The New Super Friends: The Rise and Fall of the Super Friends (1978)

 

A wonderful episode.

In this episode Mr. Mxyzptlk is causing a bunch of crimes to lure the Super Friends, so that he can film them for the movie he is making, that will be entitled The Rise and Fall of the Super Friends. 

This is one of the few episodes of The New Super Friends to use one of the classic DC Comics villains. Luckily that villain here is Mr. Mxyzptlk, who is one of my favorite Super Man villains. This episode shows everything I love about this character. I love how his motivation is nothing more than to have what he considers a fun time. He shows that here with a delightfully corny sense of humor and some really fun set pieces with our heroes. This episode put a real smile on my face and actually made me laugh quite a few times. His various attempts to defeat the Super Friends provide us with some really fun action scenes. These action scenes also help set up what makes Mxyzptlk such a great villain, that he is corny and silly, but still a real threat to our heroes. There is also a wonderful atmosphere to the haunted house later in this episode. 

All in all this is a very fun episode. 

The New Super Friends: Journey Through Inner Space (1978)

 

An excellent episode. 

In this episode, Aquaman is exposed to a radioactive isotope that changes him into a prehistoric sea creature. Superman and Wonder Woman, shrink to a microscopic size and travel inside the creature to bring him back, while the rest of the Super Friends must protect themselves from this creature that once was Aquaman. 

There is so much to love about this episode. The basic idea is a very fun sci-fi premise and one that is unique among Super Friends stories. Many episodes of this show center around the Super Friends fighting a giant monster, but this episode has a great twist on that idea with the monster really being Aquaman. This makes it so that our heroes want to just as much protect this creature as they want to defend themselves from it. The idea of having two of our heroes inside of the creature is also a wonderful idea. The inside of this creature is wonderfully designed. While the design is more simplistic than a lot of other settings for this show, it is still very effective and I love the use of lighting. Inside the creature Superman and Wonder Woman fight against some viruses and I love the design of these viruses. This episode also features some great action sequences and the nighttime scene with Batman and Robin trying to stop the creature after he escapes is wonderful. This is especially true as the nighttime setting provides a wonderful sense of atmosphere. 

The only real problems I have with this episode is that the design of the creature is really quite bland and the humor with Gleek the Monkey again simply isn't funny. 

All in all this is a delightful episode. 

The New Super Friends: Battle of the Gods (1978)

 

A wonderful episode.

After Wonder Woman helps the Goddess Aphrodite, Aphrodite praises not only Wonder Woman but all of the Super Friends. Hera becomes upset about the praise that Aphrodite gives out arguing that the Super Friends are mere mortals and not Gods and therefore underserving of such praise. When Zues hears of this, he gives the Super Friends various difficult and dangerous tasks, so that they may prove whether of not they deserve such praise. 

I love this episode. The storyline is quite unique among Super Friends episodes. This is not a simple the heroes fight a big monster and save the world. The idea of each of the heroes having to take a near impossible task all by themselves is a wonderful idea and allows us to spend time with each one separately (although Batman and Robin work together), which again creates a nice change of pace. The way each of them approaches these challenges is clever and well thought through. This episode also benefits from a wonderful sense of atmosphere. Mythology has worked incredibly well with superhero stories (look at Wonder Woman and Thor) and it works fantastic here, allowing for a great amount of creativity. The various environments the heroes visit are wonderful. They also allow for some wonderful background art that is simply a joy to look at.

This is a very unique episode that is also a lot of fun. 

The New Super Friends: Batman: Dead or Alive (1978)

 

A really fun episode. 

In this episode, Batman and Robin make a fool of the western outlaw, The Capricorn Kid. After escaping from jail, The Kid seeks revenge on the dynamic duo. 

I love how this episode has a completely different feel from the episodes before it. The western setting is a very unique one for this series and helps make this episode stand out. Once again this setting allows for some delightful artwork that is wonderful to look at. This episode also puts a nice sci-fi spin on its western setting as it takes place not only Earth but, on the planet, Texicana and the villain has robot sidekicks. This may be incredible corny, but it is just the kind of super hero corniness I love. I also love how this episode puts the spotlight on two heroes, which helps give it a unique feel. Because these heroes are Batman and Robin, we get some of that wonderfully silly dialogue that reminds me of the 1960's Batman show in all the best ways. The action scenes here are also a lot of fun.

