Who Wants to Be a Superhero? (season 2)
Who Wants to Be a Superhero? is a reality show hosted by Stan Lee. Contestants dress up as comic book superheroes of their own invention. Each week, Lee challenges the contestants to represent what "superheroes are all about." One or more of the superheroes deemed the least deserving is eliminated per episode.
Season 2 premiered on July 26, 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel cable network.
Characters and contestants
- Basura (aka Aja De Coudreaux / Oakland, CA) enlists the help of all bugs everywhere and uses her mystical powers to turn trash into treasures.
- Braid (aka Crystal Clark / Bloomington, IL) makes herself any age, race, or gender and can turn her hair into crime-busting tentacles.
- She was eliminated in Episode One.
- The Defuser (aka Jarrett Crippen / Austin, TX) is an expert paramilitary superhero who uses non-violent weaponry to stop villains. He has the unique ability to function at 110 percent.
- Hygena (aka Melody Mooney / Sherman Oaks, CA) fights crime and grime making weapons from all types of cleaning utensils.
- Hyper-Strike (aka John Stork / Plainfield, VT and Chicago) is a martial arts expert with super strength and agility and he can project his Chi (life force) through his hands.
- Mindset (aka Phillip Allen / Ft. Lauderdale, FL) is a telekinetic time traveler on a mission to end all war. Originally named Omnicron, Mindset is the viewers' choice on the show winning his place by Internet voters earlier this year.
- Mr. Mitzvah (aka "Sir Ivan" Wilzig / Miami, FL and New York City) is a real-life Bruce Wayne who lives in a castle. This multi-millionaire's mission, under the guise of Mr. Mitzvah, is to save the lives of children.
- Ms. Limelight (aka Trisha Paytas / Byron, IL and Los Angeles) is a caped-crusader who absorbs the powers of action stars on TV and in movies.
- Parthenon (aka Dan Williams / Orlando, Fl) is an archaeologist who gets his mystical powers from an ancient gauntlet he discovered in Greece.
- Whip-Snap (aka Paula Thomas / Dallas, TX and Los Angeles) Raised in Texas, this superhero has a mastery of the whip and if her bare skin touches a villain that villain is turned into sand.
Episode Progress Table
A green box indicates that the superhero completed a task; yellow indicates that they were nominated for elimination, and red means they were eliminated. A plus sign means that the hero was singled out for praise by Stan Lee in that episode.
| Superhero | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basura | IN | |||||||||
| The Defuser | IN | |||||||||
| Hygena | IN | |||||||||
| Hyper-Strike | IN | |||||||||
| Mindset | IN | |||||||||
| Mr. Mitzvah | NOM | |||||||||
| Ms. Limelight | NOM | |||||||||
| Parthenon | IN | |||||||||
| Whip-Snap | IN+ | |||||||||
| Braid | OUT |
Episode 1
THE SEARCH BEGINS
Stan Lee takes viewers on a brief tour of the 11-city, coast-to-coast search for contestants who have the charisma, ingenuity and moxie to compete. Semifinalists are sent to be interviewed by Stan himself in his secret headquarters. After the 10 finalists are chosen, Feedback, the winner of season one's competition, turns up at their homes and workplaces to declare, "Stan wants you!"
Feedback collects the finalists and introduces them to the Lair, where they will live and sleep during the competition.
DOCTOR DARK ABDUCTS STAN
As Stan chats with the contestants, his video picture cuts out. He is replaced by a black-cloaked figure called Doctor Dark, who tells the contestants that Stan has been abducted and is locked away at Los Angeles's water plant, and that they must form two teams to save him.
The Blue Team consists of Defuser, Ms. Limelight, Basura, Braid and Parthenon. They head for the North Aqueduct. The Red Team includes Hyper-Strike, Mindset, Mr. Mitzvah, Hygena and Whip-Snap.
PASSED: Defuser, Ms. Limelight, Basura, Braid, Parthenon
FAILED: Hyper-Strike, Mindset, Mr. Mitzvah, Hygena, Whip-Snap
HIGHLIGHTS
Defuser has his team link arms to withstand the torrential wind and water blown in their path. They turn off valves, but the onslaught doesn't end, and they deduce that they have to go back for a key. Braid falls en route, but picks herself up and retrieves the key, turning off the infernal devices with thirty seconds to spare.
The Red Team is less organized, and the wind and water slow them considerably. They obtain the key and shut everything down only after after the four-minute time period has elapsed. Doctor Dark reveals himself to be a disguised Stan, who announces this was the very first test.
Defuser shows leadership as he comforts the distraught Whip-Snap.
WAREHOUSE ROBBERY
The following morning, the team is assembled and told that a nearby warehouse has been robbed. Each prospective superhero is given two minutes to interview the warehouse owner and find clues to solve the crime.
PASSED: Defuser, Parthenon, Hyper-Strike, Basura, Hygena, Mr. Mitzvah, Whip-Snap, Mindset
FAILED: Ms. Limelight, Braid
HIGHLIGHTS
Parthenon seemed tempted by the $5,000 offer for his jeweled wrist guard, which is the source of his power. Stan explains that this was a secret test to learn which heroes, while under pressure, reveal too much about themselves.
MISSING TIRES Leaving the warehouse, the hopeful heroes discover their SUVs have been vandalized and their tires removed. In the vicinity, a man struggles to carry an oversized box, an old woman attempts to stow her walker in the back of a car, and a lost dog whimpers across the street.
PASSED: Parthenon, Hygena, Whip-Snap
FAILED: Defuser, Basura, Braid, Hyper-Strike, Mindset, Mr. Mitzvah, Ms. Limelight
HIGHLIGHTS: Stan chides all 10 heroes for failing to notice or help the obviously lost and frightened dog.
ELIMINATION Mr. Mitzvah, Braid and Ms. Limelight are summoned to the red squares, and Stan gives each a chance to plead his or her case. Braid, who Stan says seemed more concerned about herself than others and failed to be heroic enough, is asked to turn in her costume.