Editing Legion of Super-Heroes (section)

===Original continuity (1958–1994)===
{{Main|Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)}}
[[file:Adv247legion.jpg|thumb|left|150px|The cover of ''Adventure Comics'' #247 (April 1958), the Legion's first appearance. Art by [[Curt Swan]] and Stan Kaye]]
[[Superboy (Kal-El)|Superboy]] was the featured series in ''[[Adventure Comics]]'' in the 1950s. In ''Adventure Comics'' #247 (April 1958) by writer [[Otto Binder]] and artist [[Al Plastino]], Superboy met three teenagers from the 30th century: [[Garth Ranzz|Lightning Boy]], [[Saturn Girl]], and [[Cosmic Boy]], who were members of a "super-hero club" called the Legion of Super-Heroes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Irvine|first= Alex|authorlink = Alexander C. Irvine|editor-last = Dolan|editor-first = Hannah|chapter= 1950s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 89 |quote = The Legion of Super-Heroes would become one of DC's most enduring and popular groups despite their humble beginnings, in a story by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino}}</ref> Their club had been formed with Superboy as an inspiration, and they had [[time travel]]led to recruit Superboy as a member. After a series of tests, Superboy was awarded membership and returned to his own time.

Although intended as a one-off story focusing on Superboy, the Legion proved so popular that it returned for an encore in ''Adventure Comics'' #267 (December 1959). In this story, Lightning Boy had been renamed [[Lightning Lad]], and their costumes were close to those they wore throughout the [[Silver Age of Comic Books]]. The Legion's popularity grew, and they appeared in further stories in ''Adventure Comics'', ''[[Action Comics]]'', and other titles edited by [[Mort Weisinger]] over the next few years.<ref name="Weisinger-GCD">{{gcdb|type=editor|search= Mort+Weisinger|title= Mort Weisinger (editor)}}</ref> The ranks of the Legion, only hinted at in those first two stories, was filled with new heroes such as [[Reep Daggle|Chameleon Boy]], [[Invisible Kid]], [[Gim Allon|Colossal Boy]], [[Thom Kallor|Star Boy]], [[Brainiac 5]], [[Luornu Durgo|Triplicate Girl]], [[Salu Digby|Shrinking Violet]], [[Sun Boy]], [[Bouncing Boy]], [[Phantom Girl]], [[Ultra Boy]], and [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Supergirl]].<ref>{{cite comic| Writer = [[Jerry Siegel|Siegel, Jerry]]| Penciller = [[Jim Mooney|Mooney, Jim]]| Inker = Mooney, Jim| Story = Supergirl's Three Super Girl-Friends!| Title = Action Comics | Issue = 276 | date = May 1961}}</ref>

In ''Adventure Comics'' #300 (September 1962), the Legion received their own regular feature, cover-billed "Superboy in 'Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes'".<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Siegel, Jerry| penciller= [[John Forte (comics)|Forte, John]]| inker= Forte, John| story= The Face Behind the Lead Mask!| title= Adventure Comics| issue= 300| date= September 1962}}</ref> While they shared space with Superboy solo stories for a couple of years, they eventually displaced Superboy from the title entirely as their popularity grew. Lightning Lad was killed in ''Adventure Comics'' #304 (January 1963) and revived in issue #312 (September 1963).<ref>McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 108: "The demise of the Legion co-founder was a first not only for the Legion fan base, but for mainstream comics in general...Lightning Lad was resurrected later that year in ''Adventure Comics'' #312."</ref>

It was the ''Adventure Comics'' run which established the Legion's general workings and environment.<ref>{{cite journal|last = Kingman|first = Jim|title = Move Over, Superboy! (And Tell Legion Fandom the News!) The Resurgence of the Legion of Super-Heroes During the Bronze Age of Comics|journal = [[Back Issue!]]|issue = 68|page = 3|publisher = [[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|date = October 2013|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> A club of teenagers, they operated out of a clubhouse in the shape of an inverted yellow [[Spacecraft|rocket ship]] which looked as if it had been driven into the ground. The position of Legion leader rotated among the membership. Each Legionnaire had to possess one natural superpower which no other member possessed; despite this, several members had overlapping powers, particularly Superboy, Supergirl, [[Lar Gand|Mon-El]], and Ultra Boy. Some issues included comical moments where candidates with bizarre, useless, or dangerous abilities would try out for membership and be rejected; five of these flawed candidates went on to form the [[Legion of Substitute Heroes]]. The Legion was based on Earth and protected an organization of humans and aliens called the United Planets alongside the [[Science Police]]. The setting for each story was 1000 years from the date of publication.

