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Legion of Super-Heroes (2011)
Legion of Super-Heroes, Vol. 1: Hostile World
As a part of the acclaimed DC Comics—The New 52 event of September 2011, The Legion of Super-Heroes has been decimated by the worst disaster in its history. Now, the students of the Legion Academy must rise to the challenge of helping the team rebuild–but a threat of almost unstoppable power is rising at the edge of Dominator space, and if the new recruits fail, the Legion Espionage Squad may be the first casualties in a war that could split worlds in half!
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2012
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186 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 26, 2013
On the cover it says this is a the 'most approachable jumping-on point for the legion you'll get.' And that highlights the problem with this book - even aimed at new readers, it's still almost hostile if you don't have a background. Numerous references to previous events and missing characters come up, and even someone like me who has had some exposure to the Legion before can get lost. The legion's biggest problem is the sheer number in its cast; there are too many to keep straight, and so many redundant powers that it's easy to get them confused. I've always enjoyed Brainiac in these books, but that's just about it; and here he doesn't get to do much. The story's okay, but again it is dependent on a lot of backstory that isn't provided. If this is as approachable as the Legion gets, it's going to have problems sustaining long term.
September 21, 2015
This would be a two-star affair were it not for the fact that no one does the characters of the Legion better than Paul Levitz. However, this is a shockingly inept arc in terms of accessibility and editing, especially considering the New 52 paradigm is supposed to be making this universe understandable to everyone.
July 7, 2012
About on par with the pre-relaunch series. I still find it cluttered and not that interesting.
June 6, 2013
Reprints Legion of Super-Heroes (6) #1-7 (November 2011-May 2012). The Legion is shut off from the past due to Flashpoint and mourning the loss of many of their members. As the Legion works to rebuild itself, it finds a new threat from a Daxamite called Res-Vir…the Renegade! Questioning how the Renegade can even exist off of Daxam, the Legion learns that a bigger plot involving the Dominators could threaten the universe. New member Dragonwing also returns home to discover her sister has betrayed her and that she must turn to her friends in the Legion to stop Phoenix.
Written by Paul Levitz with co-plotting by Walter Simonson on Legion of Super-Heroes (6) #5 (March 2012), Legion of Super-Heroes 1: Hostile World was part of DC Comics’ New 52 relaunch with its sister book Legion Lost. The series was met with a tepid reviews and sales.
The Legion is intimidating as hell to new readers. With a huge cast of characters (all with backstories) and hundreds of issues building them up, it is hard to just jump into the Legion. I love the Legion, but this book was no relaunch and not right for new readers as it was intended to be.
The Legion not only is a difficult series to pick up but it has relaunched so many times that it is hard for even veteran readers to keep up with what “Legion” they are reading about. Flashpoint reset the whole “present day” DC Universe, but here the series didn’t really reset. Instead you get somewhat older storylines mixed with new storylines and the Legion mourning the loss of many members (which might not be clear to some) and those member are really the Legionnaires who make up the other comic Legion Lost (and they are in the “present day” DC Universe).
I found this collection quite confusing. The series doesn’t do a very good job establishing what has happened and the current missions aren’t very inspiring. It is pretty much divided up into the battle with Res-Vir…a Superman level Daxamite who now can fight his allergy to lead and a rather dull story of the generic Legion member Dragonwing (plus a stand-alone day-in-the-life issue between). I wish the whole collection had been a more progressive story that really showed the Legion’s base and gave it good direction. The Dominators storyline obviously is progressing, but it isn’t interesting enough to really make me want to return in a hurry.
The whole point of the New 52 was to get new readers and Legion of Super-Heroes 1: Hostile World doesn’t really do this. The Legion has struggled with so-so sales for years and this book is no different. I love the Legion, but I felt the Zero Hour relaunch of the characters was a much better version of the comic. Legion of Super-Heroes 1: Hostile World is followed by Legion of Super-Heroes 2: The Dominators.
Written by Paul Levitz with co-plotting by Walter Simonson on Legion of Super-Heroes (6) #5 (March 2012), Legion of Super-Heroes 1: Hostile World was part of DC Comics’ New 52 relaunch with its sister book Legion Lost. The series was met with a tepid reviews and sales.
The Legion is intimidating as hell to new readers. With a huge cast of characters (all with backstories) and hundreds of issues building them up, it is hard to just jump into the Legion. I love the Legion, but this book was no relaunch and not right for new readers as it was intended to be.
The Legion not only is a difficult series to pick up but it has relaunched so many times that it is hard for even veteran readers to keep up with what “Legion” they are reading about. Flashpoint reset the whole “present day” DC Universe, but here the series didn’t really reset. Instead you get somewhat older storylines mixed with new storylines and the Legion mourning the loss of many members (which might not be clear to some) and those member are really the Legionnaires who make up the other comic Legion Lost (and they are in the “present day” DC Universe).
I found this collection quite confusing. The series doesn’t do a very good job establishing what has happened and the current missions aren’t very inspiring. It is pretty much divided up into the battle with Res-Vir…a Superman level Daxamite who now can fight his allergy to lead and a rather dull story of the generic Legion member Dragonwing (plus a stand-alone day-in-the-life issue between). I wish the whole collection had been a more progressive story that really showed the Legion’s base and gave it good direction. The Dominators storyline obviously is progressing, but it isn’t interesting enough to really make me want to return in a hurry.
The whole point of the New 52 was to get new readers and Legion of Super-Heroes 1: Hostile World doesn’t really do this. The Legion has struggled with so-so sales for years and this book is no different. I love the Legion, but I felt the Zero Hour relaunch of the characters was a much better version of the comic. Legion of Super-Heroes 1: Hostile World is followed by Legion of Super-Heroes 2: The Dominators.
April 17, 2013
Oh, this was bad.
Paul Levitz has slowly been destroying the Legion since Geoff Johns' meticulous re-build of the team in the last decade. It is painful to witness. And it is not like a train accident that, for some reason, you can't take your eyes off of.... it feels more like a bad audition for American Idol, where you just want to look away and hit the mute button out of embarrassment.
