What if there was another season of Superfriends?

[Zorak Masaki]

Lets say that in 1986, H-B and DC decided to do yet another superfriends series. What heroes/villains do you think would be included? Red Tornado? Martian Manhunter? Mr Freeze? Tyr?

[Silverstar]

It would be interesting to see how H-B would have handled Martian Manhunter or Black Canary, though MM would be kind of a stretch, given the time of Superfriends' reign. It seems unlikely that Saturday morning TV of that era would portray a bald, green-skinned alien with no pupils in his eyes as one of the good guys. Back then the rule was, if he/she didn't look human, then he/she was a villain or a monster. Zan and Jayna (who basically looked like Vulcans) were probably as close as we were ever going to get to nice-guy aliens on Superfriends.

[Caswin]

I imagine Superfriends would have a marginally better reputation today with another season; the way it was going, it was getting to be better and better in its own right with every incarnation, hitting its peak in the unfortunately short Galactic Guardians.

[Tobias]

It probably would have been another 8 episode season with yet another title change, but I have a feeling the initial lineup of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Firestorm would have remained.

Given that Crisis of Infinite Earths was ushering in a lot of changes, I have a feeling that we'd see Robin take on the Nightwing mantle, and the Flash would get a lot more exposure since there was a new person under the mask.

The ethnic Superfriends (with the exception of Samurai) were downplayed in the Galactic Guardians season (Cyborg seemed to fill Black Vulcan's role, El Dorado had a tiny cameo in The Death of Superman and Apache Chief was gone altogether), but I have a feeling Samurai would have carried over into the new season and the lineup would have been:

- Superman
- Wonder Woman
- Batman
- The Flash
- Green Lantern
- Firestorm
- Cyborg
- Samurai
- Aquaman

With Nightwing and Green Arrow becoming the new heroes of the season. With Firestorm and Cyborg as the teen sidekicks, they probably would have left Robin out of the mix.

[hobbyfan]

With the title changes in each of the final 2 seasons, H-B short-sheeted themselves with the SF franchise. The Wonder Twins were written out of the show after a handful of appearances in "Legendary Super Powers Show", never to be seen again.

Galactic Guardians should've gotten a full 13 episode order instead of 8, which in retrospect was just way past lame. The best ep of that lot was, of course, "The Fear", Adam West's finest hour playing Batman.:D And he's the only one of that cast still doing toons these days (i.e. frequent guest appearances on Family Guy).

The SF franchise faded out at a time when they were starting to create shows that allowed room for character development (i.e. GI Joe, He-Man). I personally believe that SF missed the boat in that regard. You could've had Robin teaming more frequently with the Twins, giving Jayna a possible boyfriend and a credible subplot. Did the writers think of that? Nope. Back then, it seemed to be not feasible. Today? Maybe.

Now, what does everyone think of the SF brand being revived by DC as an entry-level book for kids?

[trayguy]

I wish they would bring Zan and Jayna back. Jayna looked hot!:D

[Mister Intensity]

I agree with Tobias, I would have love to have seen Nightwing (if he appeared at that point maybe the character would receive more respect now), I also would have like to see the Jason Todd Robin as the kid of the group. We probably would have seen more New Gods in some of the episodes, particularly Orion, Stepphenwolf and Mantis. Some more Justice Leaguers like Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter might appear as if they were part of the team all along. I could see more character development if the show went on. I probably would hav paired Jayna with Cyborg (Robin already had an alien babe, the princess from The Royal Ruse episode).

I wonder if another season was planned.

Mister Intensity

[Antiyonder]

Personally I would have brought in the Teen Titans into the Superfriends/Super Powers Team to give them exposure.

Besides, Teen Titans and Justice League in the same show would definately have a Saturday Morning appeal. The season premiere would start with Robin upgrading to Nightwing.

Maybe have a villain of the day leading to a two part episode with Darkseid forming the Secret Society. Overall, it would be a cross between Challenge Of The Superfriends and Galactic Guardians.

Just for brainwork, if they Justice Society made an appearance, would they have a Super name scheme?

[Zorak Masaki]

I wonder if we would have seen captain marvel (if only for a cameo/one episode appearance) as he did have his own action figure near the end of the Super Powers toyline. For that matter, i can see batman being either de-emphasized or done more seriously (possibly even dropping robin) due to the batman comics going for a darker, more serious approach (dark knight returns wasnt for kids at all, but it did help change peoples perception of batman from the goofy 60s tv show to a more grittier hero).

[Blackstar]

I could see more character development if the show went on. I probably would hav paired Jayna with Cyborg (Robin already had an alien babe, the princess from The Royal Ruse episode).

