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129-590: The series was an attempt by NBC to replicate some of the success ABC enjoyed with the Super Friends franchise. The makers of the show originally intended the stars to be Spider-Man, Iceman, and the Human Torch . However, legal issues about the rights to the Human Torch character (which had also plagued Marvel once before for the 1978 Fantastic Four cartoon ) led to the Human Torch being replaced by

258-475: A comic book version of the Super Friends from November 1976 to August 1981. The comic book series was launched by E. Nelson Bridwell and artist Ric Estrada . Zan and Jayna were given back stories and secret identities as a pair of blond-haired high school kids; they were more competent heroes than their cartoon counterparts. While the television cartoons were not part of the same fictional universe as

387-468: A one-shot that adapted the pilot episode , "The Triumph of the Green Goblin". Though the comic version altered the story to bring it in line with established Marvel Universe continuity (such as making the Green Goblin identity a costume as in the comics, rather than a physical transformation as in the episode), it was not considered part of said continuity. It is the first appearance of Firestar in

516-545: A white hole spawned from an abandoned spacecraft, as its engine's radiation began eating Earth from the inside. The Thunderbolts embarked on a plan to combine their powers to punt the alien ship off the Earth and sever the link between the worlds. However, to complete this plan, the Thunderbolts needed to be inside the engine-spawned void to keep it clear of the real Earth as it closed. By so doing, they would reemerge from

645-556: A "kinder, gentler than most" world), except for Ms. Lion, are apparently killed by a dimension-hopping Morlun , set on draining the life out of every variation of Spider-Man across the multiverse . At the "Street Cart Named Desire Festival", Peter sees Angelica, but doesn't seem to recognize her when explaining to Mary Jane that she's the only redhead that he's interested in. Bobby and Angelica briefly catch up before returning to their dates which are then interrupted by an ice monster attack. Iceman, Firestar, and Spider-Man suit up and defeat

774-544: A "quantum enhancer" which would increase her powers 1,000 times. With such power, Lightwave would be able to control the Guardstar satellite which orbits the Earth and controls all defense systems and communications systems for the United States. Mason expects world conquest since he controls Lightwave. Iceman, Firestar, and Spider-Man attempt to stop Lightwave. However, she is powerful enough to defeat them. Aboard

903-501: A DC Comics-based show, the Super Friends franchise was owned by DC's parent company Warner Bros. , who later put the series into syndication. Cartoon Network , which had the rights to air most of the rest of the Hanna-Barbera library from its inception in 1992, was not able to air Super Friends until after the merger of Warner Bros.' parent company, Time Warner and Cartoon Network's parent company, Turner Broadcasting System

1032-745: A JLA emblem on a communicator and a reference to a mission to repair the Justice League satellite, the Super Friends are often linked with the JLA. The Justice League satellite under repair is clearly the same design as the Justice League Satellite that appeared in the comics at the time, but was shown to be substantially smaller than its comic book counterpart. The voice of the Narrator was provided by actor Ted Knight during

1161-492: A Superhero", nerdy Francis Byte is an avid video game player who is especially engrossed into gaining the high score on a game called Zellman Comman at the local arcade. The villain Gamesman sends a hypnotic signal that entrances over 300,000 people in the city. This does not affect Francis' girlfriend Louise, Spider-Man, and Firestar, nor does the signal affect Francis' mind, which is distracted from entrancement by Louise and

1290-419: A boomerang in battle. He possesses a supernatural ability to communicate with animals. Lightwave's real name is Aurora Dante . Like her older half-brother Bobby Drake (a.k.a. the superhero Iceman), Lightwave is a mutant. She can manipulate and control light. Her other light-based powers include laser blasts, photonic force fields and solid light pressor beams. She can also transform herself into light; in such

1419-512: A chance to participate in a mass escape organized by his old employer Justin Hammer. Instead, Jenkins foiled the breakout, an act which brought him to the attention of the government's Commission on Superhuman Activities (CSA). They recruited Jenkins to participate in a sting operation aimed at Hammer. Jenkins agreed, using a newly designed armor to operate as the Beetle once more. The activities of

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1548-515: A comics story, though the version of Firestar that exists within Marvel continuity would not appear until Uncanny X-Men #193 (May 1985). The story was reprinted in England in late 1983 in the weekly Marvel UK title Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends . It was reprinted in the U.S. as Marvel Action Universe #1 (January 1989), released to coincide with the airing of Amazing Friends reruns on

1677-590: A computer system so he could anticipate his opponent's moves. Despite his preparations and new battle-suit, Beetle was again defeated by Spider-Man. He was later freed from prison by Egghead who recruited him for his Masters of Evil organization. Beetle and other Masters of Evil were defeated by the Avengers and arrested. Justin Hammer then commissioned Beetle, Blizzard II and Blacklash to kill Clayton Wilson , but Iron Man defeated them. Soon thereafter, Beetle battled Iron Man again, but this time all portions of

1806-491: A fear-induced flashback. Additionally, in the same episode, Professor Jonathan Crane appears as the Scarecrow's secret identity, which was unknown to the authorities, allowing Scarecrow to use it to secretly sabotage the Super Friends' investigations until Batman managed to deduce his identity, leading to his arrest. The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians lasted one season before being canceled. The final new episode aired

1935-433: A form, she is able to exist in the vacuum of outer space. Lightwave's only appearance was in "Save the Guardstar", the final episode of the 1980s cartoon. She is voiced by Annie Lockhart . Bobby Drake explains that they share the same mother. An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. , Lightwave is considered a traitor, due to mind control by rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Buzz Mason. Mason induces Lightwave to steal assorted devices to create

2064-483: A government liaison with the Super Friends during emergencies. Colonel Wilcox was voiced by John Stephenson . Conflicts were usually resolved with the antagonists persuaded to adapt more reasonable methods to achieve their aims (with the assistance of the heroes). Natural disasters triggered by human (or alien) activity were often shown, and environmental themes featured strongly in the program. Three other DC Comics superheroes were featured as guest stars during this season:

2193-450: A new character, Firestar, who had similar powers, but was a mutant like Iceman. Due to Firestar's popularity with fans, she has since become a part of the mainstream Marvel Universe. In pre-production, Firestar's codename changed frequently; the unused names include Firefly, Starblaze, and Heatwave. Marvel Comics maintained a high level of creative control over the series, with Stan Lee (co-creator of both Spider-Man and Iceman) working with

2322-502: A new team of Thunderbolts. Jenkins was given new armor provided by Citizen V's financiers, the V-Battalion , and called himself "MACH-3". Graviton was defeated and the world was saved, but MACH-3 and the other Thunderbolts disappeared in an implosion created by the dying Graviton's power, with the exception of Songbird who appeared left behind as the sole survivor. On Counter-Earth , the team continued to band together, searching for

2451-524: A pair of gravity-defying wings, suction-fingered gloves, and a cybernetic control helmet. Calling himself the " Beetle ", Jenkins decided to use his battle-suit for fame, wealth, and adventure. Believing a victory over half the Fantastic Four would make him an overnight sensation, the Beetle chose to lure the Human Torch and the Thing into battle. However, Thing and Human Torch defeated him, and he

2580-556: A power ring in an issue of The Brave and The Bold after the ring was destroyed in Super Friends issue #46. 3. Superman already being familiar with Dr. Mist and the international heroes in DC Comics Presents after meeting them in Super Friends issues #7–9 and #12–13. Abner Jenkins Abner Ronald Jenkins , also known as the Beetle , MACH-1 , MACH-2 , MACH-3 , MACH-IV , MACH-V , MACH-VII and MACH-X ,

2709-421: A prisoner of Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Society among other universe-displaced villains. This season features the origins of all three Spider-Friends. No Region 1 or other NTSC release is planned at this time. In April 2008, Liberation Entertainment secured the home media rights to select Marvel shows from Jetix Europe in select European territories, including Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends . On November 10,

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2838-412: A racially insensitive portrayal of Sunfire . In the episode, Sunfire is portrayed as speaking English with a Japanese accent. Adam Levine of Looper said: "The mutant duo became a memorable pairing for Spider-Man, and the series has been fondly remembered in the decades since for its quaint stories, colorful villains, light-hearted nature, and iconic introductions by creator Stan Lee. The animation

2967-430: A series starring the character in his own solo adventures. A Batman animated series was also considered in the mid-1980s, presumably with Adam West reprising his role as the voice of Batman. "The Fear" was written as a pilot episode for the series, but was instead adapted in to an episode of The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians . In 1983, a cartoon based upon The New Teen Titans comics began development. It

3096-589: A small number of DVD releases in the United Kingdom containing two episodes each for sale in Poundland stores in 2013, under the "Treat Size Introduces..." banner. The series was available for instant streaming via Netflix from 2011 to August 2015. As part of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company , the copyrights to the New World library were transferred to TFCF America, Inc.,

3225-425: A space vessel, Buzz Mason forces Iceman into outer space, dooming Iceman if he remains there for long. Spider-Man convinces Lightwave to realize that the half-brother she loves is in mortal danger. Her reaction breaks Mason's control over her, and she saves Iceman and disables Mason long enough for Spider-Man to subdue him. Presumably, with Mason's role realized, S.H.I.E.L.D. restores Lightwave's good standing. As this

3354-461: A spy and allowing Fathom Five to attack New York City . Things finally came together when Abe revealed he always intended to take down Strucker. They succeeded in defeating HYDRA 's scheme to destroy all of Manhattan , but Strucker managed to escape. Jenkins and the Fixer help Songbird and Black Widow escape from Norman Osborn and some H.A.M.M.E.R. agents. Later, Mach-V works at The Raft as

3483-584: A subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company , effective on March 15, 2019. Consequently, the series became available on the Disney+ streaming service, as a part of U.S. launch on November 12, 2019. The episode "The Quest of the Red Skull" was excluded due to its direct depictions of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi swastika and the phrase 'Heil Hitler'. In 2020, Disney+ placed a warning on the 3rd episode (entitled "Sunfire") for

3612-630: A supporting character since the title transitioned into the Dark Avengers beginning with issue #175. During his time with the Thunderbolts, Jenkins made numerous upgrades to his armor, resulting in various iterations, from MACH-2 all the way to MACH-X. Born in Baltimore, Maryland , Abner Jenkins was a master mechanic at an aircraft parts factory who became dissatisfied with his boring, low paying job. Using his considerable mechanical knowledge, Jenkins built an armor-plated, strength-augmenting suit,

3741-413: A two-part riddle featuring the week's primary plot line. This was the first season to feature two villains appearing in the comic books, Black Manta and Gentleman Ghost . Each appeared in only one episode this season and each was somewhat modified for television. Black Manta's costume was not black and he was only referred to as "Manta". The Gentleman Ghost was referred to as "Gentleman Jim Craddock" which

3870-600: A variety of different weapon systems, however, instead of the insect-themed powers of the previous armor. Abner appears alongside the Thunderbolts in the Dead Days one-shot of the Marvel Zombies miniseries wearing an early version of his MACH suit, and alongside the rest of the group is seen attacking first Thor and then Nova . He is quickly killed by a blast of flame from the Human Torch . Abner Jenkins

3999-473: A way to return to their own world and beginning to establish themselves as the leading superheroes of the troubled Counter-Earth. After a failed attempt to escape to the real Earth, the team entered into an uneasy alliance with their original leader, Baron Zemo, in an ongoing effort to save Counter-Earth from the various ills plaguing that alternate world. The Thunderbolts went on to revive the flying city of Attilan and populate it with refugees and survivors of

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends - Misplaced Pages Continue

4128-532: Is Lightwave's only appearance, her fate is unknown. Videoman is an intangible two-dimensional being with lightning bolt -shaped horns that is mostly composed of electronic data gleaned from a video arcade . Videoman makes three appearances in the series where there are two versions of him. In Season 1, Videoman first appeared as an angular humanoid energy construct created by Electro . Its abilities include moving through and manipulating electronic circuits and projecting rectangular pulses of energy. Videoman

