(Ready for some Heroes Redemption?)

Volume Five of Heroes could be a major improvement on the previous episodes seen last season during "Fugitives". This upcoming volume which kicks off Monday, September 21st, 2009 is entitled "Redemption". It follows the various characters as they look to re-adjust back to normal living, now that they are no longer being hunted. There will be a storyline involving a new band of characters who are part of a carnival, looking for redemption and vengeance, as well as others like them to join their cause.

Volume 5 Heroes Redemption also sees the return of Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter), the "Ice Queen" as she seeks vengeance against the people who tried to kill her. Additionally, there will be the story of Claire (Hayden Pannettiere) wanting a "normal life" (ok not so new), and Nathan/Sylar trying to figure out who he is exactly. Angela Petrelli, HRG, Matt Parkman, Hiro, Ando and from the looks of the preview, Danko, all make returns for the new season. The first Volume 5 Heroes episode on NBC 9/21/09 will be a special 2-hour season premiere.

There's a great four minute sneak preview of Heroes Volume Five here at NBC.com.

There's also another promo clip here for Redemption which claims Heroes will be "back at its best". Let's hope so as the previews definitely looked intriguing and like this season may have strong potential for a return to form...

Will Volume 5 bring Redemption?

It's always the show you love the most that you become most critical of, and in this case Heroes was a show many people fell in love with after Season 1's great drama, action, sci-fi and mystery. Season 2 was not quite as good, but now looking back seems much better than what we've been served up recently. It's starting to seem like a big revolving door of bringing us back around to the same storylines, and that may not be the fairest treatment for fans of this series.

The way in which Volume 4 - Fugitives ended was almost surreal, as if somehow Matt Parkman was able to use subliminal mind control to make us all forget how silly the way that Nathan died yet still lives on happened. It basically boiled down to the brothers Petrelli going into a 2-on-1 deathmatch with bad guy Sylar. Their only abilities were to fly, giving Sylar a serious advantage. So they flew in, the doors shut while Sylar was electrocuting them, suspending them, throwing objects at them, buzzsawing them, and who knows what else. It was almost like Darth Vader against two limited Jedi's. Claire got to see more of the handicap fight then we did as she peeked through the door crack. Why they stopped the girl who can re-heal from going into the battle with them is beyond me. So the battle goes on, and eventually the noise stops and the dust settles. Claire goes into the hotel suite to find just Peter, who's bruised up and can no longer fly. He says Nathan and Sylar took the fight out the window. Peter's hurt and can no longer fly, but we learn he gained Sylar's abilities. Which as a fan eagerly pointed out to me, include the whole re-healing thing. Guess Peter didn't want others knowing what he was capable of?

Just moments after Claire and Peter leave the suite, Sylar hurls Nathan back into the suite to finish the fight. Kinda strange, but Sylar wins it by using telekinesis and then slitting Nathan's throat. At first I was thinking somehow Peter morphed into Nathan to absorb the damage and trick Sylar, but that would be impossible with another Peter running around. So Nathan really was killed, sort of. First Sylar had to be stopped. As he changed himself into the president's aid, Samuels, he got into the president's limo. However, it wasn't the president in the back seat, it was Peter using his cool new power to turn into anyone. He jabbed Sylar with a tranquilizer. Next up, the big plan to make Nathan still alive somehow..

Angela told Matt Parkman he was supposed to save Nathan, and boy was she right! What a twist, Parkman was able to go into an unconscious Sylar's head and convince him "You're Nathan Petrelli...Sylar's dead". Somehow he was also mentally sending us the telegram "You all will continue watching no matter how ridiculous this all seems". To make the plan more "plausible" HRG was like "Hey, I've got a spare shapeshifter sitting in cryogenics just for this moment!' Parkman skeptically went along with it, but once again Angela is lying to Peter, HRG is lying to Claire about her real father. The three of them along with Suresh, Ando, Claire, Peter and Hiro, all gathered around the funeral pire/bonfire to watch a fake Sylar body go up in flames. They all smiled and laughed (except Matt Parkman) as HRG dubbed them "The Company" - the next generation. One good thing that came of this all may be that they took away the flying power which was way overused in the past few volumes. Sure, quick travel around the globe is cool, but we need more than that as Heroes fans.

Volume 5 is dubbed "Redemption" and that seems a perfect title, as the writers and creator, Tim Kring, will really need to redeem themselves after treating fans to an entertaining yet watered down Volume 4. Speaking of watered down, it seems we know at least one of the new season's villains, another Strauss sister who can turn into and use water. Peter just might have full use of more than 1 power for a season. Also, Sylar will struggle to figure out he's trapped in Nathan's body, as he continues to toy with clocks. And in case we haven't seen it before, Claire will get mad at HRG who will say he did it to protect her, as Angela will tell Peter the same.

Note: In case you're wondering you can watch episodes of TV on the Web including NBC's Heroes these days. Hulu.com is one free, legitimate site that offers the episodes streaming right onto your computer. You can also opt to buy episodes over at the iTunes Music store.