In Marvel's Runaways, a group of six teens find out that their parents’ charity group is actually a front for villainy, and the teens band together to try to figure out what to do with this newfound information. Kris and Stephanie discuss Season 1 of Runaways, including plot elements of the series as well as differences between the TV series and the comics.

Spoiler-Free Reviews

• Stephanie: I ended up liking the series a lot more than I thought I would, based on how much I enjoyed the first few episodes. In particular, I think the season ends on a really strong run of 2-3 episodes. I think the casting was good, and I love how diverse the cast is. I really like a lot of the actors, and they won me over even when I wasn't super engaged with the storyline in the beginning.
• Kris: Overall, I really liked it! The cast is great. I think there were some pacing issues, especially in the first half of the season. I have some mixed feelings about the plot, just because I read the comics and there’s a part of me that thinks “this isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” I liked some of the changes (a lot!), but some of the others remain a mystery to me.

The Characters

Alex

• Didn't seem to have as much character development as other characters
• Keeping secrets about Amy from Nico
• Developing a relationship with his father's nemesis – where will that lead next season?

Chase

• Took Stephanie awhile to warm up to him
• Relationship with his abusive father – we found this storyline difficult to follow at times
• Romantic interests

Gert

• Crush on Chase – this storyline was not handled well, in our opinion. Gert's antagonism toward Karolina is tired and makes her difficult to like.
• Relationship with Molly – unique to the series and one of our favorite things
• Relationship with Old Lace – surprisingly sweet, and Kris is pleased with the special effects for Old Lace

Molly

• Cinnamon roll – she has a great attitude, provides comic relief with her napping, and generally is very likable
• Somewhat separate from the group throughout the season

Karolina

• Robust storyline involving learning that she has powers, accepting her sexuality, confronting information about her parents
• We love that she reaches out to Molly when Molly feels rejected by the group

Nico

• Unraveling the mystery of Amy's death
• Complicated relationship with her mother

The Parents

• Because the kids don't runaway until the end of the season, we spend a lot of time with the parents. We are far more interested in the kids' storylines than the parents.
• Season ends by revealing how much the parents seem to care for their children, sets up a new evil hierarchy with Jonah portrayed as the bigger Big Bad

The Ships

• Alex/Nico: a couple in the comics, Nico has reasonable trust issues in the series
• Karolina/Nico: never happened in the comics but could have, and Kris is very excited by the possibility
• Chase/Karolina: Karolina really couldn't be less interested but at least Chase finally figured it out
• Chase/Gert: Kris felt like this canon couple in the comics was actually better established in the series, and they're pretty cute

The Comics

• The original run of the comics was in the early 2000s, written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Adrian Alphona — brought back for a second volume in 2005
• Current run being written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Kris Anka
• Differences between the comics and the show: there’s no Amy and way less of the parents, etc.
• Additional characters: will we see them? The series seems more rooted in reality than the comics, and many of the characters added later in the comics were robots and aliens and more science-fiction/fantasy-based characters.

Additional Music

• “Floating Cities” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
• “Junkyard Tribe” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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