At the end of last week’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Episode 4, “White Knights”), the Soviets of 1986, along with Vandal Savage, had captured Dr. Stein, Ray/Atom, and Mick/Heat Wave. Newly introduced to the series from the DC Canon, Valentina Vostok is trying to build a “Soviet Firestorm” (thanks to the funding provided by Savage) to give the Soviet Union a military advantage over the United States. Because this would cause such a terrible future, the Legends of Tomorrow need to rescue their friends and prevent Vostok from getting everything she needs to complete her Firestorm.
Firestorm’s secret puts the future in doubt on DC’s #LegendsOfTomorrow , TONIGHT at 8/7c! https://t.co/8yfLn8yv8w
— Legends of Tomorrow (@TheCW_Legends) February 18, 2016
In Episode 5 (“Fail Safe”), while following Rip’s plans to rescue their friends, Jax, Kendra/Hawkgirl, Snart/Captain Cold, and Sara/White Canary question their roles as mere pawns in Hunter’s game or being considered part of the “B-Team” of the Legends. By the end of the episode, the team ends up in future Star City, where they run into an arrow-slinger that isn’t the Green Arrow. And while it doesn’t directly address it, one has to believe that we witnessed the beginning of Vostok’s transformation into Negative Woman.
How the Legends saved the future — for now
Hunter comes up with a plan to rescue the others, but it rubs almost everyone the wrong way. Snart manages to rescue Ray and Mick from their cells while Sara is told to kill Stein if the Russians get him too close to the reactor. After Snart convinces her that she’s not an assassin anymore, she does not shoot. Kendra flies Jax over the barriers of the gulag. Since Sara did not shoot Stein, Vostok begins her first attempt at becoming the Soviet Firestorm.
Did You Catch [Spoiler’s] Live-Action Debut on “Legends of Tomorrow? https://t.co/lfyeLSmCNb pic.twitter.com/IHwJAEWTqg
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) February 19, 2016
Despite Stein’s warnings, Vostok merges with the doctor, and the Soviet Firestorm is born. However, Jax talks to Stein while he’s inside of Vostok, and the doctor is able to overpower her brain to prevent her from hurting anyone. Once Jax and Stein are able to separate the doctor from Vostok, she is no longer able to control the energy. As the Legends fly away, you see the Russian gulag explode, and the viewers are left to assume that Vostok is dead.
As the Legends are travelling to their next destination, they are discovered once again by Chronos, the time-travelling bounty hunter that the Time Masters Council sent after Hunter and friends during the series premiere of Legends of Tomorrow . The Waverider is forced to crash land at whatever time and place the ship was currently at while en route to their next planned stop. They land in Star City circa 2046. They run into who they believe to be the Green Arrow but soon realize it’s not Oliver Queen.
An archer from future Star City — that isn’t Oliver Queen
The Star City of 2046 was not a pretty site. When the Legends saw a shadowy figure with a bow, they called out to the Green Arrow, reminding him that he helped them prepare for their mission. When his face is revealed, the non-Oliver says merely, “I never heard of any legends.” The show ends as he shoots an arrow in the direction of the Legends.
That’s definitely not the #GreenArrow we know. More @Josephdjones as Connor Hawke on next week’s @TheCW_Legends ! pic.twitter.com/a81DANIL3Y
— 9 years of We Are Lotzers!! (@caitylotzarmy) February 19, 2016
This will obviously be a huge tie-in with Arrow . While followers of The Flash and Arrow are already aware of Green Arrow’s son, not a lot is known about his destiny in the Arrowverse. We know that the new Arrow is Oliver Queen’s son, Connor Hawke. According to his origin story in DC Comics , he meets his father while in his late teens. On top of learning archery from his dad, he also has Wolverine-like healing powers and the occasional demonstration of clairvoyance. He is also a skilled martial artist and gets his hands on some of his father’s special arrows.
The possible birth of Negative Woman — a new origin story?
As the Legends fly away from the Russian gulag, it is clearly destroyed by an atomic explosion, and Vostok is presumed to be dead. But if she is to develop into the super villain that she was in the DC Comics , we are likely to see her return sometime later in the series (or perhaps on Arrow or The Flash ).
She’s was ice cold on #MrRobot , but can she be a convincing Negative Woman? http://t.co/kcvGzAReIF pic.twitter.com/C8GM57DKgA
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) September 24, 2015
In the comics, Vostok tried to defect from the Soviet Union to the United States. She stole a plane that crashed at the spot of Doom Patrol’s apparent demise and was fused with the negative energy being that had initially controlled Negative Man. After the fusion, unlike her predecessor, “instead of being inhabited by the entity, rendered radioactive by its presence, and able to send it out from her body under her control, Vostok merely gained the ability to transform herself into such a being.”
This is how we spend our down on set @CiaraRenee8 #LegendsOfTomorrow pic.twitter.com/nxfsHH0P4I
— Caity Lotz (@caitylotz) February 19, 2016
However, later in life, she loses these powers. She then joins the good-guy spy agency Checkmate and takes on the moniker White Queen. It should prove interesting to witness what else, exactly, is done with this character in the Arrowverse — if anything at all.
Next week
The next episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will pick up right where they left off: facing Connor Hawke in 2046 Star City. But perhaps even bigger than that is the introduction of a new supervillain from DC Comics: Deathstroke.
[VIDEO] DC’s Legends of Tomorrow | Star City 2046 Trailer pic.twitter.com/tzAK4aGvC9
— Stephen Amell Daily (@AmellDaily) February 19, 2016
Where to Watch
The CW airs DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on Thursday evenings at 8/7c. Replays of the most recent episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow can be streamed on-demand at the CW’s website beginning Friday. Current episodes of Legends of Tomorrow (including “Fail Safe”) can also be streamed with a Hulu Plus subscription the day after it airs on the CW.
[Image via CW TV ]