Legion of Super-Heroes: 1,050 Years of the Future

by Otto Binder, Jerry Siegel, Jim Shooter

A stunning collection celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of one of DC's greatest super-teams highlights the best stories starring the guardians of the thirtieth century--teenage super-heroes from every world in the United Planets that have banded together against evil. Original.

Genres: Dc Comics, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Superheroes, Comic Book

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2008

About the author

Otto Oscar Binder. Used these alternate names: Eando Binder (together with his brother Earl Binder -E and O Binder-), John Coleridge, Gordon A. Giles, Will Garth, Ian Francis Turek, Ione Frances Turek and Otto O. Binder.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

These "best of" collections are always a mixed bag, which is why I rarely ever get them. Even the best stories often seem slightly out of whack, disjointed, taken out of the context of the run during which they appeared. This book has the team's first appearance, the death and return of Lightning Lad, Shooter's adult Legion story (first time I read that one), the goofy one-off Shooter story in which Matter-Eater Lad is drafted into politics after the Legion fights several rejected applicants (all with overlapping power to existing members - the other "first read" for me), Legion #300, a Levitz-written short story about the Legionnaires as kids hearing the legend of Superman, Legion #0 and an Abnett/Lanning issue.

The Silver Age stuff has a certain charm, though I'm not a huge fan of it. The M-E Lad issue was pretty subpar, honestly, and Legion #300 isn't one of Levitz's highlights. The bedtime story short story is charming, and Stuart Immonen does a great job on the art (he also draws LoSH #0 as well).

It's been a while since I read Waid's Zero Hour reboot issues. In fact, I sold them several years ago, and I kind of regret that now. Waid did a good job setting the stage, introducing Luornu and Shvaughan as supporting players to set up their future involvement. Tinya's mother is in there too, and Ayla Ranzz in flashback. It's a good issue. Abnett and Lanning's issue is even better, and I still have those issues.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I adore the Legion, but this is a pretty uninspiring collection. I'd hoped for a good collection to evangelize w/ for the Legion, but the *Silver Age* pb & *Life & Death of Ferro Lad* hc are much better bets. The selection mostly alternates between pro forma & odd. The first Legion tale is obvious but reprinted in many other places. The death & resurrection of Garth Ranzz tales are good choices. The Adult Legion 2parter & Tenzil Kem leaving the Legion are among Jim Shooter's weakest tales & disappointing selections from his great run. Legion v2 #300 is a fun anniversary issue w/ many good artists, but it was reprinted in *The Curse* pb & presupposes familiarity w/ the Legion's colorful history. I'm very fond of the Waid, McCraw, & Peyer reboot & the subsequent DnA run, but the 2 early tales reprinted from those 2 runs are just table-setting rather than good standalone tales (& the first reboot tale is also often collected).

Reflection pieces from Paul Levitz & Jim Shooter are a considerable bright spot, however.

[Nicholas · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an excellent sampling that demonstrates how the LSH comics have consistently sucked from day one.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trip down memory lane…the stories didn’t age well.

Nice essays by Shooter and Marc Waid though

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most compilations, this is a mixed bag. The earlier stories are really dated, and some of the later stories really display the look of their time period. The art is mostly good to very good.
As a Legion fan I enjoyed this book. It had a few stories I had never read before, and a few that brought back memories.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading Legion since the 60's. This here is a pretty great greatest hits sort of collection. A bit from every era. And some great stories.

[Anne Barwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading a lot of these stories years ago, so this was a great trip down memory lane with a good mix of stories from the different eras.

[Justin Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have most of the single issues, but why makes it special is Paul Levitz's inscription to me.