The bit I like most? The totally blase reaction the media has to the deaths of several superheroes. It's not just that they're not surprised. No, they have a betting pool on which supervillains are going to do the most damage. It's entertainment for the media, and it's gruesome in a way that tells you how little superheroes are thought of once they're gone. Superheroes are in it for the ego, or for the pure exercise of power, or simply to get laid. The world praises them, flatters them, and then dumps them when they're done.

And then there's the Superdead. The accepters of gifts. They may not be damned exactly (although many of them took exactly that deal) but they're heroes who are still realizing what sort of gift they received. It's a cold world.

Empowered and her friends stand out in this crowd not because they're powerful, but because they still have the power to care about people who "don't matter" and each other. It's an odd lesson to learn in between the bondage and the burlesque, but this series has a way of surprising every time.