Ranking the Supacell 5
Rapman’s South London superhero smash has given us a whole new team to root for
I’ve been very hot or cold over superhero media in the years following Avengers: Infinity War. Sure, there’ve been some great projects here and there; I’m a big fan of Shang-Chi, Invincible is fun, and I have a big soft spot for Moon Knight; but lately, it seems like the most compelling recent story of evil being vanquished has been watching Kendrick humiliate Drake and DJ Akademiks (but at what cost?).
With all this in mind, when I heard that Rapman was making a Black superhero show set in South London, I was immediately sold. I liked his previous film, Blue Story, I love superhero media, Black people are alright, and South London… eeeeh… I can appreciate it. So I waited with bated breath for the release of Supacell on Netflix, ignoring the “Thank God it’s not about gangs!” discourse and contemplating the in-depth review I would inevitably end up writing about it.
And now that it’s out… Nah… I don’t really feel like reviewing it.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the first season of Supacell. Sure it has its flaws; a crammed and rushed plot, jankily-written female characters, a slight over-reliance on contrivance, one too many instances of gratuitous Black pain (that opening scene), and a few setups that lacked payoff; but it’s a really well-conceived narrative with mostly engaging characters, some really inventive incorporation of sickle cell, and high emotional stakes.
I just didn’t feel like I had much new sh*t to say about it as a whole package. No clue why.
What I did find myself wanting to write about, however, was our main characters, the five regular South Londoners who found themselves bound together by destiny and the discovery of fantastical powers.
With this in mind, rather than outright reviewing the show, I figured it’d be more interesting to rank the five main characters and go through what I liked and didn’t like about them.
So let’s get into it.
5. Sabrina
What Works:
No questions can be raised about Nadine Mills’ performance as the perpetually-concerned nurse with powerful telekinesis. Mills brings a lot of warmth and heart to the character, perfectly conveying how caring she is while also nailing the moments when her anger or fear gets the better of her. While I find the writing behind her relationship with her sister to be slightly all over the place, I still think the chemistry between Mills and Rayxia Ojo is great and they do a good job of setting the emotional stakes for the character (albeit with some small issues).
What Doesn’t Work:
In a show full of characters that subvert stereotypes and expectations in so many interesting ways, Sabrina probably struggles most to break out of the box she finds herself in, failing to do anything to really surprise me.
Honestly, I’ve grown a bit tired of seeing Black female characters who are characterized almost entirely by their sense of duty, care, and sacrifice to others and the responsibilities that are placed upon them. While Sabrina has her own aspirations like trying to become a senior nurse (a career that she genuinely loves), this duty of care extends to almost every moment of screentime she has. There just aren’t many moments where we get to see her be selfish, irresponsible, and impulsive in ways that even her most duty-bound co-stars are so when I hear the “Sometimes I wish I didn't have to take care of everyone and I wish people would take care of me” monologue, my eyes glaze over a bit.
The effect that this has in a superhero show is that out of the Supacell 5, Sabrina is by far the most passive and reactive when it comes to her powers. I appreciate the thematic significance of her powers often being triggered as a reaction to the microaggressions and indignities that men force upon herself and her sister, but I’d have loved to see Sabrina use her powers for something other than to react, defend, and protect. This isn’t a bad thing by itself, but when surrounded by male characters who explore ways to use their gifts selfishly or who have a much grander purpose, Sabrina ends up feeling less interesting and less dynamic than her contemporaries.
4. Andre
As the son of a father, I can really relate to Andre.
Nah jk.
What Works:
I massively enjoy Eric Kofi-Abrefa’s take on the Supacell 5’s answer to Mr Incredible. Andre’s character is a great example of Rapman’s approach to writing about super-powered beings in modern-day London with somewhat authentic feeling problems, being a single father who is haunted by a bad decision he made years ago. Fresh out of prison and struggling to provide for his son, Andre is unable to maintain work due to his status as a convicted criminal, and so when his super strength affords him an opportunity to ease his financial woes, Andre does something that many former offenders are forced to do in a society that fetishizes their punishment and neglects their reintegration: he reoffends.
I reeeeeeally like that when it comes down to it, Andre bends the rules to use his powers for the benefit of himself and his son, it makes his character so much more complex and interesting. Kofi-Abrefa also does a great job of imbuing the character with a likeability while also portraying this quiet pride and anger that can lead him to do stupid things.
