NBC’s upcoming sitcom Powerless, premiering in February, now has a major connection to one of the most popular comic book characters ever. Originally conceived as a show that would take place in a world that has superheroes, but would focus on the normal people just trying to work and live their lives while people with powers created chaos around them, Powerless stars Vanessa Hudgens, Danny Pudi, and Alan Tudyk and was originally located at a generic investment firm.
But now, the office that these “powerless” people will occupy is apparently going to be a Wayne Enterprises-owned security company as reported by Entertainment Weekly. This change gives the show a markedly more clear connection to well-known DC titles while still falling short of integrating Batman as explicitly as say, Gotham does. Some fans anticipating the premiere of this creative project have been worried about rumors that the show was steering too far away from any mentions of the DC universe, but now it seems the writers are swinging things back the other way.
A show of this type might do well to mostly stay away from integrating too many comics references since it is purposely meant to be a stand alone thing, but if more people check it out because of the Batman connection than it’s not all bad. Interestingly, Gizmodo has pointed out that this change in the setting pretty much means that Bruce Wayne has unintentionally (or intentionally) set up a protection racket for the entire city of Gotham. The sitcom will center around the idea that “you don’t need superpowers to be a hero” but this change definitely makes it seem as if NBC thinks you at least need mentions of superpowers to be a ratings success.
(via Entertainment Weekly)
