What Do Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes Have to Do With Justice League vs. Suicide Squad?

After a previous, vague reference to "the Legionnaire," Justice League vs. Suicide Squad villain Emerald Empress confirmed in today's issue that she is looking for Saturn Girl.

The Legion of Super-Heroes co-founder, spotted in the DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot, showed up recently in an issue of Batman, where she's apparently undergoing treatment at Arkham Asylum.

What's interesting is that Saturn Girl has either been here for quite a while longer than we thought, or Emerald Empress overshot when traveling back in time to find her.

In this week's issue of Suicide Squad, which takes place "several years ago," the beta version of the Squad made up of Maxwell Lord's current team of villains go on their first and only mission. At one point, when asked what it was Waller was promising her operatives, Emerald Empress says that she had been offered information about Saturn Girl.

It's obviously possible that Saturn Girl had not yet appeared in the past and that Waller was only playing Emerald Empress years ago -- that would be in character for Waller -- but in any event, it appears as though the events of Rebirth have been simmering in the background of the post-Flashpoint DC Universe for years.

Given the relationship between Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes in the comics, it seems worth mentioning that the pre-Flashpoint Superman arrived on the post-Flashpoint Earth about ten years ago with his wife Lois and then-newborn son Jon, following the events of the Convergence crisis. He lived (and saved lives) off the grid for nearly a decade until the death of the New 52 Superman, which drew him out of seclusion to publicly reclaim his identity.

Because he has memories of the pre-Flashpoint DC Universe, it's safe to assume that Superman knew exactly who Emerald Empress was talking about when she mentioned Saturn Girl. His response at the time was dismissive, saying that they would "deal with that later," but that was justified by the crisis at hand.

An editorial note, though, indicated that Superman will be dealing with the question of Saturn Girl in the pages of Supergirl.

Supergirl is, of course, written by Steve Orlando, who will also pen the Justice League of America comic that spins out of Justice League vs. Suicide Squad. It seems likely that he had contact with the creative team of the crossover and suggested Emerald Empress as a potential villain in it to give whatever is happening with the Legion in Supergirl a running start.

Even so, there's no hint of the Legion in today's issue of Supergirl. Solicitations for the next couple of months are clear of them, too, with what now seems like an obvious exception: in March, DC has solicited Batgirl Annual #1, which will team Batgirl and Supergirl together to break into Arkham Asylum.

The solicitation teases, "but what they discover—and who they discover—in Arkham will lead to a much, much bigger story!" That book hits the stands on March 29.

Following the events of "Superman Reborn," which runs through the Superman and Action Comics titles in March, April promises to be a pretty interesting time to be a fan of DC's Kryptonian characters, anyway.

All of this also comes, of course, at a time when Mon-El, primarily known as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, is playing a key role on The CW's Supergirl. There has been speculation ever since a Legion ring first appeared on the show last season that fans might get a chance to see a live-action interpretation of the characters, but producers have stayed mum on the issue.

Bringing the Legion into the Supergirl comic -- especially a comic so clearly patterned on the successful TV show, with the DEO and Cat Grant playing major roles -- seems like the kind of thing that could potential portend for the future of the TV show (assuming the publishing side is clued in to that kind of thing).

Hopefully, we'll find out soon. Supergirl returns on January 23. Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #5 will be in stores next Wednesday. Batgirl Annual #1 comes along March 29.