L.E.G.I.O.N.
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| L.E.G.I.O.N. | |
|---|---|
 They are L.E.G.I.O.N., artist Kevin Maguire |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Invasion! #1 (December 1988) |
| Created by | Keith Giffen (writer & artist) Bill Mantlo (writer) Todd McFarlane (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Planet Cairn |
| Member(s) | Vril Dox Strata Tribulus Wildstar |
L.E.G.I.O.N., is a team of fictional extraterrestrial superheroes, a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Invasion! #1(December 1988), and were created by Keith Giffen, Bill Mantlo and Todd McFarlane. The original series chronicled the formation and activity of an interplanetary police force founded and led by Vril Dox whose mission was to act as a peace-keeping force in the galaxy much as the Omega Men and Green Lantern Corps had done before them. They are the 20th century forerunners of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and some of the 30th century Legionnaires are descendants of L.E.G.I.O.N. members.
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
[edit] Invasion!
The characters who went on to form L.E.G.I.O.N. were first introduced in the three-part miniseries Invasion!.
Vril Dox, Garryn Bek, Strata, Lyrissa, and the Durlan appeared as prisoners of the Alien Alliance who helped stage a breakout from the Starlag, a prison spacecraft overseen by the alien race known as the Citadel.
[edit] L.E.G.I.O.N.
L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 debuted in 1989 (as indicated by the title) and reached issue #70 (as L.E.G.I.O.N. '94 in 1994). L.E.G.I.O.N. stands for Licensed Extra-Governmental Interstellar Operatives Network.
This series followed the adventures of Vril Dox and his allies after their escape from the Starlag in Invasion!. Dox takes his companions to Colu, where they overthrow the Computer Tyrants running the planet. They encounter the bounty hunter Lobo, who wishes to maim and kill because Bek had accidentally killed one of Lobo's treasured space dolphins. Dox smoothly and swiftly turns Lobo into a valued ally. With this group, Dox decides to form an interplanetary police force based on the planet Cairn. The origin of this police force is difficult and bloody, as Cairn's ruling power was a powerful drug cartel. Dox ends up forced to outright shoot dead the planet's ruler. The series follows the rise, heyday, and fall of this police force.
[edit] R.E.B.E.L.S.
As a consequence of the Zero Hour event, the original title was replaced by R.E.B.E.L.S. (Revolutionary Elite Brigade to Eradicate L.E.G.I.O.N. Supremacy) '94 (beginning with issue #0), continuing the same storyline with basically the same characters. R.E.B.E.L.S. '96 #17 was the last issue.
When L.E.G.I.O.N. is usurped by Vril Dox's son Lyrl, Dox and those members who remain loyal to him (Lobo, Phase, Strata, Stealth, and Borb) are forced to flee in a mysterious new ship in order to regroup and regain control of L.E.G.I.O.N. Telepath comes along unwillingly. Garv, Strata's husband, unbalanced by not understanding recent events, becomes involved in a desire to get Strata back. Borb (who is in love with Stealth) sacrifices his life in order to protect his friends from an other-dimensional army of brain-stealing entities; the very ones that had created the ship they had been fleeing in. They soon name the ship the 'Di'ib', after an old L.E.G.I.O.N. hero.
The team has to fight old friends, such as Zena Moonstruk, Gigantus and Davroth. Behind the scenes help comes from old ally Marij'n, who tries and fails to stop a brainwashing broadcast. The group also encounters the demonic entity Neron.
The heroes regain control in the last issue. Dox and Stealth retire to take care of Lyrl, while Captain Comet is placed in charge of L.E.G.I.O.N.
[edit] Post-series appearances
In the 2004 Adam Strange (issues #5-8) and the later Rann/Thanagar War series (issues #1–6 and the Infinite Crisis special), Vril Dox has resumed control of L.E.G.I.O.N. and is using droids as officers. Adam Strange is pursued by the group in the pages of his own series, framed for the seeming destruction of Rann. Former L.E.G.I.O.N. members have been referred to in the subsequent Infinite Crisis series, and many make a cameo appearance in one panel of Infinite Crisis #1, although the lineup appears to be out of date (in addition to Darius' appearance on one of the screens, Bertron Diib is visible between several of the dialogue balloons). L.E.G.I.O.N. and Vril Dox are mentioned several times, although not shown, in Mystery in Space (2006) featuring Captain Comet. Dox plays a major role in the six-part Omega Men limited series (2006-2007).
