REVIEW: SuperFriends: The Complete Collection

From 1973-1985, two generations of Saturday morning television were raised on the exploits of DC Comics’ stellar array of heroes on ABC’s Super Friends. While the exact title changed through the years, the Hanna-Barbera series continued to display heroes and heroines as models of truth, justice, and the American Way. There are many who, having grown up on the show, revere it. Others, those of us outgrowing that weekend ritual, found it a pale comparison to the four0-cloro source material.

I admit, I had a disdain for the series, what with its limited animation and prohibition against the good guys subduing the bad guys with their fists. As a result, you must be a fan of a certain age to find the arrival of the Super Friends complete series DVD box set a welcome treat.

There were 93 actual episodes over the dozen years, and it was a launch pad for The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Over the years, the core superheroes supported one another as they tackled terrestrial and inter-dimensional threats in the form of invading aliens and unearthed creatures.

Initially, Wendy and Marvin (and Wonder Dog) supported them for audience identification purposes, but they were quickly replaced by the teen aliens Zan and Jayna, and their pet monkey, Gleek, who had powers. They gave us the cry, “Wonder Twin powers, activate!” which caught on decades after the show ended.

Picking up where the Filmation DC cartoons left off, Ted Knight provided the initial bombastic narration, replaced by Bill Woodson. Much of the Filmation voice talent moved to the Hall of Justice. They were accomplished by the stellar array of voice artists from the day, from Frank Welker to Casey Kasem. We even got Adam West back as Batman for a season.

Most Saturday morning animated action was hamstrung by parent groups and overly worried networks, inhibiting the among of imitative action that could be depicted. You can watch the strictures loosen as we get to the end of the 1970s. By the 1980s, the series fully embraced the source material as the Legion of Doom as supplanted by the arrival of Darkseid and his Apokoliptian emissaries. (Of course, that supported the Kenner Super Powers action figures, but don’t tell ABC)

In the 1978–1979 season, we had your typical adventure coupled with Challenge of the Superfriends, introducing the Legion of Doom (Bizarro, Black Manta, Brainiac, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Solomon Grundy, Lex Luthor, The Riddler, The Scarecrow, Sinestro,  and Toyman). We were also introduced to multicultural heroic additions: Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, and Samurai.

Building on the newspaper comic strip of a similar name, the series morphed into The World’s Greatest SuperFriends. Another original character, El Dorado, was introduced in 1980. These newer heroes could also be found in the E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon Super Friends comic. After a year off, the series was back as SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show with a limited number of familiar heroes and villains.

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians incarnation arrived in 1985, with Cyborg and Firestorm now in the mix. On the opposing side, we were introduced to The Joker, The Penguin, the Royal Flush Gang, and Felix Faust. This season produced its finest episode, the first televised origin for Batman.

Watching these all these years later, you can occasionally wince but also feel the same thrill kids must have felt seeing their favorite heroes band together. The episodes look fine on a DVD (a Blu-ray edition also exists).

The episodes stand alone, without any Special Features.