Legion fans got a surprise from DC Comics during New York Comic Con. The Legion of Super-Heroes would be getting a new comic book, and Joshua Williamson would be the writer. I did not see this coming at all. Brian Bendis did such a horrific job with the Fourboot Legoin that debuted in 2019 that I viewed the Legoin as a dead franchise. Bendis’s pathetic take on the Legion was so awful that I was perfectly fine with never getting another Legion title again. No Legion comic book is better than anything starring the Bendis Fourboot Legion.
So, when a slide with just the words “The Legion of Super-Heroes Are Coming Soon!” was unveiled at the DC Panel with Joshua Williamson, I was genuinely surprised. At this point, we know next to nothing. DC Comics gave us no information at all on this new Legion comic other than that Williamson will be the writer. We know nothing about which version of the Legion we will get, the tone and spirit of the new comic book, or even who the artist will be for the comic.
What we do know is that Williamson said that he called Mark Waid and asked for permission to write the Legion of Super-Heroes. Honestly, it was a very strange statement from Williamson. Mark Waid certainly has a connection with the Legion of Super-Heroes. But when I think of the Legion of Super-Heroes, the first name I think of is not Mark Waid at all. It would be Otto Binder, Jim Shooter, and Paul Levitz.
Mark Waid, along with Tom McGraw, Tom Peyer, and Roger Stern, gave us the Archie Legion, also known as the Reboot Legion, in 1994. Waid also gave us the Threeboot Legion in 2004, which was a total failure, and Waid ended up leaving the title in 2007. The title was then canceled in 2009. DC Comics then completely trashed the Threeboot Legion and replaced them with the Pre-Crisis Levitz Legion from Geoff Johns.
I have no idea why Williamson thought he had to call Waid for permission. I have no idea why anyone would turn to Waid as the “go-to” person for the Legion. That honor obviously goes to Paul Levitz. Levitz is the undisputed King of the Legion and presided over the Legion during its most successful and popular run. It is not even close.
If anything, Williamson should have been calling Levitz and talking to him about the Legion and asking permission from him. The fact that Williamson did not think to do this makes me concerned about his understanding of the Legion of Super-Heroes and dampens my expectations of this new title.
Waid has stated that he is confident that the version of the Legion of Super-Heroes that Williamson will be using will be embraced by everyone, regardless no matter when you first got into the Legion. That is a ridiculous statement to make and totally untrue. There is zero chance Williamson makes everyone happy with the version of the Legion that he chooses to use in this new title.
My guess is that Williamson made such a big deal out of calling Waid to ask for permission because Williamson has decided to use either the Reboot Archie Legion or the Threeboot Legion for his new Legion title. Between the two, I hope we get the Reboot Archie Legion. Waid’s Threeboot Legion was such a hot mess. There were too many radical changes made to the characters from their codenames to their appearances. The Threeboot also replaced Kal-El as the keystone for the Legion to Supergirl. Nothing about the Threeboot Legion ever felt like the real Legion of Super-Heroes.
My expectations are low for this new Legion of Super-Heroes comic book. The same clueless editors and leadership that thought the Bendis Fourboot Legion was a great idea are still at DC Comics. They have no currency with me and have not earned my trust due to their past actions. I have no reason to believe that these same people will deliver an excellent Legion this time around.
If Williamson simply avoids the Bendis Legion altogether, then I will consider this new Legion comic a win. I know that is a low bar, but the Bendis’ Legion was so spectacularly awful. Nobody ever needs to see the Fourboot Legion ever again.
Let’s talk a bit about the selection of Williamson as the writer for the new Legion of Super-Heroes comic. I am fine with the choice. I have always enjoyed much of Williamson’s work. As far as Williamson’s ability to sell comics and make this new Legion comic successful? Well, Williamson has a good track record there, too.
Williamson has had numerous sales hits under his belt. After all, the award that we give to the writer who has the most comic books in the Top 50 each month is named after Joshua Williamson! We named the award after Williamson when he set a record number of six issues from different titles in the Top 50 in August 2023.
So, Williamson has the pedigree of producing sales hits. However, I am unsure that Williamson will be able to pull this trick off with the Legion. As much as I adore the Legion and as much as it is my all-time favorite franchise, the fact remains that the Legion has never been a strong-selling comic. The Legion fanbase is amazing. I have never known a fanbase more passionate or loyal. However, the Legion fanbase is also very small.
I wish I could be more positive, but DC Comics has done nothing to engender that type of optimism in me. As longtime Legion fans, let’s just hope we don’t get something as bad as the Bendis Fourboot Legion. You can bet that I will chronicle every step along the way to the debut of this new Legion of Super-Heroes comic book! Until then, LLL!
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