In the 1930's a group of individuals were led to a mysterious island, where they were granted incredible powers. Since then they have used those powers to protect the people from any threat. Now it is time for their children to take on the struggle. But times have changed, and the younger generation are finding it hard to live up to the code - not to mention the incredibly high standards - established by the original six.
Based on the graphic novel of the same name, the show takes on a two timeline narrative; the first shows the present day and the different ways in which the two generations of superheroes want to go about keeping the world safe. The second, set in the 1930's, follows the original six on their mysterious journey to becoming superheroes. Despite taking a rather meandering path, the latter quickly establishes itself as the more interesting of the two plotlines. In fact, the simple question of how two brothers go from trying to save their family's steel mill after the crash of '29, to setting out on an expedition that results in them and four others gaining superpowers is exponentially more engaging than the entire modern day plotline.
That said, the production value is very good across the board, including some pretty snazzy uniforms, and there are a few good super fights - even if the signature battle sees the supers go up against what looks to be a rejected Doctor Who villain. Unfortunately there's far more talk of being a superhero than actually doing it - although they are regularly seen heading off or returning from said superhero work - and the continual references to supervillains rarely results in us actually seeing any. Strangely enough the aforementioned Doctor Who villain - played by Tyler Mane - is way more fun than any of the heroes. Once you get past the arguments about "the code" and the standards that these new heroes are trying to live up to (and you never really do), there is a major threat for The Utopian and friends to face, but it takes way too long to develop and the inevitable twist/cliffhanger doesn't really engage.
The real problem, however, lies very much in the characters. Pretty much all of the modern day characters are impossible to care about. Josh Duhamel's 'Utopian' is a typical stubborn old man; he is so set in his ways he's unable to adapt to the ever changing world - or get a haircut, it seems. Which puts him at odds with pretty much everyone else, including his wife 'Lady Liberty' (Leslie Bibb), who tries to support him and her family at the same time, but is also aware that their code doesn't seem to work in the 21st century. And then there's the kids, quite a few in fact, who for the most part are a bunch of irritating, whining, hipster, brats - including Chloe (Elena Kampouris), the daughter of The Utopian and Lady Liberty - who want to spend more time partying and getting high than anything else, except for when they're trying to steal the limelight, that is.
There a few exceptions of course, including Hutch (Ian Quinlan), a guy who has a handy skill. He's the leader of a heist crew who seems to owe a lot of bad people, he's also looking for something mysterious. This is by far the most compelling part of the modern day storyline, as you try to figure out what he's looking for and why, as well as how it will tie into the overarching plot. The other youngster to watch is Brandon (Andrew Horton), The Utopian and Lady Liberty's son, who can be a tad annoying at times, but you end up feeling rather sorry for him. He's the kid who just wants to make his dad proud, but no matter what he does, can never live up to the old man's ridiculously high standards.
In contrast, the 1930's plotline is both gripping and mysterious. It gets to the point where you're actually relieved to be back in this timeline. With every scene you're simply trying to figure out what is happening, where it's all going (apart from the whole getting superpowers bit) and how we get from here to the inevitable empowerment. It means the characters are more interesting too, they have something to strive towards. You actually care about the effects that this odd journey is having on them. But things even start to get a little thin towards the end of this storyline too, probably because they're saving a few revelations for a second season. This includes what is undoubtedly the most important question; why? Why is all of this happening? Why is it happening to these people? Why Jupiter? Why do the episode runtimes vary so greatly? Most of which remains a big mystery, even at the very end.
An interesting world of superheroes has been established with Jupiter's Legacy. It's too bad that most of the people in it are completely unlikeable.
3/10
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