History YMMV / PumaMan

* {{Applicability}}: Some viewers have suggested that the movie is in fact [[StealthParody a clever parody]] of the superhero genre, claiming that there's no way it could be this bad by accident. There is ''some'' evidence for this, in that director Alberto De Martino claims that he hated the script and tried reworking it into a comedy while filming, though whether this is true or merely a ParodyRetcon is for viewers to judge. [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] writer Paul Chaplin is in the "they were trying to be funny" camp, but says that "everyone else believes they were dead serious from the get-go."
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: No, really. In spite of having one of the most hysterically unfitting superhero themes ever (if not ''the'' most), the opening theme ''is'' actually pretty epic. And whether or not the rest of Renato Serio's score fits the film, it's pretty undeniably said movie's most competent and engaging technical aspect.
* CriticalResearchFailure:
** Do you know anything at ''all'' about Myth/AztecMythology? Congrats, you're ahead of the filmmakers.
** Tony and Jane aren't particularly good paleontologists either. Jane can't even pronounce "paleontologist" correctly.
---> '''Jane:''' So, dinosaurs died out because they forgot how to love each other, is that correct?\\
'''Servo:''' In a wrong kind of way, yeah.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Vadinho for being much more competent and badass than the title character. Kobras and Martin to a lesser extent.
* FashionVictimVillain: Poor Creator/DonaldPleasence.
-->'''Crow:''' [[Music/{{Prince}} My name is Pleasence and I am funky]].
* HoYay: Tony and Vadinho make a more believable couple than Tony and Jane. Not that this says very much.
* {{Narm}}
** "I get this way when I sense danger." To the actor's credit, he managed to say it with a straight face in a ridiculous setting. Kobras isn't much better:
--->'''Kobras:''' Because you are made of earth... ...and to earth you shall return!
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHMPR7kXJak Puma Man in flight.]] AKA: How to make flying look completely undignified. Will almost always cause you to chuckle.
* OlderThanTheyThink: [[MemeticMutation Believe it or not]], this film was released BEFORE ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero''.
** It does have some stuff in common with that show: Both are about a dorky [[TheEveryman everyman]] in an academic profession who reluctantly becomes a superhero. Both involve donning a goofy-looking costume bestowed by deity-like aliens. Both have an incredibly stupid style of flying with limbs flailing about in comical fashion. Both productions have a theme song that's as "epic" and "heroic" as an old jingle for a local convenience store (although, as a stand-alone early [=1980s=] pop tune, the theme to 'TGAH' has 'Pumaman' beat by a mile).
* RomanticPlotTumor: With some of the worst innuendo ever, like Tony's line about his "primitive instincts."
* TheScrappy
** Tony, for being a DesignatedHero so bad he actually turns into TheLoad.
** Jane, for being a whiny [[TheDitz ditz]] and a shoehorned LoveInterest.
* SignatureScene: The infamous flight scene with the cheesy happy music is usually the first thing that comes to mind when Puma Man is mentioned.
* SoBadItsGood: You think?
* SpecialEffectFailure: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHMPR7kXJak Puma Man in flight]]. Then again, pumas aren't really known for their flying.
-->'''Crow:''' The Gods are dragging him around by the elastic waistband in his [=BVDs=].
** There's also the scene where he captures a villain to get him to speak about his boss. When he refuses, Pumaman drops him and the guy falls normally while the camera is angled!
--->'''Mike:''' Help! I'm falling at a sixty degree angle breaking all laws of physiiiiiiics!
** The flying scenes were originally to be shot using a specially-made effects camera which the producer purchased from a German film studio...only for the special effects crew to find that the camera was defective and they didn't have time to replace or repair it. Instead, De Martino and the crew were forced to make use of extremely obvious and cheap green-screen-type effects.
--->'''Mike:''' He has the power to [[DrivingADesk rear-project]] major cities!
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfnG8MS3xz0 Puma Man Theme]] shamelessly rip-offs [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E4PWHTS4BA Su di noi (Upon us)]] by the Italian singer Pupo.
* TakeThatScrappy: When Vadinho punches Tony hard enough to knock him out.
-->'''Tom:''' Yes! The Aztec speaks for all of us!
* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Say what you will about the rest of the movie, but Creator/DonaldPleasence really brought his A-game as Kobras.
** ... to some extent, Miguel Angel Fuentes' role as Vadinho as well, he does give his weird role a certain dignity (and, again, is a lot more heroic than the dorky superhero-in-training, Tony).
* {{Wangst}}: As Mike mutters, "Are pumas also known for their ''whining''?"
* WhatAnIdiot: For all that he is otherwise the best character in the movie, Vadinho has a moment of pure idiocy when he tells ''Tony's mind-controlled girlfriend, in the middle of Kobras' lair'' that Tony is alive.
* WhatMeasureIsANonBadass: Super strength, teleportation, sort-of-flying... the potential is there for a mighty hero. Unfortunately, said hero is Tony Farms.
* WTHCostumingDepartment: Seriously, one of the worst superhero costumes '''''ever'''''. According to the actor who played Tony, the original costume design was even ''worse''!
-->"Dah, I gave him the Captain Dork costume by mistake."
----

