A Tale Of Four Super-Friends

Caper the web series is the latest project from Geek and Sundry, the popular online channel founded by Felicia Day.

Written by Amy Berg and Mike Sizemore, Caper has a premise that had me instantly hooked: four young housemates with superpowers valiantly protect the fictional city of Los Angles from super-villains.

However these super-friends have one huge problem - they are flat broke!

Bills, Bills, Bills

Sure it's fun to follow the exploits of billionaire playboys whose alter-egos heroically save the day.

It's pure escapism at its best.

But being a comic book geek, I love the fact despite their fantastic powers, these characters must grapple with real world problems - like finding employment and paying the rent.

It is these struggles that make them far more relatable.

"Super" Stars In The Making

In the premiere episode, we meet the four protagonists who are sly subversions of the most iconic superhero archetypes:

Dagr (Hartley Sawyer) - an immortal royal Viking scion who is 12th in line for the throne

Alexia (Beth Riesgraf) - a hotheaded amazon princess recently returned from a walk on the dark side

Luke (Harry Shum, Jr.) - the idealistic superman of the group

Penny (Abby Miller) - a penniless (pun intended) genius who had to steal back her high-tech armor from her sleazy billionaire ex

The main cast has great chemistry together, which is one of the hallmarks of the series.

Caper also features a great script filled with wry, self-referential jabs.

A prime example is one scene in which Penny damages the group's only television set, frustrated over her ex receiving credit for her heroic deeds.

Looking at the cracked screen, another character quips "Nobody watches television anymore anyway. All the good stuff is online."

Thrilling Heroics

The show also features excellent cinematography, including an ingenious device for including action sequences.

Superhero battles scenes would be cost prohibitive to produce on a web series budget.

To overcome this challenge, whenever an episode calls for depictions of thrilling super-heroics, the visuals transition to vibrant graphic illustrations.

The gorgeous graphic art gives Caper a unique visual style that also pays homage to its comic book roots.

Also very exciting is the slew of cameos by many fan favorite actors. Sorry I can't say more due to spoilers, but definitely have an eagle's eye when watching!

Take a look inside the world of Caper by watching the official trailer: