Superheroic Radio Plays

We've gotten fairly maudlin on here of late, so let's shift gears, shall we? Now, we all know that superheroes are primarily creatures of visual media. Superheroes mainly exist, and thrive, in the brightly colored pages of comic books.

Other superheroes have successfully (sometimes) made the transition to film and television, and we've discussed many of these endeavors, both good and bad, here on this blog.

But imagine, if you will, superheroes you never got to see - but instead only heard?

Ridiculous, you say, but I tell you it's true. Batman, Superman, the Blue Beetle, the Green Hornet and the Shadow all had lengthy careers in radio.

I've spent the last few days at work amusing myself by listening to old episodes of these radio dramas on my iPod. And I thought you, my gentle readers, might enjoy them as well. There are many places to find these old recordings, including through iTunes, but here is a link to get you started.

Botar's Old Time Radio
On this site, you will find archives for many heroes, including the Blue Beetle, Captain Midnight, The Green Hornet, The Shadow and Superman.

But wait! There's more! Modern-day superheroes have made the same endeavor. The winner of Season One of Who Wants to be a Superhero?, Feedback, has his own radio play.

One last exploration of superheroes through the auditory media is the Kingdom Come Audiobook. I can't provide you a link to it (and in fact, haven't been able to find a copy of it on CD for my own purposes), but if you can locate it, it's a blast.

Who Wants to be a Superhero? The Defuser, that's who!

I'll try not to gloat, I'm just happy that I got it right.

Go Defuser!

Now, I want to see the Defuser/Feedback team-up comic.

Real-life superheroes

Due to Labor Day, comics have been delayed a day, so the round-up won’t be going up until tomorrow. In the meantime, I thought I’d talk about real-life superheroes.

Now, I’m not talking about the contestants on Who Wants to be a Superhero? (which has its’ finale tonight. The Defuser for the win!), though they’re awesome in their own right. But they’re creating a fictional superhero character, a new superhero for film, television and comics. And that’s admirable, certainly. Heck, I want to be one of them someday.

I’m not talking about the actors who portray Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four or any other pre-existing superhero character, although that’s a nice accomplishment too.

And I’m not talking about the real-life “costumed heroes” either. Individuals like Fantastica, Superbarrio or Metrowoman do amazing things, and I find them deeply inspirational. But they’re not what I mean either.

No, I’m referring to people who endure the impossible. People who fight for what’s right, even when no one would expect them to. The everyday heroes, who don’t often get the attention they deserve.

I’ve got two examples – the first is a new initiative by the ACLU. The ACLU have recently made their own forays into comic books – comics which celebrate everyday heroes who fight for civil liberties. These comics are going to be available online and through viral marketing campaigns. I think it’s a nice idea for how to get people to think about civil liberties.

The other example is on a more personal note. My wife now stays home with our two daughters, and I know it’s a struggle for her. Our eldest daughter, while a delight and a joy in many ways, is also difficult and challenging to deal with. She wrote this yesterday, and it brought tears to my eyes – both because of seeing the pain my wife suffers through, and seeing the love she has for my daughters.

I know my wife is not the only person who fights this “never-ending battle,” she is simply the one I know best. But so now I wish to publicly applaud her and all the other real-life superheroes.

Who Wants to be a Superhero? Season 2, Episode 5

Thursday night has rolled around, and that means it's time for another episode of Who Wants to be a Superhero?

What does that mean to me? Well, it means that I sit here with my Diet Coke, my microwave popcorn and my laptop and eagerly watch the goings-on. As the episode begins, the heroes wax philosophically about their missing companions. Hyper-Strike was the only one to mention what everyone else must be considering - those that are left have doubled their chances of being the winner.

The heroes awake to find that Dr. Dark is causing power outages through the city. Stan leads them to his hideout where they find that they each need to crawl through a drain-pipe to a fuse box, and each power down a fuse. Each of the Parthenon, Whip-snap, Hygena and Hyper-Strike each struggle to deal with the rats, snakes and spiders in the lair, but make it through. Then finally the Defuser enters, with a minute left to go, and the bulky police officer gets stuck in the drain pipe, as we cut to commercial.

The commercial gives me time to consider that I would be in so much trouble here. I am extremely frightened by snakes, spiders and rats. This season has really hit the contestants hard in dealing with their real fears - I wonder how well I'd do.

We come back, and the Defuser does make it through and gets the fuse, with a whole six seconds to spare. Stan rewards them for their success by giving them a night on the town - which, of course is the real challenge. While at the Mexican restaurant, the heroes are approached by fans - each deals well with the children. But then the check arives, and they realize none of them have any money. So, they work their bill off by waiting tables. Very funny.

Stan meets them back at the lair and starts to reveal Dark's plans, but then Dark tells Stan about the dark secrets each hero has in their past - reminiscent of the same scene involving the Dark Enforcer last season. But before any secrets are revealed, another commercial.

