Comic Info
Comic Name: Legion Lost
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Fabian Nicieza/Tom DeFalco
Artist: Pete Woods/Matt Camp
# of Issues: 7
Release Date: 2012
Legion Lost #2
Reprints Legion Lost #1-7 (November 2011-May 2012). Separated from the Legion and trapped in the past, Dawnstar, Wildfire, Timber Wolf, Gates, Chameleon Girl, Tellus, and Tyroc discover that the terrorist Alistor they were pursuing has released a virus that could alter humanity’s future! With limited resources and unable to reveal themselves with fears of altering the future, the Legion could be facing their toughest mission yet…and the Hypertaxis virus is spreading!
Written by Fabian Nicieza and Tom DeFalco, Legion Lost Volume 1: Run from Tomorrow was part of DC Comics New 52 relaunch after Flashpoint. Featuring art by Pete Woods with additional art by Matt Camp, the series was faced with critical reviews and struggled to find an audience.
The Legion of Super-Heroes combined with New Teen Titans could be my favorite DC series. The original Legion Lost mini-series was a great read, and I looked forward to a retooled, reimagining of the Legion for the New 52. Unfortunately, Legion Lost made itself too difficult for even fans of the series to follow.
Legion Lost #6
Both Legion Lost and the New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes play with the relaunch by having actual Flashpoint affect the reality and separate the two teams. It is a little rocky to start out but it immediately launches into the hunt for Alistor. I felt that the Hypertaxis virus needed a little set-up however because it was kind of unclear how Hypertaxis spread and how dangerous it was…if it was as bad as the Legion perceived, it seems like they could have contacted other heroes (time travel isn’t a new thing to the Legion).
The series did a good job of picking Legionnaires for this volume but with its choices, it also kind of screwed Legion of Super-Heroes. A lot of the Legionnaires on this team are my favorites…making the flagship Legion less interesting to read for me. Also, the comic suffers the classic Legion problem of tons of characters and many with complex backstories. For new readers, this is a challenge, and New 52 was all about gaining new readers.
That doesn’t go to say that Legion Lost is all bad, but unfortunately for the title, it is extremely average. In a tough comic market, average can’t survive. I felt that DC did give the Legion a chance (both titles survived the first round of cancellations), but I also feel it didn’t get as much support as it could have. Legion Lost 1: Run from Tomorrow was followed by Legion Lost 2: The Culling which crossed over with Superboy and Teen Titans.
Related Links:
Legion of Super-Heroes 1: Hostile World