First of all, this picks up directly after where the last volume left off. In no way is this a good "starting" point for newcomers to the Legionnaires. The New 52 would have been an ideal opportunity to reboot this series with the rest of the DC Universe... but everything is exactly how it was pre-Flashpoint.
I can't blame the artwork in this volume, even though it is not fantastic at all.... I just can't blame an artist that had NOTHING to work from. There is virtually no script here!!! Nothing of substance!! No meat on the bone!!! It's vacuous, meaningless!!!! And that all points to a horrible writer.
And I guess it is not bad enough that Levitz is destroying the most colourful and nuanced super-team in comic-book history. He also needs to write in his own new characters, characters that flopped in the pre-New 52 universe, so that he can destroy them too. Seriously, this Dragon Wing character is awful! And Comet Queen, Glorinth, Harmonia.... yeeeesh! No one cares about them! Kill them off immediately!
This is what needs to happen: 1) Paul Levitz needs to be taken off of this series; it has been almost 20 years since his magic ran out with these characters. 2) There needs to be a return to the core characters of this super-team, bring back Ayla and Lightning Lad, close the Legion Academy for a while. 3) Forget about having leadership re-elections for a while, it's a gimmick that falls flat fast.
2/5
Paul Levitz has slowly been destroying the Legion since Geoff Johns' meticulous re-build of the team in the last decade. It is painful to witness. And it is not like a train accident that, for some reason, you can't take your eyes off of.... it feels more like a bad audition for American Idol, where you just want to look away and hit the mute button out of embarrassment.
First of all, this picks up directly after where the last volume left off. In no way is this a good "starting" point for newcomers to the Legionnaires. The New 52 would have been an ideal opportunity to reboot this series with the rest of the DC Universe... but everything is exactly how it was pre-Flashpoint.
I can't blame the artwork in this volume, even though it is not fantastic at all.... I just can't blame an artist that had NOTHING to work from. There is virtually no script here!!! Nothing of substance!! No meat on the bone!!! It's vacuous, meaningless!!!! And that all points to a horrible writer.
And I guess it is not bad enough that Levitz is destroying the most colourful and nuanced super-team in comic-book history. He also needs to write in his own new characters, characters that flopped in the pre-New 52 universe, so that he can destroy them too. Seriously, this Dragon Wing character is awful! And Comet Queen, Glorinth, Harmonia.... yeeeesh! No one cares about them! Kill them off immediately!
This is what needs to happen: 1) Paul Levitz needs to be taken off of this series; it has been almost 20 years since his magic ran out with these characters. 2) There needs to be a return to the core characters of this super-team, bring back Ayla and Lightning Lad, close the Legion Academy for a while. 3) Forget about having leadership re-elections for a while, it's a gimmick that falls flat fast.
2/5
September 15, 2020
huge Legion fan, but Levitz's return to the LSH has been disappointing. very little to entice new readers here, and too little left unexplained. i'll always buy the book because i love the Legion, but dang, Paul, get with it!
REREAD December 2017
Can't say my review has changed. There wasn't any reason for a new reader to pick up this book, and the focus seems to shift towards newer members. That's fine, but I'll make a point about that by the time I finish the third volume in this run.
There is barely a slight mention of the Legion members lost in the 21st century over in the Legion Lost book. We get a few panels of their statues in the memorial hall, and something has obviously made Colossal Boy quit the Legion and join up with the Science Police, but it's never made clear that the reason is because his wife, Chameleon Girl, is one of those presumed dead.
Levitz does pretty well at the long running sub plots, and the primary story here, about a Daxamite under the control of the Dominators, plays out in the next volume. There's some good characterization over all, but Levitz just doesn't pull it together in a way that makes a new reader like the book and want to keep reading. Most of the New 52 failed, IMO, at providing true starting points, and maybe there was some design behind it, but with a book like Legion with a cast of thousands, it's not a workable strategy. Even though the Legion's origin story is like Batman's, retold so many times it's become cliche, something here would have done well to establish the Legion and their tie to the current DCU. Instead, we get a reference to Flashpoint and how time cant be breached any longer, and how the Legion can't rely on Superman any longer, but that's about it.
I'm reading the next two books, so reviews to come on those.
REREAD December 2017
Can't say my review has changed. There wasn't any reason for a new reader to pick up this book, and the focus seems to shift towards newer members. That's fine, but I'll make a point about that by the time I finish the third volume in this run.
There is barely a slight mention of the Legion members lost in the 21st century over in the Legion Lost book. We get a few panels of their statues in the memorial hall, and something has obviously made Colossal Boy quit the Legion and join up with the Science Police, but it's never made clear that the reason is because his wife, Chameleon Girl, is one of those presumed dead.
Levitz does pretty well at the long running sub plots, and the primary story here, about a Daxamite under the control of the Dominators, plays out in the next volume. There's some good characterization over all, but Levitz just doesn't pull it together in a way that makes a new reader like the book and want to keep reading. Most of the New 52 failed, IMO, at providing true starting points, and maybe there was some design behind it, but with a book like Legion with a cast of thousands, it's not a workable strategy. Even though the Legion's origin story is like Batman's, retold so many times it's become cliche, something here would have done well to establish the Legion and their tie to the current DCU. Instead, we get a reference to Flashpoint and how time cant be breached any longer, and how the Legion can't rely on Superman any longer, but that's about it.
I'm reading the next two books, so reviews to come on those.
July 6, 2012
The cover blurb proclaims that this volume is a great jumping on point for new readers. It's the first volume of the New 52. It's supposed to be a fresh start for the Legion. Unfortunately, it's not. At all. It continues the story of the previous Legion books. This is the version of the Legion that sprung out of Geoff Johns classic Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes book, which is a great place to start.
The Legion's been rebooted several times of the last 15 years and I wouldn't say this is my favorite reboot. Nor is it the worst. I'm a bit neutral on the book. Maybe it'll get better, but I'm not much enjoying Levitz's return to the title. Jim Shooters recent run was so much better and so much more accessible.
