WEBVTT - 10: BONUS EP - America’s Next Top Superhero 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:16.600 Novel. It was a cold, unusually windy evening in downtown 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:19.599 l A in two thousand and six. The hum of 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:22.400 the city was interrupted by a woman's screams for help. 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.599 She was on the roof of a warehouse, running around 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:28.600 in a pink skirt and flailing her arms. But on 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:30.960 the neighboring roof was a site that would make even 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:35.360 the most jaded Angelino do a double take. A group 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:39.320 of superheroes were assembled. They're dressed in colorful spandex costumes 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:43.360 and billowing caps. One of the heroes cried out, help 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:46.239 is coming. At the edge of the roof was a 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:50.239 perfectly placed beam that spanned across the two buildings to 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:54.480 create a precarious bridge. From this height, the people walking 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:58.520 along the street below looked like ants, We're gonna go 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:02.480 across two buildings on a beam, because that's the superheroes do. 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:06.640 That's La Mauria. She's one of the heroes. She's wearing 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:09.919 a gold spandex suit with no sleeves and a black cape. 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:13.679 Her black hair is flowing in the wind. Gold lots 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:16.639 and lots of gold, lots of gold like gold power 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:21.560 and then I work gold pants well rap fans, super 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:26.520 tight and um stiletto gold stiletto booths, because every superhero 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:29.360 should wear a s little boothe She stepped onto the 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:32.960 beam towards the desperate woman. It's at night and there's 0:01:32.959 --> 0:01:34.880 a wind going, and I'm feeling my hair is kind 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:38.640 of brushing against my face. I'm holding on to a beam, 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.400 just white knuckling it. Right, So I'm white knuckling this beam. 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:45.720 I cannot see anything. With her face furrowed in concentration, 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:49.600 Lemuria and the other superheroes navigated the narrow space between 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:52.320 the buildings. So here we go. So we're there, and 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:54.880 I literally no shape. I have no shame at all, 0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:57.640 no shape. I get on my hands and knees, and 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:00.400 the wind is coming and I'm getting cold, and just 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:05.840 one hit time, you know what I mean. This is 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:10.480 like internal, ugly crying and just the fear of death. 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:15.840 Midway across the beam, Lemuria thought it might be the end, 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.880 but after some hyperventilating, she saved the damsel in distress. 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:23.760 At this point, I should add that while La Maria 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:27.440 thought she was defying death two above street level, she 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:31.400 was actually blindfolded on a TV set, tiptoeing across a 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:34.280 wooden beam. There was only a few inches off the floor. 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.240 There was even a guy operating a wind machine to 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:41.040 simulate the gusty l a wind. I didn't realize it 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:44.160 wasn't real. We're on the set of a reality TV 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:54.160 show like no other. Somewhere inside autous Welcome to Who 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.639 Wants to Be a Superhero? Before Phoenix Jones and the 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:00.880 Rain City Superhero Movement started doing their ing. Who Wants 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:03.840 to Be a Superhero was a reality competition show that 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.320 aired on the Sci Fi Channel in two thousand and six. 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:09.800 It was like a cross between Big Brother and The Apprentice, 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:13.440 but with a whole lot more spandex. The premise was 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:16.359 that comic book fans had to invent their own superhero 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.280 persona and battle it out in a series of challenges 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:26.359 to see who possessed true superhero qualities compassion, courage, and kindness. 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:30.160 It's the church to make lifelong fetes. I'm a source 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:37.720 of life, i amdulous ball, I'm the last hero standing. 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.840 Would receive a prize that money can't buy. They'd have 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:45.120 their character immortalized in an original comic book written by Stanley, 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:49.160 the mastermind behind Spider Man, The Hulk, the Fantastic Four, 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:52.160 and some of the greatest comic book superheroes in history. 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:54.600 When you look back at footage from Who Wants to 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.960 Be a Superhero, it's can't be in pretty ridiculous. The 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:01.760 contestants have names like the Iron and Forcer, cell Phone Girl, 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:05.960 or Nitro g and they carry homemade cardboard laser guns 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:10.160 or plastic bananas which supposedly transform into high tech weapons. 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:13.040 It all looks pretty low budget. Who Wants to Be 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:16.039 a Superhero air before the renaissance of all the superhero 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:19.719 blockbuster movies, back when the real life superhero scene was 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:22.680 just getting off the ground. In a way, the show 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.240 laid the groundwork for the whole movement. I wanted to 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:27.120 get to know the people who played such a big 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:30.920 role in this weird subculture. I'm about to dive back 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:33.400 into the comic book universe to find out what it 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.200 takes to triumph in the ultimate reality TV battle between 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:41.599 real life superheroes. So don your capes, slip into your micra, 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:45.520 and rehearse your cheesiest catchphrase, because things are about to 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:49.280 get ridiculous. I'm David Weinberg and from the Team's at 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:52.920 Novel and I Heart Radio. This is the Superhero Complex, 0:04:53.120 --> 0:05:13.680 Episode ten America's next top superhero. I'm such a nerd. 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.080 You know. You're here in my house and it's just 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:20.520 board games everywhere and swords and beholders and mind flares 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:25.680 and dragons on the walls. And that's what makes me happy. 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:30.000 I met Matthew Atherton at his house in the suburbs, 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:33.360 about an hour east of Los Angeles. Back in two 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:36.320 thousand and six, he was known as Feedback, a real 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:39.680 life superhero, but not in the way that Phoenix Jones 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:42.719 is a real life superhero. I'm not the guy who 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.000 you know is going to put on a costume and 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.400 go into dark alleys and look for wrongs that need 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:52.640 to be righted. Feedback is Matthew's superhero character, created for 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:56.000 who wants to be a superhero. Before he was Feedback, though, 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:59.560 Matthew liked to role play as his favorite superheroes, in 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:03.679 particular Spider Man. I made a Spiderman costume and dressed 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:06.360 up as Spider Man and led the Halloween parade a 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:09.240 Spiderman and stuff like that. And in college he even 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:12.279 made his own Spider Man movies. So the first one 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:15.599 was called The Origin, and I sent a copy to 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:22.040 my mom, and my mom sent it to Marvel, and so, uh, 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:25.400 I got this letter that said, we really love that 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.360 you're excited about the character, but you can't do this, 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:31.360 you know, getting this, I'm like, mom, why did you 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:35.520 do that? And so I wrote back a letter that said, hey, 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:38.200 you know, we're not charging any money for any of this. 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.280 I said, we're just making fan films. And I got 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:43.479 another letter back that's like, you know, it's tough to 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:45.839 break into the comic book business. You know, try hanging 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:47.839 out at a comic bookstore and all this other stuff. 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:51.320 And I thought, this is worthless. Maybe Marvel knew something 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.800 Matthew didn't at the time, because hanging out at this 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:58.320 local comic bookstore would change his life. One day, around 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:01.560 two thousand and five, many years after Matthew got in 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:04.240 touch with Marvel, he saw an ad for an open 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:07.360 casting call. It was for a show called Who Wants 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:11.520 to Be a Superhero? Matthew raced home and forged a 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:16.480 brand new superhero persona feedback. Feedback had the power to 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:22.160 draw energy from others. If I was with other heroes, 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.680 I could enhance their powers, and if I were with 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:32.000 a villain, I could pull their power down. Feedback were 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:35.240 a black iron man looking suit with electric blue detailing 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:37.840 and a big letter F in the middle. On the 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:39.960 day of auditions, Feedback took the day off from his 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:42.880 job as a software engineer and drove down to Sunset 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:46.240 Gower Studios in Hollywood. He parked his car and quickly 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:49.240 realized he wasn't alone. There was a whole crowd of 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.680 would be superheroes milling around, blinking in the rain and 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:55.240 waiting to be told what to do. The battle to 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:58.040 become one of the show's contestants was clearly going to 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:01.200 be fierce, like how do you do this? And it's like, well, 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:06.960 let's have an open casting call and we'll put it everywhere, Craigslist, everywhere. 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:09.680 This is Rick tell Us, he's the director of the show. 