Barnum's Roving Museum of Freaks and Hypnotic Hippodrome was a series of traveling sideshow attractions and the precursor to P.T. Barnum's circus.
History
Sometime during or prior to 1870, Phineas founded the Roving Museum of Freaks and Hypnotic Hippodrome. During that year, an anachronistic saber-toothed tiger appeared due to the Legends' disruption of the timeline. Recognizing the entertainment value of the creature, Phineas used what funds he had to purchase the tiger and to use it as an attraction for his show. After the Legends appeared to fix the anachronism, Nate Heywood and Ray Palmer accidentally released the tiger while dramatically increasing its size. Phineas was incredibly disheartened when he discovered that the tiger had escaped, as he had planned on using it to drive ticket sales so that he could continue to fund his show. That evening, at a local bar, he remarked to Hildy and another one of his performers that he would most likely have to shut down his circus as a result.[1] Moments later, Nate Heywood turned to steel, prompting Barnum to try to recruit him to the circus. When asked by P.T. Barnum regarding his abilities, a drunken Nate revealed the abilities of Jax, Ray and Amaya. After Barnum offered to give them a "private show", a cover for his kidnapping them for the circus, Nate declined in order to talk to Amaya, but ended up passing out in the cargo bay, where he was found by Sara, Mick and Amaya. After finding Ray and Jax dressed as conjoined twins in the circus tent, Nate and Amaya attempted to free them, but were in turn captured by Barnum's troupe. Later, Barn attempted to use Ray and Jax as entertainment, with terrible results. When the crowd began to lose interest in the performance, Barnum coerced Nate into "steeling up" by threatening first him, then Amaya. Barnum then shot Nate multiple times despite Nate's protests, angering Amaya to the point where she attacked Barnum, driving him out of the tent. Before she could kill him however, Nate talked her out of it, reminding Amaya about her past with the JSA. P. T. Barnum then concluded the show and received thunderous applause.
Known members
Current members
- P.T. Barnum (owner)
- B'wana Beast
- Hildy
Former members
- Sabertooth tiger (formerly; unwillingly)
- Ray Palmer (formerly; unwillingly)
- Jefferson "Jax" Jackson (formerly; unwillingly)
- Amaya Jiwe (formerly; unwillingly)
- Nate Heywood (formerly; unwillingly)
Appearances
DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Season 3
Behind the scenes
- In real life, Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017), also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros. or simply Ringling was an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. It and its predecessor shows ran from 1871 to 2017. Known as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, the circus started in 1919 when the Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth, a circus created by P. T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey, was merged with the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows. The Ringling brothers had purchased Barnum & Bailey Ltd. following Bailey's death in 1906, but ran the circuses separately until they were merged in 1919.