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Sharlto Copley Stands Out In A Strong First Episode Of Powers

PowersThatBeWaking up this morning to find Powers streaming live on YouTube gave me a chance to watch it and I thought I'd share my initial thoughts. Unlike a lot of the superhero shows on television where the world is first learning about metahumans, Powers is a world where a guy in a cape could fly overhead at any time. Its also a world where the LAPD has a special division dedicated to dealing with criminals with powers. Here we meet Detective Christian Walker (Sharlto Copley), a former Power called Diamond, and his brand new partner Detective Deena Pilgrim (Susan Heyward).

Unlike the comic, here we start off with full knowledge of Walker's past and we go right into the death of his former teammate Olympia and introduction of Calista (Olesya Rulin). We learn that Johnny Royalle (Noah Taylor) is dealing a drug called Sway and we get to meet the extremely dangerous Wolfe (Eddie Izzard).

The pilot was written by Charlie Huston and directed by David Slade. It gives us a good look at both our main characters and the world that the live in. We get enough of a tease of what is going on to make folks want to see more… which is just what a pilot is supposed to do. Both Royalle and Wolfe are dangerous enough that you really want to know what they are going to do next.

The stand out here is Sharlto Copley. He brings a sadness to Walker that makes you immediately want him to get his powers back, but he's engaging enough that you want to follow him. The thing that makes the character of Walker work is that he's still trying to be a hero and make a difference even without his powers. The triangle between Copley, Taylor and Izzard is going to be what makes this show worth watching and each actor seems more than up to the task.

We don't get to really see Michelle Forbes as Retro Girl, she is just talked about a lot and teased at the very end. I look forward to seeing how she and Copley work off each other.

I don't currently have a Playstation Plus account… I'm still using my PS3, but after watching the first episode of Powers I am contemplating getting an account to see the rest.

And now an idea of what's to come on Powers:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/ta6o5i2oRBw[/youtube]


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Dan WicklineAbout Dan Wickline

Has quietly been working at Bleeding Cool for over three years. He has written comics for Image, Top Cow, Shadowline, Avatar, IDW, Dynamite, Moonstone, Humanoids and Zenescope. He is the author of the Lucius Fogg series of novels and a published photographer.
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