Super Friends

Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.

The name of the program (and the Justice League members featured with the Super Friends) has been variously represented (as Super Friends and Challenge of the Superfriends, for example) at different points in its broadcast history. There were a total of 93 episodes and two backdoor-pilot episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, with Batman and Robin appearing in "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair" and "The Caped Crusader Caper".

## Series titles

Over the years, the show existed under several titles:

* *Super Friends* (1973–1974)
* *The All-New Super Friends Hour* (1977–1978)
* *Challenge of the Superfriends* (1978–1979)
* *The World's Greatest SuperFriends* (1979–1980)
* *SuperFriends* (1980–1983)
* *SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show* (1984–1985)
* *The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians* (1985–1986)

## Writing

Plot lines for the later series involved many of the familiar DC Comics super-villains that the first incarnation of the *Super Friends* did not. Instead, like the comic books, they focused on the far-fetched schemes of mad scientists and aliens, who were invariably revealed as being well-intentioned, and simply pursuing their goals through unlawful or disreputable means. Typically, at the end of each story, a peaceful and reasonable discussion would be performed by the heroes to convince the antagonists to adopt more reasonable methods.

*The All-New Super Friends Hour* departed somewhat from the previous series' formula by featuring villains using more elaborate methods to further their goals; as a rule they could not be reasoned with, requiring the heroes to use direct force to stop them. Beginning with *Challenge of the Superfriends*, several of the heroes' arch-villains from the comic books (such as Lex Luthor and The Riddler) began to feature prominently in comic-style stories. Throughout the series, plots often wrapped themselves up neatly in the final minutes of an episode in the fashion of the typical comic books and deus ex machina.

## Characters

### The Justice League of America

The core group of five heroes made up the "Super Friends":

* Batman
* Robin
* Superman
* Wonder Woman

Additional Justice League members included:

* The Atom (1977; 1980–1983)
* Firestorm (1984–1985)
* The Flash (1973; 1977–1985)
* Green Lantern (1977–1985)
* Hawkgirl (1977; 1980; 1983)
* Hawkman (1977–1978; 1980–1985)
* Cyborg (1985)
* Rima the Jungle Girl (1977; 1980) (not featured in DC superhero comics)

Justice League members created for the series:

* Apache Chief (1977–1978; 1980–1984)
* Black Vulcan (1977–1978; 1980–1984)
* El Dorado (1982–1985)
* Samurai (1977–1978; 1980–1985)

One-shot Justice League appearances were made by:

* Abin Sur (1978)
* Green Arrow (1973–1974)
* Plastic Man (1973–1974)
* Superboy (1978; 1983)

	+ Gleek (1977–1984)
	+ Wonder Dog (1973–1975)
* Wendy and Marvin:
	+ Wendy Harris (1973–1975)
	+ Marvin White (1973–1975)
* Wonder Twins:
	+ Jayna (1977–1984)
	+ Zan (1977–1984)

Other DC comic characters that appeared in the series:

* Commissioner James Gordon
* Hippolyta
* Lois Lane
* Jimmy Olsen
* Alfred Pennyworth
* Solovar (ruler of Gorilla City)
* Steve Trevor

### Legion of Doom

Thirteen villains composed the Legion of Doom during the *Challenge of the Superfriends* season. They were:

* Black Manta
* Brainiac
* Captain Cold
* Cheetah
* Giganta
* Gorilla Grodd
* Lex Luthor
* The Riddler
* The Scarecrow
* Sinestro
* Toyman

### Other DC Comics villains

Villains appearing independently from the Legion of Doom:

	+ Darkseid
	+ DeSaad
	+ Kalibak
	+ The Paradrones
* Bizarro's Clones:
	+ Cyzarro (Cyborg Bizarro)
	+ Firezarro (Firestorm Bizarro)
	+ Mr. Kltpzyxm (Mr. Mxyzptlk Bizarro)
	+ Wondezarro (Wonder Woman Bizarro)
	+ Alfred Bizarro (Bizarro of Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth, appeared briefly in *Challenge*)
* Gentleman Ghost
* The Joker
* Mirror Master
* Mr. Mxyzptlk
* The Penguin
* The Royal Flush Gang

Villains appearing not adapted from the comic books:

