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Legion of Super-Heroes (1980) #287, 290-294

Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga

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In LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: THE GREAT DARKNESS SAGA, the godlike Darkseid emerges in the 30th Century with an ingenious plot to finally conquer the universe. Using his faithful minions to acquire all of the mystic artifacts of the time, the evil despot gains mental control over a race of three billion all-powerful beings. Now as their universe teeters on the edge of Armageddon, the Legion of Super-Heroes amass their own army of every champion who ever held the status of Legionnaire to stand against the Dark Lord and his invincible soldiers. But as the Legion suffers defeat after defeat, they realize that salvation and victory rest in the hands of a mysterious baby that has aged into adulthood before their very eyes.

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1983

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Paul Levitz

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
Profile Image for Jokoloyo.
455 reviews304 followers
September 28, 2017
If I wasn't browsing Alejandro's rating of Legion of Superheroes, I didn't find this book info in GR. I was so little when read this comic, that belonged to my neighbour. Thank you so much, neighbour!

This saga was beyond descriptions when I first read it. So many firsts when I read this saga:
1. My first LOSH comic read -> so many superheroes! a futuristic superheroes story in space!
2. My first Darkseid story-> such a powerful enemy! Whoa! He made whole population of a planet to become his army! And each soldier was as strong as superman!
3. My first story started in the middle of conflict. -> I was overwhelmed, could not digest all at first read. Re-read was a must to understand the story.
4. Technology and magic united! This was not just a simple superheroes comic, this was my ultimate fantasy comic. It spoiled me, later stories won't easily impress me after reading this saga.

I rated it 4 star now, after I know more about Darkseid, LOSH, etc. The story in this saga is not so original, after knowing Darkseid is from New Gods series. But it is still one of the better comic of 1980s era.

If I rated this comic at my childhood, it would be a FIVE SUPERNOVA STAR rating!
Profile Image for Chad.
10.3k reviews1,062 followers
July 30, 2018
One of the better LSH stories of the pre-Crisis era. I remember how this blew me away when it was revealed who the villain was. How could Darkseid be alive in the 30th century? (Unfortunately, DC blew that reveal with the cover of this collection.) The pacing feels a bit off in places compared to modern stories. The book is mainly build up and Darkseid doesn't really show up until the end. It's also glossed over how he takes over Daxam, but there sure are some incredible moments when the Substitute Legion and the Heroes of Lallor show up. (If you're not a long time fan, you probably won't care but it was nice to see the Subs get their due!)
Profile Image for Alejandro.
1,306 reviews3,780 followers
September 17, 2013
It took me like 18 years to be able to read the final chapter of this saga. No, I'm not a slow reader, hehehe. Let me explain my experience with this story. I started to read it when I was a kid, maybe I was like 10 years old. At that time, the comics that reached my country, Costa Rica, were Mexican editions translated to Spanish. I was already a huge fan of The Legion of Super-Heroes. And when I started to read the issues of this saga, I was totally mesmerized. The Legion was facing some mysterious mastermind with so much power that he was able to create clones of Superman and other powerful beings of the galaxy. Even Mon-El was able to get a glimpse of his face and he got scared to death and he was put into coma. Mon-El was a being with a power closely matched to Superboy and he got terrified and put into coma!!! Who was this villain?! Now not so mysterious the identity of the main villain since DC Comics decided to put way clear to be watched on the cover of the TPB a big face of Darkseid. Geez! No, I am not spoiling anything. DC Comics did it. Geez!!! Getting back to my childhood. I was reading each month, each issue of this incredible saga that Dream Girl had a premonition and she saw the defeat of The Legion against this villain. The main villain was stealing the most powerful artifacts in the galaxy. Mordru, a powerful and evil wizard that was able to match the entire Legion was left powerless and in shock after dealing with this villain. In the pre-final issue it's revealed the identity of him as Darkseid (thank goodness I was able to get shocked in my childhood with this and it wasn't ruined with a poor choice for cover of a TPB). Oh my Gosh!!! Darkseid??? In the 30th Century??? Oh my Gosh!!! The pre-final issue left you with Darkseid having interchanged places of a dead world in yellow sun's system with the planet Daxam (a world in the same solar system that used to be Krypton. Homeworld of Mon-El), and Darkseid take mind control over the entire population of Daxam!!! So, Darkseid has an army of like 5 billion of beings with powers equally to Superman against the 30 members of The Legion. Ah? Ah?! Ah?!!! And then! When my heart surely stopped to beat... Kapow! The Mexican publishing house never, NEVER printed the conclussion. Or at least the conclussion never reached my country that it was basically the same fatal thing. So, like for 18 years I never knew how that story ended. And you have to think that in those years, there weren't an internet, wikipedia or social networks where you can researched about it. I just didn't know how that ended for 18 years. And then, in 2001, in a trip, I was able not only to find the final issue, but the entire saga, all the single issues and in the original American printing, paying only 50 cents per issue!!! I was like...wow!!! I couldn't believe that not only I was going to be able to read the final of that story but also having the original issues in my hands. Patience and faith are wonderful things. I won't deny that the final issue is basically an expected comic book rumble,BUT it was the biggest comic book rumble in the history of the Legion of Super-Heroes, having all members of the team, ALL OF THEM, current actives, reservists, substitutes and even Superman and Superboy together!!! Thank goodness to time travel capabilities. If you are fans of the Legion of Super-Heroes, you must read this. And even if you are generic comic book fans, this is a great option to read since it features in many top100s of the best comic book storylines ever written. Long Live the Legion!!!
Profile Image for Zach Milan.
Author 3 books5 followers
May 26, 2007
I have this feeling, after reading this book, that Legion of Superheroes is a phenomenally difficult series to write. There are something like 30 different characters in the Legion (okay, I exaggerate) that each individual fan wants to know about! So we have this plot, but instead of a few characters it gets muddled by the legion. You can only really choose to focus on a few, then wonder why they weren't fighting a particular battle.

Despite this problem, Paul does a great job of working with a story and bringing Darkseid into the 30th Century. Sure, based on the cover, I knew who the main villain was, but that didn't mean I wasn't interested in his plan and how it all was going to play out.

All in all a very interesting book with good plotting, just way too many characters to juggle. It makes sense that with a large event (I won't say Crisis) like this, the Legion would want to bring everyone in, but I wish there had been another way to make it a big event and keep a small amount of Heroes.

But then... that wouldn't have been Legion of Superheroes, would it?
Profile Image for Little Timmy.
7,391 reviews59 followers
February 6, 2016
I am a huge LOSH fan and this is one of if not the best storyline they had. Excellent plot and art. Very recommended
Profile Image for Brandon Roy.
286 reviews1 follower
October 29, 2024
While I am not as familiar with The Legion of Super Heroes having mostly read them in crossovers this reintroduction of Darkseid to the future is great stuff.

The build up and where the team was at the time all made this a perfect fit. Highly recommend.
Profile Image for Malum.
2,840 reviews168 followers
May 24, 2022
My first Legion of Super Heroes comic and I liked it quite a bit. The dialog and names were stuck in the early silver age (does almost everyone's name have to have a lass, lad, girl, boy, or kid suffix?) but Darkseid always elevates everything he is in.
Profile Image for MC.
614 reviews68 followers
March 31, 2016
The Legion of Super-Heroes is the long-time on-again/off-again series about the heroes of the far future of the DCU, or DC (Comics) Universe. Through many periods of spikes and declines in popularity, they have gone through different permutations, having many adventures along the way. Possibly one of the most popular story-lines of this title was The Great Darkness Saga.

This story began simply enough for our heroes, with scouting missions in various enemy and uncharted territories. One of these areas was an unknown planetoid whose immense, yet evil, civilization seems to have long since died out. The Legionnaires who are exploring the extinct rock are stunned by the evil they feel, when they are suddenly attacked by strange machines they feel to be simple, albeit dangerous, computerized guards.

Upon barely escaping, they mark the planet for more study, with strong cautions to stay away for the time being. Unbeknownst to them, they have inadvertently awakened a great evil, perhaps the greatest ever to threaten the universe. And they are woefully unprepared to combat it.

Normally I would at least try to not give away such a huge spoiler as who the Big Bad of the story is, but this is pretty much pointless. Anyone who looks at the cover (and has much, if any, knowledge of the DCU) will automatically know that the villain is Darkseid, the evil god and ruler of Apokolips. At the time the story was published, Jack Kirby's “New Gods” were just starting to be integrated into the broader DC comics canon. So when this shrouded, shadowy “Master of Darkness” was revealed to be Darkseid, it was a genuine shock and major plot twist. Nowadays... not so much.

