Who doesn’t love tradition? It’s the week of San Diego Comic-Con, and since I’m not going (again) this year, I’ve decided to indulge in one of my favorite blog traditions: dream casting a superhero team! This year, we’re heading far into the future for my take on the Legion of Super-Heroes.

I’ve never been a big fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes, but I recently came up with a fun idea for what I’d do if I were ever hired to write a new Legion book. Hopefully someday that will still happen. And if it does, then you blog readers will have this insight into some of the major twists and mysteries that will drive my comic. I’ve done plenty of lists like this before on Comic-Con week, from the Justice League and the Avengers, to the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts and the X-Men. You can see a full list here.

This year, it’s my roster and plot for the Legion of Super-Heroes! Join me after the jump to get the whole scoop. And if you have a dream roster of your own, feel free to share it in the comments below.

Premise: To sum everything up really quick, the Legion of Super-Heroes are a club of superheroes in the 31st century that protect the United Federation of Planets. They’re teenagers and young adults from all across the galaxy, each with a unique power or ability. But my comic wouldn’t be about the Legion of Super-Heroes, per se. My comic would be about the Legion of Substitute Heroes.

As longtime readers of my blog might know, I’m a really big fan of the Subs. I love the idea that a bunch of heroes who were rejected for Legion membership decided to be heroes in their own right, so they formed the B-team. Should something happen to the Legion and they can’t perform their heroic duties, the Subs step in to save the day. Now, I’m no Legion of Super-Heroes historian…but has there ever been an instance in which that actually happened?

Well that would be the basis of my story. We’d pull a Thunderbolts trick on the audience. The first issue would make it seem like Legion business was all in order and everything was fine. Then at the end of the issue, we’d reveal that they were actually reading about the Subs filling in and trying to make it look like business was normal, but that the Legion of Super-Heroes was actually missing!

Then the comic would be a traditional Legion comic, only it would star the reject, second-rate Legion of Substitute Heroes trying to find out what happened and save the day.

6. Polar Boy

Who is he: Polar Boy is the founder of the Legion of Substitute Heroes and a longtime member of the Legion in his own right. Brek Bannin is from the planet Tharr, where all peoples have ice and cold powers. He was rejected from the Legion because he couldn’t control his powers, so he teamed up with a couple of other rejects to form the Subs in the first place. They had a good run as side characters in the early days of Legion comics, then mostly either became a joke or nonexistent after that. Polar Boy joined the Legion in time, and has generally been a side and supporting character since.

Why pick him: Can’t do the Subs without Polar Boy. He’s the founder, original leader, and he’s got a great story to tell as the protagonist of my proposed series. It’s finally time for the Subs to step up and do the unthinkable, to really fulfill their stated mission. And Polar Boy, always unsure of himself, never quite in full control of his powers, is the one to lead them and maintain the facade as best he can.

5. Night Girl

Who is she: Night Girl is another founding member of the Subs, who would go on to marry and start a family with Legion co-founder Cosmic Boy. Lydda Jath is from the planet is from the planet Kathoon and has super strength and durability, on a level similar to Superboy. But they only work in darkness or shadow, hence the name, and hence her rejection from the Legion.

Why pick her: I’m not going to rock the boat when it comes to the Subs. Founding or iconic members are definitely making this list, and Night Girl is a great choice. She’s got that cool darkness aesthetic and a unique restriction on her powers. She’s an equal to Polar Boy in terms of Subs membership, and their platonic friendship could be a really strong core to the series as she helps support his leadership and balancing act.

4. Rainbow Girl

Who is she: Rainbow Girl is a character with a rather strange publication journey. She first appeared in 1963 as a Legion reject, but she didn’t join the Subs at that time. It wasn’t until she was brought back with a modern interpretation in 2008 that she had anything really established. Her rainbow powers were connected to the Emotional Light Spectrum from the popular Green Lantern comics at the time, which makes her pretty cool in my book. Dori Aandraison wanted to join the Legion to jumpstart her career as an actress, which I think is a great origin story for a superhero.

