Legion of Super-Heroes #s 1-6: Paul Levitz Goes Back to the Future

Writer: Paul Levitz; Pencils: Yildiray Cinar, Francis Portela, and Phil Jimenez; Inks: Wayne Faucher, Francis Portela, and Scott Koblish

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars

Paul Levitz is the well-regarded writer who chronicled the futuristic adventures of the Legion of Super-Heroes from 1974 to 1989. During that fifteen year span, working with such artists as Keith Giffen, Steve Lightle, and Greg LaRocque, Levitz penned many memorable story arcs, among them Earthwar, The Great Darkness Saga, and the death of Karate Kid. Now, two decades later, Levitz has returned to the reigns of the Legion of Super-Heroes monthly title.

It is an especially opportune moment for Levitz to resume writing duties. This is the first time in twenty-five years that the continuity of the series has really stabilized since it was first massively upended by the death of Superboy after Crisis on Infinite Earths. The current history of the team appears to be more or less what it was before Crisis, although there are certain signs of alterations here and there. Apparently Levitz is filling in the blanks on those changes to history in Adventure Comics. That leaves him free to push forward in the actual Legion series without having to worry about explaining why events don't sync one hundred percent with the pre-Crisis adventures of the Legion.

Let's address the major contentious plot development within the first six issues of Levitz's new run: the xenophobic Earth-Man is given Legion membership, in an effort by Earth's government to quell the lingering effects of the anti-alien movement that Kirt Niedrigh instigated. At first, I was not thrilled by the news that Kirt would be a continuing character in the new Legion series. As I observed in my review of the otherwise-excellent Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, that story's one major failing was in portraying Earth-Man as a one-dimensional Nazi nutjob totally lacking in any sort of subtlety.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Levitz had, over the course of these first half dozen issues, managed to add some much-needed subtlety and depth to Earth-Man's character. The defining reason for Kirt's xenophobia was his rejection years before for Legion membership. The reason why the team refused to admit Earth-Man into their ranks had nothing to do with his power-duplicating abilities, which are actually very impressive and useful, but because he was psychologically unstable. Kirt refused to accept this, and instead constructed this elaborate fantasy in his head that the Legion was some sort of aliens-only club that deliberately excluded humans, and was intent on invading Earth by stealth. Which led him to spearhead the Xenos' political movement.

Levitz poses the question, what if Earth-Man is given that which he had always wanted, the denial of which drove him to such fanatical actions, namely Legion membership. Suddenly Kirt's entire world is turned upside down. To Levitz's credit, he does not give Earth-Man a Road to Damascus-type conversion. Instead, Kirt is extremely conflicted. He claims his primary goal is to protect Earth, but now he does not know if this will be best achieved by giving his allegiance to the Legion, or remaining loyal to the Xenos' cause. And he still does not like non-humans very much. But that does not prevent him from hopping in the sack with Legion teammate Shadow Lass, a blue-skinned alien from the planet Talok VIII.

There's obviously a lot of tension caused by the inclusion of Earth-Man in the Legion's ranks. After all, this is a man who only a few months before was trying to kill them. So the notion that they are supposed to welcome him with open arms is met with much incredulity and disgust. That is especially pronounced when Phantom Girl accidentally discovers Shadow Lass and Earth-Man in bed together. Tinya is outraged by her teammate's choice of sexual partners, causing strain between these two long-time friends.

(Mind you, I could not help flashing back to Phantom Girl's origin story in Secret Origins #42, by Tom & Mary Bierbaum and Dave Cockrum. In that, Tinya reveals that she has always had a thing for "bad boys," which is part of what led her to become involved with the somewhat roguish Ultra Boy. So she's not exactly in too lofty a position from which to be criticizing Shadow Lass' choice in men!)

Levitz leaves it ambiguous as to how much of Earth-Man's actions are due to his own free well, and how much they are influenced by the "morality-reinforcement feature" that Brainiac 5 secretly added to Kirt's flight ring. In issue #6, Earth-Man is given a full pardon for his past actions, at which point he throws the "enhanced" flight ring in Brainy's face, trading it for a regular, unaltered one. We will have to see how Earth-Man behaves from this point forth, now that there is not any subtle mental conditioning being imposed upon him.

I also like what Levitz did with the Xenos. It's revealed that the leadership of the anti-alien movement is made up a diverse group of ethnic and racial types. That is much more interesting, and original, than having a group of stereotypical Aryans. Through the choice of an assemblage of multi-cultural villains, Levitz accurately demonstrates that intolerance knows no bounds, that we are all susceptible to bigotry if we let our fears and prejudices rule us.

