WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Jupiter's Legacy, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy covers quite a bit of ground in Season 1 as the Utopian/Sheldon (Josh Duhamel) tries to lay down the Code for the new generation of heroes. However, the series adds a lot more backstory to the old guard to sow seeds of a civil war to come, in a way the comic never did. Let's dissect the changes made to the plot, as well as the characters and their motivations.
Blackstar's Purpose
In the comic, Blackstar was a powerful villain but he appeared briefly and got taken down by the Union. He served little purpose beyond that, but the show changes things drastically. Here, while he's in jail, there's a clone running around causing chaos and getting killed by Brandon. It's all part of Walt's plan to have Sheldon alienate his son and get the younger heroes to want to disband the Code.
Skyfox and Walt
Skyfox turned on the Union in the comics as he couldn't stand Walt's trolling and Sheldon's rigid view on justice. More so, Walt used his psychic powers to steal Skyfox's girl, which led to things imploding and Skyfox becoming a criminal. He escaped and plotted to overthrow Walt's renewed Union someday. The series doesn't have a love triangle, but it's more nuanced as Walt hates Skyfox for being more of a brother to Sheldon, the golden boy everyone loves.
The Big Deaths
The comic quickly has Walt convincing Brandon and the youngsters to side with him and kill off Sheldon and his wife, Grace/Lady Liberty. This convinces Chloe and Hutch to form a rebellion to come after them, as Walt and Brandon created a fascist regime. The show drastically alters this as Walt's now in the early stages of his coup, while Grace also seems to be against the Code after seeing youngsters die due to their no-kill policy.
Brandon's Heroic Career
In the comic, Brandon was a bum who was constantly drunk and couldn't be a hero. He was a liability, and after being scolded, he leaned to Walt as he alone had powers to kill his father. Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy makes Brandon an aspiring hero, though angry Sheldon's Code is holding him back. His punishment after killing Blackstar is added in and the show creates a new reason for Brandon to hate his dad after Sheldon stalled to save him from death at the hands of the original Blackstar.
Chloe's Big Change
The comics had Chloe escaping when her mom was attacked and killed by Brandon's team. She fled with Hutch over the next few years, raising a superhero kid. This doesn't happen in the show, as Chloe and Hutch are in their early stages of dating and figuring it out. Ironically, Utopian meets Hutch much earlier in the show to find out about his dad, Skyfox, whilst in the comic, he met Hutch and asked him to leave Chloe alone so she could mature from being a junkie. Instead, the show has Chloe helping Hutch in his criminal life and the secret plan he's cooking up, making her a criminal too.
Hutch's Quest
The books had Hutch bending to Chloe's will to form a rebellion, ergo why he decided to seek Skyfox's help. His son helped him on this mission, but in the show, there's no kid for him and Chloe, and no clear reason why Hutch is building a machine to find Skyfox. We don't even know what Skyfox did, why he left or who Hutch's mom is, so it could be that he's on a quest for answers in Season 2.
The Hunters
Walt and Brandon used Walt's psychic assassin daughter, Raikou, and the matter-manipulating Barnabas differently in the comics. Raikou was used to fight off Chloe's team when they came to Dubai to get a meta she guarded, whilst Barnabas actually used his legion to attack Chloe's family. The show, however, has Barnabas just using his powers for Blackstar's autopsy, while Raikou's services help her dad get into Blackstar's mind.
Sheldon's Breaking Point
Sheldon dies at the hands of Walt and Brandon, sticking to the Code and thinking they were wrong in the comics. But the show adds layers to him as he too feels for the youths that die. He starts to realize he's alienated a new breed of heroes, and Season 1 of Jupiter's Legacy ends with him begging Walt to help him keep his family and colleagues together. This foreshadows Walt manipulating him too, as well as Brandon, as both are last seen quite emotional and vulnerable.
The Scandals
In the comics, Fitz/Flare had a scandal where he left his wife for a younger woman, only to be dumped after an injury. He came back to his wife, restoring his image with the Union and the public. The show changes it up as Fitz apparently got damaged in battle and retired in a wheelchair, handing the mantle to Petra, his daughter. This didn't happen in the books, which also had them as white, not Black. As for Blue Bolt, he had a scandal in the comics, covering up his gay lifestyle, but he doesn't get much screen-time apart from the origin story on the Island.
Sheldon's Visions and Overall Future
This origin story in the comics had Sheldon getting unseen visions, then bringing people to the Island where aliens gifted them their powers. Grace was part of the team, a businesswoman who became Sheldon's lover after Jane left him because she needed a flawed husband, not a Superman. In the show, it's all about Sheldon's dead dad sending him on this road trip with these visions. This time, there aren't aliens on the Island, just weird runes, dead soldiers and ethereal lights where they bond to get powers. Grace is now a reporter who's there with Sheldon after slamming his dad in the media, gaining her place as Jane leaves him because she wasn't in his visions.
Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy stars Josh Duhamel as The Utopian, Ben Daniels as Brainwave, Leslie Bibb as Lady Liberty, Elena Kampouris as Chloe Sampson, Andrew Horton as Brandon Sampson, Mike Wade as The Flare, Anna Akana as Raikou and Matt Lanter as Skyfox. Season 1 is available on Netflix now.