Don’t you just hate it when all the supervillains with cold powers come to town? You’ve just got all your best summer gear out, and then Wham! You have to go and dig out all your scarves, coats, hats and gloves again. Yes, the ones you boxed and put away.
That’s so not cool.
Ah… Comics world problems.
In this episode Charm City is invaded by all the DC villains that have cold powers. This leads to conflict between Van Wayne and Ron and between Teddy and Emily against two Wayne Tech employees. One of the things that I really like about Powerless is the situations that come up that you wouldn’t normally think about. Sudden winters in the middle of summer, for example.
In my previous review – where I recapped episodes 1-4 of DC’s first sitcom – I sang the praises of the ever excellent Alan Tudyk who plays Van Wayne and Vanessa Hudgens as Emily. Episode 5 gives Ron Funches and Danny Pudi, who play Ron and Teddy respectively, their time to shine.
I like the way that we get to learn about the lives of all the characters in Powerless. Yes, it’s clear that Van and Emily are the central characters, but the whole team is made up of real life people with real life problems, as well as all the complications that come with living in a world where super powered beings reside.
We see real human struggles in this episode, so it becomes a comedy with a bit of heart behind it. Ron Funches plays his character – also called Ron – with humour, vulnerability and a real sense of fun. All Ron wants to do is enjoy the snow, but Van Wayne’s headed out to his winter retreat with a new girlfriend and her daughter. Van foils every attempt poor Ron makes to go sledding by making him build complicated and ridiculous toys for his girlfriend’s child, with hilarious results. Can you imagine trying to build a ride-on replica of Wonder Woman’s invisible jet? An invisible toy made with invisible parts? I just don’t see it.
Danny Pudi shows that his character – Teddy – has a sensitive side, and isn’t just a science fanatic. He and Emily enter Teddy’s heat glove design into a contest with Wayne Enterprises. His character has to deal with his job as well as his over-achieving surgeon/astronaut brother and his always judgemental parents. I’m sure that we’ve all had struggles like these in our lives. I know I have! By the end of the episode, Teddy’s design only comes in as a runner-up, but – with help from Crimson Fox – his gloves get to save the day after all.
Conclusion
While this episode wasn’t as funny as previous instalments have been, its saving grace is the great level of growth and character development experienced by Ron and Danny. I’m really starting to grow fond of the whole cast of characters and care about what happens to all of them. With all this in mind, even without the belly laughs, I give this episode:
