This season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has gotten off to a fun start. Without a singular goal or the ever looming Time Masters, the story has quite frankly gone bananas, and it’s a hoot. While “Justice Society of America” continues that trend, it also provides some early setup for what the rest of the season has in store.
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The titilar Justice Society of America is not terribly impressed with the sloppy Legends, and wants them to leave 1942. However, the Legends have their own idea, especially when they learn that the JSA is facing a danger they might not be equipped to handle alone.
Meanwhile, Nate wants to be a part of the team so badly that he doesn’t want to admit something to anyone, including his Grandfather Commander Steel, one of the JSA. Ray and Vixen clash, with disastrous consequences. And while Stein tries to lead in Rip’s absence, it soon becomes clear that he is more suited to a classroom, and Sarah’s tactical experience might mean she’s the right one for the job.
As usual, Victor Garber gives a great performance as Martin Stein. The episode allows Stein’s pompous arrogance to come head to head with his lack of experience and inability to make quick decisions. Plus Garber gets a clever chance to go back to his Broadway roots in a very entertaining scene.
Nick Zano as Nate is also a delight. We get to know the historian quite a bit in this episode as he establishes himself further as a member of the Legends. His scenes with Steel are good, but the ones he has with Sarah are great. Nate is much more than just an intellectual, he’s well on his way to being a hero, and it is certainly fun to get the beginnings of his origin story.
Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Vixen is a great new addition to the show. Very much her own Vixen, rather than the one we have seen before, she has a lot of fun interaction with Ray and a few wonderfully strong moment.
And Caity Lotz as Sarah is just so awesome. Sarah is busy this week, caught up in both Stein’s story and Nate’s, and she slips between the two wonderfully, giving us quite a bit to enjoy. She also has one of the episode’s funniest moments, a tiny little sight gag that you’ll just have to look out for.
The episode is not without flaws. There are a lot of new characters being brought in because of the JSA, and there simply is not time to deal with all of them. Half the squad gets to play a lot during fights but is under-utilized otherwise. We don’t even get explanations of their powers, meaning the viewers who are unfamiliar with the JSA in the comics might not be clear on all that is happening. The villain of the week also has to deal with some unfortunate CGI. It’s a shame, we know how good the effects can be on this show. There is really no excuse for that.
Overall though, “Justice Society of America” is a fun romp and a few things are being set up and teased which potentially promise a nice payoff later in the season. Not to mention some really good fight scenes. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is certainly off to an enjoyable start.
