Trusting new characters can be a dangerous habit since you never know when or if they'll end up stabbing you in the back. That being said, the Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 premiere will introduce a new member of team and it's safe to say that he'll definitely be one of the good guys. I'm referring to Dr. Nate Heywood, played by Nick Zano, who is a talented historian and will prove to be a vital asset to the Legends if his DC background is any indication. According to the comics, Heywood is the grandson of Commander Steel, a member of the Justice Society of America, so you could say the superhero gene tends to run in his family. Which makes sense given that he himself later ends up becoming Steel/Citizen Steel, a former member of the Justice League.
Now, of course, it's difficult to say right now how much his Legends of Tomorrow character will emulate his comic book counterpart, so it may be a while before we see Heywood don any type of uniform. And don't expect Nate to have special abilities right off the bat when you meet him. Because like many heroes before him, his powers weren't something he was born with, but rather given to him unintentionally.
In the comics, the villain Reichsmark attacks his family with the intent of wiping out the Heywood line. During the struggle, some of Reichsmark's liquid metal blood gets on Nate, turning his body into living steel. This also allows him to have super strength and durability. Pretty crazy, right? It certainly seems like a far cry from the time detective we're going to meet on Legends of Tomorrow, but this is just to give you an idea of where this character could go.
In the meantime, though, Nate is still going to prove very useful to the Legends dynamic with or without superpowers. Thanks to his history expertise, he's able to serve almost as a human form of Gideon in that he's able to help find people throughout time based on the subtle changes that are made throughout history. And since this group has a nasty habit of getting lost in different time periods, I'd say that's a handy talent to have around. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's pretty easy on the eyes. (Just saying!) Let's just hope Nate is ready for what he's about to get into. After all, studying history is one thing, but living it is a completely different story.
Images: Robert Falconer, Katie Yu/The CW
