It’s no secret that Brian Michael Bendis’ run on Legion of Super-Heroes didn’t go over well. As a matter of fact, nothing he introduced while handling Superman and Legion of Super-Heroes has had lasting impact out side of the aging of Jon Kent and the establishment of the United Planets in contemporary times. Bendis himself abandoned the “modern” relationship between Lois and Clark and Superman’s identity was put back in the box during the Dawn of DC publishing initiative. Currently, in Jeremy Adams’ Green Lantern the status quo of the United Planets is coming under fire and it appears that the classic Legion of Super-Heroes, or a version of them, is returning to continuity.
This version known to fans as the “Retro-boot” Legion can be seen on the cover of the forthcoming Justice Society of America #11. Due out on July 24, 2024, this Legion can be seen fighting the JSA. Cover artist Mikel Janin shared the cover on Twitter/ X after the solicit for issue #12 was released.
Foremost, demonstrating that this is the “Retro-boot” Legion are the depictions of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl. They appear as they did when the “Retro-boot” Legion was “reintroduced” back in “The Lightning Saga.” Amongst others are Dawnstar, Ultra Boy and Cosmic Boy in their “Retro-boot” character designs.
The Legion of Super-Heroes has been plagued with reboots both total and soft ever since the Crisis on Infinite Earths back in 1985. The Crisis reorganized the DC Universe, part of which eliminated Superman’s time as Superboy and thus his time with the Legion of Super-Heroes. After a “pocket universe” story that fixed this paradox the Legion continued for about five years. It then relaunched with a “5 years later” storyline that took the once bright and hopeful future in a darker direction. This led to a couple soft reboots of Legion history along the way. With the Zero Hour event in 1994 the Legion completely rebooted. The Legion would again reboot in 2004. Finally, the classic Legion returned in the aforementioned “Lightning Saga” in 2007. This time, the Legion history picked up from the pre-Crisis Legion continuity and restoring Superman’s time with the Legion as Superboy. This Legion would continue up through Flashpoint and into The New 52. Just before Flashpoint they were appearing in their own title as well as the relaunched Adventure Comics. It seemed like a new golden age for the team. However, sales were not enough to sustain the title far into the New 52.
The Legion was set to return during “Rebirth” within the pages of Doomsday Clock. A young and classic Saturn Girl was a large part of it until the team finally returned at the end of the 12-issue series. Instead of a classic Legion returning it was Bendis’ new Legion. It’s still my opinion that the delays on Doomsday Clock were mostly due to Gary Frank having to redraw the classic Legion as Bendis’ Legion.
It’s possible that the Legion on the cover of Justice Society of America #11 is just a ruse, but there has been another reference to classic Legion lore in “House of Brainiac.” Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) mentions that once upon a future she was very close to a Brainiac. Pre-Crisis, Kara and Brainiac 5 were a romantic pairing. Brainiac 5 was devastated when she died in Crisis on Infinite Earths. taken together, this reference and the cover to Justice Society of America #11 indicate that this is not just a one-of situation. With the impending fall of the United Planets in Green Lantern we only need Jon to go back to being 13 and DC can finally be rid of the plague that was Brian Michael Bendis.
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