Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy

[exile001]

Tbh, there are SO many comic book movies, cartoons, TV shows and, of course, actual comics to consume these days that I'll be skipping this.

The Boys is already out, Invincible is already out, I don't need a Miller take on the same 'Superman but evil/edgy' thing.

[Rac7d*]

Everyone I know says it's boring and the only thing some of them complimented were the costumes.

I hate statements like this becuase it doesn’t mean anything
It’s not data, the tens of people you man know doesn’t compare to the millions watching

[Johnny Thunders!]

I haven't finished the show, but the comic is must read as is Jupiters Circle. The beards and the makeup bother me. I think its second tier to Invincible and the Boys though I like the comic far more than those comics.

[Timothy Hunter]

Jupiter's Circle is better in every respect because it's basically Mad Men as a Silver Age DC Comic. I'm a Millar apologist, but I think Jupiter's Legacy is one of his weakest works because it doesn't really bring anything new to Superheroes that Kingdom Come or Zenith didn't do better decades prior.

[Ascended]

Wasn't enough of a Millar fan to check out the comic, but I just binged the show over the last couple days since I had nothing else to watch.

I thought it was alright. Somewhere between the CW and The Boys in terms of quality and tone/theme, but closer to the CW end of the spectrum.

But I do think it did an interesting job of exploring the classic superhero rules; no killing, no ruling. Utopian as an outdated and out-of-touch Superman proxy is solidly done and the actor sells the role pretty well. The flashback stuff in the 20's is all very fun and the best part of the show, and gave me vague "early Lost" vibes (in a good way). The costumes are definitely well made, though the effects are definitely not on the movie/Disney+ level I've become accustomed to.

I saw some parallels with current topics, and I'll be honest, looking at some of those issues through this lens of superheroes and the Code, juxtaposed between the "good old days" viewpoint and the way things are now made for some interesting viewing.

It was a fun show, though I wouldn't give it my unabashed recommendation. Of all the genre stuff I've watched lately, the D+ MCU shows, The Boys, Invincible, this was definitely the weakest, but I wouldn't call it bad by any stretch either.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I reread the whole run and I was surprised how good the whole bit was, The Justice League as Madmen is a nice comparison. The original Jupiter's Legacy book hit pretty good though because of the end. I thought it ended on a really nice big heroic moment. It looks like the show detours quite a bit from the source material and that's too bad. I think Wanted suffered for the same reason. I am finishing the show this weekend and I do like the 1929 stuff, but the pacing of the comic is way more breezy. I have seen most of the episodes and I am still waiting for them to get to the island. I also didn't need the Utopian to be so haunted and terrorized by visions. The comic book version of the Utopian seemed much more Doc Savage like than tortured maniac.

[bat39]

Just finished it!

It was definitely a fun show. Maybe not the best superhero show I've seen, and perhaps not as well put together overall. But they did a great job bringing this universe to life, the performances were pretty good, and it kept me hooked throughout my binge.

Its a bit more slower-paced than most superhero shows, and the present-day narrative lacks a bit of focus. But I kinda liked this more 'contemplative' style. Its basically the story of the Justice League told as a family drama, with a touch of political discource (which admittedly was a bit shallow). The 1929 narrative was at times more entertaining than the present-day, but at other times, it dragged. But it was intriguing to see how the dynamics between Sheldon, Walter and George in the past ultimately impact the present-day, in implicit and explicit ways.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to reading the comic now

I will say the same thing I said in the other thread. It has slower pace than other stuff and that is okay but it leans to much on the future to interesting and not current stuff they are telling. It is an average show and it feels like one of those cinematic universe or ya adult projects that they try to start but instead of going all to tell the most interesting story they can they hold things back to be interesting.

Now for the Superman part of the equation they do a good job of talking up "the Code" which is don't kill ever and don't interfere in governments. The bad part is they don't focus on enough on why Code is a good thing and makes too much look like it is something just in place to stroke Utopians ego. To be clear I am superhero should kill as option person and to me it felt a little heavy handed the show is forcing that the Code wasn't working. What did like is how they present how much of sitting duck following the code made the heroes in the story and that is always my argument for lethal force, If the other side is trying to kill and has ability to kill you then killing enemy is option. But overall it was little heavy hand for example the supervillain clearly killed 2 superheroes and look like he was going to kill superman figure Utopian and Utopian son jumps in and kills the bad guy. And the Superman figure spazs out on his son like his choice did not make sense in that moment. There was a better way to execute that scene that does make Superman character imo look so bad. To me you can't be screaming "there always another way" when Supervillain is lopping off the head of heroes in the fight.