4257-555: Is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Carl Burgos , he debuted in Strange Tales #123 (August 1964 ) as the original Beetle, a supervillain wearing an armor plated, mechanical suit he had designed himself after growing frustrated with his ordinary job as an aircraft mechanic and deciding to turn to crime. Although in his first appearance he fought

4386-725: Is a scientist secretly working for the Human Resistance (along with Erik Josten ) who is part of an elite sapiens military unit the Howling Commandos and Jim Sanders . The three, along with General "Dum Dum" Dugan , are attempting to create a chemical weapon to wipe out all the Kree on Earth, so the humans can strike an alliance with the Shi'Ar to overthrow the House of Magnus . The Ultimate Marvel version of Abner Jenkins

4515-458: Is adorned with decorations from various cultures including Hindu and native African tribes. Producer and story editor Dennis Marks created the character and admits to basing him on Indiana Jones . Smith's father passed down to his son the mystic knowledge of their people and a map leading to a vast Nazi treasure of wealth and advanced technology sought by the Red Skull . Smith often employs

4644-606: Is alluded on a list of cat burglars on the Daily Bugle 's database. During the " Secret Wars " storyline in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows , Beetle is recruited by Regent to fill in the membership gaps of the Sinister Six. He and the rest of the Sinister Six attack the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base. An older Abner Jenkins appears in Old Man Hawkeye , a prequel to Old Man Logan . Mach-X and

4773-404: Is completely inexperienced with his handling of such powerful abilities. He tries to help the trio (which has awakened Iceman from his trance) against a hypnotized mob, but they repel his offers due to his inexperience. He then tries to save Louise from the Gamesman, but he is easily blackmailed into manipulating a military communications satellite system in return for Louise's freedom, an offer that

4902-575: Is his human name in the comics. The next season of Super Friends featured two segments: The first segment of the program featured the established group of heroes: Superman, Batman and Robin, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and the Wonder Twins and Gleek. They were rerun with intro from the All-New Super Friends Hour when in syndication in the early 1980s, but they are seldom seen in syndication since then. The second half-hour of

5031-524: Is then reneged upon by the Gamesman. Enraged at the trickery, Videoman helps Spider-Man and the others free Louise and also reverses his stoppage of the military computer. After the Gamesman is defeated, Francis accepts an invitation to join the X-Men , while Louise accepts him and his abilities. Videoman made a cameo appearance in the 2023 film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse . He is depicted as

5160-469: Is used by Electro to suck in and entrap Spider-Man, Flash Thompson, Firestar and Iceman into a video game display where Electro attempts to destroy the four. However, Flash is able to save himself and the others by escaping through the monitor and into Electro's electronic components to save the others. This first villainous version of Videoman makes one other appearance in Season 2's "Origin of Ice-Man", with

5289-549: The Justice League of America comic book for television . The network made several changes in the transition including the change of name to Super Friends to "cut off any accusations of extreme patriotism". Nevertheless, team members sometimes referred to themselves as the Justice League on the show. The violence common in superhero comics was toned down for a younger audience and to adhere to broadcast standards governing violence in 1970s children's television . As

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends - Misplaced Pages Continue

5418-625: The Beetle and recovering the "Power Booster" he stole from Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man ) the trio decide to team-up permanently as the "Spider-Friends". They live together in Peter's aunt 's home with her and a pet dog named Ms. Lion, a Lhasa Apso who was adopted by Firestar. Together, the superheroes battle various supervillains. Some stories featured team-ups with other superheroes including but not limited to Captain America , Thor , Sunfire , and

5547-637: The Challenge of the Superfriends season: Villains appearing independently from the Legion of Doom: Beginning with the original Super Friends season, the opening narration describes the team's headquarters as "the great hall of the Justice League". The opening credits of Challenge of the Superfriends names the Super Friends as the Justice League of America . In addition to the appearance of

5676-487: The Defenders to confuse the authorities and earn a bit of public trust. Losing every battle against costumed crime-fighters and failing to accumulate very much wealth, Beetle offered his services to underworld financier Justin Hammer who kept various superhuman criminals on retainers. His offer accepted, Beetle was dispatched against the original Iron Man , as part of a battalion of costumed criminals. His Beetle armor

5805-552: The Human Torch and the Thing of the Fantastic Four , later storylines established Jenkins as a recurring foe of Spider-Man , usually working as a henchman for various criminal organizations opposing the hero. Jenkins later formed his own criminal organization known as the Sinister Syndicate . After abandoning his Beetle persona, Jenkins was recruited into the Thunderbolts —a supervillain team assembled by Baron Helmut Zemo to pose as superheroes to gain access to

5934-445: The storyboards for each episode were completed before the voices were recorded for it, "... we really just worked from script. We'd do a roundtable to get the feeling of how the show was going, and then we would record". Originally broadcast on NBC as a Saturday morning cartoon , the series ran first-run original episodes for three seasons, from 1981 to 1983, then aired repeats for an additional two years (from 1984 to 1986). Alongside

6063-477: The television series of the same name and on the 2017 trade paperback X-Men Origins: Firestar . In the Marvel mainstream continuity, Spider-Man, Firestar and Iceman have made sporadic team-ups in Amazing X-Men #7 (July 2014) and Iceman #3 (November 2018). The mainstream Marvel Universe version of Firestar debuted in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #193 as part of Emma Frost 's Hellions team. Firestar

6192-466: The "MACH-2" battle-suit after modifying his MACH-1 armor with the aid of Techno. Techno also altered Jenkins's physical appearance using "dermaplasty" technology since the public was not supposed to know MACH-2 was Jenkins, and the mischievous Techno had some fun at Jenkins's expense by giving him the features of an African American . When the Thunderbolts uncovered and thwarted a CSA-connected conspiracy to exterminate all superhumans, Hawkeye blackmailed

6321-472: The "teen detectives and their talking animal" cliché , originally popularized by Scooby-Doo , was typical in Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the mid/late 1970s. Each episode began with the heroes responding to an emergency detected by the massive TroubAlert computer in the Hall of Justice , which served as the headquarters of the team. Colonel Wilcox, a U.S. Army official, was a recurring character who would act as

