Legion Rising (Legion Rebirth)

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

Legion Rising is something I’ve been planning for quite some time. If any of you have ever checked my micro thread you will have probably noticed all of the original Legion characters I’ve designed as well as created. Many times it was for forum based role playing games, the recent one having used the old GLC rpg stat system I came up with. To get to the point I’ve become just as big a fan of the Legion concept as I have the GLC over the last decade or so. This series will use bits of Rebirth continuity in the same way as Power of Ion. Another thing to hammer in that this is something different, aside from bringing in new characters and killing half the cast… each issue/chapter will be from the POV of a different member. I feel in the last couple monthly Legion series lack of characterization is what killed their appeal. All those characters and at the most two or three of them got decent character development after about four or five issues. The first focus will be the now time displaced Conner Kent. This series will ALSO set itself apart from other iterations of the Legion in that it will be loosely tied to JL 3000/3001. I’ve also taken to the idea of Lightning Lad having a robotic arm as well as a new codename [he used it before actually… Livewire] to show things have changed.

As far as pulling a Ron Marz and destroying much of what’s come before…. It’s a story about altering time. Much of what’s been removed will return. Every character won’t come back, but there’s a good chance something similar to Flashpoint could change the universe again by the end of the first over-arching arc. I’m bringing back four Legion members, none of which are personal favorites, and killing several of the ones who I would consider favorites. The bread and butter is making a few new members and doing something with Conner Kent. This is a new universe but ties directly into what’s being done with certain characters in the comics. Saturn Girl for example will be stranded on the current Rebirth’ed DCU.

Now I’ve already got the first chapter ready to go and in the can, but I just wanted to make sure somebody was actually gonna be interested before I bother. I don’t wanna post something and not get feedback forever LOL. I’m not just applying what I think would sell a comic in some fanfic, simply just trying to tell a story in line with the current universe and themes in the DCU and make it as entertaining as I think it should be. Character over plot, you know the rest.

Who's out there watching this?

- Ω

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

Rebirth
Chapter 1: the Jackal & the Juggernaut

The year 3015…

“History… time… has been altered again. Out of nowhere Superman’s got a son with Lois Lane, and HE’S going by Superboy. Guess that doesn’t matter now. Not since I’m back in the future and trying to save the past…” Superboy/Conner Kent thought to himself from the half damaged HQ of the remaining Legion of Superheroes, sporting a ripped up black t-shirt and dirty jeans.

998 years ago… [2017]

“It doesn’t bother me that Superman has a kid now. It’s not like he ever treated me like a son…” Superboy thought while battling some idiot at STAR Labs with a tech’ed out left arm and little side-arm under it, “… but if HE’S Superboy, who am I supposed to be? Where do I go from here?”

The enemy blasted Conner with his larger tech’ed out left arm, knocking the teen hero through numerous technological devices and ripping up his shirt. Superboy, now back to wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with a red S on it, flew back at the guy and smacked the nameless villain through a wall and crushed the larger of the two tech arms. Now standing over the KO’ed villain he asked nobody in particular…

“Will I ever get a decent arch enemy of my own? Or am I stuck to taking down no-name losers like YOU and Superman’s leftovers?” he asked, nudging the knocked out enemy with his foot to make sure he wasn’t dead. “So far I haven’t found a good match…”

“Sucks I can’t get a hold of Tim, or ANY of the Teen Titans lately… I had to resort to a Superman shirt and jeans without somebody with the resources to make me another solar suit after the last one got damaged. Now I already need another t-shirt…” Conner began thinking flying out of STAR Labs and into the Metropolis night sky before a glowing sphere began materializing out of nowhere around him. “What is THIS now?!?” he thought before vanishing into thin air.

Back in the future...

Superboy stood in front of three Legion members, all a little different than what Conner remembered. Lightning Lad, Chameleon Boy, and Dream Girl looked like they had seen better days. They all looked exhausted. And Lightning Lad had a robotic left arm…

“You guys are looking rough. What in the hell happened to your arm Lightni…” Conner began before Garth cut him off.

“It’s Livewire now.” The red haired hero stated, “The Legion was broken. Generally when something like this happens we try and get Superman to come back to the future. The Time Sphere must’ve locked on to your hybrid DNA and thought YOU were Superman…” he continued.

“I was SUPPOSED to be, at some point…” Conner thought as Livewire began explaining the situation a little more.

“It all started about fifteen years ago, before the Legion was ever thought about, when Cadmus resurfaced as a mobile planet called Cadmusworld. The United Planets were still coming together and the Commonwealth was the closest thing to it and it stretched between sectors 2810 to 2815. Cadmusworld mostly operated in sector 2812, and was something of a vacation resort and a place where if you wanted to put your brain in a fresh body… the option was available. Superheroes were 'cloned' and modeled after the Justice League of your era, multiple times even. Their last Superman… Superman X, went off the grid shortly before Cadmusworld was shut down. Billions died when this League of clones didn’t perform as well as their earlier predecessors….” Garth explained.

