Ok Young Justice fans, we've got some homework to do on this Whelmed Wednesday and if you study along with us, you'll get all the answers to the test at the end. Just kidding there is no test, but as far as Young Justice is concerned, we've never heard of the Legion of Superheroes on the show until the finale of season three! So, who is the Legion of Superheroes? What can they do and where are they from? Or perhaps even better, when are they from! Let's breakdown just who these superheroes are:
- Created by: The Legion of Superheroes was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino. The Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics Universe, and first appears in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958). Interesting note, Otto Binder is also credited as creating Supergirl.
- Superman Connection: The first iteration of the Legion of Superheroes lasted for 36 years which is a huge feat in comics today. Their original mission was to work with Superboy (Superman as a teenager) and use his powers and abilities to help in 31st century problems.
- Legion's Scope: The Legion is a group not unlike the Justice League but their scope is a lot bigger. In the future, there is an allied planets federation and the Legion is comprised of many heroes from many worlds. Much of their charter is based on what the Justice League was able to accomplish in our time.
- Who: The founding members of the Legion are Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad. They are joined by many other heroes like Supergirl, Triplicate Girl, Brainiac-5, Chameleon Boy, Phantom Girl, Colossal Boy, and Mon-El among many others.
So the Legion of Superheroes is essentially a galactic Justice League from 1,000 years in the future. Got it, so why is this important for Young Justice? Good question:
- Time Travel: In a show where time jumps are all but a guarantee and each jump is always forward, The Legion's ability to travel back in time adds a whole new direction to how the show can play out. Deaths could be prevented, outcomes can be changed, and history can be destroyed or upheld.
- New Characters: You may have noticed that the characters from the Legion all have names like "girl", "lad", "lass", or "boy". This is a young group of heroes and since Young Justice is always looking to tell the story of young heroes, these new Legionnaires are perfect for telling another young hero story while also including future stories of our core members.
- Huge Threats: Generally the Legion doesn't like to time travel. They only do so in dire circumstances. Originally they needed someone of Superman's power to help in a future crisis. On The CW's Supergirl show, the Legion came back to hide one of their members from a potentially life threatening tech virus that could end all technology in the universe. On the TV Show Smallville, the Legion came from the future to prevent the death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday. Basically, if they are in your time frame, they are there to fight some serious dangers! With Darksied almost capturing the Anti-life equation, it's no wonder they have appeared!
In the end, The Legion's appearance gives Young Justice a whole new opportunity of storytelling. New young heroes, bigger threats and a story telling element (time jumps) that can now go in both directions! On a personal note, I would flip if Supergirl joined the show! The possibilities are endless and we couldn't be more excited to see what the team does with the Legion! Happy Whelmed Wednesday everyone and be sure to follow our sister site HarleyQuinn.tv as we prepare for NYCC! Ariel is already on the East Coast preparing!
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