Legends #1

History

The series was conceived by John Ostrander — then fresh from First Comics — as his DC debut, with Ostrander plotting and veteran Len Wein scripting the dialogue across all six issues. DC paired them with John Byrne on pencils, capitalizing on his momentum from the acclaimed Man of Steel Superman relaunch earlier that year, and Karl Kesel on inks; editor Mike Gold oversaw the project with Robert Greenberger as coordinating editor. The creative mandate was deliberately functional as well as narrative: Legends was engineered as a launchpad to reintroduce and reboot several corners of the DC line in the wake of Crisis, and the first issue went on sale August 5, 1986 with a November 1986 cover date. Some copies of the issue were distributed with a 12-page M.A.S.K. promotional comics insert, creating a print variant distinction that collectors note to this day.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Amanda Waller (created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne), the hard-edged government operative who would go on to lead the modern Suicide Squad — her character concept as 'The Wall' was visually designed by John Byrne to convey formidable, non-superpowered authority.
• First appearance of Brimstone, an artificial fire-elemental construct created when Darkseid's Techno-Seed transforms a nuclear reactor, and the monster that Darkseid sends to batter the Justice League as part of 'Operation: Humiliation.'
• First appearance of Glorious Godfrey in his 'G. Gordon Godfrey' identity — a New Gods villain first created by Jack Kirby in 1971, here reimagined as a media pundit whose name parodies Watergate figure G. Gordon Liddy.
• First Post-Crisis appearance of Captain Marvel (Billy Batson): the issue depicts Darkseid tricking Macro-Man (also debuting here, and dying in this same issue) into a confrontation where Captain Marvel's lightning inadvertently kills him, causing Billy to swear never to transform again.
• Plotted by John Ostrander, scripted by Len Wein, pencilled by John Byrne, and inked by Karl Kesel; edited by Mike Gold. The issue's title is 'Once Upon a Time...!'
• The series was engineered to launch four new titles: The Flash (vol. 2), Suicide Squad (vol. 1), Justice League (the Giffen/DeMatteis run), and the Shazam: The New Beginning miniseries.
• Some printings of the issue include a 12-page M.A.S.K. promotional comics insert ('Secret of the Temple'), creating a recognized variant for collectors; at least one printing without the insert also exists.
• The issue and the full six-issue miniseries have been collected multiple times, including a 30th Anniversary Edition trade paperback (2016) and in the DC Finest: Suicide Squad — Trial by Fire collection (2025).

Cast · 39 characters

Full credits

Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers