Legion of Super-Heroes

Legionnaires on screen — Green Lantern, Supergirl, and Green Arrow view members of the Legion.

The Legion of Super-Heroes was an organization of super-powered teenagers and young adults from many worlds, based in the city of Metropolis on the planet Earth in the late 30th and early 31st centuries. The Legionnaires were inspired to band together by the legendary exploits of Superman in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Each member of the Legion was issued a Legion flight ring for personal transportation.

The Legion of Super-Heroes presumably took over the responsibilities of the Justice League Unlimited and the Green Lantern Corps.

They served the United Planets.

History[]

It's the year 2979 A.D. and things are peaceful in Metropolis. However, Brainiac soon disrupts this peace by attacking a presumed power source called the "antimatter accelerator". He easily defeats the guards and reaches the main controls he modifies the accelerator to create a portal and enters into it.

The lead scientist calls in the Legion of Superheroes for help. Three members arrive: Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Chameleon Boy. They learn of Brainiac's escape into the portal and chase after him. The scientist warns them that he can't bring them back, but they don't care.

After going through the portal, the group ends up on a farm just outside Smallville. Unfortunately, they run into a farmer that mistakes them for pranksters. They easily chase him off and Saturn Girl erases his memories, and then leave to look for Clark.

Clark is at a school dance where he's having a good time until he's confronted by Kenny Braverman. They have a quick basketball match in which Clark hurls Kenny into a table thereby alarming everyone. Clark tries to explain to Lana that he's going through some changes, in reference to his gaining his powers, but she doesn't listen. Angered, Clark starts to head home. However, before he can go far, Brainiac attacks him. The three legion members arrive and rescue him. After a brief battle, Brainiac teleports away.

The group hide out in an alley and in an attempt to disguise Clark, Saturn Girl puts a pair of glasses on him. She then reveals that Superman inspired beings from other worlds to work together for the greater good. She continues by telling him about Brainiac's reawakening and his plan. However, Clark runs off after hearing this.

Clark returns home and finds Lana there waiting for him. Unfortunately, before she can talk some sense into him, Brainiac, who had learned the Kents' residence through Kenny, arrives with his probes. The family hides in the basement and Clark reveals his power of X-ray vision. He then goes to confront the probes. He easily manages to destroy some of them but Brainiac takes control of a threshing machine and a bulldozer. Fortunately, Clark's invulnerability is great enough to take the power of the machines. He then confronts Brainiac but the Legionnaires step in and take over the fight.

After a brief fight, the Legionaries are defeated and Brainiac captures Clark. However, Saturn Girl telepathically tells Clark how to activate Brainiac's teleportation belt. He activates it and sends Brainiac into the Sun where he is destroyed.

That morning, the people of Smallville make repairs after "the worst twister to hit town in twenty years". Saturn Girl reveals that she altered their memories so that no one will remember Brainiac's attack. She then removes Clark's memories and the group leaves on Brainiac's hover chair. Lana then finds Clark and he shows her his new pair of glasses.^[1]

Later, possibly during the 2980s, the Fatal Five used psionic mind control technology against the Legion and forced many of its members to launch an attack against the capital of the United Planets. In a desperate move, Legionnaires Brainiac 5 and Bouncing Boy took three heroes from the early 21st century — Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and Supergirl. Knowing from historical records that some members of the "legendary" Justice League were due to come to this time period at the moment, the remaining two members of the Legion activated the time machine to get help, picking up the three heroes at random.

Supergirl is at first distrustful of Brainiac 5, who admits that he is an organic descendant of the original and evil Brainiac of Krypton. He, however, claims to be on the side of justice. Stewart and Arrow decide to trust him, and also note the way Supergirl calls him "seriously cute." For their part, Brainiac 5 and Bouncing Boy are concerned since they know that only two of the three Leaguers returned to their time of origin and that Supergirl was never heard of again after her 21st birthday. It looks very certain that she is going to die in the 31st century.

