Legion of Super-Heroes, Vol. 1: Millennium

Legion of Super-Heroes (2019)

by Brian Michael Bendis, Ryan Sook (Artist), Travis Moore (Artist)

Welcome to the 31st century! Inspired by the acts of and lessons learned from the greatest heroes of all time, the Legion of Super-Heroes have gathered together to stop a galaxy from repeating its past mistakes.

Eisner Award-winning writer Brian Michael Bendis reteams with master artist Ryan Sook for one of the most ambitious mainstream comic books ever created! Why have the Legion of Super-Heroes broken the cardinal rule of the United Planets and inducted Jon Kent, a.k.a. Superboy, into the Legion? What are they hiding? And what does it have to do with Aquaman's long-lost trident?

But first, take a trip through a thousand years of DC's future history--navigated by a mysterious figure from the present! The greatest lineup of heroes in comic book history returns with new, fresh, and reader-friendly stories! Collects Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #1-2 and Legion of Super-Heroes #1-6.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book, Science Fiction, Young Adult

197 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2020

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The issues of Millennium were really interesting. I couldn't really figure out who this Rose/Thorn chick was or whether she was good or evil. <--which, is entirely the point of her character.
She was, to me, the best part of this entire volume.



As for the actual Legion story?
I was bored and I couldn't tell what was going on. None of it made any sense. And maybe that's because I haven't read a great deal about this team?
Why were they formed? Why did they think it was ok to bring Superboy into the future? What was up with the...whatever she was...leader of the planets? I don't know. The whole story hopped around while the characters all quipped and snarked and did teenage/young adult stuff.



While I like the idea of the Legion, this didn't make me a fan. It may just be that this title is still finding its legs, so I'll give the next volume a try when it comes out.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

Superboy joins the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st century to help them stop a baddie from using Aquaman’s trident to do something bad! Feeling r-worded? Then let’s talk about the Legion of Poopoo-heroes!

I’ve never cared about the Legion before but I hoped Bendis would find a way to make me with his take on the title - and, unfortunately, he didn’t. This first volume is the worst book he’s written so far at DC.

Bendis’ crappiest comics are always team books because they allow him to indulge in the worst excesses of his writing: overabundant dialogue and zero story (if there is a story it’s usually generic superhero crapola - like here!). Legion is especially bad because. My. Word. There are WAY too many characters in this series! Fucking hundreds. And they ALL suck!

The book opens with two pointless issues where Rose and Thorn (another dreary D-Lister) is jumping around time for some reason before we get to the main story where Superboy time-travels to the future (another overused Bendis trope: blase time-travel, ignoring any of the obvious problems this causes) where he spends most of his time being talked at by these great many characters. I can’t tell you any of their names because none made an impression - they’re all so generic and forgettable.

There’s a feeble attempt at a story involving Aquaman’s trident that didn’t make sense, let alone entertained in the least, before things closed out with a tedious big fight scene - the Legion fighting a bunch of generic aliens, headed up by a generic beefy bad guy, and that’s it. It couldn’t be more predictable or unimaginative.

This is such a boring book. Characters you don’t care about talking - so much talking - about nothing, not doing anything remotely interesting, for nearly 200 pages. Legion of Super-Heroes, Volume 1: Millennium is an utterly dismal read, not recommended to anyone - the Legion remains one of the dullest titles of the DCU.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a beautiful trainwreck of a book. My head is still spinning a little, and not in the good way.



The saving graces here are the weird, more centred mini-series following a character through 1000 years of bonkers DC Universe "future history" that tries it's mightiest to knit together the various wild continuities introduced over the years (yay! Kamandi), and the colourful, eye-popping art- even though it is frequently at odds with the verbose storytelling, and discerning which panel or even word-bubble to look at next was a chore. Not ideal.



I love Bendis' work on titles like Powers so it pains me to see him devote so much of his talent and enthusiasm on such a misfire. I don't think I'll be continuing the series any time soon.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is yet another reboot of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Some old school Legion are definitely not going to like it. The redesigns are often very different, with the characters changing genders or even race. Me, I'll take the Legion any way I can get it as long as the story is good. A revamped Legion is still better than no Legion comics. Now, that being said, how is the book?

