Супердрузья: История американского мультсериала о супергероях

American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1986

Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna Barbera and was based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics. The name of the program (and the Justice League members featured with the Super Friends) has been variously represented (as Super Friends and Challenge of the Superfriends, for example) at different points in its broadcast history. There were a total of 93 episodes and two backdoor pilot episodes of The New Scooby Doo Movies, with Batman and Robin appearing in "The Dynamic Scooby Doo Affair" and "The Caped Crusader Caper".

Plot lines for the later series involved many of the familiar DC Comics super villains, like the Joker and the Riddler, that the first incarnation of the Super Friends did not. Instead, like the comic books, they focused on the far fetched schemes of mad scientists and aliens, who were invariably revealed as being well intentioned, and simply pursuing their goals through unlawful or disreputable means. Typically, at the end of each story, a peaceful and reasonable discussion would be performed by the heroes to convince the antagonists to adopt more reasonable methods. The All New Super Friends Hour departed somewhat from the previous series' formula by featuring villains using more elaborate methods to further their goals; as a rule they could not be reasoned with, requiring the heroes to use direct force to stop them. Beginning with Challenge of the Superfriends, several of the heroes' arch villains from the comic books (such as Lex Luthor and The Riddler) began to feature prominently in comic style stories. Throughout the series, plots often wrapped themselves up neatly in the final minutes of an episode in the fashion of the typical comic books and deus ex machina. The network made several changes in the transition including the change of name to Super Friends to "cut off any accusations of extreme patriotism". Superman, Batman and Robin, and Aquaman had each previously appeared in their own animated series produced by Filmation, and voice talent from these prior programs was brought in to work on the new show (with the exception of Marvin Miller who was replaced by Norman Alden as the voice of Aquaman). Shortly before the Super Friends series was developed, Superman and Wonder Woman also guest starred in two episodes of The Brady Kids (voiced by Lennie Weinrib and Jane Webb under Filmation), while Batman and Robin appeared in two episodes of The New Scooby Doo Movies. In addition to the superheroes, a trio of sidekicks was introduced, each of whom were new characters not drawn from the comic books: Wendy and Marvin (voiced by Sherri Alberoni and Frank Welker) and Wonder Dog (also voiced by Frank Welker), none of whom had any special abilities (save the dog's unexplained ability to reason and talk). The trio—or at least its human members—were depicted as detectives and/or superheroes in training; the "teen detectives and their talking animal" cliché, originally popularized by Scooby Doo, was typical in Hanna Barbera cartoons of the mid/late 1970s. Each episode began with the heroes responding to an emergency detected by the massive TroubAlert computer in the Hall of Justice, which served as the headquarters of the team. Colonel Wilcox, a U. S. Army official, was a recurring character who would act as a government liaison with the Super Friends during emergencies. Colonel Wilcox was voiced by John Stephenson. Conflicts were usually resolved with the antagonists persuaded to adapt more reasonable methods to achieve their aims (with the assistance of the heroes). Natural disasters triggered by human (or alien) activity were often shown, and environmental themes featured strongly in the program. Three other DC Comics superheroes were featured as guest stars during this season: the Flash, Plastic Man, and Green Arrow; the latter two did not appear in any subsequent episodes of the series. This first run of Super Friends, consisting of 16 one hour episodes which were rerun several times, concluded on August 24, 1974. At this point, the series was cancelled. However, interest in superheroes among ABC's prime time viewers (with the success of The Six Million Dollar Man and the live action Wonder Woman series) caused the network to revive Super Friends. The show followed a basic format each week. The first segment of every show featured two of the heroes (for the purposes of the team ups in the first and fourth segments, Batman and Robin were considered one hero) teaming up in a separate mini story. The second segment featured a story with the Wonder Twins. The third segment was considered the primary adventure of the week, featuring the entire Super Friends roster (including the Wonder Twins) in a longer adventure. The fourth and final segment featured a story with one of the primary lineup and a "special guest star". This segment typically featured a problem that was solved using the guest star's unique abilities. Between segments there were short spots with members of the Super Friends giving basic safety lessons, providing first aid advice, demonstrating magic tricks, creating crafts, and presenting a two part riddle featuring the week's primary plot line. This was the first season to feature two villains appearing in the comic books, Black Manta and Gentleman Ghost. Each appeared in only one episode this season and each was somewhat modified for television. Black Manta's costume was not black and he was only referred to as "Manta". The Gentleman Ghost was referred to as "Gentleman Jim Craddock" which is his human name in the comics.

