Jupiter's Legacy

[Drunk Monk]

Got 2 1/2 eps in. It’s okay. Basically it’s superheroes with dysfunctional relationships. Utopian, the leader superhero, is a twist on Superman - like what if Superman was a bad dad? 

The effects a decent - nothing new yet but on par with Netflix production quality, perhaps even a cut above. There’s been a few interesting camera angles that felt somewhat fresh. The performances are serviceable for a comic based series.

It gets a heavy handed with its messages, but at least it has some, maybe a few too many and that becomes cumbersome. There’s no comic relief. Some of the moralizing is over the top but you know how comics can be caricature. The powers and the diverse assemblage of the superheroes is ill defined - you just gotta go with that. 

E1 was designed to set the hook and pulled me right along into e2, but e2 lost some momentum. E2 got too talky. It needed more superfights.

E2 had the Hill fight, which Silvera (the fight choreographer I interviewed) was particularly proud of - and it was pretty good. Some amusing ultravi - superhero ultravi. Another earlier fight was okay too. I’m enjoying the action - there just needs to be more of it. More walk, less talk.

Having read the comic, I know where it’s going so I can’t comment on whether it builds suspense well or not. It seems to be following the comic fairly well and the way the characters are portrayed seems loyal to that, at least for me so far.

No swordfights yet. As for the DOOM rec, I’d say give e1 a peek and see if it works for you. I need to see more of e3 before declaring e2 skippable - you might just be able to leap frog over to e3.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I wanna see The Hill Fight, though

[Greg]

Super Heroes are just like us....

Ep 1 concur with DM. I need my heroes to be heroic without being so whiny. And there is a lot of whiny. The first episode has almost the same arc as Amazon's Invicible. Although in Invincible the son is learning about his Superpowers. But there is a lot of that I don't think he is up for the task.

Definitely needs a humor injection. To paraphrase a line from My Favorite Year: So don't tell me this is you life-size. I can't use you life-size. I need my Super Heroes as big as I can get them!

[Drunk Monk]

I did like the ‘great power/great responsibility’ comment and wish there was more of that.

I also like the daughter, but that might be carry over from the comics, because her story arc was the most interesting - an emo drug addict superheroine. 

It’s about the fight choreo for me. Follow philipsilvera on IG. He’s started to post BTS choreo for this and it’s spectacular wirework. Martial arts movie fans always dis wirework because it’s not ‘real’ which makes no sense at all in moviemaking, but good wirework takes skill and that’s been solid here. There’s some huge fights coming and I hope Philip can sustain them.

[Greg]

The real question is did Josh Duhamel borrow Henry Cavill's Witcher wig.

[Drunk Monk]

Haaaaa

Thot that looked familiar...

[Drunk Monk]

E3 & e4 wallow in themselves. It worked as a comic because the art was good but as a show, especially a superhero show, it’s too much ‘human’ drama. Frankly it needs more superhero shit. I felt there was more of that in the comic but this story is straying. The show seems to downplay the fantastic - maybe that’s coming but it already feels overdue.

E4 digs into Chloe’s story more, which is the most interesting arc of JL and the actress playing her is nailing it. Sheldon’s depression years backstory is dragged out - the creation story for Utopian is mediocre and it’s taking too long to tell it.

I’m ready for some freaking superhero fights. They tease a few in e4 but those are only teases. Wasn’t there a giant octopus? I don’t remember because I read it quickly and I’ve have a lot of other media I had to consume fast lately for work - just like cramming for the exam, it doesn’t always stick, ya know? Anyway, hoping for that octopus soon.

So you can skip 2 & 3, maybe check out 4 if you want to know Chloé. 

Halfway point.

[Greg]

Maybe we are watching different shows. Ep2 was a lot of story but left on that stupid cliffhanger so we rolled right into Ep3. I thought Ep3 was so much better since we didn't spend the entire episode wallowing in the CODE! Other story lines were brought to the fore. I like the young African American with the teleportation device. He interested me a lot especially the ties to his father. We almost rolled into Ep4.

Ep3 gave me hope.

[Drunk Monk]

If you like Hutch, you’ll like Ep 4. That’s when the magnitude of his powers become apparent. He will also have parent issues as the story goes into his device. The generation gap is the crux of this.

We’re always watching different shows. That’s what makes these discussions entertaining. Who would care about Siskel & Ebert if they agreed all the time.

[Drunk Monk]

E5 was skippable. It’s a lot of discussion and not very much happens. I’ve shifted my perspective on this show. It’s not really a superhero show. It’s a show about dysfunctional family that just happens to be superheroes.

E6 was better. There’s some action. I do like they way all the cars bounce when a super hero lands. There’s some subtle nods to the comics like when Lady Liberty is reminiscing with the box of old pix and clippings, the headlines refer to the race riots that were important in the comics. Clearly they are only covering a fraction of what happens in the comics.There’s so much more, but maybe they’re saving that off season 2.

I’m befuddled why Netflix had me interview the fight choreographer. There aren’t that many fights. The choreo of the few they have are decent, but we’re lucky to get just one more fight scene per episode, that’d be great.

