Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Series / JupitersLegacy

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jl_s1_alt_comic_art_vertical_srgb_copy.jpg]]
2%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
3
4''Jupiter's Legacy'' is an American {{superhero}} series initially created by Steven S. [=DeKnight=] (who left the project in 2019) and produced by Creator/{{Netflix}}, based on the [[ComicBook/JupitersLegacy comic book series]] of the same name by Creator/MarkMillar and Frank Quitely.
5
6The series follows a group of individuals who were the world's first superheroes when they received their powers in the 1930s. In the present day, they are a revered elder guard, but their superpowered children struggle to live up to the legendary feats of their parents and having to adjust to a strict moral code which ends up causing friction among the elder guard and the young heroes.
7
8It stars Creator/JoshDuhamel as Sheldon Sampson / The Utopian, Creator/BenDaniels as Walter Sampson / Brainwave, Creator/LeslieBibb as Grace Sampson / Lady Liberty, Elena Kampouris as Chloe Sampson, Andrew Horton as Brandon Sampson / The Paragon, Mike Wade as Fitz Small / The Flare, Creator/MattLanter as George Hutchence / Skyfox and David Julian Hirsh as Richard Conrad / Blue Bolt. The series premiered on May 7, 2021.
9
10On June 2, it was confirmed [[https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/jupiters-legacy-canceled-netflix-super-crooks-1234987240/ the show would not be renewed for another season]] and an anime series based off ''ComicBook/{{Supercrooks}}'' would be produced in its place, both taking place in the [[SharedUniverse same universe]]. ''Anime/SuperCrooks2021'' was released in November 2021.
11----
12!!''Jupiter's Legacy'' provides examples of:
13* AdaptationExpansion: The first season - consisting of eight 35–56 minute episodes, is adapted from the first two issues of the comic.
14* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Raikou has never even met Walter in the comics (though she figured out he's her birth father). Here, they're not only in contact but have some kind of relationship. Walter also indicates he was with her mother for a time, whereas in the comics she was just seduced by him once.
15* AdaptationSpeciesChange: Blackstar was an alien reminescent of DC's Darkseid in the comics. He's implied to be human here.
16* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance:
17** Barnabas Wolfe, Neutrino, Shockwave, Jack Frost and Raikou appear only after [[spoiler:Walter and Brandon have taken over the US]] in the comics. Here they are introduced prior to that.
18** Some characters that only appeared in the prequel comic ''Jupiter's Circle'', which was released after the first volume of ''Jupiter Legacy'', have also appeared in the show's first season such as The Flare's daughter and Skyfox's butler Cuthbert.
19* AmbiguouslyGay: Richard is strongly implied to have been in love with his friend Philip, and alludes to facing more discrimination than his friends might realize.
20* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler:Did Skyfox really betray the Union, or was he framed by Walter for discovering his plan and forced to hide?]]
21* AppearanceIsInTheEyeOfTheBeholder: The being who grants the original members of the Union their powers appears differently to most of the members. For Sheldon and Walter, it's their father. For Fitz, it's his grandmother. For Grace, it's her uncle. For George, it's his mother. And for Richard, it's his [[AmbiguouslyGay best friend]].
22* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Blackstar says this on Skyfox's behalf.
23-->'''Blackstar:''' He saw through your self-righteous Code. He knew it was all bullshit and Shelly's way of staying in control.
24-->'''Walter:''' Look how he ended up.
25-->'''Blackstar:''' Yeah, good old George may be on the lam, but at least he's honest with himself, unlike the rest of the Union.
26* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:The first season ends with everything going according to Walter's plan, with Brandon and many young heroes losing faith in the superhero code after the deaths of many of them by supervillains they are not allowed to kill, the disappeared FallenHero Skyfox being framed for the Blackstar clone and for setting the real one free, and the Utopian's reputation going downhill and having a crisis of faith after he proves unable to break the code even to save his son. All of this just being a step to take over the Union and eventually the world.]]
27* BattleCouple: Utopian and Lady Liberty are married and fight crime together.
28* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Utopian's mindset. He wishes for everyone to live up to his impossibly high standards so the world can be better, when it has become a GrayAndGreyMorality CrapsackWorld.
29* BrokenPedestal: Sheldon's father kills himself right in front of Sheldon. Sheldon later finds out his father had been doing some dirty dealings to keep the company running and has used the employee pension plan to fund company expansion. When the stock market crashes, all of it is wiped out and hundreds of their workers are left with no jobs and no savings. He then kills himself leaving his sons to deal with the mess and bear the brunt of the hatred their family receives. Sheldon is shattered by this and it is the basis of the Utopian's uncompromising BlackAndWhiteMorality.
30* CanonCharacterAllAlong: Episode 5 opens with Sheldon Sampson talking with a therapist in what appears to be a therapist's office, setting it up a framing device for the Union origin story flashback portions of the episode. The therapist himself appears to be just a random nameless bit character, [[spoiler:however the end of the episode reveals he's actually Jack Hobb – a villain the Utopian fought and eventually re-habilitated in ''Jupiter's Circle'', with the therapist's office being inside a cell in the Supermax]].
31* CanonForeigner: The show adds several new characters that weren't in the original comic including:
32** Chester Sampson – the father of Walter/Brainwave and Sheldon/The Utopian, and Willie Small – the father of Fitz/The Flare.
33** Superheroes; Sierra/Ectoplex, Janna/Ghost Beam, Barry Bishop/Tectonic, Briggs/Flaming Fist, Vera/Phase Out, Nick of Time, and Jay/Volcaner.
34** Barry Bishop's wife and two daughters.
35** Supervillains; Iron Orchid and Baryon.
36** Old Man Miller - a Kansas man who received the same visions that Sheldon had.
37* ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames:
38** Whilst the show normally does a good job at averting this, making sure a character's normal and superhero/villain identities get namedropped at least once, however Barnabus Wolfe, who both here and in the comics mostly goes by his civilian name, doesn't have his former alias of The Molecule Master mentioned even once.
39** Played for dramatic effect when Sheldon doesn't know who Chloe is talking about until referring to them by their superhero codename.
40* CrimeOfSelfDefense: Blackstar kills three superheroes and is about to kill the Utopian when Paragon caves his head in with one punch. Paragon is not charged with anything, but Utopian treats this like a first-degree murder.
41* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Both played straight and averted with Chloe and Hutch. He's the kid of the most hated supervillain ever and she's the daughter of [[TheParagon the Utopian]]. That said, Chloe 's not seeing Hutch to piss her father off and she doesn't even want him to know. It still gets her mother rolling her eyes.
42* DecompositeCharacter: In the comic, Blackstar was a villain that required both the Union and several other superheroes to defeat him in a fight that happened in the first issue. Here the same battle is featured in the first episode, climaxing with Brandon killing Blackstar, only for it to later be revealed as a clone with the [[SparedByTheAdaptation real Blackstar still locked up in the Supermax prison]].
43* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Raikou]] is still alive in the comics. In the series she's killed off at the end of season one.
44* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype:
45** The Utopian is a strong deconstruction of the Superman archetype. His adherence to a higher standard of heroism is portrayed as actually being gravely unpopular, he's not the best of leaders, and he's not a good father even if he ostensibly tries.
46** Chloe is a dramatic presentation of the hard-partying child of a superstar. She feels the pressure and humiliation of never living up to the standards set up by her parents.
47* DestructoNookie: Chloe and Nick knock plaster from the walls in her apartment just by bumping up against them while kissing during their foreplay.
48* DisappointedInYou: [[spoiler:Walter kills Raikou for this very reason, in addition to her knowing too much, since she only cared about her pay and not his goal.]]
49* DrivenToSuicide:
50** Chester Sampson jumped off his building after the 1929 Wall Street crash.
51** After speaking with Sheldon about his visions, Old Man Miller shoots himself (after previously having [[MurderSuicide murdered his wife]]).
52* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Walter, who was behind the clone of Blackstar and everything else.]]
53* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: While Walter is debating with Sheldon over whether superheroes should influence society more, he replies to Sheldon's saying this would end free will with asserting that some would say free will is in fact the problem (as too many are able to do bad stuff).
