Legion of Super Heroes cartoon
Contents
Introduction
Legion of Super Heroes is an animated show on the CW Network that debuted in the US on Sept. 23, 2006, and in the UK on March 5, 2007. The premise of the show is that in order to defeat the Fatal Five in the 31st century, the Legion travels back in time to find the young Superman. However, they go back to a time where Clark Kent has not taken on the Superman mantle yet, and is still learning his powers. He decides to go to the 31st century to help the Legion and become proficient at his powers. The series centers on the young Superman's adventures in the 31st century, fighting alongside a group of futuristic superheroes known as the "Legion of Super Heroes".
The show somewhat follows the Justice League Unlimited format in that there is a core group of Legionnaires present throught most or all episodes, and a rotating cast of recurring characters that appear from time to time. The regular cast, as seen in promotional material, consists of (alphabetically) Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Superman, and Timber Wolf. Other Legionnaires seen and/or mentioned include Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Shrinking Violet, and Triplicate Girl. Many others are seen or mentioned by their Mission Monitor Board symbols in the opening credits or shown as computer screen images. For a full list of members, see the List of members/LSH cartoon.
This series is not in the same continuity as the Legion episodes in the Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, which took place in the "DC Animated Universe" or "DCAU".
The show was announced as being renewed for a second season on February 8 2007.
Press Release (Season 1)
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES, 11:00-11:30 am: In the year of "Superman Returns" at Warner Bros., Kids' WB! is proud to present a new series developed especially for the "Too Big For Your TV" block by Warner Bros. Animation, inspired by the DC Comics legend. One thousand years from now, a group of teenage super heroes travel back in time to recruit the greatest hero of all, Superman, and enlist him their fight against evil in the 31st Century. While their intentions were good, their time travel skills were not, and Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Bouncing Boy and Timber Wolf end up going too far back into the past, accidentally retrieving the young Superman, before he moved to Metropolis. Together, this unlikely Legion of Super Heroes bands together to defend the rights of all free worlds and uphold the laws of the newly formed United Planets. That is, if they don't kill each other first. LEGION OF SUPER HEROES combines humor with high-stakes, grand-scale super heroics to create the ultimate sci-fi, super hero fantasy for kids of all ages. Each episode of this fast-paced, character-driven action comedy will pit Superboy and the Legion against otherworldly threats and adversaries who challenge the team on both super heroic and emotional levels. The series is executive produced by Sander Schwartz, and produced by Linda Steiner and James Tucker for Warner Bros. Animation.
Press Release (Season 2)
The second season of LEGION OF SUPER HEROES finds the group fulfilling their collective destiny, each member elevating his skills to new levels just in time to face even greater challenges. A daunting new villain -- a destroyer of galaxies from the rich annals of DC Comics -- puts the Legion into action alongside new team members. Superman returns from the 21st century with greater development of both his physical prowess and far better utilization of his powers to help the Legion toward victory in the 31st century and beyond. Moreover, the Legion finds a surprising, new ally from across the space-time continuum to assist in its efforts to rid the universe of this powerful foe.
In his second season as producer of LEGION OF SUPER HEROES" James Tucker is joined by associate producer Amy McKenna and story editor Michael Jelenic. [1]
Legal status issues
The show was originally to star Superboy, but legal issues involving the ownership of the character arose in the summer of 2006 and led Warner Bros. to rename the character Superman instead. The original press release said that the Legion landed in the time of "the young Superboy", while the revised press release description said that the Legion retrieved "the young Superman, before he moved to Metropolis".
Cast
The series as seen in Season 1 revolves around a core group of seven Legionnaires but others will be seen from time to time in recurring roles. The "core team" consists of Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Bouncing Boy and Timber Wolf.
Legionnaires
| Character | Voice Actor |
| Blok | N/A |
| Bouncing Boy | Michael Cornacchia |
| Brainiac 5 | Adam Wylie |
| Colossal Boy | Adam Wylie |
| Cosmic Boy | Wil Wheaton |
| Dream Girl | N/A |
| Element Lad | N/A |
| Lightning Lad (field leader) | Andy Milder |
| Matter-Eater Lad | Alex Polinsky |
| Phantom Girl | Heather Hogan |
| Saturn Girl | Kari Wahlgren |
| Shrinking Violet | N/A |
| Star Boy | N/A |
| Sun Boy | N/A |
| Superman | Yuri Lowenthal |
| Timber Wolf | Shawn Harrison |
| Triplicate Girl | Kari Wahlgren |
| Tyroc | N/A |
Other Legionnaires
During the show's development, some information was uncovered or released:
- Concept sketches of XS were seen during the show's development, along with sketches of other Legionnaires. All but XS have appeared on the show to date.
Other Legionnaires have been mentioned or shown as images before making an in-story appearance:
- The opening credits sequences includes a glimpse of the Mission Monitor Board signs for a myriad of Legionnaires as well as shots of flying Legionnaires not yet seen on the show.
- In episode 1.01 ("Man of Tomorrow"), Cosmic Boy, Shrinking Violet and Colossal Boy are mentioned as active Legionnaires. All later appeared in the series.
- During the coda of episode 1.02 ("Timber Wolf") images of Legionnaires Cosmic Boy, Shrinking Violet, Colossal Boy, Sun Boy, Element Lad, Blok, Dream Girl, and Tyroc can be seen on computer monitors during Timber Wolf's induction into the Legion. All except Dream Girl have since made an appearance.
