The entertainment landscape of the late 20th Century was not one heavily populated by superheroes or comic book adaptations, at least in live action. Yet, publishers and producers still kept trying to make their version of “fetch” happen, producing some hidden gems and films or shows best forgotten. The syndicated Night Man falls firmly in the latter category, featuring a flimsy premise and possibly the worst execution for any ambitious sci-fi series in the last half-century. While technically a Marvel Comics project, the truth is more complicated.Today, people associate “Night Man” with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but the comic book hero predates them by more than a decade. Created in 1993 by Steve Englehart and Rick Hoberg, the long-haired hero arrived at the peak of the comics boom. Big publishers like Marvel and DC Comics enjoyed consistently high sales numbers. Creator-owned comics from Image, Dark Horse, Valiant and other small publishers broke through and found readers. Night Man was part of a shared continuity called the “Ultraverse,” but he was the only hero tapped for adaptation. The character design for the television show was faithful to Night Man’s look to a regrettable degree. As a syndicated series, Night Man would have a significantly smaller budget than shows ordered directly by a network. So, its special effects, cast and production value only exacerbated deeper problems with the premise and scripts. The show certainly has its fans, but especially compared to modern superhero shows, they had to meet Night Man more than halfway to enjoy it.Still, the Ultraverse wasn’t a total flop, either. Malibu Comics boasted about the quality of its publishing, driven by its digital coloring system. That’s what executives claimed enticed Marvel Comics to buy Malibu in late 1994. The actual reason is less complimentary, because Marvel didn’t care about its technology or its characters. The Distinguished Competition initially sought to buy Malibu, meaning DC Comics would have surpassed Marvel’s market share for the first time in decades. Aside from a handful of one-shot crossovers with Marvel characters, the Ultraverse came to a halt about a year later.
The entertainment landscape of the late 20th Century was not one heavily populated by superheroes or comic book adaptations, at least in live action. Yet, publishers and producers still kept trying to make their version of “fetch” happen, producing some hidden gems and films or shows best forgotten. The syndicated Night Man falls firmly in the latter category, featuring a flimsy premise and possibly the worst execution for any ambitious sci-fi series in the last half-century. While technically a Marvel Comics project, the truth is more complicated.
Today, people associate “Night Man” with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but the comic book hero predates them by more than a decade. Created in 1993 by Steve Englehart and Rick Hoberg, the long-haired hero arrived at the peak of the comics boom. Big publishers like Marvel and DC Comics enjoyed consistently high sales numbers. Creator-owned comics from Image, Dark Horse, Valiant and other small publishers broke through and found readers. Night Man was part of a shared continuity called the “Ultraverse,” but he was the only hero tapped for adaptation. The character design for the television show was faithful to Night Man’s look to a regrettable degree. As a syndicated series, Night Man would have a significantly smaller budget than shows ordered directly by a network. So, its special effects, cast and production value only exacerbated deeper problems with the premise and scripts. The show certainly has its fans, but especially compared to modern superhero shows, they had to meet Night Man more than halfway to enjoy it.
Still, the Ultraverse wasn’t a total flop, either. Malibu Comics boasted about the quality of its publishing, driven by its digital coloring system. That’s what executives claimed enticed Marvel Comics to buy Malibu in late 1994. The actual reason is less complimentary, because Marvel didn’t care about its technology or its characters. The Distinguished Competition initially sought to buy Malibu, meaning DC Comics would have surpassed Marvel’s market share for the first time in decades. Aside from a handful of one-shot crossovers with Marvel characters, the Ultraverse came to a halt about a year later.
#Years #Fans #Forgotten #LiveAction #Adaptation #Worst #Time
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