Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
Encyclopedia
Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show is an American
animated television series about a team of superhero
es which ran from 1984
to 1985
on ABC
. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera
and is based on the Justice League
and associated comic book
characters published by DC Comics
.
's The World's Greatest Super Friends
. Continuing the previous three years' policy of producing short stories, this series' format was two stories per half hour, so all the separate stories were ten minutes long each.
. The general story, as detailed in the mini-comics that accompanied the figures, was that the major heroes of Earth had teamed up to fight Darkseid
and his villains.
According to DC writer/historian Mark Waid
, Aquaman's sole appearance in The Legendary Super Powers Show comes via his appearance within the opening credits. The same is true for The Flash and Hawkman. This was the first time Wonder Woman was animated with the =w= symbol on her costume instead of the eagle design, this carried over into the final series Galactic Guardians, which led to Justice League in 2001, where she wears a modified version of the =w= symbol.
The series was also noteworthy for using Adam West
as the voice of Batman, two decades after the end of the 1960s live action Batman series. West replaced Olan Soule
and would continue through the subsequent Galactic Guardians series.
For this series, Lex Luthor and Brainiac were completely revamped to resemble their comic book counterparts.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animated television series about a team of superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es which ran from 1984
1984 in television
This article is a list of television-related events in 1984.-Events:*January 9 – Wendy's "Fluffy Bun" ad first airs, which propels Clara Peller and her "Where's the beef?" catchphrase to national prominence....
to 1985
1985 in television
The year 1985 involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1985.For the American TV schedule, see: 1985-86 United States network television schedule.-Events:*January 1 – VH1 launches in the United States....
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
and is based on the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
and associated comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
characters published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
.
Format
Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show was the first Super Friends series in a new format since 19791979 in television
The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...
's The World's Greatest Super Friends
The World's Greatest Super Friends
The World's Greatest Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 22, 1979 to September 27, 1980 on ABC...
. Continuing the previous three years' policy of producing short stories, this series' format was two stories per half hour, so all the separate stories were ten minutes long each.
Toyline tie-in
Unlike previous series, Super Friends: The Legenary Super Powers Show was produced to tie-in with the toyline of the same name produced by KennerKenner
Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...
. The general story, as detailed in the mini-comics that accompanied the figures, was that the major heroes of Earth had teamed up to fight Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
and his villains.
Super Friends/Justice League of America
Thirteen heroes made up the Super Friends. They were:
|
Hal Jordan Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker... Firestorm (comics) Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear... Black Vulcan Black Vulcan is a fictional African American superhero on the animated series Super Friends created by Hanna-Barbera. He was voiced by Buster Jones.-Fictional character biography:... Gleek (Super Friends) Gleek is a fictional character appearing in the animated series Super Friends and its related spinoffs. He debuted in The All New Superfriends Hour, which first aired September 10, 1977. Gleek's vocalizations were provided by Michael Bell.... |
Apache Chief Apache Chief is a fictional Native American superhero from the various Super Friends cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera. He was one of the new heroes added to increase the number of non-white characters in the Super Friends ranks... Samurai (Super Friends) Samurai is a fictional superhero in the Super Friends cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera. His real name is Toshio Eto, and he is of Japanese descent. He was one of the later additions to the team along with other ethnically diverse heroes in an effort for the show to promote cultural diversity. His... El Dorado (Superhero) El Dorado is a fictional Hispanic superhero featured in various incarnations of the Super Friends animated series created by Hanna-Barbera. He was voiced by Fernando Escandon.-Fictional character biography:... Wonder Twins The Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna, are fictional extraterrestrial comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Their first comic book appearance was in Super Friends #7 , by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon... (Zan and Jayna) |
According to DC writer/historian Mark Waid
Mark Waid
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
, Aquaman's sole appearance in The Legendary Super Powers Show comes via his appearance within the opening credits. The same is true for The Flash and Hawkman. This was the first time Wonder Woman was animated with the =w= symbol on her costume instead of the eagle design, this carried over into the final series Galactic Guardians, which led to Justice League in 2001, where she wears a modified version of the =w= symbol.
The series was also noteworthy for using Adam West
Adam West
William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
as the voice of Batman, two decades after the end of the 1960s live action Batman series. West replaced Olan Soule
Olan Soule
Olan Soule was an American character actor with hundreds of credits in films, radio, commercials, television and animation.-Early life:...
and would continue through the subsequent Galactic Guardians series.
