DVD : The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (DC Comics Classic Collection)

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- The last installment
This DVD contains 8 half-hour episodes...however, because two episodes were split into 15 minute segments each, the promoters of the DVD are saying there are 10 episodes here. This installment of SUPERFRIENDS was very serious...there was no narration, which will be noticed right away. In all of the episodes of the series, William Woodson was heard as the narrator...his catchphrase "meanwhile...at the Hall of Justice..." became as synonymous with the series as the superhero's themselves. In this installment, which hit Saturday morning TV in 1985, there was no narration and the Hall of Justice had received a make-over. It now looked like an intergalactic headquarters one might find on a far off planet in the galaxy.

The appearances of the characters were more defined as well...more realistically drawn as compared to the "cartoonish" look of the previous versions of SUPERFRIENDS, which i'm not knocking...i like all depictions of the Superfriends during it's classic era, 1973-1985. One important note...the super-hero's were officially calling themselves the Super Powers Team...even the villains who for years had referred to them as "Superfriends" were now calling them "Super Powers Team". There are several episodes in this 1985 series that are years ahead of their time with regard to character study. In one episode, the brilliant "The Fear", Batman is center stage as is the homicidal villain, Scarecrow, who is played more sinister than he was on CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS. New voice actor as well...the previous voice was provided by Don Messick.

"The Fear" tells the story of Batman's origin...it is noted that this episode was the very first time Batman's history was recalled in animated form.

Darkseid, a God from Apokolips, is the main villain of this series...just as he was in the previous installment in 1984, THE LEGENDARY SUPER POWERS SHOW.

In one of the episodes, one of the 15 minute offerings, we have "The Case of the Stolen Super Powers". In that episode we are treated to an appearance by the Penguin and Felix Faust...of course, everyone knows the Penguin is one of Batman's main villains.

The Joker, Batman's #1 enemy, turns up in the episode "The Wild Cards". This episode has to do with a gang that goes by the name of The Royal Flush. This episode and the other episode i just wrote about "The Case of the Stolen Super Powers", mark the only apperances on the Superfriends series of The Joker and The Penguin. The two villains were missing in all of the other versions of the show.

Brainiac makes an appearance on the episode "Brainchild" about Cyborg being captured and used in Brainiac's experiment. Brainiac has created a giant robot and implanted Cyborg's mind into it.

In the weird episode, "The Bizarro Super Powers Team", we do get to hear William Woodson's voice narrating the opening sequence...telling us about the square planet known as Bizarro World...but he isn't heard again throughout the episode. This episode is 15 minutes in length as well. Bizarro turns several of the hero's into Bizarro's...ironically, Superman doesn't make an appearance in this episode although Bizarro is the insane duplicate of Superman.

Cyborg is introduced in the first episode, "The Seeds of Doom", as a reluctant super-hero who ultimately becomes one of the Superfriends by the end of the episode. Lex Luthor appears in this episode as does Darkseid. Cyborg is played in the first few episodes as a renegade of sorts...but he strikes up a friendship with Ronald Raymond/Firestorm.

One of the most recalled episodes from this series is the final episode, "The Death of Superman"...a wonderful episode! This is a great installment of the series...which turned out to be it's last.

Rating:

- Not the best, not the worst
I have kinda lukewarm feelings about this one. I watched all the incarnations of Superfriends in the 70's and 80's, so I'll just tell you what I think was good and not-so-good about Galactic Guardians:

GOOD: Firestorm. A unique character with cool powers (was there anything he COULDN'T do?).
NOT-SO-GOOD: Cyborg. Nothing wrong with the character per se, but he was used for too much comic relief. For modern-day Justice League fans, think of Flash but not funny. At all.
GOOD: The use of ongoing villains like Darkseid, foreshadowing the Superman and JL stuff that would come 15-20 years later.
NOT-SO-GOOD: Bizarro Planet. Ugh...I just can't talk about it.
GOOD: No more Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna or other insipid kid-friendly sidekicks.
NOT-SO-GOOD: Adam West as Batman. Sorry, but it's impossible for me to hear that voice in a reasonably serious adaptation of Batman without thinking of the campy, crappy 60's t.v. series.
GOOD: Better animation all-around. It's nice to see Superman with muscles without having him looked pissed-off like he started to look in comics around 1990.
GOOD: Some stories focus on only 2 or 3 characters at a time, instead of trying to cram everyone into the action. Best example is the Batman origin story "The Fear." This is something the latter-day Justice League accomplished in spite of horribly cheap animation.

Well, you can see the Good outweighs the Not-So-Good. And if you're a fan, you may not be bothered by any of the stuff I mentioned. For anyone who grew up in the seventies, "Challenge of the Superfriends" remains the all-time best incarnation. But there's still plenty to hold your interest here. Recommended for fans; casual viewers may want to rent first.

Rating:

- PSA ads?
Does anyone know if the Superfriends DVD's all come with the PSA ads? If they don't, my question then is why not? That's what made kids all want to better their lives and become the successes we now see in business and what not, isn't it? Knowing people like Superman et. all see them as human beings capable of being super in their own mortal lives, if not for just 30 seconds on saturday mornings in between cartoon episodes? It's propaganda to NOT have that now when this war is BLOODIER and we DON'T know for sure how many lives have been lost. If anything else, these should be considered and added to honor the legacy of two talented indviduals on SF staff who helped bring this show to life: Alex Toth and Iwao Takamoto. Thank you.

Rating:

- Super Powers Team
A great collection of cartoons feature DC Comic characters well drawn. Most of the incidental music is borrowed from HB's Godzilla show. (Check out current vol 1-3 releases).
Cyborg (of New Teen Titans in the comics) joins the team.
The art work is improved after Super Friends. The beginning theme revamps the first series of 1 hour Super Friends episodes theme from 1973. It would be nice to see them eventually release the remaining Super Friends serieses:
Super Friends (1973)
All New Super Friends Hour (1976; 4 stories per show: Team ups , Wonder Twins, Full team, Guest star team us)
Worlds Greatest Superfriends (1980)
Let's keep hoping. IN the mean time, enjoy these. They're addictive viewing, with some solid gritty stories focussed on Superman, Batman, Darkeseid, and Firestorm

Rating:

- Superfriends grows up
Well this is it, the final chapter of the Hanna-Barbera saga of the Justice League of America, and we go out with more treats for comic fans. There's appearances by past adversaries like Mxyzptlk, Brainiac, the Scarecrow (finally portrayed as he was meant to be!), and of course Darkseid and company, but we also have newcomers to the series like Felix Faust, the Penguin, the Joker, and the Royal Flush Gang. We have another new hero in Cyborg (sorry, Teen Titans fans, no booyahing to be found here) and the exit of campy characters like the Wonder Twins. And the stories! Superman "dies," Batman's origin is told on TV for the first time, and we also get probably the best and most original-spirited version of the Bizarros at the time (as they are now totally played for comedy). The characters all receive makeovers from their Alex Toth roots as well, some subtle, some more noticeable.

Did the series reach Timmverse-like quality? No. But it definitely concluded with a new hint of maturity.

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