Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: Foundations (Part 3 of 6)
Written by: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (fondly referred to as DnA)
Penciled by: Chris Batista
Inked by: Chip Wallace and Andy Lanning
Colored and Seperated by: Sno-Cone
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Publisher: DC Comics
Quote of the Week
So f&*^k “realism” and let’s give our artists cool shit to draw, instead of talking heads and military bases! – Grant Morrison, from a recent interview at The Pulse.
Move over Dick Clark!
Grant Morrison’s sentiments seem to be shared by DnA as they set about reshaping the Foundations of DC’s 45 year old Legion (“of Superheroes”) franchise. 45 years? Where has all the time gone?
It’s quite clear, from picking up this Foundations arc, that the years have been very kind to The Legion. They’re actually the real eternal teenagers. Dick Clark better start using Botox to get his title back!
Why Legion?
I’ll be the first to admit that The Legion is not on my regular pull list.
At the core of my pull list are the JSA, the Teen Titans, and Green Arrow. I’ve always loved the Golden Age (and Captain Marvel), having collected both the All-Star Squadron and Infinity Inc. many moons ago. In addition I’ve picked up all the JSA/JLA crossovers before DC started putting their Crisis on Multiple Earths in trade paperback form. I’ve been a fan of the Titans since Deathstroke: The Terminator’s inception, and Green Arrow has always appealed to me, particularly after Long Bow Hunters, and after reading Hard Traveling Heroes (thank you DC for the hard cover!).
The Outsiders and Hawkman make up the next tier of my regular monthly pulls. I have a love of the characters, but it does not run as deep as for the three titles mentioned before. Hawkman’s post-Crisis reality has been surreal, but writer Geoff Johns has really solidified the title, particularly as a result of his recent Thanagarian arc. The Outsiders are cool, but those old Batman and the Outsiders days were the title’s heyday. Writer Judd Winick has done a good job of differentiating the current incarnation of the team from DC’s plethora of super-teams. Only time will tell if Winick can shake his schizophrenic writer moniker. He’s good and bad – you just don’t know who will show up in any given month on any given title. (The first half of his inaugural Green Arrow arc was passable, with the latter half far superior.) Winick seems to be more comfortable writing team books – which bodes well for the Outsiders title.
So, talking about “teams” is a good a time as any to talk about The Legion. In addition to the core books mentioned above on my pull list, I also have room in my monthly selections for collecting intriguing arcs or limited series. For DC, I have picked up Batman’s Hush arc, the Flash’s Blitz arc, among others. It is in this vein that I am picking up The Legion’s current Foundations arc – there’s just something about that old Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes magic I remember from my boyhood reading days. The Foundations arc has piqued my curiosity, particularly since the Legion is celebrating its 45th birthday, and the palpable energy exuded by the book’s creative team in a recent Newsarama interview.
Where We’ve Been
The Legion’s 25th issue laid the foundations for the arc. With a gaggle of guest artists, the issue saw DC’s current Superboy (boy clone Kon-el or Connor Kent) and a boyish Clark Kent separately make their way into the 31rst Century of The Legion. Kon-el ended up being salvaged by the Legion after drifting in “D-space” for an indeterminate period, while Clark was kidnapped and seemingly brought to the planet Apokolips of 3003. Cool, a Darkseid and New Gods story is in the offing. Or is it?
Legion #26 focused on Kon-el familiarizing himself with the year 3003, and discovering a philosophy / religion, called the Spirit of the Last Son, based on the example of Superman – a shadow that he has been trying to get out from under for years. However, it’s in 3003 that Kon-el finally becomes comfortable with his destiny and dons the old blue-red-and-gold threads of the most recognizable superhero costume ever. In addition, a sinister, dark JLA / New Gods type team go about a nefarious endeavor.
The Legion Secret Files 3003 is a great companion read that really enhances one’s appreciation and understanding of the current arc. It offers quick bios of the key Legionnaires and is one of the best, non-frivolous, Secret Files I’ve read from DC. We learn that Cosmic Boy lives his life according the Spirit of the Last Son, and we also get some glimpses into Kid Quantum’s “daydream-seizures” (for lack of a better description) that really are harbingers of problems to come… that all lead back to… Darkseid. In addition, the dark JLA / New Gods are seemingly trying to bring Darkseid back to life… or so we’re led to believe (sorta).
The Current Offering
Legion #27 continues the bi-weekly offerings of the Foundations arc.
Kon-el’s new, yet retro, Superboy costume seems to cause a commotion among followers of the Spirit of the Last Son and lead to some unintended bloodshed among these pacifists and violent self-dubbed “catastrophists.” Cosmic Boy continues to show his disappointment in the recklessness of Kon-el, and Kid Quantum’s daydream-seizures continue.
Interestingly, or not, the issue actually opens with Kid Quantum in the midst of a daydream-seizure wearing a white wife-beater undershirt with a Legion logo plus a pink thong – no, really. And, yes, the Comic’s Code is missing from the book’s cover. Is it just me, or is the revelation that the Legion has a line of fruit-of-the-looms a bit funny?
Also, on a more serious tone, the issue holds a major revelation about what it is that the dark JLA / New Gods team is up to. A nefarious plan, indeed, my friends.
Overall, this story has a great mix of humor, characterization, and plot momentum. The arc is very easy to follow for new readers (of which I am one), and the art is some of the best on the shelves today. The coloring is also top-notch and really adds to the overall reading experience.
A Supermess?
I think my comments on DC’s Teen Titan’s forum about Kon-el in the 31rst Century capture my feelings about DC’s editorial stewardship of the Superman franchise:
I’m enjoying it so far. I am bit perplexed about both Kon-el and a young Clark Kent presumably being in the future.
DC’s been playing fast and loose with Superman’s origin lately – one book referencing a Birthright origin, while another references the MOS origin. Now we have a pre-Superman, presumably un-powered Clark Kent, in the future.
I surely hope this is a Clark Kent from another Hypertime, because all the tinkering (across the DCU) with the back story of Clark Kent is starting to make my head spin.
I’m not going to rehash this point any further. Regular readers have “heard” me rant on this subject for a while now.
Should you pick up Foundations?
Absolutely.
Using Grant Morrison’s comments as a measuring stick, Foundations is a fun, action-packed, and solid visual read. DnA deliver a great story, and give penciller Chris Batista some cool shit to draw.
Nuff said.
