Powerless



Marvel's Powerless in a nutshell - a re-imagining of the whole Marvel Universe, with a twist consisting of - well, the lack of any superpowers at all.

This may be mistaken as both inverting and playing the Recycled in Space trope straight, but there's more than that.

Let's just say it turns out to be a Genre Shift from your usual Superhero comic to some kind of thriller.

People such as Matt Murdock, Peter Parker, Logan, Frank Castle, Bruce Banner and the like are all connected to their therapist, doctor William Watts: after he awakens from a three-day coma spent dreaming of the main Marvel universe, Watts begins even hallucinating said people's Earth-616 analogues as soon as their name is mentioned.

In this universe, when Peter Parker isn't bullied by a Jerk Jock, he's threatened by Norman Osborn simply for working for Tony Stark instead. And instead of getting superpowers, the spider-bite only made his right arm almost useless.

In this universe, Logan... well... has the same problems as usual.

In this universe, Matt Murdock is a blind, yet brilliant attorney, whose struggle against Wilson Fisk seems to be Unwinnable due to the latter having blackmailed a Misblamed Frank Castle into admitting a crime he didn't commit, in order to get away with it. A particularly traumatic experience is only the first price the man will pay for doing his job.

In this universe, Bruce Banner is simply held captive in an asylum due to... well, you know.

Essentially, this is what would happen if Christopher Nolan were to reimagine the Marvel Universe.

See also "Bullet Points" for a series that similarly turns the Marvel Universe on its head, and as such, for example, in Italy got reprinted together with Powerless in a single book. The Noir books also tread a lot of the same ground, but transfer the setting to the 1930s.

Please be sure to add tropes with spoilers, all ye Tropers who browse.


 * Badass Normal:, of course. Hell, he even has.
 * Also,  fits the trope when he.
 * Butt Monkey: while, for once,  comes out of the crap he's been put through pretty well,   isn't so lucky.
 * Came Back Wrong:
 * Cassandra Truth: Gwen just won't believe Peter about 's blackmailing.
 * Comes Great Responsibility: referenced by Peter, when he tells Watts about something his uncle Ben said before dying.
 * Crapsack World: let's just say that this series shows very well what living in the same city where a Complete Monster such as either Osborn or Fisk, in a real world without superpowers, is like. But with this being the Marvel Universe, this is pretty much a given.
 * Elseworld: no duh.
 * Demoted to Extra: Reed and Susan Richards, the prison inmates (see Mythology Gag below), Stephen Strange, Henry Pym, Emma Frost, and to a lesser extent, Bruce Banner.
 * Disney Villain Death: in a truly satisfying fashion, this time is  The trope alone, however, is subverted in that you get to see the outcome.
 * Fridge Logic: Without superpowers, how did Logan survive into the 20th and 21st centuries? Of course he was probably just born later...
 * The Gwen Stacy:
 * Heroic BSOD: poor Watts, when he saw the headlines announcing, he didn't take it well. Doubles as Oh Crap.
 * Karma Houdini: Wilson Fisk, obviously.
 * Kick the Dog:
 * Killed Off for Real: by the end of the miniseries, the body count is as follows:  and heavily implied with.
 * Lampshade Hanging: of a Mythology Gag - when leaving Peter alone, fellow scientist Curt Connors says he has to do experiments with reptiles, about which he comments, "Don't ask".
 * Miscarriage of Justice: Frank Castle, very nearly.
 * Mythology Gag: oh, all over the place. This trope gets pulled off best when a panel shows a shot of various super-villains (another superimposed hallucination of Watts) and the next one shows their Powerless counterparts, who are simple jailbirds.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: poor, he didn't survive that one.
 * Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner:
 * Red Right Hand: well, a whole right arm at that, but still, Peter Parker's epic Butt Monkey status has reached even this universe, this time with the spider not only giving him problems as usual, but even weakening him instead of giving him superpowers. Poor boy, you'll just want to hug him.
 * Shoot the Shaggy Dog:
 * Shout-Out: way, way, way, way too many to count - but they're more like a certain similar trope you can see above.
 * Title Drop: as remarked, "Sometimes we're just powerless".
 * V-Formation Team Shot: the cover of the first issue, as shown above.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: Wilson Fisk, to the point of having the balls to give  an eulogy.
 * The Watcher:
 * : the.
 * Whoopi Epiphany Speech: referenced by Peter Parker when he.
 * : the only superpower still existing in this universe. That, and the.
 * : ;   with.
 * Whoopi Epiphany Speech: referenced by Peter Parker when he.
 * : the only superpower still existing in this universe. That, and the.
 * : ;   with.