Legion of Super-Heroes #1 - Who Killed the Future?

 

Legion of Super-Heroes #1

Released 9/2/2026
DC Comics, Color
35 Pages

Who Killed the Future?

Joshua Williamson - Writer
Hayden Sherman - Artist
Tamra Bonvillain - Colorist
Hassan Otsmane-Elhadu - Letterer
Chris Rosa - Associate Editor
Paul Kaminski - Group Editor

Synopsis

Our book begins with a narration of a diary whose author shall be revealed later; a narration of the origins of Superboy in a single page, a boy who wanted to use his powers to help others.  

A THOUSAND YEARS LATER we see the sprawling megalopolis of Superopolis, capital of Earth (with a giant statue of Superman in the distance). The diary writer speaks to an optimism to the return of heroes who are to be admired, not worshipped. We focus on a crime scene - Science Police and Persuaders (armor clad sentinels with energy axes) cordon off an area with a body covered in a sheet with a traditional "Legion L" painted in red on the wall behind.  Private detectives Brainiac One of Five and Tenzil are surveilling the scene and decide to investigate the murder of RJ Brande for the challenge. Brainiac 1 of 5 breaks into the SP database but only finds that that the Science Police are keeping this investigation quiet and that Brande was attempting to broker peace among the United Planets worlds. The one data point that Brainy catches that is new is that Brande was looking into something called LEGION. Brande was researching Super Heroes, which are now outlawed.

We change to the planet Winath where a young man on a lightning cycle (the "Lightning Beast") chases after a group of hovercar thieves. He announces himself as Lightning Lad and disables the thieves' vehicle as the authorities arrive and Lightning Lad races off. Garth (the young man's real name) crawls into the window of his suburban home only to be confronted by his twin sister Ayla. She chastises him about his vigilante acts as well as his hero worship over Superboy (of whom Garth has a lot of memorabilia). Garth insists that the gift of lightning acquired by him, Ayla and their older brother Mekt is something to be used as Super Heroes, which is explicitly against the law. Ayla warns Garth that they can get into a lot of trouble and be voluntold to join the Persuaders if they use powers. 

On the planet Braal, all eyes are on the championship MagnoBall game. Rokk Krinn is getting fouled until he can't deal with it, then uses his powers to pull down parts of the stadium to create a suit of armor around himself then goes on the attack.  Afterwards, his parents rip into him saying that he was their only way off Braal.

On the planet Titan, the moon of Saturn, telepaths go about their daily routines of shopping and socializing. A young lady is using clairvoyance to look outside her walls and listen to people but the strain is too much. She needs to focus, and her tutor comes in and tells her to stop daydreaming; she is a leader of the planet and many struggles have been fought for Titanians to use their telepathic abilities. The young lady asks to take a break, she's sad because she can't meet others. Her teacher tells her not to be a baby and walks away. The young lady hears voices: Superboy, Darkseid, Brainiac One Million, Cyborg Superman, other versions of the Legion.

Back on Earth, Brainy and Tenzil infiltrate Brande's office. Tenzil promptly chews into the safe and extracts Brande's diary, which is what has provided this issue's narration. They open the book to see an entry (and drawing) of a Carggite. Brainy links into Brande's computer just as three Persuaders burst in through the window to apprehend the investigators, a winged one leading the way. Tenzil jumps to action and charges at the now terrified Persuaders.

Back on Winath, Garth and Ayla walk to school separately as Garth is still glum. Taking a side path he is captured by the gang he neutralized earlier, now back out on bail, and proceed to beat Garth up. On Earth, Brainy finds the answer.  On Winath we see who it is.  Mekt Ranzz, appearing in a suit that has a large Legion logo on the chest, has come to save his little brother, but he is also revealed as the murderer of RJ Brande.

Commentary

Welcome to version 9 of the Legion of Super-Heroes!  Its fair to say that with the buildup over the last couple years with a Legion of Darkseid across the DCKO books, and the official announcement that this book was arriving in September 2026, its generated a LOT of interest, primarily due to the fact that it has two of DC's superstars writing and illustrating, and the support team is just as on point.  Group Editor Paul Kaminski has said that this Legion can be considered similar to the so-called "Kelvin timeline" of Star Trek based on the 2009 movie, where all the elements of Star Trek are there on screen, but there's an update in style, tone and subject.  And I think this new LSH definitely hits that mark. 

This is a very different take, as this is the first issue of the arc that will tell the origin of the team, unlike most scenarios where it is all contained in one issue. Its also centered around a mystery - who killed RJ Brande? - that in itself is a step into the unknown. And that step into the unknown is probably the best thing about this relaunch and story. The PZH reboot took a lot of flack for its trope of retelling Silver Age Legion stories. That led to the "how are they going to change story element x" discussions for longtime readers, and the results would be very hit or miss.  But here, the fact that we don't know what's coming next is EXACTLY why I am really liking this book.  Its giving me something I didn't know I wanted to read.

