Retro Review: Legion Worlds #1-6 By Abnett, Lanning, Guichet, Dillon, Plunkett & More For DC Comics!

Legion Worlds #1-6 (June 2001 to November 2001)

Written by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning

Pencilled by Yvel Guichet (#1), Olivier Coipel (#1), Enrique Breccia (#2), Darwyn Cooke (#2), Paul Rivoche (#3), Rick Burchett (#3), Duncan Rouleau (#4), Rick Leonardi (#4), Steve Dillon (#5), Jamie Tolagson (#5), Kilian Plunkett (#6), Mike McKone (#6)

Inked by Dexter Vines (#1), Andy Lanning (#1), Enrique Breccia (#2), Darwyn Cooke (#2), Paul Rivoche (#3), Rick Burchett (#3), Jaime Mendoza (#4), Al Williamson (#4), Klaus Janson (#5), John Stanisci (#5), Jamie Tolagson (#5), Kilian Plunkett (#6), Marlo Alquiza (#6)

Colour by Tom McCraw 

Spoilers (from nineteen years ago)

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning took over the Legion of Super-Heroes at the very end of the 90s and brought them into the new millennium by first wrecking things.  The Blight invaded and took control of the Earth, trashing it in the process.  After that, a tear opened in reality, and it took the actions of a group of Legionnaires to save things, only they disappeared.  The Legion Lost series of 2000 followed that missing group, and ended with it looking like they were on their way home.

But what was home going to be like?  When we last saw the Earth, it was suffering, and the United Planets was quarantining it.  The stargate network was shut down, the Legion disbanded, and RJ Brande impeached as President of the UP.  

I guess that DnA, as Abnett and Lanning are often known, wanted to take some time to explore the new status quo, so between their Legion Lost and the relaunched Legion title, they wrote this six issue series.  Each issue was oversized (and priced), and focused on a single planet, starting with Earth.  I always assumed that part of the reason for this series existing was also to give The Legion artist Olivier Coipel more time to get ahead of his schedule.

I don’t remember a whole lot about these comics.  It’s worth mentioning that this is still the post-Zero Hour reboot version of the Legion, so expectations should be adjusted going in.  I am curious to see what they do with some of these characters (I’m trying to remember how Star Boy ended up in the Starman series around this time).  Let’s see if these are any good.

Let’s track who turned up in the title:

The Legion of Super-Heroes

• M’onel (Lar Gand; #1, 5-6)
• Kinetix (Zoe Saugin; #1-2, 6)
• Triad (Luornu Durgo; #1, 6)
• Spark (Ayla Ranzz; #2, 6)
• Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krinn; #2-3, 6)
• Dyrk Magz (fka Magno; #3, 6)
• Invisible Kid (Lyle Norg; #3, 6)
• Leviathan (Salu “Violet” Digby; #3, 6)
• XS (Jenni Ognats; #4, 6)
• Star Boy (Thom Kallor; #4)
• Karate Kid (Val Armorr; #5-6)
• Ferro (Andrew Nolan; #5-6)
• Apparition (Tinya Wazzo; #6)
• Sensor (Jeka Wynzorr; #6)

Villains

• Tharok (#1)
• Robotica (#1, 4)
• Dak Kroll (#3)
• Nadir (#5)
• Gangster (#5)
• Cortex (#5)
• Bronto (#5)
• Pollen (#5)
• Venom Gang (#6)
• Kuga (#6)
• Xoth (#6)
• Swool (#6)

Guest Stars

• Insect Queen (Lonna Leing, Uncanny Amazers; #4)
• Atmos (Uncanny Amazers; #4)
• Repulse (Presidential Oversight Watch; #5)
• Twine (Presidential Oversight Watch; #5)
• Abyss (Presidential Oversight Watch; #5)
• Brainstorm (Presidential Oversight Watch; #5)
• Timber Wolf (Brin Londo; #6)

