10: BONUS EP - America’s Next Top Superhero

is coming. At the edge of the roof was a perfectly placed beam that spanned across the two buildings to create a precarious bridge. From this height, the people walking along the street below looked like ants, We're gonna go across two buildings on a beam, because that's the superheroes do. That's La Mauria. She's one of the heroes. She's wearing a gold spandex suit with no sleeves and a black cape.

Her black hair is flowing in the wind. Gold lots and lots of gold, lots of gold like gold power and then I work gold pants well rap fans, super tight and um stiletto gold stiletto booths, because every superhero should wear a s little boothe She stepped onto the beam towards the desperate woman. It's at night and there's a wind going, and I'm feeling my hair is kind of brushing against my face. I'm holding on to a beam, just white knuckling it. Right, So I'm white knuckling this beam.

I cannot see anything. With her face furrowed in concentration, Lemuria and the other superheroes navigated the narrow space between the buildings. So here we go. So we're there, and I literally no shape. I have no shame at all, no shape. I get on my hands and knees, and the wind is coming and I'm getting cold, and just one hit time, you know what I mean. This is like internal, ugly crying and just the fear of death.

Midway across the beam, Lemuria thought it might be the end, but after some hyperventilating, she saved the damsel in distress. At this point, I should add that while La Maria thought she was defying death two above street level, she was actually blindfolded on a TV set, tiptoeing across a wooden beam. There was only a few inches off the floor. There was even a guy operating a wind machine to simulate the gusty l a wind. I didn't realize it wasn't real. We're on the set of a reality TV

show like no other. Somewhere inside autous Welcome to Who Wants to Be a Superhero? Before Phoenix Jones and the Rain City Superhero Movement started doing their ing. Who Wants to Be a Superhero was a reality competition show that aired on the Sci Fi Channel in two thousand and six. It was like a cross between Big Brother and The Apprentice,

but with a whole lot more spandex. The premise was that comic book fans had to invent their own superhero persona and battle it out in a series of challenges to see who possessed true superhero qualities compassion, courage, and kindness. It's the church to make lifelong fetes. I'm a source of life, i amdulous ball, I'm the last hero standing.

Would receive a prize that money can't buy. They'd have their character immortalized in an original comic book written by Stanley, the mastermind behind Spider Man, The Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and some of the greatest comic book superheroes in history. When you look back at footage from Who Wants to

Be a Superhero, it's can't be in pretty ridiculous. The contestants have names like the Iron and Forcer, cell Phone Girl, or Nitro g and they carry homemade cardboard laser guns or plastic bananas which supposedly transform into high tech weapons. It all looks pretty low budget. Who Wants to Be a Superhero air before the renaissance of all the superhero blockbuster movies, back when the real life superhero scene was just getting off the ground. In a way, the show

laid the groundwork for the whole movement. I wanted to get to know the people who played such a big role in this weird subculture. I'm about to dive back into the comic book universe to find out what it takes to triumph in the ultimate reality TV battle between real life superheroes. So don your capes, slip into your micra, and rehearse your cheesiest catchphrase, because things are about to get ridiculous. I'm David Weinberg and from the Team's at

Novel and I Heart Radio. This is the Superhero Complex, Episode ten America's next top superhero. I'm such a nerd. You know. You're here in my house and it's just board games everywhere and swords and beholders and mind flares and dragons on the walls. And that's what makes me happy. I met Matthew Atherton at his house in the suburbs, about an hour east of Los Angeles. Back in two thousand and six, he was known as Feedback, a real life superhero, but not in the way that Phoenix Jones

is a real life superhero. I'm not the guy who you know is going to put on a costume and go into dark alleys and look for wrongs that need to be righted. Feedback is Matthew's superhero character, created for who wants to be a superhero. Before he was Feedback, though, Matthew liked to role play as his favorite superheroes, in particular Spider Man. I made a Spiderman costume and dressed up as Spider Man and led the Halloween parade a Spiderman and stuff like that. And in college he even

made his own Spider Man movies. So the first one was called The Origin, and I sent a copy to my mom, and my mom sent it to Marvel, and so, uh, I got this letter that said, we really love that you're excited about the character, but you can't do this, you know, getting this, I'm like, mom, why did you do that? And so I wrote back a letter that said, hey, you know, we're not charging any money for any of this.

