While the world waits for the titanic clash between two comic book icons in March’s Batman v Superman, it’s hard not to get the distinct impression that Warner Bros. is in scramble mode. The company has spent so many years focusing solely on the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel that it’s now playing an impossible game of catch-up against Marvel and its diverse band of alien gods, armored billionaires, Russian spies, jolly green monsters and star-spangled patriots.
By having faith in the entire scope of its brand, Marvel has crafted a self-sustaining multimedia beast that will outlive us all. By only having faith in two of its characters until recently — albeit two all-time classic heroes — DC is left to throw up one final Hail Mary as it plans to introduce Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Justice League to audiences, while at the same time rebooting Batman and trying to make Henry Cavill shine as Superman, all in a single movie.
As the company looks to make up for decades of misfires with one swing of the bat, the DC Universe is actually thriving, just in the one place no one expected it to be: The CW. Once a destination for paltry comedies and undercooked teen dramas, the network (which is owned by both Warner Bros. and CBS) decided to try its hand at the new trend of connected superhero universes in 2012, beginning with Arrow. Now, a mere three and a half years later, it has created the most unlikely success story of the recent comic book craze, and it did it all without a Batcave or spit curl in sight.
Both Flash and Arrow have been huge hits with critics and audiences, and by staying true to the source material and having faith in these second and third-tier characters, producers Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim found a way to make these offbeat properties work where so many other would-be adaptations have failed. Now, the producing trio is bringing to life its most over-the-top, and riskiest, project yet, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
In Legends, The Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Firestorm and White Canary are tasked by the time-traveling Englishman, Rip Hunter, to work with Captain Cold and Heat Wave — both former Flash rogues — to stop Vandal Savage, an immortal caveman who wants to destroy humanity. Taking place across various points in history, this mismatched group skips like a stone across the time stream to take down Savage and become — you guessed it — legends.
Without a household name in the bunch, the show is out to prove that the DC roster is just as robust as its distinguished competition's, and by exploring some of the company's deeper cuts, the network is taking the same gamble that Marvel did with 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Legends sports a diverse crew with different races, genders and sexual preferences being represented, and together, the team forms a unit that resembles the company's wide-ranging fanbase better than any other DC project in development. The thought is that, despite the obscure character choices, people will have enough faith in the station's overarching superhero universe to give this group of oddballs a shot — no matter how absurd the idea of a sub-atomic Brandon Routh doing battle with a time-traveling caveman may sound.
As Zack Snyder turns the DC Universe into an exercise in scowling and self-loathing, The CW is embracing the company's penchant for multiple Earths, time travel and splashes of self-awareness, which stuffy movie executives don't seem to have any faith in. We’ve already seen glimpses of this during The Flash, as the arrival of Earth 2 and altered realities usually requires a white board, some markers, infinite patience and a bottle of Tylenol to grasp, but Legends looks to layer the crazy on even thicker than its sister series as these super-powered cast-offs time-hop their way toward becoming icons.
It's those slightly confusing, sometimes corny moments that make these CW shows the most authentic DC experience in live-action, because, really, the network is only following the groundwork the publisher laid out decades before. Pick up any of the company’s comics from the ‘60s or ‘70s and you’ll see that this type of tongue-in-cheek silliness was its foundation almost from the beginning.
In one comic, the Justice League could be battling it out with their doppelgängers from Earth 3, and the next month, they would be transported to Earth X, where they would team up with Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters to overthrow Hitler. Did it always make sense? Of course not. However, if you accept these Silver Age hijinks for what they are, and don't expect the type of clenched-jaw melodrama of a Frank Miller story, chances are, you'll find something endearing about The CW showcasing the Flash battling a giant talking gorilla or Rip Hunter traveling back in time as nonchalantly as someone going out for Chipotle.
The DC Universe carved out its own niche by being equal parts confounding and charming. Sure there are a lot of earths and timelines and characters to wrap your mind around, but the effort is worth it once you learn to appreciate the company's unique brand of world-building. By embracing the ridiculous side of DC lore and turning it into a success, The CW is validating every fan that has ever been met with a blank stare while trying to explain the difference between the Golden Age and Silver Age Flash, or why Hawkman's backstory requires an expertise in both Egyptian and Thanagarian history.
After a decade of Christopher Nolan’s strict realism and the fairly humorless malaise that was Man of Steel, moving the brand out of the shadow of Batman and Superman was necessary if DC wanted to keep growing and attracting new audiences. And with a renewed focus on its vast library of characters, and a network that understands their potential, The CW is turning a group of heroes that nobody wanted into one of the biggest franchises on television.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow premieres on Jan. 21.
