(TV SERIES) Jupiter's Legacy Volume 1 - Unique Superhero Series Adapted from Highly Rated Comic Books

This series was already promoted for many weeks in Netflix and as a fan of superheroes adaptation (even if I have not read the comic books), I was definitely not going to miss it. However, it was released during the day that I have so many options available, plus I was also finishing another series. Hence I only got the time to watch and complete it on Sunday. Well without further ado, I will go straight to it.

Brief Story Line

The story focused on a group of 1st generation superhero team called the Union led by Sheldon Sampson aka Utopian (Josh Duhamel - When in Rome, Transformers movies etc) and his wife Grace Kennedy/Lady Liberty (Leslie Bibb - Popular TV series, Tag etc) plus Sheldon's brother Walter/Brainwave (Ben Daniels - The Exorcist TV series etc) and also Fitz/The Flare (Mike Wade). These superheroes acquired their powers many years ago when Sheldon together with his best friend George Hutchence (Matt Lanter - Timeless TV series, The Roommate etc) and the others went through various ordeals. 

The Union have been fighting injustice using the moral codes set up by Utopian. However, they were now being challenged by the younger superheroes who felt the codes were no longer relevant with the current situation. Sheldon's son Brandon Sampson aka Paragon (Andrew Horton) was one of those challenging the codes and he was supported by other second generation heroes. Meanwhile Chloe Sampson (Elena Kampouris - Before I Fall etc) did not want to be part of the Union as she felt overwhelmed by her father's expectation and preferred to work as model instead.

So what would happen to all of them? Find them in this unique superhero series.

End of Brief Story Line

When I saw the trailer to this series, actually I was a bit skeptical because it did not seem to be interesting looking at a bunch of "senior" superheroes running around. But I tried to keep an open mind and found myself to be enjoying the series as it progressed. The story telling used a lot of flashbacks to give us an idea of how these first generation acquired their powers. Although after completing the 1st volume, I still felt a lot have not been told to us. After all, the flashback ran only as far as the year 1920s-1930s. The background settings were quite well done with support from costume department who did their job wonderfully, giving convincing feel of that period of time.

A superhero series would not have been interesting had it only told the origin story without any villains at all. This time we got a super villain called Blackstar (Tyler Mane - Playing with Fire etc) who was quite worthy of becoming the adversary of Utopian. The fight involving him was pretty awesome! There were also several heroes/villains in here including Petra/The Flare II (Tenika Davis), Hutch (Ian Quinlan) and few others. The main cast that quite impressed me was Josh Duhamel who was wonderful as the aging leader. But my personal favorite has to be Matt Lanter who seemed to fit in nicely as the real charming socialite during his time.

As I said earlier, the fight with Blackstar was indeed amazing. Unfortunately though, there were only like two or three more fights that I thought were pretty cool with some decent special effects. The series itself felt more like slow burner drama, rather than superhero series. The story telling from 2 timeline actually reminded me a bit of the series Arrow because of the flashback and one other factor (especially episode 7). Personally I think the first volume was lacking spectacular actions. However, I rather enjoy the surprising twists in certain episodes, particularly the finale which I thought set up for a really interesting second volume. Btw, the first volume only has 8 episodes, so should not take too long to finish.

For a superhero series that was supposed to bring Netflix so much glory, sadly it might take a lot more to do so. From what I read, the first volume did not garner too high critical praise although viewers seemed to be more receptive. Those of you who are not aware, it was based on comic book series by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. Millar's well known works included Kingsman: The Secret Service, Wanted, Kick-Ass, Civil War, Wolverine: Old Man Logan and many more. With so many successful comics to his credits, it's no wonder that this one was adapted into a series. Oh right, I also felt there was a similarity with the story of King Kong, which apparently Mark Millar admitted he was inspired by it.

Overall, I think whether you would like this series or not would depend on your own preference. If you are OK to see the story about transition of power from 1st generation to 2nd generation superheroes, combined with the origin story of the heroes shown through flashbacks during the Great Depression era, then you would like this one. Although the slow burn drama might make casual viewers and fans of action-packed superhero series disappointed. The series also felt a bit dark with very little humor, and more suitable for adults especially with a lot of substance usage scenes. I myself thought it was still pretty enjoyable with the origin story and few amazing fights plus the surprising twists. I hope there would be a second season as I am intrigued of what would happen next after that ending. It would be a shame if Netflix decided to cancel this after only 1 season.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars