Who Wants to Be a Superhero?

They must have read my mind. Talk about superpowers. After I posted my previous blog lamenting the decline of the old-style superhero, what do I find? In my email I have an advertisement from scifi.com about a show called Who Wants to Be a Superhero? that is showing later that same day. Featuring comic book legend Stan Lee. So of course I had to watch it... Honestly, I did not know about this show until after writing the blog.

If you didn't see it, I'd say it is definitely a contender for campiest wanna-be reality show of the season. And I consider many of that genre to ooze campiness... They started out with 11 contestants and one spy who all looked like they were fresh from a Comic-Con costume contest. Each had a superhero name and persona. Then they put them into a "reality show" style setting. They introduce each character (and boy, are some of them characters) and start putting them through various tests so that they can be eliminated one by one. Tests that are complete with twists and ulterior motives. The final superhero standing will get their character immortalized in a Stan Lee comic book.

All else aside, the show really showed promise. The thing it lacked is a budget and production. So if you like cheap campy entertainment, give it a try.

Underlying the show is the question "what does it take to be a superhero". Each test is supposed to expose some aspect of being a superhero as defined by Stan "the man". Once again they must have read my mind. Or maybe it is thought control on their part, because through Stan Lee (who has developed or written for such classics as Spider-man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Daredevil and the X-Men) they are focusing on aspects of what I called the old-style superhero. It isn't about being the flashiest or having the most super powers. More often it was the humility and humanity that defines a hero.

Oh ... the show has another redeeming quality. Some great ideas for Halloween costumes... Enjoy!