Rex Tyler

[darkestboy]

So we finally know who the guy and I hope this thread is allowed, if not I'm sorry mods but thoughts on the appearance of Hourman/Rex Tyler so far?

Personally I'm intrigued to see what they're gonna do with him as he's only guesting next season.

[benteen]

I'm not as familiar with the DC Universe so I wasn't sure who this guy was.  It's too early to tell but I hope he proves a lot better as a character next season than his charisma-free cameo indicated last night.

[nksarmi]

I'm not sure how much charisma I needed him to have. He said two things that made me buy into season two without even knowing who HE was (though I did Google him later) - Justice Society of America and Mr. Rory sent him to May 2016. I don't know how they could have made him any more interesting than those two facts.

[Sakura12]

I think he did okay with what he was given. He set up next season, let us know the Justice Society exists and that Mr. Rory sent him to save them. All of that made me interested in Season 2. So he did his job. 

[MarkHB]

Mod note: We're OK with creating new character threads as needed in this forum.  I would have gone with "Man of the Hour" but that's fine :)

Beyond that, I wasn't sure who he was going to be when he was revealed, except that he wasn't the Phantom Stranger; probably because Hourman's traditional costume uses a lot of yellow with a splash of red (plus an hourglass necklace) in addition to the black.  But given how ugly the yellow was in Reverse Flash's costume, I think I'm glad they've dispensed with it for now.

For those who don't know him, Rex Tyler is a chemist who discovered a substance called Miraclo which would give him enhanced abilities (speed, strength, leaping ability, impervious to small-arms fire) for one hour.  I'm not sure how well "gets superpowers from drugs" will fly in this day and age, but we'll see where they go with the character.  Plus the JSA intro gives us all kinds of characters to play with.  If they use The Spectre I hope they get the Jim Corrigan from Constantine, though!

[Sakura12]

Is Miraclo anything like Miraku from Arrow? That's the drug that Ivo made Sara study about, and the drug that made Slade crazy. It would be interesting to tie that together since Sara also knows the chemistry for that drug. Which I hope they remember in season 2. Sara's a badass but she just wasn't on the island with Oliver or in the LOA, she does have some chemistry knowledge from her time with Ivo. I would like Sara to start talking about the chemical makeup of the drug and Ray and Stein to do a double take because they thought they were only the science people. 

[MarkHB]

1 hour ago, Sakura12 said:

Is Miraclo anything like Miraku from Arrow? That's the drug that Ivo made Sara study about, and the drug that made Slade crazy. It would be interesting to tie that together since Sara also knows the chemistry for that drug. Which I hope they remember in season 2. Sara's a badass but she just wasn't on the island with Oliver or in the LOA, she does have some chemistry knowledge from her time with Ivo. I would like Sara to start talking about the chemical makeup of the drug and Ray and Stein to do a double take because they thought they were only the science people. 

I think the problem there is that for those of us who didn't know Sara from Arrow (which likely includes everyone who started watching with The Flash), that would be completely out of left field as I, at least, have never seen it mentioned until this post.  I think it's more likely that they'll either a) skip around the chemistry stuff entirely, b) write it so as to neither highlight nor contradict Sara's history, or c) if they get questioned, rely on "she didn't retain the scientific knowledge through death and the Lazarus Pit."

[Sakura12]

They talked about Sara being on the boat with Oliver and her being in the LoA. The being a prisoner of Dr. Ivo on the Amazo is part of her story, in fact it's the beginning of what turned Sara into who she is now.

All she would have to say is she was a prisoner of a Mad Scientist who made her study chemistry especially with that particular drug. Sara's a character on this show, learning about her history should be a part of it, just like everyone else. A flashback could work as well. Sara made an antidote to barbiturates with stuff she found around the island. She's resourceful that would not come out of nowhere, we seen evidence of that. 

[FurryFury]

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 I'm not sure how well "gets superpowers from drugs" will fly in this day and age

There recently was a (dearly missed) whole show based on this premise, Limitless (and a movie before that), so yeah, it does still fly.

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 It would be interesting to tie that together since Sara also knows the chemistry for that drug. Which I hope they remember in season 2. Sara's a badass but she just wasn't on the island with Oliver or in the LOA, she does have some chemistry knowledge from her time with Ivo. I would like Sara to start talking about the chemical makeup of the drug and Ray and Stein to do a double take because they thought they were only the science people. 

I just hope they delve more into Sara's past. There are so many ways to connect her to the main story! 

As for the character, well, at least I've seen him on other shows (Suits and Orphan Black) so I know he's competent, at the very least. Already better than Casper Crump. This doesn't guarantee that the character will work, of course. I don't know anything about Hourman. Hope he'll have a direct tie in to the main cast (but don't make him Jonas!)

[kismet]

When I heard superpowers from drugs, I immediately thought of Limitless, which failed after its first season. I'm not sure superpowers from drugs that only last a few hours necessarily flies in the current culture. I know there is a big drug crisis in my area, so I can't imagine the writers want to harp too much on the drug aspect. It's one thing for a megalomaniac to inject people against their will to make them stronger - it's another thing if the good guys are using drugs for an advantage. That may get a little dicey, since it is promoting drugs.

As for Sara's history with Ivo, I think it will be relevant if Miraclo is like Mirakuru. Just because people don't or never watched Arrow does not mean SL's history is not part of her character. They made her Sara Lance for a reason and they brought her back as Sara Lance, not anybody else. If they need to remind people, a flashback would do or her recounting part of her history. Just because they haven't mentioned it on the show before, doesn't mean they can't mention it in s2.

[KirkB]

Just because the comic version of Hourman got his powers from a drug doesn't mean the LoT version will be the same way. He could simply be a metahuman or have some sort of tech. He's not nearly as well known as some DC characters so I think they have plenty of leeway. 

[Starfish35]

11 hours ago, nksarmi said:

I'm not sure how much charisma I needed him to have. He said two things that made me buy into season two without even knowing who HE was (though I did Google him later) - Justice Society of America and Mr. Rory sent him to May 2016. I don't know how they could have made him any more interesting than those two facts.

I agree.  I wasn't a fan of the casting, but I thought he was fine here.  We'll see how he does with more screentime, but I thought this appearance worked.  I hope the whole "Justice Society" thing will bring in more viewers next season.  

[TyranAmiros]

Superpowers via drugs reminds me of Captain America as well. 

I liked what little we got of him in the finale. 

[hello]

On 5/20/2016 at 11:10 AM, MarkHB said:

I'm not sure how well "gets superpowers from drugs" will fly in this day and age

Actually, in the original, Miraclo was described as a "miraculous vitamin" and that is from whence the name "Miraclo" is derived and OH MY GOD I SOUND LIKE COMIC BOOK GUY FROM THE SIMPSONS PLEASE HELP ME SOMEBODY

[CabotCove]

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He said two things that made me buy into season two without even knowing who HE was (though I did Google him later) - Justice Society of America and Mr. Rory sent him to May 2016. Mr. Rory sent him to May 2016.

I was hoping he would replace  Rip, ouch, then I would have been more excited for the character. For now he is just kind of like a second Rip to me. That Justice Society reference scores him a point though.

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OH MY GOD I SOUND LIKE COMIC BOOK GUY FROM THE SIMPSONS PLEASE HELP ME SOMEBODY

LOL

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When I heard superpowers from drugs, I immediately thought of Limitless, which failed after its first season. I'm not sure superpowers from drugs that only last a few hours necessarily flies in the current culture.  I know there is a big drug crisis in my area, so I can't imagine the writers want to harp too much on the drug aspect

 

But wasn't Marijuana legalised somewhere in America?,  and yeah they may want to capitalize on the  Limitless factor, it may have failed on CBS but one man's trash....... Recently there was also a DC/Vertigo comic about a middle aged man who takes oral drugs and becomes jacked, becoming a superhero. http://www.vertigocomics.com/comics/jacked-2015/jacked-1. They might want to do a hero origins they have done before, Rex is also from the future it might not be a big deal anymore?. But who knows,  to an extent I somewhat agree with you & KirkB, there is a chance that they could divert from the comics on his source of power, like they have done with others many times. 

Edited May 23, 2016 by WildcardC

[kismet]

22 minutes ago, WildcardC said:

But wasn't Marijuana legalised somewhere in America?,  and yeah they may want to capitalize on the  Limitless factor. 

Marijuana was legalized in some states for general usage, some states just for medical usage and decriminalized to some extent in some states.