The Legion's been rebooted several times of the last 15 years and I wouldn't say this is my favorite reboot. Nor is it the worst. I'm a bit neutral on the book. Maybe it'll get better, but I'm not much enjoying Levitz's return to the title. Jim Shooters recent run was so much better and so much more accessible.
October 8, 2015
I like the bad guys, the Dominion, but not much more... This is a big mess of too many characters with too many powers, in a story without a focus. This should have been the flagship of the "Young Justice" family of titles, but is no more than OK.
On the third read, knowing not to expect much, it become slightly better. Two stars! I started to like Dragonwing, one of the main characters, and I was not as bothered with the name squares as I was the during my first and second read.
On the third read, knowing not to expect much, it become slightly better. Two stars! I started to like Dragonwing, one of the main characters, and I was not as bothered with the name squares as I was the during my first and second read.
June 11, 2012
Of all the "New 52" books, this was the closest to the way it was before the transformation, but it still wasn't really good or entertaining.
June 7, 2022
Nie śledziłem nigdy tej serii. Jako że jest 1 odcinkiem z new52 to spodziewałem się sprawnego wprowadzenia i dobrego pierwszego wrażenia. Otóż nie tym razem.
Jeżeli z każdym zeszytem muszą na nowo przedstawiać stałych głównych bohaterów z ksywki, imienia, nazwiska, pochodzenia, to chyba sami autorzy nie mają przekonania co do ich oryginalności. Żadna ksywa nie zapadła mi w pamięć i z biegiem akcji musiałem identyfikować licznych pstrokatych trykociarzy po ich mocach. Stąd wziął się "superman z daxam", "babka-duch", "brainiac junior", "magneto" żeby zaoszczędzić czas na przypominanie sobie postaci.
Największą wadą tego komiksu jest sam legion. Jest ich po prostu zbyt wielu, akcja fragmentuje się żeby pokazać max pięciu na raz, jednak takich grup jest już tyle, że w sumie nie wiem co się dzieje. Nie udało mi się prześledzić jakiejś konkretnej fabuły i przez to nie dała mi żadnej rozrywki. Bardziej przypominała smutny obowiązek pamiętania zbyt wielu nieistotnych szczegółów. Jeżeli będę miał jeszcze ochotę sięgnąć po tę serię to zrobię eksperyment i będę czytał wybiórczo strony z jednym teamem w jednym miejscu.
Jeżeli z każdym zeszytem muszą na nowo przedstawiać stałych głównych bohaterów z ksywki, imienia, nazwiska, pochodzenia, to chyba sami autorzy nie mają przekonania co do ich oryginalności. Żadna ksywa nie zapadła mi w pamięć i z biegiem akcji musiałem identyfikować licznych pstrokatych trykociarzy po ich mocach. Stąd wziął się "superman z daxam", "babka-duch", "brainiac junior", "magneto" żeby zaoszczędzić czas na przypominanie sobie postaci.
Największą wadą tego komiksu jest sam legion. Jest ich po prostu zbyt wielu, akcja fragmentuje się żeby pokazać max pięciu na raz, jednak takich grup jest już tyle, że w sumie nie wiem co się dzieje. Nie udało mi się prześledzić jakiejś konkretnej fabuły i przez to nie dała mi żadnej rozrywki. Bardziej przypominała smutny obowiązek pamiętania zbyt wielu nieistotnych szczegółów. Jeżeli będę miał jeszcze ochotę sięgnąć po tę serię to zrobię eksperyment i będę czytał wybiórczo strony z jednym teamem w jednym miejscu.
January 26, 2026
Reconozco que este equipo de superhéroes nunca me ha llamado especialmente la atención. Son demasiados personajes como para poder empatizar con alguno de ellos. Los personajes son simpáticos, pero poco más
En cuanto a los villanos, no dejan de ser un estereotipo de raza alienígena que quiere conquistar, pero aun así consigue ser lo suficientemente interesantes como para querer saber como van a continuar
En cuanto a los villanos, no dejan de ser un estereotipo de raza alienígena que quiere conquistar, pero aun así consigue ser lo suficientemente interesantes como para querer saber como van a continuar
August 13, 2012
A Volume 1 that is in no way a first volume. There are around 10-15 characters per issue and I managed to only recognize a few of them by the end mostly because of the little name tags given each issue. I feel this series would have been far better had they focused on Chameleon Boy, Chemical Kid, Dragonwing, Phantom Girl and Mon-El. The other characters didn't really do much except consume panels. I definitely won't be reading more which is a shame since there was the potential for good characters and interesting story. They just needed to focus on a few characters and one story at a time then introduce more later.
February 11, 2014
I am starting to notice that most all of the team based New 52 titles aren't really written that well, other than the Justice League. There is so little time spent on each character, that as soon as the space jargon and such starts flying, it's really hard to follow who applies to what. There is an audience for this book, but it's just not me.
September 21, 2014
Un guión moderadamente divertido pero poco memorable. Levitz es efectivo en el tratamiento narrativo de grupos numerosos pero, de alguna manera el cómic no cubre las expectativas. No funciona como relanzamiento dado que la historia continúa directamente de plots anteriores.
July 30, 2013
Holy smokes.. this comic is all over the place. So confusing.. lots of characters and plot lines. I had no idea what was happening. Maybe volume 2 will be better?
June 11, 2014
I don't know why I keep giving the Legion the benefit of the doubt. Once again this a chaotic mess of uninteresting characters. I like Mon-El, but this was awful.
November 8, 2014
Youch! Too many characters all at once, disjointed plot, and hard to understand. Obviously not a great starting point.
August 10, 2012
I didn't like it when it came out as issues, and it doesn't fare any better collected either.
October 29, 2012
Love the Legion, but this was a jumbled mess.
February 22, 2015
this book is honestly a big mess. it does however slightly begin to pick up towards the end
May 21, 2020
Hm, do czego by tu porównać przygody Legionistów. Lubicie zbijaka? Ja mam same dobre wspomnienia z podstawówki i zwyczajnie lubiłem w to grać. To teraz wyobraźcie sobie, iż wchodzicie do pomieszczenia, gdzie czeka na Was trzydzieści osób i zaczyna ciskać w Was mniejszymi piłeczkami lekarskimi. Wszystko wchodzi celnie, czasami trafia w głowę i zdarza się że zaboli. A Ty nie wiesz o co chodziło...
