Things go from bad to worse when, on a science class field trip, Rick is bitten by a voracious genetically enhanced dragonfly. Sick in bed for days with an inexplicable fever, the mild-mannered young man is attended by his overly solicitous Uncle Albert (Nielsen) and his absent-minded Aunt Lucille (Ross)—he's lived with them since he was a little boy, after his parents were killed in a tragic (hilarious) "accident"—and eventually recovers, only to find he's better than ever. He's got superpowers!

Rick has no idea how to use his powers, but making a Dragonfly costume from scratch helps steer him in the right direction. Brooding over the city late at night from the rooftop of a skyscraper, and getting tips from other superheroes (Sneezo, Stretchy Boy and the Human Torch), helps. But having a nemesis is the clincher: Enter Lou Landers/the Hourglass (McDonald). A greedy and unscrupulous mogul by day and a mortality-sucking vampire by night, he will stop at nothing to continue his nefarious ways. The Hourglass is dying of a dread disease as Landers, but if he can collect enough human lives in his alter-ego state, he can be immortal ... like, forever.

Driven by his newfound mission to do right, Dragonfly realizes his destiny as a true champion. Of course, there's a learning curve. Not to mention the distraction of Jill, who seems to be falling for the Dragonfly without guessing who's really behind the mask (fortunately, Trey told Rick to add eye holes). After a few failed attempts at simple saves and routine rescues, the Dragonfly finally finds his wings and squares off against the Hourglass in a big showdown at the Annual Hero Con.

Lowbrow superhero parody

There really are only a handful of film directors who specialize in parodies. Mel Brooks is the granddaddy of them all (classic horror with Young Frankenstein, horse operas with Blazing Saddles, historical epics with History of the World, Part 1, sci-fi cinema with Spaceballs and so on), spawning niche nerds to the present day, like Edgar Wright (he zinged zombie movies with Shaun of the Dead and adored action flicks with Hot Fuzz). David Zucker falls somewhere in the middle, from Airplane! in 1980 to his Naked Gun series in the 90s, and he's still going strong, spoofing horror with his Scary Movie franchise.

While Zucker did not direct Superhero Movie (his protégé Craig Mazin does those honors), he did produce, and his stamp is very much on the film. It's actually a welcome throwback to the Airplane! days, in which there is a sustained narrative at center stage with only a few detours into skit-schizophrenia.

The story stays pretty true to the plot of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, but there are some short detours into X-Men and Fantastic Four terrain. However, some of the skits are worth the price of admission alone. There's a spot-on one lampooning Tom Cruise's notorious YouTube pro-Scientology rant (he's portrayed by a chameleon-like Miles Fisher), plus pop-culture references sniggering about everything from the iPod empire to "2 Girls 1 Cup." Mazin even takes things old-school, putting the Dragonfly into a cracked break-dance routine set to electronica.

There's a running gag featuring the unable-to-run Stephen Hawking (Robert Joy does a sensational impersonation), silly sendups of famous scenes from other superhero movies (the Superman and Lois "Who's got you?" flying scene; Spider-Man and Mary Jane sexy, upside-down lip lock; and Wolverine's hair hygiene, to name a few) and the requisite lowbrow hijinks (I can always live without scatological humor, so I was relieved to see it relatively toned down when compared with the Scary Movies).

A few Zucker faves do single-bound cameos: Simon Rex is a super-hot superhero who shows the Dragonfly the best way to pose atop a Gothamesque gargoyle rainspout; Hall shows up as the bald "Mrs. Xavier," who gets into a rather bouncy catfight with Anderson's "Invisible Girl"; and Airplane!'s Robert Hayes plays our costumed crime buster's ill-fated father in the requisite flashback scene.

Superhero Movie does do a little laughing at geekdom, but it mostly laughs with. While the material is undoubtedly goofier than a dog show at Disneyland, it's nice to see that the ensemble cast is doing more than just going through the motions. Given the pastiche limitations, the technical aspects are equally impressive, with CGI that is as carefully constructed as anything you might see in a more serious approach to the genre (ahem, Hulk and your Etch-a-Sketch effects), and there are several outstanding action set pieces (there's a funny yet successfully suspenseful homage to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns).

Comic-book comedies aren't always terribly successful (as if those who speak fluent Klingon don't have a sense of humor!), but if you enjoyed movies like Mystery Men, My Super X-Girlfriend or even Orgazmo back in the day, then you just might crack a smile at the Dragonfly's spandex wedgie.