Powerless reviews

I've just watched the pilot episode of the new Powerless series. The series takes place in the DC universe, but focuses on the lives of everyday people who have to live with the consequences of sharing their city with a never-ending supply of battling super-people. The (very clever) title sequence pretty much sums the show up -- it presents a series of classic DC comicbook covers (eg. Action Comics #1), then zooms in on each to focus on the hapless innocent bystanders trying to flee from the carnage.

The main setting is a sadly neglected subdivision of Wayne Industries, run by indifferent management, that develops consumer products to help ordinary people cope with living in a world filled with superheroes and villains. They're getting trashed by their Lexcorp competition, but Vanessa Hudgens is the upbeat newcomer who is determined to turn things around. At its heart the show is really a workplace comedy that happens to take place in the crazy gadget-filled world of DC comics -- the setting could easily have been Q's research lab in James Bond. Indeed the comedy comes as much from taking swipes at the laziness of modern corporate culture as it does from laughing at the absurdity of superheroes (this year's big product is the same as last year's big product, except it has a slightly different shade of purple on the case.)

For heroine fans the first three minutes of the pilot are where the action is at, with Crimson Fox doing a handful of super-strength feats to save a train. The brief CGI shots aren't exactly up to movie standards, or even CW standards (which is understandable, given that the show's focus is comedy not heroics), but still manage to look quite cool thanks to some imaginative camera angles. Beyond this opening segment, the focus is mainly on the workplace comedy, and there's little on-screen super-heroics or CGI work. Presumably they don't have the budget for anything more than cameo super-battles.

The show's pilot episode got a mixed reception from critics, and I think much of the criticism is fair. The premise has a lot to offer, but this opening episode doesn't quite hit the mark. Still, as critics pointed out, it is only a pilot so perhaps future episodes will fulfil its potential. But don't expect too much superheroine action in future episodes -- although the pilot suggests there will be recurring appearances by Crimson Fox etc, the show is primarily a workplace comedy with a twist, not a superhero show!


R5