In an interview with IFC Fillion revealed his dreams to revive the old curly-headed superhero series, but with minor updates to the suit:

If I had a dream project right now, I'd like to grab a hold of a superhero. There are so many superheroes out there, I feel like there's none left. But there is one I think I could handle, and that's a redo of "The Greatest American Hero."

We think he'd be fantastic, but we'll do anything to keep Fillion in tight fitting attire. And According to Fillion both William Katt and Robert Culp are friends with then executive producers on Castle, so there's a chance.

But in other amazing fantasy news Castle TV net caught a glimpse of Castle's Halloween costume, and it is beautiful. Please let this be in the episode — we miss Mal!

Superman v. Wonderman: Hoping to capitalize on the success of Superman, Fox Publications commissioned Will Eisner to create a similar hero. Thus, both Wonderman and a lawsuit were born.
Wonderman’s Story: Fred Carson was a mild-mannered engineer who met a yogi while visiting Tibet. The yogi gave Carson a magic ring, which endowed him with super strength, super speed, invulnerability, and the ability to leap tall buildings in a single… well, you get it.
Outcome: The case found its way to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The opinion, written by August Hand, carefully compared the panels in Wonder Man’s first issue to those in Action Comics #1-11. Fox Publishing tried to get around the comics’ obvious similarities by arguing that proto-Supermen went all the way back to the legends of Hercules, but the court didn’t buy it. They ruled that Eisner’s comic went beyond use of the same archetype and enjoined Wonderman after only a single issue.

Superman v. Master Man: Following its vanquish of Wonderman, National Comics (which would later become DC), went after Master Man, the superpowered lead of Fawcett’s Master Comics.
Master Man’s Story: A weak young boy receives special vitamins from a wise doctor. These vitamins make the boy “Stronger than untamed horses! Swifter than raging winds! Braver than mighty lions! Wiser than wisdom, kind as Galahad is Master Man, the wonder of the world!” This strongest man in the world had no secret identity and couldn’t fly, but did have a fortress on the highest peak on Earth, where he looked for trouble through his giant telescope.
Outcome: Fawcett didn’t bother to take Master Man to court. Under the threat of a lawsuit, it pulled Master Man, who had appeared in six issues.

Superman v. Captain Marvel: When Captain Marvel’s books began outselling Superman’s, National Comics took aim at Fawcett once more.
Captain Marvel’s Story: Twelve-year-old Billy Batson is taken to the wizard Shazam, who gives him the ability to turn into Captain Marvel. Marvel has the powers of wisdom, strength, stamina, invulnerability, and speed. But some similarities between Marvel and Superman, such as the power of flight and a bald nemesis, appeared in Fawcett’s Whiz Comics before appearing in National’s Action Comics.
Outcome: Since Captain Marvel was Fawcett’s flagship comic, the publisher decided to fight National this time around. This suit also made it to the Second Circuit where Learned Hand (Augustus’ more famous cousin) ruled that Fawcett’s plagiarism of the Superman comics was “deliberate and unabashed.” Fawcett stopped publishing Captain Marvel, and soon dropped all its superhero properties. Captain Marvel would eventually be resurrected in DC’s Shazam!, finding a home with the same publisher who’d gotten him shelved decades before. This didn’t mend fences between the two heroes, who have continued to battle each other in the DC Universe.

Superman v. The Greatest American Hero: After the success of Superman: The Movie and Superman II, the vision of William Katt sailing through the skies in a red suit and cape proved too much for Warner Bros. and DC, who quickly filed an injunction against ABC’s klutzy superhero.
The Greatest American Hero’s Story: An alien gives schoolteacher Ralph Hinkley a superpowered suit in order to protect the people of Earth. The suit gives Ralph a mess of powers — flight, super strength, invisibility, telekinesis, super speed — but not the knowledge to use them properly.
Outcome: In 1983, another Second Circuit decision found that the TV hero didn’t infringe on the Superman story. Though depictions of Superman and Hinckley bore some similarities, the reluctant and inept hero with powers thrust upon him was a far cry from the bold and confident Kryptonian. And though many of the show’s special effects echoed those in the Superman films, they did so in parody rather than plagiarism. By the time of the ruling, the show had run its course, but it left ABC free to sell the character’s comic book and movie rights.

