HEROES IS A RIP OFF .... OF MEGAMAN

Some may accuse HEROES of borrowing from X-Men, or The 4400 ... but I have a theory that Tim Kring and company have been getting inspiration from none other than the 'Blue Bomber' himself! Crazy you say? Yeah, crazy like a pixelated FOX ... I submit the following:

FLASHMAN
Appearing in MegaMan 2. No doubt the inspiration for Hiro Nakamura, as he could freeze time at will.


ICEMAN
Appearing in MegaMan 1. He had the ability to freeze things, not unlike a certain leggy blonde.

FIREMAN
Appearing in MegaMan 1. The characters who play Meredith and Flint (sorry, I haven't bothered to learn their real names) owe a debt of gratitude to this hot-headed bad ass.

MAGNETMAN
Appearing in MegaMan 3, he was the likely inspiration of the short-lived German ... who some people mistakingly believe is inspired by Magneto. Yeah right, Magneto wasn't German ...


SPARKMAN
C'mon ... these are just getting easy now ....


QUICKMAN
Appearing in MegaMan 2. You know her, I hate her .... it's Daphne. At this time I would like to point out the obvious fact that I LOVE MEGAMAN games. I know this posting is total fluff, but like an SNL skit, I don't know when to quit ... so continuing on ....


DR. LIGHT
Chandra Suresh is loosely based on the mastermind who created the star of the show .....


MEGAMAN
He has to be the inspiration behind Sylar. Think about it, MegaMan was just an ordinary robot (Rock) until Dr. Light turned him into a more powerful being. MegaMan is now known for taking out Master bots to gain their abilities.

So there you have it. More than anything I think I have proved that Heroes can be accused of ripping off anything, depending on how far you are willing to stretch. There are only so many elements and physical attributes to go around ... I'm sure Marvel and DC don't mind sharing. After all, alot of their bread and butter characters are merely modernized characters of Greek Mythology.
Just a little side note ... I was planning on doing a "TEN BEST CLASSIC NES GAMES" and it somehow turned into this, just in case anyone was wondering how this post came to be.


-Z

Movies To Inspire .... Heroes

Heroes has taken a 'Real World' approach to the Superhero genre. This got me thinking about which movie characters would be a good fit on the show, or at the very least, warrant borrowing from ... I submit the following:



Donnie Darko:
Easily one of my Top 5 movies EVER ... Donnie Darko was a character tormented by his ability, the ability to see the future. More than just seeing the future, Donnie's actions caused a branching from the 'Primary Universe' into a 'Tangent Universe'. Of course to correct the rift caused when Donnie escaped death the first time (which led to visions of and the death of Frank the Bunny and of Gretchen) he himself had to die to put the timeline right again.



Carrie White:
She was an example of how devistating telekinesis can be. She set her school ablaze and crucified her mother with kitchen knives, all because of her 'monthly visit from Aunt Flo', so to speak. Although Sylar has the power of telekinesis, Heroes lacks a character who has been kicked around and suddenly realizes they have the means to kick back.





Jason Voorhees:
Jason was a remorseless killer who punished the wicked (teens that like to smoke pot and do it). Jason could not die, but unlike Claire he showed the wear and tear of all his battles. Everyone on Heroes seems to have a similar moral compass, how about giving us a religious nut who uses their ability to impose their beliefs on others?





Charlie McGee:
Drew Barrymore's character in Firestarter. Her parents were test subjects injected with a formula called 'Lot 6', which led to her father developing telepathic hypnosis and her mother developing telekinesis. Charlie, being that she was the offspring of these two had the latent ability to create fire with her mind. She was kidnapped by a Government agency called 'The Shop' so they could study the extent of her ability. Maybe something similar could be done with the inmates of Level 5 ... I mean Elle had to run the gauntlet of testing, why shouldn't hardend criminals?



Jack Torrance:
Classic lead role in The Shining (one of my favorite books AND movies). Although Jack didn't necessarily have an ability, the effect the Overlook Hotel had on him could be a possible side effect of Sylar's new ability "Clairsentience". Imagine certain objects having such a strong aura, or whatever, that they start to alter Sylar's moods and thoughts. If not Sylar (who probably fully understands the ability as he used his 'brain mapping' to obtain it) have some other empath come into contact with the ability and struggle with it.

