What You Need to Know Before Watching Legends of Tomorrow

The CW’s newest superhero show Legends of Tomorrow is set to debut in a few weeks on January 21st.ComicBook.com’s very own Russ Burlingame called the show the “best DC pilot yet” and one of the most ambitious superhero shows to date.However, for those who haven’t followed Arrow and Flash this season, Legends of Tomorrow might be a little hard to follow.So we’ve written a handy primer summarizing the characters and universe of Legends of Tomorrow to get you caught up to speed:

The Arrowverse

Legends of Tomorrow is set in the “Arrowverse”, an interconnected television universe featuring versions of some of DC’s most classic characters. Both The Flash and Arrow are set in the Arrowverse and NBC’s Constantine also had a link to the Arrowverse as Constantine appeared on Arrow earlier this season.  However, not every DC TV series is definitively set in the Arrowverse.  Gotham likely isn’t set in the Arrowverse and there’s conflicting reports whether Supergirl will ever cross over with The Flash and Arrow.  So while the Flash, Green Arrow and Black Canary may/will appear on Legends of Tomorrow, don’t expect them to be joined by Supergirl and Jim Gordon.

A Timeless Villain

While Legends of Tomorrow features a pretty deep cast of heroes (which we’ll cover more in a bit), at the core of the show is Vandal Savage, a classic DC villain.  In the comics, Savage is an immortal madman whose millennia of experience and inability to die makes him a dangerous threat for even the most powerful superheroes.  Savage first appeared as a Golden Age Green Lantern villain, but he’s also plagued the Justice Society of America, the Teen Titans and Batman. 

Savage first appeared in a two-part Flash/Arrow crossover earlier this season.  This version of Savage is the immortal enemy of Hawkman and Hawkgirl and repeatedly kills the pair as they reincarnate throughout the centuries.  After encountering the modern day versions of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Vandal Savage ripped through most of the heroes seen on Arrow and The Flash, but the Flash managed to travel back in time and stopped him, causing him to be disintegrated by the Staff of Horus, an ancient magical weapon.  However, Malcolm Merlyn, current leader of the League of Assassins, collected Savage’s remains, presumably to resurrect him in a Lazarus Pit.

A Hodgepodge of Heroes (and Villains)

Many have described Legends of Tomorrow as the closest we’ll get to a Justice League television show.  The main cast consists of six superheroes and two reformed (?) supervillains, with several other heroes scheduled to appear as guest stars.  While some of these heroes are brand new to the Arrowverse, many of them have deep histories on Arrow and The Flash and played major roles in past seasons.  We’ll briefly run down each character and some of their recent appearances prior to Legends of Tomorrow.   

Rip Hunter

Bringing together the Legends of Tomorrow team is Rip Hunter, a time traveler who protects the timestream from interference from supervillains and other threats.  In the comics, Hunter is the son of Booster Gold, a fame seeker who traveled from the future to the modern day to become a superhero.  After Booster saved the multiverse from Mr. Mind, an adult version of Hunter recruited the hero to become “the hero that time forgot” by conducting secret missions to protect the timestream from different threats.  However, Hunter never told Booster that he was Booster’s son, presumably to preserve his own existence as Booster hadn’t even met Hunter’s mother.

Since Rip Hunter’s first appearance in the Arrowverse won’t be until Legends of Tomorrow debuts, we don’t know if the show will reference any of Hunter’s comic past.  We do know that Booster Gold won’t appear in Legends of Tomorrow, so it’s likely that the show will only hint at Hunter’s origins.  Hunter will be played by Arthur Darvill, who previously played Rory, one of the Doctor’s time-traveling companions on Doctor Who.  

The Atom

The Arrowverse’s version of the Atom, played by Brandon Routh, was the head of Palmer Technologies, one of the few companies still headquartered in Starling City after two disasters devastated the city.  After his wife died during an attack by Deathstroke and his army of superpowered convicts, Palmer purchased Queen Industries and used its various experimental technologies to build an Iron Man-esque “A.T.O.M.” suit, which he hoped would help stop future attacks on the city.  While his naivete and romance with Felicity Smoak initially put him at odds with Oliver Queen, the two eventually worked together to bring down the League of Assassins.  Palmer disappeared at the end of last season when he caused his office to explode while working on his suit.  While his friends (and stockholders) presumed he had died, Palmer had used his suit to shrink to microscopic levels, escaping the blast.  However, Damien Darkh, the current “big bad” of Arrow, kidnapped Palmer, hoping to use his technical expertise for his HIVE organization.  Queen and his team eventually discovered Palmer and freed him from one of Darkh’s compounds.  

White Canary

The first “Canary” to appear on Arrow, White Canary (played by Caity Lotz) is Sara Lance, Oliver’s former flame and sister to Laurel Lance.  Sara joined Oliver on his doomed yacht trip, leading to them both getting stranded on the island of Lian Yu while the rest of the world thought they were dead. While Oliver befriended two other castaways on the island (Shado and Slade Wilson), a group of mercenaries led by Dr. Morrow discovered Sara and kept her offshore for nearly a year.  Morrow and Oliver’s groups eventually came into conflict, leading to Oliver losing Sara for a second time.  The League of Assassins found and trained Sara and she returned to Starling City to protect her family in the aftermath of an artificial earthquake that destroyed part of the city. 

