The Power Comic

So all day I was running into people who had to ask me how I felt about having comic books almost literally thrown in my face on the latest episode of Heroes.

At first, the question surprised me. The show is a comic book, after all, so what's the harm in a little meta-metaphor between friends? But then it became clear that quite a few of the people who asked what I thought of it were pretty pissed by what they saw as blatant product placement for the new Fantastic Four movie, featuring everybody's favorite, metallic, nude interstellar grimmy, the Silver Surfer.

Me? I don't see it that way at all.

First if all, the show does nothing but pay loving homage to our beloved comic books, and their most revered plots. Linderman's plan to save the world? Right out of Watchmen. Hiro's time traveling adventures? Lifted straight from "Days of the Future Past," a classic Claremont X-Men story. Lots of fans accuse Heroes of exploiting the comics... me, I say the show's creators are dyed-in-the-wool comic book fans rather than wolves in sheep’s clothing.

In the scene everyone kept hounding me about, shape-shifting Candice Wilmer buys macine-washable Micah a huge stack of classic comic books. Silver Surfer #1 is the one Micah goes for, and displays with awe, and if I may say, not nearly enough care. I didn't see it as crass or cheap, but rather as the perfect parallel to Candice herself.

When Micah asks how someone like her could work for someone like Linderman, her belief in Linderman reveals her to be a lot like the Silver Surfer - a noble soul who believes in the fight for a greater good, employed by a monsterous being. Now, we have yet to see if she chooses a path other than the one Linderman set her on... or if she'll epoxy a surf board to her feet and dangle participles every time she speaks, but their fundamental similarities can't be denied.

And if you still aren’t convinced this isn’t more than coincidence, note that Linderman’s building is in Kirby Plaza. Obviously a reference to Jack “The King” Kirby, frequent artistic collaborator and co-plotter with Stan “The Man” Lee.

Among the King's credits with Stan are the Fantastic Four, the original X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, and... wait for it... the Silver Surfer.

So to you fanboys who whine about Heroes not respecting the comics, or not understanding them like you do, I say this: get back in your basement, and get back to bidding on that Magic card on ebay... and try not to speak. And to Tim Kring, Jeph Loeb and the other Heroes masterminds, I have only this to say: Excelsior!