BOOM
DCs Legends of Tomorrow
- Thread starter TimRock
- Start date
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@fonzerrillii
My same constant complaint
Powers.
This is a superhero show.
Steel never uses his powers, Rory rarely uses his gun, No Atom suit...
So why even give them powers?
My same constant complaint
Powers.
This is a superhero show.
Steel never uses his powers, Rory rarely uses his gun, No Atom suit...
So why even give them powers?
I'm telling you... At this point to me.. The show is basically Hercules and Xenia.... LOL
Hercules didn't use his strength every episode..
Side note....
And just like that Legends births three new BGOL gifs...
I can't fucking wait to try these out.
You watched that heat
but I will say that as the Resident BGOL Legends Fan... I wasn't happy about that episode.
Especially with them just kind of wiping away the Mutant Act and the ARGUS downfall.. that's been the thing I've been waiting for since they dropped that hint in Season 2.
Yeap.. which made it even better when the Kids started booing...
I bet you tons of people missed that.
^^^^^
that has always been one of issues
If you want to go dowb the same path as Xena Hercules Briscoe County etc?
Your writing and acting have to be consistently top notch
Cause that helps sell the silly ridiculous over the top fan stuff
And allows for those genuine heartfelt moments.
Those were storylines they BEEN setting up for a LONG time
And they also were promising viewers something
We were invested.
They have done stuff like that before.
Hold on Zara gone for reals?
she could and should but will be similar to Gamora in EndGame. The current Zara doesn't the memories and experiences of the old one. Shit she doesn't even have powers. But I expect her to be back.
Now fam...
As much as I love me some Hercules and Briscoe County... You and I both know that the acting wasn't always top notch.
They both had the same type of humor... hell the shows even have the same beats to the humor.
Personally I think the writing and acting on Legends is actually top notch.. Just factor in how it is a completely different show from Season 1.... yet somehow they did it in a believable way.
Is it a perfect show... heck to the naw... As I've stated before I hate that Nate and Ray are the only ones that have love interests and I hate how they show Nate when he is in a relationship.. Dude is one of the funniest on the show and he becomes a fucking love sick puppy when he is hooked up with someone. I never got the Zaria relationship. It never worked and it took away from her character..
but what I do like about the show.. is that it gives... two shits what anyone thinks about it. It feels like a live action cartoon and that's how Xena and Hercules made me feel.
this no hips flat ass bitch is kinda sexy ...lol
pull it to the side....
LOL.. Slam Came in here and got a little crazy.
Oh and on an unrelated note...
I just created two new gifs.. .that I can't wait to try out.. Courtesy of THE LONELY ISLAND
Oh and on an unrelated note...
I just created two new gifs.. .that I can't wait to try out.. Courtesy of THE LONELY ISLAND
‘DC Legends of Tomorrow': Brandon Routh, Courtney Ford to Exit CW Superhero Series
Reid Nakamura
The WrapAugust 22, 2019
Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford are departing The CW’s “Legends of Tomorrow” as series regulars, TheWrap has confirmed.
Routh has starred as Ray Palmer, a.k.a. Atom, on the DC superhero show since its debut in 2016. Ford, who plays Nora Darhk, joined the show in Season 3. Both will make their departures during the upcoming fifth season.
Executive producers Phil Klemmer, Grianne Godfree and Keto Shimizu praised Routh and Ford in a joint statement on Thursday, leaving the door open for the actors to return to the show down the line.
Also Read: Ending 'Supernatural' Was a 'Long, Sad, Heartbreaking' Conversation, CW Boss Says
“Brandon and Courtney have been invaluable members of the Legends family,” the trio said. “They have always brought a level passion and collaboration to their characters and to the show — both on and off the screen — that we deeply admire and for which we are eternally grateful. As one of the founding ‘Legends of Tomorrow,’ Brandon is extremely beloved by the fans and everyone on the show. Of course, when we have had main characters in the past whose journeys take them away from the Waverider, it’s never truly goodbye. We love these characters and hope to check in with them in future seasons, to see how life off the ship has transformed them for better or worse.”
The cast shakeup comes amid of a period of transition for The CW’s so-called “Arrowverse,” as the flagship series, led by Stephen Amell, heads into its final season this fall.