6450-477: The 'New' in All-New Super Friends . [emphasis in original] The show followed a basic format each week. The first segment of every show featured two of the heroes (for the purposes of the team-ups in the first and fourth segments, Batman and Robin were considered one hero) teaming up in a separate mini-story. The second segment featured a story with the Wonder Twins. The third segment was considered

6579-651: The 1960s Batman series (played for laughs, but this time, including a laugh track) and included several other DC characters who replaced Samurai, Black Vulcan, and Apache Chief: Black Canary , the E-2 Huntress Helena Wayne (a new DC character, gathering her own following in All-Star and Adventure Comics JSA runs as a JSA member), and Captain Marvel (who had previously had his own live action series through Filmation studios). The second special, entitled "The Roast", featured Ed McMahon as emcee of

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6708-532: The 1981 Spider-Man animated series , Amazing Friends was later re-aired in the late 1980s as part of the 90-minute Marvel Action Universe , a syndicated series that was used as a platform for old and new Marvel-produced animated fare (the newer programming featured RoboCop: The Animated Series , Dino-Riders and on occasion X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men , which was a pilot for a potential X-Men animated series). Mihahn and Toei Animation contributed some of

6837-446: The Avengers on finding if they had been staying legit despite their suspicions. Abe told them they would have to stop Baron Zemo before he launched Project: Liberation, but that Moonstone was the one to really worry about. After Moonstone revealed her plans, Abe had Jolt contacted to help the Avengers and Thunderbolts stop her. Following the conclusion to the battle, Abe was finally paroled from jail and made an announcement that he

6966-424: The Beetle's battle armor using Stark technology were fused. Beetle organized his own team of super-villainous mercenaries called the Sinister Syndicate , which ran afoul of Spider-Man. When most of Earth 's costumed adventurers, including the then-core membership of the Avengers and Fantastic Four, seemingly died battling Onslaught , Baron Helmut Zemo recruited Jenkins and a number of other villains to trick

7095-515: The Beetle, he designed and wore a suit of full body powered armor that granted him superhuman strength and durability and artificial winged flight. The suit's gloves contained pneumatic suction-grippers, enabling him to cling to walls or lift things with his fingertips. The suit could also create an electrostatic energy discharge referred to as the "electro-bite". On the back of the suit are a set of ultra-tough mylar wings powered by super efficient micro-motors which enable him to fly. Antennae built into

7224-602: The Burton Canyon police department as a tech support specialist. Unfortunately, their quiet lives were shattered when the super-criminal Graviton launched his latest attempt at world conquest in Burton Canyon, imprisoning the world's superheroes and reshaping the planet in his own image. Despite their reluctance to risk their newfound freedom, Jenkins and Songbird agreed to join Citizen V (secretly Baron Zemo controlling Citizen V's body) in attacking Graviton as part of

7353-450: The CSA into giving the Thunderbolts full pardons in exchange for the group's silence; however, CSA agent Henry Peter Gyrich insisted that he would not go along with the deal unless Hawkeye went to prison for his technically illegal vigilante activities as a member of the Thunderbolts. Hawkeye agreed, despite the protests of his teammates, and surrendered to federal custody. Most of the rest of

7482-727: The DC comic books, writer E. Nelson Bridwell made the comic book accord with the other DC titles via footnotes . An example of trying to fit Super Friends into the DC Universe: The argument for the comic being part of the Earth-One continuity also included the fact that certain elements of the series impacted other books in the DC line: 1. TNT's appearance in Kandor in an issue of Superman Family that references events exclusively from Super Friends issue #12. 2. Sinestro's lack of

7611-464: The Flash , Plastic Man , and Green Arrow ; the latter two did not appear in any subsequent episodes of the series. This first run of Super Friends , consisting of 16 one-hour episodes which were rerun several times, concluded on August 24, 1974. At this point, the series was cancelled. However, interest in superheroes among ABC's prime-time viewers (with the success of The Six Million Dollar Man and

7740-485: The Hanna-Barbera animation studios later explained the change in cast: When the decision was made by ABC to renew Super Friends three years after the first series' 1973 production, ABC and Hanna-Barbera wanted to ramp up (as much as they could) the series' action content. And since we were ramping that up, that meant making all of our cast a bit more serious, and giving our five leads a bit more backup than three non-powered sidekicks. [New sidekicks] also helped emphasize

7869-613: The Head of Security. He brings Luke Cage below sea level where they are introduced to Man-Thing who will serve as the Thunderbolts' mode of transportation. Along with Songbird and Fixer, he frequently serves as a trusted chaperone for Cage's Thunderbolts team. During the Standoff at Pleasant Hill , MACH-VII is working with S.H.I.E.L.D. Afterward, MACH-VII became MACH-X and joined with Winter Soldier's new team of Thunderbolts. Abe briefly rekindles his romance with Songbird when she joins

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7998-705: The Hellions, Firestar becomes a founding member of the New Warriors and later serves as a distinguished member of the Avengers along with her fellow New Warrior, Justice. She is currently a member of the X-Men . Hiawatha Smith is a college professor at the Spider-Friends' university. He is the son of a heroic Native American chief who fought against the Axis during World War II . Hiawatha Smith's home

8127-688: The Human Torch before licensing issues forced the creation of Firestar). In 2007's Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe—Spider-Man: Back in Black one-shot, the villain Videoman is given a brief biography from his "retcon" appearance in the Spider-Man Family one-shot. There is also an annotation describing an "Earth 8107", where an alternate reality Videoman was created by Electro to battle that world's Spider-Man. Later, in

8256-458: The Riddler showing a set of playing cards with (from left to right) Gleek, Zan, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Batman, and Superman (which he then burns to ashes in his introduction in "Wanted: The Super Friends"), the Wonder Twins and Gleek did not appear in Challenge . The Challenge of the Superfriends segment was expanded to 90 minutes mid-season, with reruns of earlier episodes filling out

