''Defenders of the Earth'' is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

—

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The charact ...

Mandrake the Magician ''Mandrake the Magician'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloon ...

, and Mandrake's assistant Lothar—opposing

Ming the Merciless Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, television series and film adaptation. Ming is depicted as ...

in the year 2015. Supporting characters include their children Rick Gordon (son of Flash), L.J. (son of Lothar), Kshin (adopted son of Mandrake), and Jedda Walker (daughter of the Phantom). The show lasted for 65 episodes; there was also a short-lived comic book series published by

Star Comics Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and featured titles that were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys. The last comic published under the imprint f ...

(an imprint of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

). The closing credits credit Rob Walsh and Tony Pastor for the main title music, and

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

for the lyrics. The series was later shown in reruns on the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

as part of Sci Fi's animation block, ''

Cartoon Quest Cartoon Quest was the name of a block of mostly animated television shows that aired on the Sci Fi Channel starting in 1992. Similar to USA's '' Cartoon Express'', it featured reruns of various older cartoons interspersed with interstitial segmen ...

''. Flash Gordon has also been seen in two other animated series: ''

The New Adventures of Flash Gordon ''The New Adventures of Flash Gordon'', also known as ''The Adventures of Flash Gordon'', is a 1979-1982 animated television series. The series is actually called ''Flash Gordon'' but the expanded title is used in official records to distinguish ...

'' (1979–82), and ''

'' (1996–97).

Premise

Flash Gordon and his son Rick escape from Ming the Merciless, who has exhausted the natural resources of his home planet

Mongo Mongo may refer to: Geography Africa * Mongo, Chad, a Sahel city * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo (Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction) * Mongo, Sierra Leone, a chiefdom * Mongo River (Little Scarces River), Guinea and Sierra Leone, a tributar ...

and desires to exploit Earth. Ming tries to

brainwash Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...

Flash's wife

Dale Arden Dale Arden is a fictional character, the fellow adventurer and love interest of Flash Gordon and a prototypic heroine for later female characters, including Princess Leia and Padme Amidala in '' Star Wars''. Flash, Dale and Dr. Hans Zarkov fi ...

, but she resists until death, whereafter her

psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

is later included in the Defenders' supercomputer Dynac X. To protect Earth from Ming's invasion, among other threats, Flash joins forces with Mandrake, his assistant Lothar and The Phantom, alongside their children, to form the Defenders.

Characters

Protagonists

(voiced by

Lou Richards Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards, (15 March 1923 – 8 May 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played 250 games for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1941 and 1955. He captained the team ...

) — Leader of the Defenders of the Earth: a space pilot and the father of Rick Gordon. *

(voiced by

Peter Mark Richman Peter Mark Richman (born Marvin Jack Richman; April 16, 1927 – January 14, 2021) was an American actor in films and on television, who was for many years credited as Mark Richman. He appeared in about 30 films and 130 television series from th ...

) — Essentially identical to

Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...

's character, but differing from the original in that by chanting "By

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

law, the Ghost Who Walks calls forth the power of ten tigers", he momentarily receives superhuman strength. His real name is Kit Walker. His horse Hero and

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

Devil make brief appearances. The end credits describe this Phantom by saying "This is the 27th Phantom". *

(voiced by

Peter Renaday Peter Renaday is an American actor. His career spans several films and television shows. His major roles include Master Splinter in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', as well as Abraham Lincoln in the Hall of Presidents, and Henry in Countr ...

) — A hypnotist and mystic capable of manipulating others' perceptions almost at will. He is often portrayed as a secondary leader of the Defenders, and sometimes the narrator of their decisions. *

Lothar Lothar is a Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish masculine given name, while Lotár is a Hungarian masculine given name. Both names are modern forms of the Germanic Chlothar (which is a blended form of ''Hlūdaz'', meaning "fame", and ...

(voiced by

Buster Jones Edward L. Jones (December 12, 1943 – September 16, 2014) was an American voice actor and television host. He is probably best known from his roles as Black Vulcan in ''Super Friends'', Blaster in '' The Transformers'', Doc in '' G.I. Joe: A ...

) — Mandrake's assistant and bodyguard, depicted as a powerful fighter, an able mechanic, and a master tactician. The action figure's packaging describes Lothar as a "Caribbean ninja". * Richard "Rick" Gordon (voiced by

Loren Lester Loren Lester (born October 4, 1960) is an American screen, stage and voice actor best known as the voice of DC Comics superheroes Nightwing and Robin in various media, starting with the DC Animated Universe. He is also a graduate of the Occidental ...

