"Challenge of the SuperFriends" (1978) TV series

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Writers:

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

8 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Justice League of America battles the plots of the supervillian team, the Legion of Doom.

Plot Keywords:

DC Comics | Superhero Team | Superhero | Justice League | Black Vulcan

Cast

Jack Angel	...	Hawkman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Marlene Aragon	...	Cheetah (16 episodes, 1978)
Lewis Bailey		(16 episodes, 1978)
Michael Bell	...	The Riddler / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
William Callaway	...	Aquaman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Ted Cassidy	...	Black Manta / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Melanie Chartoff		(16 episodes, 1978)
Henry Corden		(16 episodes, 1978)
Danny Dark	...	Superman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Al Fann		(16 episodes, 1978)
Shannon Farnon	...	Wonder Woman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Ruth Forman	...	Giganta (16 episodes, 1978)
Bob Hastings		(16 episodes, 1978)
Bob Holt		(16 episodes, 1978)
Buster Jones	...	Black Vulcan / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Stan Jones	...	Lex Luthor / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Casey Kasem	...	Robin / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Don Messick	...	Scarecrow / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Vic Perrin	...	Sinestro (16 episodes, 1978)
Renny Roker		(16 episodes, 1978)
Stanley Ralph Ross	...	Gorilla Grodd / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Dick Ryal	...	Captain Cold / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Michael Rye	...	Green Lantern / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Olan Soule	...	Batman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Jimmy Weldon	...	Solomon Grundy (16 episodes, 1978)
Frank Welker	...	Toyman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Louise Williams	...	Young Giganta (16 episodes, 1978)
William Woodson	...	Narrator / ... (16 episodes, 1978)

Runtime:

30 min (16 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Trivia:

Alex Toth had submitted a different roster for the Legion of Doom that included villains from the rogues galleries of both Batman and Captain Marvel, assuming the latter would be in the show. In the original proposal the Legion Of Doom consisted of: Dr. Sivanna, Abra-Kadabra, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Gorilla Grodd, Heatwave, The Joker, Mr. Atom, Oggar, The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Sinestro, and Beautia Sivanna (the Dr's daughter). Filmation Associates held the rights to Captain Marvel and related characters (featured in "Shazam!" (1974)) and most of the Batman villains were being used on "The New Adventures of Batman" (1977) (although HB and Filmation shared rights to Batman and Robin), so the group had to be retooled. The Captain Marvel villains were dropped and the Batman villains replaced, as were most of the Flash villains.

Goofs:

Continuity: In "Trial of the Super Friends", Black Manta and Bizarro are in two places at once. They appear at the trial in the Hall of Doom, while at the same time, they're at the government base stealing the "liquid light".

Quotes:

[title sequence]
Series Narrator: Banded together from remote galaxies are thirteen of the most sinister villains of all time, The Legion of Doom, dedicated to a single objective: the conquest of the universe. Only one group dares to challenge this intergalactic threat: The SuperFriends! The Justice League of America versus The Legion of Doom! This is the Challenge of the SuperFriends!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Robot Chicken: Toyz in the Hood (#1.5)" (2005)

One of those "had to see" series

After watching all these heroes I had never seen before (Green Lantern, the Flash, the Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl), the thought of an ongoing series which regularly featured them thrilled me. I had to be on my best behavior or risk being banned from the TV and therefore missing an episode.

I enjoyed the show, but looking back on Cartoon Network reruns saw quite a few flaws in the characterization and details. For example, Green Lantern was able to deflect some of the yellow-colored attacks posed against him, and sometimes he could. At the time, as GL fans know, his ring was always powerless against anything colored yellow. They also committed the same offense as in other series'; for Batman and Robin, it was all about the devices in the utility belts. For Wonder Woman, the jet and Magic Lasso. Lose these things, and they're helpless? Please!

Whatever. Just bring on the whole JLA and I was happy. Still a classic.