Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

"Heroes" Series 1 (US and Torrents edition)

Page: 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9(10)11 12 13 14 15... 25

09:20 / 30.11.06

Also, I think the show is realy predictable to us because we have an extensive comic book (and sci-fi in general) background. Some one pointed this out somewhere and I didn't think it was true until I started talking to noncomic-book-reading people here at work.

I think this is a very valid point. I don't have an extensive comics background, although The Beautiful Man does. I have read a few things like The Watchmen, and like most people by now I'm familiar with X-Men so I can see some of the obvious references. I also read a lot of sci-fi so things like 'bending time and space' are familiar but for the most part these super powers and abilities are new to me and I'm not finding the show predictable at all.

miss wonderstarr

10:18 / 30.11.06

A lot of the powers aren't that familiar even within comics, though, are they? Just musing. We have

flight (Superman and so on)
"phasing" (Shadowcat)
TK (Magneto, most obviously?)
tissue regeneration (Wolverine)
monstrous alter ego (Hulk)
mind-reading (Martian Manhunter)

but also

"pushing" (Preacher)
connection with technology (The Drummer)
warping time and space (Dr Manhattan?)
metahuman memory (?)
drawing on others' powers (Amazo?)

As you see, the latter group are either uncommon (I'm finding one character associated with each) or have only tenuous links to any superhero I can think of.

10:30 / 30.11.06

"Great Scott!" is the catchphrase of Doc Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future series... (just in case you missed that one).

Other than Doctor "Emmet Lathrop" Brown (supposedly) being "Time Portal" in reverse, there seems to be an issue about Hiro's ability to affect the past: Seems he can't save Charlie (cuz she's 'already dead') and yet he managed to jump back in time to deliver the message to Peter Petrelli.

Can't change the past / can change the past?

I'm willing to let the writers off with this, since "Hiro-from-the-future-with-katana" has had much longer to perfect his abilities than the Salaryman version. "Save the cheerleader, save the world" is pretty much "change the past, change the future" - thus [in an Age-of-Apocalypse type fashion], Hiro from the future might never come to be, since he belongs to Post-Nuke-York... which will never happen [hopefully] if his mission succeeds.

heh... sorry to just drop outta nowhere and disappear again...

... My name is mixmage, and I'm from the past... I have a message for you...

11:44 / 30.11.06

"pushing" = The Purple Man

Hence all the purple in Big Eye's induction sequence (her trousers, his suit)

11:49 / 30.11.06

drawing on others' powers (Amazo?)

Amazo's a good one. There's also this obscure character called Rogue, from a little-known comics and film franchise called X-MEN...

11:50 / 30.11.06

heh... when Clark "sylar" Kent grows a white streak in his hair...

12:24 / 30.11.06

Wait, who is Purple Man and who is Big Eyes? I seem to have missed a naming meeting.

miss wonderstarr

12:28 / 30.11.06

There's also this obscure character called Rogue, from a little-known comics and film franchise called X-MEN...

I don't really read X-Men, but I've seen the films and I didn't think Rogue's power was having the powers of anyone in her close proximity. Maybe this is just thick of me. I guess I assumed she had a curse that drained life-energy from people ~ what this was useful for must have passed me by.

Comics are too complex for me. I've also never heard of "The Purple Man".

miss wonderstarr

12:29 / 30.11.06

Just wikied for "Rogue" and it didn't help.

Rogue means James a fucking bitch who has balls in his mouth (PS HE LOVES CUM) (attested since the 16th century) and is a derogatory term.

12:46 / 30.11.06

Yes, Rogue can absorb other people's powers. From Marvel Directory

"She soon learned that she had the power to absorb the memories and abilities of other people by touching them, but she could not control this power."

I am also completely lost on who the names 'Big Eyes and 'The Purple Man' are supposed to be referring to.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

13:48 / 30.11.06

Forge from the 90s X-men era was a technopath also. There are a pile of time travelers in the DC univers (Waverider, cyborg guy who hangs out with Waverider, woman who hangs out with Waverider and cyborg guy...)

The memory power is an interesting one, and seems to be kind of useless, although once Sylar has that power and can memorize human physiology his telekinetic powers (Jean Grey, the woman from Rising Stars who became an assassin and then fixed the middle east...) could become really scary.

I too am in the dark as far as the identity of 'Big Eyes' (I think Eden maybe?) whose power doesn't evoke as much the Preacher's Word power, but the power of the Jedi. I am curious why the power doesn't work on Bennet, but maybe Haitian Guy is like Leech and nullifies peoples powers on top of his memory erasing ability.

15:18 / 30.11.06

The Purple Man is a Marvel villain who can control others and tell them what to do. He had some great appearances in Alias.

15:38 / 30.11.06

I've been playing that match-power-to-hero game in the Speculations thread.

It occurred to me last night that the most well-defined technopath/Nikki's-kid-a-like was the villain in Sky High, whose names slipped out of my head (but I think combined Peter Parker's girlfriends).

And I always thought of Preacher's power as being "Word of Command," which was an oooold D&D spell/magical ability.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

15:41 / 30.11.06

Yeah, it was pretty Word of Command-y, but with the power of the Lord!

16:32 / 30.11.06

Nearly understanding... so The Purple Man is referenced in Heroes in the induction sequence of someone people are calling Big Eyes? Then so who is Big Eyes in Heroes? Is it Eden? Because I thought we were calling her Pixie Girl.

Oh dear, confused again.

16:50 / 30.11.06

Grant,

Claire – Wolverine, Buffy, Savage Dragon, Sabertooth, Deadpool

Nathan - well, most of 'em.

