Both Seasons of a Cult Pre-MCU Superhero Show Are Streaming Free, Almost 30 Years After It Ended

No matter how you feel about the current state of superhero entertainment, no one can deny we’re living in a bit of a golden age. Thanks in large part to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, comics fans have never had it so good in terms of adaptations of their favorite characters and stories for the screen, be that screen small or large. Sure, the new Lanterns trailer might not have everyone sold on the upcoming DC show while others are already chomping at the bit for Season 3 of Daredevil: Born Again, but it’s clear that in the grand scheme of things we have it good, especially when it comes to television. And if you needed proof of that, you can look to free streaming for a two-season series unlike any other.

Currently streaming for free on Tubi (as well as on Prime Video with subscription) are both seasons of Night Man. There’s a good chance Night Man is a series you’ve never heard of—both in terms of the television series and the comic it’s based on. Created by Glen A. Larson, Night Man aired in syndication from September 15, 1997, to May 17, 1999, and followed Johnny Domino (played by Matt McColm), a saxophonist turned superhero after he’s struck by lightning in a freak cable-car accident. The series is a bit of a wild ride of a show given its premise and it’s considered by many to be the worst superhero adaptations ever, but while the series itself has its own charms, it’s a really valuable look at what superhero entertainment looked like well before the MCU changed it all.

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Everything about Night Man is honestly kind of wild. The general “saxophonist turned superhero after a freak accident” summary really doesn’t do it justice. Set in San Francisco, jazz saxophonist Johnny Domino gets struck by lightning during the aforementioned freak cable car accident and gets superpowers, yes, but it’s a bit more than that. His power is pretty unique; Johnny can now telepathically recognize evil (he’s literally able to hear the mental frequency of evil which makes things pretty interesting in terms of crime fighting) but this unique power comes at a cost. Johnny can no longer sleep. In addition to having the weakness of insomnia, he also doesn’t have any actual physical superpowers, but he does get himself a special suit, one that’s bulletproof and has a blue cape and grants him some extra abilities such as flight, a form of invisibility, and some other powers, too.

The series has some notably low budget effects—this was the late ‘90s and it was syndication so the production values and special effects were certainly on the economical side of things—and the acting and writing wasn’t all that impressive either. That probably wasn’t helped by the fact that it was based on a pretty weird comic book series, The Night Man. The series was part of Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse and, in an interesting turn, Malibu was later purchased by Marvel, leading to a crossover, Night Man/Gambit. But what makes Night Man interesting and very much worth watching on streaming is it stands as an example of the kind of superhero entertainment fans were getting in the ‘90s. There really wasn’t a lot of things that fell into the superhero category on television around this time, at least not like this. Yes, the Superman series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman aired from 1993 to 1997 and we were just a few years away from Smallville but not only were they very different and more “grounded” takes on superheroes, Superman is pretty much the most well-known superhero. Night Man was an obscure character, from an obscure series.

Now, decades later, it’s not as unusual for obscure characters to be front and center. The MCU has taken heroes that used to be known only by serious comics fans and made them pop culture favorites and, more than that, superhero movies and television series are major elements of the entertainment landscape. The effects are, typically, top notch, and the talent involved are frequently household names. While this is what we’ve come to expect, Night Man is a good reminder that it didn’t used to be this way and we’ve come so very far.

Both seasons of Night Man are now streaming for free on Tubi and are available on Prime Video for subscribers, too.

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