Legion of Super Heroes (TV series)

Development history

A few months before Legion of Super Heroes premiered, the Legion appeared in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Far From Home". The episode featured Supergirl traveling to the future and joining the Legion, leading audiences to think that it was intended to serve as a back-door pilot for a Legion series, and that it would be a DCAU spin-off. Producer James Tucker clarified that the series was deliberately created from scratch:

:Let's get the myths out of the way. The Legion series was never tied to the Justice League Unlimited episode. Supergirl was never, ever going to be in the Legion. The true origin of the series came out of Cartoon Network's desire to have a Superman-centric series premiere when the movie Superman Returns premiered. Superman as part of the Legion worked for them. So the series was originally developed for Cartoon Network, then they passed and Kids' WB! stepped in. They, too, wanted a Superman-centric series with Superman fresh out of Smallville, learning to be Superman. That's the reality.

Early reports had suggested the title of the series would be Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, but the official announcement in April 2006 confirmed the title as Legion of Super Heroes. The same announcement indicated that the series would air on the Kids' WB block of the new The CW network at 10 a.m.

Legal status/issues

At the 2006 Comic Con International, the production staff did not officially say whether legal issues at the time involving the ownership of Superboy had affected this series or whether changes were made to tie the series in with the Superman Returns film, but one significant change had been made since the announcement of the series. The original press release referred to "the young Superboy", while the revised press release, published in June, described the character as a young Superman. At the conclusion of the pilot episode, Clark adopts the superhero name Superman, and not Superboy. In the second season, which takes place two years after the end of the first season, the character is called Superman, without reference to his "young" status.

Second season

The second season has a darker and more mature tone than the first season and mostly focuses on Brainiac 5 and his relationship with his evil ancestor, the original Brainiac. In the second season, most of the Legionnaires have changed their appearances, e.g., Lightning Lad has longer hair and gains a robotic arm after Imperiex blasted off his right arm during a battle, and Triplicate Girl changes her codename to Duo Damsel after her white self is killed by an antimatter wave. As with the first season, a total of 13 episodes were created for the second season, which premiered on September 22, 2007. The show was not renewed for a third season.

Proposed third season

A third season was planned for production but ultimately canceled, partially because of 4Kids Entertainment taking over the Kids' WB! slot. It would have taken place three years after the end of the second season, introducing Sensor, Magnetic Kid, Supergirl, Tellus, Princess Projectra, and Shadow Lass while expanding the roles of background characters Blok, Wildfire, and Dawnstar. Additionally, Kell-El would still be a regular character but have a reduced role, with Wildfire being his replacement. The main focus of the third season would have been Brainiac 5 returning while trying to redeem himself after the second season's finale and Brainiac 6 trying to destroy the Legion. Also, producer James Tucker planned to make an adaptation of the story "The Ghost of Ferro Lad" to introduce Ferro Lad's long-lost twin brother.

Characters

In the first season, the series revolved around a core group of eight Legionnaires but others appeared from time to time in recurring roles, similar in format to the Justice League Unlimited animated series.

Superman

The first season introduces a teenaged Clark Kent who is about to move from Smallville to Metropolis. He knows of his abilities but does not know what to do with his future (similar in nature to the Clark Kent featured in the Smallville television series). After traveling to the future, young Clark assumes the identity of Superman and gradually learns to control his abilities, becoming the hero he is destined to be. At the end of the first season, he returns to the present around the same time he left in the first episode.

In the second season, set two years later, Superman returns to the future, having gained more experience with his powers. Also, Superman X, a clone of Superman from the 41st century created to battle Imperiex, is introduced. When Imperiex travels back to the 31st century, Superman X is forced to follow him into the past and recruit the Legion to help him.

Core Legionnaires

Series producer James Tucker offered descriptions of the core team in a July 2006 interview at San Diego Comic-Con. As with other DC team shows such as Justice League Unlimited, not every core character appears in all episodes. The following descriptions apply to the characters as seen in the first season.

• Lightning Lad has lightning powers and is eager and hot-headed. The lightning bolt scar on his right eye sometimes flashes brightly in times of battle. He has a twin sister, Ayla, and an older brother, Mekt.
• Saturn Girl is a caring and thoughtful character with mental powers.
• Brainiac 5 is the smartest Legionnaire and can transform his robot body in various ways. Tucker stated that Brainiac 5's personality and design were inspired by the version of the character from Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's Legion of Super-Heroes series.
• Phantom Girl has the ability to pass through solid objects, and can temporarily extend this ability to others. Tucker described Phantom Girl as self-centered and sarcastic, yet devoted to the Legion.
• Bouncing Boy is friendly and humorous, with the ability to make his body rubbery and springy. Near the end of Season 1, Bouncing Boy is elected leader of the Legionnaires, much to his surprise.
• Triplicate Girl was born with the ability to split her form into three identical selves.
• Timber Wolf, named Brin Londo, was transformed into a werewolf-like creature as a result of his father Mar Londo's experiments on him. Tucker described Timber Wolf as a "cool dude" whose feral appearance disguises his loneliness and insecurity.
• Chameleon Boy has the ability to shapeshift all or part of his body into something else, animate or inanimate, as well as utilize the strength and power of what he transforms into. He appears as a regular in season two. His father, R. J. Brande, funds the Legion.

Other Legionnaires

XS appears in the finale "Dark Victory" as a background character. Dawnstar and Invisible Kid also make cameo appearances in the finale, along with many other rarely seen Legion members.

