New continuity, old tradition.
The division between eras is perhaps a bit arbitrary, since both series will continue with the same creative team, but I try to avoid keeping eras too long and LSH #80 felt like a natural breakup point.
Over the past few years, the Reboot has received little love from both DC (who hasn’t reprinted most of the run) and even a good portion of the fandom.
Some still dismiss this era calling it the “Archie Legion” due to the age of the characters, or have criticisms about how the Reboot treats specific characters (although it’s mostly from a later point of the era).
As a guy who loved the vast majority of the Reboot, and with the Legion having undergone THREE new reboots after this one (with the fourth coming up in a couple of months), I have to gloat a little… given the failures of the Threeboot, the Retroboot and the Bendisboot… not so easy to reboot a franchise as complex as the Legion, isn’t it?
But enough about the future, let’s analyze what actually went on during the Draft Era.
Which is still set in the future, but you know what I mean.
Legion significance: 10/10
The template for the next 10 years of the Legion, influencing other eras as well: several changes made in the Threeboot, like restoring the original codenames, happened in more or less explicit contrast with the Reboot.
Silver Age-ness: 1/10
The absurdity is kept at standard comic book levels, with limited throwbacks here and there.
90-ness: 0/10
With the exception of the two Issue Zero and cameos in other books, I read this entire run in the 2000s. And in many regards, with the exception of a couple of pop culture influences here and there, this doesn’t FEEL like a series from the 90s.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
Once again I have to stress that this is not a quality score, and both series are not perfect. While I’ll never stop praising the Jeff Moy artwork, jumping between him and Lee Moder can be jarring.
Not that Moder is a bad artist, far from it, but he doesn’t always deliver.
The writing is consistently good (at least in the main books) and it’s great at juggling several plots at once, but there are a few hiccups here and there. I probably wouldn’t even have noticed the plots that have been left unresolved by LSH #80… the fate of Sun Boy, Kinetix’s quest, Spark’s secret admirer… if the series hadn’t been spectacular in handling everything else.
With that being said, today you could absolutely publish 99.99% of what happens in these books and it wouldn’t feel dated.
As I have said many times, the secret weapon of this era is having two regular books, something that helps TREMENDOUSLY. Having so much space allows every single Legionnaire to have the chance to do something! Well, except Kinetix, she’ll have to wait a little bit more.
But there is another I’ve already mentioned: having civilians around on a consistent basis. Supporting characters are nothing new for the Legion of course, but we rarely have so many! By LSH #80 we have R.J.Brande, Chuck, Tenzil, Rond, Lori and Shvaughn at the very least.
And now, ladies and gentlemen: the first Legion Awards of the Reboot.
BEST LEGIONNAIRE
This is a really tough category because there are definitely more than four Legionnaires that truly impressed me! There are so many good Legionnaires in this era that the deciding factor will be how CONSISTENTLY good they were.
Winner: Shrinking Violet
She doesn’t have a single slip-up: she’s consistently a good character throughout. From her fight against her own shyness, to her confrontation with Andromeda, to her finding her own self-confidence, to being the one Legionnaire who takes the most advantage of the “teenage hero” aspect.
Runner-up: Saturn Girl
What a shocker, I know, we rarely see her on the podium! But even this new version of Saturn Girl is set to match the overwhelming success of the original in the Awards.
She does have a bit of a personal journey in how she deals with the rest of the team, needing some time to properly assert herself against Cosmic Boy, which very slightly affected her ranking.
Third place: Cosmic Boy
I seriously considered him for a higher spot: his absolute triumph in the final stretch of the era is just THAT amazing. But it still meant that he was the unreasonable authority figure for quite a while, and his attitude during the Composite Man storyline doesn’t even have the excuse of being a façade.
Still, the reason why I kept complaining about the Cosmic Boy of both the original continuity and of 5YL is that I was waiting for him to become an amazing leader… and he finally has!
Honorable mention: Triad
This is BY FAR my favorite incarnation of Triplicate Girl. The series really goes deep about her past, her relationship with her other selves, and even finds good uses for her traditionally useless power. She was SO good that I seriously considered her winning Best Legionnaire, but she largely fell out of focus after the White Triangle invasion.
Still, she’s always fun to have around!
WORST LEGIONNAIRE
This is all relative, because unlike the 5YL era and even multiple parts of Volume 3 there isn’t a single Legionnaire that I actively dislike.
Winner: Kinetix
She gets a good introduction and she immediately disappears into her subplot for a good chunk of this era. Not her fault that she was lost in the shuffle, but still, you could remove Kinetix from this era and you would BARELY notice.
Thankfully she’s going to be much, MUCH better in the following eras.
Runner-up: Leviathan
I get it, sometimes you really need someone to be the jerk and/or butt of the joke. But coupled with Leviathan’s honestly unearned inflated ego, he doesn’t have many redeeming qualities. Brainiac 5 is often singled out for being a jerk in this era, but I find Leviathan to be much worse.
Third place: Andromeda
She does have a great redemption arc… eventually. But there’s a stretch of issues where she’s quite unpleasant to have around.
