''Powerless'' is a six-issue

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

limited series published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

which ran from

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. The series was written by Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson and penciled by artist

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 illustra ...

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 (pries ...

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

Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...

, which he experienced while asleep. As William returns to his mundane daily life, he encounters three familiar faces: Peter Parker, a high-school student who is pressured by Norman Osborn to conduct industrial espionage on Stark Industries; a blind lawyer,

Matt Murdock Daredevil is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Daredevil was created by Literary editor, writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby. The c ...

, who battles an uphill case against the

Kingpin Kingpin or king pin may refer to: Vehicular part * Kingpin (automotive part), the pivot in the steering mechanism ** The central bolt of a skateboard, axle assembly ("truck"), around which the rest of the mechanism can flex, allowing the rider ...

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 ma ...

of murder; and an amnesiac soldier named

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 gover ...

, who is led to believe he murdered Charles Xavier. 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 Frank Castle to reveal vital information to Matt's case; and he acts by calling the cops to assist Peter in arresting Osborn. After Frank's trial, the Kingpin murders Murdock. Castle assassinates Kingpin in retaliation, which places him on the road 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.

Creators

* Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson – writers *

– penciller *

Lee Loughridge Lee Loughridge is an artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry. He is possibly best known for his work on the various ''Batman Adventures'' titles. Bibliography His other work includes such titles as: *''Accelerate'' *''Angel'' ...

– colorist *

Alex Maleev Alex Maleev (Bulgarian: Алекс Малеев) is a Bulgarian comic book illustrator, best known for the Marvel Comics' series '' Daredevil'' (vol. 2) with frequent collaborator Brian Michael Bendis. Career Coming from a fine arts background, M ...

– cover artist *

Axel Alonso Axel Alonso () is an American comic book creator and former journalist, best known as the former editor in chief at Marvel Comics, a role which he held from January 2011 until November 2017.Marston, George (November 17, 2017)"AXEL ALONSO Out, CB C ...

– editor * Joe Quesada – Editor-in-Chief

Collections

References

{{Marvel Comics , state=collapsed 2004 comics debuts 2005 comics debuts Marvel Comics titles