The first segment of the program featured the established group of heroes: Superman, Batman and Robin, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and the Wonder Twins and Gleek. They were rerun with intro from the All New Super Friends Hour when in syndication in the early 1980s, but they are seldom seen in syndication since then.

The second half hour of the show introduced the Legion of Doom, a team of 13 recurring foes who are the Super Friends' worst enemies. They used a swamp based mechanical flying headquarters, the Hall of Doom, as a contrast to the Super Friends' gleaming Hall of Justice. A total of 16 episodes were produced. Additional heroes who had previously appeared as guest stars were added to the roster as well, to make a total of 11. These included The Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman from DC Comics and three Hanna Barbera creations to reflect diversity: Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, and Samurai. Despite the Riddler showing a set of playing cards with (from left to right) Gleek, Zan, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Batman, and Superman (which he then burns to ashes in his introduction in "Wanted: The Super Friends"), the Wonder Twins and Gleek did not appear in Challenge. The Challenge of the Superfriends segment was expanded to 90 minutes mid season, with reruns of earlier episodes filling out the last half hour.

Renamed SuperFriends in 1980, the series changed formats again, abandoning the production of half hour episodes and producing seven minute shorts. Each episode of SuperFriends would feature a rerun from one of the previous six years and three new shorts. These new adventures featured appearances by the core group of five Super Friends and Zan, Jayna, and Gleek. There were also guest appearances from members previously depicted in Challenge of the Superfriends and the Hanna Barbera created hero El Dorado, who was added to the show in 1981 to provide additional cultural diversity. This would prove to be one of the longer lived incarnations of the series (three years). A total of 22 episodes were produced.

For the 1982–1983 television season ABC ran half hour reruns of shows from the previous seven seasons, with none of the seven minute shorts rebroadcast. ABC called the rerun package The Best of the Super Friends.

Hanna Barbera and Warner Bros. had created a syndication package of the earlier Super Friends series (co distributed by LBS Communications); these were picked up by stations across the United States and typically broadcast on weekday afternoons. Not wishing to compete with the syndication programming, ABC dropped the series from the 1983–1984 Saturday morning television line up. For the second time, Super Friends was cancelled. However, during this time Hanna Barbera continued to produce new episodes with the Super Friends, with ABC's approval and funding.

Super Friends returned to ABC Saturday, September 8, 1984, with a new 30 minute program typically featuring two 11 minute stories per episode. This incarnation featured Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and the Wonder Twins and Gleek, this time teamed up with Firestorm. In addition to this core group, episodes during this season also featured cameos by old (and new) Super Friends. The series ended August 31, 1985, and featured comic book villains such as Brainiac, Lex Luthor, Mirror Master, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Darkseid, and his henchmen from Apokolips. This title of this season and the next featured the phrase "Super Powers" to tie in with a toy line of the same name produced by Kenner.

In the fall of 1985, the next version of Hanna Barbera's depiction of the DC Comics heroes began, although it no longer carried the Super Friends name. This series returned to a conventional lineup for the team, with a focus on teen members Cyborg and Firestorm. Once again headquartered at the Hall of Justice in Metropolis, the heroes battled such familiar foes as Lex Luthor, Brainiac, the Scarecrow, and recurring villain Darkseid. It also contained the only appearances in the series by The Joker, The Penguin, the Royal Flush Gang, and Felix Faust. Notably, it is in this series that Batman's origin is depicted for the first time outside of comics and the first cartoon series. Batman and Robin chase The Scarecrow into Crime Alley, where Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, which triggers a fear induced flashback. Additionally, in the same episode, Professor Jonathan Crane appears as the Scarecrow's secret identity, which was unknown to the authorities, allowing Scarecrow to use it to secretly sabotage the Super Friends' investigations until Batman managed to deduce his identity, leading to his arrest. The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians lasted one season before being canceled. The final new episode aired was "Escape From Space City" on October 26, 1985. This third cancellation would be the final one, and Galactic Guardians marked the end of Hanna Barbera's 12 year run of Super Friends.

