DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has revealed the truth about Project Hades and, in keeping with The CW’s most bonkers superhero series, it’s not what fans expected. It turns out Hank Heywood (Tom Wilson) isn’t the malevolent villain he once seemed to be. Rather, before his death at the hands of the demon Neron, fans (and his son Nate) were shocked to learn Hank wanted to be Legends of Tomorrow’s version of John Hammond from Jurassic Park.
The late father of Nate “Steel” Heywood and the Pentagon’s liaison to the Time Bureau (which made him Director Ava Sharpe’s boss), Hank seemed at first to be a hardline, bottom-line bureaucrat who was concerned about the inflated budget the U.S. Government was financing for the Time Bureau and the Legends. Gradually, thanks to Tom Wilson’s endearing performance, Hank showed softer sides to his personality - including a musical talent that subdued a Minotaur in “Tender is the Nate”. Still, Nate couldn’t bring himself to trust his father completely, especially when he learned that government agents were kidnapping the magical fugitives imprisoned by the Time Bureau and were experimenting on them for a mysterious program called “Project Hades”.
In this week’s Legends of Tomorrow episode, “Séance and Sensibility”, Nate was conflicted about having to eulogize his late father before he discovered a secret room in Hank’s Washington, D.C. home. In that hidden lair, Nate found boxes of files and blueprints labeled “Project H”, including zone permits and one box labeled “Dragons”. There was also a video Nate played which explained everything. In the video was Hank, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, excitedly explaining his plan for Project Hades: a magical theme park he planned to construct called Heyworld!
Heyworld was inspired by a drawing made by Nate when he was a boy of a theme park filled with magical creatures - something Hank could make a reality with the fugitives held by the Time Bureau. Hank’s dream was to create a place where people could interact with dragons, monsters, and magical creatures, which he believed would make the world a better place. What’s more, Nate realized this was who his outwardly stern father was all along. In fact, as Nate’s mother said in her eulogy, Hank was the kind of father who was heartbroken when Nate was hospitalized and missed a planned trip to Disney World - so he rented a Mickey Mouse costume and entertained Nate and the rest of the sick kids at the hospital.
But Neron’s involvement also reveals the dark truth about Hank’s Heyworld dream. As Hank’s spirit explained to John Constantine, Hank was approached by a man (which was Neron disguised as John’s dead lover Desmond) posing as a “Washington Beltway insider” with an offer for unlimited funds in exchange for access to the fugitives at the Time Bureau. Hank agreed to this exchange but it turns out he was also clandestinely furthering his Heyworld dream: as Zari, Gary Green, and Nora Darhk learned in last week’s Nixon-themed episode, Hank was embezzling funds and using the Time Bureau’s resources to acquire deeds to land and dwarf star technology. Hank’s intentions may have been heartwarming but his methods were definitely suspect and also illegal, which Nate has to reconcile.
Meanwhile, Neron has his own unrevealed plans for the fugitives that likely don’t involve them as exhibits in a whimsical theme park. The fugitives were being taken to a black site in Baltimore to make them “controllable”; Hank likely wanted them to be friendly to families but Neron seems to want them turned into an army of magical super soldiers. As Hank grew closer to Nate, he tried to end his deal with Neron last week in “The Getaway”, but he was murdered for it (and Nora Dahrk got the blame).
Neron revealed himself to John Constantine in “Séance and Sensibility” and, coupled with Nate’s discovery about Hank and Heyworld, this all sets the stage for Legends of Tomorrow’s season 4 finale, which is titled “Hey World!” If the Heyworld theme park is already near completion, it remains to be seen how Neron will use it to further his mysterious evil scheme and how the Legends will stop him.
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DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Mondays at 8pm on The CW.
