Superman is super. The Fantastic Four are freakin' fantastic. Hulk... well, Hulk smash. But what of the other individuals out there who fight crime without the innate ability to fly, conjure flame, or talk to dolphins? With nary a drop of mutant DNA, gamma rays, or alien elixirs, these are the heroes that get picked last in all the Justice League kickball games.
We don't mean that these individuals are entirely defenseless. Of meager means and humble origins, maybe, but you'd be surprised at how much force these murderous individuals can get out of a few inanimate objects and a traumatic experience.
Hero: Darkman
From: Darkman, 1991
Hasn't got a superpower, but: He's a super scientist!
So what can he do?
Darkman can't feel pain, but he sure can dole it out. And thanks to his synthetic skin know-how, he can wear a variety of like-like face masks to freely infiltrate the mob as one of their own, and tear them apart from the inside.
Origin:
Liam Neeson is scientist, Payton Westlake, on the verge of replicating human skin for the medical benefit of all mankind. Too bad a bunch of nefarious mobsters show up and exploderize his lab with him in it. The good doctor loses most of his skin, all his pain receptors and his entire girlfriend.
Luckily, the inability to feel results in a sensory overcompensation of sorts, similar to the baseless notion that being blind made Ray Charles a great piano player. It's silly as hell, but it feels more like a living comic book than any movie before or since, in spite of not actually being based on one.
The Disc:
Darkman looks far better than it deserves, so feel free to stare deeply into the pores of each and every two-dimensional gangster. Hope that suffices as a special feature, because you've literally got nothing else here in terms of extras.
Trivia:
Darkman was spun off into two straight-to-video sequels and an unaired TV pilot. Toad-faced Larry Drake (of Dr. Giggles infamy) was the only cast member to go along for the entire ride.