The first two issues are the Millenium miniseries. It's a bridge from now to the 30th century where the Legion resides. Bendis follows an immortal as they appear in major points in DC history, setting the future timeline for the Rebirth books. We visit eras where characters reside like Batman Beyond, Kamandi, OMAC, and Booster Gold. It's interesting even if ultimately unnecessary to read to enjoy Legion. DC did bring a lot of big name talent for each era on art.

The first 6 issues of the core Legion book are severely decompressed in typical Bendis fashion. The main story revolves around Aquaman's newly rediscovered trident that various factions all want. Ryan Sook's art is superb as it typically is, especially with Jordie Bellaire's color art.

[James DeSantis]

Not gonna rate this cause couldn't get far. I usually like bendis but I can't get into Legion. They're just boring as shit no matter the writer.

[Brian Poole · Rating 1 out of 5]

This may be the most egregious comic book failure, and the most bitter disappointment, in some time, with an A List creative team getting just about everything wrong.

Fans of the LSH waited nearly seven years for DC to return the team to a book of its own. When it finally happened, it was this unnecessary reboot that barely resembles the franchise that fans have loved for decades. The book is practically calibrated to alienate long-time fans, if not insult them outright.

Brian Michael Bendis can be a great writer, but this series plays to all his worst traits. The central premise is suspect and poorly executed. The script is more interested in packing in callbacks to the present day DCU than it is in telling a good story. The plot, what there is of it, is so decompressed as to be almost anti-action, resulting in a glacial pace. Characterization is almost non-existent; Bendis doesn't capture any of the character voices that fans love...to the extent that any voice is discernible in the overwritten dialogue that's more interested in coining 31st century slang than it is in exploring the inner lives of the characters. Established history and relationships are ignored or twisted into something unrecognizable.

It's also a low point for the otherwise excellent art team. Ryan Sook is usually a dependable stylist, but the visual storytelling here is sludgy and disjointed. Worse, Sook's redesigns of the traditional characters are atrocious; good luck even recognizing some of your favorites. Jordie Bellaire usually earns her rep as among the best color artists in the business, but whether these are her choices or editorial mandates, the color scheme is egregiously offputting, garish and uninviting, when it's not murky and impenetrable.

There's nothing here for longtime fans to latch onto, nor anything that would attract readers not already in the LSH tent. It's just a disappointing blunder that misfires on every level.

If you're a fan of the LSH, the best thing you can do is avoid this tone-deaf reboot. Urge DC to cancel the series and retcon this regrettable episode out of continuity. Having no Legion series would be preferable.

[Murphy C · Rating 3 out of 5]

The initial two-issue Millenium story which kicks this volume off is the best thing going for Bendis' Legion of Super-Heroes, the most interesting and well-written portion of the entire series, in fact. Rose and Thorn seems to me to be the only character involved which Bendis actually has some sort of a handle on. But then, for reasons known only to Bendis', Rose is barely seen in the plot going forward.

Bendis plays with some neat ideas, has some fun with Silver Age concepts and characters, and the art's often quite good, but unfortunately the end product is an unmitigated mess. I'm a fairly big Legion fan, I bought all the issues directly off the stands and only just got around to reading them, and, ultimately, I'm pretty disappointed.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a Legion fan since 1976. I’ve followed all but the most recent versions until now. Do I like this new version? Yes and no. This review’s really 3.29 stars.

Yes, l still love the idea of an optimistic group of youthful heroes in a future utopia. Yes, I love having Jon Kent in the Legion for Superboy & to keep Clark less complicated.

So what’s not to like?

Reading the first eight pieces of the puzzle together helps a lot for seeing the forest for the trees. I like the initial arc’s plot & ideals.

Again, what’s not to like?

We have over a score of heroes blipping in and out of the spotlight. They’re using names & concepts that link their readers emotionally with the characters of the past six decades....but none of them are those characters. They’re both new and old at the same time.

