Netflix’s Project Power redefines the idea of superpowers by drawing from comic books but not adapting them directly. The high-concept superhero sci-fi belongs in the same family as Limitless, in its presentation of the idea that superpowers are innate to all people and all that’s missing is the right activating agent. That agent is a drug called Power, developed by a shady, amoral private security contractor corporation, Teleios, and given to community lab rats to check the effects.
Project Power borrows some of X-Men’s mythology in terms of each individual showing different superpowers thanks to magic locked into their DNA. The difference in this universe is that everyone has a random evolutionary power hidden away that mimics the “superpowers” that animals have developed over generations to survive their environments. The movie even goes as far as to suggest some of these animals that have somehow gifted their powers to humanity’s latent DNA. It’s not clear how exactly, but this is a superhero origin story and not a natural history documentary.
Given the hook of the story, which should be enough to get a sequel confirmed (much like The Old Guard 2), there’s a wide array of superpowers on show in Project Power’s near two-hour run-time. Some are straight-up body horror while others are definitely drawn from other comic book influences (and in one case, Disney’s most successful recent franchise). Here’s a rundown of every superpower, who has them, how powerful they are, and where they might have come from.
Frank Develops Bulletproof Skin
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's rogue cop Frank is a strange Batman-like character in that he proves himself completely willing to break the law in order to uphold it. It's quite troubling that he's not only willing to take drugs to take down those who take the same drug to break the law, but also that he buys them from his "professional friend" the teenage drug-dealer, Robin. But Project Power is not about how long he deserves to be in prison for. His powers are interesting in that they give him bulletproof skin which is hard enough to allow him to punch through concrete, but malleable enough to respond to gunfire. He's also not completely bulletproof as the gunshot he takes to the face Frank establishes that each Power pill seems to have a 5-minute delay on them, as he times it on his watch.
Art Has Pistol Shrimp Powers
Jamie Foxx's Art refuses to use his powers for the majority of movie because they're too dangerous. He eventually reveals to a guard on the Genesis that he has the same powers as a pistol shrimp, which sounds deeply unimpressive until you hear the actual details. The tiny sea-dweller and Art are both able to super-heat the water and air around them to shoot intensely hot bubbles at great speed that kill enemies (in the shrimp's case, so that they can be eaten). In nature, the pistol shrimp can generate temperatures equal to the surface of the sun (8,000°F ), and the fact that Art can liquify henchmen at several paces suggests he can manage a similar range. Art's powers also manifest in a shockwave that he can seemingly control, though they come at a great cost as he's killed while displaying them from the effort rather than the heat (he shows no scars at all when revived).
Newt Is Project Power’s Human Torch
The first superpower really shown in Project Power belongs to Machine Gun Kelly's Newt, a drug-dealer (and Robin's cousin) who can impressively burst into flames when he takes Power. He's essentially the film's Human Torch and his power doesn't seem to be drawn from the animal kingdom (thankfully) and it also comes at a terrible price that Johnny Storm never showed: scarring. While he seems to be invulnerable while on fire (he survives a shotgun blast, after all), Newt's skin and flesh actually burn, so when he turns back to normal, he's left horribly scarred and heavily disfigured. He's Project Power's first morality tale, in that he takes too much of the drug and ends up overdosing. Or exploding, to be more specific, which is not a superpower in itself. It happens because some users' superpowers react unstably to Power and are amplified to such a fatal degree that they spontaneously combust.
Tracy Has Revival Powers (In Others)
The biggest revelation in the middle of Project Power is that Art's daughter Tracy (Kyanna Simpson) has a naturally occurring superpower thanks to the genetic experiments Teleios did on her father. Project Power's ending doubles down on this revelation by having her superpower explained as a revival power, which works not only on people but also plants. When she walks past a dying plant it is immediately restored to health and she saves her dead father at the end with far greater effort. Her powers, strangely don't seem to allow her to heal wounds on herself, however, as the wounds from Teleios' experiments remains unhealed when she's first seen on the Genesis ship. The film vaguely suggests her powers are derived from the same evolution as lizards that are capable of restoring destroyed or removed limbs.
