Birdman and the Galaxy Trio
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Birdman and the Galaxy Trio is an animated science fiction series created by Alex Toth for Hanna-Barbera. It debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, and ran on Saturday mornings until September 6, 1969. The program consists of two segments: Birdman, depicting the adventures of a winged superhero powered by the sun, and The Galaxy Trio, centering around the exploits of three extraterrestrial superheroes. NBC ran two new segments of Birdman each Saturday, separated by a segment of The Galaxy Trio.
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[edit] Main characters
[edit] Birdman
- Ray Randall/Birdman (voiced by Keith Andes) - An ordinary human endowed by the sun god Ra (although this origin is only vaguely and briefly hinted at during the series; his real name is never mentioned) with the ability to shoot solar rays from his fists and project “solar shields” to defend himself against attacks. He was recruited by a top-secret government agency, Inter-Nation Security, and now works full-time fighting crime, assisted by his eagle sidekick Avenger. In addition to the abilities he received from Ra, Birdman also possesses the power of flight, thanks to the giant wings which sprout from his back. His sole weakness is that he must periodically recharge his super powers through exposure to the sun’s rays. His trademark is his battle cry of "Biiiiirdman!!" when he goes into battle.
- Falcon 7 (Don Messick) - Birdman’s contact with Inter-Nation Security, and the person from whom Birdman typically receives his missions.
- Birdboy (Dick Beals) - Another sidekick of Birdman. The two first met when Birdman happened upon a shipwreck, of which Birdboy was the only apparent survivor. Since the boy was near death from exposure, Birdman transferred some of his own super energy to him, reviving him and giving powers similar to Birdman’s, and he went on to aid him in several episodes. Birdboy lacks the natural feathered wings sported by Birdman, however, and is only able to fly with the assistance of the mechanical wings strapped to his back. He spends much of his time searching for his father, who was lost in the wreck, but this was never resolved.
- General Stone: General Stone appears several times in Birdman with other military leaders, and tends to find himself on the receiving end of the villains' schemes.
- Number One - The leader of the sinister organisation F.E.A.R. and Birdman's "number one" enemy. F.E.A.R. is behind many plots over the course of the series, frequently employing supervillains to perform nefarious tasks. The organisation was seemingly defeated for good and its leader arrested in "The Wings of FEAR", but it occasionally resurfaced without any explanation.
[edit] Minor Villains
Here is a list of minor villains who appear in episode order:
- Dr. Millennium: A super-villain who appeared in "The Menace of Dr. Millennium", using a time-manipulating machine to commit crimes, and "The Revenge of Dr. Millennium", where he tried to exact his revenge on Birdman and take over the world from the past.
- X the Eliminator: A mercenary hired by F.E.A.R. to eliminate Birdman. He is charged with bringing back Birdman's crest from his helmet as proof of his accomplishment. He makes his reappearance as a regular character on "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law", still trying to kill Birdman and get the crest as proof.
- Ringmaster: Agent of F.E.A.R.
- Morto the Marauder: A criminal genius and evidently once a significant threat to the world, Morto twice escaped from prison with his mechanical know-how and wreaked havoc in "Morto the Marauder" and "Morto Rides Again".
- Cumulus the Storm King: A supervillain who can control the weather.
- Nitro:
- Mummer: A supervillain who is a master of disguise.
- Kiroff: A supervillain who was responsible for causing world-wide earthquakes.
- Zardo: A supervillain who one time captured Avenger.
- Constrictor:
- Reducto: A supervillain who wields a shrink ray. He uses this ray to demand money from Central City or he will shrink its size. After being defeated by Birdman, he is shrunken down to microscopic size.
- Doctor Shark:
- Hannibal the Hunter:
- Mentok the Mind-Taker: Mentok has the ability to send cerebral messages to a person or animal to do his bidding. He uses this ability to get Birdman to steal missiles from the United States Government. He plans on using these missiles to start a war between two countries.
- Dr. Freezoid: Dr. Freezoid has a weapon that can turn an entire city block into ice. He has a retreat in the North Pole. Birdman causes him to self-destruct his base of operations with his own weapons.
- Deadly Duplicator:
- Professor Nightshade:
- Chameleon:
- Moray of the Deep:
- Vulturo: Dr. Vult is an evil scientist who made a vulture-like costume to combat birdman. He appeared in two episodes of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio: in "Vulturo, Prince Of Darkness", where he was hired by F.E.A.R. to destroy Birdman, and "Return Of Vulturo", in which he tried to exact his revenge. Like many other characters he reappeared in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
- Murro the Marauder:
Apart from Number One and F.E.A.R., these were the only recurring villains of Birdman, appearing in two episodes each. (Two episodes also featured a villain named Zardo, but their appearances were so different from each other that they are often interpreted as unrelated characters.[1])
[edit] Galaxy Trio
The Galaxy Trio is a group of three extraterrestrial superheroes, Vapor Man, Meteor Man, and Gravity Girl, who patrol space in their cruiser Condor One maintaining order and fighting evildoers in the name of the Galactic Patrol law enforcement agency.
- Vapor Man (Don Messick) - He has the ability to transform part or all of his body into gaseous form (a power shared by at least some residents of his home planet of Vaporus), enabling him to fly, escape from physical bonds, and squeeze through very small spaces, as well as producing various forms of "vapor" (such as "freeze vapor") from his hands.
