Legends Of Tomorrow: Does Martin Stein Have A New Timeline That Matches The Comics?

By Steve Lam | Nov 20, 2016

On DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’s “Outlaw Country” episode, Martin Stein had multiple visions of a woman he now claims to love. Is the show aligning itself with the comics a la “Flashpoint”?

This week, on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow‘s “Outlaw Country” episode, Martin Stein started to experience visions of a mysterious woman. In later visions, Martin associates the feeling of love. He hypothesizes that the events in “Compromised” may have changed his past, and his new memories are now competing with his old ones.

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In any type of fiction, headaches and then denying that they’re anything major always signals a big problem. In Martin Stein’s case, it not just a problem … it’s a life-changing event. Martin may end up not being married to Clarissa at all. And this may not be such a strange thing. Why? We’ll explain how Legends of Tomorrow may be using time travel to better adapt its characters to their comic book source material.

Viewers who have been watching The Flash—another Arrow-verse show—are now in the midst of post-“Flashpoint.” This is the new timeline that Barry created when he traveled back in time, fixed his past, and then fixed it again to return things back to “normal.” The word “normal” is in quotes because the timeline he returns to is anything but.

Cisco’s brother is dead; Doctor Alchemy is on a rampage making metahuman counterparts that existed in the other timeline; and Caitlin is on her way to becoming Killer Frost. Though this is very bad for Barry, it actually matches up with the comics quite well. For the longest time, fans have been waiting for Cailtin to become Killer Frost, but Earth-1 Caitlin was never set on that path. Earth-2 Caitlin was the one who developed cold powers and became a villain.

Now, it seems that it’s Legends of Tomorrow‘s turn to do a similar thing. Comic book fans are probably familiar with the character of Clarissa Clemens. In the show, the character is quite different than how she was in print. On Legends of Tomorrow, she’s happily married to Martin and supports him in every way. As for Martin, she’s also the only thing, other than his research, that he talks about. However, like I said, the comics are quite different.

Clarissa Clemens made her first appearance in Firestorm #10 (March 1983). Martin Stein, like his television counterpart, was obsessed with his research. However, the comic book version of Martin always put his work before his marriage. When Martin led the development for the Hudson Nuclear Power Plan, Clarissa saw that she was only an afterthought. Her frustrations would eventually lead her to file for divorce.

Could Martin’s interaction with himself in “Compromised” be the catalyst to his own divorce? After all, the young Martin seemed very adamant in learning more about the Waverider and the cutting-edge science that older Martin had acquired. Even though the older, wiser Martin told his younger counterpart to always cherish Clarissa, the younger Martin may not have taken that advice to heart.

What do you think? Will this be a permanent change to Martin’s history? Is this something fans will want? Let us know in the comments.

Next: Catch up with a recap of 'Outlaw Country'

Enjoy this week’s episode, and check back with us on Friday morning for our full recap and review. Also, on theStream.tv, our friends will be doing Legends of Tomorrow After Shows. The excitement continues on Fridays as theStream.tv also gives fans a weekly round-up of The CW’s superhero universe—Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow—with their DC TV Universe special.

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