Many times a story firmly fails to live up to the hype around it, but in this case, it deserves it. The artwork was quite good for the time period when folks were just starting to make a point of having decent art in the pages of comic books. The story had some problems via spending too much time setting up other story arcs that had nothing to do with this one. I understand that this is inevitable, but they should have minimized it in the interests of having as little as possible detract from a major arc like this one. Another issue was the way they had guest-star characters show up only to be trounced by the bad guys. Essentially, these characters made useless cameos, and they would have been better either utilized more or left out of the story.

But the above two criticisms are minor, and I really did enjoy, and do recommend, this story. It is a story that (in broad strokes, the basic structure, in other words) has stayed in continuity, even with multiple changes to the time line of the DCU over the years that should have made it nearly impossible to fit in. For both those looking for a good comic to read, and those interested in one of the more important story-lines of DC Comics, this is well-worth reading.

Highly Recommended.
Profile Image for Stephan Anstey.
Author 2 books10 followers
September 9, 2011
This was one of the most important comic series I ever read. It totally connected me to the Legion for all time. I admit, I had already read it for years before this happened, but this is the thing that carries it on into my adult life.
Profile Image for Dan.
743 reviews10 followers
June 19, 2024
The Legion of Super-Heroes started when DC wanted to have a group of teenage superheroes from the future "evaluate" whether or not Superboy was worthy of entry into their exclusive club. In the early stories, the Legionaires are basically a group of teens with club-house rules meeting in an upside down rocket in the 30th century to fight crime and evil. Instead of "No Girls" allowed, they exclude potential members who do not possess a single unique power to contribute to the group. They actually have auditions and snub some heroes for having "useless" powers. These snubbed heroes form The Legion of Substitute Heroes, who would help whenever they could. Over the next twenty years or so new members arrive and old members retire/die.

And then, about 25+ years later, we have Paul Levitz's Great Darkness Saga. The Legionaires now sport beards, discuss marital problems, and choosing their yearly leader is an ordeal. In the end, to combat the ultimate evil, Levitz pulls out every former Legionaire ever committed to comic paper. At the time (1982), I'm sure Fan Boys salivated while waiting a month for the next installment.

Face it, it was Endgame with Darkseid as Thanos and the Legion of Super-Heroes as The Avengers. The entire population of Daxam is placed under Darkseid's thrall and they, with the strength and powers of Superman, proceed to tear the galaxy apart. It's up to the Legion of Super-Heroes to stop them.

The story is dated, I assure you. One of my favorite tropes is the roll call moment: A half dozen or so Legionaires are flying to battle or returning from battle or sitting around discussing a battle. First one speaks. Then in the next panel, a peer responds using the name of the person who just spoke. Then in the next panel, another Legionaire responds using their name, and so on and so on. This happens in almost every story. "We've got to find a way to defeat this guy." "Well, WILDFIRE, perhaps we can enlist some help." "I think INVISIBLE KID is correct--we could use some help." "I'm with COSMIC BOY, we can't do this alone." "I'll call my brother, DREAM GIRL." "That's a great idea, LIGHT LASS." And so on. I suppose the writers assumed the reader needed to be reminded of who is who every few pages. Hey, Star Boy has a gnarly beard and Chameleon Boy has antennas--you don't need to remind me who they are every other page.

But is the story good? It's alright. The initial punch this had when it was a relatively new concept was probably mind-blowing, but this type of story is mostly cliche now. If you're a fan of the Legion, you've already read it multiple times. If you're not a fan of the Legion's antics, I would recommend starting earlier in their story arc to get a feel before diving into this one. Even though they say each other's names, you'll still be confused.

Reading this without context would be like watching Endgame without having watched any other movie in the Marvel Universe. Then again, you may enjoy a healthy dose of confusion with your action. If so, here's your Legion ring: join the club, GOODREADS BOY or GOODREADS GIRL...
Profile Image for Your_Average_Magical_Girls_Fan.
281 reviews17 followers
March 3, 2019
Another notch in the high part of the Stink-O'-Meter of 2019. The writing is abysmal, with some very sexist remarks just to spice things up a little that, unlike the one found in the Jonah Hex story "The meadow springs crusade" by Michael Fleischer , don't fit with the character(s) ("vacuum cleaners are the best friends of a woman!", says a woman) or the fictional hystorical period AT ALL. If this is what the general consensus see as the best story with the Legion of Superheroes, I'm happy I've never read anything with them. Read Marshal Law: secret tribunal instead of this pile of garbage. It's a parody of this kind of stories but much more fun and, most important of all, WELL TOLD.
"I'd prefer a dog like Krypto than a woman as our president!" my ass.
Profile Image for Rich Meyer.
Author 50 books57 followers
July 8, 2014
The Great Darkness Saga was the big Legion of Super-Heroes event of the eighties for most, and is one of the better Legion stories overall. Great artwork by Keith Giffen (having finally decided on a style for the moment) and an excellent story by Paul Levitz, with some nice plot twists and uses of some interesting characters.