How’s this different from the post-Zero Hour Legion (or Archie Legion)? Similar situations but wholly different execution—That version let the characters speak and grow into the plots and we learned about them along the way. THIS version just throws two score plus “heroes” at us, tells us their names, & then assumes we’ll all just accept the plot & characters without question.

Simply put—show the reader, don’t tell them. And if you’re rebooting or retranslating old characters, give us more than just cameos and name tags if you want us to trust the story you’re telling is the Legion we hope for.

BMB has some intriguing ideas here, but if they only work when compiled in trade collections of six-eight issues at a time, that’s a failure of storytelling that won’t keep people reading month by month except out of loyalty to the LSH concept rather than what the new writer/team puts on the table.

Ryan Sook’s designs are nifty. Said designs, though, could be better appreciated if the art weren’t so crowded & busy with way too much in double page spreads & murals more than panels.

Long review, I know, and it’s off the top of my head. I really want to love this Legion but it’s like being introduced to a tv series two seasons in and being told twice an episode that you need to go watch the early episodes (Superboy’s orientation) for it to make sense.

I’m invested intellectually as a writer but not engaged emotionally as a fan. Keep working, team, or you’ll have simply crafted another Legion variant to be dumped in the reboot bin that DC overflows & empties every 30 months now instead of 30+ years to need a reboot.

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having been a life-long fan of the Legionnaires (followed them from their original run through their reboot and threeboot and multiple cameos in the DCU), I was really looking forward to their story continuing in the hands of one of comicdom’s most revered and trusted writers. But this is a full-stop re-imagining of the Legion of Superheroes and, honestly, Bendis’ interpretation of this series is boring AF. He has so thoroughly tinkered with the core of these characters that they and their universe are recognizable in name only.

The first two chapters of this collection make up the “Millennium” storyline and for some reason focus almost entirely on Rose Forrest/Thorn, a character that, as far as I can remember, has never been associated with the future of the DCU. But here she is, shoehorned into the timeline with retconned new powers and little explanation as to whether she is a villain, a victim, or just some random character cameo. I lean towards the later, because after the first two chapters, Rose is pretty much sidelined.

Eventually, the story shifts to our youthful super-team as they track down and uncover a sinister plot involving Jonathan Kent and Aquaman’s trident. Doesn’t matter much because by the time this plot kicks in, it is painfully obvious that Bendis’ version of the Legionnaires have none of the hallmark traits that made the Legion of Superheroes so enjoyable for decades and decades. Where is the fun? Where is the friskiness? This group of kids is so serious!! There is zero personality and zero individuality written into these characters. It is a spectacular swing and miss from Bendis, which is surprising, because this is a writer that knows his source material inside and out…. but here, it’s as if he wanted to overwrite that rich history of characters and storylines using vanilla-scented correction fluid.

A very disappointing departure from a much loved and celebrated superhero formula.
This is not the Legion of Superheroes you are looking for.
2/5

[John Yelverton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not the Legion of Super-Heroes. This is a bunch of characters that Brian Michael Bendis created and then gave them the names of Legion of Super-Heroes characters. It's a shame when you have a book that literally gives you a legion, which is one thousand super-heroes, you feel compelled to annihilate the twenty or so that are already established, rather than letting your creative juices flow and make this book into whatever you want with the other nine hundred eighty.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comes dangerously close to not being the Legion, which is really the worst thing you can say.

THE GOOD:

Bendis does a good job of making his storytelling feel modern, both in its dialogue and style, something the Legion can only benefit from.

Bendis also edges around the idea of teenage rebellion, always a good topic for the Legion.

(Of course, both of these things were done 15 years ago by Mark Waid in the threeboot, so that makes them a little less notable.)

THE BAD:

The Legion is close to unrecognizable. I'm not talking about the decision to change the race and sex of various characters. But the characters themselves are unrecognizable too. I mean, the Jo Nah in this comic is nothing like any of the previous Jo Nahs with his soft, emotive ways. Why even bother to pretend he's the same character? And you have a universe rich with adversaries and you make up some one-note monstrous race?

It has none of the depth of the classic Legion. This is just bone-headed fighting and racing about. No characterization. No subplots.

