''Powerless'' is an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The six-issue

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

–written by Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson, and illustrated by

Michael Gaydos Michael Gaydos is an American comics artist. Career At Marvel Comics he has worked with Brian Michael Bendis on '' Alias,'' the last storyline of its follow up, '' The Pulse'', and the current sequel comic, ''Jessica Jones''. He has also illustr ...

–began its monthly publication on August 1, 2004 and ended on January 1, 2005. It features characters from the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Superhero teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardia ...

in a world where superpowers do not exist.

Plot summary

A psychologist named

William Watts William Watts may refer to: * William Watts (East India Company official) (c. 1722–1764), British official involved in the overthrow of the last independent ruler of Bengal * William Watts (fl. 1512–1518), mayor of Reading * William Watts (pri ...

wakes up in a hospital after a three-day coma. Fresh in his mind is the world of

Earth-616 In the fictional Multiverse (Marvel Comics), Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity (fiction), continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. Origins of the term The designation "Earth-616" has its origins in ...

, which he experienced while asleep. As William returns to his mundane daily life, he encounters three familiar faces:

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of ...

, a high-school student who is pressured by

Oscorp Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...

CEO

Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...

to conduct industrial espionage on

Stark Industries Stark Industries, later also known as Stark International, Stark Innovations, Stark Enterprises and Stark Resilient, is a fictional multi-national conglomerate appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Frans Robe ...

;

Matt Murdock Daredevil is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with some input from Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #1 (April 1964). ...

, a blind lawyer who battles an uphill case against crime boss

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 196 ...

to absolve

Frank Castle The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher mad ...

of murder; and

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gove ...

, an amnesiac soldier who is led to believe he murdered

Charles Xavier Professor X (Prof. Charles Francis Xavier) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 ( ...

, one of William's patients. Inspired by Matt's conviction, William leaves his bystander position and begins to act to help the three: he helps reveal Charles' murder was done by a third party, citing Logan to investigate Eric Magnus; he convinces Castle to reveal vital information to Matt's case; and he acts by calling the cops to assist Peter in arresting Osborn, who attempts to murder Peter's girlfriend

Gwen Stacy Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man (Peter Parker). A college student and the daughter of George Stacy, Georg ...

, but gets himself accidentally killed instead. After Castle's trial, Fisk murders Murdock. Castle assassinates Fisk in retaliation, which places him on the path to becoming the real-life Punisher. The series ends with William contemplating how the coma has shaken him from the stupor of life, as he reflects on his coma identity as Uatu.

Publication history

The

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

''Powerless''–written by Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson, and illustrated by

–began monthly publication by

with the release of its first issue on August 1, 2004, and concluded with the launch of its sixth and final issue on January 1, 2005. A

collected edition The complete works of an artist, writer, musician, group, etc., is a collection of all of their cultural works. For example, ''Complete Works of Shakespeare'' is an edition containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. A ''Complete W ...

of ''Powerless'' was released on January 5 of the same year.

Issues

Collected editions

References

External links

* at

Marvel.com Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. ...

{{Marvel Multiverse 2004 comics debuts 2005 comics endings Comic book limited series Marvel Comics dimensions Marvel Comics titles Slice of life comics