A Group of Teenagers Discover That Their Parents are Villains

By: Carlos Glick

Six of the main cast members. Credit: Disney+

“Runaways” is a show owned by Marvel Studios and is based on the Marvel Comics. After discovering that their parents are supervillains in disguise, a group of six teenagers band together to run away from their homes in order to atone for their parents’ actions, leading them to discover the secrets of their origins.

“Runaways” has an amazing cast from Gregg Sulkin to Lyrica Okano to even Kevin Weisman. If the name Gregg Sulkin sounds familiar to you, or to Disney Channel fans, you may recognize him from his works on “Wizards of Waverly Place” in which he played Alex Russo’s werewolf boyfriend. 

Part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Runaways” takes you on a journey where a group of teenagers run away from their parents’ homes to fight for their destiny. Unlike any teenager these days who likes to go shopping at the mall with their friends or sit around playing video games all day, these teenagers come up with a plan to stop their parents from destroying the world. 

Unlike any superhero movie, you cannot have a superhero without superpowers, right? Nico (Lyrica Okano) has control of the magical Staff of One,  Molly’s (Alegra Acosta)  glowing eyes reveal her super strength, Chase (Gregg Sulkin) wears the famed Fistigons, Karolina’s (Virginia Gardner) has a bracelet in which she can glow and fly, Gert (Ariela Barer) has control of her genetically engineered velociraptor Old Lace, while Alex (Rhenzy Feliz) is the brainiac of the group. 

“Runaways” is a show for teens and young adults, but it is also geared towards people who are fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With only 3 seasons and 33 episodes, I would give this show a 5-star review. It has everything you could ever think of, from action to adventure to even romance. 

Based on the comics, “Runaways” tells the story of a group of teenagers, who after figuring out their parents are super villains, run away from their home and figure out a plan to take them down. As the seasons progress, the kids come to realize that their parents are on their side and they take down the bad guys who lure their parents into an act of evil. 

According to Den of Geek, the show starts on the second anniversary of Amy’s death, an event that still has an immerse effect on the lives these teens are living. When the kids accidentally stumble upon their parents’ human sacrifice (as you do), they are bound together yet again in a desperate quest to discover if their parents are evil.

“Runaways” balances the narrative between kids and parents much more equally than the comic book series it is based on. While the first episode is told from the kids point of view, the second episode more or less follows the same period of time, but with a focus on the parents. 

Like the kids, the adult actors are incredibly well cast. Karolina’s parents are played by Annie Wersching (Leslie) and Kip Pardue (Frank). Chase’s parents are played by James Marsters’ (Victor) and Ever Carradine (Janet). Nico’s parents are played by Brittany Ishibashi (Tina) and James Yaegashi (Robert). Alex’s parents are played by Ryan Sands (Geoffrey) and Angel Parker (Catherine). Finally, Gert and Molly’s parents are played by Kevin Weisman (Dale) and Brigid Brannagh (Stacy). 

While the Spider-Man comics were released in the 1960’s and the Iron Man comics were released in the late 1960’s, the Runaways comics came out in 2003, which is a huge gap compared to Spider-Man or Iron Man. Something interesting to note is that both Spider-Man and the six kids of Marvel’s Runaways are all high schoolers, which is very fascinating. 

Get ready to go on an adventure of a lifetime as you travel in the lives of six teenagers fighting for their freedom and for their parents. Every episode leaves you with suspense or even a cliffhanger as you wonder what will happen next. I would highly recommend this show.