Wednesday, October 31, 2007

"Heroes" Worship: Oct. 29, 2007

Another week, another episode of Heroes aired in the States. It's time for another "Heroes Worship" segment from Wizard Universe!


‘HEROES’ WORSHIP: OCT. 29, 2007
Get caught up on last night’s episode of ‘Heroes’ with our in-depth recap!

By Wade Gum

Posted October 30, 2007 11:00 AM

What’s the Excitement About?

In case you you just stepped off the space shuttle and missed last year’s television season, “Heroes” is NBC’s newest hit show masterminded by Tim Kring. The series follows ordinary people with extraordinary abilities and their attempts to sort out their lives and save the world.

Last season’s chief protagonist was Peter Petrelli, a male nurse who has the ability to absorb and retain the power of any other superpowered being he comes into contact with. He was relentlessly pursued by Sylar, a murderous villain who can also take powers, but only by killing other people who possess them. Throughout the season, Peter and his allies worked to prevent an apocalyptic vision in which New York was destroyed from coming true.



Hero Roll Call

Claire Bennet—The biological daughter of Nathan Petrelli. A cheerleader with regenerative powers.

Noah Bennet—Adoptive father of Claire. Possesses no superpowers and once worked for the villainous Primatech Paper Co.

Monica Dawson—The cousin of Micah Sanders. Possesses the ability to mimic any physical ability she sees demonstrated.

Alejandro and Maya Herrera—A brother and sister from Central America. Maya has a deadly power and is afflicted with a disease that kills superpowered individuals. Alejandro seems to have the ability to counteract his sister’s power.

Takezo Kensei—The legendary Japanese hero, who actually turns out to be a scumbag with the power of regeneration.

Hiro Nakamura—Son of Kaito Nakamura. Has the ability to manipulate time.

Matt Parkman—NYPD officer with the ability to hear people’s thoughts.

Nathan Petrelli—Brother of Peter Petrelli. Former politician. Has the power of flight.

Peter Petrelli—Brother of Nathan Petrelli. Has the ability to absorb and retain powers.

Micah Sanders—Son of D.L. and Niki. He has the ability to “talk” to technological devices.

Niki Sanders—Wife of D.L. and mother of Micah, with an alternate personality that possesses super-strength.

Mohinder Suresh—A genetics professor in search of superpowered individuals.

Sylar—The show’s central villain. His power is the ability to determine how things work. With this ability, he kills superpowered individuals and is able to steal their abilities.

Molly Walker—A young girl with the ability to concentrate and locate anyone in the world. Adopted by Matt Parkman.

West—A teenage boy who attends the same school as Claire. Has the power of flight and was tagged by Noah when he still worked for Primatech.

Previously on ‘Heroes’

Matt Parkman teamed up with Nathan Petrelli to take down his father, the “nightmare man” who has been terrorizing Molly Parker’s dreams. Matt’s father trapped the two of them inside frightening visions that almost made them kill each other. Thanks to Matt’s abilities, they snapped out of the visions and realized that Matt’s father may be responsible for killing Kaito Nakamura.

Mohinder became concerned with Molly’s health and called Noah for advice. He ultimately ignored the advice and brought Molly into Primatech. There he encountered a crazed Niki, who attacked Bob. Niki eventually apologized, explaining to Mohinder that she came to the Company for treatment for her “sickness.”

Peter Petrelli opened the box that held the keys to his identity but ended up getting into deeper trouble. He used Isaac’s ability to paint a vision of the future and had to confront his past when Elle (sent by the Company) used her electric powers to kill Ricky.

The Recap—‘The Line’

Did you enjoy that Claire-free episode last week? Too bad, because she’s back in full force this time. She tries to make the cheerleading team at her new school but head cheerleader Debbie rejects her. It appears she can’t “bring it on” like she did in Texas. Since she can’t get on the team by talent alone, she teams up with West to get Debbie in hot water and get herself a spot on the team. Is Claire turning evil? Does anyone really care?

As for Claire’s adoptive father Noah, he’s still searching for those missing Isaac paintings in the former Soviet Bloc with the Haitian. He hasn’t discovered anything of note yet and is still concerned over his prophesized death at the hands of his daughter and a mysterious stranger.

Hiro continued his plotline with Takezo Kensei this week. He broke the cardinal rules of time travel as established by Marty McFly and ended up falling in love with the swordmaster’s daughter, changing history as we know it. He indulges in a bit of the traditional heroic romance and kisses her as Kensei watches, changing the future of the “Heroes” universe. The changes aren’t apparent at the present, but they’ll quickly become obvious unless Hiro can change things back to the way they’re supposed to be.

