Although Jupiter’s Legacy was canceled by Netflix shortly after it debuted, its spinoff, Super Crooks, was still announced. Many of the characters from the previous series do appear in Super Crooks, but this is more of a world that’s adjacent to the one in Jupiter’s Legacy rather than being the same. Super Crooks is also an anime rather than a live-action series, which does give it more room for creativity.
Johnny Bolt (Jonah Scott) tried to be a superhero when he discovered electricity powers as a boy, but a horrible accident at a pool convinced him he would do better as a supervillain. Over the course of the series, Johnny goes on escapades with his supervillain buddies, until his girlfriend, Kasey (Abby Trott) introduces him to her mentor, Carmine (Doug Stone), who plans a heist of the headquarters of the Union of Justice, which is basically this world’s version of the Justice League.
Scripted by Dai Soto (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo), the series transforms the limited narrative real estate of the four-issue comic book series into an engaging, fun story with just enough character development to make you root for the team of superhuman thieves. Other than Johnny, we also get good characterization when it comes to Kasey and the season’s antagonist, the Bastard, Christopher Matts (Jason Marnocha). The others mostly get introduction scenes as they join the team, but their characters are expressed through their actions. The corrupt hero, Praetorian (DC Douglas), is also delightfully cocky. He has an ominous air to him that makes things dire for the crooks whenever he shows up.
Studio Bones (Fullmetal Alchemist, Mob Psycho 100, My Hero Academia) handles the animation duties. The animation is crisp, and the art style is more angled and westernized. The series is also not afraid to dispense violence when it feels like it. The show’s pacing is also mostly balanced, slowing down in certain episodes to focus on character moments and then following that up with important plot progression.
Super Crooks does have its fair share of flaws, such as some plot points that are predictable.
However, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The heists are enjoyable in themselves, and the climax wraps things up while still leaving the door open for future installments. Super Crooks isn’t as good as Invincible, but it’s still quite enjoyable. Maybe the key in adapting Mark Millar’s superhero stories is animating them. Let’s hope we see similarly good- and maybe even better- adaptations of his work in the future.
