Star Harbor Nights

Despite the first season's record-smashing ratings, production has not yet begun on a second season of the hit reality show American Hero.

While on the surface, the talent-show-in-tights might have seemed to go off without a hitch, the production was plagued with troubles from day one. While no exact figures have been released, the cost of insuring a show where contestants with real superpowers battled each other as well as "tame" supervillains was said to be astronomical. After damage done to the studio set by Destroyer's Daughter (Didi Flagg) and two of the three member Rogue's Gallery going rogue for real, finding somebody to underwrite future installments of the show may be next to impossible.

Another problem was the relatively small pool of contestants. Despite record numbers of mutants reported in the 2000 census, the turnout for the first round of auditions was lower than expected. One possible reason? The relatively low entry barriers to the superhero field.

"It's a simple fact that most of the people with the potential and the desire to be superheroes simply put on a costume and just do it," parasociologist Nathan Winters told reporters. "If we look at the majority of the contestants from the first season, what we see is a succession of very star-struck individuals who went home very disillusioned. This may have been very entertaining to the people at home, but it also serves as a warning or a wake-up call to any future potential participants, that they may be better off doing things the old-fashioned way."

The overwhelmingly favorable viewer response won't necessarily translate into a greater appeal among aspiring do-gooders, either. The show tested negatively among all-heroic focus groups from the very beginning, who felt it had the potential to damage the credibility of their profession. With almost none of the original contestants walking away from the experience very happy, the next season's turnout isn't likely to be any better, especially with many of them vowing to forge their own path into the cape biz.

"America definitely hasn't heard the last of me," said potential heroine Echo (real name unknown). "Those stupid judges have no idea of my true potential, but I'll show them. I'll show you all."

(Read more about Echo on page 4-B, Former 'Hero' Contestant Going Villain?)

Acerbic judge and MC Comics editor Simon Hood chalks up the attitude of Echo and the other runner-ups to sour grapes.

"I know what it takes to be a superhero. More than just powers, it's the presence, the poise. [Season one champion] Pummella's got it in spades... nobody else on that stage had it, even a little bit," Hood said. "Honestly, these people have got no clue that when I tell them to go home and put their underwear back in the drawer, I'm just being the nice one."

Some industry insiders are suggesting that if the show is to be salvaged, it will be in a vastly different form. Some ideas that have been floated include  a more mundane form of talent show, with contestants displaying skill at dancing, modeling, or singing in hopes of winning a potentially lucrative contract.

Hero producer Ken Wicket sees things a bit differently.

"Why would thirty million people tune in to watch a bunch of nobodies doing karaoke? We're offering the public something new and exciting, and we are not going away," says Wicket, unperturbed by reports that his brainchild may be on the bubble. "Our first season was a learning experience. Nobody had ever tried a show of this nature before, and it's no wonder there was room for improvement. That's what season 2 will be all about. It's going to be a whole new ballgame, with a whole new format."

When asked if this new format would include a name change, Wicket remained coy. He was also tight-lipped on the subject of live villains in a future version of the show.

"We'll see."