Seven and a half things Very Good Things about the new Legion cartoon.

The animated Legion of Super Heroes show premiered last Saturday on the Kid's WB (hey! how can you have a Kid's WB when there isn't a WB anymore?) and already you can count this little flight-ring wearin' bull among its fans for several reasons:

1. The potential for rotating team members. The producers and writers of the show keep the concept smart but flexible: the opening credits feature eight team members (ten if you count Triplicate Girl three times) which is an easy-to-follow and distinctive group, each of which adds a uniqueness to the team both in powers and visuals. Much like the original Legion charter that prohibited members from having identical powers, it's smart in TV terms to restrict the main Legion team to these core members—it makes it easier to follow and keep track of the team members for new viewers who know nothing of the Legion. But the LSH isn't just eight members, it's a legion, and the show doesn't ignore that, it celebrates it: the Levitz-era Legion tracking board symbols for many different members (including Chemical King, Shadow Lass, Ferro Lad, Karate Kid, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, and Matter-Eater Lad) are included in the opening credits...

...Vi, Cos, and Colossal Boy are namechecked as being "on assignment" in the first episode, Timber Wolf joins in the second episode, and during his swearing-in Cosmic Boy, Blok, Element Lad, Colossal Boy, Dream Girl, Sun Boy, Shrinking Violet...and is that Mon-El?...are seen on monitors. So, like Justice League Unlimited, if your favorite hero isn't included, there's always the chance he or she or even it might pop up in a future episode. I've got high hopes for an episode featuring my fave, Matter-Eater Lad, but for the moment I'm pretty chuffed that this LSH features...

2. Bouncing Boy! Although Chuck Taine was a supporting cast member in the mid-1990s reboot of the LSH, Bouncing Boy hasn't been an active Legion member or character since his wedding in 1974's Superboy #200. That's a long, long time to wait for the dynamic return of one of the most unique and fun characters in Legion lore, and TV is the perfect medium to re-introduce him: his power is fun and dynamic on the screen, and sets him apart from the other Legionnaires both in visual appearance and cheerful optimistic attitude. I know he's not the most popular of Legionnaires, but he has his fans, so I knew he come...ah ha ha...bouncing back someday. Never thought it would take a cartoon series to give him the prominence and respect he deserves, even in the powerhouse Legion that includes Kal-El. Which brings me to...

3. Superboy back in the Legion again. Sure, they call him "Superman" in the show, but you ain't fooling me: that's Superboy. No doubt the rights battle over Superboy determined this decision, but it seems a cheap legal trick and distinction: can you actually legally claim that a teenaged Clark Kent, surrounded by Boys, Lads, and Kids, and who starred in a Legion comic book series for years as Superboy, actually be Superman? But heck, I've leave that up to the lawyers as long as it gives us the familiar red-yellow-and-blue flying alongside the Legion again, for the first time (Kon-El not withstanding) since the late 1980s. It's not only a lovely callback to the origins of the Legion series, but it makes perfect dramatic sense: Clark is our everyman character from our own time, our surrogate in the 31st century. We can see this brave new world through his own X-Ray eyes at the same time he teaches these future teens about the joys of 21st century slang. And the lovely subtle idea of Clark not donning the S-shield until he steps into the future preserves the "no tights, no flights" concept behind Smallville and the Superboy-less post-Crisis continuity. And speaking of timelost characters returning to their roots...

4. Booster Gold? Who's that oh-so-familiar 31st century janitor (and his robot sidekick?) working in the background of the Superman Museum?:

It's just a quick glance, but it's enough to let us know the creators of the show are aware of and reverent of DC Universe history. It might not lead into a story or any other appearance by Michael and Skeets, but it's a "hey, look!" moment that rewards the fans and shows the care and attention the design of this series is getting. Which brings up the subject of...

5. The look of the series. In addition to that familiar janitor, the main room of the Superman Museum is ringed with oversized displays of Superman in action. Action Comics, to be precise: many of the pictures and displays reference famous comic book covers.

It's a fast, swift visual reference that sweeps past and won't be caught by new viewers, but for us LSH fans, it's a delightful little Easter Egg. The care and attention to the look and design of the show carries over in elements that reference classic continuity but are updated with a visual wink to the originals: the Legion cruiser, the spaceship-lookin' Legion Headquarters, the monitor boards featuring the classic "roll call" symbols of the 1980s LSH. The characters are sharp and distinct and designed to actually look like teenagers: muscular but angular, with bodies that haven't quite stopped growing: an immediate visual shorthand for "yes, these are kids!" I like the look and design of the characters a lot: there's a homage to the reboot Legion with the flavor of the original Legion and even a few elements from different eras (the look of Timber Wolf especially owes a good deal to his Five Years Later character, even including the Furball design). I like the look of Legion of Super Heroes a lot more than that of The Batman, which redesigned characters with little regard for previous continuity. Which brings me to...

½: Brainiac 5's redesign. This is the "and a half," because I'm still not 100% convinced of it, but seeing the series changed my mind from "that's wrong!" to "hmmm, that kinda works." A first glance at the advance art for the series had me (and prob'bly more obsessive LSH fans) blinking in surprise and not-quite approval at the redesign of Brainy as a cyborg (or robot?) with extendable, Machine Man-esque limbs. But seeing the character in action goes a long way towards reassuring me it's a workable concept: they haven't turned Brainy into Plastic Man, and more important, it's a change that actually has some basis in the mythology of the DC Animated Universe: since Brainy's ancestor Brainiac was a Kryptonian electronic construct, why shouldn't Brainy be one as well, even if he's a good one? It's an interesting progression that gives B5 more of an action-orientation: instead of cowering behind the force field of the comics, this Brainy is out slugging villains with the rest of the Legion. Plus, his famed twelfth-level intellect isn't ignored, and I like that he's designed to be smaller and slighter than the other Legionnaires. After all...don't computers tend to get smaller in the future? And if he is an electronic being, that's a lovely and optimistic view of the 31st century that even an artificial being has rights and is worthy of being in the Legion. Which brings me to...

6. Being in the Legion is a revered honor. Both episodes have featured dramatic scenes where new members are sworn in and given their Legion flight ring and belt, moments justly focused with importance, respect, and tradition: lovely dramatic moments that clearly display the respect and honor these future teens have for their calling. It's not just fun (though it is that), it's not just an adventure (although it definitely is)...it's an honor. Or, as the Legion oath recited by Timber Wolf puts it:

To the Legion of Super Heroes, I make this solemn pledge: to use my powers for good, to fight for justice, and protect the innocent, to aid my fellow Legionnaires in times of peril, and to keep their secrets safe.

Well, it's no "In brightest day, in blackest night..."...but that's a stirring oath, isn't it? And finally...

7. The chance that we'll see a Legion Adventures animated-style comic book. Let's face it: Batman Adventures and its sequels were among the best Batman comic books put out in recent years. Superman Adventures preserved the fun and continuity of the Superman mythos while the regular books were tearing it down for stunt sales, and the Justice League Unlimited comic is frequently more fun and accessible than the regular JLA book. I know the current Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes book has its fans, but it hasn't really caught my interest. I'm excited, however, about the possibility that if this show is a hit, DC will produce an animated-style tie-in comic. Maybe it'll bring fans of the TV series into comic book stores as a first jump to the long-historied and wonderfully rich world of the Legion. Maybe it'll make a few new comic book fans out of viewers. And that, everybody, is a Very Good Thing indeed. Long Live the Legion!