“You’re telling me you brought me here to help you deal with another Superman clone? This could be the arch enemy I’m looking for!” Conner said a bit too enthusiastically.

“I’m going to go check on Chuck. You need me for anything?” the Durlan shapeshifter in green asked Livewire, while also raising a brow to Superboy.

“I think we’re okay here, Chameleon. Go on ahead; we’ll meet you there in a few…” Garth responded.

“Wait, it’s JUST ‘Chameleon’ now? Let me guess… they’re calling you Daydream?” Superboy responded then looked up at the blonde precog.

“It’s Dream Girl. That doesn’t sound bad though…” she responded as the Durlan exited the room.

“Anyway…” Garth started explaining again, “… a year ago some dog like alien humanoid calling himself the Jackal showed up out of nowhere on Earth. The whackjob claimed millions more needed to be sacrificed for Superman to rise. Right around the time we lost his trail, Colossal Boy went missing. The Jackal showed up again on Braal during a magno-ball championship with over fifty thousand in attendance. He boasted as ‘his Juggernaut’ tore through the arena and killed nearly everyone at the event. We all had a feeling who the Juggernaut was under the mask, and a group followed their trail to Daxam in sector 2815. The Jackal claimed Mon-El and his people had to die, that NONE of them could ever be Superman. He used Gim like a puppet with some kind of toxin and made the planet’s core unstable with a bomb. Only around two hundred Daxamites made it off world alive…” Livewire continued.

“Who didn’t make it?” Conner asked getting right to the point.

“Confirmed dead are Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Dawnstar, Duplicate Girl, Sun Boy.... and Colossal Boy. Starboy, Saturn Girl, and Phantom Girl are missing.” Dream Girl said looking down at Superboy and then down at the ground.

"Damn." Superboy thought.

“And I lost my arm. As if things weren’t bad enough, a few more Legionaries quit. Problem is, two months ago that Superman showed up around the floating remains of Daxam. The red sun in the solar system had no effect on his powers…” the red haired Legion member commented.

“Now things are getting interesting…” Superboy thought.

“Who else have you guys got? Surely it can’t just be the three of you and Bouncing Boy..?” Superboy asked.

“Follow us…” Livewire said as he and Dream Girl went through an exit and flew out into the night sky towards another odd shaped building on the outskirts of this 30th century Metropolis.

Elsewhere, in sector 2012...

"It's almost time for us to rise again, my giant. My... juggernaut..." a canine humanoid said in a wrecked laboratory looking at a large male under glass without his skin.

"I have enough leftover technology from Cadmusworld to clone us each another six times each at least! The minute we die our consciousness will be transferred to a fresh body instantly. Like turning on a light!" the furry beast of a man kept talking to the clone under glass as if he could already hear him.

"...and the Superman has already been sighted! Everything is going according to plan. All we have to do is stop the Legion from rising again. Superman has to be the ONLY hero the universe trusts." the Jackal continued walking out of the room and passing what looked to be the arm of both the former Colossal Boy as well as the left arm of Livewire. Another cloning tube could be seen in the back of the room with another clone coming to life without skin....

Back on Earth, Metropolis...

“Chuck calls himself ‘Bouncer’ now. His inflated form was damaged fighting against the Jackal, but now his skin is like hardened rubber. He’s durable now and when he bounces he’s a bit more random and chaotic. He’s been training some new recruits at the Academy…” Dream Girl explained to Superboy as they flew through the air behind Livewire.

The three of them entered the building as Chameleon and Bouncer saw a training exercise end with the new recruits.

“You mean nobody gave you something else to wear, Superboy? Let me see if I can find a spare flight ring, it can produce you a new suit from the ripped up clothes you’re wearing now…” Chameleon stated and stepped out of the large room.

“So you guys got the son of Superman INSTEAD of Superman?” the more hardened Chuck asked.

“I’m not his kid, I’m…” Superboy began before Chuck cut him off.

“I know everything about you. The first clone of Superman that also used human DNA, telekinetic based powers, I even know about the few times you’ve managed to use heat vision. I’m STILL going through files we retrieved from some memory banks connected to Cadmusworld.” Bouncer continued. “I just knew calling you that would strike a nerve.”

That’s when one of the new recruits coughed. Then a kid with a yellow shirt seemingly absorbed two twins. Chuck put his hand over his face like he forgot something.