[Drunk Monk]

E7: Opens with the Tokyo Alley fight that Silvera discussed in our interview. 

And it’s a sword fight. A decent one at that.

This episode is worth the watch because the creation tale comes together. Plus the sword fight.

E8: The season finale. It leaves a lot unresolved, open ended for next season. There's a major mcguffin but overall, it left me wanting. 

Ultimately, I feel like this failed to capture the comic. It only told a few of the dozens of story arcs in the comic, and it told them in a laborious fashion. I would've given up on it earlier but felt obligated to see it through. I'm still perplexed about why Netflix wanted Den to interview Silvera. He does some nice work here - the superhero fights are the best part of the show - but they are too few and far in between. It was fun to chat with Silvera, and I made some money off that, so it's all good. 

I do like Chloe. She's the standout gem here. 

Reviews are poor but viewership is high and Netflix has invested heavily in Millarworld - the new cinematic universe from the creator of JL. Consequently S2 may already be greenlit. 

For DOOM, fast forward to the fight scenes. E1 is watchable, then skip to E7, and if you're still watching, might as well check out E8 but prepare for disappointment.

[Greg]

I don't know what episode we caught. But it focused on the drug addict daughter/model (Chloe) who's life is going to hell. The other half of the episode was Josh/Utopian walking through the dust bowl.Neither of the storylines is very involving. I don't think Duhamel is very good in his role. I don't really care about Chloe because she's spoiled and unrepentant about it. I guess I should go with her on her road to redemption but still bored.

We might be out after this episode. tQ turned at me at one point and asked if I knew what the hell was going on.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, so much for that.

The Jupiter's Legacy special issue was commissioned by Netflix from Den of Geek. It was a 36-page free insert with their regular free DoG issue. Because it was a special commissioned job, I was paid 4x my usual article rate for the interview I wrote for them. It was an easy job, and fun. Silvera is someone that I was delighted to interview, even though his choreo for this didn't approximate his best work. And even though the show flopped, I feel pretty good about it. $4x good. The payment was just deposited, so Jupiter's Legacy is good by me.

[Drunk Monk]

'Supercrooks' Live-Action Netflix Series Set; 'Jupiter's Legacy' Canceled
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is turning Mark Millar’s Jupiter’s Legacy series into a universe spanning an anthology franchise. The streamer has set a live-action adaptation of Supercrooks, which delves into the story of Millarworld’s super-villains, as the next installment of the Jupiter’s Legacy saga.
Meanwhile, Jupiter’s Legacy will not continue as an ongoing series. With Netflix and Millar going in a different creative direction with the IP and the talent options soon expiring, the streamer has opted to let the high-profile cast — led by Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb and Ben Daniels — out of their commitments to the show.
“We’re confident we’ll return to it later,” Millar said of Jupiter’s Legacy, which could come back in a different iteration, sources said.
Netflix has an anime series adaptation of Supercrooks, the superpowered heist comic about eight supervillains written by Millar and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu, which will be released later this year. It will get a sneak peak at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this month.
While there are characters in the comics that cross over between_ Supercrooks_ and Jupiter’s Legacy, the live-action Supercrooks adaptation is in early stages, so it is unclear whether characters from Season 1 of_ Jupiter’s Legacy_ would migrate to it. 
Supercrooks is described as a return to the world of Jupiter’s Legacy with a ragtag gang of supervillains, con artists, petty thieves and leg-breakers who band together for the heist of the century and the most outrageous crime story you’ve ever seen in your life. Crime pays, and they’re going to prove it. Some people just want to have the time of their lives and make a little dirty money while they’re doing it. If the superheroes get in the way, they’re going to be spitting teeth.
“I’m really proud of what the team achieved with Jupiter’s Legacy and the amazing work everyone did on that origin season,” Millar said. “I’ve been asked a lot about what we’re planning next with this world, and the answer is to see what the supervillains are getting up to. I’ve always loved crime stories, from Scorsese to Tarantino, and supervillains are always the most fun part of any superhero story. To do something exclusively focused on the villains they fight just feels incredibly fresh as we explore what it’s like to be a bad guy in a world crawling with good guys who want to put you in jail.
“Jupiter’s Legacy is a vast and rich space with lots of characters to mine, and so I’m happy to share that our next step here is a live-action version of the Supercrooks comic I created with Leinil Francis Yu a few years back,” Millar added. “Given where we’re going next, we’ve made the tough call of letting our incredible cast out of their show commitment as we continue to thoughtfully develop all realms of the Jupiter’s Legacy saga. We’re confident we’ll return to it later and just want to say thanks to you guys for your continued support and to the cast and crew who made this look so great.”
Netflix in 2017 acquired Millarworld, the comic book publishing powerhouse founded by Millar, creator of such iconic characters and stories as_ Kick-Ass, Kingsman and Old Man Logan._ It was the streamer’s first acquisition, aimed at developing multiple films and TV series, starting with the live-action Jupiter’s Legacy and followed by the anime_ Supercrooks. _
Netflix remains high on the IP, with Millar working on an expansive TV slate that also includes The Magic Order, American Jesus, Empress, Huck, Sharkey the Bounty Hunter and Prodigy