Legion od prawie pierwszej strony atakuje czytelnika informacjami. W zasadzie to bombarduje. Mamy całe zatrzęsienie postaci, których drugi człon ksywki kończy się na -Boy, -Girl czy -Kid. Co gorsza, każde z nich ma już jakieś zaplecze historyczne, które się za nim ciągnie, bo New 52 jest restartem całego DC, tyle że "miękkim", tak aby nowi czytelnicy mieli ułatwione wejście, a starzy nie obeszli się smakiem i też coś dostali. Takim tytułom jak Aquaman, Flash czy Batman zręcznie się to udało. Legion zaś... jest chyba najlepszym przypadkiem, ukazującym jak tego NIE robić.
Tutaj wiele postaci ma sporo miejsca dla siebie, a że ich moce się powtarzają to łatwo jest kogoś pomylić, zapomnieć o innym i w ogóle mieć postać gdzieś. Chwalę tą różnorodność, ale w tym wypadku co za dużo to niezdrowo. Tym bardziej, że i historia tu ukazana nie jest najwyższych lotów. W pamięć od wczoraj zapadł mi jeden zeszyt. Ten ukazujący codzienne zajęcia Legionistów. To normalne istoty. Ćwiczą, mają rozterki sercowe, walczą, uczą się. Mamy to rozplanowane bodajże na co strona lub dwie to kolejna godzina. Pomysł fajny, niestety tonący w byle jakiej jakości reszty.
Bo historii potyczki z niejakim Renegade nie można nazwać porywającą. Stąd zapamiętałem taki odpowiednik Supermana, Mon-Ela. Jednego zmiennokształtnego z czułkami jak u Mantis oraz zielonego typka w fioletowym wdzianku, który w nazwie miał Brainiac czy jakoś tak (jak jeden z wrogów Supka). A i zapomniałem co najważniejsze. Akcja ma miejsce w trzecim tysiącleciu (jest to bodajże 31 wiek n.e) i nie uświadczymy tu żadnej "znajomej" twarzy. Przynajmniej mi, bo ja w świecie DC jestem od nie dawna.
Gdzieś w tle istoty zwane tu "Dominators" zwiększają swoją siłę ognia i zaczynają stanowić zagrożenie dla całego systemu swoimi despotycznymi zapędami. Mają wielkie czerwone kropy na twarzy i najwyraźniej spore zaległości u dentysty. "Czuć", że ten wątek będzie miał jakąś konkluzję nieco dalej. Ostatnim wątkiem jest ten dotyczący jednej z Legionistek, Dragonwing. To dość osobista opowieść z psem i siostrą w tle. Jest i złoczyńca, ale... Meh. Szkoda, bo całość czyta się naprawdę szybko. Tyle, że Levitz przesadził z postaciami, jednocześnie serwując byle jaką intrygę.
Kreski są tutaj bardzo średnie, i dość pokraczne czasami w proporcjach. Wystarczy spojrzeć na pierwszego wroga, a nie tylko ona prezentuje się miernie. Od biedy na plus kolory, bo kosmos jest bardzo dziwnym miejscem i daje pola do popisu. Tyle, że ani Portela ani Simonson nie popisali się tu niczym specjalnym. Dlatego też z ciężkim sercem, (bo jak sobie sprawdzałem inne pozycje z tytułowymi Legionistami to widziałem naprawdę dobre oceny) daję tytułowi 2/5. Oby dalej było lepiej.
Legion od prawie pierwszej strony atakuje czytelnika informacjami. W zasadzie to bombarduje. Mamy całe zatrzęsienie postaci, których drugi człon ksywki kończy się na -Boy, -Girl czy -Kid. Co gorsza, każde z nich ma już jakieś zaplecze historyczne, które się za nim ciągnie, bo New 52 jest restartem całego DC, tyle że "miękkim", tak aby nowi czytelnicy mieli ułatwione wejście, a starzy nie obeszli się smakiem i też coś dostali. Takim tytułom jak Aquaman, Flash czy Batman zręcznie się to udało. Legion zaś... jest chyba najlepszym przypadkiem, ukazującym jak tego NIE robić.
Tutaj wiele postaci ma sporo miejsca dla siebie, a że ich moce się powtarzają to łatwo jest kogoś pomylić, zapomnieć o innym i w ogóle mieć postać gdzieś. Chwalę tą różnorodność, ale w tym wypadku co za dużo to niezdrowo. Tym bardziej, że i historia tu ukazana nie jest najwyższych lotów. W pamięć od wczoraj zapadł mi jeden zeszyt. Ten ukazujący codzienne zajęcia Legionistów. To normalne istoty. Ćwiczą, mają rozterki sercowe, walczą, uczą się. Mamy to rozplanowane bodajże na co strona lub dwie to kolejna godzina. Pomysł fajny, niestety tonący w byle jakiej jakości reszty.
Bo historii potyczki z niejakim Renegade nie można nazwać porywającą. Stąd zapamiętałem taki odpowiednik Supermana, Mon-Ela. Jednego zmiennokształtnego z czułkami jak u Mantis oraz zielonego typka w fioletowym wdzianku, który w nazwie miał Brainiac czy jakoś tak (jak jeden z wrogów Supka). A i zapomniałem co najważniejsze. Akcja ma miejsce w trzecim tysiącleciu (jest to bodajże 31 wiek n.e) i nie uświadczymy tu żadnej "znajomej" twarzy. Przynajmniej mi, bo ja w świecie DC jestem od nie dawna.
Gdzieś w tle istoty zwane tu "Dominators" zwiększają swoją siłę ognia i zaczynają stanowić zagrożenie dla całego systemu swoimi despotycznymi zapędami. Mają wielkie czerwone kropy na twarzy i najwyraźniej spore zaległości u dentysty. "Czuć", że ten wątek będzie miał jakąś konkluzję nieco dalej. Ostatnim wątkiem jest ten dotyczący jednej z Legionistek, Dragonwing. To dość osobista opowieść z psem i siostrą w tle. Jest i złoczyńca, ale... Meh. Szkoda, bo całość czyta się naprawdę szybko. Tyle, że Levitz przesadził z postaciami, jednocześnie serwując byle jaką intrygę.