Beginning with the original Super Friends season, the opening narration describes the team's headquarters as "the great hall of the Justice League". The opening credits of Challenge of the Superfriends names the Super Friends as the Justice League of America. In addition to the appearance of a JLA emblem on a communicator and a reference to a mission to repair the Justice League satellite, the Super Friends are often linked with the JLA. The Justice League satellite under repair is clearly the same design as the Justice League Satellite that appeared in the comics at the time, but was shown to be substantially smaller than its comic book counterpart.

The voice of the Narrator was provided by actor Ted Knight during the early hour long episodes. Bill Woodson took over with the revival of the series in 1977. His signature line was "Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice ". The voices of Marvin and Wonder Dog as well as Mr. Mxyzptlk, Toyman, The Dollmaker, Darkseid, Kalibak, and The Joker were performed by Frank Welker. Adam West provided the voice of Batman in SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. Casey Kasem provided the voice of Robin (and many others in the show). René Auberjonois lends his voice as DeSaad.

In January 2009, IGN listed Super Friends as the 50th best animated television series.

On January 18 and 25, 1979, Hanna Barbera ran two one hour live action specials under the umbrella title Legends of the Superheroes. The first special, subtitled "The Challenge", was loosely based on the Super Friends and the 1960s Batman series (played for laughs, but this time, including a laugh track) and included several other DC characters who replaced Samurai, Black Vulcan, and Apache Chief: Black Canary, the E 2 Huntress Helena Wayne (a new DC character, gathering her own following in All Star and Adventure Comics JSA runs as a JSA member), and Captain Marvel (who had previously had his own live action series through Filmation studios). The second special, entitled "The Roast", featured Ed McMahon as emcee of the roast, along the lines of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast specials. Due to Warner Bros.' contracts on Wonder Woman (already being used in her own live action series in which Lynda Carter starred) and Superman (in his own live action theatrical movie at the time, portrayed by Christopher Reeve), they were unable to be featured on the specials.

Plastic Man appeared in the first season of Super Friends, in one episode. Later, Ruby Spears Productions released a series starring the character in his own solo adventures.

A Batman animated series was also considered in the mid 1980s, presumably with Adam West reprising his role as the voice of Batman. "The Fear" was written as a pilot episode for the series, but was instead adapted in to an episode of The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.

In 1983, a cartoon based upon The New Teen Titans comics began development. It was created as a companion for the Super Friends, to be set in the same continuity. Robin was not going to be featured in the cartoon though, at least not as a regular, since in the Super Friends universe, he was a member of the Justice League. Like Super Friends, the show was to be developed by Hanna Barbera for ABC, but since shows like The Smurfs (airing on NBC) were so popular at the time, this show was never picked up by the network. The show would have featured Wonder Girl as the leader, along with Cyborg, Kid Flash, Changeling, Raven and Starfire. Although the show failed to get picked up, a television commercial with a substance abuse theme did feature the Titans, as they would have appeared in the animated series, along with a new superhero named "The Protector" who would have been the replacement character for Robin. A Teen Titans animated TV program was eventually produced, adding Robin and removing Wonder Girl, Kid Flash and The Protector.

Fisher Price developed a toy line named DC Super Friends featuring DC Comics characters as toys for young children. A comic book series and direct to video original animation called The Joker's Playhouse (2010) was developed to tie in. The video features the World's Greatest Super Friends theme, allusions to the Legion of Doom, and the Super Friends and their Hall of Justice.

In the comics, the Wonder Twins were members of the short lived JLI offshoot, Extreme Justice.

Young Justice was a comic series that followed the adventures of a group composed of the latest teen superheroes of the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Robin, Superboy, Impulse and Wonder Girl. Towards the end of the run, Young Justice was involved in a mission which required them to invade an island whose population was made up of super villains. To conduct a successful attack, the core team assembled all the then known teen heroes (including the Wonder Twins). As in Extreme Justice, neither spoke English and both seemed to enjoy eating CDs. Unlike their cartoon counterparts, the Wonder Twins were rude and sarcastic.

The lighthearted nature of the show was spoofed in the 2000s with two DC miniseries, Formerly Known as the Justice League and I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League! (although these series were more direct take offs on the 1980s Blue Beetle/Booster Gold era Justice League). In these miniseries the group is known as the "Super Buddies", and consists of a team of ex Justice League members. A television advertisement for the team shows them posing in the postures of the original Super Friends title card.

