Legion of Super Heroes Volume 1

Legion of the Superheroes: Volume 1 (DVD) Kids WB! Brings you a new series inspired by the DC Comics legend Superman. In LEGION OF SUPER HEROES, a team of superheroes from the 31st century heads back in time to enlist Superman's help in battling their nemeses, the al Five. But when they arrive in the Man of Steel's hometown, Smallville, they discover that they've miscalculated a bit. Instead of a powerful, confident Superman, they find the introverted, insecure young adult Clark Kent, whose abilities need fine-tuning and who knows nothing of the legend that comic book history says he'll become.It takes some effort, but Brainiac 5, Bouncing Boy, and Saturn Girl convince Clark that he's special and may be able to help them. Although he sincerely doubts that he's the "Superman" they keep talking about, his curiosity is piqued enough that he goes back to the future with them. The legion itself is a group of well-meaning, undisciplined and unpredictable, super powered young adults who just happen to be the Universe's only hope. The Legionnaires are still light-years away from becoming the seasoned (and cynical) pros of the Justice League. ]]> .com ---- Ever since the late-1950s, DC's Legion of Super-Heroes has always had a dedicated, almost cult-ish following, but surely a Saturday-morning animated series was more than anyone could have hoped for. Even better, the series was well-written and quite good, and a good representation of the comic book. The LSH is a group of super-powered teenagers one thousand years in the future who time-travel to the past to recruit Superman to join their team. Due to a slight miscalculation, they go to Smallville and find the teenage Clark Kent, but he's still plenty powerful enough to join. (For legal reasons, the series was unable to use the name Superboy, so they still refer to him as Superman.) One of the quirky things about the Legion was its huge roster of characters, but the series concentrates on a handful, including Lightning Lad (with the power of electricity), Saturn Girl (telepathy), Brainiac 5 (a 12th-level intelligence and ego to match), Phantom Girl (intangibility), and Bouncing Boy (um, with the powers of a rubber ball, perhaps for diversity reasons?), though others appear or are name-dropped. In the four episodes included in vol. 1, the Legion battles the al Five, they meet a menacing character named Timber Wolf, Superman is attracted to a selfish teen celebrity (this is where referring to the character as Superboy would have been less icky), and Clark inadvertently releases a super-powered villain from the Phantom Zone. It's unfortunate that only four episodes were released rather than a full season, especially considering a couple of them were rerun frequently on the Kids WB when the series was new. There's also a nine-minute featurette in which the creators discuss the series, including how the Levitz-Giffen era ( /dp/0930289439 ) was considered a "template." --David Horiuchi

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