Marvel pioneer tries to build a superhero on reality TV.

STAN Lee, the former editor-in-chief at Marvel Entertainment Inc., wants to find the next great crime-fighter in Spandex, and he has a new TV show to help him. The six-episode series "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" is a co-production of Lee's Pow Entertainment Inc., Nash Entertainment and the Sci Fi Channel, a division of NBC Universal Inc. The first one-hour segment will air on Sci Fi on July 27.

Each contestant began the quest with an original idea for a superhero and a self-made costume at open casting calls on April 6. From the horde of hopefuls, Lee selected 11 finalists who must live together 24-7 in a secret lair during the taping of the show. A series of challenges will test the wannabes' integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion and resourcefulness to discover who is worthy of true superhero status.

"In the end, only one aspiring superhero will possess the inner strength and nobility to open the gates to comic book immortality," according to Pow. The winner's character will be immortalized in a comic book penned by

Lee himself and appear in an original Sci Fi Channel movie. Lee, who created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and X-Men while at Marvel, moved into TV with the 2003 series "Stripperella" on Spike TV. The short-lived show featured an animated version of Pamela Anderson working as an exotic dancer by night and a crime-fighter in the later night.