Kreski są tutaj bardzo średnie, i dość pokraczne czasami w proporcjach. Wystarczy spojrzeć na pierwszego wroga, a nie tylko ona prezentuje się miernie. Od biedy na plus kolory, bo kosmos jest bardzo dziwnym miejscem i daje pola do popisu. Tyle, że ani Portela ani Simonson nie popisali się tu niczym specjalnym. Dlatego też z ciężkim sercem, (bo jak sobie sprawdzałem inne pozycje z tytułowymi Legionistami to widziałem naprawdę dobre oceny) daję tytułowi 2/5. Oby dalej było lepiej.
February 9, 2021
If it has the name Paul Levitz on the cover I'm going to buy it~! Add Walter Simonson. No Question~! And, Francis Portela is a new name to me, he did a good job of showing what 1,000 years in the future will be like....
I really, really wanted to like this more....
BUT, it's just a mess.
I gave it to a friend of mine (who reads comics, so he understands the structure of them) but he got lost and confused and, eventually not interested in turning the page! (The best comics will make you wanna turn the page to see WHAT HAPPENS NEXT~!)
Glad that I read it.
Sorry that it doesn't add much to the legacy of LSH.
LONG LIVE THE LEIGON~!
I really, really wanted to like this more....
BUT, it's just a mess.
I gave it to a friend of mine (who reads comics, so he understands the structure of them) but he got lost and confused and, eventually not interested in turning the page! (The best comics will make you wanna turn the page to see WHAT HAPPENS NEXT~!)
Glad that I read it.
Sorry that it doesn't add much to the legacy of LSH.
LONG LIVE THE LEIGON~!
July 22, 2020
Legions of Superheroes relaunch in 2011. I thought I would look into this title which I never followed when I was younger. Good introductory story that gets right into some action. The Legion members, it turns out, are teenagers.
August 10, 2018
2 many characters + 3 much nonsense 5 me makes for a Hostile World. :/
July 11, 2013
Since even before I read comics on a regular basis, my absolute favorite super hero team has always been DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes. I’ve been reading their stories since I was 9 or 10 and I love them just as much now as I ever did. So seeing they would be getting a New 52 reboot during DC’s company-wide program, it wasn’t even a question for me. Legion was on my must-buy list, period.
I can’t say right off that I loved it, though. For one, the story doesn’t start with the origin or formation of the Legion. When issue #1 opens, the Legion is already very firmly in place and obviously has been for quite some time. They make reference to a Flashpoint event (Flashpoint was a story DC published right before the New 52, the end of which, as far as I can gather, set the stage for the reboot) and how they can’t go back to that time in earth’s history, 21st century (the Legion is a super-hero team from the 31st century), which leads me to believe this isn’t a Legion reboot, that their history is intact, they just got to start over at issue #1. Either way, whatever, I just wanted to read new Legion stories.
The first time I read the first arc, “Hostile World,” it didn’t quite sink in. Some stories are just harder to read month to month. But having just read the entire story at once, as it’s meant to be read, it makes a whole lot more sense.
The Legion travels to Panoptes on the edge of the galaxy where the researchers stationed there haven’t checked in in a while. What they discover is a rogue Daxamite who has teamed up with the deadly Dominators and is trying to . . . well, this was one of the story’s weaknesses for me; I’m still not 100% sure what it was Res-Vir (aka Renegade) was hoping to gain by taking over Panoptes, nor were the Dominators’ motives too clear, other than the fact they’re an evil race who want to see the Legion fall.
But, hazy motivation aside, I loved the story. It was packed full of action and suspense as Res-Vir--a Daxamite with all the abilities of 21st century Superman--tears through the Legionnaires one by one until they can find a way to stop him. Even Legionnaire Mon-El--also a Daxamite--has a hard time holding the villain at bay.
In the end, they discover the enhancements Res-Vir has undergone in order to leave his homeworld (Daxamites are allergic to lead and other heavy metals, a weakness which keeps them on their homeworld, aside from Mon-El who has been given something of an antidote to lead poisoning through the Legion) isn’t a permanent solution and would have eventually run him down anyway.
“Hostile World” took up 7 issues of the Legion of Super-Heroes title, but the epilogue to this part of the story ended in issue 5 (with some beautiful art by guest artist Walt Simonson), while the last 2 issues moved right into the next story, which involved Legion member Dragonwing (unfamiliar to me while I was a regular reader) traveling back home to her native China to find her sister is missing. When Dragonwing is able to track her down, however, she finds her sister didn’t just vanish; she left. There’s a new prophet in town and he’s preaching a golden age for China, which Dragonwing’s sister is buying into and determined to see come to pass, even if she has to kill her sister to do it.
The follow up story was okay and it introduced me to a new character, which I’m always up for when it comes to the Legion, but there are so many members of this team, it felt like something of a waste to spend two whole issues focusing on one. That being said, it did provide a good intro to a character who, through the first part of “Hostile World”, I really didn’t understand.
Paul Levitz and Francis Portela are the writing and art team on this book (minus the Simonson guest spot in issue 5), and other than whoever’s decision it was to include text tags to every Legionnaire on-scene every time we switched from one location to another, a practice that became way too tedious way too quick, I think they make a great storytelling team.
Levitz obviously knows his Legion history and has a fondness for these characters while Portela is just incredible at action sequences. There’s something about the way he lays out a page, the parts he chooses to show, the angles, and the sense of motion he imbues in his pages, the fight scenes didn’t feel like comic book fight scenes to me. Instead, in nearly a dozen instances, I felt like I was watching the fight on a movie screen. The choices Portela made in how to convey those fight scenes was just spot on brilliant.
