In questi giorni, il web ha visto la pubblicazione di due interviste di enorme interesse per tutti gli appassionati della Legione. Entrambe, a loro modo, possono essere paragonate a delle finestre sulla storiografia del franchise fantascientifico della DC Comics. La prima, è uno sguardo al passato; la seconda, al futuro.

In un lungo articolo datato 27 aprile, AICN (edit: link rimosso causa spam) ha confessato lo scriba Mark Waid, professionista di lungo corso nel comicdom supereroico statunitense. Il sito ha approfittato dell’occasione per ripercorrere con Waid tutta la sua ricca carriera di sceneggiatore, ma anche di semplice appassionato. Dal canto suo, l’autore dell’Alabama ha dato gran soddisfazione all’intervistatore e, come d’abitudine, non si è tirato indietro dal parlare con schiettezza, levandosi pure qualche sassolino dalla scarpa.
Tra il 2004 e il 2007, Waid è stato responsabile di quella che a mio modo di vedere è la peggiore parentesi della Legione. Credo sia stato in quella occasione che io lo soprannominai “il malefico trippone”. In sintesi, nel tentativo di rilanciare la serie, egli eseguì un secondo “reboot” alla contiuity legionaria (il primo ebbe luogo nel 1994), proponendo una ennessima – ma soprattutto una pessima – riscrittura da zero del futuro del DC Universe. Ecco cosa l’attuale Editor-in-Chief dei Boom Studios ricorda di quella devastante esperienza:

Il volume con gli ultimi episodi della Legione scritti da Mark Waid. Disegni di Barry Kitson

BM: Was the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES a difficult property to tackle given the numerous incarnations and histories involved with the team even though you essentially relaunched the book? Was this a book you had always had your sights on?

MW: I’d actually already written it for a while back in ’94. And next to Superman, it’s always been my favorite longtime DC property. Paul Levitz is the only person I’ll allow is a bigger lifelong fan of the Legion than I am. I love everything about their history and know it better than I know my own family’s. Problem was, that history was badly broken. CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and the John Byrne SUPERMAN reboot and a few other storylines had really wrecked the Legion’s continuity beyond repair, and no matter how fast we ran around trying to patch the raft, some other ripple in DC continuity was blowing another hole in it, to the point where Legion history seemed like nothing BUT hasty patches.

The absolute, irrefutable reality was that by the early 2000s, new-reader perception of the Legion was that it was an impenetrable read full of mismatched history that made no sense. You can argue all you like that this perception wasn’t fair or accurate, if you’re so inclined, but it didn’t matter. That was the series’ reputation, and it hardened around the characters like cement. We couldn’t give that book away no matter how good it actually was. In fact, it’s forgotten, but the last time it was relaunched around about 2000 (as THE LEGION by Abnett and Lanning), you could not have asked for a greater promotional push. Wizard Magazine promoted it with giveaways, and they NEVER promote DC. Ads were everywhere, retailer incentives were created…and it was still pretty well D.O.A.

So in 2005, I was asked if I wanted to come aboard, and I felt there were only two ways to go–either try to get back to Silver Age continuity, which was flatly impossible in part because of the ongoing litigation between the Siegel estate and DC over who owned Superboy–or plant a giant flag that said, “Everything starts fresh here, it’s all new, it’s a total reboot and we’re all on the same page, readers and creators.” I chose the latter path, for good or ill. Barry Kitson and I worked out their entire world, including origin material you’ll never see, and (at the suggestion of writer Tom Peyer) rethought the Legion as less of a super-team and more of a political movement. And we got some mileage out of it, and I like what we did.

But now we’re back to what I was saying before–how liquid DC continuity was at the moment. While we were busting our asses to rebuild the franchise (and getting periodic fan notes from Paul Levitz, which were gold to me), a whole different editorial office was allowing Brad Meltzer to undo absolutely all our hard work for one of his JLA stories, which (he’d been told) could star the 1980s Legion, as if ours never existed. I don’t blame Brad at all, but boy, was that mismanaged on all levels–because it was deliberately kept secret from us until it was on the verge of being printed. I would have JUMPED at the chance to play along somehow, thus strengthening a new Legion series that were on about issue four or five of, rather than sending a message that our Legion was just some sort of aberrant fan-fiction. (Yes, I’m still pissed.) Barry and I were dealt with in unbelievable bad faith, which I could have endured, but it wasn’t just about Barry and me; it made DC as a whole just look stupid and uncoordinated, and I still love DC enough to hate when that happens.

