Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes, Vol. 3

Showcase Presents: The Legion of Super-Heroes #3

by Jim Shooter, E. Nelson Bridwell, Otto Binder

Nearly 500 pages of futuristic super-hero action are collected in this value-priced volume!

In this new volume, The Legion is outlawed and put in prison by Universo, faces the revolt of their own Super-Pets, and battle their greatest foes, The Fatal Five! Plus, The Legion is forced to expel two of its most powerful heroes: Superboy and Supergirl!

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

552 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2009

About the author

James Charles Shooter was an American writer, editor and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, and launched comics publishers Valiant, Defiant, and Broadway.

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume really shows just the talent of Jim Shooter. He was only 14 at the time, but his writing and layouts were better than most veteran writers and artists at the time. The series really got better once Shooter took over with more serious stories, more dynamic art layouts such as bigger panels and full page shots, and just a more updated feel to the series. Plus not every other issue is about someone being a traitor and/or trying to trick the other heroes for some odd reason.

This is by far my favorite volume of the series, at least to this point.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the volume where the Legion lose their innocence, as Jim Shooter comes in to take over the writing chores in this volume-- there are still occasional other writers, like E Nelson Bridwell, but Shooter's take is assured and quickly colors future presentations of the heroes.

The big change, probably, is a greater interest in science fiction-- it's not like the high school soap operatics disappear, as such, but Shooter is more willing to just "go there" with the crazy concepts. So when the Fatal Five make the scene and we learn that the Persuader's axe can cut through anything, this is demonstrated by his cutting through gravity-- it's an idea so wacky it's almost Morrison-ian. But that's kind of the way these stories go: they are quicker, more conceptual, and more grounded in a world that really is more fantastic than the 30th century we've seen before then.

Of course, there are still weird silver age flourishes-- a couple stories with Jimmy Olsen, some with the Super-Pets. But mostly, this is Shooter's Legion. There's good and bad with that, and that's what you get here.

[Jason Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Shooter has always been a good writer, and this book is no exception.

He really started to add a lot of the multi-issue or complex villain arcs that comics started to really come around to in the late 1960s (well, DC had to wait this long, but the general time period is till right).

Giving them borderline unbeatable bad guys like the Fatal Five, really adds a lot of tension to the stories. And in general even just a shallow dose of realism is better than none at all.

Curt Swan's art got better, but brief interludes by Jim Mooney and Pete Costanza were way, way better.

The random Jimmy Olsen issue is just ok, but overall, a great superhero book

5/5

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to learn here that the Legion was responsible for bringing the Fatal Five together - a serious lapse of judgment? I guess they did save the universe. Reading "The Adult Legion" immediately after (a story which rather tied the hands of Legion writers until Paul Levitz put a stake through its heart in Legion #300), it's hard not to read it as a reassurance to young readers (and their parents) that no other Legionnaires were going to die for a while. Overall, the book's great fun.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is starting to take on its own identity and stretch its wings. Juvenile Jim is getting his writing legs. The rogues gallery is filling out. Continuity builds. All in all, a fun time.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonder-child Jim Shooter pens most of these stories, with occasional fill-ins by E. Nelson Bridwell, and most of the art is by Curt Swan. The stories seem to be evolving in maturity, with fewer crazy twist endings, although there are still some rather juvenile story resolutions scattered around. The emphasis is on smaller sub-teams that give more room for characterization. A number of recurring themes and villains make their first appearances, notably the Fatal Five. The science fictional elements get pretty wild, but there is little continuity of some of these ideas that explore their long-term ramifications. This volume contains one of my all-time favorite Legion stories, the two-part "End of the Legion" in issues #359-360 (issues that I still have in my collection). This volume is also noteworthy for early work by Neal Adams doing some of the covers. One aspect of the stories that has not aged well is its innate sexism (and, of course, there are no people of color anywhere to be seen, either). The biggest drawback of this volume is that it's strictly black-and-white line work (color probably would quadruple the price), but it's still fun to read.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is where the Legion starts get good. Longer, more interesting story arcs, awesome villains (The Fatal Five!), and endings that rely less on stupid silver age tricks. OK, there are still some stupid silver age tricks (identical twins that come forward after 20 years?), but fewer stories are about Legion traitors (perceived or real) than the previous two volumes.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the previous volumes; it seems like the Legion might be hitting a bit of a fallow period. But it's still classic silver age superhero stuff.

[Tone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is where the Legion starts to take off, when Jim Shooter starts writing and the Legion starts fighting criminals like the Fatal Five.