Part of A Tribute to Paul Reubens
Before AVENGERS… Before THE SNYDER CUT… There was MYSTERY MEN! Champion City already has a superhero, the appropriately named Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear), but that doesn’t deter seven quirky amateur crime-fighters — who use the Captain’s capture at the hands of villain Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) as motivation to prove themselves. Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell, Wes Studi and Paul Reubens are the Mystery Men — a ragtag team of superhero wannabes featuring: Mr. Furious, whose power comes from his boundless rage; The Shoveler, a father who shovels “better than anyone”; The Blue Raja, a fork-flinging mama’s boy; The Bowler, who fights crime with the help of her father’s skull; The Spleen, whose power is pure flatulence; Invisible Boy, who’s only invisible when no one’s watching; and The Sphinx, a cliche-spewing philosopher.
This notorious box-office bomb (which prominently features Smash Mouth’s “All Star”) has been reevaluated in recent years and garnered a devoted cult following for those nostalgic for a time before superhero films saturated the silver screen. Featuring one of Paul Reubens’ more memorable performances as flatulent avenger The Spleen.
