This is not just one of the best Superman stories ever told, it’s one of the best superhero stories ever told. The Legion doesn’t exactly have a huge role, but I will go over their cameos.
Because of this I won’t talk about the plot of the story, but please: if you’ve never done it, READ THIS SERIES.
Kingdom Come #1 (1996)
by Mark Waid & Alex Ross
Am I the only one who has never noticed Catwoman hiding in the Spectre’s cloak until now?
The story is set in an alternate future, and the Legion does its cameo when we’re being told that the old superheroes have basically abandoned humanity.
From the looks if it this is VERY close to the Reboot Legion; notice they have a Superboy. Considering this is the post-Zero Hour continuity, that’s not a young Superman but his half-clone.
And that’s about it, really.
Kingdom Come #2 (1996)
by Mark Waid & Alex Ross
Even if the miniseries wasn’t masterfully written, it would still be worth it just for the Alex Ross artwork. This is some of his best work ever.
At this point in the story, Superman has heralded the return of some of the old heroes. They’re joined by some younger heroes, which include some Legion connection.
“Starman” is actually Star Boy, in a costume that will eventually be adopted during his tenure in the Justice Society.
More interestingly the green-skinned girl is the daughter of Supergirl and Brainiac 5 !!!
That’s not in the comic itself: neither character is ever named.
You sometimes find reference to her codename being XTC but that’s not from the comic. It comes from the commentary on the 20th Anniversary edition:
As silly as it sounds, this character is the combination of two songs by one of my favorite groups, XTC: “That’s Really Super, Supergirl” and “Brainiac’s Daughter.” Apparently people assumed that her origin was from the coupling of old-time Legion lovebirds Brainiac 5 and Supergirl, and so, never having answered this question before myself, I’ll go along with this idea. This also suggests that she, like Starman VIII, has traveled back in time from the 30th century.
Too bad they don’t actually, well, do anything. They don’t even get speaking lines.
They’re technically also in issues 3, but they’re BARELY visible.
They’re slightly better in issue 4, but there’s only one clear shot of them.
We last see them fighting the riot in the supervillain gulag; unless I missed it, we don’t technically see them surviving the nuclear explosion there but I assume they do.
So that’s about it for the Legion connection. But having gone through the Dial H for H.E.R.O. franchise, I have to mention this little gem:
Does any of this show up in any regular continuity?
For the Legion, unfortunately yes. This is where they got the idea to have Star Boy be running around in the 20th century during the Justice Society run.
The whole series has MASSIVE influence over a large section of the DC Universe, but for the Legion it’s pretty tame.
SHOULD any of this have happened in regular continuity?
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a fan of Star Boy’s adventures in the 20th century.
But it would have been cool to see Supergirl’s future daughter!
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
Oof, that’s a rough call. Most of it is definitely as far away from the Silver Age as you can, even if the message is very uplifting in the end. However, all the scenes in the “Planet Krypton” restaurant as so full of delightfully silly Silver Age shout-outs that it counts.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
This is an absolute masterpiece, no questions about it.
We are legion
Active Legionnaires: 20
If we go by the cameo in issue 1, we have:
-Bouncing Boy
-Brainiac 5
-Chameleon Boy
-Colossal Boy
-Cosmic Boy
-Dream Girl
-Ferro Lad
-Invisible Kid
-Lightning Lad
-Lightning Lass
-Matter-Eater Lad
-Mon-El
-Phantom Girl
-Saturn Girl
-Shadow Lass
-Superboy
-Supergirl
-Timber Wolf
-Triplicate Girl
-Ultra Boy
Reserve members: 2
-Star Boy (presumably?)
-Superman (presumably?)
22 people have been members
I’m not counting Supergirl and Brainiac 5’s daughter, though she might have been a member.
If it weren’t for Bouncing Boy’s presence, the Earth-22 Legion certainly looks like the reboot Legion.
James Robinson’s Starman #50 established that reboot Star Boy would go back in time and live as Danny Blaine, the next Starman after Jack Knight. Then the retroboot happened and that fate was switched to OG Star Boy. His time on Earth-22 was a pit stop on his way from the 31st to the 21st century. Because that’s not at all confusing.
I really would like to see more of XTC.
And I definitely agree that anyone who hasn’t read this series needs to do so immediately. It is a masterwork.