Who Wants to be a Superhero? Last summer I wasted my watching a number of crappy reality shows, like Hell's Kitchen, and Rock Star:INXS. This year, there is only one reality show worth sinking my time into, and that is Who Wants to be a Superhero? on the Sci-Fi Channel. I was drawn to it by my love for comic books, superheroes and Stan "The Man" Lee, the genius behind great Marvel comics heroes like Spider Man. In this show, Stan Lee puts ten people through various tests of courage and character to see who has what it takes to be immortalized in his or her own comic book and Sci-Fi channel movie. At first, this show looked awful. It seemed very heavily scripted, and most of the contestants were would-be actors in bad costumes, with ridiculous personas like Cell Phone Girl, Monkey Woman and Levity. As the show wore on, and the lesser contestants weeded out, the show became remarkably compelling, and set itself apart from the reality show pack.
First, there's Stan Lee himself, who makes all the decisions on who stays and who goes. Stan is like a stern grandpa, with a very strict criteria, based primarily on the rules of what makes a good superheo. Most of these conditions are based on conduct and character. For example, a superhero should sacrifice himself for the good of others, always be honest, obey the law at all times, and be a good role model. Last week, he kicked someone off for jaywalking!
Yes, this show is hokey as hell. When a contestant is let go, they are asked to put their costume in a trash can, and a cartoon bolt of lightning incenerates it. Also, one really lousy contestant was made into a supervillian to give the others a bad time. But it is the show's emphasis on morals, character and heart that makes it stand out.
There are no self-centered crybabys here. Nobody complains about being kicked off. They all see their character flaws and are glad for the opportunity to compete. Nobody trash talks another contestant. If they do, they're gone. Nobody uses "strategy" to win.
We have seen some amazingly touching moments, especially in the last two weeks. Feedback, a computer programmer by day, reveals his father's suicide to a huge, vicious prison inmate (yes, who was probably an actor), and gets the brutish felon to hug him. Fat Momma, a large African-American woman, inspires a classroom of kids to be proud of who they are. She also asks to be removed from the competition, because she doesn't want to win as much as Feedback does, and doesn't want to see him heartbroken. At the end of last week, the three remaining contestants were weeping with joy at Stan's grandfatherly approval. They all seem to genuinely like each other, and are sad to see anyone lose.
Tonight, the very funny Major Victory was eliminated because Stan felt he was too much like a parody of a superhero than a real one. But Stan gave him a going away present in the form of a phone call from his estranged teenaged daughter. Even Stan started weeping.
It's now down to Feedback and Fat Momma. I can't wait to see who wins. My money is on Fat Momma. Check this show out, it is a bright spot of positive role models, genuine emotion, and ideals that are too often ignored in today's entertainment. Tune in next week, true believers!
