The following is from Newsarama (06/18/13):

GIFFEN, DEMATTEIS Spill On JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000, Answer LEGION Connection

In October, DC will reunite the legendary creative team of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire for Justice League 3000, a comic set in distant the future of the DCU.

[…]

Now they turn their attention to the 31st Century of the DCU, but as readers have already started buzzing about… there’s another DC comic that is usually set in the 31st Century: Legion of Super-Heroes, the publisher’s oft-relaunched team book about super-powered teens in the future.  Giffen has worked on the book several times — most recently just a few months ago, when he briefly drew the comic for writer Paul Levitz.

But the latest iteration of the Legion is ending in August, so it’s worth considering whether Justice League 3000 is a sequel.  Or a prequel.  Or some other Legion-related comic.

The ending of Legion of Super-Heroes should provide some clues.  As Levitz told Newsarama, readers will be left pondering the Legion’s “place in the DC universe” after they read that final issue.  Drawn by Kevin Maguire, the solicitation Legion of Super-Heroes #22 also says the “nature of the Legion is questioned.”

Newsarama talked to Giffen and DeMatteis about Justice League 3000 to ask about whether it’s connected to the Legion, who those Justice League members are, and whether readers can expect the bwa-ha-ha to return.

[…]

Newsarama: Keith, I’m going to ask you this, because you’re so indelibly linked to the Legion of Super-Heroes.  With that book ending in August, and since Justice League 3000 takes place in the 31st Century… does Justice League 3000 tie into the Legion of Super-Heroes?

Giffen: It’s the future.  It’s the 31st Century.  The book is its own entity, and it’s really not tied into much of anything at all.  I mean, everyone knows who the Justice League is, so it’s tied into the DCU that way.  But it would be unfair to put out a book that insists you’re familiar with another book.

So to answer your question, no.  This is its own entity.

[…]

Nrama: But Keith, I know you are all about new concepts and characters.  And since you’re plotting this, I assume this isn’t just a rehashing of the Justice League, set in the future.

Giffen: No, no.  It’s the Justice League in the 31st Century, and the rest is new.  The rest is going to be new.

Yes, it’s the Justice League.  I realize that’s a concept we know.  But it’s not a comic about five people.  There are a whole bunch of characters around the Justice League.  There are some characters that you’re going to look at and say, “Oh my God!  I can’t believe they did that!”

Nrama: But it’s not the Justice League inside the world of the Legion and those characters.

Giffen: No.  The other characters you meet in the comic are going to be new.  If I need a guy who can throw fireballs around, you can guarantee it’s not going to be Sun Boy.  Let’s think of somebody new.  I’m tired of treading old ground.  I have as much affection for the Legion of Super-Heroes as anybody — maybe more than most, since I kept returning to the book like a mental patient.  But this isn’t the Legion.  And it shouldn’t be judged on Legion of Super-Heroes terms.  Sorry Legion fans, but you’re going to have to wait until somebody comes up with a take on the Legion.  This is not a Legion of Super-Heroes book.  They’re not going to be going to Braal.  Trust me.

The following is from Bleeding Cool (06/18/13):

Who Are The Justice League 3000?

Travis Ellisor writes;

Some speculation on Justice 3000… as exclusively revealed by CBR yesterday, about fifteen minutes after Bleeding Cool did.  Somehow.  And based on Howard Porter’s designs…

Superman -

It could actually be the present day Superman, since he has time traveled to the Legion’s time many times before.  Or he just lived that long.

It’s probably Mon-El, who has basically the same powers as Superman (and he’s filled in for Kal-El before).  But the cool choice would be Kent Shakespeare, one of Superman’s descendants who was a member of Keith Giffen’s “Five Years Later” Legion.

 

Batman -

It might be a Legionnaire who could pose as Batman, like Karate Kid or Timber Wolf.  But the truly nerdy choice would be Brane Taylor, the Batman of the Legion’s time who has never actually met the Legion.  Bonus points if they include Tom Wayne, from P. Craig Russell’s Robin 3000 miniseries.

 

 

Wonder Woman -

It could be Night Girl, the super-strong, black-haired former member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes.  But she’s only strong in the dark, so probably not.  The Legion fanboy choice would have to be Laurel Kent, yet another descendant of Superman.