54* FriendlyEnemy: Blackstar genuinely liked Skyfox and admits to Walter that the two of them would occasionally go out for drinks.
55* GeniusCripple: Fitz Small in a wheelchair.
56* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:Walter kills Raikou because she discovered his plans to create instability within the Union that would make him the leader and help him with his plans of ruling the country]].
57* HopeSpot: In episode 8, Brandon tells his dad that he fully understands the Code after Petra tells him that she intended to leave the Union in the previous episode, making Sheldon proud. [[spoiler:But later, Sheldon hesitated to kill Blackstar to save his son's life, which even Blackstar calls him out on. Brandon only got saved when Petra attacked Blackstar from behind. Sheldon tried to assure Brandon that he wouldn't let Blackstar kill him, but Brandon doesn't seem to believe that. Now Sheldon is afraid that he's losing Brandon, just like with Chloe, and he doesn't know what to do anymore except to ask Walter for help.]]
58* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Brandon's reason for killing the Blackstar clone since he would have killed his dad. But Sheldon doesn't accept that and chastises Brandon for choosing "the easy way out".
59-->'''Brandon:''' Did that look easy to you?!
60* ILetGwenStacyDie: Sheldon feels that he could have stopped his father from jumping off since he was right there when it happened. His wife tries to comfort him that there wasn't anything he could have done.
61* InterruptedIntimacy:
62** Hutch is teleported into the room where Jacinda is getting oral sex from Gabriella, to everyone's displeasure.
63** Sheldon breaks off having sex with Grace when he hears of a possible dangerous asteroid.
64* InternalReveal: In episode 6, Ghost Beam told Lady Liberty that Chloe was in the hospital, which she didn't know.
65* JerkassRealization: Chloe in episode 4.
66-->'''Janna:''' ''(leaving)'' You're better than this.\
67'''Chloe:''' No... I'm not.
68* LiveActionAdaptation: Of the ''Jupiter's Legacy'' comic book series.
69* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Jacinda gets cunnilingus from Gabriella on a pool table.
70* MasculineFeminineGayCouple: Jacinda is a short-haired tomboy, her girlfriend Gabriella has long hair and more of a feminine look.
71* MasterOfIllusion: One of Walter's powers is being able to create a totally realistic "psychic painting" which he traps people in mentally. However, it doesn't always work as some (like Blackstar) can break out. [[spoiler:Except, not really 'cause that was a ruse and all part of his plan.]]
72* MeaningfulName: The word "Utopia" literally means "no place" rather than its popular definition as a world free from strife. This is an indicator that Sheldon's rose-colored dream of a human race in harmony and camaraderie can never come to fruition, at least not in the way he wants it to.
73* MegatonPunch: In episode 4, Chloe gives one to a guy she slept with who was trying to apply for the Union of Justice, because he thought she could give him a good word. Nick can't even take a punch.
74* ModestyBedsheet:
75** On the morning after Chloe hooked up with Nick, she has a sheet around her chest.
76** Grace too covers herself with a sheet when Sheldon stops having sex with her.
77* MortonsFork: Brandon is given a SadisticChoice when battling (the fake) Blackstar: kill him and break the ThouShaltNotKill rule in the process or let his father die at his hands. Brandon decides to go with the former and kill him.
78* NamedByTheAdaptation:
79** Unlike in the comics where he never took up a superhero identity, here Brandon Sampson operates as Paragon.
80** Neutrino and Shockwave are given the civilian names of Gabriella and Jacinda respectively.
81* NotoriousParent: [[spoiler:Skyfox became a criminal, making him this to his son, Hutch. This causes Skyfox to abandon his son as a kid, causing Hutch to resent his father]].
82* ObstructiveCodeOfConduct: Many Union members find their Code's ThouShaltNotKill rule difficult to abide by, particularly if it's a choice of killing or letting someone else die - something that comes back to bite them in the ass so often that the code as such appears to be not just obstructive anymore, but immensely impractical. But Utopian constantly argues that the current state of the world is all the more reason to abide by it.
