5 Takeaways from Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 6: “Outlaw Country”

• Marc Buxton


• 18 Nov 2016

These are the 5 things that kicked us in the gall bladder (and sometimes in a good way) as we watched Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 6: “Outlaw Country.” And, our observations are a little “spoilery,” so…if you’re catching this tonight, I would bookmark this article and join us tomorrow morning. Still with us? Good, we’re always glad to have ya’.

1. Steel Our Hearts

   

Suddenly, it’s hard to imagine DC’s Legends of Tomorrow without Steel. It’s also hard to envision a super-character that is more humane and earnest than Ray Palmer, but Nate Heywood is just that. There’s something that’s just so likable about Heywood, and maybe it’s because I’ve loved the character of Commander Steel since the All-Star Squadron days, but I’m having so much fun watching Heywood develop as a hero. And now, thanks to Palmer, he has a version of his classic super suit!

This week, Heywood has to get past being shot with a dwarf star matter bullet to stop a train with his metallic body. Most importantly, Heywood is serving as the viewer’s point-of-view-character to the team. Steel has never been a major DC comic character, but he’s really earning his stripes (and stars) on Legends.

2. That Girls’ an Animal

   

In addition to Steel, Vixen has also shined so far on Legends. It’s funny, when the team first debuted in the 80s, the Detroit-era Justice League was not very popular. Now, three of the team’s members, Vixen, Steel and Vibe all have growing fan followings thanks to CW’s DC TV.

This week, Vixen became somewhat of a life coach to Mick Rory. The animalistic Vixen shows Rory that one does not have to lose his humanity when embracing one’s animal nature. It’s cool to have a mentor character that channels the powers of rhinos and gorillas.

Listen, as far as comics go, Hawkman and Hawkgirl are two of my all-time favorite characters. But last season, Legends swung and missed on the Hawks. Thankfully, this year Vixen and Steel have rounded out the team very nicely as the series keeps finding new roles for both heroes.

3. Hexed

   

This week saw the return of DCs most beloved Western character to TV. That’s right, Jonah Hex is back, and this time, he has his arch nemesis Quentin Turnball with him. For the two of you that saw it, the Jonah Hex film (and by film, I mean fevered nightmare) featured Turnball as the big bad. I don’t think I’m going to surprise anyone by saying that this episode of Legends was better than that cinematic turd sausage.

This week, Hex struggled with his penchant for violence as he is completely obsessed with finding and killing Turnball. Sara Lance helps Hex find his lost humanity as it is revealed that Turnball was responsible for scarring Hex’s face long ago. Turnball plots to use recently found dwarf star matter to take over the West, and while the plot is a little on the silly side, it made for a fun Brisco County, Jr.-like romp. Plus, this DC fan will never poo poo a Jonah Hex guest spot.

4. Quantum Leap

There hasn’t been a great deal of continuity between episodes so far this year on Legends. Instead, the show has taken a more Quantum Leap or Sliders-like approach to things.

Every episode is a journey to another era as the team must fix the time stream from myriad hiccups and chronal burps. It’s been a fun ride and it has really allowed the characters to shine as each episode is driven by the team rather than by an overarching threat like Vandal Savage. It kind of reminds me of one of those syndicated shows of the 90s and in this day and age of constant events, it’s all rather comforting to just have a one and done adventure featuring classic figures from DC’s history.

5. A Vision of Things to Come

With that being said, it looks like we have the start of a major storyline this week as Martin Stein begins to have visions of a love he never met. Of course, a few episodes back, Stein encountered his younger self. Now, that meeting seems to have impacted the timestream as Stein is having memories of a woman that is not his wife. Or, are these visions caused by Flashpoint? That is a distinct possibility as the next episode of Legends will bring all of DC’s CW heroes together in a four-part crossover.

Could these visions portend dire tidings for one-half of Firestorm? Is this the inciting event that will entangle the Legends with Reverse Flash? Answers to look forward to after the holiday.