There's a lot more going on in these six issues than just the drama surrounding Earth-Man. The first issue starts off with a bang, literally, as a major, long-standing feature of Legion continuity is blown into oblivion. This catastrophic event actually dovetails nicely with the xenophobia subplot, because the still-divided Earth is suddenly faced with the question of what to do with thousands of alien refugees showing up on their doorstep.

Another occurrence is the kidnapping of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl's twin sons. This ties back to the events of The Great Darkness Saga. In the aftermath of that epic, the defeated Darkseid secretly kidnapped one of Garth and Irma's newborn sons, monstrously transformed him, and sent him back in time to become Validus, one of the Legion's long-time enemies. It was a brilliantly twisted origin on Levitz's part, revealing to the readers, but not the series' cast, that the most mysterious member of the infamous Fatal Five was actually the offspring of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl. (Darkseid, who has always been obsessed with the relationships between parents and children, had a particularly sick reasoning behind his actions: "And who knows, my little Validus, perhaps some day your own parents may even kill you?") Darkseid's machinations were finally revealed to the team in the 1986 Legion annual, and Validus was restored to his original human state.

Now, several years later, a cult worshiping Darkseid has grabbed the twins, hoping to use them to summon the lord of Apokolips back to reality. Levitz makes the cult simultaneously pathetic and dangerous. In their sycophantic worship of Darkseid, they are obviously desperate to bask in the reflected "glory" of their dark lord. Yet they have managed to access a portion of their god's powers for their own use, making them formidable foes.

Of course, this also provides Levitz with the opportunity to demonstrate just how dangerous Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl can truly be in defense of their children. We see an uncharacteristically brutal Garth and Irma, as well as Garth's sister Lightning Lass, going to town on Darkseid's disciples to protect their family. I'm not sure how their actions jibe with the Legion's traditional ban on using lethal force. But it goes to show that even the Legion's founders will go to extraordinary lengths to save their children.

Levitz also sets up several other subplots which he will no doubt be developing in future issues. Back the 1980s, Levitz was an expert at juggling a gigantic cast of characters and multiple concurrent plotlines into a deft blend of superheroes and space opera, all the while making it look effortless. It appears that he's attempting the same feat once again, with this new Legion of Super-Heroes series. So far, he appears to be succeeding.

Oh, yes, it's great to see some of the Legion's more unusual-looking members, namely Tellus, Quislet, and Comet Queen. Also present is Gates, who is from one of the post-Crisis versions of the Legion. I don't know how he ended up in this reality. Maybe it had something to do with the Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds miniseries which I haven't read yet. Whatever the case, he's an interesting character with a cool look, so I'm glad to see him here.

I think the only weak issue so far was #6, which was divided into two stories, "Acceptance" and Leadership." I have no problem with back-up tales, as Levitz did some great character-building in them in the past. The problem was, the first story in #6 felt cramped for space, and the second one went on too long. In other words, I'd rather have seen three or four more pages earmarked for "Acceptance."

That said, the Legion reserve members showcased in "Leadership" have potential, especially Dragonwing, who has a really beautiful, intricately detailed design. I wonder who created her. Perhaps it was Phil Jimenez, who pencilled the back-up story. Must be a chore to draw her, but she leaps off the page.

Of course, I'm totally in the dark over how Duo Damsel turned into Duplicate Girl, who can now split into multiple bodies. Maybe that's another change that occurred in Legion of Three Worlds.

Well, enough about the writing. What about the artwork? I am totally unfamiliar with Yildiray Cinar, the primary penciller on Legion of Super-Heroes. I don't know if he's had any published work before, but his art on this series is absolutely fantastic. It is extremely dynamic. His characters express an amazing range of emotions, bringing Levitz's characterizations fully to life.

My one art gripe concerns the covers. I thought the cover for the first issue was pretty dull, a close-up of a hand wearing both a Legion flight ring and a Green Lantern Corps ring. Obviously it was intended to cause readers to guess which Legion member was being offered membership in the GLC. But as the cover for the first issue of a dramatic relaunch, it just underwhelmed. The other covers were an improvement. For example, issue #5 had a whole bunch of Legion members flying towards the reader. An image like that would have been much better for the first issue.

There were also variant covers for these issues drawn by Jim Lee & Scott Williams. I saw them in comic shops, and they looked beautiful. Problem was, everyone was charging ten dollars and up for those variants, so I didn't feel it was worth picking them up. Maybe they'll be included if these issues receive the trade paperback treatment. For those of us who do not feel like purchasing the same material twice, DC ought to publish a special collecting the variant covers Jim Lee has drawn for this and other titles.

Well, despite a few minor bumps, the new Legion of Super-Heroes series is off to a very good start. I'm certainly looking forward to future issues.