You know, the United Way and the NFL® work together to form a winning team!
Can’t let him make a big play from the opening kickoff!
This is ridiculous! But facing the 49ers offensive line was worse!
And now, let’s show America what teamwork’s all about!
The early 1990s was an explosion of creativity for Marvel Comics, introducing enduring new characters from Sleepwalker to Darkhawk, and revitalizing classic concepts with new versions of Fool Killer and Deathlok.
Some gems get obscured amongst the sheer volume of the decade’s creativity. Today, I want to talk about a character celebrating his 30th anniversary this year, the great superhero who sometimes is referred to simply as Superpro, but who is more properly known as NFL® Superpro!
You might have noticed the NFL® logo in the title and on his chest and his helmet…
Background
The creators
Born in Argentina, Fabian Nicieza moved to the United States as a child, and became a writer well known for his work at Marvel Comics. After working various jobs at Marvel since 1985, his big break came with his work on New Warriors, with its rich character work that blended soap opera with superhero action. He went on to popular runs on titles such as X-Men, developing a specialty in superhero team books. X-Men #33 is a personal favorite, recounting the first meeting of Gambit and Sabretooth. He would later follow Kurt Busiek on the team of reformed super-villains, the Thunderbolts.
José Delbo is also originally from Argentina and has been working in comics since the 1940s. He worked for American companies such as Dell and Gold Key, moving to DC in the late 1960s and Marvel in the 1980s. Here is a sampling of his work.
Pictured:
- Billy the Kid #57 (Charlton, 1966)
- The Twilight Zone #16 (Gold Key, 1966)
- The Mod Squad #2 (Dell, 1969)
- Spectre #10 (DC, 1969)
- Wonder Woman #222 (DC, 1976)
- Transformers #36 (Marvel, 1988)
Mike DeCarlo was best known as an inker at DC Comics. He was the inker on some of my earliest Batman comics, and well known for his work inking George Pérez, particularly on New Teen Titans. He would go on to be a prominent inker on Simpsons comics, sometimes working with the legendary Dan DeCarlo (no relation that I know of).
Pictured:
- Tales of the Teen Titans (pencils by George Pérez, DC, 1984)
- Batman (pencils by Jim Aparo, DC, 1988)
- Simpsons Comics #56 (pencils by Dan DeCarlo, Bongo, 2001)
The character
NFL® Superpro was introduced in the prestige format NFL® Superpro Super Bowl Special, released in January 1991.
Just before that year’s NFL® Super Bowl between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants.
Phil Grayfield’s career as a pro NFL® football player ended soon after it began due to injuries. Now, as a result of fantastic accident, he has a new career– as a super-powered hero who uses his amazing abilities to fight crime and defend the sport he loves from those forces that would seek to corrupt it- for Phil has become NFL® Superpro!
In his civilian guise, Phil earns a living as a sports reporter for Sports Inside, covering the NFL®.
The series
The character of NFL® Superpro proved so popular in his origin special celebrating the 1991 NFL® Super Bowl that he was soon awarded his own series, NFL® Superpro.
The first issue of NFL® Superpro saw the character team up with Spider-Man.
Spider-Man remains Marvel’s most beloved superhero, and thus they are careful with his use, to preserve the integrity of the character’s brand. He only shows up in truly special comics.
NFL® Superpro has fought a variety of villains, including Quick Kick and Instant Replay.
That brings us to the fourth and arguably greatest issue of the series, The Sanctioning.
The Sanctioning
We open with Jane Dixon covering a protest rally. Jane is Phil’s girlfriend, going back to their college years, and is currently a newscaster for WOR Channel 9 in New Jersey. She has no idea that her boyfriend is secretly NFL® Superpro!
The protest is in Trenton, New Jersey. It has been organized by Republicans who are unhappy about taxes. The basic theme seems to be that they don’t want to pay taxes at all, but it may also be motivated by specific concerns about Governor Florio’s recent tax proposals. Signs say things like “No more taxes”.
On a personal note, I’ve been to Trenton several times. I found the easiest and most cost effective way to get to Manhattan was to drive to Trenton, park at the train station parking lot, and take the train into Manhattan. I thus have many fond memories of Trenton, including the train station, and the train station parking lot.
Marco Sanzionare has specially designed combat armor and is calling himself Sanction. He wants revenge against NFL® Superpro and is going to begin by kidnapping Jane Dixon. This story echoes the post-feminist theme that superhero girlfriends get captured a lot and need rescuing.
Notice the word play as Sanction confronts the police, noting his positive relationship with law enforcement (surprising for a super-villain), and taking advantage of multiple related usages of the word “sever”. “Don’t make me sever that relationship as I sever your heads!” One might argue that the mere threat to sever cop heads might be enough to jeopardize one’s positive relationship with law enforcement.
We check in with Phil and his cameraman and partner Ken Reid, in Los Angeles interviewing Phil Simms and Carl Banks.
Both are real veteran football players. When this story was released in 1991, they were champions of the most recent NFL® Super Bowl. They talk about the important partnership between United Way and the NFL®, helping make a difference in your community. Change starts with you.
Tim Pressman is a fictional member of the New York Giants introduced in the first issue of NFL® Superpro. NFL® Superpro helped him out of a jam when he was framed for participating in Sanzionare’s gambling operations.
Ken Reid is NFL® Superpro’s trusted confidante, his guy in the chair. Ken used his camera skills to deduce NFL® Superpro’s true identity. Making modifications to NFL® Superpro’s helmet, he muses that the NFL® would be surprised at the use the NFL® prototype football suit was being put to.
Sanction’s plan has a poetic irony to it. He plans to defeat NFL® Superpro on a football field. “He has beaten me in my game, now I shall beat him in his!” Sanction’s game was crime. NFL® Superpro stopped his crimes, so he is going to show NFL® Superpro up at football.
Sanction expects to win because he has the “home-field advantage”. These references to football as played by the NFL® are common, and reinforce the motifs of the series.
We then get the great turning point of the series, when Jane Dixon learns that her boyfriend Phil is none other than the famous NFL® Superpro!
Again with the emphasizing of the NFL® motifs so central to this series, NFL® Superpro expresses his plan using metaphor. “Can’t let him make a big play from the opening kick-off.” Too true, NFL® Superpro. Too true.
As NFL® Superpro rushes to save Jane, he hears her call him Phil, and instantly grasps the meaning: she has learned his secret identity. He was hoping that conversation could wait until well after the wedding, perhaps their silver anniversary after the kids went off to college.
NFL® Superpro battles Sanction. Ken helps out from his vantage point as the guy in the chair. Ken describes Sanction’s armor as a “complex mother”. I don’t know exactly what he means by this, but I appreciate that all the language is family-appropriate.
In many ways, this issue is the climax of the series so far. Unbeknownst to NFL® Superpro, Sanction was the “big bad” behind all his adventures of the previous three issues.
We come now to the heartwarming ending, as Jane makes a fateful decision. She was surprised to learn her boyfriend was really NFL® Superpro, though it goes a long way toward explaining why NFL® Superpro showed up everywhere they went. She’s going to stick it out. Stay his girlfriend and even help him with his superhero life.
“And now, let’s show America what teamwork’s all about!”
You said it, NFL® Superpro!
Reading great comics
This is the third entry in our “reading great comics” series.