Superman v. Superboy: Superman creator Jerry Siegel submitted a proposal to DC Comics for a series of adventures about Clark Kent’s youth. DC rejected the proposal, but later printed Superboy while Siegel was serving in the US Army. When Siegel’s heirs attempted to terminate Superboy’s copyright, DC and Time Warner claimed that Superboy was merely Superman as a young man, and not a distinct character (and thus not copyrightable as distinct from Superman), giving DC the legal right to publish books featuring Superboy with or without Siegel’s permission.
Superboy’s Story: The original Superboy follows the adventures of the young Superman growing up in Smallville. He wears glasses as his alter ego Clark Kent and the iconic suit as Superman. Like his grownup self, he has superpowers and battles Lex Luthor, and he eventually travels to the 30th century to join the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Outcome: In 1948, a referee in a dispute between Siegel and DC found that Superboy was a distinct entity from Superman, and that DC had published the comic illegally. The findings were vacated in a settlement between DC and Siegel, but in 2006, the Ninth Circuit agreed with the referee, granting termination rights to Siegel’s heirs. However, the court later vacated that ruling, granting Warner and DC’s motion for reconsideration. Although Siegel’s family has recaptured some rights to Superman, the Superboy question remains undecided.

Gladiator v. Superman: Superman was nearly the victim of a lawsuit himself. In 1930, eight years before the first appearance of Superman, author Philip Wylie published Gladiator, a novel about a man cursed with superhuman strength.
Gladiator’s Story: Scientist Abednego Danner discovers a formula that cures the innate weakness in animals. He injects his pregnant wife with the serum, producing Hugo, a super strong and bulletproof child. Like Superman, Hugo grows up in rural America and his strength is explained in insectoid terms: he has the strength of the ant and a grasshopper’s ability to leap great distances. But unlike Superman, Hugo Danner has trouble finding an outlet for his inhuman abilities, leaving him in a state of perpetual frustration.
Outcome: In 1940, Wylie threatened to sue Siegel and National comics for plagiarism of his work. Although nothing ever came of the suit, Siegel did sign an affidavit claiming that Gladiator was not an inspiration for Superman, although Siegel had reviewed Wylie’s novel in a 1932 issue of his fanzine, Science Fiction.

The Greatest American Hero video via Reddit.

The GAH panel at Comic-Con was ostensibly to announce a Greatest American Hero comic book miniseries. (To be published in early 2009 by original star William Katt's own Catastrophic Comics.) But additional revelations abounded: a web-based animated series of shorts are in the works, which will form a lost episode bridging Seasons One and Two of the show, and castmembers Connie Sellecca and Robert Culp responded positively to the idea of reprising their characters. Also, even though a GAH movie is already in development with director Steven Herek, the show's creator, Steven J. Cannell, has his own updated feature-length Greatest American Hero script completed. Cannell says he has financial backers lined up, and a three hour panel retrospective is scheduled for September 7, 2008 at the Screen Actor's Guild headquarters in Los Angeles.

Speaking for myself, however, the biggest revelation may have come from creator Cannell's videotaped statement, where he stated that, out of the dozens of shows he's created and worked on, The Greatest American Hero has been by far the most popular. "We put the show out on DVD recently," said Cannell, "And it proceeded to fly off the shelves." (Cannell, sadly, did not mention whether it flew off the shelves and directly into the windows and concession racks.)

You may well remember The Greatest American Hero fondly, especially if you've got the mad love for TV shows whose theme songs were initially a million times more popular than the show itself. To say nothing of shows starring Connie Sellecca. Cannell created the show when the setting on his adjustable scale of Delicious Cheese was sliding from Rockford Files toward The A Team. It focused on Ralph Hinkley, a hapless teacher who must struggle with superpowers after an alien gives him a supersuit and Ralph loses the instructions. Long before Hancock drunkenly smashed his way through buildings, Ralph — with the aid of tough as nails FBI guy Bill Maxwell (Culp) — tottered and bobbled across the blue-screen skies of Los Angeles, repeatedly smacking into concrete walls...and our hearts. Aww...

