The first trailer for Netflix original movie Project Power, starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, promises a tale that feels incredibly unique about superpower drugs. But we've seen this premise before, sometimes even more unique than Project Power seems to be portraying.
In short, Project Power is about superpower drugs hitting the streets of New Orleans and follows two cops taking on the case. The trailer has garnered some buzz on the Internet, posing the question of what one might do with a drug that grants superpowers. But is Project Power the first time we've seen a superpower drug? While the straight-to-streaming film may well have some original twists, the concept of drugs that grant superpowers has a long history of use. Let's take a look at some of the most unique superpower drugs from TV shows and Movies.
Compound V (The Boys)
In The Boys comic book and Amazon Prime TV show series, Compound V is essentially a superpower performance enhancing drug. It boosts the power of its users, and it has some recreational benefits.
It's also revealed that Compound V is used to create super powered beings in the first place, by injecting children with the drug. In the comics, The Boys take the drug themselves to aid in fighting supes.
Taking Compound V gives the best results, but it's prohibitively expensive. So, it's commonly mixed with substances like cocaine. While The Boys haven't taken Compound V in the TV show, it's regularly used in the comic books series. However, things may change in season two.
Spice (Dune)
Spice Melange, or "the Spice," from the science fiction series Dune by Frank Herbert, gives its users some buffs. Longer life, heightened awareness, and it can unlock powers latent in its users. Namely, prescience or the ability to see the future.
Spice is addictive and withdrawals can kill a person. Plus, it turns your eyes dark blue, which may or may not be a deterrent. It's "created" by the giant worms on the planet Arrakis and has basically made the planet the most valuable mining source in the universe.
The Spice is somewhat unique on this list because it stirred up the most attention, and rightly so, since it's used for interstellar travel. He who controls the spice controls the universe.
NZT-48 (Limitless)
From the movie and TV series Limitless, based on the novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn, NZT-48 is a wonder drug that transforms its users into super geniuses capable of learning anything, remembering everything, and being pretty much perfect.
It's got a heck of a crash, though. Side effects or withdrawal symptoms include blurred vision, hearing problems, memory loss, paranoia, aging, psychosis, and blacking out. However, in the story, one of its users gets access to an antidote-like shot that keeps these nasty problems at bay.
The series depicts its users quickly becoming leaders with their superhuman IQ, gaining power, and influence. Bradley Cooper's character, for instance, becomes a senator. One might call this sort of added bonus a "power" of its own.
Super Soldier Serum (Captain America)
This one may seem sort of obvious, but maybe not. It's easy to forget that the Super Soldier Serum is, essentially, a drug that grants superpowers. Most notably in the case of Captain America.
Although it isn't temporary (so far as we've seen thus far), it counts. Yet, maybe it lacks the illicit feeling of the other entries on this list. Perhaps because it was a sanctioned military experiment. However, lest we forget, the U.S. has tested its share of drugs on military service members.
But we can't argue that squeaky clean Steve Rogers kind of tones down the edginess of his powers' source. That being said, the Super Soldier Serum is used by others in the Marvel comic book universe who aren't quite choir boys. Most notably Omega Red and the Red Skull.
Extremis Serum (Iron Man)
From Marvel comics, and taking a starring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man 3, Extremis rewrites human DNA. Powers it grants include super healing, strength, and reflexes.
It also grants the power of creating heat up to thousands of degrees Celsius. Users can direct this heat through their body, for instance focusing it in their hands. Some can even shoot fire out of their mouths. Of course, an "overload" or overdose of the serum causes the user to become a ticking time bomb made of heat.
The drug was engineered, or perfect, by the nefarious organization Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). It used amputees to test the substance, regrowing their limbs, and converting them into assassins for its own ends.