Superhero stories are undoubtedly popular. Thanks to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, superhero movies have become major box office players and the success of The CW’s Arrowverse made DC’s superheroes a big deal on television. And it’s not just the Big 2 that are seeing their superheroes have their moment. Shows like The Boys and Invincible on Prime Video are also popular, further proving that superheroes are crowd pleasers. However, the wealth of superhero entertainment we have now is far from the first to thrill audiences — and there’s one in particular that only ‘70s kids will remember but its theme song remains a classic.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Debuting with a two-hour movie pilot in 1981 and running for three seasons on ABC, The Greatest American Hero has become a cult classic of superhero television. The series followed teacher Ralph Hinkley (played by William Katt) who gets superhuman abilities after a group of aliens give him a red and black suit. While getting superpowers might sound like everyone’s dream come true, Ralph unfortunately loses the instruction book that came with the suit and has to learn how to use his suit’s powers by trial and error. As you can guess, the results are hilarious.
The Greatest American Hero is a Fun Show — But It’s The Theme Song That Everyone Remembers
The Greatest American Hero is a fun example of the reluctant superhero trope, with Ralph never intending to be a hero but ends up becoming one anyway. He takes on different missions even though he’s struggling to actually use his suit’s powers and never actually ends up getting a proper superhero name. The show was also a nice blend of genres, featuring elements of not only comic book superhero stories but straight sci-fi as well, making it a unique and truly fun watch. However, while the show certainly had its audience, it’s the theme song that has stuck and was actually more popular than the series.
That theme song is “Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)” or more simply, “Believe it or Not”. Written by Mike Post with lyrics by Stephen Geyer, the song was performed by Joe Scarbury. The song became a fast hit and debuted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 where it would eventually peak at No. 2 (it missed out on the top spot thanks to Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s hit “Endless Love”.) That’s some pretty significant success for a television theme song, but “Believe it or Not” didn’t just stop at being a hit single. It has since become an enduring cultural phenomenon — far more than the show it served.
Over the years, numerous television shows have referred to or outright parodied “Believe it or Not”. Seinfeld’s season eight episode “That Susie” featured an answering machine message that was a parody of the song and that episode itself got referenced in a 2021 Super Bowl ad for Tide. Season six of Supernatural featured an episode where Castiel sings the song to a baby he’s watching and in Gilmore Girls, the show’s fictional band Hep Alien even performs a grunge version of the song.
The biggest pop culture reference to “Believe it or Not” however, belongs to Family Guy who has referred to not just the song but The Greatest American Hero multiple times. The episode “The Man with Two Brians” sees Peter wearing the iconic Greatest American Hero costume while flying through the air doing a stunt (and he’s singing the theme song in the process.) Lyrics from the song are also parodied in an episode title, with “believe it or not, I’m walking on air” becoming “Believe It Or Not, Joe’s Walking on Air” for the third episode of season 6.
Believe It Or Not, The Greatest American Hero Is Coming Back
While “Believe it or Not” is for many the most memorable thing about The Greatest American Hero (which really is a shame, the series is great), that might not be the case for long. Earlier this year it was announced that AMP Comics had acquired the comic book publishing rights to The Greatest American Hero and a new comic series is in the works. The series, which is set to arrive in 2026 and will see Katt return to executive produce the books. Tawnia McKiernan, the daughter of The Greatest American Hero creator Stephen J. Cannell, is also involved. Here’s to hoping it comes with a reference to “Believe it or Not”.
All three seasons of The Greatest American Hero are available to stream on Peacock.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