Supporting Characters

• Leland McCauley (President of the United Planets; #1, 6)
• Shvaughn Erin (Science Police; #1, 6)
• Venge (McCauley’s chief advisor; #1, 5-6)
• Mekt Ranzz (fka Lightning Lord; #2)
• Vin Kolkin (SP; #3)
• Chuck Taine (#3, 6)
• Vice-President Winema Wazzo (#3)
• Orla Eidoor (Titanet; #3)
• Q’Bahl (Free Xanthu; #4)
• Jork (Khund; #4)
• Dreamer (Nura Nal; #4)
• Sorcsis (Pashassi-Master of Steeple; #5)
• RJ Brande (#6)

Let’s take a look at what happened in these books, with some commentary as we go:

• The first issue of this series is set on Earth, and focuses on M’onel.  It opens with him fighting a much more powerful Tharok in the upper atmosphere.  Tharok has actually reached Mon’s level, and as their fight takes them into Metropolis, they end up doing a lot of damage.  It’s clear that M’onel now works with the Science Police in an unofficial capacity, as they provide support to him over coms.  Lar manages to take out Tharok, at which point a small drone detaches itself from his chassis; Mon freezes it with his breath.  Through a news broadcast, we learn that Leland McCauley is now the President of the United Planets, and that he’s taken a populist approach while helping Earth rebuild.  He claims a special connection to M’onel, while still decrying that so many Legionnaires lost their life in the rift incident a year before.  M’onel helps narrate some of the changes that have happened in the last year, including the disbanding of the Legion.  He gets a call from the Science Police, and goes to see Shvaughn Erin, who now heads up the “For-Tech Inquiry”.  She wants to talk about the drone that Tharok brought to Earth, but first they are interrupted by a visit from Junior Office Zoe Saugin (fka Kinetix).  They chat, and Zoe tells Mon that Dyrk Magz is also in the SP, on Braal.  After she leaves, Shvaughn and Lar talk about the fact that he feels alone now. When they go to see the drone, which is active but in a force field, they posit that Tharok’s mission was to bring it to Earth.  It escapes containment, and starts killing SPs, while spouting off about Robotica (which was mentioned in DnA’s first issue of Legionnaires).  Lar manages to destroy the thing, and then pays Leland McCauley a visit.  McCauley claims that they shouldn’t be worried about Robotica, which appears to be a robot race threatening some outer worlds.  Venge, McCauley’s advisor, also thinks they should be worried about Robotica attacking Earth.  Lar goes to the memorial statue for the Legion Lost crew (which appears to include Gates), as it’s been exactly a year since they were lost.  Triad is also there, and they catch up briefly.  Luornu was put in charge of Brande Industries when RJ Brande went missing less than a year ago, and she’s fighting off McCauley’s attempts to shut them down completely.  She vaguely tells Lar she wants to talk to him about things that “really matter”, but he receives an emergency message.  He heads into space, following a course set by the SP to take him to a vessel that has just appeared, that appears to be broadcasting the same signal as the drone did.  He thinks about what Luornu wants, and realizes that she wants him to reveal that he is really Valor, a mythical figure on many worlds.  He discovers a massive vessel that attacks him.  After a tough fight, he manages to destroy it, and then receives word that another vessel has just appeared in space.  He rushes there, and we see it’s the Outpost, suggesting this is the group of Lost Legionnaires finally coming home.
• Issue 1 has a backup, with art by Olivier Coipel, that features Triad.  Luornu returns home, and watches the news, clicking on links that help new readers get caught up on who Tharok, M’onel, and the Legion are.  Along the way, we learn that McCauley Industries has replaced stargate tech with something called the Footstep Drive, which is only being used by SP and UP military crafts.  As they keep scrolling, we learn a little about the threat of Robotica, and that there is a pandemic on Vyrga, Gates’s world.  Two of Luornu go to bed, but the third receives a news alert that the Outpost has returned; she assumes that her friends have come back, and calls for her sisters.
