Review: With 'Jupiter's Legacy,' Netflix Brings a Comic Book Epic to Life

The bad guys don't play by the same rules, while the good guys have been pulling their punches and not getting themselves involved in the affairs of normal men., But when the villains decide to start upping their game, can the world's heroes keep the line? The new Netflix Original Series "Jupiter's Legacy," adapts the superhero comic by Mark Miller and Frank Quitely vividly and profoundly.

The setting is as follows: In the 1930s the world is on the brink of falling off the edge, until Sheldon Sampson (Josh Duhamel) discovers a secret of that will change everything.

Sheldon is helpless as he watches his father take a plunge to his death from the terrace of his Manhattan skyscraper. Sheldon is immediately tortured by visions of his dead father beckoning him to seek out a secret. As the Depression takes hold on large swathes of the population, the rich continue to hoard their good fortune. Sheldon, along with his best friend, George (Matt Lanter), embark on a journey following a fool's quest.

Sheldon convinces his brother Walter (Ben Daniels) to come along and hires a journalist, Grace (Leslie Bibb), to chronicle the adventure as they uncover a series of mysterious coordinates that lead them (and two more hapless travelers) to an island in the middle of nowhere. There, they learn that they have been chosen and been granted unbelievable superpowers. Together they became The Union, and take an oath to uphold justice and fight for truth, championing the weak and the disenfranchised. As the world's first superheroes, The Union do a great deal of good! But time marches on...

As a new generation emerges, the American ideals championed by the Union begin to falter. In the face of the world's corruption and malice, how do these ideals hold up when they can't even sustain the values of a regular family, much less a super-powered family that posses abilities that can change the course of mighty rivers? Sheldon and Grace, as The Utopian and Lady Liberty, are two of the most powerful people on the planet, and the pair have two grown children, one of which is about to follow in the family business while the other is super model.

With inspirations that are deeply rooted in the Golden Age of Comics, along with the idealism and optimism that emerged in America after the Depression and two World Wars, "Jupiter's Legacy" does a fantastic job of bridging those themes and making them relevant to contemporary times. The series challenges familiar themes of good versus evil and asks: Isn't there a grey area that no one ever discusses out loud?

Unlike many of its tamer contemporaries, "Jupiter's Legacy" roots itself in a tangible reality, paralleling history by placing our heroes in a world very close to our own, especially our present. Miller and Quitely have created a mythology that resonates vibrantly, and the heroes of The Union are all extremely relatable, in and out of the skin-tight lycra and kevlar suits.

The writing is deeply textured, and the weaving of the heroes' origin stories in flashbacks, contrasted with of their contemporary lives, is expertly crafted to create a seamless narrative that is worth investigating. Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb are excellent as the dynamic duo at the core of this family of superheroes, and their son Brandon (Andrew Horton) - a.k.a. The Paragon - is every bit the hero that fans will want him to be. Elena Kampouris is Chloe Sampson, the rebellious super model that is living on the edge, and Ben Daniels rounds out the super family as Walter, a.k.a. Brainwave.

"Jupiter's Legacy" is exciting and dense, and every bit the blockbuster that you'd want it to be, especially if you're an avid fan of the comics. The first season is comprised of eight episodes, each more exciting and inviting than the next. Pace yourself and try not to binge the entire series. You want to follow every breadcrumb as it leads to the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers.

"Jupiter's Legacy" premieres May 7 on Netflix.