“Legends” and “Arrow,” along with the network’s four other DC series — “The Flash,” “Batwoman,” “Supergirl” and “Black Lightning” — are set to cross over with the heavily hyped “Crisis of Infinite Earths” event in December. The five-night crossover will also see Routh reprising his role as Superman alongside “Supergirl’s” Tyler Hoechlin.
Also Read: CW's 'The 100' to End With Season 7
“I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to bring the big-hearted and humorous Ray Palmer to life for our fans over the last 5 years, but unfortunately, his storyline is pointed in another direction,” Routh said in a statement. “I’m saddened to see Ray’s journey end for now but wish my ‘Legends’ family well.”
“Nora Darhk is very close to my heart,” said Ford. “If it were my choice, I’d play her for years to come. But I understand that stories run their course, and I’m grateful for the time I did have bringing Nora to life on ‘Legends of Tomorrow.'”
Reid Nakamura
The WrapAugust 22, 2019
Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford are departing The CW’s “Legends of Tomorrow” as series regulars, TheWrap has confirmed.
Routh has starred as Ray Palmer, a.k.a. Atom, on the DC superhero show since its debut in 2016. Ford, who plays Nora Darhk, joined the show in Season 3. Both will make their departures during the upcoming fifth season.
Executive producers Phil Klemmer, Grianne Godfree and Keto Shimizu praised Routh and Ford in a joint statement on Thursday, leaving the door open for the actors to return to the show down the line.
Also Read: Ending 'Supernatural' Was a 'Long, Sad, Heartbreaking' Conversation, CW Boss Says
“Brandon and Courtney have been invaluable members of the Legends family,” the trio said. “They have always brought a level passion and collaboration to their characters and to the show — both on and off the screen — that we deeply admire and for which we are eternally grateful. As one of the founding ‘Legends of Tomorrow,’ Brandon is extremely beloved by the fans and everyone on the show. Of course, when we have had main characters in the past whose journeys take them away from the Waverider, it’s never truly goodbye. We love these characters and hope to check in with them in future seasons, to see how life off the ship has transformed them for better or worse.”
The cast shakeup comes amid of a period of transition for The CW’s so-called “Arrowverse,” as the flagship series, led by Stephen Amell, heads into its final season this fall.
“Legends” and “Arrow,” along with the network’s four other DC series — “The Flash,” “Batwoman,” “Supergirl” and “Black Lightning” — are set to cross over with the heavily hyped “Crisis of Infinite Earths” event in December. The five-night crossover will also see Routh reprising his role as Superman alongside “Supergirl’s” Tyler Hoechlin.
Also Read: CW's 'The 100' to End With Season 7
“I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to bring the big-hearted and humorous Ray Palmer to life for our fans over the last 5 years, but unfortunately, his storyline is pointed in another direction,” Routh said in a statement. “I’m saddened to see Ray’s journey end for now but wish my ‘Legends’ family well.”
“Nora Darhk is very close to my heart,” said Ford. “If it were my choice, I’d play her for years to come. But I understand that stories run their course, and I’m grateful for the time I did have bringing Nora to life on ‘Legends of Tomorrow.'”
cant wait
This episode is hilarious
DC's Legends of Tomorrow season 5 premiere recap: 'Meet the Legends'
Caity Lotz and Nick Zano are the MVPs of the mockumentary-styled season 5 premiere.
By Chancellor Agard
January 21, 2020 at 10:00 PM EST
FBTwitterMore
COLIN BENTLEY/THE CW
DC's Legends of Tomorrow
A-
TYPE
GENRE
Coming into season 5, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is in an unenviable position. Whereas all of the other Arrowverse shows were able to start their seasons before diving right into the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, Legends had to launch its season out of it. But the writers took what could’ve been a problem and turned into a problatunity, using the crossover to add some emotional weight to the season 5 opener, “Meet the Legends.” The mockumentary-styled premiere is very playful and silly (a bird flies into the camouflaged Waverider), but beneath the sight gags and meta-humor, there’s a really strong and sincere emotional story that bowled me over. In other words, it’s a classic Legends episode.
