I approached Mike about creating a new commission in this style, but that didn't work out. I kept the idea in the back of my mind for a long time. Finally, I asked Dan Parent if he was interested. Not only was he interested, but it turned out that he was a Legion fan as well! He was excited about the idea.

I decided (eventually) to stay with the Silver Age costumes rather than the less familiar ones from the post-zero hour (Archie) Legion.

The Legion casting is as follows (1st row, L to R):

• Jughead Jones as Matter Eater Lad

  The connection is obvious. They both eat everything.

• Veronica Lodge as Phantom Girl

  The association here is less clear. Veronica is certainly not a phantom, but there is a resemblance.

• Betty Cooper as Saturn Girl

  The physical resemblance and both characters being core to their teams are the keys to the correspondence, but Betty is quite insightful. Perhaps she has more of a gift than just insight?

• Dilton Doiley as Brainiac 5

  Dilton is the brainiac of the group so ...

• Reggie Mantle as Cosmic Boy

  Resemblance of course, but also Reggie is a core member of the team so I thought it was a good match.

• Kevin Keller as Element Lad

  Fanfic has depicted Element Lad as gay for some time. Though I'm less than convinced by the evidence (pink uni and one time being shy about kissing when he was about 14), that rumor and his hair color made him a natural to pair with Kevin Keller. Dan chose a later uni than the pink one.

• Midge Klump as Shrinking Violet

  Midge always seemed small next to Moose so.

• Archie Andrews as Lightning Lad

  This was a no brainer choice. Archie is the founder of his team and has red hair ditto for Lightning Lad.

• Moose Masonas Colossal Boy

  Moose is clearly the largest of the Archies and the obvious map to Colossal Boy

• Mr. Lodge as Mano

  Mr. Lodge reminds me of Midas and the hand of Midas reminds me of Mano hence the mapping

• Professor Flootsnoot as Tharok

  Tharok by virtue of his computer half was the smartest of the Fatal Five; the Professor is a scientist, bingo!

• Mr. Weatherbee as Validus

  This was Dan's suggestion and he was right. Mr. Weatherbee's chrome dome works well here plus Dan said, "I want to put his toupee on that gas dome. Plus he is a big figure on the page, and Weatherbee is more distinct than Coach Kleats."

• Miss Grundy as the Emerald Empress

  The association of Miss Grundy with the Emerald Empress works simply based on gender, but the strict attitude and dominance works for both characters

• Coach Kleets as the Persuader

  My original choice was for Kleats as Validus, but really given my experience with football coaches and pops having him as the Persuader with a handheld weapon is a much better choice. Thanks, Dan!