| Legion of the Unliving | |
|---|---|
 The first Legion of the Unliving appears on the cover of Avengers #131 (Jan. 1975), art by Sal Buscema. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Avengers #131 (Jan. 1975) |
| Created by | Steve Englehart Sal Buscema |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Various |
| Member(s) | List of Legion of the Unliving members |
The Legion of the Unliving are six groups of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The original five versions first appear in Avengers #131 (Jan. 1975); [1] Avengers Annual #16 (Dec. 1987); Avengers West Coast #61 (Aug. 1990); Avengers #353 (Sep. 1992) and Avengers vol. 3, #10 (Nov. 1998) respectively. The groups were created by Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema; Tom DeFalco and various artists; Roy Thomas and Daniel Bulanadi; Len Kaminski and Chris Eliopoulos and Kurt Busiek and George Pérez. A new version of the Legion was created by Jason Aaron in Avengers vol. 8, #12 (Jan. 2019).
The original Legion appears during the Celestial Madonna storyline in the titles Avengers and Giant-Size Avengers, having been summoned from time by the villain Kang the Conqueror (at the suggestion of his future self Immortus) to kill the superhero team. As the name implies, the members of the Legion were all characters established as being deceased in Marvel continuity, being pulled from time a moment before their deaths. Although partially successful in their mission (the original Human Torch kills Iron Man and the Vision is wounded), the Legion frees itself from Kang's control and aid the Avengers. Kang flees when confronted by the Thunder God Thor, with Immortus reviving Iron Man and healing the Vision and returning the Legion back to their respective eras. Only the Human Torch android is allowed to remain as it is revealed that the character is in fact the Vision, years before being modified by the robot Ultron. [2]
The second version of the Legion is featured in an Avengers annual, in which the Elder of the Universe the Grandmaster, usurps the power of the entity Death. Intending to destroy the universe—via six bombs—and recreate it with his fellow Elders, the Grandmaster decides to eliminate opponents the Avengers (including the West Coast Avengers) by having fellow Elder the Collector take the heroes (and ally the Silver Surfer) to the Realm of Death to battle the Legion of the Unliving. A battle to the death follows, and when Thor observes fellow Asgardian the Executioner act dishonourably he realizes the Legion are in fact only copies of the original beings, minus their personalities. Almost all the Avengers are killed stopping the Legion and defusing the bombs, with only Captain America and Hawkeye surviving. The Grandmaster then proposes another competition and adds the fallen heroes to the Legion, until tricked by Hawkeye in a game of chance. Losing the game disorients the Grandmaster and Death is released, with the entity banishing all the Elders from its realm, restoring all heroes to life and then returning them to Earth. [3]
The third version of the Legion appears in the title Avengers West Coast, and is created by reoccurring Avengers foe Immortus. Seeking to use the Scarlet Witch as a nexus point from which to control all of time, Immortus summons the Legion to delay the pursuing Avengers, although they are almost totally defeated by the heroes. Immortus himself is judged by the entities the Time Keepers and forced to become the nexus himself. [4]
A fourth version appears in the title Avengers, with the former villains' spirits summoned and placed in the bodies of dead civilians—effectively zombies—by Avengers foe the Grim Reaper (empowered by a demon called Lloigoroth) who mistakenly believes the Avengers had murdered him. When the character is confronted by the Vision and forced to accept that he actually committed suicide, the Legion rebel. Grim Reaper panics and is attacked and apparently consumed by Lloigoroth, with the Legion's spirits departing the corpses. [5]
The fifth version of the Legion appears in the third volume of the title Avengers, with the returning spirit of the Grim Reaper corrupting his brother Wonder Man and using him to summon former Avengers who died in battle. The Scarlet Witch, however, uses her love for Wonder Man to free him from the limbo-like state his ionic form was in, thereby freeing him from the Reaper's control. Wonder Man is then able to restore the Reaper to a physical form. The humbled villain relinquishes control of the Legion, and the dead heroes speak to their comrades a final time before dying once again. [6]
A new Legion is created by Colonel Shadow in his vampire civil war, whose membership includes a bat-like vampire named Carpathian, Baroness Blood, Boy-Thing, Rat Bomber, Snowsnake, and his dog Sarge. [7]
The Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1. Labeled "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", the original Avengers consisted of Iron Man, Ant-Man, Hulk, Thor and the Wasp. Captain America was discovered trapped in ice in issue #4, and joined the group after they revived him.
Kang the Conqueror is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Avengers #8. Kang the Conqueror is most frequently depicted as an opponent of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. A time-traveler, several alternate versions of Kang have appeared throughout Marvel Comics titles over the years, such as Rama-Tut, Immortus, Scarlet Centurion, Victor Timely, Iron Lad, and Mister Gryphon.
Hyperion is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable versions. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema, the original Hyperion made his debut in The Avengers #69. The alternate versions are each from a different dimension of the Marvel Multiverse, and consist of both heroes and villains. Thomas says that the character was intended as a pastiche of DC's iconic hero Superman.
Immortus is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the future self of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, and Iron Lad / Kid Immortus, and a descendant of the scientist of the same name.
The Elders of the Universe are a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Collector was the first Elder to appear, and featured in The Avengers #28, but the idea that he was a member of a group known as the Elders was not introduced until The Avengers #174.
The Grandmaster is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in The Avengers #69. The Grandmaster is one of the ageless Elders of the Universe and has mastered most civilizations' games of skill and chance. Different media appearances depict him as the Collector's brother.
The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in The West Coast Avengers #1, created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall. It was the first spin-off publication for the Avengers.
Wonder Man is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Avengers #9. The character, who was initially introduced as a supervillain imbued with "ionic" energy, fought the Avengers and after a series of events, he was reborn as a superhero joining the team against which he originally fought.
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Erik Josten, also known as Power Man, Smuggler, Goliath and Atlas, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been a prominent member of both the Masters of Evil and the Thunderbolts.
Grim Reaper is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is also the brother of Wonder Man.
The Living Laser is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the character made his first appearance in The Avengers #34. He would become a recurring enemy of Iron Man and plays a key role in the "Iron Man: The Inevitable" miniseries.
Man-Ape (M'Baku) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, the character first appeared in The Avengers #62. Man-Ape is depicted as a frequent adversary of the superhero Black Panther.
The Last Avengers Story is a two-issue prestige format mini-series from Marvel Comics released in November and December 1995. It was written by Peter David and illustrated by Ariel Olivetti.
The Avengers: United They Stand is an animated series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Avengers. It consists of 13 episodes, which originally premiered on October 30, 1999, and was produced by Avi Arad. It was canceled on February 26, 2000.
The Lethal Legion is the name of seven teams of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Vision is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared in The Avengers #57. The Vision is loosely based on the Timely Comics character of the same name who was an alien from another dimension. The character is an android built by the villainous robot Ultron created by Hank Pym. Originally intended to act as Ultron's "son" and destroy the Avengers, Vision instead turned on his creator and joined the Avengers to fight for the forces of good. Since then, he has been depicted as a frequent member of the team, and, for a time, was married to his teammate, the Scarlet Witch. He also served as a member of the Defenders.
Nathan Garrett, also known as the criminal Black Knight, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a supervillain and descendant of the original Black Knight, and was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Dick Ayers.
