Legion of Super Heroes (TV series)

Legion of Super Heroes is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that debuted on September 23, 2006, based on characters appearing in the DC Comics comic book series. The series centers on the young Superman's adventures in the 31st century, fighting alongside a group of futuristic superheroes known as the Legion of Super-Heroes. The show is produced by its main designer James Tucker (a co-producer of the Justice League Unlimited series) for the Kids' WB line on The CW network.

According to the official press release, the premise of the first season is that a group of teenagers from the 31st century travel back in time to recruit Superman in their fight against evil in their time. Unfortunately, they go too far back and land in a time when Clark Kent was younger and was about to move to Metropolis, already aware of his powers but undecided about his destiny. Taking him back to their future, the young Superman helps the Legion in fighting evil and upholding the laws of the United Planets. It is described as a "fast-paced, character-driven action comedy".

The series draws on the rich history of the Legion of Super-Heroes, taking inspiration from stories set during all time periods of the comic's nearly 50-year history. Continuity is internally consistent, but is not shared with any previous incarnation of the Legion, either animated or in print. Nor is it in the same continuity as the DC animated universe.

The series was cancelled after its second season when Kids WB! was taken over by The CW4Kids.^[1]

Development history

Early reports had suggested the title of the series would be Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, but the official announcement on April 24, 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. Eastern.^[2]

Legal status/issues

At the 2006 Comic Con International, the production staff would not officially say whether current legal issues involving the ownership of Superboy had affected this series, or whether changes were made to tie in with the Superman Returns movie, but one significant change had been made since the original announcements. The original press release^[3] said that the Legion landed in the time of "the young Superboy", while the revised press release description (June 2006) said that the Legion retrieved "the young Superman, before he moved to Metropolis". At the conclusion of the pilot episode, Clark adopts the superhero name of Superman, and not Superboy.

In Season Two, which takes place two years after the end of Season One, the character is called Superman, without reference to his "young" status.

Supergirl

It was speculated that a "backdoor" pilot for a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes series was written and animated for the series in the form of the 2006 JLU episode "Far From Home" by Paul Dini and Dwayne McDuffie. However, the Legion series is unrelated to "Far From Home" or the 1998 episode of Superman: The Animated Series titled "New Kids in Town" (which did share continuity between series and episodes). James Tucker confirmed it to be untrue as the show was originally supposed to be Cartoon Network's way of cashing in on Superman Returns. Cartoon Network later passed on having the series, hence its inclusion on Kids' WB.^[4] Beginning 2006, DC Comics did, however, have Supergirl join the Legion in its regular DC Universe title.

Season Two

Season Two has a much more darker and more mature tone then the Season 1 and mostly focuses on Brainiac 5 and his evil ancestor, Brainiac 1.0's relationship, and how Brainiac 5 had always been hiding all the information about his destiny and his ancestor all the years being a Legionnaire, but then eventually reveals all the information to Superman and the others in the same episode ("Message in a Bottle"; at the end of the episode, Brainy erases the episode from Superman's memory). Chameleon Boy appears more often in Season Two than Season One. In Season Two, most of the Legionnaires have changed their appearances, e.g., Lightning Lad has longer hair and gets a robotic arm. Their appearance changed based on the 2-years without Superman (after Superman left in the episode "Sundown Pt.2", which is the finale of Season One). Triplicate Girl changes her codename into Duo Damsel because one of the bodies (the White Body) is lost in a temporal anomaly during one of their 41st Century's battles, but eventually the White Body returned to the 31st Century, alive and unhurt, when the timeline was restored, and while Kell-El (or Superman X) was reciting the Legionnaire Oath.

