It’s official – the entire Arrowverse is ready for the next round. Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl have already made fantastic first impressions and now it’s time for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Last season saw the fall of the corrupt Time Masters and Vandal Savage. But there is nobody left to protect history from intervention. Nobody except the Legends of Tomorrow! Now guess who has gone missing.
New History
It appears that Rip Hunter is not the only person around who can recognize the changes to history. An enthusiastic historian known as Nate Heywood has discovered information about the Legends in tiny changes of history.
But the final records state the Waverider disappearing in an atomic explosion in 1942 New York – three years before the creation of the atomic bomb itself. Nobody believes him so Heywood approaches the man in the Mayor’s office – Green Arrow, not Oliver Queen. This isn’t the first time somebody has linked the pair but Heywood has the qualifications to make it stick. Queen readily agrees to help if he can.
A quick excursion to New York discovers a sunken Waverider with Mick Rory being held in stasis. Oliver demands to know what has happened to the rest of the team and Mick settles down with a beer before he starts his tale.
New Guardians
Rip Hunter and the team have been protecting history by tracking down aberrations. One such incident was tracked to 1637 France in the home of King Louie XIII. King Louie is now to die before siring a child which would prevent the golden age of France. A miniaturized Atom is covertly watching the King as Sara poses as a handmaiden to protect his Queen. History apparently didn’t record the royal pair were both bisexual or in an open marriage.
Events rapidly spiral out of control as laser pistols are drawn by intruders. Ignoring the rule of ‘no powers or future technology’, the Legends subdue the assassins and quickly take their leave. Breaking the flow of the story for a moment is Heywood, asking how they arrived in 1942. Heatwave reveals the warning Rex Tyler delivered and their wise decision not to heed his advice before a Time Quake occurred. Time Quakes happen in the Temporal Zone after significant changes to the timeline – like New York disappearing in 1942.
New York
Nazis have somehow constructed a nuclear bomb and destroyed New York. Rip reminds the team that Rex Tyler said they would die in 1942 but is quickly convinced that a Nazi world would be worse than their deaths. Sara instantly retreats to the library and pulls up information on ‘the target’ at the time – Damien Darhk. Throwing aside all the crazy fiction, for now, this makes for the most realistic point of the entire show so far. Sara has discovered a way to travel back in time and kill her sisters killer before he can kill her. Everybody would probably be thinking the same in her position.
Waverider mechanic Jefferson Jackson is being benched yet again by Rip in order to perform more repairs as the rest of the team hunt down Albert Einstein. Canary instantly flies the coop under the pretense of contacting an FBI ancestor in the event they need backup. Atom shrinks down to follow as Mick, Rip and Stein attend a symposium to locate Einstein.
The best physicist in history is quite the ladies man but is interrupted by a fawning Stein. Sara and Atom manage to locate Darhk but are forced to step back until they find the uranium. A firefight erupts around Einstein as Mick and Martin Stein kidnap him before he can be kidnapped. Rip quickly dispatches the attackers and makes the suavest exit ever. One problem arises back on the Waverider – history has not been fixed.
Atomic Bomb
Einstein lives up to his reputation and deduces their time travelling abilities. It also appears that his ex-wife helped him with the basis of his work and is also capable of creating an atomic weapon. Emotions spiral out of control when Sara’s hunt for Darhk is revealed. Ray heads a plan to track the radioactive signal using his suit and it leads to New Jersey. Make of that what you will.
A Nazi submarine is waiting for the bomb and the Legends are forced to quickly intervene. Sara breaks ranks and attempts to kill Darhk as Ray disables the bomb. A lucky shot hits Mick as the crew escape with Darhk left standing.
The atomic bomb was still functional as they leave for New York. Jackson is given more repairs but digs his heels in before Rip reveals he has been teaching Jax about the Waverider technology. The last Time Master believes his personal future may not lie onboard and needs somebody else to understand the Waverider.
Time Running Out
The Waverider follows the Nazi submarine and a brief battle ensues before the atomic torpedo is launched. Rip sets a collision course to detonate the bomb early and save New York. Alterations Jackson carried out earlier allow the team to be transported to elsewhere in time as Mick is placed in stasis by Rip. Gideon remains online as the bomb makes contact. A captain goes down with his ship and you can see the depths of the relationship between the two.
We now return to the present as Mick resolves to find the scattered Legends. Oliver is unable to join him but recommends a good historian – Heywood. It is the opportunity that all historians dream of and Heywood agrees. Arrow heads back to Star City as Heatwave takes the helm.
The Time Scatter used to save the team randomly transported them across history. Genius Ray is stuck in the distant past – roughly 70,000,000 BC – and being chased by a dinosaur when Mick saves him. Scientist Stein is trapped in 821 England – full of superstition and devoid of science – with Jackson as their hide under the guise of wizards. Heywood is remarkably eager to watch their execution before they all escape. You might have heard of Salem. It’s 1693 version had the honor of hosting Sara Lance and accuses this ‘vile witch’ of ‘corrupting the women of the village’.
Gideon is unable to locate Rip Hunter but is able to play a message he recorded for them in the event the time scatter is used. He reminds them that they are the best team he could have hoped for and the last hope for history.
Back To The Future Past
Stein realizes that the Nazi’s have a rogue time-traveler on their side and their evil counterpart could go back in time to kidnap either Einstein again but the Legends cannot constantly protect the pair. Heywood recommends that they make a slight change to history themselves. Stein, Heywood and Rory return to 1942 as CIA (then known as the OSS) and order Einstein to reveal his wife’s part in their work. This forces the government to protect them both indefinitely. It’s quite a smart move for the Legends.
Tension is high aboard the Nazi Submarine. Darhk is held responsible by the Nazi’s but refuses to give them another bomb – his partner wants to move on to other projects. Before we go any further, check out our Flashpoint and Paradox – especially Paradox – recaps. Barry Allen might fret over the damage to his friends but his actions have had more dangerous consequences than he could ever have imagined. Eobard Thawne has teamed up with Damien Darhk.
The Legends are heading back to the Waverider to leave 1942 when they are waylaid by a group of government agents – the Justice Society of America.
Summary
Although the first season – which you can read about here – made for a repetitive story, the new chapter in Legends of Tomorrow is off to a strong start. The Legends are all alone, Rip Hunter appears dead – but he can’t be, can he? – and the Justice Society is about to arrest the heroes of the future. It looks like this season will be as amazing as anything the Flash or Arrow can cook up and maybe even better.
Keep a watch on Fandom for any news about the future of Legends of Tomorrow.