Marvel’s latest foray into television includes the teenage-driven superhero series, Marvel’s Runaways. Based on the "Runaways" comics by Brian K. Vaughn and Adrian Alphona, the characters first appeared in Runaways #1 in July 2003 but the series was canceled a little over a year later. The series was rebooted in February 2005 and has a total of four volumes published to date. The new show follows a group of teenage mutants with blossoming powers, united with the sole mission to uncover the mystery surrounding their parent’s involvement with murder. The series was created by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, both of whom are familiar with drama series, after having also worked on shows like The O.C., Gossip Girl and The Carrie Diaries. The new series is exclusively available on Hulu, and employs a diverse cast of young, fresh talent. Eager to push the envelope, Marvel’s Runaways has also introduced the debut of Karolina Dean, a new gay superhero with other-worldly powers. At the time of writing this article, the character has had several hundred tweets composed in the last hour, all of which were admiring her as a welcome add to the Marvel Universe.

Fresh Faces

Overall, the first season of Marvel’s Runaways seems to be off to a good start. The series should be applauded for employing a strong cast with different backgrounds and ethnicities, a move that should be followed by other superhero-themed television series. Actress Virginia Gardner plays Karolina Dean, one of the members of the Runaways who goes through some serious changes throughout season one. On Runaways, actress Virginia Gardner highlights her character's journey of self-discovery, especially by becoming one of Marvel's first lesbian characters. 

In an interview with Glamour, Gardner said, “I don't know why it took so long to have a gay character [in the Marvel universe], though a lot of comic books were written a while ago. It’s been more of a modern thing for it to be so normalized. I hope it’s a game-changing conversation and the success of our show and the success of these characters will only encourage more superhero shows. It's especially important for the younger generation to be seeing themselves more accurately portrayed on-screen, and I'm proud to be part of a show that's doing that.” Although Dean is first presented as the law-abiding church girl, Karolina shows more layers of complexity, especially when exploring her sexuality in later episodes. Gardner has also appeared in other television series such as Zoo, The Tap, Secrets and Lies and How to Get Away with Murder.

Newcomer Rhenzy Feliz stars as young Alex Wilder, one of the core members of the Runaways. The show first shines the spotlight on Wilder, who yearns for simpler times when his band of friends used to hang out together. The 20 year old actor has also starred as Aaron in the television series, Teen Wolf, and as Spencer in Casual. Feliz shares some serious screentime with actress Lyrica Okano, who stars as Nico Minoru. “For Nico, I just feel like I'm on cloud nine because I get to play her. She's so complicated and this is how all Asian characters and all actors of any race, color, gender should be portrayed as,” Lyrica said to Teen Vogue. Okano recently starred as Kim in the 2016 drama, Pimp, alongside Vanessa Morgan and Keke Palmer.

In Marvel's Runaways, Barer shines as the purple-haired Gert Yorkes. With her feisty personality, Gert always has a snappy comeback, no matter the situation. Actress Ariela Barer has come a long way since her first on-screen credit as the "Super Martian Robot Girl" for "Yo Gabba Gabba!" back in 2007. Since then, Barer has appeared in television series like ER, Modern Family and Atypical. During season one, Gert is suddenly faced with many new challenges, including discovering her new powers of mind-control, and the fact that her parents have a dinosaur hidden away in the basement. Ultimately, Gert thinks she's locked in a messy love triangle between herself, Karolina and Chase, but the pair has yet to officially address their feelings towards one another.

Originally born in London, England, actor Gregg Sulkin stars as the tech-savvy jock, Chase Stein. Earlier in his career, Sulkin starred as Mason Greyback in the Wizards of Waverly Place, Wesley Fitzgerald in Pretty Little Liars and as Liam Booker in Faking It. Although Chase is first shown as being a typical high school jock, without a care in the world, his character has to face some heavy challenges with his family.

Up-and-coming actress Allegra Acosta plays Gert's younger sister, Molly Hernandez. Another fresh face, Acosta brightens the series up with her sunny disposition and colorful wardrobe. Although she's relatively new to the industry, Acosta also appeared in 100 Things to Do Before High School and Just Add Magic. We look forward to seeing more of Acosta and the rest of the cast later this year.

Looking Ahead to Season 2

According to Dateline, Marvel has officially announced that the show will continue on for season two. While we wait for any new developments, here are a few things we hope to see next season. In season one, we were able to find out a little bit more about Molly’s parents, but we certainly hope she will gain more answers to her questions soon. Perhaps we will learn even more about Molly’s parents in flashbacks or dream sequences. In addition, one of the biggest mysteries during season one involved the death of Nico’s sister, Amy. While Nico was able to retrieve her sister’s old cell phone, there are still plenty of details which need some closure.

In one scene, Chase’s dad, Victor Stein, views a short video of an older Chase through his strange time-machine device. In the clip, Chase desperately warns his father to not use the Fistigons, the technological gloves that father and son were tinkering with together. In another scene, the time machine also revealed an image of the Los Angeles skyline, deteriorating by damage and decay. When the Runaways discovered the mysterious and gigantic hole in the ground at the construction site, it looks like there are ominous times ahead for the young superheroes. We hope to see some more clarity surrounding the relationships in the group, including Karolina/Nico/Alex and more of Gert/Chase, along with more details about PRIDE that need to be addressed in season two. Finally, now that the Runaways are officially, well, runaways, it looks like the crew will face some of their biggest challenges yet. Stay tuned for more developments on Marvel’s Runaways here on our blog!

Written by Jade Nicolette

Twitter: @nicolette_style