Or - “The Fair Witch Project.”

The Legion of Super-Heroes covers a lot of different takes on heroism, but the one thing that they all seem to share is the affinity for science.  From the “ultra-energy” that imbues Jo Nah, to Wildfire’s transformation to pure antimatter, to the accident that empowered Lighting Lass and her brother, the vagaries of science (or at least the strange comic book version thereof) have served as the origin of many Legionnaires.  Indeed, with the bright and shiny future setting, that’s as it should be.  So today’s Historical subject is an anomaly from the get-go, holding the honor of being one of the only Legionnaires to start out as a villain, as well as being the first full-fledged magician in Legion history.  She stood down with the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, matched up in courage with the greatest heroes the Legion has to offer, and did it with style and grace.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Mysa Nal of Naltor…  The White Witch.

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Or - “The Thirtieth Century’s Answer To Donny And Marie…”

One of the unavoidable biases inherent in our Terra-centric translation of the events of the various 30th Centuries has been the fact that many more Legionnaires come from Earth than from any other planet.  With Karate Kid, Wildfire, Sun Boy, both Invisible Kids, Bouncing Boy, Ferro Lad, Tyroc, as well as a host of shorter-lived Legionnaires, Sol III holds the record for gestating LSH members, but planet Xanthu (home of Star Boy, Monstress, Atmos, 50% of the rebooted Wildfire, and today’s dual entrants) has a strong heroic tradition of it’s own.  Heck, in some early LSH stories, the team is shown to have their headquarters on Xanthu rather than Earth, though I can’t say for sure if those references are in any way considered canonical.  Though today’s historical subjects weren’t the most long-lived of Legionnaires, and to be honest, sometimes they weren’t the most likable, but both took the challenge of joining the galaxy’s greatest hero team seriously.  One of them inspired the Legion to become a stronger organization, and the other LED the team during some of its’ darkest hours.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of James and Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu… Kid Quantum!

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Or - “In Small Things, We Reveal Ourselves As We Truly Are…”

One of the things for which the 30th Century has never lacked is strong female characters.  From the steely nature of Legion founder Saturn Girl, to the tenacity of Dream Girl, to the self-determination of Dawnstar and beyond, the females of the LSH are every single iota the match for their male colleagues.  But with that many dominant personalities on one place, someone is bound to end up in the shadows.  Today’s Historical subject spent the greater part of her Legion career in the shadow of her own relationships, from her first teenage crush, to a relationship with her polar opposite, (power-wise, anyway) to her involvement in the Legion’s first openly homosexual relationship, she’s been defined as much by her other half as by any intrinsic aspect of herself.  But that doesn’t lessen the impact she has had on the team, nor does it in any way eclipse her heroism.  There’s an old cliche that comes to mind about good things and the relative size of their packaging that comes briefly to mind before sensibly departing, but it’s point is still valid:  Size needn’t matter.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Salu Digby of Imsk…  Shrinking Violet!

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Or - “Further Adventures In A World Without Tom Welling…”

Today’s Hero History marks a watershed in our examination of the history of the Legion.  For the first time, we’re actually going to be looking at THREE different women, bound by a common origin and name, but who are NOT precisely the same character.  Previous Hero Histories have dealt with Legionnaires who might as well have been different individuals between Legion incarnations (Element Lad and Triplicate Girl come to mind) but today’s entrant takes that to the extreme.  In her tenure(s) with the LSH, she showed courage unparalleled, ingenuity without peer, and a heroic core that had to overcome some rather large interpersonal difficulties.  She also had a penchant for thong/loincloth uniforms years before every single female member of Youngblood went the same way, proving herself to be an innovator…  for good or for ill.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Laurel Gand of Daxam…  Andromeda!

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Or - “Will Anything Ever Be As Awesome As The Things We Did When We Were 13?”

When I was around that age, my favorite things included 1,000,000 Dollar Bars, Playboy Magazine, Choose Your Own Adventure Books, and the movie “The Black Hole.”  Now, the chocolate is too sweet, the magazine not nearly as worldly and wise as I had thought, the books predictable and maudlin, and even the wonder that was “The Black Hole” is marred by my internal cinematographer ripping the scenes apart, critiquing the dialogue, and noticing the primitive pre-digital special effects.  When Jim Shooter was 13, he was writing the Legion of Super-Heroes and generating legendary stories every month.  But, the question becomes, how has HIS teenage wasteland aged?

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Or - “An Ocean Is A Desert With Life Underground, And The Perfect Disguise Above…”

Sometimes we set ourselves a challenge that we cannot easily overcome.  With the heroes of the Legion, it’s generally a challenge of will, involving combat or the evil machinations of agents of chaos like the Fatal Five.  In my case, it’s the realization that there are nearly 100 Legionnaires, and that some of them never actually got their defining moment in the spotlight.  Some might consider this to be a liability and write off those particular LSHers as deadweight.  Not on my watch, Faithful Spoilerites.  Be it Chemical King’s isolationism, or the alien philosophies of Blok, or even a short-timer Legionnaire like Monstress (a long story which I’ll get to later) this is where every one of the Legion’s stalwarts (except the jack@$$ known as Atmos and the traitorous perverted worm they call Nemesis Kid) get their due.  Today’s entrant joined during one of the Legion’s most prosperous and expansive periods, and as such, he wasn’t often front and center in Legion lore.  Even so, he proved himself to be a worthy choice for the team, proving that even non-bipeds can take up arms against injustice.  This, then, is your Major Spoiler Hero History of Ganglios of Hykraius…  Tellus!