According to a KidsWB press release,^[5] "the second season of Legion of Super Heroes finds the group fulfilling their collective destiny, each member elevating his/her skills to new levels... just in time to face even greater challenges. A incomprehensibly undefeatable nemesis — Imperiex, the destroyer of galaxies from the rich annals of DC Comics — puts the Legion into action alongside new team members. Superman returns from the 21st century with greater development of both his physical prowess and far better utilization of his powers to help the Legion toward victory in the 31st century and beyond. Moreover, the Legion finds a surprising, new ally from across the space-time continuum — a 41st century Superman, later called Kell-El, cloned using a combination of the original Superman's DNA and Kryptonite, making him as powerful as Superman while being invulnerable to green kryptonite; to assist in its efforts to rid the universe of this powerful foe. Along the way, the LSH — including new members like Chameleon Boy — provides the perfect complement of heroics and comedy to the efforts of the Supermen."

Season Two takes place approximately two years after the Season One finale. The series logo was also slightly revised.^[6] As with Season One, a total of 13 episodes were created for Season Two, which premiered on September 22, 2007. Warner Bros. has confirmed that the second season will also be the last for the show.^[1]

Third season

A third season had been planned for production but was dropped because the Kids WB! slot was taken over by 4Kids. Season 3 was intended to take place three years after the end of Season 2 in which an older Superman would return. Sensor, Wildfire, Magnetic Kid, Supergirl, Tellus, Princess Projectra and Shadow Lass were to be introduced, while background characters Blok and Dawnstar would have active roles. Ferro Lad's twin brother was intended to appear and Kell-El was intended to be a regular character but with a reduced role. The main focus of the third season would have been Brainiac 5's return, while trying to redeem himself after Season 2's finale. The final episode of season 2 linked the two seasons together.^[7][4]

Airings outside of the US

Season One of the series began airing on Cartoon Network UK on March 5, 2007. The thirteen episodes were shown weekdays through March 21, and the two-part season finale aired in the UK about five weeks before it was shown in the US. It also currently airs on CITV's 'Action Stations' and re-airs on Cartoon Network Too.

In Canada, Season One began airing on YTV on September 8, 2007. It continued to air through the second season of the show uninterrupted, before being taken off the air.

In Australia, Season One began airing on Nine Network on August 9, 2009. The complete series was broadcast in widescreen.

In Brazil, Season One began airing on Cartoon Network Brazil on March 1, 2008.

In Italy, Season One began airing on Cartoon Network Italy on October 1, 2007.

In the Philippines, Season One began airing on May 31, 2008 and the Season Two began airing on January 12, 2009 on Cartoon Network Philippines.

In Bulgaria the show began airing on Nova Television on November 30, 2008.

In Israel, Season One began airing on Children Channel on September 18, 2008.

In The Netherlands, season one starts airing on RTL 5 on march 2009.

In Greece, the series aired in the summer of 2009 and 2010 on the Star Channel every weekday morning.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the series aired on CCN TV6.

Characters

In Season One, 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 doesn't know what to do with his future (similar in nature to the Clark Kent featured in the Smallville television series). After travelling 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 Season Two, Superman returns to the future after spending two years in the past and gaining more experience with his powers and starting his superhero career in the present. A second Superman also appears in Season Two called "Superman X". This Superman (later given the name Kell-El) is from the 41st century and was created from Superman's DNA and Kryptonite (thus making him immune to the green rock) as a living weapon with different abilities (one of them is shooting green crystals from his hands). His main foe in the 41st century is Imperiex, who travels through time to the 31st century, forcing Superman X 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 Comic Con International in San Diego.^[8] 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 Season 1.

