''Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

about a team of

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es which ran from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. It was produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

and is based on the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

and associated

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

characters published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Format

''Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' was the first ''Super Friends'' series in a new format since

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

's ''

The World's Greatest Super Friends ''The World's Greatest SuperFriends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 22, 1979, to September 27, 1980, on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice ...

''. Continuing the previous three years' policy of producing short stories, this series' format was two stories per half-hour, so all the separate stories were ten minutes long each. Furthermore, the

Wonder Twins The Wonder Twins (Zan & Jayna) are a fictional extraterrestrial twin brother and sister superhero duo who first appeared in Hanna-Barbera's American animated television series ''The All-New Super Friends Hour''. The pair can activate their supe ...

were largely supplanted as audience identification figures by

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

, a well-established teenage superhero in the

DC Comics Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

. However, continuing the trend from the "lost season" episodes, the

were paired with other Justice League members, as opposed to always teaming up with Wonder Woman or Batman & Robin. In "Case of The Shrinking Super Friends" they are teamed with Firestorm and Robin. In "Uncle Mxyzptlk" they work with Firestorm and Samurai. In "Village of The Lost Souls" they work with Wonder Woman and Apache Chief.

Toyline tie-in

Unlike the previous series, ''Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' was produced to tie in with the

Super Powers Collection The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s. History In 1984, DC Comics awarded the master toy license of their characters to Kenner ...

toyline produced by

Kenner Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...

, hence the name change. The general story, as detailed in the mini-comics that accompanied the figures, was that the major heroes of Earth had teamed up to fight

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World (comics), Fourth World" metaseries, and was firs ...

and his villains.

Characters

Super Friends/Justice League of America

Thirteen heroes made up the Super Friends. They were: *

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

Black Vulcan Black Vulcan is an African-American superhero on the animated series ''Super Friends'' created by Hanna-Barbera, voiced by Buster Jones. Fictional character biography Black Vulcan debuted on the Super Friends show (''The All-New Super Friends Ho ...

* Gleek *

Apache Chief Apache Chief is a Native American superhero from the various Hanna-Barbera ''Super Friends'' cartoons and the DC comic book series of the same name. He was one of the new heroes added (along with Black Vulcan, Rima the Jungle Girl, El Dorado and ...

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

(Zan and Jayna) According to DC writer/historian

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Dar ...

, Aquaman's sole appearance in ''The Legendary Super Powers Show'' comes via his appearance within the opening credits. The same is true for The Flash. This was the first time Wonder Woman was animated with the W symbol on her costume instead of the eagle design; this carried over into the final series, ''Galactic Guardians''.

Shannon Farnon Shannon Farnon (born November 28, 1941) is a Canadian actress. She is best known as being the first actress to voice Wonder Woman in a Hanna-Barbera production, having voiced her in ''Super Friends'' from 1973 to 1983. Early life Born into a sho ...

was unable to reprise her voice work for Wonder Woman because the new voice director cast his girlfriend Connie Cawfield in her place. The series was also noteworthy for using Adam West as the voice of Batman, two decades after the end of his live-action television series of ''Batman''. West replaced

Olan Soule Olan Evart Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films. Soul ...

and would continue through the subsequent ''Galactic Guardians'' series.

Villains

– Outside of the comic books for the first time, Darkseid was still attempting to conquer Earth (often with help from other villains), but also had a secondary goal, of making Wonder Woman his bride. Darkseid brought a degree of seriousness to a show that had largely lacked it. *

Kalibak Kalibak Kalibak () is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the eldest son of Darkseid, half-brother of Orion and Grayven, and an enemy of Superman and the Justice League. Created by Jack Kirby, being debuted w ...

– His appearance was not as brutish as in later TV incarnations, more like the original

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

design for the character. He was almost always depicted as boastful, dull-witted, and ineffectual against the heroes. * Desaad *

Brainiac Brainiac is a colloquial adjective used to describe exceptionally intelligent people. It may also refer to: Culture Fictional entities * Brainiac (character), a fictional supervillain in DC Comics, and an enemy of Superman * Brainiac (story arc), ...

– The mechanical version of Brainiac appeared in the episodes "The Wrath of Brainiac" and "The Village of Lost Souls". In "The Wrath of Brainiac," Brainiac reveals that he shed his earlier appearance when he worked alongside Darkseid. *

Mirror Master Mirror Master is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a recurring foe of the Flash with considerable technical expertise and skills involving the use of mirrors. Three individuals hav ...