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Or - “Living Proof That The Powers Do Not Always Make The Hero…”

In a very real way, to study the history of today’s subject is to study the history of the Legion itself.  Initially a smiling young teen with what I’ll charitably call “limited” superhuman abilities, she was at the center of one of the LSH’s first great tragedies.  When the team began growing up and dealing with responsibility, she was the first Legionnaire to marry and take on an adult role.  When the team began actively recruiting and training young heroes, she took on a leadership position, and was crucial (even after having been INACTIVE for years) to one of the team’s most difficult missions.  Her sense of self (selves?) may have been occasionally suspect, but her sense of heroism and her willingness to put herself in harm’s way to protect her teammates and friends make her memorable.  Add to that the fact that she overcame a crush on the archetypical teen idol stereotype in a red cape to find true and long-lasting love with Bouncing Boy (who even I, BB’s biggest fan, realize isn’t exactly crush-fodder) reveals the character underneath that Eve Arden haircut.  She’s a study in contrasts, a walking diorama of internal conflict, and she’s not afraid to wear purple and orange together.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Luornu Durgo of Carggg…  Triplicate Girl!

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The CW has sent Major Spoilers another round of images from this weekend’s episode of The Legion of Super Heroes. This is the first half of the two part series finale.

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It’s time for the Legion of Super Heroes swan song, and it begins with the first of two parts this weekend on the Kids’ WB!

The Dark Victory synopsis and select images from the show after the jump.

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Or -  “My Initiative Is Simple:  No Legionnaire Left Behind!”

In the early 1980’s, Marvel Comics began printing up their “Official Handbook of The Marvel Universe,” an in-depth, encyclopedic examination of events, people and places in Marvel history.  DC soon followed suit with their “Who’s Who In The DC Universe,” which took a different tack, essentially covering the high points of a character’s publishing history, as well as one-upping Marvel’s static costume shots with a full-size collage of the character’s history and heroic feats.  It was here that I first encountered today’s Historical subject…  As a Legion fan, I was fascinated by the fact that one of their members existed entirely in the lacunae of my Legion knowledge (which at that time consisted of reprints of the first five years of Adventure Comics and most of what happened after Tyroc joined in the 220’s.)  His story sounded exciting, and his eventual fate was fascinating, and I resolved to find every appearance of this “Lost Legionnaire.”  Little did I know that I’d only be hunting down a dozen or so comics.  But as even the youngest child can tell you, quantity is not the same as quality (unless you’re talking about toys or candy) and he will stand alongside his teammates as a testament to the Legion’s central tenet:  Heroism is about people, and every person has something to contribute.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Condo Arlik of Phlon…  Chemical King!

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Here’s another shot from this weekend’s final stand alone episode of Legion of Super Heroes airing on the Kids’ WB! on The CW.

Take the jump for two more shots, including a close up of Dream Girl.

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We’ve already mentioned the Legion of Super Heroes is ending at Kids’ WB! and The CW, and this weekend you can catch the final LoSH stand-alone episode. Take the jump for show synopsis, a few lush images (including your first look at Dream Girl), and something to look forward too.

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Or - “A Bright Enough Light Can Hide The Shadows Within…”

The study of the history of the Legion of Super-Heroes inevitably leads to the study of many unusual superhero archetypes and attitudes. Whereas most teams consist of six or seven clearly defined characters, a group the size of the Legion has room for Wildfire’s snarkiness, for Dawnstar’s occasional narcissism, for the roguish charm of Ultra Boy, for Shadow Lass’ antisocial tendencies, even for Quislet’s complete disregard for convention. It also leaves room for your classic cocky womanizer, smart but not the smartest, charming but not the most so, certainly heroic but hardly a paragon. It’s kind of ironic that the Legionnaire with the smartest costume (one that lasted for over 40 years with virtually no changes) and the most heroic look is one of the most troubled and tragic LSHers of them all. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Dirk Morgna of Earth… Sun Boy!

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Quite some time ago I told you the news of Kids’ WB! shutting its doors at the end of the season, handing all the programming duties to 4Kids Entertainment.  At the time, it was unclear what would happen with Legion of Super Heroes, but now we have the answer - the show is ending.

Legion of Super Heroes is currently wrapping up its second season, which will also be last season for the show. With the series no longer in production, fans can expect four more new episodes before the series comes to a close. Two new episodes will be aired over the next two weeks, but the two-part series finale has yet to be officially scheduled.

Sad news for a show that a lot of viewers seemed to have liked.

via World’s Finest 

Or - “This Is What Happens When You Date Timber Wolf And Not Karate Kid, Jeckie!”

Three issues into Jim Shooter and Francis Manapul’s run on Legion of Super-Heroes, there’s a strange thing happening…  Not all that much has changed.  Of course, many of the “changes” brought forth in the W/KRP Threeboot Legion have actually been returns to the Silver Age point of view on the characters, so Silver Age legend Shooter may not actually be that far out of his element.  Still, it’s obvious that SOMETHING wicked this way comes…  I just can’t tell you for sure what, yet. 

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