Or Donna Troy.  Somehow.

 

The Flash -

It could be Bart Allen, and it certainly looks like him.  But instead I think it’s his father Don Allen, formerly of the Tornado Twins.

 

 

 

Green Lantern -

Possible choices include Rond Vidar, the deceased Legionnaire and Green Lantern or Sodam Yat, the seemingly immortal Daxamite Green Lantern.  But that could be a woman under there, like Celeste McCauley, former Legionnaire and the living embodiment of Green Lantern energy.

 

 

As a bonus I’ve included an image from Superman/Batman #80, where Kent Shakespeare, Lauren (Elna) Kent, Brane Taylor, and Tom Wayne are all shown to be the Superman, Superwoman, Batman, and Robin of the 31st Century.

Rich updates: Sorry Travis, I’m told from a reliable source that they all incorrect.  Although Wally West is close…

 

 

The following is from Newsarama (06/17/13):

Fan-Favorite Creative Team Takes on JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000

DC’s Justice League franchise is growing by one more in the near future, with Justice League 3000 announced Monday.

[…]

It’s notable that Legion of Super-Heroes, another DC superteam book set a thousand years in the future, is ending in August, though the designs shown (by former JLA artist Howard Porter) don’t appear to resemble the established Legion characters.  Also, the future version of The Flash has red hair and green eyes, as does Wally West — the main Flash for much of the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths, pre-Flashpoint era, and a character who hasn’t appeared since the dawn of The New 52.

[…]

The following is from The Buy Pile (06/16/13):

THE BUY PILE: Magic & Science & Snow White’s Swordplay

Legion of Super-Heroes #20 was a big issue, with the Fatal Five working on different sides of the galaxy to wreak so much chaos it’s almost a game changer.  Tharok’s running around with a planet sized humaniform simulacra playing Unicron.  The omega class magician Mordru’s about to bust loose from a world of magic and murder everybody.  The plot never lets up but, as it barrels along, its titular heroes seem dumbfounded (especially galling from Braniac 5) and overwhelmed, which is not as engaging as when they at least are in the fight.  Familiar for fans, but not much value outside of that.

The following is from Comic Book Resources (06/11/13):

SALES ESTIMATES FOR May, 2013

QTY RANK	DOLLAR RANK	INDEX	DESCRIPTION	PRICE	EST. SALES	% CHANGE
142	—	12.04	LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #20	$2.99	15,532	-3.01%

Here are the continuing series titles on either side of the Legion book:

Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger #8
All Star Western #20
Uber #1
Dark Avengers #190
Iron Man: Coming of the Melter #1
Batman Beyond Unlimited #16
Nowhere Men #5
—> Legion of Super-Heroes v7 #20
Grimm #1
Harbinger Wars #2
Smallville: Season 11 #13
Fables #129
Star Wars: Darth Vader and Ninth Assassin #2
Image Firsts: Walking Dead #1
Morbius the Living Vampire #5
Justice League of America’s Vibe #4
Fairest #15

[While Legion of Super-Heroes continues to drop in sales — and more this month than the last few, probably due to word of the impedning cancellation —  it is tracking right on pace with the other titles above and below it — so while dropping too low, so are many other titles.]

Compare to April 2013:

QTY RANK	DOLLAR RANK	INDEX	DESCRIPTION	PRICE	EST. SALES	% CHANGE
128	—	12.12	LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #19	$2.99	16,014	-0.81%

Compare to March 2013:

QTY RANK	DOLLAR RANK	INDEX	DESCRIPTION	PRICE	EST. SALES	% CHANGE
132	—	11.71	LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #18	$2.99	16,148	-0.58%

Compare to February 2013:

QTY RANK	DOLLAR RANK	INDEX	DESCRIPTION	PRICE	EST. SALES	% CHANGE
128	—	10.78	LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #17	$2.99	16,242	-1.53%

Compare to January 2013:

QTY RANK	DOLLAR RANK	INDEX	DESCRIPTION	PRICE	EST. SALES	% CHANGE
122	—	11.30	LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #16	$2.99	16,494	-2.47%
141	—	9.26	Legion Lost #16 (FINAL ISSUE)	$2.99	13,510	-3.53%

Compare to December 2012:

QTY RANK	DOLLAR RANK	INDEX	DESCRIPTION	PRICE	EST. SALES	% CHANGE
117	—	11.16	LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #15	$2.99	16,911	-4.83%
146	—	9.24	Legion Lost #15	$2.99	14,004	-5.17%

The following is from Newsarama (05/29/13):

LEVITZ Hints at Mystery of the LEGION’s Place in the DCU

In August, the current Legion of Super-Heroes comic will have its final issue, giving the on-again, off-again team of young future heroes yet another ending point for their story.

