Customer Reviews

Legion of Super Heroes Volume 1

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

The only reason Time-Warner continues to put out this one disc/three-four episodes nonsense is to snare small children, who will needle their parents into making the impulse buy. The adult fans of these shows already know to wait for the inevitable box sets. This is aimed squarely at kids, who don't have the ability to discern what a bad deal it truly is. Shame on you, Time-Warner.

I agree with some of the other writers here. If you buy this dvd you are supporting Warner Bro's and their consistant greedy bonehead decisions to constantly release these 3-4 episode per dvd items. It's ridiculous and a RIP OFF!! YOu can get the entire seasons of the Batman for no more that 15 bucks right after the season ends..but this cartoon you get only 4 episides for the same price and its also WB. Greedy. Please do not purchase this item. Force full season sets to be released day 1. True fans..I know you agree...represent.

I hate that Warner keeps doing these one disc/3 or 4 episode releases for their cartoon series first and waiting years to do full season releases. Full seasons releases are the standard now and I wish that Warner would get on board. I'll be waiting for the full season and will laugh when I see this release in the cut-out bin next year.

I actually bought this and then returned it as soon as I got it because I thought I had ordered the FULL season, this dvd only had 4 episodes, which is bogus. They need to stop playing games and give the fans and collectors what they want, not try to wring every penny out of our pockets.

Let's get the rating over with: 5 stars for the series, 1 star for this Volume 1 excrement (which averages to 3 stars).

Tomorrow, young Clark Kent embarks on his new job as Daily Planet copy boy in bustling Metropolis. But, for now, he's spending his last night in Smallville. Later in that evening, he's visited by time travelling youths from the 31st century. They desperately need Clark and his abilities in order to best the powerful Fatal Five. But Clark still has a ways to go before he becomes the celebrated costumed crime fighter. In fact, he's still growing into his powers (he's still shaky on the flying part). And he's certainly never heard of this Superman fella. However, after being reassured that he'll be returned to the same temporal moment as his departure, he agrees to go on the adventure. Clark Kent doesn't know it yet, but it's gonna be a long night.

In 2006, the Kids' WB line - on the CW network - opened the curtains on LEGION OF SUPERHEROES. And, with the recent drying up of animated superhero shows, this one couldn't have come at a better time. It's a point of interest that this show doesn't bear the same continuity as Bruce Timm's Batman: T.A.S., Superman: T.A.S., or the JUSTICE LEAGUE/JLU series. But it doesn't really have to. LEGION OF SUPERHEROES is a darn good show, and will thrive on its own merits. Believe me. I've seen every episode. So, if you like the four episodes here, it gets even better.

The focus early on is mostly on this version of Superman (Superboy, really), but we get enough of a spotlight on the other kids to justify the series title. The ones I've gotten to like best, besides Clark, are Phantom Girl (who must have recessive Valley Girl genes but makes very good use of her phantom powers), the robotic Brainiac (a 12th-level intellect and a devout Superman fanboy, although "Phantoms" reveals his cautious, practical side), and Timberwolf (bestial looking and looking cool). I do like the show's out-of-left-field choice of Bouncing Boy, whose character lends to levity. The brash Lightning Lad fills in the role of Superman's competition and critic (you know it'd be too boring if Supes got along with everyone; besides, Batman's not here). Saturn Girl, by the way, could do with a personality infusion.

With a rich, rich history to draw from (LoSH debuted in 1958), there won't be a lack of story lines to plumb here. In the villains department, the inaugural episode doesn't waste time in ushering in the fearsome Fatal Five. Other episodes included treat us to the debuts of a descendant of Lex Luthor's and of Drax, who professes to have been born in the Phantom Zone and who has a voice in his head that keeps reiterating how evil he is. Do I sense a possible change of heart sometime in the future?

This dvd also comes with a 9-minute-long "We Are Legion" featurette (worth watching). The four episodes are:

Episode 1 - "Man of Tomorrow" - To combat the Fatal Five, the Legion of Superheroes travel back in time to recruit the greatest superhero of them all. Except that the 31st century heroes land in Smallville and some time before Clark Kent puts on the cape and tights. Blink, and you'll miss Booster Gold vacuuming in the museum.

Episode 2 - "Timber Wolf" - The Legion responds to a distress call originating from a scientist being terrorized by a feral beast. But not all is as it appears. Surprisingly, I found this one to be pretty boring, which is strange, because I like Timberwolf.