I wish the Legion reboot had actually been a reboot, because I would have loved to get in on the ground floor of this expansive and colorful team, but if that couldn’t happen, Levitz and Portela did a fine job in winning me over anyway and making Legion of Super-Heroes a book I was glad to spend the money on each month.
I can’t say right off that I loved it, though. For one, the story doesn’t start with the origin or formation of the Legion. When issue #1 opens, the Legion is already very firmly in place and obviously has been for quite some time. They make reference to a Flashpoint event (Flashpoint was a story DC published right before the New 52, the end of which, as far as I can gather, set the stage for the reboot) and how they can’t go back to that time in earth’s history, 21st century (the Legion is a super-hero team from the 31st century), which leads me to believe this isn’t a Legion reboot, that their history is intact, they just got to start over at issue #1. Either way, whatever, I just wanted to read new Legion stories.
The first time I read the first arc, “Hostile World,” it didn’t quite sink in. Some stories are just harder to read month to month. But having just read the entire story at once, as it’s meant to be read, it makes a whole lot more sense.
The Legion travels to Panoptes on the edge of the galaxy where the researchers stationed there haven’t checked in in a while. What they discover is a rogue Daxamite who has teamed up with the deadly Dominators and is trying to . . . well, this was one of the story’s weaknesses for me; I’m still not 100% sure what it was Res-Vir (aka Renegade) was hoping to gain by taking over Panoptes, nor were the Dominators’ motives too clear, other than the fact they’re an evil race who want to see the Legion fall.
But, hazy motivation aside, I loved the story. It was packed full of action and suspense as Res-Vir--a Daxamite with all the abilities of 21st century Superman--tears through the Legionnaires one by one until they can find a way to stop him. Even Legionnaire Mon-El--also a Daxamite--has a hard time holding the villain at bay.
In the end, they discover the enhancements Res-Vir has undergone in order to leave his homeworld (Daxamites are allergic to lead and other heavy metals, a weakness which keeps them on their homeworld, aside from Mon-El who has been given something of an antidote to lead poisoning through the Legion) isn’t a permanent solution and would have eventually run him down anyway.
“Hostile World” took up 7 issues of the Legion of Super-Heroes title, but the epilogue to this part of the story ended in issue 5 (with some beautiful art by guest artist Walt Simonson), while the last 2 issues moved right into the next story, which involved Legion member Dragonwing (unfamiliar to me while I was a regular reader) traveling back home to her native China to find her sister is missing. When Dragonwing is able to track her down, however, she finds her sister didn’t just vanish; she left. There’s a new prophet in town and he’s preaching a golden age for China, which Dragonwing’s sister is buying into and determined to see come to pass, even if she has to kill her sister to do it.
The follow up story was okay and it introduced me to a new character, which I’m always up for when it comes to the Legion, but there are so many members of this team, it felt like something of a waste to spend two whole issues focusing on one. That being said, it did provide a good intro to a character who, through the first part of “Hostile World”, I really didn’t understand.
Paul Levitz and Francis Portela are the writing and art team on this book (minus the Simonson guest spot in issue 5), and other than whoever’s decision it was to include text tags to every Legionnaire on-scene every time we switched from one location to another, a practice that became way too tedious way too quick, I think they make a great storytelling team.
Levitz obviously knows his Legion history and has a fondness for these characters while Portela is just incredible at action sequences. There’s something about the way he lays out a page, the parts he chooses to show, the angles, and the sense of motion he imbues in his pages, the fight scenes didn’t feel like comic book fight scenes to me. Instead, in nearly a dozen instances, I felt like I was watching the fight on a movie screen. The choices Portela made in how to convey those fight scenes was just spot on brilliant.
I wish the Legion reboot had actually been a reboot, because I would have loved to get in on the ground floor of this expansive and colorful team, but if that couldn’t happen, Levitz and Portela did a fine job in winning me over anyway and making Legion of Super-Heroes a book I was glad to spend the money on each month.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2016
About a year ago I decided to take on the ambitious task of trying to read every single issue that was published under the New 52 banner at DC comics. This makes the 40th series that I've started out of the initial 52 series released.
I've read several things by writer Paul Levitz, but this is probably the worst. The Legion of Superheroes has a long and complicated history with dozens of different characters serving on the team through the years. The New 52 was supposed to be an updated version of all the DC characters with new origins. Unfortunately, someone at DC thought that when they did this series that they had to cram every character that has ever been in the Legion, and possibly some new ones, into this series. This volume collects the first 7 issues of the series and has a dialogue block introducing each character in their first scene. Upon completing the book, I went back and counted how many different Legion characters they threw into these 7 issues and came up with 30. It is hard to really introduce the main character and just a few supporting characters in a solo series in that amount of time. There is now ay that they could cram that many heroes into one series and think that the audience was going to get any idea of who each person was.
Paul Levitz spends more time introducing new characters than he does writing the story. The first 4 issues are one complete story that seems like the writer thought we should automatically know what was going on in. That story is rushed and feels like it needed at least another 3 to 4 issues to resolve. Then issue #5 is just a waste. It shows what individuals are doing through the day 1 hour at a time. Even some of these hour jumps make no sense. On one page, it is 5 o'clock and 2 characters start talking. They say 3 sentences between them. On the next page, it is now 6 o'clock and the same 2 characters are shown in the same conversation. Did it really take them a whole hour to say 3 sentences?
Issues #6 & #7 have a story that makes about as much sense as that time jump. Part of the team is back on the planet that was the setting for the first story. Some of the team is on Earth taking part in a story that seems like the reader gets to join 3/4 way through it. Yet another part of the team is on a distant planet checking out a situation that may or may not tie into the one taking place on Earth. Then the bad guys from the first story are looking to do something to get back at the Legion. None of these stories get resolved as the book comes to a close. The writing in this volume seems like big chunks of story were cut out, mixed up, and cobbled back together in random places. The writing gets 1 star.
Francis Portela is the artist for all of the issues except #5 which is drawn by Walter Simonson. Portela has some pretty good looking art. It far from being some of the best that DC has to offer, but there is also way worse art in the New 52. Simonson, on the other hand, has art that isn't very good. If not for the characters having the same costumes as previous issues, I would not know who some of the characters were because they look that different when Simonson draws them. All of Portela's characters look good, but his female characters stand out more. Overall, I give the art 3 stars.