But according to the current writer — legendary Legion creator Paul Levitz — the final issue’s conclusion will also give readers something to “think” about.  Combine that with DC’s promise that the issue “questions the true nature of the Legion,” and it’s looking like DC’s future is heading in a different direction.

What will happen to the 31st Century at the end of this run?  If these Legion stories did take place in the future of the New 52, as readers have been led to believe since the reboot two years ago, then what could change the future enough to make readers question and “think” about the nature of the team?

DC isn’t saying quite yet, and Levitz has understandably referred our questions to the writer of the next series based in DC’s future, whoever that may be.

Just because Levitz is leaving the Legion behind doesn’t mean the writer is leaving the DC Universe, as he continues his work on Worlds’ Finest (see our separate interview with the writer about the comic’s New Gods connection this summer).

He’s also busy working on the current five-volume book series that serve as an expanded re-release of Levitz’s 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Myth-Making.  The five new hardcovers feature extra artwork and interview material, and they break the giant history of DC into different eras.

The first volume, The Golden Age of DC Comics, has already been released, but Levitz is busy working on the second volume, The Silver Age of DC Comics.

Newsarama talked to Levitz about the end of Legion of Super-Heroes, what he hopes happens to the characters he loves so much, and what else he’s got coming up.

Newsarama: We’ve been told that Legion of Super-Heroes is ending.  How are you wrapping up the comic over the next few issues?

Paul Levitz: The end of the Fatal Five story has had some calamitous consequences for the Legion, coming after the losses that created the Legion Lost tales… all in all, a pretty awful period in their history.  [Issue] #23 will be an epilogue to all that, hopefully putting an end to this run, and leaving the reader to think about its place in the DC universe.

Nrama: Hmm… that description sounds about as cryptic as the solicitation saying that the “true nature of the Legion is questioned” in the issue.  Does this mean you’ve been given enough notice about this that you can put a definitive end onto your latest run?

Levitz: I’ve been lucky enough to be granted some space to end this chapter, and to have Kevin Maguire step in on the art to make it a bit of a moment, given his unusual gift at depicting emotion.  I have to thank the DC gang for the chance.

Nrama: With all this mystery about the Legion’s “place” in the DCU and its “nature”… what should people know going into that final issue?  And does it set things up for anything else coming from DC?

Levitz: Whatever’s coming next for the Legion or the 31st Century DCU, it isn’t my stories, so you’ll have to ask them.  I’ll be waiting with you to see.

Just know that whether you’ve liked this run or not, I’ve been honored to play with the lives of my favorite cast of characters this third time, and I thank my Legion — the readers who made it all possible for so long.

Nrama: Just in general, how does it feel to see another Legion book come to an end, and what are your hopes for the Legion property overall?

Levitz: The Legion’s ended before and come back a number of times in its history.  I’m old enough that I was a reader when the original series of their adventures ended, and guys like Harry Broertjes and Mike Flynn wrote in letters to the editor, and Murray Boltinoff ended up bringing it back about a year or year-and-a-half later as a back-up series in Superboy.  And slowly but surely it conquered the book.

I mean, I’m obviously disappointed we didn’t have a success with this run of Legion that we had with the run I did in the 1980’s.  It’s always more fun when you’re at the top of the charts than when you’re not.  But they’re great characters, and I’m sure they will remain part of the DC Universe in one incarnation or another forever.

I’m happy to have had all these shots to write all these characters that I loved growing up and to add to their mythology.  I think three times is probably enough.  So I think if they show back up at some point, it’s likely to be in somebody else’s hands rather than mine.  But that’s OK, because I’ll get to read it.

And hopefully I’ll get some new challenges in the deal.

