Legends of Tomorrow: What we learned at New York Comic-Con panel

Fans in New York met Rip Hunter and Hawkgirl for the first time Sunday afternoon at the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow New York Comic Con panel. The CW midseason series about a ragtag team of super-powered (or super-gadgeted) comic book characters trying to save the world and work together at the same time kicked off a full slate of Warner Bros. television programming with cast members Arthur Darvill, Ciara Renee, Brandon Routh, and showrunner Phil Klemmer.

The foursome revealed several juicy tidbits for the flashy drama, including the fact that…

1. Time travel will be a major element, and will take viewers to different decades and time periods, giving the show a unique viewing experience. “We’ll see the ’50s, we’ll see the Cold War, we’ll see fascism and terrorism,” Klemmer said, before jokingly adding, “We’ll see dinosaurs, I don’t know!” Either way, he promises the time-traveling element will be “fully insane.” Speaking of which…

2. Hawkgirl, played by Renee, will have just as much fun with the time-travel element as Rip Hunter will. Hawkgirl has a nutty backstory, for lack of a better word, as she’s introduced to her flying powers — among other abilities — when she meets Hawkman, who along with his soulmate-in-time Hawkgirl, gets reborn from time to time to… time. As Renee put it: “It’s a little jarring when you meet someone for the first time, and you say they’re your reincarnated lover from 4000 years ago.” So, with the time traveling on the show, Hawkgirl could potentiallly meet other versions of herself in the past, depending on where Rip and the team heads. But Hawkgirl and Hawkman aren’t the only couple on the series, it seems as…

3. Klemmer promises viewers will see romance on the show… though he won’t say between which characters. When an audience member asked the panel if the show will approach a will-they-won’t-they storyline between teammates like The Atom a.k.a. Ray Palmer (Routh) and White Canary a.k.a. the reincarnated Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), Klemmer kept mum on the specifics. “When people are on a vessel of any sort, you’ll see… any time you’re in a close life or death quarters, weird things happen between people,” he said. “So that was a ‘yes.'” Joked Darvill: “It’s pretty racy.”

4. Ray and Dr. Stein (Victor Garber) will be butting heads. Two geniuses + two spectacular superpowers = not-so-great teamwork. Routh teased that Stein would be one of the characters he would see as thorn in his side. Meanwhile, Darvill explained that Rip Hunter won’t be getting along with anyone because, well, “I don’t think he’s really quite thought his plan through.”

5. Speaking of Rip Hunter, he’s not too happy with what he has to do. Darvill teased that Rip Hunter’s in a bit of a tough position, as he’s not the best guide for the team. “He’s from a future he’s not particularly happy with,” he said. “He’s come back for various reasons to get this rag-bag team of nut cases together.” (At the words “nut cases,” Routh grimaced and laughed. But hey, The Atom is a bit of a nut case.)

6. Klemmer chose these characters because they weren’t as well known as other DC personalities. These names, Klemmer explained, aren’t “sacred cows” of the universe, and therefore, he felt they were right for the show. And the cast is certainly excited to be involved. Darvill added that while the trailer was being played in front of the NYCC audience, he, Routh, and Renee were “jumping around like kids” backstage.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow premieres in 2016 on The CW.