Over the past 90 years, Fitz Small has experienced some high highs and some low lows. In Jupiter's Legacy, the man who would become The Flare found himself pulled onto a daring adventure when his former boss, Sheldon Sampson, invited him to seek out an island he had only glimpsed in visions. From there, Fitz gained some spectacular powers, only to suffer a devastating injury in battle. Now with a new role on his superhero team The Union, he has passed on his superhero knowledge to his daughter Petra, who has assumed the Flare mantle in his honor. However, their relationship has never been easy, and the challenges of the modern day supervillains may put that bond to the test yet again.
Speaking to CBR, Jupiter's Legacy stars Mike Wade and Tenika Davis offered a closer look at that relationship between Fitz and Petra Small. They broke down Fitz's "mixed" legacy, including the human issues he deals with in the past and present timelines, and explained why "anybody" can relate to the themes inherent in their story. They also discussed how love and loyalty are the secret superpowers that help the Smalls defeat the odds set against them, what Fitz passed down to Petra and more.
CBR: Fitz and Petra both grapple with Fitz's past as the Flare and his current position on the Union. How would you say this legacy impacts your characters over the course of Season 1?
Mike Wade: His legacy has been a mixed one, because yes, he has acquired these powers at one point, but he's still very human. So even though he's stronger, faster, can fly, can shoot these energy blasts out of his hands, he's still dealing with some issues that any other human being would. So in this Jupiter's Legacy, but also with Fitz and Petra, there's a story of redemption, hope, forgiveness, and those are things that anybody can relate to.
Tenika Davis: Yeah, along with what Mike said -- redemption, hope, as well, too -- but also, I think it's the integrity and loyalty. No matter what has happened between the Smalls and the Sampson family, there is no real divide between them. I think that having loyalty to your family members, no matter what conflict or problems you end up having, mending those relationships as well, too, but also making sure that you're doing the right thing by the people that you said that you would do it for. So that integrity, I think, is a very important thing that has been passed along to my generation as well too -- really understanding that those values come at the core of everything. And if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything, right?
In your own words, could you explain the dynamic between your characters?
Davis: Well, if I really look at the father/daughter duo, we didn't come from having the best beginnings in our relationship in the comics. In fact, it was quite broken between us, but with the series, they were able to mend that. So, I think it's just one of those things, having that love and support with each other -- you know, I grew up and I didn't really have a dad around or anything like that, and Fitz Small has become, I guess, through trials and tribulation, what it would seem to be the ideal father, there to support his daughter and take care of her, no matter what, but at the same time asking her to do things that are quite challenging.
So I think the relationship between us really looks at those choices that we have to make and the ability of parents to be able to allow you that space to make those choices as well, too. So I think that that's one of the things that I thought was cool and was highlighted in the series between them.
Wade: What comes to mind for me is that there is hope. That's what I want people to be left with, through the trials and tribulations that Fitz faces, that Fitz faces with his daughter, [that] Petra faces because of Fitz. They're still hoping there's ability to to make amends and to let love lead us.
Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy stars Josh Duhamel as The Utopian, Ben Daniels as Brain-Wave, 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. The series is now available to stream on Netflix.