Jupiter’s Legacy Complete Timeline Explained

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Jupiter’s Legacy. 

The events of Jupiter’s Legacy season 1, like many Netflix shows, including Shadow and Bone and The Witcher, didn’t necessarily occur in chronological order. The series, which is based on the comic book by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, bounces around between the past — namely, the late 1920s to the early 1930s — and the present day. There are also aliens involved, which makes the timeline all the more wonky. 

Jupiter’s Legacy is primarily focused on the founding members of the Union of Justice — an elite team of superheroes led by Sheldon Sampson (aka, The Utopian) and includes Grace Kennedy (aka, Lady Liberty), Walter Sampson (aka, Brainwave, George Hutchence (aka, Skyfox), Fitz Small (aka, The Flare), and Dr. Richard Conrad (aka, Blue Bolt) — and their children. With over 90 years separating their journeys, the superheroes butt heads over ideas, actions, and family drama, among other things. 

While the series covers a lot in the span of eight episodes, the story of Jupiter’s Legacy really starts with the aliens, who gave the Union their powers. Here is the complete timeline of the show’s main events.

Jupiter’s Legacy Aliens & History

The aliens in Jupiter’s Legacy are a mystery. They’re almost ethereal, with the gateway from the island leading directly to their planet. The series doesn’t reveal exactly where they arrived from, how Earth became connected to their planet, or their history, but they’ve likely been connected to Earth since the dawn of humankind, if not earlier. They’re ancient and, though unconfirmed, seemingly omniscient beings who are able to communicate psychically with humans through visions and dreams. In the series, the Union never sees the aliens in their physical appearance because they take the forms of the superheroes’ loved ones — Sheldon’s dad, George’s mom, and so on — but that’s not the case in the comics. 

When they appear to the Union in the comics, they’re humanoid, but clearly alien with green skin. They’re dressed in white robes and stand several feet taller than the group. The location of their existence — presumably Jupiter — is described as a university. The aliens’ backstory in the comics is similarly elusive to that of the aliens on the show, but it’s clear they’ve been around for a long time and are advanced enough to reach out to humans across space and time. What it is they ultimately want, though, is hard to tell beyond the fact they like putting people through trials. 

Vikings & Others Try Attaining Powers Before The Union 

The Union of Justice members faced a harrowing ordeal on the island in Jupiter’s Legacy. The landscape was challenging to navigate, with sandstorms and mountain climbing pushing the team to their limits. The Union also happened across several bones and of people who had attempted to gain powers and died during the journey. There is a mention of the Vikings’ remains on the island, which suggests the mysterious aliens have been attempting to recruit a group of superheroes for centuries. Again, it’s unclear why they’re so intent on reaching out to humans, but, until the Union came along, no one else (including the poor Vikings) was considered worthy enough to attain superhuman abilities. There were also other groups who tried (and failed) to gain powers, but made the trip to the island only to die there. This has likely been ongoing for thousands of years before the Union arrived there in the 20th century.  

The 1920s & The Stock Market Crash Of 1929

Sheldon and Walter worked with their father, Chester, to run the family’s steel mill company in 1920s Chicago. Running the steel mill company was also where Sheldon and Walter knew Fitz, who was employed there alongside his own father. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly, or so Sheldon thought. He and Chester wanted to expand the business, while Walter was adamant that it was a bad idea. When the stock market crashed in 1929, Chester threw himself off of the roof of his building and left Sheldon questioning everything he thought he knew about his father and the company itself. As it turns out, Walter and the board wanted to shut the company down in the aftermath of Chester using his employees’ pensions to expand the business. It was the first time Sheldon’s ideals were shattered because the reality was not what he thought it to be. Thereafter, the Sampson steel company closed down, with Grace Kennedy writing a take-down piece revealing the truth about Chester’s doing. This is how she and Sheldon met (though he was still naïve to his father’s actions at the time).  

