The children of the world’s greatest superheroes struggle to live up to their parents’ legacy…sound familiar? I’m pretty sure I watched that story in Disney’s iconic 2005 film Sky High, and it was awesome. So when I saw that Jupiter’s Legacy had a similar description, I had high expectations that this would be a more complicated, adult version of the film I loved so much. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t.
Jupiter’s Legacy has a lot going for it, and a lot working against it. Superheroes are in right now—see our reviews on WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and Justice League. But this trendiness also means that we as the audience have higher standards, and we can be more choosy about which heroes to watch, and which heroes to skip.
We’ve also established clear superhero categories: the rays of hope like Superman and Wonder Woman, the gritty Dark Knights and masked avengers, and even the corrupt Supes from The Boys. The problem with Jupiter’s Legacy is that the characters fall into all and none of these roles in a confusing medley that doesn’t quite work. The Utopian, a.k.a. Sheldon Sampson (Josh Duhamel), is one of the original heroes and the leader of the Union of Justice. He is meant to be a beacon of good as he ensures that the other heroes adhere to the Code: superheroes must never take a life. However, he doesn’t inspire much hope for his team or for the audience. Instead, we see him as a deeply troubled man, struggling as a husband and father, and wondering if his motives are in the right place. Does he want to uphold all that’s good in the world…or does he simply want to be seen as a hero?
The rest of the heroes in this show are equally conflicted. Sheldon’s son Brandon (Andrew Horton) feels inadequate despite having powers that rival his dad’s, and Sheldon’s rebellious daughter Chloe (Elena Kampouris) has turned her back on the family business, instead using fame to get modeling jobs to support her lifestyle of parties and drugs. Sheldon’s wife Grace (Leslie Bibb), one of the more likable characters, is given a single episode’s worth of real storyline; meanwhile, she stands by her husband despite disagreeing with his controlling, my-way-or-the-highway mentality. Then there are the rest of the old guard, including Sheldon’s brother Walter (Ben Daniels) and their friend Fitz (Mike Wade). Walter follows a more complex, if somewhat abrupt, trajectory as he steps up in ways that Sheldon will not and cannot…though not necessarily for good. Fitz has the superhero equivalent of a desk job after having been in a terrible though unexplained incident that landed him in a wheelchair. The most potential, however, seems to be with the younger generation of characters, but so far few have any substantial backstory, which would have provided the depth that true superhero fans crave. Ironically, the character with the most fascinating plot line is Hutch (Ian Quinlan), one of the few characters without natural powers, but with unique (and shady) talents.
When the first episode began with Sheldon’s relationship with his children, and Brandon’s desire to follow in his father’s footsteps, I immediately drew parallels to teen superhero Will Stronghold in Sky High. Will didn’t think he could live up to the Commander and Jetstream’s legacy—just like Brandon, he faced enormous pressure to be as heroic as his parents. The whole superhero family storyline is interesting; after all, what would it look like to be raised by superhero parents? Yet this coming-of-age story is left undeveloped. Sure, Brandon grows a bit throughout the series, but there is no heartwarming parent-child bonding moment between heroes. Episode 8, the season finale, leaves us only slightly further along in the story than Episode 1. Maybe it’s the fact that I binged the series in two days, but it felt like not much happened during the season.
One of the best ways to explain the lack of action is that Jupiter’s Legacy is an origin story. It is not about heroes battling villains; we only see a couple major hero vs. villain fights in the eight episodes. The majority of the season is devoted to hero vs. self conflict, as the characters struggle to find their identities and places as heroes. Each episode flips between the present day and the past, with both story arcs only revealing themselves in the last episode. I found the past storyline set in 1929, which tells the story of how Sheldon and his crew get their powers, to be quite interesting, if not a bit over-dramatic in sepia tones. It’s a neat idea, but it feels like the first season is just a backstory—an appetizer to the actual meal. The origin story could have easily comprised a single flashback episode; the time shift back and forth for the entire season made present-day events harder to follow and appreciate.
Most of all, I wish Jupiter’s Legacy had humor. Yes, it’s a serious story about morality and heroism and the responsibility that comes with power—but even the best of those stories have their instances of comic relief. And when you have a bunch of adults parading around in colorful tights, you need a laugh. The show could have made fun of itself, embracing that campy, sarcastic, we-know-it’s-absurd-and-we-love-that-it’s-absurd vibe. It also needed more warmth—those real, heartfelt connections between characters. I wanted to see deeper human relationships that exist even in superhero families, and found myself wishing the Sampson’s were more like the Stronghold’s.
Despite my mixed feelings on Season 1, I’m hopeful for a second season—now that we know the backstory, and have an established villain (in a surprise twist at the end), a new season could deliver intriguing plots and heroes actually fighting villains. But if you’re someone who craves action from a family of heroes, I’d skip this for now and rewatch Sky High.