On top of Scooby, Superfriends is the other long running series that has figured large my life, in addition to pop culture. And there's likely a very good reason why.

True "Heroes": archetypes of total "good" versus "evil"

Here are a group of characters who are literally all "good". The only time they ever do anything wrong is when framed, like by mind control by some evil character. This then takes everyone by surprise ("{Superman, Batman, etc.} robbed ____! What has happened?!"), but they always clear their good name in the end.

Where I and everyone else I know often don't feel like stopping what we are doing, and getting up, spending time, energy or money to do some favor, or even what's normally expected of us (work, etc), these characters live for nothing but serving others. When that TroubAlert sounds off, they automatically spring into action, with no thought of their own comfort. It's what their "egos" (senses of "I") are driven to, like normal people defending themselves or seeking pleasure.

Real life law enforcement is a job, being worked for pay, just like the rest of us. They have their own problems in life, which often affect their work, The Superfriends apparently had none of this. No "payroll", no unions, no other such "red tape" for their institution, and they used the income from their other identities to support themselves.

Superman would often be portrayed as the de-facto leader, and he would then direct who does what, and everyone just flies off and does it happily, and without question (the only exceptions would be junior Superfriends, and this, for being told to stay behind; never for the opposite, of being told to do something. They too wanted to jump into the action).

They were all totally committed to doing good. The show was the epitome of the iconic statement made by Philip Yancey's Disappointment With God (about pain and suffering in the real world) where he said "A dozen cartoons in a row on Saturday morning crank out a similar message [as fairytales where the witch will die and the children will escape] to children who sit enthralled, to young to sneer at impossibly cheery endings". (p.101-2, or 98 in my old hard cover copy).

It's like humanity tends to "split" evil from good. (Ever since the Garden of Eden; whatever one holds that to represent; i.e. literal of figurative; when we took on "knowledge" of this duality). And everyone wants to think of themselves as "good", while "evil" lies "elsewhere". The best way to do this is to "collect" both in definite locations. We then associate or identify with one, and then the other gets "dumped" completely "over there".

So here, we have totally put all "good" on these characters, and all "evil" on their foes. The foes even own being evil! They wear the label with pride. The Legion of Doom are shocked that a monolith they thought was "evil", and their perfect tool, was really neutral, and only evil based on who was using it. Likewise, modern cartoon villain Mojo Jojo fights an alien robot for the title of "most evil in the universe". Then, he and red devil character "Him", fight each other over who is more "evil" —not the other being more evil, but they themselves wanting the title; and thus the more fitting parent of the Rowdyruff Boys, created to to do the "pure evil" of destroying the Powerpuff Girls.

Contrast "The Real World"

It would be nice if in real life, "good" and "evil" were this well defined. We often think in this way, especially in such great conflicts as the Cold War and other aspects of Right vs Left; or Christianity vs atheism and other belief systems.
But nobody ever owns evil like that. The people who had Christ crucified "only" wanted a Messiah who would free them from "heathen" domination. The Church would be persecuted, but then gain the respect of the Roman government, and then eventually become a persecutor itself. In this, the Crusaders and Muslims both felt they were only defending themselves, from each other. The slaveowners were "only" fighting the Union for their own "freedoms". Hitler was "only" trying to protect his nation from destruction, as was every other dictator. (Which are what we would think would come closest to a classic "supervillain". My mother BTW once told me that the closest thing in the real world to the Superfriends would be the FBI, but even they often get accused of corruption on many levels!) And let's not even start on the Middle East conflicts.

But what about those under their power whose freedoms or wellbeing were most obviously being denied? Well, there was a always a "good reason" for that. They themseves did "evil" or "sin" we could point out. They were either "Christ killers" who were also sapping the economy dry, or they were "barbaric" descendants of demon worshipping "jungle" tribes (such tribes ordered to be killed in scripture at one point, and these tribes' ancestor believed to be put under a divine "curse"), whose lives we actually greatly improved by removing them from that background, and yet are also sapping our economy dry by wanting "free handouts", and are plagued by crime.
See; we actually did "good". Why are we being persecuted for this, and for standing up for our own rights, and "the truth"?
On the other hand, when those other groups, or their advocates pitch their side of the story, for their obviously denied "freedoms", the same people will then dismiss their "whining", and accuse it of only trying to bolster their own evil, such as their unjust claims for their hard earned rights and freedoms, or [feared] "revenge" for the earlier oppression. And yet, they'll be able to cite "fact" (as opposed to "bigotry") to support their position. (e.g. just look at them today; they're such "problem people").

And so it goes in todays political climate. We can try to set things stright, such as by taking the scriptures often cited in their proper contexts. (The order to kill "heathens" was one particular instance in one time, and for one reason, and was not to be repeated by all readers forever. The "curse" was actually uttered by a man, in a hungover state, reacting to some sort of violation by that one son, and did not effect an entire "race"; and to begin with, whatever "races" stemmed from those progenitors were never even clearly defined as the races we know today, and the races have all mixed anyway. The scriptures would go on to say that there are no purely innocent people, and thus we should not judge one another).

But there are so many variables (including in scripture, such as calls to have a "changed life", which can be interpreted in different ways and used to presume that "true" converts must not be or have been wrong in their actions).
There is similar debate over the Middle East, and which people are to occupy the land, and how that was to be carried out, and whether the ancient prophecies at the center of people's beliefs on this were being interpeted correctly.

But unfortunately, as most will admit, there is no ongoing "special revelation" to finally set all these things straight. (Most believe any ongoing "revelation" is inward now, so we end up with everyone claiming to be divinely guided, yet all believing vastly opposing things). So everyone is able to maintain that their views are the "right" ones. And so every political, religious and social battle rages on.

So in our world of fantasy, we can temporarily "escape" from this world of cloudy morality and 'truth', and root for the "good guys" we wish we could be, and watch them battle the "evil" lying strictly in others.

The golden age of cartoons picked up this theme, framed mostly on slapstick chase, especially around animals and their prey. But even the mice, birds, (and especially "wabbits") and others who were the "good guys" (the "prey"), had their evil streaks (which they could use to protect themselves at times, and then the pursuer would usually self-defeat, or be framed before a stronger protector). Using much the same rationale as the political movements mentioned earlier, the premise was that the evil of the bad guy justified whatever evil could be returned to him. The advent of TV cartoons initially continued this, basically.

Fast forward to the present, Cartoon Network's "golden age" (its first decade), which was heavily influenced by earlier cartoons, has its new heroes, the Powerpuff Girls, who were basically good, but had their little bad sides and personality flaws as well. Sometimes, they were downright wrong, and it wasn't just from someone hypnotizing them. One or all of them would be inclined to steal things under the right circumstances (or encourage a unwittingly shoplifting sleepwalker to do it for them), and they even proceeded to beat up an otherwise good character who himself had been changed temporarily into a bad guy by something out of his control, but then changed back to his good self.

