Friday, May 27, 2005
Superheroes (good and bad)
Last night, Bravo aired Ultimate Super Heroes, part one of a three part series which continues tonight and tomorrow. This is the latest in a long list of shows that attempts to rank anything of a certain category. The Ranking Show has been largely dominated by VH-1, but now Bravo has jumped on the bandwagon, with shows like 100 Greatest TV Characters and The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
Now we have the Ultimate Super Heroes. On this show they have assembled a list of the top 20 fictional heroes whose deeds go "above and beyond" the realm of everyday heroes. Therefore, the list is not limited to the traditional "tights and cape" crowd, nor was it limited to just comic books. They had the standard assortment of celebrity commentators, from Stan Lee and Mark Hammil, to Todd MacFarlane and even James Earl Jones. They also had the usual bevy of people from the press to add some sort of "credibillity" to the list. They even got a celebrity host, Batman himself, Adam West.
Here's the list:
Spider-Man
Superman
Batman
Indiana Jones
James Bond
Luke Skywalker
X-Men
The Incredibles
The Fantastic Four
The Hulk
Spawn
Hellboy
Flash Gordon
The Mask
Daredevil
The Tick
Austin Powers
Conan
Blade
Men in Black
So, they compiled their little list and it, like all that have come before it, is sadly lacking. First off, it seems that they only chose super heroes that have some sort of movie or TV footage to go along with it. And of those super heroes with footage, they heavily favorited recent movies. So, the list contained heroes like Men in Black, the Mask, the Incredibles and Hellboy. Sure they all have decent movies, (The Incredibles is one of the best movies I've seen in a very long time) and the ones from comic books come from decent series, but let's be honest. Is Austin Powers really one of the top 20 superheroes of all time?
Admittedly, they did give a nod to some classic characters, such as Flash Gordon and Conan the Barbarian. Without Flash, we wouldn't have Luke Skywalker. But there are some characters that they just didn't even think about. How about Zorro? We wouldn't have Batman if it weren't for that character. If you're into the whole millionaire-playboy -turned-dark-avenger genre, one of my personal favorites is The Shadow. How about the Lone Ranger? If you really wanted to go the classics, why not use the original avenger Robin Hood?
There were clearly choices made because there is an upcoming movie or a recent release that someone wanted to hype. The Fantastic Four? Come on. Sure, they were a pretty popular hero team back in the day. Sure, they saved Marvel from bankrupcy. But their popularity has deinitely waned over the years, and truth be told, I always thought they were kind of lame. But, there's a movie out this summer so it has to be on the list! If you want a better hero team, why not go with another classic; The Justice League? I'd rather watch clips of the Super Friends than see footage of The Commish dressed as the Thing.
It should be noted that I agree with their top 5, although not necessarily in that order.
Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions as to who might be missing or have their own list, please let me know. I am writing up my own list, mainly because of boredom, and will be posting it in the comments section soon.
Now we have the Ultimate Super Heroes. On this show they have assembled a list of the top 20 fictional heroes whose deeds go "above and beyond" the realm of everyday heroes. Therefore, the list is not limited to the traditional "tights and cape" crowd, nor was it limited to just comic books. They had the standard assortment of celebrity commentators, from Stan Lee and Mark Hammil, to Todd MacFarlane and even James Earl Jones. They also had the usual bevy of people from the press to add some sort of "credibillity" to the list. They even got a celebrity host, Batman himself, Adam West.
Here's the list:
Spider-Man
Superman
Batman
Indiana Jones
James Bond
Luke Skywalker
X-Men
The Incredibles
The Fantastic Four
The Hulk
Spawn
Hellboy
Flash Gordon
The Mask
Daredevil
The Tick
Austin Powers
Conan
Blade
Men in Black
So, they compiled their little list and it, like all that have come before it, is sadly lacking. First off, it seems that they only chose super heroes that have some sort of movie or TV footage to go along with it. And of those super heroes with footage, they heavily favorited recent movies. So, the list contained heroes like Men in Black, the Mask, the Incredibles and Hellboy. Sure they all have decent movies, (The Incredibles is one of the best movies I've seen in a very long time) and the ones from comic books come from decent series, but let's be honest. Is Austin Powers really one of the top 20 superheroes of all time?
Admittedly, they did give a nod to some classic characters, such as Flash Gordon and Conan the Barbarian. Without Flash, we wouldn't have Luke Skywalker. But there are some characters that they just didn't even think about. How about Zorro? We wouldn't have Batman if it weren't for that character. If you're into the whole millionaire-playboy -turned-dark-avenger genre, one of my personal favorites is The Shadow. How about the Lone Ranger? If you really wanted to go the classics, why not use the original avenger Robin Hood?
There were clearly choices made because there is an upcoming movie or a recent release that someone wanted to hype. The Fantastic Four? Come on. Sure, they were a pretty popular hero team back in the day. Sure, they saved Marvel from bankrupcy. But their popularity has deinitely waned over the years, and truth be told, I always thought they were kind of lame. But, there's a movie out this summer so it has to be on the list! If you want a better hero team, why not go with another classic; The Justice League? I'd rather watch clips of the Super Friends than see footage of The Commish dressed as the Thing.
It should be noted that I agree with their top 5, although not necessarily in that order.
Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions as to who might be missing or have their own list, please let me know. I am writing up my own list, mainly because of boredom, and will be posting it in the comments section soon.
