1982): “I feel rather sorry for… the pathetic ‘thousands’ of fans of the Legion of Super-Heroes, because try as I might, I cannot understand anyone liking, much less following, this series of inept beach bums through padded and inane plots of adolescent banality!” Consider this fan letter printed in Comics Scene #6 (Nov. Īnd even for comic book fans, the Legion devotees were regarded as peculiar, with their preoccupation on costumes and alien cultures and other seeming minutiae of the series. What’s more, the general consensus amongst fandom was that the Legion was DC’s most puerile of superhero team offerings, much less mature than the Justice League of America or The New Teen Titans.

With over two dozen main characters to keep track of, writing - or drawing - the Legion of Super-Heroes amounted to a daunting undertaking.

Truth be told, the Legion wasn’t a much sought after professional assignment. This was Levitz’s second go-round with DC’s “teens from tomorrow” he previously scripted Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes between 19.

1982), Levitz relieved Roy Thomas as the title’s scribe. While Paul Levitz’s climb up DC’s corporate ladder was a considerable achievement in and of itself, his name would soon become inexorably associated with a different task he performed for DC Comics: writing The Legion of Super-Heroes. The article below is an excerpt from TwoMorrows’ American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s, by Keith Dallas and a coterie of contributors, including 13th Dimension favorites Jim Beard and Bill Walko, who designed the book, which you can order directly through the publisher.īut back to the Legion - and a look at the team’s peak, when Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen joined forces for a classic run highlighted by The Great Darkness Saga: The team hasn’t fared well for a long time and old-school fans are often suspicious of what new creators - in this case writer Brian Michael Bendis - will bring to the Clubhouse.Īnd it’s all about time, when it comes to the Legion, isn’t it? So let’s look back at when the team was at its zenith - when it was a creative and commercial smash: the 1980s. Longtime Legion of Super-Heroes are relieved - and a little anxious - that DC is finally bringing back their fave superhero team this September. UPDATED 10/21/21: Former DC exec and Legion mainstay Paul Levitz turns 65! Perfect time to re-present this piece from 2019, in slightly altered form. Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #2 cover, starring Jonathan “Superboy” Kent.

Paul levitz legion of superheroes run