Episode 3 - "Legacy" - Clark hangs out with the richest girl in the galaxy and again discovers that wearing a cape is a fashion faux pax. Meanwhile, the rest of the Legion rumbles with the Scavengers, a gang of technology thieves. Keep an eyeball peeled for a quick glimpse of Lobo (at least I think it's Lobo).

Episode 4 - "Phantoms" - In the Superman museum, Clark inadvertently activates the Phantom Zone projector and releases Drax, who shares Superman's abilities plus an immunity to kryptonite.

And that's it! Four measly episodes! I agree with everyone here. Absolutely, it sucks that the fans are getting a raw deal yet again. On an even more personal level, now I have to wait even longer for my favorite episode "The Substitutes" to come out on dvd. Dang!

This is a 1 for Warner but a 5 for the show.

If you are a Legion fan, you've probably already seen the show. But if you're a Legion fan who hasn't seen this incarnation of the team- or maybe a Teen Titans fan lamenting the loss of that great show- LoSH is worth seeing.

If you liked Teen Titans in animation then the Legion provides some interesting comparisons and contrasts- both are anime-influenced with plenty of action but while the theme of Teen Titans is friendship, the theme of the Legion is heroism. It leads to different relationships and a different feel to the show and although the characters are consistent in their actions and as well-developed as you could hope from the format, the chemistry between the characters is not quite where TT got in the first season- but there is promise in LoSH and I'm looking forward to season 2.

Despite the fact that LoSH is a kid/teen-oriented show and not part of the "Timmverse" I am happy with the way the writers and producers respect the history of the Legion- and some of that is in surprising ways, including a budding romantic relationship between two characters, the death of third and an epic story that is a part of Legion lore.

Granted, on a 4 episode DVD it's unlikely that you'll see any of those moments but when Warner finally gets around to releasing the complete first season on DVD I'll enjoy watching the evolution of the team by watching the episodes in order [Kid's WB showed the episode out of sequence during the broadcast run].

In short: great content, crummy marketing.

btw- this is not, "Legion of the Super Heroes." Ugh.

But I agree with everyone else about the 1 for the way it's released. Warner, for the love of all that is holy, put out a Season set of 13 episodes on 2 discs please. Just like you (eventually) did for Teen Titans and The Batman. This 4 episodes on a disc for 10 bucks is lame.

But not as lame as 4 10 minute Krypto episodes for 10 bucks. That needs to be put out as Season Sets as well.

First full season was 13 episodes. It's outrageous to charge the same price as The Batman or Teen Titans sets for only 4 episodes.

Man of Tomorrow
Timber Wolf
Legacy
Fear Factory
Champions
Phantoms
Child's Play
Lightning Storm
Brain Drain
The Substitutes
Chain of Command
Sundown, Pt. 1
Sundown, Pt. 2

Whole season sets have been the mainstay for the past 5 years. The days of getting 2 or 4 episode per purchase died back with the VHS, except with animation. The reason is simple, parents will pay to keep their children happy. So Kids WB knows that offering this in volume will make them more money then offering it as a full season set. Similar volume sets were offered with Justice League,Batman and Superman the animated series. Later they offered those series as box sets. A true fan of the series can risk it and wait and see if the season set will be offered in 2 years but if its not they might find that the volume sets are out of print by then.

I think that all animation should be offered in season sets and not piece mealed out in volumes.

As a DCAU aficionado and collector of animation, I awaited the official release of the Legion of Superheroes with great interest. The program, for those who have yet to experience it, is very well crafted under James Tucker's production. It comes off as a slightly brighter, futurist mini-Justice League with loads of interesting character development. The young and inexperienced Superman brings a level of relate-ability to the formula and the show's writers brilliantly use his character as the catalyst to the viewer's awe of the future.

The biggest flaw in this set comes from Warner themselves. Rather than release a full season, Volume 1 consists of only 4 episodes on a single disc. For $12 this really takes advantage of a great show and turns it into a moneymaking scheme. Volume 2 is already available for pre-order for around the same price and once again contains only 4 episodes. At this rate, the consumer is expected to purchase 3 volumes (which is close to $40) for one season! Come on, WB, that's just wrong.

I should mention however, that Volume 1 does include a nice little bonus feature called "We Are Legion" that includes interviews with the shows writers and production team. It's quite an interesting little segment.

As it stands, I give the show 5 stars, this set however is a 1 star deal.