The series is set in a world where some humans are granted special abilities, called “Powers”, that only manifest upon reaching adulthood. Christian Walker (Sharlto Copley) is a former superhero who became a detective assigned to stopping destructive superheroes after his powers were taken from him.
Powers had a long production, which, in hindsight, may have been a bad sign. Filming for the pilot was completed in the summer of 2011, for FX, but production delays and complications led to the series debuting on the PlayStation Network in 2015 (via DigitalSpy). A disappointment for fans of the comic, the upcoming Netflix adaptation could redeem the series.
The 2010s’ Powers TV Show Was A Poor Adaptation Of A Great Comic
The 2010’s Powers was developed by Bendis and Charlie Huston, both of whom had primarily worked only as comic book writers and novelists, respectively. Powers is a mash-up of detective procedural, crime noir storytelling, and superhero fiction, and winds those genres together for something unique and engaging.
The TV show, on the other hand, loses that nuance and multifaceted storytelling. Despite a strong cast including Copley, Noah Taylor, Eddie Izzard, and Michael Madsen, the series feels flat and uninspired. Powers was made on a tight budget, and it shows, a real problem for a series that needs believable acts of superheroism.
Like The Boys, Watchmen, and Invincible, Powers is clearly trying to say something about the superhero genre, and while the comic gets there, the TV show doesn’t. Powers ends up becoming a standard superhero show, lost among the dozens that came out in the 2010s, left even further adrift for only being available on the PlayStation Network.
Netflix’s Powers Remake Is Already Looking More Promising
Most people probably didn’t even realize there was a Powers adaptation; its cultural footprint is so small. That almost feels like more of a disappointment than if it were so bad that people couldn’t help but look at it. Fortunately, Powers is getting another adaptation, this time on Netflix.
The upcoming Powers series is currently in development at Netflix, and Oeming and Bendis are involved in the creative process in some capacity. Powers on Netflix will be an animated series, and that is a very promising thing to hear, especially because Oeming, the comic’s illustrator, is contributing to the show’s visual design.
As an animated series, Powers should be able to get closer to what the comics wanted to say. We’ve also seen that animated superhero shows can work really well, thanks to series like Invincible and Harley Quinn, which tell fantastic, mature stories. This could be the best case scenario for a series like Powers.