83* OffWithHerHead: Vera, who gets burned up when the Blackstar clone uses her powers against her, leaving just her head in his hand. He then throws her head away.
84* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler:Walter kills his daughter Raikou at the end of season one.]]
85* OlderThanTheyLook: Sheldon, Walter and Grace have white hair along with a bit of wrinkling. They're still over a hundred years old though, but look much younger and are capable of stupendous feats. It's apparently a result of their super powers.
86* ParentsAsPeople: Sheldon obviously wants to be a good father to both of his children, but his insistence on being a superhero as well as his strict adhering to the Code has strained his relationship with them, as Chloe pointed out in episode 2.
87* RaceLift: Hutch is white in the comics (or appears so, at least--his mother is dark-skinned). In the series, though, he's obviously a man of color, played by a mixed-race actor.
88* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
89** In episode 2, Sheldon gives an emotional one to the newspaper for writing slander about his father, as well as putting a picture of his bloody body on the paper with the headline "The Death of Capitalism". [[WhamLine Except it's all true.]]
90** In episode 4, Chloe is given one by Sierra who calls her out for not helping their friends in the fight against (the fake) Blackstar, leading to the death of 3 of their other friends, and for not even attending their funeral. While she initially tells Sierra to backoff, Chloe wonders if she's right.
91** In episode 6, Chloe gives one to her mom for always taking her dad's side and repeating his words.
92--->'''Lady Liberty:''' [[IronicEcho That's not fair.]]\
93'''Chloe:''' ''(scoffs)'' That's exactly what he said when I called him out on all his shit.
94* TheResenter: In the flashback of episode 7, Walter hated how Sheldon always had it easy and people listen to him because he's the favorite, the "golden boy", while no one ever listens to Walter or took him seriously, not even their dad. [[spoiler:If he had then he might never have DrivenToSuicide when their company went under. It may have also contributed to his descent into villainy.]]
95-->'''Walter:''' [[spoiler:''(to Blackstar)'' I'm not my fucking brother!]]
96* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Hutch's crew leaves him when they learn he's sleeping with Chloe, the daughter of Utopian.
97* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Very much on the cynical side. The Utopian's adherence to classic superhero values, [[ThouShaltNotKill no killing]] and simply inspiring people to be better, is portrayed as naive and unfit on this morally gray, ruthless Earth.
98* SuicidalPacifism: [[spoiler:Even when she's dying from injuries caused by Baryon, Ghost Beam chose not to break the Code.]]
99* SuperFamilyTeam: All members of the Sampson family have superpowers but most of them use their powers for crime fighting while Chloe could care less.
100* ShoutOut: The front page of a newspaper has a picture of Lady Liberty carrying a car the same way ComicBook/{{Superman}} did in [[ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1 his very first appearance]].
101* SupermanSubstitute: Sheldon/The Utopian is TheCape with a moral code and the strongest hero on his team; he is also a FlyingBrick with HeatVision and SuperHearing.
102* SuperScream: Chloe can shout powerful soundwaves.
103* ThouShaltNotKill:
104** Sheldon's WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility lesson to his children includes "not killing bad guys" and showing mercy.
105** He's later upset when Brandon kills to save him from (fake) Blackstar, insisting that there were other options. Brandon disagrees, and finds this [[UngratefulBastard ungrateful]] regardless.
106** The Union turns out to have this in its Code (which can [[ObstructiveCodeOfConduct become difficult]]). Some of the younger members dislike it.
107** Lady Liberty let Baryon live, [[spoiler:even though he killed Ghost Beam. But she was so [[HeroicBSoD distraught over Ghost Beam's death]] that she nearly broke the Code herself. Instead, she gave him one hell of a beating.]]
108* TokenMinorityCouple: Gabriella and Jacinda, the two Latinas on the show (going by their names at least) are in a relationship, while the only explicit LGBT+ characters as well.
109* TwoferTokenMinority: Gabriella and Jacinda are queer women in a relationship, plus Latinas to judge by their names.
110* WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility: Said verbatim in the first episode by Chloe to Sheldon in the former's childhood, when Sheldon's about to remind her of similar morals against the reckless use of superpowers.

Top