“Frak! Nura, Garth… I haven’t even introduced you guys. Class, this is Dream Girl and Livewire. And THIS is another Superboy, but not the ‘Son of Superman’ we studied last week. Guys, this is Sunbolt, Trinity, the Ungaran is Titanic, and the winged girl is actually Dawnstar’s younger sister. She wants to use the alias Nightstar…” Bouncer informed the groups.

Just then Chameleon showed back up with a flight ring for Conner.

“Think of something you’d wear in the field and focus on the ring once it’s on your finger….” Chameleon said as Conner put the ring on and began getting his suit reformed and altered, “…because the universe needs Superboy and the Legion ASAP.”

- Ω

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

For anybody watching this [it seems to have picked up a couple hundred views the last month...] I resaved the images once again and everything should be square now up top. Let me know what you think. Next chapter will likely be from the POV of one of the new recruits...

- Ω

[Lantern Pano Corps Recruit Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern Pano]

I'm not a huge LoSH buff but I fondly remember watching the cartoon every once in a while when I was little but this defiantly makes me want to look into reading some Legion comics.

I like the deal with Jackal basically turning Colossal into his goon and giving him a new alias. It's a neat concept that I like when done right and so far it's looking good. The idea of having the two jump from clone body to clone body is a neat plot device too since it'll allow for some more hardcore fights without necessarily having major repercussions.

So far my favourite characters from the new LoSH roster are Superboy (I'm a sucker for some TKrytonians) from the more original-ish cast and from the newbies my favourite is Titanic for no other reason than I think he looks cool. Admittedly there isn't a lot to go off of from the newbies yet so it's a little tough to choose a favourite just yet.

If I'm being honest about who I'm saddest about getting killed its Colossal Boy mostly due to his relevance to the story. It seems like he got dealt a bad hand in terms of luck but I'm hopping for a redemption or morality swap from his clone(s) though thats just me. Another hero I'd like to see return would be Brainiac 5. He was wicked in the show and I think a tech specialist on the team would be a much appreciated addition.

Speaking of the show, I'm super jazzed to see mention of Superman X. I used to hate the guy because he was immune to Kryptonite and all that but I've grown to love the idea of a super-human superman, kinda like a Superman's Superman. On the topic of Superman, I gotta admit I'm not a huge fan of Conner's redesigned costume. It's not bad by any stretch but I kinda feel like it's a little off for some reason though thats mostly just my personal opinion, the micro work is still spot on stuff.

I also love the inclusion of JL3000 stuff. I'm still not 100% sure how integrated that aspect is yet (are Jackal's clones actual clones or are they like the DNA overwrite clones? I'm thinking the former due to the big skinless tube clones but I'm not certain yet) but regardless I can't wait to see more stuff fleshed out.

All in all, I can't wait to see what comes of the rest of the story and I hope it lives up to the potential of the setting.

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

Man, that's a bit of a critique and much appreciated LOL.

I'm glad you caught on to everything I was trying to tie in. I never watched many episodes of the Legion cartoon, but fondly remember seeing them in the JLU Cartoon as well as the Superman TAS that came before. The idea of my Superman X is something of a combo of the Superman from JL 3000, and the Superman X concept from that cartoon. I've taken some liberties with how everything on Cadmus World functioned, but it's mostly the Jackal being a bastard with his own twisted agenda.

Of the new recruits I can't say which is my favorite because I love them all and I know where everything is going. I'm most excited to write Titan since he's from the same planet as Green Lantern Abin Sur. I'm gonna have fun with that I know. Sunbolt will definitely be a favorite once I get into the story as he's a fire manipulator who can access the Speed Force in short bursts. Fire and lightning trailing behind somebody simultaneously is something I want people to enjoy visualizing once I get into him in more action scenes.

EDIT: If you and anybody else want to chime in on Superboy's new look let me hear it and I'll throw some new looks together and you guys can decide on what we stick with [or just be a moot and visualize your own, I'm all for free thinking LOL]. I've already got a few saved somewhere...

- Ω

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

EDIT: If you and anybody else want to chime in on Superboy's new look let me hear it and I'll throw some new looks together and you guys can decide on what we stick with [or just be a moot and visualize your own, I'm all for free thinking LOL]. I've already got a few saved somewhere...

- Ω

I've got a handful of redesigns for Superboy for this I'll post a little later today after I get some cleaning done. Just finished another one this morning a little more inspired by his first all white suit in the YJ cartoon series...

I've got most of the next chapter done just trying to tie up a couple dialogues and alter a scene more fluidly towards the last quarter.

Let me know who your favorite Legion characters are! Who you might want to show up in this story even?! It's about to get cranked to 11...

[Ωmega Man Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Ωmega Man]

Here's those Superboy designs.