As of issue #34 (2006), Wendy and Marvin were part of the DC continuity. They are now fraternal twins (a nod to their Super Friends successors, the Wonder Twins), engineering geniuses (having graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at age 16), and are employed at Titans Tower as maintenance crew and mechanical troubleshooters. They were responsible for restoring Titans member Cyborg to full functionality after he sustained damage to his artificial body parts during the events of the Infinite Crisis mini series. Wonder Dog was also introduced into the series, although (unlike the cartoon) he was not a lovable sidekick and pet, but a murderous, shape shifting demon dog who was sent to Titans Tower to kill the team. Wonder Dog killed Marvin and attacked Wendy, leaving her crippled from the waist down. Wendy is a supporting character in the Batgirl series, where she receives help accepting her disabilities from former Batgirl Barbara Gordon.

During the events of the 2005 company wide Infinite Crisis crossover the Justice League Watchtower was destroyed by Superboy Prime, leaving the JLA without a base of operations. To that end, the team established the Hall of Justice in Washington, D. C. to act as an embassy for the team and an emergency base of operations if needed. In the continuity of the comics, the Hall was designed by Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. In Justice League of America #46 (2010) Samurai made his first appearance in the DC Universe, where he was shown as one of the heroes driven temporarily insane by Alan Scott.

Issue #77 of Wizard magazine parodied the Super Friends; the JLA was sent through a dimensional rift and met some of the Super Friends. After Martian Manhunter used his Martian vision to melt the villain and his machine (much to Green Lantern's dismay: "You have to trick him into leaving, or shutting off his machine, NOT direct physical violence! "), the Super Friends decided to send the Justice Leaguers back to their own dimension. As a jest, the magazine also ran an April Fool's promotion for a Wonder Twins special by painter Alex Ross. The book, entitled Wonder Twins: Form of Water, was to be one of Alex Ross' oversized books chronicling the Justice League. The plot would see Zan and Jayna using their powers to help the Earth's famine and drought stricken nations after their monkey, Gleek, contracted super rabies from severe dehydration.

In the Elseworlds one shot Superman and Batman: World's Funnest, Bat Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk travel to different worlds within the DC Universe. On one of them, they encounter the Super Friends.

In the Superman: The Animated Series two part episode "Apokolips Now! ", Superman is fighting the Parademons in Metropolis. In the background is a building resembling the Hall of Justice, referred to in dialogue as "Metropolis Plaza". This was likely a reference to Darkseid's forces previously appearing in the final two seasons of Super Friends.

In the Gen13 film, the Super Friends were name dropped by Grunge toward the end of the film. When it was unanimously decided that Caitlin Fairchild, Freefall and Grunge were going to become a superhero team under the tutelage of John Lynch; Grunge said "We'll be just like like the Super Friends!"

At the end of "Secret Origins", the premiere three episode arc of Justice League, Superman proposes the formation of a superhero coalition including himself, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash (Wally West), the Green Lantern (John Stewart), the Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl. In a direct reference (and perhaps a criticism of the somewhat silly name), the Flash jokingly asks if such a team would be called "Super Friends". Superman relabels the guild as the "Justice League".

In the animated series Justice League Unlimited, Gorilla Grodd reforms his Secret Society this time an even larger group of villains. While not called the Legion of Doom (due to DC executives disallowing the creative team from using the name), their headquarters is a craft similar to the Hall of Doom, located in a swamp. Additionally, the Justice League's Metro Tower headquarters in Metropolis strongly resembled the Hall of Justice. The Ultimen, loosely based on characters created for the Super Friends, appear in the episode "Ultimatum", as allies and later antagonists to the League. The Ultimen consisted of Long Shadow (based on Apache Chief and voiced by Gregg Rainwater), Juice (based on Black Vulcan and voiced by an uncredited CCH Pounder in a digitally altered voice), Wind Dragon (based on Samurai and voiced by James Sie), and Downpour and Shifter (based on the Wonder Twins and voiced by Grey DeLisle). They are a group of superheroes created by Project Cadmus to be loyal to the government, with Maxwell Lord as their manager. Additionally, they are genetically unstable and have short lifespans, being continuously cloned and implanted with false memories.

The animated series The Batman featured a modified version of the JLA Watchtower which closely resembled the Hall of Justice.

