Editing Legion of Super-Heroes (section)

====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).