DC's Legends of Tomorrow

The past collides with the future.

Yes! more superhero reviews please! because we're so not satisfied with millions of daily posts on your -insert favorite social network- timeline, and let's not even mention the thousands of moronic fan theories that populate internet and need to be flushed ASAP. When I was a kid, reading comic books was thought to be a childish activity only weak kids with a talent for wasting time would like. Hell! I even remember some of my asshole classmates giving the "you're a weirdo" stare. Boy, fast forward a few years to the present time and  look at how things have changed significantly since those days. It turns out reading comic books, or watching comic book movies and serials is now a cool thing, and since self-esteem is a timeless human defection, even those who bullied comic book readers are now super stars (yes, Robert Downey Jr, this one's for you) just because it makes them trendy and profitable.

DC Comics and Marvel Comics, the two greater comic book household names , couldn't care less about who beats who in ratings and sales as long as they're around. So, the SPAM Alternative strongly supports those who can enjoy a good comic book, or comic book movie or serial from any author, and encourages you to not fall in the click bait trap of "DC v/s Marvel" just to earn likes for assholes that don't deserve a shit. 

Rip Hunter is on a mission.

Vandal Savage is the mission.

As above mentioned, in the past people who liked comic books weren't popular but today it's a whole new story, so what deals with the past, the present and the future at the same time? Bingo! DC's Legends of Tomorrow! 

Currently running for a sixteen episode first season, we got to know the characters all too well and have enough material to write a a more in depth review.

The concept of a super powered group is one that works very well in a comic, but can be a problem when attempted on the TV or movie screens because there just isn't enough time to do justice to each character. Luckily, for LEGENDS, we've already met them on ARROW and THE FLASH, so there is little or no need for exposition. The story gets going from the get go and the group is brought together before the first commercial break. Rogue time traveler Rip Hunter, whose family is slaughtered in the next century by the immortal Vandal Savage, recruit's a rag tag group of heroes and villains to travel in time and thwart Savage's master plan to conquer the earth. The LEGENDS, such as they are, are made up of some of the more compelling characters from The CW's other super hero shows, all of whom might not have been able to anchor a series of their own, but together they add up one great super group.

Superhero stance!

Lovebirds. No pun intended.

Brandon Routh, who once starred box office failure Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, is Ray Palmer, The Atom, a cocky millionaire with a high tech suit that allows him to shrink in size. Blonde bombshell, Caity Loitz is Sara Lance, once Black Canary, now White Canary a reanimated assassin who's been having problems since being revived by the Lazarus Pit. Victor Garber and Franz Drameh are Firestorm, a duo who together makes up a single being capable of flying and shooting energy bursts. Falk Hentschel and Ciara Renee are Hawkman and Hawkgirl, super beings who have been reincarnated down through the ages. Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell are Captain Cold and Heat Wave, two bad guys who know an opportunity when they see one. All are brought together by Arthur Darvill's Rip Hunter to battle savage by telling them that in the future these also rans are "legends." Their first mission brings them to New Orleans in 1975, where they must find a Professor who had information that might be valuable in locating Savage. We don't get to see too much of the Dazed and Confused era and the whole "let's go see someone who might know something" is such a trope, but there is a nice twist for the Hawk people when they get there and nice battle with a time traveling bounty hunter. In addition, Miller gets off a line that is priceless.

What I like about LOT (Legends of Tomorrow from here on) is that we have all met them on the other shows, where each one was given a spotlight to shine, but they've never actually worked together and there is great natural dramatic tension when straight arrows like The Atom and Firestorm have to work with bad guys like Cold and Heat Wave. I'll admit to always being a fan of the bad guys and Miller and Purcell were real favorites of mine whenever they appeared on The Flash (they were great on Prison Break as well), but the others more than hold their own; loved the scene with the two villains and Black Canary visiting the bar in 1975 New Orleans. The cast has good chemistry, which is a big plus for this show. The time travel to avert an apocalypse concept is nothing new, and of course, full of paradoxes (but who cares, it's TV). The special effects are more than up to the level of The CW's other super hero shows. 

Out of the way Justice League wannabes!

Go ahead, make our day Vandal Savage.

Now, in the past DC Comics had a Batman live action series and a couple of live action series of Superman as well, which brings us to the question, why can't they simply do a Justice League series instead of Legends of Tomorrow?, why Supergirl instead of Superman? Why Gotham instead of Batman? Maybe the answer is because TV studios can't afford them (the same goes for Marvel Studios with Daredevil as the only exception to this) Be that as it may, Legends of Tomorrow, doesn't intend to be a minor Justice League iteration, in fact, it is its own thing. Despite not being taken from any actual comic book source, this made for TV superhero team delivers a fair amount of entertainment with each episode. There is chemistry in the team and there is evil chemistry in Vandal Savage's expendable friends du jour.   Like Supergirl, LOT is light hearted and doesn't take itself too seriously. Messing with time travel can always be a controversial issue that would drive fans crazy with ease on theories "they" think are based upon real science, yet they still love Back to the Future madly. Fan boys, you can't get any worse than that. 

As for comic book accuracy, forget it! you don't need it here. If there is something to complain about LOT is maybe, and just maybe, that the two supposed lead roles are perhaps the least appealing in all the super group: Hawkman & Hawkgirl are the ones to fulfill a prophecy to stop Vandal Savage and yet, they fucking suck some major ass. On the other hand, Atom, Firestorm, White Canary, Capt Cold & Heatwave steal the show. Rip Hunter feels a bit too much on the side of a Doctor Who knock off (as a matter of fact, Arthur Darvil worked in the series for a couple of seasons) What else? oh! the fact they are always stating you don't have to mess with time altering sort of ends up as a big contradiction as each episode goes by. Other LOT viewers have stated things like "why doesn't Rip Hunter travel backs a few minutes before his family is murdered?" or "Why don't they travel back to the time Vandal Savage was in her mother's womb?"

The real reason behind me watching the show.

If they ever kill her character, I'm done with LOT then.

Anyways, the series is granted a 16 episode first season with a promising finale that will bring more interesting characters to the team. Rumor has it, Alan Scott's Green Lantern will show up in the season finale and that would be just plain awesome! He's a great golden era character that  has a lot to offer in the TV format. Other rumors say that it will actually be another longtime fan favorite: Booster Gold (Fuck! I like him too! and he's a time traveler too!) This season finale is scheduled for May 19th. Other heroes that could make their way onto LOT are Animal Man, Vixen and Elongated Man. Here's the source for the info.  In addition, there could be a LOT/Supergirl crossover, which could either happen by the end of LOT's first season or during the second season since Supergirl's first season is over as of yesterday. 

Overall, LOT is an entertaining show for casual fans of the genre. Not that hardcore fans will hate it but, since it doesn't truly exist in the DC Comics universe, that can scare fanboys away. I for one, like it for what it is, a good lighthearted action series. In addition, is nice, and I say this as a lifetime comic book reader, it is really nice to give room to characters that can be as interesting (or even more) as the most popular characters DC Comics has, so that's really appreciated. Let's hope one day they bring to life Mr. Miracle & Big Barda.

Here's the trailer for LOT:

And the teaser for this week's episode "Last Refuge" :