• The main story in issue two is set on Winath, focuses on Spark, and is drawn by Argentine artist Enrique Breccia.  It’s taken Ayla six months of travel by sub-light to finally return home to Winath.  As the ship she’s on approaches, we see the massive grain elevators used to move the planet’s agricultural output into orbit, and Ayla can tell that business is not good.  She explains to a pair of SPs (remember, everyone on Winath has a twin) that she’s home and now travelling alone.  She takes a shuttle to the surface, and remembers the Outpost falling into the rift, and not knowing what happened to her brother, a year before.  We learn that Winath is covered with massive winwood trees, whose canopy covers 95% of the surface (which makes no sense for an agricultural world).  Climate control opens a hole in the canopy for the shuttle to pass through, and we learn how controlled the planet’s environment is.  When she lands at Millhaven, Ayla is recognized by two of her former neighbours, who offer to take her to her family’s farm (she has not told her parents she’s coming).  Along the way, they bring her up to speed on the difficulties Winath is facing without reliable transportation to other worlds.  These guys are part of the Millhaven Farming Collective, which is trying to help local farmers.  They also notice a storm on the horizon, and tell Ayla that the climate control system is starting to fail.  They drop her off and point her in the direction of a memorial stone to Garth, who was believed killed when he fell into the rift (we know he died much later than that, in Legion Lost).  Ayla is surprised to see her brother Mekt, fka Lightning Lord, approach her.  He explains that he’s on parole, and that he has an electronic bracelet that administers medication, saps his powers, and monitors his location.  Ayla’s mother is happy to see her, and takes her to see her father, who was struck by lightning in a freak storm and is still recovering.  At dinner, when Ayla mentions that she saw her neighbours, her father is agitated, and explains that their collective is cutting corners and using farming methods he doesn’t agree with.  The next day Ayla pitches in around the farm, and sees a storm approaching a different neighbouring farm.  She rushes over to help, saving the farmer’s daughters by using her powers to disperse the storm.  She’s surprised to see Mekt come to help her, and is suspicious of him.  Ayla and Mekt talk about his jealousy of her and Garth, and when he shares his favourite memory of spending time with Ayla, she reminds him that he ruined that day by throwing a temper tantrum.  Later, Ayla puts on her Legion uniform and follows Mekt when he goes to the market.  She tracks him onto a shuttle that leads to the closest climate-con station in the tree canopy.  She catches him working on a computer, and he explains that he’s been tracking the strange weather, which started happening shortly after he came home, and has proof that something strange is going on.  The Ranzzes catch the neighbour family programming in a storm, and Ayla confronts them.  When they start shooting at her, she shocks them, and then learns that the climate devices are broken, with a big storm forming that will destroy her family’s farm.  Ayla flies out to try to shut down the plant’s induction vanes, but there is too much lightning.  Mekt helps by tossing out a big lightning rod, which gives Ayla the chance to get to her goal.  Later, we see Ayla, bandaged up from burns, standing over Garth’s memorial stone.  Mekt comes running to her to let her know that he heard on the news that the Legion Outpost has returned.  She hugs him and runs off.  Mekt alters the bracelet on his wrist and blasts the memorial stone, assuming that Garth has returned. 
• The backup to issue two was drawn by Darwyn Cooke (that was a nice surprise) and focuses on Ayla’s mother, Dalva.  Her sister, Lilya, comes to visit and they chat about how with Winath’s population rising, they might be forced by the government to house some less fortunate people on the farm.  They end up talking about what’s happened to the Ranzz children, and hope for the future even though things look bleak.  After Lilya leaves, Ayla turns up on the farm, home for the first time in ages.
• Issue three is set on Braal, focusing on Dyrk Magz, and featuring art by Paul Rivoche.  In the last year, Dyrk has joined the Science Police, and has been transferred to his home planet, Braal, even though he still doesn’t have his magnetic powers.  He manages to take down a big bruiser who uses some illegal knives in a fight over magnoball.  Dyrk’s new partner, Kolkin, is impressed, but also wonders why he didn’t just use his sidearm (he also mentions that the Outpost has returned, bringing Dyrk’s friends with it).  They are called to the stadium, where a big game is set to begin.  On their way, they see a new footstep drive UP cruiser arrive.  At the stadium, their unnamed Captain briefs a room full of SPs about Dak Kroll, a criminal they expect to be making a big drug deal during the game.  She also tells them to keep an eye out for some of his associates, and some vigilantes who have been operating in the area.  The Captain pulls Dyrk aside, letting him know that part of the reason he was brought to Braal is because of the amount of xenophobia on the planet.  Dyrk and Kolkin watch the game from a roof, and talk about the fact that Dyrk knows Rokk Krinn, aka Cosmic Boy.  Dyrk spots Kroll in the crowd, and after calling it in, they somehow follow him into some underground tunnels despite the fact that they were just on the roof.  