世界需要另一个复杂,人物吗-packed superhero series? Especially one that looks as derivative and humorless as “Jupiter’s Legacy”? The answer is maybe.
What might make this one worth devoting eight hours to is how it tackles issues that come with great power. That responsibility is only a starting point for the show’ thoughtful, anguished inquiry.
The show iscomic book writer Mark Millar’s (Kick-Ass,Kingsman,Marvel’sCivil War)first big production from his massive deal with Netflix, premiering Friday, May 7. And sure, it foregrounds generational conflict likeAmazon’s animated hit “Invincible”and boasts similar, if mercifully less, of that show’s graphic violence. It jumps back and forth through time, like“Watchmen.”It’s got at least one supergal who’s as self-destructive as Jessica Jones, maybe more so, and the Justice League/Teen Titans/X-Men echoes can grow deafening at times.
Yet “Legacy” has its own unique and rather entertaining mythology. The fantastic particulars aren’t all clear by the end of the first season, and they sometimes near“WandaVision”“What’s happening here?” levels. But the ethical conflicts Millar and series developer Steven S. DeKnight (“Daredevil,” “Smallville”) grapple with ring true and relevant, whether the scenes are set 92 years ago or the day after tomorrow.
By mid-season, there are even a few laughs.
The story is ultra-convoluted and has what feels like an ever-expanding cast. We’ll focus on the show’s main superfamily. Sheldon Sampson (Josh Duhamel, surprisingly good at weary soulfulness) isthe Utopian, the Supermannishleader of the Union of Justice, which has been fighting for good since the Great Depression. Sheldon’s pretty beat-up after nine decades in the business, and his chalky mane makes him look like a transient as much as agod in white spandex.
His wife, Grace (Leslie Bibb), a.k.a. Lady Liberty, has similar strength/speed/flying abilities, while Shel’s older brother Walter (Ben Daniels) calls himself Brainwave because he can mess with people’s minds. This generation of Sampsons and their enhanced contemporaries ages at decelerated rates, yet their kids all seem to be in their early, pretty 20s. Brandon Sampson (Andrew Horton) can’t wait to prove he’s worthy of UJ membership as Paragon, but Dad’s not sure his son will ever have what it takes. Daughter Chloe (Elena Kampouris) has stronger powers, but she’s at a parent-hating stage and would rather be a cokehead supermodel.
The Sampsons and other hero clans are trying to cope with an uptick in deadly violence by the evildoer sector. There’s pressure from within and outside of the Union to fight fire with fire, but killing goes against the group’s multipointpower-use code, which only Utopian still seems to cherish. Hey, the world may be getting worse, but these rules have served them well since the stock market crashed in 1929.
And “Legacy” will show you that era whether you like it or not. Half of the series charts how Shel and Walt went on a vision quest as (kind of) young men to a magical island after their family’s steel business failed. Grace, then a spunky reporter, the brothers’ childhood frenemy George Hutchence (Matt Lanter) and a couple of others accompanied them, and they all turned super.
These ’20s/’30s sequences have wonderful production valuesand borrow liberally from adventure serials and fast-talking comedies of the period. Plotwise, they can be plodding and predictable, but sometimes awesome. Dialoguein each period ranges from morally complex and profound to overstated and overwrought. Overall though, some real 3-D chess is being played with ideas and schemes in “Jupiter’s Legacy,” and I look forward to seeing how it works out in future, no doubt more elaborate, seasons.
Which I also kind of dread sitting through, to be honest.
L“Jupiter’s Legacy”:Superhero fantasy. Starring Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb and Ben Daniels. Developed by Steven S. DeKnight. (TV-MA. Eight approximately one-hour episodes.) Available to stream on Netflix starting Friday, May 7.