Echoes of the Multiverse

Haha, THESE guys! The most infamous of the SuperFriends, and the eternal warning against Token-ism. Apache Chief is probably most infamous, since he's the silliest looking and most stereotypical. Black Vulcan is just a GREAT example of corporate sleaze ("Oh, we have to pay Isabella?... Well, let's just file the serial numbers off and change his last name."), but the other two are pretty forgettable nobodies. Did they even show up very often? I know the show was bad for just introducing random powers without explanation for some of these guys (Time Travel or something?).

But really, these guys are probably more infamous for SeanBaby's website, in the early days of "Comedy Websites". He just ENDLESSLY riffed on SuperFriends.

Great to see you back and posting, by the way .

Do love though how JLU paid both tribute to them and even better UPDATED all of them into actual cool characters.

Even the bloody wonder twins were made cool

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Which of these actresses never played a heroine who was a member of the Super Friends?

a) Lynda Carter
b) Audrey Hepburn
c) Yvonne Craig
d) Ciara Renée

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Ken wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:54 pm Samurai got about the same amount of screen time as Apache Chief and Black Vulcan. They each had two appearances on the "All-New SuperFriends". And all three were regulars (along with Flash, GL and Hawkman, and the big 5) during "Challenge of the Super Friends". From 1980-82, HB was doing the SuperFriends solely as 7-12 minute shorts. All three were used semi-regularly there. The 81-82 season was when El Dorado was added.

Ah, that's interesting. I only watched a handful of episodes, and never saw El Dorado show up.

The SeanBaby thing, maybe for people below a certain age. I grew up with the SuperFriends. I mean the first ones were on when I started Kindergarten and the last ones were on during my senior year of high school. I really did grow up with them. And during the early days of the Internet, I was at a job without Internet access most of the time.

I didn't realize that the show had lasted so long- kindergarten to high school? Wow.

It makes me wonder what it was like growing up in a world where you could watch such things without irony or sarcasm tainting your viewpoint, and seeing them as authentic shows. Reminds me of how I didn't realize that The Princess Bride and Batman (1960s West version ) were supposed to be FUNNY- I took them as straight dramas with some humor!

The 82-83 season never aired in the U.S. when I was watching, so I can't comment on those. All 4 got some push the year Firestorm was added. The next (final) year, they added Cyborg, and Black Vulcan was a no show. It was if Cyborg filled the Super Powers Team (as they were called then) quota of black heroes, so Black Vulcan had to go. I think it sent the wrong message.

Hah! Indeed. It's always funny how "let's be inclusive/add in minorities!" is so often tainted with "But we just need the one". Wolfman & Perez, working on their Teen Titans revamp in the '80s, actually considered making Starfire "a black" (it says in the notes), due to the inherent uniqueness in them having the only team with TWO black people on it!


But man... SeanBaby's site. I remember laughing at those things CONSTANTLY, as he'd re-edit the images to contain them making fun of Aquaman (who was apparently a wimp in the show). This was possibly my first encounter with this type of sarcastic, ironic humor on the internet- this or X-Entertainment. Stuff that delved into the realm of nostalgia, but always pointed out how silly things often were. You, uh... might see that reflected in my own writing .

SeanBaby's thoughts on Samurai: http://www.seanbaby.com/superfriends/samurai.htm

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Ken wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2017 6:04 pm

Apache Chief - PL 10

In his early appearances, the narrator said Apache Chief grew to be 50 ft. tall. The animators weren't so careful. In the opening sequences some years we saw him standing at skyscraper height or tall enough to hold up both ends of a train trestle.

Hey there Pal!

Glad to see you back and posting again! And The Superfriends are a good start. I am enjoying all of the characters.

Now as to the height thing, us 50-Foot Folk have got to stick together. I think it is the camera lens making it appear that we are taller or smaller.

It's hard for me to watch SuperFriends and not make fun, because I only saw it as an adult, and after it'd struck Meme-status for its silliness. Watching Zan & Jayna form stuff like "ice tricycles" and "ice stilts" (which they tried to use to walk through LAVA!) are why people make fun of that show to this day.

I only saw one episode with Firestorm, but it was pretty funny the way he was treated like a dumb rookie. He complimented Wonder Woman's looks, which just pissed her off- Professor Stein was like "You should have known better, Ronald...".

What's funny is that the cartoon has probably done more to damage Aquaman's real-world reputation than anything else. He was probably sort of known before that, but the cartoon seems to be what cemented him as the "Joke Superhero"- the Night Boat of superheroes.

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The sad thing is that the general concepts behind the Hanna-Barbera Super Friends add ons aren't bad in and of themselves. Its just the presentation that needs some work.

Making Apache Chief into Longshadow showed how you could keep the ethnicity and theme without being too obvious about it.

El Dorado as a South American mystic that specializes in teleportation and illusion works almost as is, just needing a new look and maybe a new name.

Samurai would work better, IMO as a kind of demi-god tied to the Japanese kami Susano, warrior god of the storms. In the old stories, Susano often had to atone for wrongs he committed due to his temper. I could see Samurai being a mortal chosen by Susano to wield some of his power as a hero, to redeem the god, or even as someone who found Susano's sword or gear and gained some of his power. A new look and name is needed fairly badly tho.

The Wonder Twins just need to not be called that, get a looks update and not use their powers like idiots.

There was a toy only hero called Golden Pharaoh, but I'd go a different route by making him an Egyptian scientist who designed some power armor and weapons, making him a high tech hero evoking the older mythology, rather than another magical person from Egypt.

And keep using Black Lightning or Static.

Yes, I remember the Golden Pharaoh toy!

Why did they make that?

Goldar wrote: ↑Fri Jul 07, 2017 5:31 pm Yes, I remember the Golden Pharaoh toy!

Why did they make that?

I believe that he was created for the third Super Powers comic book series, the one done by Carmine Infantino, where he appeared as a novice superhero alongside Samurai.

Thanks, Davies!

I always thought DC was going to bring him to comics and cartoons.

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