The Pilgrim May Bring Comic History To 'Legends'

The team on the Waverider have come up against some pretty formidable foes in Season 1 of Legends of Tomorrow. Between attempting to hunt down and defeat Vandal Savage and avoiding the wrath of the Time Masters as well as the once-enemy Chronos (who turned out to be Mick Rory), the Legends have their work cut out for them. Now, there's a new threat to their lives, and this one sounds even worse than all the others. So, who is The Pilgrim on Legends of Tomorrow ?

There are a couple characters referred to with variations of "Pilgrim" in the DC Comics mythos, but my best guess is that the villain on Legends of Tomorrow is based on Maritza Blackbird, whose codename is Pilgrim. She's a minor character in the comics who started out as a member of America's Special Operations Group and preferred to work alone. She was a trained sniper and reconnaissance expert before being bonded with a symbiote (basically, an alien parasite) and receiving powers like super-strength and the ability to time travel. Maritza also happens to be a werewolf. So, Legends of Tomorrow has a lot of options in adapting this character (if this is the character The Pilgrim is based on) but I'd bet they'll focus on the time travel ability — for obvious reasons.

However, while Maritza was on the side of good in the comics, it seems she'll technically be a villain on Legends of Tomorrow, a show in which the line between good and evil is a bit blurry since the Time Masters aren't necessarily evil, they're just following the rules (but that's a discussion for another time). According to the official synopsis for "Last Refuge" released by ComicBook.com, The Pilgrim is "a deadly assassin who wants to erase the Legends from the timeline by killing their younger, non-superhero selves." Yikes.

Additionally, from what I could tell while picking apart the promo for "Last Refuge," it seems The Pilgrim on Legends of Tomorrow will be a solo operative trained in firearms and with a proficiency in time travel, though I'd guess she uses a ship rather than some kind of symbiote-given powers. So, The Pilgrim seems to be some kind of adaptation of Maritza Blackbird (which, I'm sorry Legends of Tomorrow, is a much cooler name than The Pilgrim) from the DC comics.

However, even if The Pilgrim isn't a strict adaptation of Maritza and Legends of Tomorrow keeps her as a villain that the team on the Waverider must defeat, I'm looking forward to seeing this deadly assassin in action. Sure, Kendra and Sara can hold their own in a fight, but in my opinion Legends of Tomorrow could always use more butt-kicking women — even if they're like The Pilgrim, evil and attempting to kill the child versions of Rip Hunter and Leonard Snart.

Images: Dean Buscher/The CW (2)