In 1981, ABC introduced audiences to a bumbling superhero named Ralph Hinkley in The Greatest American Hero. Viewers loved it. Warner Brothers didn’t. Just 48 hours before the show’s premiere, Warner Bros. sued ABC, claiming the show was a blatant ripoff of Superman.
But was it?
Let’s break down the allegations with a side-by-side comparison.
The Flying Pose Controversy
Warner Bros. alleged that The Greatest American Hero blatantly copied Superman’s signature flying pose—the one-hand-out flight stance. It’s an iconic image, but is it unique enough to be copyrighted?
If you go back and watch Superman: The Movie (1978) or Superman II (1980), you’ll notice something: Superman doesn’t really have a signature take-off style. He simply lifts off—no dramatic build-up, no crouching, no sprinting. Compare that to Thor, who throws his hammer for propulsion. If Warner Bros. had tried to argue that Superman’s take-off was distinct and legally protected, that claim was already weak.
Ralph Hinkley, on the other hand, struggles to fly. In one of The Greatest American Hero’s early scenes, he has to be coached: “You gotta run, like, three steps and jump with your hands out in front of you.” When he does strike a heroic stance, it’s an accident—usually because he’s holding something in one hand. Otherwise, his arms flail wildly. Superman’s pose is deliberate; Ralph’s is unintentional. This alone undercuts Warner Bros.’s argument.
The Catchphrase Claim
Warner Bros. also argued that The Greatest American Hero stole Superman’s catchphrase: “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!”
The problem? By 1981, that phrase was part of pop culture. First introduced in the Superman radio show, it had been popularized by the 1950s TV series and comics. It was no longer exclusive to Warner Bros.
Plus, The Greatest American Hero used the phrase in a completely different way. In a key scene, someone says: “It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Ralph Hinkley.” Instead of building excitement like the Superman version, this moment sets up a comedic letdown. The audience expects heroics—only for reality to come crashing down. It was a joke, not an attempt to copy Superman.
The Flying Over the City Argument
Warner Bros. claimed that Ralph Hinkley soaring over a city at night was too similar to Superman doing the same. But how else are superheroes supposed to fly over a city? Should they zigzag, do backflips, stop at every streetlight?
This was what we call a repackaged allegation—taking a general superhero trope and splitting it into multiple claims of infringement to make it seem like there’s more evidence than there really is. In reality, this was just another way to reword the flight pose argument.
The Lifting a Car Allegation
Another claim was that The Greatest American Hero copied the famous moment from Superman where Clark Kent, as a baby, lifts a car over his head. Warner Bros. argued that this was a unique Superman moment.
But let’s be real—Superman lifts cars, trains, buses, and even entire buildings. If lifting heavy objects counted as copyright infringement, every superhero with super strength would be in trouble. In The Greatest American Hero, Ralph lifts a car to prove that his suit gives him powers. By that point, the audience already knew he had super strength, making the moment a confirmation rather than a dramatic reveal.
The Public Confusion Argument
Warner Bros. argued that The Greatest American Hero tricked audiences into thinking it was connected to Superman. They even conducted surveys where 33% of respondents said the show reminded them of Superman.
But that didn’t prove deception. ABC never marketed the show as a Superman spinoff. The survey was deemed inadmissible in court. Without evidence of actual confusion, this argument fell apart.
Warner Bros.’s History of Legal Battles
This wasn’t the first time Warner Bros. aggressively defended Superman.
- In the 1940s, they shut down a superhero called Wonder Man, created by Victor Fox and Will Eisner. The court ruled he was too similar to Superman.
- In 1941, they sued Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel (now known as Shazam), claiming he was a Superman ripoff. After a decade-long battle, Fawcett Comics gave up and stopped publishing Captain Marvel.
At one point, Captain Marvel was selling better than Superman, but in the courtroom, that didn’t matter. Warner Bros. had successfully erased competing superhero franchises before. Now, in 1981, they wanted to do it again.
Why This Lawsuit Failed
Unlike Wonder Man or Captain Marvel, The Greatest American Hero wasn’t trying to be Superman. Superman was an icon—tall, powerful, invincible. Ralph Hinkley was just a regular guy with a super suit he didn’t understand. The show was a parody—or at the very least, a deconstruction of the superhero archetype.
The key issue? You can’t copyright a genre. Superheroes share common tropes—many of them fly, wear capes, and save the day. If Warner Bros. won, they could potentially sue any superhero property created after Superman. The judge saw through this and wasn’t having it.
Warner Bros. then pivoted to a new argument: The Greatest American Hero wasn’t just a Superman ripoff—it was actively damaging Superman’s image. They claimed Ralph Hinkley made superheroes look clumsy and incompetent, and that this could ruin Superman’s prestige.
The courts didn’t buy it. The judge rejected this outright, stating that Superman was too iconic to be damaged by a single comedic TV show. The real issue wasn’t about protecting Superman—it was about Warner Bros. trying to control the entire superhero genre.
The Aftermath
Warner Bros. appealed, hoping another court would rule differently. They lost again.
The ruling was clear: copyright protects how an idea is expressed, not the idea itself. The Greatest American Hero and Superman were two completely different takes on the superhero concept. There was no real competition, no real confusion, and no case.
Before this case, Warner Bros. had successfully wiped out competitors through lawsuits. But this time, they failed. The superhero genre was evolving. The court’s decision paved the way for future superhero parodies and deconstructions, like Hancock, Mystery Men, and Kick-Ass.
Ironically, The Greatest American Hero didn’t last. It was canceled in 1983 due to low ratings—not because of the lawsuit. That means Warner Bros. spent two years fighting to kill a show that was already dying on its own. In the end, they didn’t just lose the case—they wasted their time and money.
And somehow, The Greatest American Hero still had the last laugh.
