The Netflix original series began as a comic series back in 2013 when writer Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely teamed up together. The magic between the pages of these comics is remarkable, and because of the success, a prequel titled Jupiter’s Circle was released. Now that the show is finally getting its rightful spot to shine on a small screen, it was announced that once the eight episodes dropped, a third story would come in June — Jupiter’s Legacy: Requiem concluding a chapter that many have been longing for.
Jupiter’s Legacy at its core is about intergenerational superheroes that serve and protect their communities. It started at the height of The Great Depression when Sheldon Sampson was having a vision of an island. He convinced his group of friends to tag along on the journey to find out what it was about. The group, consisting of Sheldon (Josh Duhamel), Grace Kennedy (Leslie Bibb), Sheldon’s brother Walter Sampson (Ben Daniels), Richard Conrad (David Julian Hirsh), Fitz (Mike Wade), and George Hutchence (Matt Lanter), return home with superpowers — powers that Sheldon was convinced would help restore the United States to glory. They form a group titled the Union of Justice.
Eventually, the second generation — Chloe (Elena Kampouris), Brandon (Andrew Horton), Hutch (Ian Quinlan), and Petra (Tenika Davis) — is born and they struggle with leaving up to the ideal that their parents expect of them. The superhero genre as a whole is something that is so easily saturated. Because of the way the series flows and the generations suffering from truly relatable issues, while it may not be a new concept, it certainly makes it a stand-out contender.
While there are times that the pacing is off, it doesn’t matter. The series did a wonderful job of commanding the two stories — past and present — all while visually explaining how they correlate with one another as they shift back and forth. Born out of a new generation of superhero shows, it’s not entirely dissimilar to Amazon’s The Boys, or Marvel content for that matter. Jupiter’s Legacy perfectly highlights the good and the bad, putting a strong emphasis on the importance of family and the varying degree of morals.
As aforementioned it does have a few kinks, but Daniels, Lanter, Duhamel, and Kampouris, in my eyes, truly are the exception and they are able to command the screen without a shadow of a doubt. In all reality, the entire cast is remarkable, each having their own stories to tell that don’t feel forced and resonate well with fans of the comic series. It’s also full of criminally underrated stars and some names that you’ll soon be hearing more from, so getting to see them all shine in the show is a real treat.
Being the parents of a new class of superheroes is no easy feat, just as being a child of some of the most powerful heroes (and villains) on the planet isn’t. However, Jupiter’s Legacy gets the balance right, proving that just because you have powers, it doesn’t suddenly make your life any more perfect than the rest of society.
Check out our breakdown of the finale and be sure to stay tuned for more Jupiter’s Legacy related content!
All eight episodes of Jupiter’s Legacy are available to stream on Netflix now.
