This episode combines the show’s roots in office humor with the added bonus of superhero humor, which the show is uniquely able to do. When Emily needs a way to impress boardroom full of her bosses, she scrambles and remembers that Green Fury, an actual superhero of all people, owes her a favor. She promises everyone that Green Fury, who has already been in the news for her public breakup with a fellow superhero, will appear in a commercial for Wayne Security.
If POWERLESS were to have a superhero as a reoccurring character, as they seem to be doing right now, there would be some worries as to how they might treat the character. Not to distrust POWERLESS and those who are in control of the show, but I’m having nightmares of Green Fury walking into the room, shouting, “Lex Luthor is destroying the world AGAIN? I haven’t even had my morning coffee yet!” as she looks directly into the camera and a laugh track plays.
However, when her bosses take the commercial over and try and sexualize Green Fury to sell the product, Emily and Green Fury take charge and flip the entire situation around on them. They bring in Green Fury’s self-obsessed ex-boyfriend, The Olympian, to play the part instead, allowing Emily and Green Fury to shut down their misogyny, all while letting Emily successfully finish her commercial.
Green Fury has obviously been a superhero on POWERLESS, having saved several of the cast members throughout her short time on the show. POWERLESS isn’t using her as a simple supporting character in the show to simply fill the need of some superhero related humor. She acts like how an actual superhero might act: valiant, yet down to earth.
Green Fury seems to be playing a real part in POWERLESS, though. She isn’t being used in any cheesy way, but rather as a way to humanize superheroes. In this episode, as she deals with constant rumors being spread in the press about her breakup, we see that Green Fury is just a regular person. Her problems aren’t always falling skyscrapers; they can be more leveled than that.
For a show that’s tackling the humor behind the superhero world, POWERLESS seems like it’s going to be focusing on the cliché that superheroes are just gods among us. By creating a superhero that seems more like someone you can be friends with than someone you would read a comic book about, POWERLESS breaks a barrier between superhero and viewer that isn’t typically broken. Hopefully, as they’ve done up until now, POWERLESS will continue to break down these kinds of barriers. There is so much humor in the oddities of these superhero worlds that POWERLESS, as it continues down it’s already successful path, will never run out of material.
Written by William Staton, POWERLESS Beat Writer -- Click to read William's posts
Related Posts:
POWERLESS Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Van v. Emily - Dawn of JusticePOWERLESS Season 1 Episode 6 Review: I'ma Friend You
POWERLESS Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Cold Season