Sheldon’s Visions & The 1933 Journey To The Island

Sheldon begins seeing visions during his father’s funeral, which is terrifying because they’re distinctly of his dead dad speaking to him. Jupiter’s Legacy isn’t clear on how long the visions last, but they go on for years after Chester’s death. Sometimes he’s fine and other times he isn’t. It’s likely Sheldon’s visions are triggered by his traumatized state — he did see his father die right in front of him, which would have scarred anyone. What Sheldon didn’t know at the time was that the mysterious aliens were reaching out to him psychically, using his father’s image to pull him to the island. After four years of seeing things (his dad, maps, the island), Sheldon, who now has a firmer grasp as to what’s pulling him to the island and how to find it, finally gathers the future Union members to voyage to the island. The strain of the visions and the eventual trip to the island ruins Sheldon’s relationship with Jane, his fiancée.

Chloe & Brandon’s Early Life In Jupiter’s Legacy

In the first episode of Jupiter’s Legacy season 1, Chloe and Brandon Sampson were shown playing as kids. It’s the only time the series showed them during their childhoods, which would feed into their distance and anger with their father as adults. As kids, Sheldon wasn’t very involved in their lives, often having to take care of business as a superhero and leaving them behind to do so. Chloe and Brandon see him, of course, but he’s relatively absent for the most part, putting the lives of others ahead of their own. It was hard growing up in the shadow of the man everyone believed to be the greatest superhero in the world.

It was a lot to live up to and, even as children, The Utopian had high expectations for Chloe and Brandon. While they aren’t seen interacting with Grace as children, it’s not hard to surmise (based on their treatment of her as adults) that the siblings were much closer to their mother, who was also a superhero, but didn’t treat them any differently than regular kids. Their dad’s distance feeds into the tensions Chloe and Brandon have with Sheldon as adults, driving a wedge further between them that began years prior. 

The Present Day & Union’s Evolution In Jupiter’s Legacy

To say that the Union had changed drastically from its origins in 1933 would be an understatement. Jupiter’s Legacy splits its time between the past and the present day, skipping the intervening decades to focus on the major shift between the new superhero generation’s ideologies, which differs greatly from their parents’. Prior to current events, villains were robbing banks, but now they’ve graduated to killing hostages and anyone else in their way. The new generation and Walter (the true big bad of the season) aren’t so keen on the old ways of doing things. 

Differences in ideology are what drives most of the tension in Jupiter’s Legacy season 1, with Brandon’s murder of Blackstar’s clone officially asserting the changes between how the Union operated in the past, which involved no killing. By the present day, all of the Union members (with the exception of Blue Bolt) have children. Chloe decided to not join the Union despite The Utopian believing she would; Brandon is being primed to become the leader of the Union, but The Utopian isn’t sure he can handle it; Hutch, Skyfox’s son, is a con man who doesn’t have powers and is trying to find his father; Raikou, Brainwave’s daughter, is killed by her own father; and Petra, The Flare’s daughter, is a Union member who is no longer sure about being a superhero.

With Walter scheming to overthrow his brother and George still missing in action, it’s the present day events in Jupiter’s Legacy that will drive the future of the characters, as well as the Union of Justice, which is currently stuck in limbo. While Jupiter’s Legacy hasn’t been renewed for season 2 yet, it’s possible the series will continue to jump between eras. Whatever the case, the timeline of events might be a bit easier to follow in the sophomore season considering that all the vital information is now out of the way.  

About The Author

Mae Abdulbaki
(1091 Articles Published)

Mae Abdulbaki is a movie reviews editor with Screen Rant. She previously wrote about a variety of movies and TV shows for Inverse, CinemaBlend, Pajiba, and The Young Folks, where she wrote reviews, features, news pieces. Her other work can be found at The Mary Sue, Film School Rejects, UPROXX, Heroic Hollywood, Looper, The List, and Bam Smack Pow, among others. Mae has also appeared on television segments, podcasts, and panels to discuss all things entertainment.

More From Mae Abdulbaki