Warp Section

Over on Comic Book Resources, there is a post about an upcoming episode of Heroes. Heavy spoilers!

Here is a snippet of the spoilers from the article:

Then Linderman drops a bombshell, literally and figuratively: the explosion is to be the catalyst for a better future. When Nathan wonders out aloud about the cost in lives, Linderman counters, “There’s six and a half billion people on the planet, that’s less than .07%. Come on, that’s an acceptable loss by anyone’s count.”

“It is your destiny, Nathan, to be the leader who uses this event to rally a city, a nation, a world,” Linderman continues. And to drive the point home, Linderman unveils a prophetic painting of Nathan Petrelli in the Oval Office, seemingly painted by Isaac Mendez.

If you can’t help yourself and want a bit more, check out Comic Book Resources.

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As an obeisance to the gods of Returning–since I am already waiting for the return of Heroes in April–I write this week about all the returns that our season-ender gave us:

1. The return of some memory

Mr. Bennet cleverly told his wife before he left that he had sent Claire away for her own safety, and that if he went looking for her, she should stop him. She faithfully complied, showing a much more intelligent side than we’ve seen in then past.

But then we saw a completely different side; to wit, an impersonation of Mrs. Bennet by the newly introduced mimic character. Mr. Bennet got caught, and it looks like he’s going to be in some serious trouble.

2. The return of Simone Deveaux…

…but not really. This was the mimic at work again. Taunting poor Isaac with a double of the woman he loved, which is perhaps part of what caused…

3. The return of heroin
For Isaac once again descends into the depths of drug addiction this week as he paints the death of another hero.

4. The return of Jessica
The kinder, gentler alter-ego manages to sneak out a bit this week. She warns her husband, D.L., that something isn’t right, and she keeps control long enough to warn Nathan Petrelli that Linderman knows everything.

We finally meet Linderman this week, played by prolific actor Malcolm McDowell, who–trivia you’ll only find here–played as Roarke on a Fantasy Island (the newer series, not the old one) episode entitled none other than… “Heroes!”

5. The return of the sword

In one of the earliest episodes we see future-Hiro with a mythical sword. Now, that foreshadowing has finally come to pass. And with it, we see the return of Hiro’s powers! But he would have been hard-pressed to get his hands on the sword if not for …

6. The return of Ando!

Yes, Hiro’s friend would not abandon him, even when Hiro asked it. Instead, the wise Ando became a guard at Linderman’s casino, knowing it was only a matter of time until Hiro set off an alarm. To escape, Hiro uses his rediscovered powers and takes us Back to the Future!

7. The return of the Future

…only this time, there’s no Michael J. Fox. Instead, we see a bleak, post-bomb New York. Is it too late for Hiro and the rest to prevent this tragedy? Perhaps, for we have also seen…

8. The return of Sylar!

Much like his father, Mohinder was smart enough to suss out Sylar, but too obsessed to watch him closely enough. Sylar used some vestige of his power to turn off the curare IV drip, thereby unparalyzing himself and his powers. He then pinned Mohinder bloodily and dramatically to the ceiling, where he was able to whisper a single-word warning to Peter Petrelli as he entered the apartment.

I, like the show, will leave you hanging with the incredibly tense face-off between Sylar and Peter, with blood dripping from Peter’s head as Sylar’s psychic saw blade whirs away.

(Unlike the show, however, I will be back next week, with reviews on more of the avalanche of material they’re providing at the website with the online graphic novel and more!)

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We have known for some time, as has Claire, that Mr. Bennet is not her real father. What we did not know is that he was given Claire 15 years ago so he could be her surrogate father and turn her over at the first sign of any emerging powers.
And we did not know that another father, Mr. Nakamura himself, was so wrapped up in this! Flashbacks from this week’s episode show us that 14 years ago, Mr. Nakamura and his son, Hiro, were on the same rooftop where the Invisible Man kept his pigeons all these years later, handing an infant Claire over to the man who would grow to love her like his own daughter. He would love her so much, in fact, that he’d be willing to take a bullet to protect her.

We also learned a lot about the secret organization that has been using Primatech as a front. In fact, we met (one of?) the boss(es) this week. We also met “Claude” before he was a pigeon-keeper and hero-trainer. We met him as a Hunter, like Mr. Bennet. And we saw him pretend to die on the same bridge where Mr. Bennet would complete a poetic circle Monday night.

There was also a fun look at a young Haitian who was, despite his youth, still very self-possessed. And who had a very interesting mark on the front of his body.

Unfortunately, Ted Sprague and the whole radioactive man angle really detracted from the episode. As if the werewolf comparisons weren’t obvious enough with his wild hair and unkempt beard, tonight we heard Ted howling away as he flashed with radioactive energy. Apparently none of this RADIOACTIVE energy did any permanent damage to any of the important cast members, thankfully. Just as strangely, the FIRE that Ted’s radiation started seemed to cool as soon as Ted did, after Claire apparently tranquilized him.