It's yet another *)(#$@ed reboot. I mean, there are certainly things I've liked about every incarnation of the Legion, but it's gotten _@)#$@ing old. Stick with a set of characters and a universe. Explore them. Build them. That's the power of serialized entertainment, and I'm sick to death of seeing DC piss it away, perhaps nowhere worse than in their Legion comics.

ALSO:

What was the point of that Millennium comic? It showed a bunch of DC futures, supposedly strung together in a chronology, but with no attempt to explain how you got from one unlikely state to the next, and it focused on a characters who is barely even a background character in the main comic.

And why in the world is the big intro to the comic an unintelligible four-page bit in a Superman comic? (Fortunately, I'd previously read it.) I mean muxh of the problem is DC's collections department not knowing how to put together a coherent collection, but the other part is DC's decision to not have LoSH #1 actually start its own storyline.

So: disappointing.

Long Live the Legion? I suspect not.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant start to the Bendis Legion. But, ah, not everyone thinks so? And maybe I can explain?

In a roundabout way? In 1998 there were two massively popular professional wrestling promotions: WWE and WCW. WWE’s top star was Stone Cold Steve Austin, WCW’s was Goldberg. If you had suggested to a WCW fan in, say, 1995 that Austin would be the top star anywhere, you would’ve been laughed out of the arena. If you were to ask a WWE fan in, say, 2003 that Goldberg was more than his squash matches, you would’ve been laughed out…You get the idea.

Perspective is everything. In 1995 Austin looked, in every way possible, very different, although technically it’s really only because WCW was itself only prepared to view him in a very limited way. He was a well-respected technical wrestler who had no real opportunity to be something other than a guy called “Stunning Steve” who 1998 WWE fans would indeed be stunned to see sporting long flowing locks of hair.

In 2003, WWE Goldberg was trying to live up to the image WWE fans had of 1998 Goldberg. And in 1998, WWE fans only knew what they heard about Goldberg, the typical squash matches on Nitro. It was, and it continues to be assumed, that the typical squash matches on Nitro were literally all there was to know about Goldberg.

So 2003 WWE fans were disappointed in Goldberg and 1995 WCW fans had no idea there was any real future for Austin.

Austin’s reputation changed dramatically by 1998. Goldberg’s has struggled to recover ever since.

The Bendis Legion is like that.

Brian Michael Bendis made his name as a Marvel writer. He was the Marvel Geoff Johns. (Except that brief period where Johns and Bendis were both writing at Marvel, at which point they were Johns and Bendis both writing at Marvel.)

Early Marvel Bendis was known for revolutionizing Marvel with big “decompressed” (especially in the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man; surprisingly his Avengers was the template for the New 52, basically) storytelling that made things feel important again, in classic and groundbreaking ways.

Later Bendis was absolutely taken for granted. Between resentment for Early Marvel Bendis and Late Marvel Bendis, when Bendis finally made his way to DC, he was basically 2003 WWE Goldberg.

In the immortal words of Rodney Dangerfield, he got no respect.

Which was never really a fault of the material! Circling back to the actual material I’m talking about now, Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium is in fact brilliant! Starting with the namesake prelude itself, a tour of DC future history that emphasizes the long course of a thousand years leading from one age of heroes to another, hinging on a great new interpretation of a classic character (Hickman got a lot of praise doing something very similar with the X-Men, by the way!), it’s a textbook example of Bendis’s ability to revitalize, look deeper at a concept than is typically done.

Having just just read a previous reboot/revival, I can even refute the notion that his Legion “doesn’t feel authentic,” one of those silly arguments fans like to trot out that seem so definitive but usually used as mere dismissal. It’s exactly like that other one. But better. This is not an insult to those previous creators. It’s just, very few creators put as much thought and energy into a concept as Bendis.

And hardly anyone writes interplay like Bendis. It’s practically his whole calling card! And this is the Legion! The team of a thousand members! It’s literally a dream project made reality, another thing no one saw coming because they all assumed they knew Bendis’s Marvel record.

