When Community plays like a comic book

Spoilers for 4.12 "Heroic Origins."

Over the past four years, genre episodes have been some of Community's best episodes. We have a new but familiar environment that lets us learn about the characters. In this week's "Heroic Origins," Abed maps out how the characters' paths crossed before they became a study group at Greendale.

The comic book references are plentiful:

• Jeff is the bad guy who turned good
• Abed sees himself as the villain, but everyone is a villain and a hero in some way ("We're all Spider-Man")
• Everyone was a catalyst for at least one character ("We're all Uncle Ben's murderer")
• Dean Spreck at City College uses a voice modulator for an evil laugh and has blueprints for a killer robot
• Comic book panels and text act as transitions throughout the episode
• We learn more about each character's back origin story (and at the yogurt shop, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from The Breakfast Club plays, which calls back to the first episode of Community)
• Abed mentions the movie Unbreakable a few times
• The story was in fragmented pieces, much like Heroes

Despite all of these references to comic books and superhero stories, the essence of Community is still there. Abed's unique point of view helps the characters learn and understand more about themselves. The situation turns sour with everyone feeling angry or uncomfortable but at the end, Jeff thanks Abed for his insight and the whole group is grateful for it.