Guardians Of The Galaxy (featuring the Legion Of Super-Heroes) homage to Justice League Of America issue #21

As soon as I saw the first Guardians commission which Brendon and Brian did for me last year, I knew I'd be back for another one, and I knew it would be based on another iconic Silver Age cover. I toyed with early FF and Avengers covers, as well as a different JLA option, but eventually settled on JLA #21, which of course meant including a second team. Hmmm .... another 30th/31st century super-team, from a parallel world. Wonder who might fit *that* bill?

This is another one where I spent far too long playing with character substitution - Yondu had to play the role of Green Arrow; Yellowjacket for the Atom (which of course meant using the 1990s Guardians); and Nikki for Wonder Woman. Charlie 27's bald head and crossed bandoliers seemed to me to fit J'onn J'onzz; and Martinex, as the scientist of the Guardians, swapped for Batman; Vance Astro / Major Victory's hair, oddly, is what swung his placing for Aquaman; and I needed to show Talon's Amulet Of Agammotto to justify in my own mind using the crystal ball, so he had to go in GL's place --- which left Starhawk as Superman.

On the Legion roster, Dawnstar for Hawkman was a no-brainer; Dr Fate could have been the White Witch, Dragonmage or Ferro lad, but the featureless helmet of Wildfire seemed the best fit; Black Canary was nearly Tyroc on the basis of the same powers, but I wanted to include one of the founders, and Saturn Girl was the obvious choice here; Karate Kid and the Golden Age Green Lantern may not seem obvious matches, but the flared collar Val had in the 1970s made him the choice here (and cemented using the Cockrum/Grell Legion); Ultra Boy's "one power at a time" limitation matched Rex Tyler's "one hour of power" in my head; and the Golden Age Atom was nearly Shrinking Violet (but Al Pratt didn't change size, so that didn't work) or Element Lad (Atom/Element, geddit?), but ultimately the Legion's short-tempered scrapper Timber wolf seemed the best to use here.

(Yes, over-thought as ever....)

Finally, I needed an alternate Earth for the Legion to hail from, as well --- and what number is more associated with the LSH than 247? Job done.

Will this be the only time these two teams meet in my commissions? That'd be telling!