In 2004 we were given yet another massive reboot -- called the "threeboot" by many due to the number of times the franchise had been restarted at this point -- with even more drastic changes to the established history. This is by far my least favorite version, but even then there were some high points.
Atom Girl
The initial conceit behind the Threeboot version of Salu "Shrinking Violet" Digby is that she's basically an urban legend -- a member so tiny that she could be in your very midst and you'd never know it. Treated a bit like a running gag for a while by the members, she eventually is revealed to be real when Brainiac 5 calls upon her to help in battle. A little crazier than the earlier versions of Salu, and prone to violence when people make size jokes.
Princess Projectra
In the original Legion, Princess Projectra is an honorable heroine who is fearless and fiercely loyal; in the Threeboot Legion, Princess Projectra is a spoiled brat with no powers who is only on the team because her extremely wealthy father bankrolls the team. Although I wasn't initially a fan of this characterization, over the course of the series we see Projectra undergo a great loss, which awakens her innate illusion powers, and transforms her personality, although not necessarily in a good way. In fact, by the time the Threeboot series ends, her bitterness towards the Legion, whom she blames for her loss, has transformed her into a chilling villain.
Dream Girl
I was never a big fan of the previous versions of Dream Girl, whose power to see the future in her dreams was almost as problematic in battle as Matter-Eater Lad. Plus, the original version was often a bit narcissistic, and the Reboot version was initially a futuristic Valley Girl. But with the Threeboot, the writers came up with a characterization that I enjoyed, with Dream Girl being a bit out of it due to not always being in synch with the present -- she once just stood around during a fight because she lost track of whether it had happened yet or not--and also serving as a foil to the highly logical Brainiac 5 who was constantly frustrated by the accuracy of her predictions, as well as flustered by her insistence that they were destined to be married.
You know, other than my constant and enduring love for Brainiac 5, you might just have picked out my three faves as well! How uncanny!
ReplyDeleteA Projectra response: If you don't think a metric crapton of money is a superpower I have one two words for you--The and Batman.
The threeboot is also the source of the talking goats gag. I love the talking goats gag.