• Lightning Lad is the eager and hot-headed unofficial leader of the team. Prone to fighting first and thinking later, he can come off as brash at first, but does seem mostly well intentioned. The lightning bolt scar on his right eye sometimes flashes brightly in times of battle. He is in love with Saturn Girl. In the episode "Chained Lightning" Imperiex destroys his right arm, and gained a new bionic one, model Cybernetic 4000. Founding member of the Legion. Has a twin sister, Ayla, and an older brother, Mekt.
• Saturn Girl is a level-headed character with mental powers. She is composed at all times, but also very physical (she is depicted as more of a hand-to-hand combatant than her comic book predecessors). Tucker said that fellow animation creator Glen Murakami thought of her character as someone who doesn't really understand personal boundaries; always touching people and knowing their deepest thoughts. Among her mental powers are abilities not traditionally associated with the character in the comics, such as telekinesis and the power to mentally create an explosive force field called a thought blast (which is so draining that she passes out afterwards) and the ability to go into a healing trance when unconscious (she can still mentally hear others in this state). In the Season Two premiere, she was put into a healing trance after a battle with Esper and awakens in episode 2.09. Founding member of the Legion.
• Brainiac 5 He is the series' youngest (as of Season One) and smartest Legionnaire. He can transform his robot body in various ways. For the purposes of the show, his character has been altered by making him an outright robot (the comic book version is flesh-and-blood). His deep desire, though, is to be more human, like his teammates. Thus, in a way, he's somewhat like Pinocchio. This version of Brainiac 5 is closest to the "reboot" version in personality and includes the robotic aspects of the character Gear. James Tucker has always thought of him as kind of a "Little Man Tate"-type character; a kid who is so smart he's sent to college when he's only 12. Tucker has said he was inspired by Oliver Coipel's rendition of him when designing him. A holographic representation of his deepest fear in episode 1.04 ("Fear Factory") implies that his people the Coluans do not approve of his desire to emulate humanoids. He greatly desires Superman's friendship. Although there is much controversy over this subject, there is ample evidence to prove he has exceptional feelings for Shrinking Violet, although many fans also point out evidence of feelings for other characters, including Dream Girl, Superman, etc. In the season two finale, he turns into a human and leaves the Legion until he adjusts to his new human emotions. The cancelled third season was to focus mostly on his redeeming of his own evil actions which were ultimately controlled by Brainiac. Brainiac 1.0, who was destroyed by Brainiac 5, was resurrected as Brainiac 6 at the very end of episode 2.13.
• Phantom Girl is, according to James Tucker, "a princess who is kind of spoiled, but ultimately very devoted to being in the Legion. She has a somewhat sarcastic attitude to cover the fact that she really gets a kick out of finally being with other kids like herself." In addition to her traditional powers, she has displayed the ability to turn other people and objects temporarily intangible, though this seems to strain her. Phantom Girl has also been shown to disrupt electrical systems by passing through them. Her mother is the president of the United Planets. She is most often seen with Timber Wolf, for whom she seems to have some feelings.
• Bouncing Boy is a friendly young man who appears in either an overweight humanoid form or in a giant ball shape. He enjoys eating and is sometimes played up as the comedic character. James Tucker considers him the everyman member of the Legion; very down to earth and pragmatic. "In a lot of ways he plays Bones to Brainiac 5's Spock. In episode 1.11 ("Chain of Command") Bouncing Boy was elected leader of the Legionnaires, much to his own surprise - although in Season Two he no longer seems to be in command.
• Triplicate Girl (was also known as Duo Damsel) is one girl who was born with the power to transform into three nearly identical selves. She has demonstrated martial arts skills (which, when combined with her natural teamwork, makes her a worthy adversary). On the team, she often operates communications, and appears to have an attraction to Bouncing Boy (a nod to their pre-Crisis marriage). One of her duplicates was killed in the paradox created by Imperiex in the 41st century, and she became known as Duo Damsel. The emotional dismay her two other selves showed at her death suggests that each of her "triplicates" has a semi-separate awareness and identity. At the end of Season Two, the white duplicate returned from the future alive and well.
• Timber Wolf, debuted in the self-titled second episode. Brin Londo, as a result of his father's experiments on him, was transformed into a werewolf-like creature with enhanced speed, strength, agility, and senses. However, he also lost control over himself, becoming a fierce beast who acted on instinct and impulse. Only with Saturn Girl's help was he able to re-establish some level of control, turning into a more humanoid form, though still possessing wolflike attributes. Soon afterward, he joined the Legion and took his codename in honor of past heroes. James Tucker described him as "a loner but longs to be closer to people. His appearance makes him look a bit feral, but his personality is anything but. He's the cool dude who's actually insecure inside." He seems to have feelings for Phantom Girl. In episode 1.13 ("Sundown, Part 2"), he admits to like baking.
• Chameleon Boy debuted in the Season Two opener of the series as one of the newest members of the Legion. He 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. His father funds the Legion, which allows them access to expensive material (such as battle cruisers). Chameleon Boy seems to be one of the few members of the team that has a fun-loving and sarcastic disposition, the reason of which being that the rest of the team has had to deal with so many issues the past couple of years, they've become more solemn. He is good friends with Karate Kid, and in the episode in which the two met, "Cam" revealed that he is double-jointed.

Other Legionnaires

During the show's development, concept sketches of XS were seen online along with sketches of other Legionnaires by various artists. She appears in the final two episodes "Dark Victory" parts 1 and 2 as a background character. Dawnstar and Invisible Kid also appeared in these final two episodes along with many other rarely seen Legion members, however none of the new members shown in these episodes did anything to the plot of the story itself.

In Season One, some Legionnaires were mentioned or shown as images before making an actual appearance. 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), with five more being added during that time (Superman, Timber Wolf, Matter-Eater Lad, Star Boy, and Ferro Lad).

The Season One opening credits sequences 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 Season Two, Karate Kid appeared in the opening credits with the other Legionnaires, though he did not appear until the fifth episode (in which Nemesis Kid also became a new member). Similar to Karate Kid, Sun Boy appeared in the Season Two opening titles and made semi-regular appearances, but did not have a speaking line or have someone else refer to him by name. Ayla Ranzz, sister of Lightning Lad, finally made an appearance, but as currently a child without apparent super powers and not as the Light Lass of the comic books.

Cast

Legionnaires

Shadow Lass and Sensor were mentioned to appear in the third season, but were not actually in any of the two prior seasons.

Other characters

List of episodes

This list is ordered by production number, which in some cases is different from the air date order. Production number 1.04 ("Fear Factory") and 1.06 ("Phantoms") were aired out of order, as were episodes 1.07 ("Child's Play"), 1.09 ("Brain Drain"), and 1.10 ("The Substitutes").

Awards and nominations

2006–2007 Season

The series was nominated for three Creative Arts Emmy Awards, a subset of the Daytime Emmy Awards.^[14] 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 media release

Season One was released on home video in three separate volumes, each with 4 episodes (the third having 5). Episodes are also available for online viewing. As of August, 2011, Season Two has not yet been released for home video.

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.^[15] The first issue was distributed during Free Comic Book Day of 2007 in addition to being sold.

An interview concerning the Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century comic confirmed that the comic was to continue publication despite the series ending, and that the comic would also be telling stories that were to have taken place after the Season 2 finale.^[16] As of issue #20, the comic ceased publication.^[17]

Additional characters

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

• Arm Fall Off Boy – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #16
• Booster Gold – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #19
• Circe – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #7
• Bart Allen/Impulse – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #15
• Lex Luthor – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #13
• Lois Lane – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #13
• Perry White – Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #13

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, ISBN 978-1401216689).

In other media

A tie-in promotion with McDonald's Happy Meal took place in August 2007. The Legion show was represented by eight figures (Superman, Timber Wolf, Lightning Lad, Mano, Tharok, Brainiac 5, Bouncing Boy, and Validus). As Happy Meal toys often have a "girl toy" and "boy toy", this set was aimed at the boys.

Action figures by Mattel were not produced, due to lack of retailer interest. Mattel holds the master license for toys based on any DC series in any medium.^[18]

The collectible miniatures game HeroClix produced a special starter set of the Legion including a figure of "Young Superman" during the first season.

References

External links

• Official website
• Legion of Super Heroes at the Internet Movie Database
• Legion of Super Heroes at TV.com