Who says that anybody needs to be paired up with anybody else? Super Friends was never that kind of show (thank goodness). Jayna and Cyborg?? They never appeared on screen together, but whatever...

If Robin is going to have any alien babe, it should have been Starfire, that would have been canon to the New Teen Titans comics. Koriand'r would have made a much better addition. That "Royal Ruse" chick was only in one episode, and she didn't even have any powers. Plus those bug eyes of hers were just plain creepy! :ack:

[hobbyfan]

I wish they would bring Zan and Jayna back. Jayna looked hot!:D

Can I get an AMEN?:D :D :D :D :D

[Tobias]

ABC could have done a TT series and done the 'Superfriends/Teen Titans Hour', moving Robin/Nightwing over to TT along with Cyborg.

The show would be comprised of two ten minute Titans stories bookending a half hour Galactic Guardians adventure.

TT would have included:

- Nightwing
- Cyborg
- Starfire
- Raven
- Changeling

The Superfriends lineup:

- Superman
- Batman
- Robin (Jason Todd)
- Wonder Woman
- Aquaman
- Firestorm
- Samurai
- Black Vulcan
- Green Arrow
- Green Lantern
- The Flash
- Hawkman

And featured more guest heroes like Captain Marvel, Black Canary, J'onn, etc.

[Silverstar]

ABC could have done a TT series and done the 'Superfriends/Teen Titans Hour', moving Robin/Nightwing over to TT along with Cyborg.

There actually was going to be a Teen Titans series along the lines of Superfriends, although Robin wouldn't have been in it, due to his being a regular of Galactic Guardians.

[Tobias]

There actually was going to be a Teen Titans series along the lines of Superfriends, although Robin wouldn't have been in it, due to his being a regular of Galactic Guardians.

NBC was supposed to have done the TT series, but they opted to add an extra half hour of Smurfs instead. ABC could have easily picked up the series, and with some minor changes added the show to the lineup.

[SF4Ever]

NBC was supposed to have done the TT series, but they opted to add an extra half hour of Smurfs instead. ABC could have easily picked up the series, and with some minor changes added the show to the lineup.

Possibly, considering NBC carried the Mighty Marvels on Filmation's Kid Power Hour with Shazam, back in 1981. If there was a Teen Titans series for NBC, back then, either Filmation or Ruby-Spears would've produced it, because Hanna-Barbera was so overbooked with work that they allowed Ruby-Spears to handle Scooby-Doo for the 1982-83 season. If there was another season of The Superfriends is a good question, especially for the 1974-75, 1976-77 and 1982-83 seasons. In the 1974-75 season, some of Hoyt Curtin's scores from both Devlin and Valley of the Dinosaurs could've also been used for The Superfriends. In the 1976-77 season, Curtin's scores from Jabberjaw, Clue Club and Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show could've been used. Those episodes in the 1974-75(one hour long and at least 8 eps) and 1976-77 seasons(30 minutes), if they were made, would've included Wendy, Marvin & Wonderdog, but those episodes would take after the 1973 episode "Gulliver's Gigantic Goof", which set the stage for future SF episodes, because it featured the heroes in fast-acting emergency situations and confronting villains with powerful devices(in that episode, Hiram Gulliver's shrink beam devices) that threaten the world. Each of those episodes would be narrated by Ted Knight, and they would've featured villains like Poison Ivy(Batman & Robin villainess), Toyman(Winslow Schott, not Jack B. Nimble), Cheetah(Yep, that Cheetah), Human Flying Fish(Aquaman villain) and other villains in the SF comic book series that Hanna-Barbera was responsible for at the time(I would've included Penguin, but Filmation was responsible for him for 1977's The New Adventures of Batman). Those villains would only seek to put the Superfriends out of action or keep them busy with perilous emergencies while they greedily rob or raid any installation that would diabolically interests them. The episodes with the villains would've likely been made in the 1976-77 season would've likely featured voices like Kathy Garvey(Cheetah), Julie McWhirter Dees(Poison Ivy), Paul Winchell(Toyman) or Ron Feinberg(Human Flying Fish), added to the ensemble voice-over cast. 1982-83 season would've just been shorts, just like between the 1980-81 and the 1983-84 seasons(the SF episodes of the 1983-84 season, aired overseas and didn't air in the U.S. until the 1984-85 season as The Superfriends' Lost Episodes). This is definitely something to think about, if there was another SF season or for that matter, if there were additional seasons. This is just my take on the topic.

[hobbyfan]

Who says that anybody needs to be paired up with anybody else? Super Friends was never that kind of show (thank goodness). Jayna and Cyborg?? They never appeared on screen together, but whatever...

