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." Three or four supervillains will attempt to defeat the superheroes. One or more of the superheroes deemed the least deserving are eliminated every episode until only one remains.

Season 2 premiered on July 26, 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel cable network. It is slightly different from the first season, using a great deal more special effects and requiring a higher level of suspension of disbelief than usual for a reality show. Notably, the heroes actually hold conversations with characters such as villains, and even Erin Esurance, an advertisement cartoon.

The ten contestants, along with summaries of their (fictional) characters, are:

Several of the contestants appeared on the show using names other than those they auditioned with. Besides Mindset (Omnicron), these include The Defuser (Takedown), Parthenon (Paragon), Whip-Snap (Lady Reckoning), Hyper-Strike (Super Impact Man), and Mr. Mitzvah (Peaceman, Mitzvah Man).

Key:

A plus sign indicates that the hero was singled out for praise by Lee in that episode.

Originally aired Thursday, July 26, 2007

Lee introduces the heroes and brings them to the lair. As Stan is talking on his monitor, a mysterious villain enters his room and the monitor turns off. It soon turns on where the cloaked supervillain gives the superheroes the opportunity to save Stan Lee who is placed behind two waterways. The heroes split into two teams to turn off all the water valves. The blue team, which consists of the Defuser, Braid, Ms. Limelight, Basura, and Parthenon, manages to shut off the valve in time. The Defuser in particular stepped up, leading his team and providing strategies such as locking arms to prevent the stream from knocking them down. Unfortunately, the red team, which consists of Hygena, Hyper-Strike, Mindset, Mr. Mitzvah, and Whip-Snap, is unable to complete the task in time. After the challenge ends, the supervillain reveals himself to be Lee in disguise and that he faked his own kidnapping. Next, they must investigate a robbery at a warehouse. The heroes each talk to the evasive Mr. Long to discover clues. Later, they go outside and see that the tires to their vehicles have been taken off. As they put the tires back on, Basura, Hygena, and Parthenon noticed the challenges of helping an elderly woman and helping a man carry heavy boxes. None of the superheroes noticed the lost dog. The show ends with Mr. Mitzvah, Braid, and Ms. Limelight nominated for elimination. Mr. Mitzvah was seen as "unnecessarily rude" with Mr. Long, Ms. Limelight was nominated for "letting her team down" and for apparently ignoring the elderly lady, and Braid, the first hero to be eliminated, for "not being heroic enough." Then a mysterious villain, later identified as Bee Sting, says she will come after the superheroes.

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Wikipedia