Almost exactly four years after the first airing of the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow episode “Beebo, the God of War,” the little blue furball at the center of that episode’s drama got his very own holiday special last night. “Beebo, the God of War” centered on the idea that a time-tossed talking plush toy had found its way into Viking hands and become mistaken for a god, leading to “Beebo Day” replacing Christmas in the future, so it seems totally on-brand that Beebo’s first appearance as a sentient character (rather than a toy or some kind of psychic manifestation a la the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man) was in Beebo Saves Christmas.
While the new Beebo takes on a fairly traditional, 2D animation style in the holiday special, it turns out the original design was conceived by someone with a background in 3D, CG-animated cartoons. That would be artist Linda Chen, who provided her Trollhunters/Tales of Arcadia collaborator Marc Guggenheim, then still executive producing on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, with the design.
Guggenheim shared it last night to celebrate the release of the holiday special, and you can see it below.
“This morning, Legends of Tomorrow (and, therefore, Beebo) co-creator Phil Klemmer sent me this little reminder of the original design for Beebo,” Guggenheim told readers of his Legal Dispatch newsletter, mentioning Chen’s role and noting, “Obviously, adorable little Beebo’s changed a bit since but the Trollhunters/Legends connection always tickles me.”
In the same newsletter, Guggenheim shared an image of a very real-looking Beebo that was apparently gifted to him by composer Daniel James Chan, who works on Legends and wrote much of the music for the Beebo Saves Christmas special. Of course, most people can’t own their own Beebo, and Guggenheim feels the audience’s frustration on that point.
“Looking up from my desk to see his blue grimace always makes me grin myself,” he wrote. “And before you ask, no, there is no official Beebo merchandise, sadly. And before you ask, no, I have no idea why. And before you ask, no, I don’t know why Warner Bros. doesn’t like money.”
After appearing in “Beebo the God of War,” the stuffed toy took on something of a life of its own. Becoming an immediate fan-favorite, Beebo was resurrected in the season 3 finale, where he was conjured into being by the Legends and defeated the time demon Mallus. A few other merch appearances ensued, across numerous Arrowverse shows, before Beebo appeared “in the flesh” again during Crisis on Infinite Earths, although that was revealed to be an illusion designed to distract the heroes while another crime was being committed.
Did you catch Beebo Saves Christmas last night? If not, it’s streaming for free on The CW app and website, and will be re-airing on December 14.