Five Pitfalls that 'The Cape' Needs to Avoid in Order to Succeed

Television series based on superheroes have not always fared well, for every success such as "Batman (1966-1968) or "Wonder Woman (1976-1979)", there have been two or three failures like "Birds of Prey (2002)", or "The Amazing-Spider Man (1977)." Even those series that have met with success have seldom stayed on the air for more than three years. So given the history of the genre, here are five pitfalls that NBC's midseason replacement series, "The Cape," must avoid in order to become a primetime success.

Avoid Being "Campy"
The days of campy superhero series like "Batman" or "The Greatest American Hero," is long over. We now live in an era where special effects have made it possible for superhero movies, like "Iron Man (2008)," and "Spider-Man (2006)," to move beyond the campy high-jinks that made actors like Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin) household names in the late 60's. While a good dose of wit and humor is always welcomed in any series, a new superhero series cannot afford to go over the top with its script, after all "The Cape" is a superhero we want to believe in, not a new cast member of "The Bing Bang Theory."

Fail Develop New and Interesting Villains
Watching a superhero show that does not have an equally matched nemesis or two would be as interesting as watching a Super Bowl game between an NFL franchise and a high school football team. One of the biggest reasons for the long-time success of the CW series "Smallville (2001-2010)," is the fact that Clark Kent has faced a long string of larger than life villains, of which Lex and Lionel Luther have been the best. So far "The Cape" has introduced us to the likes of Chess (James Franin) a billionaire criminal mastermind, and Scales (Vinnie Jones) a hitman/enforcer with a scarring skin condition. While these two villains are adequate for a pilot, they can't carry a series like this by themselves.

Underestimate the use of Romance in Character Development
Let's face it, superhero shows that have been successful have relied at one time or another on the use of romance to development their characters. For example, Clark Kent has had Lois Lane as a romantic interest in both "Smallville" and "Lois and Clark (1992-1994)," and even Diana Price (Lynda Carter) made use of Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) to build up sexual tension in "Wonder Woman." If it's not careful, this is an area where "The Cape" may paint itself into a corner, since superhero Vince Faraday (David Lyons) is married to a woman he can't go back to, and is the father of a son he can't really see. What's more, any romance that develops between Faraday and cyber-sidekick Orwell (Summer Glau) cannot be truly consummated or the hero's character and appeal would suffer. How the new series handles this dilemma remains to be seen.

Fail to Develop Superpowers, Super Skills or Super Gadgets
Have you ever seen movies based on the superhero "The Punisher" on any list of best superhero movies of all-time? No. Why not? One reason is because the Punisher is basically a superhero without cool superpowers, super skills or super gadgets. Basically every superhero movies or television shows that has succeeded, has boasted a hero who had a combination of superpowers, super skills or super gadgets; this series needs to follow this well established protocol in order to survive. So far so good, as Vince Faraday has been trained and mentored by illusionist Max Malini (Keith David) and his gang in the art of deception, escape, and hypnosis, giving the Cape a good set of superhero starter skills.

Fail to Develop the Superhero Sidekicks
When it comes to television series or movies, sidekicks can be as important to the story as the main superhero. Since the Cape doesn't have the type of superpowers to make a go at it alone, writers and producers have to make sure that secondary characters like Orwell and Max Malini stay fresh and relevant to the storyline. One advantage here is that Summer Glau (casted as Orwell) comes into the series with a good base of sci-fi fans courtesy of her past roles in "Terminator: the Sarah Conner Chronicles," and "Firefly;" it would be wise for writers to cash in on that appeal early.