Legion of Super-Heroes Animated Series Revealed in Surprising Way

Legion of Super-Heroes is getting an animated series and the rating for the show was revealed in a surprising way. FilmRatings.com has a posting for the DC animated program. On their site, it’s supposed to be “rated PG-13 for some violence and language.” This tracks with some of the previous comments from series showrunner Brian Michael Bendis. The HBO Max series has been spoken about earlier this year. With the Legion of Super-Heroes popping up in Young Justice: Phantoms, its an interesting period to be a fan of this DC Comics team. When the project became more concrete, fans had a lot of concerns about the possible tone of the show. On Substack, Bendis explained what people could expect from this new Legion show.

“I used the phrase ‘adult animation’ to describe this show. Some of you definitely have different interpretations of what adult animation means :),” Bendis mused. “Some incorrectly labeled this as potential hard-core pornography. NO. This is a Warner Bros. animation production. Adult means adult THEMES. Obviously, there are hundreds of examples of mature themed animated projects from all over the world.”

He continued: “In the superhero spaces, there are different levels of sophistication meant for different audiences. There are even previous animated Legion shows that skewed young and some people hearing this announcement immediately referenced that. I was just letting you know that this is potentially something else.”

Bendis would later say that he wasn’t at liberty to answer fan questions about a possible art style for the show. But, he could tell fans that the pandemic is allowing the animations a bit more freedom in their approach. “I can tell you, the pandemic has allowed a lot of people in the animation spaces all over the world, both independent and multimedia corporate, to explore,” he offered. “You’ve already seen some of this pop up in all kinds of special projects. I think we’re about to see a golden age of animation something akin to the birth of Pixar.”

The last Legion of Super-Heroes animated series aired back in 2006. For two seasons, fans were treated to a slightly modernized version of the team with Superman in the 31st century. Bendis’ DC comic book actually attached Jonathan Kent to the property. (Also introducing characters like Gold Lantern into the mix!) From all indications, the HBO Max series would seem to be drawing heavily from Bendis’ run on Legion.

Are you down for a new Legion of Super-Heroes show? Let us know down in the comments!