– Mirror Master appeared in an episode entitled "Reflections in Crime". Despite Mirror Master being a Flash villain, The Flash does not appear in this episode. In the episode, Mirror Master sets about trapping the Super Friends in this particular episode inside mirrors called the sixth dimension. The Super Friends managed to escape and trap Mirror Master in a House of Mirrors. *

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...

– He appeared in the opening and the episodes "No Honor Among Super Thieves" (in which acquires his power suit from the comics of then), "Case of the Shrinking Super Friends" and "The Mask of Mystery". *

Mister Mxyzptlk Mister Mxyzptlk (, ), sometimes called Mxy, is a character who appears in DC Comics' '' Superman'' comic books. He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with which he en ...

– In this series, Mxyzptlk's name is pronounced as Miks-ill-plik (backwards, Kilp-ill-skim) and he takes to tormenting all the members of the team, even when Superman is absent. * The Robber Baron and Sleeves * Dollmaker For this series, Lex Luthor and Brainiac were completely revamped to resemble their comic book counterparts.

List of episodes

Cast

Jack Angel Jack Angel (October 24, 1930 – October 18, 2021) was an American voice actor, comedian, and radio personality. He provided voice-overs for animation and video games. Angel had voiced characters in shows by Hasbro and Hanna-Barbera such as ''Su ...

–

René Auberjonois René Murat Auberjonois (; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and director. He was best known for portraying Odo on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He first achieved fame as a stage actor, winning the Tony Aw ...

– DeSaad *

James Avery James La Rue Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Shredder in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Judge Michael Conover on ''L. ...

– Alien Auctioneer (in "Darkseid's Golden Trap"), Cromar (in "Darkseid's Golden Trap") * Michael Bell – Zan, Gleek *

Gregg Berger Gregory Alan Berger (born December 10, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jecht from ''Final Fantasy X'' and the ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'' games, Grimlock from '' The Transformers'', Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter from '' ...

– Benny the Bungler (in "Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp"), Ernie (in "Mr. Mxyzpltlk and the Magic Lamp) *

Arthur Burghardt Arthur Burghardt (born August 29, 1947) is an American retired actor, best known for portraying Jack Scott on the soap opera ''One Life to Live''. In animation, he's known for lending his deep bass voice as Devastator in '' The Transformers'', D ...

– General Plankton (in "Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp") *

Howard Caine Howard Caine (born Howard Cohen; January 2, 1926 – December 28, 1993) was an American character actor, probably best known as Gestapo Major Wolfgang Hochstetter in the television series '' Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–71). He also played L ...

– Dr. Dan Corwin (in "Island of the Dinosoids"), King Timon (in "The Royal Ruse") * Connie Cawlfield – Diana Prince / Wonder Woman *

Danny Dark Danny Dark (December 19, 1938 – June 13, 2004) was an American voice-over artist. For nearly four decades, he embedded pop culture with memorable lines in advertisements for Budweiser ("This Bud's for you"), Raid Ant & Roach Killer ("Raid - Kil ...

– Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman * Fernando Escandon –

* Patrick Fraley – Captain Mystery/Sidney Wanamaker (in "Mask of Mystery"), Bank Guard (in "Mask of Mystery"), Remlar (in "The Curator") * Liz Georges – Little Superman (in "Uncle Mxyzptlk") *

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 ...

–

* Stan Jones –

, Robber Baron (in "Mask of Mystery"), Sleeves (in "Mask of Mystery") *

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

– Dick Grayson / Robin ,

(in "Reflections in Crime") * Mary McDonald-Lewis –

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...

* Mickey McGowan – Princess Tara (in "The Royal Ruse") *

Stanley Ralph Ross Stanley Ralph Ross (July 22, 1935 – March 16, 2000) was an American writer and actor. He was raised in Brooklyn, New York, starting his career in advertising with Chudacoff and Margulis Advertising in West Los Angeles, then soon going to ...

–

Michael Rye Michael Rye (born John Michael Riorden Billsbury; March 2, 1918 – September 20, 2012) was an American actor. His decades-long career spanned radio, television, animated cartoons and video games. Aside from his voice over work, Rye also acted in ...

–

, Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Dr. Dan Corwin's Assistant (in "Island of the Dinosoids") *

– Professor Martin Stein * Mark Taylor – Ronald Raymond/Firestorm *

Dick Tufeld Richard Norton Tufeld (December 11, 1926 – January 22, 2012) was an American actor, announcer, narrator and voice actor from the late 1940s until the early 21st century. He was a well-known presence on television as an announcer, but his ...

