Underdog - Superhero or Trend-Setting Speed Freak?

So I was thinking about Underdog. Not the recent live-action movie, but the old cartoon from when I was little. I was picturing this sad looking little guy in his droopy suit, and all I could think was Man, this was a superhero back then? A talking dog in long-johns that are about nine sizes too big?

And the talking dog thing wasn't even that special in the old cartoon. Lots of dogs in that world talked and worked and were regular people. Underdog even had a weird issue: he always spoke in rhyme. A speech impediment? Some form of mental disorder? I mean, really? Really?

And another thing that seemed a little... let's say 'less than heroic' to me. There were lots of episodes where Underdog would work and work and eventually become exhausted. His solution? A secret compartment in his ring where he kept an 'Underdog super energy pill'.  He'd dry-swallow the pill and wham he was hit with a huge burst of energy, allowing him to go on and save the day.

Can you say 'amphetamine addict'? Come on, say it with me: 'Amphetamine addict'. I think it was no wonder Simon Barsinister and Riff-Raff and the others kept escaping from prison. While the sirens were going off and searchlights were playing back and forth over the barb-wired walls, Shoeshine Boy was off on some street corner scoring a new supply! It was no wonder he had weird speech patterns. He got to the point where he was popping pills right in front of Sweet Polly Purebread, so he must have been pretty wrecked a lot of the time, doing it publicly like that.

As a matter of fact, I recall at least one time when Polly was the one to pop the pill. What is Underdog, some kind of pusher? If they caught him, and could have held him, he would have been top dog on the inside!

That got me thinking as well. Those droopy clothes of his, they look familiar. Not like something I saw 40 years ago, but like something I've seen more recently ... and then it hit me. All those kids I see walking around with their pants hanging half-way down their backsides!  It's supposed to be a fashion that started in the prison system... what if they are all paying homage to this powerful speed-freak amphetamine dealer? Are all these kids Underdog wannabes? Hmm...

So you decide for yourself. Was Underdog a superhero with a poor sense of style and a minuscule budget for uniforms? Or was he a trend-setting speed freak with criminal connections and a speech impediment?

Please, throw your answer into the poll to the right. Participation gets you nothing but satisfaction, but hey, I'll enjoy seeing it!

Talk to you later!