Yeah, about as well as 2003 WWE fans knew 1998 WCW Goldberg.

Anyway. Presumably, if you have no particular defensive stance, you will read this and come to similar conclusions.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much like Bendis's new Young Justice series, Legion of Super-Heroes offers a bit too much of the author's signature quirks and not enough plot to make it clear why the book exists. With literally dozens of superheroes roaming across the pages, the dialogue is thick. Sometimes this is good: you'll not be confused about what's going on in Legion of Super-Heroes because at least five characters have offered explanations.

But it's an exhausting read, one that requires too much of your attention. There are a lot of threads to follow and conversations to trudge through. The Legion (31st century heroes) have returned to the 21st century to grab Superboy as a valued guest of their time. There's ultimately a reason why they specifically need Superboy, but it seems like his importance will mostly be addressed in later volumes. This first volume is primarily about introducing the world and allowing the many, many characters to discuss (and fight over) the discovery of Aquaman's trident.

To Bendis's credit, I was able to keep the characters straight and understood the (surprisingly straighforward) plot. To Ryan Sook's credit, I loved all the action scenes and character designs. What a fun playground for him! I'm sure I'll enjoy the next Legion of Super-Heroes adventure when it rolls around, but I feel like I have to work up to it. My brain is all worded out right now.

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the Legion of Super-Heroes, and I hate this reboot. First and foremost, it has to be the most boring comic book / trade paperback I have ever read. There are way too many two-page splashes for panels that are cluttered with heroes doing nothing but posing, and tiny speech bubbles that make it difficult for the reader that is as optically challenged as I.

The trade paperback is nicely packaged with glossy paper, a known writer in Bendis, and a capable artist in Ryan Sook. Included are the issues of Millenium #1 and #2, plus the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - #6 (2019). Fair warning if you are an old school Legion fan. This will piss you off. This is an attempt at re-inventing the wheel that works just fine and rolling in a pile of crap that does not make sense instead.

When introducing 24 new Legionnaires, who vaguely (if that) resemble their previous incarnations, there must be space dedicated for character development. This was lacking. The new milieu requires world-building that is distinct from the 31st century of the previous incarnations. That is also lacking. Why are ALL 24 Legionnaires present in every issue? The storytelling is horrific. The page layouts are ridiculous. The art is beautiful, but static, motionless, and Zzzzzzzzzz, put you to sleep.

I could go on, but why bother? Bring back Jim Shooter. He at 14 was better than Bendis in the present. He clearly loved those characters and made us love them too. Or Paul Levitz would also be a welcome return. Ugh! I'm disgusted.

[Rob Schamberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a longtime Legion fan who’s been there for all of its iterations, I embrace and love this new take on the concept of hopeful young people in the future inspired by the heroes of today. I love the new character designs, especially that everyone has their own silhouettes and are far more representative of not just a global coalition but also a galactic one. The story has nods to the prior versions but isn’t constrained by them and is instead moving forward for both returning and new readers.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brainiac 5: I believe it is imperative to the health of the universe and our place in it that not only do we bring this Legion of Super-Heroes together immediately, but the Legion needs to bring United Planet's founder Jon Kent here to be part of it. He is the one to teach us everything we need to know to inspire a proper NEW age of heroes. We need to have him experience THIS FUTURE and all we have built. And we need to prepare him for his coming role as the one true SUPERMAN. He needs our perspective and we need his.

I realize I'm likely in the minority with this collection, but I found it fascinating and engaging--but then again, I'm a huge fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes. I'm certain a lot of my fascination is rooted in nostalgia, that I have rose-tinted lenses coloring my appreciation of how Bendis transforms and updates the beloved Legion. I really enjoy the look of the Legion on these pages, I enjoy the easter eggs scattered everywhere recalling significant characters and events of their past exploits.

Honestly, I didn't think I would enjoy this as much as I did. While the plot is thin and pedestrian--trust me, it definitely is weak--I came for the spectacle of the Legion in action. I really enjoy these characters and I enjoy how Bendis is taking the time to update the team and move it forward. I will definitely keep an eye out for future collections in this series.

