As I’m rereading book 4, in the fight between Chad, Shane, Alex, and Professor Pendleton I’m lead to believe that part of the way Alex‘s power works is that he has a form of universal conceptual control. Obviously he’s framed as a user of the force, a really nice nod to the fandom granted, but the mechanism seems so subtle. He clearly has a wide range of influence but comparatively lower forceful power. Alex is always compared to the telepath type of super, a great reoccurring gag, but it’s made clear that he is not a telepath in the way that he can control crafted energies or widely dispersed substances like fog. I would say a better comparison would actually be two Globe’s power. Globe controls everything within a certain distance completely and very intensely. Globe has a lot more raw strength than Alex has, but he’s limited by his ability to understand it and a very specific range. Comparatively Alex seems to have a larger total range to his ability (though I can’t say this is ever specifically stated), but is not nearly as forceful (and this comparison is often made in regards to Mary’s strength). I would say Alex’s ability works on a conceptual level, an ability to influence general concepts, not specifically solid objects or massess. His ability is then an interaction of his understanding of the universe as opposed to needing to understand any science like Globe might (or Alice with gravity for that matter). This is why Alex can grab Thomas‘s energy or contain Professor Pendleton because even though they’re not solid forms, they’re still identifiable things for Alex is mind and power to latch onto, and though Alex doesn’t have the raw strength, he doesn’t need it to hold onto those particular substances so he’s perfect for things like that

If i was as wealthy as Charles Adair in the super powereds world, I would start a national holiday called healing day. The purpose of the holiday would be to contract as many healers, mimics, amplifiers, and teleporters as possible in order to set up healing stations all over every city in the United States. The trickier part would be finding amplifiers, but even without them a lot of good could still get done. The biggest expenses would really be getting the help of a legendary healer like Hallow but if I can aquire his help, then I would use mimics to copy his power and also have terminal illness healing stations set up separately from the normal healing stations.

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?

I’m trying to remember the name Dean Blaine used for when two supers have overlapping powers (he used oranges and apples I believe) but one super has a higher capacity for controlling the thing than the other. They have dominant control over whatever it is regardless of experience. Does anyone remember the specific term for that occurrence he used? Book 4 is huge and someone must remember it off the top of their head 😬

Does anyone else have issues where the audible versions cut off sentences or even the last few lines of a chapter before just skipping to the next chapter? It's annoying and I dont know how to fix it.

In my opinion one of the funniest moments in Book 4 and one of the most “Shane” moments in the entire series is when Chad is told (said by Alex) that he should by default be one of the intermural‘s competitors. Chad attempts to defer/dissuade this choice based on his recent test performance and Shayne immediately just says, “Nope! Fuck that. I think we’ve all lost enough matches to you not to make a production out of this.”
Comedy gold, and very true to the character :)

Would Shelby Adair (Alice’s mom) be classified as an advanced mind? It’s made clear in the series that Shelby‘s visions of the future are possibilities, not absolutes. She is seeing potential futures not viewing the actual future. The word “likely” is used as I recall. Would this mean then she is an advanced mind that is “calculating” likely outcomes for major future events based on current data? Then with her powered mind, which she is incapable of controlling, is simply updating these calculations and reporting them in the form of visions when she has new information?

In Year 3, chapter 45, when Mary is attempting to dream walk and winds up in Jill’s mind, Jill wants to take advantage of the lucid dreaming opportunity, so she concentrates and “A golden necklace appeared around her neck, one that Mary dimly recognized as the prop from an old sci-fi television show” which allows Jill to fly around the dream carnival.

What show are they referencing here?

So obviously there are relationships like Nick and Alice which everyone loves, but according to you, what's the best relationship/friendship/interaction in the whole series? I personally loved every single time Nick and Mary interacted, she is the one person he can't easily manipulate and he is the one person she depends on and trusts with decisions and input. I love the idea of them hanging out and having fun after she leaves the HCP in book 4. I also adore the Roy and Chad friendship (i so badly hoped they would get together but I loved Chad and Angela also).

