Stan Lee's Superhumans (2010)
Stan Lee's Superhumans is a television series that debuted August 5, 2010 on History. It is hosted by comic book superhero creator Stan Lee and follows contortionist Daniel Browning Smith, "the most flexible man in the world", as he searches the globe for real-life superhumans – people with extraordinary physical or mental abilities. Many of the segments are fraudulenty manipulated and these appear side by side with other segments that are valid. For example, one segment shows a person applying an electric drill to their body[ after it is used to drill a hole in wood], except the direction of rotation of the drill is fraudulently reversed in the process.
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Episode 1 - Throat of Steel
Release Date: 2013-03-07First, Daniel meets Ho in Kuala Lumpur, where he demontrates his incredible ability, smashing through the rock hard exterior of a coconut with his index finger. Dan Voss measures the force of his finger of steel. And a load hammer replicates this force on a coconut. Then he attempts to smash the shells of 3 coconuts in 30 secs. Then, Daniel meets Moses Langan in a busy Detroit shopping mall, where he has drawn a crowd with his spectacular ability. He appears to be able to turn his legs 180 degrees, and walk forwards! We use an open MRI to see what is going on inside his skeleton to allow this to take place. Next, Orlando Duque demonstrates a breath-taking ability, diving from the same height as a twelve-storey building and hitting the water at 55MPH without injury. Daniel and an Orthopaedic Surgeon Dirk Dolbere, investigate the forces Orlando can withstand. They then witnesses Orlando’s latest feat and are blown out of the water! And finally, Joe Eigo says his jump defies gravity and insists he never uses trick photography, crash mats or safety wires. Could his body be engineered differently? Sports physiologists use motion capture to investigate and the scientist is amazed by Joe’s gravity-defying final demo.
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Episode 2 - Painproof
Release Date: 2014-07-20Stan sends Daniel to meet four people who can control their perception of pain, and push their bodies to unthinkable levels. Having created so many fictional pain-proof characters in his comics, Stan never thought real people could possess immunity to pain, but these four individuals perform staggering feats of pain tolerance that challenge the known limits of the human body. Eduardo Lasaga claims he can withstand extreme amounts of bone-crunching weights on his body. But, is he really un-crushable? Evgeny Kuznetsov takes the gore factor to the extreme, withstanding the excruciating pain of dozens of darts penetrating his flesh, but he also doesn’t shed a drop of blood. Matthew Ahmet claims he’s trained his body to tolerate the same level of pain as the ultimate shaolin warriors. Li Xin’s demonstration of skull strength is almost too gruesome to watch, and he claims he’s developed a superhuman head, that is virtually indestructible.
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Episode 3 - Human Fireball
Release Date: 2014-07-27This time Stan wants Daniel to investigate four people who claim to have superhuman heat tolerance, performing potentially deadly demonstrations that push themselves, and the human body, to new limits. Daniel puts them to the test to find out if they really can stand the heat! Ted Batchelor claims he is fireproof. At Salinas Airfield, Ted attempts the longest full body burn of all time, running over 500 feet, whilst burning at temperatures of 2400 Fahrenheit. Kann Trichaan from Thailand is rumored to be immune to the searing heat of boiling cooking oil, and appears to feel no pain, even when submerging his hands for seconds at a time. Anandita Dutta Tamali is the most chilli-proof human on earth, but can she withstand pepper spray? Marshall Ullrich is said to be immune to the lethal effects of heatstroke, but Daniel tests his heat tolerance by challenging him to run in potentially fatal temperatures, in an oven!
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Episode 4 - Powerlifting Pastor
Release Date: 2014-08-20Super-strength appears in almost all comics, whether a natural-born ability or the result of some misguided scientific experiment. This time Daniel investigates four claims of genuine real-life super-strength that appear to take human power to mind boggling levels. Ales Novak claims to have the ability to scale ropes incredibly fast, using his own pulling power. Daniel tests the man known as the human winch, to find out if he is truly superhuman. Kevin Fast claims he’s the strongest man in the world. He says his ability is a power granted by God, but he’s going to attempt to pull a 140 ton truck, a machine designed to move mountains. Jim Dreyer is an endurance swimmer who can swim for days on end, while towing tons of weight behind him, like a human tug boat. Lasha Pataraya says he has the world’s strongest ears. But Daniel tracks him down in Florida where he attempts to pull a five ton truck with just one ear.