The 1 star story and 3 star art make this a 2 star book. This book made me wonder how this series managed not to be one of the first series canceled in the New 52. I won't profess to knowing a whole lot about the Legion, but I feel this has to be the worst story they have ever been involved in. If you're a long time fan of the Legion and know a lot about them, this may make more sense but I definitely can't say you need to run out and read this. If you've never read any Legion series before, skip this at all costs. This is definitely not a good jumping on point.
I've read several things by writer Paul Levitz, but this is probably the worst. The Legion of Superheroes has a long and complicated history with dozens of different characters serving on the team through the years. The New 52 was supposed to be an updated version of all the DC characters with new origins. Unfortunately, someone at DC thought that when they did this series that they had to cram every character that has ever been in the Legion, and possibly some new ones, into this series. This volume collects the first 7 issues of the series and has a dialogue block introducing each character in their first scene. Upon completing the book, I went back and counted how many different Legion characters they threw into these 7 issues and came up with 30. It is hard to really introduce the main character and just a few supporting characters in a solo series in that amount of time. There is now ay that they could cram that many heroes into one series and think that the audience was going to get any idea of who each person was.
Paul Levitz spends more time introducing new characters than he does writing the story. The first 4 issues are one complete story that seems like the writer thought we should automatically know what was going on in. That story is rushed and feels like it needed at least another 3 to 4 issues to resolve. Then issue #5 is just a waste. It shows what individuals are doing through the day 1 hour at a time. Even some of these hour jumps make no sense. On one page, it is 5 o'clock and 2 characters start talking. They say 3 sentences between them. On the next page, it is now 6 o'clock and the same 2 characters are shown in the same conversation. Did it really take them a whole hour to say 3 sentences?
Issues #6 & #7 have a story that makes about as much sense as that time jump. Part of the team is back on the planet that was the setting for the first story. Some of the team is on Earth taking part in a story that seems like the reader gets to join 3/4 way through it. Yet another part of the team is on a distant planet checking out a situation that may or may not tie into the one taking place on Earth. Then the bad guys from the first story are looking to do something to get back at the Legion. None of these stories get resolved as the book comes to a close. The writing in this volume seems like big chunks of story were cut out, mixed up, and cobbled back together in random places. The writing gets 1 star.
Francis Portela is the artist for all of the issues except #5 which is drawn by Walter Simonson. Portela has some pretty good looking art. It far from being some of the best that DC has to offer, but there is also way worse art in the New 52. Simonson, on the other hand, has art that isn't very good. If not for the characters having the same costumes as previous issues, I would not know who some of the characters were because they look that different when Simonson draws them. All of Portela's characters look good, but his female characters stand out more. Overall, I give the art 3 stars.
The 1 star story and 3 star art make this a 2 star book. This book made me wonder how this series managed not to be one of the first series canceled in the New 52. I won't profess to knowing a whole lot about the Legion, but I feel this has to be the worst story they have ever been involved in. If you're a long time fan of the Legion and know a lot about them, this may make more sense but I definitely can't say you need to run out and read this. If you've never read any Legion series before, skip this at all costs. This is definitely not a good jumping on point.
February 2, 2014
I haven't really read the Legion of Super-Heroes comics much, but I decided to try to get into them post “New 52” reboot. And I am actually glad that I did so, as they are not mired quite as much in the “dark and edgy” bull in which too many other “New 52” titles are stuck.
In Legion of Super-Heroes, Vol. 1: Hostile World, the Legion is attempting to deal with the aftermath of two crises. The first is a horrible event where they saved the day at the cost of the lives of several of their number, and the second is that a group of their fellow Legionnaires is stuck back in time during the “age of heroes” (the present day) due to the effects on the “time-stream” of the Flashpoint event. To make matters worse, a new threat is rising.
The Dominators, the main adversaries of the United Planets (of which the planets the Legion defends are comprised), are attempting to cross over into United Planets' space and sow discontent and discord, so that they may take over as much territory as they can get their hands on. To do this, they are attempting to falsely convince the Daxamites (a race of beings with powers similar to that of Kryptonians, but who have a weakness to lead) that the United Planets could cure them but won't out of fear of their abilities. Mon-El, the Daxamite member of the Legion, is falsely cited as proof of this, due to his taking a serum created by Brainiac-5 to help protect him from lead poisoning.
Of course, this is all a lie. The serum can not really be reproduced on a mass scale for a general populace with varying physiologies. This is further evidenced by the rebel Daxamite who helps the Dominators in exchange for the serum nearly dying from the effects. At the end of the story, the Legion thinks they have stopped the Dominators for now, not realizing that their enemies are about to unleash a new plan of attack that could very well overwhelm the United Planets.
I really, really enjoyed this story. Primarily this is because, as I stated at the beginning of this review, I loved reading a tale that was just plain fun, one that hasn't fallen prey to the stupidity of the notion that somehow “true art is angsty”. The other reason I really liked this was because the method of telling the story worked out quite well. There is a group of new Legionnaires, and we saw their “on the job training”, so to speak. This helped us to see the goings-on from their point of view.
This wasn't a brilliant plot. The Supergirl, Batgirl, and Batman books are much better. But it was a fun break from the overly dark and edgy garbage of recent years. DC Comics seems to think that they are Marvel, instead of the more idealistic brand they have always been. Hopefully they will see how the more idealistic titles are the better-selling by far, and stop this annoying trend.
Highly Recommended.
In Legion of Super-Heroes, Vol. 1: Hostile World, the Legion is attempting to deal with the aftermath of two crises. The first is a horrible event where they saved the day at the cost of the lives of several of their number, and the second is that a group of their fellow Legionnaires is stuck back in time during the “age of heroes” (the present day) due to the effects on the “time-stream” of the Flashpoint event. To make matters worse, a new threat is rising.
