Man from the Edge of Tomorrow pt. 1
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Contents
Story Synopsis
TV listing
In the 41st century, the universe will be terrorized by a warrior named Imperiex. The only person standing in the way of his plans for domination is a clone of the original Superman. But unable to defeat Imperiex and his vast army alone, the clone travels to the 31st century to recruit history¹s greatest super hero team, the Legion, to help fight this threat.
Expanded synopsis
Superman and Brainiac 5 - who looks older than in the previous season - are fighting off an attack by flying aliens. Brainy uses his force field and his mecha form, while Superman punches and tosses them. One alien is ready to blast Superman from behind, but Brainy intercepts the blast and falls out of the sky, imploring Superman to forget him and finish the job. He does, and Superman returns to Brainiac 5, who dies in his arms. But it's just a scene from a simulation, Brainy is fine. Upon exiting, he's confronted by several other Legionnaires (who also look older) who tease him about his Superman simulations. Brainy tries to explain that he's preparing for the Dominator threat. Suddenly, a vortex portal appears and Superman flies out - looking much different than when he left.
Legion HQ in New Metropolis. This new Superman arrogantly orders the Legion to come with him, but they are in no mood to go. He says that he was told that the Legion could help - he can't explain, but 44 trillion lives hang in the balance. The Legion is skeptical - that's the population of a whole galaxy. Lightning Lad says they should go see for themselves, but Brainy advises against it, since this Superman doesn't appear to be who he says he is. Lightning Lad, Chameleon Boy, Timber Wolf, and Triplicate Girl accompany Superman through the portal, with Brainy reluctantly bringing up the rear. They arrive in New Metropolis in the 41st century. The city is in ruins. Suddenly a group of robots appears. Superman causes some lights to appear on the back of his hands (in the shape of the S-shield) and flies off to atack. He tears through some of them, and uses heat vision on others. The rest of the Legion is being targeted, though Brainy's shield protects them from the initial blasts. Now it's their turn to cut loose: Lightning Lad zaps some, Timber Wolf shreds some, Chameleon Boy turns into a giant spinning octopus with razor arms, Brainy turns mecha, and Triplicate Girl splits and uses tri-jitsu. But there are too many of them and not enough Legionnaires. Superman uses other new powers, including force blasts and projecting a field which causes them to be coated with a green crystal substance. The remaining robots retreat, and Superman informs the Legion that they've had their first experience with the Imperiex army. Brainy tells Superman he's a loose cannon and that's not how 31st century heroes act, but Superman replies that in his time, he's just trying to survive, not be a hero. He also implies that there's something bad about Brainy in the 41st century history files. Another robot appears, but Superman stops the Legion from fighting it. This is K3NT, which created Superman. K3NT has a large dome in which male and female images appear. It tells the story: many years ago, after the Legion had defeated tyranny throughout the galaxy, it was a time of extended prosperity, but one which made them unprepared for Imperiex. The discovery of some of Superman's DNA led them to try to clone him, but with some improvements (including an invulnerability to Kryptonite). Superman-X, as he was called, could not stop Imperiex alone. He needed help - a legion of super-heroes to help. Using a recently rediscovered piece of technology called a Warp Key, a time travel device. They used it to try to recruit the Legion, who had ushered in their last golden age. Imperiex has discovered one of the Resistance bases, and should that fall, others may too. Aboard Imperiex's fleet, he addresses his minions - one final battle will wipe out Earth and ensure their future.
Superman-X takes the Legion to Resistance headquarters. The Legion tells him that they have to have a plan, they can't just fight without thinking. Brainy has analyzed the data given to him by K3NT shows one possible weakness - when he uses his chest cannon, he is temporarily exposed within his armor. Suddenly, sirens wail and Resistance fighters appear. The Legionnaires take to the skies to fight - Lightning Lad, Timber Wolf, and Superman-X attack from the air, while Chameleon Boy burrows underground to attack from below. Superman-X confronts Imperiex directly but is beaten down. He feigns injury so Brainiac 5 can shoot a missle at Imperiex at his unprotected chest cannon. Imperiex falls, and his robots turn away and fly off. The Resistance fighters cheer as Superman-X can't believe it's over. Superman-X takes out his Warp Key to send the Legion back home, but suddenly Imperiex wakes up and steals the key, warping away with it. Brainy guesses that he must have accessed an energy reserve, and with the Warp Key, he's now back in the 31st century.