DC's rival Marvel Comics world's heroes all along mostly seemed very dysfunctional in their own lives, and the atmosphere was more somber, and they were often misunderstood and taken for evil figures themselves.

Leading up to the Superfriends: The ideal "Good" arrives in TV animation

Batman started out more like this. He was initially very "shadowy" (and "shadow" is an archetype of all the disowned evil we see elsewhere). But the TV show would lighten him up considerably.
Around the same time, the other Justice League members, starting with Superman and concluding with Batman, would get their first TV cartoons, which still had some (greatly toned down) violence (on Batman, fists were never shown hitting faces; they punched the TV screen basically, and then you saw the bad guy go flying backward), but they were portrayed as completely good.
In addition to Superboy, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Atom, and Flash, you also had Teen Titans (Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Aqualad, but not Robin), and "Justice League of America" (Atom, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Aquaman and Superman). Producer Filmation also then planned a DC Comics hour with Plastic Man, Flash and others, but was cancelled.

This was one step towards Superfriends, and another was the Scooby Doo format that would revolutionize Saturday morning TV, when the violence that marked early comedy and hero action alike was outlawed.
So here, you had these teens traveling together, who always did good, and were not getting high or having sex as you would expect of real kids in the 60's and afterward (and as modern day spoofs and retrospectives insinuate) or causing any other mischief. They originally didn't even really set out to catch criminals, but would always stumble upon their covered up (behind ghostly getups) activity, and then deliver them to the authorities.

The kids were still portrayed as normal people, with their personal flaws, like Shaggy and Scooby's gluttony and laziness, or Daphne's vanity, and Velma occasionally would have a temper ascribed to her. (Fred seemed the "perfect" one, and was in that way sort of a bridge to the Superfriends. But this image has been totally busted up in all the recent productions, and he has taken on a kind of masculine vanity —similar to the two male Junior Superfriends we shall get to shortly).

The missing link was two episodes of the expanded "Scooby Doo Comedy Movies", which was an hourlong show that added special guest stars who joined the kids in the cases. So Batman and Robin were one of these guests. (This was essentially what's called a "backdoor pilot" for the Superfriends).

The first case started out as a rather typical Scooby premise, of the kids going to an event, and stumbling across a mysterious farmhouse with evidence of a crime (counterfeiting), and later encountering a creepy hooded figure in a junkyard; and then when they return to the house, it along with its owner has vanished! (This last bit was radical even for Scooby, and hence became my favorite episode of the whole franchise!)
Batman and Robin have arrived (same voices as previous cartoon; Olan Soule and Casey Kasem—who was also Shaggy of course; and the same voices of both the upcoming Superfriends), and were already suspecting criminal activity when they saw a plane land on the farm. They without reservation allow the kids to remain in the investigation with them, even having them drive them to the BatCave (albeit blindfolded to conceal its location) to help find the also missing Batmobile.
It's soon revealed that Batman's foes, Joker and Penguin (also same voices as previous: Ted Knight) are also involved, hiding out in the Gotham City Funhouse. Cautioning that they "are master criminals, and can be dangerous" the Caped Crusaders now tell the kids to stay behind, as they go after them alone. They get trapped by the foes, and then the kids, sensing something is wrong, go in themselves, and are taunted with haunted funhouse getups by the crooks. Scooby eventually causes them to fall into the trap they lured the Duo into, so they are caught, but the the plot actually thickens, as the real "brains of the counterfeiting operation is still on the loose, and we haven't a single clue as to his identity", as Batman advised.
You also got Batman and Velma, both using big words, discussing the global dangers of counterfeiting, but this scene was cut at some point, and never put back.

The other episode is strictly about Joker and Penguin, who were trying to steal a scientist's invention, and hiding out in a forest the kids were camping in. By this time, Batman and Robin, while repeating the caution of Joker and Penguin's "dangerous", "master criminal" status, are nevertheless more confident of "the brave boy and his dog" and friends. Scooby's antics (with the invention itself, and a giant Batman balloon) eventually ends up capturing the crooks.

Here we have established the senior-junior "hero" dynamic we would see for seasons to come, on the Superfriends. The characters blended perfectly, and Batman quicky began treating them as "fellow crimefighters". (A third Scooby-Batman crossover was even produced, much more recently, for the Batman: The Brave and the Bold series).


Enter "SUPER FRIENDS"

The original Superfriends show was much like Scooby. It was the first attempt at a superhero format since the 60's, when violence was allowed, but then quickly afterward, reacted against. Cartoon producers then went solidly with the teen comedy/adventure format sparked off by the successful Archie and Scooby franchises. It seems the waters were tested in the seasons leading up to this, by Batman's appearance in Scooby, as well as also having Superman and Wonder Woman appear with the Brady Kids. In both cases, the heroes were working with unpowered kids, and it worked well.

So Superfriends got a kids and dog “gang” of its own, similar to Shaggy, Velma and Scooby.
They fit in pretty well, because much like the teen crimesolving shows that had become big at this time, this early incarnation of Superfriends was focused more on mental work than physical powers.

When people would often scoff at Marvin and Wendy (and Wonder Dog), I would point out that of all the heroes, they could be seen as Batman and Robin protegés. When you really look at it, the “Caped Crusaders” really had no real super powers like Superman and the others. They had good fist fighting skills (as was emphasized in the TV show, which mimicked the comic books with the graphic sound effects). But of course, that was no longer allowed in children's television. All they had was their Bat gear (and the visual precision required for it to be effective), and most importantly, their mental deductive skills. So the latter is what Marvin and Wendy were being taught.

Like the similar hourlong "Scooby Comedy Movies" still being made at the same time, we get well developed plots that are more mystery-like than action-oriented. In "The Baffles Puzzle" (one such thick plot) when the Superfriends are piecing together a bunch of clues they have so far regarding the mysterious professor and disappearing items, and Batman and Robin suddenly realize the kids have gone missing, a bit of 1968 stock score frequently used in Scooby (much so that you would think it was a Scooby cue) is playing, making it sound just like a Scooby episode, and bringing the mind the two the Caped Crusaders starred in!

The primary action is Superman's flying to things. In really hectic situations, he shouts “The TroubAlert is going wild” and then rushes out to do the most difficult tasks, often around the globe, and doles out the assignments for everyone else. My favorite was "The Fantastic Frerps", about this guy trying to create a "perfect" plastic kingdom with everything hatched out of artificial eggs identified only by initials (which is of course, very confusing and mysterious). Another really good one is "Professor Goodfellow's GEEC" about a computer that runs all machines in the world, and goes haywire.
(Plastic Man made a guest appearance to help out in this one, and other special guests in the series were Green Arrow and Flash).

This represents an age of innocence, especially in my own developing ego structure. The big male heroes doing all these “missions” (summoned by a big time government official; Colonel Wilcox), and even the young male wannabe with his imitation hero suit logo and cape, who was eager to leap into action, I could certainly identify with. In some episodes, the accomplished mission is even rewarded with a celebratory dinner or picnic (prepared by Wendy), containing the light, comedic punchline of the story.

