Great Powers Outage (Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy Series #3)
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Crunch! There's something strange going on in Superopolis! The entire population has turned its back on its favorite potato chips of all time. Everyone has switched to the Amazing Indestructo's Amazing Pseudo-Chips. And all because someone named Comrade Crunch told them to. Look out! The weird thing is, no one has ever heard of Comrade Crunch. Who is he, and how is he getting the supercitizens to follow his every command? There's more! That's not the only mystery in town. The superheroes of Superopolis are losing their superpowers! Without their special gifts, they're just . . . ordinary! Luckily, there's one person in town who understands ordinary. In a city where everyone is—well, was— extraordinary, this might just be a job for ordinary boy!Children's LiteratureThe third of "The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy" begins with the citizens of Superopolis forsaking Dr. Telomere's Potato Chips in favor of the tasteless Amazing Indestructo's Amazing Pseudo Chips. Only Ordinary Boy seems unaffected by the persuasive powers of Comrade Crunch (aka the Red Menace). When the people begin losing their special powers, it appears that Comrade Crunch will achieve his goal of making everyone equal. Ordinary Boy convinces his fellow members of the Junior League to stop eating the Pseudo Chips, which he suspects cause the power losses. However, when the animals in the zoo develop the power of human speech after eating discarded Dr. Telomere's Potato Chips, Ordinary Boy begins looking elsewhere to solve the problem. He and the other Junior Leaguers must oppose not only Comrade Crunch, but Professor Brain-Drain and Mayor Whitewash to restore order to Superopolis. While the story is exciting, the one-dimensional characters make it difficult to follow at times. Characters are defined solely by their particular super powers as indicated by their names. Plasma Girl can easily slip through tight places and Halogen Boy provides bright light, for example. Not all powers are particularly useful. Stench clears the room with offensive odors. Most bothersome is Melonhead whose only power is a large, melon-shaped head. That and his lisp cause him to be bullied and ridiculed. "Everyone is unique" is presumably the lesson intended. Children are also encouraged to think for themselves and not be persuaded by others. However, these lessons are presented in a heavy-handed manner. As characters lose their identities along with their powers, the message is not particularlypositive. Illustrations and descriptions of people, places, and things from the Li'l Hero's Handbook add a humorous quality. Reviewer: Shirley Nelson
