The Greatest American Hero Costume

Does anyone remember The Greatest American Hero? It was on TV in the early 1980’s. Man, I LOVED, LOVED that show as a kid. I wanted my own suit in the worst way. Thankfully, now that the show is on DVD, I get to watch it all over again. There’s also rumors flying that a GAH movie will be made!

I want to talk a bit about the show, the spinoff pilot that never got picked up, and then take a look at some great fan-made costumes.

The Greatest American Hero is about Ralph Hinkley, a school teacher who’s given a superhero suit by aliens. But he loses the instruction book and struggles with his new powers as he tries to save the world. It’s great stuff. It’s a parody of other superheroes. The creator, Stephen J. Cannell, purposefully made the suit look ridiculous. Personally, I love the costume.

The show ran for three seasons, until it was cancelled in 1983.

However, in 1986, a spinoff was created called “The Greatest American Heroine.” Ralph Hinkley must give his suit to someone else, and he chooses Holly Hathaway, a kind-hearted gal who’s big on saving the planet and protecting defenseless animals.

Unfortunately, the network execs passed on the show and it never came to fruition. When the Greatest American Hero went into syndication, this unaired pilot served as the series finale.

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I imagine right about now you’re wondering, “Where can I buy a Greatest American Hero costume?”

Well, you might be better off making one yourself, but 80’sTees does sell a fairly decent official costume. It looks like a popular item, as they are currently sold out of all sizes except small.

And I’ll give them extra points for showing their costume IN ACTION.

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Okay, so let’s take a look at some fan-made costumes!!

Some fan-made costumes are, um, better than others. But it’s the passion that counts, right?

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Heroines Win

Some of the best costumes on the web were actually the Greatest American Heroine costumes. Sorry, Guys - but the women have you beat.

The Heroine costumes I found look very authentic and well-made.

Take a look at this costume. She did an AWESOME job. Everything about the costume looks authentic. She even has two belt designs. The first belt looks a bit modernized, and the alternate belt more closely resembles the original TV show costume. Great job!

Fan-made Greatest American Heroine Costume

Close-up of Alternate Belt Design - Greatest American Heroine

Here are some other great Heroine costumes:

Congratulations, everyone, for making such great costumes!

I’ll leave you now with a Youtube clip of the opening credits for Greatest American Hero, which features the best theme song ever. “Believe it or not, I’m walking on air…”

I can only hope they make a movie soon, or better yet bring the show back to TV.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 11:10 am and is filed under DIY, movies, video, film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.