{ "id": "epxba65ppg", "slug": "blankman", "title": "Blankman", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3.yr-1990-1995", "label": "Released 1990 to 1995", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3.yr-1990-1995" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Blankman is a 1994 American superhero comedy parody film directed by Mike Binder, starring and co-written by Damon Wayans as nerdy inventor Darryl Walker, based on his In Living Color Handi-Man character; a Columbia Pictures box office flop with cult followings.", "snippet": "Blankman is a 1994 American superhero comedy parody film directed by Mike Binder, starring and co-written by Damon Wayans as nerdy inventor Darryl Walker, based on his In Living Color Handi-Man character; a Columbia Pictures box office flop with cult followings.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-3.yr-1990-1995", "markdown": "# Blankman\n\n**Blankman** is a 1994 American superhero comedy film directed by Mike Binder, written by [Damon Wayans](https://www.edgepedia.org/damon-wayans) and J.F. Lawton, and starring Wayans as Darryl Walker, a nerdy inventor who becomes a costumed crime fighter with no superpowers beyond his tinkering skills.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59742-BLANKMAN) It was produced by [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) and the production company Wife 'n' Kids, and released in the United States on August 19, 1994.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | August 19, 1994 (United States); 92 minutes; PG-13[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/) |\n| Director / writers | Mike Binder; screenplay by Damon Wayans and J.F. Lawton, story by Wayans[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59742-BLANKMAN) |\n| Lead cast | Damon Wayans (Darryl Walker), David Alan Grier (Kevin Walker), Robin Givens (Kimberly Jonz), Jon Polito (Michael 'The Suit' Minelli), Jason Alexander (Mr. Stone)[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/fullcredits/) |\n| Origin | Based in part on Wayans's \"Handi-Man\" character from the 1990s sketch series *In Living Color*[4](https://fowler.ucla.edu/events/striking-iron-film-series-blankman/) |\n| Box office | Estimated budget $30,000,000; gross US and Canada $7,941,977[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/) |\n| Reception | 12% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (17 reviews); 41% audience score[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blankman) |\n| Setting | Filmed in Chicago, Illinois[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and premise\n\nDarryl Walker is a socially awkward appliance repairman and electronics wizard who is obsessed with the 1960s *Batman* television show. When a crime wave in his neighborhood, capped by the murder of his grandmother ([Lynne Thigpen](https://www.edgepedia.org/lynne-thigpen)) in a Mafia hit, becomes too much for him, he fashions a bulletproof costume, an overcoat sprayed with a substance he devised to make clothing bulletproof, worn over red long johns, and adopts the name \"Blankman.\"[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blankman) • [6](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/what-is-blankman-twisted-metals-superhero-parody-easter-egg) His more realistic older brother Kevin ([David Alan Grier](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-alan-grier)) reluctantly becomes his sidekick, Other Guy, partly to impress local news anchor Kimberly Jonz ([Robin Givens](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-givens)), while mobster Michael \"The Suit\" Minelli (Jon Polito) fights back.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blankman)\n\nThe film leans on Darryl's inventions: a robot named J-5, a vehicle called the Blank-wheel, and a junk-filled \"fortress of solitude.\"[7](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1834226-blankman-retrospective-superhero-parody-movie) [Sony Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures)' own synopsis describes the hero as \"clad in bulletproof underwear and his grandma's housecoat,\" pursuing \"truth, justice and his first kiss.\"[8](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/blankman)\n\n## Origins and development\n\n**From Handi-Man to Blankman.** The title character grew out of \"Handi-Man,\" a superhero spoof Damon Wayans performed on the sketch comedy series *In Living Color* (1990–1994).[4](https://fowler.ucla.edu/events/striking-iron-film-series-blankman/) Wayans drew the concept from the 1960s *Batman* series; while the gadgets and [Batmobile](https://www.edgepedia.org/batmobile) of the 1989 *Batman* movie appealed to him, its overly earnest tone left him dissatisfied, and he pictured a Batman living on welfare rather than being the wealthy Bruce Wayne.[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/blankman-1994) The film deliberately imitates the camp style of the old series, with logo transitions, overly complicated death traps, and onomatopoeia such as pow, smack, and splat.[7](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1834226-blankman-retrospective-superhero-parody-movie)\n\nWriter J.F. Lawton has said the script began as a version of \"Fartman,\" the [Howard Stern](https://www.edgepedia.org/howard-stern) character; when that project fell apart, he reworked the idea with Wayans into a film that kept the humor and lewdness but carried an overall positive message about standing up to be a hero in one's own way.[7](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1834226-blankman-retrospective-superhero-parody-movie)\n\nA family detail from production: the young Darryl and Kevin are played by Michael Wayans and [Damon Wayans Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/damon-wayans-jr), both Damon Wayans's real-life sons.