In archetype theory, the heroes are quite obviously “Heroes”. Marvin is the classic “Puer” (playful, eternal “boy”), and Wendy is both a Mother figure, and at least in my projection, an “anima” figure. (A man's anima complex is an idealized picture of femininity shaped by his mother). So the full “spine” of ego consciousness (according to Jungian theorist John Beebe; the tandem of "superior" Hero and "inferior" Anima or "soul") was represented.
So think of mostly masculine heroics, solving these missions all over the world; most of it brain work (as in my own introverted Thinking cognitive function), and then some muscle as well; and then earning the nice reward of a fellowship (extraverted Feeling) by this female hostess.

I would have given the kids their own series from '76-78, and they could have used most of those "Scooby Doo Show" stories. A total of 40 were made in those three years (airing as part of "Scooby Doo Dynomutt" and "Laffalympics", and then all syndicated as "Scooby Doo Show" with an opening theme that bears no resemblance to classic Scooby, but would be more fitting for a more action-themed show, such as Dynomutt was). It was not only overkill, but some of the elements that made the earlier show so good were slipping. (Most notably, Velma's voice changing, and new music score and plots/settings that would fit some sort of "action" format better; while other plots were actually poor rehashes of earlier Scooby mysteries).

I would keep for Scooby the four with Scooby Dum (Gator Ghoul, Headless Horseman, Vampires, Bats & Scaredy Cats, Chiller Diller Movie Thriller), the three '78 episodes that were never syndicated (and happened to be the best of that batch: Menace in Venice, Beast from Bottomless Lake, Warlock of Wimbledon), along with To Switch a Witch, Ozark Witch Switch, Harum Scarum Sanitarium, Ghosts of the Bad Humor Man, and throw in Frightened Hound Meets Demons Underground (for Shaggy and Scooby finding Daphne by themselves; an extremely rare pairup).
That's 12; one short of what became around that time a normal single season. Since four of those were from '78, then you could have eight the first season (and rotate with something else) and four during the that hybrid Scooby Doo Where Are You/Scooby's Allstars block that mixed some of these '78 episodes with the original '69-70 show, getting this terrible season billed as a "third season" of the original show.
What I would have done with the gang (at least those first two years) is put them in more, if not all Dynomutt episodes (they guest starred in three, as support, and it would have been a nice new direction for the gang, that would not have run the franchise into the ground).

The rest of the 28 episodes would be a Junior Superfriends show, with Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog neatly filling out Shaggy, Velma and Scooby's roles. (Some modification would have to be done for Marvin and Wonder Dog, since they are not nearly as fearful as Shaggy and Scooby were, especially how much more that way they became in those years. Marvin often tried to leap into action as "Super Marv". Also, Wonder Dog might have to start talking, or just muttering as he did, and the others understand him. Still, the basic roles could fit).
Fred and Daphne would be replaced by two of the Teen Titans, but ones who don't have too strong of powers to be like normal kids. Wonder Girl comes to mind, (I'm sure HB could have gotten the rights to her from Filmation by then); and for the male I would say bring someone like Aqualad over, but since he is so water themed, it wouldn't make much sense. Maybe someone like Speedy (Green Arrow's young apprentice).

What we did get in 1976 was a half hour version of the original Superfriends show, where the stories were compressed, (with stuff like the victory dinners cut out, and the episode abruptly ends).

It should also be mentioned that the Superfriends' headquarters, the Hall of Justice, was actually based on a real life building, the Cincinatti Union terminal, which is nearly identical, except for not having the two towers on the sides. It has been in danger for years, because of weather deterioration, even after it began being used by a museum. http://www.wired.com/2014/10/super-friends-hall-of-justice/
Another one I just found was the Sunshine Theater, right on Houston St., Manhattan: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/photos-neon-new-york-nights/


1977:

The whole feel of the show changed with the All New Superfriends Hour (At the same time things changed in Scooby, Stevie Wonder's sound, and my neighborhood. The new episodes even used a lot of the stock 1968 "Gulliver/Huck Finn" score the Scooby episodes from the same period were overusing. This is especially pronounced in the Gentleman Jim Ghost episode, which is like a lost episode of Scooby).
It was now apparently "safe" to begin adding a bit more action. Still no fisticuffs (the opening sequence shows Superman punching a series of meteors, but that's it), but now the heroes' super powers were more highlighted. The settings were greatly expanded, with more action on other worlds, and more alien and supervillain characters. Gone was Col. Wilcox. Now, other officials would summon them on the big screen.

So along with all of this, new junior Superfriends were needed.
So space aliens with true superpowers, pretty much like Superman, were chosen. “The Wonder Twins: Zan, Jayna and space monkey, Gleek”.

The dynamic was very similar to Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog. Teen heroes in training, who often initially get left behind to “monitor the Trouble Alert” when the adult heroes go out on the mission; to which they protest, but then end up getting involved anyway. (Sometimes captured by the villain, though this was not as formulaicly repeated as it was with the earlier kids).
You still had the overconfident male, and the witty female, and the animal sidekick.

However, the male-female dynamic, while greatly paralleled, still had signifigant differences. While Wendy was more of a motherly figure, as stated; Jayna was more of a sexy, spunky foil. Rather than an Anima or Mother, she was more of what's called an Opposing Personality, which in at least one theory is the flipside of the psyche from the anima; a sort of contrasexual anti-hero. (Basically, when the anima energizes the "Warrior" complex for a man, which then takes from it the opposite gender, basically becoming an "Amazon". Which of course, is the name used as Wonder Woman's race!)
Marvin was again a naďvely innocent Puer. Zan was more of a young macho “blowhard” hunk. I'm not sure which archetype fits that. (Perhaps "god", "Gambler" or "Athlete/Olympian"). But while Marvin and Wendy reflected the more innocent age of frumpy bell bottom outfits and hairstyles, Zan and Jayna were basically the perfect "alpha" male and female sex symbols, and reflected a paradigm where women trump even the most perfect men with their wit. Wendy's “mother” role to Marvin, was due more to his own naďveté. Jayna was again more of a “foil” for Zan's machismo.
No more victory dinners (Jayna was a more modern "independent" or "liberated" female who doesn't seem like someone who would be cooking for everyone), but you still had the comedic punchline, now always centered on the pet's shenanigans (usually pretending to be a "return" of the villain of the story, to scare the bragging Zan, which is basically an old Scooby gag).

However, these new kids had actual super powers. (Their comic book debut produced at the time even shows them bumping aside the previous kids on the cover saying "your time is past, kids, this is a job for the new Superfriends" —Super Friends #7; Oct. 1977).

But this was actually the biggest “foil” of all for the male, for his powers were far inferior to his sister's. She could turn into any living creature, while he could only turn into forms of water. A Cartoon Network interstitial even picked up on this, when Zan (original voice reprisal) complained that he could be soaked up by an "evil sponge".