Superboy: The Legion? Oh, they're crazy cool. Damian, why would I be taking you all the way to meet them unless they were insanely cool? First off--they EACH come from a different planet. Each have a different power set. They do sometimes--I mean, they kind of all POSE UP!

Robin: Pose?

Superboy: When they fight. They kind of pose like--like Power Rangers.

Robin: What? Why?

Superboy: I think it's because they think that's what we did back "in the day." Which for us would be yesterday but for them is a thousand years ago.

Robin: Actually, we do, kinda.

Superboy: Okay, so--so we are actually traveling to the 31st century right now. And when you get there, things are going to be a little different.

Robin: I would HOPE so!

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great: when Bendis jumped to DC, this was my hope, and I appreciate this reboot, for drama, diversity, and delight..
Artist Ryan Sook delivers, in the grand tradition, of artists like the late Dave Cockrum who reboot, re-costume, and reinvent heroes for a new generation of readers.
Plus: [spoiler alert] as a fan of Rose & the Thorn, you get those characters in the Legion, with other surprises.
Recommended.
Thanks to Fulton County Library and Hoopla for the loan.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling new chapter in the future DC Universe, the return of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a much-needed addition to the company. Introducing Jon Kent to the future heroes was a great welcome, and the amount of detail and mythos the writers unveiled made this a masterful story that blends the past and the future into one cohesive story.

[Mariano · Rating 3 out of 5]

WELL, I finally got to reading this. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The Millenium issues are cool. The Legion story is kind of a mess and it's difficult to understand what is happening or why. Ryan Sook's art is AMAZING and his designs for the character are pretty cool. So that's a solid 3 right there

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Bendis manages the task of creating a Legion equally inaccessible to new readers as to hoary grognards with a half century in the 31st. Quite a task.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a mess, but unlike so much of Bendis' other work, it's a least a fun and entertaining mess.
Never a big Bendis fan, but somehow, all his tricks and tropes, which never worked on Avengers, work on the LSH.
It should be chaotic, the cast should sound like goofs and teenagers.

Now, the Millennium mini is the weakest bit. Which, not a good sign, when your introduction doesn't work.
Shoehorning Rose into suddenly being a highlander is dumb, and she does nothing in the ongoing to justify the gimmick.
Bits of the future history are fun, so it's sad LSH is the only spin off from it.

But, once that's over, the fun starts.
It's not the LSH that I know, but there's enough there to keep me interested, and most of the new stuff works.
Jon Kent works great as the audience POV character and the whole thing looks very pretty.

Probably, my favorite thing Bendis has done.
I'm actually sad it only lasts 12 issues.

[Tom French · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun bit of a mess. I love the legion. A fan of each of its many incarnations, back to my youth during the Grell era, with its bell bottoms and male corsets. Of all of the Legion reboots through the years, this is the most interesting visually (though I really liked the sleek 90’s look of the LEGIONNAIRES), the diversity of their life forms rang very true.

That said, the story was nearly incomprehensible. While I liked the idea of exploring superboy’s culture shock, this story was too much/ too soon. Add the strange Rose/ Thorn addition that’s never examined, plus Aquaman’s trident — it’s a car crash you can’t look away from.

It makes no sense!

More, it doesn’t welcome new readers. It relies on the reader already possessing a vast knowledge of LEGION trivia and lore. I feel bad for anyone who picked it up to see what the LSH was… how could they understand it?

All in all, a lot of potential wasted. Beautiful to look at, but don’t try to understand it.

[Kip · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I was young, some of my friends were huge fans of the Legion of Super-Heroes. And, though I was curious about the series, it always seemed a little impenetrable because of the huge cast of characters and the well established world of the future that they existed in. Over the years I've tried to jump into the series at various points but I've never found a good entry point. So, when I saw that the series was getting a new launch with Bendis at the helm I thought this might be my moment. Now, I have mixed feeling about Bendis' work - for every time he knocks it out of the park there's another example of him completely fumbling it. But I felt optimistic and bought this collection.

First off, I want to say that I really like the art. This is a good looking series and deserves to be looked at.

