Legion of Super-Heroes #5

A nice melding of Legion continuities. Some nice updates to classic Legion lore. A new twist on Brainy. And glittering art. Count me in! We all wanted a good Legion book. We're getting one! Read Full Review

Legion of Super-Heroes #5 finally starts to snap the series' narrative into focus, as the past and present collide in some particularly intriguing ways. Read Full Review

Issue #5 is the best issue of the series thus far. It's engaging, funny, and taps into the core essence of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Read Full Review

Legion of Superheroes #5 continues to expand the conflict between the President of United Planets and the young hero taskforce that she helped create. We also get more confused Superboy. And we can never have enough of that. Read Full Review

In the end, Legion of Super-Heroes #5puts what I hope are the final pieces of its narrative into place. With the plot feeling ready to escalate I look forward to next months issue. Read Full Review

Bendis finally show that he really is the Legion fan he's claimed to be, even if it's masked in characters that aren't always visually recognizable. This may not be your grandfather's Legion, but, perhaps, it could be YOUR Legion! Read Full Review

Reconstructing such a complex and off beat team of superheroes has been no easy feat, but if this is the standard for the future of the series, then Legion of Super-Heroes just became one of DC's must-read titles. Read Full Review

I still feel like I'm able to enjoy this series because I have thirty+ years of familiarity with it all. I'm not sure how well it reads to someone new at all. At the same time, having read a number of writers tackle the team, there are I things I like from the relaunch and things that frustrate me and nothing seems to be improving overall as it moves along, which I had hoped after it got some familiarity under its belt. The challenge of a big team is one thing, a sprawling team is another, and the Legion is more than sprawling. Bendis doesn't really have a central point of view here and there aren't core mini-groups moving about even though they easily fall into that. It's just a book that feels like unending dialogue with no room to breathe as it progresses with each issue. I can grasp the big picture ideas it's going with but the presentation for it is just not working. It's at least very, very, pretty to look at. Read Full Review

This title is packed with interesting ideas, but I'm not sure the execution does them any favor. Read Full Review

Legion of Super Heroes has some promise, but it needs stronger character development to really stand out as a must-read team book. Read Full Review

President Brande has a great idea about forming a Legion based on history. The JLA and the Teen Titans seem to be Brande's inspiration and her speech before government leaders seems straight out of Episode 2 or 3 of Star Wars. I appreciate the origin story, but don't want pull too hard on some of the strings. I'm not sure which timeline these Legion members are prepping Superman/Superboy for, and what the heck is going on with Aquaman's Trident? Read Full Review

The origin story continues this issue, and at least it's pretty interesting. Read Full Review

I'm not sure why there continue to be so many delays on this title, but the plot points hinted at in this plodding 31st Century tale suggest that modern-day editorial chaos at DC comics is the true villain that must be defeated. A minor gripe that bothers me more than I care to admit is the reference to Jon Kent as the “One True Superman”. The elevation of Superboy's importance given his established history of stunted emotional development (i.e. trapped in a volcano for 7 years on Earth 3) does not fit into the mold of “One True Superman” that Bendis is forcing him into. Read Full Review

Overall: Legion of Super-Heroes #5 continues the depressing death spiral of this new title. Bendis clearly is out of his comfort zone and has no plans for success with this franchise. I have no idea who would find Bendis' Fourboot Legion interesting. This issue is not going to appeal to Bendis fans at all. It is too boring and simply does not deliver the kind of story that Bendis fans like. This issue is also not going to appeal to Legion fans. At this point, the Fourboot Legion is an answer to a question no one was asking. Read Full Review

There are a lot of kernels of good ideas in Legion of Super-Heroes #5, but writer Brian Michael Bendis never spends long enough time to expand upon them, let alone give artists Ryan Sook and Scott Godlewski enough elbow room to really strut their stuff. Read Full Review

Bendis seems lost as to what story he is telling. The artwork is good especially by Sook. But there just isn't a lot to grab onto here. Read Full Review

Simon DelMonte

Apr 12, 2020

The first really good issue. And not by chance, the first one where Brainiac 5 gets to shine. Brainy is the best LSHer, and Bendis knows it.

mynameisraj

Mar 30, 2020

I thought it was an ok issue but the moment Brainiac called Jon the one TRUE Superman I rolled my eyes. I understand Bendis is putting his stamp on Jon but this isn't the way to do it.

Watchtower022

Mar 29, 2020

The art here is amazing and I really see some great story potential here. Bendis needs to learn to let his artist do some of his storytelling. There’s an exceptional amount of exposition here.

RBL

Mar 25, 2020

By the second page I already feel the cringe. That should be enough of an indication to stop, but for some reason I kept reading only to encounter that much more cringe. For all the character the Legion is meant to have none of them have much of a personality and seem to only exist to deliver bits and quips and then vanish, just like the "invisible gentleman" introduced this issue. For the sake of readers everywhere, bendis should follow suit. The real reasoning of Jon Kent being in the Legion is also very much nonsense, because if they claimed to know their history they would realise how he is not suited for they purpose they selected him. If they do follow through with the rumoured 5G idea they also posit here, it'll go about as well as the last change he went through. Most of the dialogue seems so forced to make certain ideas play out that it makes the execution lackluster, the plot does not seem to organically develop. But apparently the "people of the future" are not the brightest despite everything looking it's chok-full of LED lights. While not unreadable, this issue is not something I would recommend. Actually I would hardly recommend the title because while the artwork is solid it's seems devoid of substance as far as the characters and story are concerned. more

M1sf1r3

Jun 17, 2020

Prelude: While Legion of Super-Heroes has been boring for most of it's issues, it did improve in Issue Four. Hopefully this continues. The Good: The art is great as always. The Bad: Bendis-Speak. Man, this is insanely boring. Calling Jon the one true Superman. Conclusion: Look there's probably more things wrong with this issue but it's boring me so much I can't be bothered to dig deeper.

JustCrazy

Mar 30, 2020

Yup it's bad

Spacey Medicine

May 11, 2020

Reading this feels like how I imagine it feels to have a psychotic break and start hearing things. A dozen voices are screaming at me, nothing makes any sense, and somewhere deep down I am sure that somebody is trying to hurt me.

KFuqua

Mar 26, 2020

Just truly awful. Sadly, this isn't the Legion.

Psycamorean

Apr 09, 2020

It took me an hour to read this. It's so boring.