After many teases and setups across the Arrow and Flash universes, the rag tag group of villains and heroes is here! DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has a monumental task in squeezing nine character arcs in a mere hour (45 minutes without commercials) of screen time. Unlike other shows that can write characters out of a scene entirely, it wouldn’t really make that much sense to do so with this setup. But, with all my reservations of Legend’s of Tomorrow, “Pilot Part 1,†was exceedingly fun and proves the potential this show has.
The reintroduction of Vandal Savage provided some neat concepts for the series’ pilot. We learn that Savage wants to take over and control the entire world. They always say if you’re going to dream, dream big, right? In his world conquering endeavour, Savage comes across a kid and asks him if he’s foolish like his father or brave like his mother. The kid spits in his face, and then Savage kills him. We later find out that the boy was Rip’s son thus showing us why Rip Hunter has a deeper motive to defeating Savage than just saving the world from complete control.
The episode provides some deep insight into Rip Hunter’s past life as being part of the Time Master’s Council and ultimately his departure from the group. The bickering between the Legends and Rip is interesting because the entire group has very different personalities from one another. Thus, Rip Hunter attempting to convince the group that what they’re doing is essential leads to some fantastic backstory.
As much as Rip Hunter would love to stop Savage once and for all, his main drive is revenge for Savage killing his son, Jonas. It’s nice that there is some emotional appeal, versus the whole, “A super evil guy is trying to take over the world, so stop him,†schtick that’s all too prevalent. So, why would this mish-mash of heroes and villains decide to convene in the first place? Simply, a chance to be known and to make their lives matter.
While that doesn’t sound too exciting or enticing, Atom’s explanation is perfect for their situation. Ray explains that he decided to come along because when he was shrunken and trapped by Damien Darhk, the world continued without him even when he was presumed dead. Thus, Legends of Tomorrow was built; although, Professor Stein did have to roofie Jefferson and drag him along unwillingly.
With the wildly different personalities of the group, the show emits an almost Guardians of The Galaxy-esque tone throughout. But, while the “good guys†side is pretty stacked, the villains (beside Savage) are pretty unknown at this point. We did get to meet Chronos, which is a Bounty Hunter for the Time Masters. But that’s the only person we’ve come across besides Savage at this point.
I enjoyed the episode overall, but it did feel a bit uneven. My love of all the characters in the show definitely helps move things along. My only worry is that they won’t come up with a compelling villain outside of Vandal Savage; of whom was already “killed†in a two-episode arc in the Flash-Arrow crossover. Is Chronos the big bad of the season? Or will it take on a more villain of the week approach similar to the other CW DC shows?
If they are able to come up with a compelling villain, I think the show can do wonders. I mean c’mon, we’ve already seen the CW work their magic on both Arrow and The Flash, so I don’t really see how they can’t come up with something exciting.
