Super Friends (1973 TV series)

This article is about the first Super Friends series. For other uses, see Super Friends.

Super Friends
On-screen title card.
Network	ABC
Production company	Hanna-Barbera DC Comics
Distributor	Taft Broadcasting
Original release	September 8—December 22, 1973
Starring	Danny Dark Olan Soule Casey Kasem Shannon Farnon Norman Alden Franklin Welker Sherry Alberoni Ted Knight
Executive producer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Music composed by	Hoyt Curtin
Writer(s)	Fred Freiberger Willie Gilbert Bernie Kahn Dick Robbins Ken Rotcop Henry Sharp Art Weis Marshall Williams
Director(s)	Charles A. Nichols
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Super Friends is an American animated superhero television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics — then known as National Periodical Publications. It aired in 1973 on ABC's Saturday morning line-up, airing 16 hour-long episodes that spanned one season.

The series is based on the Justice League of America comic books, although the cartoon had been retooled into a kid-friendly version, mainly due to the pressure of parents' groups and TV censorship at the time. The cartoon focuses on the adventures of the eponymous team, where Superman, Batman, his sidekick, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman deal with many threats on an educational level. The Super Friends never used their powers to cause physical harm, and the series was almost entirely uninterested in the mythology of the comics it was based on. Additionally, a moral lesson is given after the situation in question is solved.

Another appeal to the kid audience was a junior team, which consisted of Wendy Harris, her partner Marvin White, and their pet Wonder Dog, who were modeled after Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo, respectively, from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Besides being the ones who solve mysteries on a smaller scale, no in-universe explanation was given to the group, although the companion comic resolved this years later.

The entire series has been released on DVD and Blu-ray.

Production

Development

The series was named Super Friends due to the then-ongoing Vietnam War, since "Justice League of America" would be deemed culturally offensive and patriotic-sounding to foreign countries; although, the team within the series is still referred to as the Justice League and JLA.

Music

The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin.

Episodes

Episode	Number	Original air date
"The Power Pirate"	1x01	September 8, 1973
"The Baffles Puzzle"	1x02	September 15, 1973
"Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C."	1x03	September 22, 1973
"The Weather Maker"	1x04	September 29, 1973
"Dr. Pelagian's War"	1x05	October 6, 1973
"The Shamon 'U'"	1x06	October 13, 1973
"Too Hot to Handle"	1x07	October 20, 1973
"The Androids"	1x08	October 27, 1973
"The Balloon People"	1x09	November 3, 1973
"The Fantastic Frerps"	1x10	November 10, 1973
"The Ultra Beam"	1x11	November 17, 1973
"The Menace of the White Dwarf"	1x12	November 24, 1973
"The Mysterious Moles"	1x13	December 1, 1973
"Gulliver's Gigantic Goof"	1x14	December 8, 1973
"The Planet Splitter"	1x15	December 15, 1973
"The Watermen"	1x16	December 22, 1973

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: September 8, 1973 at 8:00 am on ABC
• United Kingdom and Ireland: September 25, 1976 at 9:55 am on ITV

Cast

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

Legacy

Although this incarnation was short-lived, the series was given a second chance in 1977 with The All-New Super Friends Hour, when mainstream interest in superheroes rose due to the ever-increasing abundance of live-action adaptations, such as the weekly TV series Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk; and the pièce de résistance, Superman: The Movie. This was followed by several retools in an almost yearly basis that lasted until 1985. Over time, the humor was gradually reduced, and the drama, the physical altercations, and the comics mythology grew into something more comparable, with writers who understood the source material. As a result, it lead to much more faithful adaptations in the 1990s with Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, which in turn led to a faithful Justice League series in 2001.

