The Impossibles (TV series)
The Impossibles is a series of American animated cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1966 broadcast by CBS. The series of shorts (six minutes each) appeared as part of "Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles". Setup. Posing as a trio of young rock 'n roll musicians, The Impossibles were actually crime fighters, with superpowers, dedicated to battling evil supervillains of all shapes and sizes. When performing for their adoring fans (usually star-struck, screaming teenyboppers), the lads would play their mod, futuristic-looking guitars atop an equally futuristic bandstand (emblazoned with their "Impossibles" logo on the side , "a la" Ringo Starr's drumkit) that could convert into a car (the "Impossi-Mobile"), or a jet (the "Impossi-Jet"), a speedboat, or even a submarine. Their standard catch cry when called into action was "Rally ho!" Their humorous dialogue was typically peppered with puns. As with many Hanna-Barbera characters, the Impossibles were topical and inspired by the times, in this case resembling the rock 'n roll groups of the mid-Sixties. Characters. The Impossibles. Each member of the Impossibles had a specific and visual superpower: Each episode usually began with the villain pulling off an improbable caper  while The Impossibles were busy performing across town. The team is called into action by their chief "Big D" (voiced by Paul Frees). After a series of funny superpowered forays, the Impossibles capture the villain and return to finish their concert. Villains. The Impossibles faced many bizarre villains. All villains were defeated in a timely manner and justice was always served. The following villains have appeared more than once: The following villains have only appeared once: Some villains were made to serve a useful purpose and even went straight after their capture: An ad for the Saturday morning cartoon lineup  in comic books of the time referred to "the Bubbler", "Bratfink", and "The Sponge". "The Impossibles" episodes were written by Michael Maltese, who is known mostly for his work with director Chuck Jones. Comic books. A single issue of a "Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles" comic was released by Gold Key as a tie-in to the TV series, and the contents were reprinted in "The Impossibles Annual" in 1968. "The Impossibles" comic story was titled "The Impossibles vs. The Mirror-Man". A new text-based story, specially written for the annual was "The Impossibles Cure a Doctor", with the  villainous Herr Doktor Adolf von Tischklautz. Big D is mistakenly called "Big B" in this story. In 2016, the Impossibles appeared as part of the cast of the "Future Quest" comic book, where the origin of their powers is explored; having been exposed to a special radiation, as part of an experiment by F.E.A.R., they gained their powers and became agents for Big D who's a woman named Deva Sumadi. They are also joined by a fourth member, a girl called Esme Santos who has control over magnetic fields, who nicknamed herself Cobalt Blue. Together, they fight against an  alien being called Omnikron, who absorbs everything and everyone in its path. Adaptations. For the 1979 series "The Super Globetrotters", the Impossibles' super powers were reassigned, entirely intact, to three members of the Globetrotters team. Coil Man was redesigned and renamed Spaghetti Man. Fluid Man was renamed Liquid Man. Multi Man was unchanged. The Super Globetrotter costumes of Fluid Man/Liquid Man and of Multi Man remained the same as their Impossible counterparts (including the unexplained "F" on Liquid Man's wetsuit), except the color palettes were changed to match the Globetrotters' uniforms. The transformation sequences and many of the  signature "moves" from the 1966 series were re-drawn, frame by frame, to feature the superhero incarnations of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team instead of the guitar-toting Impossibles.