While they could do a lot more than their predecessors, they also seemed to bungle things more than they did. And that monkey (with that perpetual silly grin of his, and the silly "gibbering", as the closed caption even signs it) was of course the worst! Wonder Dog NEVER botched things up the way Gleek did; and out of pure foolishness. (And neither did the much hated Scrappy Doo for that matter either; who's been made into one of the chief "tropes" and epitome of such "little additions" that "ruin" shows). The twins would be executing a brilliant plan to fool the captors, and Gleek would run across the control panel, and his tail flip the switch to a camera or intercom giving the whole plan away.

He did come in handy at times (like even providing a nose, for the twins, in separate cages, to be able to make contact, once; or bringing their hands together, to break a trance they were in). In one instance, when gone back to their planet Exxor to handle a space villain trying to take over, and the kids get captured and need to be rescued by the other Superfriends, Gleek's playing around with a control panel unwittingly manages to open a door for Batman to enter. (But usually, this playing would have the opposite effect). Being small, he often escaped the traps the twins got into, and could run and alert others, like Wonder Dog before him sometimes.

Right off the bat (as even acknowledged on one of the DVD extras), they seemed directly ripped off from earlier HB hero Space Ghost's young assistants [even down to the names], Jan, Jayce and ['space' monkey] Blip. The look and personalities of the boy and girl were very similar too, with the male as a bit overconfident and chauvanistic at times, and the female countering with wit. They did have equal powers, however, which was simply the inviso-belts.
Blip was however, nowhere near as bad as Gleek (with the most notable exception being grabbing and running away with something, leading Jan into Brak's looted treasure cave, where they get caught. The way these were written, however, as soon as they are caught, Space Ghost has found them before the villain could do anything).

While I would admit that the Wonder Twins were much more logical as junior Justice Leaguers, they (and especially the monkey) were also far more annoying, between the bungling and bantering. Again, the previous kids represented more of an "innocence".

Still, that period and those stories wouldn't have been the same without them. "Wonder Twin Powers!" has become almost a cultural icon. (A whole episode of Dexter would spoof it).

The format of the show was one short with generally two of the regular senior Superfriends, then the Wonder Twins short (where they rescue kids who get in trouble, and are called on their "Teen Trouble Alert" wrist watches), then the half hour story with all eight senior and junior characters, and then one senior member with a special guest. In these last segments, heroes we would see in later series, such as Black Vulcan, Green Lantern and Samurai would make their first appearances. (And Flash, who guest starred in the first show would reappear).
Also, one established (later regular) supervillain, Manta, would appear (though yellowish instead of black).

Other features of the new show were inbetween segments: "Health", "Safety" and even simple "Magic" tricks and "Crafts", where senior Superfriends teach you different serious or recreational lessons. Another one was "Decoder", which was done in several parts through out the main adventure, where they use objects as "clues", using smaller words to make up a larger word that is the key to the story. Some of these were pretty ridiculous; the one always standing out to me, being "man" + "stir" = "monster".
All of this was of course to appease watchdogs who wanted children's TV to be more "educational". (One saying by animators who lived through all of this is "once upon a time, when a cat chased a mouse, he didn't have to stop and teach him how to weave a basket").

1978:

Next was the Challenge of the Superfriends, which paired the heroes with the addition of The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, and Samurai (and minus the Wonder Twins), against the Legion of Doom.
I liked this, because I had a "giant" edition comic book on the "Super Villains" that "we love to hate", showing how each of them came to be (like the hothead Luthor turning against Superboy for blowing his hair out by accident when the lab he built for him caught fire when he was making an antidote for Kryptonite in gratitude for him building the lab. How could one turn like that so fast? Must have been secretly jealous all along).

The Legion of Doom launches elaborate plots to try to destroy the Superfriends. Because of this more thematic premise, this is my favorite overall series. I was disappointed to not see prominent Batman villains Joker, Penguin and Catwoman, but they were still being licensed to rival studio Filmation for their All New Adventures of Batman.

I thought it strange that two rival studios would have rights to the same characters at the same time, but it was based on individual sub-franchises. Filmation started off with all the Justice League members in the 60's. (These were just entering syndication at this time, and I had only remembered the Batmans; vaguely at that). But then, Batman and Robin by themselves with Joker and Penguin (and the same voices from the 60's cartoon) were picked up by HB for the two Scooby episodes; and then the entire Justice League for the first Superfriends show the following season. Superman and Wonder Woman each made one last Filmation appearance on Brady Kids that same season.
Then, in 1977, that studio got Batman and Robin by themselves, in their original live action show voices(!) with the Commissioner, Alfred & the BatCave, Batgirl, Catwoman and Joker and Penguin and some other villains, and new ones added ("Sweet Tooth", etc), along with Bat Mite as the Puer-esque comedy relief. Riddler (outfit changed from green to red) appeared in the opening sequence, but he had actually gone over to HB for the Legion of Doom format now (outfit now yellow). One studio got Captain Cold, while the other then used Mr. Freeze.

(Meanwhile, two other DC heroes remained isolated from the Superfriends. Captain Marvel, or "Shazam", at one point supposed to be in the Superfriends, would be picked up by and remain at Filmation, even into the 80's. They actually used him to replace Superman, who they wanted to revive, but had lost the rights to for good. Plastic man made a guest appearance in the original Superfriends, but was then picked up by new studio Ruby-Spears. Since both Superfriends and Plastic Man were on ABC, and they would later begin combining different franchises in double and triple shows; even from different studios, I wonder why they didn't at least combine him with the Superfriends shows.
Both hereoes did make appearances with other Justice Leaguers in the more recent WB-produced shows).

We also get two separate episodes in the series covering the creation of both some of the Superfriends, and some of the Legion of Doom members, just as I had read in those special giant edition comics.

In addition to these episodes, and nearly forgotten for awhile, you had 16 companion episodes, feauring the core group of Superfriends plus Wonder Twins (no complete break from them this season). Basically, extensions of the half hour main episodes from the previous season, though I think there was improvement, with some better plots (such as the Anti-matter Monster), and interesting action scenes (such as Superman and Wonder Woman hurtling toward the "photo negative" antimatter universe). We also get the start of periodic appearances by another familiar villain (who was separate from the Legion); Mxyzptlk.

The opening music uses a new beginning, that leads into the main "All New" theme, and then a new finale.