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

In popular culture

• In the South Park episode "Super Best Friends," the title and the appearance are a parody of the Super Best Friends themselves (which consists of the religious figures Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna, Joseph Smith, Lao Tse, Moses, and the non-religious figure Seaman/Aquaman), which leads to the more noteworthy parody of the Super Friends intro in "200." Their headquarters is also called the Hall of Super Best Friends.
• In the Duck Dodgers episode "The Green Loontern," a Green Lantern logo appears to transition a scene with music reused from the transition scenes in Super Friends.
• In the last scene of The Big Bang Theory episode "The Septum Deviation," Sheldon wears a Super Friends t-shirt.
• In the film The Incredibles 2, Evelyn mentions the "superhero friends" about not being there to save her parents, who her father preferred over calling the law.
• 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."
• A Looney Tunes/DC Comics special mashup short made for Warner Bros.' 100th anniversary, began with an intro from a familiar-sounding narrator.

• Super Best Friends title.png
• Sheldon's SF tee.png

Arrowverse

• The Hall of Justice has appeared several times in series set in what has been coined the Arrowverse, which air on The CW. It was introduced as an abandoned S.T.A.R. Labs facility in The Flash episode "Invasion!" It was referred to as the Hall of Justice in the script for the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Invasion!"
  • In the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five," the Flash has a table made for a small group of the superheroes he was aided by during the Crisis. When they were chatting, they heard monkey noises, which were from the escaped Gleek (who was introduced in The All-New Super Friends Hour), who has escaped his cage. This was followed by the Super Friends theme song.
  • In the Supergirl episode "Back from the Future - Part One," Winn referred to it on-screen as the Hall of Justice for the first time.
• While not having an official name, the superheroes have both referred to each other and been referred to as the Super Friends.
  • In the Supergirl episode "In Plain Sight," Supergirl told Lena she had become an official Super Friend.
  • In the Batwoman episode "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two," Lex Luthor refers to the superheroes as "Super Friends."
  • In the Supergirl episode "Back from the Future - Part One," both the Martian Manhunter and Winn referred to their group as "Super Friends."
  • In the Supergirl episode "It's a Super Life," Mr. Mxyzptlk referred to Alex and J'onn as Kara's "Super Friends."
  • In the Supergirl episode "Alex in Wonderland," while Alex pretends to be Supergirl, a billboard says that Supergirl is the "#1 Super Friend," and Bonnie calls Supergirl/Alex's friends the "Super Friends."
  • In the Supergirl episode "Welcome Back, Kara!," when William talks about Supergirl and her friends, Andreas gets the idea of calling them "Super Friends."
  • In the Supergirl episode "Dream Weaver," "Super Friends" has apparently become official as Andrea refers to them and even writes on a whiteboard "Superfriends."
  • In the Supergirl episode "Still I Rise," it continues to be used in an apparent official capacity by Supergirl in a vegetable PSA with Brainiac 5.

Smallville

• "Prey:" John Jones (Martian Manhunter) refers to the superheroes led by Green Arrow as the "Super Friends."
• "Absolute Power (Part 1):" Oliver refers to his group as the super friends, while Chloe says they need some standardized trouble alert.
• "Warrior:" Zatanna told Clark "us Super Friends have to watch out for each other."

Teen Titans Go!

Main article: 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.

Main article: 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.

Merchandise

Home media

In 2010, Warner Home Video released the series on DVD in two parts, with the first eight episodes collected on Super Friends!: Season One, Volume One on January 5, and the remaining eight episodes collected on Super Friends!: Season One, Volume Two on July 20.

On September 10, 2024, Warner Home Video released a Blu-ray high definition version titled Super Friends!: The Complete Collection, which not only collected the entire series together for the first time, but also the subsequent incarnations.

Reading material

In 1975, DC Comics published a Super Friends wraparound story in Limited Collectors' Edition #41, which confusingly set the series within the separate universe of Earth-One, which has since been designated as an Earth-Thirty-Two.

In 1976, DC Comics published an ongoing series under the title of The Super Friends, which lasted until 1981, totaling 47 issues.