Honestly, as a deconstruction of the traditional Superman archetype, this show really worked. To the extent that honestly I thought Sheldon was a jerk, to put it mildly. All the worst stereotypes about Superman as a navel-gazer, as this smug self-righteous ass who can't really do anything with all his power, literally come true with the Utopian. I especially loved the bit in episode 6 where he's told that his ''Code'' is basically a way for him to perpetuate his 'legacy' in the minds of other heroes.

But really, he's a pathetic father and not too great a husband (it doesn't help that we don't get to see Grace and Sheldon's relationship explored much). I found Chloe to be the most sympathetic member of the family honestly. Yeah, that's right...a drug-addict girl with serious anger issues is the most relatable member of a family of superheroes.

Brandon's an interesting case where I feel he's someone who wants to be the Snyder/Cavill Superman, but is forced into being a more traditional Superman who doesn't kill. The whole debate around his actions reminded me a LOT of the discource around that scene in MOS. The problem of course is that the show makes the no-killing rule a binary choice between never killing at any cost, or killing as standard operating procedure. Which is how Superman stories and most superhero comics have traditionally portrayed it, but I feel it'd have been better if the show explored some of the middle ground here, and I really felt they were setting something up with Grace on this front. Perhaps Season 2?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I watched the first episode and then skipped to the last two. Yeah, I totally see why this show didn't work. The pace is just too slow compared to the comic. And the show is missing the mean streak and humor that made Millar & Quitely's story work. This show takes it all too seriously for my tastes.

It's not a disaster, but the comics are definitely better.

[DABellWrites]

I've only read the comics, the "Netflix Edition" on Hoopla. Had I never read Jupiter's Circle first, I'd call it a book that tows the line been alright and average. My two favorite panels are: "mommy hears everything" (still send chills when thinking about it) and the battle between Sheldon and the guy who steals others powers. Those panels were great.

[Kara Danvers]

I hate statements like this becuase it doesn’t mean anything
It’s not data, the tens of people you man know doesn’t compare to the millions watching

It has been cancelled already.

[bat39]

It has been cancelled already.

Yeah. No surprises there.

But it seems that they might continue to expand the universe in some form with other Miller properties.

Frankly I think that makes the most sense. Having now read the comics (Jupiter's Legacy AND Jupiter's Circle) I feel that the worldbuilding and the big ideas were the real strength of this property, not the narrative per se which, when all is said and done, is pretty straightforward.

If they really want to focus on the story of the Union, an adaptation of Jupiter's Circle might be a better idea. It'll allow them to focus on the original Union (who were always more interesting than their present-day legacies) and tell a slew of more personal stories, while touching on the kind of socially and politically relevant issues that TV shows these days like to touch upon - LGBT rights, government survelliance, the power and influence of billionaires etc.

And for God's sake, don't focus too much on the Utopian! He's a pretty bland character all said and done (even though in the comics, I agreed with his viewpoint a lot more than I did on the show).

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Netflix paid way too much for Millarworld to just let this drop. They're going to try again with SuperCrooks and hope they have better results. The problem is that the comics industry had started to get tired of Millar's shtick a few years ago. They might not have better results appealing to an even broader audience.

However, all they need is one solid hit to justify all those millions spent buying all of Millar's comics.

[DragonPiece]

Netflix paid way too much for Millarworld to just let this drop. They're going to try again with SuperCrooks and hope they have better results. The problem is that the comics industry had started to get tired of Millar's shtick a few years ago. They might not have better results appealing to an even broader audience.

However, all they need is one solid hit to justify all those millions spent buying all of Millar's comics.

Maybe this can lead to writers not just making comics purely as a pitc for a tv series or film.

[Yoda]

Magic Order is still in production I think. They aren’t going to abandon Millar completely yet. Though if they waste $200 million on another failure like this I can see them taking away some of Millar’s control if possible. He was supposedly steering the ship on this.

The craziest part is this was a $200 million show that the consensus seems to be looked worse and was stomped by Superman & Lois. Shows money isn’t always everything.

[bat39]

Magic Order is still in production I think. They aren’t going to abandon Millar completely yet. Though if they waste $200 million on another failure like this I can see them taking away some of Millar’s control if possible. He was supposedly steering the ship on this.

The craziest part is this was a $200 million show that the consensus seems to be looked worse and was stomped by Superman & Lois. Shows money isn’t always everything.

Money wasn't the problem here. I think in terms of production value the show was great. The problem was maybe the need for a proper script that balanced worldbuilding with the need for an engaging plot.

As it stands, we have a show that looks pretty nifty but doesn't really go anywhere. Yes, I found the deconstruction of Superman via Utopian interesting, and I loved the 1929 flashback scenes but you really can't have a big-budget superhero show that doesn't deliver beyond that. I mean, they basically spent $200 million to adapt the first two issues (and some bits and pieces from elsewhere) of a 10 issue saga. Slow-burn doesn't even begin to describe it...