1979:

After this was World's Greatest Superfriends, which only added eight new episodes, (core heroes plus Twins) but these, with several drawing upon classic stories like Oz, Middle Earth and Aladdin, were very memorable. I liked sequences such as them following the trail in the cave toward Middle Earth, and encountering the Three Deadly Tasks along the way. They get out of one task, and then you see the little cave opening to the next cavern and who knows what peril that lied ahead (and then cut to the other scene, of the other heroes working in the troll mines, before returning to the first group). A similar setup was the powerless Superman and the Twins following the peril-after-peril trail leading out of the magic lamp, ending with a fake lava flow they must walk through, and let's not forget the yellow brick road to Oz.
(These scenes used this new piece of score that fit perfectly, conveying the sense of a trail of suspense, leading to the next scene. It was also used as Superman flew in his Supermobile toward the burning city skyline in Luthor Strikes Back.
BTW; and notice how in that episode, the writers got the Twins out of there, by having them visit their planet Exxor, and return only after it was over! While still no hand to hand combat, Superman did at one point pick up the taunting Luthor, presumably to "destroy" him, until the sun creatures Luthor had summoned arrive and begin burning everything. Capturing him at the end, he then grabs him by the collar).

In the Oz one, you had the ingenious trick they used to defeat Mxyzptlk. (It was greatly written, as you didn't even realize that them being turned into Oz characters and then changing the costumes to protect themselves from the hazards were all part of another plan altogether). With the Aladdin lamp, when Superman's X-ray vision cannot even penetrate it, he says of the rather earthly looking lamp "Whatever it is, it is not of THIS universe!" (Again, the background stock score matches perfectly).
In Space Knights of Camelon, you have a sort of double mission, where Superman has gone missing in the universe, after a big blast. Looking for him, they get a call to a planet about a Black Knight terrorizing Arthur 7's kingdom. They find the answer to both quests, when they find that the Black Knight IS Superman, having lost his memory. The astonished look on the other Superfriends' faces when he removes his face shield and they finally realize, is priceless! (The previous season, we had a foretaste of all this, when the Legion of Doom had launched a scheme to trap them in the various stories of a fairy tale book, using some sort of special ray gun).
In "Universe of Evil", we see evil counterparts of the Superfriends (including even Gleek), while their Superman gets swapped with ours.

The opening sequence (which uses the same theme as the previous season) shows some scenes from the previous "lost" episodes, such as the tar creature they battled at the center of the earth. These eight episodes could have been bundled together with those, being pretty much an extension of them, but on the DVD (which is separate from the Challenge show they originally aired with), the previous episodes used the 1977 (All New Hour) opening, and the 1978 "Challenge" closing.

---------------------

So ended the "glory days" of great adventure. We started off with three young kids aiding the toned down heroes in using mainly wit to battle mostly misguided scientists with often good intentions gone wrong. Then, we took off to the ends of the universe, the past, the future, black holes, other universes, fairybook adventures, super action against all sorts of space aliens across the universe and beyond (from "brain creatures" to "sun creatures"; "mind maidens" who hypnotize all women, and "pied pipers" who hypnotize all children), and titanic battles with a dedicated supervillain league.
It was quite an experience in TV watching, and something that never really would occur again, at least for my generation. Saturday morning was beginning to change, and the beginning of the end had arrived for Superfriends.


After this, we enter the '80's which began with cartoon episodes across the board being generally reduced to 7 minutes (three fitting in a half hour with commercials). This is when we got the Scooby, Scrappy and Shaggy shorts (originally part of the Richie Rich/Scooby Doo hour, and later repackaged as "Scary Scooby Funnies"), where Fred and the girls and the mystery format were eliminated in favor of slapstick comedy with real ghosts, monsters and other supernatural figures, or sometimes none at all.

So Superfriends followed suit in the next three seasons (skipping '82, which had nothing more than a 1 minute commercial with the heroes aside from just reruns. Also like Scooby, the older episodes entered weekday syndication in this period).
They already had the short episodes in the 1977 season, and these new ones were a continuation of those, with two of the episodes being with different combinations of heroes (one regular, with a special guest), and one episode with the Wonder Twins (often with one of the other adult heroes involved this time).

But the stories were getting wackier and wackier as the seasons went on. ("The Man IN the Moon,", "Rock and Roll Space Bandits", "The Incredible Crude Oil Monster", "The Creature from the Dump", etc). Some were rehashes of earlier stories. ("Mxyzptlk’s Flick", "Three Wishes").
These were basically the "Scary Superfriends Funnies" (The first two seasons even used some short musical cues from the Scooby & Scrappy shows! Some story themes paralleled in both series and you had such 80's themes as arcades).

The last of these seasons ('83) wasn't released that year, and only appeared many years later, on cable. So like the '78 "regular core group" episodes, this would become known as another "lost season" of the Superfriends.
The highlight of this season was "Revenge of Doom", featuring a reprisal of the Legion of Doom, who resurrect the damaged Hall of Doom from the swamp!

These seasons used a modified opening, where the music reverted to the 1977 "All New", but was then cut short, with a new horn finale (da-dada da-dada DAAAAA...!) and kept the silver Superfriends logo from the previous season. The DVD's are using the 1981 opening for all the seasons. It, IIRC, was the same as the 1980 version, except for having Eldorado aded at the end of the introduction to the characters. The closings, I believe are from the 1979 season.

1984: SUPERFRIENDS, THE LEGENDARY SUPER POWERS SHOW

As I grow up and enter college, and Scooby has a sparkling new show (with Daphne and the mystery format restored, in streamlined form, and even guest appeareances of Freddy and Velma, all now with last names), so the Superfriends got a sparkling new show. In both series, episode length was increased a bit, to about 10 minutes (with two fitting in a half hour slot, and a few two-parters. Though this actually started the previous year on Scooby).

New heroes (Firestorm) and new villains (most notably, Darkseid) are added. Also sticking out was a total redesign of Brainiac, and Adam West returning as Batman! (Casey Kasem continued as Robin, and Olan Soule now moved on to Firestorm's dual personality, the professor, but only for this season).
We also lose the one episode per show Wonder Twins rotation and "helping kids in danger" format, and they only appear three times throughout the season! However, original senior "core group" member Aquaman also is basically absent (except for the opening sequence!)
In this and the next season, we would see more colors of both Kryptonite and suns (imported from the comics, but new to me), and their different effects on Superman.

The opening sequence music starts out like the 1977 season, but then turns into the original 1973 tune midway, but then turns back into the 1977 horn finale.

1985: SUPER POWERS TEAM - GALACTIC GUARDIANS

Just like Scooby evolved into the radically new Thirteen Ghosts format, with new outfits, new Mystery Machine, and a whole new premise, the Superfriends followed suit, dropping the name, in favor of "Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians", along with an all new, modern Hall of Justice.
Characters were redesigned (to be more like the comics), the Wonder Twins were finally dropped (imagine them and especially Gleek mucking things up with Darkseid. And though already existing during the original Superfriends show; created in the comics two years earlier, he was certainly a far cry from the "misguided scientists" Marvin and Wendy dealt with! Firestorm and new "Teen Titan" entry Cyborg were now the "junior" heroes anyway).
Much of the background score was updated as well. Where old cartoons had background score in nearly every second of the story, there was now more periods with no score, like today's cartoons.

The opening theme is similar to the previous season, but then cuts off sooner, and with an all new conclusion.