I said, we're just making fan films. And I got another letter back that's like, you know, it's tough to break into the comic book business. You know, try hanging out at a comic bookstore and all this other stuff. And I thought, this is worthless. Maybe Marvel knew something Matthew didn't at the time, because hanging out at this local comic bookstore would change his life. One day, around two thousand and five, many years after Matthew got in touch with Marvel, he saw an ad for an open

casting call. It was for a show called Who Wants to Be a Superhero? Matthew raced home and forged a brand new superhero persona feedback. Feedback had the power to draw energy from others. If I was with other heroes, I could enhance their powers, and if I were with a villain, I could pull their power down. Feedback were a black iron man looking suit with electric blue detailing

and a big letter F in the middle. On the day of auditions, Feedback took the day off from his job as a software engineer and drove down to Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. He parked his car and quickly realized he wasn't alone. There was a whole crowd of would be superheroes milling around, blinking in the rain and waiting to be told what to do. The battle to become one of the show's contestants was clearly going to

be fierce, like how do you do this? And it's like, well, let's have an open casting call and we'll put it everywhere, Craigslist, everywhere. This is Rick tell Us, he's the director of the show. He was raging on the day of the auditions and

he was scared nobody would show up. But Rick definitely underestimated the number of would be superheroes in l A. And then I remember going outside looking down the street and there was this huge line of people and it just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. He had to open a second studio to house them all, and they were all dressed up and I'm thinking to myself, how do you keep them entertained? Rick didn't have to

do anything because these weren't regular people. They were superheroes, and it's just completely filled with spectacle, you know, people that are wearing huge wings and some people even like breathing fire, you know, and I'm like, how is that? You probably should not be doing that in an enclosed space. Feedback and the other superheroes walked into a dramatic black room and took their place in a pool of light.

Then they introduced themselves, told their superhero origin story, and explain their powers to Stanley, who's peering down from a large screen. There was Monkey Woman who sounds exactly like a monkey, and there was Ice Bitch, who has the excellent catchphrase of freeze motherfucker. There was Mulletman, who looks as you'd expect, and then there was also a guy who can unleash the powers of his quote Harry Ass when he puts on a yellow thong and healed white boots.

Here's director Rick. There was one woman that came in and took off her top and we were like, oh my god, how are we going to show this on TV? Stan was like shocked, and we were all shocked or like, oh my god. Apparently she liked to fight topless to distract her enemies. Sometimes you have to go to extreme measures to combat evil. Some of the wanna be TV stars, it seemed more invested in their characters than others. The

trick was figuring out who's the most genuine. Maybe it was the woman clad in a pink leotard over her skin tight black suit with donuts hanging around her waist. My name is Alison Wilson. I'm known as Neil Wilson. I wasn't into superheroes and stan Lee and I didn't really even know who he was. You know. Allison's daughter had come home one day after seeing a post about the audition on social media. She said, they were doing

auditions for Who Wants to Be a Superhero? And so we were playing around and um, trying to think of what we would be if I was a superhero. So I said, well, I'm fat and I'm a mama, so I'll be fat mama. And so I had these donuts and I put some donuts around my waist, and I said, I'll read the world of bullies so I would help people to accept themselves the way they are, and the producers loved her. They loved her so much that that Mama already knew she was in by the time she

attended the audition. It was merely a normality. But not everyone was having fun. Another aspiring superhero, Major Victory, was dressed in ballet tights and a red shirt with a letter V duct tape to his chest. He was fed up at the endless hours of auditioning and waiting around as the producers tried to whittle down their contestants. What am I doing. I'm dressed in spandex, I'm sopping wet my hair that I had all like a bunch of hair spray and and stuff, and I just felt like

