Challenge of the Superfriends

Did You Know?

• Despite the claim in the program's title sequence that the Legion's members hail from 'remote galaxies', only Brainiac and Sinestro are extraterrestrials; the remaining members are all natives of Earth.
• Warner Home Video originally released this season on two separate DVDs on June 1, 2004: Challenge of the Superfriends: Attack of the Legion of Doom and Challenge of the Superfriends: United They Stand.
• The opening sequence of the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special parodies the opening of Challenge of the Superfriends with the Legion of Doom substituted for Robot Chicken original characters.

Format

The season originally included Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Wonder Twins on adventures much like those from the prior year's The All-New Super Friends Hour. In syndication, those episodes later appeared with that earlier show's opening credits. The second part of the season was Challenge of the Superfriends, a run of 16 episodes that felt most like the comic books. It marked the first time the Super Friends series officially used DC supervillains from the comics, bringing together 13 of them as the Legion of Doom.

Among them were Lex Luthor, Brainiac, the Toyman, and Bizarro from Superman's rogues, plus the Riddler and the Scarecrow from Batman's. The Legion worked out of a swampy, mechanical flying base called the Hall of Doom, which looked like Darth Vader's helmet and stood in stark contrast to the Superfriends' Hall of Justice. The heroes numbered 11 Justice League members. Because only the second segment used the Challenge of the Superfriends title sequence, people often think the two parts were separate shows.

Production background

Originally conceived as Battle of the Super Friends, the season was to introduce Captain Marvel and a group called the League of Evil led by Doctor Sivana. Filmation's Shazam! and The New Adventures of Batman prevented the use of characters such as Mister Atom, King Kull, Beautia Sivana, the Joker, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and Catwoman. Early conceptual art by Alex Toth included Heat Wave, Poison Ivy, and Abra Kadabra. Bill Woodson provided the uncredited voice of the narrator, while Stanley Jones performed the opening narration. The main theme and original music were composed and conducted by Hoyt Curtin, with Paul DeKorte as music supervisor. Character designs were done by Andre LeBlanc. The series added The Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, as well as new characters Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, and Samurai, created to add racial and cultural diversity.

Spoofs

In 1998, Cartoon Network produced two commercials spoofing Challenge of the Superfriends. One dealt with the Legion of Doom's idiosyncrasies, including Brainiac asking for pants and Solomon Grundy echoing the request. The second, co-starring the Powerpuff Girls, highlighted Aquaman's limited powers and the level of violence compared to contemporary cartoons, as Wonder Woman and Aquaman looked away while the Powerpuff Girls beat the Legion of Doom, setting the Scarecrow on fire. Bubbles made a double entendre reply to Wonder Woman's compliment, causing Lex Luthor and the other villains to laugh until a piece of the Hall of Doom's ceiling fell on Luthor. In 2003, Cartoon Network Latin America aired The Aquaman & Friends Action Hour, starring Aquaman as a children's television show host and the Legion of Doom as his bankrupt villains.

Legends of the Superheroes

The two NBC live-action specials of Legends of the Superheroes, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, were largely based on Challenge of the Superfriends. They featured Adam West, Burt Ward, and Frank Gorshin from the 1966 Batman television series. The Justice League included Batman, Robin, Captain Marvel, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Huntress, and the Black Canary. The Legion of Doom consisted of Mordru leading Doctor Sivana, the Riddler, Giganta, Sinestro, the Weather Wizard, and Solomon Grundy. Superman, Wonder Woman, and their associate characters were absent due to licensing rights held by the Superman film and Wonder Woman television series.