The cast of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is quite large, so we break down the main cast.
We know not everyone watches both Arrow and The Flash, and viewers of one may want to watch Legends of Tomorrow. However, if you haven’t watched both shows, you may be wondering who some of the characters are that Rip Hunter recruited for his team in the pilot. If you’re feeling a bit lost, check out our handy character guide.
Ray Palmer
Alias: The Atom
Origin series: Arrow
Ray Palmer first appeared in Arrow‘s third season. After the death of his fiancee, he turned his intelligence to helping people. After taking over Queen Consolidated and renaming it Palmer Technologies, he developed an exosuit known as the A.T.O.M. suit to help fight crime. His goal was to eventually make it shrink. In the process of experimenting with the shrinking mechanism, Ray caused a huge explosion and was presumed dead.
It turned out, however, that he’d successfully shrunk. After months of Ray being presumed dead, Team Arrow discovered he was alive and rescued him. Rather than join Team Arrow or return to his company, though, he had an existential crisis when he realized his life had had minimal impact on the world; since his resurrection, he’s been looking for purpose in his second chance at life.
Sara Lance
Alias: White Canary
Origin series: Arrow
Prior to the start of Arrow, Sara Lance, younger sister of Laurel Lance, joined billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, Laurel’s boyfriend, on The Queen’s Gambit and was presumed dead when the ship sank. She survived, however, and was rescued Nyssa al Ghul, the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. Nyssa nursed Sara back to health, the two fell in love and Sara joined the League of Assassins, taking the name Canary.
Sara returned to Starling City at the beginning of season 2 and joined Team Arrow for a time. Sara and Laurel had a bumpy road to reconciliation, but they eventually mended fences. Sara then returned to the League of Assassins with Nyssa. At the beginning of season 3, Sara returned to Starling City on a mission but was murdered by Malcolm Merlyn.
A year later, Laurel revived her sister via the Lazarus Pit. However, Sara came back without a soul; with the help of John Constantine, Laurel and Oliver were able to recover her soul. Her resurrection, however, left her with an overwhelming bloodlust. She left her family not long after being revived to find a new path.
Kendra Saunders
Alias: Hawkgirl
Origin series: The Flash
Kendra moved to Central City and took a job as a barista at the coffee shop Jitters where she met Cisco Ramon, one of the members of Team Flash. When Vandal Savage attacked the pair on a date, Cisco brought Kendra to Team Flash for protection. Team Flash, in turn, brought her to Team Arrow, since they had more experience dealing with the mystical.
When Carter Hall arrived, Kendra’s story emerged: She is the reincarnation of the Egyptian priestess Chay-Ara. She and her lover, Prince Khufu, were murdered by the priest Hath Set — now known as Vandal Savage — when she rejected his affections. As she and Khufu lay dying, Chay-Ara prayed to the hawk god Horus. That caused them to enter a cycle of reincarnation in which Chay-Ara has no memories of her previous lives but she can access the powers of Horus, turning her into Hawkgirl.
In each life, Khufu seeks her out to remind her of their previous lives while Vandal Savage hunts them down and murders them to take on their powers.
Carter Hall
Alias: Hawkman
Origin series: The Flash/Arrow crossover
Carter Hall, the reincarnation of the Egyptian prince Khufu, appeared in the Arrow season 4/Flash season 2 crossover to tell Kendra Saunders, the reincarnation of his lover, priestess Chay-Ara, about their past lives. While Kendra has no memories of her past lives with each reincarnation, Carter does remember their past. He also remembers that in each life, Vandal Savage hunts them down and has killed them 206 times.
Like Kendra, he can tap into the powers of the hawk god Horus and become Hawkman. Little else is currently known about Carter or his life prior to his recent introduction.
Martin Stein
Alias: Firestorm
Origin series: The Flash
Professor Martin Stein is a renowned physicist and was the leader of the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. research project, which dealt with the transmutation of particles. On the night of the particle accelerator explosion, Stein was carrying the Firestorm matrix near S.T.A.R. Labs. He dropped it when the accelerator was turned on, and the resulting wave fused Stein and the remains of Ronnie Raymond — a structural engineer who had been inside the particle accelerator when it malfunctioned. The result was Firestorm, with Stein’s mind controlling Ronnie’s body.
Eventually, Team Flash discovered Firestorm and was able to split Ronnie and Stein. The military, however, was interested in Firestorm and kidnapped Stein. Using the psychic connection between Stein and Ronnie, Team Flash rescued him. Stein and Ronnie achieved a balanced fusion during the rescue attempt, with Ronnie in charge of his body and Stein communicating with him. A device created by Team Flash allowed them to combine and separate at will.
When a singularity opened up over Central City, it took the energy of Firestorm separating in its eye to close it. Tragically, only Stein survived the fallout. However, he would need a new partner for the sake of his health…
Jackson ‘Jax’ Jefferson
Alias: Firestorm
Origin series: The Flash
Jackson “Jax” Jefferson was one of two potential new partners for Stein. A former high school football player whose promising career ended when he was injured the night the particle accelerator exploded, Jax became an auto mechanic since his family could not afford college without a scholarship. Team Flash approached him in the hope of having him become Stein’s new partner, but Jax initially turned them away.
When the other potential Firestorm, Dr. Hewitt, was rejected, he attacked the team, including Jax, so Jax agreed to merge with Stein to become Firestorm. Their merge was successful and alongside The Flash, they defeated Hewitt. Stein and Jax then went off on their own to train and hone their skills as the new Firestorm.
Leonard Snart
Alias: Captain Cold
Origin series: The Flash
Leonard Snart is an infamous thief based in Central City. He acquired a cold gun made by S.T.A.R. Labs and used it to commit crimes. Though he was initially defeated by Team Flash, he recruited Mick Rory to join him for future heists. Despite having no powers of his own, Leonard became one of The Flash’s main rogues. He eventually even discovered The Flash’s identity. However, the two came to an agreement in which The Flash leaves Leonard alone as long as he commits his crimes without killing anyone. With this agreement in place, Leonard has kept The Flash’s identity a secret, even from Mick and his sister, Lisa.
Leonard’s biggest weakness is his sister; their abusive father took advantage of this when he returned and forced Leonard to work with him with Lisa’s life hanging in the balance. Team Flash helped save Lisa’s life, and Leonard killed his father for hurting Lisa. After this, Leonard felt he owed The Flash a debt, which he repaid when he was broken out of prison by another villain who wanted his help killing The Flash. Rather than join the plot, he warned Barry Allen about the threat.
Mick Rory
Alias: Heatwave
Origin series: The Flash
Mick Rory is a pyromaniac and frequent accomplice to Leonard Snart. While Leonard uses a cold gun, Mick uses a heat gun. A previous job he worked with Leonard went south and half his body was burned in a fire. Rather than accept medical attention, however, he fled.
Where Leonard Snart is calm, cool and collected, Mick is hot-headed and often unstable. He follows Leonard’s instructions, but he’s not shy voicing his opinions about it.
Rip Hunter
Alias: None
Origin series: Legends of Tomorrow
Rip Hunter’s introduction came in the Legends of Tomorrow pilot. A former Time Master, Rip went rogue after his wife and son were murdered by Vandal Savage in the year 2166. He traveled back to 2016 to pick up a team of individuals with no effect on the time stream to take on the immortal dictator.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.