‘Jupiter’s Legacy’: Should you add this Netflix show to your watchlist?
Superheroes seem to be all the rage these days. From The CW’s Arrowverse to the mighty MCU, caped crusaders seem to be popping up on social media even more often than the Kardashians.
Of course, these paragons of justice aren’t the only ones to grace our screen, with power hungry maniacs like The Boys helping to ask the tougher questions of the genre. However, some shows are trying to ride the superhero bandwagon with little success.
One of those projects is Jupiter’s Legacy which dropped on Netflix yesterday to a lukewarm response. But why is the show not getting a super amount of praise? We flew through the internet to answer that same question. Grab your capes and fly over to see if Jupiter’s Legacy is worth the watch.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s. . . flat
Jupiter’s Legacy is a Netflix show based on the comic book series of the same name written by Mark Miller. The series follows the world’s first superheroes who, after a visit to a mysterious island, receive extraordinary powers in the 1930s. In modern times, they are the elderly guardians of the world, but their children struggle to find their place both within & outside of their legacy.
Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well, not really. The show itself claims to focus on family, but it doesn’t really showcase a lot of growth between the characters. We’re supposed to connect with this new generation of heroes solely because they have the plot beat “kids who have to deal with parents’ high standards” without really getting to know them.
Everyone feels like a basic archetype rather than a true original character: Josh Duhamel as Sheldon Sampson is the classic Kingdom Come Superman level of weary hero, Andrew Horton as Brandon Sampson is the dutiful son who fails somehow despite doing everything right, Elena Kampouris as Chloe Sampson is the rebellious, wild child who doesn’t care but secretly does.
The reason why these superhero franchises are so popular is because they go beyond these archetypes and really make the characters as human as possible. This series doesn’t really do that, leaving us with a flat story because none of the characters are compelling. Of course, that is not the only thing about this show that stays in the mold.
Boom, boom, no interesting powers
We think we may have gotten spoiled with heroes like Wanda Maximoff or Iron Man, heroes whose powers are either a constant question mark or were forged over gained. At least then, the battles and their personal narratives can evolve and grow.
In Jupiter’s Legacy, the power sets of these heroes are pretty consistent across the board. You have your basic Superman smorgasbord of strength, speed, invulnerability and flight, with invulnerability being switched out for telekinesis or decelerated aging or those two being added to the standard mix, reminding some of Martian Manhunter without the alien part.
This makes the battles less compelling because a lot of the heroes approach is “hit the thing really hard” which, while fun, leaves little room for inventive combat or a powerful moment of inner strength shining though in the newer generation’s own way since they have a similar power set to their predecessors.
One of the best parts of a superhero series is seeing the fun ways the heroes overcome the bad guy, so just having them hit it until it stops moving is kinda. . . eh. This is one of the reasons why we think this show may not make it on our watch list.
The world is changing. We know.
Jupiter’s Legacy seems to be banking on the idea that a lot of the more recent superhero shows and movies are exploring: the fact that the world is changing. However, this series fails to do so in an interesting way.
Other shows who tackle this idea come at a particular aspect of this change, such as The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which focuses on the continued battle against racism in America as well as the complicated relationship Sam has with Steve’s legacy. Here, the characters just say the world is changing without really examining that change and how it is impacting them and those around them.
The series is trying to act like it has something new to say about the genre, but it instead is just a model of why a lot of these archetypes and tropes are no longer popular. They offer nothing new to the world that is apparently changing, simply showcasing how they are not planning on changing with it.
If you want a show with some fun action scenes and special effects, check this series out. If you want a superhero show that adds something new to the genre, then this show will be your Kryptonite.
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What are your thoughts on Jupiter’s Legacy? Drop them below in the comments because we don’t have telepathy!
