The article contains nothing butLegends of Tomorrowspoilers.
Welcome to ourLegends of Tomorrowreference guide.
Dont be fooled by the fact that these arent household names.
Many of these guys and gals have been kicking around pop culture longer than most big screen Marvel heroes.
Instead, it was usually the more cartoon friendly matter transmutation stuff.
I didnt realize that would be prophetic.
Ad content continues below
So, Im pretty sure the soldier who croaks in France is Sgt.
So, for real…was that Sgt.
And if so, wasnt he a little young to be the grizzled Rock?
Im a little confused.
c’mon straighten me out.
It kind of merged the best of the Golden and Silver Age Hawk origins into something appropriately modern.
Its not how it played out here, but the basic idea of that merging is the same.
Rex Tyler is Hourman!!!
Either way, this is extraordinarily awesome.
Hourman first appeared inAdventure Comics#48 in 1940.
Hes a founding member of the JSA.
Special note:at one point the CW was developing an Hourman TV series, but it never happened.
Im assuming that the Time Masters/Linear Men are interchangeable for the purposes of this show.
Who are the Linear Men?
Ummmm…think of them kind of like Time Lords except not really.
Theyre more like continuity cops in that they travel through time resolving Time Paradoxes.
Arthur Darvills ownDoctor Whoconnections are purely coincidental, Im sure.
Rip is referred to as Captain Hunter at one point.
Feel free to correct me and Ill update this.
But hes gotta be captain of something, so…
The name of Rips time travelling spaceship is the Waverider.
Waverider was a minor superhero from the 90s who could travel through time under his own power.
Heres what he looked like…
The 90s ladies and gentlemen!
Oh, and the ships AI is Gideon the same supercomputer designed by none other than Barry Allen.
We met Gideon in Harrison Wells secret lair onThe Flashseason one.
I still havent found an acceptable comic book counterpart for it, though.
Also, lets just take a moment to appreciate Rips wondeful ray gun six shooter thing.
Anyway, Id better get back on track.
Keep an ear out for references like that.
Holy moley, I got a headache just typing that.
He first appeared inGreen Lantern#10 in 1944.
Its far too much for this space.
In the comics, Vandals immortal foe was appropriately named the Immortal Man.
But while Vandal essentially just kinda lives forever, the Immortal Man would die and get reincarnated.
In their early appearances, Carter Halls eternal lover was ShieraSanders.
But KendraSaunderswas introduced in the pages ofJSA Secret Files#1 in 1999.
Its better than it sounds and mildly less confusing than Im making it out to be.
Thats a whole nother can of worms to feed your birds.
I really, really hope we get to see something like that happen on this show.
Theres also a neat reference to Ray Palmer having taken one of Martin Steins classes at Ivy University.
Ivy is where the comic book Professor Ray Palmer got his superheroic start.
You have to love how Stein kinda blows him off about the whole thing, too.
Firestorm first appeared inFirestorm, The Nuclear Man#1 in 1980.
He was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom.
So forLegends, we have a far more familiar Firestorm to comics fans.
Jefferson Jackson is much more like Ronnie Raymond than the actual TV Ronnie ever was, for starters.
Jefferson isnt the first African-American half of Firestorm, either.
They even gave him a genuine superhero costume.
It looks about as cool as you could expect anything in those colors to look, I guess.
Anyway, she wasnt Sara Lance, thats for sure.
Its almost impossible to unravel.
And then there are these two…
Captain Cold first appeared inShowcase#8 in 1957.
He was one of the first villains the Flash ever took on.
Considering that Geoff Johns is an executive producer on the CWs DC superhero shows, that was no coincidence.
You know, the medical definition of pyromania.
Now, these are bad guys, kinda, but then theres this one…
The Boba Fett lookalike is named Chronos.
Now, assuming that it isnt spelled Kronos or something, there are two very cool possibilities here.
There was David Clinton, probably the Atoms most notorious arch enemy.
Also, the most notoriously poorly dressed supervillain I can think of.
See what I mean?
I do however think its this guy…
Walker Gabriel fits the bill a little better.
Im telling you, this is the guy.
Or at the very least, its a hybrid of both characters.
Now, how about some other, kinda random references?
In his speech to the other Time Masters, Rip compares Vandal Savage to Per Degaton.
Hed be a perfect villain forLegends of Tomorrowseason 2 if we get there.
Theres a moment with Green Arrow talking the Atom through a mission.
It just felt like it came straight out of a 1970s issue ofJustice League of Americaor something.
Aldus Boardman was created specifically for the show.
Ive always felt theyre linked.
Jefferson tells Gideon to Fire photon torpedos when Chronos attacks the Waverider.
Theres an important distinction between proton torpedoes and photon torpedoes.
Proton indicates a Star Wars reference.
Photon is Star Trek.
Legends of Tomorrow Episode 2
Ivy Town University is Ray Palmers alma mater.
This place has been kicking around the DCU for as long as the Atom has.
In the comics, Ray was a professor here when he first developed his shrinking technology.
Damien Darhk showing up is fun fan service, and whatever thats cool.
Its interesting that Darhk has HIVE drones with him, though.
Theres discussion of a Carlin Award.
I wonder if thats a nod to legendary Superman editor, Mike Carlin?