They watch as Kroll makes a deal with some aliens, until a figure dressed in black carrying a shield intervenes, assisted by another bigger vigilante.  They take out the criminals quickly, but then Dyrk tries to stop them.  Something unseen hits him and takes his gun.  The bigger vigilante, who it’s confirmed is female, disappears, but Dyrk manages to grab the shield guy and stun him with a strobe effect from his uniform.  He unmasks him, and discovers that he’s Cosmic Boy.  Later, the Captain talks to Dyrk about the collar, and suggests he go interrogate his former teammate, who is telling them nothing.  Rokk is already in a holding cell on the UP cruiser we saw before (only now they claim it’s an SP cruiser) before taking him to Takron-Galtos.  Dyrk heads to the ship, and then enters Rokk’s cell, where they talk about how Rokk feels that he still needs to do good.  He doesn’t tell Dyrk anything usable though.  He leaves, just as a strange bouncing ship appears to attack the facility.  It smashes into the cruiser, damaging the ship’s footstep drive.  They hastily evacuate the prisoners and then use a magnetic expulsion protocol to send the ship into the atmosphere before it can explode.  Dyrk realizes that Rokk never made it out, and using the flight ring he happens to be wearing, flies up to the ship, hoping to rescue him.  Instead, he finds him in his Cosmic Boy gear, with Invisible Kid and Leviathan.  They are joined by Chuck Taine (who was piloting the “Bouncing Boy”).  Rokk explains that he wants to put the Legion back together, but needed a footstep drive-capable ship to make it happen.  He planned to steal this one from the beginning, and so Chuck faked the damage to it.  He doesn’t share the big picture with Dyrk, but his promise to do so later is enough for Dyrk to let them escape.  He flies an escape pod down to the surface, and they see the fake explosion in the sky.  The last we see the ship, Rokk has his team set course for Earth and engage the drive.
• In the backup story drawn by Rick Burchett, we focus on Vice President Wazzo.  She is meeting with Orla Eidoor, a Titanian representing the Titanet, a telepathic communications array that doesn’t need stardrive technology to facilitate communication across the galaxy.  Eidoor has been assigned to Wazzo, who seems a little distant.  She has been put in charge of redeveloping the UP.  She checks in with the representative of the Athramite, who is concerned about his planet’s economy.  The spokesmen for Cargg are concerned with their planet’s growing population, but also the disappearance of over five thousand citizens.  Next, Winema talks to a representative of Colu, who explains that her planet will remain in isolation until the UP has dealt with the threat of Robotica.  She makes reference to something happening on Xanthu, which Wazzo is confused by.  She tries to get Eidoor to contact Xanthu, but he fails, and doesn’t know why.  He informs Winema that the Legion Outpost has returned and carries life signs.  This causes her to place a private “call” to three men on Rimbor, who, it looks like, are there to retrieve Tinya.  
• For issue four, Duncan Rouleau takes us to Xanthu, where the planet and its Khund allies in the Associated Planets have been at war with Robotica for four months.  Robotica has decimated the planet, using weapons banned everywhere else.  The most effective weapon against Robotica has been electromagnetic pulses, leaving much of the Free Xanthu forces without technology.  The Legionnaire XS has been running around conveying instructions to Xanthan and Khund units.  As she helps to coordinate movement, a Robotican drone gets the drop on her, but luckily Star Boy shows up to save her.  He tells Jenni that an ‘escape shaft’ is inbound, and then uses his gravity powers to stop the Robotican advance.  Insect Queen, of the Amazers, digs a large wormhole so the people the Khunds were protecting can escape.  Thom collapses the tunnel behind them.  They make their way to Xanth Prime, which is safe and intact beneath a large force field.  This last city has taken in eight million refugees, and is about to run out of supplies.  Q’Bahl, who I guess is the leader of the Free Xanthu forces briefs Thom, Jenni, Atmos (another Amazer), and the Khunds.  They’ve discovered a gap in the Robotican blockade, but can’t use it to evacuate because there is a second forcefield pushing on their own.  Dreamer arrives and tells them that she’s located the Robotican force field generator.  A plan is made to go destroy it.  Nura says there might be a Robotican AI there, and Jork, one of the main Khunds, hopes to kill it.  Jenni disagrees, and they argue briefly before Nura gets a flash of Jork’s death.  He recognizes the way she looks at him, and it strengthens his resolve.  