Super Friends (1973 TV series)


 * This article is about the first Super Friends series. For other uses, see Super Friends (disambiguation).

Super Friends is an American animated superhero TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics, then known as the unimaginative National Periodical Publications, for ABC's Saturday morning line-up. It ran in 1973, airing 16 episodes.

The series is based on the then Justice League of America comic books, although due to parent organizations, it had been retooled into a non-violent kid-friendly version, where Batman, his sidekick, Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman dealt with threats on an educational level. The Super Friends never used their powers to cause any physical harm, and the series was almost completely uninterested in the mythology of the comics it was based on.

The series was also called Super Friends since Justice League of America would be deemed culturally offensive to foreign countries. For some reason, it couldn't be called Justice League, perhaps because that would also be seen as too much of a loaded title. Despite this, the team is still referred to as both the Justice League and JLA within the series. Go figure.

Also to appeal to the kid audience, the Super Friends were joined by a junior/teenage version, which included a wannabe superhero, his Scooby-Doo-like dog, and his rationale girl friend. No reason was given for them being there other than a studio decision.

Although this incarnation was short-lived, the series had a second chance by the end of the 1970s, when the public was more in favor of superheroes due to the live-action theatrical adaptation of Superman: The Movie, and weekly TV series of Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk. So, in 1977, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics produced The All-New Super Friends Hour, followed by almost yearly retools (much like comics in real life), that lasted until 1985. And, yes, by 1985, the humor was wholly reduced, and the drama, the physical altercations (to an extent), and most importantly, the comics mythology grew into something more comparable, with writers who understood the characters, which would in part, lead to much more faithful adaptations in the 1990s, with Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series.

The series was homaged in Genndy Tartakovsky's The Justice Friends, a back-up segment in Dexter's Laboratory.

Music
The score was composed by Hoyt Curtin.

Cast

 * Norman Alden as Aquaman
 * Franklin Welker as Marvin White and Wonder Dog
 * Alan Soule as Batman
 * Casey Kasem as Robin
 * Sherry Alboni as Wendy Harris
 * Shannon Farnon as Wonder Woman
 * Danny Dark as Superman
 * Ted Knight as Narrator

In popular culture

 * In the Smallville episode "Prey," John Jones refers to the superheroes led by Green Arrow as the "Super Friends."
 * In the Supergirl episode "In Plain Sight," Supergirl told Lena she had become an official Super Friend.
 * In the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Justice calls Jay "old friend," as she's lost romantic interest in him, but Jay who hasn't, says he's a "super friend who wants to get back inside the Hall of Justice, yeah."

Teen Titans Go!

 * The Hall of Justice has appeared several times.
 * "Two Parter: Part 1:" There's transition music before the Teen Titans enter the building.
 * "Two Parter: Part 2:" Cyborg gives a Narrator-style intro when the team dresses up in the Justice League's clothes. There is also a "shooting stars" scene transition.
 * "TV Knight 5:" Batman and James Gordon watch the Teen Titans as Super Friends-like characters fight Richard Nixon who ends up being Fidel Castro in disguise, turning it into an episode of Scooby-Doo.

The Venture Bros.

 * "Handsome Random:" Dr. Monarch allows Captain Sunshine to have his powers at night with artificial sun rays, explained by a Super Friends-style narrator.
 * "Rapacity in Blue:" The Monarch and Henchman 21 get a Super Friends-style intro when they dress up as the Blue Morpho and Kano.