| Apache Chief | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Created by | Jerry Robinson Bill Finger Bob Kane |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Super Friends |
| Abilities | Ability to grow or shrink in size, tracking ability |
Apache Chief is a fictional Native American superhero from the various Super Friends cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera and based on the comic book series of same name developed by Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the creators of The Joker. He was one of the new heroes added (along with Black Vulcan, Rima the Jungle Girl, El Dorado and Samurai) to increase the number of non-white characters in the Super Friends ranks. He was voiced by Michael Rye.
In the Challenge of the Super Friends series, Apache Chief was seen in every episode except one, but had spoken lines in only nine out of the sixteen episodes of the series. His arch enemy from the Legion of Doom was Giganta, who also happens to be an original arch enemy of Wonder Woman.
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By speaking the word "Eh-neeek-chock" ("Big Man"), Apache Chief could grow to unlimited sizes. In an episode titled "Colossus", Apache Chief shouts " Eh-neeek-chock" to grow to super size, making himself able to battle the Colossus, a titanic space creature that plucked Earth from its orbit and placed it in a small (relative to him) glass bottle. Originally his tribal powers limited his growth to only 50 feet tall. However in one episode, "Man in the Moon", he used the Atom's knowledge of atomic size and was able to increase his growing to unlimited size. He was then able to grow to 1/5 the size of the earth, stepping on most of North America, and defeated the creature, sending it back inside the moon. He also spoke in stereotypical "Native American English" and recited vaguely Native American philosophy. In the 1978 episodes, "Revenge on Gorilla City" and "The Time Trap", and the 1984 short episode entitled "The Village of Lost Souls", it was shown that Apache Chief also had exceptional tracking ability.
Apache Chief's origin, shown as a recording in the episode "History of Doom", was thus: while still a young brave, he went for a walk with the chief of his tribe. The two men are quickly attacked by a bear, but the chief, recognizing that the young brave might be ready for a test such as this, gives the younger man a pouch of a special magic powder which will amplify the user's thoughts and abilities a hundredfold. The young man resolves to be strong and brave (heeding the chief's advice that whatever is in his mind at the time will be amplified by the dust), and upon sprinkling himself with the powder and invoking the magic phrase "Eh-neeek-chock", grows to fifty feet in size, stronger and braver. He disposes of the bear without violence, proving that he has passed the test. Unfortunately, a passerby witnesses the entire affair and steals the dust with a lasso. Despite the chief telling her her mind was evil, she uses it on herself and becomes the evil Giganta, proclaiming "Your fifty feet of good are now matched by my fifty feet of evil!" The extent of his power is unknown.
Apache Chief does not appear in the mainstream DC Comics universe, but a somewhat similar character called Manitou Raven was created as an homage to him[1] and joined the canonical JLA. Like Apache Chief, Manitou Raven and later, Manitou's widow, Manitou Dawn, have both been seen to say 'Inukchuk' when casting spells or invoking powers.
The character Long Shadow from the Justice League Unlimited series is based directly on Apache Chief. Here he is a member of the Ultimen, the group itself a reference to the Super Friends. Long Shadow has the ability to increase his size, increasing his strength (he also demonstrates superhuman strength, fighting lava men hand-to-hand even before growing). He also gains enhanced hearing, and is voiced by Gregg Rainwater.
Long Shadow comes off as the most innocent and selfless member of the Ultimen, a quality which sets him apart from his somewhat greedy teammates and catches the eye of Wonder Woman. He is also the only member of the Ultimen to express interest in joining the Justice League, the others being more concerned with the material rewards of their current arrangement. When the team discovers that they are clones, and that their cellular structure is breaking down, Long Shadow remains the voice of reason as the others become increasingly unstable, Wind Dragon in particular. When they are unable to find a cure, his teammates begin to destroy the building that serves as their headquarters. Long Shadow assists in evacuating the civilians from the building, then tries to reason with Wind Dragon when he decides to destroy the Justice League. After all but Wind Dragon are defeated, Long Shadow convinces him to stop fighting, citing Wind Dragon's former appreciation of the Justice League as heroes. The Ultimen are incarcerated by Project Cadmus, but Long Shadow is allowed to remain with the Justice League thanks to the efforts of Wonder Woman and Batman. He does not appear after this point, and his fate is unrevealed, though it is likely that he died from his cellular disorder at some unspecified time after his initiation. Numerous clones of Long Shadow and the Ultimen appear in "Panic in the Sky" when Galatea and the Ultimen army attack the Watchtower.
Apache Chief appears several times on Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, voiced by Maurice LaMarche. He is one of the few heroes in the show to actually do superhero work, though he admits to taking various odd jobs to make ends meet (including, but not limited to, pornographic films). He first appears as the subject of the episode "Very Personal Injury". He spills hot coffee on his lap, preventing him from "growing larger", a double entendre that becomes a running gag. He tries to sue the coffee shop that served the drink (a parody of Liebeck v. McDonald's Corp.), but the case is dropped when a beautiful witness makes an impassioned speech in court about his plight, causing him to become so "excited" that his power returns. He also makes several sporadic appearances in the background of other episodes, and now has a deep fear of coffee and other hot liquids.
In the episode of Robot Chicken titled "S&M Present," Britney Spears and her pop-music minions merge together into a giant in order to fight a Pat Morita-trained Joey Fatone, and "Eh-neeek-chock!" can be heard as they combine.
Apache Chief had a cameo in the Family Guy episode "PTV", helping Peter place a satellite dish on his roof. Afterwards, having nothing else to do, he dejectedly says, "that was the high point of my day" and decides to go gamble. In "Love Blactually", Glenn Quagmire uses the same catchphrase in reference to his penis, which is then implied to enlarge with the sound effects that accompany the phrase.
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