From HBO’s Watchmen to Amazon Prime’s The Boys to Brightburn, it’s been quite the year for dark, cynical deconstructions of superheros. And we’re wrapping things up with one more: Code 8, aptly starring the Arrowverse’s Stephen (Arrow) and Robbie Amell (The Flash).
While in most superhero deconstructions, having a superpower still gives you status (while also making you an asshole), this isn’t the case in the world of Code 8. Instead, it’s heavily stigmatized and keeps the 4% of the population that has it in poverty and discriminated against. To make ends meet, some turn to crime, and this is exactly what befalls the protagonist, Connor (Robbie Amell), who kicks off the trailer robbing a bank with his telekinesis.
Here’s the official synopsis, from IGN’s YouTube page:
Code 8 is set in a world where 4% of the population is born with varying supernatural abilities, but instead of being billionaires or superheroes, they face discrimination and live in poverty, often resorting to crime. Connor Reed (Robbie Amell), a power-enabled young man, is struggling to pay for his ailing mother’s (Kari Matchett) health treatment.
Fighting to earn enough money as a day laborer, Connor is lured into a lucrative criminal world by Garrett (Stephen Amell) who works for Lincoln City’s reigning drug lord, Marcus Sutcliffe (Greg Bryk). Garrett helps Connor sharpen his powers in order to execute a series of crimes on behalf of Sutcliffe, while a militarized police unit, led by Agent Park (Sung Kang) and Agent Davis (Aaron Abrams), hunts them down.
Code 8 arrives in theaters and on VOD December 13.