It was in a very real sense a stepping stone to the modern JLA animation world. And I liked this about it.
I knew Superfriends was what they would later (in the cynical internet culture) dub "campy", and even I would admit the name was silly (they really should have dropped it after the first season. That's when it really fit with the totally watered down kiddish format of that show, and the team already had another name; "Justice League". So why weren't the shows named after that?)
And I knew that many kids, at least around me, were interested in more "serious" action/adventure comics and shows. To wit the then growing popularity of Marvel Comics and its by then syndicated 60's cartoons (though it was taking time for that franchise to adapt to the new toned down cartoon format of the 70's and afterward in new shows), and the fast rising world of anime.

So here is a series that had been beefed up in its seriousness, and new addition Cyborg was so cool with his bionic hand that could plug into computers to interface with them, plus his and Firestorm's power rays. Originally, Superman was the backbone of the team, with the most power, that the others would be lost without. In the Challenge season; it was him and Green Lantern; hence the Legion going back in time to erase both of them and Wonder Woman. (Black Vulcan was good too, with his lightning ray). Now, we had more heroes with real, strong powers. So it would be watchable to these younger more "serious" action fans.

Yet the new show still maintained the same continuity, with most of the same voice artists, some of the previous score, and not too "dry" (and anime-influenced) animation (like today), to be enjoyable to me.
What a nice compromise, transition or hybrid!

Joker and Penguin are even reintroduced to HB productions (having appeared only in the 13 year prior Scooby episodes until that time) though in separate episodes; one without Batman.
Another episode shows the origin of Batman, and he appears more "Dark Knight-ish", (as he became afterward) as he deals with the flashbacks of the tragedy he suffered as a child, being stoked by Scarecrow's fear machine. Batman & Robin's uncostumed identities as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, as well as other supporting characters Alfred and Commissioner Gordon make their only HB appearances in this one as well.


The "crisis": End of one era; start of another

This now drew to a close the Hanna-Barbera produced Justice League run. This same year in the comics, would occur the major DC universe upheaval known as "Crisis on Infinite Earths", which was a total reboot of the entire franchise where they tried to reorganize all the conflicting timelines from all the different DC comics and shows into a single "multiverse" of sorts, with some characters' stories being completely rewritten.

Three years later, HB spinoff studio Ruby Spears would produce a new Superman show reflecting these changes. It was still a classic Saturday morning TV studio production (unlike everything afterward), but of course all the old cues and musical staff were gone, the old voice (Danny Dark) replaced, and the whole pace was totally different.
So I just wasn't "feelin'" it, and that would be it for JLA cartoons, until the old Superfriends finally began coming out on cable.

I often wonder where the line should be drawn between the old JLA and the new ones. "Pre/post-1988", or "pre/post-1992".

The biggest change of all was now to begin. The new Batman movie of 1989 sparked off a whole new generation of DC franchise productions, and then a second one was released a few years later. Soon, (1992) a new Batman cartoon series followed, and a third movie, which was now animated. This was by the Warner Brothers Animation studio (DC having been bought out by WB), which had a totally different feel than the classic animation of before. It was heavily anime-influenced, the characters had this very boxy design, and background score was no longer cartoony, but rather the same sort of subdued orchestral compositions interspersed between long periods with no music, used in regular movie features. I figured it was Batman for a whole new generation, and I basically passed on most of it.
As WB would eventually take over Turner (and Hanna Barbera with it) the new Scooby productions that would follow at the end of the decade would be the same, and even those I find hard to stay concentrated on!

In both franchises, the modern "realism" leads the characters to no longer be so "perfect" or "innocent". The overall feel is very cynical, and characters frequently quibble, and sometimes even fight.

The WB/Turner merger is apparently like iron and clay, as WB won't completely integrate (dissolve) the Turner company, and so continues to treat it as a totally unrelated corporate entity, by requiring them to pay to air WB's properties! This has caused both DC and classic Looney Tunes to disappear from the Turner networks (the sole regular outlets of the merged companies for cartoons) for long periods of time!
That's why I mentioned a dividing line; so that libraries wouldn't be split like they are, especially if this [pseudo-]merger ever happens to break up.

So they should do an exchange: Turner gives the pre-1948 Looney Tunes they own to WB, so that library wouldn't be split anymore, like it was for decades before the merger. WB then gives the pre-1988 DC cartoons to Turner, to be with the rest of the HB and "classic toons" library (and including the similar Filmation productions. And I think they already owned the old Paramount/Fleischer theatrical Superman shorts, like they did the Popeyes).
Not sure which side the 1988 Superman should go on. Again, Ruby Spears productions were similar to HB (and other RS productions were included with the Turner HB library), but then it is post-Crisis and has more of the "serious" feel of later productions, at least in comparison to the older ones.
So either way, it wouldn't matter that the JLA library would now become split, because the older and newer series are like night and day; like two totally different franchises, really, where the older and newer Looney Tunes are not as different and have more of a direct continuity; so they should be together.

In between, in 1996, almost the whole span of DC cartoons from 1966 to 1983 (with the exception of the hourlong original SF series, the Legion of Doom and World's Greatest) ran originally on another channel in a new "Batman-Superman" show, which was like a potluck of which ones you would get. A half hour episode would wipe out the whole time slot, so it would take a very long time to catch any given episode, and by this time I had heard of the whole season that never aired. Firestorm appeared in the new opening for this show, but I never saw any of the 1984-5 episodes in this package.

But as this was right at the time of the WB-Turner merger, once that contract ran out, the whole series would move to CN (and later, Boomerang), and the whole 19 year run would be included. (The 1988 Superman cartoon never came over, however. All the 7 minute episodes and 1977-8 "core members" half hour episodes were still in the Batman-Superman package, at first. The entire All New Superfriends Hour was eventually put back together in its own original format, however. The 60's shorts with the new Batman-Superman titles were also used individually as filler on Boomerang for a long while).
So a running gag between me and my wife is her trying to go to sleep with the deep, gruff, demon-like voice of Darkseid yelling "WONDER WOMAN... I will make you MY QUEEN!" playing in the background.

Justice League rebirth!

Not reading comics anymore, I had never even heard of the Crisis until just a few years ago (on the internet), but I knew back then the franchise was gradually being rebooted from scratch, essentially! (And then you had Superman being killed off at one point, which was even big in the news, and then coming back, of course; and I think Robin too, but then a new "Batman and Robin" series soon came out aferward).

In the beginning of the DC universe, we originally started with comics, then Superman animated films, then a Superman TV show, then a Batman TV show, and then individual Batman, Superman and other Justice League members TV cartoon episodes, and then, finally the final Superfriends.

So now, this was occurring all over again, in almost the same order: revived interest in DC began with the Superman movies, then new Batman movies, a new Superman cartoon, new Batman cartoon, and then slowly, other Justice leaguers followed. When they paired Superman and Batman together at one point (echoing the 60's combination show), I naturally wondered if it was the start of an eventual new Justice League regrouping to follow, and in the new Millennium, sure enough, it eventually did! But again, it was so different from what I grew up with.