If Robin is going to have any alien babe, it should have been Starfire, that would have been canon to the New Teen Titans comics. Koriand'r would have made a much better addition. That "Royal Ruse" chick was only in one episode, and she didn't even have any powers. Plus those bug eyes of hers were just plain creepy! :ack:

Cyborg didn't arrive 'til the Galactic Guardians season. Jayna & Firestorm, though, would've been a nice idea.;) The nets missed the boat on a Titans series at that time, but IMPO, had they done so, I don't think there'd be a prob moving Robin off Super Friends. Remember, he was left out of the 1967 Titans cartoons due to the live-action Batman series.

[Blackstar]

...And it's not like Robin did all that much on Super Friends anyway. There's something to be said when the added-for-comic-relief sidekick pets contributed more to the shows' action than he did.

As for Jayna and Firestorm, that's an unique thought. The Wonder Twins and Firestorm only appeared in 2 shorts together; "The Case of the Shrinking Super Friends" and "Uncle Myxyzptlyk", and there weren't any signs of chemistry between the 2 of them in either. Adventure-wise, there's not much either of them could have done without their "partners" (Jayna needed physical contact with Zan to activate and deactivate her powers, and Ronald Raymond couldn't become Firestorm without Prof. Stein), so there wouldn't be a ton of intimacy between them, since each of them always had to keep their "other halves" nearby in case trouble broke out. We never saw much of the main characters lives outside of fighting crime, so anything is possible, I suppose. I'm personally glad that the shows' writers didn't start pairing everyone off, but that's just me.

[Tobias]

If Superfriends were done in the modern day DCU, I could see them pairing off, but then they'd have to explain Robin and Cyborg being in the Justice League rather than the Teen Titans, then they'd probably pair off Jayna and Firestorm and throw in the Zan/Prof Stein thing for comedic purposes.

They'd probably also make Zan gay and fall for Ronald Raymond as opposed to Firestorm.

[Blackstar]

Why not just bring in more female members to the Justice League like Starfire or Wonder Girl? Heck, they could even bring back Rima the Jungle Girl. We barely got to see what she was capable of. I'm not a homophobe or anything, but I saw potential in Zan and I don't think that he should turn gay just for the sake of getting some inner team lovin'.

If there had been another season of Super Friends, I would hope that the writers would have made Zan more formidable and less of a pompous buffoon. The could downplay the stupid monkey's role for my taste also.

[Hanshotfirst113]

I'd imagine that it would depend largely on who they could get the rights to and who is popular in comics today.

[Silverstar]

Why not just bring in more female members to the Justice League like Starfire or Wonder Girl? Heck, they could even bring back Rima the Jungle Girl. We barely got to see what she was capable of. I'm not a homophobe or anything, but I saw potential in Zan and I don't think that he should turn gay just for the sake of getting some inner team lovin'.

If there had been another season of Super Friends, I would hope that the writers would have made Zan more formidable and less of a pompous buffoon. The could downplay the stupid monkey's role for my taste also.

Starfire and Wonder Girl would be more appropriate on a Teen Titans series. I would take Robin off of Super Friends, since he's about as useful to the adult heroes as a burst appendix, and put him on a TT show with Kori, Donna, Cyborg and maybe Firestorm and the Wonder Twins, make Robin team leader and Cyborg and Firestorm share sub-leading duties. (Steiny could act as a mentor/teacher to the kids.) This way, both Robin and Zan could be elevated from 'joke' status and finally get some respect.

Oh, and keep any stupid mascot pets on a leash. Only trot them out once in a while.

[hobbyfan]

Starfire and Wonder Girl would be more appropriate on a Teen Titans series. I would take Robin off of Super Friends, since he's about as useful to the adult heroes as a burst appendix, and put him on a TT show with Kori, Donna, Cyborg and maybe Firestorm and the Wonder Twins, make Robin team leader and Cyborg and Firestorm share sub-leading duties. (Steiny could act as a mentor/teacher to the kids.) This way, both Robin and Zan could be elevated from 'joke' status and finally get some respect.

Oh, and keep any stupid mascot pets on a leash. Only trot them out once in a while.

Nice idea, but way off. I was a Titans fan back in the day. If they succeeded in doing a H-B Titans series, and ABC picked it up, yes, I'd couple it with Galactic Guardians and start the season with---get this---a 90 minute TV-movie airing a day or two before the start of the season. The Titans had one clash with Darkseid in the comics, so there's your villain right there. Supes, Batman, and the others are in deep trouble, and Robin's on monitor duty in the Hall. Darkseid takes out the rest of the Super Friends (Flash, Hawkman, et al), prompting Robin to call on Cyborg and the Titans.