Meanwhile, Peter uses the power he previously absorbed from Hiro to travel to the future. Of course, he has amnesia and doesn’t realize he has this power, but at this point, who really cares? In the post-apocalyptic future Peter travels to, New York is once again destroyed just like last season. Can’t anyone keep this town in pristine condition?

In other heroic news, Mohinder decides to work with Niki, even though she violently attacked Bob last week. No headway is made in the whole plotline about Matt and Nathan’s search for the kanji killer. Also, Sylar continues moving north with Maya and Alejandro.

‘Heroes’ Highlights

LEAST-THOUGHT-OUT PRANK: THE BOMBARDIER THING
Come on, Claire! We get the idea that busting your neck in front of Bitchy McBitch is a fun way to freak her out and win a spot on the squad, but using West’s flying expertise is a bit overkill. Not to mention what’s going to happen when dad hears this story and puts two and two together.—Staff Writer Kiel Phegley

CAMEO OF THE WEEK: CARY-HIROYUKI TAGAWA
After a string of roles that’s seen him playing characters called “Master Ko” and “mysterious Asian man” (seriously, look it up), it’s nice to see the ultra-badass “Mortal Kombat” star flip his usual threatening mode as the benevolent and elderly father of princess Yaeko. Of course, the way things are looking for Hiro, we don’t doubt that Tagawa will know what to do with the backstabbing Kensei…FINISH HIM!—Staff Writer Kiel Phegley

MYSTERY OF THE WEEK: ADAM
Who said Quebec was just an underrated Ween album? This week, the French-speaking province’s rockingest city, Montreal, proves to be less a place that answers questions for Peter Petrelli and more so another twist in the road to rediscovery. Of course, while Peter’s last name and damn near anyone in his family would be old information to the audience, this week’s mention of an ally in “Adam” is all-new and unknown territory for the viewer, making the smallest clue left for Pete a big question mark for fans.—Staff Writer Kiel Phegley

SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF AWARD: WEST THE WONDER KID
For someone who flies all over, day and night, we have no idea how absolutely no one sees this kid. Methinks West’s luck is gonna run out verrrrry soon.—Executive Editor Brian Cunningham

HRG BADASS-O-METER
A solid 9 of 10. He can speak fluent Ukrainian while pistol-whipping a Ukrainian. He cruelly has the Haitian erase said Ukrainian’s memory of his wife of 35 years. And then, to cover his tracks after he learns where the last Isaac Mendez paintings are, he shoots that same Ukrainian in the noggin! Badass, indeed.—Executive Editor Brian Cunningham

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
Okay, we finally saw the remaining paintings that Isaac created before he was murdered. The first one, which shows Kaito’s death, has already come to pass. The second, which shows Claire lying on the steps after West dropped her, happened in this episode. Then we saw a hand holding a vial of clear liquid; a blonde woman hitting some kind of metal surface, like she’s trying to break in or break out; two men standing in what looks like a jail cell, with the man in the foreground (who resembles Peter) having a look of horror on his face (plus there was what looked to be the biohazard symbol in the lower left corner); Hiro and Kensei sword-fighting; Mohinder having just fired a gun; and Noah Bennet lying dead while Claire and a mysterious figure kiss. It seems apparent the manufactured viral strain that Mohinder was worried about in last night’s episode will wipe out 93 percent of the world’s population (based on the trailer for next week) and that the Heroes will have to find a way to stop it. Then it’s obvious Hiro and Kensei will face off over the love of Yaeko. After that, I’m having a tough time figuring out what the rest of the paintings mean.—Editorial Director Mel Caylo

CLIFFHANGER RATING: 8
With the most surprising use of Peter’s many stored powers yet, the “Heroes” team delivers an ending that leaves us trying to say “What’s next?” in the same breath as “Holy sh--!” With a possible future that sees New York evacuated, last season’s atomic explosion finds a disturbingly human mirror image and has us wondering how the dueling prophecies of the separated Petrelli brothers will look once Peter and Nathan are reunited.—Staff Writer Kiel Phegley

SPOILER WARNING!


Next Time on ‘Heroes’

West discovers that Claire’s father is the man responsible for his abduction in the past. Matt, Nathan, Niki, Mohinder and Bob have to join forces in order to combat Matt’s father, the “nightmare man.” Peter uses one of his forgotten abilities and discovers the virus that is striking superpowered individuals around the world. The adventures of Hiro and Kensei finally wrap up in an unexpected twist.

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