Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 7
I have a quandary. A conundrum. I’m in a fix, if you will. But at the same time…it wasn’t a particularly good episode of Legends of Tomorrow. Let me explain. The plot of the crossover finishes up very neatly. Following the end of last night’s Arrow, the gang decides they need a Dominator captive to figure out what the plan is. And at the same time the new President (oh hey nbd, the old President just got killed but it’s cool they’ve got it) wants a meeting with the team of heroes. So they split up: one group (Steel, Vixen, Heat Wave, Cisco, and Felicity) goes back to 1951 to steal a Dominator from the last time they came to Earth, while the others (Flash, White Canary, Green Arrow, and Atom) go to meet “the President.”
The only meaningful development for the Legends is actually the C plot – Stein and his new daughter work with Caitlin on a doohickey to make the Dominators hurt. We find out that she’s the product of Stein’s meddling in the past (and not Barry’s). The doohickey gets made. The Dominators get hurt. It’s nice, and it looks like it’s going to turn into something long term for the Legends to have to deal with, but it wasn’t the focus of the episode. Now that I’m done dropping a turd in the Invasion punchbowl, I have to ask the question: Do I even care? This crossover might be my favorite live action superhero thing ever, and I buy all the Marvel movies as they come out. It’s pretty much a streamlined but straightforward rip of the Invasion comics, right down to the gene bomb the Dominators drop that would kill anyone with a proclivity for powers. And like Flash and Arrow, there were some very cool excuses for superhero showcases: we actually got to see Firestorm transmute something (he turned the bomb into a big puddle), and in a way that makes it make sense why he doesn’t just go around transmuting stuff willy-nilly; Barry gets a Days of Future Past-Quicksilver moment with King Faraday “Agent Smith”’s team; and Barry and Kara basically circle the globe at superspeed dropping macguffins on all of the Dominator invaders. Kara’s effect on these characters can’t really be understated: Melissa Benoist seems to love being Supergirl, and she just brings so much happiness and fun and joy to not just her role but to everyone around her. Every scene she was in through this whole crossover was a highlight. I’ve been smiling for 3 days, and nothing in this episode made me want to smile any less, so I’m going to set aside my grump for a minute and just let myself enjoy a good episode of a good show.
DC UNIVERSE TIME BUBBLES
– This is Felicity’s first time travelling through time, so her “linguistic disorientation” shows up in her shouting “darmokandjaladatTanagra,” and me yelling SHAKA WHEN THE WALLS FELL back at the TV. She is quoting “Darmok,” the second episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s fifth season. – Cisco to Felicity as they’re grabbing guns to go rescue the Legends the government captured in 1951: “Have you seen Stranger Things?” No I have not so I will thank both you and King T’Challa to stop referencing it. – Was this the first time we’ve seen Firestorm use his transmutation powers? That’s a big thing in the comics – I’m specifically remembering an issue of JLA at the end of Morrison’s “World War 3” arc where he transmuted millions of warheads to…magnesium? But as far as I can remember, his powers here have mostly been absorbing radiation, throwing fireballs and flying. – Kara to Ollie and Barry before she leaves: “You’re Earth’s mightiest heroes.” KARA SHH! D’YOU WANT TO GET SUED? – The song playing when Ollie and Barry go drinking is “The World (Is Going Up In Flames)” by Charles Bradley, who is excellent. You may also recognize him from the third episode of Luke Cage – his band was playing in Cottonmouth’s club while Luke was busting up Cottonmouth’s organization. – Next week: SNART’S BACK HOORAY!
