THE STORY SO FAR: Tell me if this sounds familiar. A planet dying, a child placed within a rocket ship, the last survivor of a destroyed race. He is shot through space to the distant planet Earth, to crash land in an abandoned field. The alien child is found by an elderly man and woman….. who promptly pulls out a shotgun and kills it……yes, I said kills it! Welcome to the 31^st century where all is not quite what it used to be. The Earth, in the name of Superman, has taken a strict no-aliens stance and has rid the planet of all it can find. The Legion of Super-Heroes is a hunted bunch, those that are left, and are directionless. Cue Braniac-5, who reaches to the past for the one hero who can save them all, the Man of Steel, Superman…..But did I forget to mention that Earth’s sun has been changed from yellow to red?

NOW: And with that, we are at Action Comics #859 (Part 2 of Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes), where this futuristic thrill-ride continues to roll. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I love future arcs! I just love getting a glimpse of how our heroes turn out, at what legends and legacies they leave behind. It’s this theme that’s central to this Legion arc, as a twisted version of the origin of Superman is what is behind this chilling change on Earth.

Take a seat, gentle reader; along with a group of grade-schoolers as they are taught that Superman was born an Earthling, with his Kryptonian origins being nothing more than a Legion attempt to place an ‘alien invasion in under our very noses’. They are taught that a rejected Legionnaire, Absorbancy Boy, uncovered an ancient crystal tablet that documents the ‘true’ origin of Superman’s birth and that he (Supes), in fact, despised aliens, making it his life’s work to defend Earth from them. It’s this ‘discovery’ that leads to the radical changes in the 31^st century Earth.

Now a rag-tag collection of Legion members and a powerless Superman must somehow right this wrong, beginning with a search for the missing Braniac-5, who may hold the key to changing everything, while trying to evade a grown-up Absorbancy Boy (now called Earth-Man) and his Justice League.

So the table is set and you’re all invited to join me for a feast of a tale! But make sure you bring your appetite because this one promises to deliver course after course of delicious storytelling combined with great art!