In ''Adventure Comics'' #346 (July 1966), [[Jim Shooter]], 14 years old at the time, wrote his first Legion story.<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 118: "In his first-ever published story, fourteen-year-old Jim Shooter admitted four new members into the Legion of Super-Heroes ... Shooter's long, memorable tenure as one of the Legion's greatest writers was officially underway."</ref> Soon thereafter, Shooter became the regular writer of the Legion stories, with Curt Swan, and later [[Win Mortimer]], as artist. Shooter wrote the story in which [[Ferro Lad]] died—the first "real" death of a Legionnaire (although Lightning Lad had been believed dead for a while before)—and introduced many other enduring concepts, including the [[Fatal Five]],<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 123: "Writer Jim Shooter and artist Curt Swan unleashed an even greater menace when the Fatal Five decided to stay united in the years ahead."</ref> [[Karate Kid (character)|Karate Kid]], [[Princess Projectra]], [[Shadow Lass]], the [[Dark Circle]], [[Mordru]], and the "Adult Legion", a possible future version of the Legion.

The Legion's last appearance in ''Adventure Comics'' was #380 (May 1969),<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Jim Shooter|Shooter, Jim]]| penciller= [[Win Mortimer|Mortimer, Win]]| inker= [[Jack Abel|Abel, Jack]]| story= The Legion's Space Odyssey| title= Adventure Comics| issue= 380| date= May 1969}}</ref> and they were displaced by Supergirl in the next issue. The early 1970s saw the Legion relegated to the status of back-up feature. First, the team's stories were moved to ''Action Comics'' for issues #377–392 (June 1969&nbsp;– September 1970).<ref name="Weisinger-GCD" /> Following Mort Weisinger's retirement from DC, the Legion was passed to the oversight of editor [[Murray Boltinoff]] and began appearing occasionally as a backup in ''Superboy'', starting with #172 (March 1971),<ref>{{gcdb|type=editor|search= Murray+Boltinoff|title= Murray Boltinoff (editor)}}</ref> with writers [[E. Nelson Bridwell]] and [[Cary Bates]] and artist [[George Tuska]]. [[Dave Cockrum]] began drawing the series with ''Superboy'' #184 (April 1972), again increasing the team's popularity.<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 151: "After more than a year as Murphy Anderson's background inker, Dave Cockrum landed his big DC break as the ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' artist ... Cockrum's debut story, which was written by Cary Bates, quickly established an exciting new vibe for the super-team."</ref>

====''Superboy'' and their own title====
[[File:Legion of Super-Heroes (Silver Age version).jpg|thumb|The Legion of Super-Heroes as seen in the ''1976 DC Calendar''. Art by [[Neal Adams]] and [[Dick Giordano]].]]
The first comic book published under the title ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' was a four-issue series published in 1973 that reprinted Legion tales from ''Adventure Comics''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kingman|first=Jim|title=Reprint Madness: DC's Short-Lived Reprint Line of 1972–1973|journal=Back Issue!|issue=81|pages=47–52|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing|date=July 2015|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref><ref>{{gcdb series|id= 2099}}</ref> In the same year, the Legion returned to cover billing on a book when ''Superboy'' became ''Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes'' with #197 (August 1973). Crafted by Bates and Cockrum, the feature proved popular and saw such events as the wedding of Bouncing Boy and [[Luornu Durgo|Duo Damsel]] in ''Superboy'' #200 (Feb 1974).<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 159: "Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel became the first Legionnaires to tie the knot. The wedding planners were writer Cary Bates and artist Dave Cockrum."</ref> Issues #202 (June 1974) and #205 (Dec. 1974) of the series were in the [[DC 100 Page Super Spectacular|100 Page Super Spectacular]] format.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Eury|first=Michael|author-link= Michael Eury|title=A Look at DC's Super Specs|journal=Back Issue!|issue=81|page=27|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing|date=July 2015|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> Cockrum was replaced on art by [[Mike Grell]] as of issue #203 (August 1974) which featured the death of Invisible Kid.<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 160: "With the unenviable task of replacing the departing Dave Cockrum, one of the most popular artists ever to draw the Legion of Super-Heroes, Mike Grell's first issue on ''Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes'' killed off one of the team's most beloved members."</ref> With #231 (September 1977), the book's title officially changed to ''Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes'' and also became a "giant-size" title. At this point, the book was written by longtime fan [[Paul Levitz]] and drawn by [[James Sherman (comics)|James Sherman]], although [[Gerry Conway]] frequently wrote as well. Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad were married in ''[[Limited Collectors' Edition|All-New Collectors' Edition]]'' #C-55 (1978), a treasury-sized special written by Levitz and drawn by Grell.<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 177: "Only an oversized treasury edition could have contained Superboy and the entire Legion of Super-Heroes' battle with the Time Trapper...and the long-awaited wedding of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl...Legion favorites Paul Levitz and Mike Grell were up to the enormous challenge with the popular tale 'The Millennium Massacre'."</ref> In #241–245 (July–December 1978) Levitz and Sherman (and then [[Joe Staton]]) produced what was at that time the most ambitious Legion storyline: "[[Earthwar]]", a galactic war between the United Planets and the Khunds, with several other villains lurking in the background. During this period, Karate Kid was [[Spin-off (media)|spun off]] into his own 20th century-based self-titled series, which lasted 15 issues. Levitz left the book, to be replaced full-time by Gerry Conway.