) — Richard is an impulsive computer genius and the son of Flash Gordon. Rick, along with many of the other teenagers of the show, attended Central High located in Central City. Rick Gordon was initially intended to be Kit Walker, the son of the Phantom. * L.J. (voiced by Dion Williams) — Short for 'Lothar Jr.', L.J. is the street-wise

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

expert son of Lothar, and Rick's best friend. When in one episode, the Defenders locate a crystal which shows them their greatest desires, L.J.'s is to defeat the antagonist Octon. * Jedda Walker (voiced by Sarah Partridge) — Jedda is the daughter of the Phantom and displays telepathy and limited extrasensory powers, usually expressed by communication with her

black panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

Kisa. There is little-or-no mention of her mother, though in one episode she is the reluctant stepdaughter of Queen Hadea. Some installments imply a relationship with Rick Gordon. Jedda Walker was initially intended to be Jedda Gordon, daughter of Flash Gordon. * Kshin (voiced by Adam Carl) — Kshin is an orphaned boy adopted by Mandrake and trained as his apprentice. His origins are revealed in the late season episode "The adoption of Kshin", where it is shown he was a young street orphan found by Mandrake after a gang of boys tried using him as a distraction in a failed pick-pocketing attempt. He is usually accompanied by the extraterrestrial "Zuffy", initially found by Rick Gordon on the planet Mongo. * Dynac X (voiced by

Diane Pershing Diane Pershing (born May 27, 1943) is an American voice actress. She began her singing career as a back-up singer for Johnny Mathis and went on to appear in the show group, The Establishment, on tour and on TV. She also voiced Poison Ivy in th ...

) — Dynac X is the central computer of the Defenders' Headquarters, whose

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

is stated to contain the

of Flash Gordon's wife. Though she is never addressed by name in the series, the comic book adaptation of the first two episodes identifies the slain "Mrs. Gordon" as

. Diane Pershing is the only performer from the

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and pr ...

cartoon who reprised her role.

Antagonists

(voiced by

Ron Feinberg Ronald Aaron Feinberg (October 10, 1932 – January 29, 2005) was an American character and voice actor who appeared in films and on television. Career At 6' 7", the towering Feinberg played the character Fellini, opposite Don Johnson, in the pos ...

) — A warlord or

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

bent on exploiting Earth's natural resources, based on 'Ice Station Earth'. This version is made more grotesque than his traditional appearance to avoid racial stereotyping; a similar treatment would be used on the Mandarin in the ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'' animated series and on Dr. No in ''

James Bond Jr. ''James Bond Jr.'' is an American animated television series based on Ian Fleming's ''James Bond'' franchise. It follows the adventures of James Bond's nephew, James Bond Jr. The series debuted in September 1991 and ran for 65 episodes bef ...

'', in that all three characters received green skin and pointed ears. ** Prince Kro-Tan (voiced by

Hal Rayle Hal Rayle (born January 4, 1955) is an American voice actor. He has done many roles for both animated series and live action movies. Career Rayle has had a number of voice acting jobs over his career. Rayle's animated series roles include Miss Pi ...

) — Ming the Merciless' son ** Princess Castra (voiced by

Jennifer Darling Jennifer Darling (born Joan Darling; June 19, 1946, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American voice, film and television actress. Her best-known role on screen was as Peggy Callahan in ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' and its spin-off ''The Bion ...

) — Ming the Merciless' daughter ** Octon (voiced by

William Callaway William Ronald Callaway (born March 11, 1940) is an American retired voice actor. He is also known as Bill Callaway and Bill Calloway. He is known for playing Aquaman in ''Super Friends''. Filmography Animated roles * '' Aladdin'' - Zarasto * ' ...

) — an octopus-like

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

, equivalent to an 'evil version' of Dynac X, which advises Ming the Merciless of methods to conquer the Earth or defeat the Defenders. His name is derived from that of an opponent of Mandrake's in the latter's eponymous comic strip, wherein it identifies a crime lord also known as the Cobra. ** Garax (voiced by William Callaway) — the leader of Ming's mechanical soldiers, the Ice Robots. He is the only one of these to recur, and the only one given any distinction from the others, who are frequently slain ''en masse'' by the Defenders. ** Mongor — a giant serpent-like pet of Ming the Merciless * Kurt Walker (voiced by William Callaway) — Aliased "N'Dama the Weather Demon", Kurt is the older brother of the Phantom. When competing in a trial with Kit for the right to become the next Phantom, Kurt won but was passed-over in favor of Kit due his father knowing that he had lied and cheated, as well as abandoning his brother after causing a rock fall that had injured him. This results in him being disinherited by their father, and the contempt he has for Kit. Kurt is specifically created for the series and has never appeared elsewhere. * The Sky Band — A coalition of raiders depicted in the ''Phantom'' comics; here depicted as space-