My one complaint about the story was that it was so obvious who the main villain was (spoiler alert: Darkseid) from the very beginning that I can't believe it was a "secret" at all. Other than that, I can't really find too much at fault with it; any story that uses the Substitutes, the Wanderers and the Heroes of Lallor is usually a good one.
Profile Image for Royce  Rasmussen.
49 reviews1 follower
April 21, 2015
I have loved the Legion for a very long time and this is my favorite storyline. Keith Giffen could still draw back then and Paul Levitz hadn't been burnt out of good ideas. Sure, the Legion is complicated, that's part of the fun.
Profile Image for Kevin Findley.
Author 14 books12 followers
December 15, 2017
One of the best storylines ever from DC and possibly the best LSH storyline period.

I'll leave the review at that, because you really should read it for yourself.
Profile Image for Dony Grayman.
7,000 reviews36 followers
May 29, 2022
Volumen 74 de la Colección Novelas Gráficas que recopila The Great Darkness Saga más una historia corta de Adventure Comics #300.
Profile Image for Artur Coelho.
2,602 reviews74 followers
March 14, 2021
Um interessante mergulho na técnica e estética dos comics dos anos 80. Nesta aventura, os legionários, heróis do futuro que está 1000 anos para a frente da cronologia contemporânea da DC, vêem-se impotentes para travar uma ameaça desconhecida, cheia de mistérios e violência. No final, apercebem-se que estão a lutar contra Darkseid, que acordou no futuro, e só uma força contrária vinda do passado lhes dará forças para derrotar o poder deste semi-deus.

Ler isto é divertido, mas também uma boa oportunidade para comparar estéticas. Em termos narrativos, a clássica linearidade dos comics é quebrada por indícios visuais que, aos leitores mais conhecedores das personagens DC, fazem perceber o cerne do mistério mais cedo do que a leitores menos experientes. Mas é a nível gráfico que as diferenças entre os comics dos anos 80 e os de hoje se fazem sentir. Abundam as vinhetas com figuras humanas e fundos coloridos, são relativamente poucas as que também trabalham os cenários de fundo - geralmente, planos gerais. Algo que hoje é mais raro, com os ilustradores a dar tudo para encher o olho a cada vinheta.
Profile Image for Dave.
980 reviews19 followers
April 1, 2020
In my opinion, this was by far the best LSH storyline in the books many incarnations. It has it all with a mystery, drama, humor, action, surprises, a heaping helping of all the Legion including the substitutes and other friends, great villains, and literally every single member gets to actually do something.
Levitz, Giffen, and everyone else involved touches all the right buttons to deliver an epic story that pits the team against foes that they don't recognize or know.
I was reading this book monthly along with my friend Steven and we were stumped as to who the main villain even was. We looked forward every month to the new issue which unraveled like an onion to us and marveled at Giffen's explosive artwork.
This trade includes part of an annual drawn by Curt Swan, who has always been my #1 Superman artist. Here he draws the Legion and does a very fine job of it.
A treat to re-read this though in trade format this time.
Profile Image for Dan Craig.
281 reviews1 follower
January 20, 2024
Last year I told a friend that I really enjoyed the novel, “the amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay”. That novel was based on the Golden Era of comic books and my friend is a die hard comic reader. Thinking I might enjoy reading some of his favorites, he gifted me this book. It contains eight adventures of the “legion of superheroes”. These adventures were published in the 80s and are considered the most popular of this long running series (around since the 50s!).

After reading only classics and Pulitzer Prize winners for the past year, I’m not really sure how to rate a comic book. Clearly, this is not Faulkner or Hemingway. That said, the stories are good, and the artwork adds a new dimension to the experience.

