KEY POINTS:
It's not just Heroes making superheroes out of ordinary folk. There's the new American reality show Who Wants To Be A Superhero - the brainchild of Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, The Fantastic Four, and countless other comic book superheroes. In it, ordinary Americans with extraordinary imaginations turned up in their homemade costumes hoping their outlandish alter egos might win the show's prize - to have themselves immortalised in a comic book and TV movie.
Ten would-be superheroes were chosen to compete in the first series which has them undergoing tests like changing into their costumes in public, helping an elderly woman locked out of her home (which means running through a garden guarded by a couple of bull terriers) and searching for a supervillain.
It just might be the the funniest, daftest and most enjoyable reality show ever. "The appeal of superheroes is that they're an escape, a fantasy that people can save the world," says Lee. "But the appeal of this show? It's funny."
Let's meet the contenders ...
Major Victory
DJ Chris Waters believes wearing a tight red suit and shiny black knickers is the perfect opportunity to repair the damage his previous career as an exotic dancer/male stripper did to his self-esteem.
Catchphrase: "Be a winner, not a Weiner."
Strengths: Concrete hair and a winning smile.
Weaknesses: Cries at mention of past as exotic dancer/male stripper.
Tyveculus
A reincarnated (and very earnest) Roman centurion. In one show he rejects Stan Lee's makeover because it makes him look ridiculous, neglecting to realise he already looks ridiculous.
Catchphrase: "By the source of light, I am Tyveculus."
Strengths: Can detect lies because he can only hear truth.
Weakness: Has to beware of beauty because "beauty can blind" the evil.
Nitro G
Student Darren Passarello is an adrenaline junkie and part time poet who just happens to have discovered that he looks good in a figure-hugging luminous green bodysuit.
Catchphrase: "Insane!"
Strengths: Super speed.
Weakness: When his adrenaline level falls, he loses all of his powers.
Cellphone Girl
Avril Lavigne-like mall girl who, following an explosion in a phone factory, is empowered with the capabilities of a state-of-the-art Nokia.
Catchphrase: "Call me."
Strengths: The ability to take 2 megapixel pictures, download information from the web and make annoying noises.
Weakness: Powers surpassed by newer, sexier model every six months.
Creature
An eco-warrior raw foodist who drives a car run on vegetable oil and is described by her co-contestants as looking like a homeless Princess Leia.
Catchphrase: "Why not?"
Strengths: She has a magic whip and can throw knives with precision.
Weakness: Her hair being cut off would make her weak.
The Iron Enforcer
Sadly this steroid-pumped bodybuilder has neglected to realise that superheroes generally save people rather than kill them. He has several guns. One he calls Judgement, another Mercy - the latter he aims to use to resolve problems in the Middle East, which he'll incinerate if they can't work it out.
Catchphrase: "Always outnumbered, never outgunned."
Strengths: Ultimate strength due to injections of rhino DNA.
Weaknesses: Maths. He claims to be "half human, half machine, half time bomb".
Lemuria
This feisty gold lame-wearing heroine is on a mission to realign the "global balance of power" so that the "great war that ruined the Atlantan and Wu worlds will never happen again".
Like, whatever.
Catchphrase: "Hello boys."
Strengths: Can suck the life out of people, animals and plants.
Weakness: Darkness, and sharing toilets with male superheroes.
Fat Momma
Momma believes her special doughnuts enable her to fight for the justice of all
over-sized people. She's wrong.
Catchphrase: "Fat Momma, Fat Momma, I'm here to save the day."
Strengths: Grows to five times normal size. Crushes enemies by lying on them.
Weakness: Diet food.
Monkey Woman
Monkey Woman is fighting to reunite orphans with their parents. She is also looking to find her mother who was kidnapped by the evil zookeeper. In reality she's an actress who discovered she could do good chimp screeching.
Catchphrase: "Eeeooo Eeeeeooo Waaah Waaah."
Strengths: High-tech weapons that masquerade as bananas.
Weakness: She becomes weak at the sound of music boxes.
Feedback
What he lacks in decent catchphrases he makes up for in physique and sincerity.
Catchphrase: "Don't lecture bad guys, give them Feedback."
Strengths: Takes on the power of electronic items (such as videogames) that he touches.
Weakness: Should have called himself Download instead.
Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
C4, 8.30pm, Tuesday October 23
- Observer