As “the Canary”, Sara assisted Oliver and his friends in fighting Deathstroke (a deranged Slade Wilson), but Thea Queen (Oliver’s sister) killed her while brainwashed by Malcolm Merlyn as part of a deranged plot to take over the League of Assassins.   Thea and Laurel resurrected Sara using a Lazarus Pit earlier this season, but she now struggles with an intense bloodlust, a side effect from the Lazarus Pit’s regenerative powers. 

Firestorm

Firestorm is the powerhouse of the Legends of Tomorrow team, with a nuclear physiology capable of generating powerful blasts of flame.  While Firestorm appears to be one superhero, he’s actually the fusion of two different people, fused together via the mysterious and dangerous Firestorm Matrix.  The current members of Firestorm are the brilliant Professor Stein (played by Victor Garber) and Jefferson Jackson (played by Franz Drameh), a former football standout turned car mechanic.  While Jackson controls the body of Firestorm, Stein provides support and guidance as a disembodied voice inside Jackson’s head. 

Firestorm first appeared on The Flash last season as the fusion of Stein and Ronnie Raymond, a former STAR Labs employee and Caitlin Snow’s fiancée.  While Snow and the rest of the STAR Labs team believed Raymond to be dead after the particle accelerator accident, they discovered that he had fused with Stein and gained a new set of fiery powers.  After learning how to control the fusion process with a special device, Firestorm helped the Flash fight the Reverse-Flash last season, but Ronnie sacrificed his life to close an interdimensional wormhole that threatened to destroy Central City at the end of last season.  Without Raymond, Stein’s powers began to dangerously fluctuate, so the Flash and his friends found a suitable replacement in Jackson.  According to our own Russ Burlingame, the relationship between Stein and Jackson mirrors the testy and tumultuous friendship between the comic versions of Ronnie Raymond and Stein in the original Fury of Firestorm comics.  

Captain Cold and Heat Wave

The biggest surprise members of the Legends of Tomorrow team are Captain Cold and Heat Wave, two of the Flash’s biggest enemies.  In the comics, Cold is the leader of the Rogues, a band of supervillains who frequently team up to fight the Flash.  Heat Wave was a founding member of the Rogues and relies on Cold to help keep his own pyromaniac tendencies in check.  Both Cold and Heat Wave appeared on The Flash last season as recurring threats of the Flash and his friends.  Cold stole several pieces of equipment from STAR Labs, including a specialized cold gun meant to take down the Flash should he turn evil and a super-charged flamethrower.  After fighting the Flash to a standstill, he recruited his old ally Mick Rory to form the beginning of his own Rogues team.

Cold has a unique relationship with the Flash and the two formed an uneasy truce last season after Cold learned the Flash’s real identity.  As long as Cold or his friends didn’t kill anyone, the Flash would allow him and the Rogues to operate in Central City.   The Flash briefly sent Cold to prison this season after Cold killed his own father (he kind of deserved it) but he escaped with the help of the Weather Wizard and presumably rejoined his gang.  While Cold comes off as aloof and….well, cold, the Flash thinks he’s capable of becoming a force for good and it looks like Legends of Tomorrow is that big chance.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl

Longtime Justice League and Justice Society members, Hawkman and Hawkgirl have a long and complicated comics history thanks to an immortal curse caused by the alien metal that grants them their powers.  The Arrowverse simplified their story somewhat by removing the alien elements of the characters and focusing on the unending cycle of death the two have faced over the millennia.  Hawkman and Hawkgirl were originally an ancient Egyptian prince and princess who were murdered by their high priest, Vandal Savage.  The knife used to the murder the pair also cursed them to reincarnate over and over, allowing the immortal Savage to kill them again and gain strength with each kill.

In the modern day, Kendra Saunders (played by Ciara Renee) met and befriended Cisco Ramon, an ally of the Flash. Ramon and Saunders started dating, although Cisco’s “vibes” of Saunders’ past and powers (both of which were unknown to Saunders) initially complicated their relationship.  The modern version of Hawkman, Carter Hall (played by Falk Hentschel), kidnapped Saunders, hoping to unlock her memories and help in his fight against Savage.  With the help of the Flash and Green Arrow, the Hawks defeated Savage, although Saunders chose to remain with Cisco rather than Hawkman after the battle was over. 

The Arrowverse versions of Hawkman and Hawkgirl have retractable wings that sprout from their back on command, which differs from their comic counterparts’ artificial wings.  Due to their centuries of experience, both are also capable fighters, especially with various types of hand-held weaponry.    

Even More Heroes

In addition to all the heroes mentioned previously, several other cast members from Arrow and The Flash will also make guest appearances on the show.  Green Arrow, the Flash, Black Canary and Vibe will all appear at least once on the show.  Valentine Vostok, a former Doom Patrol member known as the Negative Woman, will also have a recurring role on the show, allegedly as an ally of Savage.  ComicBook.com also revealed that a version of Connor Hawke (Oliver Queen’s son and the second Green Arrow) will appear in some form on Legends of Tomorrow, as will Arrow villains Damien Darkh and Ra’s al Ghul.