The villain here is not especially memorable nor does he feel like he should be much of a threat to the Super Friends. However it is nice to see them fighting a regular criminal rather than a supervillain or monster as that does give a bit of variety. 

Gleek the Space Monkey's "comedy" relief is just as unfunny as ever but it is not too distracting here. 

This episode is simply a lot of fun.

The New Super Friends: The Incredible Space Circus (1978)

 

A typically fun episode. 

In this episode, Wonder Woman travels to a planet with strange creatures to stop some animal poachers. However the poachers find Wonder Woman and with their ray turn her into a monstrous creature. They then display the new Wonder Woman in their space circus. 

There is a lot to like about this episode. The idea of Wonder Woman being transformed into monstrous creature is a wonderfully suspenseful idea and automatically sets up how these seemingly normal people can still be a believable threat to the Super Friends. The design of said creature is simply wonderful. The action scenes are excellent and a lot of fun. The various planets we see throughout this episode are wonderfully designed and create a great sense of atmosphere. Once again the background art here simply looks great and is a joy to look at. I also love the great and creative designs of the various aliens watching the space circus are delightful. One gets the idea that the people making this episode had a great job coming up with these wonderful designs. This episode also features the delightfully corny superhero dialogue (especially between Batman and Robin) that I love so much. This dialogue reminds me of the 1960's Batman show in all the best ways.

On the downside, despite feeling like a threat to our heroes, the villains here come off as simply bland. There is not much to them other than being stereotypical cartoon villains. Even their designs and voices aren't that memorable. There is also too many "humorous" moments from Gleek the space monkey here. 

Well this may not be my favorite episode, it is still quite a bit of fun. 

The New Super Friends: Invasion of the Brain Creatures (1978)

 

A really fun Sci-fi heavy episode. 

In this episode, a group of aliens, who look a lot like human brains, are on a mission to destroy all life on the Earth. Batman and Robin head to Mars, where the aliens currently are, to investigate, but the aliens take over Batman's mind and trap Robin. The mind-controlled Batman sends a distress signal to the other Super Friends, to lead the superheroes into an ambush.

This episode benefits from wonderfully creative villains. While their motives are a mystery to us, the designs (while simple) are a lot of fun and the mind control idea leads to some great suspense. The creepy voices they are given are also simply perfect. They also feel like a real believable threat to our heroes. This episode also benefits from taking place in a wide variety of environments leading to a great variety and some of the wonderful background work that is always so wonderful in Hanna-Barbera cartoons of this time period. 

On the downside with Batman being mind controlled for much of this episode, we don't get as much of the great corny fun dialogue between Batman and Robin. Also the way the villains are defeated (not much of a spoiler since when you are watching Super Friends, you know the good guys are going to win) feels too easy and rushed. There is also some unfunny comedy from Gleek the space monkey but this is mercifully short. 

All in all despite its faults this is a really fun episode. 

 

The New Super Friends: World Beneath the Ice (1978)

 

A fun episode. 

In this episode a civilization living beneath the North Pole unleashes an ice age upon the surface world. The Super Friends try to stop this from happening but they freeze all of them. Aquaman escapes and he must rescue the rest of the Super Friends. 

There is a lot to enjoy about this episode. It is great to see Aquaman take the spotlight, since he is often kept in the background. Though many have written off Aquaman as kind of a joke superhero (luckily the recent live action DC movies (including the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)), seem to be making people realize what a cool character he actually is. Here he proves why he is not just a joke. He gets some wonderful time to shine here, including some really fun action sequences. Yet though Aquaman is the main character of this episode, the rest of the Super Friends all get their time to shine as well. This is especially true in the episode's really fun action scenes. This episode also benefits from great artwork that gives a good sense of atmosphere that adds to the fun. The main villain also has a great design and a wonderful villain voice. 

I do think this episode could have benefited from a longer runtime, as certain things went by too quickly. As we don't see much of the main superheroes' personal lives in this series, it was delightful to see Aquaman in Atlantis and see some of his friends there. Unfortunately, this only lasted for a tiny bit of the runtime. They could have cut out some of Gleek the Space Monkey's terrible excuses for comic relief and given us more time in Atlantis at least. Still, these are not major complaints, and it is a good thing when a cartoon leaves you wanting more.

This is a really fun episode and a delight to fans of the series. 

The New Super Friends: The Anti-Matter Monster (1978)

 

A delightfully fun episode. 

