Issue(s): NFL Superpro #9
Cover Date: Jun 92
Title: "Time and again"
Credits:
Evan Skolnick - Writer
Jose Delbo - Penciler
Don Hudson - Inker
David Wohl - Editor

Review/plot:
Let's face it: the best days of NFL Superpro are behind him. He's already been photographed by Spider-Man, already offended the Hopis, already had poison sucked out of his leg by Captain America. Those are already accomplishments to last a lifetime, and there's not much left to look forward to. But we can at least give Instant Replay another chance to prove himself. That guy had so much potential as a Superpro villain, but he ruined it, first by acting like his name was Teleport Man instead of Instant Replay, and then by making the crucial and unforgivable mistake of brushing up against some golf clubs.

And look what's happened to the poor guy since then.

Like, i don't even know what's going on. What's that green stuff on his chin?

Again, this guy just doesn't seem to understand what he's meant to be. You'd think if his instant replay powers were to fritz out, it would mean re-living the same event over and over again, maybe while color commentators yammer on about what it means or how it relates to some event from back when they used to play pro ball themselves. I get that the narration kind of mentions Replay being stuck in time, but it's all being done in a very vague, slime-covered way which is not at all what i was expecting.

Meanwhile, Phil Grayfield is visiting the home of his sister. His sister's daughter, Melanie, used to play on the local middle school football team, but she got kicked off for being a girl.

Phil surprisingly encourages her to keep fighting to get back on the team. Melanie tells him to STFU because he gave up playing football himself when he got injured, so he's got no business lecturing her. But Phil is not discouraged, and he goes to talk to the team's coach, who is also surprisingly supportive.

But that's when Instant Replay shows up.

Phil gets away and changes into his Superpro costume. Instant Replay is still not instantly replaying anything. He's just mixed up in time. And the way he's speaking in jumbles, he's in no condition to make the awesome football puns that we demand from this series.

And Superpro... he finally comes up with a good one himself, but for some reason he won't say it aloud.

Come on, dude. Share that with the world. Just shouting "and it's good!" while keeping the rest in your head just makes you sound like a crazy person. Well, more like a crazy person than someone who just thinks a football uniform makes you a superhero.

Of course, the zinger he does manage to say out loud is a total clunker, so maybe he should just keep his mouth shut all the time to be safe.

So much for Instant Replay. He got two chances to live up to his name, and failed spectacularly both times.

Anyway, during the fight, Melanie unsurprisingly figures out that her uncle is Superpro, and that encourages her to get back onto the team.

I imagine Phil is only fine with this as long as it's just middle school football. If she ever tried to get into the NFL, i imagine she'd be getting a visit from Superpro.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Instant Replay previously embarrassed himself, and, frankly, all of us, in NFL Superpro #3.
  
• Melanie refers to the injury that caused Phil to retire from playing football, which we first learned about in NFL Superpro Special Edition #1.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A