Dan Williams competed as Parthenon, an out gay superhero on the SciFi channel’s reality show Who Wants to be a Superhero? He made it to the final four contestants, but was sent home during the August 30 episode. He prefers to be known as a superhero first and as a gay man second. When he won the competition to retrieve the stolen secret identities of the superheroes on the show, he won a phone call home. He called his boyfriend and showed the viewers the love that’s possible between two men. I was amazed each week as he showed the viewers his integrity and honesty. He is a great role model for our youth and especially for all of us who watched. He represented leadership, honesty, intelligence, compassion, and so many more qualities, which we can all learn from, during his time on the show. I believe he broke down barriers for our community by presenting a well-rounded superhero for all people.

GLM: Growing up, which superhero cartoon was your favorite?

DW: I have loved superheroes for quite a long time. Just a couple of my favorites were Dr. Hank Pym (I liked that he was an inventor), Hawkeye (I really enjoyed all the trick arrows and took up archery because of him) and Quasar (loved his powers and his gauntlets).

GLM: Have you always wanted to be on TV?

DW: I have always had an interest in acting, but more on a theatrical level. I have done local theater and that was about it.

GLM: Have you wanted to try out for other reality shows?

DW: I am a huge fan of reality TV, but I never thought I would actually want to be on a reality TV show, until this show came around! I knew that I had to try out for it because it combined a few of my passions and I would love to have a reason to run around in a cape on national TV!

GLM: Why do you think superheroes have become so popular again?

DW: I think superheroes are becoming popular again because they are finally starting to market them to everyone instead of a niche market! By making huge blockbuster movies, the general public starts to become aware of them. I think, like anything. It goes on a cycle of going in and out of style. Right now we are just lucky to be in an upswing.

GLM: Did you get the idea for your gauntlet from Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom's Reality Gauntlet or from Marvel's Infinity Gauntlet? What was your inspiration for it?

DW: My gauntlet was inspired by a lot of things, but I got the initial inspiration for it from an old bracelet that I bought at a garage sale like 10 years ago. It is a kind of gaudy large silver cuff bracelet with a large white stone in the middle. You can actually see it on the show when I am in my PJs and our costumes got destroyed. I wanted my superhero to always be on a quest and to always be learning and growing. For this purpose, I came up with the Atlantian gemstones. Each stone would give me another superpower and they are hidden all over the world. The gauntlet was mainly just a way to hold them and harness their individual powers, which is sort of an infinite gauntlet mixed with the Mandarin’s rings.

GLM: What's your favorite superpower?