The Hall of Justice appeared in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Sidekicks Assemble! ", with a pastiche of the music played when the Hall appeared in Super Friends.

The Wonder Twins appeared in the Smallville episode "Idol", with Zan played by David Gallagher and Jayna played by Allison Scagliotti. Gleek did not appear physically, but a cartoonish image of him was shown on each of the twins' cellphones.

The Hall of Justice was featured in Young Justice as the Justice League's decoy base of operations. Additionally, Wendy and Marvin appear as classmates of Conner Kent and Megan Morse. The members of the Injustice League operate out of a base resembling the Legion's Hall of Doom. In the second season, approximations of the minority members created for Super Friends (similar to the Ultimen example above) are introduced as teenagers given powers by the Reach. The group consists of Tye Longshadow (Apache Chief), Asami "Sam" Koizumi (Samurai) and Eduardo "Ed" Dorado Jr. (El Dorado). The exception is Black Vulcan, whose place is taken by Milestone Media hero Static (though Black Lightning also appears in the series).

The title of the Super Best Friends Forever DC Nation Shorts is a play on the title Super Friends. Additionally, Black Vulcan's costume can be seen in the background of the first Black Lightning short. The Farm League carries several homages to the Super Friends including its narrator, characters used and graphics.

In the Teen Titans Go! Two Parter episode, the Titans go to the Hall of Justice to use the pool, as later, they become members of the Justice League to save the Justice League members from Darkseid, this sequence parodies the introduction of the super heroes as in the Super Friends series. In the episode "You're Fired", Beast Boy is fired from the Teen Titans, and a competition is held to find his replacement. The eventual winners are the Wonder Twins.

The shows set in The CW's Arrowverse have featured multiple references to the Super Friends. In the pilot episode of Supergirl, Winn Schott considers calling the group of Supergirl / Kara Zor El and her allies (himself, James Olsen, and Alex Danvers) "The Super Friends". In the fourth season episode, "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way? ", Kara forms a small team of heroes that includes herself, Brainiac 5, The Dreamer, and the Martian Manhunter and directly calls them "The Super Friends". In the fifth season episode, "Back From the Future Part One", the S. T. A. R. Labs base is noted to be called the Hall of Justice in the future. In the "Invasion" cross over event, across Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, the secret S. T. A. R. Labs base used by the heroes was based on the Hall of Justice. Also later on in that season, Barry and Supergirl sing a duet called "Super Friends" to escape the Music Meister's musical. Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow features multiple references to Super Friends, including the villainous group being dubbed the "Legion of Doom" by Nate Heywood; in the episode "Doomworld", the new design of S. T. A. R. Labs in the altered timeline resembles the Hall of Doom. In the final scene of "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Barry repurposed the secret S. T. A. R. Labs base previously used in "Invasion!" as the headquarters for Earth Prime's heroes. In the closing moments of the crossover, the unnamed team is disrupted by the confusing sound of laughter (revealed to be an escaped Gleek, hinting at a possible future inclusion of the character and/or Wonder Twins). Afterwards, the camera pans out to the headquarters as music based on the original series plays in the background.

In The Lego Batman Movie, the cast of the Super Friends are seen celebrating an anniversary party in the Fortress of Solitude, which Batman was not invited to, featuring characters like El Dorado, The Wonder Twins, Gleek and Wonder Dog.

The Hall of Justice is a playable stage in Injustice: Gods Among Us.

In Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, the Hall of Justice is one of the game's hubs, while the Hall of Doom and the surrounding swamp environs are explorable areas.

The Super Powers toy line (and associated tie in merchandise) was based on the final two seasons of Super Friends. Samurai, an original character from the show, and the Hall of Justice were both released. Plans for future waves from Super Powers would have also included Apache Chief, El Dorado, Black Vulcan and the Wonder Twins.

The toy line based on Justice League Unlimited released a three pack of figures from characters created for Super Friends, namely Black Vulcan, Apache Chief and Samurai. They were chosen over the Ultimen characters that actually appeared in the JLU animated series: Juice, Long Shadow and Wind Dragon.

Fisher Price began to produce DC Comics characters in a kid friendly toyline named after the Super Friends.

Paying homage to Super Powers, DC Universe Classics produced original Super Friends characters such as Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, El Dorado, Samurai and the Wonder Twins.