a wet dog. And I wanted to leave. But just as he was about to give up and go home, he got a tap on the shoulder that would change his life forever. And I was just about to leave, and the producer grabbed me and said, hey, I want to introduce you to somebody. This is Diamond Girl. So he introduced me to Diamond Girl. So I met Diamond Girls. Said, hey, you want to see my diamond said sure, I'll check out your diamond and and um Diamond Girl ended up

being my wife. While romance blossomed between these who masked adventures, their spandex clad rivals were being put through the wringer. After being grilled and grueling round of interviews, psychological tests, and a final round of performing their superhero battle cry to Stanley himself, the producers picked their final twelve contestants.

It took a bit of extra persuasion for feedback, but I knew that if I were on the show, then people who really loved comics and loved the stories, and not just the great artwork and the funny parts of it, but the parts where you care about it. You know, stories that resonate with you as a human being. I wanted to represent those people who really appreciated it and just said, I feel like this is my purpose. There's the reason why I'm on the planet. His speech to

the producers did the trick. Feedback, secured his spot on the show, and perhaps unadvisedly quit his job that same day. On the first day of filming, the chosen twelve superheroes arrived one by one on set to a luxurious mansion with large staircases. Each character was profiled in true comic book fashion in a majestic entrance hall, Fat Mama, Feedback, Major Victory, and Lemuria. We're all sizing each other up

over a welcome toast. Alongside them were Monkey Woman, Cellphone Girl, Creature, Iron Enforcer, Nitro g Tculus Levity, and Rode Art, who was wearing a silver suit and a silver army helmet. At first, I was a little bit intimidated because, like I said, all I saw was these people, and they're young, and you know, they looked like what America or people think a superhero supposed. It looked like we had no idea what was going to be ahead of us. A

party ensued. Monkey Woman was shaking her body wildly while cell Phone Girl danced the Robot Levity, an action figure shop owner, discussed his plans to blaze a trail for the LGBTQ community as a superhero with the added perk of being able to cash in with his own act and figure. Creature, who could heal others with fruit and raw foods, was flirting with the other heroes, and Iron Enforcer, with his machine gun arm was bragging about his affinity

for killing people. Suddenly, Stanley interrupted them from a screen in the corner that none of them had been paying attention to. He was wearing his iconic aviator glasses. He'd been watching them for a while. I was appalled at the chaotic scene unfolding in front of him. This was serious business and not what superheroes were supposed to do. Hero like that, he informed them that he was looking

for human qualities that make superheroes great. They were going to move to a secret layer, because, after all, their identities were supposed to be kept secret. The mansion was just a tease. They were ushered into an inconspicuous vehicle to take them to their hideout, and by inconspicuous, I mean a long and glaringly white limousine with disco lights blasting from the inside. We're driving around a limo, around and around, and we pulled up to kind of a

very nondescript building. And if you wouldn't have been able to talent from outside, I remember that excitement of we knew there was going to be a challenge, but we had no idea what it was going to be. They arrived at a storage facility with dumpsters and barbed wire lining the street. It took the contestants a while before, they spotted stan Lee on another screen. Stanley had a message for them, quote, I'm afraid one of you will not be allowed to enter. There happens to be a

spy amongst you. I've enlisted the help of one of my assistants to infiltrate the group. I have to be sure that all of you are here for the right reasons. They all started pointing fingers. Then Roti Art stepped forward spelled backwards. Is stradar. I've got all of you on tape since the very beginning, watching all of your moves. Pulling out footage from the party, rodi Art showcased multiple examples of indecent superhero behavior. In a tense moment outside

the storage facility, Levity was eliminated. His plan to monetize his superhero status with an action figure did not sit well with the Great Stanley. One of the main qualities of the superhero is selflessness. I understand you have a toy shop and you hope to make millions on your character. Superheroes were not supposed to be greedy. Levity never got his chance to fulfill his dream of becoming a gay superhero icon. His sudden departure sent shock waves through the

remaining heroes. Ship just got real. This probably would have been a good time to remind everyone of the contracts they had signed, which allegedly included a clause that the producers could lie to their faces. But I'm willing to bet that reading the fine print was not a superpower that many in the group put to use on the show. We walked through would look like a sweatshop. There was these people sitting there, so seen, soing, and all factory going.

