Legion is a
supervillain
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are often ...
in the
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. A ...
. He was created by
Keith Giffen
Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo.
Biography
K ...
,
Gerard Jones
Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957) is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his comic book scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero Prime for Malibu Comics, and writing for ...
, and
Romeo Tanghal
Romeo Tanghal (born July 24, 1947) is a Filipino comics artist who has worked primarily as an inker. He became well known in the industry in the 1980s for his work on DC Comics' ''The New Teen Titans''.
Career
Romeo Tanghal was born and raised i ...
. He is a foe of
Abin Sur
Abin Sur is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was a member of the Green Lantern Corps and is best known as the predecessor of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, whom Abin Sur's power ring chose as his replacement. A ...
, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814, the
Silver Age Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness ...
and the
Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic law enforcement organization appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residi ...
. His only appearance is in the 1990 mini-series ''
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn''.
Fictional character biography
Legion was introduced in the 1990 comic mini-series ''Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn'', which covers the early days of
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and first appeared in ...
's career as the Silver Age
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness ...
.
In ancient times, the
Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic law enforcement organization appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residi ...
came across the planet Tchk-Tchk in Space Sector 407, which was home to an aggressive, insectile race. After conquering their own planet, they began to spread to the rest of the galaxy, at which point the
Guardians of the Universe
The Guardians of the Universe are a race of extraterrestrial superhero characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Green Lantern. They first appeared in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #1 (July ...
decided to take action, sending the Green Lanterns to beat back the Tchk-Tchk and seal off their planet.
Unable to leave, the Tchk-Tchk quickly expended their food supply and began to die out. Realizing what was happening, they put their minds into their new invention, the Soul Jar, wherein they became a sort of hive mind. Once all the remaining minds had entered, they built themselves a new body and called themselves Legion.
[''Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn'' #5]
Quickly discovering that he was powerful enough to break through the Lantern's barrier, Legion set out to exact revenge on the Guardians. It managed to kill the Lanterns of Space Sectors 2817, 2816, and 2815 before encountering
Abin Sur
Abin Sur is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was a member of the Green Lantern Corps and is best known as the predecessor of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, whom Abin Sur's power ring chose as his replacement. A ...
. The Lantern was unable to harm Legion due to his yellow color, but did manage to escape the encounter.
Following Abin Sur's energy trail, Legion found himself on Earth where, upon learning of Abin Sur's death, he set out to kill his replacement,
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and first appeared in ...
.
When he found Jordan, his ring was depleted, thus leading Legion to believe he had lost the trail. In a rage, he destroyed everywhere the ring had been. Jordan took the opportunity to go to Abin Sur's spaceship to recharge his ring, which again attracted Legion. Jordan detonated the ships reactors, using his ring to protect himself, and afterwards believed Legion to be dead.
However, Legion had escaped to the moon to continue his vendetta. When Jordan was taken to be trained by
Kilowog
Kilowog is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a member of the Green Lantern Corps.
The character appeared in the 2011 '' Green Lantern'' film with his voice provided by actor Michael Clarke Du ...
, Legion went to
Oa for a final assault on the Guardians. He easily broke through their defenses, and Jordan and Kilowog were forced to assist in Oa's defense. Nothing seemed able to stop him, and many Lanterns were killed. He reached the Guardian's citadel, but Jordan, thinking quickly, covered him with mud (so his ring could affect him) and shattered his armor, believing this would kill him. Instead, its consciousness absorbed the power of Oa and grew to immense proportions.
The Guardians fled Oa, but Jordan stayed to confront Legion. He hurled himself into the Central Power Battery, gaining immense power, and was able to hurl Legion into space, where the other Green Lanterns took him back to Tchk-Tchk to hopefully begin a new life.
[''Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn'' #6]
Legion made no further appearances following the series and has been
retcon
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...
ned out of DC comics continuity following the events of ''
Infinite Crisis
"Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordwa ...
'' and the ''
Sinestro Corps War
"Sinestro Corps War" is an American comic book crossover event published by DC Comics in its ''Green Lantern'' and ''Green Lantern Corps'' titles. Written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons and drawn by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, and Ethan Van Sc ...
'' (as explained in the "Secret Origin" arc of ''Green Lantern''
ol. 4
OL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Orphaned Land, an Israeli progressive metal band
* Old Lace (comics) a telepathically linked dinosaur hero
Businesses and organizations
* OLT Express Germany (IATA code: OL), a scheduled and charter airl ...
.
In other media
Legion was planned to be the main villain in an unproduced screenplay for a ''
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness ...
'' film written by
Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and puppeteer, known for his ''Saturday Night Live'' "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic Do ...
.
References
External links
Legion at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
{{Green Lantern
DC Comics aliens
DC Comics male supervillains
Characters created by Keith Giffen
Fictional giants
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics extraterrestrial supervillains
Fictional serial killers
Comics characters introduced in 1990