Superboy departed from the Legion due to a villain's plot, and the book was renamed simply ''The Legion of Super-Heroes'' starting with issue #259 (January 1980). Editor [[Jack C. Harris]] hired [[Steve Ditko]] as guest artist on several issues, a decision which garnered a mixed reaction from the title's readership.<ref name="PartTwo">{{cite web|url=http://www.wtv-zone.com/silverager/interviews/harris2.shtml |title=Jack C. Harris Interview (Pt. 2) |first=Ron E. |last=Daudt |year=2010 |publisher=TheSilverLantern.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509191832/http://www.wtv-zone.com/silverager/interviews/harris2.shtml |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |access-date=April 2, 2022 |quote=Some of the fans loved it and some hated it. Nobody was lukewarm about it. It was a very Ditko type of feeling. You hated it or you loved it and there was nothing in between.}}</ref> Jimmy Janes became the regular artist in a lengthy tale by Conway (and later [[Roy Thomas]]) involving Ultra Boy's disappearance during a mission, and his long odyssey to rejoin the team.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Gerry Conway|Conway, Gerry]]| penciller= [[Jimmy Janes|Janes, Jimmy]]| inker= [[Frank Chiaramonte|Chiaramonte, Frank]]| story= A Murderer&nbsp;– Among Us?| volume= 2 | issue= 273| date= March 1981}}</ref> This story told the tale of the Legionnaire Reflecto (only glimpsed during the "Adult Legion" stories in ''Adventure Comics''), featured villainy by the [[Time Trapper]] and [[Grimbor the Chainsman]], and saw Superboy rejoin the team.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=[[Roy Thomas|Thomas, Roy]]; [[Paul Levitz|Levitz, Paul]]| penciller=Janes, Jimmy|inker=[[Bruce Patterson (comics)|Patterson, Bruce]]|story= If Answers There Be...|volume=2|issue=282|date=December 1981}}</ref>

====Paul Levitz era====
Paul Levitz returned to write the series with #284. [[Pat Broderick]] and Bruce Patterson illustrated the title for a short time before [[Keith Giffen]] began on pencils, with Patterson, and then Larry Mahlstedt, on inks. The creative team received increased popularity following "[[The Great Darkness Saga]]",<ref>Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 198: "When [Levitz] wrote "The Great Darkness Saga", a five-issue epic that pitted the Legion against one of the most notorious villains of DC's long history, he and artist Keith Giffen crafted the most famous Legion story of all time and became fast fan favorites."</ref> which ran from #287; #290–294; and ''Annual'' #3, featuring a full assault on the United Planets by [[Darkseid]]. Comics historian [[Les Daniels]] observed that, "Working with artist Keith Giffen, Levitz completed the transformation of ''Legion'' into a science-fiction saga of considerable scope and depth."<ref>{{cite book|last= Daniels|first=Les|author-link=Les Daniels|title=DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes|chapter=The Legion of Super-Heroes Teenagers from Outer Space|publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company|Bulfinch Press]]|year=1995|location= New York, New York|page=123|isbn=0821220764}}</ref>

The Legion celebrated issue #300 (June 1983) by revisiting the "Adult Legion" storyline through a series of [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel world]] short stories illustrated by a number of popular Legion artists from previous years. The story served to free up Legion continuity from following the "Adult Legion" edict of previous issues.

