Model Sheet Monday #4 - Robin

Presenting... ROBIN! He "works with Batman"!

HAPPY EASTER!

Wendy and Marvin found all their eggs, have you? Happy Easter from the Superfriends Universe!

Episode Review: "The Power Pirate"

"The Power Pirate" aired September 8, 1973 and was the premiere episode of the inaugural SUPER FRIENDS season. As with all the first season episodes, "The Power Pirate" was an hour-long (45 minute single story, broken up by commercials). The pointy-eared chap pictured above is named Anthro from the planet Traum. More on him in a moment...

SYNOPSIS: The Super Friends must stop various power outage disasters caused by an alien who is draining Earth's energy for his own energy-starved planet. In order to walk among humans, the alien disguises himself as Special Inspector with Scotland Yard, Sir Cedric Cedric. The Super Friends figure out the disguise and help the alien provide energy to his planet by turning its moon into a power plant.


NOTES & OBSERVATIONS:

• The Justice League hold weekly meetings

• First appearance of Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog...and the ONLY time Marvin showcases his apparent super power of air-running/awkward floating

Marvin running into the air

Marvin helplessly floating

• The Invisible Jet is referred to as Wonder Woman's "Transparent Plane" in this episode and for most of Season One. It can fly at 5000 mph and is thought-powered

Wonder Woman's telepathy

• The Hall of Justice has an elevator to a lower level, some sort of cave-like hangar underneath the headquarters that holds, at least in this episode, the Invisible Jet

Hall of Justice

Aquaman and Wonder Woman exiting Hangar elevator

Invisible Jet moving out of back door of Hangar

• There is also mention of a "scan report from our Big Eye", likely referring to the Justice League Satellite, seen in later seasons. The Big Eye is mentioned a few more times this season.
• Aquatic Telepathy: 4 octopi, some whales
• Aquaman is proficient in semaphore, a 19th Century Maritime signaling method

Semaphore Code

 Aquaman standing on a whale in the middle of a storm. You wish you were this cool.

Aquaman uses 4 octopi to release him from a hungry sea Anemone, instead of just telling the anemone to let him go. Maybe they're minds are too primitive?

• Bat-Gadgets: Bat-Grapple Hooks, Batradio, Bat-Lights
• Bat-Vehicles : Batmobile I
• Other Planets: Traum

 Bat-Grapple Hooks

Apparently everyone called 'Shotgun" at the exact same time

 The "TroubAlert" in season one, was later just called "Trouble Alert" in all other seasons

 Something about superheroes sitting around a table that is very pleasing

 Awkward laughing

 Sir Cedric Cedric and his cool hat

 Why? Why is this happening? Get in the Batplane for God's sake! Where are Superman's hands? Where is Batman's underwear? Why is Wendy on Batman's lap? This is wrong!

 Wonder Dog VS Light Bulb

 Anthro from the planet Traum

 Anthro's flying saucer

Anthro's Energy-Stealing Umbrella

Model Sheet Monday #3 - Batman

Another Monday, another Model Sheet...here's the Caped Crusader himself, BATMAN!

Model Sheet Monday #2- Aquaman

The Marine Marvel! The King of the Seven Seas! Look---its AQUAMAN!

Who's Who in the SFU: The Sculpin

THE SCULPIN

PERSONAL DATA

Alter Ego: Unknown

Occupation: Professional Criminal

Known Associates: Two unnamed henchmen

Group Affiliation: None

Base of Operations: Mobile via The Sculpin Ship

Episode Appearances: "Frozen Peril"

Distinguishing Features: Fish-like appearance with fins and feelers, light green skin, backpack

Voice: Norman Alden

HISTORY

The origin and backstory of maritime villain The Sculpin (named after a small fish of the same name) has not been revealed. In his one and only series appearance, we know that he has a history with the Justice League, because both Aquaman and Superman recognize him and his ship. His face does not to appear to be a mask, rather, it appears The Sculpin is a mutant of some sort, half-man and half-fish. He has a backpack that likely enables him to breathe out of water, kind of like a reverse Black Manta. 

The Sculpin operates out of the Sculpin Ship, which also has a a Hydro-Copter feature as well as an Escape Pod. It appears that one of his hideouts is in a cove of a small Pacific island known as Jungle Island. It was in the Sculpin Ship that he and his 2-man crew activated their Hydro Freeze Ray and proceeded to freeze the world's oceans. The next step of his plan involved cutting the ice into large chunks with Heat Laser Cutters, and then selling them to the desert countries of the world, starting with the Gobi Desert. Freezing the world's oceans obviously alerted the Superfriends, and The Sculpin's plan was foiled and he was captured. 

POWERS & WEAPONS

The Sculpin does not appear to have any powers other than a mind for criminal pursuits. As a fish mutant, he can breathe underwater with gills. His backpack allows him to also breathe on land. His Sculpin Ship is equipped with a variety of weaponry, including lasers, claws, and of course, the Hydro Freeze Ray. 

The Sculpin getting ready to activate the Hydro Freeze Ray

The Sculpin at the controls

The Sculpin's Backpack

The Sculpin (full body)

The Hydro Freeze Ray

The Sculpin's henchmen

The Sculpin Ship

The Hydro-Copter

The Sculpin's Escape Pod

1973 "Super Friends" Commercial

"Meet Super Friends! Superman! Wonder Woman! Aquaman! Batman! Together for the first time with three new friends, Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog! Super Friends!"

So proclaimed the announcer in this vintage 1973 commercial for Season One on ABC. Go get your pajamas on, grab a bowl of cereal, and give it a watch!

