Jessie Robertson reviews the second episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow season 2…
The JSA is on our TV’s?
NUFF SAID!
This week, I warmed up to Legends a bit more; I found the fun and frivolity I was looking for last week when they were infiltrating a Nazi nightclub where Martin was pretending to be movie star George Lorenz (who sung a crooning Swedish tune). The costumes were fun, interacting with the JSA was fun, the show does have a light heartedness that isn’t quite The Flash’s speed (see what I did there?) but still has its own unique feel, while still very much feeling like a part of this universe.
Let’s get to the JSA now: to do a group like this on TV, just this amount of characters, is a tough challenge, but I think they nailed the tone of a group of heroes from the 1940’s dead on and the authentic outfits were spot on. The roster, speaking as a comic book fan, was a bit of an odd choice: I noticed some of the more super-powered members were left out: Jay Garrick (who we’ve already seen on The Flash), Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, etc. And some of the members didn’t actually do much of anything (Dr. Mid-Nite, who was always my favorite). But, the ones that did get to operate, were fun to watch. Commander Steel (who was more of a faux-Captain America standing with a shotgun), was there for story purposes and it was an interesting tale of his own grandson meeting him in time; Heywood has something going on under the surface; and this week he went from “boring historian” to “intriguing second-stringer on the team.” Stargirl and Vixen also looked cool even though I don’t remember Vixen ever being a part of this team and Stargirl only joined in the 2000’s. Obsidian was a cool choice if only for the darkness fight he provided earlier in the episode. All in all, a cool idea even if you couldn’t execute them all perfectly; there’s enough great characters and material with these people to have their own show.
Battling Nazi’s is a natural exercise for a time-traveling group and I always wondered why no one would just go back to where Hitler began his methods and just lock him up? I mean, throw out the changing history caveat; that’s long been kicked and spit on, so why not just stop him before he ever gets started? Martin being elected pseudo-leader (mainly because he’s an old white dude, nice one Jackson!) was a short narrative stop that really didn’t work for me; obviously this guy’s not able to lead his team through a battle because he’s not a fighter; but as I pointed out last week,Sara is a raw emotional creature, who sure, knows how to win a fight and organize a strike team, but she’s not the most stable of people. Ray Palmer being so nice and flippant sort of bugged me here more so than it did on Arrow, but I think that’s because he needs to step up and be more of an able presence on this team and when you are always smiling at every situation, it gives the feeling you don’t care or take them as important as they should be. Heat Wave is still dead weight except for the occasional “haircut” comment. The show isn’t growing on me quickly but it’s not completely without merit either.
8/10- Just putting the JSA on TV is a cool concept and it’s done fairly well here, if this is the team you’re going with (which the lineup is completely unrecognizable to any comic fan), but they are getting some things right so let’s see where we go next.
Other Notes:
– Nate was revealed as a hemophiliac, something I didn’t see coming at all and adds a cool wrinkle to him that gives him a vulnerability and knowing who (or what) he turns into, is a very cool contrast I’m actually excited to see played out.
– Eobard Thawne shows up and does several bad things, including killing Rex Tyler, or as he puts it, erasing him from the timeline; so when did he go back and tell the Legends not to travel to 1942? I’m really so over timeline hijinks right now.
– Ray not wanting to salute Hitler was perfect engine to start a bar fight; I dug that scene.
– Again, I’m just staring at the group photo of the JSA again typing this and they all look so damn good; if they don’t come back this season on any of these shows, it’ll be a damn shame. And did I see Ma Hunkel’s original Red Tornado helmet in the corner in their sweet headquarters?
Jessie Robertson
Originally published October 21, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
