Accept This Substitute!!

Not too long ago, I opined that if DC was going to continue to piddle around in bringing back the Legion Of Super-Heroes, Marvel should give a lot more prominence to the Imperial Guard, just to tweak their publishing rivals.

Well, someone was listening.

(No, of course I don't think Jeff Lemire, or anyone at Marvel, reads this cow-town puppet show of a blog. Allow me my fleeting moment of reflected glory, however unearned.)

In this week's Thanos #3, guess who gets to fight the Mad Titan? And guess who gets to be described an awful lot like the Legion?

Hells yes.

And like the LSH...

MANY. MANY. MEMBERS.

And, yeah, just like the Legion beat Darkseid, the Imperial Guard takes out Thanos:

Granted, Thanos is ill, but still...

So go ahead, DC. Continue to drop hints and clues that go nowhere in plot lines that develop at a glacial pace. Hell, we're approaching a year into Rebirth, and DC still hasn't gotten around to actually explaining or clarifying anything yet--so at this pace any Legion revival is at least a year off, if it's not just a big tease to begin with.

In the meantime, Long Live The Imperial Guard!!

Manic Monday Triple Overtime--If We Can't Have A Legion, Then...

Just a reminder...

The Imperial Guard exists. [Click to embiggen to full Cockrum-osity]

People tend to forget about the Imperial Guard. They're viewed as a cutesy in-joke by Claremont and Cockrum, a one-off tribute to the Legion Of Super-Heroes of the era (frequently drawn by Cockrum).

And they tend to turn up here or there, a brief appearance in cosmic event X or forgettable mini-series Y. But nobody really pays attention to them.

Well, you know what, Marvel? If DC is going to dither around on giving us any more Legion ("Oh, really, we promise, we're just to busy with 15 Deathstroke, Harley & Suicide Squad series now! We'll get to it! Really!"), then why not try to steal their game a little bit?

Sure, maybe Guardians Of The Galaxy has filled a part of their cosmic niche, but then you have to read a Bendis-written book. Meanwhile, there's definitely room for a "team of youngsters, one from each planet, gathered together to defend their interstellar confederation" in the vast Marvel Universe. Hey, tinker with the concept a bit, focus on the Imperial Academy or what have you to make it even more Legion-like.

Hell, give it to Mark Waid to write--it'll be like shivving DC twice. And what are they going to do about it? Whine that you're coming too close to a concept that they have no interest in publishing?

Yes, I know that Marvel has better things to do than spend valuable resources on projects intended to spur DC to action. So what? It's my blog, here my will reigns supreme, and I say Marvel should go for it!

Long Live The Imperial Guard!!