# Goodbye to the Legion of Super-Heroes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342 "2013-05-14T19:30:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/1 "2013-05-14T19:30:18Z")
DC is cancelling it in August. There are rumors of a successor title - relaunching it with a smaller team as ‘Justice Legion’ to try and emulate Justice League a little more closely, but in every way that matters? The Legion’s going to be gone. The spirit of the book probably left months ago; the title and cast are the last vestiges. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/2 "2013-05-14T19:37:59Z")
Lifelong DC comic book fan (since the dawn of the Silver Age), but I stopped reading with the last reboot. I’ve lost track of how many iterations the Legion has had, but where else could you find a hero liking Bouncing Boy or Matter-Eater Lad? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/3 "2013-05-14T19:42:54Z")
The Legion was my favorite group back in the Silver Age, but I stopped following them after a few reboots. Oh, well. Just wait a few years and they’ll be back. The Bucky Clause waits for no hero. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/4 "2013-05-15T01:46:38Z")
I’ve been an LSH fan for ages, and am reading it currently, but the writing of this coming has been on the wall for quite a while now. The current storyline has stooped to the shock-killing of Legionnaires – a familiar tactic prior to previous “cancel, wait, reboot” episodes. And, really, just about everything they put out nowadays is godawful. After Morrison left, I think I’m down to… LSH and Earth 2. Marvel, on the other hand, has quite a few well-written, interesting books. So all the buy slots I’m no longer wasting on DC books were basically filled by Marvel. Much like my experience at the movies with them. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/5 "2013-05-15T09:03:03Z")
The whole concept of the _Legion_ of Superheroes was the fact that they had so many members - hence the name. The Legion with a small team makes about as much sense as a mini-megamart. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/6 "2013-05-15T10:13:05Z")
I stopped buying comics in the early 80’s. Has that franchise been going all this time? I loved the 70’s era comics, but lost interest in the latter ones. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/7 "2013-05-15T11:27:21Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > I’ve been an LSH fan for ages, and am reading it currently, but the writing of this coming has been on the wall for quite a while now. The current storyline has stooped to the shock-killing of Legionnaires – a familiar tactic prior to previous “cancel, wait, reboot” episodes. > > And, really, just about everything they put out nowadays is godawful. After Morrison left, I think I’m down to… LSH and Earth 2. > > Marvel, on the other hand, has quite a few well-written, interesting books. So all the buy slots I’m no longer wasting on DC books were basically filled by Marvel. Much like my experience at the movies with them. DC is putting out good stuff. It’s just that nobody reads them and they’re cancelled. Dial H is the latest quality title to go. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/8 "2013-05-15T11:39:58Z")
> [@Slade](#): > > The whole concept of the _Legion_ of Superheroes was the fact that they had so many members - hence the name. The Legion with a small team makes about as much sense as a mini-megamart. They were called the Legion of Super-Heroes even when they only had three members. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/9 "2013-05-15T12:17:33Z")
> [@planetcory](#): > > DC is putting out good stuff. It’s just that nobody reads them and they’re cancelled. Dial H is the latest quality title to go. Dial H was always going to be canceled. It’s never been an idea that has legs; no matter how well-written, it’ll always be a limited run niche book. Titles like Green Lantern or Teen Titans are more core to the DCU, and linger around now matter how poorly they’re written. DC editorial waffles back and forth whether the LSH is part of that core or not. It’ll be a year or so before they’re reinvented again. It’ll take much longer for Dial H for Hero to get another run. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/10 "2013-05-15T12:32:31Z")
[http://www.reading-room.net/Adventure247/Adventure247P11.html](http://www.reading-room.net/Adventure247/Adventure247P11.html) It’s true that only Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl really feature in the Legion’s first appearance, but even that story shows they’re members of a much bigger club. One panel, which you’ll find on the page linked above, shows six Legionnaires greeting Superboy as “our new member”, and who knows how many more there are just out of shot? ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/11 "2013-05-15T12:39:04Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > I stopped buying comics in the early 80’s. Has that franchise been going all this time? > > I loved the 70’s era comics, but lost interest in the latter ones. The Legion’s gotten a few relaunches, but it’s basically been in continuous publication, yes. And they may be doing a relaunch here, but they will be fundamentally altering the core concept. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/12 "2013-05-15T13:39:36Z")
