The Molecular Man

The Molecular Man is a comedy skit from an episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL) which aired in 2001.

The skit starred SNL host Conan O'Brien as a superhero named Moleculo: The Molecular Man, a parody of Superman. On hearing his name, "Moleculo", whether in costume or not, would turn to the camera and shout "THE MOLECULAR MAN!"

The sketch begins with the Moleculo theme song, a parody of typical superhero fare, showcasing Moleculo's bravery and great strength (he bends a bar of iron) to the tune "Moleculo, Moleculo, MOLECULO", to which Moleculo says "The Molecular Man."

In this 5-minute-long skit, Moleculo saves a bank from being robbed by a gangster called Jackhammer Joe. In his alter ego, Brent Barker, who works at the Daily Newspaper, and his colleagues discuss the robbery, but Barker continues to yell "The Molecular Man" at every reference to Moleculo, raising the suspicions of his co-workers. At one point, Barker leaves the room, and his friends continue to talk. When one mentions Moleculo again, Barker breaks through the wall to shout "The Molecular Man," at which point they confront him with being Moleculo. Embarrassed by being uncovered, Barker flees the scene and relocates to Mexico to start anew.

The sketch ends with Moleculo working for a Mexican newspaper, with the characters wearing stereotypical Mexican Old West clothing, such as zarapes and sombreros. Barker has donned a thick mustache. Everyone speaks in Spanish. Barker's new editor congratulates him on a "bueno" (good) story about Moleculo, at which point Barker shouts "El Hombre de los Moleculos!", to which the editor says "Tu eres Moleculo" (you are Moleculo), and Barker becomes agitated. The sketch ends with the Moleculo theme.

When Conan returned to his talk show (Late Night with Conan O'Brien) the week after his appearance on Saturday Night Live, reaction to the sketch featured prominently. Conan voiced his amazement that after being on Late Night for eight years, his single appearance on SNL garnered him more notice on the street than ever before. This notice came chiefly in the form of every other person on the street seeing him and exclaiming, "THE MOLECULAR MAN!"