Super Friends: Season One

"Super Friends" first premiered on ABC on September 8th, 1973 with a 16-episode run. New episodes would drop Saturdays at 9:00 am for a 60 minute time slot. These episodes ran as reruns on and off after the show's cancellation in 1974, including airing each hour episode as 2-part half hours. Below is a guide to the Season One episodes with original airdates...

1. THE POWER PIRATE (9/8/73)
2. THE BAFFLES PUZZLE (9/15/73)
3. PROFESSOR GOODFELLOW'S G.E.E.C. (9/22/73)
4. THE WEATHER MAKER (9/29/73)
5. DR. PELAGIAN'S WAR (10/6/73)
6. THE SHAMON "U" (10/13/73)
7. TOO HOT TO HANDLE (10/20/73)
8. THE ANDROIDS (10/27/73)
9. THE BALLOON PEOPLE (11/3/73)
10. THE FANTASTIC FRERPS (11/10/73)
11. THE ULTRA BEAM (11/17/73)
12. THE MENACE OF THE WHITE DWARF (11/24/73)
13. THE MYSTERIOUS MOLES (12/1/73)
14. GULLIVER'S GIGANTIC GOOF (12/8/73)
15. THE PLANET SPLITTER (12/15/73)
16. THE WATERMEN (12/22/73)

Over the course of the next couple of months, I'll be providing written commentary and notes on each episode, rather than lengthy tedious reviews. There's dozens of those already out there, and quite frankly, these hour long episodes often drag and are at times boring, I don't want to put you guys, or myself, to sleep with that kind of write-up...that just isn't my style. I hope to make them fun and interesting and celebrate the show, becuz that's what this blog is all about, dammit! Stay Tuned!

Who's Who in the SFU: Dr. Cranum

DOCTOR CRANUM

PERSONAL DATA

Alter Ego: None

Occupation: Scientist

Known Associates: Dr. Scott (assistant)

Group Affiliation: None

Base of Operations: an old cliffside mansion on the outskirts of Gotham City

Episode Appearances: "The Brain Machine"

Distinguishing Features: Large bulbous head, yellow eyes (green when using power), light blue lab coat, dark blue turtleneck

Voice: Olan Soulé

HISTORY

Dr. Cranum beleived that if he were to advance man's evolution 1 million years it would solve society's ills. Surely, if man possessed the brain power of the future, mankind would no longer be troubled by such problems. In order to go about this, Cranum invented The Brain Machine with the help of his assistant Dr. Scott. Despite Scott's misgivings, Cranum had the device tested on himself. The machine worked perfectly, instantly evolving Cranum into a "future man", complete with an amazing set of mind powers. He then decided that he must now evolve the rest of humanity, starting with the citizens of Metropolis. 

Cranum stole the huge dish antenna from the Metropolis Institute of Technology and took it to Metro World Amusement Park. It was here, because of its location overlooking Metropolis, he planned on hooking the Brain Machine to the antenna. Before his plan could be realized, Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman intervened and used the Brain Machine to revert Cranum back to his normal self. The next day, it was revealed that Cranum was in the hands of the authorities and the Brain Machine was dismantled for good.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Dr. Cranum built his greatest invention, The Brain Machine, to evolve man to its evolutionary peak.  After his mutation, Cranum possessed a plethora of mind powers, including mental telepathy, telekinesis, and the ability to project beams of concentrated mind blasts to be used in a destructive way. 

Dr. Cranum before his mutation

Dr. Cranum after his mutation

Dr. Cranum and Dr. Scott with the Brain Machine

Dr. Cranum using his mind beams on a chainlink fence

Dr. Cranum's mental telepathy

Model Sheet Monday #1 - Wonder Woman

Welcome to the first installment of what I hope to be a long-running series on this blog....Model Sheet Monday! The internet is filled with Model Sheets from "Super Friends", many of them featuring the work of the late, great Alex Toth. I plan on scooping up as many as I can to help create a "one-stop shop" of these integral components of animation development. Here's everyone's favorite Amazing Amazon--- Wonder Woman!

The Bat-Vehicles: An Overview

If Batman is one of the most recognizable characters from comics, TV and movies, its pretty safe to say that the Batmobile is one of the most recognizable vehicles. Every version of Batman has had his iconic set of wheels, and everyone has a particular favorite Batmobile. Whether its the modified Lincoln Futura from the 1966 show or Christian Bale's 'roided out Tumbler; The 1950's roadster from the comics or the sleek 1989 version by Tim Burton, everyone is aware of the concept that Batman has a bitchin' ride.

But it doesn't stop at just the Batmobile. Batman has a Batplane (sometimes referred to as the Batwing), he's got a Batboat and a Batcopter. The list goes on. Obviously the Batman from the Superfriends Universe is no different, in fact, I'd hazard a guess that this version of Batman tops them all in terms of vehicle variety. This post is an overview of the various Bat-Vehicles showcased thru-out the many seasons of "Super Friends", personally culled from my repeat viewings. Each one will be covered in more detail in their own blog posts, as will the Bat-Vehicles from the Filmation cartoons.

NOTE: Some vehicles were not named within the dialogue of the show, but are named here for            reference purposes. 

Batmobile I

Batmobile II

Batmobile II (front view)

Batjet (aka Batplane)

Batrocket

Batcopter I

Batcopter II

Batcopter III

Batcycles

Bat Multicraft (sometimes called the Bat Motorcraft

 or incorrectly as the Batboat)

Bat Multicraft (with wheels)

Batboat

Bat Swampboat

Batbuggy

Bat Snowmobiles (or Bat Sleds)

Batblimp

Let me know if I've missed anything, and I'll make sure to add it to the list!