It's interesting, as the episode progresses, I try to predict who's leaving. Whip-snap, Hygena and Parthenon all had a lot of problems with the tunnel. Hyper-strike, on the other hand, mentioned that he didn't even look around, which seems like a way of avoiding his fears - something Stan eliminated Mr. Mitzvah for.

Now we get to the secrets. Whip-snap had taken her friend's keys to visit a crush. Hygena likes to practice erotic dancing for her husband. Hyper-strike failed a stunt, and in return got fired from a show. Parthenon has an interest in pirates, which Dr. Dark says is evidence of an interest in the dark side. And the Defuser didn't graduate high school on time. Stan had pretty much ignored each "flaw" Dark had exposed, but then we break to commercial as Dark waves a martini glass and shaker at the Defuser. Could the Defuser share a weakness with Tony Stark?

This commercial gives me time to reflect on another issue I might have if I were to audition for the show next season - I certainly have skelletons buried in my closet I'd like to see remain there. What might my friends or relations reveal about me for Stan to critically examine?

It seems the Defuser has embarassing drinking stories, despite not normally drinking, where he destroyed a bathroom while drunk. But of course, who among us doesn't have stories of that ilk?

And then, it's time for the mission reports before the next elimination. I can't help but wonder if the Defuser's criticisms will be the final nail in his coffin here. The mission reports show that the Defuser and Hyper-strike are the strongest, Hygena underperforms in missions, Whip-snap overreacts emotionally, and that over half of the team thinks Whip-snap is the least heroic of the team. Hyper-strike comes clean to Whip-snap about why he wrote that, but I can't help but think that of the "over half", meaning three of the five, Whip-snap might have written that about herself.

And as we go to commercial, Stan tells us it's time for another elimination. At GenCon, Feedback, Major Victory and Fat Momma each mentioned how hard the eliminations are. Each of them want to win, obviously, and each person who leaves brings them closer to that goal. But the heroes also grow close as a team, and each elimination means someone they care for, someone they consider a fellow hero, has to give up their dream - at least for now. I can only imagine how rough it must be.

Stan had criticisms for each hero, but praised Hyper-strike for his honesty with Whip-snap. He also called the Defuser out on giving away parts of his weaponry to the fans at the restaurant, something that the Defuser seemed really shocked by.

The nominations to go home tonight? The Defuser. Whip-snap. Hygena. (Which was pretty much what I expected.)

I think that it's going to be Whip-snap who leaves tonight. But we have one more commercial to sit through before I'll know.

And the result...?

"The person leaving the lair tonight is... Whip-snap."

I will miss her, but I can't say I'm surprised. The journey has been good for her, but she didn't yet have the strength to win. She is a hero, and she will continue to grow after this show. I'm tempted to go to Feedback's after-show, but think it can wait for now. I'd rather judge the heroes based on their performance in the show then in how they feel afterwards.

Stan Lee - Superhero? Or Supervillain?

Stan Lee has an interesting legacy. The man has been responsible for some of the best in superheroics, and some of the worst.

On the one hand, he has been the creative force behind (at least in part) Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk and the Mighty Thor. He created a remarkable take on the DC icons with the Just Imagine... series. Because of his influence on the course of Marvel Comics, he has been given a cameo role in most of the movies made starring Marvel Superheroes (including an appearance in all three Spider-Man and X-Men movies, plus Daredevil, Hulk and Fantastic Four, and even in Kevin Smith's Mallrats.) And, of course, he's responsible for my current favorite obsession - Who Wants to be a Superhero?

On the other hand, he has been responsible for Pamela Anderson's Stripperella, The 7th Portal, Lightspeed and this. Yeah, that's right - Paris Hilton as a superhero.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. On one hand, a little part of my brain is amused at the idea - although I'm a little ashamed to admit it. But most of my brain just screams "No Stan! Don't! Don't ruin your legacy like this!"

It's silly of course. Even disasters like turning Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Hugh Heffner and Ringo Starr won't be able to erase what superheroics owe to Stan Lee. Before him, superheroes were nearly perfect - and flaws that they had usually limited their superheroism only. Before Stan, we didn't see superheroes who had real problems and real character flaws. Without Stan Lee, there would never have been a Dark Knight Returns, or any of the other comics where we see our heroes deconstructed. And nothing he does now, no matter how foolish, will ever really erase that.

But really, Mr. Lee, Paris Hilton? If you're that desperate for people to turn into superheroes, I know that Levity, Nitro G, Cell Phone Girl, Monkey Woman, The Iron Enforcer, Lemuria, Major Victory, Ty'Veculis, Mr. Mitzvah, Ms. Limelight, Batsura, Mindset and the Braid would all be happy to offer themselves up as models.

(And I could easily be persuaded to do the same.)

