The Greatest American Hero and The Tick

 

This would have been a TV crossover that I would have loved to have seen. I can just imagine the superhero tips that The Tick would provide to his less confident new ally.

Batman and The Greatest American Hero

 

Not only has Michael Keaton returned to the role of Batman after a decades-long absence, he's now coming back as Beetlejuice.   The better news is that Director Tim Burton will be joining him along with co-stars Wynona Ryder and Catherine Ohara.  That gives me confidence that this return will be a little better received than The Flash was.

The Greatest American Hero Vs. Godzilla

 

The Greatest American hero was a favorite show of mine but I will confess to some frustration with it.  Like Lost, it was a show that set up some big mysteries that were never properly addressed by the series' end.  Unless I missed an episode, we never did find out the actual full extent of the suit's power, where the spaceship that provided it came from, and who were the aliens behind it all.  I hoped we would have a TV movie later on that would answer these questions, but, alas, such a thing never came to pass.

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.

The Greatest American Hero and Batgirl

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Yvonne Craig yesterday.  I still maintain that she is my favorite comic book heroine to yet appear in live action.  She played the character straight despite the camp around her, few others have ever looked as good in their superhero outfits and you had to dig that tripped out motorcycle. I hope she knew how many fans she had because of Batman and Star Trek.  Rest in peace, Yvonne Craig.

Superman and The Greatest American Hero

I was a fan of The Greatest American Hero and I liked the idea of a guy with no instructions on how to use his power granting uniform.  Even though Ralph Hinkley gradually got better at the use of his abilities, he was never a completely polished superhero. It would have been cool to see him eventually master his powers and really get to cut loose, maybe in a follow up TV movie.

The Greatest American Hero meets The Thing and The Hulk

We are in a time now where superhero fans have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to TV and movies.  Sure, we can argue about the quality of the productions and the fidelity to the characters we read about, but there is no denying that there is plenty to choose from.  Back in the day, this simply was not the case, so I was very happy for the rare TV series that featured super-heroics.  They may seem hokey by today's standards, but shows like The Incredible Hulk and The Greatest American Hero were appointment television for me in my youth.

The Thing and The Greatest American Hero

The Greatest American Hero was a series I made a point to watch regularly when I was a kid. The action and effects are pretty quaint by today's standards, but back then for live action superheroics, it was just about the only thing going. What it lacked in production values, it made up with enjoyable performances by William Katt and Robert Culp. It poked fun at the idea of a man untrained with the abilities that his super-suit gave him, but I never felt like it was looking down at the genre. I am surprised that this property has not been mined for a feature film treatment, as so many series from the 70's and 80's have, but perhaps that's a good thing. This series was a product of it's time and maybe it is best left there.