Beebo

‘Legends of Tomorrow’ has never reached the same popularity of ‘Arrow’ or ‘The Flash’ or even newer superhero shows ‘Supergirl’ and ‘Black Lightning’.  But with that underdog status, has come a scrappier, more rebellious tone, with the writers throwing all caution to the wind and gleefully embracing the absurd.  It helps that the affable cast has also embraced the wackiness and seems to be having a ball with the weirdness.

The show hit its apex of absurdity last season with the introduction of Beebo, a famous plush toy that wound up being the key to victory in the Season 3 finale.  Is it possible that this embodiment of “La-La-Love” could also be the key to saving ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ which is seeing a decline in ratings?  The writers think so, as they are urging fans to send requests for Beebo merchandise to The CW.

In a tweet, the writers said:

The backstory is ‘Cuddle Me Beebo’ was introduced as the hottest toy of the 1992 holiday season.  A young Martin Stein (played by Graeme McComb) was determined to get one for his daughter Lily for Hanukkah and finding a single Beebo left at a “Toys Are We” store, he used a toy bow and arrow to snare it away from an angry mob of shoppers.  However, Stein and his talking plush toy were sucked through a time anachronism and wound up in the time of the ancient Vikings, who adopted Beebo as their god.

Later, in the show’s season finale, in a reversal of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man in ‘Ghostbusters’, Nate Heywood/Steel envisioned Beebo as an entity of purity, creating a giant mental construct of the plush toy which was mentally controlled by all of the Legends and used to battle the show’s Big Bad, Mallus, embodied by a terrifying dragon.  In the end, Beebo destroyed the Mallus in a giant heart-shaped cloud of blue dust.

Beebo was so popular, that his visage was slapped on the ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ tote bag that was handed out at San Diego Comic-Con.  Want more?  Talk to The CW.

Never underestimate the power of merchandising.  ‘Supernatural’ is in its 14th season, and while the show is still solid and performs well in the ratings, what really makes it an asset to The CW is the fact that it’s a merchandising bonanza, with its own section at Hot Topic.  The same goes for ‘Riverdale’ which was not a ratings smash in its first season.  But after hitting Netflix in the US, the series took off and has a merchandise line even larger than ‘Supernatural”s.  If a show can not only deliver ratings but sell clothing, posters, toys and more, it can become indispensable.

While there is some merchandise specifically centered on The CW shows, most of the characters are more widely sold in their original comic book forms.  But Beebo is 100% from the TV universe.  And his popularity has spread to ‘Arrow’, ‘The Flash’ and ‘Supergirl’ where Beebo toys and other items have popped up in various episodes.

And… and this may be the biggest encouragement, but there is already a lot of un-licensed Beebo merch out there made by fans for fans.  So The CW is leaving money on the table by not producing officially licensed toys, tee shirts, etc.

If you want an official Beebo plush, contact The CW and let them know!