DC TV Watch: 'Legends of Tomorrow' Returns With John Constantine
THR rounds up the major twists, new mysteries and more from all the DC Comics TV series.
Welcome back to The Hollywood Reporter's weekly DC TV Watch, a rundown of all things DC Comics on TV. Every Friday, we round up the major twists, epic fights, new mysteries and anything else that goes down on The CW's Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and Black Lightning and Fox's Gotham. Note: Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Gotham did not air new episodes this week.
Legends of Tomorrow
Back from the dead | Coming off a two-episode appearance on Legends of Tomorrow, John Constantine (Matt Ryan) — from NBC's short-lived Constantine — is not dead … yet. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Ryan will return again in episode 15, "Necromancing the Stone." Hopefully the show keeps up its track record of leaning into the Constantine mythology with his next appearance, successfully integrating the NBC series canon into the extended Arrow-verse. In this week's midseason premiere, Constantine told Sara (Caity Lotz) a story about a girl named Astra whom he failed to save. That's the same girl who died when he botched an exorcism at the beginning of the NBC series. This resolves that Constantine's story is indeed a continuation of the NBC mythology and deepens the stories the Arrow-verse can tell with the iconic DC Comics character. And now that it's been revealed that Mallus is a demon seeking out six magic totems, Constantine is going to be the secret weapon the Legends need in defeating him.
Missed connection | Viewers hoping to see Constantine embrace his bisexuality from the comic books got a taste of that during Ryan's Legends appearance when he and Leo-X (Wentworth Miller) had a playful flirtation — though the latter made it clear that he was already taken by The Ray (Russell Tovey) back on Earth-X. Despite hopes that Constantine would hook up with Leo, the warlock ended up sleeping with Sara in the middle of a mission as the two bonded over having damaged souls. It was refreshing depiction sexual fluidity. And the same goes for Sara, who went from flirting with Agent Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) and getting nervous over her crush to sleeping with Constantine, no strings attached, the next.
Thawing out |Legends is losing one of their LGBTQ heroes, as Leo decided he'd had enough fun on the Waverider. After almost getting lobotomized on the mission, Citizen Cold realized all he wanted to be happy was to propose to The Ray. This is Miller's last Arrow-verse appearance for now, but his planned proposal could mean he might show up on CW Seed's animated series Freedom Fighters: The Ray. Don't count his story out just yet.
Black Lightning
Up, up and away | "I just found my new favorite thing." This week's episode opened on a high note with Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) suited up as Black Lightning trying out a new power: flight, or more accurately, hovering. With Gambi's (James Remar) encouragement, Jefferson used his lightning along with his suit to fly high over Freeland, and his sheer joy at discovering his new skill combined with the sight of Black Lightning soaring through the night sky was a comic book fan's dream come true, as this power comes straight from the source material. Since Black Lightning showrunner Salim Akil made it clear that the series is going to stay as grounded as possible (for a comic book show about a metahuman), this newly discovered power came as a true surprise. The only way Black Lightning can top this scene moving forward is if Jefferson literally rides a lightning bolt like he does in the comics, and now that might actually be an option.
New twist on an old villain | Flipping the script on what comic book fans were expecting from Tobias Whale (Marvin "Krondon" Jones III), Black Lightning revealed that the onscreen version of the villain has powers of his own. During a secret meeting with Tobias, Gambi revealed that he knows both Tobias and his sister have a serum running through their veins that stops them from aging. That's why Tobias doesn't look any older than he did 10 years ago when Jefferson thought he killed him. It also explains how Tobias killed Jefferson's father over 30 years ago. In the comics, the only true power Tobias had was his intimidating size. Weighing in at over 400 pounds of pure muscle, he had the strength to take out anyone. But does this serum mean that The CW's Tobias has more than just muscle? Besides aging, what other enhanced abilities does he have? That certainly makes him even more formidable of an opponent once he and Jefferson come face-to-face.
Gotham returns this spring on Fox. Legends of Tomorrow airs Mondays,The Flash and Black Lightning air Tuesdays, Arrow airs Thursdays, and Supergirl returns Monday, April 16, all on The CW.