The remaining ten superheroes found a rickety old elevator. There was a warning sign on the door. After a few moments of hesitation, they decided to go in. The elevator took them up to a darkened floor. Then the lights came on and they were standing in a huge room with tall ceilings lined with candle light. The furniture was draped with velvet. There was even a hot tub. They had finally made it to their secret layer. Major Victory was psyched. When you got into it, you felt more

like a superhero, you know what I mean? Oh yeah, check this. Look at all the red brick kind of goes with my outfit. Nice cool, But the heroes were also a bit wary. It wasn't just the production team, but the heroes were suspicious of They didn't trust each other either. On the first night, Fat Mama overheard a whole lot of superhero bitching going on in the layers

hot tub. I was on one side of the curtain and Lamaria Nitro creature where in the hot tub, and so they didn't know I was on the other side of the curtain, and they were saying, oh, Fat Boma was definitely going first. You don't even need to be here. He can't do nothing. But you know, all this stuff, I've never said that. That hurt my feelers, but at the same time it gave me determination that I'm gonna

show them. You know, the superheroes hadn't even started competing against each other, but already there were personality conflicts and rivalries were simmering. After tiling off, it was time to get some rest. The next day, the heroes would do battle for real in a series of outlandish challenges that would push their powers to the limit. That's coming up. The superheroes were all assembled at Pershing Square, a paved park in downtown Los Angeles. It was time for the

first challenge. Their mission was to make it from one end of the park to the other as quickly as possible. At the same time they do inconspicuously change into their full superhero outfit. I think Clark can't turning into Superman and the telephone booth but while running at the same time. It was cheesy from the get go. Monkey Woman scaled a treat to change into her outfit, then somersaulted back down to the ground. The Iron Enforcer sprinted through the

park brandishing a homemade laser gun. Then it was Fat Mama's turn. I though, I can't outrun these guys and all the younger people and stuff, but I'll just go through as they asked. She rounded a corner and saw something unusual and so what does he look? Come on, I saw this little girl crying, and I stopped and asked her was she okay? And she was saying she lost her parents and stuff. And then there was a sign over to the side that says security. So I ran her in there and I ran, you know, took

her to security. There was a trick at play that Stanley didn't reveal. Here's director Rick tell Us. We put a little girl next to a fountain who was lost and she needed her mom. And we wanted to see who would stop and throw the challenge and help that little girl. And that was the real challenge. Major Victory also spotted the secret challenge and decided to ramp up the drama just a little. I think I said, who is this child's mother? I did by d J Boys Blue.

He proceeded to carry the little girl heroically to security office. Lemuria also decided to help the girl, but she had a different problem. I just were running in these crazy heels. I do not recommend that for any in the future, and wants to create a superior costumers do not use. Still let him feels, and then there was feedback. Things were going wrong and the zippers were not going up and clasps were not clasping, and I was like, oh man.