But I didn't find anything in the story that hooked me. As someone who was looking for an easy entry point to the Legion of the Super-Heroes world, I was completely let down. Instead of telling a new origin for the team, starting the story off with just a few characters and allowing time for the team to gradually expand out to its massive membership, Bendis drops us into the full roster without taking any real time to introduce the characters, tell us anything about them, or give us the chance to care about anyone in the story at all. There's a lot of plot but not much character despite the massive roster of team members.

I'm left wondering who this series is for. It's certainly not for new readers and somehow I doubt that long time fans of the team will be happy with this sloppy new take hat seems completely unmotivated.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good Legion reboot, and this is a good Legion reboot. I can't wait to see what comes next in this beautifully rendered reimagining.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Legion of Super-Heroes has always been a bit of a conundrum. Depending on who was writing and drawing it, it went from silly to serious, with characterizations that were sometimes a bit fluid. One of the problems with Legion stories is that there are so many members that it is difficult to delve too deeply into any single one of them, and this volume is no different in that regard. But through it all, I've been a fan and have mostly enjoyed the various incarnations. Bendis puts his own stamp on the team with somewhat mixed results, but overall it is what I expect from a Legion story: exciting adventure, action, humor, and mystery. The character designs by Ryan Sook are for the most part sleek and modern. Some of the Legionnaires have different skin colors or even in one or two cases gender, but mostly they stick with what we have come to expect over the years. There are a few new Legionnaires that I'm looking forward to knowing better (Monster Boy? I'm in!). Bendis resurrects Rose Forrest (aka Rose and Thorn), a now obscure DC character from the 1960s, to lead the reader through the ups and downs of DC's future history, from Batman Beyond to Kamandi to Booster Gold to OMAC and finally to the Legion's 31st Century. The main story then commences with Ultra Boy recovering the long lost trident of Aquaman, a MacGuffin that leads various factions to desperate actions. Meanwhile, Superboy (Jon Kent) is brought forward in time to help the Legion, with a running gag that he never has time to watch the orientation video that will explain everything. Of course, Superboy feels he must get his bestie Robin (Damian Wayne) to experience all this, and so makes an unauthorized time trip to get him. This leads to another interesting moment of foreshadowing, as the Legionnaires react to Damian as a "baby Hitler" and quickly send him back with his memory wiped. (What does DC have in store for Damian?) Eventually, Superboy watches the orientation video and he (and we) see the origins of this rebooted Legion. But before he can finish, politics and alien invasions interfere, so we will have to wait until Volume 2 to see how things end. Yes, there is a lot going on and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but I think this is a nice update to the Legion, and having just read (out of order) Justice League Vs. The Legion of Super-Heroes I can safely say that it has unlimited potential if DC lets it.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Lots of reading + no time review = Knee-jerk reactions!*

Admittedly, I have mixed feelings about this graphic novel. I don't really have much prior experience with the Legion of Super-Heroes, and I get what DC is doing with bringing in Jon Kent as the Superboy involved with them (seeing as how, in classic comics, a young Clark Kent was a part of the Legion--at least, if my memory serves). However, I still don't love that they: (1) Aged Jon up so quickly--I wanted to see Superman being a father to a growing Superboy!; (2) That now we're not getting hardly any Super Family because Jon's off in the future; (3) All this stuff about Damian... I mean, I know he's got a lot of baggage, but I've always been rooting for him to be better, to evolve and be the best man he can be... Not fall back on the ways of his mother and grandfather. So, as a fan of the Super Family and Damian Wayne, the current state of DC's super sons is... frustrating. Still, if they had to go this route, it's... totally fine. I enjoyed the action and the story as a whole and getting to know the different characters in the Legion. I just... wish we'd had more time to get here. Everything since "Dark Nights: Metal" has felt kind of rushed. (As much as I enjoyed DNM, everything after has either been hit or miss. Or, like this book: "If they had to do it this way, it's completely fine. I just wish they hadn't--or at least, hadn't YET."