GAH is remembered with fondness by select members of my geek generation — who were desperate for anything remotely science fictionish in their popular media — and by Mike Post's bank account, as his theme song spent a staggering 18 weeks in the American Top 40 in 1981. Because of the former, the excitement was tangible at the Comic-Con panel, where the cast of the show — Katt, Sellecca, Culp, and stunt double Dennis "Danger" Madalone — reunited onstage for the first time in twenty-five years. Each member got his/her own montage, including an Elton John infused number showing seemingly every pratfall, collision, and car-stopping gag performed by Madalone which, in these post-CGI times, are even more striking now than they were then.

Each member of the panel had an attempt to explain the contuing appeal of the show with Robert Culp giving the most profound explanation. "This is a retelling in modern terms, of the Arthur/Merlin story," said Culp. "With my role filling in for Merlin. Merlin taught Arthur how to pull the sword from the stone, and then proceeded to boss him around constantly from that point on. The Greatest American Hero is an updating of that myth in a fun and exciting way."

While Culp's explanation is charmingly Joseph Campbellesque, I wonder if maybe a better explanation wasn't offered by stunt double Madalone, while talking about trying on the red tights: "When I tried on those red tights for the first time, suddenly I remembered being five years old and dressing up in my own red tights and jumping off my bunkbed when I was a kid. And, of course, I jumped and landed face-first against my clothes bureau." For all of us who dressed up as superheroes and jumped and fell from trees and fences when we were young, The Greatest American Hero really may have been not just a simple superhero panacea for the early '80s, but something every klutzy and bright-eyed dreamer could believe in...or not.

This post has been updated to correct author's recurring Orwellian doublethink with regards to decades. Thanks to io9 commenters for their non-lynchy corrections!

The Greatest American Hero. Soon to be a major motion picture, probably starring Will Ferrell or Jack Black. This TV show features probably the most archetypal semi-competent hero, complete with out-of-control flying and crashing into things. Ralph Hinkley loses the instruction manual for his super-suit and is stuck trying to figure out how to control its awesome powers by himself.

Green Hornet. No, not the original radio or TV versions of the Batman-esque crime-fighter — stop writing those angry comments! — but we're getting the distinct impression the upcoming Seth Rogen movie will feature a sloppy hero whose sidekick, Kato, is the famous and can-do member of the duo.

Ambush Bug. Actually, is Ambush Bug even a hero? In his first appearance (which I have somewhere, and which is probably worth a whole dollar now) the teleporting insect guy tries to assassinate the mayor of Metropolis. But he quickly becomes a kinda-sorta superhero, who mostly mocks the conventions and tropes of comics and gets killed over and over again. He also fails to save his doll sidekick, Cheeks The Toy Wonder, from being dismembered. Poor Cheeks.

Most of The Tick's supporting cast. At least in the animated TV show (It's been forever since I read the comics), the Tick is a semi-competent hero who often misses what's right in front of him. But at least he manages to defeat his enemies most of the time, with the help of his sidekick Arthur. Most of the other heroes i the Tick's world, like Die Fledermaus, American Maid and Sewer Urchin, are too self-absorbed or silly to be much use most of the time.

Most of the cast of Jim Valentino's normalman. Normalman crashes on a planet where he's the only non-superhero, but most of the superheroes he meets are worse than useless. Sure, Captain Everything has every super power ever, but he's so dim-witted he usually just makes matters worse. And Levram's main superhero team is too busy taking attendance to do anything else.

The Legion Of Substitute Heroes. They're the superheroes whose powers aren't cool or useful enough to join the future Legion of Super Heroes, but they keep trying anyway, and finally do save the world from an alien plant invasion. Antenna Lad can tune into radio broadcasts from any era, but only at random. Chlorophyll Kid can make plants grow fast. Color Kid can change the color of any object. Infectious Lass can inflict disease, but has a hard time aiming this ability properly. Etc. etc.

Rod Rescueman is a bumbling superhero in the animated movie Twice Upon A Time. He's got his superhero learner's permit, which is just a blank piece of paper (but it's notarized!). Attempting a practice run at rescuing a "damsel in distress," he inhales all the flames around her — then breathes fire at her, singeing her to a crisp.

The Inferior Five. Another parody superhero team, they have the requisite lame or out-of-control powers. "He can fly — if the wind's with him!" "She's stronger than an Ox — and almost as smart!" Ha ha, aaaaah yeah. Anyway, weirdly enough they had their own title that lasted 12 issues.

Irving Forbush. Marvel Comics' semi-mascot and hero of its Not Brand Echh comic, Forbush Man wears a crockpot on his head and stumbles through a series of wacky adventures.