Although “Crisis” eventually does impact the premiere, “Meet the Legends” is a bit more concerned with the fallout of the season 4 finale. After publicly defeating Neron at Heyworld, the Legends are now famous. They’re hanging out with the Obamas at games, presenting at the Oscars, and starring in commercials. Legends mania is sweeping the country (we need reality to look more like this, tbh). Unfortunately, not everyone is enthusiastic about them — specifically Senator Wellington, who doesn’t trust these screw-ups with time travel. In the interest of transparency, Ava and the Legends invite a documentary crew onto the Waverider, without telling Sara, Ray, and Mick, all three of whom were off dealing with the crossover. (The documentary is called Meet the Legends. I think it should’ve been named What We Do in the Time Stream.)
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The mockumentary format brings with it a lot of funny bits. There’s Nate, dressed like a stuffy professor, rambling on about skipping the crossover (read: not being invited to participate) and briefly dying in the season 4 finale; Mona, who is now Mick/Rebecca Silver’s book agent, wolfing out in the middle of a negotiation; and Behrad, Zari’s brother who replaced her on the Waverider, visiting baby him on his birthday. Clearly, the Legends are enjoying their newfound fame. You know who isn’t? Sara.
Our favorite captain, who is clearly carrying a lot emotionally, is far from pleased when she returns to the Waverider to find a bunch of cameras there. This is the last thing she wants to deal with after what happened in the crossover (Ava tells the Legends not to bring up the crossover because she doesn’t want to upset her). To make matters worse, Rasputin, one of the historical baddies Astra released from hell, comes back to life, which causes a time quake, and the Legends force Sara to bring the doc crew with them as they travel to 1917 St. Petersburg (a.k.a. go where the movie 1917 should’ve gone).
Hoping to steal more of the spotlight, Nate/Ray, Ava/Mick, and Mona each come up with a hilariously ridiculous way to deal with Rasputin: Nate and Ray want to just talk him out of seeking revenge, Ava and Mick simply want to kill him, and Mona thinks a love letter from the czarina would fix things. It’s all very silly and very Legends. Rasputin ends up killing the man who assassinated him, but Nate tries to reason with him, you know, one resurrected bro to another. During their chat, though, Rasputin senses that Nate lost someone he loved around the time of his resurrection, which is the first step toward Nate realizing Zari’s absence. I liked that this episode touched on how Nate is feeling after briefly dying. It’s mostly played for humor, but then there are moments like this one where there’s some real emotion to it because what happened was traumatic in a way.
Their bro time, though, is interrupted by Ava, who shoots Rasputin. Unfortunately, Rasputin can’t die because a chit of his soul is still in Hell. So, there’s a lot of commotion, and the Legends barely make it out of there.
Once again, Sara is pissed off with her friends. Not only did they disobey orders and almost die, but they’ve become so obsessed with this documentary that none of them bothered to check-in and ask how she’s doing. Spoiler alert: Not great, bob! Sara is traumatized from the Crisis and Oliver’s death, and she would love nothing more than to talk about it with her friends, but she can’t because they’re too busy mugging for the camera. Lotz is truly heartbreaking in this scene, especially because it was clear she was carrying something heavy since the moment she returned to the ship. What’s even more impressive about Lotz’s performance is that she had to do all of this months before even reading the crossover script or shooting everything that’s currently messing Sara up.
This part of what makes Legends so special. Episodes can have these very silly premises like a mockumentary, but then the script will hit you with an emotional scene like this that knocks your socks off without there being any tonal whiplash. In fact, it’s moments like this that really remind me of Community, another meta show that took stylistic leaps without ever losing track of the characters’ emotional story.
Anyway, Rasputin, who loves the camera, ends up kidnapping Kevin Harris, the documentary’s director, and declaring that he plans on killing the royal family. Annoyed with almost everyone on the ship, Sara recruits Behrad to help her stop this from happening. That doesn’t stop the rest of the Legends from following after and backing her up out in the field. Sara and Ava end up reconciling while fighting Rasputin’s goons. Since nothing they do will kill him, they try a very Legends plan: Sara throws a shrunken and unconscious Ray into Rasputin’s mouth and then tells Ray to embiggen once he regains consciousness, which of course, causes the mystic to explode everywhere.
With Rasputin handled, it’s time for the Legends to get back to their roots. At the documentary’s premiere, the Legends decide to debunk time travel so that they can go back to working in anonymity. Once back on the Waverider, Nate and Behrad get to work fixing Gideon, who is having trouble processing data from two different timelines. In the process, Nate discovers both footage of the moment Behrad took Zari’s place at Heyworld and a goodbye message from Zari in which she says she loves Nate and asks him to find her. Unfortunately, Nate has no idea who she is.
