What would you do if your parents kept a dinosaur for a pet? A normal teenager would be freaked out. But for Marvel's Runaways teens, there's nothing normal about their lives, or their parents. This superhero series by Marvel is about teens that find out their parents are evil and they plan to run away. Aren't all parents evil to their teenage kids?
In the opening scene, we see a girl in the streets, Destiny, who seems like a recluse. Two young men follow her and it seems as though they want to hurt but she is 'saved' by two women from a cult-like church. In that moment, when she's saved, the two young men speak in Spanish and say, "She would have been safer with us." Destiny's destiny is about to change for the worst. As the show progresses, we are introduced to five families who all have teenage kids.
Alex, Chase, Karolina, Nico, Gert and Molly were all close a while back. Nico's sister died in a very mysterious way and the six friends fell apart. Alex, ever the champion for a united friendship, tries, unsuccessfully at first to bring them together. When they finally decide to rekindle what they had, in a twist of fate, they come close to seeing their parents' true colours and they are scared. They also happen to have special abilities that start unravelling before their eyes. They now have to cope with their villain parents, their own powers and high school drama.
One of the things I loved about the show is how they cover modern issues in subtle ways. We have Chase, who stands up against sexual misconduct by men in a storyline that involves his friend Karolina. It brings to light the role men have to play to protect women from sexual predators. There's also talk of girl empowerment and breaking the cycle of undermining women through the club that Gert has started in her school. The series also shows the aspect of teenage rebellion which can be salvaged if parents listened to their kids. The series also shows the dangers of cults. And while we're at it, Alex Wilder's dad has a close resemblance to NTV's Mark Masai. Perhaps he is considering a future role.
The show's plot is a bit too slow to unravel and that ruins the fun. It takes ages before we can see the powers of the kids or what the parents are up to. There's also a lot going on and it might be hard to keep up with all the storylines. The poor sounding doesn't help and you might strain catching what they're saying.
If you're ready for more superhuman strength, dinosaur pets, teenage drama, this series is perfect for you.
