The Legion of Super-Heroes has had a long and varied history. Introduced in Adventure Comics #247 as part of a one-off Superboy story, the team grew in popularity. The classic line-up remained the one true Legion until the middle of the 1990s. Then, various creative teams decided to make some changes.
As the 2020s rolled around, the Legion had gone through at least seven different incarnations. Each had a different profile, reason for coming together, and power level. While some were truly amazing, others felt somewhat powerless. To prove our point, here are the team's 5 best and 5 worst line-ups, ranked.
11 Worst: Legion on the Run
Deep into the "Five Years Later" run of the Legion, the book's creators decided to shake things up. After the villain Glorith adjusted the ages of many team members, they ended up being falsely accused of numerous crimes thanks to the manipulations of Universo. Now on the run, they went into hiding with new costumes and codenames.
For instance, Cosmic Boy became Polaris and Ultra Boy became Dragon. For the rest of the run, before Zero Hour wiped everything away, this version existed. For a once-proud organization, this line-up was not only the weakest but also the least heroic.
10 Best: Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099
There was a moment in the 1990s where detente existed between Marvel and DC. In this period, the publishers created two series of books that merged heroes together to generate another character. Readers saw a Captain America-Superman amalgam, A Batman-Wolverine combination, and so on. In addition, the Legion of Super-Heroes and pre-Star-Lord Guardians of the Galaxy were smashed together to form the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099.
Discovered by the Superboy-Spider-Man mashup called Spider-Boy, the LGG survived a chronal collapse to become a more modern version of the group. No matter the timeline, both the old and new line-ups were extraordinarily powerful.
9 Worst: Threeboot Team
It's not that this third reincarnation of the Legion was less powerful. Their line-up was quite strong, particularly when a version of Supergirl joined the team. What puts this line-up in the worst category is their collective attitude.
They believed their refuse didn't produce an unpleasant essence, and so did the billions of teenage followers who became their "Legionnaires." When they weren't battling the bad guys, or when Supergirl wasn't around, they would bicker more than they would get together. Where the earlier incarnations of these futuristic heroes showed some semblance of maturity, the Threeboot Legion was basically an illustrated teen soap opera.
8 Best: Jim Shooter Era
Starting in Adventure Comics #346, the 14-year-old writer and artist Jim Shooter took the reins of the Legion. For three years and two comic books -- the Legion ended up in Action Comics for a time -- he reshaped the team's line-up and prepared it for the future. In fact, besides long-time Legion writer Paul Levitz, Shooter has been honored as one of the best creators in the team's long history.
It started in his first story with the introduction of Princess Projectra, Karate Kid, Ferro Lad, and hero turned villain Nemesis Kid. A few issues later, he gave readers a look at the Fatal Five. This was followed by the death of Ferro Lad, the induction of Shadow Lass, and the first appearances of Mordru and the Dark Circle. Before he left in 1969, Shooter had carved himself a spot in Legion history.
7 Worst: L.E.G.I.O.N
When Keith Giffen came aboard the Legion maglev in the early 1980s, no one realized how much influence he would have on the team for decades afterward. Not only with the original group of teens but also with some of their 20th-century ancestors. Of course, we mean the intergalactic police force known as L.E.G.I.O.N.
Thing is, this line-up wasn't nearly as nice as their 30th-century counterparts. For instance, leader Vril Dox, ancestor of the Legion's Brainiac 5, was definitely more ruthless. Former officer Garyn Beck was manipulative and, for a time, possessed, the Eye of Ekron. In the end, L.E.G.I.O.N didn't have the same spirit of camaraderie as their future version.
6 Best: Zero-Hour Legion
When DC Comics performed a soft reboot of their universe in 1994 through the Zero Hour event, one of the eras affected was the 30th century. After nearly 45 years, the Legion of Super-Heroes fans were used to disappeared. In its place was a team of teenagers who started from scratch to form the Legion.
Out of all the incarnations, this line-up was the most successful and the most positive. They brought back a sense of adventure and fun that was missing from the "Five Years Later" group. The introduction of several new members not seen in the original series helped this team to last into the 21st century.
5 Worst: New 52 Legion
In reality, the New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes wasn't much different than the one that joined Superman in the pages of Action Comics. They were the Silver Age team, now grown up. In addition, Paul Levitz took the reins of writing the book once again. Even Keith Giffen came along for the ride.
Unfortunately, the spark that made the Legion so popular in the 1980s was no longer there with this line-up. Maybe the New 52 architects wanted this version of the LSH to be grittier. In the end, the team was practically disbanded. Plus, it seemed to be a Legion from a different Earth.
4 Best: SW6 Legion
One of the highlights of the "Five Years Later" Legion of Super-Heroes was a story that didn't feature the original grizzled team. Instead, it focused on a much younger line-up "hatched" from the Dominators' underground laboratories. It was based on the team's roster from the early Jim Shooter era. Thus, characters like Ferro Lad returned to life.
The best part of this incarnation, called the SW6 Legion, was their combination of innocence and determination. Even after the moon's destruction and Earth's devastation due to the explosion of numerous powerspheres, the SW6 group saw the bright side of things. They were a cleansing breath of air in a series that seemed stifling.
3 Worst: Five-Years Later Legion
We aren't dissing the creative team of the "Five Years Later" Legion of Super-Heroes book. Keith Giffen and the Bierbaums (Tom and Mary) did a phenomenal job weaving a new story together. A story about hope in a dark world. However, their emphasis was on the dark.
Giffen decided to go down the grim and gritty path of the 1980s to create a new Legion line-up that was broken, battered, and not sure why they were together again. Technically, they were barely a team. It wasn't until the Earth blew up that they decided to solidify their ranks and get down to business. By that time, it was too late for them to do much of anything.
2 Best: Early 1980s Legion
Yes, we're partial to this line-up designed by Levitz and Giffen. However, it's not a secret the pair truly changed the shape of the Legion of Super-Heroes in a short period. As they did, they developed a universe of intergalactic heroes and villains that would last for well over a decade.
It helped that Levitz was the book's writer for several years prior to Giffen's appearance. While some of his late 70s and early 80s stories were stilted, it was practice for Giffen. He got Levitz to stretch himself, pull away from a lot of the young adult angst, and focus on telling science fiction stories. "The Great Darkness Saga" is the best example of how he and Giffen molded a non-Crisis epic that featured spotlights on many of the team's members.