After a struggle behind some porter parties, feedback was finally suited up. As he was running, some straps from his costume fell off in front of the girl. All I saw was that archway and I flew past. After he was done, the production team asked him how he thought he did, and then they said, so, did you see anything unusual? And I said unusual. No, they said, you didn't see a little girl, and I thought, oh I missed. Oh I'm done. Made me on the rooftop in time

for an elimination. All the contestants were called up to the rooftop of their secret layer in the middle of the night. They stood on glowing cubes with the lights of l A glittering behind them. It was the first of many supposedly epic game show eliminations. Stanley was peering down on them from a big screen. Once again, here's Lemuria. So it's all very dramatic, and none of you know who's leaving. You're all packed. I think we had to pack up every single time. Stan was disappointed at the

six contestants that missed the little girl. This obviously wasn't a test of speed. The girl was practically screaming for help. Stand calls on three of the failures to explain themselves, and in the end, Nitro g gets sent home Nitrogen Turn into your costume. He changed out in plain sight and totally missed the girl. He was both the youngest contestant and the biggest comic book collector of all of them. When he heard the news, he solemnly pulled off his

gloves and threw them into a nearby trash can. Fat Mama felt relieved. I laughed so hard because I said I thought I was gonna be the wanted to go home. So I'm like, okay, so Fat Mama didn't go home. Feedback took the results of the challenge to heart. I was crushed. I felt like I had disappointed stand and disappointed myself. I thought I knew the trick, and therefore I closed my mind off to other things, and so being authentic was really the right way to go. And

my most authentic self is Captain Oblivious. The contestants all lived together in a house and were filmed intensively every day for two weeks. Each episode took about three days to film. There wasn't a huge budget for the show, and the contestants suffered as a result. You go into the bath room, it was like it's no white the seventh Awards. There's these lines of twin side beds and I'm like, we gotta sleep in here, all next to each other. We all thought we would getting their own

bed room, so maybe two to a room. So you never thought she was gonna be sleeping in a room for growing the dope. You know, at night they say good night John. You know you say good night to each person going down the line. As well as sharing a bedroom, there was only one bathroom between them all. They often slept with their shoes next to their beds in case a challenge was sprung on them during the night.

Living on top of each other for days and days on end, the contestants started to get more and more tired. According to La Mauria, tensions were starting to build. Okay, so fat Mama really got reality, Like she really understood, like she was gonna push buttons and kind of make things happen and be in the middle of all the craziness. Right. But she, oh man, she got so she would just pick at me a little. She was just a little. It was something you're like, Okay, cool, I can handle that.

That's fine. Just get on my nerves, Okay, she just oh, I was getting pissed. There wasn't time for the contestants to hold drudges for long. The filming schedule was packed with challenge after challenge designed to put their superhero qualities to the test. By the second week of filming, the superheroes overcrowded bedroom was getting emptier and emptier. There were only four superheroes still standing, Lemuria, Fat Mama, Major victory and feedback. They had to battle it out in a

questionable challenge that would prove fateful for the ending. The remaining heroes were standing in the kitchen eating fruit before Stanley appeared on a screen. He said, very shortly, you'll meet some hardened criminals. All of them are incarcerated as we speak. They'll spend some quality time with them in an effort to show them the error of their ways. The challenge was to prevent these criminals from reoffending. The superheroes were genuinely nervous as they got taken to the

prison to meet the convicts. It was a big sandy yard surrounded by tall fences and barbed wire. The whole setup was fantastically absurd. The spandex, the minivan, the orange jump suits, and the camo clad prison guard brandishing liability contracts that assumed any in all risks, including death. What's more is that the superheroes had also been given secret tasks to complete. In their encounter with the prisoners, La Mauria had to sit on an inmates lap for ten seconds.

This challenge felt particularly gross to me, especially the use of prisoners comic relief. Unsurprisingly, Lea Maria felt uncomfortable with the situation that the producers had put her in. I was really tired. I was so tired, and I hadn't been sleeping. I tried to give people a great deal of respect for their personal space, for their personal body.