- In episode 1.08 ("Lightning Storm"), Lightning Lad's twin sister Ayla (the future Lightning Lass) makes an appearance in Garth's flashback to how they all obtained their powers. She had been hinted at earlier in the season, in episode 1.04 ("Fear Factory"), when a flashback to Lightning Lad's room had twin beds, one of which was decorated like a girl's bed. She is also seen with her brothers in a family photograph in episode 1.11 ("Chain of Command").
- In episode 1.11 ("Chain of Command"), Dream Girl is one of several Legionnaires (all of whom had appeared before this point) to appear on video screen.
Finally, some future members of the Legion were seen prior to their joining:
- In episode 1.05 ("Champions"), Ultra Boy and Matter-Eater Lad appeared as participants in the Intergalactic Games, and were shown to have their traditional powers. Both appeared in their civilian identities and were not Legionnaires yet. Matter-Eater Lad was referred to as "Kem the Bismollian" (or "Camden Mismullion", according to the closed captioning) though the name "Tenzil Kem" appeared earlier in the episode written in Interlac. The name "Drake Burroughs" (Wildfire) also appears on a list of contestants, written in Interlac. Kem tries out for Legion membership in episode 1.10 ("Substitutes") and is admitted into the Legion in that episode.
Below is a list of other Legionnaires mentioned or shown in some way that have not yet appeared on the show. As they appear, they will be moved to the Main/Recurring Character list above.
| Character | |
| Chameleon Boy | symbol |
| Chemical King | symbol |
| Dawnstar | symbol |
| Dream Girl | symbol, computer monitor (1.02) |
| Karate Kid | symbol |
| Quislet | symbol |
| Shadow Lass | symbol |
Villains
| Character | Voice Actor |
| Fatal Five | |
| Emerald Empress (leader) | Jennifer Hale |
| Mano | N/A |
| Persuader | N/A |
| Tharok | David Lodge |
| Validus | N/A |
| Dr. Mar Londo | Harry J. Lennix |
| Alexis Luthor | Tara Strong |
| Drax | Greg Ellis |
| Light Speed Vanguard | |
| Esper | Tara Strong |
| Hunter | Khary Payton |
| Mekt Ranzz/Lightning Lord | James Arnold Taylor |
| Ron-Karr | Shawn Harrison |
| Tyr | Khary Payton |
| Wave | N/A |
| Starfinger | Taylor Negron |
| Zyx | Lauren Tom |
| Mordru (as "Evil Wizard") | Richard McGonagle |
| Sun-Eater | N/A |
Other characters
| Character | Voice Actor |
| Jo Nah of Rimbor | James Arnold Taylor |
| Winema Wazzo, President of the United Planets, mother of Phantom Girl | April Winchell |
| Legion of Substitute Heroes | |
| Chlorophyll Kid | Alex Polinsky |
| Color Kid | James Arnold Taylor |
| Infectious Lass | Kari Wahlgren |
| Porcupine Pete | James Arnold Taylor |
| Stone Boy | Yuri Lowenthal |
Staff and Crew
This is not a complete list.
| Job title/description | staffer(s) |
| Executive Producer | Sander Schwartz |
| Producer | James Tucker, Linda Steiner (season 1 only) |
| Associate Producer | A. J. Vargas (season 1), Amy McKenna (season 2) |
| Series Story Editor | Rob Hoegee (season 1), Michael Jelenic (season 2) |
| Series Directors | Ben Jones, Tim Maltby, Lauren Montgomery |
| Main Title Theme | Kristopher Carter |
| Music | Kristopher Carter, Michael McCustion, Lolita Ritmanis |
| Casting and Voice Director | Kelly Ward |
| Writers | Stan Berkowitz, John Esposito, Rob Hoegee, Rob Hummel, Marty Isenberg, David Slack, Scott Sonneborn, Matt Wayne, Amy Wolfram |
| Art Director | Dave Johnson |
| Character Designer | Derrick J. Wyatt, Glenn Wong |
| Storyboards | Irineo Maramba, Jay Baker |
| Backgrounds/Props | Norm Ryang, Eric Canete, Chad Townshend |
| Voice editing/ADR, post-production | Mark Keefer |
List of episodes
| Episode number | Episode Title | Original Air Date |
| 1.01 | Man of Tomorrow | Sept. 23, 2006 |
| 1.02 | Timber Wolf | Sept. 30, 2006 |
| 1.03 | Legacy | Oct. 7, 2006 |
| 1.04 | Fear Factory | Nov. 18, 2006 |
| 1.05 | Champions | Nov. 11, 2006 |
| 1.06 | Phantoms | Nov. 4, 2006 |
| 1.07 | Child's Play | Feb. 24, 2007 |
| 1.08 | Lightning Storm | Feb. 10, 2007 |
| 1.09 | Brain Drain | Feb. 3, 2007 |
| 1.10 | The Substitutes | Feb. 17, 2007 |
| 1.11 | Chain of Command | Mar. 3, 2007 |
| 1.12 | Sundown pt. 1 | |
| 1.13 | Sundown pt. 2 |
Awards and Nominations
2006-07 Season
The series was nominated[2] for three Creative Arts Emmy Awards, a subset of the Daytime Emmy Awards:
- Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition
- Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Live Action and Animation
- Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing - Live Action and Animation
Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century
The comic series Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century follows the continuity of the cartoon series. Some issues will adapt televised episodes, others will have original material.
