Legends of Tomorrow Fight Fate in Post-Crisis Fifth Season

While the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS crossover event was a mid-season interruption for most of the CW superhero shows, it was the season opening episode for LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, the action sitcom of the Arrowverse. LEGENDS began as a team of superheroes assembled to go on a time-travel mission to stop Vandal Savage, and selected because they would not be missed by history if they were killed. Since then, it has evolved into a sort of "anything goes" time-travel fix-it series, with very little super-heroing happening -- with John Constantine (Matt Ryan) thrown into the mix.

Now operating under the auspices of the Time Bureau -- no longer a future-set agency, but a present day one, funded by the U.S. Senate and everything -- the Legends became recognized heroes when they saved the world from a flood of magical creatures that had been released throughout time. This frees up John to continue his driving mission -- undoing the mistake of his first exorcism that resulted in a young girl being unjustly condemned to Hell. John rescues Astra (Olivia Swann), only to find out that she's made herself comfortable in Hell and has gained enough power there that she's reluctant to leave. So she frees histories most notable villains to keep the Legends busy. And along the way, they learn of the Loom of Fate -- maintained by the Fates of Myth -- that allows one to reweave reality without impacting the timeline. But one of their own, Charlie (Anjli Mohindra), is one of the three sisters of Fate, and the other two want her back.

The subplots of this season include Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) repeating the same second-chance romance former Legend Martin Stein pulled off, meeting an old flame of his in the past and siring a daughter who now exists in the present timeline. Part of the latter half of season six involves Mick getting to know his new daughter, Lita (Mina Sundwall), and finding out the one thing they can actually bond over is stealing -- which, as a good parent, he has to discourage.

Ray Palmer (Brendan Routh) leaves the team when he proposes to reformed villain Nora Darhk (Courtney Ford) -- but not before he gets trapped in an episode of a children's television show, Mr. Parker's Cul-de-sac. This show then gets referenced a few more times through the series, including the finale where the theme song gets a punk remix.

That's not the only time the team gets trapped in television, however. When the Fates finally win, they trap the Legends in multiple television shows, used to control the population by spreading propaganda. It's only when Nate (Nick Zano) accidentally activate's the magical totem worn by Zari (Tala Ashe) that he ends up releasing the spirit of the Zari from the original timeline, who then deduces that they're trapped in a sitcom and must begin channel-hopping to find and rescue the remaining Legends.

LEGENDS is definitely a breed apart from its siblings in the Arrowverse. When it crosses over, it plays a little more to the action genre. But on it's own, it's more self-referential, more self-referential, and way more tongue-in-cheek. Honestly, I'm not sure how it continues with the odd chemistry and uneven writing. But the devil-may-care attitude of the show has found its audience somewhere -- and it's not like the show isn't without it's moments. For me, though, I miss the actual superheroes with super powers -- when Ray was The Atom, when Firestorm and Kid Flash were part of the team. As it stands now, very few of the characters actually have a connection to the original Arrowverse, which sets LEGENDS OF TOMORROW not just apart, but at a different cafeteria table entirely.