- Meteor Man (Ted Cassidy) - A native of the planet Meteorus. Meteor Man is distinguished by his ability to increase or decrease the size of any part of his body. He gains superhuman strength in any limb that he chooses to enlarge.
- Gravity Girl (Virginia Eiler) - She has the ability to bend the laws of gravity to her will, allowing her to fly and lift very heavy objects with her mind. The daughter of the king of the planet Gravitas, she left her luxurious home and life of privilege at an early age to fight crime with the Galactic Patrol and was subsequently assigned to the Galaxy Trio team, with whom she has served ever since.
The Trio also appeared in Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes issue #2 (September 1968).
[edit] Minor Characters
- Chief: A man referred to only as "Chief" is a recurring character in Galaxy Trio. He fulfils a similar role to Falcon 7 in Birdman
[edit] Episodes
[edit] List of Birdman episodes
- The Menace Of Dr. Millenium
- X The Eliminator
- The Ruthless Ringmaster
- Morto the Marauder
- Birdman Vs Cumulus the Storm King
- Nitron the Human Bomb
- Birdman vs the Mummer
- The Quake Threat
- Avenger for Ransom
- The Brain Thief
- Birdman vs the Constrictor
- Birdman meets Birdgirl
- Birdman meets Reducto
- Serpents of the Deep
- Hannibal the Hunter
- The Purple Moss
- The Incredible Magnatroid
- Mentok, the Mind Taker
- The Wings of Fear
- Birdman vs Dr. Freezoids
- Train Trek
- Number One
- The Deadly Duplicator
- The Deadly Trio
- Professor Nightshade
- The Chameleon
- The Empress of Evil
- Birdman meets Birdboy
- Birdman meets Moray of the Deep
- Birdman and the Monster of the Mountains
- The Return of Vulturo
- Birdman in the Revenge of Dr. Millennium
- The Wild Weird West
- The Ant Ape
- Morto Rides Again
- Vulturo: Prince of Darkness
- Murro the Marauder
- Birdman vs the Speed Demon
- The Pirate Plot
[edit] Galaxy Trio
- Revolt of the Robots
- The Battle of Aquatrons
- Galaxy Trio Versus the Moltens of Meteorus
- Galaxy Trio Versus Growliath
- Galaxy Trio & the Sleeping Planet
- Galaxy Trio & the Cave Men of Primevia
- Titan the Titanium Man
- Computron Lives
- Space Fugitives
- The Eye of Time
- The Duplitrons
- The Demon Raiders
- The Rock Men
- Return to Aqueous
- Space Slaves
- Invasion of the Sporoids
- Gralik of Gravitas
- Plateaus the Pirate Planet
- Drakmore the Despot
[edit] Birdman and the Galaxy Trio in other media
Birdman appeared in issues 1-7 (April 1968-October 1969) of the Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes comic book. He was joined in issue 2 by the Galaxy Trio (their first appearance together).
Birdman next appeared in the 1990s in a memorable appearance on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. Presented as an "unseen pilot", Birdman's appearance told of his unsuccessful attempt at headlining a talk show to revive his career. During the pilot, Birdman becomes more and more despondent and disgusted with his life, his guests, and the show. He allows Avenger to brutally maim his lead musician Lokar, forcing Zorak to replace him, and is finally driven from the job when the producer fires him. Birdman's first name is revealed to be "Harvey."
The character proved immensely popular, and he was brought back with a role that would catapult him to new popularity, that of a practicing attorney. He is enlisted by Jan and Jayce in an attempt to sue Space Ghost for neglect and royalties, before ultimately losing the case.
This backdoor pilot allowed for a new series to be made based on Harvey's new career, both he and number of other characters from Birdman and the Galaxy Trio were later reused in the Adult Swim comedy series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, in which Birdman, now retired from superhero work, is employed as an attorney at a law firm managed by Falcon 7 (whose real name is Phil Ken Sebben). Many secondary characters from the original Birdman series make recurring appearances on Harvey Birdman, including Birdboy (or “Peanut”), Birdgirl, and Mentok the Mind Taker, among others. The show also frequently features other Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters in guest roles, including the Galaxy Trio, most notably Gravity Girl (or "Gigi", an obvious take on GG for Gravity Girl). Birdman's name "Ray Randall" from the original series was abandoned in favor of the name used for the Space Ghost: Coast to Coast episode he starred in.
[edit] DVD Release
On July 17, 2007, Warner Home Video released Birdman & The Galaxy Trio - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. [1]
| Cover Art | DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
The Complete Series | 20 | July 17, 2007 |
[edit] Birdman and the Galaxy Trio in other languages
- French: Solaris
- Japanese: 電子鳥人Uバード/銀河トリオ (Denshi Chōjin Yū-Bādo; Electronic Birdhuman U-Bird/Galaxy Trio)
- Polish: Birdman / Galaxy Trio
- Portuguese: Homem-Pássaro e o Galaxy Trio
- Spanish: Birdman y el Trío Galaxia
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Birdman and the Galaxy Trio at IMDB
- Birdman and the Galaxy Trio at TV.com
- Birdman and the Galaxy Trio at HBShows.com
- The Birdman FAQ
