I have to say it every time, but never compare what you read to what you watch. The comics range from solid to superb and always get more creative than show producers ever care to risk for the screen. That said, as rabid of a Marvel fan that I am, I think the show kind of betrays the source material with too many hokey spots in the language. The parents undermine their villainy, and the kids come across as almost hopeless in their fleetingly small displays of powers. It consistently irks me when I can feel a show aiming for a specific age group and what the producers or writers think that group sounds like. They pull in all of the lazy cliches and simple arcs you'd train aspiring writers on if you never wanted competition. I'd rather have less TV shows and more examples of how alive these characters can feel, than weird mock-ups flapping their arms and moving their gums with the title and clothes, but none of the soul.

Marvel usually takes its characters seriously or gives us depth. Save the corn and cheese for DC. It amazes me that such a large and example-ridden brand can be so hot and cold with whether they bother to build and respect the characters. The work's already been done for you. The second season distinguishes itself from the first in actually moving along and developing the plot. The use of powers is ratcheted up some, and the introduction of more seasoned actors, even briefly, rounds out what the younger players might not know how to bring to the screen. It's an enjoyable series, but I always return to the idea of whether or not I'm doing something else while it's on. I can play on my phone or draw a bath, and not really be missing anything. That's a sad point more than my haughty expectations, because like I said, I'm a rabid Marvel fan, and I want every adaptation to be sincerely spell-binding.