Wall of Weird:
Caity Lotz and Nick Zano are the MVPs of the mockumentary-styled season 5 premiere.
By Chancellor Agard
January 21, 2020 at 10:00 PM EST
FBTwitterMore
COLIN BENTLEY/THE CW
DC's Legends of Tomorrow
A-
TYPE
- TV Show
GENRE
Coming into season 5, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is in an unenviable position. Whereas all of the other Arrowverse shows were able to start their seasons before diving right into the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, Legends had to launch its season out of it. But the writers took what could’ve been a problem and turned into a problatunity, using the crossover to add some emotional weight to the season 5 opener, “Meet the Legends.” The mockumentary-styled premiere is very playful and silly (a bird flies into the camouflaged Waverider), but beneath the sight gags and meta-humor, there’s a really strong and sincere emotional story that bowled me over. In other words, it’s a classic Legends episode.
Although “Crisis” eventually does impact the premiere, “Meet the Legends” is a bit more concerned with the fallout of the season 4 finale. After publicly defeating Neron at Heyworld, the Legends are now famous. They’re hanging out with the Obamas at games, presenting at the Oscars, and starring in commercials. Legends mania is sweeping the country (we need reality to look more like this, tbh). Unfortunately, not everyone is enthusiastic about them — specifically Senator Wellington, who doesn’t trust these screw-ups with time travel. In the interest of transparency, Ava and the Legends invite a documentary crew onto the Waverider, without telling Sara, Ray, and Mick, all three of whom were off dealing with the crossover. (The documentary is called Meet the Legends. I think it should’ve been named What We Do in the Time Stream.)
ADVERTISING
Ads by Teads
The mockumentary format brings with it a lot of funny bits. There’s Nate, dressed like a stuffy professor, rambling on about skipping the crossover (read: not being invited to participate) and briefly dying in the season 4 finale; Mona, who is now Mick/Rebecca Silver’s book agent, wolfing out in the middle of a negotiation; and Behrad, Zari’s brother who replaced her on the Waverider, visiting baby him on his birthday. Clearly, the Legends are enjoying their newfound fame. You know who isn’t? Sara.
Our favorite captain, who is clearly carrying a lot emotionally, is far from pleased when she returns to the Waverider to find a bunch of cameras there. This is the last thing she wants to deal with after what happened in the crossover (Ava tells the Legends not to bring up the crossover because she doesn’t want to upset her). To make matters worse, Rasputin, one of the historical baddies Astra released from hell, comes back to life, which causes a time quake, and the Legends force Sara to bring the doc crew with them as they travel to 1917 St. Petersburg (a.k.a. go where the movie 1917 should’ve gone).
Hoping to steal more of the spotlight, Nate/Ray, Ava/Mick, and Mona each come up with a hilariously ridiculous way to deal with Rasputin: Nate and Ray want to just talk him out of seeking revenge, Ava and Mick simply want to kill him, and Mona thinks a love letter from the czarina would fix things. It’s all very silly and very Legends. Rasputin ends up killing the man who assassinated him, but Nate tries to reason with him, you know, one resurrected bro to another. During their chat, though, Rasputin senses that Nate lost someone he loved around the time of his resurrection, which is the first step toward Nate realizing Zari’s absence. I liked that this episode touched on how Nate is feeling after briefly dying. It’s mostly played for humor, but then there are moments like this one where there’s some real emotion to it because what happened was traumatic in a way.
Their bro time, though, is interrupted by Ava, who shoots Rasputin. Unfortunately, Rasputin can’t die because a chit of his soul is still in Hell. So, there’s a lot of commotion, and the Legends barely make it out of there.
Once again, Sara is pissed off with her friends. Not only did they disobey orders and almost die, but they’ve become so obsessed with this documentary that none of them bothered to check-in and ask how she’s doing. Spoiler alert: Not great, bob! Sara is traumatized from the Crisis and Oliver’s death, and she would love nothing more than to talk about it with her friends, but she can’t because they’re too busy mugging for the camera. Lotz is truly heartbreaking in this scene, especially because it was clear she was carrying something heavy since the moment she returned to the ship. What’s even more impressive about Lotz’s performance is that she had to do all of this months before even reading the crossover script or shooting everything that’s currently messing Sara up.
