I'm starting my re-watches of S1 fairly randomly, with one of my all-time favourites. For me, 'Superhero' is a microcosm of the elements that make Bones stand out from similar procedurals. It is a forensic (pun unintentional, I've just spotted it) examination of a certain type of person which the squints are all perceived by outsiders to be - nerds, geeks, obsessives at a lonely distance from reality. The redemption of Warren Granger's character and his elevation to true superhero status in the context of reality, rather than divorced from it, is simultaneously the recognition of the team's relevance to society and caring for one another.
As with many of the S1 eps, I like the intro. It doesn't actually commence with Bones and Booth already at the scene of the crime, but with a news report which sets the death in context. Warren has been cast out onto a rubbish heap in the manner that society disposes of and alienates those who do not conform with its dictates. It's interesting that the initial examination has a warmer quality than in some of the later seasons; these people definitely care about the victim as a human being. Even the jokes over the remains are gentler, softer ("don't use your charm smile on me" - intriguing observation from someone who theoretically has trouble perceiving subtext, humour and the ways people have of relating to one another). Brennan is really quite different. She is more communicative and understanding; neither her face nor her speech has the robotic quality which becomes irritating in later episodes. Sure, she doesn't comprehend pop culture references, but she doesn't dismiss them as irrelevant. Neither does Zack. The fact that this victim was seemingly completely immersed in the comic book world simply piques their intellectual curiosity and their immediate reaction is to find out more about it. Look at Zack's enthusiasm to broaden his knowledge with research. He sits down and reads dozens of comic books to help him understand the victim's mindset. He even finds philosophical/anthropological ways of interpreting his reading matter. The 'Darwinian struggle between avians and mammals' is a fantastic twist on Wile E. Coyote in my humble opinion. These people have the pure scientist's excitement about something new.
Our insights into Warren's personality deepen as we move further into the episode. Initially we see the view of the outside world. His stepdad describes him as an individual who is always alone. He is said to have no friends and no enemies. This is society's traditional perception of the nerd (notice the separation of the idea of 'geeks' and 'nerds' in this episode, by the way). Warren has no personal elements in his room except for his comic books. His sole interest seems to have been writing his own graphic novels. The team begins to think that perhaps he was consumed by his own fantasy and had no grounding in real life at all. Maybe he was Citizen 14, not Warren, maybe that character had taken over completely. Booth's comment that Brennan is very like Warren can be translated into mild insult at this stage.
Moving further towards an understanding of Warren, we now meet the caricaturish Doomsday group at the comic store - that is, after seeing what adults think of him, we now see him through his peers' eyes. These adolescents, apparently like Warren, are literally playing at being someone different (though one of them objects, saying " 'Play' is not the right word"!) Abigail of the blue hair is the only one who, through her connection with Warren, has realised that they are mere posers; he, on the other hand, was someone who believed in doing good and being remembered for his contribution to society. He "believed in truth and right" she says. Leaving the group, Brennan claims she doesn't like to judge an entire subculture, BUT.. and the conversation turns to 'dark' nerds, 'Columbine' nerds - those who clearly have lost their grip on reality.
When we return to the lab, there are two very significant scenes. In the first, amusing, vignette, Goodman is reading the comic books and holding forth about the fact that the writer is in pain. Writers, he asserts, often reveal more than they wish about themselves in their oeuvre. When Brennan indignantly denies that her fiction displays anything about her real-life attitudes, the others calmly point out that she has more or less stated that archaeologists are good administrators because they enjoy tedium; that artists are doomed to a life of loneliness because they can't get past instant gratification; that FBI agents are hot and that Angela wants to sleep with Booth! Cue embarrassed and disconsolate Brennan!
The other scene is more serious, but also telling. Zack actually opens up to Brennan. The graphic novels he has been reading are retellings of great myths, and he would love to have some of these superpowers. Why? asks Brennan directly. Because, says Zack, "I'm weird. I make people feel stupid and they resent me for it." Upon which Brennan shows genuine understanding for his yearning and tells him that he does have real-life superpowers that make a difference to the world around him. Zack is showing an awareness and she is showing a compassion which are far beyond what the world considers a nerd capable of. Warren, too was capable of this. Slowly dying of leukaemia, he had hidden his deteriorating physical state and his knowledge of imminent death from his parents in order to save them pain. And chosen to try to be remembered for his actions - 'make a difference to the world before he died'.
Later we learn that Citizen 14's desire to save the Opalescence from the Twisted is a kind of allegory of Warren's desire to rescue someone he loved and looked up to from her abusive husband. Notice how furious Brennan is after the first contact with the man, when she picks up from very minor clues that he is beating his wife. Again she is reading emotions and body language unusually well, almost as well as Booth, who has to calm her down. He, rather than she, is the one with the reminder that they need solid evidence. It is major feelgood gold at the end when she throws McGruder to the ground.
And when the case has been solved, that is not the end of it. The squints respectfully attend Warren's funeral. Angela inks out a tender, valedictory panel expressing Citizen 14's victory and the Opalescence's thanks as a gift to his parents. They have all worked together and they are all there at the closure.
Teamwork, an analysis of what it means to be a 'nerd', with a dismissal of the stereotype, a more rounded Brennan (she looks better, too); I love all these elements. I like the humour sprinkled throughout to leaven the heavy subject matter. The only pill in the jam is the lack of proper Hodgins interaction. Though I don't think they did exploit his abilities as much as they should have in S1 anyway. And my only question would be, why are all these interviews conducted in situ? Why don't we see that FBI interrogation room (not that I'm complaining, it's a dismal place)?