The Alien Legion – Part I
Think back to the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars – remember the wide variety of aliens and creatures inhabiting the bar, drinking away their worries while chilling out to the jazzy tunes of the Modal Nodes? Of course you do – it’s one of the most iconic scenes Lucas gave us in the film. Now imagine that that collection of “scum and villainy” (judgmental much, Ben?) has been recruited into a universal peace-keeping force, and must work together as a unit despite their different backgrounds to survive the rigors of interstellar combat. Intrigued? Well, have I got a series for you:
Back in 1983, Carl Potts, a writer for Marvel’s imprint company Epic Comics, along with Alan Zelenetz and Frank Cirocco, created The Alien Legion, a series that would see two incarnations and a few one-shots over the next couple decades. Imagined as the “French Foreign Legion in space”, the squad was initially planned to be all-human, but fortunately Potts rethought the concept as it was being developed, allowing for the conglomeration of humans and aliens that would comprise Force Nomad. This series would result in some very memorable characters and a series that I’d really like to see make a comeback.
What will follow over the next week or so is an introduction to some of the members of Force Nomad, and a look back at their adventures as found in volumes one and two of The Alien Legion. Look for Part II on Thursday.
