With The CW series returning for a Second Season, the path is laid out for a “legacy” to take explode onto the primetime landscape!
At the close of the final act — the “stinger” if you would — in the climax of Season One of The CW hit show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (the second spin-off from Greg Berlanti’s production house inspired by DC Comics properties) the remaining members of revolutionary time-tripper Rip Hunter’s (Arthur Darvill) rag tag team of “legends” are about to board their time ship, when another “Waverider” appears out of no where and delivers an unexpected interloper into their midst…
When Rex Tyler (guest star Patrick J. Adams) introduces himself to the group, who stand aghast at his arrival, he declares himself “a friend” — a member of the Justice Society of America, and he’s here in the present to stop them from killing themselves! And scene! What Tyler’s very cryptic message might mean is going to be rattling around the inside of fans’ heads at least until San Diego Comic-Con, where the cast will gather in Hall, for the first time to tease exactly what is in store for Season Two.
In a final attempt to stop the tyranny of Vandal Savage the team of “legends” including White Canary (Caity Lotz), The Atom (Brandon Routh) and Heatwave (Dominic Purcell) travel back to World War II.
For the initiated audience the trajectory that is going to be explored in the upcoming fall when all the DC TV Universe series premiere on The CW, there might be a familiar thread running through (at least) two of the series coming back. Tyler’s Hourman isn’t the only well-known JSA member introduced into the #DCTVCW during the spring finales. Hourman may have saved the legends from a fate worse than death, but on The Flash finally liberated from the villainous ZOOM!’s prison on Earth-2, the “man in the iron mask” was revealed to be none-other than Jay Garrick — the Golden Age Flash!
To make matters more interesting for our hero Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) the “original” speedster bares a very striking resemblance to his recently departed father Henry Allen and in an even greater twist of fate — the actor playing the “real” Jay Garrick is John Wesley Shipp. The stunning move was very shocking to fans especially since Shipp played the role of Barry Allen in the “original” CBS series The Flash from the 1990s. At the conclusion of The Flash season finale, Garrick indicates that he’s returning to his own parallel earth, and indicates that to be Earth-3.
The Flash — “The Race of His Life” — Pictured: John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick/The Flash — Photo: Katie Yu/The CW — © 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
With the DC Comics multiverse having played so predominantly this past season on the show, and Legends traversed the time-stream, when the shows return in the fall we’re not guaranteed viewers will be jumping into familiar territory. For one, Barry traveled back in time and into the Speed Force and enacted a “FlashPoint” butterfly effect that may be felt across the primetime spectrum. Barry prevented his enemy, the Reverse-Flash from murdering his mother.
Altering his own past, will no doubt affect the present, but like in the comic book version of FlashPoint will the entire #DCTVCW universe be affected? With Supergirl joining The CW next fall, is this the way in which they universes will crossover to create one cohesive TV universe? It’s too soon to say, but certainly legacies will play an important role in fall. The writers of the returning Supergirl have indicated that Superman will be appearing in an early story arc when the series launches.
On Legends with Hourman filling one of the vacancies left by departing cast members including Hawkgirl, Hawkman and Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller, who will be returning to his proper place as a recurring role on The Flash), announcements have already gone out that Vixen will be joining the series. Introduced first in animation, before appearing in the flesh on Arrow the role of the beastly beauty was inhabited by Megalyn E.K. but the producers have indicated that the Vixen joining the cast will be an “earlier version” of the contemporary Mari McCabe. In essence, Legends will introduce a “legacy” version of the character.
Leaving many fans to wonder if the final seat on Legends might be filled by Jay Garrick. Actor John Wesley Shipp has indicated that playing the Golden Age Flash has opened the door for many story possibilities, especially on The Flash. This will undoubtedly include major crossover potential among the various primetime shows that might interject Garrick, Hourman, etc. How the JSA arc will play itself out on Legends will be as interesting as imagining how FlashPoint will evolve on The Flash, but one thing is for sure, the DC TV Universe continues to expand beyond any fans expectations! Legendary, indeed.
