Superargo and the Faceless Giants

Superargo and the Faceless Giants (also released under titles such as *Superargo, The King of Criminals* and *Superargo the Giant*) is a 1968 Italian-Spanish science fiction-superhero film. It was written and directed by Paolo Bianchini, who used the credit "Paul Maxwell." The movie is a sequel to Nick Nostro's *Superargo Versus Diabolicus*. The plot follows a masked crimefighter named Superargo, who gets help from a mystic guru to fight the Faceless Giants—cyborgs made from athletes who were kidnapped. Meanwhile, one of Superargo's own friends is trying to kill him. The cast includes Ken Wood as Superargo, Guy Madison as Professor Wendland Wond, Luisa Baratto as Claire Brand, Diana Lorys as Gloria Devon, Aldo Sambrell as Kamir / Pao-Ki, Tomás Blanco as Davies, Sergio Testori as Jo Brand, Valerio Tordi as Professor Presenski, Aldo Bufi Landi as J.G. Stafford, and Valentino Macchi as a bank guard. The film was submitted to Italian censors in September 1967 but did not see release until January 1968 in Italy. In the United States, it came out on home video through several labels, including Code Red as a double feature with *Wacky Taxi*, and as part of the *Cinema Insomnia* collection, where it was presented with comic commentary by Mr. Lobo in a style similar to horror hosts like Elvira. Rifftrax released a version with its own humorous commentary in December 2016. A contemporary review in the *Monthly Film Bulletin* judged that "in the hierarchy of superheroes, Superargo... must rate lower than Jungle Jim." The same review found Guy Madison "completely miscast" as "one of the most harmless-looking of villains," and concluded that the film would "please easily-pleased children, but comic strip aficionados will find even less to arouse them here than in Doc Savage."