Who Wants to Be a Superhero?

*this comment may contain spoilers*

Who wants to be a superhero is a reality show that seems to be far from reality. I saw a few ads for the show and was mildly interested but never actually got around to watch it. Then while being stuck and bored in my hotel I decided to give it a try. I loved it.

I like superheroes so I was interested of course, but you don't have to to like the show. Stan challenges the type of person they are on the inside. Sometimes it can be very goofy and funny and other times you feel for the characters. It surprised me, and I couldn't stop talking about it. The eliminations are based off of what happens and not on appearance or popularity ,it's real, unlike many other reality shows. My mother watched one episode with me after I told her about it and now she can't wait for the new episode. It may look weird but it's a good show.

Having seen only the premier, the missus and I watched this for a laugh. And laugh we did, the first 30 minutes were hilarious. Then after a while, it takes a turn toward your typical annoying reality show format: post-interviews, dramatic music, and pretentious, pompous elimination ceremonies. Don't forget the ridiculous 'reaction closeups' Yawn. who CARES. Thank goodness I have a DVR and a fast forward button.

Just show me Stan Lee having the time of his life, and those doofuses changing into & running around in public in those silly costumes. That is what we want. Come on, admit it. Isn't everyone getting just a LITTLE tired of these so-called 'reality' show's oh-so predictable format? Don't try tp make this one into something serious, it defeats the point.

I will say that Big Momma displays the most guts and heart out of all. She and the unabashed flamboyant style of Major Victory are the two to bet on so far. They *seem* to be just good people to the core. They are worth watching too just for sheer entertainment value. The rest, eh who cares. Iron Enforcer has about as much personality as well...a piece of, you-know-what, and should have been eliminated in the premier. His only staying power is that he LOOKS like a superhero, so far he's been acting like anything but. I can't say for sure if I'll stay with the series, but the premier was a diverting novelty for an evening.

At first I winced when I heard this show has the tag-line of banality, namely "A Sci-Fi Channel Original". Yet when I saw the concept I had hope. When I saw Stan Lee, comic book guru and personal idol that he is, would be involved, I knew I had to check out this show! However, despite some interesting facets, the stench of "Sci-Fi Channel Original" still has managed to permeate this show.

Stan Lee is unquestionably the high point. He has a great presence on screen and adds drama. He also is THE person to be in such a show. The other potential high point of this show is (or at least would have been) is the entertainment value of seeing people express their creativity and dress up as their fantasy super-hero creations!

This is where it falls flat. Instead of multiple NEW super-hero candidates each week, it appears we are stuck with the SAME dwindling group of heroes in the typical reality-show "vote 'em off" formula. Seeing new heroes and new personalities could have been quite amusing for some time to come. I can't imagine the appeal in seeing the SAME characters in new and lame reality-show style competitions and being overly melodramatic at the end when someone gets voted off.

Another serious problem with this show is that it appears to be overly contrived. I could not believe in any of these characters. They seemed scripted and unreal parodies. Most of the contestants are established actors.

Sorry - but even the legend of Stan Lee can't quite rescue this show from the "Sci-Fi Original" tag of low quality programming. If the creators had dared to be ORIGINAL in concept and not follow the tired, banal, worn-out reality show format, they might have had a show which was at least very amusing and humorous.

Well the first time I saw this my first thought was... "Oh god no...". But as I watched it, it slowly became quite enjoyable. Even though I do feel like Stan's philosophies are a tad outdated and his idea of what a superhero is can get a bit one-dimensional, his challenges on the show do seem to bring out the best and worst qualities in the contestants. I really liked a lot of the twists and elimination results as the show progressed. The challenges too were original and entertaining. I found Stan's performance as a paternalistic guiding host very enjoyable. The contestants too just seem like really nice and entertaining people (although some of them are a bit dorky, or obviously trying to score some acting points on their resumes, and half of them probably wouldn't make the cut for narcissistic reality shows like A. Idol or Real World). I think the only part I didn't like (aside from the corniness, bad music, "reality" acting, and weirdness of the cast.) about the show was the costume remake. Sci-fi should have spent a bit more money on those costumes. It really says something that some of the originals looked better than what was given to them on the show. It gives the production values a real blow when you can't even afford a decent costume designer.

Don't get me wrong though I liked the show, saw most of it in one night when Sci-Fi aired a bunch of episodes straight. (um... don't ask me why I was watching sci-fi... I um... was channel surfing)

I remember watching "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" two years back on the Sci-Fi Channel and thinking that this show was like reality television for comic book geeks, and therefore was a sure-fire way to get comic book geeks into the reality television market.

I'm proud to say that this show didn't get me into the reality TV craze, despite the fact that I'm one of those comic book geeks it's supposed to appeal to. (I'm an avid reader of Spider-Man and X-Men, both published by Marvel Comics, just to show you where I'm coming from.)

Basically, a group of wannabe superheroes get a chance to become immortalized in a comic book written by master comic book publisher Stan Lee (co-creator of my favorite superhero Spider-Man and the X-Men, among many others) himself and published by Dark Horse Comics, and a Sci-Fi Channel original movie based on their character. Lee is also the one presiding over the festivities.

The main problem with "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" is the fact that to me, the "wannabe superhero" theme is just a gimmick that doesn't really add anything new to a tried-and-true genre that wore out its welcome a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, if I had a chance to have a superhero creation of my own immortalized in a comic book written by my personal favorite comic book publisher-hero Stan Lee, I would in a heartbeat, I really, really would - that's how big a fan I am of "The Man" and the medium.

Some of the "heroes" on this show are pretty colorful and interesting characters with some pretty imaginative origin stories, don't get me wrong, but unfortunately a lot of the supposed originality that this show has so much potential to unleash gets lost in the reality TV show antics that are so worn-out and tired.

Overall, it's not a bad show but I wish it just wouldn't fall to prey so easily to the usual reality television antics.

6/10