Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds is a comic book produced by DC Comics between 2008 and 2009, written by Geoff Johns and drawn by George Pérez. Despite the name, it actually has no involvement with the events of Final Crisis. Instead, it follows on from Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes and concludes the Legion Trilogy that Johns began with 2007's The Lightning Saga.
Things are looking incredibly grim for the Legion of Super-Heroes, thanks to recent events involving the human supremacist Earth-Man and his Justice League of Earth, and their own infighting. Even their own worlds and former comrades are turning on what remains of the 31st century's heroes. And at the end of time, the Time Trapper watches what he has created, and thinks now is the time to destroy the Legion once and for all. Reaching across time, he summons one of the greatest dangers of the multiverse to finalize this: Superboy-Prime, the mad Kryptonian from a world that no longer is.
Incensed by the sight of Superman's success in the 31st century, Prime frees the Legion's greatest enemies, the Legion of Super-Villains, and plans to tear down everything Superman holds dear...starting with the Legion. In order to fight this foe, they will need to call on the most unexpected of allies: The Legion of Super-Heroes of two other worlds.
Tropes:
- Achilles in His Tent: Last remaining (self-appointed) Guardian of the Universe Sodam Yat, who lives in solitude preserving all the Lantern rings and never sending them out to find new recruits. Brainiac sends Mon-El to Oa to convince him to take up the fight against an old foe, Superboy-Prime.
- Alliance of Alternates: Brainiac has the White Witch use the Justice League's old crystal ball to summon the Legions of the Reboot (Post-Zero Hour) and Threeboot continuities for help. In the final battle, Superman and the Legion founders summon forth all other versions of the Legion in order to defeat the Time Trapper.
- And I Must Scream:
- Some of the people in Mordru's castle on Sorceror's World are still alive, even though they're part of the furniture.
- What happens to poor Kinetix after she's killed by Prime. Mordru absorbs her power, and basically her soul, into his body. White Witch announces that Kinetix is in agony and will never know peace, even in death. Even when Mordru gets absorbed into White Witch, nothing is said about what this means for Kinetix now being trapped inside Mordru, inside the new Black Witch.
- An Arm and a Leg: Polar Boy loses one arm. Fortunately, it's the one he already lost, so he can just use his powers to replace it.
- Asshole Victim: Prime's first victims in the 31st century? The xenophobic child-killing farm couple who appeared in the opening of Superman and the Legion of Superheroes. Just so we don't feel much horror over their being deep-fried, they're still patting themselves on the back for what they did.
- Back from the Dead: First, Bart Allen, then Conner Kent.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Ever since Infinite Crisis, Prime's wanted to go back to Earth-Prime. He gets his wish, alright. His parents and girlfriend are alive and well, waiting for him...having read about his exploits, and are utterly horrified at what he's become.
- Brick Joke: When the three Legions meet each other, one of Brainiac 5's Alternate Self suggests that he get a haircut. When the crisis blows over, Brainiac 5 does decide to get a haircut.
- The Cavalry: Bouncing Boy and Duplicate Damsel return from their honeymoon during the fight.
- The Chains of Commanding: Cosmic Boy snaps at Lightning Lad early on after things get a little too heated, pointing out he's been leading the Legion while Garth and Irma have been having a life.
- Continuity Nod: When Connor is revived, he insists on being called "Superboy" over "Superman", in an inversion of his words during his very first appearance.
- Continuity Snarl: The original Fatal Five are shown as members of the expanded Legion of Super-Villains. Later stories released in the Retroboot written by Paul Levitz would later make this impossible, due to him ostensibly showing the Retroboot branched off from the end of the 1984 series. By the end of that series, Tharok and the Emerald Empress (Sarya) were both dead and Validus had been restored from his cursed state into Garridan Ranzz. The only explanation to make their appearance here work is a vague Hand Wave that the time and space were overall being messed with due to Darkseid and Mandrakk's actions in the main Final Crisis story.
- Darkest Hour: How the story starts for the Legion. They're splintered, hated, several of their members are missing or worse. Just as it seems R.J. Brande might solve everything, he's murdered. And then Time Trapper dumps Prime on their reality.
- Deal with the Devil: The Time Trapper makes one with Leland Macauley, giving him the chance to assassinate R.J. Brande in exchange for his youth. Of course, once Leland's done that, he starts rapidly aging and dies.
- Defiant to the End: Rond Vidar. He even manages in a Spiteful Spit at dad before he gets his neck broken.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Superboy-Prime kills the farm couple, not because he was shot at, but because one of them called him "Superboy" instead of "Superman".
- Doppelganger Link: Sun Boy feels a pain in his chest when his "Threeboot" counterpart is murdered by Superboy-Prime.
- Dramatic Unmask: Superman throws off the Trapper's hood to reveal a much older Superboy-Prime.
- The Dreaded: Superboy-Prime is considered this by Rond Vidar's ring. It actually gives Rond a warning, and urges him to fall back.
- Dub-Induced Plot Hole: A Federation member accuses the heroes of being too immature, citing how most of them have "Boy" or "Girl" as part of their code names despite being adults. This insult is kept in the Brazilian Portuguese translation, but is rendered nonsensical, since the characters in question had their names shortened in the adaptation (Cosmic Boy is known as Cosmic, Polar Boy became Polar, etc.).
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Part of what starts off Prime's newest childish tantrum is seeing the Superman Museum, and finding he's not even a footnote. Even Neutron is treated as more dangerous than him.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The Justice League of Earth are begrudgingly allowed to join the Legion of Super-Villains, but the rest of the villains make it clear they'll be going after them next for being a bunch of remorseless anti-alien Nazis.Tharok: It's a temporary alliance, Earth-Man.
- Expy Coexistence: Andromeda was created to replace the original Supergirl, who had been killed off in Crisis on Infinite Earths and retconned out of existence. When Saturn Girl summons Legionnaires of all timelines to join the battle, both Pre-Crisis Supergirl and Andromeda show up.
- Fully Absorbed Finale: For the post-Zero Hour and 'Threeboot' Legions, giving these iterations of the team closure and a sendoff.
- Gilded Cage: Superboy-Prime at the end of the storyline. He finally makes it back to his Earth-Prime, but powerless and with the people he loves now fearing him. And the Threeboot Legion promise to keep watch over Prime in case he goes awry again.
- Godzilla Threshold: The threat the new Legion of Super-Villains face is so bad Rond's Green Lantern Ring is allowed to use lethal force. And he does. Doesn't save him.
- Handwave: Mark Waid's reboot Legion previously teamed up with Supergirl before the "Retroboot" started. Then it turns out they're actually an alternate reality's future, so how'd Kara wind up there? She was actually time travelling to that future by mistake.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Superman suggests they try and redeem Superboy-Prime, who has already destroyed an entire universe, tried to destroy every universe, and since Infinite Crisis has shown absolutely no capacity for any good whatsoever. Lightning Lad even points out how ridiculous the idea is. Once Prime burns through Superman's hands with his heat vision, Supes abandons the idea entirely.
- He's Back!:
- Recluse Sodam Yat gets convinced to help the Legion, and swears that, once the fight against Superboy-Prime is over, he'll rebuild the Corps.
- Sun Boy has been down in the dumps after what Earth Man and the Justice League of Earth did to him. Hearing about the death of his alternate counterpart provokes him to get back in the action.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Mordru taught the White Witch a lot. And she paid attention to his spells, allowing her to turn his own magic stealing spell on him.
- Idiot Ball: The Time Trapper does himself in by appearing in front of Superboy-Prime, who at that moment is his past self, and tells him to shut up and do as he's told. Superboy-Prime, who has all the emotional self-control of a bag of ferrets, immediately tries to punch himself in the face. Just as the Brainiacs predicted.
- I'm Having Soul Pains: When Superboy-Prime kills one Sun Boy, his Retroboot counterpart feels it, despite being nowhere near.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Mordru begins the story already doing this with the White Witch. Most of his involvement is him on the warpath trying to get her back when Dawnstar, Wildfire and Blok rescue her.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Lightning Lad is ultimately proven correct in this story that trying to get Superboy-Prime to redeem himself as he is right now is not only impossible, but outright suicidal after he unleashes a wave of carnage across the universe with the super-villains to reach Metropolis. While Prime would, miraculously, pull a Heel–Face Turn in Dark Nights: Death Metal, that only came after he spent years imprisoned and was finally given what he wanted only to realize it wasn't worth it. So while Superman was eventually proven correct that Prime could be redeemed, Garth was correct that Prime couldn't be redeemed here because they just did not have the time for it to work.