I just really appreciate that Andre is kind of a big dummy, I can deeply relate as a fellow big dummy.
What Doesn’t Work:
The main issue I think I had with his character is that I felt that the show didn’t have enough time to really flesh out his relationship with his son (and his former 🫱🏾 partner) and its breakdown in an organic way. When it comes to setting emotional stakes for his characters to motivate them, Rapman might be one of the best in the game, but the way that Andre and AJ’s relationship unfolds just feels a bit rushed and jarring, full of contrived miscommunications and feeling undercooked. What we end up getting is a fairly nuanced performance for a character that feels like he’s been painted with very broad strokes.
Andre as a whole feels like he suffers from the show’s very limited runtime, while I appreciate how often his flaws and mistakes drive his storyline, the lack of time dedicated to him can sometimes mean that his actions feel a bit rushed, as if we’re missing a scene where he decides it’s a good idea to rob that specific trap house, or a scene where he actually contemplates working for the bad guys.
3. Michael
What Works:
Being the main protagonist of a project is an extremely difficult task. Due to needing to carry the narrative on your shoulders and having to be part of the connective tissue that holds together so many different aspects of the project, the main character is often sacrificed for the good of everyone else, leaving them less able to be as dynamic and as emotionally-arresting as the side characters. This is why you’ll rarely find an anime protagonist leading the opinion polls other than Monkey D. Luffy, or why side characters like Zuko or Vegeta who have the flexibility to have more complex character arcs will often overshadow the Aangs and the Gokus.
With all that being said, Michael probably could have been at the top of this list had the next two entries not been so strong. Tosin Cole does a phenomenal job as the time-bending teleporter who just wants to deliver packages, enjoy his extreme and unexplained wealth, and marry his lady. He’s funny when he needs to be funny, dramatic when he needs to be dramatic, and is just generally able to give exactly what the series needs him to give at any moment.
Whether it's his motivations, his discovery of his powers, or his desperation to protect the people he cares about, Michael is able to keep us engaged every minute he’s onscreen (kind of). I also love that despite needing to constantly move the plot forward, both the writer and the performer still make time to show us the character’s flaws. Michael is constantly overwhelmed by the burden of his mission, he’s often quick to take his stress out on others, he lies, he makes mistakes and he’s also incredibly snarky, some of my favourite moments with him are when he snaps at Rodney, or when he’s fed up of dealing with Tazer’s friends and simply teleports past them.
Also as a Black Doctor Who fan, it’s just nice to see yet another undervalued Black former companion shine in another role.
What Doesn’t Work:
So… let’s talk about Michael and Dionne…
Look, writing a genuinely compelling relationship between a superhero and their partner is something that many a writer has struggled with over the years. There’s a constant juggling act where the love interest needs to be concerned but not too naggy; active but not at risk of outdoing the hero; a source of anxiety for the hero but not a damsel in distress. Even the best-written superhero love interest (Kirsten Dunst’s MJ) doesn’t fit all of these criteria.
I would say that, although her writing isn’t the best, Dionne herself isn’t as bad as people make her out to be, and I don’t blame her for the flaws in her writing. She’s actually pretty understanding of Michael’s erratic behaviour, shows a lot of care for him and his mum, does some great detective work, and her reaction to him not telling her about her impending fate (although probably down to lack of time) is refreshingly reasonable. Her worst moments in the show are usually a reaction to being completely left in the dark over her fiance’s life-altering development, which again isn’t unreasonable.
For me, the biggest issue with Michael and Dionne’s relationship is that, despite it being his entire purpose in the narrative, I don’t particularly enjoy seeing them on screen together. Perhaps this is due again to the lack of time, but so much of why Michael and Dionne care for each other is delivered either through exposition or implied because they live together. I believe that they love and care for each other because they constantly say they do and we get a scene of them cuddled on the couch watching TV together, but they spend more time either nagging at each other or just sort of talking past each other which makes it difficult for me to really engage with their relationship or why they like each other so much.
Their tragic ending absolutely hits (but fr, teleport your girl home, Michael, people are dying out here!), but some of it is dulled by a small sense of “Okay, that’s over, now what’s next?” and I just don’t see myself missing their dynamic all that much next season. It’s telling that I ended the show feeling much more excited to see Cole’s take on a darker, more vengeful version of the character, than sadness over him losing Dionne.
