Top Ten Hanna-Barbera Military Officers.

I didn't realize today was Armed Forces Day. To make up for this error, I easily compiled the top ten military officers created by H-B:

10. Bertha Blast, "Private Olive Oyl."

9. Sergeant Turnbuckle, "Laverne And Shirley In The Army."

8. The un-named General, "Young Samson And Goliath." He was seen along with other Army men in the episodes "The SSX-19," "The Monsteroids," and "The Terrible Dr. Desto."

7. Sergeant Squealy, "Laverne And Shirley In The Army."

6. The General, "Dastardly And Muttley In Their Flying Machines." Never seen onscreen, but perhaps he didn't have to be, as his voice was enough.

5. General Stone, "Birdman." A recurring character seen in the episodes "The Menace Of Dr. Millenium," "Avenger For Ransom," "The Wings Of Fear," "The Deadly Duplicator," and "Professor Nightshade." All of these also featured other military officers.

4. Private Pinkley and Sergeant Blast, "The Wacky Races."

3. Sergeant Jeeper and Colonel Tank, "Wheelie And The Chopper Bunch." They were seen in the episode "Boot Camp."

2. Colonel Fusby, "Breezly And Sneezly."

1. Colonel Wilcox, "Superfriends." Seen only during the first season, but all things considered, the series should have kept him.


I know there are many others like General McMissile from "G.I, Jetson," and all the officers from "The Astro'nuts." But these weren't as impressive as the others.

On a final sad note, I regret to inform you that the voice actor of my top two choices, John Stephenson, is dead. RIP, Mr. Stephenson.

Ow, that is sad news. Colonel Wilcox was a prominent military figure for the first season of The Super Friends. Although, it does beg the question: are superheroes attached to the US Army somehow? Are they enlistees, recruits, personnel, equipment, black ops? Wouldn't things have worked just as well if the Troub-Alert had been one of Batman's creations?

Oh, and for the Wacky Races: I think Private Pinkley drove the Army Surplus Special, commanded by Sergeant Blast. It seems that cross-country racing isn't dangerous enough; the vehicles can have weapons and other nefarious devices, which get used every so often. Which means that Dick Dastardly isn't cheating, he's just taking an unhealthy amount of schadenfreud from his actions.