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

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Superhero shows are incredibly popular right now, and both Marvel and DC are using them to build out their movie worlds. Marvel has been doing this for over ten years, starting with shows like Daredevil and Agents of SHIELD, and continuing with recent Disney+ hits like WandaVision and Loki. On the DC side, shows like Peacemaker and Creature Commandos helped lay the groundwork for the new DC Universe, following the earlier Arrowverse series.

Today’s popular superhero shows build upon a strong foundation laid by DC and Marvel. These companies created both live-action and animated series long before the recent superhero craze, shaping how fans picture these characters. Interestingly, one of the most iconic and impactful superheroes wasn’t created by either of these comic book powerhouses – it was a completely new character from the start.

The Greatest American Hero Ended 43 Years Ago Today

The TV show The Greatest American Hero follows Ralph Hinkley, a high school teacher in Los Angeles, who gets superpowers from a group of aliens. They give him a special suit and task him with fighting crime. As the Greatest American Hero, Ralph teams up with FBI agent Bill Maxwell to save the world from danger.

There’s just one problem: Ralph misplaced the instruction manual for his suit. This means he has to figure out what it can do through trial and error. As the story unfolds, he discovers he has amazing abilities, including invincibility, invisibility, flight, X-ray vision, the power to control fire, shrinking, seeing the future, super speed, and incredible strength – and the list keeps growing! These powers make him similar to Superman, and he ultimately develops even more abilities than the famous hero.

Stephen J. Cannell created The Greatest American Hero, which first aired on March 18, 1981, with a nine-episode first season. The show continued for two more seasons, concluding on February 3, 1983, after a total of 45 episodes. Five additional episodes were made but never shown on television. The reasons for the cancellation and the unreleased episodes remain unclear.

Even though it only lasted a short time on television, The Greatest American Hero has gained a dedicated following as a cult classic. What many people remember most about the show is its theme song – often called “Believe It or Not.” It’s so well-known that even people who’ve never watched the series recognize it, and that’s a mark of a truly great theme song.

While the show was airing, DC Comics filed a lawsuit against The Greatest American Hero because of its similarities to Superman. However, the case, Warner Bros. Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., was ultimately dismissed.

A notable behind-the-scenes change for the show The Greatest American Hero involved the main character’s name. After John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981, the character Ralph Hinkley’s name was altered. The first two episodes of the show were edited and re-recorded to change his last name to “Hanley,” and he was then only referred to as “Ralph” or “Mr. H” for the remainder of the first season. However, the original surname, “Hinkley,” was brought back in season two.

The Greatest American Hero Has Almost Gotten Several Modern Reboots

Although The Greatest American Hero ended after three seasons, there was an attempt to continue the story with a spin-off in 1986. Called The Greatest American Heroine, the pilot movie featured Ralph Hinkley being forced to pass on his super suit after his secret identity was exposed. He chose Holly Hathaway, an elementary school teacher, to be his successor. However, the pilot never aired, and the series wasn’t developed further.

Back in 2014, Deadline Hollywood announced Fox was planning a new version of The Greatest American Hero, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller attached to produce. But that project never seemed to move forward. Then, in 2017, Deadline reported that Rachna Fruchbom and Nahnatchka Khan were developing a reboot for 20th Century Fox TV and ABC, centering around an Indian-American woman. Unfortunately, ABC decided not to order the series in 2018.

Although discussions about reviving The Greatest American Hero happened as recently as the late 2010s, a reboot remains a possibility. The show would be an ideal choice for a studio looking to capitalize on the popularity of superheroes without using characters from Marvel or DC Comics. Currently, however, there are no plans for a new series, so The Greatest American Hero is still limited to its original three seasons.

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2026-02-02 19:16