{"id":10128,"date":"2011-03-03T19:13:39","date_gmt":"2011-03-04T03:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reallifesuperheroes.org\/?p=10128"},"modified":"2011-03-03T19:13:39","modified_gmt":"2011-03-04T03:13:39","slug":"not-so-super-superhero-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/2011\/03\/03\/not-so-super-superhero-movies\/","title":{"rendered":"Not-so-super superhero movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally posted: http:\/\/www.boston.com\/ae\/movies\/articles\/2011\/04\/03\/not_so_super_superhero_movies\/<\/a>
\nBy Ethan Gilsdorf<\/a>
\nWhat makes a superhero super?
\nComic books came first, then Hollywood, bearing stories about humans, mutants, and others \u2014 Hulks, X-Men, Fantastic Four \u2014 who got irradiated or experimented upon, or landed on Earth from far-flung planets. As a result, the freaks can leap tall buildings, deflect bullets, shape-shift, and get mad.<\/p>\n

\nBut what about unconventional superheroes, the more powerless ones? Hollywood has also covered them. In the category of \u201csuperheroes with no real superpowers,\u2019\u2019 there\u2019s the jet-pack powered \u201cThe Rocketeer\u2019\u2019 (1991), Shaquille O\u2019Neal in the laughable \u201cSteel\u2019\u2019 (1997), the recent \u201cThe Green Hornet\u2019\u2019 and \u201cIron Man\u2019\u2019 films, and any of the \u201cBatman\u2019\u2019 incarnations. These less-than-super heroes use strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, charisma, and, naturally, super access to cash and gadgets to bring justice. In the case of \u201cThe Phantom,\u2019\u2019 he\u2019s a ghost, which is close enough. In the animated \u201cThe Incredibles\u2019\u2019 (2004), we see retired superheroes forced to hide their powers.\n<\/div>\n
\nStretch the definition further to include any do-gooder who takes to the streets to deliver justice, and you\u2019ll find action figures straddling that hero\/antihero divide: Charles Bronson vigilante types, be they cops or just grim dudes in trench coats. Some are darker than others: \u201cThe Punisher\u2019\u2019 (1989, 2004) ticks off a roster of human rights violations \u2014 murder, extortion, torture \u2014 to punish his foes.\n<\/div>\n
\nForget about supervillains.\n<\/div>\n
\nBut what about the rest of us? Everyday Joes and Jills frustrated with crime and tired of lame Neighborhood Watch programs? Folks keen to try out the superhero lifestyle, without any true super powers at all? In the real world, a few nationwide organizations like Superheroes Anonymous (www.superheroesanonymous.com<\/a>) and Real Life Superheroes (www.reallifesuperheroes.org<\/a>) embolden this fantasy. In cities across America, brave souls take on personas like Terrifica, a New York City-based hero who prevents inebriated women in New York City from being hit on by men, and Mexico City\u2019s Superbarrio, who uses his costumed character to organize labor rallies and lead petition drives. Locally, there\u2019s New Bedford\u2019s Civitron, \u201ca symbol of creative altruism,\u2019\u2019 and Runebringer, an \u201cempowerment activist\u2019\u2019 from Waterbury, Conn.\n<\/div>\n
\nAs in James Gunn\u2019s \u201cSuper,\u2019\u2019 these protagonists \u201caim to do good in the world and inspire others,\u2019\u2019 according to the Superheroes Anonymous website. They wield mundane weapons. They take small bites out of crime. And we salute them.\n<\/div>\n
\nBut before you join them, before you wear the mask and don the cape \u2014 and certainly before you engage in some diabolical experiment to alter your DNA \u2014 you might want to check how Hollywood advertises the job description. What follows is a roundup of mere mortal beings who nonetheless act big.\n<\/div>\n

In the meantime, dream of the hero you really want to be. Dog Whisperer? Wonder Nurse? Really Good Bookkeeper? Me, I\u2019d settle for Super Unstressed Guy<\/p>\n