Nrama: Does that mean you’ve got some new projects coming up?

Levitz: Lots of stuff on editors’ desks and conversations, but I’m hoping to spend the summer on one of my book projects.  I’ve put a lot of energy into that.  I’m sure we’ll have a chance to talk about that as it gets closer.

I was just down at Taschen looking at the Silver Age volume of my five book series there.  I was transported there, back again and again to my childhood with all the great stuff from the 1960’s.  I’m looking forward to everybody’s reaction to that one.

Basically, we took the giant book I did (75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Myth-Making) and put it into five volumes.  So there’s about 50 percent more artwork in it than there was before, a little more text material, a new interview with Neil Adams, which is fun.  He’s always such a character and had such an impact on that period.

And it’s done in Taschen’s usual outrageously high production standards.  So you have a glowing metallic silver cover with Flash running at you.

The first one, the Golden Age one, came out about two or three months ago.  It’s available now.  The Silver Age volume should be out in the next few weeks.

Nrama: This industry seems to have so much information that’s available about the history of comic books, and yet we want more.  As fans, I think we’re practically insatiable when it comes to the history of not only the characters, but the people behind their creation.  There are so many great stories.

Levitz: Comics are unusual in that so much of the fun of the mythology is so cumulative.  If you fall in love with a character now, your full understanding of it is, in part, based on your digging into the old stories.

I remember first getting access to the DC library and just sitting there for days on my lunch hours or breaks, reading the original All-Star Comics about the Justice Society, which just took me back before my time to see the roots of all of this.

And I think that’s a natural fan reaction.  Whatever you love, you want to see the earlier works by the writer, the artist, the first appearance of the character, and it gets reinforced as we bring all these things back.  You see Desaad in a World’S Finest story and you get curious.  What exactly did he look like when [creator Jack] Kirby first brought him out?  How much of what’s here was there as potential?

So I think that’s why we have a deep passion for the history of these things.  And I think we’ve been lucky in recent years that we’ve seen these beautifully produced books on the history.

The following is from Comic Book Resources (05/16/13):

Grumpy Old Fan | Canceling the future: DC’s August solicits

DC Comics’ August solicitations include both the end of “Trinity War” and of four series, including the latest Legion of Super-Heroes title.  Otherwise, not much jumps out at me.  Even the collected-edition section isn’t that diverse, as it’s heavy on “Death of the Family” books and pretty light on the vintage reprints.

[…]

LONG LIVE THE LEGION!

I put the over/under of a new Legion book at three months, and I’m inclined to take the under.  (Remember when DC canceled The Flash after just 12 issues?)

Relaunching the Legion isn’t exactly new.  It goes at least as far back as 1984, when the regular book was retitled Tales of the Legion to make way for a new LSH #1.  Two years later, when the Superman revamp eliminated Superboy, the Legion had to deal with that as well.  The “Five Years Later” revamp came along in 1989, with its own patch on Superboy; and five years later (as it turns out), Zero Hour rewrote Legion history entirely.  That lasted ten years and spanned three Legion series (LSH, Legionnaires, and The Legion), but it was succeeded by the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson “threeboot.”  Regardless, Geoff Johns and Brad Meltzer brought back the sorta-kinda-original Legion in 2007′s JLA/JSA crossover “The Lightning Saga,” and 2008-09′s Legion of Three Worlds confirmed them as the “new” regular version.  Indeed, the New 52 didn’t seem to have much effect on that version beyond a new first issue and a companion series, Legion Lost.  Therefore, although Mark Waid tweeted that the Legion has been published continuously for 40 years, that still includesseven relaunches (of one kind or another) — and at least three separate continuities — since 1984.  And yes, I would argue that the 1984 “Baxter-Paper” series represented a relaunch, because (just as New Teen Titans did, around the same time) it jumped ahead in the timeline, so the “softcover” (i.e., original) series could catch up with it.

One thing that strikes me about the Legion’s voluminous history is the way it interacts with our perception of time.  That sounds very metaphysical, so I’ll try to boil it down.  For someone like me, who’s been reading superhero comics continuously for 30-odd years, the Legion is just one of those DC mainstays.  It’s as much a part of the superhero line’s makeup as, say, Aquaman or Hawkman.  The Legion was there before me, and I think it’ll be there as long as DC publishes superhero comics.