The Dominators, the main adversaries of the United Planets (of which the planets the Legion defends are comprised), are attempting to cross over into United Planets' space and sow discontent and discord, so that they may take over as much territory as they can get their hands on. To do this, they are attempting to falsely convince the Daxamites (a race of beings with powers similar to that of Kryptonians, but who have a weakness to lead) that the United Planets could cure them but won't out of fear of their abilities. Mon-El, the Daxamite member of the Legion, is falsely cited as proof of this, due to his taking a serum created by Brainiac-5 to help protect him from lead poisoning.
Of course, this is all a lie. The serum can not really be reproduced on a mass scale for a general populace with varying physiologies. This is further evidenced by the rebel Daxamite who helps the Dominators in exchange for the serum nearly dying from the effects. At the end of the story, the Legion thinks they have stopped the Dominators for now, not realizing that their enemies are about to unleash a new plan of attack that could very well overwhelm the United Planets.
I really, really enjoyed this story. Primarily this is because, as I stated at the beginning of this review, I loved reading a tale that was just plain fun, one that hasn't fallen prey to the stupidity of the notion that somehow “true art is angsty”. The other reason I really liked this was because the method of telling the story worked out quite well. There is a group of new Legionnaires, and we saw their “on the job training”, so to speak. This helped us to see the goings-on from their point of view.
This wasn't a brilliant plot. The Supergirl, Batgirl, and Batman books are much better. But it was a fun break from the overly dark and edgy garbage of recent years. DC Comics seems to think that they are Marvel, instead of the more idealistic brand they have always been. Hopefully they will see how the more idealistic titles are the better-selling by far, and stop this annoying trend.
Highly Recommended.
April 15, 2014
I have a very old comic from the 1960's that includes The Legion of Super Heroes. That said, I've never read a single thing about them that was modern, let alone any kind of series of the Legion. This New 52 Volume 1 of the new Legion is my jumping off point for this massive team.
The cover blurb for this collection says it's the easiest jumping off point for readers to get into the Legion yet. Well if that's the case I would hate to have tried to read anything dealing with the Legion prior, because this thing is as confusing as a nuclear fusion manual. This is hardly a rebooted history like the rest of DC's New 52. Well, ok, I know The New 52 isn't a complete universe reboot, as certain titles like Batman and Green Lantern had their complex histories brought with them through the Flashpoint. I guess the Legion are the same, but even the first issue feels like it dropped you in the middle of something. It doesn't feel like a clean separate arc or story line. You feel like you're playing catch up to material you don't have access to...this is a supposed Volume 1 after all.
To make matters worse, the actual Legion of Super Heroes team is freaking HUGE. There's almost 25 of them I think? Almost none of which are recognizable from the next.You know your heroes are so vast and so unknown that every single issue need to introduce every single one of them with a text box complete with what there powers are. Granted it is actually helpful to have those boxes, but when you have to resort to something like that for your readers to keep track of things maybe there is a problem with the scope of your characters.
Other than all of this, the story line is pretty bland, reintroducing the Dominators as the Legion's primary nemesis. There is a Daxamite they fight named Renegade that fights for them in the first few issues. I did enjoy the second arc's villains and ascetics in the 31st century China. The Red Dragon Clan were the most vivid characters in all 7 issues for me. They're what I remembered the most, not even any of the heroes.
This gets a 1. It's boring and downright confusing. This was not the best way to bring new readers into the Legion of Super Heroes. I'm hoping this gets much better in the next couple issues, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
The cover blurb for this collection says it's the easiest jumping off point for readers to get into the Legion yet. Well if that's the case I would hate to have tried to read anything dealing with the Legion prior, because this thing is as confusing as a nuclear fusion manual. This is hardly a rebooted history like the rest of DC's New 52. Well, ok, I know The New 52 isn't a complete universe reboot, as certain titles like Batman and Green Lantern had their complex histories brought with them through the Flashpoint. I guess the Legion are the same, but even the first issue feels like it dropped you in the middle of something. It doesn't feel like a clean separate arc or story line. You feel like you're playing catch up to material you don't have access to...this is a supposed Volume 1 after all.
To make matters worse, the actual Legion of Super Heroes team is freaking HUGE. There's almost 25 of them I think? Almost none of which are recognizable from the next.You know your heroes are so vast and so unknown that every single issue need to introduce every single one of them with a text box complete with what there powers are. Granted it is actually helpful to have those boxes, but when you have to resort to something like that for your readers to keep track of things maybe there is a problem with the scope of your characters.
Other than all of this, the story line is pretty bland, reintroducing the Dominators as the Legion's primary nemesis. There is a Daxamite they fight named Renegade that fights for them in the first few issues. I did enjoy the second arc's villains and ascetics in the 31st century China. The Red Dragon Clan were the most vivid characters in all 7 issues for me. They're what I remembered the most, not even any of the heroes.
This gets a 1. It's boring and downright confusing. This was not the best way to bring new readers into the Legion of Super Heroes. I'm hoping this gets much better in the next couple issues, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Read
December 23, 2012The Legion are a wonderful concept - a pan-galactic team of superpowered teens a millennium in the future. And yet, I've never read a comic about them which grabbed me. They always seem somehow flat and old-fashioned, with attempts to update and round them out coming across as forced. And the New 52 version seems to make some tweaks rather than going for any kind of major rethink. But then I suppose that was always likely when Paul Levitz, whom I believe to have been a popular Legion writer in the past, is the writer. Yes, some writers are so fizzing with ideas that they can reinvent the same character multiple times - consider Morrison or Miller with Batman, or Ennis on Frank Castle - but Levitz is not that sort of writer. He's the safe pair of hands, hence his editorial reign at DC. Which, for all its flaws, turns out with hindsight to have been protecting us from stuff like Before Watchmen and the New 52...
September 23, 2012
Levitz run on the LSH was a classic and this does not disappoint. All the thinkgs that made the Legion is interesting are here. The art is great and some new characters, now I have to go back to find out how Wildfire died. At times, the LSH can be a bit unwieldy with so many characters, but it give a board canvas for a lot of ideas to be kicked around. Great seeing element lad and the new chemical king, uses their powers constructively. Looking forward to the next volume.
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