This episode has a very simple but effective storyline. Some scientists in Gotham are experimenting with anti-matter, when a mysterious mask-wearing figure takes over the controls and unleashes an anti-matter monster upon the world. It is open to the Super Friends to stop this monster.

There is a lot to enjoy here. The episode may have a very simplistic and basic storyline, but that is part of the charm. There is something just simply satisfying about seeing superheroes fighting a giant monster and this episode provides us all the fun we could want from such a premise. It doesn't hurt that the monster has a wonderful design and the action scenes are quite well done. The climatic action scene is also a lot of fun. Not only is this monster a lot of fun, but the masked villain behind all this is also a lot of fun. The dialogue in this episode is also the wonderful type of corny superhero fun that I love so much. The dialogue between Batman and Robin reminds of the 1966 Batman TV show and movie in the best way possible and Superman and Wonder Woman, also get some of this fun dialogue. I especially love Superman as Clark Kent stating, "every nosy reporter should have x-ray vision." This episode also benefits from great detailed background work that really brings a sense of atomsphere. It is also delightful to see Superman and Wonder Woman out of their superhero identities, as that is something that isn't common enough in this show. 

As someone who can't stand Gleek the space monkey, I could have done without his "comedic" interaction with a robot though. 

If you like me, love the corny side of superheroes, this episode is a pure delight. 

The New Super Friends: Terror from the Phantom Zone (1978)

 

One of my favorite episodes. 

In this episode, three Kryptonian criminals escape from the Phantom Zone, due to the radiations of a comet. The three were originally captured by Superman and are looking for revenge on their old foe. Unfortunately the criminals have found red kryptonite and use it against Superman, making him age rapidly. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, Robin and the Wonder Twins must save the day and their good friend. 

This is a really fun episode with a lot to recommend it. With three villains that are as strong as Superman and the Man of Steel being helpless creates a real feeling of suspense. The scenes with Superman looking onward, powerless to help, have a certain emotional poignancy that makes this a unique entry in the Super Friends franchise. The fact that their goal is not destruction or taking over the world, but simply to make the most powerful of the Super Friends feel completely powerless in a way he never has before, make them some of the most engaging villains in this series. Seeing how easily they can defeat the other Super Friends, also makes this a much more unique and suspenseful episode. 

This episode also benefits from wonderful artwork. I love how the Phantom Zone is pure black and that all the characters are presented as simple outlines (the robotic sound of their voices also adds a lot to the atmosphere). I also love how this episode allows us to visit various locations allowing for more of the wonderful background art and settings that help make this series so delightful. 

This is a wonderful episode and a must see for all Super Friends fans. 

The New Super Friends: The Beasts Are Coming (1978)

 

A really fun episode.

In this episode a satellite crashes in Death Valley. There it exudes radioactive energy that causes all the nearby animals to become giant monsters. The Super Friends go to try to find a way to turn this back to normal, but the radiation may have a major effect on the superheroes as well. This shows it ugly head when the radiation turns Wonder Woman and the Wonder Twins into giant monsters too. 

This is exactly the corny superhero fun that I adore. The premise is over the top and irresistibly fun. There is something so simple but so fun about superheroes fighting giant animals and this episode delivers all the fun you could want from such a premise. The action scenes are very fun and the designs of the giant animals are simply wonderful. The climax is especially fun and provides all the wonderful corny action-packed fun one could ever want. This also works heavily because of the pure fun of seeing the rest of our heroes having to face off against a giant monstrous Wonder Woman. Adding to this is the wonderful monster designs for her and the twins. You could never ask for a better design for a giant monstrous Wonder Woman then you have here. This episode also works due to delightful characterizations of the Super Friends and great background work. Death Valley ends up being a great setting for this superhero story. Once again there is a lot of detail and effort that went into these backgrounds. This gives the episode a delightfully unique feel to it. I also love the dialogue between Batman and Robin in this episode. It reminds me of the 1966 Batman show and movie in all the best ways.

This is exactly the kind of corny fun that makes this show so enjoyable. 

The New Super Friends: Attack of the Vampire (1978)

 

A delightfully atmospheric and creepy episode. 

Count Dracula rises from his tomb. After waking he releases a strange powder that turns many people into walking vampires, completely under Dracula's control. Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Wonder Twins set out to stop him, but will Dracula get control of our heroes as well. 