Giffen's style changed abruptly a few issues later, to a darker and sketchier style inspired by Argentinian artist [[José Antonio Muñoz|José Muñoz]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} A new ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' comic (the third publication under the title) was launched in August 1984. It used a new "deluxe" printing format utilizing Baxter paper instead of the cheaper newsprint that classic comics had always been printed on. The existing Legion series, still on newsprint and renamed ''Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes'' with issue #314, continued running new material for a year, then began reprinting stories from the new ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' with issue #326. ''Tales'' continued publishing reprints until its final issue, #354 (December 1987).

The new series was launched in August 1984<ref>Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 208: "As DC began to toy with the idea of relaunching some of their more popular titles using high-quality Baxter paper, the ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' was an obvious choice. Utilizing the talents of writer Paul Levitz and artist Keith Giffen...the Legion was off and running in their own new title with a major new storyline...the Legion's other monthly comic changed its moniker to ''Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes'' with issue #314."</ref> with a five-part story featuring the [[Legion of Super-Villains]]. Giffen left in the middle of the story and was replaced by [[Steve Lightle]], who stayed on the book for a year. The debut story arc saw the death of Karate Kid in issue #4 (November 1984).<ref>Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 209: "In a story written by Paul Levitz, with art by Keith Giffen and Steve Lightle...the Karate Kid gave his life heroically while battling Nemesis Kid."</ref> Levitz and Lightle co-created two Legionnaires, Tellus and Quislet,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/because-you-demanded-it-a-legionnaire-returns-steve-lightle-talks-legion/ |title=Because You Demanded It, A Legionnaire Returns: Steve Lightle Talks ''Legion'' |first=Arune |last=Signh |date=October 30, 2002 |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219102211/https://www.cbr.com/because-you-demanded-it-a-legionnaire-returns-steve-lightle-talks-legion/ |archive-date=December 19, 2021  |access-date=April 2, 2022|quote=I hold the distinction of having suggested the first non-humanoid Legionnaires in the long history of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Tellus and Quislet were the first nonhuman members of the Legion, and I'm very happy that Paul Levitz and I broke that barrier by creating them. }}</ref> whose unusual appearances contrasted with the humanoid appearances of the other Legionnaires. [[Greg LaRocque]] began a lengthy run in #16 (November 1985), including a [[Crossover (fiction)|crossover]] with [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]]'s recently rebooted Superman titles, ''[[The Man of Steel (comics)|The Man of Steel]]'' and ''[[Superman vol. 2|Superman]]'' (vol. 2). The crossover was the first of several attempts by DC editors to explain the origins and fate of Superboy and his history with the Legion, in light of the revisions to the [[DC Universe]] caused by ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' that removed Superman's career as Superboy from his personal history. In the crossover, [[Pocket Superboy|the Legion's Superboy]] was revealed to have come from a parallel "pocket universe" created by the Time Trapper.<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[John Byrne (comics)|Byrne, John]]| penciller= Byrne, John| inker= Byrne, John; [[Keith Williams (comics)|Williams, Keith]]| story= Past Imperfect| title= Action Comics| issue= 591 | date= August 1987}}</ref> The crossover ended with Superboy's death. Levitz's run ended with the return of Giffen and a four-part story "The Magic Wars", concluding in #63 (August 1989).

===="Five Years Later"====
[[Image:Legion of Super-Heroes (Post-Crisis version).jpg|thumb|The Legion "five years later" by [[Keith Giffen]] and [[Al Gordon]]]]
Giffen took over plotting as well as penciling with the ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' volume 4 title which started in November 1989, with scripts by [[Tom and Mary Bierbaum]] and assists by [[Al Gordon]].<ref>Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 241: "Plotted by Keith Giffen and inker Al Gordon, scripted by Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and pencilled by Giffen, this relaunch of the formerly teen team of heroes and heroines broke new ground in the fictional realm of the 30th Century.</ref><ref>{{gcdb series|id=3810 vol. 4}}</ref> Five years after the Magic Wars, the United Planets is a darker place and the Legion a distant memory. However, a group of former Legionnaires worked to re-form the Legion in this harsh new universe, in which Earth was ruled by the [[Dominators (DC Comics)|Dominators]].

