The last part of Legion history to be unquestionably in the pre-Crisis continuity, with later stories making this a complex topic.
Legion significance: 8/10
The Legion of Super-Villains arc is absolutely mandatory reading, as is issue #18. Everything else is not as important as it might seem.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
Continuing the effort to stay as serious as the settings permits it.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
Still a very strong era despite my criticism. It started with a banger with an epic storyline, but later meandered between minor plots and made little use of the “Tales Of The Legion” second book. Not entirely Levitz’s fault, but still something that brings down the score as a whole.
This is a particularly solid period for the artwork, between Keith Giffen and new stars Steve Lightle and Greg LaRoque.
And now, ladies and gentlemen: the Legion Awards!
BEST LEGIONNAIRE
Winner: Princess Projectra
Hail to the Queen. She earns the top spot despite very few appearances by just how much she steal the spotlight in an era that is going more into a choral approach to the team.
You can’t read her fight with Nemesis Kid without getting chills.
Runner-up: Karate Kid
What a way to go. Not only he saved his wife’s world, but technically speaking he defeated the man whose power was that he could not be defeated.
Third place: Matter-Eater Lad
Yep. I considered multiple Legionnaires for the trophy, but they have their downsides.
Brainiac 5 was all kinds of awesome in the Annual and was the source of very deep scenes, but he was too awful in the Dawnstar storyline. Others like Shrinking Violet or White Witch shined for a moment or two, and then faded away.
But Matter-Eater Lad? The guy nobody gives a crap about? Defeated Pulsar Stargrave, a villain powerful enough to fight the entire Legion, without even taking the credit and letting perennial loser Stone Boy to be celebrated!
Yeah it was in a comedic story, but his scenes were played straight so it still counts.
Honorable mention: Supergirl
I had to. See you in the next next continuity, Kara.
WORST LEGIONNAIRE
Winner: Dawnstar
You are just. The. Worst. And this is the second time IN A ROW she wins the category!
But she’s always whining, always complaining that her powers are not useful, and always treating poor Wildfire like garbage.
Runner-up: Invisible Kid II
Speaking of repeated offenders: he ALSO won second place last time.
He straight up refuses to do ANYTHING interesting, doesn’t he?
Third place: Saturn Girl
Unnecessarily joining a battle while heavily pregnant AND bringing her child into danger more than once is worth her very first negative trophy. Come on Imra, you’re supposed to be the best!!!
Dishonorable mention: Timber Wolf
I was rooting for you in the previous runs, Brin, but this is getting ridiculous. She’s not into you anymore, will you PLEASE get a new storyline already!?
PARTICIPATION TROPHIES
Kid Psycho: it’s hard to stay relevant when you haven’t shown up in decades and you’re the THIRD Legionnaire to die in this era alone. But at least he bothered to show up in Crisis, unlike Tyroc, and even got a heartfelt send-off in the very last story of the era.
Wildfire: the entire universe keeps crapping on the poor guy, but he never fails being entertaining.
Brainiac 5: the Dawnstar storyline and a long stretch of issues where he doesn’t do anything prevent him from rising to the “best Legionnaire” podium, but he came THIS close!!!
Bouncing Boy: the only one who could POSSIBLY keep up with Comet Queen.
Blok and White Witch: just kiss already!!!
Polar Boy: the “too little too late” trophy, since he won’t do ANYTHING until the next era… but he took so long to get here I have to give him SOME credit.
Element Lad: winning re-election and generally being a good leader helps.
Shadow Lass: the Lady Memory storyline is one of the rare occasions where she gets to demonstrate she’s a badass.
MOST IMPROVED LEGIONNAIRE: Lightning Lass
While her development is not without its flaws, the improvement is undeniable: she went from doormat to badass in the most spectacular way.
BEST NEW LEGIONNAIRE: Tellus and Quislet
Having non-humanoids is such a breath of fresh air that I’m giving them a tie.
Tellus has a magnificent design and his extreme politeness plays well off the other Legionnaires, and Quislet is a ton of fun.
