The Super 6

Plot

The show was divided into three segments. The first and third segments centered on a superhero agency called the Super Service, where the Dispatcher gave assignments.

The first segment featured Super Bwoing, an apprentice hero who rarely received good assignments, often misunderstanding situations. The middle segment was always The Brothers Matzoriley, a three-headed man in misadventures unrelated to the agency. The third segment featured another member of the Super Six in a solo adventure, with tone varying by character.

The Super 6 membership

The Super 6 consisted of six heroes. Super Bwoing had a unremarkable physique, extreme clumsiness, and a winged red helmet like Mercury's. He flew on his guitar, the Super Bwoinger, and could emit a laser beam from his eyes and had superhuman strength. He was the last choice for jobs.

His voice caricatured Jimmy Stewart. Granite Man was composed of gray rock with near-invulnerability, incredible strength, and a powerful uppercut. He worked as a park statue and was awakened by his messenger pigeon Percival.

Magneto Man had magnetism-based powers and a young sidekick named Cal; both had exaggerated English accents, with Magneto Man sounding like Cary Grant. Elevator Man, the shortest, wore a pale gray safari suit and could shrink to ant size or grow into a giant by pressing buttons on his belt buckle. Super Scuba was an ocean-based hero who spoke like Dean Martin, wore green scuba gear, and lived in an underwater cave with his mermaid secretary Bubbles. Captain Whammo/Zammo was a muscular, long-haired blond hero with flight and incredible strength, using the catchphrase "Thither, Yonder and Away!" He and his partner Private Hammo could travel back in time to historical events.

Captain Whammo vs. Captain Zammo

Of all the Super 6 members, this character appeared in the least segments. His name was originally Whammo, but after his debut it became Zammo. As Friz Freleng explained in a 1982 interview, the toy company Wham-O, creators of the Super Ball, filed a trademark complaint against DePatie–Freleng. Reportedly, the very first commercial aired after the initial Captain Whammo segment was for the Super Ball.

The Brothers Matzoriley

This segment starred a three-headed character called The Brothers Matzoriley, a parody name of The Brothers Karamazov. They were Siamese triplets and Three Stooges-style bumblers always seeking work. Their heads were named Weft, Wight, and Wong, a play on left, right, and wrong.

Each head had a distinct personality: Weft (left) was a tough guy with a Brooklyn accent, Wight (right) was a wimpy coward, and Wong (middle) was a smart-aleck Chinese head who gave absurd parodies of Confucius proverbs starting with "Confusion say...". A prototype appeared in the credits of A Shot in the Dark. Another version appeared in The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation, where they stole a diamond from the Inspector; in that short, Weft spoke with a Soviet-Russian accent and Wight with a suave British voice, while the middle Chinese head resembled the later Super 6 version.

Did You Know?

• TGG Direct has released the entire series on DVD under license from MGM Home Entertainment.