This part of what makes Legends so special. Episodes can have these very silly premises like a mockumentary, but then the script will hit you with an emotional scene like this that knocks your socks off without there being any tonal whiplash. In fact, it’s moments like this that really remind me of Community, another meta show that took stylistic leaps without ever losing track of the characters’ emotional story.
Anyway, Rasputin, who loves the camera, ends up kidnapping Kevin Harris, the documentary’s director, and declaring that he plans on killing the royal family. Annoyed with almost everyone on the ship, Sara recruits Behrad to help her stop this from happening. That doesn’t stop the rest of the Legends from following after and backing her up out in the field. Sara and Ava end up reconciling while fighting Rasputin’s goons. Since nothing they do will kill him, they try a very Legends plan: Sara throws a shrunken and unconscious Ray into Rasputin’s mouth and then tells Ray to embiggen once he regains consciousness, which of course, causes the mystic to explode everywhere.
With Rasputin handled, it’s time for the Legends to get back to their roots. At the documentary’s premiere, the Legends decide to debunk time travel so that they can go back to working in anonymity. Once back on the Waverider, Nate and Behrad get to work fixing Gideon, who is having trouble processing data from two different timelines. In the process, Nate discovers both footage of the moment Behrad took Zari’s place at Heyworld and a goodbye message from Zari in which she says she loves Nate and asks him to find her. Unfortunately, Nate has no idea who she is.
Wall of Weird:
- Impressed by the love letter she wrote, Mick decides to pass the Rebecca Silver mantle onto Mona, who decides to leave the ship and focus on writing.
- At the end of the episode, Constantine traveled to Hell to figure out why Astra released all of these historical baddies.
- The season 5 premiere confirmed that the Legends do indeed like to get high on occasion.
- Ray, Nate, and Behrad have a really cute secret handshake.
- “Should’ve skipped the crossover,” Nate deadpanned to the camera after learning Oliver died in the crossover.
- At the beginning of the episode, Tala Ashe’s name appears on-screen right as Nate said he felt like something was missing after coming back to life. Not sure if that was planned or not, but I loved it.
Is any TV show having more fun than Legends of Tomorrow?: Review
The CW's loopiest heroes save history by destroying history. Or just the "destroying" part, maybe.
By Darren Franich
January 21, 2020 at 05:34 PM EST
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THE CW RENEWS THE FLASH, RIVERDALE, SUPERGIRL, LEGACIES, NANCY DREW, AND 8 OTHER SERIES
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DC's Legends of Tomorrow
B+
TYPE
GENRE
So Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) and Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) are drinking too much in 1947. The time-traveling let’s-call-them-heroes of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow have jumped back to gangland Los Angeles for a very important mission. And that mission is…hmm, it’ll come to me. From what I remember, the problem involves LAPD corruption, literal Hell, fake accents, and Bell Biv DeVoe.
Whatever the team’s doing, it can’t be that important. They’re undercover in a Sunset Boulevard nightclub called the Blue Iguana. But Ava’s lit past oversharing, and Mick’s drunk enough for Tuesday morning. “I’m essentially homeless,” Ava moans. She used to run the Time Bureau, a massive government organization. Now she’s shacking up with her ex-assassin girlfriend Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) on the timeship Waverider, sharing a communal shower with various superpowered misfits. Roll call: Wind Boy, Mr. Shrinkwell, Guy With Gun That Fires Fire, Commodore Toughskin, and I forget, is martial arts a superpower?
“I’m a vagrant, a vagabond,” Ava says. “Everything I own is now stuffed inside a Time Bureau softball league duffel bag.”
Mick points to the loneliest man in the bar. “You see that clown sitting over there?” he says. “The one riddled with responsibilities? Look at him. He’s miserable. And he’s welcome to it.”
Too many superhero stories are miserable with responsibility. Let ’em have it! Legends of Tomorrow flies high as a kite, and the kite was hit by lightning, so now it’s an omnisexual talking kite firing electric rays at sexy history. Season 5 of The CW’s superteam romp kicks off Tuesday with a mockumentary episode about killing Rasputin. Next week, the gang’s in Old Hollywood cosplaying noir seduction. Then they go to Prom. Some actors play different people than they used to play. One baddie kills victims by partying super hard. Main characters die, but don’t stress! “Technically, you’ve died more than three times,” Ava tells Sara. Even her girlfriend’s lost count.