This is simply a wonderful episode. There is so much to enjoy here. This episode has a really creepy vibe to it that does a wonderful job of making this a very unique installment in the Super Friends franchise. Much of this is done through the wonderfully creepy designs of the vampires. I imagine that if I saw this episode as a kid, it would have given me bad dreams just for that reason. However there is also how truly creepy the idea of being completely under someone's control is. Making this episode all the more effective is the fact that Dracula has the power to completely control any of our heroes. This makes him a completely believable threat to the entire Super Friends group (not an easy feat). If he can even control Superman, then there is no stop to what this villain can do. This creates a real sense of suspense that is really effective. Adding to this a wonderful design and a creepy voice and you have a truly great villain. This episode also benefits from fantastic background art, which is not only a joy to look at, but adds a lot to this episode's creepy atmosphere. There are also some real fun action scenes that are a lot of fun to watch. Also Gleek the monkey gets little screen time, which is always a plus. 

This is simply a really fun episode. 

  

The New Super Friends: The Pied Piper from Space (1978)

 

An excellent episode.

UFO's head to Earth and hypnotize children (including the Wonder Twins) across the world and make them come to Monument Valley Airzonia. Here a mysterious villain called The Pied Piper from Space kidnaps the kids and forces them into slavery. 

This episode is a great example of everything that I love about this show. It has a wonderful villain. It is not easy to make a villain that truly feels like a threat to all these heroes, but this one does. Not only that but the scenes with the hypnotized children being kidnapped, while also be completely helpless, make him feel much creepier than the average villain from this show. He is also given a more menacing presence by the fact that through much of the episode all we see and hear of him is a shadow and a very distorted voice. Leaving this character to our imagination for much of the run time, makes him all the more threatening in our imaginations. The reveal of who he truly is, is quite a good twist. This episode also benefits from the wonderful background art. Once again we visit a distant planet and the artwork makes it a joy to look at. I especially love the purple sky in the background. There are also some excellent and very fun action scenes, which are a joy to watch. 

All in all this episode is a real delight. 

The New Super Friends: Sinbad and the Space Pirates (1978)

 

A fun little superhero adventure.

In this episode an evil pirate captain, named Sinbad of course, and his crew are traveling in their flying space pirate ships and robbing various cities around the world. The Super Friends come to stop them. 

I have always liked stories where superheroes are placed up against criminals without superpowers and yet those characters can come off as legitimate threats to our heroes. This episode does a very good job at providing such a story. These space pirates are not in any way typical super villains, yet the technology they have makes them completely believable as threats to our heroes. This even allows us to have some really fun action sequences. The scenes with these pirates up against Batman and Robin and with Aquaman especially stand out. The whole episode moves at a fast speed and never once loses the viewer's interest. Besides just being a non-superpowered threat, Sinbad is a great villain in quite a few ways. He has a wonderful design and a perfect voice. He is also very smart and the ways he uses his technology to stop the super friends are delightfully clever. This episode also includes some wonderful design work, both of the various cities around the world and of the space pirate ships. I also love that this episode allows us to see Superman briefly as Clark Kent. It is rare in Super Friends to see any of the superheroes in their secret identities and even if this is only for a brief moment, it is a nice little moment. However, the best thing about this episode is that Gleek the monkey is barely in it. 

This is simply put a really fun episode. 

The New Super Friends: Battle at the Earth's Core (1978)

 

One of my favorite of The New Superfriends episodes. 

When the Wonder Twins are on a nice boat ride, something pulls them down into the Earth's core. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin and Aquaman all travel there to save our heroes. 

This episode shows perfectly why, I really enjoy this show. Despite the corny dialogue this episode is just what I want in a superhero adventure. It is highly imaginative and a lot of fun. The design of the prehistoric world at the Earth's core is incredibly fun and atmospheric. Obviously a lot of work went into the artwork in this episode and shows. This is simply a beautiful looking episode. The artwork also gives a feeling of something truly other worldly and yet it is all based off of familiar parts of nature we have all seen, just used in very creative ways. The creatures our heroes meet down there are wonderfully designed and creative. This episode also moves at a very fast speed and the story is never boring for a second. At the same time, it doesn't feel rushed in any way. The story may be familar but it is a lot of fun with some delightful action. The episode also makes good use of all of the Super Friends and not one of them doesn't contribute someway to saving the day.