2. Rodney
I legit remember seeing this guy in Hollyoaks when I was maybe 15, this is so wild to me.
What Works:
Rodney is just so easy to like, he’s funny, resourceful, sarcastic, a classic wheeler-dealer, and has an optimistic tenacity to him that’s infectious. Of all the Supacell 5 (besides Michael), Rodney is probably the one who locks in the quickest, being the first to both embrace his super speed and help Michael on his quest. A lot of his charm is down to Calvin Demba’s performance, Demba is effortlessly fun to watch in the role, genuinely seeming like he enjoys everything he’s doing and perfectly conveying the impulsiveness and persistence of the character while also making him likable and eminently watchable.
I also really enjoy Rodney’s interactions with his best friend Spud, with Rodney’s only interest being to use his powers to get their weed business off the ground while Spud is there to act as his Uncle Ben figure. Demba and Giacomo Mancini (hoping to see a Champion/Supacell crossover purely to see him and Ra’Nell reunite) have great chemistry together, and the dynamic of Rodney’s selfishness and carelessness conflicting with Spud’s constant reminders of his possible responsibilities is a classic superhero/best friend combination.
The subtle and emotional storytelling showing Rodney’s issues with his mother is very effective (if not unintentionally funny), and I’m looking forward to seeing more of how this affects him as a character and just generally getting a bit more depth to him.
What Doesn’t Work:
I’d say the biggest issue with Rodney is that we run out of time with his hero's journey this season. Arguably the most consistent recurring narrative throughline that we see with the character is his flippant use of his powers which clashes with Spud’s idea of what a hero should be, a label that Rodney rejects. This is all great set up but it never really pays off, Rodney never really has a proper moment where he acknowledges his newfound responsibility which you’d think would have been when Spud is almost beaten to death. This isn’t yet an inherently bad thing as there’s a chance this could be addressed in season 2, but it feels like a bit of a wasted setup to me.
1. Tazer
Between this and Boarders, 2024 really is the year of Josh Teduku.
I actually took a break to think about exactly how to express why Tayo “Tazer” Amusan is far and away my favourite character in Supacell, and the best way I can phrase it is this:
He’s just the most unhinged little sh*t.
What Works:
I mentioned before how side characters like a Zuko, a Vegeta, or a Daemon tend to become more popular than even the protagonists of their series, and if you’d like to know why that is, just watch Teduku’s performance.
Tazer is an amalgamation of pride, rage, insecurity, desperation, pathos, and twisted honour, all bottled up in the body of a young superpowered gang leader who really really misses his mum.
The appeal of a character who’s both written and acted this well is his unpredictability. Tazer has moments of genuine tenderness toward those he cares about, he even seems to have an internal code that feels bad when his friends humiliate a perceived civilian; and then, seemingly out of nowhere, he’ll do mad sh*t like taking all of his grief and rage out on a female rival gang member, shocking both the audience and even his closest friends; or trying to hurt/kill Michael on at least two occasions. I think there’s just something fun about watching a character who consistently makes the most extreme decisions possible for no reason.
I saw a lot of the backlash for Tazer’s storyline involving gang-related activity but maaaaan, the second he turns invisible and one of his opps yells “AY JUJ” I am sold on this storyline.
Seeing him abuse his powers to move up in his own small world just fits the story that Rapman has built and I think the way that his conflict with Ghett’s Krazy (yet another UK rapper to successfully try their hand at acting) ties into the final battle of the season is extremely effective. Tazer is an incredibly exciting character because his capacity for growth and redemption is easily the greatest of any of the Supacell 5, I expect him to shine in the second season and I suspect that he’s the character Rapman most enjoyed writing for.
What Doesn’t Work:
While I definitely don’t begrudge the show for writing in Tazer’s gang affiliation, I do wish that we saw a little bit more of what motivates the character beyond “Money, Power, Respect (the last one is better)”.
There are assumptions that I can make based on better-written characters from other shows (Sully and Dushane) but ultimately I want to know more about what makes Tazer tick, why his friends mean so much to him, and just more about why he does the things that he does.
Don’t get me wrong, the chaos and unpredictability that Tazer brings to the show is great, but when I sit down and evaluate Supacell as a whole, I think there are a few too many “Whys” with regard to how the character goes from A to B to C.
Also, the red and blue bandanas are kinda cringe and cliche.
Anyway, SUPACELL SEASON 2 PLEASE!
