Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Legends of Tomorrow.From its initial conception, DC's Legends of Tomorrow was unusual in nature. The CW successfully launched Arrow in 2012, a re-imagining of the story of superhero Oliver Queen, AKA the Green Arrow. A spin-off series, The Flash, then premiered in 2014, being set in the same fictional universe as Arrow, now dubbed the ‘Arrowverse.' Each series had its own group of core characters and on special occasions, characters would cross over between shows, further developing this world of heroes. Now, where does Legends fit into the equation?
During 2015’s annual crossover event between Arrow and The Flash, time traveling supervillain Vandal Savage (Casper Crump) arrived on the scene. Though defeated in 2015, his past self, originating from 2166 (time travel can be confusing right!) has conquered the Earth. Cue the arrival of Time Master Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) from the future, in need of some of the world’s greatest heroes to defeat Vandal Savage for once and for all. Little did Rip know he would actually be recruiting a ragtag team of criminal misfits, scientists and reincarnated Egyptian warriors for his mission.
Not based on any pre-existing comic book series, the TV series developed its own unique lineup of superheroes from characters already in the Arrowverse. This team Rip would later call the Legends of Tomorrow. The original lineup consisted of the assassin/White Canary Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), scientist/tech inventor Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), scientist Martin Stein (Victor Garber), and high school athlete Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson (Franz Drameh), who together formed the superhero Firestorm, criminal duo Captain Cold/Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller) and Heat Wave/Mick Rory (Domenic Purcell), Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders (Ciara Renee) and Hawkman/Carter Hall (Falk Hentschel), and last, but certainly not least, the Waverider’s AI system Gideon (Amy Pemberton).
Seven seasons in, the series has continued to shake up this unlikely team-up of heroes, while also throwing in crazy twists and turns to their time traveling shenanigans. Legends of Tomorrow often rides the line between silly and serious, and when it strikes this balance right, its genre-blending adventures across the timeline are wildly entertaining.
With that all said, let’s hop aboard the Waverider and travel back in time through the last seven seasons, ranking them from worst to best along the way…
7. Season 6
Standout episode: “Board on Board Onboard”
Ah yes, the alien season. By no means a bad season (there’s no such thing in Legends), it’s definitely the most uneven. Season 6 saw the show tackle two large storylines; the first being Sara’s abduction by a mad scientist named Bishop (Raffi Barsoumian), and his desire to genetically engineer a new species of human/alien hybrids, because why not? Secondly, John Constantine’s (Matt Ryan) struggles with addiction as he loses his magical abilities.
The two, while engaging in their own rights, don’t exactly gel together. Sara and Bishop’s storyline is practically wrapped up halfway through the season, before butting back into relevancy at the very end when Bishop and Constantine join forces. Throw in a looming alien invasion of Earth, and you’d probably be inclined to say Season 6’s ending is a little all over the place. Did I also forget to mention that Mick becomes pregnant with alien babies? Um…congratulations?
Saying all this, this is still Legends. The season might not be the most cohesive, but that doesn’t mean there’s no fun to be had. Season 6 still has lots of great moments thanks to plenty of love in the air. Sara and Ava (Jes Macallan) finally get married. Constantine and Zari (Tala Ashe) become a couple, and there are sparks between Astra (Olivia Swann) and Behrad (Shayan Sobhian). Nate (Nick Zano) also gets to spend time with his own version of Zari again, but more on that later.
Overall, Season 6 was tonally scattershot, and perhaps too campy with its sci-fi elements, but was still enjoyable, nonetheless. Ending on an exciting cliffhanger, it can only go up from here…
6. Season 5
Standout episode: "Mr. Parker's Cul-De-Sac"
Much like Season 6, Season 5 of Legends was split between two storylines. Firstly, we have the team facing ‘encores’, time-displaced historical figures causing chaos in their wrong eras, such as Rasputin and Marie Antoinette. Secondly, we have the team searching for the Loom of Fate, created by Greek mythological figures, The Fates, one of which is secretly aboard the Waverider, Charlie (Maisie Richardson-Sellers).