[edit] R.E.B.E.L.S. '09
In the January 2009 solicitations for DC Comics, it was revealed that R.E.B.E.L.S. would return again as an ongoing series. Writer Tony Bedard says "[o]riginally, I pitched it as L.E.G.I.O.N. and then the Legion of Super-Heroes exploded .... We needed a title to emphasize that, despite the distant connection to the Legion, this is its own book. We didn’t have to look far."[1][2]
Currently, L.E.G.I.O.N. is made up of robotic constructs controlled by Vril Dox's living computer Silica, making it easier for Dox to control the behaviour of his police force (a common complaint of Dox's in the first series) throughout the 80 worlds under their protection. Recently, the Star Conqueror a.k.a. Starro took control of Silica (thanks to his agent, Astrild Storm-Daughter) and, through her, the robotic L.E.G.I.O.N.naires, making Starro the defacto ruler of all the client worlds. Dox was declared a criminal and a reward was offered for his capture. Brainiac 5 from the 30th century's Legion of Super-Heroes sent back a message for Vril to contact Supergirl (who had recently returned from that future where/when she had become a member of the LSH)who had had vital information encoded in her brain without her knowledge. Basically, a blueprint for the creation of the most successful fighting force in the universe (according to the future Dox): the Legion. The original L.E.G.I.O.N. already had predecessors and outright ancestors of future Legionnaires (and even a Legion founder and what turned out to be a third of the half-Carggite Apparition) like Strata of Dryad but that wasn't by design, unlike the new R.E.B.E.L.S.
[edit] Membership
[edit] Founding members
- Vril Dox II (genius Coluan, founder and team leader, clone of Vril Dox)
- The Durlan (nameless shapeshifting alien from the planet Durla, old friend of Dox; later revealed to be Legion of Super-Heroes benefactor R. J. Brande)
- Strata (powerful crystalline female from the planet Dryad)
- Stealth (female alien of unknown origin)
- Garryn Bek (ex-policeman from Cairn)
- Lyrissa Mallor (champion of Talok VIII, ancestor of Shadow Lass)
[edit] Later members
- Lobo (Czarnian bounty-hunter)
- Phase (mysterious female from 30th century with power to "phase" through solid objects; originally, she was Phantom Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes; after Zero Hour, retconned to be Apparition's second self; status unknown in current continuity)
- Lar Gand (Daxamite who later becomes known as Valor)
- Lady Quark (co-ruler and lone survivor of Earth-Six, which was destroyed during the Crisis)
- Captain Comet (mutant metahuman with advanced powers)
- Telepath (last survivor of a hive-dwelling race from the planet Zsiglon)
- Marij'n Bek (Cairnian wife of Garryn Bek)
- Garv (powerful male alien, becomes Strata's lover)
- Amon Hakk (Khundian recruit)
- Bertron Diib (impervious alien recruit from Diibworld)
- Borb Borbb (alien recruit with teleportation powers)
- Darius (android recruit created on Acheron)
- Zena Moonstruk (shy alien recruit with the power to absorb light and emit it as energy blasts)
- Ig'nea (female recruit with pyrotechnic powers)
- Lydea Mallor (Lyrissa Mallor's daughter)
- Davroth Catto (arrogant recruit from the planet Oziman with power of flight)
- Layla (female humanoid who acquires powers in the Bloodlines crossover)
- Gigantus (diminutive champion of Motus)
- Lyrl Dox (super-intelligent son of Vril Dox and Stealth)
- Taptree (plantlike alien)
[edit] Deceased members
- Lyrissa Mallor
- Bertron Diib
- Ig'nea
[edit] Current members
- Starro
- Astrild Storm-Daughter
[edit] Notes
- ^ Tony Bedard Cries a R.E.B.E.L.S. Yell, Comic Book Resources, November 20, 2008
- ^ REFLECTIONS: Tony Bedard, Comic Book Resources, February 10, 2009
[edit] References
- L.E.G.I.O.N. at the Comic Book DB
