NFL Superpro

Origin

Phil Grayfield was a football player who was injured saving a small child from a terrible accident. This injury ended Grayfield’s football career, but he soon embarked on a career as a sports reporter. While interviewing an eccentric superfan, who happened to be a chemist, he was shown a priceless custom football uniform, which was almost invulnerable to damage. Thieves arrived during the interview, stole some of the memorabilia, and set the house on fire.

An incapacitated Grayfield accidently knocks over some chemicals, which, combined with the rare souveniers’ fumes, turn him into the nearly invulnerable Superpro. For some reason donning the uniform, Phil decides to fight evildoers with his powers and very corny dialog. He was assisted by four allies: Almighty Dollar, who could shoot pennies from his hands, Calculator, a stereotypical Korean genius, Girth, a fat man with a super stomach, and Streak, a super-speedster.

Creation

In the early 1990s, Marvel signed a licensing deal with the NFL to develop a property. When the writers assigned to the project had difficulty developing a plot that satisfied the NFL, Marvel editor Bob Budiansky asked Fabian Nicieza to help. Nicieza wrote the first issue, which so impressed the NFL that they asked him to continue writing the book. Nicieza agreed if the NFL could get him New York Jets tickets.

Major Story Arcs

From Football-Starr, to Superhero!

NFL Superpro fought football themed heroes such the time manipulator Instant Replay, players with roid rage, and a kicker/ninja. NFL Superpro and the characters in his book were considered to be the most shameless marketing ploys in Marvel history. Terrible sales, predictable dialog, and endless football puns saw that this book was “kicked” from shelves in 12 issues.