Of all the Arrowverse series,Legends of Tomorrowis the most unique. UnlikeArrow,The Flash,Supergirl, or any of the others, the titular Legends of Tomorrow as a team are not based on any existing comic book team but rather an original creation of the Arrowverse. The original plan was a spin-off series uniting various supporting heroes introduced in the prior seasons, which quickly morphed into a series defined by crazy over-the-top storylines that pushed the boundaries of its comic book storytelling.
Whilemany contemporary superhero showswere focused on telling grounded, serious stories,Legends of Tomorrowinstead went in the opposite direction and told outrageous storylines that no other superhero show at the time would dream to tell.
The series used the central idea that these were characters that time would forget about and made a series about a group of heroes who would travel across time and space and make a name for themselves. The series had an ever-changing cast with new characters joining the crew of the interdimensional ship The Waverider every season, and over the course of seven seasons found a loyal fanbase.
The series was sadly canceled before it could find ultimate closure and resolve everything. While plans were made to conclude it in the final season ofThe Flash, the shortened episode order prevented that. Yet given how rocky the show started, it was a miracle it made it to seven seasons at all. Each season had its own unique identity, and with that in mind here is every season ofLegends of Tomorrowranked.
Some shows come out the gate with an incredible first season,such asOnce Upon a Time, and other times a series needs time to find itself and that was very much the case withLegends of Tomorrow. The premise for the series was exciting; uniting a group of supporting heroes and villains from the Arrowverse in a time travel show sounded like a fun idea.
Yet the first season has some growing pains and some character dynamics still need to be worked on, and some members of the team don’t work, Hawkgirl and Rip Hunter particularly. The series' villain, Vandall Savage, also was not the most riveting and the series had not quite settled into the groove of being the out-there do-whatever-they-want entry of the Arrowverse, so it felt too similar toThe FlashandArrow.
Season seven ofLegends of Tomorrowwas one that was in a bit of a transition. The series had written John Constantine out but kept Matt Ryan on as a new character, a trick the series had already pulled before. With Mick Rory gone Sara Lance was the only original member of the team from season one of the series and now was populated by original characters with little to no connection to DC Comics.
In an effort to try and keep the series going, Donald Faison was brought on as Booster Gold, but the series was sadlycanceled and ended on a cliffhangerwith no intention to resolve it.
Season six ofLegends of Tomorrowcertainly had some strong elements going for it, particularly the storyline of John Constantine being addicted to magic and the complex romantic relationship that developed between him and Zara Tarazi. The alien introduction to the series is a fun concept, though retconning Gary as an alien the entire time has some mixed results. The season’s final climax, while emotionally satisfying to see Sara and Ava finally get married, felt underwhelming in the action department.
Season five ofLegends of Tomorrowbegins with the final installment of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, yet the only characters from the series that take part in the event are Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory (but a different universe version), and John Constantine. The rest of the season picks up with the new timeline created after the events of season four with Zari Tomaz now being Zari Tarazi, who grew up as a child star instead of a survivor in a dystopian timeline, and her brother Bernard being alive.
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The season in many ways acted as a conclusion to the short-liveConstantineseries from NBC, which resolved the John Constantine and Astra storyline while also dealing with the threat of the three ancient Greek Fates and the Loom of Destiny. The additions of Zari Tarazi and her brother Bernard keep the series roster fresh and make for some fun new dynamics, but the departure of Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer was disappointing particularly as it seems the actor did not want to go.
Season four ofLegends of Tomorrowbrought DC fan favoriteJohn Constantine onto the series full timeand the character was the real shot in the arm the series needed as his more anti-hero nature made for a nice contrast with many of the more traditional heroes or even reformed villain Mick Rory.
While season three dealt with a demonic entity, season four really ups the magical creatures and demons whichincluded the shapeshifterCharlie, who joined the crew and took the form of Amaya and allowed Maisie Richardson-Sellers to continue. The season concluded with fan favorite Zari being whipped from the timeline and setting up a fun new status quo for season five.
Season three ofLegends of Tomorrowsaw some major shifts for the franchise as it introduced the new character Zari Tomaz, areimagining of the DC character Isis, as the first Muslim superhero. It also brought in Kid-Flash from The Flash and a special guest appearance by John Constantine with Matt Ryan reprising his role from the NBC series.
The season introduced a mystical threat in the form of the demon Mallus (voiced by John Noble), as well as Rip Hunter setting up the Time Bureau to replace and compete with the Legends. This also sets up the introduction of two long-term characters, Ava Sharpe and Gary Green, who would go on to become fan favorites and important to the series.
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Adding all these great new characters and multiple new threats was great, but the fact that the season culminates in an homage toGhostbusters —where the team combines into a giant stuffed animal named Beebo to fight a demon — is the zenith for how crazyLegends of Tomorrowcould get and why audiences loved it.
After a rocky first season,Legends of Tomorrowcame back with season two refocused and better than ever. They swapped out Hawkman and Hawkgirl for the hero Citizen Steel and a new take on the hero Vixen, while also getting rid of Rip Hunter early on focusing the team to step up. The titular Legends of Tomorrow quickly defined themselves as the screw-up heroes, ones who always got themselves into trouble and would improvise their way out of it.
The season quickly gave the series its voice as an American answer toDoctor Who, a time-traveling adventure where anything could happen in any episode including an episode where they stopped George Lucas from going to film school which resulted in nowStar WarsorIndiana Jonesmeaning two of the Legends lost their powers because they never saw the movie.
The season also firmly established the Legends of Tomorrow into the wider Arrowverse pulling from various corners of the DC Universe. The series broughtin The Justice Society of America, a more traditional and uniformed superhero team to contrast the Legends' dysfunctional nature.
The team was a vital part of the first mega-crossover “Invasion,” while the season’s villains were the Legion of Doom consisting of big bads from bothArrowandThe Flash,like The Reverse Flash, Malcolm Merlyn, Dahmon Dark, and former Legend of Tomorrow Captain Cold. Season two ofLegends of Tomorrowis when the series truly found its voice and the series likely would not have continued had it not been for this reworking.
