With DC’s Legends of Tomorrow within a week of airing on TV, the question may be occurring to some: who are you most looking forward to seeing on the show?

For over 6 months a nearly 4 minute long trailer has been available… I’ve avoided watching it for as long as I could, knowing that some events in the shows Arrow and The Flash would be leading up to DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and fearing the trailer might accidentally spoil something for me.  So consider whether or not you really want to watch any of the clips below.  (This article continues after the youtube clips from the CW.)

Meet Ray Palmer:

Meet Sara Lance:

Meet Firestorm:

Meet Leonard Snart (Captain Cold):

Meet Mick Rory (Heatwave):

Meet Kendra Saunders (Hawkgirl):

Meet Carter Hall (Hawkman):

Hero Evolution:

I have hopes that people who have not been watching Arrow and The Flash will find DC’s Legends of Tomorrow easily accessible… but Ray Palmer and Sara Lance are characters who have spent a fair amount of time on the screen over on Arrow.

Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer) is only credited with 19 episodes, but his character has left a definite mark on Starling/Star City, the Oliver and Felicity characters, and the origin story for the Atom can be found within past episodes of Arrow.

Caity Lotz (Sara Lance) is credited with 30 episodes of Arrow, and this season has had a fantastic arc for her character, coming from a place where most viewers thought there was no way she would be returning to the story line from.  At the moment, I do not believe she exists as the Hero we will be seeing in this show, which means DC’s Legends of Tomorrow *might* contain her origin story.

Victor Garber (1 half of the firestorm character) is listed on IMDB as having been in just 8 episodes, but that feels like a low count I wish I could double check.  Firestorm’s origin story, like the Atom’s in Arrow, plays out slowly as a subplot in episodes of The Flash.  While I do not want to spoil anything about the character, Firestorm has had some interesting events in “his” own life around episode 4 of the second season of The Flash… and again, these are events that feel like they “hold meaning” for his character as he enters DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Wentworth Miller‘s Captain Cold is a villain, and as such may not seem like a logical choice for this team of heroes, but if you’ve seen his evolution during his appearances on The Flash (again IMDB says just 8 episodes, which in this case *might* be accurate, but they’ve been so dynamic and his character has grown so much as a person during his appearances the count feels low) you are, in truth, not so surprised.  The Captain Cold we saw in the 4th episode of Season 1 of The Flash comes across as a very different character than the one Barry saw in the 9th episode of Season 2.

Dominic Purcell (Heatwave) who has only been in 4 episodes of The Flash is likewise a villain, and while his origin story is found in the 4th episode of season 1, so little growth occurs with his character during his few appearances that he may, in truth, have the most opportunities to surprise viewers during DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Ciara Renée (Hawkgirl) is credited at IMDB with 4 episodes of The Flash with all of her meaningful screen time being in the second season. She is another character whose origin story has been tucked into episodes, mostly being revealed slowly as part of a subplot until she was needed as Hawkgirl, and Falk Hentschel arrived on the scene as Carter Hall aka Hawkman to help her discover who she has always been.  (Hawkgirl and Hawkman participate in the crossover event with Arrow, giving her a 5th appearance, and him a second.)

Viewers who have not watched Arrow and The Flash previously, or are looking for a refresher on character backgrounds, might want to tune into this CW special:

DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW: THEIR TIME IS NOW (Jan 19, 9:00-9:30pm ET/PT) is an in-depth look at the origin stories of the heroes and villains of the highly-anticipated new series, DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, premiering Thursday, January 21, 2016 (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT). Featuring show clips and interviews from LEGENDS, ARROW, and THE FLASH executive producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, Phil Klemmer, and Wendy Mericle, THEIR TIME IS NOW introduces viewers to the immortal madman Vandal Savage, the time master Rip Hunter, and the motley band of heroes and rogues he assembles to try to save the future of humanity: Hawkman, Hawkgirl, White Canary, The Atom, Firestorm, Captain Cold, and Heat Wave.