Heroes Reborn? Or Re-Don’t?
by Jeremiah Oshiro
Heroes Reborn is an attempt to reboot a series created by Tim Kring (Crossing Jordan, Providence). In the original series, the audience was introduced to a group of seemingly average, everyday people that each discover their capacity for unique, superhuman powers. During their struggle to control and explore their abilities, these gifted individuals eventually manage to find each other. While they might have different powers, their main struggle as “super humans” is dealing with those that don’t understand or accept them.
In this interpretation of the series, we revisit a few old friends; Noah Bennet (Jack Colman), Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), and Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy). The opening sequence features Noah Bennett, five years after the conclusion of the original series, attending an “Evos and Humans” Summit in Odessa, Texas. A terroristic attack at the event causes mass destruction and large amount of casualties. According to the news media evos (short for evolutions) terrorist, Mohinder Suresh was responsible for the grueling attack. One of those casualties is the son of Luke Collins (Zach Levi: Chuck, Tangled) and Joanne Collins (Judith Shekoni: Twilight Breaking Dawn) who proceed to seek vengeance for their son’s death at the hands of Suresh by hunting and killing other evos.
Also, like the original series, in the scenes that follow, we are introduced to a group of newcomers, each newly discovering and developing their superhuman powers. Of particular note, is a teen named Tommy Clarke (Robbie Kay: Once Upon a Time, Pinocchio). After the terrorist attack, Tommy finds and attends an underground evos support group. The group was trying to make sense of the attack and what actions, if any, they should be taking in the aftermath. Tommy is suddenly prompted to leave the meeting and leaves right before Luke and Joanne Collins stand up and gun down all of the attendees. Following this bloody end, Luke and Joanne turn their focus to finding Tommy. It isn’t long before the couple corners the teen at a local ice cream parlor. Tommy, still believing Luke is a fellow evos, acknowledges him and asks how he escaped the support group massacre. Very quickly, he realizes that Luke is not a fellow superhuman, but the one responsible for the mass homicide. Tommy then orchestrates an escape from Luke and Joanne by teleporting them to an unknown location, saving himself as well as his high school crush, an employee at the ice cream shop.
Across the globe, in Japan, the audience meets Miko Otomo (Kiki Sukezane), an average person with an presumably unremarkable past until a video gamer shows up at her door, believing that she’s the muse of his favorite comic book and game. Doubtful, but her interest peaked, Miko reads the comic book herself, leading her to discover her father’s katana sword, the signature weapon of the comic’s heroine. Upon unsheathing the sword, she is transported into the video game, becoming a real life avatar. With the help of her gamer acquaintance, Ren Shimosawa (Toru Uchikado), Miko learns she has to find and rescue her father, who has been trapped in a digital prison for some time
I will admit that for a time, I was a devoted fan of the original Heroes series. For the first two seasons, I was definitely hooked. However, as the storyline progressed, the plot lines became very far-fetched and and disconnected. When I learned the network was going to reboot the series, I was apprehensive, to say the least, and curious if they would continue with the established storyline or pursue a totally different direction. Mainly, I was hopeful the writers would find a way to redeem what a lot of us loved about the 2006 series. After this 2 hour re-introduction, I find myself intrigued, with a growing connection to the new characters and their struggles, plus a desire to see how these divergent storylines will converge during what is being marketed as a 13 episode mini-series.
Will Noah Bennet discover the real truth behind the Summit attack in Odessa? How will Tommy’s crush react to knowing he’s an evo? Where were Luke and Joanna teleported? Does Miko rescue her father? Guess we’ll have to wait and find out next week when Heroes episode 3 airs Thursday, October 1st on NBC.
Edited by: Jennifer Stripe
http://www.nbc.com/heroes-reborn
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