A Superfriendly Memorial Day Tribute.

I ask you now, who better to write about on this great American holiday than The Superfriends?

In 1973, Hanna-Barbera figured they could do what Filmation had done in the '60's: Bring the DC superheroes to the small screen. So they did just that, beginning with two episodes of "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" that featured Batman, Robin, the Joker, the Penguin, and third party characters Mrs. Baker and Professor Flakey. "Superfriends" had Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman, and the Junior Superfriends Wendy Harris, Marvin White, and Wonderdog, dealing with original adversaries instead of those from the DC universe. Some of these were able to see the error of their ways, while others like Raven and King Plasto went to prison for their crimes. My siblings and I were hooked as we watched the Junior Superfriends get in and out of trouble each week. In my opinion, Wendy was the smartest of the three. The only truly noteworthy thing Marvin did was recount the origin of Superman. What I liked about that sequence is the fact that Alex Toth redrew Jor-El to look more like the adult Superman. There was also a memorable guest appearance by the Flash, who eventually became a series regular. Plus the animated debuts of Plasticman and Green Arrow, neither of whom were seen in future incarnations of the franchise. Plas, however, did get his own show, produced by Ruby-Spears. And let's not forget Colonel Wilcox, the military officer who informed the team of the latest catastrophe.

While Superman occasionally masqueraded as Clark Kent, Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman were never shown out of costume like they were in the Filmation cartoons(That studio animated WW for a one-shot appearance on "The Brady Kids"). And not once did Aquaman go by his birth name, Arthur Curry, or mention Mera, Atlantis, and Aqualad. In one episode, Robin, who was still Dick Grayson at the time, mentioned that his parents were killed, but he didn't reveal HOW it happened. The best way to learn that is to read Dick Grayson's bio on the Internet.

The show was cancelled in 1975, and it looked like, aside from edited half-hour reruns, that Superfriends had come to the end of the line. Thankfully, H-B decided not to discontinue the franchise, and in 1977, unveiled......

"The All-New Superfriends Hour." This new series altered the format by bringing in more DC heroes, plus H-B originals Black Vulcan, Samurai, Apache Chief, and of course, the Wonder Twins and Gleek. The story about how the latter three came to replace Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog is recounted in a story arc from DC's "Superfriends" comic book line that also includes the Global Guardians, and other Justice Leaguers like Black Canary. Check this out sometime. It's a very good read. Colonel Wilcox was also permanently removed.

Anyway, there were now four adventures per episode. These were accompanied by health and safety tips, magic tricks, and arts and crafts, as well as the weekly decoder clues for the half-hour stories. Each of the stories had someone learning a lesson. Now I'll say here that I was shocked and scared by the "Wonder Twins" episode "Hitchhike." Why? Because the man who gave the girl a ride matched the description of a guy my mom had warned me and my siblings about several years earlier!

Of all the half-hour adventures, my favorites were "The Mysterious Time Creatures," "The Coming Of The Arthropods," "The Mind Maidens," and "The Ghost." That last one was the first to feature a DC villain, although I didn't realize it back then. In fact, I thought Gentleman Ghost's full name, Gentleman Jim Craddock was a mashup of country legends Gentleman Jim Reeves and Billy "Crash" Craddock. Honest! A year later, there was....

"Challenge Of The Superfriends." Finally, the DC supervillains make their presence known. Lex Luthor and twelve others fought the Superfriends on a weekly basis. These adventures were paired with a new batch of episodes that also included the Wonder Twins and Gleek. The latter ones had them contending with Dracula, Sinbad, the mythical Gods, and in the episode "The Rise And Fall Of The Superfriends," Mr. Mxlyplk. I remember seeing that one, and being freaked out when Wonder Woman was taunted by her own reflections. "You can't run from yourself!" kept playing in my head like a song lyric. There was another scary one that showed harmful radiation turning Wonder Woman and the Wonder Twins into giant mutated beasts. I forget exactly how they did it, but the others did return them to normal.

As for the "Challenge" episodes, the only one I saw on ABC was "The Final Challenge." I was surprised to see the Superfriends and the Legion Of Doom join forces to rescue the captured Superfriends and Legionnaires from an alien who pitted Scarecrow against Apache Chief, the Riddler against Batman, Cheeta against Wonder Woman, Black Manta against Aquaman, and Bizarro against Superman. Later, I saw some of the other episodes in syndication on WPIX. "History Of Doom" showed the destruction of the good guys, which, thankfully, was altered when the aliens turned back time. I already knew about the origin of Lex Luthor. But the origin of Giganta was changed so that she became a power-hungry cowgirl, and Apache Chief's nemesis. Again, the best way to learn her original backstory is to look up her bio on some website.

"The World's Greatest Superfriends." This iteration from 1979 had but eight episodes. With the exceptions of "Lex Luthor Strikes Back," and "Universe Of Evil," each one was based on a literary classic. I liked seeing the "Arabian Nights-" themed "Rub Three Times For Disaster," which had Superman, the Wonder Twins, and Gleek imprisoned inside a genie's magic lamp. Also, "Space Knights Of Camelon," in which Superman ended up on a Camelot-type planet, where the evil knights, upon learning he had amnesia, convinced him he was the Black Knight of Camelon. Danger lurked for the others. And "The Planet Of Oz," which showed Mr. Mxylplk returning to turn Superman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman into the Tin Man, Scarecrow(no, not that one), and Cowardly Lioness, respectively, after bringing them to the land of Oz, by, how else, tornado. And yes, Dorothy and Toto were absent.
Afterwards, from 1980-83, a bunch of new shorts were produced. These included the newest team player, El Dorado. However, most of these are called the "lost" episodes. These were only recently found, and put on DVD. I did like the ones I saw, like the one about the alien mummy, who mind-controlled El Dorado and a team of archaeologists. And "Cycle Gang," which had the Superfriends go after mean bikers who were merely bullying a young boy and his grandpa.

"Superfriends: The Legendary Superpowers Team." Here was the next to last iteration of the franchise, which had the characters completely redrawn to match the Superpowers Team toy line produced by Kenner. This time, they were up against Darkseid, tyrannical ruler of the planet Apokolips, his son, Kallibak, and right hand man De Saad. Joining the good guys were Professor Martin Stein, and teen student Ronnie Raymond, who merged as one to become Firestorm. These new episodes were just as thrilling. Plus, for the first time, Wonder Woman was seen in her Diana Prince guise. Even better, though, was...

"Superpowers Team: Galactic Guardians." The fight against Darkseid continued here, with Cyborg joining the roster. Also included were Joker, Penguin, Felix Faust, The Royal Flush Gang, and a few original villains and good guys. This was also the darkest iteration of all, as Superman had a near-death experience, and Batman told the others about the fate of his parents. Even the live action "Batman" show from the '60's didn't tell the complete backstory.

In 1986, the franchise finally ended its run. But it left a legacy, and the Justice League continued on in many other cartoons, none of which were produced by H-B.

BTW, since most of these superheroes were created during World War II, and animated during the Vietnam War, I believe I'm justified in calling them "veterans."

And so ends my tribute to the Superfriends. Happy Memorial Day!

Trivia Question 80: Which of the following teen issues did the Wondertwins NOT deal with? A. Prejudice. B. Anorexia and Bulimia. C. Vandalism. D. Drag racing.

Right, arty. Although both were serious problems when "The All-New Superfriends Hour" premiered, Hanna-Barbera and other animation studios were not quite ready to present them in a cartoon story.