A small group of Khunds, with Thom, Jenni, and Atmos, make their way to the Robotican facility in the bio-wastes.  They make their way to the AI, and are able to disable it.  Jenni stops Jork for destroying it, partly because she thinks they can learn something from it (it’s the first they’ve seen).  Thom destroys the force field generator.  When they return to Xanth Prime, they learn that their window of escape has closed.  Q’Bahl, though, is able to get enough information from the AI to redeploy the Robotican orbital defenses enough to let the evacuation ships pass through.  The problem is that once their force field drops around the city, Robotica will attack, so they need a rear guard defense.  Jork insists on running it, and that Thom and Jenni leave since they are civilians.  As the ships leave, Thom decides to stay, and Jenni stays with him, despite the fact that Nura wants Thom to leave.  The fight is a big one, and Jork dies.  Jenni and Thom end up holding off tons of Robotica drones on their own, and as the evacuation ships escape, it’s not clear what happens to our two heroes.
• The backup story, drawn by Rick Leonardi, focuses on how Nura received training on Khundia to help her sharpen her skills, to the point where she became able to make her predictions without having to fall asleep.  We see that in addition to helping the war effort on Xanthu, she also has visions of Element Lad and Shikari, whom she’s never met.  She also has a vision of a memorial to Thom.
• Issue five features art by the great Steve Dillon (who makes characters look old), is set on Steeple, and focuses on Karate Kid.  Steeple is a planet that is made unreachable for ten year periods due to stellar winds.  Karate Kid and Ferro have been there for months while Val trains in the meditation practices of the people there, and as he became close to Sorcsis, the Pashassi-Master.  They fly through the planet’s canyons on the backs of blimp-steeds, as Val tries to decide if he should leave before the “time of bleakness” begins, trapping him there for a decade.  He thinks about how Ferro has been happy there too, but we cut to a scene, shown only in silhouette, of Ferro being beaten on by a big criminal named Nadir, who has arrived after escaping Takron-Galtos.  Val and Sorcsis continue to discuss the ways of Steeple, which involve rejecting all violence, and Val is torn.  In a flashback, we learn that this is the first place where Andy has felt he can remove his metal helmet and walk around without frightening people or being judged by them.  Val and Sorcsis approach the building where Andy was, and discover a number of locals lying dead.  Val finds Andy in terrible shape (we don’t get a clear view, but can see that he’s turned to his metal form).  Nadir attacks Val, and they fight for a bit, but Val is out of shape, and Nadir is able to grab him by his ponytail and throw him into a wall.  Val wakes up in bed, recovering from his injuries and not knowing how long he’s laid there.  Sorcsis tells him that Nadir has stolen food from them, and is heading to the landing spire, so he can escape before the bleakness begins.  Val checks on Andy, who is comatose and in his metal form; some priests are chanting to place him in a harmonic field, hoping it will help him heal.  Val sees that Andy has kept his Legion ring, despite the fact that technology is not approved of on Steeple.  Val wants to go after Nadir, knowing he will kill again as he takes the last shuttle leaving the planet (there are just a few hours left before the bleakness begins).  Val cuts his hair and rushes off, Luke Skywalker to Sorcsis’s Yoda.  Sorcsis decides to join him, and they take a faster method of travel.  Nadir arrives at the landing spire and immediately begins firing on people from his damaged flying craft.  Val jumps towards him, and again they fight.  Val knows that Nadir is stronger, but he manages to land some blows before being tossed over the side of the spire.  Sorcsis blocks Nadir’s path, and is about to be killed, but Val, who has taken Andy’s flight ring, returns and begins to fight again.  This time, his blows are more focused, damaging Nadir’s energy rifle, so that when he goes to fire it, it shocks him.  Val has the shuttle crew load Nadir to deliver to the Science Police, and again talks to Sorcsis about his identity.  It looks like he’s going to leave the planet to return to being Karate Kid.  Later, we see that the Bleakness has begun, and are surprised to see Val sitting vigil over Ferro, having decided to stay with him.