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:12.080 He was raging on the day of the auditions and 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.360 he was scared nobody would show up. But Rick definitely 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:18.280 underestimated the number of would be superheroes in l A. 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:21.760 And then I remember going outside looking down the street 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:26.760 and there was this huge line of people and it 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:30.160 just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:32.880 He had to open a second studio to house them all, 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.840 and they were all dressed up and I'm thinking to myself, 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:38.839 how do you keep them entertained? Rick didn't have to 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:42.680 do anything because these weren't regular people. They were superheroes, 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:47.079 and it's just completely filled with spectacle, you know, people 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:50.720 that are wearing huge wings and some people even like 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:53.520 breathing fire, you know, and I'm like, how is that? 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:55.720 You probably should not be doing that in an enclosed space. 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.400 Feedback and the other superheroes walked into a dramatic black 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:05.720 room and took their place in a pool of light. 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:10.160 Then they introduced themselves, told their superhero origin story, and 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.599 explain their powers to Stanley, who's peering down from a 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:17.720 large screen. There was Monkey Woman who sounds exactly like 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:20.600 a monkey, and there was Ice Bitch, who has the 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:25.600 excellent catchphrase of freeze motherfucker. There was Mulletman, who looks 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.400 as you'd expect, and then there was also a guy 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:31.839 who can unleash the powers of his quote Harry Ass 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:35.320 when he puts on a yellow thong and healed white boots. 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:39.560 Here's director Rick. There was one woman that came in 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:42.200 and took off her top and we were like, oh 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:45.480 my god, how are we going to show this on TV? 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:49.480 Stan was like shocked, and we were all shocked or like, 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:52.920 oh my god. Apparently she liked to fight topless to 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:55.920 distract her enemies. Sometimes you have to go to extreme 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.720 measures to combat evil. Some of the wanna be TV stars, 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:03.040 it seemed more invested in their characters than others. The 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:06.400 trick was figuring out who's the most genuine. Maybe it 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.600 was the woman clad in a pink leotard over her 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:12.080 skin tight black suit with donuts hanging around her waist. 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:16.720 My name is Alison Wilson. I'm known as Neil Wilson. 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:20.720 I wasn't into superheroes and stan Lee and I didn't 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:23.720 really even know who he was. You know. Allison's daughter 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:25.760 had come home one day after seeing a post about 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.440 the audition on social media. She said, they were doing 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:32.079 auditions for Who Wants to Be a Superhero? And so 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:35.240 we were playing around and um, trying to think of 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:37.920 what we would be if I was a superhero. So 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.240 I said, well, I'm fat and I'm a mama, so 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:43.360 I'll be fat mama. And so I had these donuts 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:46.120 and I put some donuts around my waist, and I said, 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:49.000 I'll read the world of bullies so I would help 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:52.120 people to accept themselves the way they are, and the 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:55.000 producers loved her. They loved her so much that that 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:57.480 Mama already knew she was in by the time she 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:02.400 attended the audition. It was merely a normality. But not 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:07.160 everyone was having fun. Another aspiring superhero, Major Victory, was 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:09.920 dressed in ballet tights and a red shirt with a 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:12.720 letter V duct tape to his chest. He was fed 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.360 up at the endless hours of auditioning and waiting around 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:18.560 as the producers tried to whittle down their contestants. What 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:22.400 am I doing. I'm dressed in spandex, I'm sopping wet 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:24.840 my hair that I had all like a bunch of 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.560 hair spray and and stuff, and I just felt like 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.720 a wet dog. And I wanted to leave. But just 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:32.280 as he was about to give up and go home, 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:34.560 he got a tap on the shoulder that would change 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:37.360 his life forever. And I was just about to leave, 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:39.520 and the producer grabbed me and said, hey, I want 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:43.360 to introduce you to somebody. This is Diamond Girl. So 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:46.719 he introduced me to Diamond Girl. So I met Diamond Girls. Said, hey, 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:50.160 you want to see my diamond said sure, I'll check 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:54.520 out your diamond and and um Diamond Girl ended up 0:11:54.880 --> 0:12:01.079 being my wife. While romance blossomed between these who masked adventures, 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.400 their spandex clad rivals were being put through the wringer. 