Powerless

Noble’s Green serves as both the physical setting and a symbolic cornerstone in the narrative, reflecting broader themes of acceptance, resistance, and the cyclical nature of history. The name “Noble’s Green” encompasses the town itself, the mountain, and the quarry where Plunkett makes his appearance as the Shroud. The town is an “any-town,” meaning it could be any small town in America. As such, it is ironic that it’s the home of superpowered kids, as there are few threats for the kids to protect the town against. The town is named after Johnny Noble, the town’s original superhero, which becomes a plot point during Plunkett’s villain monologue. Among other things, Plunkett is angry that Noble has persisted as a public figure despite abandoning the town years ago, if he’s even still alive. The town’s name also foreshadows Johnny Noble’s eventual return at the end of the book. The town’s history also plays an important role in the events of the novel, particularly the orphanage fire and meteor crash, showing how the past informs the present. Without the events of 70 years ago, the supers would not exist, and Plunkett would not be a villain. Altogether, the town’s history reflects the theme of Acceptance Versus Resistance. Past events have shaped the town’s present, but since they cannot be undone, there is nothing to do but move forward.

The mountain and quarry are important locations in the story. The mountain forms a barrier between the town and the quarry, and one of the supers’ rules is that they are never to cross over the mountain because the quarry offers them nothing but danger. In truth, the mountain and quarry are Plunkett’s lair as the Shroud, and he created the rule to keep the kids from finding him and learning the truth. Thus, the quarry remains a place of mystery until the kids are forced to explore it to find answers. In Chapter 22, Plunkett traps Daniel in his lair in the quarry, where old carvings show how supers have existed throughout history as far back as cave-dwelling civilizations. In this way, the quarry represents how history repeats itself. For reasons not disclosed by the end of the book, Noble’s Green draws special meteors that crash every 70 years or so and give anyone caught in the blast extraordinary powers. Plunkett uses these historical details to firm his resolve to remove powers, citing how dangerous superpowered adults would be because they were dangerous in the past. Plunkett’s conclusions also make the quarry a representation of how things can change and how one group won’t necessarily follow a path just because similar groups did in the past.