Book Review: Justice League vs. the Legion of Super-Heroes

One thousand years in the future, a Legion of Super-Heroes comes together to dedicate their lives to recapturing the great age of heroes of the 21st century. When the heroes discover that reality is falling to a great darkness in both times simultaneously, the Justice League and the Legion of Super-Heroes must team up to stop it all.

Soon, the Justice League are trapped in the 31st century, and the looming terror of the Great Darkness hovers over both time periods simultaneously. Even as the great heroes of the 21st century get to experience the fantastic far-flung future, the mysteries behind the Gold Lantern and the Great Darkness threaten all of existence. What is the secret behind the Great Darkness? And will the greatest heroes of two ages be able to stop it before it's too late?

Two of DC’s top super-teams clash, as threads from legendary writer Brian Michael Bendis’ runs on Legion of Super-Heroes and Justice League collide in a story with both the present and the future at risk! Released December 2022, this collects Justice League vs. Legion of Super-Heroes #1-6.

I am very old-school on my DC Comics reading, so I have a long history with both of these teams starting with the Bronze Age (1970's). I remember many monumental meetings between these two titanic teams. But, this is the newest Legion and the most current JL line-up - and very much not this father's version of either team. Still, I wanted to give it a try.

Unfortunately, it did not resonate with me. I had read Bendis' runs on both titles that led up to this mini-series. I was not a big fan of what he did with either group. A lot of the heart and history was lost. Maybe it was his writing, his approach, his style or just that these characters have changed so many times over the decades. I just could not get into it.

Plus, I remember the original Great Darkness saga from Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes in the early 80's. That was an epic tale and milestone for the series and team. This rebranding to that did not hit that high-mark. This story had lots of other elements to it as well, but many seemed like they were just thrown in to the mix to see what would stick. The ending is also very anticlimactic with part of the "resolution" happening completely off panel. Comics are a visual medium where show is preferred over tell.