Directed and written by Jon McDonald, this film seemed to escape my radar when it came out in 2022.

Back in the sixties, Professor Ruckus Mandulbaum (Cary Elwes) invented the Titan Badge, which creates superpowers by changing the molecular structure of its wearer’s DNA. He started a family — America’s first family of superheroes — by adopting three street children: Ansel (Alphonso McAuley) who has increased strength, Vista (Penelope Mitchell) who can read minds and Maya (Elaine Tan) who can teleport.

Into the seventies, the team changes, as the children rebel against their father, sort of like how Professor X’s students, The Doom Patrol’s Chief and Sir Reginald Hargreeves of The Umbrella Academy all lost their students. Actually, this feels an awful lot like The Umbrella Academy if it were directed by Wes Anderson.

In 1979, Vista and Ansel decide that they want their powers back. It’s like a drug, one they’ve come down off of and now, they want that feeling back. They decide to steal two of the badges, not realizing that their father must scan them to make that happen. So they take the entire Hyperion Museum hostage, which brings back one of their old villains, Ares (Keli Price).

Their father has created three generations of the team by now and, like an even weirder Walt Disney, hosts a weekly show called the Hyperion Club that broadcasts the exploits of his many children. He seems unaware of the strain and damage he’s put his children through, robbing them of their powers when they decide to show any independence. He’s a more malevolent Charles Xavier, a character I never saw as much of a hero. That said, he may be so senile that his handlers are making every decision for him.

The success of this film is because of McDonald, a former animator and storyboard artist, who is able to create the visual look of two eras in this, as well a very unique take on superpowers. It’s a shame how close it hews to other comic tropes, as it feels like the lack of a third act and the way things emotionally instead of violently resolve is quite adult — and strong, to be frank — for a comic book movie.

This movie was part of the DailyWire+ streaming service, just like Run Hide Fight, Convicting a Murderer and Am I Racist? Because of that, this probably slipped under most radars. If you want to see a superhero movie that may not be perfect but has many ideas that keep it fresh, even if to get there it had to replicate some DNA, check it out.

Here’s a coincidence: Rafia Iqbal is a Canadian actress who doubled for Ritu Arya in The Umbrella Academy and is known for her role as Hyperion in the TV series The Boys.

You can watch this on YouTube.