* The Alien Mummy
* The Anti-Matter Monster
* Barko
* Bigfoot creatures
* Blackbeard
* Bulgor the Behemoth
* The Brain Creatures
* The Capricorn Kid
* Captain Shark
* The Collector
* The Incredible Crude Oil Monster
* Darkon
* Dictor and the mysterious Time Creatures
* The Dollmaker
* Dracula
* Dr. Cranium
* Dr. Droid
* Dr. Frankenstein
* Dr. Fright
* Dr. Gulliver
* The Earthors
* The Enforcer
* Giant Snow Creature
* The Highway Angels
* The Hydronoids
* The Ice Demon
* Insecta and the Arthropods
* The Iron Cyclops
* John Palette
* The Junk Creature from the Dump
* Kareem Azaar
* Keelhaul Kelly
* King Arthur
* The Lion Men
* The Make Up Monster
* Mal Havok
* The Man Beasts Of Xra
* The Marsh Monster
* Medula and her Mind Maidens
* Mongor
* The Mummy Of Nazca
* The Mysterious Mutants of the Space Sphere
* Nartan
* Ocina and the Ancient Atlantean Warriors
* Old Man Holmes
* Orville Gump (Otis in *Superman*)
* The Outlaws of Orion (Pack and Stardust)
* The Phantom Zone Villains (Hul, Logar, Rom-Lok)
* The Plant Creatures
* Professor Amy Zhan
* Professor Fearo
* Professor Korloff
* The Power Pirate
* The Robber Baron and Sleeves
* The Rock and Roll Space Bandits
* Rock Batman
* Rokan
* R.O.M.A.C.
* The Secret Four
* Scorpio
* Sculpin
* Sinbad and the Space Pirates
* Solderath and the Lava Men
* The Space Dolls
* The Evil Space Genie
* The Space Racers
* The Star Energy Creature
* The Super Enemies
* The Termites from Venus
* Torhana
* Tyrannic
* Vampiress, the Voodoo Vampire
* Yuna the Terrible
* Zarnum
* The Zoons
* Zycree (see General Zod)

### Other DC Comics characters in *Super Friends* comics and merchandising related to the series

* Batgirl
* Black Canary
* Black Orchid
* Cyclotron
* Elongated Man
* Green Fury
* Global Guardians: Doctor Mist, Icemaiden, Little Mermaid, Seraph, Tasmanian Devil
* Golden Pharaoh
* Huntress
* Captain Marvel
* Mary Marvel
* Mr. Miracle
* Orion
* Red Tornado
* Supergirl

## References to the Justice League of America name

Beginning with the original *Super Friends* season, the opening narration describes the team's headquarters as "the great hall of the Justice League". The opening credits of *Challenge of the Superfriends* names the Super Friends as the Justice League of America. In addition to the appearance of a JLA emblem on a communicator and a reference to a mission to repair the Justice League satellite, the Super Friends are often linked with the JLA. The Justice League satellite under repair is clearly the same design as the Justice League Satellite that appeared in the comics at the time, but was shown to be substantially smaller than its comic book counterpart.

## Notable voice actors

The voice of the Narrator was provided by actor Ted Knight during the early hour-long episodes. Bill Woodson took over with the revival of the series in 1977. His signature line was "Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice...". The voices of Marvin and Wonder Dog as well as Mr. Mxyzptlk, Toyman, The Dollmaker, Darkseid, Kalibak, and The Joker were performed by Frank Welker. Adam West provided the voice of Batman in *SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show* and *The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians*. Casey Kasem provided the voice of Robin (and many others in the show). René Auberjonois lends his voice as DeSaad.

## Reception

In January 2009, IGN listed *Super Friends* as the 50th best animated television series.

