One of the eras of the Legion of Super-Heroes I've always liked, especially since I think it was a little underrated, is the Reboot era. After Zero Hour, you see, the power that be (let's call them the Time Trapper) decided to reboot the Legion titles (two of them at the time) in a refreshed continuity that might have done for older fans what the Crisis' rebooted Superman titles had done, and create an easy-to-pick book for new readers who, up to that point, might have been intimidated by the Legion's long, dense history.
Two reboots later, it seems to have been forgotten, but I think we can qualify it a success, because both books went on for a long time, and spawned several related mini-series. Even when those books ended, the same Legion moved to new books like Legion Lost and then The Legion. But did it hit all the right notes? Can an old dog like me still appreciate it, and more importantly, can a fresh new reader get into the Legion via its stories? That's where Hot or Not comes in. That feature was all about asking a half-dozen women with no Legion knowledge what they thought of each and every Legionnaire. It's mostly about dating, admittedly, but that's part of the fun.
NOW, can one of these ladies, armed with only what she's gotten from doing that feature, access and enjoy Legion stories told from this particular ground floor? So I asked Shotgun, who happens to be my roommate AND a (French-language) blogger in her own right - all of which made this easier - to go on this journey with me. I'm rereading, she's experiencing for the first time. Will everything make sense to her? What nuances could she be missing? Does it matter? And more importantly, what fresh perspective will she bring to the material?
We started doing these weekly reviews last May, and we're 10 articles in. I encourage you to check them out.
The Zero issues
Legion of Super-Heroes #62
Legionnaires #19
Legion of Super-Heroes #63
Legionnaires #20
Legion of Super-Heroes #64
Legionnaires #21
Legion of Super-Heroes #65
Legionnaires #22
Legion of Super-Heroes #66
Hope you enjoy the twin perspectives, and Long Live the Legion!
*The title of this post to be sung to the tune of Duran Duran's The Reflex.
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