Powerless

Eric is the leader of the supers of Noble’s Green, and he has the powers of flight and super-strength. Like Daniel, Eric doesn’t appear extraordinary. He looks like an average 12-year-old boy, and he is only extraordinary to those who know his secret. Except for Daniel, the Shroud, and the other supers, no one knows what Eric is capable of, meaning they don’t appreciate any of the daring and selfless feats Eric accomplishes. Following the theme of The Meaning of Heroism, this doesn’t bother Eric. He doesn’t use his powers for good because he seeks recognition. Rather, he does what’s right based on his own beliefs, both in himself and in the power he wields. Eric relies on the Johnny Noble comics to inform his actions and his hopes for the future. As the only super to keep their powers into adulthood, Johnny Noble is Eric’s idol because Eric wants to believe he can keep his powers if he’s as heroic as Noble.

Eric takes his position as leader and protector of the supers very seriously. As the only one strong enough to stand against Clay, Eric is the first line of defense against the bully, which puts a lot of pressure on him. Despite this, Eric keeps a positive attitude and open personality, making him “the type who laughed easily and often” (49). His easygoing nature allows him to remain friends with Daniel following the final battle. Though Daniel’s mistakes led to Eric’s capture and nearly to the Shroud’s victory, Eric understands that no one is perfect and that everyone makes mistakes. He acknowledges that Daniel was wrong but doesn’t hold this against the other boy because Daniel stayed to help when the supers needed him. At the end of the book, Eric displays uncharacteristic anger at the idea Johnny Noble is alive; he doesn’t want to believe the original super left Eric and the others alone to fend for themselves against the Shroud. This change in Eric’s attitude comes on his 13th birthday, representing how Eric has changed and setting up his character arc for the rest of the series.

Mollie is the other flier in the supers of Noble’s Green and the first super Daniel meets. Mollie’s persona is guarded and tough, symbolized by the torn jeans she wears and her perpetual glare. Though she and Eric share a power, the two are foils for one another, symbolizing how the powers are not strictly based on personality. Where Eric displays the calm reassurance of leadership, Mollie is quick to act and volatile, “all action and reaction—strong, but also emotional” (189). This is both her greatest strength and weakness. Mollie shines in high-action moments, jumping in to protect her friends or to take an enemy like the Shroud by surprise. By contrast, she doesn’t do well in situations that require thinking before acting—such as the plan for Daniel to sit with Simon on his 13th birthday. Mollie has the original idea but leaves the details to Daniel, showing how the group balances out one another’s strengths and weaknesses. When Daniel is hurt while watching Simon, Mollie feels terrible, revealing that her tough exterior is an act. She truly cares about the group, even if she doesn’t always know how to show it.

Rohan is another member of the supers of Noble’s Green and is the most grown-up of the group. This is reflected in his more formal speech pattern and in the way he dresses, which reminds “Daniel more of a tiny adult than a kid” (21). Rather than a flashy or impressive power, Rohan possesses heightened senses that allow him to hear far-off sounds and even see the details of the moon as if with a superpowered telescope. His heightened senses represent the quietly observant way Rohan approaches life. Where Mollie rages against losing her powers at age 13 and Eric strives to be heroic enough that his powers won’t disappear, Rohan is at peace with his eventual loss of powers. To him, the powers are a generous gift that he will appreciate as long as he has them, and he sees no use in arguing with fate. Rohan’s character arc revolves around the theme of Acceptance Versus Resistance. The kids know nothing about their powers or the rules that govern them, and Rohan is satisfied to accept this ambiguity until evidence suggests the powers disappear under sinister circumstances. Rohan’s change of heart shows that he is willing to accept new information when there is a strong reason to do so. His flexible mindset makes him the assessor of the group. Rohan thinks before jumping in, a direct contrast to Mollie, and the balance of his reserved nature with Mollie’s action-oriented approach helps the group function.

Herman Plunkett plays two roles in Powerless. By day, he is the ailing and aging businessman who wrote the Johnny Noble comics years ago. By night, he is the Shroud—the very villain he developed as part of the comics and the cause of the kids losing their powers. Plunkett is motivated by bitterness, anger, and jealousy. Losing out on gaining powers years ago left him wishing for something he couldn’t get on his own. When he found the meteor stone and discovered he could steal powers with it, he became the Shroud. He took this as a sign that he was special, which he used to cover up his resentment.

Plunkett justifies stealing powers because he has convinced himself he’s keeping the world safe from adults who might use their powers for bad. This justification represents how the fear of something can be worse than the thing itself. Plunkett has no proof that any of the superpowered children will grow up to become destructive villains, but he’s able to believe his lies easily because they coincide with his power-hungry and jealous nature. Plunkett also represents individuals’ inability to see the irony in their own logic: As the Shroud, Plunkett is the very villain he steals powers to prevent.

Clay is one of two supers who aren’t part of Eric’s group. Physically, Clay is burly and imposing, which fits with his super-strength and gruff personality. His only friend is Bud, who possesses the power to create a stink cloud when he gets emotional. Clay keeps Bud around because Bud’s lesser power makes Clay feel good about his own abilities. Clay foils the supers of Noble’s Green because he is willing to nearly break all the rules set out for the kids. Rather than use his powers for good, Clay spends his time destroying things in the town’s junkyard in impressive displays of his physical strength. The only person Clay fears is Eric because Eric can match him blow-for-blow in a fight and also because Eric can fly, thus taking advantage of Clay’s fear of heights. Clay represents how extraordinary abilities don’t always go to the person who can make the greatest use of them. When it comes time to face the Shroud, Daniel convinces Clay to help by offering Clay the knowledge he’ll stay strong forever; Clay agrees because his weakness is his own self-importance. After the Shroud is destroyed, the supers realize Clay will continue to be a superpowered bully, and while they aren’t worried because they can keep him in check with their own powers, Daniel wonders about the consequences of Clay remaining strong, which will be explored in the sequel.