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:09.199 After being grilled and grueling round of interviews, psychological tests, 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.520 and a final round of performing their superhero battle cry 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:16.800 to Stanley himself, the producers picked their final twelve contestants. 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.640 It took a bit of extra persuasion for feedback, but 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:22.800 I knew that if I were on the show, then 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:26.400 people who really loved comics and loved the stories, and 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:29.839 not just the great artwork and the funny parts of it, 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.679 but the parts where you care about it. You know, 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:35.520 stories that resonate with you as a human being. I 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:39.240 wanted to represent those people who really appreciated it and 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:42.040 just said, I feel like this is my purpose. There's 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:44.400 the reason why I'm on the planet. His speech to 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.640 the producers did the trick. Feedback, secured his spot on 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:52.520 the show, and perhaps unadvisedly quit his job that same day. 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:56.120 On the first day of filming, the chosen twelve superheroes 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:59.600 arrived one by one on set to a luxurious mansion 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:04.640 with large staircases. Each character was profiled in true comic 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:08.720 book fashion in a majestic entrance hall, Fat Mama, Feedback, 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:12.280 Major Victory, and Lemuria. We're all sizing each other up 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:17.800 over a welcome toast. Alongside them were Monkey Woman, Cellphone Girl, Creature, 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:23.880 Iron Enforcer, Nitro g Tculus Levity, and Rode Art, who 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.440 was wearing a silver suit and a silver army helmet. 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:31.120 At first, I was a little bit intimidated because, like 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.560 I said, all I saw was these people, and they're young, 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:37.920 and you know, they looked like what America or people 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:40.800 think a superhero supposed. It looked like we had no 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:43.319 idea what was going to be ahead of us. A 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:46.920 party ensued. Monkey Woman was shaking her body wildly while 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:50.959 cell Phone Girl danced the Robot Levity, an action figure 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:54.000 shop owner, discussed his plans to blaze a trail for 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:58.040 the LGBTQ community as a superhero with the added perk 0:13:58.120 --> 0:13:59.880 of being able to cash in with his own act 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:03.439 and figure. Creature, who could heal others with fruit and 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:07.040 raw foods, was flirting with the other heroes, and Iron Enforcer, 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:10.280 with his machine gun arm was bragging about his affinity 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:14.400 for killing people. Suddenly, Stanley interrupted them from a screen 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:16.240 in the corner that none of them had been paying 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:23.720 attention to. He was wearing his iconic aviator glasses. He'd 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.000 been watching them for a while. I was appalled at 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:28.880 the chaotic scene unfolding in front of him. This was 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:32.320 serious business and not what superheroes were supposed to do. 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:42.120 Hero like that, he informed them that he was looking 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:45.840 for human qualities that make superheroes great. They were going 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:48.480 to move to a secret layer, because, after all, their 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:52.040 identities were supposed to be kept secret. The mansion was 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:55.960 just a tease. They were ushered into an inconspicuous vehicle 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.200 to take them to their hideout, and by inconspicuous, I 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:02.360 mean a long and glaringly white limousine with disco lights 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:06.200 blasting from the inside. We're driving around a limo, around 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.000 and around, and we pulled up to kind of a 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:11.320 very nondescript building. And if you wouldn't have been able 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:16.000 to talent from outside, I remember that excitement of we 0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:17.920 knew there was going to be a challenge, but we 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:22.600 had no idea what it was going to be. They 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:25.680 arrived at a storage facility with dumpsters and barbed wire 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:28.760 lining the street. It took the contestants a while before, 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:32.240 they spotted stan Lee on another screen. Stanley had a 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.160 message for them, quote, I'm afraid one of you will 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:37.440 not be allowed to enter. There happens to be a 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.080 spy amongst you. I've enlisted the help of one of 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:42.880 my assistants to infiltrate the group. I have to be 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:44.720 sure that all of you are here for the right reasons. 