Furthermore, the Legion has always seemed to reward its longtime fans, either by building on its history or by working in enough nods to that history to sustain the latest relaunch.  For someone who’s been a part of Legion fandom — perhaps even casual fandom — Legion lore may be best acquired gradually, one issue at a time.  It only feels like five, ten, twenty, or forty years if you step back and realize how long it’s been since you started reading.  (That story about the Nightwing/Batgirl wedding produced a similar feeling in me, when I realized Dick’s been Nightwing for almost 30 years, and it’s been 25 years since The Killing Joke.)  The great irony (for lack of a better term) of our current age of reprints is that if you wanted to, you could probably catch up on a good bit of Legion history, given enough time and effort.  Like any other long-running series, LSH is now this big chunk of info-matter — a thing to be mainlined in marathon reading sessions, and not so much doled out issue by issue, month by month.  The question then becomes whether there’s still a market for all that old material.  Again, conventional wisdom seems to be that there will always be a Legion book, because there’s always been a Legion book.

If that circular argument remains unbroken, it means simply having a Legion book isn’t as big a question as justifying a Legion book — which, again, goes back to all those relaunches.  Speaking as someone who dipped in and out of the Legion books for about 18 years (from “Five Years Later” to the end of Waid/Kitson), and who’s probably best-acquainted with the post-Zero Hour and “threeboot” teams, the thought of tackling all that old-school continuity makes a relaunch more inviting.  The ironic thing about the New 52 relaunch is that the Legion seems barely to have been touched, continuity-wise.  It tied into the New 52 Superman because writer Grant Morrison used some Legionnaires in Action Comics, but that presented the team simply as a part of Superman’s history, and vice versa.  However, with all that said, I think it’s easier for a longtime fan to revisit those old stories than it would be to shine them up for less-experienced readers.  Along the same lines, if you’re used to a Legion whose history spans the decades, you might be less inclined towards a relaunch.  The post-ZH Legion lasted for ten years (and was relaunched “softly” about six years in with the Legion Lost miniseries), and the “threeboot” got six — practically eye-blinks in the team’s 55-year existence.

So where does that leave the Legion in the fourth quarter of 2013?  Maybe relaunched with more of an emphasis on its Superman-family roots; or maybe as the rumored “Justice Legion,” paralleling today’s A-listers more closely.  Any relaunch would naturally benefit from a high-profile creative team, and probably one with no prior connection to the series (as heretical as that might sound).  I don’t have any ideas along those lines, but now I’m sad there will never be a huge, crazy crossover with Dial H…

The following is from Newsarama (05/15/13):

Durlans Change Shape of GREEN LANTERN CORPS as New Era

The Corps will face new and old threats, as the Green Lantern universe is confronted with the much-hyped new villain Relic, as well as an attack from the Durlans, a group of shape-shifting beings from the planet Durla.

[…]

So what’s the future for John Stewart in this lead role?  And why are the Durlans such a threat?  Newsarama talked to Jensen to find out more about the future of the Green Lantern Corps.

[…]

Nrama: We’ve been told in the solicitation for issue #23 that the Durlans are going to attack.

Jensen: Ah, OK, well I guess that’s out there, so we can talk about it.  Yeah, so the Durlans will be one of the main villains that will be out there.  And it’s a bit of a new take on them.

But they’re a really fascinating race with a strange history.  Their powers are kind of a neat analog for the Green Lanterns, because, you know, the Green Lanterns’ ability is only limited by their imagination and what constructs they can create with their ring.  And the Durlans, of course, rather than having a ring to create a construct, they sort of are their own construct.  So similarly, they use their imagination and their power to turn themselves into whatever weapon they need, and “weapon” defined very broadly there.

And also, [the Durlans] are a race that’s very much based on deceit.  And so they’re not simply shape-shifters.  Their entire culture is based on deceit.  And so they’re going to be coming after the Green Lanterns in a way that I don’t think we’ve ever really seen before.

The following is from Bleeding Cool (05/14/13):

What Will We Do With A Cancelled Legion Of Super-heroes?  The New 45…

Paul Levitz posted on Facebook;

The word came out yesterday.