- Announcer * B.J. Ward -

Jayna Jayna is a female given name. It may refer to: * Jayna Altman, a U.S. beauty queen * Jayna Hefford (born 1977) a Canadian women's ice hockey player * Jayna Murray (died 2011) a murder victim killed by a coworker at a Lululemon store in Bethesda, ...

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

– Uxas/Darkseid,

, Trucker (in "The Wrath of Brainiac"), Inspector Throckmorton (in "Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp"), Dollmaker (in "The Case of the Dreadful Dolls") * Adam West – Bruce Wayne/Batman *

Bill Woodson William T. Woodson (July 16, 1917 – February 22, 2017) was an American film, stage, radio and voice actor, best known for his narration of the radio series ''This is Your FBI'', the animated series ''Super Friends'' and all its spin-offs, and t ...

- Narrator Note: Beginning with this version, Adam West replaced

as the voice of

Crew

* Gordon Hunt - Recording Director * Mitch Schauer - Title Design, Story Director

Production credits

* Producer: Kay Wright * Story Editors:

Alan Burnett Alan Burnett (; born February 17, 1950) is an American television writer-producer particularly associated with Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions, DC Comics, and Walt Disney television animation. He has had a hand in virtually ever ...

, Jeff Segal * Supervising Director: Ray Patterson * Director: Oscar Dufau * Assistant Director: Jay Sarbry * Story Direction: Bill Barry, Michael Maliani, Lew Saw, Mitch Schauer, Kay Wright * Recording Director: Gordon Hunt * Animation Casting Director:

Ginny McSwain Ginny McSwain is an American voice actress, voice casting director, and animation production professional from Los Angeles, CA. Life and career McSwain graduated from Stephens College in 1974, before moving to Los Angeles. She has worked as cas ...

* Voices:

, Michael Bell,

, Connie Cawlfield,

, Fernando Escandon,

Pat Fraley Patrick Howard Fraley (born February 18, 1949) is an American voice actor and voice-over teacher, known as the voice of Krang, Casey Jones, Baxter Stockman and numerous other characters in the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated tele ...

Liz Georges Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Pulit ...

, Stanley Jones,

, Mary McDonald Lewis,

Mickie McGowan Micky or Mickie can be a given name, but it is most often a nickname for Michael or non-Anglo Saxon equivalents, such as "Mikhail". People with the name include: Men * Micky Adams (born 1961), English football manager and former player * Micky Ari ...

Howard Morris Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Cae ...

, Kathy Najimy,

, Mark Taylor, B.J. Ward,

, Adam West,

* Title Design: Mitch Schauer * Graphics: Iraj Paran, Tom Wogatzke * Musical Director: Hoyt Curtin * Musical Supervisor: Paul DeKorte * Creative Producer: Iwao Takamoto * Design Supervisor: Bob Singer * Character Design: Geoff Darrow, Gabriel Hoyos, Lew Ott * Animation Supervisors: Sean Newton, Don Spencer,Roger Chiasson, Don Patterson, * Sound Direction: Alvy Dorman, Phil Flad * Camera: Bob Marples * Supervising Film Editor: Larry C. Cowan * Dubbing Supervisor: Pat Foley * Music Editors: Cecil Broughton, Daniels McLean, Terry Moore, Joe Sandusky * Effects Editors: Michael Bradley, David Cowan, Mary Gleason, Jon Johnson, Carol Lewis, Catherine MacKenzie, Kerry Williams, Jerry Winicki * Show Editor: Gil Iverson * Negative Consultant: William E. DeBoer * Post Production Supervisor: Joed Eaton * Production Coordinator: Peter Aries * Production Manager: James Wang * Executives In Charge of Production: Jayne Barbera and Jean MacCurdy * Supervising Executive Producer: Margaret Loesch

Home media

* On August 7, 2007, Warner Home Video (via

DC Entertainment DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and was based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery that manages its DC Comics units and characters in other units, ...

, Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) released The Complete Series of ''Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' on DVD, featuring all 16 episodes of the eighth Hanna-Barbera-produced ''Super Friends'' series on a 2-Disc DVD boxed set, uncut and unedited, presented in its original broadcast presentation and original airdate order.

References

External links

Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
at Big Cartoon DataBase * {{DC Comics animated TV series 1984 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings 1980s American animated television series 1980s American science fiction television series Animated television shows based on DC Comics American animated television spin-offs American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated superhero television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Legendary Super Powers Show Animated Batman television series Animated Justice League television series Animated Superman television series Wonder Woman in other media Television series about shapeshifting Television series by Hanna-Barbera Television series set in 1984 Television shows based on Hasbro toys