Grodd Joins The Legion of Doom, A Muslim Superhero And Other Legends Of Tomorrow Tidbits

 

At long last, The CW version of Grodd will join the Legion of Doom.
On Challenge of the Superfriends, Gorilla Grodd was known to a generation of kids as a member of the Legion of Doom. But in the Arrowverse, he tends to work alone until now. As mentioned at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, the hyper-intelligent telepathic gorilla will join Damien Darhk’s re-vamped villains league in season three of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
The group will also include Tracy Ifeachor as Vixen’s granddaughter Kuasa and what executive producer Marc Guggenheim called a “rotating membership.” Last season, Darkh — played by Neal McDonough — was part of a three-member version of the League with John Barrowman’s Malcolm Merlyn and Matt Letscher’s Eobard Thawne. But with the both of them off the board in fairly permanent ways, Darhk will have to cast a wider net to continue his fight with the Legends.
Of course, the Legends will have plenty to deal with besides Darhk’s new guild. According to Entertainment Weekly, Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) has started a new Time Bureau with the US government; leaving the Legends at a loss for a role in the timestream. Deadline reports that Mistress‘ Jes Macallan will recur as Time Bureau Special Agent Ava Sharpe.
Inside the Waverider, a new character will have the Legends questioning their effectiveness as time travels. Tala Ashe will play Zari Adrianna Tomaz, a Muslim-American woman from the bleak future of 2042. Described as a “gray-hat hacktivist” she will stand in contrast to the rest of the group. “The fact that [the] character is from the future as well is also what makes [her] really interesting because our Legends have gotten a little, not smug, but they feel good about what they’re doing,” executive producer Phil Klemmer explained. “To have Zari come in and say, ‘All the history you’re fixing didn’t amount to anything for me,’ [it] forces the Legends to push themselves a little more.”
“Not to get political but something we all gravitate toward in the writers’ room was the character being Muslim,” added Guggenheim. “That was very important to us not to make a political statement or make it a thing… [but because] someone’s race, religion, or sexual orientation is not the only aspect of their character.” In DC Comics lore, a version of Zari became the member of the Black Marvel Family known as Isis — a name with certain connotations in the current world landscape. It is unclear if Zari will use that name or indeed receive powers from the Rock of Eternity.
Ashe added that Zari will be “reticent” to work with the team because of her experiences in the bleak near-future, but will challenge the Legends to “improve history and not just fix history.”
Legends of Tomorrow returns on October 10th.