Meteor Man, The (1993)

The Meteor Man is a social satire set in a black ghetto of Washington D.C. The film's hero, Jeff Reid, is an elementary school teacher. He lives in a neighborhood that is so totally taken over by drugs and gangs that the decent people live in a state of perpetual terror. One night he tries to rescue a woman from a gang, but ends up fleeing for his life. He eludes the gang by hiding in a garbage dumpster until he feels it's safe. As he climbs out of the dumpster into the alley, a mysterious emerald meteor appears in the sky over the alley and falls on Jeff, crushing his spine and leaving him unconscious with third degree burns. He's hospitalized, but days later when he awakens and his bandages are removed, there are no signs of any burns and the doctors are amazed that his spine has healed completely. Jeff discovers he has other powers too, such as x-ray vision and super strength. When he touches a book, he retains all knowledge in that book for 30 seconds, and, best of all, he can actually converse with his dog, Ellington. When he confides his new powers to his parents, they convince him to use his special gifts to do good deeds and to fight the evil in their neighborhood. Mom stitches up a spiffy costume for her son, the savior, and Jeff embarks on a series of misadventures as "Meteor Man".