All-New Super Friends Hour: Volcano (1977)

 

This is the final segment of the ninth episode of The All-New Super Friends Hour, unlike most other Super Friends formats, this one had hour long episodes that were made up of various shorter cartoons. The first segment would be an adventure staring two members (or three in some cases as Batman and Robin would often team with another Super Friend) of the Super Friends. The second would be a morality play staring the Wonder Twins. The third would be a typical half hour Super Friends adventure. The fourth and last segment would feature one of the main Super Friends teaming up with a special DC Comics guest star.

In this segment Superman teams up with Samurai (a character created specifically for this show making his first appearance) to investigate when a UFO crashes into a volcano in Hawaii. 

This is a fun cartoon. There is a real sense of suspense here as the aliens are in huge danger and refuse help from the super friends. This is a short with a message, but the message is handled very well here. It looks into prejudice as the aliens doubt that the earth men (yes, I know Superman is from Krypton) actually have their best interest at heart. Since this is tied into the suspense of the story, it feels less didactic than some of the other message themed shorts. The superhero action in this short is also a lot of fun and Samurai's powers are used very well in his first appearance. The cartoon also benefits from a lot of the great background art that populates Hanna-Barbera cartoons of this time period. 

This is a delightful cartoon.