So for me personally, I kind of felt a little bit weird being in somebody's personal space that had already been in prison, that had already been um it was already paying their dues. I didn't want to be more disrespectful. It doesn't matter if I'm on a TV show, it doesn't matter if I'm you know, in a really cool costume. It does not give me the right to invade another human being space, and especially a human being there's a

point in their life that they're not doing great. But in the world of Stanley, all is not as it seems. It turns out the prisoners were all actors. Lamuria was actually talking to dot Marie Jones, who would go on to play Coach Sheldon on Glee. She was sitting on a chair with an angry demeanor, legs sprawled out in front of her. Her red hair was messy and unkempt. In a desperate attempt to complete her challenge, La Mauria abruptly tried to sit on the coach's lap without consent.

The actress shoved her away and angrily stormed off again. I'm sorry if I disrespected you in anyway. I really, I really are. Feedback, on the other hand, had to hug an inmate three times. I don't think being phony has any part of being superhero. So the only way that I'm going to hug that person is if I feel a genuine response to hug. The fake convict asked to have his handcuffs removed. The man was apparently in

jail for four counts of murder. Feedback asked if he felt any remorse for his victims families, and the man replied no, because my own father was murdered. In return, Feedback opened up with his own story. He revealed, and when he was a kid, his father took his own life. I don't know what your life was like, but I know what it's like to leave to dad when my dad died. I started getting back into the Spider Man

comic books, but for me. I was searching for father figures and the character of Peter Parker, the decisions he would make. I took that and was integrating that like a father figure almost. But it wasn't Peter Parker that I was looking at as the father figure. It was the creator of the stories, the writing, and that was stan Lee. The producers had no idea. This emotional exchange turned into a big hug, and Feedback managed to complete

his secret task. Later, at that night's elimination ceremony, Stanley announced that he'd won a place in the next round. Feedback thanked his father figure with tears in his eyes.

The episode was a real emotional roller coaster and reminded me of a lot of the time I spent with the real life superheroes, especially those moments where one minute I would be thinking this is all so ridiculous, and then the next moment I would be so moved by the work the superheroes were doing and by their dedication to bettering their community, even if it was in this really bonkers way. Unfortunately for Lemuria, she was the only one who failed to complete the prisoner challenge. Stan told

her it was time to pack her bags. I was incredibly sad to leave from outside. It's kind of like this wacky show, I think, but for inside and being with the people that were on it and doing these challenges, and we got to go in an amazing adventure and experiencing that adventure. And then when stance like, well, you're done, and then these other people get to keep on going, you kind of you just just want a little our taste,

a little half. And you know, I think I cried a lot because I wasn't going to be able to do that. In the Battle of the Real Life Superheroes, there were now only three contestants remaining. Superheroes can lonely get harder from here, but I suspect the three of you will be up to it. Yes, sir, Yes, sir. Sleepwell, Tomorrow is a new day that's coming up. As Who Wants to Be a Superhero reached its climax, the challenges

got even more absurd. The three remaining contestants, Fat Mama, Feedback and Major Victory had to win over a tough jury of fourth graders with their origin stories and super hours. Then they hunted for a super villain and a shopping center. They were also shown their potential comic book covers a k A their passport to immortality. When our first side to be honest, I was like, why do you make

me look so mean? The face was so mean. Fat Mama wasn't sure about her own comic book, but she could see from Feedback's face how much surprise meant to him. Back in the Secret Layer in between challenges, Fat Mama was worried. She had a bad feeling that Feedback was going to be eliminated. The fourth graders had been confused by the explanation of his powers, and he lost out in the race to hunt for the super villain. At the mall, Fat Mama and Major Victory, we're going to

be finalists. The producers had already planned to fly Major Victory's daughter out for an emotional finale. He wanted to be a hero in her life, and the producers could smell the tears. Fat Mama locked herself in the bathroom and asked to speak to the production team. I told them to eliminate me and let the two boys do it and have it because they really wanted it, and