Though more cohesive story-wise than Season 6, this season similarly saw Legends struggle tonally. Episodes “Slay Anything” and “I Am Legends” drew on slasher and horror elements. “Freaks And Greeks” drew on college frat comedies. The climax of “Zari, Not Zari” was very meta and sees the Legends fighting the Fates on the set of another CW show, Supernatural. While entertaining, it became difficult to know when the show was taking itself seriously, or if it was at all.
This is Legends though, so when it shines, it shines bright. Despite some strange behind-the-scenes drama, Ray and Nora’s (Courtney Ford) two-episode send-off were Legends at its finest. Behrad and Astra were also great additions to the team after brief appearances in Season Four. Astra’s history with Constantine in particular was very intriguing to explore.
All in all, Season 5 was still a solid time with the Legends. Despite being tonally at odds, it had lots of exciting moments sprinkled throughout.
5. Season 1
Standout episode: “Left Behind”
It would have been impossible to imagine where Legends would go from here, but fortunately, Season 1 laid the groundwork very well for the adventures to come. Saying that, like many first seasons of popular TV shows, Legends hadn’t found its groove yet.
For starters, if you weren’t already watching sister series Arrow and The Flash, it’s safe to say you’d be confused by the show’s premise and main characters. The two-part pilot episode provides little setup for the original lineup of heroes and new viewers to the wider Arrowverse are thrown straight into the deep end. The show also had to quickly establish lots of time travel logic and exposition about Rip’s organization to get the ball rolling. In terms of story, Vandal Savage was a one-note villain. His adversaries Kendra and Carter (aka Hawkgirl and Hawkman) weren’t exactly fleshed out either, and ending up leaving the show entirely by the end of the season.
Luckily, the positives of Season 1 far outweigh the negative. When you’ve got a bunch of crooks, assassins and scientists aboard a time traveling spaceship, how can it not be fun? With most episodes exploring a different era, past and future, seeing these characters in new settings kept the week-to-week story fresh. The comradery, or lack thereof, between the Legends was equally hilarious and dramatic, and when they finally learn to work together as a team, it was legendary (pun most certainly intended!). R.I.P Leonard Snart/Captain Cold, the Legends and the show’s viewers miss you every day.
Time travel offered so many possibilities for the Legends to explore, and I’m very happy to say that this was only the beginning of something even greater…
4. Season 4
Standout episode: “Legends of To-Meow-Meow”
Season 4 sent Legends in a new direction. Though time travel still played a pivotal part, this season saw a greater focus on stopping magical creatures and demons, a fun new twist to the usual time travel antics. This allowed for alcoholic occultist John Constantine to join the team after a brief stint in Season 3. The relationship between the Legends and The Time Bureau was expanded on too, bumping up Ava and the always goofy Gary (Adam Tsekhman) into main roles.
This season also placed its spotlight on Nate and two significant relationships in his life. Firstly, that of Nate and his dad Hank Heywood (Tom Wilson), director of the Time Bureau. Their dysfunctional bond was at the core of this season as they learnt how to respect and trust one another. Secondly, after lots of flirting, Nate and Zari finally admitting that they love each other, only to be torn apart by season’s end. Nate dealt with too many heartbreaks on this show!
Season 4 also embraced the series’ sillier and comedic side more. However, it still maintained a balance with its dramatic elements, something which Seasons Five and Six struggled with. With time travel taking a bit of a back seat, this season was the start of a new era for the show, and one that it initially excelled at.
3. Season 3
Standout episode: “Here I Go Again”
While Season Four shifted the show towards magic, Season 3 ultimately redefined the series for years to come. This was an incredibly busy season, with perhaps a little too much going on, but it succeeded on most fronts.
This season introduced lots of big characters: Zari, Ava, Gary, Nora, and Constantine. It also swept lots of key players off the board in dramatic fashion. Jax and Amaya (also played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers) left the Waverider to embark on their own personal journeys. We said goodbye to Martin Stein and Rip Hunter, both sacrificing themselves so the Legends and the multiverse could live on. Before passing away, Rip also created the Time Bureau, an eventual ally to the Legends.
With all this going on, Season 3 still had a few small falters though. About halfway through the season, Rip tracks down speedster Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale), a character from The Flash. There’s a decent amount of screen time dedicated to Wally and his decision to join the Legends, only to have him leave by season’s end. He was a welcome addition to the team, but the writers didn’t seem to know what to do with him. Season 3 also repeated itself a bit with the ‘big bad’ being Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) again, despite playing a prominent role in the season prior. Damien working with the demon Mallus shook things up somewhat, but it still felt slightly rehashed.
Small problems aside, Season 3 was an action-packed and emotional rollercoaster for both the Legends, and us watching them at home. It provided fitting sendoffs for many original characters and interesting set-ups for the next generation of Legends, also Beebo! Everyone loves Beebo!
2. Season 7
Standout episode: "wvrdr_error_100<oest-of-th3-gs.gid30n> not found" (AKA the 100th episode!)
This most recent season of Legends was an awesome return to form for the series. Not only did it bring time travel back in focus in a unique way, but it also gave Gideon her time to shine on screen in human form. This is undeniably Gideon’s season. As she learns what it means to be human, we get to learn about more herself, and the entire team.
Season 7 started with the Legends stranded in 1925 Texas. The Waverider had been destroyed and their only way back home was to find the inventor of time travel himself, scientist Gwyn Davies (also played by Matt Ryan). Shenanigans occur of course, leading to the team jumping through time with an evil Gideon duplicate on their trail. Evil Gideon was also leading an army of robotic duplicates of the Legends, who are both menacing and hilarious to watch.
Gideon’s new friendships with Astra and Spooner (Lisseth Chavez) quickly bloom, as does her surprisingly heartfelt, and comedic, romantic endeavor with Gary. Speaking of romance, Astra and Behrad hook up and Sara and Ava are on the brink of motherhood. Nate also says goodbye to the team, finally getting to be with his version of Zari, a touching moment after three seasons of buildup.
If that wasn’t enough, the season finale introduces major DC character Booster Gold into the Arrowverse, played by Scrubs star Donald Faison. Season 7 ends on a massive cliffhanger as Booster hands the Legends over to the Time Police, only to find him arrested as well. Legends has yet to be renewed for Season Eight, so fingers crossed that the CW still believes in this team as much as audiences do. It would be a shame to end the show on such a high point.
1. Season 2
Standout episode: “Moonshot”
Season 2 was peak Legends. While the logistics of the storyline were super convoluted thanks to the messy nature of time travel, there’s no better way to describe this season than pure fun. Breaking free of its focus on Vandal Savage and the Hawk duo, Legends could really do whatever they wanted this season to justify its existence, and it did just that.
More than any other season, Legends made sure to remind viewers this was an Arrowverse show. The villains this season, The Legion of Doom, consist of baddies from Arrow and The Flash, including Damien Darhk, Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash (Matt Letscher) and Malcolm Meryln (John Barrowman). An alternate version of fan-favorite character Leonard Snart also joined their ranks. For newcomers to the Arrowverse, or those only watching Legends, this team-up may have been confusing, but the show made sure to establish the basics of their characters before jumping into their evil plans.
Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) and Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) played small but pivotal roles in the story. We had characters like Sara grieving for her sister Laurel (Katie Cassidy) after being killed by Darhk on Arrow. The Legends team also played a significant part in the ‘Invasion!’ crossover event. This universe of superheroes had never felt more connected.
With an all-star lineup of villains to face, the Legends had their work cut out for them, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Season 2 saw the additions of Nate and Amaya aboard the Waverider. Martin, due to timeline changes, now had a daughter to care for. The Legends went on missions to feudal Japan, fought zombies in the American Civil War, and even became knights in medieval times, just to bring up a few highlights.
After an already successful first outing, Legends’ sophomore season raised the bar in every way. It established its rightful place in the Arrowverse, as well as made its unique mark on the ever-expanding landscape of superhero TV shows. It’s been a hell of a ride, and hopefully one that isn’t over just yet…