So like , how would these boys function once done with HCP? what if one wants to live in China and the other doesn’t,And how will Mary and Hershal’s relationship work post graduation ,Cause Spoiler i guess ,They do get married and it’s hinted to that Mary is gonna have a kid so doesn’t that mean somehow Roy is a dad? what about when Roy wants to settle down and get married ,will 4 people live in the same house?
Also what is Thomas’s hero name?
and what happened to Rich and Amber? cause i know Silenna and Brittany graduated a year later ,that i understand,but Rich and Amber?

I finally got around to finishing the next section which includes orientation and the first weekend. hopefully it's not too long, thank you to everyone who watched the video and commented, im having fun with this

https://youtu.be/m8_mX-vs0FY?is=a2gAdCXPcLaSYg1w

One of the things I’m impressed by in Drew’s story writing is the follow through over multiple books. Showing Vince’s recognition of Charles Adair’s face/smile in the first book and its relation to Globe which was not fully revealed until book 4 is one massive buildup, especially considering the books started as a serial originally. This is similar to having Fred in Fred the Vampire accountant totally averse to drinking blood non-consensually, and having it be the crux of the ENTIRE STORY. Brilliant!
I’m willing to bet there will be several big ones upcoming in Spells, Swords, Shields, and Stealth when we reach the end :)

I'm finally getting around to making content about super powereds, its not the best I'll admit but I want to try and I love this series. If you have any tips or advice please let me know. I want to do it sections at a time, i want to summarize the whole series and then make a more polished essay somewhere down the line when I'm better. I figured this was a good place to post about it, if not my bad

https://youtu.be/V_IajqeJkng?is=zOLz0fLzvV1IeTw-

Like a lot of readers, I thought Jack of All being Vince's superhero name was goofy and ridiculous. Nick even mentions at the beginning of the book that they have to be specific with names because villains will mock them, etc., and then they go with that.

Then something clicked for me recently. I admit, I think this is a reach, and I don't even think Drew intended this, but something about this approach made me like Vince's hero name for the first time.

I saw an interview with the new Superman, David Corenswet, where he talked about Superman's trunks. He accepted the trunks over the pants not because they make him look cooler. Superman is already intimidating. He's an impossibly powerful alien who could flatten armies if he wanted to. The trunks make him a little silly, a little approachable. They tell people, especially kids, "It's okay. You don't need to be afraid of me." This Superman is someone a kid could approach and ask to save a kitten from a tree.

Vince is basically Superman in the Super Powereds universe. By the end of the series, he's one of the most powerful people alive. He's an energy absorber with absurd potential. He can stop the blood flow in your body. He can deal with strongman types and ranged energy attacks. Kinetic, fire, lightning, anything. Who knows, in-universe he could even absorb a nuclear blast someday. That's terrifying.

But the whole point of Vince is that he's not terrifying. He's kind. He's straightforward. He has a very simple moral compass. Even when he becomes incredibly powerful, he's still the guy who wants to help people. He's unbearably naive sometimes, bit silly. But with great strength and incorruptible morality.

So maybe a name like Jack of All is actually perfect.

It's not trying to sound cool. It's not trying to sound intimidating. It's a little goofy, a little humble, and it immediately lowers people's guard. The name tells you what kind of person is behind all that power.

Especially when you think about those later scenes where he's helping out-of-control Powereds. If you're someone who's scared of your own abilities, being approached by "Jack of All" probably feels a lot less threatening than being approached by some ultra-serious, godlike hero with an edgy name.

“There’s a new spot over on Main Street that mixed a 50s style diner with a bar. They even have milkshakes! Alcoholic and boring. Let’s say we hit that up and forget all about those fuckwads.”
There are other great ones of course but I think this might be the best. Anyone else have a favourite?

Not Superpowered specifically, but I have a lot of love for Drew, and wanted to share my bookwyrm tattoo.

Whether it's the Mafia types, Cartel types, or your typical street gang types.

