The Arrow-verse has come a long way since Oliver Queen escaped from his hellish purgatory on Lian Yu. Although we started with a simple vigilante, we now have adventures involving speedsters, aliens, and even time travelers. While Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl tend to get all of the fanfare, Legends of Tomorrow often gets the short end of the stick. The zany series maintains relatively strong viewership, but it definitely draws lower ratings than the other Arrow-verse shows. This means fans of series like Arrow and The Flash likely aren't tuning in.
We think quite a bit of this phenomenon can be attributed to Legends of Tomorrow's lackluster first season, but the series has seriously moved on since then. On that note, we have compiled a list of reasons why fans of shows such as Arrow and The Flash should consider giving Legends another chance. Legends of Tomorrow has improved considerably over the course of the last year, and arguably no aspect of the show has improved more than its central bad guy...
The Show's Villains Got Way Better After Vandal Savage
There's no beating around the bush on this one; Casper Crump's Vandal Savage was one of the worst villains in the history of the Arrow-verse, and he was unquestionably the least engaging central antagonist The CW's DC Universe has ever seen. He was simply creepy for all of the wrong reasons, and he seldom felt like a real threat. That said, Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow has seriously upped the ante by introducing a downright awesome Legion of Doom for our heroes to square off against. Between Damien Darhk, Captain Cold, Malcolm Merlyn, and Reverse-Flash, it's a "who's who" of classic Arrow-verse baddies. These guys are charming, menacing, and (most importantly) legitimately interesting. With far better antagonists in play, the drama and stakes have been raised considerably.
The Campiness Is A Refreshing Change Of Pace
Every Arrow-verse series has a particular niche. Supergirl provides large-scale, world-ending threats; The Flash gives us light-hearted sci-fi, Arrow is a dark vigilante story, and Legends of Tomorrow is where we go for campy adventures. We live in an era that puts a massive premium on "gritty" superhero stories, but Legends has carved out a nice place for itself a series unafraid to embrace the campy tradition of shows like Batman '66. Everyone chews the scenery; nobody takes it too seriously, and it's an absolute blast as a result. If you watch the other three series regularly, Legends should serve as a nice change of pace. After all, there's only so much doom and gloom that we can stomach before we demand something else.
The Legends Have Figured Out Their Roles On The Team
The first season of Legends of Tomorrow never quite figured out how to utilize the skills of each team member. Pretty much everyone was a badass who could throw a punch. However, Season 2 has found its footing by giving each Legend a legitimate role on the team. Sara is the leader, Jax is the mechanic, Nathan is the history expert is the wild card, and so on and ssupero forth. Now that every member of the Legends of Tomorrow team seems to have a useful role, the ensemble feels far less crowded than it did last year, and the story can branch out to give each hero a unique task to accomplish over the course of a given episode.
Sara Lance Is One Of The Arrow-verse's Best Heroes
She's on a team of heroes with actual superpowers and some heavily armed killers, and yet her skill with a bo staff makes her the biggest badass of them all. Caity Lotz' version of Sara Lance has become an absolute fan-favorite character since her proper introduction during Season 2 of Arrow, and she's unquestionably the most likable hero on the Legends of Tomorrow roster. As the leader of the team she is an undeniable badass, and she has gone on to become one of the coolest female LGBT characters on television over the course of the last few years. She's a regular scene-stealer on the zany time travel series, and her presence alone is worth watching the show regularly.
The Show Has Become More Mysterious (And It's Working)
When Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow debuted earlier this year, one of the first improvements that we quickly noticed was the fact that the show started to incorporate more mystery into its storytelling. Unlike Season 1 -- which laid most of its cards on the table during the first episode -- Season 2 has been a slow burn of plot twists and revelations. As of the midseason break, we still don't even fully know what the Legion of Doom is up to, or what happened to Rip Hunter. This is a storytelling method that The Flash and Arrow have almost always relied on for their best narratives, and Legends seems to have finally picked up on its usefulness. Legends of Tomorrow is playing its story close to the chest this year, and it's working.
Legends Of Tomorrow Uniquely Connects Every Other Arrow-verse Show
Legends of Tomorrow maintains a unique status among The CW's DC shows because it's the only true ensemble series of the bunch. The Legends team is comprised of heroes and villains from all corners of the Arrow-verse, which means time travel series has become the perfect melting pot for elements of The Flash and Arrow. Granted, Supergirl is a little harder to throw into the mix, but the fact remains that Legends of Tomorrow has become critical with regards to establishing certain plotlines on its sister series -- Flashpoint and the death of Laurel Lance both come to mind. It's worth it to watch Legends if for no other reason than to get the most out of the other shows set within this world.
What do you think? Are you willing to give Legends of Tomorrow another shot? If you are, make sure to check out the midseason premiere on Tuesday, January 24 at 9 p.m. EST on The CW.