Peter – Rogue, Mimic, Synch, Amazo, Parasite

Hiro- Hourman, Fitzroy, Dr. Manhattan, Kang the Conqueror, Zoom (latest Prof. Zoom from the Flash.)

Sprague - Capt. Atom, Firestorm, Dr. Manhattan

DL - Kitty Pryde, The Martian Manhunter, Vision

Mica - The Drummer, Forge, Warlock (New Mutants), villain from Sky High.

Niki - Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, The Hulk.

Haitian Guy- Leech plus Prof. X for the mind wipe.

Isaac- Destiny (X-Men), Dream Girl (LoSH)

Eden- Purple Man, Prof. X

Did I get them all?

16:51 / 30.11.06

Yeah, Boboss is calling Pixie Girl "Big Eyes," but her character name is Eden. There were no obvious references to Purple Man in the show, although they do seem to be doing a purple motif for her.

17:01 / 30.11.06

I forgot-

Matt- Prof. X, Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Martian Manhunter... I can go on and on for this one.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

17:31 / 30.11.06

And this is when I realise just how geeky this thread has become.

17:37 / 30.11.06

Well, I'd say that all the purple is pretty clearly a reference to the Purple Man, particularly given that the show is chock full of comic book references, that we have a strong precedent of colours being used to reference superheroes in Smallville, and that, you know, there's an awful lot of purple in a scene where someone who possess the same power as the Purple Man, and who looks like she's heading down a dark path (like a super villain), is being tamed.

For me the purple was more than just a nice easter egg, it also worked to suggest where this woman could end up if someone didn't intervene, and as such it helped reinforce what had already been suggested about her character: that she can control everyone except herself. A nice, and rather obvious internal conflict.

17:40 / 30.11.06

The Internet breaking in half thing was in reference to a famous quote by a well known comic writer, a Mr Brian Bendis.

19:37 / 30.11.06

Wait (sorry) -- Hourman now has some kinda time travel power? I've only read Golden Age stories, where his powers only lasted an hour....

19:40 / 30.11.06

Well, there's the Grant Morrison era JLA Hourman who hails from the far future and has time travel powers, and there's the current JSA Hourman - the classic Hourman - who takes Miraclo pills and gets an hour of power.

Jared Louderback

20:49 / 30.11.06

The flashback episode sort of explained WHY Nathan seemed so against using his powers. That was the one thing that bugged me so far in the show really bad, it seems like if you could FLY you would be pretty excited about it, politcal career or no. It seemed sort of sloppy that he would jyst automatically ignore it. But looking at it from the view of "This power caused my wifes paralysis" makes a lot more sense.

miss wonderstarr

21:48 / 30.11.06

DL - Kitty Pryde, The Martian Manhunter, Vision

I don't think the Martian Manhunter can phase through solid matter and tissue, but I'm willing to be corrected. I thought he had Superman abilities, plus telepathy and metamorphing, with the penalty of weakness to fire.

21:57 / 30.11.06

He can phase. It is truth.

Do better Wonderstar!

miss wonderstarr

22:13 / 30.11.06

I'm sure he doesn't know all my abilities either.

11:56 / 01.12.06

Well, there's the Grant Morrison era JLA Hourman who hails from the far future and has time travel powers

That's the one I meant. Sorry, I should've specified.

I don't think the Martian Manhunter can phase through solid matter and tissue

He can phase. It is truth.

And the Martian Manhunter can phase through anything, except fire, I guess.

Keith, like a scientist

13:32 / 05.12.06

the setback in Claire and Zach's friendship makes me sad. That was fulfilling the fantasy of every 'nerd-freak-loser' who ever attended high school....oh, not me, of course, no, not me...Damn.

but still. good episode!

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

13:39 / 05.12.06

Just when you think "Okay, maybe Glasses Dad isn't so bad after all", he uses the Haitian to make things all wonky.

But good episode.

13:56 / 05.12.06

I really enjoyed how Peter Petrelli's dream of his brother coming to get him out of jail was so different from how it really turned out. That guy has some serious brother-love issues. Dream Nathan comes in, all hugs. Real Nathan comes in and chucks some clothes at him.

They were doing more artsy camera stuff to reveal broken dimensions of the self last night, similar to last week's half-moon shot. I'm talking about that twisted reflection of Glasses Man in his windshield as he drove home, talking to Claire on the phone, right before the Haitian showed up.

I enjoyed how Sylar was just biding his time in that cell. I would've been let down if that really was all there was to the character. Good to see he's (apparently) gotten out and will be free to raise more hell.

I laughed out loud when the Haitian said he'd erased Claire's mother's memory "so many times."

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

14:06 / 05.12.06

Apparently they're taking bets over on TWoP on a possible gay encounter between Milo and Adrian.

13:13 / 06.12.06

If the Haitian is an all around power dampener, it would be analogous to Chase (from DC, a lamented book with great JHW3 art). But I do not think he is a power dampener per se, but a rather powerful psychic or psychic static generator who can thus tamp down on people's powers in addition to doing the mind wipe.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

13:30 / 06.12.06

That would make sense. If he has the ability to shut people down and wipe their memories then it would make sens if he can zap the part of their brain that triggers a power.

14:32 / 06.12.06

Why do we think he's a power dampener again? It wouldn't surprise me, and I can think of how we might (only might) have seen this ability in action, but I can't think of anything that strongly points in that direction.

Of course, I might just be suffering from a bout of thickness.

Page: 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9(10)11 12 13 14 15... 25