I’ve been a Legion fan since 1976. I’ve followed all but the most recent versions until now. Do I like this new version? Yes and no. This review’s really 3.29 stars.

Yes, l still love the idea of an optimistic group of youthful heroes in a future utopia. Yes, I love having Jon Kent in the Legion for Superboy & to keep Clark less complicated.

So what’s not to like?

Reading the first eight pieces of the puzzle together helps a lot for seeing the forest for the trees. I like the initial arc’s plot & ideals.

Again, what’s not to like?

We have over a score of heroes blipping in and out of the spotlight. They’re using names & concepts that link their readers emotionally with the characters of the past six decades....but none of them are those characters. They’re both new and old at the same time.

How’s this different from the post-Zero Hour Legion (or Archie Legion)? Similar situations but wholly different execution—That version let the characters speak and grow into the plots and we learned about them along the way. THIS version just throws two score plus “heroes” at us, tells us their names, & then assumes we’ll all just accept the plot & characters without question.

Simply put—show the reader, don’t tell them. And if you’re rebooting or retranslating old characters, give us more than just cameos and name tags if you want us to trust the story you’re telling is the Legion we hope for.

BMB has some intriguing ideas here, but if they only work when compiled in trade collections of six-eight issues at a time, that’s a failure of storytelling that won’t keep people reading month by month except out of loyalty to the LSH concept rather than what the new writer/team puts on the table.

Ryan Sook’s designs are nifty. Said designs, though, could be better appreciated if the art weren’t so crowded & busy with way too much in double page spreads & murals more than panels.

Long review, I know, and it’s off the top of my head. I really want to love this Legion but it’s like being introduced to a tv series two seasons in and being told twice an episode that you need to go watch the early episodes (Superboy’s orientation) for it to make sense.

I’m invested intellectually as a writer but not engaged emotionally as a fan. Keep working, team, or you’ll have simply crafted another Legion variant to be dumped in the reboot bin that DC overflows & empties every 30 months now instead of 30 years to need a reboot. ( )