue this week - just easing back into the swing of things in the new year.

And I also have to announce a great new episode of the Long Live the Legion podcast. Jim and I spend some time talking about the greatest of them all: Superboy! And on YouTube as well!