I have to be honest, I didn't follow this year's Who Wants to be a Superhero? as closely as I did last year's. I haven't really heard as much about it, either. The premiere season took everyone by surprise; we were all anxious to see what the whole thing was going to be about and how it was going to be handled and to see if it was going to be a huge, flopping mess (it's certainly one of the reasons I tuned in). We were all taken in by its simple charm enough so that it was a summer hit.
But this year was really just more of the same. While some of the superheroes were more fleshed-out and truer to the form, several of the contestants were also more... hammy... er. This season was more "emotional" than last, and it sometimes came across as manufactured - by the contestants themselves, not the producers. But even more than that, most of this year's contestants were far more open about their private lives and there was a lot of pain there.
Now, to be fair, a lot of us who are into these sorts of things have a lot of pain in our pasts (which is often why we turned to comics and gaming and the like - to escape) and I don't think we should be ashamed of that, but it isn't always easy to watch. But, as I mentioned before, aside from that, this season was really just more of the same - even the tests were similar to last season's and, once you've seen it, you've pretty much... you know, seen it. Still, as a comics geek and superfan - and total Marvel Zombie - I possess some loyalty to Who Wants to be a Superhero?, so I caught about half the episodes this year and I'm sure I'll catch at least one of the marathons before all is said and done.
[SPOILERS]
So, I thought that Hyperstrike and Mindset were the most well-developed characters and Hyperstrike obviously had the athleticism down pat. But Defuser, while not as well-developed character-wise, also had some obvious qualities. Both Hyperstrike and Defuser had the background to carry the whole thing off - far more than any of the other contestants. I know Stan Lee is adamant that the contestants not be actors or entertainment professionals, but if these guys are going to carry a movie, I mean... you know, they need to at least have that kind of charisma or some other talents that allow them to do that, and both Hyperstrike and Defuser seemed to possess some of those qualities. I mean, this whole bit with the reality show is entertaining and appearing in their own comics title makes total sense, but let's be honest: not just anyone can appear in a movie or scripted TV show and carry it off, and who wants to watch a two-hour show of someone in tights making a complete fool of himself? Well, okay, so Jackass was a #1 movie, but come on.
At the end of it all, The Defuser was this season's winner, and I kind of expected that from early on - I think a lot of people did. But I'm glad; I can dig it. I liked Hyperstrike and Hygena, but Hygena wasn't really a good character for this sort of thing - funny and irreverent, not very serious - and Hyperstrike, while he definitely has the athleticism and physical abilities, was just too over-the-top silly. I think he felt embarrassed when asked to get into character and just couldn't take himself seriously as an "actor" (to whatever extent you consider that acting).
Defuser is our new superhero and that works for me. I know I often talk bad about cops, but that's because I've lived in some very corrupt places where most of the cops just did/do whatever they want and dare anyone to do anything about it. But the guy has the leadership qualities and, being a cop, you know he's a good liar so he shouldn't be that bad an actor - so long as he can get into character and stay there.
Still a fun show and I hope to see Who Wants to be a Superhero? return, I just hope they manage to add a little something extra to the pot the next go-round.
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