A Bank Robber Called Griff Borrows His Powers From A Chameleon
Listed both as Griff and Camouflage Man in the Project Power credits, the first villain Frank encounters with superpowers in Project Power is a bank robber who has clearly evolved the same camouflage abilities as a chameleon. He can blend into any background and appears completely see-through even when running provided he is completely naked. In contrast to all of the other powers, Camouflage Man seems able to keep his powers up for way longer than the 5-minute limit, since he has time to rob a bank and take hostages, wait for the police and then escape Frank all while still camouflaged. Presumably, this is either just a plot hole or he has multiple pills stashed somewhere on his naked body.
Biggie Is Project Power’s Abomination
It was always inevitable that at least one character in Project Power would copy the Incredible Hulk's mutation superpower and that comes courtesy of Rodrigo Santoro's Biggie, the secondary villain responsible for sales of Power to military contacts. When he takes the drug, he grows to a huge size with monstrous mutations (including one very large arm) and displays Hulk-like strength and aggression. Given his moral alliance, he's more befitting of the Abomination title, though unlike both he's susceptible to being blown up and his mutations leave permanent scars on his body when he turns back into his "normal" self. His design when transformed actually seems to owe a lot to Resident Evil’s Wesker and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’s Mr Hyde.
Wallace Displays Super-Strength
Art has a special kind of revenge in mind for the Teleios thug who kidnapped his daughter and has been given the responsibility to oversee keeping her locked away, Wallace. He’s already a formidably sized guy, but taking Power gives him significant enough super-strength to be able to punch through steel ship doors. There’s never any indication that his strength goes beyond his punching power, however. It’s a fairly simple super-power that’s mostly generic, as opposed to linked to a certain kind of animal.
One Teleios Henchman Can Dislocate His Bones (And Has Rubber Skin?!)
When Art, Frank and Robin break onto the Teleios ship, it's an opportunity for the film-makers to show off a greater spectrum of superpowers. Ultimately, it's not the power-fest that it could have been with only Wallace and two other henchmen showing off their Power transformations. The first of those unnamed henchmen displays the ability to painlessly dislocate all of his bones while fighting to basically become made of rubber - including making his skin stretchy and strong enough to strangle Art. In the Teleios demonstration, the dislocation ability is mentioned in terms of both Wolverine frogs and also small mammals like rats for pushing through small holes. He's a difficult foe to fight at first, but Frank basically just punches him into submission.
Another Teleios Henchman Grows Devastating Bone Spurs
Though he's not named in the credits, the second superpowered henchman (played by Yoshi Sudarso) is known as Knifebones and displays the ability of a Wolverine (or hairy) frog in breaking his own bones and dislocating them to create weapons. His version is a little more extreme as he grows two giant, hugely strong bone spurs out of his forearms (strong enough to puncture steel) and one out of the top of his spine on his back. His bone spurs are apparently also incredibly sharp like sword blades.
The Tragic Miss Freeze Has “Frozen Powers”
In the Teleios sales pitch to the South Americans, the tragic Candy is introduced as the unlucky "volunteer" for proving that Power works. The result of her taking the pill is that she drops her body temperature to subzero levels and can freeze anything she touches. In the film, it's referred to as "like Frozen" though Candy's powers are unstable and she requires her surroundings to be hot enough to balance her core temperature. The power is actually called Thermoregulation in Project Power’s world, which is just a fancy way of explaining how animals (and humans) cool themselves down or warm themselves up depending on their environment. Like a kangaroo licking itself on a particularly hot day. Candy ends up taking her power to the extreme and freezing solid without any ability to actually regulate, so the name is wrong.
Cuello (Healer) Borrows Wolverine's Powers
One of the most interesting superpowers is the other healing power established before Tracy's secret is revealed. That comes courtesy of one of Teleios' distribution line workers, a dealer called Cuello (played by Azhar Khan) who takes a pill to fight Art when Robin leads him to their base of operations. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have any other useful superpowers like increased ability to fight or super-strength and he's killed fairly simply in a gunfight. At that point, his body pushes the bullets out and he is revived, suggesting a Wolverine-like rejuvenation power, which is presumably not based on anything specific in nature. He's then killed when his pill runs out while Art is stabbing him.
Super-Speed And Super-Jumping Are Both Also Reported
Two other powers are mentioned in the reports by New Orleans broadcasting legend Wild Wayne on the radio at the start of the movie. The Power users with these super-powers are never named and their abilities are not shown on screen, but they’re used to subtly tell the audience that the community is somewhat aware of the existence of superheroes. It’s just that they’re mostly considered a conspiracy theory to talk in hushed tones about.