Named when Legion of Super-Heroes #8 landed in readers' hands, there were numerous easter eggs contained in the comic. With over 60 years of history, there's inevitably going to be callbacks to past Legion stories. However, so many nuggets dropping in one issue is something special.
Long-time Legion fans probably noticed most of them, but there are lots of people reading this book that aren't familiar with decades of stories. Older fans may have noticed some of these references, but most of these are unfamiliar to newer fans. Here are ten of the easter eggs that were included, in chronological order.
10 Shade On Conner Kent
On the very first page, the Interlac details have been a staple of this series. Here it describes Jon Kent's role in creating the United Planets. There is a line at the end of this text that throws a wonderful bit of shade. "Conner Kent did none of these things."
Part of the reason for having Superboy in the Legion is that his legend is part of the reason for the Legion to exist. The Superboy known as Conner Kent has no such strong connection to the Legion. He was a member of the first reboot of the Legion after being mistakingly thought to be Superman as a boy. However, his role in stopping the Time Trapper in Legion of Three Worlds should not be discounted.
9 Let's Name Him, "Element Lad!"
We get to see Element Lad's entry into the Legion staged a lot like the old try-outs of the Silver Age. While it does give him an origin similar to the original version of the character, that is not the easter egg on this page. When the founders see him reduce their table to liquid, Lightning Lad yells out, "Let's name him Element Lad!"
Element Lad responds with, "Or we could think of something better." This is probably a subtle nod to the 1990s renaming of many Legionnaires. First, it was the SW6 Legionnaires and then the rebooted Legion that saw new names given for several members. At one point, Element Lad was known as Alchemist. Later versions of him were named Element Lad.
8 Wilimena Morgana Dergina Annaxandra Projectra Velorya Vauxhall
For most of her history in comics, Princess Projectra's real name has been simply "Projectra." Here she introduces herself by her full name. Like the British Royal Family, her true name is exceptionally long. This is the same name she was given in the Threeboot Legion.
In that Legion, Projectra was the one that funded the Legion, a fact that earned her a presence on the team. After her planet was destroyed, she inherited her illusion-casting powers. Using these powers, she eventually became a villain, attacking Phantom Girl and Saturn Girl.
7 You Create Illusions. I Know You're Doing It Right Now.
This is another callback to the Threeboot Legion. At some point after the destruction of her homeworld, Projectra made it a habit to change how everyone saw her rooms in Legion Headquarters. At one point, she lets the illusion drop to reveal how sparse she is keeping the space. She's doing the same thing here.
This also brings to question Projectra's actual appearance. In Superboy's Legion, it was hinted that Princess Projectra had a snake-like form, much like the appearance that her counterpart Sensor had in the rebooted Legion. It would not be surprising to find out that Projectra has a very different appearance than shown. Whether or not it's a snake is up for grabs.
6 Wildfire's Containment Suit Capture
Crav, the General Nah came prepared for Wildfire. As one of the most powerful Legionnaires, he has to be one of the first taken out of the fight. Past versions of Wildfire always had one weakness, his reliance on his containment suit. One of Crav's forces uses a device to suck up Wildfire's energy, containment suit, and all.
It's become a trope of Legion stories that Wildfire will have to deal with a rupture in his suit. At least Brian Michael Bendis gave a new way for this trope to play out. It would be nice for Brainiac 5 to help Wildfire figure a way to make this type of attack less likely to succeed in the future.
5 Blok's Interlac
The last bit of Interlac on Blok's page has a hint at something that writer Brian Michael Bendis may be planning to develop down the road. In it, Blok is mentally making notes that some Legionnaires aren't actively participating in the battle. Specifically, he notices Shadow Lass.
Shadow Lass is not doing anything. Before this moment, her most important scene came when she and Cosmic Boy revealed that they were a couple. Why she is hanging back and not using her shadow-powers is a question that deserves an answer. It's also a departure from previous versions of the character that were highly trained warriors.
4 Micro Lad
This issue was full of references to the Threeboot. One of the genuinely new ideas that Mark Waid and Barry Kitson brought to the Legion was that Colossal Boy came from a race of giants and his super-power was shrinking to six feet tall. He even insisted for most of the run that the other Legionnaires call him Micro Lad.
It will be interesting to see how this is developed. In Paul Levitz's Legion run, Colossal Boy had one of the most visible parents. His Mom was the President of Earth but never showed up in any of the reboots. The Threeboot Legion did share a look at his brother's apartment, which was appropriately the only place large enough to house the entire Legion after their headquarters was destroyed.
3 Ferro Lad
It took eight issues for Ferro Lad to appear. He's introduced when he uses his powers to transform into a super-tough iron isotope. That transform causes his vital signs to cease. This is a subtle nod to Ferro Lad's traditional role in the original Legion as the first Legionnaire to die and stay dead.
The appearance of his hands should also be noted. The skin tone is darker. While this Legion is more racially diverse, that is not the reason for this change. Jim Shooter originally wanted Ferro Lad to be black but was shot down his editor.in a show of misplaced priorities in 1960s America.
2 Mooney Teleport
At the end of the issue, Saturn Girl calls Superboy and Mon-El telepathically. All Legionnaires are to meet for the trial of the Legion. The location that they're called to meet is named Mooney Teleport. This is an easter egg referencing a classic Legion artist known best for his work on the character Supergirl.
Jim Mooney had a twenty-two-year career at DC Comics, working on stories featuring Batman, Dial H for Hero, Tommy Tomorrow, Superboy, and Supergirl. Later at Marvel, he did a large body of work on Spider-Man stories. He also worked on Ms. Marvel and Man-Thing among many other titles. Mooney passed away in 2008 at age 88.
1 Timeshifts Are Happening Right Now
In the Legion of Substitute Podcasters Podcast, Paul French pointed out that in a previous issue of this series, Brainiac 5 told the founders that time is being rewritten all of the time. There was disagreement among the podcasters, but in reviewing the fifth issue of the series, it seems clear that the events and crises happening in the present-day DC Universe are affecting the 31st century. Jon Kent becoming the "one, true Superman" is vital to their survival.
During this series, those time shifts could explain two different Invisible Kids, Mon-El's home planet has shifted from Daxam to New Krypton. Lightning Lad's twin sister has varied between Light Lass and Lightning Lass. There may very well be future changes that are seen, and these changes could signal some greater threat than Mordru or Crav, the General Nah.