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. * Queen Hadea — ruler of the subterranean 'Netherworld', where she is the latest in a dynasty of monarchs served by pale, deformed humanoids. In her first appearance, Hadea desires to take the Phantom as a consort. After later offering to heal the injured Jedda Walker, she displays a brief interest in assuming a maternal role in the girl's life. Her great ambition is to capture the powerful 'Necklace of Oros', which confers control of others in the user's presence. * Graviton — the original owner of the Necklace of Oros, and implied to have dwelt among the

Moai Moai or moʻai ( ; es, moái; rap, moʻai, , statue) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main mo ...

Rapa Nui Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly ...

, Graviton is an extradimensional being of unknown origins, who seeks to recover the Necklace from Earth and establish himself as a dictator.

Production

Marvel Productions and King Features Syndicate worked together to develop the show. Marvel Productions had brought in consulting company Q5 Corporation to help develop the show. Q5's consultants consist of psychology

PhDs A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

and advertising, marketing and research professionals. The animation for the series were done overseas at

Daewon Media Daewon Media ( ko, 대원미디어), formerly Daiwon C&A Holdings, is a South Korean company specializing in character and animation-related business. Founded in 1973, Daewon's subsidiaries include Daiwon C.I., Haksan Publishing, and Daewon Broad ...

and

Sei Young Animation Sei Young Animation Co., Ltd. () was an animation studio based in South Korea, known best for working overseas for North America animated TV shows, such as ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'', ''The Legend of Zelda'', and '' The Adventures of Su ...

(now merged with

Dong Woo Animation DongWoo Animation Co. Ltd (also known as DongWoo A&E Co. Ltd; ko, 동우에이엔이) is an animation studio located in Seoul, South Korea. It has produced many animated series and films created and produced in the United States, Canada, South K ...

) and

AKOM AKOM Production, Ltd. (Animation KOrea Movie 애이콤 프로덕션) is a South Korean animation studio in Songpa-gu, Seoul that has provided much work since its conception in 1985 by Nelson Shin. Its biggest claim to fame is the overseas animati ...

in Seoul, South Korea, and

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...

in Tokyo, Japan.

Episodes

Home releases

In 1987, select episodes of the show were released on four VHS cassettes by

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was founde ...

in North America. Roughly two decades after production was completed, the series was released around the world on DVD, featuring various episodes and packaging depending on region.

United States

On October 10, 2006 and April 3, 2007 the series were released to DVD by BCI Eclipse Entertainment LLC (under its Ink & Paint classic animation entertainment label) in Region 1, containing all 65 original broadcast episodes in two Complete Series volumes and presented in original storyline continuity order. These release includes interviews with story editor Bryce Malek, writer David Wise, and artist Michael Swanigan—each of whom reflect on various points of the creative process, including the origins of the characters, legal issues surrounding the properties, controversial content, and ways in which the production differed from others of its time. Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 on May 18, 2010. The series is streaming on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

and

Tubi TV Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

Germany

NEW KSM FILM has released the series in Germany: * ''Defenders of the Earth (Gesamtedition)'' (1-Blu-ray) – only German language – no extras * ''Defenders of the Earth (Superbox)'' (4-disc set DVDs) – only German language – no extras * ''Defenders of the Earth (Volume One)'' (6-disc set DVDs) – only German language – earlier release, no extras * ''Defenders of the Earth (Volume Two)'' (6-disc set DVDS) – only German language – earlier release, no extras

Australia

Force Entertainment has released the series in Australia: * ''Defenders of the Earth'' (6-disc set) * ''Defenders of the Earth'' (8-disc set), disc 7 features the film "The Story Begins" and disc 8 the film "Prince Kro-Tan". The first episode appears on the BCI Eclipse DVD releases for: * ''Animated All-Stars'' collection * ''The New Adventures of Flash Gordon: The Complete Series'' BCI has also released two 5-Disc sets that cover the entire series: * ''Defenders of the Earth—Complete Series Volume 1'' (5-Discs) 33 Episodes * ''Defenders of the Earth—Complete Series Volume 2'' (5-Discs) 32 Episodes (April 3, 2007)

U.K.