 It is also wonderful that there is not much of Gleek here. I have never found that space monkey either funny or charming, and he is easily my least favorite part of this show. Luckily in this episode you hardly notice that he is there and that is a wonderful thing if you ask me. 

This is an episode that shows perfectly everything that makes me a fan of this show. 

The New Super Friends: The Demons of Exxor (1978)

 

A really fun little episode. 

In this episode the evil villain Lord Darkon is trying to take over Exxor, the home planet of the Wonder Twins. He plans to do this by unleashing a monster created out of the citizens' fears. Without being able to contact the rest of our heroes, the Wonder Twins decide to take care of matters themselves. However they quickly get kidnapped by Lord Darkon. When the rest of our heroes find out about this, they set out to save the Wonder Twins. 

This episode may be incredibly dated by today's standards, but it is just the kind of corny superhero fun that I love. The villain has a really cool design and a delightful cartoon villain voice. He may be really one-note personality wise but that just kind of adds to the corny fun. His power to bring to life people's deepest fears is a really creative and fun power. The design of the spaceship and of the planet of Exxor are simply wonderful and give a great atmospheric feel to this space adventure. Seeing the Wonder Twins home planet was also a lot of fun. There also some nice little story touches here too. I like that the Wonder Twins actually put up a decent fight before being captured, rather than just falling directly into the villain's hands. This episode also does a great job of making use of each of the Super Friends' powers and abilities.   

Unfortunately this episode features quite a bit of Gleek, which should be excepted from a Wonder Twins centered episode, but still it is not appreciated. I can't help but find this character a bit annoying. He is one of the weakest of the Hanna-Barbera animal comedic sidekicks. Plus I don't think such a character is needed in a show that is already quite corny. 

Despite Gleek, this is a fun episode. True modern super hero fans may find it very dated, but to me that is just what makes it charming. 

The New Super Friends: Rokan: Enemy from Space (1978)

 

Over the course of its long run, Super Friends changed formats and titles many times. Probably the most famous and popular format was an hour-long format featuring two half hour segments. The first of these segments was called The New Super Friends and featured only Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, Robin and the Wonder Twins (a pair of characters created specifically for this series) and they would most of time fight one-off villains created specifically for this show. There was also the Wonder Twins' pet monkey Gleek but more about him later. The second segment would be called Challenge of the Super Friends and would feature a wider variety of heroes and have them fight the legion of doom (a group made up of some of the greatest super villains from the comics. Rokan: Enemy from Space marked the first The New Super Friends segment. 

In this episode a giant dinosaur-looking monster attacks a city leaving destruction in its wake. The Super Friends come to the rescue but seem to be useless as the creature is as powerful as Superman. Superman soon realizes why this is. The creature comes from Krypton just like Superman. 

This episode is pure corny fun. Though this episode may seem too corny and dated for many modern superhero fans, I have always embraced and loved the sillier aspects of superhero stories making this a lot of fun. Also there is a certain charm to such a simple unpretentious story, that does not try to be anything complicated or epic. 

This episode certainly benefits from a great villain design. While this villain is simply a force of nature and has no personality to speak of, he is still quite memorable. He has a powerful and threatening look and one that simply looks how a child would imagine such a character looking. There is also something that is always satisfying about seeing superheroes face off against a giant monster. 

While Super Friends has often been criticized for its characterizations of the characters being bland, this episode really gets the character of Superman right. When it seems like the only way to defeat Rokan is to risk his own life, Superman has no problem doing this stating that they should do things according to "the greater good for the greater number of people." The fact that Superman never even hesitates to say this and shows little fear of what could happen to him, shows why he is such a great character. Superman is a character that should represent who we aspire to be and be someone we can always look up to. That is something that can perfectly be said about this version of Superman here. 

Now I have to get on to what will be my major complaint for many of these episodes. That would be Gleek the monkey. This character is a waste of space and often times just gets the Super Friends into more trouble. In this episode just as the Wonder Twins are going to help Aquaman, Gleek ruins their plan to. Gleek is in a long line of comedic animals to be featured in Hanna-Barbera action shows. The idea of having a comedic animal sidekick is not a bad one, but Gleek is never funny. There has never been a joke with this character that has made me smile once and when he ruins things for the Super Friends, it simply annoys the audience. Luckily He doesn't get much screen time in this episode but it is still too much. 

All in all (and despite Gleek), this episode is quite a bit of fun.