Hell's Legions

Lore & Background

In each episode of Challenge of the Superfriends that they appeared, the Legion of Doom would enact a plot against the Super Friends and a plot to take over the world only to be met with defeat by the end of the story. In some episodes, they would escape capture through a last-minute escape plan often contrived by Luthor. Other times, the Legion of Doom (or portions of it) would end up apprehended. The episode "History of Doom" showed that Lex Luthor assembled 13 supervillains in order to form the most powerful and sinister group the world had ever seen. When the Challenge of the Superfriends season was originally conceived, it was named Battle of the Superheroes and featured the introduction of Captain Marvel to the Super Friends. The group that challenged the heroes was to be called the "League of Evil", led by Captain Marvel's nemesis Doctor Sivana. However, Filmation was producing Shazam! and The New Adventures of Batman which prevented the use of characters such as Mister Atom, King Kull, Beautia Sivana, The Joker, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and Catwoman. Early conceptual art drawn by Alex Toth also included Heat Wave, Poison Ivy, and Abra Kadabra.

Reader's Guide

There were thirteen members of the Legion of Doom: Bizarro, Black Manta, Brainiac, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Lex Luthor, Riddler, Scarecrow, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy, and Toyman. The episode "Super Friends: Rest In Peace" reveals that the Legion of Doom has a previously unrevealed fourteenth member, Doctor Natas. He created Noxium, a crystal with the ability to recreate and exploit the weaknesses of any hero. Members of the Legion of Doom made some appearances in the Super Friends spin-off comic title based on the TV series. A version of the Legion of Doom appeared in Extreme Justice #16–18 (May–July 1996), led by Brainwave Jr. and consisting of Killer Frost, Houngan, Major Force, the Madmen, and a robot duplicate of Gorilla Grodd. The 2006 DC comic miniseries Justice features a version of the Legion of Doom, consisting of traditional members Lex Luthor, Bizarro, Black Manta, Brainiac, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Riddler, Scarecrow, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy and new members Black Adam, Metallo, Clayface, Parasite, and Poison Ivy.

Did You Know?

• The Legion of Doom's headquarters, the Hall of Doom, was located in Slaughter Swamp just outside Gotham City.
• The Hall of Doom could fly, enter space using rockets, and even time travel.
• The Hall of Doom was placed in a swamp as a compromise between Black Manta, Captain Cold, and Gorilla Grodd, who wanted it in the ocean, under polar ice caps, and in a jungle respectively.