[Jack Cheng]

I love the Legion of Superheroes. One of the first books I followed, in the Levitz/Giffen 1980s, and back issues of Shooter, Grell, etc. It's been an annoyance that every DC Universe reboot seems to mess up Legion reboots (the best Legion reboot was from the Legion creators: 5 years later -- changed Ultra Boy and others to the point where their canonical personalities have shifted).

Anyway, new universe, new Legion. And Brian Bendis! I was very excited to see what he would do with this property, especially with Ryan Sook on art and... I'm disappointed. Some of the updates are good, with a more racially mixed group, but I think it's a problem to start with 50 people. Clearly Bendis is using Legion to play with the DC universe, but his sense of pacing is not my ideal. The Great Darkness saga was huge because the Legion didn't usually interact with 20th century characters. To introduce the Batfamily to the Legion is just.. meh. And it advanced no plot, except, perhaps, in the Batman family of books that I don't read.

Sook made some great designs but the art is not the polished Sook of cover art.

Plus, this collected volume starts with a prologue of an undying woman going through the DC timeline and it's... boring and nonsensical and she plays no part in the Legion story when she gets to the 31st century. Blergh

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

First things first: the art is amazing. This Legion reboot is illustrated by Ryan Sook, and he does a great job drawing a cast that is diverse, distinct, visually interesting and dynamic. Colorist Jordie Bellaire does excellent work as well, with vibrant, eye-popping colors, making this volume a visual treat.

The storytelling is less successful, though. The main plot sees the Legion drawing Superboy (and Damian Wayne) into the future to help them chase down an artifact from the "current" DC age of heroes. The plotting is slow and drawn out, and the warlike aliens opposing the Legion don't really offer a serious threat. There's a bit of pointless "moving the ball around," with writer Brian Michael Bendis choosing a pretty trivial hook to kick off his run.

Worse, the collected edition I read opened with a one-shot that follows little known character Rose/Thorn through different DC settings into the Legion's time, leaving me thoroughly confused, as I didn't know the character or several of the storylines in question. It felt very "insider," which makes it a strange choice to kick off a series reboot, something you would want to be accessible to new readers.

I hope Bendis can match Sook's energy as the series continues, giving the characters some higher stakes and more inventive sci-fi storytelling.

[Michael Emond · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't often give up on a book but I bailed on this one halfway through. Bendis accomplished the impossible - he made a team I love into an unreadable mess. He managed to combine the most juvenile dialogue with the most overly complicated plot. He somehow took a book about the Legion and made it about Rose/Thorn a villain (from the JSA) that nobody was asking to see again.

I am not a fan of Bendis but I don't hate everything he has done. His Daredevil run is very solid. But his strength is naturalistic dialogue (he writes like he is in a 50's movie with overlapping thoughts and lines) and using it in this book just highlights how annoying it can be when 50 people (the Legion) are all talking at once. And his attempts at humour fall flat.

I was really hoping to like this because I love the Legion so much but this wasn't a book about the Legion it was a book around Rose/Thorn, a 20th century villain who Bendis decided was immortal and lived to the time of the Legion. Anyway - it got to a point where I hated the book enough I didn't want to continue. If we are 3 issues in and I can't make heads or tails of the plot and the stars of the book are supporting characters - the writer has failed big time.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Legion of Super-Heroes stories are always challenging. First there is all the science fiction world building for stories set 1,000 years in the future that are semi obsessed with our modern world but nothing really that comes after our age. Then there is the fact that there are roughly 150 powered characters in the Legion to introduce and keep track of. Historically, these have been challenging stories for me to follow and rarely provide a point of entry for new readers. All that said, I liked this.

Like reading a sci fi or fantasy novel you have to get through a lot of world building and character introduction before you get to the meat of the book but, for me at least, it was worth it. You can tell Bendis really loves these characters and this world and willing to change the bad, Karate Kid is no longer a white guy and Dawnstar's insane, boob forward costume is a thing of the past, while sticking with the interpersonal soap opera dynamics that have historically made the Legion of Super Heroes a hybred between the Justice League and the X-Men.

This book, probably like this review, still took too long to get going but I still think that I'll stick with it a while now that I've paid my dues.