8385-509: The Superfriends and the Hanna-Barbera-created hero El Dorado , who was added to the show in 1981 to provide additional cultural diversity. This would prove to be one of the longer-lived incarnations of the series (three years). A total of 22 episodes were produced. For the 1982–1983 television season ABC ran half-hour reruns of shows from the previous seven seasons, with none of the seven-minute shorts rebroadcast. ABC called

8514-427: The Thunderbolts, including MACH-2 and Songbird, were pardoned and released. However, as part of the terms of their deal, they were forbidden from public use of superhuman powers or costumed identities. MACH-2 and Songbird turned their equipment over to the authorities and started new civilian lives in the town of Burton Canyon, Colorado as Abe Jenkins and Melissa Gold. Ironically, Jenkins found himself employment with

8643-452: The Thunderbolts, now a team of reformed criminals trying to earn time off their sentence by working for the government. The character has been adapted from the comics into several other forms of media, such as animated television series and video games . Abner Jenkins first appeared as the original incarnation of the Beetle in Strange Tales #123 (August 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Carl Burgos . As MACH-1, he later joined

8772-694: The Winter Soldier's Thunderbolts team (in the aftermath of Civil War II). However, in the lead up the Secret Empire event, Baron Zemo attacks the Thunderbolts with a new incarnation of the Masters of Evil. Songbird and Abe resist Zemo's offer to join up with him and the rising Hydra empire and, in the fallout of their confrontation, Songbird is left searching the snowy wasteland for Abe's missing body. Abner Jenkins has no superhuman powers, but has extensive knowledge of mechanics and engineering. As

8901-407: The Wonder Twins and Gleek, this time teamed up with Firestorm . In addition to this core group, episodes during this season also featured cameos by old (and new) Super Friends. The series ended August 31, 1985, and featured comic-book villains such as Brainiac , Lex Luthor , Mirror Master , Mr. Mxyzptlk , Darkseid , and his henchmen from Apokolips . This title of this season and the next featured

9030-563: The World's Greatest Super Friends theme, allusions to the Legion of Doom, and the Super Friends and their Hall of Justice. The first use of the Super Friends name on a DC Comics publication was in Limited Collectors' Edition #C-41 (December 1975-January 1976) which reprinted stories from Justice League of America #36 and 61 and featured a new framing sequence by writer E. Nelson Bridwell and artist Alex Toth . DC published

9159-512: The acquisition of wealth. At one point, Beetle was mentally dominated and recruited by the Collector to serve as his unwilling agent. Under the Collector's domination, Beetle faced the Avengers . He battled Daredevil and then, allied with Gladiator , fought him again. The Beetle also battled Spider-Man again. He later became a member of the group of supervillains who briefly posed as

9288-404: The additional abilities of bringing video game characters to life and draining the unique bio-energy of mutants, temporarily suppressing Iceman's powers and weakening Firestar, as well as being able to emulate their powers for its own use. This time, Videoman is defeated when the Spider-Friends trick it and its video game minions into attacking one another. In the Season 3 episode "The Education of

9417-445: The adulation and personal satisfaction from being heroes, they decided to try making the Thunderbolts a legitimate team. When Hawkeye took over the group's leadership, he convinced Jenkins to serve out the remainder of his prison term as a show of good faith to the public, but another criminal used the Beetle guise to frame him. While at Seagate, Jenkins coped with resentment and occasional assaults from other super-criminals and refused

9546-400: The animation for this series. During the first season, each episode contained a cold open , which was and remains unusual for a children's cartoon. When the same episodes were re-aired later in the series' run, these teaser sequences were edited to fit after the titles and episode card. Still, the original sequence infrequently showed up on NBC's re-airings. Stan Lee did not originally narrate

9675-429: The attacker together. The team-up is called "Iceman and His amazing Friends" both on the issue's cover and by Iceman in the story. Afterward, the trio chat and Angelica and Bobby commiserate about men on dating apps. Super Friends Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It

9804-511: The attention and adulation they received as heroes. Seeking redemption, Jenkins was convinced to give himself over to authorities to serve out an outstanding prison sentence in exchange for the Thunderbolts being granted immunity. During his time in jail Jenkins helped the authorities out, which led to him working for the government after his release from prison. He later began working at the Raft maximum security prison as head of security and re-joined

9933-573: The comic books (such as Lex Luthor and The Riddler ) began to feature prominently in comic-style stories. Throughout the series, plots often wrapped themselves up neatly in the final minutes of an episode in the fashion of the typical comic books and deus ex machina . In 1973, animation company Hanna-Barbera acquired rights to the DC Comics characters and partnered with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) to adapt

10062-529: The company released the first season of the series on DVD followed up with a Series 2-3 set and Complete Series DVD sets on November 24. These releases were distributed through Lace International, due to Liberation closing their UK branch a few weeks prior in October. The Liberation releases did not include any of the Stan Lee narrations from the first or second season. Only some of the Stan Lee narrations were in

10191-638: The early hour-long episodes. Bill Woodson took over with the revival of the series in 1977. His signature line was "Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice...". The voices of Marvin and Wonder Dog as well as Mr. Mxyzptlk, Toyman, The Dollmaker, Darkseid, Kalibak, and The Joker were performed by Frank Welker . Adam West provided the voice of Batman in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians . Casey Kasem provided

10320-471: The episodes from this season. In the second season, the show aired along with a newly produced Hulk animated series as The Incredible Hulk and the Amazing Spider-Man . The two shows shared one intro which showcased the new title. In place of the cold opens from the first season, Marvel Productions created 12-second previews aired immediately preceding the episodes. Stan Lee began narrating

10449-451: The episodes in the second season. Marvel Productions also added narrations by Lee to the first-season episodes at this time to give the series cohesion. Neither first nor second season narrations appear on the current masters, and they have not aired since the NBC airings (as seen on the Stan Lee narration list at Spider-Friends.com). For the third season, the characters' billing was reversed and

10578-509: The familiar DC Comics super-villains, like the Joker and the Riddler, that the first incarnation of the Super Friends did not. Instead, like the comic books, they focused on the far-fetched schemes of mad scientists and aliens, who were invariably revealed as being well-intentioned, and simply pursuing their goals through unlawful or disreputable means. Typically, at the end of each story, a peaceful and reasonable discussion would be performed by

