Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen tonight's episode of Legends of Tomorrow.
When it was announced veteran actor Lance Henriksen was joining the DC TV universe as a legit superhero, it was reason to celebrate and bring out all those homemade rag dolls of Aliens' Bishop. Tonight's episode finally introduced Henriksen as the older version of Todd Rice/Obsidian, and it was as fun as we'd hoped, although we could have used tons more of him and Damien "Miami Vice" Darhk. One big question that's bound to be on fans' brains is whether or not we'll be seeing Henriksen reprise the shadowy role in the future, and when speaking to CinemaBlend about his appearance, the actor dropped disappointing, but not hopeless, news when I asked if he'd return.
I don't know. I'm certainly willing, yeah, because I like them very much. The actors are just really generous people, so it was a total pleasure. And we all got along and kinda hung out as much as you do. But yeah, who knows what's gonna happen? I'm not a schemer, I don't scheme my career. (laughs)
The way that the episode played out, a return from Lance Henriksen's Obsidian would require a trip back to the 1980s, since he's not meant for all the time travel, and he preferred to stick around 1987 with his life partner. Luckily for the actor and fans and the Justice Society at large, Legends of Tomorrow doesn't mind revisiting certain time periods when it comes to bringing characters back, as evidenced by the return of Jonah Hex in next week's episode. And it's not as if the show went through ALL of the references that the decade provides, although there could be no better use of Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" on The CW. (Next time: Bon Jovi.)
The episode provided a strange level of depth when it came to how Obsidian and Vixen reacted to one another, since this was the first time he'd seen her since she left the 1940s with Rip. Even when you have powers that make you transport from one place to another with smoky wisps, that can't make you get used to seeing a face you haven't seen in 40 years that looks exactly the same as it did back then. It made one ponder just how life would have gone for everyone had she not become a time-jaunter. He probably wouldn't have had to take a bullet for her if she was as old as he was at that point.
Understandably, most of "Compromise" was about the growing partnership between Damien Darhk and Eobard Thawne, and the Legends' attempts to thwart such things. But for me, that just means there's that much more story to tell when it comes to Obsidian, particularly when it comes to his family life. He is, after all, the son of Green Lantern Alan Scott, and while I know Legends of Tomorrow isn't going to bring the ringed hero out in full, there are many ways to delve into that story without doing so. There are a ton of characters on this show, though, so maybe we can get some of Todd Rice's backstory on Arrow or The Flash next. Just sayin'.
Legends of Tomorrow, which recently got some good news, airs Thursday nights on The CW, with or without Lance Henriksen wearing a tux in each episode. Head over to our fall schedule and our midseason schedule to check out everything coming to the small screen in the future.