This would allow for Changeling & Raven to be part of the mix. Zan & Jayna, remember, were written off the previous season.

At the end of the show, Robin announces that he's leaving the "Galactic Guardians" and will stay with the Titans.

Bear in mind that the final 2 seasons were tied into Kenner's Super Powers toy line, which would explain why Cyborg was the only Titan to join Robin on the team.

[Eric B]

If there was another season of The Superfriends is a good question, especially for the 1974-75, 1976-77 and 1982-83 seasons. In the 1974-75 season, some of Hoyt Curtin's scores from both Devlin and Valley of the Dinosaurs could've also been used for The Superfriends. In the 1976-77 season, Curtin's scores from Jabberjaw, Clue Club and Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show could've been used. Those episodes in the 1974-75(one hour long and at least 8 eps) and 1976-77 seasons(30 minutes), if they were made, would've included Wendy, Marvin & Wonderdog, but those episodes would take after the 1973 episode "Gulliver's Gigantic Goof", which set the stage for future SF episodes, because it featured the heroes in fast-acting emergency situations and confronting villains with powerful devices(in that episode, Hiram Gulliver's shrink beam devices) that threaten the world. Each of those episodes would be narrated by Ted Knight, and they would've featured villains like Poison Ivy(Batman & Robin villainess), Toyman(Winslow Schott, not Jack B. Nimble), Cheetah(Yep, that Cheetah), Human Flying Fish(Aquaman villain) and other villains in the SF comic book series that Hanna-Barbera was responsible for at the time(I would've included Penguin, but Filmation was responsible for him for 1977's The New Adventures of Batman). Those villains would only seek to put the Superfriends out of action or keep them busy with perilous emergencies while they greedily rob or raid any installation that would diabolically interests them. The episodes with the villains would've likely been made in the 1976-77 season would've likely featured voices like Kathy Garvey(Cheetah), Julie McWhirter Dees(Poison Ivy), Paul Winchell(Toyman) or Ron Feinberg(Human Flying Fish), added to the ensemble voice-over cast. 1982-83 season would've just been shorts, just like between the 1980-81 and the 1983-84 seasons(the SF episodes of the 1983-84 season, aired overseas and didn't air in the U.S. until the 1984-85 season as The Superfriends' Lost Episodes). This is definitely something to think about, if there was another SF season or for that matter, if there were additional seasons. This is just my take on the topic.

The Scooby Dynomutt type music did remind me of the Superfriends, and is one of the reason I believe those Scooby episodes were inferior to earlier ones. It didn't fit the "classic Scooby" format.
They would have been a perfect fit for a Wendy, Marvin &
Wonder Dog spinoff series that year. Maybe with Robin and some other junior Justice Leaguer in the other 2 kids' place. Especially since their adventures with the Superfriends were looked down on, because they were such Scooby knockoffs. They could have used some sort of plots like what you described.
Meanwhile, Scooby and the gang could have more appearances in Dynomutt, like the three they appeared in. That would have been a better use of the characters than some of the new episodes produced with the modern music.

If a new series had been made in 1986, who knows, I could see them getting Burt Ward back, as Robin, to pair with Adam West. That would give a reason to have Robin even if some of you think his character would not have had much use then.

[greg!]

I think another season of Superfriends would have been great to spotlight & flesh out many of the characters already in use. One of the biggest complaints about the Superfriends is that almost every character was interchangable, distinguished only by a catchphrase. ("Great Lightning!" must have been said several thousand times by Black Vulcan) They could have done a season that each episode spotlighted 1 or 2 characters, gave origins, faced them off with arch foes, or just gave some insight as to who they really were. The cast would have included:
Hawkman & Hawkgirl
Apache Cheif
Samurai
Flash
Green Lantern
Rima
Black Vulcan
El Dorado
& even the Wonder Twins could have had some intelligent stories written about them. One last thing that would absolutely have to happen-The return of Shannon Farnon---whoever the raspy voiced actress they brought in was-she was terrible!

[hobbyfan]

Let's remember again that the final 2 seasons were tied to a toy line, something that hadn't been the case in prior years. H-B scored a coup signing Adam West, but that wasn't the only cast change......

Olan Soule, who'd been doing Batman since the 1968 Filmation series, moved over to play Martin Stein to make room for West. I wonder how many people noticed the difference......!:D ;)

Yes, Wonder Woman had a different voice, with Shannon Farnon gone, but so did Jayna. I may be wrong, but BJ Ward took over the role of everyone's favorite shapechanger. However, the Wonder Twins were written out of the show before the season was over, which made the point moot. I guess Kenner & DC didn't believe the Twins fit in with the Super Powers line.:shrug:

[SF4Ever]

Let's remember again that the final 2 seasons were tied to a toy line, something that hadn't been the case in prior years. H-B scored a coup signing Adam West, but that wasn't the only cast change......

