The Human Fly

Clipped from xemnu.blogspot.com: The 1970's were a strange time... Much like today, the United States was deep in an economic downturn. Oil prices were high; smaller, more fuel-efficient cars began replacing the giant, hulking, gas-guzzling behemoths of past decades; and most people suffered from the effects of recessionary inflation.

Hence, entertainment was a premium. Anything cheap or free was considered great entertainment. Combine all these ingredients together and it makes a wacky stew. Throw in a dash of human nature in the form of morbid curiosity (drive real slow past that accident on the highway) and you have a powder keg souffle of zany goodness. One man, billed as the world's greatest superhero (because he was real) briefly entertained the masses (or small clusters of yokels at county fairs). His name was...
In reality the Human Fly was Canadian stunt performer Rick Rojatt. Who? Exactly.

Almost before the popularity of the Human Fly peaked, he faded into obscurity. For a time he was a popular Marvel Comics' character with his own comic book and crossovers with Spider-Man and Ghost Rider. Sort of like Evel Knievel, the Human Fly performed death-defying stunts for the gratification of gawkers at air shows, monster truck rallys and the like, complete with luchador mask and all.

Clipped from Wikipedia: The comic book carried the tag line "The Wildest Super-Hero Ever — Because He's Real!", and photographs of someone in a Human Fly costume appeared in the books. Jim Shooter, a high-ranking member of Marvel's editorial staff at the time of publication, said in 2007 that the photos were indeed of Rojatt.

Dork Note: I had a bunch of these comics when I was a kid, but I never knew it was based on a real guy. The whole gimmick was totally lost on me...HAHA.

Side Note: Here is a story about another man calling himself The Human Fly...however, this one does not end well. Click Here