When I saw that Green Lantern was now a black guy, that did it for me. Even I thought that "political correctness" (basically, "tokenism") had gone too far now.
I did not know that "Green Lantern" was an entire corps of heroes, and that the white Hal Jordan I was familiar with was only but one of them. (In the Challenge of the Superfriends account of Green Lantern's origin, it looked like the power was a unique gift passed down to him by the old guy. This made it look like there was only one Green Lantern. In the plot, Lex Luthor went back in time and took his place, thus erasing him from history).
Females in these new [realistic] designs, were incredibly sexy, and with flattering outfits, such as Lois Lane, and even body-suited villains Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.

As stated, a bit of the magic did continue in Cartoon Network promotional interstitials, which reused their licensed characters in ways that were like continuations of the original shows. (The old "first decade CN" experience is something a lot of cartoon fans missed). So as mentioned, you had the Wonder Twins, with Zan (original voice) worried about being beaten by a sponge (and the Legion of Doom is briefly seen, next to the sponge). He then proceeds to get mopped up by the janitor!

The most well known one has the Legion capturing Wonder Woman and Aquaman (both classic voices as well), and then the Powerpuff Girls rush in and rescue them. As the Powerpuff Girls were one of the great new CN (HB's successor) original ideas, this was a great crossover! Luthor (different voice) makes the common mistake of calling them the "Powderpuff Girls", and then the girls proceed to beat them up as they had regularly done all their own villains. This of course was not seen on any of the original Superfriends shows. But now in the age of the relative artstic freedom of cable, cartoonists restored punching and other slapstick violence with a vengeance. I liked how Solomon Grundy had a tooth knocked out, which was a common visual in PPG fights, and then Blossom zaps Scarecrow with her eye beams, setting him on fire. (Their eye beams sort of reminded me of Darkseid, who's made nearly invincible with his. It would be interesting to see the girls go up against him!). It ends with the girls embarrassing the heroes with remarks about them being "old school" or "developed" (interpreted as bodily in a feminine sense), with the PPG-style pile of beat up villains laughing. It even used the original Hoyt Curtin score!

Another one was more silly, with Luthor trying to convene a meeting, and Solomon Grundy or Bizarro complaining of looking for pants.

I also remember one with some sort of monologue by Wonder Woman (original voice), and another one had been done for Fred Flinststone. The latter one at least went something like "you can't define me" or something like that, so there was a similar one with Wonder Woman.

Casey Kasem resumed his role as Robin in a piece on cartoon sidekicks (alongside Morocco Mole, Shaggy [unvoiced] and others).

It was like the old series was living on! All of this, especially the PPG one, just made me long all the more for a continuation of the old series.

One one ToonZone discussion a few years ago, I lamented the new JLA cartoons not being "cartooney" enough, and one person suggested the new Krypto cartoon, and then I would have it on in the background, and it did seem a little less dry and "serious" than the others, but it still was not the same thing. There's also the new Teen Titans, but they too are not doing it.

With the last of all the seasons of the entire Superfriends run out on DVD, I got the whole thing, and just finished watching the last season, and longed for 'the magic" of it to continue.

I knew that some of the 91 episodes produced for the two Justice League shows (spanning 2001-2006; wow did all that time fly!) did pick up with various former "Legion of Doom" members (usually forming some new super villain group and with new members replacing most of the old ones, and finally Grodd rebanding something like a new Legion of Doom), and Darkseid.
I read that the Wonder Twins made occasional appearances [first in the comics, then, in the show, statues of them, and then pastiches of them: other characters, called "Downpour and Shifter" that were basically close rehashes; the male looking nearly identical to his sister and sounding like a girl!], but meanwhile, different things had been done with Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog in the comics. One story I heard of had Marvin turn evil —kind of figured, with what they had just done with Scrappy in his new millenium reappearance; and another has him become associated with the Teen Titans, but Wonder Dog kills him, and one of the new Titans keeps conjuring up his spirit. (A lot of these comics and shows are very "dark" like that). As far as the JL series, one writer claims an obscure [apparently unseen] "hound" was Wonder Dog. Another new series, Young Justice (2010-13), which I had never seen, also had Marvin and Wendy as high school students. Getting this confused with Teen Titans at one point, I even tried watching that show again for this reason).

Mxyzptlk wasn't used in Justice League though there were plans for him to star in an episode, "but neither writer Paul Dini (a huge fan of the character) nor series creator Bruce Timm could figure out a story that would be suitable. He did make a 'cameo' as a cardboard cutout used in a training exercise in the episode 'Secret Society - Part 1', however. This incarnation resembles the original Mr. Mxyzptlk, rather than the two more modern versions" (Wikipedia). He did appear several times in new Batman and Superman franchise productions, though.
Seeing someone has a mirror image reversed series of the Superman TAS episode "Mxyzpixilated" on YouTube; I find it pretty watchable, and funny, but only because it's a familiar villain. He is drawn very "cartooney", and they even had Clark pronunce his name "Mixlflik" when first reading it, as a nod to the Superfriends; but now it's properly pronounced "mixyesspitlick". He now talks almost identical to Roach Coach from the Powerpuff Girls; supposed to be some rude low class New Yorker or something. He has a girlfriend in his dimension, whom he ignores in his obsession with Superman, and she's nearly identical to Jessica Rabbit.

They also brought back many other villains from the comics that were never used in the earlier cartoons. I remembered a "Doctor Destiny" from one of the old comics I had, and he makes an appearance here. (He's a hooded skeleton who greatly resembles Skeletor, and he deals in dream manipulation). I thought it was a cool name, like Marvel's "Dr. Doom" (who he also resembles a bit, with the hood).

When Boomerang finally reruns the series, at a time when I'm home watching, I tried to watch it, but it just wound up in the background as I did my stuff online or whatever.

Then, I find, from just earlier this year:

‘JLA ADVENTURES: TRAPPED IN TIME’ After finishing the last of the old series, I mulled getting the $70 15 disc DVD set of the two Justice League shows, but figured this one would be the best place to start and "test the waters".

I did not even know about it until seeing it mentioned in the Wikipedia article on Marvin and Wendy. They actually make a cameo (in updated outfits, and Wonder Dog having a realistic almost pit-bull face), when the future characters arrive in Washington DC (now the location of the Hall of Justice, which looks like the old one from the Superfriends), and see the kids walking the dog, which they take as an example of this time period's "barbarism".

So this one actually doesn't disappoint on continuing where the old series left off, to some extent. Completely modern (almost 3D CGI-like graphics at times, and realistic details like the Victorian neighborhoods of Washington DC around the Capitol), but nevertheless nearly a classic Justice League—Legion of Doom fight. (Important for this was that Solomon Grundy and Bizarro talked pretty much the way they did in '78-83).