Villains
|
Mirror Master Mirror Master is a fictional character and a supervillain in the DC Universe. He is a recurring foe of the Flash with considerable technical expertise and skills involving the use of mirrors. Four individuals have donned the guise of Mirror Master... Lex Luthor Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and... Mister Mxyzptlk Mr. Mxyzptlk , sometimes called Mxy, is a fictional impish supervillain who appears in DC Comics' Superman comic books.He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and first appeared in Superman #30 . He is usually presented as a trickster, in the classical mythological sense, in that he enjoys... |
For this series, Lex Luthor and Brainiac were completely revamped to resemble their comic book counterparts.
List of episodes
- The Legendary Super Powers Show episodes
Cast
- Jack AngelJack AngelJack Angel is an American voice actor, who has worked on many children's television series, movies and video games.-Life and career:Angel was born in Modesto, California...
- Samurai - René Auberjonois - Desaad
- James Avery -
- Michael Bell - Zan, Gleek
- Gregg BergerGregg BergerGreggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
- - Arthur BurghardtArthur BurghardtArthur Burghardt is an American actor known for portraying Dr. Jack Scott on the soap opera One Life to Live.His first movie appearance was as the Great Ahmed Kahn in Network . A prolific voice actor during the 1980s, his most celebrated roles were Destro in the animated series G.I. Joe and...
- - Howard CaineHoward CaineHoward Caine , was a popular character actor, probably best known as Gestapo agent Major Wolfgang Hochstetter in the television series Hogan's Heroes....
- - Mary McDonald Lewis - Wonder Woman
- Danny DarkDanny DarkDanny Dark was widely acknowledged in the commercial industry as the voice-over king. For nearly four decades, he embedded pop culture with memorable lines in advertisements for Budweiser , Raid Ant & Roach Killer and StarKist Tuna...
- Superman - Fernando Escandon - El Dorado
- Pat FraleyPat FraleyPatrick "Pat" Fraley is an American voice actor, who is best known as the voice of Krang, Casey Jones and numerous other characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
- - Liz Georges -
- Buster JonesBuster JonesEdward L. "Buster" Jones is an American voice actor.He is probably best known from his roles as Black Vulcan in Super Friends, Blaster in The Transformers, Doc in G.I...
- Black Vulcan - Stanley JonesStan Jones (actor)Gordon Stan Jones , sometimes credited as G. Stanley Jones, Staley Jones or Stanley Jones, was a Canadian film and television actor.-Career:...
- Lex Luthor - Casey KasemCasey KasemKemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
- Robin, Mirror Master - Mary McDonald-Lewis -
- Mickie McGowan -
- Stanley Ralph RossStanley Ralph RossStanley Ralph Ross was raised in Brooklyn New York, starting his career in advertising, then soon going to work as a writer and actor on various television shows, most notably cult-classics such as the 1960s Batman series starring Adam West and also The Monkees...
- Brainiac - Michael RyeMichael RyeMichael Rye is a US voice actor. He is also known as Mike Rye and sometimes used his surname at birth, Rye Billsbury...
- Apache Chief, Green Lantern - Olan SouleOlan SouleOlan Soule was an American character actor with hundreds of credits in films, radio, commercials, television and animation.-Early life:...
- Professor Martin Stein (Beginning with this version, Adam West replaced Soule as the voice of Batman) - Mark L. TaylorMark L. TaylorMark L. Taylor is an American actor. He was born in Syracuse, New York.Taylor has appeared in various shows such as Seinfeld, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal and Boston Legal...
- Ronald Raymond/Firestorm - B.J. Ward - Jayna
- Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
- Darkseid, Dollmaker, Kalibak, Mister Mxyzptlk - Adam WestAdam WestWilliam West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
- Batman - Narrated by William WoodsonBill WoodsonWilliam "Bill" T. Woodson is a retired American voice artist. He has a small onscreen appearance in the 1950s sci-fi film "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" as a newscaster. He can be heard in the opening narrative of the 1970s television series The Odd Couple, explaining how it is that Felix and...
DVD release
- Warner Home Video released The Complete Series of Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show on DVD on August 7, 2007.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete Series | 16 | August 7, 2007 |
External links
- Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show at Big Cartoon DataBaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....