WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Jupiter's Legacy, available now on Netflix.
Any adaptation is expected to make some changes, but for Jupiter's Legacy, many of those changes appear to have been made to pad out the runtime of the story. Though the comic book spans many different time periods and covers a huge range of characters, its plot moves along so quickly that it only made sense for the Netflix adaptation to slow the story down. But the story's biggest change is one that slows the plot down too much, grinding it to a halt and leaving many of the character arcs and relationships with little to do but tread water. It's hard to shake the feeling that the Netflix series could have been much better if it killed the Utopian.
The Utopian stands out as the primary character of Netflix's Jupiter's Legacy, taking not only a prominent role in the present-day plot, but also the leading role of the flashbacks centering around the origin of the Union's powers. Both plotlines greatly flesh out their source material's story past the point of what the original comic had. In fact, the Utopian dies as early as issue #3 of the comic, with his death proving the catalyst for the villain's master plan to take hold, which sends the rest of the heroes into a crisis and defines the rest of the story.
Without it, nothing much else happens. The story instead seems to meander its way through uncovering the plot of the villain, following a convoluted path from Blackstar's death, to the discovery that he's a clone, to the suspicion of Skyfox's involvement, to the breakout of the real Blackstar. These reveals feel less like the meticulous plans of a genius mastermind and more like a script arbitrarily throwing curveballs at its characters so that they have something to do. And yet even throughout all of that, they don't seem to do much, the Utopian least of all.
The ongoing debate about the morality of killing never progresses. The Utopian's relationship with his daughter Chloe goes nowhere from their first episode together. The Utopian himself doesn't change or compromise in virtually any way and when viewing his role in the season as a whole, it becomes clear that he is basically dead already. The most interesting parts of his story are all confined to the past, where the magic of flashbacks could have allowed the audience deeper insight into him regardless of whether he was alive in the present. If anything, his role in the past could've gain deeper significance when paralleled with his death.
The primary focus of Jupiter's Legacy was the inability of the new generation of heroes to live up to the gold standard set by the old guard, and the Utopian's character is designed to epitomize that. His spirit haunting over the plot is how he best serves that role. As a preachy, flesh-and-blood mentor figure who keeps haranguing the same points about the Code without saying anything new, he loses much of the mystique and consequence that define him. In grieving over his death, the characters around him could have progressed and his world could have changed. Instead, everything anesthetizes to a crawl as the story meanders its way to a finale.
By the end of the season, the character is still alive, and the reveal that it really was his brother Brainwave betraying him rather than the villain Skyfox loses much of its impact as the convoluted nature of the plan baffles any eureka moments such a twist should've created. However, the implication seems clear that Jupiter's Legacy is set up for a second season, and in so doing, it may have the chance to course correct.
Killing Utopian early on in Jupiter's Legacy Season 2 could help the series recover from its lethargy and gain momentum. Continuing to see him in flashbacks could be the perfect way to incorporate the Utopian and add a deeper layer of significance to his story. But wanting to keep a great character around just isn't worthwhile if it hampers the story.
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.