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COLIN BENTLEY/THE CW
What is Legends of Tomorrow? Better question: What isn’t it? The third offshoot from producer Greg Berlanti’s Arrow began ten thousand years ago in 2016. Cast members cycled out, and the tone veered stranger. Not that any of the Berlanti comic book shows aim for, like, serious-face’d realism. If you held a flame-gun to my head while demanding a one-word description of his super-mega-franchise, I would blurt out: “Peppy!” But the other title heroes tend to be stalwart cuties working through tragic backstories with trusty work-friends. Legends is prankish and punkier, a hodge well podged. “I’m a serial killer’s fairy godmother!” is a typical subplot-launching line of dialogue.
It helps that Legends has self-realized into the franchise far-outlier. In the premiere, Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) notes that he “had to take a rain check” on the crossover event that united all the important people from his universe. (Please consult my omniscient colleague Chancellor Agard for coverage of all Infinite Earths.) But Nate’s not complaining. The Legends have become famous world-savers now, which nominally explains why they’re being followed by a documentary film crew.
Actually, the cameras are a PR desperation move. Ava wants the world to see how totally together this whole Legends of Tomorrow operation is. The space-time continuum immediately collapses; the worst people in history rise from the dead. “This may seem like a problem,” Ava flop-sweats, “but let’s turn it into a proble-tunity!” So they warp back to late Tsarist Russia, where mad monk Rasputin (Michael Eklund) punches out of his own coffin.
Everyone comes up with their own plan. Every plan steps on another plan’s foot. Nate gets mesmerized by Rasputin’s psychic act. Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) attaches a selfie camera to his Atom costume, and goes someplace squishy. The decadence of Imperial Russia is played, mostly, by one single large foyer in an alleged palace.
How does Rasputin speak English? Why are the special effects so questionable? The premiere’s playful conclusion skewers these questions. A little self-awareness goes a long way, but Legends has a charm that’s more old-fashioned than meta. Every adventure is a game of dress-up. The scenery’s not much — but what chewing! Lotz radiates Big Kirk Energy as the charismatically deadpan captain, and the Los Angeles episode lets her go full Rosalind Russell. John Constantine (Matt Ryan) tries an American accent, why not. And Tala Ashe’s Zari returns from a timeline reboot as a parody of a certain mega-celebrity.
Showrunners Phil Klemmer, Keto Shimizu, and Grainne Godfree always seem to be getting away with something. Season 5 averages one musical number every two episodes. An electric-chair execution cues up Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” on the soundtrack. The tone can be ecstatically gay. In a moment of celebration, Sara swoons Ava into a sailor-kissing-the-nurse kiss — and then gives the camera a thumbs up. Message to certain Disney franchises safe enough for totalitarian censors: Now that’s how you do an LGBTQ-friendly victory smooch!
Necessary deviation into sober critic-speak: Legends can be too slapdash. Even with all the pot-smoking and whiskey-swilling, the Waverider always feels like a bland hallway in search of an actual location. And I do wonder if the general portrayal of historical figures would benefit from [presses nerd glasses up geeknose] extra research. The show’s version of Bugsy Siegel (Jonathan Sadowski) could be any generic Gangster Meanie, albeit a Gangster Meanie who says things like “What’s the rumpus? Must be pretty heavy if you’re calling me on the blower!”
Two central cast members will depart this year, but Legends already earned a season 6 renewal. That’s a healthy run — and it could go ever on. Ryan’s Constantine headlined his own (shortlived, normal-er) procedural, before network-skipping to the CW as a gruffly romantic goof. Is that the long game, blending new characters from DC lore with rescued demi-icons of super-shows past? Good lord, will someone from Gotham command the Waverider by season 11? On Legends of Tomorrow, the proble-tunities are endless. B+
@fonzerrillii
I thought you wrote this!
The CW's loopiest heroes save history by destroying history. Or just the "destroying" part, maybe.
By Darren Franich
January 21, 2020 at 05:34 PM EST
FBTwitterMore
Pause
Mute
Loaded: 71.07%
Share
Captions
Fullscreen
YOU MIGHT LIKE
THE CW RENEWS THE FLASH, RIVERDALE, SUPERGIRL, LEGACIES, NANCY DREW, AND 8 OTHER SERIES
×
DC's Legends of Tomorrow
B+
TYPE
- TV Show
GENRE
So Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) and Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) are drinking too much in 1947. The time-traveling let’s-call-them-heroes of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow have jumped back to gangland Los Angeles for a very important mission. And that mission is…hmm, it’ll come to me. From what I remember, the problem involves LAPD corruption, literal Hell, fake accents, and Bell Biv DeVoe.
