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Powerless has so far been an intriguing retelling of these Marvel characters' stories: Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Daredevil. Yet this retelling takes place in a world like our own — one without super powered beings. Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, but the bite caused his arm to whither and become useless. When lawyer Matt Murdock stood up to Wilson Fisk in court, the Kingpin later had him beaten to a pulp. Logan's story is most similar to his powered one: he's an amnesiac who has been mysteriously programmed to be a warrior and assassin.

The binding character is psychologist Dr. Watts (whose visage perhaps unintentionally bears a striking resemblance to G. Gordon Liddy). Each of the characters comes to see Dr. Watts as a patient and he ultimately gets drawn into their stories, rather than simply being an observer. If you've been attentive you guessed Dr. Watts' Marvel universe counterpart a couple of issues ago. If not, expect some revelations in next issue's concluding chapter.

The story itself has been extremely compelling, enhanced by Michael Gaydos' gritty art and generally dark colors. In the early issues it was an interesting statement: in each of the protagonists' lives they not only didn't have super abilities but were powerless in every sense of the word, especially when faced with their respective nemeses. As it happens, the bad guys (Norman Osborn, Wilson Fisk, and the enigmatic “Eric”) are as powerful in this world as any, bolstered by wealth and a healthy dose of meanness. (Sudden inspiration: a Marvel Universe counterpart to reality TV show “The Apprentice.” It would feature wanna-be business mavens who would vie for a job working for Norman Osborn. Instead of being fired, losers would be blown up by one of Green Goblin's nifty explosives.)

The protagonists are finally discovering and using their own inner strength to stand up to the bullies. The thing about these bullies, however, is that they employ some pretty vicious means to get their way. Powerless has proven to be a completely unpredictable story, so it will be interesting to see if the good guys will win or even survive. Although there's a chance the conclusion will somehow tie back to the main Marvel universe, it's possible that would diminish the strong story and characters. How could it truly be done? A dream sequence of some sort? Better to leave this world intact and revisit it from time to time.