WORST NEW LEGIONNAIRE: Magnetic Kid
Poor kid. He’s not a BAD Legionnaire, but he’s incredibly bland compared to the other new recruits… and consider we still don’t know anything about Sensor Girl!
MOST FANSERVICE LEGIONNAIRE
Laurel Kent may not be an actual Legionnaire, but she went so much beyond even her own standards that she has to win this one.
BEST VILLAIN
Winner: Nemesis Kid
Despite his very limited number of appearances, the former Legionnaire gains a place of honor among the most despicable Legion villains.
Runner-up: the Legion of Super-Villains
Aside from Nemesis Kid and to a lesser extent Lightning Lord (who came THIS close to the podium, but ultimately was too stereotypically evil), they’re pretty interchangeable.
But as a whole, they’re a force to be reckoned with!!!
Third place: Lady Memory, from Tales of the Legion #318
She suffers from being confined to an unremarkable storyline. But she has personality, a very unique power and a complex backstory. Too bad they didn’t do anything with her.
Honorable mention: Darkseid
While I really don’t like the retcon that Validus is the child of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, this was an interesting payoff to the prophecy of the Great Darkness Saga.
WORST VILLAIN
Winner: Pulsar Stargrave from Legion of Substitute Heroes Special
It’s the joke of the story, I know, but the fact that he can’t even manage to kill the Subs is a massive downgrade from his bombastic beginnings.
Runner-up: Brainiac from DC Comics Presents #80
You’d expect better from such a classic villain, ESPECIALLY from the terrifying robot incarnation. But he loses in the dumbest way possible and his plans make no sense whatsoever.
Third place: the Dream Demon, from Tales of the Legion #317
What a wasted opportunity. This malevolent shapeshifting demon from a nightmare dimension COULD have been interesting… but he disguises himself as the original Invisible Kid for what feels like an eternity, does nothing with it, and then brings Invisible Kid II and Wildfire into another dimension for… reasons, I guess?
Dishonorable mention: Ontiir
What happened to you, man? You used to be a decent villain. How did you end up the center of a pointless retcon and the Dark Circle perennial punching bag?
BEST STORY
Winner AND runner-up: Legion of Super-Heroes vol.3 #4-5
Technically a tie because it REALLY reads like a single story.
Not without its flaws, but its impact is undeniable; the Legion rarely delivers such gut-wrenching epics.
While there are plenty of good stories in this era, the distance from this two-parter is just so vast that I’m not assigning separate trophies.
Third place: Legion of Super-Heroes vol.3 #14
Probably the gold standard on how to do a Legion Audition story.
Honorable mention: Legion of Substitute Heroes Special
It has its low points and it unfortunately leads to the Subs to be considered only a joke, but this story was freaking hilarious!!!
MOST INFLUENTIAL STORY
Winner: Legion of Super-Heroes vol.3 #4-5
These two issues set up SO much, from the death of Karate Kid and its consequences to the spectacular evolution of Projectra.
Runner-up: Legion of Super-Heroes vol.3 #18
The rest of this volume might not exist in its current form without this issue!
Third place: Tales of the Legion #315 (Part 2)
Surprising for the back-up feature of a secondary book, but White Witch being connected to Mordru will be VERY significant down the line.
Honorable mention: Tales of the Legion #316
It’s not explicit, but I believe this story is the reason why Polar Boy decided to audition for the Legion once again.
WORST STORY
Winner: Tales of the Legion #321-323
The storyline that brought me over the edge in disliking Dawnstar. I don’t think my review gave justice to just how bad this story is.
From Brainiac 5 being an idiot, to the insufferable space hippy that accompanies him, to the even more insufferable triangle between Dawnstar, Jhodan and a literal child, to the plot that makes no sense. Nobody gets out of this with dignity.
Runner-up: Tales of the Legion #317 (Part 1)
Because LSH #299 wasn’t awful enough, we need to suffer through the same plot again. Only this time it makes even less sense.
