The protagonist of the TV show was Ralph Hinkley, a young Los Angeles high school teacher whose physical attributes are not those of a superhero: he is of medium height, has a scrawny build, has blond curls, and is clumsy.

[3] Hinkley does have similarities, however, to Superman in that, for example, both superheroes: perform feats of miraculous strength; wear tight acrobatic costumes; do battle with villains; fly with their arms extended in front of them and cape billowing behind; are impervious to bullets; have X-ray type vision; have fantastic hearing and sight; fly gracefully in the night sky past a city's lit skyscrapers; lift a car with one hand; lead a double life; benefit mankind by fighting evil-doing villains.

For example: Hinkley derives his power exclusively from a magic suit that an alien gave him, but Superman's strength is a natural attribute of his extraterrestrial origin.

Ralph Hinkley cringes and cowers in the face of gunfire, whereas Superman boldly holds his ground when being fired upon.

"[5] When flying, Hinckley (unlike Superman) is quite inept: in the pilot episode he "has difficulty steering, barely avoids colliding with a fire escape, and finally crashes into a brick wall, knocking himself out.

It found the two "profoundly different": Superman looks and acts like a brave, proud hero, who has dedicated his life to combating the forces of evil.

Hinkley looks and acts like a timid, reluctant hero, who accepts his missions grudgingly and prefers to get on with his normal life.

[8]The plaintiffs sought to (but were not allowed to) offer expert testimony that children would be confused because they would not notice the negative language in such phrases as Hinkley: "may be unable to leap tall buildings in a single bound," "may be slower than a speeding bullet," and "may be less powerful than a locomotive."

The court dismissed such evidence as immaterial: We do not doubt that some viewers may miss the point, but their misunderstanding does not establish infringement.

The last episode of The Greatest American Hero aired in February 1983, approximately one month before the Second Circuit issued its affirmance of the dismissal of this case.

In an interview with TVparty after the TV show had been cancelled, the creator-producer Cannell was asked whether he "lost sleep over the lawsuit."

He said he did because: The show looked like it was going to be a hit and all of a sudden Warner Bros. comes in there and tells us that they own the entire super hero genre, that no one else could ever create another superhero with a cape.