Selected episodes are available in the UK, in compilations including:
Hollywood DVD LTD * ''Defenders of the Earth—The Story Begins'' Delta Music PLC * ''Defenders of the Earth'' vol 1 * ''Defenders of the Earth'' vol 2 * ''Defenders of the Earth'' vol 3 ** The above volumes include three episodes each, covering the first eight episodes of the series and the series finale, "Ming's Thunder Lizards". * ''Defenders of the Earth Movie'' — "The Book of Mysteries" ** "The Book of Mysteries" combines episodes 31–35 * ''Defenders of the Earth Movie'' — "Prince Kro-Tan" ** "Prince of Kro-Tan" combines episodes 46–50 * ''Defenders of the Earth Movie'' — "Necklace of Oros" ** "Necklace of Oros" combines episodes 56–60 The complete series was then released in the UK by Fabulous Films and

Fremantle Media Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television in ...

on February 18, 2013.

Sweden

VHS-Select Video (7104/73) Ondskans Makt (1987) incl episodes - Ondskans Makt (?), Bröder (?), Dynak i Fara (?) - Only Swedish voice

In other media

Comics

In 1987,

(

' children's imprint) published a comic book series which only lasted four issues. It was written by

(#1) and Michael Higgins (#2–4) with art by

Alex Saviuk Alex Saviuk (; born August 17, 1952) is an American comics artist primarily known for his work on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. Early life Alex Saviuk grew up on Long Island, New York, graduating from Floral Park Memorial High Schoo ...

. The last issue featured a "next issue" caption, but #5 was never published. In 2013

Dynamite Comics Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptations ...

published ''

Kings Watch ''Kings Watch'' is a bi-monthly comic book limited series written by Jeff Parker (comics), Jeff Parker and drawn by Marc Laming. It was published by Dynamite Entertainment from September 6, 2013 to April 7, 2014. It is a crossover featuring Flash ...

'', a new series written by Jeff Parker teaming the Phantom, Mandrake, Lothar, and Flash Gordon, taking on not just Ming, but characters from all over the

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial c ...

universe. At the time of announcement it was not known if the characters' children would appear.

Books

There have been ''DOE''-related books, including ''The Creation of Monitor'', ''A House Divided'', ''The Sun-Stealers'' and ''Computer Checkmate''.

Action figures

A line of

action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...

s produced by

Galoob Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc., was a toy company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. They are perhaps best known for creating Micro Machines, which accounted for 50% of its sales in 1989, and distributing the Game Genie in the United State ...

included Flash Gordon, Mandrake, Lothar, the Phantom, Ming, and Garax. As part of the show's 35th anniversary,

National Entertainment Collectibles Association The National Entertainment Collectibles Association (mostly known by its acronym NECA) is an American manufacturer of collectibles typically licensed from films, video-games, sports, music, and television based in New Jersey. The company was foun ...

(NECA) produced variants of its King Features characters in the style and colors of the Defenders of the Earth.

Video games

A video game was released by Enigma Variations Software in 1990, for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

SAM Coupe Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fiction ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

systems. It was a side-scrolling action game featuring the heroes Flash Gordon, Lothar, the Phantom and Mandrake from the series on a quest to rescue their children who have been kidnapped by Ming. The player controls Flash, and is able to call on the other characters to assist him in bypassing the defences of Ming's castle.

Parodies

* A parody, called ''Protectors of the Earth'', is made up of comic strip characters Dr. Rex Morgan,

Mary Worth ''Mary Worth'' is an American newspaper comic strip that has had an eight-decade run from 1938. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, this soap opera-style strip influenced several that followed. It was created by writer Allen Saunders and art ...

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human ...

and

Mark Trail ''Mark Trail'' is a newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. Introduced April 15, 1946, the strip centers on environmental and ecological themes. As of 2020, King Features syndicated the strip to "nearly 150 newspaper ...

. * ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...

'' produced a sketch where Flash Gordon, Mandrake and the Phantom operated as part of a

Neighborhood Watch A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood. The aim of neig ...

References

External links

Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Defenders of the Earth, defenders
* *

{{Marvel Action Universe 1986 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings 1980s American animated television series 1980s American science fiction television series Action figures American children's animated action television series American children's animated space adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated superhero television series Marvel Comics limited series First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Flash Gordon television series Television series by Marvel Productions The Phantom television series Star Comics titles 1980s toys Crossover animated television series SAM Coupé games Orbis Communications Television shows based on comic strips Television series set in 2015 Superhero teams