10707-734: The following year. The remainder aired on the USA Network in 1995, as part of the Superman/Batman Adventures show. The 1983 Lost Episodes of Super Friends were released on DVD by Warner Home Entertainment (via DC Comics Entertainment , Hanna-Barbera Cartoons , and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment ) in April 2009. Super Friends returned to ABC Saturday, September 8, 1984, with a new 30-minute program typically featuring two 11-minute stories per episode. This incarnation featured Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and

10836-456: The game. Louise walks away from Francis, then also gets affected and hypnotized after having her pleas disregarded by Francis. He (unbeknownst to any others) plays the arcade machine so rigorously that it and other arcade machines (most of which are emitting the hypnotic waves) explode. The explosion somehow transforms Francis into Videoman. Francis discovers that he can become his new blue and white, red-eyed alter-ego Videoman at will. However, he

10965-668: The heroes battled such familiar foes as Lex Luthor , Brainiac , the Scarecrow , and recurring villain Darkseid . It also contained the only appearances in the series by The Joker , The Penguin , the Royal Flush Gang , and Felix Faust . Notably, it is in this series that Batman's origin is depicted for the first time outside of comics and the first cartoon series. Batman and Robin chase The Scarecrow into Crime Alley, where Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, which triggers

11094-423: The heroes to convince the antagonists to adopt more reasonable methods. The All-New Super Friends Hour departed somewhat from the previous series' formula by featuring villains using more elaborate methods to further their goals; as a rule they could not be reasoned with, requiring the heroes to use direct force to stop them. Beginning with Challenge of the Superfriends , several of the heroes' arch-villains from

11223-585: The last half-hour. In the fall of 1979, the Super Friends returned to their prior format, bringing back the original set of five DC superheroes and Zan, Jayna, and Gleek. Eight half-hour episodes were created for this run, with the majority of the season consisting of rebroadcasts of The All-New Super Friends Hour from 1977 to 1978 and The Super Friends segments from Challenge of the Superfriends from 1978 to 1979. Renamed The World's Greatest SuperFriends , this series began on September 22, 1979, and ran until September 27, 1980. Renamed SuperFriends in 1980,

11352-422: The live-action Wonder Woman series) caused the network to revive Super Friends . The original 16 episodes of the series were rebroadcast as a mid-season replacement, running from February 7, 1976, to September 3, 1977. These episodes were edited into half-hour versions. At the same time, DC Comics published a Super Friends comic, which used Wendy and Marvin from issue #1 (November 1976) to #6 (August 1977). In

11481-456: The meantime, Hanna-Barbera began production on a revamped version of the show. The All-New Super Friends Hour featured four animated shorts per program. Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog were dropped from this and all future TV iterations of Super Friends , and were replaced by Wonder Twins Zan and Jayna, and their pet monkey, Gleek . Unlike Wendy and Marvin, Zan and Jayna had super powers. A total of 15 episodes were produced. Darrell McNeil of

11610-413: The mid-1970s X-Men . A number of characters in the series were original characters that did not appear in the comics prior to the premiere of the series: One of the series' main characters, Firestar was created specifically for this series when the Human Torch was unavailable (due to licensing issues). The original plan was for Spider-Man to have fire and ice based teammates, so Angelica Jones/Firestar

11739-443: The new Beetle attracted the attention of the Thunderbolts. Fearing the CSA might not honor the terms of their bargain, Jenkins fled CSA custody after completing the operation and rejoined the Thunderbolts. Hawkeye blackmailed the CSA into allowing Jenkins to remain free, even though the government's records would list Jenkins as still being in prison, in exchange for keeping the CSA's exploitation of Jenkins's secret. Jenkins created

11868-486: The phrase "Super Powers" to tie in with a toy line of the same name produced by Kenner . In the fall of 1985, the next version of Hanna-Barbera's depiction of the DC Comics heroes began, although it no longer carried the Super Friends name. This series returned to a conventional lineup for the team, with a focus on teen members Cyborg and Firestorm. Once again headquartered at the Hall of Justice in Metropolis ,

11997-421: The power to emit and control microwave energy. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the show, Marvel released Spider-Man Family: Amazing Friends #1 on August 9, 2006. The comic starts with an all-new story, "Opposites Attack", which is officially set before Web of Spider-Man #75. After that is a Mini Marvel tale, "Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends Co-Workers" (note that the strikethrough of "Friends"

12126-586: The primary adventure of the week, featuring the entire Super Friends roster (including the Wonder Twins) in a longer adventure. The fourth and final segment featured a story with one of the primary lineup and a "special guest star". This segment typically featured a problem that was solved using the guest star's unique abilities. Between segments there were short spots with members of the Super Friends giving basic safety lessons, providing first-aid advice, demonstrating magic tricks, creating crafts, and presenting

12255-426: The replacement character for Robin. A Teen Titans animated TV program was eventually produced , adding Robin and removing Wonder Girl, Kid Flash and The Protector. Fisher-Price developed a toy line named DC Super Friends featuring DC Comics characters as toys for young children. A comic book series and direct-to-video original animation called The Joker's Playhouse (2010) was developed to tie-in. The video features

12384-444: The rerun package The Best of the Super Friends . Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. had created a syndication package of the earlier Super Friends series (co-distributed by LBS Communications ); these were picked up by stations across the United States and typically broadcast on weekday afternoons. Not wishing to compete with the syndication programming, ABC dropped the series from the 1983–1984 Saturday morning television line-up. For

12513-478: The rest of the Thunderbolts betrayed Clint years before which resulted in the deaths of all of the other Avengers. Years later, Jenkins is now working in a Doombot factory in Kree Haven before Hawkeye arrives to kill him for revenge for his betrayal. Clint allows him to put on his Beetle outfit (which Abner chose because he did not find it fitting to dress up as the heroic Mach-X) and tells Clint that he sided with

