Challenge of the SuperFriends (1978– )

The Justice League of America battles the plots of the supervillian team, the Legion of Doom.

Stars:

Jack Angel, Marlene Aragon, Lewis Bailey

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jack Angel	...	Hawkman (16 episodes, 1978)
Marlene Aragon	...	Cheetah (16 episodes, 1978)
Lewis Bailey		(16 episodes, 1978)
Michael Bell	...	The Riddler (16 episodes, 1978)
William Callaway	...	Aquaman (16 episodes, 1978)
Ted Cassidy	...	Black Manta (16 episodes, 1978)
Melanie Chartoff		(16 episodes, 1978)
Henry Corden		(16 episodes, 1978)
Danny Dark	...	Superman (16 episodes, 1978)
Al Fann		(16 episodes, 1978)
Shannon Farnon	...	Wonder Woman (16 episodes, 1978)
Ruth Forman	...	Giganta (16 episodes, 1978)
Bob Hastings		(16 episodes, 1978)
Bob Holt		(16 episodes, 1978)
Buster Jones	...	Black Vulcan (16 episodes, 1978)
Stan Jones	...	Lex Luthor (16 episodes, 1978)
Casey Kasem	...	Robin (16 episodes, 1978)
Don Messick	...	Scarecrow (16 episodes, 1978)
Vic Perrin	...	Sinestro (16 episodes, 1978)
Renny Roker		(16 episodes, 1978)
Stanley Ralph Ross	...	Gorilla Grodd (16 episodes, 1978)
Dick Ryal	...	Captain Cold (16 episodes, 1978)
Michael Rye	...	Green Lantern (16 episodes, 1978)
Olan Soule	...	Batman (16 episodes, 1978)
Jimmy Weldon	...	Solomon Grundy (16 episodes, 1978)
Frank Welker	...	Toyman (16 episodes, 1978)
Louise Williams	...	Young Giganta (16 episodes, 1978)

Storyline

In this show, Superman leads a superhero team comprising of the greatest DC Comics superheroes against a team of 13 of the most notorious DC Comics supervillians called the Legion of Doom, led by Lex Luthor in a war that has the fate of Earth in the balance.

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Plot Keywords:

dc comics | superhero team | superhero | justice league | black vulcan | 

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Izazov Super prijatelja

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (16 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alex Toth had submitted a different roster for the Legion of Doom that included villains from the rogues galleries of both Batman and Captain Marvel, assuming the latter would be in the show. In the original proposal the Legion Of Doom consisted of: Dr. Sivanna, Abra-Kadabra, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Gorilla Grodd, Heatwave, The Joker, Mr. Atom, Oggar, The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Sinestro, and Beautia Sivanna (the Dr's daughter). Filmation Associates held the rights to Captain Marvel and related characters (featured in "Shazam!" (1974)) and most of the Batman villains were being used on The New Adventures of Batman (although HB and Filmation shared rights to Batman and Robin), so the group had to be retooled. The Captain Marvel villains were dropped and the Batman villains replaced, as were most of the Flash villains.

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Quotes

[title sequence]
Series Narrator: Banded together from remote galaxies are thirteen of the most sinister villains of all time, The Legion of Doom, dedicated to a single objective: the conquest of the universe. Only one group dares to challenge this intergalactic threat: The SuperFriends! The Justice League of America versus The Legion of Doom! This is the Challenge of the SuperFriends!

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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: Titans Retrospective: JLA/Titans - The Technis Imperative (2013)

User Reviews

Best Super-Team Ensemble Cartoon For Kids Of Its Era

It took a few incarnations but eventually Hanna Barbera did what they should have done the first time; they blew off the ultra-goofy Marvin and Wendy and Zann and Jayna child's eye view sidekicks and went strictly with the real DC Comics superheroes and supervillains kids love. While CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER-FRIENDS' toe-to-toe battles still feature the Gardner Foxesque "goodness and teamwork will overcome greed and evil" morality, they also have darker plot lines with surprising violence and they usually end with the bad guys getting away. Some episodes take an adult approach, including "History of Doom," which incorporates an interesting time travel doomed alternate universe premise which Harlan Ellison would love. All in all, this is clearly the most satisfying and sophisticated work done on the longrunning show. If you're a fan of 1970s DC superheroes, you'll definitely want to check out these episodes.