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Episode 5 - Fearproof
Release Date: 2014-08-13This time Stan wants Daniel to meet four people who claim to be fear-proof, and push man’s limits to the very edge, performing staggering feats at extreme heights that would paralyze any normal person with fear. Julio Munoz claims to have the ability to switch off fear, and wants to prove it by attempting one of the scariest stunts of all time that requires superhuman nerves of steel. Tyler Bradt takes fearlessness to a whole new level, kayaking over waterfalls hundreds of feet high. Andy Lewis is a fearless slackliner who uses no safety harness when traversing deadly canyons on an inch-wide rope. Gary Connery has dedicated his life to become the first human to jump from an aircraft and land without a parachute, and survive. Daniel heads up to over 3000 feet to watch Gary attempt this insane feat.
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Episode 6 - Rapid Fire
Release Date: 2014-08-20Comics are full of inventors and geniuses that use machines to perform amazing feats. Stan sends Daniel to meet real life inventors who claim to have built machines that that merge man and machine. But can they take humans to the next level, to become superhuman? Jerry Miculek is rumored to be able to fire an old fashioned handgun, faster than a fully automatic. Daniel puts that claim to the test, to see if he is… a human machine gun. Francky Zapata claims he has built a machine that allows him to fly through and over the water, just like Iron Man. Time for Daniel to see what he’s capable of. Paul Swift is rumored to be the best driver on the planet, and can perform feats with a car that appear impossible. Eric Barone has built a new breed of bicycle in an attempt to become the fastest downhill cyclist of all time.
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Episode 7 - Man vs. Beast
Release Date: 2014-08-27Animals are imbued with incredible abilities, like echo-location, super-sight. This time Stan is sending Daniel on a mission to find four people who claim they have the ability to match nature's superpowered animals. Ru Anting claims to have superpowered tear-ducts, that can shoot liquid even further than the deadly Spitting Cobra. Kie Willis claims to have a superhuman jump, that he says can match nature's most powerful jumpers, the leopard. Daniel investigates claims that Igor Zaripov could have jaws just as strong as one of nature's most powerful bites, the shark. Dan Goodwin, wants to climb the worlds tallest buildings like a human gecko, using nothing but sucker cups.
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Episode 8 - High Voltage
Release Date: 2014-09-03Genetic mutation produces incredible comic-book superheroes. But Stan wants Daniel to meet four real people who claim to have a difference in their physiology, that makes them superhuman! Mr. Duong claims that his entire family possess a genetic mutation that makes them completely immune to electrocution, and can hang from a live pylon and survive. Orlando Serrell claims he was turned into a real life genius after being hit on the head, and can remember the exact weather every day since the accident. Thanks to a unique genetic mutation, Joshua Carter is able to perform a staggering feat of contortion, that rewrites the limits of the human body. Kortney Olsen claims to have thighs even stronger than a python. Daniel tests her crush force, to see if she has turned her body into a human weapon.
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Episode 9 - Disc of Death
Release Date: 2014-09-10The secret of any good superhuman is a deadly power hidden beneath an ordinary exterior. This time Stan is on the hunt for people with secret abilities that turn them into lethal human weapons! Lee Morrison says he has trained himself to deliver a super-powered strike, as deadly as a tiger claw. Brodie Smith is rumored to use an every day frisbee with killer accuracy. Daniel puts him head-to-head with a sniper to find out how accurate he really is. Rick Smith Jr. claims to be able to throw an everyday playing card with devastating accuracy and power, but can he throw it the length of a football field? Many people claim to have unique powers, but Paul Stringerl says he has the power and strength to run straight through a brick wall.
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Episode 10 - Ultimate Super Team
Release Date: 2014-09-17Creating teams of comic book heroes requires a combination of incredible but unique superpowers. This time Daniel meets four people with totally separate powers…but could they be ultimate team of real life superhumans? Adam Winrich claims to have extraordinary accuracy with a whip and has turned this old-school object into a comic book weapon just like a real life Whiplash! Daniel seeks out Will Trubridge, a free-diver that claims he can dive deeper than anyone else with no mechanical assistance. Is he really a human submarine? Joel King claims he’s built a super-powered skateboard, capable of breaking the speed limit… on the freeway. Daniel watches his latest record attempt, where any mistake could be fatal.