• The backup, drawn by Jamie Tolagson, features M’onel and the Presidential Oversight Watch.  The group of heroes, who work directly for McCauley, are trying to apprehend a criminal named Cortex.  Lar blows up the ship that Cortex was flying, capturing two of his crew and informing the others that Cortex and some of his men are flying to the surface of whatever planet they are close to.  Repulse (last seen as part of Workforce) and Twine break into the landing ship, but only find Gangster – a Multiple Man type character who keeps them busy.  Cortex has made it to the planet with Pollen and Bronto, his generic backup.  He informs them that the planet, believed to be Pluto, is actually the remains of Warworld, which he wants to restore with the use of something called a Q-Bit.  He’s about to plug it in when more of the Oversight Watch, Abyss and Brainstorm, arrive to stop them.  Abyss uses one of the rings from the Legion Science Police miniseries that I thought was completely forgotten to stop Bronto, while Brainstorm blasts Pollen with his mind.  They realize that Cortex got away.  Cortex runs into Mr. Venge, who we know is McCauley’s aide, and it’s clear they know one another.  Venge gets a strange look on his face, and by the time M’onel finds them, Cortex is dead.  Venge claims he used a suicide charge to destroy his poly-plastic body, but it’s clear M’onel is suspicious.
• The final issue is set on Rimbor, and has art by Kilian Plunkett.  Apparition is on the rough and tumble planet, and when we see her, she is running from members of the Venom Gang, who find her attractive.  They knock her gelato out of her hands, and get her on the ground (she was flying with her flight ring before).  They are about to hurt her when someone Legion readers would recognize as the wolfen version of Timber Wolf turns up and defends her.  Tinya takes out the last guy, and it becomes clear that she’s been staying with Brin.  We are surprised to see that Tinya is pregnant, as Brin takes her home.  Elsewhere on the planet the three men we saw in an early issue are searching for Tinya; they have a jinx-dog, a shapechanging tracker from Durla, who is on her trail.  The men take off their “flesh-coats”, and we see that one is a Dominator, the other a giant robot, and the third looks human.  Back at the “Q”, the home of the Wolf Crew, Brin hovers over Tinya, worrying about her pregnancy.  The youngest member of the gang invites Tinya to lie down for a bit, and the others argue with Brin about keeping the wife of a member of a rival gang; Brin angrily explains that she saved his life before and that he’s going to keep looking after her.  The younger wolf, Hubble, chats with Tinya about why, after Jo’s apparent death, she fled her mother to come to Rimbor, hoping to find some traces of Jo there.  Kuga, the big human member of the team tracking Tinya, calls in to Vice-President Wazzo to report their progress; it’s clear that she is most concerned about getting ahold of her granddaughter.  Brin takes Tinya to a bar where Jo’s mother works.  She introduces herself, but quickly realizes she’s made a mistake when the older woman sniffs opportunity on her.  When things get heated, Tinya has a contraction.  Later, Brin continues to worry.  One of the gang tells them that the Legion Outpost has shown up, and in the surprise, Tinya goes into labor.  Brin sends someone to get a clin-med, but when that guy leaves the “Q”, he is attacked by the giant robot.  As Tinya writhes in pain, the three men – Xoth (the Dominator), Swool (the robot), and Kuga (who it turns out is a Carggite) have attacked.  Brin, who sometimes is referred to as Timber Wolf, attacks.  Xoth prepares to cut the baby out of Tinya, causing Brin to fight harder.  As the Dominator is about to cut Tinya, the jinx-dog, identifying with Tinya, knocks him out of the window.  Tinya goes into full labor, and Swool almost takes Brin out.  He’s saved when Tinya phases into him.  She’s had a Bgztllian phase delivery, and is totally fine, as is her son.  Later, Brin and Tinya take the tickets that the mercenaries had so they can take a footstep liner back to Earth.  It looks a bit like Brin might have feelings for Tinya, but he makes it clear that he’s there to support her and hopefully reunite her with Jo.
• The backup to this issue is drawn by Mike McKone, and spotlights the day the memorial to the lost Legionnaires was unveiled.  Karate Kid, Sensor, Triad, Apparition, Invisible Kid, Leviathan, Kinetix, Ferro, Cosmic Boy, M’onel, Spark, and XS have gathered as President McCauley sings the praises of the Legion, and also announces that the team is disbanded.  After, McCauley tells Rokk he’ll send the Legionnaires home if they wish.  Val suggests that Andy accompany him to go “find themselves”.  Lyle reveals that he knows Tinya is pregnant, and she makes it clear that she doesn’t want her mother to know.  Dyrk tells Zoe that he’s joining the UP, and she seems interested too.  Jeka and Vi talk about how things will never be the same.  Mr. Venge approaches Lar, asking to meet with him.  The team gathers in their headquarters for the last time, and Luornu plays a message from RJ Brande, basically just thanking them for their service.  A year later, a portal opens and the Legion Outpost returns.

