“Somewhere inside all of us lives a hero!”
– opening line of Who Wants to be a Superhero?

In my opinion, the Sci Fi Channel’s new original series, Who Wants to be a Superhero? is one of the most inspiring television shows of all time!

Ok, so I’m a preacher… I tend to exaggerate! But, hear me out.

I’m also a comic book fan. And, like most comic book extravaganzas, Who Wants to be a Superhero is a morality play wrapped in brightly colored tights and shrouded in long, flowing capes.

Ultimately, Who Wants to be a Superhero? is a reality game show. The game is as follows: Twelve potential superheroes are given the opportunity to prove their mettle through participating in a series of challenges. The last superhero standing wins the opportunity to be immortalized in a Stan Lee comic book and will be featured in an original Sci Fi Channel movie.

By the way, for the uninitiated, Stan “The Man” Lee is the mastermind behind Marvel Comics and the creator of such well-known characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, and the Fantastic Four. In other words, he’s a comic book god! Any serious fan – and that includes the show’s contestants – must pay due homage to the legend that is Stan Lee. He has rightfully earned the title “The Man” for he is, indeed, “The Man”! (And, at 83, he is looking great!)

Even though Who Wants to be a Superhero? is a reality show – and thus, just another contender in an already crowded market – it is unlike its predecessors in at least four significant ways.

First, the contestants are obviously not in it for the cash. Unlike other reality shows, the prize does not consist of vast sums of money. The contestants are true believers – people who truly love superheroes!

Second, unlike other reality shows, the final superhero is not determined by the contestants, the voting public, a studio audience, or even a panel of judges. Stan “The Man” Lee is the sole judge of the competition. Stan is truly the man! He is the reigning deity of the competition and the destiny of all twelve superheroes lies in his hands alone. This makes for interesting dialogue. For example, in the first episode, when Monkey Woman is a potential candidate for elimination, she pleads with The Man like a repentant sinner pleads to her God, “Mr. Lee, I am so sorry I failed you.” I can hardly imagine an American Idol contestant saying this to Simon Cowell!

Third, (and again, unlike other reality shows), the criterion by which the superheroes will achieve victory is rooted in their character rather than in their raw abilities or talents. Stan Lee has made it clear, “Every really good superhero has what’s important on the inside. And that’s what we’ll test you on.”

Since Stan cannot test the superheroes on the basis of superpowers (since, alas, such gifts do not exist in the real world… with perhaps the exception of Criss Angel), the challenges revolve around the qualities that make up a true hero. At their first meal, Stan informs the superheroes, “Every really good superhero has what’s important on the inside. It’s about heart, compassion, intelligence, courage, honesty, and integrity. And those are the human characteristics that you’ll be tested on.” Major Victory demonstrates that he “gets it” in a personal interview, “What he wants is for us to be super humans. It would be easier for me to fly!”

Finally, unlike other reality shows – and more like real life – the challenges may occur at any time. For example, when the superheroes first meet one another, Tonya Kay, a.k.a. Creature, flirts with all the male superheroes. She tells one, “I love your body,” and another, “You and I are going to the club.” Eventually, she blurts out, “Let’s have a party.” Monkey Woman echoes her enthusiasm, “Party time! I could definitely get used to this!” All of the superheroes join in the mayhem until they are interrupted by a stern rebuke by The Man: “Hold it there. This is serious business. Don’t you realize what you’re here for. I’ve spent my life creating superheroes. They don’t act like that!”

Just a short time later, the superheroes arrive at the entrance to their lair, but before they enter, Stan Lee appears. Stan announces that he has planted a spy – Rotiart, “traitor” spelled backwards – among the group to gather information. Before the contest has seemingly begun, the first test has already taken place, and the first elimination is announced. Lee informs them that one superhero will not be allowed to enter the lair.

The spy was planted, in Lee’s words, to make “sure that all of you are here for the right reasons.” In this game, even the intentions and motivations matter! Stan marks out three heroes whose character is suspect: (1) Levity for his admission that he planned on making action-figures of himself to profit from his victory; (2) Creature for her flirtatious moves on the male superheroes, and; (3) the Iron Enforcer, a muscle-bound behemoth armed with a giant gun, for commenting that he has no problem with killing.

Lee evaluates each transgressor. To Levity he says, “One of the main qualities of a superhero is selflessness.” To Creature, “You seem to flirt with every male superhero who flew in here. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were just here to meet hot guys in tights.” To the Iron Enforcer he scolds, “Superheroes don’t kill people, they save people.”

Ultimately, Levity’s motivation of selfishness is viewed as the greatest threat to authentic superhero character, and he is eliminated.

Not only may the challenges occur at any time, but they also are not always as they seem. In the first official challenge, the superheroes must change their clothes in public without anyone noticing and then race to the finish line. The fastest superhero to complete this task wins the challenge. But, in the words of Lee, the challenges are “not as simple as they appear.” Just before the finish line, Lee planted a little lost girl crying desperately for her mother. When the superheroes approach her, she screams out, “Help! I’ve lost my mom!” The true challenge has nothing to do with changing clothes or running fast. The true challenge is: Who will stop what they are doing, and thus risk losing the competition, in order to save the little girl? Only a few stop! The majority just run on by, most without even noticing her.

When it comes time to evaluate the results of the challenge, Lee scolds: “I was appalled at those of you who did not stop to help that little girl.”

Call me cheesy. Call me a lowbrow simpleton. Call me whatever you like. But I find that behind all the bright colors, silly costumes, and ostentatious drama lies a precious treasure. At last, a reality game that has to do with character, integrity, proper motivations, good intentions, selflessness, and courage. For once, the winners are not determined by a democratic vote of “who’s coolest,” or a panel of so-called experts, or by the other contestants who inevitably look out for number one. The judging is strict, narrow, and personal – the contestants have to merit the applause of just one person: Stan “The Man” Lee.

Stan “The Man” Lee represents the omniscient presence of an ancient sage who possesses the wisdom to guide the contest in such a way that the best man or woman is chosen to be elevated to the status of superhero. Like God, Stan Lee’s direct presence remains elusive. The Man appears completely by means of video broadcasts through monitors that can appear anywhere – on a billboard, in a doorway, by a trashcan, as well as on the video communicators that each superhero possesses. This underscores Stan’s omniscient presence.

Compassion, intelligence, courage, honesty, and integrity. The importance of proper motivation and the necessity of virtuous character in all situations. The reality that all of life is a “test” of sorts and poses challenges that “are not as simple as they appear” and reflect who we are more clearly than we sometimes care to know.  The truth that we will all be judged by an omniscient presence who desires truth, wisdom, justice, sacrifice, and courage to mark our lives. The fact that “Somewhere inside all of us lives a hero!” All of these qualities and more make Who Wants to be a Superhero one of the most inspiring shows of all time.

Do you want to be a superhero? Do you at least desire to be a super human? If so, I salute you with the mantra Lee offers in every episode: “Excelsior!” – which translated means “upward and onward to greater glory!”

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

© Richard J. Vincent, 2006