So tonight I decided to watch the series premier of The Cape. It's been years since there was a proper superhero show on TV, and I wanted to check this out.
The setting is Palm City (not sure where it is, though California might be a good guess. Someplace with palm trees). The city is beset by crime and corruption, with the masked villain Chess at the top of it all. After the death of the police chief, veteran cop Vince Faraday decides to join the ARK corporation, which will soon be privatizing law enforcement for the entire city. Unfortunately, Vince runs foul of Chess, and is framed for being the criminal and supposedly killed. He survives and winds up with an underground troupe of circus performers/bank robbers. Vowing to make Chess pay and to protect his family, Vince gets the performers to teach him all their tricks, gets a super snazy cape that's strong and capable of being a weapon of its own, and takes on the comic book alter ego of The Cape. Vince also gets the help of Orwell, an underground resistor who has their own motives for bringing down Chess and ARK. And then there's the secret society of killers known as Tarot...
So, how does the show fair? It was pretty good, actually. It balances itself by being grounded in reality at least most of the time - Vince is not perfect and he makes mistakes, some nearly fatal - although there are a few fantastical elements, mainly the cape itself - I'm not sure even the military has that technology yet. It felt like a bit of a combination of things - mainly Batman and the Shadow, and was entertaining enough that I believe I will keep up with it and see where it goes.
And to wrap up, a funny and appropriate picture Raina linked me to.