Whatever the team’s doing, it can’t be that important. They’re undercover in a Sunset Boulevard nightclub called the Blue Iguana. But Ava’s lit past oversharing, and Mick’s drunk enough for Tuesday morning. “I’m essentially homeless,” Ava moans. She used to run the Time Bureau, a massive government organization. Now she’s shacking up with her ex-assassin girlfriend Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) on the timeship Waverider, sharing a communal shower with various superpowered misfits. Roll call: Wind Boy, Mr. Shrinkwell, Guy With Gun That Fires Fire, Commodore Toughskin, and I forget, is martial arts a superpower?
“I’m a vagrant, a vagabond,” Ava says. “Everything I own is now stuffed inside a Time Bureau softball league duffel bag.”
Mick points to the loneliest man in the bar. “You see that clown sitting over there?” he says. “The one riddled with responsibilities? Look at him. He’s miserable. And he’s welcome to it.”
Too many superhero stories are miserable with responsibility. Let ’em have it! Legends of Tomorrow flies high as a kite, and the kite was hit by lightning, so now it’s an omnisexual talking kite firing electric rays at sexy history. Season 5 of The CW’s superteam romp kicks off Tuesday with a mockumentary episode about killing Rasputin. Next week, the gang’s in Old Hollywood cosplaying noir seduction. Then they go to Prom. Some actors play different people than they used to play. One baddie kills victims by partying super hard. Main characters die, but don’t stress! “Technically, you’ve died more than three times,” Ava tells Sara. Even her girlfriend’s lost count.
PAID CONTENT
Sponsored Video
Watch to learn more
From salesforce.com
COLIN BENTLEY/THE CW
What is Legends of Tomorrow? Better question: What isn’t it? The third offshoot from producer Greg Berlanti’s Arrow began ten thousand years ago in 2016. Cast members cycled out, and the tone veered stranger. Not that any of the Berlanti comic book shows aim for, like, serious-face’d realism. If you held a flame-gun to my head while demanding a one-word description of his super-mega-franchise, I would blurt out: “Peppy!” But the other title heroes tend to be stalwart cuties working through tragic backstories with trusty work-friends. Legends is prankish and punkier, a hodge well podged. “I’m a serial killer’s fairy godmother!” is a typical subplot-launching line of dialogue.
It helps that Legends has self-realized into the franchise far-outlier. In the premiere, Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) notes that he “had to take a rain check” on the crossover event that united all the important people from his universe. (Please consult my omniscient colleague Chancellor Agard for coverage of all Infinite Earths.) But Nate’s not complaining. The Legends have become famous world-savers now, which nominally explains why they’re being followed by a documentary film crew.
Actually, the cameras are a PR desperation move. Ava wants the world to see how totally together this whole Legends of Tomorrow operation is. The space-time continuum immediately collapses; the worst people in history rise from the dead. “This may seem like a problem,” Ava flop-sweats, “but let’s turn it into a proble-tunity!” So they warp back to late Tsarist Russia, where mad monk Rasputin (Michael Eklund) punches out of his own coffin.
Everyone comes up with their own plan. Every plan steps on another plan’s foot. Nate gets mesmerized by Rasputin’s psychic act. Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) attaches a selfie camera to his Atom costume, and goes someplace squishy. The decadence of Imperial Russia is played, mostly, by one single large foyer in an alleged palace.
How does Rasputin speak English? Why are the special effects so questionable? The premiere’s playful conclusion skewers these questions. A little self-awareness goes a long way, but Legends has a charm that’s more old-fashioned than meta. Every adventure is a game of dress-up. The scenery’s not much — but what chewing! Lotz radiates Big Kirk Energy as the charismatically deadpan captain, and the Los Angeles episode lets her go full Rosalind Russell. John Constantine (Matt Ryan) tries an American accent, why not. And Tala Ashe’s Zari returns from a timeline reboot as a parody of a certain mega-celebrity.
