Teen Titans/Legion of Super-Heroes Special #1

I used to be a HUGE LSH fan, but in recent years the concept went on a downward spiral that made me drop the series. With news of Mark Waid and Barry Kitson coming on board, to restart the series. I decided to get this book which promised to send off the current version, in order to make way for the new take.

On first read, the sendoff is one last whimper for a take on the concept that left me disappointed in recent years. Then when I read it again, I was fascinated by what seems to be a great commentary on why a new reboot is needed.

Recent stories especially have left the team's world a mass of rubble, as epitomized by the team's HQ being the mess they find it in. When disaster after disaster happens, the world the characters live in becomes such a mess that rebuilding in it can be more trouble than its worth.

The influx of SO many characters over such a short span of time, has left the team's members as individuals fairly undefined. When reading this issue I was struck by how, other than Brainiac 5, most of the dialogue was interchangeable and not distinctive of any one character.

Add in confusing subplots that even the character's can't explain, Live Wire's attempt at doing so about being in Element Lad's body was hilarious, and that most of the readers probably don't care about. Which in the end meant that the cutting of ties to what this version of the concept became, couldn't have come fast enough.

On the reverse side the little preview we get of the new take, is very promising. Teen rebellion has always been a classic theme to explore, and this one looks like it will take that theme to places it hasn't been in a while.

Instead of a military group as some previous versions had been, this looks to have the Legion be a movement for change. Which should make for a challenging read, as such stories rarely rely on "who is the toughest" to solve the problems at their heart.