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Legion of Super-Heroes (1994 team)
Encyclopedia
The 1994 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes (also called the Post-Zero Hour or Reboot Legion) is a fiction
al superhero
team in the 31st century of the DC Universe
. The team is the second major incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes
after the 1958 version
and followed by the 2004 version
. It first appears in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #0 (October 1994) and was created by Mark Waid
, Tom McCraw and Stuart Immonen
.
, a new Legion continuity was created, beginning with a retelling of the origin story starting in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #0 and then continued in spin-off sister series Legionnaires #0 (both released in October 1994). Lightning Lad was renamed Live Wire, and after the group's founding, a large number of heroes were added to the roster very quickly. Several members were given new code-names, and some new heroes were added, including XS
(the granddaughter of Barry Allen, the Flash), Kinetix
, and Gates
.
In homages to the recently discarded continuity, several older Legionnaires were reintroduced in different capacities. Chuck Taine (who had been the hero Bouncing Boy in the previous continuity) became the Legion's maintenance engineer, and Tenzil Kem (who had been Matter-Eater Lad) became the Legion's chef. Rond Vidar — who had been the son of villain Universo, an honorary Legionnaire and a Green Lantern
in the previous continuity — made a few token appearances as a colleague of Brainiac 5.
While in some ways following the pattern of the original continuity, the new continuity diverged from the old one in several ways: some characters died as they had previously, others did not, and some Legion members spent time in the 20th century where they recruited Ferro. The Legion also started out having to earn the respect of the United Planets, which they did through two well-earned victories: successfully defending Earth from the White Triangle Daxamites, a group of Nazi-style racial purists; and exposing United Planets President Chu as the mastermind behind the Braal-Titan War, the Sun Eater hoax, the formation of the Fatal Five and the brainwashing of future Legionnaire Jan Arrah.
and Andy Lanning
— often referred to as "DnA", a tag they commonly used for interviews — came on board with penciller Olivier Coipel
to produce a dark story leading to the near-collapse of the United Planets and of the Legion itself. In the wake of the disaster, a group of Legionnaires disappeared through a spatial rift and the two existing Legion series came to an end.
The limited series
Legion Lost (2000–2001) chronicled the difficult journey of these Legionnaires to return home, while the ensuing limited series Legion Worlds (2001) showed what was happening back in the United Planets during their absence.
, a 21st century clone of Superman and Lex Luthor
who had previously been granted honorary membership.
limited series, which was written by Geoff Johns. Legionnaire Shikari Lonestar
managed to evade the temporal changes and emerged into the new continuity which followed. She was not seen again until Infinite Crisis #6, where she was reunited with her reality's Legionnaires on Earth-247.
and drawn by George Pérez
. The mini-series features the Post-Zero Hour Legion teaming up with Superman and the post-Infinite Crisis and "Threeboot" incarnations of the Legion to fight a new incarnation of the Legion of Super-Villains
(led by Superboy-Prime
) and the Time Trapper
.
It is revealed at the end of the mini-series that Earth-247 and its entire universe were destroyed during the events of Infinite Crisis. The post-Zero Hour Legion, under the guidance of Shikari Lonestar, takes the name "the Wanderers
" and decides to travel the Multiverse to look for survivors from the various alternate universes that were destroyed.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
team in the 31st century of the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. The team is the second major incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
after the 1958 version
Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)
The 1958 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the . The team is the first incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, followed by the 1994 and 2004 rebooted versions...
and followed by the 2004 version
Legion of Super-Heroes (2004 team)
The 2004 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the . The team is the third major incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes after the 1958 and 1994 versions...
. It first appears in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #0 (October 1994) and was created by Mark Waid
Mark Waid
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
, Tom McCraw and Stuart Immonen
Stuart Immonen
Stuart Immonen is a Canadian comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Nextwave, Ultimate X-Men, The New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man...
.
Publication history
Following Zero HourZero Hour (comics)
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
, a new Legion continuity was created, beginning with a retelling of the origin story starting in Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #0 and then continued in spin-off sister series Legionnaires #0 (both released in October 1994). Lightning Lad was renamed Live Wire, and after the group's founding, a large number of heroes were added to the roster very quickly. Several members were given new code-names, and some new heroes were added, including XS
XS (comics)
XS is a fictional character, a superheroine in the future of the DC Comics universe. A member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, she is the granddaughter of Barry Allen , and first cousin of Bart Allen .-Fictional character biography:Despite being the granddaughter of Barry Allen and the daughter of...
(the granddaughter of Barry Allen, the Flash), Kinetix
Kinetix
Kinetix, is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine in the DC Comics universe. The character is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century.-Fictional character biography:...
, and Gates
Gates (comics)
Ti'julk Mr'asz, codename Gates, is a fictional character, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the DC Universe. Like all natives of the planet Vyrga, Gates has a largely insectoid body...
.
In homages to the recently discarded continuity, several older Legionnaires were reintroduced in different capacities. Chuck Taine (who had been the hero Bouncing Boy in the previous continuity) became the Legion's maintenance engineer, and Tenzil Kem (who had been Matter-Eater Lad) became the Legion's chef. Rond Vidar — who had been the son of villain Universo, an honorary Legionnaire and a Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
in the previous continuity — made a few token appearances as a colleague of Brainiac 5.
While in some ways following the pattern of the original continuity, the new continuity diverged from the old one in several ways: some characters died as they had previously, others did not, and some Legion members spent time in the 20th century where they recruited Ferro. The Legion also started out having to earn the respect of the United Planets, which they did through two well-earned victories: successfully defending Earth from the White Triangle Daxamites, a group of Nazi-style racial purists; and exposing United Planets President Chu as the mastermind behind the Braal-Titan War, the Sun Eater hoax, the formation of the Fatal Five and the brainwashing of future Legionnaire Jan Arrah.
Legion Lost
However, sales began to fall. New writers Dan AbnettDan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
and Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning is a British comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.-Career:Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker...
— often referred to as "DnA", a tag they commonly used for interviews — came on board with penciller Olivier Coipel
Olivier Coipel
Olivier Coipel is a French comic book artist, known for his work on books such as House of M, Legion of Super-Heroes andThor.-Career:...
to produce a dark story leading to the near-collapse of the United Planets and of the Legion itself. In the wake of the disaster, a group of Legionnaires disappeared through a spatial rift and the two existing Legion series came to an end.
The limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
Legion Lost (2000–2001) chronicled the difficult journey of these Legionnaires to return home, while the ensuing limited series Legion Worlds (2001) showed what was happening back in the United Planets during their absence.
The Legion
A new series, The Legion, was launched in which the Legion was reunited and given a new base and purpose. Written for its first 33 issues by DnA, the series was cancelled with issue 38 (running from 2001–2004). The most notable addition to the team during the title's publication was the post-Crisis SuperboySuperboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
, a 21st century clone of Superman and Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
who had previously been granted honorary membership.
Infinite Crisis and Earth-247
A two-part crossover between the Legion and the Teen Titans that ran in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #16 and the Teen Titans/Legion Special, (which was co-written by Geoff Johns and Mark Waid), ended the "Reboot" continuity, and the temporal changes depicted within the special tied in to the Infinite CrisisInfinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
limited series, which was written by Geoff Johns. Legionnaire Shikari Lonestar
Shikari (comics)
Shikari is a fictional character, a superheroine in the future of the DC Comics universe and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. She was created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Olivier Coipel and first appeared in Legion Lost #1....
managed to evade the temporal changes and emerged into the new continuity which followed. She was not seen again until Infinite Crisis #6, where she was reunited with her reality's Legionnaires on Earth-247.
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds
The Post-Zero Hour Legion reappeared in the 2008-2009 Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds limited series, written by Geoff JohnsGeoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
and drawn by George Pérez
George Pérez
George Pérez is a Puerto Rican-American writer and illustrator of comic books, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.-Biography:...
. The mini-series features the Post-Zero Hour Legion teaming up with Superman and the post-Infinite Crisis and "Threeboot" incarnations of the Legion to fight a new incarnation of the Legion of Super-Villains
Legion of Super-Villains
The Legion of Super-Villains is a team of fictional supervillains that appear in comic books published by DC Comics. They are adversaries of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future...
(led by Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime, also known as Superman-Prime, or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain, and one of several alternate Supermen. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #87 , and was created by Elliot S...
) and the Time Trapper
Time Trapper
The Time Trapper is a fictional character, a supervillain in stories published by DC Comics. The Time Trapper's main enemies are the Legion of Super-Heroes...
.
It is revealed at the end of the mini-series that Earth-247 and its entire universe were destroyed during the events of Infinite Crisis. The post-Zero Hour Legion, under the guidance of Shikari Lonestar, takes the name "the Wanderers
Wanderers (comics)
The Wanderers are a fictional group of superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They first appeared as allies of the Legion of Super-Heroes in Adventure Comics #375 written by Jim Shooter, illustrated by Win Mortimer with a cover by Neal Adams...
" and decides to travel the Multiverse to look for survivors from the various alternate universes that were destroyed.
See also
- Legion of Super-HeroesLegion of Super-HeroesThe Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
- Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)The 1958 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the . The team is the first incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, followed by the 1994 and 2004 rebooted versions...
- Legion of Super-Heroes (2004 team)Legion of Super-Heroes (2004 team)The 2004 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the . The team is the third major incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes after the 1958 and 1994 versions...
- List of Legion of Super-Heroes members
- List of Legion of Super-Heroes publications
External links
- Legion of Super-Heroes (Post-Zero Hour) at the DC Database Project
- Legion Wiki
- The Legion of Super-Heroes Online Companion
- The LSH Clubhouse
- The Legion of Super-Heroes Reference File.
- M4 Studios Photomanipulations from this era