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/)\n\n## Reception and box office\n\nThe film was a commercial and critical failure. Against an estimated $30 million budget it grossed $7,941,977 in the United States and Canada, with an opening weekend of $3,715,480.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/) It ended up on some \"Worst Of\" lists for 1994.[6](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/what-is-blankman-twisted-metals-superhero-parody-easter-egg) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 12% Tomatometer from 17 reviews and a 41% audience score from more than 25,000 ratings.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blankman)\n\nContemporary reviews were largely negative but not uniform. The *Washington Post* called it a naive, comic take on inner-city crime that \"still manages some fresh and funny jabs at big-city politics and tabloid TV.\"[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/08/25/blankman-super-nerd-does-good/61e4f448-46fb-48c3-85e7-39895fbdc0c7/) The *Roanoke Times* found it an uneven comedy that wasted a potentially interesting premise, criticizing an unfocused script and an uncontrolled performance.[11](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1994/rt9408/940820/08230028.htm) The *Deseret News* compared it unfavorably to Robert Townsend's *The Meteor Man* (1993), another African-American comic superhero film that had underperformed the year before.[12](https://www.deseret.com/1994/9/13/20087155/film-review-blankman/)\n\n## Place in Black superhero cinema\n\nScholarship on Black superhero film comedies groups *Blankman* with Robert Townsend's *The Meteor Man* (1993) and Louis CK's *Pootie Tang* (2001) as films in which the absurdity of the titular heroes provides both the characters and their communities with what one analysis calls a salvific equilibrium, and which share the exaggerated aesthetic conventions of comic-book treatments of superhero stories.[13](https://erevistas.publicaciones.uah.es/ojs/index.php/reden/article/view/2359) A retrospective critic noted that the film \"at least tried to create a space for the Black superhero, even if, cinematically, this film is a failure,\" observing that young Black viewers in the 1990s may have seen themselves reflected as a superhero for the first time.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blankman) The ordinary-jerk-as-urban-superhero premise was a popular one within African-American pop culture during the mid-1990s.[14](https://www.adrianmartinfilmcritic.com/reviews/b/blankman.html)\n\n## Later life as a cult favorite\n\nAlthough it flopped on release, the film has retained defenders. In 2023, the Peacock series *Twisted Metal* featured *Blankman* as an [Easter egg](https://www.edgepedia.org/easter-egg), with the character John pulling it out as an \"absolute classic\" in an abandoned movie theater; the SYFY WIRE write-up of the cameo called the film in some ways strangely ahead of its time.[6](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/what-is-blankman-twisted-metals-superhero-parody-easter-egg) A 2024 retrospective similarly noted that the film has reached a kind of cult status, with a dedicated fan base that appreciates its spirit and its early portrayal of a Black nerd archetype.[7](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1834226-blankman-retrospective-superhero-parody-movie)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Blankman (1994), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59742-BLANKMAN)\n2. [Blankman (1994), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/)\n3. [Blankman (1994) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109288/fullcredits/)\n4. [Striking Iron Film Series: Blankman, Fowler Museum at UCLA](https://fowler.ucla.edu/events/striking-iron-film-series-blankman/)\n5. [Blankman, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blankman)\n6. [What Is Blankman? A Closer Look at Twisted Metal's Superhero Parody Easter Egg, SYFY WIRE](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/what-is-blankman-twisted-metals-superhero-parody-easter-egg)\n7. [Blankman: Revisiting the Superhero Parody Movie 30 Years Later, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1834226-blankman-retrospective-superhero-parody-movie)\n8. [BLANKMAN, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/blankman)\n9. [Blankman (1994) facts and trivia, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/blankman-1994)\n10. ['BLANKMAN': SUPER-NERD DOES GOOD, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/08/25/blankman-super-nerd-does-good/61e4f448-46fb-48c3-85e7-39895fbdc0c7/)\n11. ['BLANKMAN' IS WEAK COMEDY, The Roanoke Times](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1994/rt9408/940820/08230028.htm)\n12. [Film review: Blankman, Deseret News](https://www.deseret.com/1994/9/13/20087155/film-review-blankman/)\n13. [Potential and Power in Black Superhero Film Comedies, REDEN](https://erevistas.publicaciones.uah.es/ojs/index.php/reden/article/view/2359)\n14. [Blankman review, Adrian Martin](https://www.adrianmartinfilmcritic.com/reviews/b/blankman.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s › Released 1990 to 1995*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/blankman", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/blankman.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Blankman\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/blankman. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Blankman](https://www.edgepedia.org/blankman)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/blankman](https://www.edgepedia.org/blankman). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Blankman\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/blankman. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Blankman is a 1994 American superhero comedy parody film directed by Mike Binder, starring and co-written by Damon Wayans as nerdy inventor Darryl Walker, based on his In Living Color Handi-Man character; a Columbia Pictures box office flop with cult followings." }