I was on vacation when Legion #1 came out, so I didn't get a chance to weigh in on the first issue. But the second issue gives me much the same vibe, which is that it doesn't really "feel" like the Legion to me. Fortunately, that's a good thing as much as it is bad, because the last time the Legion didn't feel like itself was probably during the controversial but undeniably creative Giffen era, and the standard style of Legion, while highly entertaining, has had to be rebooted several times to try and save its sales. By starting from scratch, Waid and Kitson have created what is essentially a new book with a few names and places that will be recognizable to long-time Legion fans, but which is much more accessible and friendly to readers who like team books like DC's JSA and JLA.
All of which is basically an overview of what the Legion is generally, and doesn't really have much to say about issue #2 specifically or even the series specifically. As far as the series goes, Waid's voice comes through loud and clear, which means that it's got a somewhat light-hearted tone, bordering on goofy at times but brimming with enthusiasm for the superhero genre. Some of the schtick (such as Dreamer's time disconnect and how she interacts with people) got on my nerves after a while, but I still liked the basic idea of it, and I give Waid a lot of points just for his clear love of the genre. Hardcore Legion fans may grumble that these aren't the characters they grew up with, that Waid has changed a lot of them, but at their core, the basic heroism and neat powers that got the readers' attention in the first place is still there.
It's become de rigeur for a creator to start a new series with an extended origin sequence showing how the team came to be, really laying down the world in the most basic of fashions. I'm very thankful that this wasn't the direction Waid and Kitson went, because the Legion has had any number of "origin" issues, and really, what they needed to do to get the readers onboard was jump right into the stories. The Stan Lee Presents-esque tag on the credits, a repetition of the narration from the first issue, borders on cheesy but tells the reader all that he or she needs to know: The future is utopia, and teenagers are bored sick of it.
Of course, it's not actually utopia, or the book might be pretty boring. The Legion is still needed, and this issue has one plot that gives an example of why. Waid's take on a planet of precogs and what could threaten them is a clever idea, and the way that the elders of the planet dealt with it both makes sense and perfectly fits into the theme of teenage disenfranchisement that is the core of this iteration of the Legion. Of course, a lot of this issue is based on Waid's notions of precognition, from the really cool "Precommandos" and their focused combat precog to Dreamer's inability to live in the current moment. The tone is a curious mix of Silver Age big ideas and modern style writing, and while I'd say the style leans a bit more toward the former than the latter, I think that's OK, particularly for these characters.
Barry Kitson continues to impress with every project he takes on, and his work on Legion of Superheroes might even surpass his artwork on Empire. His imaginative new costume designs for the Legion members look curiously retro, like the kind of thing that would have been done in the '70s, but they don't look old. Instead, it's an intentional retro look, one that focuses on when superheroes were arguably at their peak, and given that nostalgia is a basis for these Legionnaires' cause, it makes absolute sense that their costumes should look a little retro, with flared boots, high-collared capes and bright, even gaudy colors. Throw in a terrific fight scene between Legion battlers Karate Kid, Shadow Lass and the Precommandos and it's hard not to be pleased with the story's visuals.
I'll be honest, my first impression of issue one was that the book was OK, but nothing special just yet. Mostly I was more annoyed by the loss of the Abnett/Lanning Legion, which I really liked, for yet another reboot. However, this second issue was a lot of fun, and it would be hard to argue against this as the most accessible Legion for new readers yet produced. 8/10