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:49.120 They all started pointing fingers. Then Roti Art stepped forward 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:54.560 spelled backwards. Is stradar. I've got all of you on 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:58.400 tape since the very beginning, watching all of your moves. 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:02.360 Pulling out footage from the party, rodi Art showcased multiple 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:06.520 examples of indecent superhero behavior. In a tense moment outside 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:10.520 the storage facility, Levity was eliminated. His plan to monetize 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.400 his superhero status with an action figure did not sit 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:16.840 well with the Great Stanley. One of the main qualities 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:21.520 of the superhero is selflessness. I understand you have a 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:25.480 toy shop and you hope to make millions on your character. 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:30.800 Superheroes were not supposed to be greedy. Levity never got 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:33.160 his chance to fulfill his dream of becoming a gay 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:37.040 superhero icon. His sudden departure sent shock waves through the 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:41.080 remaining heroes. Ship just got real. This probably would have 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.520 been a good time to remind everyone of the contracts 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.680 they had signed, which allegedly included a clause that the 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:49.840 producers could lie to their faces. But I'm willing to 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:52.560 bet that reading the fine print was not a superpower 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:54.640 that many in the group put to use on the show. 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:58.360 We walked through would look like a sweatshop. There was 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:02.400 these people sitting there, so seen, soing, and all factory going. 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.840 The remaining ten superheroes found a rickety old elevator. There 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:09.120 was a warning sign on the door. After a few 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:12.320 moments of hesitation, they decided to go in. The elevator 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:15.359 took them up to a darkened floor. Then the lights 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:17.840 came on and they were standing in a huge room 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:22.000 with tall ceilings lined with candle light. The furniture was 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:24.919 draped with velvet. There was even a hot tub. They 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:28.320 had finally made it to their secret layer. Major Victory 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:31.800 was psyched. When you got into it, you felt more 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.600 like a superhero, you know what I mean? Oh yeah, 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:37.200 check this. Look at all the red brick kind of 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:41.840 goes with my outfit. Nice cool, But the heroes were 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:44.680 also a bit wary. It wasn't just the production team, 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:47.800 but the heroes were suspicious of They didn't trust each 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.879 other either. On the first night, Fat Mama overheard a 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:53.359 whole lot of superhero bitching going on in the layers 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.520 hot tub. I was on one side of the curtain 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:02.399 and Lamaria Nitro creature where in the hot tub, and 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:04.440 so they didn't know I was on the other side 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:06.840 of the curtain, and they were saying, oh, Fat Boma 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:09.560 was definitely going first. You don't even need to be here. 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.440 He can't do nothing. But you know, all this stuff, 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:15.800 I've never said that. That hurt my feelers, but at 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:19.480 the same time it gave me determination that I'm gonna 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:25.640 show them. You know, the superheroes hadn't even started competing 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:29.159 against each other, but already there were personality conflicts and 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:33.119 rivalries were simmering. After tiling off, it was time to 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:35.720 get some rest. The next day, the heroes would do 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:38.960 battle for real in a series of outlandish challenges that 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:42.439 would push their powers to the limit. That's coming up. 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:05.359 The superheroes were all assembled at Pershing Square, a paved 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:08.320 park in downtown Los Angeles. It was time for the 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:11.959 first challenge. Their mission was to make it from one 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:14.480 end of the park to the other as quickly as possible. 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.359 At the same time they do inconspicuously change into their 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:22.200 full superhero outfit. I think Clark can't turning into Superman 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:24.920 and the telephone booth but while running at the same time. 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:28.399 It was cheesy from the get go. Monkey Woman scaled 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:31.800 a treat to change into her outfit, then somersaulted back 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:35.080 down to the ground. The Iron Enforcer sprinted through the 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:39.040 park brandishing a homemade laser gun. Then it was Fat 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.840 Mama's turn. I though, I can't outrun these guys and 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:45.920 all the younger people and stuff, but I'll just go 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:49.040 through as they asked. She rounded a corner and saw 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:57.840 something unusual and so what does he look? Come on, 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:04.960 I saw this little girl crying, and I stopped and 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:07.359 asked her was she okay? And she was saying she 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:09.760 lost her parents and stuff. And then there was a 0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:12.520 sign over to the side that says security. So I 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:15.000 ran her in there and I ran, you know, took 0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:18.240 her to security. There was a trick at play that 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:22.880 Stanley didn't reveal. Here's director Rick tell Us. We put 0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:26.359 a little girl next to a fountain who was lost 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:28.920 and she needed her mom. And we wanted to see 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:33.680 who would stop and throw the challenge and help that 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:39.000 little girl. And that was the real challenge. Major Victory 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:41.840 also spotted the secret challenge and decided to ramp up 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:44.920 the drama just a little. I think I said, who 0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:48.040 is this child's mother? I did by d J Boys Blue. 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:51.560 He proceeded to carry the little girl heroically to security office. 0:20:51.920 --> 0:20:54.600 Lemuria also decided to help the girl, but she had 0:20:54.640 --> 0:20:58.080 a different problem. I just were running in these crazy heels. 0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:00.760 I do not recommend that for any in the future, 0:21:01.240 --> 0:21:03.199 and wants to create a superior costumers do not use. 0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:11.080 Still let him feels, and then there was feedback. Things 0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:14.520 were going wrong and the zippers were not going up 0:21:14.640 --> 0:21:17.600 and clasps were not clasping, and I was like, oh man. 0:21:18.119 --> 0:21:21.240 After a struggle behind some porter parties, feedback was finally 0:21:21.280 --> 0:21:24.320 suited up. As he was running, some straps from his 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:27.720 costume fell off in front of the girl. All I 0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:32.040 saw was that archway and I flew past. After he 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:34.680 was done, the production team asked him how he thought 0:21:34.760 --> 0:21:37.800 he did, and then they said, so, did you see 0:21:37.800 --> 0:21:42.639 anything unusual? And I said unusual. No, they said, you 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:48.000 didn't see a little girl, and I thought, oh I missed. 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:54.280 Oh I'm done. Made me on the rooftop in time 0:21:54.600 --> 0:21:58.480 for an elimination. All the contestants were called up to 0:21:58.480 --> 0:22:00.600 the rooftop of their secret layer in the middle of 0:22:00.640 --> 0:22:04.040 the night. They stood on glowing cubes with the lights 0:22:04.080 --> 0:22:06.640 of l A glittering behind them. It was the first 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:10.960 of many supposedly epic game show eliminations. Stanley was peering 0:22:11.000 --> 0:22:14.320 down on them from a big screen. Once again, here's Lemuria. 0:22:14.920 --> 0:22:16.600 So it's all very dramatic, and none of you know 0:22:16.720 --> 0:22:18.800 who's leaving. You're all packed. I think we had to 0:22:18.800 --> 0:22:21.760 pack up every single time. Stan was disappointed at the 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:25.440 six contestants that missed the little girl. This obviously wasn't 0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:28.920 a test of speed. The girl was practically screaming for help. 0:22:29.800 --> 0:22:32.560 Stand calls on three of the failures to explain themselves, 0:22:32.840 --> 0:22:37.000 and in the end, Nitro g gets sent home Nitrogen 0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:42.760 Turn into your costume. He changed out in plain sight 0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:45.679 and totally missed the girl. He was both the youngest 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:48.480 contestant and the biggest comic book collector of all of them. 0:22:49.119 --> 0:22:51.280 When he heard the news, he solemnly pulled off his 0:22:51.359 --> 0:22:54.760 gloves and threw them into a nearby trash can. Fat 0:22:54.840 --> 0:22:58.400 Mama felt relieved. I laughed so hard because I said 0:22:58.840 --> 0:23:00.840 I thought I was gonna be the wanted to go home. 0:23:01.119 --> 0:23:03.880 So I'm like, okay, so Fat Mama didn't go home. 0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:10.280 Feedback took the results of the challenge to heart. I 0:23:10.480 --> 0:23:15.920 was crushed. I felt like I had disappointed stand and 0:23:16.119 --> 0:23:19.800 disappointed myself. I thought I knew the trick, and therefore 0:23:20.119 --> 0:23:24.840 I closed my mind off to other things, and so 0:23:25.440 --> 0:23:30.040 being authentic was really the right way to go. And 0:23:30.160 --> 0:23:37.400 my most authentic self is Captain Oblivious. The contestants all 0:23:37.440 --> 0:23:40.080 lived together in a house and were filmed intensively every 0:23:40.160 --> 0:23:43.400 day for two weeks. Each episode took about three days 0:23:43.480 --> 0:23:46.080 to film. There wasn't a huge budget for the show, 0:23:46.680 --> 0:23:49.720 and the contestants suffered as a result. You go into 0:23:49.760 --> 0:23:51.639 the bath room, it was like it's no white the 0:23:51.760 --> 0:23:55.840 seventh Awards. There's these lines of twin side beds and 0:23:55.960 --> 0:23:58.440 I'm like, we gotta sleep in here, all next to 0:23:58.520 --> 0:24:01.200 each other. We all thought we would getting their own 0:24:01.320 --> 0:24:04.080 bed room, so maybe two to a room. So you 0:24:04.200 --> 0:24:06.240 never thought she was gonna be sleeping in a room 0:24:06.359 --> 0:24:10.120 for growing the dope. You know, at night they say 0:24:10.240 --> 0:24:12.560 good night John. You know you say good night to 0:24:12.640 --> 0:24:15.960 each person going down the line. As well as sharing 0:24:16.000 --> 0:24:18.479 a bedroom, there was only one bathroom between them all. 0:24:19.000 --> 0:24:21.200 They often slept with their shoes next to their beds 0:24:21.440 --> 0:24:24.000 in case a challenge was sprung on them during the night. 0:24:24.800 --> 0:24:26.840