SUPERSONIC MAN (1979)

“You cannot stop me! I am supersonic.” So says Kronos, an extraterrestrial superhero dispatched to Earth to stop men whose weapons would destroy the galaxy--or something like that. The print I saw was dubbed in French, which I don't speak. (The movie itself is from Spain.)

Our guy's powers appear to be whatever is convenient to the storyline. They include, but are not limited to:

- flying (awkwardly, though still better than the Pumaman);
- X-ray vision;
- making objects appear and disappear;
- opening doors with a wave of his hand;
- lifting a wooden prop that kinda looks like a bulldozer if you squint hard; and
- turning guns into bananas. (Hey, I didn't write the damned thing.)

Supersonic Man takes on the evil Dr. Kulik (Cameron “Anything For a Paycheck” Mitchell), who is headquartered in a paper-mache volcano. He orders his army (which all supervillians have) to kidnap a world-famous scientist (of course), who he wants to build a superlaser that will allow Kulik to rule the world. To blackmail Morgan into doing his bidding, Kulik dispatches his forces to abduct the professor's daughter. However, Supersonic Man repeatedly foils their attempts. (At no time does it enter the daughter's mind to call the police on her would-be kidnapers.)

Item: Our mild-mannered hero transforms into Supersonic Man by uttering “May the great force of the galaxy be with me” into his wristwatch. It even works underwater!

Item: He doesn't seem to know what to do with his arms, so he spreads them a lot.

Item: Kulik's arsenal includes a life-sized Rock 'Em-Sock 'Em Robot that shoots fire from its claws and has twin mini-rockets mounted to its head.

Item: The score tries hard to sound like 1978's SUPERMAN. For some reason, the triumphant music even turns up in scenes without the super guy in them.

Item: Though presumably made to cash in on SUPERMAN, this movie comes a lot closer to ripping off the James Bond film, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

I hope to one day see this film in English.