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MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2007

PHOENIX CACTUS COMICON -- FEEDBACK PANEL

MESA, Arizona -- Matthew Atherton, winner of Sci Fi's first season of Who Wants To Be A Superhero?, said you haven't seen the last of his heroic alter ego, Feedback.

In addition to the upcoming Dark Horse comic book, Atherton revealed that Feedback will be appearing in a Saturday night movie on Sci Fi Channel this year.

"I can't tell you everything about the movie," Atherton said at a Feedback panel at Phoenix Cactus Comicon on Saturday. "But I was able to play the character of Feedback in a movie."

Atherton said he was flown to Bulgaria for the filming.

"I was able to convince them to let me do the stunts," he said. "I have burn marks on my gloves from the pyro-technics."

Atherton was joined on the panel by comics artist Matt Haley, who is art director on the series, and they talked about Atherton's experiences on the show and the upcoming second season.

Following are highlights:

* Atherton was actually an alternate until the night before the competition began. He said an empassioned telephone conversation with an executive producer helped land him on the show.

Atherton said the character he replaced, Diamond Girl, might wind up on the second season.

* The series originally was intended for MTV in 2004, but never got beyond a sizzler reel. Atherton also applied for that show as a character he created called Nightbeat and later found out that the producers liked his costume and that he was into comics, but that "he talks too much" and "he's too old."

* Haley said he was the only person who worked on both incarnations of the show.

* The second season will be 10 episodes. "That should give people more time to see each of the contestants," Atherton said. "There will still be 11 contestants and on contestant will be eliminated per show."

* Haley said he quickly noticed that Atherton was the most serious of the contestants.

"I wanted the people who really love superheroes -- who are my people -- to have someone who reflected them on the show," Atherton said.

* Atherton said he immediately bonded with Nitro G on the show. "We stayed up to 3 in the morning talking about Gwen Stacy," he said.

* Atherton, who is a software engineer in California, said he isn't look to financially capitalize on winning the show, preferring to use Feedback for such charities as the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "I don't want the super-hero thing to become a thing for profit," he said.

* Live auditions for the second season began Jan. 14 in Miami and run through March 17 in Philadelphia. Check www.whowantstobeasuperhero.com for entry requirements and the latest casting updates and details.

* Haley said he anticipates production on Season 2 to begin in April.

* Atherton said he is friends with comics artist Zander Cannon going back to their college days. "We're going to work on some stuff and try something and different and cool," he said.

* Atherton said that "for intents and purposes" the Feedback suit created for the series is his. "They will have to kill me to get it," he said.

* Atherton said he hopes to be able to appear in Season 2. "I have contacted Sci Fi and let them know that any day in a super-hero costume is a good day for me," he said.



E-mail the Continuum at RobAlls@aol.com



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