Legends Of Tomorrow Tidbits – “Pilot: Part 2”

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow finished off its introduction to the world of this mismatched time-traveling superhero team with “Pilot: Part 2.”  With a daring conclusion constructed by the writers, this series could be one of the best comic book shows to-date.

Quick Recap of “Pilot: Part 2”

As the team successfully stops Vandal Savage from selling a nuclear warhead on the black market in 1975, they discover that Ray had lost a piece of his tech during the fight.  And the consequences are pretty dire.  Because Savage will eventually able to reverse-engineer it, the dark future that the team is trying to stop is even worse.

To remedy the situation, the team travels to Ivy Town — where Martin will try to get a tracker that can track the alpha particles from Ray’s suit.  The twist?  The tracker was developed by his younger self.  At the same time, Kendra and Carter learn that they’ll need a special dagger to kill Savage, along with reciting an ancient incantation, inscribed on the dagger, that Kendra can’t remember from her past life.

Martin, Jax, and Sara arrive at Ivy Town and see a very different, yet still arrogant younger Martin.  Sara flirts with him and the three end up hanging out with the young scientist.  In the meantime, Leonard, Mick, and Ray go to a mansion to try and steal the dagger from an unknown owner, while Carter helps Kendra regress so that she can remember the incantation.

Unknown to the team at the mansion, the home is actually owned by Savage.  He catches them and takes Mick hostage.  At Ivy Town, the younger Martin catches the team trying to take his tracker.  Sara knocks him out and the team successfully steals the tracker and is able to retrieve Ray’s technology.  On the Waverider, Kendra successfully regresses and discovers that the incantation is a poem.

Martin soon discovers that his interaction with his younger self has caused the timeline to change — he will never meet his wife.  The team receives a message from Savage that he’ll kill Mick if they don’t meet him at his mansion to settle things once and for all.  The team arrive just in time, and a battle ensues.  Carter fights Savage, and finds that the dagger doesn’t work — it needs to be wielded by Kendra.  Savage quickly overpowers and kills Carter.

The team congregate back on the Waverider and Ray shows Martin that he does meet his wife — Ray called the younger Martin and urged him to meet her.  With the death of Carter still on their minds, the team decides that they’re bonded by teammate’s demise and will avenge it by hunting down Savage.

Character Highlights

Most of the focus for this episode was on Martin Stein.  Victor Garber is one of those actors you just can’t get enough of.  He can read a Baskin Robbins menu and still make it sound like the most intelligent thing you’ve ever heard.  My favorite scene in the episode dealt with Martin realizing that his own arrogance will be his own undoing.  With the help of his other Firestorm half — Jax — Martin stops giving himself such a hard time.

Another character that I’m liking more and more is Leonard Snart.  The smartest thing the writers did was literally putting him in a cage with the optimistic boy scout Ray Palmer.  It’s this oil-and-water interaction that makes the show that much better.  Both of them realize that each one has something to offer.  This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I’m predicting that we’ll be getting an episode that’s dedicated to those two being trapped somewhere with a ticking time-clock.

Easter Eggs and References

• Ivy Town — the place Martin, Jax, and Sara visited the young Martin — has its roots in the comics.  In the comics, it’s the home of Ray Palmer and also the home of Ivy University where Ray teaches.  The episode does mention that Ray was a student of Martin’s — though Martin has little recollection of him.
• Ray Palmer said that his A.T.O.M. armor simulated the effects of a dwarf star.  In the comics, it was a piece of a dwarf star that actually allowed The Atom to change in size.
• When trying to trick the young Martin, older Martin mentions that his younger self is a five-time winner of the Carlin Award.  The fictional award is named after Mike Carlin — a former head editor of Superman comics which had appearances by Rip Hunter, Waverider, and the Linear Men.
• Martin Stein’s disappearing wedding ring is a reference to Marty McFly’s disappearing in his family photo in Back to the Future (1985).  Another dead giveaway of the reference is that Martin’s name can be shortened to “Marty.”  And the plot thickens some more because, like how Marty had to assure his parents’ meeting at the school dance, Martin also had to assure that his younger self will meet his future wife at a university social function.

Questions

• The death of Hawkman in the second episode of the series is a daring move by the writers.  When and where will he appear next?  Also, what will be the circumstances of his reappearance since he’s now out of his time.
• Rip did mention that they cannot revisit events where they’ve had a presence because time will fold on itself.  Will we get a future episode that’s dedicated to fixing an accidental revisit?
• I can’t say anything about the actions of the more stoic characters on the team, but it seems Captain Cold and Heat Wave aren’t above killing the bad guys.  Wouldn’t the death of anybody have consequences on the timeline?  You’ll never know if you’ve killed the ancestor of someone who will matter one hundred years from now.
• I love the idea of the fabricator room — something that can generate any needed wardrobe for the time period the team is visiting.  Will we ever see it on the show?

Next: Catch up on Legends of Tomorrow with a recap of 'Pilot: Part 2'

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs on The CW on Thursdays at 8:00PM EST.