Hollywood generated Superheroes. By Felix Serrano – Robot Dialog #17
All my young adult life I had wanted to see an X-Men movie. The closest thing I had to a live action X-Men was Misfits of Science which lasted for one season. There was also Manamal and Automan (which I loved even though it was a blatant rip from Tron and badly written) both lasted one season as well. The Six Million dollar man was cool. The greatest American Hero rocked a jewfro which bothered me (I could never take any superhero with an afro seriously…except for Luke Cage! Sweet Christmas!).
More recent memory brings knowledge of how the genre works for the mass audience giving us heavy character development to help us along with our suspension of disbelief. Smallville is a great example of how this has worked, but I also feel it longevity is partially attributed to the lack of costumes in it. Which brings me to my point.
Live action costume superheroes play off of the adult imagination. They tap into adolescent memories of something they have already read and visualized as a kid. That’s why it’s easier for us to accept a Batman live action movie or series as opposed to something like Night Man or The Cape. Heroes was successful because there were no costumes or capes. So the masses ate it up. I have yet to Watch ABC’s No Ordinary Family. After seeing an old episode of Seinfeld with Michael Chiklis in it, then thinking about his role as Detective Vic Mackey in the Shield; I don’t think I could watch it seriously. I also can’t stop comparing it to the Incredibles.
Hollywood, leave the capes and masks for the properties that already have established pop culture relevance. Don’t get greedy and try to create your own, your only going to break even at best. Unless your Will Smith (I still don’t get the appeal, he’ll always be the Fresh Prince to me).
Here’s a list of shows. What sticks with you, how do the icons affect how you feel about the shows?
Batman and Robin (1966-1968)
The Incredible Hulk (1977-1982)
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976-1977)
Wonder Woman (1975-1979)
The Amazing Spiderman (1977-1979)
The Greatest American Hero (1981-1983)
Manimal (1983)
Automan (1984)
Superboy (1988-1992)
Generation X (1996)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997)
Night Man (1997-1999)
Black Scorpion (2001)
Mutant X (2001)
Birds of Prey (2002-2003)
Heroes (2006-2010)
The Flash (1990-1991)
The Tick (2001-2002)
Smallville (2001-Present)
No Ordinary Family (2010-Present)
The Cape (2011-)
And I think we can all agree the following clip should be burned for the sake of preserving any dignity in comics.
-F
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January 21st, 2011 at 6:52 am
Your picture is of Christopher Dennis and some of the other Superheroes of Hollywood Blvd.
There is a great documentary feature on them, called “Confessions of a Superhero.” Folks can watch it for free at:
http://www.hulu.com/confessions-of-a-superhero
There was also a short documentary on the Hollywood Blvd. Heroes done by CraigsListTV on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK2QCRzF6_8
January 21st, 2011 at 10:30 am
The guy who played Automan is now a ringmaster for Ringling Brothers.
The main problem with most live-action superhero shows is they either spend so much money or suspension of disbelief on the hero, there’s little left for the villains. So the heroes end up fighting generic criminals. It took how many seasons of Lois and Clark before another person in a suit showed up?
The Flash did a good job of it, with the new GA hero Nightshade, and of course The Trackster. But they tried so hard to come up with “real-world believable” that there was little left of the fun.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Good analysis, Felix. Perhaps an exception to your rule would be a very good show that you left off of your list.
M.A.N.T.I.S. Creative and groundbreaking show in 1994 (that had the excellent Carl Lumbly as lead and the beauteous Gina Torres) that lasted 3 years.
p.s. It’s good to know that not even Right Guard is stronger than Supe’s glands.
January 23rd, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I watched as much f that clip as i could stand.
Funny thing: Instead of a jerk in a costume with a zipper up the back riding a motorcycle, my mind’s eye kept seeing a guy in a long green robe running five hundred miles an hour in the long shots…
(Possibly because i know that they used a camera rig on his brother’s motorcycle for the POV shots…)