In the first season, some Legionnaires were mentioned or shown as images before properly appearing. Fourteen members were shown during the season as already active: Blok, Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Triplicate Girl, and Tyroc. Five more join the Legion through the course of the series: Superman, Timber Wolf, Matter-Eater Lad, Star Boy, and Ferro Lad.

The opening credits sequences used for first-season episodes included a glimpse of the Mission Monitor Board signs for many Legionnaires as well as shots of flying Legionnaires who would be seen in later episodes, though not all of those with Mission Monitor Board symbols appeared. At least four members of the Legion as seen in the comics appeared in some way on the show but had not joined by the end of the first season (Ultra Boy, Lightning Lass, Wildfire, and Polar Boy).

In the second season, Karate Kid appears in the opening credits with the other Legionnaires, though he did not appear until the fifth episode, in which Nemesis Kid also joins the Legion. Similar to Karate Kid, Sun Boy appears in the second season opening titles and makes semi-regular, though non-speaking appearances. Ayla Ranzz, the sister of Lightning Lad, also appears, but lacks powers and is not a superhero like her comic counterpart.

Cast

Legionnaires

Villains

Other characters

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2006–07)

Part 2: The Legion frees the Fatal Five from prison so they can help stop the Sun-Eater. As the Sun-Eater's red sun radiation renders him unable to fight it, Superman is instead tasked with battling the Controller in another dimension while the Legion battles it without him. The Legionnaires build a special missile to kill the Sun-Eater, but it fails to activate, so Ferro Lad sacrifices himself to act as a conductor and ensure that it succeeds. The Legion creates a statue in Ferro Lad's memory, while Superman returns to his own time.

Season 2 (2007–08)

Part 2: Imperiex breaks into the prison Takron-Galtos and frees the Fatal Five and the Legion of Super-Villains, who work together to trap several Legionnaires there. Desperate for help, Brainiac 5 retrieves Superman from the 21st century. Meanwhile, Imperiex infiltrates the Legion's headquarters and destroys their ship, but Chameleon Boy gets a replacement from his father R. J. Brande. The Legion breaks into Takron-Galtos and rescues their comrades, while Imperiex arrives on the Dominators' homeworld to form an alliance with them. Part 2: Brainiac 5 embarks on a conquest across the universe, digitizing anything that stands in his way. The Legion sends Superman's body into space, but Superman X realizes that he is still alive due to their mental link and rescues him before healing him with a blood transfusion. While the Legion fights Brainiac 5's army, Saturn Girl transports Superman and Superman X into his mind to free him. They succeed, restoring everything he had digitized and converting Brainiac 5 into an organic form. Brainiac 5 leaves the Legion out of guilt, while Superman X returns to the future and Triplicate Girl's white self is revived due to Imperiex's death altering the timeline. Meanwhile, Brainiac secretly rebuilds himself using Brainiac 5's discarded armor.

Awards and nominations

2006–2007 season

The series was nominated for three Creative Arts Emmy Awards, a subset of the Daytime Emmy Awards. None of the nominations won their category.

• Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition.
• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation.
• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Live Action and Animation.

Home video

The first season was released to home video in three separate DVD volumes, with four episodes each on the first two releases and five on the third. The complete Season 1 collection was released in a 3-DVD box set that collected the three individual volumes. All were released through Warner Home Video.

In July 2020, the entire series and the second season were respectively released on Blu-ray and DVD through the Warner Archive Collection. Season 1 volume 1 has a bonus featurette called "We Are Legion", and the series finale has an audio commentary with producer James Tucker, director Brandon Vietti, and the voice of Saturn Girl, Kari Wahlgren. These bonus features are also included in the Complete Series Blu-Ray.

The series is also available for purchase or streaming on various platforms, including iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, and formerly DC Universe.

Individual episodes have been released on various other DC home video releases; for example, the two-part episode "Dark Victory" was released an extra on the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray release of The Death of Superman.

Other media

''Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century''

Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century A comic book based on the show's continuity was published under the title Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century. According to the comic's writer, J. Torres, the name was chosen to distinguish itself from more specifically youth-oriented titles such as Justice League Adventures and Superman Adventures. The first issue was distributed during Free Comic Book Day 2007 in addition to being sold.

An interview concerning the comic confirmed that it would continue publication despite the series ending, and would also be telling stories that were to have taken place after the second-season finale. As of issue #20, the comic ceased publication.

;Additional characters While the comic incorporates the cast of the show, other characters from DC Comics have made an appearance.

• Green Lantern Corps – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #6
• Circe – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #7
• Martian Manhunter – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #11
• Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, and Perry White – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #13
• Bart Allen/Impulse – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #15
• Arm-Fall-Off Boy – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #16
• Booster Gold – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #19
• Metallo – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #20

Collected editions

Issues #1–7 were collected in the trade paperback Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century, Vol. 1: Tomorrow's Heroes (March 2008, ).

Merchandise

A tie-in promotion with McDonald's Happy Meal took place in August 2007, containing eight figurines: Superman, Timber Wolf, Lightning Lad, Brainiac 5, Bouncing Boy, Mano, Tharok, and Validus.

Action figures by Mattel were not produced because of a lack of retailer interest.

The collectible miniatures game HeroClix produced a special starter set of the Legion, including a figure of Superman from the first season.

References

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