Heroes Breakdown
Ok, so I finished season one of Heroes, and I really enjoyed it. It was good – not as good as people had hyped it to be, but pretty entertaining in the end. I look forward to the next season. Having said that, I thought I’d engage in a little deconstruction of a few of the elements I noticed. If you noticed more, leave them in the comments! It’s interesting. Also, please note that this entry may contain spoilers after the more link. 
(And for those wondering, this is not the entry where I’ll talk about the use of Japanese language in the show.)
Right…so, first let’s look at the basic premise of the show. Humans are at an evolutionary shelf where people are becoming suddenly capable of (formerly) supernatural things. That immediately sent me to things like Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke. The fact that these people decide to act as heroes and villains, fighting against one another and acting for the benefit of those still in their old human state – instead of surpassing and discounting them, made this a classic comic-book-esque plot. In fact, it resembles nearly all of the archetypes found in Western (I’m thinking specifically of Marvel and DC and their brethren) comics. It doesn’t surprise me that the current boom in comic-based cinematic features has now begun its migration to the television screen. Most recently, this particular series cannot help but resemble the plots of the X-Men films.
Let’s do a quick review. I’m an X-Men fan, but I could use it. X-Men, the first of the trilogy, involved a machine that was capable of making normal people into mutants. This is the most delicate echo, probably. In Heroes, Mohinder Suresh turns out to have an antibody that allows young heroes to overcome their bodies’ natural rejection of the specific evolution. (Since it’s not all people, it’s different, but the idea is the same – a mechanism allows one to become or remain a person with powers.) Weak? Yeah, I guess. Let’s go to the next film. X2: X-Men United features a madman who is bent on reproducing Cerebro, the computation device that can psychically locate any person on the face of the planet. It’s a classic remote viewing setup. Mr. Bennett repeatedly refers to Molly as a “tracking system” and the argument over whether or not heroes are safe as long as Molly lives closely resembles the panic over the Cerebro technology falling into the wrong hands. Am I wrong? The third and final film, X-Men: The Last Stand, dealt mainly with the idea of how a static society of normalcy copes with a sudden and drastic evolutionary change. Rogue’s back and forth over whether or not she wants to remain “super” is similar to many of the quiet asides that the various heroes make – and the “cure” that Mohinder hints at resembles the “cure” that is featured in the film. The identity / otherness struggle is most clearly presented by Nathan Petrelli, who is adamant about keeping his ability under wraps.
Now, factor in the overarching thematic devices. Someone seeking to destroy all mutants vs. someone seeking to kill all opposing heroes. Sylar and Stryker are the same guy. Their names are even similar. Both plots deal with “special-ness” and the prejudice it encounters in a fashion that is directly analogous to racism. The identity struggle and moralism of having powers also factors in prominently to both. Also, a bunch of the characters match up really well with characters from other “universes” – in motive or power. I already mentioned that Sylar and Stryker have similar endgames. Claire Bennet shares the rapid healing ability with Wolverine. Hiro Nakamura can teleport through space just like Nightcrawler – though Nightcrawler can’t beat time, to my knowledge. Maybe that power stems from Neo bullet-time craze a la Matrix. Mohinder Suresh is both the enabler and cure for heroes, providing a very interesting non-hero vital character. The X-Men’s Forge and Micah Sanders can “talk” to machinery. Isaac Mendez paints the future, though precognition has been around for a long, long time – for instance Minority Report. Niki / Jessica Sanders is an odd case. I liken her to Two-Face from the Batman tales. Walking through walls is the specialty of both D.L. Sanders and Shadowcat (referred to as “Kitty” in the films, I think). Matt Parkman can hear thoughts – like Mel Gibson in What Women Want, or Professor X, or Jean Grey. Peter Petrelli is roughly the same as Phoenix, the scary all-absorbing powerful mutant who threatens others by existing. He also plays the role of a Christ-figure who takes on the troubles of all and sacrifices himself to save the world. Candice has clearly got to be the shape-shifting Mystique. Noah Bennet is like the G-Man in the Half-Life series, or the Smoking Man from the X-Files. It’s just kind of mixed.
Speaking of a G-Man, there is a lot of governmental / corporate suspicion embodied in the Heroes series. The Petrelli campaign resorts to fraud – which obviously plays upon the fears about real election fraud. (This is an important issue in real life, no matter which side of the aisle you stand on, by the way. We need a better way. But I digress.) There’s also a conspiracy to place Nathan strategically in the White House after he becomes a congressman, which is eerily similar to the Manchurian Candidate. The conspiracy deepens, and through people like the Petrelli’s mother, Mr. Deveaux, and Linderman himself, we discover that there is a gene-cultivation program running behind the scenes. It is very very similar to a secular version of Dune’s Bene Gesserit. Interesting.
Did you see any parallels or correlations that I missed? If so, please add them. Or correct me if I’m way off on anything. (I know I’ve referenced the most recent adaptations of most of these works. I like the originals too, so please don’t freak.) It’s just interesting. Also, let me know what you thought of the show as a whole. (Keep the Japanese language comments for the appropriate entry, though.) Thanks.
