Suddenly I am very glad that Hulu exists.
I watched this skit for the first time at the cast party for The Pink Panther Strikes Again. It aired the Saturday after Superman #75 came out. The party took place at my friend Ben’s house and Ben’s parents had a projection screen television, so we watched this skit on the wall of his living room. I vividly remember the stares I got when I said, rather loudly mind you, that Batman should have known who Black Lightning was because they were in the Outsiders together.
I guess I was the only comic geek in the room.
Then and now my favorite part of this skit was Lex Luthor, as played by Al Franken, expressing remorse and admiration for Superman and then saying that he’s glad Superman is dead and that it is going to be a good year for him. Outside of Chris Farley as the Hulk and Chris Rock (as Robin) looking at the camera at one point that will always make me laugh.
Again, I am very glad that Hulu had this in their archives for SNL because I sure as heck couldn’t find it on YouTube.
Next week: Scans, videos and more scans. Should be more Death and Return of Superman “fun”.
More to follow…
The sketch was hilarious. My years of watching SNL pretty much run from around 1984 to 1994 and this was one of the highlights even with my mixed feelings on the Death/Return story. Farley-Hulks statement about Superman as “a superhuman expression of the most noble aspirations of man” always stuck with me.
The amusing thing for me about Sinbad as Black Lightning is that one of the earliest comicbooks I ever read was a DC Comics Presents issue featuring him and Superman.
Darn it … not available outside the US.
I think it’s funnier to imagine Batman is pretending not to know Black Lightning, like you might do with an embarrassing friend or relative.
I love this sketch. Too classic. From what I understand, Tony Isabella himself loved the whole Black Lightning gig.
I do have to ask though: “I watched this skit for the first time at the cast party for The Pink Panther Strikes Again. ”
HUH?! Explain yourself!
In the first semester of my junior year in high school I was in what they called the senior class play even though grades 10-12 could participate. That year we did the stage version of the 1976 film THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN.
Fun fact; I played Dr. Fassbender, the creator of a world ending device. Fassbender’s daughter was played by a classmate named Libby Casey, who was also a friend of my sister Jane. Today you can see Libby on C-SPAN.
I host several podcasts about comic books.
Someone made a better career choice there.
Hint…it wasn’t me.
It’s been fun going through the archives here for the 30th anniversary. You probably already know this but in case you don’t that skit is now available on YouTube on the SNL “channel”.