Don't know why some of the other members of both sides were missing, though. Particularly Green Lantern, Brainiac and Sinestro. Aquaman looks younger, and half dressed. Bizarro looks like Frankenstein, while Toyman's face is all boxy almost like what Bizarro used to look like. I also don't care for the totally catlike Cheetah. And the completely bratty Robin (far worse than Marvin or Zan had ever been!)

But this is someone who's been away from the JLA animated universe for a year short of three decades! Robin, while always Batman's "apprentice"; in the earlier TV productions, they were still more of an equal team. Now, in this modern age, they are emphasizing Robin's youth.

Still, it was a great story. The timing of the action also seems more like the old series, and that's what kept me captivated. (Trying again now to watch some JL/JLU episodes available online, there seems to be much more long periods of just dialogue, and so it's really hard to pick up and follow the story if you've missed something. This is why I couldn't get into them before).

It's obviously an unfinished story (as one review wondered). The end was so much like the first part of Back to the Future (an obvious nod, even; especially given the title?) The future teens believe they have set everything in time straight, but then Luthor had said he was going to do something, and then back in their time, we see the future changed, and it obviously can't stay that way.

Also looking good is a 2010 DTV feature "Crisis on Two Earths", which is basically the "Universe of Evil" sequel (including the good versions of some of the Legion of Doom) I had long been waiting for. (Seeing the future alteration the Trapped In Time story ends on; I wonder if the two stories will tie together).

Looking at all of the Justice League episodes on Wikipedia, I'm not going to force myself to watch all of those. I would like to see select episodes featuring familiar villains.

But if this new venture is going to become some sort of series, that would be great, to have the DC experience live on!

Superfriends Episodes Quick List
See also: Detailed episode list

SEASON 1 (1973)
The Power Pirate
The Baffles Puzzle
Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C.
The Weather Maker
Dr. Pelagian's War
The Shamon U
Too Hot to Handle
The Androids
The Balloon People
The Fantastic Frerps
The Ultra Beam
The Menace of the White Dwarf
The Mysterious Moles
Gulliver's Gigantic Goof
The Planet-Splitter
The Watermen

The All-New Super Friends Hour(1977)

Two member spotlightWonder TwinsMain "core group" storySpecial Guest
The Brain MachineThe Joy RideThe Invasion of the EarthorsThe Whirlpool
The Secret FourTiger on the LooseVoyage of the Mysterious Time CreaturesThe Antidote
Invasion of The HydronoidsHitchhikeCity in a BottleSpace Emergency
Doctor FrightDrag RaceThe Day of the Plant CreaturesFire
The Monster of Dr. DroidVandalsThe Super Friends Vs. The Super FriendsThe Energy Mass
The EnforcerThe SharkPlanet of the NeanderthalsFlood of Diamonds
The Invisible MenaceInitiationThe Coming of the ArthropodsRiver of Doom
Attack of the Giant SquidGame of ChickenThe Water BeastVolcano
The CollectorHandicapThe Mind MaidensAlaska Peril
The Fifty Foot WomanCheatingExploration: EarthAttack of the Killer Bees
Forbidden PowerPressure PointThe LionmenThe Day of the Rats
The Man Beasts of XraPrejudiceTiny World of TerrorTibetan Raiders
Frozen PerilDangerous PrankThe Mummy of NazcaCable Car Rescue
The Marsh MonsterThe RunawaysWill the World Collide?Time Rescue
The ProtectorStowawaysThe GhostRampage

Challenge of the Super Friends (1978)
Wanted: The Superfriends
Invasion of the Fearians
The World's Deadliest Game
The Time Trap
Trial of the Super Friends
Monolith of Evil
The Giants Of Doom
Secret Origins of the Super Friends
Revenge On Gorilla City
Swamp Of The Living Dead
Conquerors Of The Future
The Final Challenge
Fairy Tale Of Doom
Doomsday
Super Friends: Rest In Peace
History of Doom
"The Lost Episodes" (DVD "Volume Two")
Rokan: Enemy From Space
The Demons of Exxor
Battle At The Earth's Core
Sinbad And The Space Pirates
The Pied Piper From Space
Attack Of The Vampire
The Beasts Are Coming
Terror From The Phantom Zone
The Anti-Matter Monster
World Beneath The Ice
Invasion Of The Brain Creatures
The Incredible Space Circus
Batman: Dead Or Alive
Battle of the Gods
Journey Through Inner Space
The Rise and Fall of the Super Friends

The World's Greatest Super Friends (1979)
Rub Three Times for Disaster
Lex Luthor Strikes Back
Space Knights of Camelon
The Lord of Middle Earth
Universe of Evil
Terror at 20,000 Fathoms
The Super Friends Meet Frankenstein
The Planet of Oz

1980 shorts: Season 5 "A Dangerous Fate"
Bigfoot
Ice Demon
Makeup Monster
Journey Into Blackness
Cycle Gang
Dive to Disaster
Yuna the Terrible
Rock and Roll Space Bandits
Elevator To Nowhere
One Small Step for Mars
Haunted House
The Incredible Crude Oil Monster
The Voodoo Vampire
Invasion of the Gleeks
Mxyzptlk Strikes Again
The Man in the Moon
Circus of Horrors
Around the World in 80 Riddles
Termites from Venus
Eruption
Return From Atlantis
The Killer Machines
Garden of Doom
Revenge of Bizarro

1981 shorts: Season 6 "Legacy Of Super Powers"
Outlaws of Orion
Three Wishes
Scorpio
Mxyzptlk's Flick
Sink Hole
Alien Mummy
The Evil from Krypton
The Creature from the Dump
Aircraft Terror
The Lava Men
Bizarroworld
The Warlord's Amulet
The Iron Cyclops
Palette's Perils
Colossuss
Stowaways from Space
The Scaraghosta Sea
The Witch's Arcade

1983 shorts: "The Lost Season"
Mxyzptlk's Revenge
Roller Coaster
Once Upon a Poltergeist
Warpland
Two Gleeks Are Deadlier Than One
Bulgor the Behemoth
The Krypton Syndrome
Invasion of the Space Dolls
Terror on the Titanic
The Revenge of Doom
A Pint of Life
Day of the Dinosaurs
Return of the Phantoms
Bully for You
Superclones
Prisoners of Sleep
An Unexpected Treasure
The Malusian Blob
Attack of the Cats
One Small Step for Superman
Video Victims
Playground of Doom
Space Racers
The Recruiter

Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
The Bride of Darkseid (Part I & II)
The Wrath of Brainiac
Reflections in Crime
No Honor Among Thieves
Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp
The Case of the Shrinking Super Friends
The Mask of Mystery
Darkseid's Golden Trap (Part I& II)
Island of the Dinosoids
Uncle Mxyzptlk
The Case of the Dreadful Dolls
The Royal Ruse
The Village of Lost Souls
The Curator

Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
The Seeds of Doom
The Ghost Ship
The Bizarro Super Powers Team
The Darkseid Deception
The Fear
The Wild Cards
Brain Child
The Case of the Stolen Powers
Escape from Space City
The Death of Superman

See also Super Friends Wiki

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