\nHERO AT LARGE<\/strong> (1980): This film might have kicked off the ordinary-guy-as-superhero genre. John Ritter plays a struggling actor hired to dress as Captain Avenger at comic book stores and conventions. When he stops a real robbery, life gets complicated. He becomes embroiled in city politics, then redeems himself when he rescues a kid from a fire.
\n THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO<\/strong> (1981-83): This ABC television series featured William Katt as a special-education teacher given a red suit and cape by aliens, which give him superhuman abilities. Remember the theme song? \u201cBelieve it or not,\/ I\u2019m walking on air.\/ I never thought I could feel so free-ee-eee. . .\u2019\u2019 Believe it or not, that ditty became a Billboard hit.<\/p>\n
\nCONDORMAN<\/strong> (1981): Maybe it was Ronald Reagan\u2019s can-do, American spirit, but the early \u201980s brought another DIY superhero story. A comic book artist (Michael Crawford) becomes his creation, Condorman, in what the movie\u2019s tagline calls \u201can action adventure romantic comedy spy story.\u2019\u2019 Siskel and Ebert pronounced \u201cCondorman\u2019\u2019 one of the worst movies of the year.\n<\/div>\n
\n DARKMAN<\/strong> (1990): Reportedly stymied in his efforts to film \u201cThe Shadow\u2019\u2019 or \u201cBatman,\u2019\u2019 Sam \u201cEvil Dead\u2019\u2019 Raimi came up with his own superhero. The premise: after a disfiguring fire and experimental medical treatment, scientist Liam Neeson develops synthetic skin that lets him look like anyone. He also senses no pain, has super-strength, and flies into rages. Hence, he takes revenge on the mobsters who blew up his lab and turned him into the monster he became, the masked vigilante Darkman.\n<\/div>\n
\n MYSTERY MEN<\/strong> (1999): In this hilarious spoof on the genre, lesser superheroes with unimpressive super powers must save the day. Blue Raja (Hank Azaria) throws forks, the Shoveler (William H. Macy) shovels, Bowler (Janeane Garofalo) wields bowling balls, Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) has anger management issues, and Spleen (Paul Reubens) is superflatulent. Super-silly all around.\n<\/div>\n
\n UNBREAKABLE <\/strong>(2000): Security guard Bruce Willis reluctantly realizes he\u2019s got super powers. In a twist on the genre, Samuel L. Jackson plays his archnemesis \u2014 a superweak polar opposite nicknamed \u201cMr. Glass,\u2019\u2019 because of his brittle bones. Jackson\u2019s character also happens to run a comic book art gallery. Clunky, but effective. From M. Night \u201cMr. Surprise Ending\u2019\u2019 Shyamalan.\n<\/div>\n
\nDEFENDOR<\/strong> (2009): In a stretch for Woody Harrelson, he plays a mentally ill construction worker who at night gets into his alter ego, Defendor, thanks to a homemade costume decorated with duct tape. With unconventional weapons like marbles and paper clips, he hunts for his enemy, Captain Industry, whom he blames for the death of his mother. Like \u201cSuper,\u2019\u2019 a comedy. Except when it\u2019s not.\n<\/div>\n
\n KICK-ASS<\/strong> (2010): In this film adaptation of a comic, a wimpy comic book-reading teenager (Aaron Johnson) decides to remake himself as a masked superhero named Kick-Ass. Cops, drug lords, and an 11-year-old vigilante named Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) all enter the plot. Apparently a lot of filmmakers and screenwriters read comic books as kids. Like a snake eating its tail, \u201cKick-Ass\u2019\u2019 represents the self-reflexive endgame of the do-it-yourself crime fighter.\"\"\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ethan Gilsdorf comments on Superhero Movies and Civitron and the Superheroes Anonymous<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[205,259,551,594,607,1841,2505,2548,2556,2981],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10128"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}