DC Just Revealed the Devastating Fate of Comics’ First Teen Super Team

DC Comics have been pushing Superman hard and that makes sense. The Superman movie was a big success, and the fact that much of the praise for it was how comic accurate it was, so they want new fans to get as much quality Superman content as possible. Superman is the epicenter for the main plot of the DC Multiverse this year, with the “Legion of Darkseid” story giving readers an action blockbuster that plays into the history of Superman and the Legion of Superheroes. The Legion of Superheroes is one of DC’s most storied teams, and while they’ve been in limbo since the last attempted reboot in the late ’10s, “Legion of Darkseid” feels like a way to bring them to the forefront again. Superman #29 catches readers up with the team and its multiple version, showing things aren’t exactly great for the team right now.

Superman, teamed with his former enemy Superboy-Prime, has gone to the future to find his old friends and sees a ruined 31st century. The Legion of Darkseid has already been there, and they’ve torn apart the future. Surrounded by the bodies of his former friends, Superman has showed up in the last moments of the Legion War. While there are survivors, the Legion of Superheroes, the first major teen super team, has been defeated.

The Darkseid Legion Is Unstoppable

Readers were first introduced to the Darkseid Legion in DC All-In #1, a shock that longtime DC fans weren’t expecting. At some point in the future of the Absolute DC Universe, Darkseid is able to defeat the DC superhero community and becomse the inspiration for the Legion. This is quite different from the original Legion’s origin, which was that they were a group of teenage aliens from the future who decided to be superheroes because of Superman’s time as Superboy. The Legion of Superheroes is one of the largest groups of heroes in comics, with power ranging from telepathy, lightning control, gravity control, magnetism, shapeshifting, super strength, invulnerability, size control, shadow control, and many more. They’ve always been a veritable superhero army. The Darkseid Legion were raised in a universe where Darkseid is the dominant being, so instead of following Superman’s example of not killing, this time has no problem destroying their enemies. The Legion War, as the event is called in Superman #29, saw the Darkseid Legion attack the four versions of the Legion of Superheroes. This is where things are going to confusing, so buckle-up if you don’t know anything about the Legion of Superheroes.

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DC is known for their continuity reboots and this played havoc with the Legion’s history. There’s been four major reboots of the Legion over the years (there were also three minor reboots, counting the Darkseid Legion) — there’s the original pre-Crisis Legion, which ended in the early ’90s and was brought back in 2007 (and most recently in Justice Society of America #10-11 from 2024), the Reboot Legion, which was the ’90s version of the team, the Threeboot Legion, which came back in 2005, and the Bendis Legion, an all-new version of the Legion under the pen of Brian Michael Bendis. It was established in Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds that each of the first three versions of the Legion existed on different Earths, so the Bendis Legion probably fits into that. All four teams were together for the attack of the Darkseid Legion. The Legion is usually about 30-some odd members strong, so there were over a hundred Legionnaires against the Darkseid Legion. The Darkseid Legion were able to destroy the vast majority of the heroes. There were some survivors — all four Brainiac 5s, Dawnstar, Polar Boy, Gold Lantern, Kinetix, and Starman. The Brainiacs captured the Darkseid Legion’s Brainiac and is able to discover that the Darkseid Legion is from another Earth — the Absolute Earth — allowing Darkseid to create an unstoppable force that can easily run through four other versions of the team.

Can Superman Save the Legion?

Usually, Superman showing up anywhere, especially with someone as powerful as Superboy-Prime with him, would be a cause for celebration for the Legion. However, the survivors have seen just what the Darkseid Legion is capable of, and know just how dangerous they are. In fact, the survivors let Superman know that he made a huge mistake coming to the future — that the whole battle was partly a trap for Superman. However, they agree to help him attack the Time Institute, where the Darkseid Legion has made their home, using the time travel technology there to move up and down the timestream.

Superman has always been even more powerful than the entire Legion, but that has always been the Legion that he helped train. The Darkseid Legion is an entirely new team. They were able to kill the vast majority of four different Legions. The Darkseid Legion is the most dangerous version of the team we’ve ever seen. So, even with Superman’s help, there’s a good chance that Superman won’t be able to help defeat the Darkseid Legion, especially with the twist of the end of the issue, where Superman learns that he made a huge mistake. “Legion of Darkseid” has been a wild ride, and it looks that ride isn’t even close to over yet.

Superman #29 is on sale now.