12642-542: The roast, along the lines of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast specials. Due to Warner Bros.' contracts on Wonder Woman (already being used in her own live action series in which Lynda Carter starred) and Superman (in his own live-action theatrical movie at the time, portrayed by Christopher Reeve ), they were unable to be featured on the specials. Plastic Man appeared in the first season of Super Friends , in one episode. Later, Ruby-Spears Productions released

12771-489: The same reality, Francis Byte is mutated by an exploding arcade console to become a new Videoman, and later "possibly" join the X-Men. Essentially, this places the events of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends — or at the very least, the episodes "Videoman" and "The Education of a Superhero" — in an alternate-Earth continuity of the Marvel Comics Multiverse . The Spider-Friends of Earth-1983 (described as

12900-422: The screenwriters and involving himself in the casting and animation. Some of the sound effects used in the series originated from Universal Television's Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century . Adding Ms. Lion, a pet, as a character was another attempt to emulate the Super Friends (specifically the characters Wonder Dog and Gleek ). Firestar actress Kathy Garver recalled that though

13029-464: The second time, Super Friends was cancelled. However, during this time Hanna-Barbera continued to produce new episodes with the Super Friends, with ABC's approval and funding. In total, 24 "lost episodes" were produced, but not aired in the United States that season; the series appeared in Australia. Three of these episodes were aired when Super Friends returned to Saturday-morning ABC television

13158-419: The series changed formats again, abandoning the production of half-hour episodes and producing seven-minute shorts. Each episode of SuperFriends would feature a rerun from one of the previous six years and three new shorts. These new adventures featured appearances by the core group of five Super Friends and Zan, Jayna, and Gleek. There were also guest appearances from members previously depicted in Challenge of

13287-642: The show introduced the Legion of Doom , a team of 13 recurring foes who are the Super Friends' worst enemies. They used a swamp-based mechanical flying headquarters, the Hall of Doom, as a contrast to the Super Friends' gleaming Hall of Justice. A total of 16 episodes were produced. Additional heroes who had previously appeared as guest stars were added to the roster as well, to make a total of 11. These included The Flash , Green Lantern , and Hawkman from DC Comics and three Hanna-Barbera creations to reflect diversity: Black Vulcan , Apache Chief , and Samurai . Despite

13416-633: The show was called, The Amazing Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk . It remained that way for most of the remaining years. NBC did air the show individually in mid-season (post 1986) after it was not initially announced for their fall schedule. Only some of the Stan Lee narrations for the third season are on the current masters. The missing narrations have not aired since the NBC airings. Peter Parker ( Spider-Man ), Bobby Drake ( Iceman ), and Angelica Jones ( Firestar ) are all college students at Empire State University. After working together to defeat

13545-497: The suit's helmet allowed reception and ultra-efficient conversion of microwaves, providing the suit with a constantly replenishing power supply. A mini-computer built into the chest-plate feeds data to heads-up displays in the helmet, providing him with constantly updated tactical analysis of his opponent's movements. As MACH-I through MACH-IV, he designed a new suit of power armor which granted superhuman strength and durability, and flight as his Beetle suit did. This new suit contains

13674-430: The superheroes, a trio of sidekicks was introduced, each of whom were new characters not drawn from the comic books: Wendy and Marvin (voiced by Sherri Alberoni and Frank Welker ) and Wonder Dog (also voiced by Frank Welker ), none of whom had any special abilities (save the dog's unexplained ability to reason and talk). The trio—or at least its human members—were depicted as detectives and/or superheroes-in-training;

13803-536: The supervillain team, the Thunderbolts , who were masquerading as superheroes to conceal their true goals, in Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997 ). In subsequent storylines, however, all members of the team, including Jenkins, became disillusioned with their leader, Baron Helmut Zemo , and decided to reform and become actual heroes. After some time away from the team, Jenkins appeared as a regular character in Thunderbolts since issue #144, and has appeared as

13932-489: The team. Instead of Angelica Jones, Firestar is Liz Allan . Since then, in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man , Spidey, Iceman, and the Human Torch have begun living together at Aunt May's house and have been working as a team as another homage to the series (because Liz, as Firestar, was a member of the X-Men in this continuity ; this team roster also reflects the original intent of Amazing Friends to use

14061-526: The technology of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers , groups which had both seemingly perished while fighting Onslaught . Jenkins became known as "MACH-1", using a modified version of his Beetle armor that was designed for faster flight and higher altitude. The Thunderbolts were introduced in Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997), and although they originally went along with Zemo's plan, later storylines depicted them as disobeying him due to enjoying

14190-469: The third season. Clear Vision later took over European rights and re-released the series on August 2, 2010 (Season 1) and September 6, 2010 (Seasons 2 and 3) in the United Kingdom respectively, with a German release following afterwards. These newer editions have improved image quality and include German dubbing, while removing the 5.1 audio track and English subtitles. A Complete Series release followed on February 11, 2013. Budget distributor Walk released

14319-477: The voice of Robin (and many others in the show). René Auberjonois lends his voice as DeSaad. In January 2009, IGN listed Super Friends as the 50th best animated television series. On January 18 and 25, 1979, Hanna-Barbera ran two one-hour live-action specials under the umbrella title Legends of the Superheroes . The first special, subtitled "The Challenge", was loosely based on the Super Friends and

14448-453: The void on the real Earth, forfeiting their roles and place on Counter-Earth. Emerging from the void, the Thunderbolts encountered their former teammates Hawkeye and Songbird who had formed their own version of the Thunderbolts who were similarly engaged with the void from the real Earth's counterpart of the spaceship. The two teams of Thunderbolts combined forces to plug the void and shunt the alien ship from Earth. Jenkins's reunion with Songbird

14577-406: The war-torn and nearly destroyed world. The Thunderbolts became renowned for their heroism and efforts to solve the world's problems. They were hailed by many to be the world's saviors. Nevertheless, Jenkins appeared to be going through the motions; his heart being elsewhere as his relationship with Songbird was thought to be lost. On Counter-Earth, Zemo's Thunderbolts had encountered the effects of

