[...] Hour was when Zan and Jayna joined. That show was also released in two sets, as Volume One and Volume Two. Challenge of the Super Friends was the one where they fought the villain super-group the Legion of [...]

[...] –- and not really liking it. It didn’t quite feel right. I know I enjoyed it more like watching Super Friends, but I really gravitated toward the comics more than anything. The series wasn’t dark enough. It [...]

Maybe comics aren’t alive because of it, maybe – just maybe – the Super Friends put a nail in the coffin instead. Whenever I see something like JLU, or one of the recent Marvel offerings, I’m struck by the overall quality, and the point of comparison is always the Super Friends. As in Wow – comic cartoons have a come a long way since the Wonder Twins! What adult wants to give comics a chance if their only experience is the Wonder Twins? For many, their lasting impression of comics is of the Super Friends and if the audience for the art is to grow, you have to preach beyond the choir.

[...] Comics Worth Reading reviews the All-New Super-Friends Hour. [...]

Think of the the one who talks to fishes. (Scrappy, on the other hand, did not have a previous history as a rather respectable super-hero.)

>> Yes, I believe you are right. I remember thinking that the leader looked a lot like Zan. They were part of the Cadmus storyline.

The leader, Wind Dragon, was actually Samurai. Zan was one of the albino twins. I was pretty disappointed that they didn’t use the real names. I mean, that growing guy was totally Apache Chief, and there’s no way I’m not calling the electric dude Black Vulcan … especially since those characters had awesome turns on Harvey Birdman.

>>there were some characters clearly inspired by the Wonder Twins (and Black Vulcan, Samurai, and Apache Chief) in the Justice League Unlimited series a few years back. I believe they were called The Ultimates.

Yes, I believe you are right. I remember thinking that the leader looked a lot like Zan. They were part of the Cadmus storyline.

>>Zan, Jayna, and Gleek faithfully served the Super Friends for the rest of their animated career and went on to become probably the most maligned, mocked, lampooned, ridiculed, satirized, and heckled fictional characters in pop culture. Quite a feat. (Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog remain twisted with jealousy. Animation is a hard, hard business.)<<

I’d say the most maligned cartoon character these days is easily Scrappy Doo… if the first Scooby-Doo live-action movie managed to rip heavily into Scrappy (as part of the plot), that seems to well surpass any treatment the Wonder Twins got (or Marvin and Wendy, per some stupid DC Comics story published a short while ago where Wonder Dog is “really” some sort of evil hell-beast or something that kills them…).

[...] go along with KC’s review of the new Super Friends DVD set, here’s a clip with Superman and [...]

I mean maybe if you could turn into an Ice-9 Sword so after cutting the bad-guy, all the liquid in his body would freeze but now I’m just being silly. :P

I’d rather have Jayna turn into a gorilla and me into a huge two-handed broad sword. A sword-welding gorilla is awesome regardless of your age.

Score one for Women’s Lib, though. The female twin actually had some useful powers. She could turn into a cheetah and totally maul anyone in the vicinity. Then turn into a bird and fly away from the scene. Best. Assassin. Ever.

I have mild affection for the Wonder Twins but only because looking back they were really lame and sort of campy. I mean the whole cartoon was pretty stupid. Invisible jet, my eye! I can see the outline of it!

I think the nostalgia for most of us ‘youngsters’ comes from the fact this is the first time we saw comicbook superheros animated. Unless you were lucky enough to live in a city where an independent station was rerunning the old Fleischer Supermans or the Marvel cartoons from the 60′s. (And lets be honest those old Marvel cartoons are atrocious.)

I remember seeing these when they first aired and loving them. The animation was no worst then most of the other Saturday cartoons. The ham-fisted messages were also par for the course at the time. I was, and am, a huge Superman fan, so seeing him in action was the best. I drank it up like a man just crawling out of the desert.

Looking back on them now, sure their cheesy and sacchrine, but they still hold a charm for me. It’s mostly remember going outside and talking with my friends excitedly about the lastest episode. Then creating our own superhero adventures. Even then everyone thought Zan was lame. We would transform into something cool, like ice daggers and swords. Really, who wants to be a bucket of water?

You nailed it completely. I had nothing to say about this series.

wait…

No I wouldn’t.

Some of the older cartoons I’ve seen recently just make me shake my head at the horrible dialogue. I can’t believe I used to watch this and the older Spider-Man series religiously.

Still, I had a lot of fun with others doing the Wonder Twins Activate! action. There aren’t too many open-ended superheroes out there, and that dovetails nicely with creative play. I might have to get this for my kids.