WARNING: The following contains spoilers by Legion of Super-Heroes #9 by Brian Michael Bendis, Jordie Beallaire, Dave Sharpe, James Harren, John Romita Jr., Mitch Gerads, David Marquez, Gary Frank, Ivan Reis, Riley Rossmo, Kevin Nowlan, Nicola Scott, Jim Cheung, Joe Quinones, Emanuela Lupacchino, Michel Fiffe, Tula Lotay, Arthur Adams, Ryan Sook, Mike Grell, Jenny Frison, Nick Derington, & Gene Luen Yang, on sale now.

The Legion of Super-Heroes has been tweaked and modified over the years, going through multiple reboots with each change that came to the DC Universe. But now, it seems like a classic threat is coming to endanger the current version of the team.

With Legion of Super-Heroes #9, DC is setting up the Legion of Super-Heroes to face off with one of their greatest villains, and it could bring a fan-favorite story from the Pre-Crisis DC Universe into the modern-day.

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During a trial to determine the Legion's culpability in their recent conflict with Crav, the General Nah of Rimbor over Aquaman's long-lost trident, multiple members of the Legion mention an oncoming threat to the galaxy that the Legion will be needed to fight back. Dream Girl reveals that her prophetic visions have turned towards a terrible and mysterious force attacking the universe. She specifically says that "a Great Darkness is coming," while a bleak void breaks the light she can otherwise see for the future. While President R.J. Brande's personal precognitive has seen nothing of the Great Darkness, Doctor Fate agrees with Dream Girl -- revealing that if this darkness is stopped, it'll only be by the Legion themselves.

Meanwhile, White Witch turns out to have been preparing for the coming Great Darkness, although she seems unsure for certain what exactly it will be, and even fears it'll be her father Mordru, a merciless and mad sorcerer from her world. She even reveals that Crav is aware of the coming threat -- explaining why he tried to claim the Trident in the first place. In fact, he's been searching the galaxy for multiple mystical artifacts, all in the hope of using their power to counter the Great Darkness and beat it back. All of this seems to help confirm the existence of the Great Darkness to R.J. Brande, especially when an enraged Crav all but confesses to the actions.

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While there is actually a powerful supernatural being also known as "the Great Darkness," it's far more likely that the references to the Great Darkness throughout Legion of Super-Heroes #9 are a callout to a classic "The Great Darkness Saga" storyline, a five-issue arc that ran through Legion of Super-Heroes #290 to #294 by Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen, and Larry Mahlstedt. Set in the Pre-Crisis DC Universe, the story focuses on the team investigating attacks by mysterious dark beings who hint that they serve "the Great Darkness." Stealing ancient and powerful artifacts from across the galaxy, the Great Darkness takes these relics and absorbs their inherent power. The Great Darkness proves powerful enough to defeat major Legion villains like the Sorceror Mordu and the Time Trapper -- taking their power as well.

The Legion at this period does their best to contend with the Great Darkness, only for some of their number to be traumatized by his power (like Invisible Kid) or easily defeated (like Mon-El). The Legion calls in all reserve members just as the Great Darkness reveals itself -- Darkseid, returned to claim the cosmos the now long-dead heroes of the past protected. Using his increased powers, Darkseid is able to empower and corrupt the citizens of Daxam, imbuing them with Superman-like powers and forcing them under his sway. It's only the return of High Father that turns the tide of the battle, with his aid giving Superboy and Supergirl the chance to hold Darkseid at bay long enough for his control over the Daxamites to wane.

Notably, Darkseid is not defeated by the heroes but merely forced to retreat, promising revenge against the Legion. Throughout multiple reboots of the franchise, "The Great Darkness Saga" -- or at least events similar to it -- remained a fixture of the future DC timeline, being referenced in the post-Infinite Crisis and New 52-eras. But with the most recent reboot of the Legion of Super-Heroes focusing on a growing young team of heroes still figuring out their place in the galaxy, it makes sense that they wouldn't have encountered their version of the event yet. It'll be interesting to see how the new Legion handles this coming Great Darkness, and if it is in fact an incarnation of Darkseid.

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