Right now, the offerings on HBO Max are slim pickings due to WB's restructurings. But one thing that can always be counted on are the Leslie Iwerks documentaries. "Superpowered" is another one of those--a solid effort recounting DC's comic book history.
The first two episodes (both of which I gave 9/10 stars) are excellent. It would have been easy to just rely on WB's footage from films and other properties, but Iwerks really strives to show and tell the history of those comic books and graphic novels. These episodes are as much informative as entertaining.
The third and final episode isn't quite as compelling (7/10 stars) as the focus shifts away from comics and towards DC's focus on the big and small screens. Nothing inherently wrong with this approach--Iwerks is simply following the company history--but that installment feels more self-congratulatory than informative/interesting.
Of course, one must keep in mind that this is a doc about DC Comics from parent company Warner Media--so it's not like we're getting the unvarnished truth in all occasions. But for what it is, I can give it a solid 8/10 star rating. The clips and visuals are great as per the usual, but the real calling card here is the focus (especially early) on the history of DC comics and how that shaped where the brand is today.
