Hot Stuff
This show has truly found its rhythm and identity. This week sees Emily befriending a superhero in need, Jackie experiencing parenting problems and the Wayne Poncho. It’s a jam-packed 30 minutes.
With The Crimson Fox leaving Charm City for Metropolis last week, Green Fury has arrived to pick up the slack.
I love the way that this series digs deep into the bag of DC Comics’ lesser known characters. Better known to comics readers as Fire, Green Fury first appeared in issue #25 of Super Friends back in 1979. Here we see her after her break-up with the Olympian.
The first Olympian appeared in DC Comics Presents #46 in 1982, but this version seems more like the second character to use the name, who made his debut in Wonder Woman #30 from 2009.
Just like the celebrities we know, the media is hounding Green Fury. She’s risking life and limb on a daily basis fighting super villains and saving lives, but all the paparazzi care about is her break-up and her personal problems.
This episode is very strong in terms of laughter and in the moral lessons it brings to the fore. While the media presents Green Fury as a weak woman and her ex-boyfriend as a strong man, we see that the complete opposite is in fact the truth.
This week, we also see Jackie struggling at work with her daughter Ruby, who has been suspended from school and is befriended by Wendy, who is almost more of a child than Ruby herself.
It Isn’t Easy Being Green
I love the new perspective this episode shows us. We’ve seen normal people deal with super problems, but this week we see that heroes have issues too. Wayne Securities’ chauvinistic treatment of Green Fury highlights all too real problems that still exist today. The great thing is that Powerless isn’t preaching, it’s making us think about serious topics in a humorous way. Sexism, the gutter press and stereotypes were all addressed in this episode, but all I did was laugh and ponder. Never did I feel that I was in a classroom being taught a lesson.
Emily’s friendship helps Green Fury, Wendy’s friendship helps Jackie and Ruby and Ron’s friendship helps Danny. All the while Van Wayne is still, as usual, only trying to help himself.
The writers know these characters now and the cast play them brilliantly. The regulars are fantastic, as always. Jennie Pierson as Wendy is brilliant this week. Natalie Morales is on fire as Green Fury (sorry) and Joel Michael Kramer is hilarious as the deep as a puddle Olympian. This episode could be the strongest so far and I really hope that we get to see a second season.
Conclusion
Powerless is proving to be powerful. Lots of laughs and some emotional punch lead me to give this episode a strong:
