Rome was not built in a day. Good things take time. Entertainment and good storytelling takes time. That being said, I did think the first episode of LEGENDS OF TOMORROW was good... but just as it's crucial to the fictional story of the show, one thing this series is going to need is TIME.
Right out of the gate this episode started with good action, which I enjoyed. As entertaining as they can make this show in its early stages the better. I did enjoy the early example of Vandal Savage and his tyranny, but I don’t think his soldiers could have looked more bland, and when I say “bland” I mean bad Halo Spartan cosplay bland. It was also pretty obvious that it might not take the same steps as its predecessors ARROW and THE FLASH due to Vandal Savage killing a child within the first 10 minutes of the show.
Also, there were a lot of clear examples that the people behind this show are taking a big step to make it more visually entertaining and cinematic then other DC shows. That will pay huge dividends when it comes to discussions for a possible Season 2.
Also, there were a lot of clear examples that the people behind this show are taking a big step to make it more visually entertaining and cinematic then other DC shows. That will pay huge dividends when it comes to discussions for a possible Season 2.
Let's talk characters. I think there were a lot of good things to talk about. There was a good job of each character being presented the situation, weighing it over then taking action. Using my chance to be nitpicky, our first opponent for the team was a little messy. I’m still waiting to see if this Chronos is truly the Chronos from DC lore, but as of right now, he seemed more “Boba Fett” then Chronos to me. Although I was particularly impressed with two characters in this first episode, The Atom and Heatwave.
Both actors seemed to do a little more with their characters. Ray Palmer showed a lot more depth to what we usually see out of his geeky yet brave hero. He seemed motivated to make his life important and to do some good. Even though he still asked Green Arrow for advice, he seems like he’s his own hero now. Heatwave also impressed me a lot in this episode with his delivery and indiscreet humor. It may be early, but I’m likening his role to Marvel’s Drax in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. He stole the episode for me with his moments of asking Professor Stein about roofies and his lines, “I like killing people” and “Hey haircut” when referring to Ray. That is the beauty of this show if you think about it, we were and will continue to be able to see more out of these characters that we only get snippets of on other CW shows.
Both actors seemed to do a little more with their characters. Ray Palmer showed a lot more depth to what we usually see out of his geeky yet brave hero. He seemed motivated to make his life important and to do some good. Even though he still asked Green Arrow for advice, he seems like he’s his own hero now. Heatwave also impressed me a lot in this episode with his delivery and indiscreet humor. It may be early, but I’m likening his role to Marvel’s Drax in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. He stole the episode for me with his moments of asking Professor Stein about roofies and his lines, “I like killing people” and “Hey haircut” when referring to Ray. That is the beauty of this show if you think about it, we were and will continue to be able to see more out of these characters that we only get snippets of on other CW shows.
Story wise, things were a little rough. Even though most pilots of any show really are borderline “introductory” episodes, I thought at times it seemed like a continuous rehashing of the trailers and footage we’ve already seen. I give kudos to this show for giving separate moments for each of the characters to shine, but the story with Hawkman and Hawkgirl’s son from another lifetime just seemed a little thrown together; and if they’ve been killed by Savage over 200 plus times, they should have A LOT of kids. But we did end on a high note.
The reveal by Rip at the end presents a whole new ballgame for our characters. Rip turned things upside down and told them they’re just a collection of borderline nobodies who have no effect on the timeline. If you ask me, it was a nice twist to a somewhat predictable first episode. Their insignificance is now their motivation to stop Savage. Instead of preserving their statuses as legends, they have to earn it. Well, except for Snart and Rory, who would rather punch some faces and steal some stuff along the way.
The reveal by Rip at the end presents a whole new ballgame for our characters. Rip turned things upside down and told them they’re just a collection of borderline nobodies who have no effect on the timeline. If you ask me, it was a nice twist to a somewhat predictable first episode. Their insignificance is now their motivation to stop Savage. Instead of preserving their statuses as legends, they have to earn it. Well, except for Snart and Rory, who would rather punch some faces and steal some stuff along the way.
Written by Mark Storey, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Beat Writer
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