43 Years Ago Today, a Cult Superhero Show Ended Too Soon (And a Modern Reboot Can Still Happen)

Superhero TV shows are all the rage these days, with Marvel and DC both heavily relying on them to expand their cinematic universes. Marvel has been doing this for over a decade now, with older shows like Daredevil and Agents of SHIELD leading to modern Disney+ shows like WandaVision and Loki. Peacemaker and Creature Commandos were some of the building blocks of the DCU, with them coming after the Arrowverse TV universe.

However, these shows stand on the shoulders of giants. DC and Marvel were making live-action and animated shows before the superhero boom of the 2000s, and they helped popularize the image of their respective heroes that fans have in their heads. However, one of the most beloved and influential superheroes of all time didn’t come from either of the comic book giants. In fact, it was a completely original property.

The Greatest American Hero Ended 43 Years Ago Today

ABC’s The Greatest American Hero tells the story of Ralph Hinkley, a Los Angeles high school teacher who encounters a group of aliens while on a field trip. The aliens give him a suit that grants him incredible superpowers, instructing him to fight crime. Ralph becomes the Greatest American Hero, and, with the help of FBI Special Agent Bill Maxwell, protects the world from various threats.

However, there is one issue: Ralph lost the suit’s instruction manual. Thus, he must discover what the suit is capable of on his own. As the show goes on, he realizes that he has all kinds of incredible powers, such as invincibility, invisibility, flight, X-ray vision, pyrokinesis, shrinking, precognition, super speed, super strength, and more. Ralph’s powers make him an analogue to Superman, with him eventually gaining even more powers than the Man of Steel has.

Created by Stephen J. Cannell, The Greatest American Hero premiered on March 18, 1981, starting its 9-episode first season. The show ran for two more seasons, ending its three-season run on February 3, 1983. 45 episodes were released across the three seasons, although five more were produced but went unaired. There is no consensus on why the show was cancelled or why the episodes went unreleased.

Despite its short run, The Greatest American Hero has become a cult classic. The theme song from the TV show, often titled “Believe It or Not,” is arguably the most iconic aspect of the series. The song is well-known by many people who haven’t even seen the show, which is the sign of a great theme.

During the show’s run, DC Comics sued The Greatest American Hero due to the aforementioned similarity to Superman. However, Warner Bros. Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. was dismissed.

Another controversial part of The Greatest American Hero‘s production was the main character’s name. Ralph Hinkley’s name was changed after John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981. Two episodes in the first season used editing tricks and overdubbing to change the surname from “Hinkley” to “Hanley,” while he was referred to as just “Ralph” or “Mr. H” for the rest of the season. In season 2, however, the “Hinkley” surname returned.

The Greatest American Hero Has Almost Gotten Several Modern Reboots

The Greatest American Hero franchise didn’t end with season 3, as a TV movie that served as a pilot for a spinoff series was produced in 1986. Titled The Greatest American Heroine, the series sees the aliens force Ralph to give his suit away after his identity is revealed. So, Ralph chooses an elementary school teacher named Holly Hathaway. Unfortunately, the pilot wasn’t released, and the show was never picked up.

In 2014, Deadline Hollywood reported that Fox had ordered a pilot for a reboot of The Greatest American Hero, and it was to be produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. However, this presumably never happened. In 2017, Deadline reported that Rachna Fruchbom and Nahnatchka Khan were producing an Indian-American female-led reboot for 20th Century Fox TV and ABC. However, ABC declined to pick up the series in 2018.

With interest in a The Greatest American Hero reboot occurring as recently as the late 2010s, a reboot is still entirely possible. The franchise would be perfect for a studio attempting to jump on the superhero trend without access to popular comic book companies like Marvel or DC. However, nothing has been announced to be in the works at the moment, meaning that The Greatest American Hero is still confined to its first three seasons.

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