Brainiac 5 tells the group that he could probably build another Warp Key, but it may take days or weeks. They see some red bubbles in the sky. Brainy scans them and says it's the universe collapsing. He believes that Imperiex has altered the past enough to ensure that the timeline they're in doesn't exist. Now the universe is resetting itself using anti-matter waves to erase one reality and replace it with another. Anything caught in one of the waves will be removed from existence, and they only have hours. Superman-X calls K3NT, who tells him that they must go back and change the past to stop Imperiex from making these changes. As it talks, red bubbles appear nearby. It suggests that the power source on Imperiex's main cruiser should be powerful enough to generate the energy needed to bend space and time to create a crude wormhole to the past. As the red energy waves wash over K3NT, it tells Superman-X "goodbye, son". The group flies into space and boards the ship. Brainy suggests that he could perform the calculations and make the needed changes faster than anyone, but Superman tells him that he could also mess it up faster. They both go, while the others stay behind to hold off the robots in the meantime. And there are a lot of them. With red bubbles appearing in space nearby and on the ship, the Legionnaires retreat. Triplicate Girl combines and splits, fighting a robot, but as it falls into the anti-matter, it grabs White with it and she is lost. Purple and Orange are stunned and are almost lost as well, but they are saved by Chameleon Boy and Lightning Lad. Brainy and Superman are arguing over the legacy of their predecessors - "once a Brainiac, always a Brainiac", and Brainy says that Superman's clone doesn't have the heart of the original. The engine room plan works, but they'll have to override some fail-safes, which Brainy does as Superman battles a robot that made its way in. As the portal opens, Superman appears to fall as the rest of the Legion shows up, dodging the bubbles of anti-matter. As the Legion goes through the portal, Superman reappears and brings Brainy with him as the portal closes behind him, with the antimatter overwhelming everything. They emerge from the portal to find that Imperiex has been there before them, and the Legion HQ is in ruins, along with the rest of New Metropolis.
To be continued.
Cast
Legionnaires
The following appear in the episode:
- Bouncing Boy
- Brainiac 5
- Chameleon Boy (first appearance)
- Lightning Lad
- Superman-X
- Timber Wolf
- Triplicate Girl
Villains
- The Dominators (as projections in the simulation chamber only)
- Imperiex and his robot minions
Other Characters
Miscellaneous
- the Warp Key
- Imperiex's fleet, including his personal cruiser
Locations
- Legion HQ, New Metropolis (31st century)
- New Metropolis (41st century)
- in orbit around Earth (41st century)
Trivia about the episode
General, for the new season
- Season 2 takes place about 2 years after the finale to season 1, which is why the various Legionnaires look older and have changed costumes.
- Season 2 opening credits are different, though the music is mostly the same. Kell-El and Imperiex dominate the scenes.
Episode-specific
- Superman-X coming to the past and recruiting the Legion is a complete reversal of the traditional Superman/Legion history, where they went to the past to recruit him.
- Brainaic 5 is drawn such that he resembles his ancestor Brainiac much more than he did in Season 1, especially when in mecha form.
- The Warp Key appears to be based off of Boom Tube technology.
- The 41st century Superman knows something about Brainiac 5's future, which does not appear to be good. This mirror's Brainy's knowledge of Superman and his ancestor in the 21st century.
- The costume of Superman-X/Kell-El strongly resembles that of Superman's other clone, Kon-El.
- Superman-X's "parents" are a robot with male and female personalities named K3NT ("Kent").
- The red anti-matter bubbles wiping out existence and resetting the universe is a clear reference to the red skies during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- The closing credits refer to Triplicate Girl as both that and Duo Damsel.
Quotes
- Superman, to Brainiac 5: "You may not be human, but you have the biggest heart I've ever seen." Brainiac 5: "I learned it all from you."
- Lightning Lad, to Brainiac 5: "So did you and your buddy Superman manage to save the day again?" Timber Wolf: "Or did you and Superman just catch a movie this time?"
- Kell-El: "How ironic, a Brainiac accusing someone of being deceitful."
- Brainy, to Kell: "The Legion is a team, and you're a loose cannon! That's not how heroes from our time work!"
- Lightning Lad and Chameleon Boy, about K3NT: "A regular Ma and Pa Kent." "Yeah, if the Kents shared one body, six legs, and had a lava lamp for a head."
- Timber Wolf, to Kell: "You need more than us. You need a plan." "A plan? How's this for a plan. We fight. Fight until Imperiex's rusted husk has been ripped apart for scrap metal." "You're quite the strategist."
Adaptations
- Superman-X recruiting the Legion is a reversal of similar events in Adventure Comics #247.
- The upcoming Dominator invasion of Earth suggests a similarity to the Dark Circle invasion (Adventure Comics #367) and Earthwar.
- Superman-X is the last survivor of his homeworld, as is his namesake.
