Jupiter’s Legacy premiered on May 7 on Netflix and is already soaring to new heights on the streaming service. The series puts emphasis on the origins of the core members of the Union of Justice, but one of the most enticing things is the children. They’re more than just their powers, abilities, and world-famous names. Each of them carrying their own definition of what it means to be a “hero.”
Petra Small/Flare II
Petra is Fitz’s daughter who we get to see a sense of duality. Not only does she help fight in the field, but she also assists her dad at the Union. For a brief moment, she was considering leaving the Union because of the intensity of the villains and her view on the code changing. Confiding in both Fitz and Brandon, her dad tells her to do what is best for her and if that means leaving, then so be it. Brandon on the other hand tells her she needs to stay. If she goes, others will follow her lead. She asks him how he is able to handle the pressure and he leaves her with a piece of advice Sheldon gave him:
“The code wasn’t meant to make our lives easier. You have to care about people, about this world. That’s not easy to deal with sometimes, but what we do, it’s never about the easy way out. That’s what separates us from everyone else.”
Petra isn’t a comic character — she was created specifically for the show. A second-generation Black hero, she is loyal and protective over those who are the same to her — much like her father. She could also be loosely based on Peter from the comics who inherits Fitz’s powers and takes on his father’s mantle when he retires.
Chloe Sampson
Chloe Sampson is a major part of volume one. She constantly pushes the status quo and has the gall to do it. While it may have been clouded by the parties and drugs, Chloe is a much more complex character. She wants to be listened to and taken seriously. Because Brandon is being molded as the prodigal son and the future of the Union as the next Utopian, it’s understandable why Chloe doesn’t want to be whittled down to “Utopian’s daughter.” Throughout the season, she tests her parent’s outdated rules, rules that were set in place when the world was a much different place. While they don’t always agree, they do begin to come around in some aspects.
There’s also no denying how strong of a character she is. Whether she’s throwing her one night stands through her apartment wall, fighting with her dad, or saving Hutch, her emotional complexity comes into play every time. She may have a hard exterior but inside she is screaming to be heard.
Brandon/Paragon
Just because Sheldon views Brandon as his heir, doesn’t mean Brandon agrees with everything his father says or does. He does look up to him and he tries his hardest to please him, especially when he’s the one saving his father on more than one occasion. He’s powerful — there’s no arguing that fact. Sheldon even agrees and states on more than one occasion that one day he will be stronger than him.
This is a complete 180-degree shift to his comic counterpart where he’s essentially a whiny adult who tries to show his dad he’s ready but ultimately fails every time. This version of Brandon is much more earnest and young in spirit making him a real eyebrow-raiser. With Walt sabotaging the situation and getting rid of any proof of the matter, it’ll be interesting to see if and how Brandon takes on his evil side.
Hutch and Raikou aren’t members of the Union and have zero interest in it at all — but at the end of the day, Walt is still an active member and George is no longer, but he was a core founder of the group and that stands for something. Plus, they’re two individuals making their own way without tying themselves up in the code.
Hutch Hutchence
In the show, they flipped the script. Hutch is portrayed by a biracial man, Ian Quinlan. In the comics, despite Hutch’s mother being Black he’s basically George’s twin: white with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Hutch has no interest regarding involvement with the Union and he isn’t particularly fond of being compared to his father, either. He wasn’t born with powers and what he can do he achieves with his power rod. Even though most of his storyline is spent hooked on his father, viewers did get to see a few of Hutch’s heists.
The finale made it clear that Hutch was interested in finding his father once and for all. With Chloe in his life now, if it follows the same trajectory as the comics, we’ll be seeing the Hutchence’s united once again sooner rather than later. We broke down the finale’s ending, which you can check out here.
Raikou
By now everyone knows Raikou is Walter’s estranged daughter but she has no intention of splitting her time with the Union of Justice. But for the right price, she’ll do just about anything. She inherited her father’s telepathic powers but we only get to see her use them a handful of times. Once when she helped the Union get into clone Blackstar’s mind and the other was and the other was when she had a conversation with Walt via their minds.
The comic introduction was different because Raikou came much later and had a very different fate instead of the more tragic one suffered in the series.
Raikou’s arrival may have been short and her ending tragic but she paved a path that was all her own, without using family notoriety to get it.
Jupiter’s Legacy is now available to stream on Netflix worldwide. Read our review and be sure to check out our other Jupiter’s Legacy related content!
