TARZANA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! From the mind of Vincent J. Roth comes the fourth installment of the Surge of Power series about the world’s first gay superhero in Surge of Power: Where There’s Smoke.
Picking up after the events of Surge of Dawn, the evil supervillains from The Council are about to enact their next evil plan with the help of Fallen Apple (Stephanie Ahn), a young girl The Council groomed and trained to “avenge” the death of her father. With the greatest minds in the world gathering in Big City, The Council has a plan in the works to wreak havoc upon the world.
Meanwhile, newly minted superhero Surge (Vincent J. Roth) realizes he can’t stop The Council on his own. With the help of his AI Car, Mavis (Shannon Farnon), Surge must gather together a band of ragtag heroes to defeat Fallen Apple and The Council. His team consists of tech guy Raymond Richards (Kevin Caliber), aka Grok, The Smoke (Eric Moran), and Kid Dynamo (Chase Cortese).
After their first defeat against Fallen Apple, Surge wonders if he’s right for the job. His mentor, Omen (Nichelle Nichols), who is the leader of an ancient race of superheroes known as Sentries, is helping him through his struggle. But will Surge learn the proper lessons to become the leader and hero the world needs?
For those unfamiliar with the Surge of Power series, it began in 2004 from the mind of Vincent J. Roth. Though our hero Surge is gay, the series is about the lessons we learn in life that make us heroes. This is definitely not the Ambiguously Gay Duo but an earnest attempt by Roth to tell a superhero story born from his love of comic books.

“…Surge must gather together a band of ragtag heroes to defeat Fallen Apple and The Council.”
Surge of Power reminds me a bit of the old Adam West Batman, but with loads of CG effects. Its tone is campy, strewn with one-liners and dad jokes, and taps into what we loved about comic books as children…waking up one day and realizing we have superpowers. Now add a bit of Shazam and Isis lore with the ancient Sentries to mentor Surge and the evil organization, The Council, intent on yet another plan toward world domination.
Did I mention Surge of Power is loaded with superheroes and sci-fi legends? The best is Nichelle Nichols as Surge’s mentor, Omen. Sadly, Nichols passed during production and was admirably replaced by Robert Picardo, who would then be replaced storywise by Tim Russ. Other celebrities include Superfriends voice actor Shannon Farnon as AI Mavis and veteran comedian Bruce Vilanch as the living virus, Janus.
Surge of Power skews toward younger audiences. The humor is safe, and it’s a straightforward kid’s superhero story in which Surge has to believe in himself as the leader he was destined to be to save the world from certain destruction. Yes, as the first gay superhero movie, there are LGBT elements, such as when Surge comes out as a teen, but the movie’s theme is ultimately about being a hero.
In the end, Surge of Power: Where There’s Smoke is the series’ Avengers moment as our hero must put together a team of supers to solve a problem bigger than himself. It’s campy, low-budget, and full of life lessons for the younger set. The special effects are cheesy but a good cheesy.
Surge of Power: Where There’s Smoke screened at the 2024 Tarzana International Film Festival.