Third place: Legion of Super-Heroes vol.3 #6
Light Lass becoming Lightning Lass was great during the LSV saga, where she had great character development. So let’s dedicate the following issue repeating all of it with terrible Joe Orlando artwork!
Dishonorable mention: DC Comics Presents #80
The last chance before Crisis to have a crossover with Superman and we waste it on this!?
MOST SILVER AGE PANEL
MOST MEME-WORTHY PANEL
BEST ALIEN DESIGN: Tellus
BEST TECHNOBABBLE
WORST TECHNOBABBLE MAGICBABBLE
BEST REACTION SHOT
WORST REACTION SHOT
From the car, of course.
BEST HAIRSTYLE CHANGE
BEST SEX CHANGE
BEST PANEL
This single panel carries SO much weight. Brainiac 5’s sadness, depression, resignation and logic are all there. A downer for sure, but executed perfectly.
WORST PANEL
The smartest man in the universe forgetting to stay hydrated and avoiding exhaustion while venturing into the jungle, everybody.
BEST SPLASH PAGE
MOST FANSERVICE PANEL
BEST COVER
The answer to the question “Can you draw a cover that symbolizes the Legion from the 70s?”, even if it’s from the 80s.
HONORABLE MENTION
Not a Legion story, but I had to. What a masterpiece.
WORST COVER
A bit of a mess. This might be the least worst winner of a “worst cover” award, because this era is just blessed with great covers.
BEST NEW COSTUME
Winner: Sensor Girl
Runner-up: Blok
Third place: Light Lass
Honorable mention: Polar Boy
Not a huge fan of whatever’s on his head, and his old costume wasn’t bad, but this is still an improvement.
WORST NEW COSTUME
Winner: Polar Boy
Runner-up: Dev-Em
Third place: Magnetic Kid
It’s not BAD, mind you, but get your own costume! I keep confusing you with Cosmic Boy!
HALL OF FAME (combining all eras)
8 good trophies
-Bouncing Boy leaps ahead of everyone else, with a truly unbelievable 8 participation trophies! The fact that he’s THIS high despite never winning any other kind of trophy is fitting for him.
7 good trophies
-Saturn Girl drops from the podium by winning her very first negative trophy. She still remains on top with 4 good trophies (Best Legionnaire 3 times, she’s been Best Legionnaire Third Place once), 2 participation trophies and 1 Best New Costume
-Shrinking Violet is right behind her. She was fine in this era, but didn’t do anything spectacular enough to deserve getting ahead in the total count. 3 good trophies, 4 participation trophies, and zero bad trophies
-Duo Damsel lags behind her husband by doing nothing in this era. 3 good and 4 participation trophies, but she’s racked up one bad trophy.
6 good trophies
-Cosmic Boy: 3 good trophies, 3 participation trophies, 2 bad trophies
-Lightning Lad: 2 good trophies, 4 participation trophies, 1 bad trophy
-Ultra Boy: 2 good trophies, 4 participation trophies, 1 bad trophy
-Colossal Boy: only 1 good trophy, but an impressive 5 participation trophies and zero bad trophies
HALL OF INFAMY (combining all eras)
4 bad trophies
-Tyroc: Worst New Legionnaire, Worst New Costume, 2 Worst Legionnaire Third Place. No good or participation trophies.
-Light Lass: Worst Legionnaire, 2 times Worst Legionnaire runner-up and 1 time Worst Legionnaire Dishonorable Mention, but she does have 1 participation trophy and 1 Most Improved
3 bad trophies
-Chemical King: 3 times Worst Legionnaire runner-up, but also won Best Legionnaire runner-up once
-Invisible Kid II: Worst Legionnaire runner-up twice in a row, plus one Worst Legionnaire. At least he’s won Best Legionnaire honorable mention once. Still, keep an eye on him because I have a feeling he’s the only one with the potential to dethrone Tyroc.
-Chameleon Boy: once Worst Legionnaire, once Worst Legionnaire runner-up, once Worst Legionnaire third place. At least he has won Best Legionnaire once and has 4 participation trophies.