Tonight also made me glad that neither Mr. or Mrs. Bennet are Claire’s biological parents; at least this gives her a fighting chance of not being genetically stupid. How long does it take to figure out your daughter is invulnerable? Quit trying to save her! I know the parental instinct is strong, but please don’t step in front of the human shield.

So you take the good with the bad. The realizations and surprises are coming at a great pace now, and most of the acting and writing is good. I still find myself rooting for Sylar sometimes, the only one who appears to enjoy his powers as much I believe I would. Oh, woe is me, I’m super. Well, guess what, lots of people are outcasts without having the perk of unbelievable powers, so get over yourselves and start doing more cool stuff!

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Forever Geek is reporting the Saturn Award nominations today.  Much to my surprise Superman Returns received 10 nominations.  I have yet to see it, and from what my friends are saying about it, I think I can still wait.  X-Men III, yeah that was good.  Of course Pirates of the Caribbean was good.

The nominees for the 2007 Saturn Awards have been announced, with Superman Returns leading the pack with 10 nominations. Other nominated films include: X-Men: The Last Stand, Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, Casino Royale, Mission: Impossible III, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Stranger Than Fiction
Source: Superman Returns leads 07 Saturn Award Nominations at Forever Geek

Forever Geek picks their favs for the winners.  For the animated category I have to agree with Scanner Darkly.  That was one freaky film.

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Someone flies, someone dies…

That was the promise, and Monday night they delivered. The invisible man finally forced Peter to develop his powers, but at what cost? Peter told us that his powers come not from shutting humanity out, but from embracing it. So perhaps it is not such a surprise that the materialization of Sylar’s powers should be accompanied by a bit of Sylar’s dark side. Still, how cool was it to see Peter go all Superman-style through the New York sky?

Meanwhile, “Zane” is accompanying Mohinder on the search for new heroes. I can’t help but think that Mohinder is going to figure it out if the people they go to visit keep getting eaten by Sylar. For now, however, chalk up super-hearing on Sylar’s ever-growing list of powers.

Hiro appeared to get his powers back tonight, at least a little. His confidence is still lacking, however. The exchange between Hiro and Ando after they narrowly avoided getting shot was pretty amusing.
Ando: Did you powers work? My eyes were closed.
Hiro: I don’t know; mine were, too.

You were all no doubt shocked and saddened by seeing Hiro push Ando away–who takes advice from a rogue gaming commissioner, anyway?–but the moment was lightened a little by a cameo from none other than STAN LEE (as the bus driver at the end)! Stan has a habit of showing up in any show or movie about heroes, since he created half of the most well-known heroes of our day.

While Hiro and Ando narrowly avoided getting shot, Simone Duveaux was not so lucky. Peter’s rage and Isaac’s misguided attempts to save the world ended in her death, the one promised by the advertising. Parallelling her death is the collapse of Claire’s mother, fallen in a pool of spilt milk. Too many brain-wipes by the Haitian have bruised her dura, or some such thing. Claire is through putting up with the lies and lets her father know it.

And Claire isn’t the only one. Matt Parkman, Ted Sprague, and Hana “Wireless” Gitelman show up in the Bennet home at the end of the episode! Whatever happens next, some serious stuff has hit the fan.

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This week we see the secret Primatech file of a man we already know well: Matt Parkman. Not much new here. However, the file does note that his wife is pregnant, and certain parties are VERY interested in the genes of the unborn child. It stands to reason that it might have some very special abilities. Especially after last week’s bombshell that Claire is the daughter of none other than NATHAN PETRELLI!

Another special child, Micah Sanders, son of D.L. (the guy who phases through matter) and Nikki/Jessica, is the focus of the graphic novel this week. Some bully advertises during computer class that Micah’s mom is a psycho killer. Hey, sometimes the truth hurts.
The bully punches Micah in the school yard, to which Micah responds by kicking him in the nuts and running for his life. As a former victim of playground bullying, I have to say this had me cheering. Micah runs into the graveyard, where he uses his abilities to light up an electronic sign and scare the bejesus out of his pursuing bully. As Micah tells his father that night, “Yeah, I won.”

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As promised, here’s the update for the graphic novel and the Primatech Paper company, the two sources of extra online content for the show Heroes.

The graphic novel can be found online here.

Graphic Novel

We continue to follow Ted Sprague, the radioactive man. Last week Hana (aka Wireless) left him as the authorities caught up with the two of them in a remote mountain location. Hana escaped, but Ted was sprayed down with liquid concrete which they expected to contain his explosive power. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated his abilities. He exploded free and started tracking down clues. He discovered that the two marks that each of the heroes carries on the back of their necks are from a special gun that shoots two needles. One needle carries a tranquilizer to put them down, and the second carries a tracking tag with a unique isotope so their subjects can be found and identified later.