Olan Soule, who'd been doing Batman since the 1968 Filmation series, moved over to play Martin Stein to make room for West. I wonder how many people noticed the difference......!:D ;)

Yes, Wonder Woman had a different voice, with Shannon Farnon gone, but so did Jayna. I may be wrong, but BJ Ward took over the role of everyone's favorite shapechanger. However, the Wonder Twins were written out of the show before the season was over, which made the point moot. I guess Kenner & DC didn't believe the Twins fit in with the Super Powers line.:shrug:

You're correct, but it was Mary McDonald Lewis who was the voice of Wonder Woman on The Superfriends in 1984. B.J. Ward was WW, the following year, and before both of them, Shannon Farnon was WW for 11 years and as recently as 10 years ago, she voiced her for some Cartoon Network bumpers.

[Zorak Masaki]

Another thought i had was that maybe we'd see more batman villains if there was a 1986 season. I mean, previously all we had were riddler, scarecrow, joker (he was in the opening credits of galactic guardians so i assume he was in the actual show as well), but no mr. freeze, no penguin, no poison ivy, no clayface, etc. Those villains would have fit in just as well as the other ones IMO.

[Blackstar]

Another thought i had was that maybe we'd see more batman villains if there was a 1986 season. I mean, previously all we had were riddler, scarecrow, joker (he was in the opening credits of galactic guardians so i assume he was in the actual show as well), but no mr. freeze, no penguin, no poison ivy, no clayface, etc. Those villains would have fit in just as well as the other ones IMO.

Except that most of Batman's villains don't have any powers and they would get their clocks cleaned fairly easily by a team of super heroes with powers.

And FTR, the Joker did appear in one episode of Galactic Guardians. He was in the episode with the Royal Flush Gang.

[Tobias]

The Penguin also appeared in the Galactic Guardians season, and actually managed to pull one over on the Superpowers Team after stealing Superman's powers, thanks to Felix Faust.

If the writers were creative enough, ANY villain could pose a threat to the Superfriends. I mean, the Dollmaker and Mirror Master were among the big bads of the Legendary Superpowers Season.

They could have had more solo appearances from the Legion of Doom. Solomon Grundy, Sinestro, Captain Cold, etc, could have all taken shots at the Superfriends at some point.

[Brainatra]

Hmm...

Could imagine a Teen Titans series, either as part of a full hour with Galactic Guardians or as a segment of a half-hour show; in the 80s, "The New Teen Titans" were DC's most popular comic (rivaling the X-Men in popularity at the time).

Guessing a 1986-87 season would still use the pre-Crisis Supes and Wondy, since their reboots in the comics didn't happen until 1987 (and other-media spinoffs of them didn't really make use of post-Crisis continuity heavily until either the 88-89 Ruby-Spears Superman series and/or the 90's Superman:TAS and "Lois and Clark")...

[lboog123]

I think that another season of superfriends would do well. They could do something like a compilation of lost episodes from the original superfriends. If they did it in the hardcore style of tHE bATMAN OR bATMAN BEYOND.

http://cartoonscomicsandcomputeranimation.blogspot.com/


What would they do with wonder twins though. ??

[Tobias]

I think that another season of superfriends would do well. If they did it in the hardcore style of tHE bATMAN OR bATMAN BEYOND.

What would they do with wonder twins though. ??

Uh... they did do that with the Superfriends. It was called Justice League/Justice League Unlimited. THe Wonder Twins were upgraded and actually made into something of a threat along with the other ethnic Superfriends.

[OneManHairBand]

Hmm, IMO another season of SPT:GG would've still be tied into the comic mini-series & toy line, so characters added to the mix might have been...

On the SP Team:
Martian Manhunter (may have been too scary for the times)
Orion (probably not - way too violent a personality)
Golden Pharoah
Green Arrow

On the villain side:
Steppenwolf
Mantis
Tyr
Mr. Freeze

[DarkLantern]

You're correct, but it was Mary McDonald Lewis who was the voice of Wonder Woman on The Superfriends in 1984. B.J. Ward was WW, the following year, and before both of them, Shannon Farnon was WW for 11 years and as recently as 10 years ago, she voiced her for some Cartoon Network bumpers.

No, it was Connie Cawlfield who "controversially" took over the Wonder Woman role in the "Legendary" season (see my post in one of the closed Legendary threads for more info), followed by B.J. Ward on SPT (and the CBS Superman series).

DL