‘Legends Of Tomorrow’ Is Losing A Main Team Member
Apologises for the vague title, but I didn’t want to put *spoilers* where everyone could see them! According to reports, one member of the ‘Legends Of Tomorrow‘ crew won’t be returning after the end of Season 3. Whilst we don’t know specifics about the person’s exit, this is obviously classed as a spoiler, so stop reading now if you don’t want to know!
*SPOILERS BELOW!*
Victor Garber, who plays Martin Stein, one half of superhero Firestorm, will not be returning at the end of this season. It seems Garber will be returning to his first love, Broadway musicals, as he takes over from David Hyde Pierce (‘Frasier’) as the male lead in the Tony-winning revival of ‘Hello, Dolly!’ He’ll be joined by Bernadette Peters who takes over from Bette Midler as the female lead.
The actor’s departure has apparently been known for a while behind the scenes in the Arrowverse, so the production team have had plenty of time to work out his exit strategy. This does beg the question, what will this mean for Firestorm’s other half, Jefferson Jackson (Franz Drameh)?
Jefferson was actually a creation for the tv show and never appeared in the original comics. This was due to Robbie Amell, who played Stein’s first partner, Ronnie Raymond, being unavailable, so they created Jefferson. However, comic book Firestorm has been made up of multiple people since he first appeared in 1978. Stein/Raymond was the original partnership, followed by Stein/Raymond being fused with Russian nuclear superhero Pozhar, aka Mikhail Arkadin, making a trio of sorts. That version was killed off, along with Stein & Raymond, leading the Firestorm matrix looking for a new host. It eventually landed on teenager Jason Rusch.
What followed gets very convoluted, but involved Raymond returning (as no one stays dead in comic books) and partnering with Rusch, before vanishing again. Rusch also had a partnership with his best friend Mick Wong, and a mysterious girl named Gehenna… Then was dead… Then he wasn’t… It all gets very confusing!
When DC rebooted everything in their New 52 run, Ronnie Raymond was back as a high school jock, and Jason Rusch was his scientifically minded classmate. When terrorists attack their school, Rusch produces a vial containing a “God Particle” given to him by Professor Stein, which ends up bonding the duo as Firestorm.
This last iteration could be the way they decide to go on the tv series. Introducing Jason Rusch as the science half of Firestorm, allowing Jackson to stay part of the team, and bringing in a new partner. It’s probable they won’t kill off Stein, and maybe have him return to his family, but set up a new partner for Jax before he leaves, allowing Garber to still pop up in guest spots.
We shall find out what happens when ‘Legends Of Tomorrow‘ returns for Season 3 on Wednesday, 18th October 2017 at 8pm on Sky 1.