I am sure there are other examples, in movies and other media, that would be a good fit for Heroes. These are just a few that are near and dear to my heart (as they are some of my favorite film characters.) Feel free to agree or disagree ... or better yet, contribute to the idea.


-Z

Heroes, A Retrospective

With all the heat Heroes has been getting as of late, you gotta wonder: 'Why are people still watching?' For me, the easiest answer is to look back at why I started watching in the first place.

I know for a fact it wasn't the commercials for the show. I actually didn't watch an episode on t.v. until the season 3 premier. I can remember seeing the season one commercials of Claire running around in her cheerleading outfit with the tagline "save the cheerleader, save the world" .... and thinking 'hmm, the girl from Ice Princess? Big whoop.'
It wasn't until a friend of mine got the box set and went on and on about this show where two brothers can fly (he was still on the early episodes) and some nut running around eating brains to gain abilities that I gave the show a chance. Once Claire did her nosedive off of the water tower I was hooked. The show had a style all it's own; the music, the fact it was 'real' people struggling with these amazing gifts. I watched one episode after the other. In three days I had devoured the first season, up to the climatic finale which saw Hiro warp back to Feudal Japan and Nathan eventually doing the right thing.

Season One highlights for me were:

• Peter's disappointment when Nathan could fly and he couldn't. I actually felt bad for the guy. When it turned out he did have an ability I was psyched. >Insert asterisk here<

• Isaac Mendez. The idea of a heroin addict who could paint the future was INSANE. Isaac was one of my favorites, and his ability was such a cool concept.
  
• Hiro was a blast to watch. Watching him and Ando trek across the country to help save the day made for some of the best material in the first season. R.I.P. Charlie
• Sylar gave the season direction. He was such a force to be reckoned with. He killed people and split their heads open, terrorized Claire, he became President in an alternate future ... he was the ultimate villain.
  

That being said, season one did have it's flaws. Although fun to watch, Ali Larter's character did get tiresome. Most of the stuff with Nicki, DL and Micah was a little too soap opera for my taste. Also, it seemed like every week someone else would be like 'tada, i'm special too' .... I remember rolling my eyes when Linderman revealed his ability lol.


Season 2:
Cut short by the writer's strike, the second season did have a few high points.

• Adam Munroe. Adam was such likable sleaze bag. A drunken mercenary-for-hire in Feudal Japan. The fact that he was Takezo Kensei, Hiro's boyhood hero was classic. Knowing what we know now, I wish he didn't turn out to be a regenerator. This story angle could have ended with Hiro being the brave warrior he read about as a child. With Adam's anti-climatic death in season 3, it now seems pointless to have had him live for 400 years.
• Isaac's series of 8 paintings that mapped out the death of HRG. Although it didn't stick, it made for some real drama ... and it was nice to have the impact of Isaac's work felt into the second season.
• The Nightmare Man. Matt confronting and eventually trapping his father in his own mind was basically the best storyline Matt has done on the show thus far.
• The Future Outbreak of the Shanti Virus was the 'Exploding Man' of season 2. Had Season 2 run it's course, we would have seen Peter save the human race from near-annihilation ... and Caitlin wouldn't be M.I.A.

It may not be fair to critique Season 2 too much, as they did not get to tell the full story. Non-the-less, Peter's reboot must be addressed as it has been rehashed in Season 3. It just comes across as lazy to overload him with powers, take them away and we watch him squirm until he gets them back. The writer's went to the well one time too many there.




Besides the obvious problems plaguing Season 3 (too many supercharged people, all the non-deaths, no clearly defined villains, slow build up to a showdown, and all the pitfalls that come with writing about time travel) ... I think what Season 3 has lost is a sense of it's own reality. Rarely do the 'special' people interact with 'normals' anymore. Besides Ando, HRG and his wife there are hardly any regular people on the show. The first 2 seasons featured more supporting players, and was better for it. None of the main characters seem to have lives anymore. They are all focused on a battle that makes little sense, 11 episodes in. Why doesn't Nathan mention his kids anymore? Why has Peter forgotten about Caitlin?
Another issue is Sylar's bizarre behavior. He's bad, he's good, he's a Petrelli ... WTF?! Season One Sylar is history, he will never be the same pyscho killer we knew and loved.
Season 3 has alot to live up to. The fact is Tim Kring and the gang shot themselves in the foot. They delivered such a quality product in the past that the fans will not stand for anything less than intriguing stories and genuine plot twists. Here's hoping they can pull it off.

-Z