U is for…Underdog

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Underdog might be the first superhero I ever admired. I used to sit on the floor as a toddler watching the humble and lovable shoeshine boy save Sweet Polly Purebred while my mother folded laundry around me.

The cartoon was silly and light, in the vein of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Hong Kong Phooey, and other cartoons of the era. Underdog had a range of talents/powers, with no consistency from episode to episode, but this didn't bother me. I liked his rhyming speeches. I even sort of got the Superman references, thanks to watching the old TV show with George Reeves in reruns with my uncles.

Sometimes, in the face of dark and twisted superhero stories like the recent Batman franchise, I miss the wide-open optimism and joy of heroes like Underdog, who knew simply what was right and fought villains who were clearly wrong. His secret identity stayed secret and his ego remained in check. Maybe some more recent superheroes could learn a thing or two from this shoeshine boy.
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This post is part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. I'll be writing about superheroes I love all month. You can check out other bloggers and see their creative takes on the challenge here.

Don't forget to check out my own superhero stories. Change of Life, book two of my Menopausal Superheroes series just came out a few days ago!