The Kingdom, Legion of Super-Heroes

Kingdom 1-2

Gog 1

Planet Krypton 1

Nightstar 1

Son of the Bat 1

Kid Flash 1

Offspring 1

DC’s money grab sequel to Mark Waid’s Kingdom Come.  Granted, it’s written by Waid, which gives it a little more legitimacy, but it’s still not the same.  The entire plot, something to do with Gog kidnapping Superman and Wonder Woman’s son, is a McGuffin, and entirely forgettable.  And Mike Zeck’s art in issue 2 is horrible.  

This is the guy who drew Secret Wars?

The one-shots succeed because they work as character studies, insights into the next generation of heroes that we only know as fancy costumes in the original series.  

Nightstar benefits from Matt Haley’s art (of Elseworld's Finest fame), Kid Flash from Mark Pajarillo’s.  

Son of the Bat is amusing, because as the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, Ibn al Xu'ffasch is basically Damien Wayne, which kind of blows my mind.    

Offspring’s the highlight of the bunch, with spectacular art by Frank Quitely and an excellent study of the relationship between Plastic Man and his son, the rare instance where the  superhero father/son relationship is a positive one.   

The Kingdom isn't the worst followup to a story that didn’t need one, and not a waste of time.  But it’s no Godfather Part 2, either.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes for Nightstar, Son of the Bat, Kid Flash, Offspring.  No for the rest.

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Kingdom, Gog: Fine.  Planet Krypton, Son of the Bat: Nice, Nightstar, Kid Flash: Pretty good.  Offspring: Good 

Legion of Super-Heroes 291-294

The Great Darkness Saga, supposedly one of the classic Legion stories.  I picked these issues out of the 50 cent bin years ago, and I think I may have overpaid for them.  Perhaps it’s because I don’t know or care about any of these characters, maybe there’s too much continuity that I’m not aware of.  But what’s supposed to be an epic story comes across as a huge, convoluted mess where I’m just bored, with no emotional investment in the outcome.  

Classic cover.  Too bad the story doesn't live up to it.

Sistine Chapel homage whaaattt...

I’m only keeping this because it’s history.  Don’t think I’ll ever re-read it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Boring

Legion of Super-Heroes 1-30

Now this is how you do the Legion right.  Mark Waid and Barry Kitson do some of their best work here.  This is a textbook example of how to introduce a massive cast to new readers.  (See Gotham Central for another.)  Waid focuses on a few characters each issue, giving them all a chance to distinguish themselves and make an impression.  I particularly like his takes on the justifiably arrogant Brainiac 5 and the beleaguered Cosmic Boy as an unappreciated leader with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Heh.

On top of that, Waid’s take on the Legion is remarkably prescient - The members don’t see themselves as a team, but as a movement, one where the teenagers of the 31st century stand up to an adult class unwilling to change for the better.  It’s surprisingly relevant to our situation today, and adds another layer to the story.

Both big story arcs - Lemnos’ UP takeover and the Dominators’ invasion - are exciting and grand in scale, but still personal enough to be emotionally engaging.  (Exactly where Paul Levitz’s Great Darkness Saga failed.)  

The best thing I can say about Waid’s run is that I wish he’d kept writing it - I would have liked to see where he planned to go with it following the Legion leadership election.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good (Except for the Didn’t suck fill-in issue 15 and a Pretty good stretch around 16-20)

Legion of Super-Heroes 1

The Brian Michael Bendis version.  I’ll give pretty much everything he does a try, but this is a total miss for me.  He’s got some history with great team book runs (Avengers, X-Men), but there’s not enough here to hook me, especially considering that he’s already starting with a deficit by using the Legion (despite Waid’s great stewardship).  He does bring in a few cute ideas, like the floating name tags for everyone and the orientation recurring gag, but it’s not nearly enough for me to keep reading.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine