POW! Who Wants To Be A Superhero?

One of my favorites is back this week, Who Wants To Be A Superhero (Sci Fi Channel) and I have been waiting all year for this one to return!

I first got hooked on this show last season, thanks to my Myspace buddy Chris Watters - who played Major Victory on the show. This show is so much fun and I would actually clear my schedule (when possible) to watch this out of the ordinary reality show.

If you have not seen Who Wants To Be A Superhero? (Created by Nash Entertainment), you are missing out on one of the most innovative reality series on television. This comic book-themed show features 10 contestants that compete for a chance to be America's next great crime fighter and immortalized in comic book fashion by the AMAZING Stan Lee.

Is Peter Parker really Spider-Man or Spider-Man really Peter Parker? Of course, at the heart of WWTBAS is a competition based reality show. However unlike other shows, this is a show with a positive benefit that includes humor (some intentional and some inadvertent), wonderful adventure, a few surprises, outrageous accessories, and lots of black, red and brightly colored spandex.

Not only the above, the icing on the cake is that the show allows the opportunity to create your very own superhero alter ego and hang out together in a secret lair (Somewhere in the industrial section of town) with other superheroes - How cool is that?

Humanity Flawed...

Okay I admit, I have never read a comic book, per se, and most have commented that the Sunday Comics do not count as 'Comic Book' reading material.

However, I am largely familiar with the great work of Stan Lee (Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man)...Incidentally, I learned of most superheroes by watching television and had never heard of "X-Men" or "Daredevil" until the feature films were released (Believe me, I had received plenty of "Flack" from the men in my life for not knowing of these great comic works - quite frankly, I am sure there are others still yet to be discovered...).

Capturing The Imagination

No matter the hero, one common theme remains, superheroes are just humans with super powers. In the average identity they still have to work to pay bills, maintain a job, eat and other common everyday responsibilities. Every once in a while, catastrophe would strike (Via natural causes or at the hands of an arch-rival/ nemesis) and the hero would have an opportunity to use the powers to save humanity. The event would often serve as a reminder of their special talent.

Are You A Superhero?

A few years prior, I had a Science Fiction literature class (My all time favorite behind Personal Finance & Investing). One day, we had a guest speaker (Author) and the first question the speaker asked of the class was, "If you could be any superhero or have a certain super power, who or what would it be?" - The class immediately lit up with excitement and one by one each member of the class stood up and spoke of their desire. Funny thing, most of the guys eluded to a particular superhero, while the females were more about general super powers (Such as flying, running fast, and strength).

My super power - The ability to read minds! The class was frightened (Hence by the loud and noticeable gasp from the group) when I mentioned such a specific, non-specific - I loved it!

Which brings us back to Who Wants To Be A Superhero? Everyone has a secret wish, hope, dream, or favorite superhero and the show helps us live out those dreams vicariously through each of the colorful characters of the show....Careful, I know what you are thinking!

You can read more about the show and see the heroes on the show's mini-site on scifi.com: http://www.scifi.com/superhero/

Excelsior!