Showrunners Phil Klemmer, Keto Shimizu, and Grainne Godfree always seem to be getting away with something. Season 5 averages one musical number every two episodes. An electric-chair execution cues up Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” on the soundtrack. The tone can be ecstatically gay. In a moment of celebration, Sara swoons Ava into a sailor-kissing-the-nurse kiss — and then gives the camera a thumbs up. Message to certain Disney franchises safe enough for totalitarian censors: Now that’s how you do an LGBTQ-friendly victory smooch!
Necessary deviation into sober critic-speak: Legends can be too slapdash. Even with all the pot-smoking and whiskey-swilling, the Waverider always feels like a bland hallway in search of an actual location. And I do wonder if the general portrayal of historical figures would benefit from [presses nerd glasses up geeknose] extra research. The show’s version of Bugsy Siegel (Jonathan Sadowski) could be any generic Gangster Meanie, albeit a Gangster Meanie who says things like “What’s the rumpus? Must be pretty heavy if you’re calling me on the blower!”
Two central cast members will depart this year, but Legends already earned a season 6 renewal. That’s a healthy run — and it could go ever on. Ryan’s Constantine headlined his own (shortlived, normal-er) procedural, before network-skipping to the CW as a gruffly romantic goof. Is that the long game, blending new characters from DC lore with rescued demi-icons of super-shows past? Good lord, will someone from Gotham command the Waverider by season 11? On Legends of Tomorrow, the proble-tunities are endless. B+
@fonzerrillii
I thought you wrote this!
Glad they're tackling the ending of last season's finale with what happened to Zari
A+ for Poison being used to clear a room.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow sneak peek: The team crashes
's high school reunion
By Chancellor Agard
February 10, 2020 at 01:48 PM EST
For many, high school was hell, so it only makes sense that one of the Encores — a.k.a. resurrected villains from Hell — would take the Legends back there in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow season 5. Unfortunately, returning to high school causes more distress for one Legend in particular.
In EW’s exclusive preview, above, of Tuesday’s episode titled “Slay Anything,” Sara (Caity Lotz), Ava (Jes Macallan), and Mick (Dominic Purcell) crash a high school reunion in Central City looking for the latest Encore: a reincarnated serial killer who attacked his classmates on prom night. Ava, who is apparently obsessed with this murderer, loves being here and can’t help but geek out about being in the lobby where the killer stalked his victims. Mick, on the other hand, isn’t happy about this sojourn because it turns out this is his high school, which is news to Sara and Ava, and he didn’t realize this is where they were coming.
“Mick, this is why you need to come to team meetings,” says Sara, scolding Mick.
To make things even more uncomfortable for Mick, one of his classmates actually recognizes him. Watch the hilarious and awkward interaction unfold in the clip above.
Meanwhile in the rest of the episode, Ray (Brandon Routh), Nora (Courtney Ford), Behrad (Shayan Sobhian), Nate (Nick Zano), and new-Zari (Tala Ashe) travel back in time to the night of the murders to try to stop them from happening in the first place.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.
February 10, 2020 at 01:48 PM EST
For many, high school was hell, so it only makes sense that one of the Encores — a.k.a. resurrected villains from Hell — would take the Legends back there in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow season 5. Unfortunately, returning to high school causes more distress for one Legend in particular.
In EW’s exclusive preview, above, of Tuesday’s episode titled “Slay Anything,” Sara (Caity Lotz), Ava (Jes Macallan), and Mick (Dominic Purcell) crash a high school reunion in Central City looking for the latest Encore: a reincarnated serial killer who attacked his classmates on prom night. Ava, who is apparently obsessed with this murderer, loves being here and can’t help but geek out about being in the lobby where the killer stalked his victims. Mick, on the other hand, isn’t happy about this sojourn because it turns out this is his high school, which is news to Sara and Ava, and he didn’t realize this is where they were coming.
“Mick, this is why you need to come to team meetings,” says Sara, scolding Mick.
To make things even more uncomfortable for Mick, one of his classmates actually recognizes him. Watch the hilarious and awkward interaction unfold in the clip above.
Meanwhile in the rest of the episode, Ray (Brandon Routh), Nora (Courtney Ford), Behrad (Shayan Sobhian), Nate (Nick Zano), and new-Zari (Tala Ashe) travel back in time to the night of the murders to try to stop them from happening in the first place.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.
Legends is on fire right now...
I was fucking wondering what happened to Charlie.