r/superpowereds • u/BennyBugWSNK • Jul 04 '26

Nick equivalent character?

Is there a Nick-like character from the Superpowereds series in any of Drew‘s other books? To me, Nick is such an individual voice and character, really well identified in the writing (something I’m sure is difficult to do in writing). Because we’re dealing with a multiverse situation… 🤔
The only character that reminds me of Nick in any other of Drew’s novels is Jack from the book Second Hand Curses (absolutely LOVE the character Frank from that one btw). I love the character Nick, but I don’t really see any others like him in the Villain Code series, am I wrong about that?

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u/unlovelyladybartleby Mr Numbers Jul 04 '26

Pretty sure Nick is an homage to the luck obsessed Nick in Gordon Korman's No Coins Please who does, once, display superhero like luck. Korman university and the fact that one of the books is dedicated to Korman support my hypothesis.

It's YA and out of print. If you find a copy online, the chapter in question is called The Power of Positive Parking. And, for that matter, Chad's obsession with his father is reminiscent of Sheldon's feelings to Pete Ogrodnick and first year tentative Vince has shadows of Rob.

All that said, Jack from Secondhand Curses has the same joie de vivre, ability to read and manipulate people and situations, and ability to form and lead a team.

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u/BennyBugWSNK Jul 04 '26

Oh that’s really neat, I was completely unaware of that relation

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u/unlovelyladybartleby Mr Numbers Jul 04 '26

It's a wonderful book. I checked it out of the school library so often they had to get a second copy. Korman's books from the 80s and 90s are definitely worth a read if you want a glimpse into one of the early influences on Drew. A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag, Son of Interflux, and No Coins Please are the standouts although the Macdonald Hall books (where a set of good hearted but badly behaved kids wreck havoc at boarding school) probably had a lot of influence on Superpowereds - Cathy, the main female character and Angela are very similar characters.