Look there aren’t a lot of Legionnaires at this point and there isn’t anyone written badly, so filling up all slots wasn’t easy!
Dishonorable mention: Kid Quantum
He’s a worse character than anyone else on this list, but it’s by design: he was created to be unlikeable! And he does that job well enough to be ranked above those that are only accidentally insufferable.
The Reboot is infamous for dropping the classic codenames, but it’s not entirely its fault: some of them are inherited from the SW6 Legionnaires.
Taking that into consideration, there aren’t that many new codenames!
Classic/original codename: 8 Legionnaires out of 18 (Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Kid Quantum, Invisible Kid, Brainiac 5, Shrinking Violet, Superboy, Star Boy)
SW6 codenames: 5 Legionnaires out of 18 (Live Wire, Apparition, Triad, Leviathan, Andromeda)
New characters: 3 Legionnaires out of 18 (XS, Kinetix, Gates)
New codename: 2 Legionnaires out of 18 (Chameleon and Spark)
That’s right: the Reboot only changed TWO codenames out of pre-existing characters!!!
And “Chameleon” replacing “Chameleon Boy” is so inconsequential that I’m sure I accidentally called him Chameleon Boy multiple times.
So in a way Spark is the only one who truly has a significant codename change! And yet, Live Wire is the one everyone criticizes.
BEST NEW LEGIONNAIRE
In other eras, this would have been the category for the new additions to the team. This would technically include ALL Legionnaires, but I’m excluding from this category characters that already existed in the previous continuity.
Winner: XS
The breakout star of the Reboot, she fits SO well with the team dynamic that at times it’s hard to believe she hasn’t always been there. Great personal journey, satisfying side quest on the Flash books, and I can’t help but smile every time Jeff Moy draws her. She just brings SO much energy!
Runner-up: Gates
He was kind of a disappointment for how late he showed up and how little he ended up contributing, but you can already tell he’s going to play a big part and become an extremely beloved addition to the team.
Third place: Kinetix
Speaking of people who will play a bigger part later! Not that it’s hard: she joins quite early, but disappears into her subplot so quickly she has no time to shine. Yet.
PARTICIPATION TROPHIES
“Rebel with a cause” trophy: Live Wire
“Family drama” trophy: Apparition
“Most stubborn Legionnaire” trophy: Leviathan
“Most telegraphed death” trophy: Kid Quantum
“Most energetic teen” trophy: Spark
“Best actor” trophy: Chameleon
“Teenage superspy scientist” trophy: Invisible Kid
“Most mommy issues” trophy: Brainiac 5
“Best redemption arc” trophy: Andromeda
“Most 90s Legionnaire” trophy: Superboy
“Late to the party” trophy: Star Boy
In case you missed it: the above means that EVERYONE has either a good or a participation trophy, including those with a bad trophy. It’s just THAT good of an era!
BEST ALMOST LEGIONNAIRE
Winner: Ultra Boy
Runner-up: Element Lad
Third place: Mon-El
I’m lumping these three together because by the end they’re Legionnaires in everything but name, thanks to the technicality of not having been OFFICIALLY given membership, and I’m placing them roughly in order of just how much of them we see.
BEST NEW COSTUME
Not a lot of costume changes within this period, which is understandable.
But Shrinking Violet wins this one easily: it manages to sell “I’ve grown more confident in myself now” without going overboard with making it ridiculously revealing.
WORST NEW COSTUME
WORST COSTUME DESIGN CHOICE
BEST NEW APPENDAGE
MOST FANSERVICE LEGIONNAIRE
I’m sure NOBODY expected Shrinking Violet to win this.
BEST VILLAIN
Winner: The White Triangle
Not just because they deliver the most gut-wrenching version of the destruction of Trom, but because they represent the worst enemy of the Legion… the fact that while the 30th century is a utopia compared to the present, it doesn’t mean that the worst part of society is gone for good.
Runner-up: Roxxas
He doesn’t show up in person a lot, but he’s both the mastermind behind the worst excesses of the White Triangle and a great manipulator. Watching his defeat was just SO satisfying.
Third place: Mano
The first classic villain to get a Reboot version, expanding what was a rather one-note character often forgotten into a tragic and somewhat sympathetic adversary.
Honorable mention: Leland McCauley
If only he was competent, he would easily be the most dangerous adversary of the Legion. But as much as he sees himself as a mastermind, McCauley basically never does anything right!
Which ironically goes all the way around to make him a very satisfying villain when we see him fail.
WORST VILLAIN
Winner: Nevlor
I ended up enjoying Legionnaires Annual #3 a lot, but the supposed main villain of the 100th century was as generic and boring as possible.
Runner-up: Empress
Never since 5YL Roxxas I have seen such a mismatch between a villain’s abilities and how threatening they are to the team. At least 5YL Roxxas was interesting for a bit (even if he rapidly overstayed his welcome). Empress is just there to talk a big game and come up short.
Third place: Chronos
His plan is incomprehensible, his plot goes on too long, and shockingly they don’t even find a good way to make him interact with the Legion.
Dishonorable mention: Tangleweb
For the first true supervillain of the Reboot AND the first one to kill a Legionnaire, he doesn’t go beyond being a space monster.
BEST STORY
Winner: Legionnaires #24
Sometimes, when I review a story I immediately think “yep, that’s going on the podium at the Awards”. It’s often a tough battle for the top spot, and it was this time as well, but it’s nearly always a guarantee that the story will indeed make it to the podium.
This is Triad’s best story, potentially the best story of any version of Triplicate Girl. It delves deep into the psyche and politics of an alien civilization with shocking nuance, it’s an amazing allegory for real life discrimination, and ultimately a celebration of the Legion’s ideals.
Runner-up: LSH #71
Now THIS is how you deliver a gut punch to your audience without desensitizing them to pointless violence, Five Years Later.
Third place: Legionnaires Annual #2
This was neck-and-neck with LSH #80 until the last minute. But to really appreciate that finale you really need to read the rest of the run, while the Annual stands mostly on its own pushing ever-so-slightly above.
Honorable mention: LSH #77
This is 100% my Brainiac 5 bias. But I really, REALLY like this version of Brainiac 5, and this deep dive into his past and his psyche was fascinating.
MOST INFLUENTIAL STORY
Winner: LSH #0
By default, the story that launches this continuity AND sets the general tone is untouchable in this category.
Runner-up: Legionnaires Annual #2
As I stated before, I truly believe that in-universe saving Earth from the White Triangle invasion is what put the Legion on the map. In addition to Apparition’s death (which ALSO influences her mother’s attitude) and Andromeda’s character arc, it’s also the reason why we have Chuck in the supporting cast.
Third place: LSH #80
Sets up the Legion as a fully independent entity and influences its relationship with the United Planets until the DnA run.
Honorable mention: LSH #77
Needless to say, expect to meet Brainiac 4 later.
WORST STORY
I would go as far to say that none of the issues of the main books has been a bad story so far.
Winner: Showcase ‘95 #6
This one was so unpleasant and badly drawn that it felt like a throwback to the second half of 5YL.
Runner-up: Showcase ‘95 #6 again
This is a new record: I don’t believe I’ve ever had to place the same issue on the podium TWICE!
But the second story, while nowhere as bad as the previous one, was also quite lackluster.
Third place: LSH Annual #6
Leviathan’s origin story specifically. It’s not BAD, but it stands next to the origins of XS and Kinetix: those two provide something new, while Leviathan doesn’t really come up with anything that hadn’t already been done with Colossal Boy.
Not a BAD story, mind you, but I had to go deep to find bad stuff in this era!
Dishonorable mention: Superboy #19
The series had a really uphill battle: reintroduce Mon-El without forgetting the events of the Valor series without paying too much attention to them.
It still results in a disappointing story.
MOST SILVER AGE PANEL
MOST 90s PANEL
MOST DEPRESSING PANEL
MOST MEME-WORTHY PANEL
WORST DRINK
WORST ATTEMPT AT A SECRET IDENTITY
BEST ALIEN DESIGN
The design of Gates is great. He’s the most alien-looking Legionnaire with the only possible contender being Quislet, but SOMEHOW they still manage to make him expressive.
BEST TECHNOBABBLE
WORST TECHNOBABBLE
In-universe, Invisible Kid’s answer is supposed to be gibberish.
MOST BRAINIAC 5 PANEL
BEST EMPLOYER
BEST MEDICAL COVERAGE
BEST REACTION SHOT
The Legionnaires realizing they can fly now.
WORST REACTION SHOT
It’s supposed be love of first sight between Ultra Boy and Apparition, but since they are both wearing protection goggles to survive on Planet Hell, they look extremely goofy.
Also, as someone pointed out in the comments, this means that these two are a match made in Hell.
BEST MOY TONGUE
XS sticking out her tongue to mock her opponent while she dodges 100% matches her energy.
MOST FANSERVICE PANEL
The fanservice is generally at minimum throughout the era, but even when there’s some, at least it serves SOME narrative purpose.
Lori Morning shoving Rond’s face into her boobs? Not so much.
WORST FANSERVICE PANEL
BEST MIC DROP MOMENT
WORST BOYFRIEND
BEST BACKGROUND DETAIL
The way triplicated Carggites pray.
BEST ROLL-CALL EASTER EGG
The Legionnaires spelling “Legionnaires” in sign language.
BEST CONCERT
BEST TV SHOW
MOST WHOLESOME PANEL
DEEPEST OF ALL DEEP CUTS
BEST PANEL
WORST PANEL
There’s something off about the artwork of the whole issue, this one in particular has pretty bad faces.
BEST DOUBLE PAGE SPLASH
BEST SPLASH PAGE
The sheer joy of being able to fly! Even normally serious Legionnaires can’t help but revel in this.
BEST COVER
What a way to truly sell both the youthful energy of the era as well as the triumphant ending of the saga.
WORST COVER
There HAD to be less disgusting ways to show Tangleweb’s powers.
And that’s it for the Draft era. The next one will be a bit more divisive, since it’s not as beloved as this one. Considering that for nearly the entire era the two books will follow completely different sets of Legionnaires… be ready for the Legion Divided era.