I couldn't see taking that from someone. When I came in and I wasn't really even into the prize, and when I look at Feedback, it was like I couldn't do it to him, you know, I was like, I need to go fat. Mama wasn't even into comic books. Now, maybe if it was two or three million dollars, we might be talking something something totally different. The producers were in a difficult position. Feedback didn't want to go home, but he understood their dilemma. It made sense for her

to win this show. As an audience member, I would have wanted her to win the show because then it would send the message of everybody can be a superhero. It's about how you treat other people and how you face different challenges. There was another complication too. Before his Superhero days, major victory was in a dance group called the California dream Men. They were a bit like an off brand Chippendale's. Apparently they were huge in Italy stand

and the producers were conflicted about major victories dancing days. Apparently, according to them, stripping didn't qualify as a heroic activity. I'm noticing a pattern with you. No matter what I say, no matter what I do, you just can't see to keep your clothes up. Personally, I think it takes a lot of courage to get naked in front of strangers. It also seems like a skill that would come in handy if you wanted to, I don't know, seduce a supervillain.

But ultimately Major Victory's fate was in the hands of Stanley, known skeptic of male strippers. Up on the roof of the layer stand, summoned the three remaining superheroes for one more elimination ceremony. They took their places on the glowing cube shaped podiums to face the music one more time

before the grand finale. From up on a giant TV screen disguise as a billboard, Stanley glared down at them and now that one hero would be eliminated, Major Victory, the whole thing surreal because you're up there, They're trying to dissect everything you did wrong, you know what I mean, to justify you leaving, and you just felt, wow, this is coming to Then Stanley told him it accomplished his mission.

He had become a hero to his daughter. The producers handed him a phone and they put my daughter on the line, and I lose it and it just feels so final, and it felt good um to connect with her. It was cathartic and I really grew from it, and I got to connect with my daughter. I got to meet some amazing people, do some really fun things, to meet my wife. It's like one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life. It was time for the final showdown between Fat Mama and Feedback. Okay, my

money was on Fat Mama. For the next challenge, our two remaining heroes were sent to stunt school to learn the action packed moves that any self respecting superhero should be able to perform with ease. We're going to teach you to flaw using that green screen over there. Under the watchful eye of a Hollywood stunt coordinator, Feedback launched himself again and again onto a crash mat. Fat Mama traded punches with an instructor before flooring Feedback with a

right hook and a kick to the stomach. Here we go. Then they were grilled by Stanley in a final interview. This is the last chance I'll have to speak with you, and I want to learn more about you, not your character. And finally, Fat Mama and Feedback were taken to the Universal Studio CityWalk shopping center. They were greeted by a cheering crowd and Stanley beaming down from his giant screen.

We wrote around the World's Next Grade. High up on a balcony podium, overlooking the crowd, Fat Mama reflected on what she and Feedback had shared. Me and him are the only two that went through every single task, and we got to experience everything. We got to see the heartache and the laughter and the joy. Feedback's heart was pounding. I had no idea what was happening. They told us to write two different speeches, one as a winning speech,

one is a concession speech. And I didn't spend any time on the winning speech because I completely convinced that Fat Mama was gonna win. For the final showdown, the producers rolled an action movie sequence of the two heroes dueling and evil villain called dragon Breath in the Last Chance to prove their super credentials. Well, if it isn't Mr dragon Breath, we're going down, Fat Mama. The producers through in all the special effects that a mid tier

reality TV show could forward. There were meteors, fire breathing dragons, and even a giant chicken rampaging Godzilla style through skyscrapers. Then the dust settled, intense music ramped up up on his godlike TV screen, Stand bowed his head solemnly and declared the time had come for him to make the ultimate decision. After evaluating all the challenges over the course

of the season, the winner was Feedback. And then stan Lee comes out, and so my my mind was just jumping up to different levels que the big fake explosions. As Stand the manly strolled over to meet Feedback in real life. They shared a big hug, which was a dream come true for the nerd of all comic book nerds. Then Feedback literally flew off into space in a big flurry of bad c g. I. There were a lot of people that thought I was just this attention seeking