Marijuana does not provide superpowers for a few hours and then disappear. It's not really a mood enhancer. It is not part of the drug crisis that I was talking about. It is still causing some problems, but there are other drugs causing a socioeconomic & health epidemic.

I honestly don't really care how the Hourman gets his powers. But I just don't see the CW signing off on someone using a power drug on a regular basis to get superpowers. I think it might get a little dicey with audiences & affiliates. A one-time accident or overdose perhaps, but habitual usage of illicit drugs as a good thing I think would be harder to pass by the network standards. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see.

[CabotCove]

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Marijuana does not provide superpowers for a few hours and then disappear.

Oh I think some people would disagree about that.

Lol I kidd, I know you mean like in the literal sense of the word.

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But I just don't see the CW signing off on someone using a power drug on a regular basis to get superpowers. I think it might get a little dicey with audiences & affiliates.

Maybe he will have a condition that requires him to take an illegal drug? or its  a prescribed drug that he has to take accidentally give him "powers"?. I dont know what will happen but if they want this origin bad enough, I'm sure they can come up with multiple creative gimmicks, to make this acceptable within the relms of the fictional world. It could be a literal magic drug, magic has been used as a metaphor for drugs. Anything can be abused & become dangerous, magic, tech suit, speedforce etc. Some may see it as cheating to use something that isnt natural to one's body to become a superhero, just like with a  tech suit (Ray/Atom) or a magic necklace: Mari/Vixen. Drugs are a hot button but a little controversy isnt always bad for a story, in fact it might be exactly why they go this route. Maybe. Just my 2 cents

Edited May 23, 2016 by WildcardC

[Potanical Pardon]

On 5/20/2016 at 11:26 AM, Sakura12 said:

Is Miraclo anything like Miraku from Arrow? That's the drug that Ivo made Sara study about, and the drug that made Slade crazy. It would be interesting to tie that together since Sara also knows the chemistry for that drug. Which I hope they remember in season 2. Sara's a badass but she just wasn't on the island with Oliver or in the LOA, she does have some chemistry knowledge from her time with Ivo. I would like Sara to start talking about the chemical makeup of the drug and Ray and Stein to do a double take because they thought they were only the science people. 

I've always run with the assumption that Arrow's Mirakuru is the comics' Miraclo. They could tie that and Ivo into Hourman easily. Not just the drug, but Ivo also co-created Tomorrow Woman, who is Android Hourman's brief but awesome love interest, and Android Hourman's archnemesis, Amazo, though he was/is originally a Justice League villain.

I lean more towards Android Hourman as far as where the Legends writers will pick stuff from since that was time-travel based, and OG Rex Tyler and his son, Rick Tyler really aren't...until Android Hourman's influence in certain ways on them. Plus he's the way more interesting and fun one. Think Marvel's Vision/Spock knows everything type minus any arrogance plus socially awkward and naive.

The brief appearance in the Legends finale feels more like Rick than Rex so far - chip on the shoulder, wrist-intravenous delivery system of Miraclo as opposed to pill-popping (they didn't want any angry parents calling in about that).

My hope is that the Arrowverse Rex has some hybrid of Miraclo/Mirakuru wrist-delivery for super strength without the psycho and fatal side-effects which will probably play into having powers for only one hour as well as the hourglass tachyon necklace/pendant thing as both a timer and Timepoint (think Vanishing Point but a local miniature one around his neck that lasts only an hour total cumulatively) - maybe a future Ray helped with that). Time vision is pretty cool too. The Legends crew would essentially have a walking version of the Occulus they just destroyed.

[darkestboy]

As long as they don't go down a Slade route with the miraclo thing. It wouldn't work with Rex and it did grate a bit with Roy as well too.

[Sakura12]

If they changed it where it wears off in after an hour, then I'm assuming it wouldn't make him totally crazy. I just think it would be an interesting tie in to Arrow and Sara's story. That drug was the beginning of her journey to becoming the badass assassin we know now.

I also want to see Sara explaining the drug and it's side effects to the science geeks. While learning more about what happened to Sara when she was with Ivo. We only got small glimpses of that, she helped Ivo with his experiments and had Stockholm Syndrome.   

[kismet]

I'm thinking the parents & agencies will get mad about the IV infusion device as well. IV drugs are also a major epidemic, even worse than pills. Can't see IV drugs making it through censors any easier than pills.

Let's just say he gets powers for an hour and we all don't know how or why. He is special.