> [@Slade](#): > > [http://www.reading-room.net/Adventure247/Adventure247P11.html](http://www.reading-room.net/Adventure247/Adventure247P11.html) > > It’s true that only Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl really feature in the Legion’s first appearance, but even that story shows they’re members of a much bigger club. One panel, which you’ll find on the page linked above, shows six Legionnaires greeting Superboy as “our new member”, and who knows how many more there are just out of shot? Me for one. 😉 The (pre-Crisis) order in which the members joined (from the internal chronology) was: Cosmic Boy Saturn Girl Lightning Lad Triplicate Girl Phantom Girl Chameleon Boy Invisible Kid 1 Colossal Boy Star Boy Supergirl (she joined before Superboy!) Brainiac 5 Shrinking Violet Superboy (Kal-El) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/13 "2013-05-15T16:47:29Z")
I kinda gave up on them after they left their [original clubhouse](http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/2/29350/901224-adv340clubhousewalk.jpg). Did I miss much after that? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/14 "2013-05-15T19:15:58Z")
What will become of Arm Fall Off Boy??? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/15 "2013-05-15T20:10:09Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > What will become of Arm Fall Off Boy??? Speaking of… I always thought that Fall Out Boy would have been an excellent name for a member of the Legion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/16 "2013-05-15T22:14:09Z")
I fondly remember the Legion of Super-Heroes mostly from the 1970s era, with the sexy superheroines (Saturn Girl, Princess Projectra, etc.) in those improbably-tiny costumes. Ah, the memories! ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/17 "2013-05-16T01:05:24Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > I fondly remember the Legion of Super-Heroes mostly from the 1970s era, with the sexy superheroines (Saturn Girl, Princess Projectra, etc.) in those improbably-tiny costumes. Ah, the memories! That would be the era that **Qadgop** missed. Of course, that would also be the era of the Cosmic Boy bustier costume… so he may consider that to have been a mixed blessing, all things considered. Current LSH issue is obviously putting some of the characters into storage for whatever comes next, but set up so the whole Legion could be re-united when the retcon comes. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/18 "2013-05-16T11:41:17Z")
Would this be a good time to mention [The Legion of Substitute Heroes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Substitute_Heroes)? “ **Antennae Lad** (Khfeurb Chee Bez from the planet Grxyor): has the power to tune into any broadcast from any era, but mostly at random. **Chlorophyll Kid** (Ral Benem from the planet Mardru): has the power to make plants grow extremely fast. **Color Kid** (Ulu Vakk from the planet Lupra): can change the color of objects. […] He was temporarily known as Color Queen after being exposed to Granderian Gender-Reversal Germs by Infectious Lass. **Double-Header** (Frenk and Dyvud Retzun from the planet Janus): has two heads as a result of gradual mitosis. **Fire Lad** (Staq Mavlen from the planet Schwar): gained the power to breathe fire (often accidentally, as he suffers from allergies). **Infectious Lass** (Drura Sehpt from the planet Somahtur): spontaneously generates infectious diseases. Her aim and control are haphazard, though. \*\*Night Girl \*\*(Lydda Jath from the sunless planet Kathoon): has super strength and invulnerability which were engineered for her by her father, but they are only effective in darkness. **Polar Boy** (Brek Bannin from the planet Tharr): has the ability to project cold and ice. […] After the Substitute Heroes disbanded, he was admitted to the Legion proper, and later elected its leader. **Porcupine Pete** (Peter Dursin from Earth): has quills he can inaccurately shoot from his body. **Stone Boy** (Dag Wentim from the planet Zwen): has the power to turn into stone for hibernating on a planet with a six-month long night. In the beginning Stone Boy could only transform into an inanimate stone statue and was often used in humorous ways (e.g., being dropped on a villain).” Source: Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/19 "2013-05-16T11:55:26Z")
Has the Legion ever had a top drawer writer, on the order of Morrison or Bendis? Levitz and Giffen are the best I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342/20 "2013-05-16T12:02:31Z")
[quote=“Slade, post:18, topic:658342”] Would this be a good time to mention [The Legion of Substitute Heroes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Substitute_Heroes)? **Color Kid** (Ulu Vakk from the planet Lupra): can change the color of objects. […] He was temporarily known as Color Queen after being exposed to Granderian Gender-Reversal Germs by Infectious Lass. Color Kid once saved Superboy’s life by changing green kryptonite to blue kryptonite. In a much more recent version of the Legion he paired up with a future Green Lantern, 'cause that “vulnerability to yellow” is always such a problem. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-to-the-legion-of-super-heroes/658342.md?page=2)