Every character has a distinct tone, which is a breath of fresh air. I could feel the earnestness of Garth wanting to become a hero and be more just as I could feel Ayla's dismissiveness, which made for a great contrast. Rokk did not say a word, but you can tell that he's very serious in the actions that he takes and why he takes them - he is a believer in justice, as he doesn't do anything until multiple fouls have been overlooked. Imra feels completely isolated physically and psychologically as the princess of Titan.  And I am the LAST person on planet Earth who thought that Tenzil and Brainy would turn out to be one of the most interesting character pairings ever made. 

Story-wise, Williamson takes us through this mystery very intentionally, beat by beat, to reveal the core mystery (Brande's murder), the individual future-Legionnaires in their native environments, this new universe through the entries in Brande's diary until finally tying two of the threads together by answering one question (the identity of the murderer) and opening up another (Why is there a Legion emblem on his chest)? Who are these Persuaders exactly, aside from government muscle? Why are they ALL carrying energy axes? Who is the one with wings? WHY is the UP having problems?  These are the exact questions that leave me as a reader at the end of a comic book and say, "And THEN what???" And given that its been 20 years since I have had to be in that position, and its is an uncomfortably great feeling.

Fleshing out this world is art from Hayden Sherman, well known in DC circles from their amazing work in Batman: Dark Patterns and Absolute Wonder Woman. Just as Williamson has created distinct characters with their own voices, Sherman makes each world into its own specific tone, even going down to the paneling in the page layouts being unique to the planet. Superopolis on Earth is shown as a sprawling hodgepodge of building styles with the variety of species walking around just as numerous. Winath is a suburban paradise with its own dark side. Braal has an industrial town feel. Titan has flowing towers. The main characters (probably with the exception of Brainiac 1 of 5) actually look like teenagers. And its a unique look - yet another reason for liking this book; it is very different from a lot of traditional sci-fi. And a Lightning Cycle?  C'mon, how cool is that??

Supporting the visual aspect is Tamra Bonvillain coloring Sherman's art. If you've been reading anything DC over the last few years, chances are that you've seen her coloring work (Wonder Woman, JLU, DC Pride Specials, the list goes on).  Here it is outstanding and compliments Sherman's art by the tones used on the different planets that we visit over the course of the issue.  

I don't give enough love to letterers, but Hassan Otsmane-Elhadu is amazingly dynamic.  The caption boxes are in a different type than Brainy's voice, who is different from Persuaders, etc. And the display lettering is just as good and makes the story pop in interesting ways, providing clear differences in voices or effects (or both).  

Speaking of cool ways of showing dialogue - Sherman has devised the most unique telepathic thought communication style I think I've ever seen. Its devised of concentric rings around a central picture, that being the picture of the subject of the sentence. The rings around that provide one (or more than one) verb and/or adverb and the outer ring being a modifier showing the mood of the statement. It is quite unique, and requires the reader to slow down and pay attention to what is on the page, again a refreshing approach. 

Rounding out the primary creative team is Associate Editor Chris Rosa and Group Editor Paul Kaminski making sure the trains run on time (and more importantly, in the proper voice!).  Long time readers will hopefully listen to the Long Live the Legion Podcast, where we've had both Paul and Joshua on to talk LSH, and its drastically obvious that we have a creative team here who gives a damn about the whole package they are bringing us readers.

I am enjoying the ride so far, but the real test is the younger set.  I gave this issue to both of my daughters to read (like they have time, but I insisted) ,both in their 20s, and they came away interested in what was going on in the book.  One daughter is more on the artistic side and she was VERY impressed by the art. The other enjoyed the mystery aspect of issue #1's plot. Let's see if they keeps reading.  But if this book is to get Gen Z (and Alpha for that matter), I'd say the creative team is going in the right direction.

Older readers, especially those entrenched in a particular version (as I am with v3 and with Post Zero Hour) will likely need to compartmentalize, or at least quiet the inner voice that would say, "but that's not..." etc. This issue, and I suspect the issues to follow, require the long time Legion fan to let go, enjoy the ride, have fun with the Easter Eggs Sherman and Williamson have put in along the way.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1 is a must buy, and provides a way into the Legion for new fans, but also similar enough waypoints on the journey for long time readers to see the familiar but in a way that is likely to be unexpected (similar to the Absolute titles in that respect), which is exactly what is needed to launch a team with multiple takes already and make it fresh. In my opinion, Hayden Sherman should have an award for this issue for the Titanian though bubbles alone. Go out and get a copy!

Grade: A: This book is giving me what I didn't know I wanted to read.