THE LEGION #1

By: Tony Whitt
Date: Monday, November 05, 2001

It's been an exciting couple of years for Legion of Super-Heroes fans. First the miniseries LEGION LOST took our heroes in an entirely new directionas far into space and as far from home as possible. Then, after an agonizing twelve months, the team made it back, and the repercussions of their return were shown in yet another six issue miniseries, the innovative LEGION WORLDS. After all this buildup, we finally get to see their homecoming. Has it been worth it? Oh, yes.

Imagine the media circus that would ensue if a team of heroes, thought to be dead for an entire year, suddenly crash-landed outside one of the biggest city centers on Earth. That's exactly what we get, as seven of the missing heroes and their newfound friend Shikari arrive. It's an amazing entrance, as even Mon El is quick to note. But the kids have returned to a world seemingly completely recovered from the Blight that nearly destroyed it before they left, and they've also returned to a world without a Legion. President Leeland McCauley, never a big fan of the Legion, isn't all that pleased to see them, but since he's just been taken hostage by Corvan IV dissidents, his views might soon be changing.

My own views on Abnett and Lanning's work has never waveredas much as I've enjoyed their work on other books (with perhaps the single exception of this month's BLOODSTONE), it's books like this that make it obvious they were born to write the Legion. This story brings the team back in style, and there's just enough exposition here, especially in the well-handled "media blitz" scene, to introduce new readers unfamiliar with LEGION LOST or LEGION WORLDS. Of course, those new readers might be lost by that very same sequence, but not everything has to be perfect. As usual, there's an excellent balance of humor and action, about as much as you might expect from any first issue of a new series, and the story even ends with a bang. Literally. Ouch. What more could an avid Legion fan ask for?

This particular Legion fan has maybe one more think to ask for. I had never been particularly fond of Olivier Coipel's artwork before the last few issues of the previous seriesit always seemed just a tad bit too messy for my tastes, especially against the antiseptic backdrop of the 31st century. It was perfect for the darkly biological "Legion of the Damned" storyline that ended the previous two series, though, and it worked just fine for LEGION LOST. Here, there are subtle changes to let us know that the artistic team knows they're working in a new universebrighter colors from McCraw, slightly less grotesque facial expressions from Coipel, a lighter touch on the inks from Lanningbut it's Coipel's work that will decide the look for the new series, and I'm not sure about it yet. Give me a few more issues, and I'll be able to better decide.


In any case, there are moments in which the script and artwork shine: the none-too-subtle racism against Chameleon on the part of McCauley's advisors; the look of unhappy fear on Shikari's face as she's taken away for quarantine; and of course, the amazing cliffhanger. As long as this creative team can create moments such as these, this new Legion title promises to be even more exciting than the previous ones.

THE LEGION

Grade: A-

Issue: No. 1

Author(s): Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Olivier Coipel, Tom McCraw

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $2.50