DC’s officially announced the end of the current run of the LEGION with #23… sad to see my old friends go, and hoping my tale for that issue with Kevin Maguire illustrating will be an honorable end.  As a reader, I’ll miss them until their next incarnation, whenever and however that may come.  As a writer, I’m privileged to have gotten three chances to work with this vast and wonderful cast, and now on to other projects and other worlds.

To those of you who have supported my tales of the future since back when WONDER WOMAN debuted in prime time, Joe Namath played his last as a Jet, and the US thought Nevada was a reasonable place to test nuclear weapons… my thanks.  Few of us get to play for so long in a world we loved as a child, and I’ll always appreciate the readers who made it possible.

Long live the Legion!

Not everyone was as sanguine.

[see article for Twitter reactions]

Of course, Legion is not alone.  Threshold, Demon Knights, and Dial H joined it.  The DC New 52 solicited 49 monthly titles for August.  Four of which were cancellations.

We now have a New 45.  Obviously, that will not stand.

What could replace them and make the numbers up?

A four-times-a-month title may be a start.  But, while creators were approached to work on a series of these, it seems they may have been postponed.

Villains’ Month will make every comic an issue 1 again, renamed after the bad guy and gal in question, and a number of those books may continue as villain books.  But there’s probably not going to be seven of them.

So what might we get?  Justice Legion?  Booster Gold?  The Question?  Earth Two Batman?  The Creeper?  Something to bump up the Young Justice sub imprint, now down to just the Teen Titans?

What do you want to see?

The following is from Bleeding Cool (05/14/13):

Now The Women Of DC Comics Get More Than Two Pages. They Get A Whole Box

The following is from Bleeding Cool (05/13/13):

DC Brings In Kevin Maguire To Cancel Legion Of Superheroes In August — But What Is Keith Giffen’s Comic On The Horizon?

So, Legion of Super-Heroes is cancelled in August. Which means it won’t even make it to Villain’s Month in September. Here’s the solicit in question;

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #23

Written by PAUL LEVITZ

Art and cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE

On sale AUGUST 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE

In this final issue, the Legion picks itself up after the brutal attack from the Fatal Five nearly destroyed civilization across the cosmos!  While some Legionaires bury their dead, others fight for the future of the Legion against a society that now doesn’t trust them.  Don’t miss surprises galore in this landmark issue drawn by Kevin Maguire as the true nature of the Legion is questioned — and the future of the DCU is changed in a way you’ll never expect!

We reported Keith Giffen’s decision to walk off the book two issues into what was to have been an extended run.  Did he know something?  Well, his old Justice League International compatriot Kevin Maguire  is back to draw the final issue.  He’s not the only one knocking around.

[see article for Twitter comments]

Finally, in the New 52, could it be?  A new DeMatteis/Giffen project?  And Kevin Maguire is around, too.  Is this just too much to hope for?

Say, it couldn’t be the previously rumoured Justice Legion could it?

The following is from Newsarama (09/19/11):

Agent of S.T.Y.L.E. - SUPERBOY’s Not-So-Super Looks

KON-EL AKA CONNER KENT

In the famous mini-series Kingdom Come, creators Mark Waid and Alex Ross presented a possible future of the DC Universe where the familiar DC heroes had been rejected by the public and been replaced by violent, sometimes lethal vigilantes who cared more about winning a fight than they did about protecting people.  Readers were shown that Superman had given up on things and retired, leading many of his contemporaries to follow suit.  While some retreated to hidden lairs or began new, more clandestine lives, the young clone hero known as Superboy decided to leave society behind by heading into the future.  In one panel, we saw him wearing a new costume and flying alongside the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century.

I mention this costume because later on, in the mainstream DCU, Superboy actually got this costume as a gift from the LSH.  It was a thank you for helping them out on some adventures and readers were left to wonder if the clone hero would adopt it as his official uniform in the future.

[…]

In one storyline, Conner wound up living in the 31st for a while.  He once again worked alongside the Legion of Super-Heroes, this time wearing the traditional Superman costume but with a Legion belt buckle.  It’s a nice change, but the rest of the costume isn’t really something that it seems like Conner would wear.  He’s not Clark.  That’s been a major point of his character since the beginning.