Is the Man of Steel enough to bring in an audience to a show featuring a lesser known cast of characters?
The Man of Steel is back with an all new team to aid him in his quest for truth, justice and….well, you know the rest (trying to be PC here). Legion of Superheroes pits Superman (or Superboy, depending on how you look at it) alongside fellow heroes Saturn Girl, Bouncing Boy, Braniac 5, Lightning Lad, Timber Wolf, and Phantom Girl who pluck a pre-Superman Clark Kent from his home in 21st century Smallville and bring him to the 31st century.
What I find interesting about this show is it seems to be playing it very “safe.” When Teen Titans first aired most people didn’t think it would last because none of these heroes were as well known as your typical Superman or Batman. Besides, Robin is a sidekick and now he’s going to be leading a team of his own? During the first 2 seasons I had heard people say things like “if Batman doesn’t show up at some point this show is doomed”…oh how wrong they were. Not only did “Titans” prove to be a success, but it became a success without the need to bring in big name heroes to drawn an audience.
“Legion” however introduces the Man of Steel right off the bat. Not to say this is a bad thing, but to me it definitely seems like an attempt to establish an audience for a team that is made up of characters most people have never heard about. Introducing Superman means that his core fans will tune in at least a few times to see the latest animated version of their favorite hero.
For a premiere, this episode was pretty good. We’re introduced to Clark Kent who is still struggling with his newfound powers. In fact in one scene we see Clark in the bathroom setting fire to a newspaper with his heat vision. Martha can be overheard in the background saying “Clark, I smell smoke” which should be eerily familiar to any teenage kid. To me, it’s writing like this that will keep the show afloat for it’s first season.
Once Clark finally accepts his destiny as Superman he doesn’t come out as Mr. Confident knowing how to master all of his powers. Actually during his first real super villain encounter Clark has a hard time getting the basics of flying down…it’s actually pretty comical.
I will admit, I was hesitant at first, but there’s just something about seeing my favorite hero back in action in any form. When he finally put on the suit and showed why he is the greatest hero of them all, I will admit that my inner geek came out and I just had to smile.
Legion of Superheroes is a good show that at least shows a lot of promise. If it can continue with good character development and solid stories then I see no reason why this can’t reach the success of it’s predecessors. They have at least found a fan in me.