Power-less

After losing his powers during a battle to save the planet, recently de-powered superhero, The Smoke, must contend with his new life of abject mediocrity as a small town crossing guard. Intertwined with his daily struggles as a “norm,” are his relationships with his new blue collar coworkers, neighbors, his struggle to identify with his former super hero colleagues, and the never ending pursuit of his famed arch-nemesis Winters “Patient Zero” Buchannon. Power-less is a comical fish out of water story that satirizes and examines our culture's obsession with fame, personal identity, and the fight against the personified embodiment of corporate greed. Power-less is Schitt’s Creek, meets The Orville, meets Young Sheldon.

Background

In the 1980s, pharmaceutical giant The Mending Co, pulls strings at the FDA to hide several known side effects to their new pediatric vaccine for the common cold. As a result, 1 out of every 1000 patients who received the vaccine, including CEO Martin Buchannon’s three year old son Winters, develop a permanent altering to their body chemistry, which leads to a variety of superhuman abilities.

Characters

Chucky “The Smoke” Childress - an Afro-Cuban 35-year-old and former “Lead Hero” for the United States Department of Defense. At the beginning of the pilot episode, Chucky permanently loses his powers during a medical procedure to revive him following an epic battle with his arch-nemesis, Patient Zero. Chucky received the “Powered Up” vaccine in an orphanage as a baby as part of an illegal round of testing by the Mending Co. and was raised in various foster homes until becoming a ward of the U.S. Government’s “Project Dream Team” at 15. His former powers granted him the ability to transform into a dense cloud of purple-gray smoke, allowing him to fly, sneak into buildings, be immune to fire, bullets, and pain while in smoke form, and sophisticate his enemies, the latter leading to a great deal of regret and anxiety as a depowered norm. Unlike most of the public facing super heroes, Chucky never adopted a secret identity and lived in the limelight of fame as America’s greatest superhero. Due to a lack of education and skills, Chucky is forced to take a job as a crossing guard in the small town of Superior, Pennsylvania. While Chucky has previously seen himself as a defender of everyday people, he learns that he had no idea about the day to day struggles and needs of the average citizen.

Winters “Patient Zero” Buchannon - Son of The Mending Co. CEO Martin Buchannon. Unbeknownst to the public, Winters was the first child to receive the vaccine and exhibit signs of superhuman abilities. Today, Winters is publicly the brash, charming, and social media loving face of the Mending Co., while moonlighting as Patient Zero, a super villain who appears to vie for global domination, but in actuality uses the collateral damage caused by his attacks to drive up The Mending Company’s stock and eliminate competitors. Much of the comedy comes from Winters elitist attitude and his satirical misalignment and lack of knowledge of the working and middle class. Winters possesses the power of persuasion.

Spencer Davies aka The Maxed Man - A superhero who is promoted to Lead Hero after Chucky’s depowerment. Spencer’s abilities have made him a peak human, with superhuman intelligence and superior strength, endurance, and vertical leaping ability better than any known peak athlete. Spencer’s superhero name is often misheard as the “THE MASKED MAN,” leading to constant frustration and a search for a different super hero persona.

Benny Smith - an obnoxiously intelligent 11 year old boy who doesn’t understand his classmates' obsession with superheroes and befriends Chucky.

Glenda Goodrich - The Superintendent of the school board and town cougar who hired Chucky out of a long standing sexual attraction to superheroes.

Walter Gommery - A nerdy, elderly FBI agent who has only ever worked desk duty and is now assigned as Chucky’s new handler in the field to help him transition to civilian life. Walter is attracted to Glenda.

Penny Weathers - An elementary school guidance counselor and Chucky’s main love interest. Due to Chucky's lack of money, he uses Penny as a therapist and meets frequently with her in a room designed for children. Unbeknownst to Chucky, and the world, Penny has super powers and has chosen to keep them a secret. Penny’s powers are slowly revealed through the first season, culminating in revealing that she is actually more powerful than any public facing superhero.

Pilot Episode: “And it Ends”

The episode starts in the middle of an epic and catastrophic battle between the world’s most famous superhero, The Smoke, and his arch enemy “Patient Zero” over the skies of central New Jersey. The story is told through aspiring social media influencer, Scarlet Jones, who is filming and narrating the action via an Instagram Live Video. Scarlett provides the context for the world where superheroes exist. Zero has used his power of persuasion to obtain a large fleet of experimental military aircrafts and is heading to New York City to attack a well defended United Nations meeting. The Smoke has intercepted the fleet and fantastically destroyed all but one remaining aircraft, which is piloted by Zero. Zero flies his aircraft directly into the Smoke, ejects himself, and remotely detonates the plane while it is directly in the middle of the Smoke.

Scarlet follows the image of a human body crashing to Earth, and the Instagram video zooms in on a badly injured and unconscious Chucky on the ground.

Several weeks later, Chucky opens his eyes in a crowded, ill-equipped and aging hospital room and sees Walter, a clumsy and skittish man sitting next to his bed. Chucky learns that he defeated Zero, however, the life saving measures used to revive him have completely eliminated his powers. Due to the unprecedented nature of a depowered superhero, and the world quickly moving on to support new Lead Hero, The Maxed Man, Chucky has lost all of his corporate sponsors, government pay, and pension, and the only government support he has is Walter, a low ranking FBI agent, to help him transition into a new life. He is now broke and no longer a cultural icon.

Meanwhile, Winters Buchannon watches news coverage in his lavish corporate office of the aerial battle over New Jersey. A news ticker at the bottom of the screen shows that collateral damage from the battle destroyed the primary pharmaceutical factory of one of The Mending Co.’s top competitors, and The Mending Co.’s stock has risen significantly as a result. Winters then attends and speaks at a memorial for those impacted and killed during the battle, showing little understanding of how the loss of jobs and injuries have truly impacted the community as he has no real concept of money as a need.

Scarlet Jones is now one of the most followed social media influencers in the world due to capturing the battle live and has parlayed the fame into several high profile TV interviews and endorsements. The show counters Chucky’s fall from fame and into poverty with Scarlet’s rise into fame and wealth.

Elsewhere in the town of Superior, Pennsylvania, Elementary school guidance counselor Penny casually talks to SuperIntendent Goodrich about The Smoke’s new situation as the staff watches coverage of his fall from grace in the staff room. An angry elderly woman holding a small stop sign and wearing a yellow crossing guard vest bursts into the room. She is covered in some sort of sticky colorful substance that is emitting a terrible odor, and announces she is quitting her job due to the abuse she takes daily from the children. Goodrich, who has long had a deep sexual attraction to superheroes, seems to have an idea and exits the room to make a phone call.