Why pick her: I’d originally considered putting Color Kid on this list, another classic Subs member with a dinky power. But I did a little looking around and spotted Rainbow Girl instead. She’ll still have that fun colorful look, and then I like her powers better. I’m a big fan of the Emotional Light Spectrum and it would be fun to play with in a character. And her motivations for joining the Legion/Subs, and her desire to be an actress, would be great to have in a main character.

3. Stone Boy

Who is he: Stone Boy is another founding Subs member for a pretty hilarious reason. Dag Wentim is from the planet Zwen, which spends half the year in darkness. So the citizens developed the power to turn into immobile stone statues to hibernate during that period. Dag thought that power could get him into the Legion, but they didn’t like the idea that he couldn’t move or communicate while stone. He eventually gained the power to do that stuff, but at first, he’d basically just turn into a rock. Made him great for the Subs.

Why pick him: Stone Boy will complete the trio of founding members I want to use on this team. His power has such a weird and funny limitation. Granted, he’s overcome that limitation, but it can still be used to develop his character. And he’s also got that stiff, stony personality, which should go well with the far more emotive characters around him. Dag is the strong, silent type, with a power to match, He’s a good utility member of the team.

2. Ron-Karr

Who is he: Ron-Karr is an odd duck. He’s got the power to turn 2-dimensional, so his whole body goes flat. He was rejected by the Legion of Super-Heroes and eventually fell into the Legion of Super-Villains, just because he wanted to feel like he belonged somewhere. This eventually led him to the Subs, which was a good place for him.

Why pick him: I have a special place in my heart for Ron-Karr because of the random encounter I had with his comic when I was younger. I didn’t read many Legion comics when I was a kid, but I randomly read the issue that contained his Legion tryout and rejection. So he found a spot in my brain/memory. Then years later, either through the internet or a character handbook, I stumbled upon him again and learned that the dude from that one random issue I read as a kid had this weird story of joining super-villains and then the subs. Comics are fun like that! So should I ever get the chance to write a real Legion of Super-Heroes comic, I’m gonna work in Ron-Karr, someway, somehow.

1. Life Lass

Who is she: Life Lass is one of the Heroes of Lallor, a very small and obscure team of heroes that showed up a couple of times in the original Legion comics. She and her fellow Heroes are children born after their parents were exposed to radiation, giving each of them powers. One of my favorite Legion characters, Duplicate Boy, is their leader, and he had a larger history with the Legion. Life Lass, real name Somi Gan, didn’t have much of a career beyond the few short appearances she had with the Heroes of Lallor. She’s got the power to bring inanimate objects to life.

Why pick her: Duplicate Boy is one of my favorite characters, because like Ron-Karr, I randomly happened to read some Heroes of Lallor issues of the Legion when I was a kid, and I really like Duplicate Boy’s mimicry powers. But rather than pick him for my team, I decided on Life Lass. She’s got a weird and very unique power, and I think she’d be a great addition to round out the little squad I’ve put together here. She can also tie in the other Heroes of Lallor for guest appearances, so Duplicate boy can still show up. But this would be her time to shine!

Honorable Mention: The Living Girl and Dead Kid

So, with my Legion/Subs story idea, I’m also going to introduce a pair of original characters. Because if I get to write the Legion, surely they’ll let me introduce some OCs, right? Of course, right. The first one would be a new Sensor Girl. But unlike classic Legion member Princess Projectra, this Sensor Girl would have the power of enhanced spatial and situational awareness. Largely unimpressive, but hopefully fun.

Anyway, it would eventually be revealed that she was lying. She doesn’t actually have any such awareness powers. Instead, her “power” is the ability to see and speak with the ghost of her dead boyfriend/best friend. He’s haunting her and they’re cool about it. So all of her enhanced awareness was really this ghost flying around the room invisible, spotting stuff and telling her.

When their lie is exposed, the team can’t afford to lose them, so they shift into a known team. The ghost is still useful, and she’s the only one who can communicate with him. So they become The Living Girl and Dead Kid!

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