Shortly after this storyline began, the decision was made to retroactively remove Superboy completely from Legion history. Writer [[Mark Waid]] stated that "Because of inter-office politics and machinations&nbsp;... it was decided that there was no Superboy, but we weren't even allowed to reference him at ''all''." This left the question of where the Legion's inspiration came from without the influence of Superboy. The writers' solution was a massive [[Retroactive continuity|retcon]], in which Mon-El served in the role of paragon instead of Superboy, with several more retcons to follow.<ref>{{cite journal|last = Ford|first = Jim|title = Too Much Time on My Hands: The History of the Time Trapper|journal = Back Issue!|issue = 68|page= 68|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|date = October 2013|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> Issue #5 featured an [[Parallel universes in fiction|alternate universe]] story in which the restructuring took place, and the Time Trapper was replaced in continuity by his onetime underling Glorith.

One major storyline during this period was the discovery of [[The Terra Mosaic|Batch SW6]], a group of clones of the early Legion (from their ''Adventure Comics'' days), created by the Dominators. Giffen's original conclusion for the storyline was that the clones would have been revealed to be the real Legion, and the ones whose adventures had been chronicled since the 1950s were the clones. The adult Legion's secret programming would kick in, forcing them to fight the younger Legion and leading to a fight to the death in which Legionnaires on both teams would die, with the victims' names being picked at random. Afterwards, the older team would explore the Vega System as a 30th-century version of the [[Omega Men]] in a new series while the younger team would act as the main Legion on Earth. Giffen's other conclusion was for several of the younger and older Legionnaires to die while liberating Earth from the Dominion. The older Legion would defend Earth while the younger Legion would act as the last line of defense for the United Planets as the Omega Men.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-60/ |title=Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #60 |first=Brian |last=Cronin |date=July 20, 2006 |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126032134/https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-60/ |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |access-date=April 2, 2022}}</ref>

Instead, a parallel title, ''Legionnaires,'' was launched, starring the "SW6" Legion, whose origins were not resolved until the ''[[Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!|Zero Hour]]'' crossover. ''Legionnaires'' was lighter in tone than the main Legion book, and it was written by the Bierbaums and drawn by [[Chris Sprouse]]. Giffen left the book after a storyline which involved the destruction of Earth,<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Keith Giffen|Giffen, Keith]]; [[Tom and Mary Bierbaum|Bierbaum, Tom; Bierbaum, Mary]]; [[Jason Pearson|Pearson, Jason]]| penciller= Giffen, Keith; Pearson, Jason| inker= [[Karl Story|Story, Karl]]| story= Requiem| volume= 4| issue= 38| date= Late December 1992}}</ref><ref>Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 255: "Writer/artist Keith Giffen was leaving the ''Legion'' title, and he was determined to go out with a bang."</ref> and the Bierbaums continued writing, overseeing the return of several classic characters. When the Bierbaums left, writer Tom McCraw took over and made a number of changes, such as forcing several Legion members underground, which required them to take on new identities and costumes, and bringing back long-absent Legionnaire [[Wildfire (Drake Burroughs)|Wildfire]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2016}}

In 1994, DC [[Reboot (fiction)|rebooted]] the team's continuity.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Roach|first1= David A.|author-link1= David Roach (comics)|last2= Misiroglu|first2= Gina Renee|chapter= Legion of Super-Heroes|title= The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes|publisher= [[Omnigraphics]]|year= 2005|location= Detroit, Michigan|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BlKKx5aOSukC&q=Legion+of+Super-Heroes+hopelessly+confused+Housecleaning&pg=PT678|isbn= 978-0780807723|quote= ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' continued to build upon decades of already cluttered continuity, and readers—as well as editors and writers—were hopelessly confused. Housecleaning was in order. ''Zero Hour: Crisis in Time'' (1994) was DC's answer.|page=678}}</ref> As part of the ''Zero Hour'' storyline, the Legion's original continuity came to an end in September 1994 with ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' (vol. 4) #61. The "Five Years Later" era of the Legion was not subsequently reprinted by DC Comics until the announcement of a hardcover omnibus collection scheduled for release in 2020, almost 26 years after the conclusion initial storyline.