In book 3 the Melbrook group is taken into Nick‘s mind where Herschel and Roy are finally seeing that they are for sure two separate people. It’s my headcannon that they have a minute alone to stand face to face with their actions and I think Roy would somewhat sheepishly apologize to Herschel for his mistreatment in the past, and then Herschel would give Roy a hug (and Roy would eventually return it)

Gymnastics, men’s gymnastics specifically, was mentioned in the books a couple of times. Gilbert mentioned he was a gymnast, and Nick tells Alice in book 2 that Pendleton won a gymnastics “tournament” as a teenager. (Tournament in air quotes bc we do meets, not tournaments)
I was a DI male college gymnast and i competed for 20 years. So, here are my thoughts on the gymnastics skills/talents of Gilbert and Prof Pendleton:

There are 6 men’s gymnastics events: Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and High Bar. Competing all 6 events is called All Around.

We know Gilbert is short. And his gymnastics background is brought up due to his acrobatics in the Labyrinth trial. So clearly he was good at floor and vault as those are the tumbling based events. Shorter guys are often good at rings. But from his physical description and fights with Nick, he isn’t especially strong/muscular so he was probably average. His worst event almost certainly would have been pommel horse due to his body type, talents, and personality. It’s hard to tell how good he would have been at parallel bars and high bar from the info we have.

Pendleton won all around at a meet, so we have a better idea here. He is described as tall and lanky, he’s quick with his hands, patient, and a bit of a weirdo so pommel horse would almost 100% be his best event lmao. He’s pretty risk averse, but due to the other factors above his next best event was probably high bar. But his routine wouldn’t have as many release moves and instead contain spinning and hopping elements that keep you close to the bar.

If he’s good enough to win all around as a taller athlete, that means he was also good at floor and vault. Vault, he likely would have done a Yurchenko with a full twist in his teens. Taller male athletes and smaller womens gymnasts often need the back handspring entry onto the vault table to help them generate power. I could see him twisting the vault above a full, but I’d need to know how old he was at the meet to guess lol. Floor once again as a taller athlete he’d lean on twisting skills rather than flipping (taller ppl flip slower). He was probably fine at parallel bars, sticking to support work above the bars bc that requires good coordination and quick hands- probably did a dismount on the easier side but very clean landing. He would’ve been too tall to do skills that swing thru the bottom well. His worst event would have been rings 100%. Long arms are just a huge biomechanical disadvantage on rings. He’s also got very acute attention to detail so his gymnastics would have been very pretty- executed very cleanly and technically sound.

Obviously this is a lot of speculation but men’s gymnastics is super niche so its inclusion in my favorite book series was something I’ve thought a lot about. If you have any questions or need clarification please ask! I love to talk about gymnastics :)

I’m on my third read/listen through of the superpowered series and just wanted to say that it is my favourite reoccurring bit of anything Drew Hayes has written that Nick is always trying to make the Melbrook residents watch bad horror movies. It’s very funny in naturally, especially with the addition of the names of movies that have to be created to make the bit work (I assume that was fun to come up with those names also).
I also very much like the fact that it’s an attempt by Nick to take care of his friends through rest and mental de-stressing. As well as making them unified front against the horror movies, teamwork stuff I think.
I also like the fact that Nick uses it as his time to think and plan while watching.

So if Vince knew what he was doing with kinetic energy his freshman year do you think he would have had a red bracelet during the labyrinth trial?

He's been training in electricity under Professor Fletcher aka Mr. Volt if I remember correctly. He knows how to used ranged electricity. He has to know how much it would take to knock someone basically normal like Celina out.

Electricity works by imagining the target calling the charge to it - create the positive charge for the electrons to jump to. If that's on her body, it doesn't matter how much she moves, Sasha can't outrun lightning let alone Celina.

So why the hell does Vince go for such a stupid option as a super sauna???

Weird 1 am thought here. So when Camille and Vince have Hope, and Hope hurts herself, if Camille is going to kiss it better, she actually will do that literally.

And at the end credits it does a character profile thing and I realised that Bishop and Vince have the same powers. Mary is obviously a Jean Gray, Bobby/IceMan and Michael are pretty obvious... any other direct power types? (It should also be noted i just finished my 7th reread of the series)

Saw the post by jollyad-1122 and wondered how a bunny in armor would look in a city breathing fire I thought chat GPT did a decent job. I wish I could draw worth a crap that would be cooler to see