I kind of wish they would have taken theAsteroidsvisual a little further, though.
For the record, this is Asteroids, in case youre too young to know… John Byrne rebooted Superman withThe Man of Steellimited series.
She was known as Negative Woman, having been fused with a being made of negative energy.
Something is clearly going to happen to her next week, but that may not be it.
As far as I know, she hasnt shown up since.
The idea of a Soviet Firestorm is one that was explored in the comics back in the day.
Mikhail Arkadin first appeared in Firestorm #64 in 1987.
So, ummm…yeah, keep a lookout.
Speaking of Brandons Superman connections, Ray gets made fun of for being a boy scout.
Thats usually a criticism leveled at Superman himself by people who dont know any better.
Ray always wanted to be a spy.
Legends of Tomorrow Episode 5: Fail-Safe
Of COURSE Savage was buddies with Stalin.
Then at the end, theres a prison riot in the mud likeThe Raid 2.
Both of these fights, while good for TV, are pale reflections of their source material.
Jax runs across the prison yard (did I hear right that it was 150 yards in 12 seconds?
Good job, Martin.
She just explodes in a blue mushroom cloud as they fly away.
He had similar abilities to his father, and died a few times.
The best to hold the title was Slades daughter, Rose Wilson.
Connor Hawke is not John Diggle Jr. in the comics.
In the comics, hes the child of Oliver Queen and Sandra Hawke.
Kendra is team Picard, Ray is Kirk.
Ray calls Picard sexless, and Kendra rightly cites Vash.
They are, however, both wrong.
Captain Jon Valor isnt a space pirate in the comics.
Hes just a regular pirate.
Eve Baxter may be based on Bonnie Baxter, Rips girlfriend from his 60s introduction.
Kanjar Ro is a space dictator who, whenever he shows up, you know its moderately serious business.
Rick Starr: Space Ranger was a for real comic character.
The Space Ranger showed up in several issues ofShowcasein the 50s, before moving toMystery In Space.
I dont get how you drop this much DC space stuff in here and NOT put Captain Comet in.
Im sure they paid a bit for Rock Around the Clock, but its worth it.
This shows going to end up with a sneaky good soundtrack.
See alsoSuperman: The Moviefor another good superhero related use of this song.
Vandals 1959 cover name is Dr. Curtis Knox.
He was apparently supposed to be Savage, but they werent allowed to use him.
From my notes when the meteorite first showed up: OH MY GOD IS THIS ECLIPSO?
UPDATE: its fucking not.
Hall H for the Criminally Insane might be the funniest joke this show has ever told.
SDCCs crowd control and ticketing policies make this a perpetual, catastrophic shitshow.
Side note, do you think Brandon Routh gets to go to bed feeling vindicated every night right now?
Tijulk Mrasz is a Vyrgan teleporter conscripted into the Legion of Superheroes who takes the superhero code name Gates.
UNFORTUNATELY thats not the Gates that Ray is referring to in his class.
Its Bill Gates dad.
voice fromBatman: The Animated Series) Nable does well.
With Ras is his daughter.
Not Nyssa, the one weve already seen in a recurring role onArrow.
Since were fawning over semi-unrelated Grant Morrison work here, you should really also read hisBatman.
It was a dopey reveal.
Per Degaton was a Justice Society villain, and hes been kicking around the DC Universe since 1947.
He has since had his adventures guided by the likes of Joe Lansdale and Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti.
Hes never really been a happy character.
The character spent a brief period in the 80s in aMad Maxinspired post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Maybe the next time we see Jonah, thats where hell be.
Did you spot Kuberts Barber Shop in town there?
Joe Kubert is the artist most associated with Jonah Hex, and with good reason.
Hes also the artist most associated with Hawkman, also for good reason.
Hes also the co-creator of DC Comics WWII hero Sgt.
Rock, who absolutely needs to make an appearance in a future Legends of Tomorrow episode.
So, Hawkman, when he lived in this period, was known as Hannibal Hawkes.
Hannibal Hawkes was also the DC western hero known as Nighthawk.
This is no coincidence, either.
Did anybody else feel like Snarts garb made him look a little like Yul Brynners famously relentless cyborg inWestworld?
Theres only one season, track it down and watch it.
OK, I know that weve known the first name of Rays lost love for awhile.
I had forgotten her last name was Loring, to be honest.
Is this the first time weve actually seen an image of her, though?
This is the first Ive ever heard of Rip Hunters name being Michael.
Booster Gold is named Michael Jon Carter.
Oh yeah, and Booster is Rips dad.
Legends of Tomorrow Episode 13: Leviathan
Cassandra Savage isnt from the comics, sadly.
Holy moley, that needs to happen.
A really skinny version of Chemo.
Legends of Tomorrow Episode 14: River of Time
Was that Katanas mask in Rips study?
Legends of Tomorrow Episode 15: Destiny
The Thanagarians are coming!
The Thanagarians are coming!
This is great news.
Thanagar is the kinda fascist planet that gave us the Silver Age versions of Carter and Kendra.
Katar Hol and Shayera Thal.
These two werent star-crossed immortal lovers, but husband and wife intergalactic cops.
For cryin out loud, somebody help me with the 4587 references on all these shows!
!
