In the fall of 2006, NBC aired a television series that would become a cult phenomenon like no other. Heroes was the story of ordinary people from all over the world living perfectly normal lives until they discover, after a mysterious solar eclipse, they have all manifested superhuman abilities. Some feared them. Some hid them. Some welcomed them, but they all found themselves united upon discovering their connections were more significant than they thought. Their journey was emotional and thrilling. Whether they're standing strong in the face of the clandestine "Company" or fighting for their lives against the murderous psychopath, Sylar, one event would eventually bring our beloved heroes to their fall: the 2008 writer's strike! While several shows managed to survive, Heroes was one of the undeserving programs that suffered. Shark-jumping plot lines, poorly written dialogue, and budget-cut fight scenes resulted in a ratings drop that led to its cancellation after season four.
Its such a rare occurrence when fans actually get what they want when it comes to resurrecting lost shows. Luckily, we seem to be in the midst of a television renaissance. Thanks to our current binge-watching culture, programs that would normally get passed up by critics and mainstream audiences are getting noticed for how well they're made and how brilliantly they're written. This is the perfect era for a show like Heroes to get the second chance it deserves. While Heroes: Reborn is only a 13 episode mini-series and is no actual promise of any further episodes, this season boasts an exciting new story with some dark turns and the return of some fan favorites.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Heroes: Reborn begins four years after the original series finale. We left off with Claire Bennett, the indestructible cheerleader, exposing her abilities to a local news crew by jumping off a carnival ferris wheel, and emerging unscathed. In that time, Claire has become something of a civil rights leader for Evolved Humans, or Evos, as they've come to be known. Leading the charge, she seemed to be doing a pretty decent job of assimilating our new society, but as Heroes has always taught us, there's always someone more powerful with a far more sinister agenda…
June 13, 2014 was the day the world changed. During the Odessa Unity Summit, an event designed to instill peace and harmony among everyone human or otherwise, a devastating attack leveled the complex, killing thousands. It's revealed that Dr. Mohinder Suresh, a staple ally from the original series, has taken responsibility for the attack and is labeled a terrorist. As suspicious and unexplainable as it was, the bombing reversed everyone's thinking about Evos and humanity is now divided by fear. Legislation has been passed to segregate Evos, including mandatory genetic screenings and registration. The world is now a much darker place, full of discrimination, hatred, and conflict against those born superhuman.
The rest of the story centers around Noah Bennett, Claire's father, one year after the summit. It would seem that the casualty and survivor counts don't add up; Claire having been killed despite her powers and Noah remaining alive, despite being human, as well as several others throughout the episode who should've died, but didn't. With Noah going into hiding with a new identity (as he's known to do), he's hoping to put his past exploits behind him. Unfortunately, he's tracked down by a young man named Quentin who needs his help reclaiming his Evo sister taken by a corporation known as Renatus, which may be linked to the events of June 13th.
Heroes wouldn't be the same without a cavalcade of new superpowered supporting players. Its a bit of a disappointment that at least half of the original crew will not be returning for this season, but the latest batch of Evos promises an epic new paradigm with a lot of interesting new powers to play around with.
We are introduced to Tommy, a teenager with the ability to teleport people and objects to other locations who gets entangled with a vigilante couple hunting down Evos after their son was killed in the summit. Not much is done with him, but his importance in the overall story is being billed as one of the more important plotlines, so it remains to be seen just how important. One of the stranger characters introduced is Miko Otomo, a japanese girl encountered by a gamer named Ren Shimosawa who suggests he discovered her address after unlocking it in a game. It needs to be said her powers are either interesting and fun…or just plain laughable. It seems she is the subject of the game Ren was playing called Katana Girl (something of a Heavenly Sword parody). When she wields the Takezo Kensei saber, which once belonged to the time traveling Hiro Nakamura, she is transported into the game itself and must use the environment to save her captive father! Have we seen that before? Not since Tron: Legacy. Is it off-putting and weird? Oh, you betcha, but that doesn't make it any less fun.
Brave New World was a rousing start to a new chapter in the Heroes mythos. The exposure of Evos changed the landscape of the story, which allows for the turmoil of the show to affect things on a much larger scale. The world is afraid. The stakes are higher. We've got a superhero luchador running an underground railroad, the shady corporations we came to fear now have their eyes on global catastrophe, and with more Evos in the world, the tides of humanity will shift towards a dark future if the real heroes stand down and do nothing. If this episode reflects what we can expect from the rest of the season, we're in for an epic rebirth of the Heroes story that will have definitely been worth the wait.
