DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: They Won’t Need Roads

Our Fanny Pack is here to talk about the Series Premiere of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and why you should watch it.

This article contains spoilers for the Series Premiere of DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Catch up and then read on!

The series premiere of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow was kind of cheesy awesome.

As Pilot Part 1 starts, those of you who fancy some good old-fashioned apocalyptic imagery (there’s no shame) will be pleased to get an eye-full of the future according to Vandal Savage, and well, a visual representation of the entire premise of the show.

We meet Rip Hunter (played by Arthur Darvill of Doctor Who fame) and the Time Masters Council, who adamantly demands that Rip Hunter do nothing to fix the disaster that has been brought to pass by Savage and his quest for world domination.

Overall, for a brief intro, the first few minutes of the show were perfectly riveting. What followed had some ups and downs, but ultimately, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow was a highly entertaining journey with some new and familiar elements that DC fans (and/or fans of Doctor Who, consequently) should be pumped for.

The episode was quick to get to the point using a series of scenes depicting the status of our soon-to-be Legends. Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) was working with Oliver Queen to destroy some Dalek-esque computer (I don’t believe in coincidences) when Rip Hunter used on Atom what I will refer to as a “kidnapping gun” to gather the group for his big pitch. Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) was drowning her sorrows (and kicking people) in a Tibetan watering hole when Rip Hunter showed up to zap her across the globe. Next, we saw Jax Jackson (Franz Drameh) and Martin Stein (Victor Garber) as Firestorm chasing down and fighting a criminal; a budding lovers’ quarrel between Hawkgirl and Hawkman (Ciara Renee and Falk Hentschel); and last but not least, Heatwave and Captain Cold (Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller) speeding away from a robbery all to come face-to-face with their trench-coated kidnapper. And, after the speech that followed on the roof-top where they all “landed,” it is hard to believe that any of those characters would need to consider the offer for any real length of time before deciding to join the cause. I mean, time travel.

TIME TRAVEL!

What was particularly enjoyable for me, as I am an avid watcher of The Flash and Arrow, was that I already knew all of the back-story for each person in the group. I did not need to see or hear an explanation of the baggage each of them weighed while trying to decide whether to go with Rip in his TIME MACHINE SPACESHIP.

I wonder though… what was the experience was like for anyone watching who did not see all of that character development in the other series?

I do often complain about shows that regularly spend an inordinate amount of time on verbal exposition to ensure that new viewers are up to date on the relevant info, but I felt as though there was little context provided, even for my liking. Laurel Lance’s cameo gave the audience a brief reference to the Lazarus Pit and an “I died” exclamation from Sara, but I’m not entirely sure those pieces of information adjusted the stakes for her character in any meaningful way. The same applies for the other characters, with one added grievance related to Jax Jackson. That is, I honestly did not understand the decision to have him oppose joining Rip Hunter so aggressively, and especially citing his not caring about being a hero or legend as the reason. He’s half of a superhero, so I honestly did not get it and the minor conflict it introduced did not add to the show at all.

One of the super cool aspects of the show was its overt use of sci-fi tropes. That might seem like an odd thing to say, but the show’s execution of the time travel element mixed with the design of the Waverider was delightful (truth be told, it’s also bigger on the inside). An added bonus was the fact that Gideon—you know, Reverse Flash’s blue A.I. head—was the Waverider’s navigation system. I must admit, I’ve lamented the absence of Gideon in The Flash since the demise of the Reverse Flash last season. I may not be the biggest sci-fi fan, but as a lover of some classics—Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly—I feel myself being more and more excited about the show’s sci-fi nature. Some of my favorite scenes from the DC shows are the ones where we might hear Cisco or Felicity nerd out on something technology or physics related, or watch Barry run back to three hours ago.

The remainder of the episode has our Legends either on the ship or running around in the past, specifically 1975. It is during their visit to the 1970's that the group encounters a crazy-looking bounty hunter named Chronos, who was hired by the Time Masters to bring in Rip Hunter. This is actually my last gripe with the Episode.

First off, I was sure that Chronos was in cahoots with Vandal Savage. Chronos did kill a few random people for no reason while searching for the Waverider. Also, Chronos does not appear to be trying to “bring in” Rip Hunter, he mostly looks like he is trying to destroy him and anyone around him. I don’t know if this part of the storyline is really that important, or if something here points to the Time Masters being corrupted or infiltrated by Vandal Savage at some point later in the season. Considering the Time Masters Council turned a blind eye to Savage’s reign of destruction, it could make for an interesting plot arc.

Overall, the show was fun and definitely earned itself a place on my list of shows to keep up with. The time travel element gives the show writers a wealth of possibilities for the story and also for character additions from the DC universe. Case in point is the recent casting of Johnathon Schaech who will be playing Old West anti-hero Jonah Hex, in what I presume will be a trip back to the 1880's.

With a dynamic cast and the same kind of clever writing we love from The Flash and Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is sure to live long and prosper.

Watch DC's Legends of Tomorrow on Thursdays on the CW at 8/7 C.

Watch the trailer for Season 1 Episode 2 airing on Thursday, January 28:

Fanny Pack is a Contributor to ComiConverse. Follow her on Twitter: @Onapack