Superman Analogues: Turbo Man
42Case Aiken's a big fan of Superman (if you couldn't tell)! He's got a lot to say about the characters who are based on him or who fit the same archetype! This week, we're talking about Turbo Man, the most popular hero in the world of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Jingle All The Way" ! He might fly with a jetpack, but he's still a square jawed man of tomorrow!
Find the original thread here: https://twitter.com/CaseAiken/status/1209843745442713608?s=20
Original text: Let's talk about a fictional hero from within a work of fiction for this Christmas morning's #SupermanAnalogue! That's right, were talking about Turbo Man from the Arnold Schwarzenegger holiday movie, Jingle All The Way!
Jingle All The Way was a 1996 Holiday Movie that came towards the end of Schwarzenegger's run dominating box offices. Generally seen as a flop, nostalgia has kept it in the public consciousness.
Not to mention some true meme worthy Arnold quotes
It also had some fascinating cast choices. Sinbad, for example. Remember him? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Anyway, Sinbad was a rival dad also trying to get the hottest new toy. Also he disguised himself as the villain "Dementor" in an effort to steal a toy from a child.
If you watched that YouTube clip, you know that this movie featured Phil Hartman. You might remember him from SNL, Sgt. Bilko, or The Simpsons. RIP, sadly. He played a smarmy neighbor with a skeevy side.
Also, fucking Jake Lloyd! Pre-Phantom Menace.
Also Rita Wilson, who is arguably the biggest part after Schwarzenegger but criminally billed after Sinbad and Hartman.
Anyway, the movie centers around Schwarzenegger as a workaholic dad who disappoints his family at every turn. He decides to redeem himself by getting his son the latest Turbo Man toy, which is selling out in Tickle Me Elmo or Dragonzord numbers.
The property is pretty standard hero fare, hence me discussing it here. Turbo Man is a kitted out Superman. His powers are all in the suit. Armor, jetpack, gauntlet weapons. All what you'd expect from an explicitly toyetic character.
We see part of an episode of the show and it seems like a Batman 66 or Super Sentai/Power Rangers campy good time. I totally would have been down for something like that as a little kid.
Hell, I still got into the absurd final act where Schwarzenegger mistakenly gets put into a working Turbo Man suit for a parade.
It turns into an over the top action sequence with Jake Lloyd running from Sinbad, while Schwarzenegger flies around shooting disc shaped projectiles at his rival. It's incredibly over the top but fun. ("Fun" being the best thing I can say about the movie's qualities.)
Also, it's a little surreal in the modern era of big budget superhero movies that THIS was the one time we got Schwarzenegger dressed up as a costumed superhero. Aside from that, you have Mr. Freeze in Batman and Robin, but this famous Adonis didn't do superheroes.
Anyway, so THIS was our chance to see one of the most famous physical specimen of humanity dressed up in a spandex outfit, so take it in. It's a dopey, broad comedy with unsophisticated ideas about superheroes, but that's frankly more a MacGuffin than anything. Merry Christmas!
Music by Bret Eagleston - www.breteagleston.bandcamp.com
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