* DesignatedHero: Tony whines, gripes, runs away, plays dead, and generally leaves anything difficult, like asskicking, to his "sidekick/mentor" figure, Vadinho. Maybe ''once'' in the film he manages to do anything remotely heroic by himself, when he rescues Vadinho after he's been captured by Kobras's mooks and is used as bait to lure Tony into a trap. And even then he mostly just frees Vadinho so Vadinho can do most of the fighting while he leaps about in the background like he's performing rejected Creator/AdamWest ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' fight scene choreography.

** It does have some stuff in common with that show: Both are about a dorky [[TheEveryman everyman]] in an academic profession who reluctantly becomes a superhero. Both involve donning a goofy-looking costume bestowed by deity-like aliens. Both have an incredibly stupid style of flying with limbs flailing about in comical fashion.

* {{Applicability}}: Some viewers have suggested that the movie is in fact [[StealthParody a clever parody]] of the superhero genre, claiming that there's no way it could be this bad by accident. There is ''some'' evidence for this, in that director Alberto De Martino claims that he hated the script and tried reworking it into a comedy while filming, though whether this is true or merely a ParodyRetcon is for viewers to judge. [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] writer Paul Chaplin is in this camp, but says that "everyone else believes they were dead serious from the get-go."

* {{Applicability}}: Some viewers have suggested that the movie is in fact [[StealthParody a clever parody]] of the superhero genre, claiming that there's no way it could be this bad by accident. There is ''some'' evidence for this, in that director Alberto De Martino claims that he hated the script and tried reworking it into a comedy while filming, though whether this is true or merely a [[ParodyRetcon]] is for viewers to judge. [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] writer Paul Chaplin is in this camp, but says that "everyone else believes they were dead serious from the get-go."

* {{Applicability}}: Some viewers have suggested that the movie is in fact [[StealthParody a clever parody]] of the superhero genre, claiming that there's no way it could be this bad by accident. [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] writer Paul Chaplin is in this camp, but says that "everyone else believes they were dead serious from the get-go."

** The flying scenes make use of green-screen-type effects. Fair enough, but it's extremely obvious and cheap.

* DesignatedHero: Tony whines, gripes, runs away, plays dead, and generally leaves anything difficult, like asskicking, to his "sidekick/mentor" figure, Vadinho. Maybe ''once'' in the film he manages to do anything remotely heroic by himself, when he rescues Vadinho after he's been captured by Kobras's mooks and is used as bait to lure Tony into a trap. And even then he mostly just frees Vadinho so Vadinho can do most of the fighting while he leaps about in the background like he's performing rejected Creator/AdamWest ''Series/{{Batman}}'' fight scene choreography.

* EarWorm: There's a good chance the music that plays during the infamous flight scene won't leave your head anytime soon.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Vadinho for being much more competent and BadAss than the title character. Kobras and Martin to a lesser extent.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Vadinho. Kobras and Martin to a lesser extent.

* EarWorm: My, but that "Puma Man" theme is catchy. Seriously. It will get stuck in your head and never EVER leave, ([[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] quips or not).