14706-541: The world into believing they were heroes called the Thunderbolts . Jenkins adopted the guise of "MACH-1". He was the first member of the team to do something because it was right rather than because it benefited the plan, providing Spider-Man with evidence to clear his name after an android framed the web-swinger for a series of thefts after the two were forced to fight the rest of the Thunderbolts under mind-control and Spider-Man saved Jenkins' life. Zemo's plan ultimately failed, but when Jenkins and other members began to enjoy

14835-414: Was "Escape From Space City" on October 26, 1985. This third cancellation would be the final one, and Galactic Guardians marked the end of Hanna-Barbera's 12-year run of Super Friends . The core group of heroes made up the "Super Friends": Other members and guest stars: Junior Super Friends: Supporting characters originally from DC comic books: Thirteen villains composed the Legion of Doom during

14964-530: Was a deliberate inclusion in the title). Both stories were written by Sean McKeever . The remainder of the one-shot is composed of reprints of Untold Tales of Spider-Man #2 and Spider-Man 2099 #2. An arc in Ultimate Spider-Man is titled "Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends" and issue #118's cover, showing Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar, is a homage to the series title screen. Johnny Storm and Kitty Pryde are also said to be members of

15093-798: Was a step up from previous attempts, even if it was still relatively simplistic, and stories explored more of Peter Parker's personal life than the 1960s series before it". James Whitbrook of Gizmodo ranked 5th in their "Spider-Man's Best Cartoons" list, writing: "The trio had an excellent dynamic that elevated Amazing beyond its sister show, and as campy as it could be, there's a reason why it remains beloved by many". Olivia Fitzpatrick of Collider ranked Spider-Man and His Amazing Friend 3rd in their "Every 'Spider-Man' Animated Series" list. Jason Serafino of Complex ranked 25th in their "25 Best Animated Comic Book TV Shows Of All Time" list. IGN ranked Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends 59th in their "Top 100 Animated Series" list, stating that "the animation

15222-490: Was brought in to work on the new show (with the exception of Marvin Miller who was replaced by Norman Alden as the voice of Aquaman). Shortly before the Super Friends series was developed, Superman and Wonder Woman also guest-starred in two episodes of The Brady Kids (voiced by Lennie Weinrib and Jane Webb under Filmation ), while Batman and Robin appeared in two episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies . In addition to

15351-596: Was completed in 1996. This merger also led to Warner Bros. taking control of Hanna-Barbera and all of its other assets as well. The series was owned by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, DC Comics Entertainment , Warner Bros. Family Entertainment , and Warner Bros. Animation . Super Friends first aired on ABC on September 8, 1973, featuring well-known DC characters Superman , Batman and Robin , Wonder Woman , and Aquaman . Superman, Batman and Robin, and Aquaman had each previously appeared in their own animated series produced by Filmation , and voice talent from these prior programs

15480-418: Was created as a companion for the Super Friends , to be set in the same continuity. Robin was not going to be featured in the cartoon though, at least not as a regular, since in the Super Friends universe, he was a member of the Justice League. Like Super Friends , the show was to be developed by Hanna-Barbera for ABC, but since shows like The Smurfs (airing on NBC ) were so popular at the time, this show

15609-611: Was created. Her pre-production names included Heatwave , Firefly , (both having already been names of DC Comics villains) and Starblaze . Firestar did not appear in Marvel's mainstream comic book universe until Uncanny X-Men #193 (May 1985). She appears as a member of the Hellions , a group of teenage mutants who functioned as rivals to the New Mutants (a similar group under the tutelage of Charles Xavier ). After leaving

15738-466: Was given an origin story in a self-titled mini-series (March – June 1986). The character went on to be a founding member of the New Warriors , and later a member of the Avengers . One change to Firestar from the TV show to the comic books was her powers. In the cartoon, they were fire based. However, Marvel had a number of characters who could control and/or create fire, so they changed her mutant ability to

15867-461: Was never picked up by the network. The show would have featured Wonder Girl as the leader, along with Cyborg , Kid Flash , Changeling , Raven and Starfire . Although the show failed to get picked up, a television commercial with a substance abuse theme did feature the Titans, as they would have appeared in the animated series, along with a new superhero named "The Protector" who would have been

15996-469: Was predictably budget for the time, particularly when viewed in this post- Spectacular Spider-Man world of ours, but it was fun nonetheless". Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was nominated for Best Children's Television Series at the 1982 Young Artist Awards . The first comic book that directly referenced the Amazing Friends show was Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends #1 (December 1981),

16125-409: Was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics . The title of the series varied from season to season, as did the superheroes on the team. Nine seasons, comprising a total of 93 episodes, were produced. Over the years, the show existed under several titles: Plot lines for the later series involved many of

16254-407: Was reforming the Thunderbolts and that any former villains or super-powered individuals who wanted a second chance would be allowed to join. He found himself the group's leader and lover to Songbird. Things continued to go crazy when the Thunderbolts kept being put into tough situations as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker threw new challenges to keep them busy, including adding Speed Demon to the team as

16383-476: Was sent to prison. Paroled a short time later, he sought revenge on Human Torch, but found himself in battle with Spider-Man instead. He kidnapped Human Torch's girlfriend, and Human Torch briefly battled Spider-Man, thinking he was in league with Beetle. Once again, with Human Torch's help, he was defeated after a cage of high-temperature flame was created around him. He was jailed once more. Upon his release, he decided to forego petty revenge and concentrated on

16512-510: Was severely damaged by Iron Man during the fight. Abner then invested all of the capital he could acquire into the modification and refinement of his Beetle armor. With the Tinkerer 's assistance, he produced a new battle-suit with far greater capacities than his old one. Before launching his comeback, Beetle recruited the criminal Ringer to put Spider-Man through his paces. Beetle wished to study Spider-Man's fighting style and program it into

16641-469: Was short-lived. Despite their feelings for each other, Jenkins left Songbird, once more remanding himself to police custody to serve the remainder of his sentence. For six months, Jenkins had been a model prisoner at Parsons Minimum Security prison in Illinois . He has since had his skin and face changed back to his original appearance, and has resumed contact with Songbird. Abe was recently approached by

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