Plagiarism. It’s an ugly word and an even uglier act to partake in. Maybe it’s just the journalist in me talking, but copying an idea really grinds my gears. Now don’t get me wrong, I know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but wouldn’t everyone agree that sometimes imitation can flirt a little too closely with downright copycatting?

Enter my issue with Heroes. 

Let me get something out of the way right now. I feel the need to stress that I’m a huge Heroes fan first and foremost, and the purpose of this column is to simply juxtapose the similarities of Heroes’ characters to their source material – the X-Men – and then casually suggest ways to make their abilities more unique.

At one point or another, I think just about everyone watched the old ‘90s animated X-Men cartoon starring our classic comic book heroes. It was a fantastical show that more than likely lent a hand in fuelling a trilogy of films and now several spinoff projects.

Fast-forward 15 years and meet the modern-day X-Men (for television, anyway): Heroes. Being a fan of both series, I often find myself frustrated at the lack of originality that Heroes creator Tim Kring exhibits in his superhero show. Let’s compare characters from both series, shall we? Then the abilities of our heroes can speak for themselves.


PETER PETRELLI/SYLAR
Power: The ability to absorb other people’s powers once they’ve come into contact with them.

Who it copies: Rogue.

How to fix it: The only true difference here is that Rogue didn’t permanently retain the powers of other mutants, and Peter and Sylar do – or so we think. I would change it so Peter and Sylar can only retain a certain amount of powers because as it stands now, the sky’s the limit and they just keep absorbing.


CLAIRE BENNET
Power: The ability to heal rapidly and withstand brutal pain.

Who it copies: Wolverine, of course — the badass rebel of the X-Men.

How to fix it: I might just let this one slide, as Wolverine had claws in addition to his regeneration power. However, their healing processes are identical. I would fix Claire’s constant whining and moping about her ability, though. An additional note: Linderman’s healing capability is also reminiscent of Wolverine’s. Claire, Wolverine and Linderman have brought someone back to life with their gift. It’s just food for thought.


MOHINDER SURESH
Power: Superhuman strength and agility.

Who it copies: Beast.

How to fix it: Though this power is relatively new to Mohinder, I have to say that it might just take the cake for copycatting. I mean, come on – a scientific professor with superhuman strength and agility? Heck, even the scene in which Mohinder hung upside down in his lab was a complete rip-off of X-Men (not to mention the Spider-Man wall-crawling scene). I’m reluctant to say how to change this power, as it’s still relatively new and we don’t yet know its full potential. As a side note, Niki Sanders, a.k.a. Jessica, also would have mimicked Beast.


TRACY STRAUSS
Power: The ability to freeze others through physical contact.

Who it copies: Iceman.

How to fix it: It’s one of the classic elements in superpowers no doubt, but I would have used some other means besides physical contact to actually freeze enemies in Tracy’s case. Again, it’s too soon to tell.



EDEN McCAIN
Power: Persuasion.

Who it copies: Professor X himself.

How to fix it: I would have liked Eden’s puppets (so to speak) to become actual zombified mindless vessels. Instead of just letting them hear a voice telling them what to do, give her voice the power to control all aspects of their bodies so they literally look like puppets on a string, awaiting her commands. I might also point out that Hiro’s time-stopping ability is also a copy of Professor X’s power, as well as Matt Parker’s mind-reading ability.



D.L. HAWKINS
Power: The ability to phase through solid objects (a.k.a. walking through walls).

Who it copies: Kitty Pryde.

How to fix it: It’s another pretty blatant copy, and I think D.L shouldn’t have been able to bring other people through walls and such with him. I also would have added some kind of weird twist to it: for example, he could only pass through objects as long as he could hold his breath, and then the minute he exhaled he became trapped in whatever object he was phasing through. Frankly, this would have resulted in a much more elaborate death scene in Season 2.



THE HAITIAN
Power: The ability to nullify the abilities of other characters.

Who it copies: Leech.

How to fix it: It would be cool if the Haitian could retain others’ abilities (without actually being able to use them himself), and then be able to switch powers. Give lightning to Claire or Matt the ability to fly. The catch would be that the heroes wouldn’t know how to use and deal with their new powers, causing total chaos. Now that would be cool. After all, everyone loves a little mayhem.

There are tons of other sub-characters with similar powers to X-Men heroes, but far too many to mention here. I suppose at the end of the day, it doesn’t bother X-Men creator Stan Lee, and he’s just a good sport about Kring’s copying. Lee even had a cameo in an episode of Heroes, so he must be a big fan.

If it doesn’t bother Stan Lee himself, who am I to complain, right? I guess I just think that in a world where anything is possible, why not dig a little deeper with superpowers and explore more unfamiliar ground?

What do you guys think – is it a lack of creativity, or just a sincere form of flattery? Please share your opinions at sarcher@tvguide.ca


Be sure to check out this week’s geeky goods

The Mist (Fri., Oct. 10, 11:15 p.m. ET, Movie Central 2)
I was actually quite wary about this Stephen King book-to-film adaptation when I heard about it. Surprisingly, I walked out of the theatre pleasantly entertained by it. The film follows the struggle of a small town enveloped by a strange mist that conceals otherworldly monsters.

Heroes (Mon., Oct. 13, 9 p.m. ET, Global/NBC)
Season 3 continues as Hiro tries to forge an unlikely friendship with his nemesis, Daphne, and Claire attempts to destroy her first target.


 

Shaun’s loved superheroes since he could tie a towel around his neck and pretend to be one. Unfortunately for his friends and family, his geeky-ness only grew, amassing everything from sci-fi, horror and fantasy to videogames, cult shows and movies. When he isn’t citing Lord of the Rings quotes or perfecting Xena’s war cry, Shaun can usually be found adding to his figurine and replica prop collection or just relaxing with some good television.

Always willing to spread the nerdy love, his column, The Outskirts channels everyone’s inner geek and celebrates it, helping prove it’s actually super-cool to be a fan-boy, or a fan-girl.