crazy guy. But it wasn't about getting attention. It was about fulfilling something inside of me. And at that moment of winning, I felt validation. I felt a purpose fulfilled After blowing all that money on the giant c g I chicken, maybe the producers didn't have any budget left or stands appearance fee because he didn't stick around to explain what exactly the superhero qualities were that made Feedback a winner. If you ask me, it seems like kind of a cop out considering that it was meant to

be the whole point of the show. But talking to his fellow contestants, they had some theories. An incredibly humble, loving human being that would literally you could see himba a fireman that would just save people's lives without any thought of their own. That is that man. But Feedback

sees it differently. It was Fat Mama's competition. In my mind, Fat Mama is the one, you know who won, and I'm still runner up to her because I think she's amazing, and I still think the only reason why she didn't win this because basically she said she didn't want to win. As for me, I was happy for Feedback. Being a superhero clearly meant a lot to him. After all, he'd been dressing up like Spider Man since he was young, and Fat Mama seemed perfectly happy to let Feedback have

all the glory. After the show, many of the contestants remained friends, and some went on to make appearance as at comic book conventions and gigs within the superhero community. Some of them used their superhero characters to become real life superheroes who went out on the streets and patrolled, just like Phoenix Jones. As for feedback, he never became the next Spider Man. Despite overcoming six episodes worth of obstacles,

his character faded into obscurity. He was even promised a role in a TV movie on the Sci Fi Channel, but all he ended up getting was a cameo. At one point, he was asked to do a new TV show with our old friend Phoenix Jones. In true Phoenix Jones style, he was mid crisis on his way to the hospital one night he gave me a call because he had been He had like a shaft of a knife like stuck in his leg. The show they talked about never came to fruition and the two heroes never

spoke again. But for feedback, it was never about the TV deals. They offered this prize of immortality and getting your own comic book and stuff like that. But for me then end now, the prize was always being on the show. And I think what the show is about is identity, you know, finding your people and making them feel like, wow, there's some validation there. This It's not just me who likes this stuff. It's enough people where

they're going to make a TV show about it. We live in the age of the slick, six pack filled superhero industrial complex, where a new Marvel or DC movie gets pumped out every couple of months. It's easy to forget there was a time not so long ago and being into superheroes wasn't that cool to me? Who wants to be a superhero? Feels like an extension of the real life superhero movement. It's one of the few places in popular media that represented regular folks who created their

own original superhero personas. In the years following the show, superheroes became a dominant force in popular culture. But strangely, the rise and popularity of comic book superheroes was not accompanied by a rise in real life superheroes. I've always found that puzzling. Maybe it's because we are increasingly living our lives online so there's less actual real life happening in general, or maybe he was always going to be

a fringe movement. But even if they are small in number, I'm glad they're out there suiting up and patrolling their neighborhoods, helping people in need, and making the streets a little more exciting. I do wonder what Stanley would think of the real life superheroes who were inspired by his writing to take on the real world problems dressed as superheroes. I did come across a quote of his and which he talked about why he created characters like the X

Men and the Fantastic Four. He said, vote we were fascinated by science and awed by the mysteries of the great beyond. Today we consider a nearer, deeper, unknown one inside ourselves. We asked, what is more real a world that we were born into or the one we create ourselves. The Superhero Complex is hosted and written by Me, David Weinberg, and reported by Me, Amalia Sortland and Caroline Thornham. Production from Amalia Shortland and Caroline Thornham. Sean Glenn, Max O'Brien

and David Waters are executive producers. Fact checking by Andrew Schwartz, Production management from Shari Houston, Frankie Taylor and Charlotte Wolf. Sound design, mixing and scoring by Eli Block and Daniel Kempson. Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander and David Waters. Original music

is composed by Paul Housden. Special thanks to Peter Tangent, Willard Foxton, Matt o'mera, Katrina Norvelle Beth and Macaluso, or In Rosenbaum, Shelby Shenkman, and all the team at U t A. For more from Novel, visit novel dot audio