The Ultimate Guide to the Cartoons of the 1980s – Chapter 10: SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show

Chapter 10: SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show

Total Episodes: 8 episodes
Total Segments: 14 segments
Episode Length: 22 minutes (11 minutes each Segment)

First Air Date: September 8th, 1984
Final Air Date: October 27th, 1984
Day(s) Aired: Saturdays

Episode List: (Click HERE for Episode Guide)

Season 1:
Episode 1: The Bride of Darkseid
Episode 2: The Wrath of Brainiac / Reflections in Crime
Episode 3: No Honor Among Thieves / Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp
Episode 4: The Case of the Shrinking Super Friends / The Mask of Mystery
Episode 5: Darkseid’s Golden Trap
Episode 6: The Island of the Dinosoids / Uncle Mxyzptlk
Episode 7: The Case of the Dreadful Dolls / The Royal Ruse
Episode 8: The Village of Lost Souls / The Curator

Main Cast:

Recurring Roles:

Guest Roles:

Synopsis:

The Legendary Super Powers Show is the 6th iteration of the SuperFriends cartoon from Filmation that began in 1973. This series aired in the fall of 1984. It lasted a total of 8 episodes. Six of these episodes were divided into two segments. Unlike the previous installment, this series consisted of two 11-minute segments instead of three 7-minute stories. There were some notable differences from a voice and character standpoint as well. Olan Soule no longer voiced Batman, being replaced by Adam West. Although, Soule did appear in this series in a recurring role. He was the voice of Professor Martin Stein, one half of the duo that made up Firestorm. Shannon Farnon was also out as the voice of Wonder Woman being replaced by Connie Cawlfield. There are rumors that Cawlfield was in a relationship with someone behind the scenes. It was possibly the voice director, which led to this switch.

One of the biggest changes was the introduction of the character of Firestorm. Firestorm is a superhero who joins the Justice League in the early episodes. Firestorm takes over a lot of the audience connection role that was previously given to the Wonder Twins. The Wonder Twins only appear in 3 of the 14 segments in this incarnation.

The other huge change was the inclusion of some iconic DC Villains. These had mostly been missing in the previous series. Here we get multiple segments with the likes of Darkseid, Kalibak, DeSaad, Lex Luthor, and Brainiac. Mxyzptlk also appears in these segments. There are guest appearances by the Mirror Master and the Dollmaker. There were only 2 segments of the 14 that didn’t feature one of these classic villains. This was a big switch from what we saw previously which was mostly ‘villain of the week’ fare.

From the hero side, every segment but one featured one of the 5 main superheroes in this series. The heroes are Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, or Firestorm. We did see recurring roles for Black Vulcan, El Dorado, Apache Chief, Samurai, and the Wonder Twins. There was also a guest appearance by Green Lantern and Lois Lane.

Whereas the last series featured a predictable structure. The first segment had a generic villain. The middle segment had the Wonder Twins. The final segment featured a notable DC Villain. This series is much more unpredictable.

Each episode featured a mixture of our favorite superheroes coming up against a classic DC Villain(s) and their scheme to either capture the SuperFriends or pull off some sort of worldly takeover. Each segment stood by itself seeing our heroes finding a way to save the day at the end of every 11 minute segment.

Overall Breakdown:

This series was easily a step up from the previous version, Super Friends (1980). One thing, that this series had going for it was the fact that we were given an additional 3-4 minutes to tell the story which helped it feel not nearly as rushed as the 1980 version did. Switching out the Wonder Twins for Firestorm also aided in making the series not feel quite as repitious. In the prevoius series it felt like you could time out every 7 minute segment depending on which super hero team was involved. For example, Wonder Twins episodes you knew at certain time codes they were going to call out “Wonder Twin Powers Activate” and they would go through a series of transformations. In Batman episodes you knew at certain time codes a bat gadget would be used and at other time codes Robin would use one of his ‘holy catchphrases’. Although you do get your fair share or Robin catchphrases in this iteration as well, you get far fewer bat gadgets and Wonder Twins transformations.

The other huge advantage this series has is the ongoing battles with the classic DC Villains. A segment that includes Lex Luthor, Darkseid or Mxyzptlk immediately has me more interested than the villain of the week strategy we saw employed so much previously. There are still a few eye rolling segments in this series but overall it is a definite improvement from the 1980 series. It’s still not something I would re-watch often, or at all, however I would recommend this one way before the previous version.

Overall Show Score: 2.75 / 5
Average Episode Rating on our Episode Guide: 3.18

Behind the Scenes/Fun Trivia:
This was the first version of this series where Adam West replaced Olan Soule as the voice of Batman
Despite appearing in the opening credits, Aquaman and The Flash are not in this version. This is the only version of the Super Friends that doesn’t include Aquaman
Connie Cawfield replaces Shannon Farnon who voiced Wonder Woman
This was the first time Wonder Woman was animated with the W symbol on her costume instead of the eagle design

Robin’s Holy Holy’s:

Every Wonder Twins Transformation in this series:
Condor & Stormcloud
Dinosaur & Ice Cage
Eagle & Ice Basket
Yeti & Ice Block

Related Media/Merchandise:
There was a massive amount of product tie-ins to accompany this line. These items included lunchboxes, 3-D puffy stickers, party supplies, paintable figurines, Underoos, coloring and activity books (Secret of the Frozen City, Superman, Lex Luthor, The Joker, Batman, The Penguin, Wonder Woman, Villains, Superman and Batman, and Superman and the Super Powers), The Super Powers Anti-Coloring Book (ISBN 059070494X) by Susan Striker, Stain-A-Sticker, Justice League of America Skyscraper Caper game, sunglasses, playhouses, belt buckles, sneakers, signature stamp sets, coloring play mats, drinking glasses/tumblers, MPC model kits, soap, stain painting sets, calendars, Play-Doh sets, cube game, jointed wall figures, wrist watches, jigsaw puzzles (Jaymar and Craftmaster), Give-A-Show projectors, backpacks, gym bags, Valentine’s Day paraphernalia, kites, pajamas, card games, sticker albums, sleeping bags, wall cling decorations, inflatable punching bop bags, bed sheets, clothes, windsocks, greeting cards, View-Master theatre sets, nut and fruit mix, sidewalk artist sets, temporary tattoos, SunShiners, galoshes, Nerf wrist flyers, duffel bags, lip balm, slippers, crayon sets, planners, school supplies, belts, baseball caps, flashlights, bumper stickers, pins, jewelry, embroidered patches, and posters

Toys:
The Super Powers Collection Toyline produced by Kenner from 1984-1986. In all, three series of figures and accessories were released from 1984 to 1986. The line was abruptly cancelled in February 1986. Two toys pictured on the back of the third wave packages were never produced: the All-Terrain Trapper Vehicle and the Darkseid’s Tower of Darkness playset. There were 33 figures in all.

Comics:
There were three series of mini-comics from DC Comics that accompanied the figures