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BY FRANK LOVECESpecial to Newsday

The hero may have athousand faces, but theface of the superherois American.Iwas interviewing

Gerard Jones author of MenofTomorrow, about the earlydays of the comic-book industry and he handedme his bookand said, Youmake these docu-mentaries about uniquelyAmeri-can art forms; you should thinkabout this, recallsMichaelKantor, producer and co-writerof the PBS documentary Super-heroes: ANever-Ending Battle,airing tomorrow at 8 p.m. onWNET/13. I took it home, read itand thought, There arent somany stories of American cultureas important as this one is. Even accounting for a produc-

ers understandable hyperbole,Kantor whose documentariesinclude Broadway: The Ameri-can Musical and Make EmLaugh: The Funny Business ofAmerica has a point. Likejazz, rap, Appalachian clogdancing and precious few otherforms, the superhero is a dis-tinctly American creation.There are antecedents, of

course, as the three-hour, three-part documentarymentions inpassing and theCrown / RandomHouse companion book Super-heroes! describes inmore detail.Historian and legendary comic-bookwriter-artist Jim Steranko,

who consulted on the series, sayssuperheroes, like ancientmytho-logical entities, represent thekind of aesthetic or bravura idealthat is easily embraced by thehumanpsyche because of theiressential good and evil qualifica-tions. The documentarys co-writer, LaurenceMaslon, talksabout suchmeta-humanAmerican folklore characters asPecos Bill and Paul Bunyan.The 1903 play and subsequent

novel The Scarlet Pimpernelpopularized the idea of amasked avenger. Soon, pulp-fiction and comic-strip heroeslike Zorro and the Phantomwere donning costumes. Alonga separate track, the non-costumed Popeye and HugoDanner, protagonist of PhilipWylies 1930 novel, Gladiator,developed super strength.The arrival of Superman in

1938 solidified the archetype. Andas archetypes do, he embodiedwhat the public needed to believein at the time: aDepression-eraherowho could confront true-to-life villains like crooked politi-cians and bullyingwife-beatersand give themwhat-for.Culture inevitably reflects the

prevailing society, and comic-book heroes are no different,notes Steranko. As societychanged, so superheroes changedto reflect it. Superman is domes-ticated in the 1950s, Kantor says.Spider-Man grapples with drugissues in the 1970s.Today, Steranko observes,

that issue has been clouded bythe domination of the antiheroon the contemporary narrative.What was once black-and-whiteis now 50 shades of gray.The documentary, narrated

by Liev Schreiber, covers suchrecent developments in itsthird hour, A Hero Can BeAnyone. The initial hour trac-es the superheros origins as anoutsider fantasy created byfirst-generation Americanseager to assimilate. The secondhour, Great Power, GreatResponsibility, describes thesuperheros reinvention in the1960s and 70s.Our series is devoted to super-

heroes, and not devoted to com-ics per se in all their differentforms, notes Kantor, so dontexpect Archie and Jughead,Richie Rich andHarvey Pekar.Do expect interviewswithMarvel Comics impresario StanLee; departed legends like JoeKubert (Hawkman), Joe Simon(CaptainAmerica), JerryRobinson (Batman) andCarmine Infantino (The Flash)and a parade of present-daycreators, historians and others.For so long, the creators and

those associated with super-heroes were just looked downon and demeaned and were paidpoorly, Kantor says of the daysbefore royalty statements, block-buster films andmega-crowdedconventions. Finally, our cul-ture has come around to givethem the respect they deserve.

DAYTIMECBS THIS MORNING (7 a.m.,CBS/2) Film critic A.O. ScottTODAY (7 a.m., NBC/4) JamesFranco, Cee Lo Green,William ShatnerKELLY &MICHAEL (9 a.m.,WABC/7) Julianne Hough, MattBomer, John LegendQUEEN LATIFAH (9 a.m., WCBS/2,7 p.m., WLNY/10/55) ChristinaAguileraWENDYWILLIAMS (10 a.m.,WNYW/5, 4 p.m., WWOR/9, mid-night, BET) Ja RuleBETHENNY (11 a.m., WNYW/5) Andy CohenDR. PHIL (3 p.m., WCBS/2; 6 p.m., WLNY/10/55) Torn between mother and boyfriendSTEVE HARVEY (3 p.m., NBC/4) Three best places tofind a manKATIE COURIC (3 p.m., ABC/7) Cyberbullied to deathELLEN DEGENERES (4 p.m., WNBC/4) Kat Dennings,Beth Behrs

NIGHTCONAN (11 p.m., TBS) Steven Yeun, Eric AndreARSENIO (11 p.m., WPIX/11) Tom Arnold, Laura PreponLENO (11:35 p.m., NBC/4) Sandra Bullock (repeat)LETTERMAN (11:35 p.m., CBS/2) Ray Romano, JamesFrancoKIMMEL (11:35 p.m., ABC/7) Woody Harrelson, Ke$haFALLON (12:35 a.m., NBC/4) Ben Affleck,Mindy Kaling (repeat)FERGUSON (12:35 a.m., CBS/2) Malin Akerman

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POV: 56 UP(10 p.m.,WNET/13) In thelatest install-ment of hisdocumentaryseries,MichaelApted speakswith mem-bers of agroup he firstinterviewedas 7-year-olds, 49 years ago, who are now settling into middle age.

]THE VOICE (8 p.m., NBC/4) The battle rounds begin:advisers Cher, Ed Sheeran, Miguel and Ryan Tedder helpthe coaches decide which artists to keep.SLEEPY HOLLOW (9 p.m., Fox/5) An unidentifiedboy is found in town.

BIG BIOS Cables incessant encores are suddenly welcomewhen programs premiere at the same time. Witness to-nights duel of pop-culture portraits Pure Evel:American Legend (10 p.m., Discovery), about cycle-riding daredevil Evel Knievel, and True Hollywood Story:Paula Deen (10 p.m., E!), updating the sweet Southerncook turned sorry racial slur user.

DIANE WERTS

newsday.com/tv

Ray Romanovisits Letterman.

Truth,heroes,theAmericanwayReading comics in 1952 in PBS documentary Superheroes ] Video: Lynda (Wonder Woman) Carter

Peter Davies, at age 56 in 2012, with hisband, The Good Intentions, in 56 Up

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