I talked to "Fringe" costar Mark Valley for a future piece I'm writing about the upcoming Fox series "Human Target" (which, I have to say, is going to be great, judging by my advance copy of pilot, shown in photo above) and the subject turned to Captain America. As you might recall, Valley was the No. 1 choice to play the star-spangled hero in an Internet poll of fans.

GB: Apparently you are the man that fanboys want to see carrying the famous red, white and blue shield of Captain America.

MV: Yeah, I know! Somebody showed me that. I was kind of blown away. The power of the Internet, you know? And there might be another reason: I’ve just been walking around in Captain America suits every once in a while on weekends. I didn’t really think it would really go anywhere you know. That’s just a personal hobby of mine.

GB: So you're taking a Sean Young approach to landing the role, the way she tried out for the Catwoman job in "Batman Returns."

MV: Oh she did, yeah. She made it herself or something. It didn’t work out. Yeah, I made my Captain America costume at home too. I don’t know if people recognize me as Captain America, though. It’s kind of this weird Uncle Sam thing now, some guy wrapped in the American flag.

 

GB: After watching Robert Downey Jr., Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale take superhero roles to such success, it must be somewhat tempting to think of playing one of the truly iconic characters, especially since he hasn't been seen on the screen in a major Hollywood production ... or is it a sector that holds no interest for you? 

MV: Seriously, yeah, the whole thing  --  that’s pretty flattering that my name comes up at all. That’s kind of amazing with the names that pop up like that. I think sometimes 'Oh my gosh, wow that’d be fun.' But I don’t think it’s really a movie yet. I think it’s just an idea for a movie.

GB: Well, actually, they have a director in place, it's Joe Johnston, who did "Jurassic Park III" and "Jumanji" and "The Rocketeer." I believe it's scheduled for 2011. I mean, you might want to have your agent call if you're serious...

MV: Oh, OK. We’ll see, maybe I’ll be too busy with "Human Target." But you never know how these things go...

-- Geoff Boucher

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"Human Target" image: Fox. Captain America images: Marvel Comics.

I was a huge fan of "Detective Comics" and "The Brave and the Bold" comics as a kid so I smiled when I read a brief item in the trades today about a new television series featuring Christopher Chance, the Human Target, a character that popped up in both those comics in the 1970s and 1980s.

Here's the brief blurb today by Nellie Andreeva, who notes that one of the stars of "Fringe" (and an oft-mentioned but so-far-unofficial candidate to play Captain America) will star...

Mark Valley has been tapped as the lead in Fox's drama pilot 'Human Target' for director Simon West, while Kathryn Hahn has been tapped to star in Fox's comedy pilot 'Absolutely Fabulous.' 'Target,' from WBTV, DC Comics and McG's Wonderland, is based on the DC Comics title and centers on Christopher Chance (Valley), a mysterious security freelancer who assumes the identities of those in danger, becoming the "human target" for his clients. Endeavor-repped Valley recurred on another Fox/WBTV drama series, "Fringe," this season.

The plot conceit of "Target" is pure genius as far as television series goes and recalls a bit of the satisfying "Mission Impossible" masquerade gimmicks: Chance is a master of disguise for hire whose specialty is disguising himself as a person who will be targeted for murder, which opens up all kinds of assassination motifs and tense suspense sequences.

"Target" has been resurrected before, of course. In recent years, Peter Milligan brought the character back with a memorable Vertigo Comics series that added more mystery, sex and gritty shadings to the face-changing exploits of Mr. Chance. (You can see one of the covers above on the right.)

There was also a 1991 comics revival for a blink-and-you-missed-it 1990s television adaptation starring "Jesse's Girl" singer Rick Springfield, but the less said about that the better.

(Random fanboy trivia: Did you know that heartthrob Springfield released a 1974 album titled "Comic Book Heroes"?)

Here's a look at Springfield tussling with David Carradine (!) on an episode of "Target"...

--Geoff Boucher

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Mark Valley from "Fringe," photo from Fox. Photo of Anna Torv and Mark Valley from Wire image.