Eventually, long after Barry and I finished our run, Superboy was returned to DC and Geoff Johns now has the opportunity to re-re-re-relaunch the Legion as its Silver Age incarnation, and more power to him. On the one hand, I wish we’d had that chance, but the timing wasn’t right and it wasn’t in the stars. On the other hand, I have no regrets because I have to work extra-hard sometimes to convince some readers that I’d much rather move forward than backward.

In sintesi, Waid sostiene di essere stato “castrato” da limiti editoriali di cui, evidentemente, non sta soffrendo Geoff Johns con la sua “Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds”. Dovendo girare attorno all’ostacolo, l’autore di “Kingdom Come” ha fatto quindi un tentativo, sfruttando le armi che poteva. Una specie di McGyver del fumetto, insomma. Purtroppo, è andata male. Pazienza.
Le argomentazioni esposte nel brano da me appena riportato, però, non mi convincono. In primis, il fatto che i lettori considerassero “impenetrabili” i fumetti della Legione è un pregiudizio, reale, che soluzioni come un “reboot” non potevano che aggravare ulteriormente. E’ un po’ come cercare di placare un incendio con la benzina: dannoso per la salute e per il portafogli.
Inoltre, la reinterpretazione operata da Waid fu troppo “radicale” e lontana dal concept di base della Legion of Super-Heroes: da gruppo di persone apparentemente distanti ma unite nel profondo da comuni ideali positivi, la versione del 2004 presenta invece dei ragazzi viziati, ribelli e in piena crisi isterica adolescenziale. Inevitabile l’alienazione sia da parte dello zoccolo duro del fandom, me compreso, che dagli attesi nuovi lettori fra i giovani, che probabilmente avranno ripiegato su fumetti che non li dipingevano con gli occhi di un vecchio padre deluso.
So long, Mark!

Mentre AIC ospita lo sfogo di Waid nei confronti dell’ex boss Dan DiDio, andate a leggere cosa dice lo sceneggiatore a proposito della genesi del settimanale “52”, l’istituzionale Newsarama, detto anche il “Porta a Porta” dei comics, pubblica invece un’intervista promozionale allo stesso Executive Editor della DC.
Rispondendo a una sfilza di domande di vario genere, il baffuto “capo dei capi” italoamericano ha snocciolato anche qualche anteprima Legion-related, tra cui, Deo gratias, una data di uscita ufficiale per “Adventure Comics” (vol.III):

3. Can you give any information about the Superman crossover that’s coming up in August?
DD: I can’t give much information other than to say that it deals around the events and situations that are taking place on the world of New Krypton.
NRAMA: So it’s a New Krypton-based story?
DD: It’s a New Krypton-based story taking place within the Superman group of books.

5. Something that Tony Bedard mentioned back at the start of R.E.B.E.L.S. – there was a companion project that was planned to go with R.E.B.E.L.S. – is that still happening?
DD: Sure is – there’s going to be a one-shot story of Starro the conqueror that will introduce Starro in a brand new light coming very soon.

7. We have a few more questions asking about the Batgirl series – is it something that’s still out there, or is it something that will be retro-solicited after, perhaps, the conclusion of the Oracle miniseries?
DD: No – it’s not going to be retro-solicited. It will be hitting shops in August. As will Adventure Comics.

Se con l’addio di Waid si è chiusa una porta per la Legione dei Super-Eroi, con la nuova serie di “Adventure Comics” potrebbe aprirsi, di contro, il proverbiale portone. Ce la faranno i nostri eroi a rifare un ingresso in pianta stabile nella checklist mensile DC Comics? Lo scopriremo, forse, a partire da agosto.