Powerless

The events of these final chapters include important parts of the superhero genre—namely the villain monologue, the big battle, and the heroes emerging victorious. Chapter 20 shows how lines of demarcation shift when new threats and enemies are introduced. Up until now, the supers haven’t trusted or worked with Clay because Clay’s attitude has made him into a bad kid. Clay represents the type of superiority complex superpowers can give someone, and as a result, Clay has drifted away from the main group, spending all his time with Bud because the other boy follows without question. Adding Clay to the team shows how dire the situation is and how much of a threat Plunkett represents. With Eric down, the kids need Clay’s strength, which is both a boon and a bargaining chip. Daniel knows the only way to get Clay’s help is to appeal to what it will do for him, which is why Daniel leads with the promise Clay can stay strong once the shroud is destroyed. Clay either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care that this means Eric will also keep his powers, showing that Clay is truly only concerned with himself.

Daniel completes his character arc in these chapters, showing The Meaning of Heroism and Acceptance Versus Resistance. This process begins in Chapter 21 when Daniel admits that his emotions got the better of him. Since meeting the group, he’s felt like he doesn’t belong because he’s ordinary, and so the opportunity to prove himself and to one-up Eric tempted him into believing Plunkett and putting the group in danger. This also shows how fully Plunkett exploited Daniel’s feelings. He was able to convince Daniel that Eric was the enemy because of the similarities between Plunkett and Daniel. Both characters have been the kids without power amid superheroes, and thus, Plunkett knows how Daniel feels because he once felt the same way. Daniel’s contribution to the battle in Chapter 23 completes his character arc. Since he doesn’t have powers, he’s the only person who can touch the stone Plunkett uses to drain the kids, meaning Daniel becomes a hero precisely because he’s ordinary. This event allows him to finally feel as unique and important as the rest of the group and to learn that he doesn’t need superpowers to be strong or heroic.

Chapter 22 contains Plunkett’s villain monologue—an important trope of the superhero genre. With Eric unconscious, Daniel captured, and the other kids not at the quarry yet, Plunkett reveals all, detailing how he’s worked to remove powers from superheroes before they got old enough to be threats. Plunkett also selects Daniel as his successor to ensure his work can continue. Daniel accepts the power-draining ring Plunkett gives him, which shows that, despite Plunkett being a villain, his perspective makes a level of sense. The supers are good kids now, but the future is uncertain, meaning any one of them could grow up to be like Plunkett. In his monologue, Plunkett also reveals the source of his power, the meteor stone, which allows Daniel to outwit him in Chapter 23. The title of Chapter 23 alludes to the location of the final fight between Sherlock Holmes and his archnemesis, Professor Moriarty, in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work The Final Problem. This chapter contains the final confrontation between Daniel and Plunkett, in which Daniel uses Holmes-like thinking to realize Plunkett’s weakness and then emerge victorious.

The final portion of Chapter 25 establishes the mysteries that will continue through the rest of the series. The mysterious appearance of Johnny Noble means that he likely did come to the cave and may have had a hand in waking Eric at the precise moment the boy was needed. Eric’s angry response to the idea of Johnny Noble being real and alive shows how the events of the book have changed him. In the beginning, Eric clung to the myth of Johnny Noble as a role model, father figure, and source of hope that he might dodge losing his powers at age 13. After being attacked by the Shroud and learning about Plunkett’s long-standing villainy, Eric is angry that his hero let this happen, revealing that Eric, like Daniel, is beginning to reflect on The Meaning of Heroism.