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"End of an Era"
"End of an Era"
Publisher	DC Comics
Publication date	August – September 1994
Genre	Science fiction, superhero;
Title(s)	Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #59-61; Legionnaires #16-18; Valor #21-23
Main character(s)	Legion of Super-Heroes; Mordru; Glorith; Time Trapper
Creative team
Writer(s)	Mark Waid; Tom McCraw; Kurt Busiek
Penciller(s)	Stuart Immonen; Ron Boyd; Chris Gardner; Colleen Doran
Editor(s)	KC Carlson

"End of an Era" is an American comic book story arc that was published by DC Comics, and presented in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #60-61, Legionnaires #17-18, and Valor #22-23 (August–September 1994). It was written by Mark Waid, Tom McCraw and Kurt Busiek, with pencils by Stuart Immonen, Ron Boyd, Chris Gardner and Colleen Doran. A tie-in to the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time miniseries, it is the final story in the Legion of Super-Heroes' original continuity.^[1]

Plot

Part 1: Legionnaires #17

High above New Earth, the teenage Legionnaires from Batch SW6 prevent a mysterious being from destroying the domed cities.^[2]^[3] They are shocked to learn that the man is a disoriented Cosmic Boy. Soon, they travel to the cemetery planet Shanghalla after learning that Laurel Gand has been killed in battle with the Khunds.^[4] The SW6 Invisible Kid and the two versions of Brainiac 5 interrupt the funeral to inform them that the timestream has become fractured, and that an unknown force has been shifting reality for years. While being attacked by various villains from different alternate timelines, members from the dual Legions are confronted by Mordru and Glorith. The couple disappears with Rokk Krin. Dawnstar prepares to find them, but unexpectedly fades from existence.

Part 2: Valor #22

The structural core connecting the domed cities of New Earth is on the verge of collapse, and a second faction from the two Legions tries to hold it together. Valor struggles to remember the major details of his life as portions of his memory shift. Legion benefactor R. J. Brande devises a plan to bring the Earth from the pocket universe into the regular universe,^[5] and settle the domes of New Earth there. Computo and Tyroc open a gigantic wormhole, permitting Valor, the SW6 Andromeda and Dev-Em to tow Earth from the pocket universe to the regular one. However, a matter-energy shift occurs, destabilizing the planet's core. Before the group can take additional action, more Legionnaires fade from existence.

Part 3: Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #60

Mordru and Glorith imprison Rokk Krin in a castle on the planet Baaldur. They do not kill him, as Glorith has determined that he is a "child of destiny" and that killing him would unleash chaos throughout the timestream. Meanwhile, the Legionnaires gather on Winath to search for Rokk, who is considered to be the heart of the Legion. Even as more Legionnaires vanish, Rond Vidar, the SW6 Invisible Kid and the two Brainiac 5s determine that the timestream is unraveling. Mordru and Glorith travel to Legion Headquarters on the planet Talus, and reach the team's Time Beacon. They use it to summon the Infinite Man, the embodiment of space-time, and absorb his energy. Meanwhile, Rokk Krinn escapes to the Infinite Library, an archive of all chronal knowledge.

Part 4: Legionnaires #18

Now possessing near-godlike power, Mordru and Glorith remake reality with themselves as its rulers. Mysa Nal, Princess Projectra, Dragonmage, and Dream Girl channel their energy into Devlin O'Ryan to stop the two, but he fades away, leaving the mystics with no focus for their magic. With more of their number vanishing each minute, the heroes fend off evil clones of the Legionnaires. Before Mysa disappears, she summons Amethyst's power to reverse Mordru and Glorith's changes to the timeline.

In the 20th century, the founding SW6 Legionnaires (Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Live Wire) emerge from a shattered Time Bubble above the Earth. They are about to fall to their deaths when Jo Nah rescues them.^[6] An image of Superman appears, seeking their aid to avert a great disaster.^[7] In the Infinite Library, Rokk Krinn studies its books before encountering the Time Trapper.

Part 5: Valor #23

The Time Trapper tells Rokk that he has been attempting to save the 30th century from an impending cataclysm in time. As part of the plan, he split the Legion's timeline in two, with the second group of Legionnaires becoming Batch SW6.^[8]^[9] Eventually, the Trapper's attempts to protect time drove him mad and allowed Mordru and Glorith to become galactic threats. The Legion defeats Mordru and imprisons him in the planet's center, after which Superboy and Valor disappear.

Part 6: Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #61

The remaining Legionnaires gather on Pocket Earth, where Jo Nah and the SW6 founders return from the 20th century. It is revealed that the Time Trapper is Cosmic Boy's future self and that the Legion and their SW6 counterparts must fuse to restore the timeline. They do so, but are unable to save their universe and disappear into a white void.

Aftermath

"End of an Era" is a tie-in to the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! miniseries, which attempted to resolve the DC Universe's convoluted timeline. Thereafter, Legion continuity is rebooted, starting in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #0 (October 1994). Subsequently, a second reboot occurs in the final pages of Teen Titans/Legion Special (November 2004).

Following Infinite Crisis, much of the original Legion continuity is restored,^[10] but "End of an Era" is not, and the story arc is no longer considered canonical.

In current continuity, the Time Trapper is not Rokk Krinn, and his identity is constantly shifting.^[11]^[12] Mordru later resurrects Glorith as a skeleton before the Legion destroys her.^[13]^[14]

References

^ The Legion of Super-Heroes first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958).
^ New Earth was formed from the 94 cities that survived the destruction of Earth in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #38 (Late December 1992).
^ First appearing in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #24 (December 1991), Batch SW6 is a group of teenage, time-displaced counterparts of the primary Legion team (whose members have reached their late twenties and early thirties).
^ Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #59 (July 1994)
^ The pocket universe is first mentioned in Superman vol. 2, #8 (August 1987).
^ Jo Nah was searching for his true love, the presumed-dead Phantom Girl, whom he believed to be stranded in the 20th century as an amnesiac. He instead finds her cousin Enya Wazzo, who elects to remain in the past. – Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #59 (July 1994); L.E.G.I.O.N. '94 #68-70 (July–September 1994)
^ Metron (of the New Gods) and Kyle Rayner (last survivor of the Green Lantern Corps) use their powers to send the message to superheroes across the Earth in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #4 (September 1994).
^ Ferro Lad was killed destroying the Sun-Eater in Adventure Comics #353 (February 1967).
^ Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #24-25 (December 1991 — January 1992)
^ The restoration of the original continuity is depicted in "The Lightning Saga" and "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arcs.
^ Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5 (September 2009)
^ Action Comics #864 (June 2008)
^ Adventure Comics #338 (November 1965)
^ Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #2 (November 2008)