One of Netflix’s biggest revelations was 2019’s Raising Dion, which focused on a kid after he gained powers. Dion (Ja’Siah Young), though, wasn’t a teen who could keep his emotions in check — he was an impatient seven-year-old who barely listened to his mom, Nicole, over things like picking up his toys or not eating candy for breakfast.
Ultimately, Dion realized he had to mature as he was placing immense pressure on his mom, widowed after his dad, Mark (Michael B. Jordan), died. With that in mind, let’s break down what Dion’s powers were, how he got them and why Mark was such an important figure, more so before than after.
What Are Dion’s Powers?
Dion first manifested telekinesis in Atlanta after hating going to school where he was bullied. He spilled his cereal and milk, but froze them in mid-air. In time, he began to levitate toys, worrying Nicole who had so much to deal with after Mark died. As time passed, she kept him home to try to curtail his powers, because she was afraid the government or BIONA Industries — Mark’s climate research company — would come for the kid.
Dion later learned to levitate himself, unconsciously in bed when he was sick or when he grew bored, while Mark’s old friend Charlotte taught him to manipulate ions and molecules, making his body invisible. Dion eventually developed teleportation as well, seen at the family’s cabin when he got stuck in a tree. He could control and fire off electricity too, noticed when he shut power down at BIONA with his mind to investigate a secret chamber. Here, Dion showed his most important ability: healing animals infected by radiation in Iceland.
How Did Dion Get His Powers?
The truth was discovered when Nicole found a chip in Mark’s watch. It reconciled the secret monitoring BIONA was doing on storms and certain individuals with powers around the globe. The info revealed Mark and his colleague, Pat, were monitoring an Aurora event in Iceland in 2010, but when a comet passed overhead, it leaked radiation that mutated the watch-group.
Some developed powers such as controlling plants and starting fires; Mark was able to teleport and phase through objects, and Pat became a lightning monster. Mark only found out four years after, though, and was trying to cure himself and figure out if he passed the powers down to Dion. All the angst of not having a dad indeed triggered Dion’s powers, which BIONA noticed after spying in.
How Did Mark Help Dion With His Powers?
Ultimately, Pat wanted to use Dion to heal him as BIONA realized Dion could harm the radiated part of Iceland and anyone — human or animal — who got infected. Pat attacked Dion, Nicole and the kid’s friends at the school’s football field, but thanks to a lightning rod that grounded Pat, Dion used his energy blasts to disintegrate the tyrant.
Shockingly, Mark was the key, because while he and the others got devoured by Pat so the villain could get stronger, they lingered around as energy specters. Mark, as a cloud, assaulted and weakened Pat in the finale by punching through his essence, helping Dion fry the villain. Mark then reminded his son that energy can’t be created or destroyed, only transferred, and while it served as a heartbreaking farewell, the father disappearing offered closure to help Dion start preparations to become a hero.
Season 2 of Raising Dion is available to stream now on Netflix.
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