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We all know that there are heroes among us in everyday life, whether they’re first responders, current or former military personnel, or even people who give of themselves to help others. But what Marvel’s Heroes Project aims to do is show that there are teens and preteens out there who are so inspirational that they deserve their own comic books. Read on for more…
MARVEL’S HERO PROJECT: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: “At Marvel, our stories, and our superheroes, are inspired by real life heroes,” says a voice over as we see artwork of Marvel characters like Iron Man, Captain America and Spider-Man.
The Gist: We see an office at Marvel’s New York headquarters, with a group of executive editors and people with titles like “VP, Content and Character,” talk about how to portray 13-year-old Jordan Reeves in a Hero Project comic. They want to show how determined of a young woman she is, and how she’s been able to show that, even with what people might perceive as a disability, she’s been able to inspire others to be as confident as she is.
We go to Missouri, where Jordan lives with her family. She was born with only one hand, but she hasn’t let that slow her down. She was so determined to do what she wanted to do in her life that she learned to do things like tie her shoes on her own way before her older brother did, for instance. She’s a popular kid in her middle school, active as a cheerleader, among other extracurriculars.
When she was younger, her parents sent her to a design class geared towards disabled kids, and she got the bug. One thing she wanted to accomplish: design an attachment for her handless arm that lets her shoot glitter. After a few prototypes of “Project Unicorn,” she hit on a design shaped like a unicorn’s horn. And she’s been able to teach other disabled kids that their differences can be an advantage when it comes to things like design. “We need more people who are different in the design community so that we have people who are designing who have the second thought of, ‘Oh, I should be designing this for everyone!’ Accessibility!” she says in a manner that’s way more mature than her age.
Jordan makes an appearance at a conference where her mother reads her a letter from Marvel, and her dad and brother present her with a Hero Project jacket that’s designed to fit both her arms propnd erly. Then the big surprise: Marvel has made a comic about her, calling her superhero character “Sensational Jordan.”
Our Take: Marvel’s first original series for Disney+ couldn’t be a better way to help the service debut. Instead of some dark series about a brooding hero, we get quick, inspirational stories about kids who are making their differences work to their advantage. The other two episodes Disney sent for review profile “Incredible Elijah”, whose history of abuse has given him extreme empathy for other abuse victims, and “Unstoppable Adonis,” who is a star high school running back despite being blind since the age of 5.
Hero Project‘s best attribute is that it lets the kids being profiled shine through. Yes, there are scenes where Marvel execs talk about why the kid is inspiring and what will go into the art and story revolving around that particular hero. But most of the show’s 26-minute runtime is devoted to showing exactly why the person being profiled is a hero. This is definitely not a self-aggrandizing project for Marvel or its artists, writers and execs. Its intentions are pure: They want to empower their target audience — preteens and teens — and show them that they can do anything they set their minds to do.
What Age Group Is This For?: This is most definitely geared towards kids of all ages, but the 10-and-up crowd will appreciate it the most.
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Parting Shot: We see Jordan’s Hero Project comic slipped into a wall full of other Marvel comics, and viewers are encouraged to read her comic on Marvel’s web site.
Sleeper Star: Who doesn’t want a unicorn-horn-shaped arm that shoots glitter? Let’s hope Jordan markets her Unicorn Project arm on the open market.
Most Pilot-y Line: Whatever little self-aggrandizing the Marvel people do still feels a little too much like an advertisement. We don’t need three minutes’ worth of executives talking about the teen they want to make a comic about; we’d rather see three more minutes of the teen and what they do to be heroes.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Marvel’s Hero Project should inspire your kids to achieve and be creative, or at the very least embrace their differences. And how can you criticize a show that does that?
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.
