4.1 The Needs Of The Many The Needs of the Many does however, have its fair share of positives. I predicted previously that Carlos may turn out to be an ‘empath’; someone who can replicate the powers of people they have come into contact with. As it turns out, the ex-soldier’s super-strength is derived not from his battle last week but from some drastic adaptations Carlos made to his brother’s El Vengador costume. If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to entertain the idea that a character can go from ‘pretty good with cars’ to Tony Stark in the blink of an eye then this is actually an exciting development for the Heroes series. The show has never before had a bone-fide hero character who lacks powers themselves but can fight toe-to-toe with those who do, thanks to skill and technology. Setting Carlos up as a self-made protagonist in the mould of Batman or the aforementioned Iron Man gives Heroes Reborn an interesting new angle to explore in future episodes and reinforces one of the show’s central themes; that anyone can be a ‘hero’. The episode also took the time to develop characters that had, until now, remained rather one-dimensional. Miko’s companion Ren, for example, is this series’ version of Ando, make no mistake about that. Previously, the audience would have been forgiven for thinking he wasn’t bringing an awful lot to that partnership (I’m still trying to figure out how he single-handedly infiltrated a Renautus building). Now however, the real dynamic of the relationship has become clear. As strong and determined as Miko is, Ren is the friend compensating for her lack of social awareness and real-world knowledge, seeing the opportunities that she does not. Now that Ren’s purpose for being around is clear, his unwavering optimism and humour can more effectively act as a means of emphasising the more reserved elements of Miko’s character. In addition to building up the supporting characters, this week’s episode teases the idea of individuals with abilities that are on a different level than seen on screen so far; Malina (Danika Yarosh) being the most obvious example. Although the exact nature of her superpower has yet to be disclosed, the ominously vague comments made by both her companion Farah and Renautas chief Erica leave the intriguing suggestion in the minds of viewers that Malina will likely affect the Heroes world in a major way. Similarly, an end-of-episode bombshell introduced us to ‘The Shadow’; a creepy looking Evo with some seriously evil eyes that Mohinder ‘The Voiceover’ Suresh alludes to as “inhuman”. Those looking for more information as to the origin of this character may want to check out the hugely enjoyable web-series prequel to Heroes Reborn, Dark Matters (no relation to Syfy’s Dark Matter) which explores the origins of Quentin Frady and his sister Phoebe. Both Malina and The Shadow act as effective world-building for Heroes, whilst also giving a new sense of threat for an audience that has become very familiar with superpowers in general; it genuinely feels like the stakes are high for these characters and the fictional world they inhabit. Heroes Reborn hit a real high with last week’s episode but hasn’t quite been able to keep that momentum, delivering a decent episode, albeit one without many frills. The return of Hiro Nakamura, teased last week in both the episode and subsequent trailer, has yet to come to fruition also. Thankfully, The Needs Of The Many manages to provide one, stand-out, genius line of dialogue that makes the drop in quality from last week a little easier to take. Step up Quentin Frady with… “I hate your face, Bennet”. Read Craig’s review of the previous episode, Under The Mask, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
