Challenge of the Super Friends

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Challenge of the Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 9, 1978 to September 15, 1979 on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics. It was the third series of Super Friends cartoons, following the original Super Friends in 1973 and The All-New Super Friends Hour in 1978.

Contents

[edit] First segment

The plots for this series were, at the time of its initial airing, arguably the best effort to portray comic book heroes in animated television shorts. As originally aired, this season consisted of two half-hour segments. The first of these was an adventure with Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Wonder Twins, similar to those that had aired the previous season in the All-New Super Friends Hour. [1] In syndication, these episodes were shown using the opening credits of the All-New Super Friends Hour; therefore, it is often mistakenly believed that the Wonder Twins did not appear in this season.

[edit] Second segment

The second segment of this season featured the Legion of Doom, a team of thirteen recurring foes comprised of the Super Friends' worst enemies. Every episode would feature battles between the thirteen supervillains of the Legion of Doom and the eleven superheroes of the Justice League of America. The Legion of Doom dwelled in a murky swamp and launched their attacks for global conquest from a sinister looking, swamp-based, mechanical, flying headquarters, called the Hall of Doom as a suitable contrast with the Super Friends' gleaming Hall of Justice.

[edit] Narration, music and character designs

Challenge of the Super Friends was narrated by the voice talents of William Woodson. The show's main theme and original music was composed and arranged by John Beal. Additional music was supplied by Hoyt S. Curtin, Paul DeKorte and Fred Werner. Character designs for this particular Super Friends series were created by Andre Le Blanc and the legendary Alex Toth, while color key was arranged by Nancy Massie.

[edit] Team composition experimentation

Hanna-Barbera's writers experimented with team composition as well. Challenge of the Super Friends added The Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, who were members of the Justice League of America, as well as three characters without previous comic-book antecedents: Black Vulcan (who appears to have been based on a minor DC character, Black Lightning; see Trivia below), Apache Chief and Samurai. These last three were intended to be international heroes and were created in order to encourage racial and cultural diversity. Critics felt that these attempts were, at best, awkward and, at worst, very stereotypical and somewhat offensive.

[edit] Challenge of the Super Friends lineups

[edit] Super Friends/Justice League of America

Eleven heroes made up the Super Friends/Justice League of America. They were:

 

[edit] Legion of Doom

Thirteen villains comprised the Legion of Doom during the Challenge of the Super Friends season. They were:

 
  • Doctor Nataz - a one-time member briefly mentioned in "Superfriends, Rest In Peace" as the inventor of the Noxium crystal, which had the power to kill any Super Friend. He never actually appeared on screen.

[edit] Voices

[edit] Episodes

[edit] First segment (credited simply as Super Friends)

  • The Demons of Exxor
  • Rokan: Enemy from Space
  • Battle at the Earth's Core
  • Sinbad and the Space Pirates
  • The Pied Piper from Space
  • Attack of the Vampire
  • The Beasts are Coming
  • Terror from the Phantom Zone
  • The Anti-Matter Monster
  • World Beneath the Ice
  • The Invasion of the Brain Creatures
  • The Incredible Space Circus
  • Batman:Dead or Alive
  • Battle of the Gods
  • Journey Through Inner Space
  • The Rise and Fall of the Super Friends

[edit] Second segment (credited as Challenge of the Super Friends)

  • Wanted: The Superfriends
  • Invasion of the Fearians
  • The World's Deadliest Game
  • The Time Trap
  • Trial of the Superfriends
  • The Monolith of Evil
  • The Giants of Doom
  • Secret Origins of the Superfriends
  • Revenge on Gorilla City
  • Swamp of the Living Dead
  • Conquerors of the Future
  • The Final Challenge
  • Fairy Tales of Doom
  • Doomsday
  • Superfriends: Rest In Peace
  • History of Doom

[edit] Trivia

  • To add diversity to the team, Black Lightning was supposed to join. However, to do so, Hanna-Barbera would have been required to pay a fee to Black Lightning creator Tony Isabella.[2] So the character Black Vulcan was created instead.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://members.aol.com/SprFriends/chronology.htm#superfriends78-79
  2. ^ Wizard Magazine #186, April 2007 -- "Lightning Rod"
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