Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Robert Townsend — who I don’t think we talk about enough — is one of my favorite filmmakers. The list of films he’s either acted in, written or directed is too long to name here but includes such gems as “Hollywood Shuffle,” “Eddie Murphy Raw,” television’s reboot of “The Wonder Years” and my personal favorite, “The Five Heartbeats,” a film so important to Black culture that folks, to this day, still argue about whether it’s Eddie Kane Jr. or Eddie King Jr. For the record, I had the chance to speak to him once while he was doing a press run for his film “In The Hive,” and he clarified that Michael Wright’s character was indeed named Eddie King Jr. I lost $20 because of that.
Another of my favorite movies of his is 1993’s “Meteor Man.” I saw this movie in theaters when it was released in August of that year and have loved it ever since. Sure, it’s doing ALL OF THE THINGS (and maybe a little too much) but let’s be real: a Black superhero from Washington, D.C., would be on the clock for all of the things. Just as a refresher, Robert Townsend stars as Jefferson Reed, a school teacher who, after running from a fight with a local gang, the Golden Lords, ends up struck by a meteor that gives him superpowers like flight, x-ray and heat vision, super strength, and the ability to absorb all of a book’s content for 30 seconds by touching it, which leads to a hilarious scene in the film about voguing. Also, this might be the most useful skill any superhero could ever have. I have nothing to back up this assertion, but let’s just say who WOULDN’T like that superpower during test time?
“Meteor Man” is a superhero film for the everyman trying to help his neighborhood. He’s an average citizen who comes upon some powers and then because of his sense of duty, some prodding and help from his parents, decides to do what is right as long as he’s able. But while he’s out whipping tail, he creates a gang truce between the Bloods and Crips (which absolutely wasn’t a thing in Washington, D.C., in the ’90s), creates a community garden, gets his neighbors to take up arms against drug dealers and neighborhood terrorizers, closes some crack houses (definitely a thing in D.C. in the ’90s) and still kicks the truth to the young Black youth. Shouts out to Inspectah Deck from the Wu-Tang Clan.
“Meteor Man” as a film is a joy to watch for a few reasons. For starters, the villains have golden hair and dress like a ’90s R&B group. The leader of the Golden Lords, Simon, (played by Roy Fegan) was great in that role. I have no idea why I loved Simon so much but I really did, even more than I did when he was Bird in “The Five Heartbeats” and was part of one of the most famous scenes in Black history. I’m sure you remember Bird being dangled off of a balcony and leading to a ton of people using “My office hours are from 9 to 5” on our voicemails for decades.
And don’t even get me started on who this film features. From MEMORY: Luther Vandross, Naughty By Nature, James Earl Jones, Cypress Hill, Bill Cosby, Don Cheadle, Sinbad, Big Daddy Kane, Marla Gibbs, Robert Guillaume, Jenifer Lewis, John Witherspoon and Eddie Griffin. And that’s from memory. I’m sure I’m missing other people. Just checked. I forgot the children playing the Baby Lords were Biv 10 Records artists, Another Bad Creation.
“Meteor Man” is far from a perfect film, but it’s filled with heart and built around a man who wants to do as much as he can to make sure his neighborhood is OK and cleaned up, and when given a chance, is willing to go the extra mile to fix it himself. Shouts to Robert Townsend and “Meteor Man” for making a superhero movie for us and by us.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio. He writes very Black things and drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest), but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said: “Unknown” (Blackest).
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