## Spin-offs

### *Legends of the Superheroes*

On January 18 and 25, 1979, Hanna-Barbera ran two one-hour live-action specials under the umbrella title *Legends of the Superheroes*. The first special, subtitled "The Challenge", was loosely based on the Super Friends and the 1960s *Batman* series (played for laughs, but this time, including a laugh track) and included several other DC characters who replaced Samurai, Black Vulcan, and Apache Chief: Black Canary, the E-2 Huntress Helena Wayne (a new DC character, gathering her own following in *All-Star* and *Adventure Comics* JSA runs as a JSA member), and Captain Marvel (who had previously had his own live action series through Filmation studios). The second special, entitled "The Roast", featured Ed McMahon as emcee of the roast, along the lines of *The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast* specials. Due to Warner Bros.' contracts on Wonder Woman (already being used in her own live action series; Lynda Carter) and Superman (in his own live-action theatrical movie at the time; Christopher Reeve), they were unable to be featured on the specials.

### *The Plastic Man Comedy Adventure Show*

Main article: The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
Plastic Man first appeared in the first season of *Super Friends*, in one episode. Later, Ruby-Spears Productions released a series starring the character in his own solo adventures.

### *Batman*

A Batman animated series was also considered in the mid-1980s, presumably with Adam West reprising his role as the voice of Batman.Template:Citation needed "The Fear" was written as a pilot episode for the series, but it was instead adapted in to an episode of *The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians*.

### *The New Teen Titans*

In 1983, a cartoon based upon *The New Teen Titans* comics began development. It was created as a companion for the *Super Friends*, to be set in the same continuity. Robin was not going to be featured in the cartoon though, at least not as a regular, since in the *Super Friends* universe, he was a member of the Justice League. Like *Super Friends*, the show was to be developed by Hanna-Barbera for ABC, but since shows like *The Smurfs* (airing on NBC) were so popular at the time, this show was never picked up by the network. The show would have featured Wonder Girl as the leader, along with Cyborg, Kid Flash, Changeling, Raven and Starfire. Although the show failed to get picked up, a television commercial with a substance abuse theme did feature the Titans, as they would have appeared in the animated series, along with a new superhero named "The Protector" who would have been the replacement character for Robin. A Teen Titans animated TV program was eventually produced, adding Robin and removing Wonder Girl, Kid Flash and The Protector.

### *DC Super Friends*

Fisher-Price developed a toy line named DC Super Friends featuring DC Comics characters as toys for young children. A comic book series and direct-to-video original animation called *The Joker's Playhouse* (2010) was developed to tie-in. The video features the World's Greatest Super Friends theme, allusions to the Legion of Doom, and the Super Friends and their Hall of Justice. To watch a full array of clips, visit http://www.batterypop.com/shows/dc-super-friends.

## Video games

### *Injustice: Gods Among Us*

The Hall of Justice is a playable stage in *Injustice: Gods Among Us*.

## Toys

### Super Powers Collection

The Super Powers toy line (and associated tie-in merchandise) was based on the final two seasons of *Super Friends*. Samurai, an original character from the show, and the Hall of Justice were both released. Plans for future waves from Super Powers would have also included Apache Chief, El Dorado, Black Vulcan and the Wonder Twins.

### *Justice League Unlimited*

The toy line based on *Justice League Unlimited* released a three pack of figures from characters created for *Super Friends*, namely Black Vulcan, Apache Chief and Samurai. They were chosen over the Ultimen characters that actually appeared in the JLU animated series: Juice, Long Shadow and Wind Dragon.

### *DC Super Friends*

Fisher-Price began to produce DC Comics characters in a kid-friendly toyline named after the *Super Friends*.

### *DC Universe Classics*

Paying homage to Super Powers, DC Universe Classics produced original *Super Friends* characters such as Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, El Dorado, Samurai and the Wonder Twins.

### *Figures Toy Company*

Figures Toy Company is a company that produces a number of 'nostalgia' figures based on TV shows and comic books. The figures are vinyl dolls with removable outfits. They have released a line of figures that includes a near complete Legion of Doom (only Giganta has not been released). They have announced a Rima the Jungle Girl figure, and were the first company to release figures for Wendy & Marvin. To date, figures have been released for: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman, Wendy, Marvin, Zan, Jayna, Gleek, Black Vulcan, Samurai, Apache Chief, El Dorado, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Atom, Firestom, and Cyborg

1. ↑ Batman: Yesterday, Today, And Beyond ~ The Batman Homepage ~ The Largest Batman Site on the Net!. Batmanytb.com.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Template:Cite book
3. ↑ Template:Cite news
4. ↑ IGN - 50. SuperFriends. Tv.ign.com.