As a team already from a far-off future, the Legion of Super-Heroes feels almost tailor-made for this 'Future State' line of comics. So it's frustrating that Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 tells a standard "getting the team back together" tale.
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia
Letters by Dave Sharpe
Published by DC
'Rama Rating: 7 out of 10
Writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Riley Rossmo begin the story with Ultra Boy seeking out his former Legion members to rebuild the team after some horrific event. Other members eventually show up, including Saturn Girl, Colossal Boy, Braniac, Shadow Lass, and Chameleon Boy.
Bendis keeps the dialogue snappy, emphasizing little changes to the characters that helps sell the idea that they have not seen each other in some time.
Riley Rossmo's layouts are dynamic enough to give Bendis and letterer Dave Sharpe room to work without the comic devolving into a bunch of talking heads. In fact, there's some good emotion achieved in the back half of the comic when readers are reintroduced to Triplicate Girl, now down to a duo.
After a beautiful action sequence – Ivan Plascencia makes sure the yellow in Triplicate Girl's costume pops right off the page – Rossmo frames this loss in a triptych, with each of the surviving Triplicate Girls filling one panel, with the third devastatingly empty. It's a story beat that emphasizes the strengths of the comic medium.
It's this bit of heart, and other moments, that keeps Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 from feeling overly rote. This is a narrative that readers have likely experienced before, but the craftsmanship still makes it an entertaining, and sometimes powerful read.
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