Hey, do you like Arrow and The Flash?
-Yeah? Cool. You’ll probably dig this new trailer for the spin-off Legends of Tomorrow.
Are you not really a fan of TV’s Batman Oliver Queen or the weird multiverse and endless parade of father figures on The Flash?
-You’ve got some nerve mister [menacing stare, awkward silence]. Either way, maybe don’t watch this new trailer. It’s probably not going to be your thing.
That seems like a strange thing for me to say. For starters, there are plenty of Flash fans who don’t like Arrow and vice versa, and Legends of Tomorrow is going to be very different from both of them. Arrow‘s their Batman, Flash is their Superman and Legends of Tomorrow will be their…um, Quantum Leap? No, that’s not quite right. Doctor Who? No, I’m only thinking that because it is a time travel show and Arthur Darville will be in it. Awake? Um, no. Journeyman? Stop. First Edition? Please stop. Life on Mars? STOP. 12 Monkeys? For the love of God, please STOP randomly naming time travel shows. Legends of Tomorrow will clearly just be a junior Justice League with time traveling.
Help me out here, Legends of Tomorrow creators Marc Guggenheim and Phil Kelmmer: what’s your show going to be like?
“The show will contain elements of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’ Justice League International run.” Guggenheim told THR. That’s probably a reference to the show’s tone, as Giffen and DeMatteis’ run is considered more comedic than grim. Klemmer compared the show to Ocean’s Eleven or Dirty Dozen. However, he also said the show would eventually introduce darker elements like betrayal and characters being tempted by the dark side.
Huh. Maybe I just should show you the trailer. Yeah. That’d be easier:
Fun. Family-friendly. Time travel-trippy. Knowingly campy. Those are the descriptions that come to mind.
Not Jessica Jones. Not Daredevil. Not Agents of Shield. Not Agent Carter. Those comparisons also come to mind.
On TV, DC is doing its thing (well, Gotham is its weird own category), and Marvel is doing its thing.
The trailer makes references to The Dark Knight and Superman, and has intriguing “fun with time travel” scenarios like Professor Stein’s wedding ring disappearing and Captain Cold apparently meeting his younger self. It’s also fully aware of how over-stuffed its own cast is, and while that might seem concerning remember that Phil Klemmer previously teased, ‘Some of these characters might not make it for the full trip,” he said, adding that, “some might be lost in time.” Somehow, I don’t see Heat Wave lasting the whole season. If he loves the 70s so much maybe they’ll leave him there.
Okay. I just re-watched the trailer, and am I the only getting a really weird Stargate vibe off of this show?
Moving on. Perhaps the thing we all want to know is whether or not things these people change in the past will somehow alter the present on either Arrow or The Flash? Probably not. We’ll have to tune in when the show premieres on Thursday January January 21st to find out.
Sidenote: Wow. The CW is betting big on Legends. They gave it The Vampire Diaries‘ old timeslot and moved that network-defining hit to Friday nights. Sorry, Salvatores, and your magically cloaked vampire babies. Move aside for the time travel squad.