Edited May 25, 2016 by kismet

[MarkHB]

On 5/24/2016 at 6:45 AM, Potanical Pardon said:

The brief appearance in the Legends finale feels more like Rick than Rex so far - chip on the shoulder, wrist-intravenous delivery system of Miraclo as opposed to pill-popping (they didn't want any angry parents calling in about that).

Did they show a wrist-device?  I didn't notice one.  I definitely thought his crash landing the Waverider and asking if he'd arrived properly indicated that he wasn't an experienced time traveler.

[Sakura12]

Maybe they'll just do a necklace or something that gives him powers for one hour at time (until the sand runs out in an hour glass). 

He wasn't a very good pilot since he crashed the Waverider. I'm guessing where ever he's from, something is happening and Mick sent him back to 2016 to save them without giving him much training. 

I'm just excited that our team is involved with the JSA. 

[KirkB]

I wonder what he would have done if he asked "Is this 2016?" and they said no?

[Lii]

8 hours ago, KirkB said:

I wonder what he would have done if he asked "Is this 2016?" and they said no?

I know right? I totally would have trolled him and just been like "Nope, it's 1873" and held a straight face as long as possible for the lulz. Because I'm an asshole like that. I mean, it's time travel, emergencies are relative, right?

[hello]

What if we stopped calling it a drug and started calling it a serum, or something else medicallyish? You know, "super-soldier serum". "Cacodemonic curative". "Punchy palliative". "Heroic healing agent". Ooooh! "Prescription powerhouse!" "Phancier of pharmaceutical phisticuphs!" "The Medicinal Manhandler!"

Th-

Why yes, I DO know where the exit is, but -- why are you shoving me

[RashannaAeryn]

So I'm binge watching the show from the beginning -- I just finished s1, and I find myself wondering if the writers forgot about

Spoiler

Rex coming back in time to stop the team from getting on the other Waverider, and by extension, their deaths.

 The issue is never mentioned again.

Anyone know what's up with that?

[MarkHB]

I'm going to fanwank that it went away as part of the changes wrought by the Spear of Destiny.  The Flash's Flashpoint also happened around that time, so maybe that changed it.  (The real answer is probably that, between S1 and S2, they decided to take the show in a much lighter direction and "you're all going to die" didn't fit with that.)

[johntfs]

No one has to "fanwank" anything.  At the end of the second episode of LoT Season 2, Eobard Thawne murdered Rex Tyler/Hourman and basically stopped him before he could go back in time and warn the Legends, so the scene sort of never happened.

[BaggythePanther]

1 hour ago, johntfs said:

No one has to "fanwank" anything.  At the end of the second episode of LoT Season 2, Eobard Thawne murdered Rex Tyler/Hourman and basically stopped him before he could go back in time and warn the Legends, so the scene sort of never happened.

Doesn’t that mean the Legends should have died, since they never received the warning? 

[scarynikki12]

Versions of them did die at the end of season 2 before Sara depowered the Spear so, technically, they fulfilled Rex's warning.

[Featherhat]

I think the reason is "they only had PJA for a very limited time". He was mostly there to kick start Amaya's storyline anyway. They did (do) get a vague on "cool" timey wimey set pieces. I do assume that Thawne murdering him before they "fought each other many times" etc caused him to sink out of existence and the timelines where he knew Mick enough to trust him enough to go back and warn about NYC no longer exist. Especially as the Legends then averted the 1942 crisis they should never ever go back to anyway.  

The whole JSA apart from Amaya and Commander Steel only had minimal roles anyway. Starbucks had 3 lines until her Spear episode and I'm not sure Dr Mid-Nite spoke more than 3 in 3 episodes. 

[MarkHB]

4 hours ago, Featherhat said:

The whole JSA apart from Amaya and Commander Steel only had minimal roles anyway. Starbucks had 3 lines until her Spear episode and I'm not sure Dr Mid-Nite spoke more than 3 in 3 episodes. 

"Starbucks"? Auto correct or deliberate snark? Hopefully Stargirl's own show will be better.

[Featherhat]

Oops, sorry, not actual snark my phone autocorrects without me realising it half the time. I was in a Nero's when I wrote it otherwise I'd say it was corporate advertising sabotage. It will be interesting to see her on her own show though. 

Edited January 14, 2019 by Featherhat