Major Bummer. Soon to be a major motion picture (well, according to IMDB anyway), this short-lived 1990s comic was about a slacker who accidentally gets superpowers from aliens. But he just wants to sit around on his couch and watch TV. Unfortunately, the aliens also cause him to attract supervillains, including a Nazi dinosaur called Tyrannosaurus Reich.

Mystery Men. Already a major motion picture! William H. Macy, Ben Stiller and Hank Azaria are loser superheroes: Macy's The Shoveler, who can handle a shovel, Stiller's Mr. Furious, who has rage powers, and Azaria's "effete British superhero" The Blue Raja. Loosely based on the awesome Flaming Carrot comic by Bob Burden, this movie shows second-rate superheroes who finally do triumph over the A-list supervillain Casanova Frankenstein.

Kinnukiman was one of the most influential characters in the Japanese Shonen Jump anthology comic back in the day — a weak superhero that you'd call on if all the other, better heroes weren't available. A muscle-bound idiot, he was always getting into wacky scrapes. Later, he turned out to be an alien prince, and he went off to fight in an intergalactic wrestling federation.

Nuklear Man: Like Hancock, the hero of Brian Clevinger's novel The Nuklear Age has amnesia, and can't remember anything before he appeared in the rubble of a nuclear attack on Metroville's power station. Also like Hancock, he has Superman-esque powers and is totally self-absorbed and obnoxious... plus, he's easily distracted by shiny objects.

Superflop was the alter ego of British comedian Les Dawson, the superhero who failed utterly to protect the town of Leeds from the Masked Fred. (Dawson's show Sez Les, regularly featured John Cleese and Olivia Newton John — a combination that' s hard to imagine.) Superflop also got to star in his own comic strip in British comics magazine Look-In.

The Roach is the all-purpose stand-in for every lame superhero, in Dave Sim's misanthropic comic Cerebus. The Roach's other guises include Wolveroach, MoonRoach (a take-off on obscure superhero Moon Knight) and Punisheroach.

Super Melvin is possibly the dumbest ventriloquist's dummy of all time, operated by ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. Here's a clip of his act, from Comedy Central.

Zeroman was an animated series a few years ago, starring Leslie Nielsen as the ne'erdowell protector of Fair City, the alter ego of mailman Les Mutton.

Webcomic VG Cats features Pantsman, the alter ego of the comic's author, who disguises his identity by wearing underpants on his head.

Demolition Man. Poor D-Man. He started out so promising, as a super-wrestler who refused to throw a fight with the Thing from the Fantastic Four. (How exactly do you throw a fight with the Thing anyway? Lose more?) Later, it turned out he was addicted to super-strength drugs and had to kick. Finally, in the pages of Daredevil, he went nuts and started stealing jewelry thinking he was collecting infinity gems for a "Cosmic Gamemaster." He was living in a pitiful sewer lair, until Ben Urich sent D-Man's idol Daredevil to get him out of there.

Captain Rightful is "the incompetent, armless superhero" in Jay Stephens' graphic novel The Land Of Nod.

Red Tornado. The original Red Tornado was Abigail "Ma" Hunkel, who put a saucepan (yes, again) on her head and went out to fight crime. But she ripped her pants and had to go home again. Later, she was replaced by an android that used to be evil but isn't any more, who has the awesome power of making wind. Yeah.

Wonderella is sort of a ditzy female version of Superman, in the webcomic The Adventures Of Wonderella.

Commenters daviddonne and Johnny Zito point out that I somehow forgot the Great Lakes Avengers, the midwestern branch of Marvel Comics' flagship super-team. They're mostly pretty useless, like Mr. Immortal, who's like Torchwood's Captain Jack — kill him and he just bounces back. But the group has a ringer: Squirrel Girl, who can control squirrels and somehow manages to defeat Doctor Doom and a number of other A-list supervillains single-handed.

And then commenter Trystero pointed out I missed The Pro, a sex worker who gets superpowers from meddling aliens. She's actually quite an effective superhero, but she's also a bad role model, urinating on a vanquished foe and using her superspeed to give tons of blow jobs for a quick profit. You can read the whole thing here, for now at least, but be warned — it's pretty NSFW.

Thanks to Lauren Davis and Graeme McMillan for research help.