A Marvel superhero series produced for PlayStation Network, titled Powers, aired for two seasons from 2015 to 2016 but quickly faded due to mixed reviews and intense competition. Available free to PlayStation Plus subscribers, it marked the platform's first original scripted drama. Despite its intriguing premise, the show failed to capture audiences amid a booming superhero TV landscape.
Before the dominance of Disney+ Marvel series, the comic giant experimented with various TV productions across networks and platforms. One such effort was Powers, a series based on the creator-owned comic by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming. Originally published across imprints like Image, Marvel's Icon, DC, and Dark Horse, the comic inspired a TV adaptation developed by Bendis himself.
The show centered on Christian Walker, played by Sharlto Copley, a former superhero who lost his abilities and became a homicide detective in the Los Angeles Police Department's Powers Division. Alongside partner Deena Pilgrim, portrayed by Susan Heyward, Walker investigated crimes involving 'Powers'—individuals who gain superpowers in adulthood. Some Powers lived as celebrity heroes, while others turned to crime, creating a noirish superhero world.
Launched in 2015, Powers arrived during a peak for superhero media. Netflix's Daredevil was a streaming hit, ABC's Agent Carter and the Arrowverse thrived on broadcast TV, and cinematic blockbusters like The Avengers ruled theaters. As PlayStation Network's inaugural scripted series, it carried high expectations but faced scrutiny for exposition-heavy dialogue and lackluster visuals, revealing Walker's backstory too soon and skimping on dynamic action.
Critics delivered mixed to negative reviews, leading to its swift cancellation after two seasons. PlayStation later ceased original streaming content ventures. In hindsight, Powers' concept of powerless investigators tackling superpowered crimes echoes later successes like Prime Video's The Boys, with its dark take on heroes, and Netflix's Jessica Jones, which nailed superhero noir. Yet Powers remains a forgotten artifact from Marvel's pre-Disney+ Wild West era of TV experimentation.