I really liked this series, and the way in which it focused on individual Legionnaires in a way we hadn’t seen before in the reboot era.  Abnett and Lanning were able to breathe real life into these characters, and used this kaleidoscopic approach to help bring us up to speed on all the things that had happened since the rift incident.

I think the thing I like best about this miniseries is the way in which it kept the emotional payoff of seeing the Lost Legionnaires return away from readers; we keep hearing that they’re back, but we are never given any details of that.

One of my biggest complaints about the reboot is that it ignored the rich stable of worlds and characters the original Legion had to offer.  This time around, they dug into life on some of those planets, spotlighting some of the ways in which they are different from their first incarnation (personally, I think I preferred Winath as a libertine world where everyone just wore loincloths while farming).  

Seeing Earth and Xanthu in rough shape was exciting, and I like the way this series set up two threats – the invasion of Robotica and whatever that Mr. Venge guy is clearly up to (unless, of course, those two things are connected).  It’s a little crazy that after the Blight invasion DnA were already back to showing massive alien conflict, but it was also pretty cool.

One thing that made me particularly happy is that DnA brought Timber Wolf back into the Legion.  Alongside Wildfire and Dawnstar, he was one of the characters I missed most in the reboot era.  Granted, they brought him back in my least favourite incarnation – as the werewolf from the Timber Wolf miniseries, but still, it was nice to see him again.

Of course, the best thing about this series is the art, which got to spread itself over a longer than usual page count.  It was great to see artists like Cooke and Dillon work on the Legion (rest in peace to them both), but strange to see Karate Kid look as old as every character Dillon has ever drawn.  I was excited to see artists like Breccia, who come from a different tradition, take on the Legion, and am always happy to revisit artists like Plunkett and Rousseau.

I remember that, by the time this series was over, I was more than ready to dive into a new Legion title, and see how DnA were going to shepherd the team through all of these challenges.  I wanted to know if Rokk was going to put the team together, and if everyone made it back home safely.  Weirdly, I don’t remember anything about The Legion, the title that followed.  I’ve even flipped through the covers and have no memory of those books.  That’s what we’ll look at next time though…

If you’d like to see the archives of all of my retro review columns, click here.

It doesn’t look like this series ever got collected, but it’s worth digging for.