With those eight decades of precedent, it’s more often the case now that a writer will take something old and make it new rather than inventing from scratch. Brian Michael Bendis came to DC from Marvel and his great talents were aimed first at Superman. It’s a run that has entertained me considerably and keeps me engaged but if there’s a title now that seems to me to show the full potential of superhero comics in the third decade of the 21st century, its Bendis’ work on the Legion of Super-Heroes.
The LSH had already been invented, reinvented, and reinvented again literally to death. The LSH began as a fertile Silver Age lark, then under Paul Levitz and Gerry Conway became a more mature work, taking the characters and by extension the readers through adolescence. A post-COIE storyline by Keith Giffen narrated a series of cosmic reboots before things settled into a new continuity – one that has since been rebooted three times now – or four?
Like many series over the years, the Bendis Legion mixes old continuity (not necessarily the latest one) with some entirely new elements. It also mixes in elements of DC history that were never associated with the LSH before, which often has the feeling of a puzzle piece fitting in where it had previously been missing. This is by no means the first such addition to the LSH, with Rond Vidar bringing in the legacy of the Green Lanterns way back in 1966, followed shortly thereafter with the Tornado Twins tying in the history of the Flash. Bendis makes some more unusual choices, with Rose (of “and Thorn” fame) actually kicking off the story, aside from cameos showing the new LSH in Doomsday Clock and the Superman titles, and the various worlds of Batman, Aquaman, and Doctor Fate making appearances along the way.
It’s not a cast of characters that make for a great run, but what Bendis does with them, and 10 issues in, we see enormous potential for character development. The LSH has always had some members who are more equal than others, with Superboy originally and often at the forefront. Pointedly, Bendis’ boldest creative decision is in placing Jon Kent in the central role for the first time. And throughout the first issues, Jon Kent plays a role that’s familiar from other literature: the newcomer. Or, in terms of children’s literature, he’s the new kid in school. He begins automatically in this new century facing unlimited amounts of unfamiliarity and social awkwardness. A recurring subplot about a missed orientation presentation fills one with dread as he continues to be behind on his lessons. But Jon Kent not only fills the shoes and chest emblem of Superman – he is (“will have been”) Superman, and the reverence that the LSH shows in his presence develops the Jon Kent character in an interesting way. It is in a future that we – and he – have not seen that has earned him the LSH’s initial respect. Thereby, every word, every glance is potentially foreshadowing, and we have to wonder why. This was not so true with the teenage Kal-El of LSH past, whose future – much of it – we had already seen. However, Bendis also elevates Jon Kent with his leadership in the “present” (as the narration comes to us). The boy who had previously appeared as a child grasping instruction from his parents has a star moment in issue #7, mending a conflict between the LSH and the United Planets with a short, effective speech after Brainiac 5 and Cosmic Boy had failed in their attempts.
In the character development of several other LSH members, Bendis explores parent-adolescent conflict with a variety of experiences that range from rebellion to submission. Ultra Boy is highlighted most of all, as his father becomes something of the LSH’s primary opponent in the series so far, but the old setup of heroes and villains is much closer to gray here. Ultra Boy never stops thinking of the General as his father, and we see a struggle between his relationship with family vs. that with friends and in all things, he is reluctant. Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad also struggle to be the successes that their lives ask them to be. Reep Daggle is still within the grasp of parental authority, acting as a spy, if a benevolent one, for his mother, R.J. Brande, who is the Legion’s biggest frenemy thus far. But the women shine: Saturn Girl has moved without doubts beyond and above her family expectations, and Lightning Lass, initially reluctant to join the Legion, is perhaps the boldest member they have, at least among those who have had some time to develop.
Perhaps the most interesting Legionnaire’s story for me so far is that of Mon-El. As with the other primary characters, we know him from previous history, but we don’t know what Bendis may have changed. As the LSH is struggling in their first battle with the General Nah, Mon-El flies in with complete confidence and takes him down with one punch. But then it turns out that it’s a political nightmare, and the easy win has made Mon-El the new leader of Rimbor. After that punch, almost everything crumbles, and Mon-El is full of self-doubt, insecure in his romantic standing, insecure as the most powerful Legionnaire after the arrival of Superboy, (and he eventually loses a rematch with the General Nah when the LSH’s own power is turned against it). And there are a pair of revelatory tweaks to his backstory: this Mon-El is Kryptonian, not Daxamite, and he is a descendent of Jon Kent. From time to time, a critic will say that a superhero isn’t interesting if they’re too powerful. Here is a rebuttal; Mon-El’s story, sharing screen time with the rest of his team, is interesting in multiple ways, even when he is invincible in battle.
For all the characters who are battling to overcome something, there are others where something else is going on. Having read Bendis’ work only for the past couple of years, I don’t know if he plants clues that spring on us later, but if he does, watch Triplicate Girl. In issue #1, the pink-haired version asks a question that the blue-haired one answers. Innocuous detail, right? In issue #4, she tells us that when they merge back into one body they all gain the accumulated memories of each of them. This pair of details means that the Triplicate Girls have not remerged in a while. Meaningful? With another writer, I might feel certain that this was done for a reason, but in this case – we’ll see.
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And the last character study of particular interest says something about Bendis’ larger direction: Bouncing Boy, whose biography has not been explored as much as some other Legionnaires, seems particularly joyful and free of angst. In one quick interaction with Superboy in #5, he exudes confidence and capability, and, ostensibly because of his hand on the former’s shoulder, Jon Kent, a paragon of physical strength, says, “You’re strong, Bouncing Boy!” to which the latter says, “Aw, thanks!” When nearly every other Legionnaire is battling some sort of insecurity or strife, this is exceptional. I wonder – time will tell – if this choice is making a deliberate counterpoint to the body image issues that might otherwise poke fun at a person carrying great weight, and which have made Bouncing Boy an object of humor (and lesser status) in previous incarnations.
In a similar vein, we see overt changes made to several characters – including the Ranzz/Lightning siblings as well as Ultra Boy – to introduce some racial diversity where there had been none before. One may recall that the LSH’s Ferro Lad might have been DC’s first Black superhero had editor Mort Weisinger not vetoed Jim Shooter’s plan, and thus the team had members from other planets who were green and orange when it was too controversial for one to represent a non-Caucasian from Earth. Bendis is taking this one logical step further and supposing that beings on other planets might just have skin colors resembling the non-Caucasian people of Earth.
With the series now tallying over 10 issues when crossovers are included, there is a lot more to say about it, particularly regarding the swirling plot. From my point of view, this run has the potential to be a true classic, and the plot is not the reason why. Bendis has thus far given us a world that is both fun and funny, social and socially aware, new and studiously mindful of decades of past history. The last time I was this fond of the Legion of Super-Heroes was the 1980s, and Bendis is bringing back many of those memories, proving that time travel is not only science fiction.
