When ‘Heroes’ premiered in 2006, it was quickly championed as the Next Great Genre Show. As it trounced ‘Lost’ in the ratings, and the nerd-debate raged, one of the things that quickly distinguished the two shows was the way they flashed their geek-cred to build their respective mythologies.
‘Lost’ took the easter egg approach, weaving its pop-culture influences into the show’s ongoing mysteries, while ‘Heroes’ cribbed some great ideas from X-Men and Watchmen, as well as tired comic book conventions, to create a show about superheroes that your mom could enjoy.
To me, ‘Heroes’ has been sort of equivalent to the Hollywood-ification of the San Diego Comic-Con—the place where movie studios have developed nerd-pandering into an art. After all, it’s not coincidence Tolwyn from Wing Commander, Veronica Mars and Sulu have all been hired on for arcs on the show, while the storytelling has never seemed to push ideas of the science fiction genre, or even the superhero concept forward. In fact, the show often seems somewhere in between shame and denial in admitting to its ‘homages.’ (See: Tim Kring denying ever reading Watchmen during season one.)
Even though it was frustrating to watch ‘Heroes’ win the popular vote, justice was had when season one fizzled with an ending that wasn’t as exciting (or logical) as hyped. Even better—the second volume was a shortened season that returned with a similarly shortened audience. (Meanwhile, ‘Lost’ was getting acclaim from a game-changing reveal.) Heroes’ second season ended with creator Tim Kring apologizing, and vowing to make the third season better.
And with the first episode of the third season premiering, rather fittingly, at Comic-Con, the internets have been buzzing with what the next volume—titled “Villains”—has in store for the super-powered Benneton ad.
If the title of the episode—“The Second Coming”—is any indication, the context of William Butler Yeat’s apocalyptic poem refers to the next doomed timeline our heroes will be spending the season trying to avoid. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the title didn’t also refer to the showrunner’s hopes of recapturing the magic of the first season, making the third season it’s own ‘second coming’— especially after last year’s uneven sophomore slump.
But the big question is—with ‘Heroes’ using the Future As A Threat, is it to recycle its first season or a deliberate attempt to do something new with its source material and references?
The episode obviously doesn’t fully answer that question, but at least it gives a pretty good idea what direction the show is headed. Kring’s apology to pick up the pace of the third season is in full effect. Within the first hour, all the main characters’ (minus for Curly-Haired Kid and Super-Gymnast) story arcs are aptly introduced, as is the aforementioned apocalypse.
About the alternate future; the episode opens four years from now, with a leather-clad Claire ready to put a bullet in leather-clad Peter, as he tries to explain a way he can change “everything.” Details are scarce as to why the future is so bad—it is implied that the two characters’ are involved in an inescapable copyright lawsuit brought on by the The Matrix (I think.)— until later in the episode when Hiro jumps to the future and sees a Japan full of super-powered folk, including a super-powered version of his BFF Ando.
All of which links into this season’s game-changer, which revolves around Dr. Suresh deciding that the best way to help the hot South American chick that kills people uncontrollably—is to give everyone else in the world uncontrollable superpowers. It’s a pretty scientific hypothesis, so I didn’t try too hard to reason it out, but it will probably work out for the best. Er, not including the doomed future.
And the weirdness continues with the show bringing in a new swipe: cheesy 70’s horror movies. Claire spends most the episode running away from Sylar within her own house. She stabs him, then hides in the closet for a bit, before eventually being forced to re-enact Ray Liotta’s scene in Hannibal. As clichéd as the scenes play out, I got to thinking that maybe ‘Heroes’ was finally acknowledging its biggest influence: B-movies. Time will tell.
With Sylar back as a threat, the introduction of the Hiro’s speedy new nemesis, and some foreshadowing that some characters may be headed towards The Dark Side, the episode hints that “Villains” will reflect the flipside of the Heroes’ coin. But it was really another comic book staple that caught my attention.
There seems to be a glimmer of hope with the Nathan Petrelli arc, who was last seen being shot at a podium. He mysteriously returns from the dead in the episode, along with another previously thought-dead character, which seems to hint that there might be something interesting introduced to the whole ‘comic-book resurrection’ thing. (And hopefully it’s more than an elaborate attempt at being punny: Nathan is back to life as a “born again” religious fanatic.)
If ‘Heroes’ is going to play with comic books sensibilities, like alternate futures, villains and resurrections, hopefully they’re ready to do something new. Season three looks like it has the potential be a second coming for the franchise if the writers quit with lazy use of comic book devices, and instead do something new with them. Like the beast described in “The Second Coming,” with the body of a lion and the head of a man, here’s hoping ‘Heroes’ can finally fuse mainstream appeal with its geek-cred to be something new, minus the slouching.