The three Justice Leaguers agree to help but at that moment they are attacked by two members of the Fatal Five, the Persuader and the Emerald Empress. In the mêlée, the five heroes are all put under mind control by the Empress, but Brainiac 5 manages to resist the conditioning and frees Supergirl who then brings Arrow back to normal. The Empress however decides that the Green Lantern's powerful ring will be more than enough for their plans and they leave with him and Bouncing Boy to rejoin their accomplices.

While planning a counter-attack, Green Arrow notes a fast-growing attraction between Supergirl and Brainiac 5. While Supergirl is out of the room, he talks Brainiac 5 into admitting his feelings. At first, Brainiac 5 denies this but slowly comes round to the fact that he is falling for her. Green Arrow encourages the spark between the two by leaving them alone while he goes to upgrade his arrows with 31st century technology.

The Fatal Five have covered most of their tracks but have not taken into account the earpiece-like communications devices used by the Justice League. Supergirl and Brainiac 5 come up with a means to trace Stewart's communicator: He is on board a spaceship which is making its way to the Capitol Planet which the Fatal Five intend to attack with the mind-controlled Legionnaires.

Using Brainiac 5's own ship, the three heroes manage to reach the Capitol Planet in time to confront their enemies. They arrive just as Green Lantern and the mind-controlled Legion of Super-Heroes are sent to attack the planet!

Supergirl tells Green Arrow and Brainiac 5 to destroy the Fatal Five's grip on the other heroes while she defends the planet from them. Fearful of the consequences of such a plan, Brainiac 5 almost admits that he loves her, but instead tells her of her destiny: She will not return to her own time and is likely to be killed in the forthcoming fight! Supergirl still decides to take the others on since she is the only one who currently can. Brainiac 5 again tries to stop her but she kisses him in case she doesn't see him again and flies into battle.

Brainiac 5 crash-lands his ship into that of the Fatal Five and he and Green Arrow take on the villains. In the battle, Arrow manages to destroy the mind-control machine.

On the planet surface, Supergirl more than holds her own against incredible odds, including the physical assaults of Colossal Boy, Blok and Ultra Boy or the combined energy blasts of Wildfire, Shadow Lass and Lightning Lad. However, John Stewart unleashes a powerful attack which finally overcomes her. Stewart then throws her violently through a building and starts to crush her in a cosmically-powerful vise-grip. As the mind-control device is deactivated, Stewart becomes himself again and is horrified by what he has done. He picks up Supergirl's apparent lifeless body.

On the Fatal Five's ship, Green Arrow and Brainiac 5 are systematically beaten up by their enemies. Validus is about to crush them when his robotic body is punched through and disabled by... Supergirl, alive and well! Bouncing Boy delivers the coup de grâce to the other villains.

As they are about to return to their own time, the three Justice Leaguers are made honorary Legionnaires and given Legion Flight Rings. However, they are then told that they cannot actually take them home with them since future technology could affect the timeline and so they have to return them. Supergirl decides to keep hers because she is staying! She has found a place in this world, amongst technology comparable to that of her lost planet Argo and also wants to stay with Brainiac 5.

At the Watchtower, Steel and Superman are still trying to find out what happened to their friends when Stewart and Arrow suddenly return. Superman quickly notices Supergirl isn't with them and asks for her whereabouts. Stewart gives Superman a small cube which displays a hologram of a nervous and emotional Supergirl. She says farewell to her cousin and asks him to pass her love on to "Ma" and "Pa". She assures him that she is happy in a world where she can make a difference and not just be "Superman's kid cousin" and mentions she met a "boy".

Superman is pleased for her but regrets that he never told her how proud he is of her. Green Arrow assures him that she knows. Superman then changes the subject and asks for details about the "boy" she mentions in her message. Stewart and Arrow exchange worried glances: Which one of them will tell Superman that his cousin is involved with the descendant of one of his greatest and deadliest enemies?^[2]