You can barely turn around these days without bumping into a superhero story across all forms of media, whether it be feature films, TV shows, video games, or anything else designed for mass consumption. That being said, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything more unique than Boots Riley’s I’m a Virgo.
The seven-episode series debuts on Prime Video next Friday, and it’s already riding a wave of unanimous critical acclaim. At the time of writing, the offbeat street-level adventure centering around a 13-foot tall Black teenager hidden away from the world has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 100 percent, and it’s entirely deserved.
Created by Riley and featuring star and executive producer Jharrel Jermone as Cootie – a comic book-obsessed kid raised in Oakland and shielded from a world that just isn’t ready to accept him quite yet – the story touches base with several pertinent social, economic, and political issues, although there’s plenty of heart and humor to be found along the way, especially with the always-reliable Walton Goggins on villainous duties as Jay Whittle, who patrols the streets in his own armored outfit.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Secret Invasion may be taking a surprising critical drubbing, but even if it was being showered in the highest praise, it still wouldn’t be the best episodic superhero original to debut on a major streaming service next week when I’m a Virgo is right there.
In fact, thanks to The Boys, Invincible, and now this, it’s hard to look past Amazon’s outfit as the go-to destination for the genre’s finest exclusive efforts in general.