I’m giving this 3 stars and calling it my comic book “baseline“. I’ll read another collection and see how others stack up. I will say I enjoyed taking a break from heavier reading, and enjoyed this more than TV. Thanks for the gift!
Profile Image for John Cyrus.
34 reviews
August 29, 2017
Oh man. Great story with a slow build. Great interior art and covers like so and so. It is always interesting to go back and read a comics from before the time when more dialog was included and not every page was treated as a poster.
Profile Image for Patrick.
Author 3 books61 followers
March 29, 2019
Along with Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, this was one of the grittier "events" for DC Comics before Crisis on Infinite Earths. Basically Darkseid has minions cloned from heroes harvest mystical objects so he can rise and take over the universe. And only the dysfunctional group of young heroes called the Legion of Super-Heroes can stop him.

Though it was a little disappointing to me that the final battle doesn't really involve the main Legion members all that much. Mostly it's two heroes from the past--Superboy and Supergirl--who throw down with Darkseid.

The edition I read was longer than this one so it had a lot more material to cover before and after this storyline. Anyway, it was good, especially when you consider the time period it came from.
Profile Image for Gustavo.
901 reviews16 followers
October 27, 2020
Voy a empezar esta reseña co un spoiler:

Habiendome sacado eso de encima, pasemos al comic: ¡Me encantó! No he leído muchos comics de la Legión de Superhéroes, así que me costó un poco agarrarle la mano a la historia, con sus chotocieentos mil personajes e historia previa, pero una vez que agarré ritmo me pareció genial, en toda su gloria de programa de ciencia ficción de los 50-60s, pero con superhéroes. Una historia excelente que a pesar de ser denso en explicaciones ha envejecido muy bien.
Profile Image for Glenn Proven.
167 reviews3 followers
September 19, 2018
Nice series but these guys are whiny!


I haven’t read any “Legion” stories since I was a child. I remember them as committed and what the power of love can do to enhance ourselves. This is taking place in the 30th Century, but a lot of 80’s sexism still reigned. All but one of the females were in love or being hit on by males in the group. That one was constantly being accused of trying to steal a man by the other females. Every member went through some form of teenage angst. However they always watched out for each other and the villains and battles are a fun read.
Profile Image for Ben.
23 reviews
March 3, 2011
My favorite comic book story. Mr. Levitz really hit his stride as the scribe of the Legion. And Keith Giffen brought a distinctive technological look to the 30th century. The book holds up well over time. I think the GDS is responsible for the major role Darkseid has today. Check out the script in the back to see how the creative partnership between Levitz and Giffen evolved over the course of the project.
Profile Image for Mhorg.
Author 12 books11 followers
May 1, 2014
I've been a Legion fan for many years. I haven't exactly loved their constant reboots, preferring when Jim Shooter and Dave Cockrum were doing the book. I found this a bit tedious at times and over long. A little editing might have made this a better story.
Profile Image for Doug Allison.
15 reviews3 followers
August 27, 2012
the BEST L.O.S.H. storyline ever! Levitz and Giffen deliver a great futuristic tale that still stands up in this day and age, and only gets better!
Profile Image for Barry Lyga.
Author 71 books2,194 followers
Read
August 29, 2013
Enormous influence on Young Barry. This was my first exposure to the sort of sprawling epic that only truly great creators can conjure, and it absolutely blew my mind.
Profile Image for Dean Simons.
337 reviews4 followers
June 5, 2016
A lot of build up and melodrama but it remained entertaining through to the end.
Profile Image for Olivia Plasencia.
163 reviews42 followers
April 16, 2025
I was able to score some vintage Legion of Super-Heroes while on vacation and when I read them, I could not stop laughing. I did some online research and found that writers Levitz and Giffen were putting out some great stuff in the 80s, awesome zingers, on liners and fun story lines. So, I then went to Amazon to try and find a collection of the years I was wanting to read. No dice. But I did find this book, so I went ahead and bought it. While it was not funny or as playful as I was hoping I was interested, until the grand finale, which is 40 pages. I confess to not being a fan of the comic, I just got into it on the few finds I had scored while in Dallas Texas. So, the number of characters confused me slightly, drama on the team was hard to catch up on but I am still glad I bought this book since the fight was against one of the greatest villains Darkseid. While the build up to their foe was wonderful the actual battle felt drawn out, and badly paced, plus the use of High Father and the awesome Orion were kind of wasted.

Also, the artwork did not aid in the telling for story in some places, rather I was confused. This wasn't helped by how the writers had to jump around to include all the characters in the story. Still a great read and I enjoyed learning about other DC characters.
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