Meeting some superheroes

So, this past weekend, my wife and I decided to visit GenCon Indy. I'm a big-time gamer, and due to my eldest daughter being ill, we didn't get to spend the whole weekend at Origins a few months back. So, we day-tripped to GenCon on Saturday.

And I'm really glad that I did. I got to see some friends I hadn't seen in months. I got to talk with the folks at Eden Studios, who I've had the good fortune to volunteer for in the past, and even been able to playtest the City of Heroes RPG. But without a doubt, the highlight of the trip?

I was able to meet, shake hands with, and in some cases get autographs and merchandise from Major Victory, Fat Momma, and Feedback - the top three finalists from the first season of Who Wants to be a Superhero?

First up, we got to talk to Major Victory. Major Victory was incredibly gracious and friendly, and emphasized how grateful he was to be able to come to events like the con and meet with the fans. I ordered a t-shirt from him (they were out of stock of my size), and he looked at my daugher, Mira, who was sleeping in a sling on my chest, and without my asking, took an art sheet of the mock-up for the Major Victory comic, signed it for her, instructing her to listen to her parents.

Fat Momma wasn't at the booth when we first showed up - she had left to go and spend time at the babysitting facilites provided at the con. I was highly impressed by that - it really shows how important kids are to her. Between the Major Victory t-shirt, and the money I wanted to spend to get Feedback's autograph, I was tapped out for cash, so I couldn't buy any merchandise. But still, she handed us a coloring sheet to take home to our older daughter.

Finally, I got to meet Feedback. Matthew was just an incredibly generous and friendly guy. He was making jokes with the other signees at the booth, taking extra time to pose for pictures, and spending time to actually get to know - at least in passing - the people who came to meet with him.

During the show, it became obvious that he was "one of us," a comic-book fanboy living the dream. And meeting him, it became even more obvious. My wife introduced me as "the resident geek in the family" to which he said that in his eyes, geeks meant "one of us." I didn't want to take up too much of his time (not due to him trying to make us leave, but because I could see the line building behind us), so I wasn't able to talk to him as long as I'd have liked. I did, however, get the chance to share my story with him about how comics have changed my life. During the show, Feedback shared with Stan Lee how comics gave him a role-model when his father passed away. In my case, comics gave me my love of learning. I learned to read due to the Incredible Hulk, and having a family friend read them to me, then chase me around his comic store saying "Hulk Smash Puny Human!"

Me, Feedback and Mira

Like I said, I didn't have the chance to talk to him as long as I'd have liked, but Feedback invited me to come back and talk to him again later. Sadly, I didn't have the time to take him up on the offer, but I hope to encounter him again.

Meeting the three of them re-strengthed my determination to audition if there's a Season 3. And a bonus feature of the weekend was I got to talk to the fine folks at Journeymen Leather about having them help me with my costume.

It's time for some Feedback!

Who Wants to be a Superhero? promised it's winner immortality, in the form of a Sci-Fi Channel original movie, and a Dark Horse comic book written by Stan Lee.

Last month, Dark Horse and Stan Lee delivered on their prize to the winner - Feedback, played by Matthew Atherton. It wasn't the best comic I've ever read, but it wasn't bad either.

Next Saturday, August 25th, the Sci-Fi Channel does their part. The movie Mega-Snake will feature an appearance by Feedback.

Yes, Feedback gets to fight a giant snake in a Sci-Fi Channel Original movie - known by all for their class, sophistication and quality.

This is going to be a guilty pleasure. And my TiVo will have to record it for me at a later showing - because there's no way on Earth I'm missing the amazing Jekyll on BBCAmerica for this.

I'm a dedicated fan, so won't miss it. But I'm not giving up quality in order to see it.

Who Wants to be a Superhero? Me! Me!

But sadly, it's not to be. At least not this season.

(My wife was very pregnant at the time of auditions. I thought it would be irresponsible and not very heroic at all to go do a reality-TV show when my second daughter could be born any day.)

But we'll gripe about that later. Hopefully there'll be a Season 3.

In the meantime, as I type this, Episode 2 of Season 2 is just airing. (At least in the Eastern Time Zone). And I have to say, I'm digging it just as much as I ended up digging Season 1. Even if I was skeptical at first.

We have an odd group of heroes this time around - more ethnicities, and oddly, more "super-normals", those heroes who have no powers but are highly skilled humans. And of course, as with last season, the heroes aren't being tested for athletic ability, or the use of their powers, but on acting like a hero. I was amazed that they missed the people in need after last season's challenges.

Anyhow, I'm currently predicting that we will see The Defuser as the winner of the show. Of course, last season I chose Monkey-Woman, and she didn't make it nearly as far as I'd have liked. But he's shown some really admirable leadership qualities so far, and I think that will take him far.

More after tonight's episode. Excelsior!