First Appearance: Naked Man Comics #2
Alter ego: Dale Pople
Affiliation(s): Team Justice, Inc., The Real Life Superhero Project
Location: Clearwater, Florida
Abilities: Police training and professional grappler
The most famous of all heroes in the Naked-Verse, Superhero patrols Clearwater, Florida in his custom 2000 Corvette fighting crime and busting knee-caps. Superhero frequently teams up with The Siamese Cat, who Superhero considers his side-kick.
Creation and concept #
Superhero the Superhero is based on “Superhero,” a Real Life Superhero from Clearwater, Florida.[1] Dale Pople crafted his persona for Pro-Wrestling. Pople had ties with professional wrestler, Nova. Pople was also into weight lifting as was a police academy graduate.
Pople, along with friend Tony Armer, created the televisions pilot, The Siamese Cat. [2] The pilot was pitched on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno through a segment called “Pitch to America. [3]
The persona of Superhero was revised when the Real-Life Superhero phenomena arose from MySpace. First appearing in 1998, he began patrolling Clearwater in his superhero-themed wrestling gimmick. Over time, Pople evolved Superhero from crime fighting. Pople created Team Justice, Inc., a non-profit organization to help the homeless. Superhero was prominently featured in the HBO Documentary Superheroes and in the Canadian Reality series “TV made me do it.”
Over time, Pople patrolled less and focused on film. Some of his movies include Can’t Stop the Dawn and Terminal Kill. Superhero is the subject of the 2018 documentary Portrait of a Superhero, as well as the 2019 short film “SUPER!8”, both films by Tony Armer.
Pople passed away in 2020. [4]
The Siamese Cat #
The Siamese Cat was a TV Pilot created by Dale Pople and Tony Armer. With permission from Pople, both characters were featured in Naked Man Comics #8.
Synopsis #
Eric Dexter is a superhero in training. Eric works for Bancroft Studios where his idol, Superhero stars in a wild and retro adventure show. While Superhero patrols the city, Eric (aka The Siamese cat) must defend the studio against a nefarious plot by a new and surprising foe, The Opossum.
Publication History #
In the Naked-Verse, the alien spirt of famed warrior, H’ro, merged with pro-wrestler Dale Pople. Superhero was created and fought crime in Clearwater.
Comics and Comic Books #
In Naked Man Comics #2, a mysterious ship searches space for worlds to consume. Totally Naked Man received an invitation from Pepper Gold to join his team. Tryouts for the Superhero Squad of Superheroes Movement will be held in Downtown Rose City. While waiting for an interview, Totally Naked Man meets heroes like Zetaman, Superhero, Dark Guardian, Antiman. Pie-Man is also there. When Totally Naked Man finally sees Pepper Gold, Gold demands that he bows to him. The interchange is interrupted because a giant alien has arrived. Universium has decided to eat the Earth. Totally Naked Man recalls his favorite childhood hero, Rightguy, facing a similar situation. Totally Naked Man buys all the beer in Rose City and gets Universium drunk. When Universium awakes, Totally Naked Man threatens him with pictures of the giant’s escapades if he consumes the Earth. Afraid of the contents, Universium leaves. Pepper Gold receives the credit for Universium leaving. The Real Life Superhero Project finally arrives but are too late to participate.
Superhero and The Siamese Cat travel to Rose City to stop The Opossum in Naked Man Comics #8. The dynamic duo from Clearwater, Florida teams with Totally Naked Man and Extremely Conservative Woman. The team puts an end to the Opossum’s plans, which are backed secretly by Vega Bond.
References #
- Spata, C. (2020, July 31). Dale Pople, Clearwater’s real-life Superhero, wanted to help. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/2020/07/31/dale-pople-clearwaters-real-life-superhero-wanted-to-help/
- Tony Armer. (2013, August 26). The Siamese Cat Unaired TV Pilot (Superhero Show) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6shNdwJBWzM
- Tony Armer. (2008, October 15). The Tonight Show “Pitch to America” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB7IJUyjtIk
- Leigh, H. (2020). Community remembers real-life superhero who visited kids in hospitals and helped drivers stranded on road. ABC Action News Tampa Bay (WFTS). https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pinellas/community-remembers-real-life-superhero-who-visited-kids-in-hospitals-and-helped-drivers-stranded-on-road