- Karmic Death: The human couple who murdered an alien child that was the Last of His Kind in the prologue to Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes end up killed by Superboy-Prime, who it should be addressed is an alternate counterpart to Superman, the most well-known superhero to be the last surviving member of an alien race and whose origin traditionally has him adopted by a human couple after being sent to Earth.
- Kilroy Was Here: When Light Lass unearthed the Kryptonian Chrysalis from deep under the ruins of Superman's Fortress of Solitude, the message "Starman was Here" was etched on the side.
- Kryptonite Factor: Always a problem with alternate reality Supermen, since Kryptonite only works on those from the same reality, and Earth-Prime went bye-bye twenty years ago. So it's a surprise to everyone when the Element Lad of the Threeboot Legion whips up some Kryptonite that does. Because the Threeboot Legion is from Earth-Prime.
- Lack of Empathy: The Super-Villains momentarily hold when they've got Rond captive, since his father Universo is right there. Universo calmly gives Prime permission to kill away - all he cares about is getting his Green Lantern ring back.
- Last of His Kind: Kinetix is the last magician of her universe. Unfortunately, this also means she's also got all the magic of her universe, so when she gets killed, it gives the nearby Mordru a free power up.
- The Last Straw: Cosmic Boy tolerates hours of interrogation and accusations from the United Planets council without protest. But when the Science Police demand the Legion founders' flight rings, Cosmic Boy finally has enough, pushing the Science Police away and leading Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl in leaving.
- Mr. Exposition: A hologram of Jimmy Olsen guides Superboy-Prime throughout the Superman Museum.
- Man of Kryptonite: The Shadow Demons Mordru summons kill anyone they touch...except Night Girl, who can smash them with ease. In fact, she actually gets stronger the more she does so.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Superman and the founders are shocked when he rips off the Time Trapper's hood to reveal he's an older version of Superboy-Prime.
- Multiple-Choice Past: This week, the Time Trapper is... Superboy-Prime from the far future! Brainiac 5 notes that, since he's a personification of fluid time, his history is always changing.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Cosmic Boy lashes out at Lightning Lad in #2, saying he became Legion leader again so the other founders wouldn't have to carry that burden. While it sounds noble on paper, it also overlooks how Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad never had their marriage suffer while they remained Legionnaires. Their relationship even flourished when Saturn Girl went back on active duty and Lightning Lad stayed at home to watch their kids. All in all, it makes it look like Cosmic Boy committed a Senseless Sacrifice by giving up on his personal relationships to lead the Legion, especially when his former girlfriend Night Girl is now officially part of the team.
- Oh, Crap!: Superboy-Prime gets this in issue #3 when he realizes that the Legion are trying to bring back someone, he panics and races to stop them, only to get there too late as he comes face to face with the revived Bart Allen Kid Flash. He gets it again when the Conner Kent Superboy is equally revived.
- Other Me Annoys Me: The three Brainiacs can't stand one another. Much, much, much bickering ensues. Still, they don't punch one another, unlike Superboy-Prime. Mercifully, none of the other Legionaires have this problem.
- Plot Hole: The Reboot Legion is confirmed to exist on the alternate world Earth-247, but it's glossed over that their version of Ferro originated from the present day of Earth-0. Keeping that in mind, it's not explained how or why Earth-0 had two separate versions of the Nolan Twins existing in the 20th Century and in the 31st Century.
- Poke the Poodle: Superboy-Prime's ultimate fate is to be reduced to a powerless basement dwelling loser, able to do nothing more than bully his parents and troll comic forums.
- Resolved Noodle Incident: There was repeated mention of the incident known as the "original" Legion of 3 Worlds case, wherein the Earth-0 Legion, Earth-247 Legion, and Earth-Prime Legion were all trapped on an "unknown" Earth for a period of time. Here, the case is explained as the three Legions trying to protect the Tornado Twins from the forces of the Reverse-Flash which led to Impulse and XS's families hiding on Earth-247.
- Ripple Effect Indicator: The founders realize Time Trapper's story is full of holes when they notice he's suddenly got a scar on his chest that Prime just got which he didn't have a moment ago, despite claiming to be his future self.
- Sequel Hook: Several. Some of them were followed up on, some weren't.
- Universo mentions that Rond Vidar has a son out there somewhere, and he'd like to arrange a family reunion.
- Several of the Legion are still MIA.
- The White Witch, now the Black Witch, returns to Sorceror's World to study her new powers.
- In the past, Starboy gets to work on his secret mission.
- A new Karate Kid takes up the mantle...but he refuses to join the Legion.
- Sodom Yat decides to send out some new rings into the universe. One scans Sector 2814, and finds a suitable candidate.
- The resurrections of Bart and Conner and their readjustments to being back in the land of the living. Johns would pick up both threads in The Flash: Rebirth and his and Francis Manapul's Adventure Comics run respectively.
- Shockwave Clap: Superboy-Prime unleashes a powerful shockwave which knocks Sun Boy and Polar Boy down by clapping his hands together.
- Shout-Out: When Kid Flash/Bart Allen is Back from the Dead and reunited with his cousin XS, he tells her "Man, it's nice to be lightning out of a bottle. You ever see Aladdin? Now I know what that Genie was talking about. PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER! Itty-bitty living space!"
- Sketchy Successor: The second Karate Kid ends up being nothing but a pale imitation of the original. Val Armorr was a staunch believer in the Legion, while Myg of Lythyl ended up decrying the Legion as a pipe dream and openly joined its critics. Val originally died performing a Heroic Sacrifice to land a blow against the Legion of Super-Villains for the sake of Orando and his wife Princess Projectra. Myg only gets one good hit on Tusker before he's completely eradicated from behind by Radiation Roy.
- The Slow Path: While it took Superman a few months to recover from his death at Doomsday's hands, it takes Connor a thousand years to revive from his death, and even then only thanks to a last minute dash of Luthor DNA.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
- The expanded Legion of Super-Villains take in Earth-Man's Justice League, but they make it clear it's a temporary thing, and as soon as it's over, they're going to try and kill them too.
- The Threeboot Brainiac 5 distrusts his Retroboot self simply for being an adult, and heaps scorn on his post-Zero Hour counterpart for actually looking up to the former. Retroboot Brainy finds them both annoying for these exact reasons.
- This Cannot Be!: Superboy-Prime is horrified when the Kryptonite created by Threeboot Element Lad actually has an effect on him, screaming "Kryptonite's not supposed to hurt!".
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Myg, the second Karate Kid, has long since denounced the Legion and is one of its loudest critics. That makes it easier to not feel bad when he gets murdered by Radiation Roy in #3.
- Ungrateful Bastard: The EarthGov President shows no gratitude whatsoever after the founders save him from the Justice League of Earth, claiming that the villains wouldn't even be there if not for the Legion.
- Unwitting Pawn: The Time Trapper chooses Superboy-Prime to lead his latest scheme to destroy the Legion. The latter does not take kindly to being used.
- Villain Team-Up: One of the biggest ever as Prime recruits just about every single Legion foe into a massive Legion Of Super-Vilains.
- Who Dares?: In the second issue, when Mordru is angry at Superboy-Prime's appearance:Mordru: Who dares disturb Mordru?
Superboy-Prime: Who dares question my dare?
Mordru: What? - The Worm That Walks: In the final issue, when Blok punches at minor villain Terrus it results in Terrus's suit being destroyed. Which ends up revealing a swarm of flying insects. It's left unclear as to what this means, if the bugs made up Terrus's body or if it was a result of the magic being cast by White Witch.
- Written by the Winners: The Superman Museum depicts Superboy-Prime as a total loser, claiming he was easily defeated in all his major battles.
- You Can't Go Home Again: The Postboot Legion are stranded in the current universe with the destruction of the crystal ball. Not that it matters, since their universe was destroyed a while back anyhow. They decide to wander the Multiverse instead.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: This is Superboy-Prime's reaction upon discovering the 31st Century's Superman Museum.
- You Remind Me of X: Sodom Yat sadly says that Rond Vidar reminded him of the "Torch Bearer" (Kyle Rayner).