“Hana Gittelman”’s blog can be found here; she’ll tell you all about how to hack the Primatech Paper site to get this info!

Primatech

Primatech seems to be paralleling the graphic novel, so we see Ted’s “file” this week. There’s really not much more information here, just the keen picture posted above. We know that Ted blames the agents for bringing out his abilities, and therefore for his wife’s death. He seeks revenge, and apparently he can produce enough radiation to kill instantly, so he is well-equipped to carry it out.

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Well, the TiVo gods laughed at me this week as my DVR calmly informed me that “this program is not available at this time” when I tried to watch my beloved to Heroes tonight. Thankfully, NBC streams every episode online! In fact, there’s even commentary from the actors in a nice little side window with controllable audio, so in a way, it was a blessing to have this particular malfunction.

It’s good to see Isaac sober. The actor proves that he can do passion with or without the crazy, which I appreciate. Speaking of good acting, George Takei finally makes his appearance this week! He gives Hiro a second possible destiny, but of course our hero cannot accept. Instead, he is a hero to his sister as well, cleverly maneuvering her into the position his father wanted for him.

The invisible man continues his lessons with Peter. He urges Peter to shuck off the concerns of all these other people in his life—as impossible for Peter as foregoing his destiny is to Hiro—in order to fully realize his powers and pluck them out at will without the “benefactor” being present. He scorns humanity: “Everyone’s like the rest… that’s why they’re the rest!” Peter’s girlfriend starts to bear out this bleak statement by interacting quite closely with her old boyfriend, Isaac.
Convinced that Peter’s body will remember, even if Peter doesn’t, the Invisible Man throws Peter off the roof of a 30 story building; he seems to be all about the sink or swim. Peter decides on a third option, which is a little like growing gills. And he realizes that the key to his powers isn’t to cut out humanity, but to welcome them in.

As Peter is slowly learning to control his abilities, Sylar shows us that his control is second to none. Mr. Bennet is the first victim of Sylar’s escape. Now,I don’t want to call Mr. Bennet’s temporarily imprisoned circumstance a comeuppance, but he has put a lot of people through a lot of crap. In the end, Bennet gets out and Sylar runs away again, but not before giving us a long creepy look at his personality and his growing powers.

There’s now SO much Heroes content that I’ve decided to make two entries this week; stay tuned to see what’s going on in the graphic novel and what Primatech Paper has in their secret files.

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Curiously, having been promised a new hero by the online graphic novel, we saw TWO new individuals this week, NEITHER of whom were Hana Gitelman.
First, we saw The Invisible Man, whom Peter seems to believe can teach him to control his “empathic” powers. The invisible man has implied that he’s met people like Peter before.
Then, at the end of the episode, we saw Claire’s mother! Apparently the apple didn’t fall far from the tree because Claire isn’t the only one with powers. And after seeing her mother light her cigarette, we can guess why there was an explosion 14 years ago.

As the season goes on, both the pace of the show and the rate of extra material is increasing. Now, in addition to the online graphic novel, there’s the whole Primatech Paper website and the associated code. This week the user name (bennet) and password (claire) let you into see all about Hana Gitelman.
Her codename is “Wireless” and she can detect and send wireless signals with her mind. We learn that she was betrayed by the Primatech Paper people and she was in contact with the “exploding man” for awhile.

I’ll keep digging if you keep reading.

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So, a ton of stuff happened in the first episode back, but it felt a little forced to me. It’s as if the acceleration of the plot squeezed out time for the good acting we’ve seen up until this point.

Jessica/Nikki ended up in prison, and now the evil twin is playing the crazy card to try to get them out. Hiro tried to steal his sword of the future from the museum, only to find out it was a replica, and the real one is owned by…wait for it…Linderman! Hiro hooks up with Nathan “flying man!” Petrelli at the end of this episode, and of course Nathan and Linderman are closely tied. Peter Petrelli wakes up after several disturbing dreams about blowing up, and disappears from his hospital room. Claire–who did NOT get mind-wiped by the Haitian–is re-befriending Zach, just so she doesn’t have to be all alone.
Matt Parker and the FBI agent raid Primatech paper , only to find it completely innocent. Sure it is. Pay no attention to the eerie psychic standing in the corner.

And that’s just what’s happening on screen! In the online graphic novel, there’s more turmoil brewing. They’ve built up Hana Gitelman (to be played by Stana Katic, pictured above), who will never go by that name again after using her abilities to escape a government compound of some sort. She went on a mission for “the man in the horn-rimmed glasses” (you know him better as Claire’s father) after being trained into a superweapon. She is physically at the peak of human potential, and she can access wireless signals–internet, email, cell phones–with her mind.

And there’s plenty more to come. They’ve still promised us Hiro with the sword, Hiro vs. the dinosaur, and Hiro’s father (played by George Takei!). Keep watching, and keep reading WarpSection!

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