Last week, author Karen Healey (who plays D&D) posted a link to the video clip below. It’s from Legends of the Superheroes, a live-action Superfriends variety show. You heard me.
There were only two one-hour specials, and it’s not surprising given the quality on display. The clip is from episode two: The Roast, and features one of the celebrity roasters: Ghetto Man.
You really just need to watch it for yourself. Then we can have a chat about it. Also, yes, that is the real Ed McMahon.
If you made it all the way though that clip, congratulations, you have a high tolerance for crazy. A few things that struck me off the bat: heroes from “minority areas” must, by necessity, be from the “ghetto”. Batman is down enough to hip-bump. Oh Adam West. Celebrity roasts, whether real or fictionalized, are rarely the place to find non-hackneyed comedy tropes. Ghetto Man delivers a pretty standard “White people are like this, but Black people are like this” routine (though I did enjoy the part where he said “You all look alike to me”). What I mostly wondered was: where are the actual black superheroes in this? Was Black Lightning too busy? John Stewart was around! Heck, they probably could have gotten Hannah-Barbera to let them use Black Vulcan.
In the 70’s there were apparently several black superheroes created based on Blaxploitation-era films. Since Ghetto Man clearly takes his attire and “jive” from these same sources, I’m still kinda curious as to why he was needed when other black (and possibly less overtly offensive) superheroes would do.
Ah well, we’ll never know. It was almost 30 years ago now.
If you’re at all interested in the history of black superheroes in comics, check out this wikipedia entry. And if you’re interested in seeing the rest of Legends, we found some clips on YouTube, helpfully collected in this playlist. Have fun.
1 • If Only We Had Blogging Against Racism 30 Years Ago at K. Tempest Bradford said:
August 7th, 2008 at 1:09 pm, permalink
[...] Today at Fantasy, “Ghetto Man” roasts the Superfriends. [...]
2 • Randy Henderson said:
August 7th, 2008 at 11:18 pm, permalink
I have these shows on vhs. Their awesomeness is exceeded only by the Star Wars Christmas Special.
On a related note, I watched “Solarbabies” last night. A blast from the 80’s past, and man did it show in the totally awesome synth music, the dayglow colors, the bitchin hairdos, etcetera.
But I also noticed how they had the single TBC – token black character. I mean man, was the future white. One scene in particular made him stand out as a TBC. They are passing around a glowing orb they’ve found. They pass it to the TBC, and what does he do? Oh, you know it, he starts poppin and lockin with the orb – his big scene in the movie. You know, we still have the TBC prob today (if they include a person of color at all), but at least Worf or Teal’c or Mace Windu didn’t break into a rap or a breakdance, you jive turkeys. Maybe that’s progress. Maybe.
They also had a pseudo-Native American character from some made-up hodge-podge Gypsy-esque tribe of (oddly white) rejects from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. I mean, come on, they couldn’t take the time to do a little research and have the “tribe” be an actual real desert culture whose native traditions allowed them to survive in the harsh conditions of a post-civilization waterless wasteland?
But hey, did I mention how frickin sweet those hairdos were?
How to fight the frizzies, at 11.
3 • Randy Henderson said:
August 7th, 2008 at 11:39 pm, permalink
PS — Ironic that he points out the Green Lantern as NOT counting as a person of color, when today the Green Lantern is, in fact, a black man.
Perhaps some young child watching this show was influenced to grow up and create John Stewart (the Green Lantern comic character, not the Daily Show host — HE was created in a Q.U. Biolab accident when the DNA of Lenny Bruce and Dan Rather was accidentally spilled into a vat of radioactive waste and exposed to cosmic rays. John, if you’re reading this, I still think you should wear the Sarcasmo costume we made for you, but I understand how the cape might make you look fat on television, what with the extra ten pounds and all. Wait, what were we talking about … ah yes, Green Lantern). Green Lantern is cool. Way cool.
4 • Saladin said:
August 10th, 2008 at 5:42 pm, permalink
Heh. The sad thing is, that there were so few superheroes of color back then — esp. at DC — that Hanna-Barbara basically had to make up ‘ethnic’ superheroes for the Superfriends cartoon. And, apparently also had to base each one’s theme/powers on their ethnicity. Apache Chief, El Dorado, Samurai… Pure cheese. These kids with their John Stewart Green Lantern/vaguely Latina Hawkwoman on TV don’t know how good they got it!
5 • Saladin said:
August 10th, 2008 at 5:47 pm, permalink
Actually I realize that the vaguely Latina Justice League heroine is (even though she’s grown) HawkGIRL, not HawkWOMAN — maybe the kids today don’t have it that much better after all…
6 • K. Tempest Bradford said:
August 10th, 2008 at 5:51 pm, permalink
Yeah, the only “woman” running around the JLU these days is Wonder Woman, if my memory serves.