Tuesday, March 10, 2020

The Greatest American Hero Vs. Captain Avenger



I remember the John Ritter-starring movie, Hero at Large, fondly.  It was sort of like Galaxy Quest but for the superhero genre. Ritter starred as an actor that played the hero Captain Avenger for a movie promotion, and winds up taking the role more literally than he had anticipated.  It, like The Greatest American Hero, was an interesting deconstruction of the costumed hero trope well before comics like Watchmen came along.
at

26 comments:

  1. AirDaveMarch 10, 2020 at 7:42 AM

    Yes, this is totally AWESOME!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AlaricMarch 10, 2020 at 8:02 AM

    Heh. Not much of a fight, considering that only one of the two had actual super powers. Still, there are ways to get interesting stories out of uneven match ups. I enjoyed both immensely.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CarycomicMarch 10, 2020 at 8:12 AM

    @Ross: Interesting...and far more light-hearted. Hint-hint, Mr. Miller!

    @Alaric: maybe Ralph's costume is a super-powerless replica custom-made for a movie he did during the brief period his dual identity was internationally known (as depicted in the spin-off pilot "The Greatest American Heroine").

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 10, 2020 at 8:33 AM

    I love Hero at Large. As a kid I watched it every time it would play on HBO. Anne Archer was wonderful as the romantic interest. She had auditioned for Lois Lane in Superman the movie but lost to Margot Kidder. But the real reason to watch is obviously John Ritter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Detective ToborMarch 10, 2020 at 9:06 AM


    Oh Ralph, there's a Mr Hinkley and a Mr Hanley at the door for you. Something about a "Galaxy Quest"?

    It was very surprising to see William Katt as the man officiating at Barry Allen's wedding at the beginning of 'Crisis on Earth X' a few years back. Wonder if they knew they had another hero with a red costume when he got the job? First season was a LOT of fun.

    ReplyDelete
  6. SimreeveMarch 10, 2020 at 9:26 AM

    I remember that film. :)

    "Mind if I drop in?"

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMarch 10, 2020 at 9:35 AM

    Maybe "Batman Beyond"'s Batman and "The Greatest American Hero"'s Hinkley; for them, the costume really does make the superhero.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bob GreenwadeMarch 10, 2020 at 10:13 AM

    I kind of get the feeling that this would be a more one-sided version of Batman v. Superman (like Alaric pointed out, only one of these two had actual superpowers). It could serve as a deconstruction of the "superheroes meet, fight, and team up" trope -- and, as Cary pointed out, with a much more light-hearted feel than Watchmen (or BvS).

    Just on general principles, it's great to see Captain Avenger showing up here. I do remember long ago suggesting that he lead a team also including the Toxic Avenger, the Crimson Avenger, et al... though it's still a challenge to come up with a good name for such a group....

    @Tobor: Cameos from "third-party" superhero shows in Arrowverse crossovers does seem to be a thing. Last year, Griffin Newman, who played Arthur on the second live-action The Tick, had a cameo as a trivia-night host. (That's not even considering Carl Lumbly's series M.A.N.T.I.S.) This year I half-expect to see Patrick Warburton, Lindsay Wagner, or maybe someone from Power Rangers (any iteration), Witchblade, or Heroes -- or even more current series like The Umbrella Academy, Raising Dion, or I Am Not Okay with This.

    ReplyDelete
  9. HorsefeathersMarch 10, 2020 at 1:12 PM

    This is what makes a fandom. youtube has a mini series of sorts where Ralph's son has grown, and in time, gets involved with the suit. Interestingly, there are pictures with Bill Katt in them with the actor as his son. Fans can do more than just watch.
    Would it be your Worlds Finest Ross to pair Ralph with Darkman?

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMarch 10, 2020 at 2:42 PM

    Or maybe the Golden Age Mr. Terrific with the Stanley Beeman character from the 1960's.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bob GreenwadeMarch 10, 2020 at 3:26 PM

    @Anon@2:42: I was just thinking of Stanley, though I think it's more likely that we'd see him on a photo cover with Curtis Holt (the Arrowverse's Mr. Terrific) for some kind of time-travel story.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousMarch 10, 2020 at 3:41 PM

    CW was removed from my local cable provider's basic programming package shortly after last season's SUPERGIRL cliff-hanger (where Lena started boozing to "forget"). So, I haven't even seen the series finale of ARROW! Not that I was that big a fan of it, to begin with.

    As far as I'm permanently concerned, Justin Hartley is the once-and-future Green Arrow of TV.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Crazy IvanMarch 10, 2020 at 6:19 PM

    @Alaric - In the failed pilot for the soft reboot, Ralph was denied the use of the suit because he wasn't supposed to use it for personal gain. The aliens were nice enough to let him choose and train his successor though. So maybe he made a replica suit to be able to make public appearances as his former alter ego.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Alec SemicognitoMarch 11, 2020 at 1:39 AM

    Around the same time period there was a Hill Street Blues storyline about a delusional man who believes he's an invulnerable superhero and actually stops some crimes by sheer luck...Until he gets blown away in front of the detective who's been trying to help him and dies in his arms.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Comment Deleted could not haveMarch 11, 2020 at 5:39 AM

    @ Crazy Ivan and @Alaric - In the failed pilot, the aliens also wiped everyone else's memories of who Ralph was after he got famous. (They may have had practice with the pair of guys we met in a different episode that had the suit years before Ralph.) No one else would know who Ralph's alter ego was.

    Ross if Deadman possessed Ralph, would he be able to fly better than Ralph did? Or do any better in using the suit?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Comment Deleted could not haveMarch 11, 2020 at 5:57 AM

    Hey, would Greatest American Hero, Deadman, Daredevil, Scarlet Witch and Flash be able to form The Scarlet League? Or just be In the Red? ;D (Santa not included.)

    ReplyDelete
  17. CarycomicMarch 11, 2020 at 9:49 AM

    @Crazy Ivan, Alaric, and Deleted Commentator: that's exactly why I suggested it was made by some movie studio, for Ralph, just prior to the Little Green Guys (Bill Maxwell's canonical nickname for the aliens) basically telling him he was fired.

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousMarch 11, 2020 at 4:25 PM

    Perhaps a return of Mork and Alf, this time in "live" action, with the addition of Thermoman?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Somewhere over the rainbowMarch 11, 2020 at 10:33 PM

    anon 4:25, that's Mork & Mindy, not Mork and Alf. Alf should have met the group of Misfits of Science.

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousMarch 12, 2020 at 8:05 AM

    Somewhere over the rainbow, it's Mork and Alf here: https://braveandboldlost.blogspot.com/2018/08/alf-and-mork.html

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousMarch 12, 2020 at 10:24 AM

    How about a sequel, then? Mork trying to break up ALF vs. Streaky the Super-cat.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Not a Hallmark momentMarch 13, 2020 at 6:04 AM

    Anonymous said...
    How about a sequel, then? Mork trying to break up ALF vs. Streaky the Super-cat.

    ? Shirly, you can't be serious? A sequel? Then... Alf vs the Red Lantern Cat, Dex-Starr. Chumway for dinner.

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousMarch 13, 2020 at 8:29 AM

    @ NAH: I'm not Mike Shirly.

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousMarch 13, 2020 at 2:04 PM

    But, yes, I'm dead serious.

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousMarch 15, 2020 at 6:43 AM

    and that was a Mic drop.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Brother KellymatthewNovember 23, 2020 at 11:42 PM

    Jack The Tripper VS Pippen!

    ReplyDelete