All-New Super Friends Hour: The Man-Beast of Xra (1977)

 

This is the first segment of the thirteenth 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 (or two in the case of Batman and Robin) teaming up with a special DC Comics guest. 

In this cartoon, Superman, Batman and Robin must stop Dr. Xra, who has created half-animal, half-man beasts. 

This is a delightful cartoon. The whole episode has a wonderful halloween-y look to it. The nighttime lighting and the wonderful background art (especially the swamp leading to Dr. Xra's mansion) create a wonderful sense of atmosphere that can hold its own with the original Scooby-Doo series in this area. The designs of the creatures are also wonderful. They are delightfully creepy and imposing without being too scary to take away from the lighthearted fun. The action scenes are also quite well done and exciting. 

This is a wonderful cartoon that provides some great spooky superhero fun.