Jonah Hex is in line to join an elite group of DC superheroes that have been given big-screen live-action movies. This list is so choice, even powerhouses like Wonder Woman and the Flash haven't made the cut. This list contains only the cream of the crop like Batman, Superman, and er um Steel (yes, starring Shaq). Well, so maybe the list isn't so much elite as it is short.
Anyways, the 19th century scar-faced civil war veteran / bounty hunter / anti-hero first appeared in issue #10 of All-Star Western in 1972. His onscreen debut in 1995 was depicted as a flashback of Ra's Al Ghul on Batman: The Animated Series.
Hex and Batman met face to face in the Justice League Unlimited episode The Once and Future Thing: Weird Western Tales in which Hex teamed up with the Leaguers as well as Bat-lash and El Diablo to fight another time traveling n'er do well.
Batman and Hex crossed paths again in 2009's Batman: The Brave and the Bold. First, the two teamed up against an Old West iteration of the Royal Flush Gang.
Later, Hex was recruited through time as a interdimensional bounty hunter who captured warriors for Mongol's War World in the present day.
But it is next Summer's Jonah Hex film that will give the ugly mug a chance to break out into the mainstream.
Teaming with Megan Fox, John Malkovich, and G.O.B. can't hurt either, though hopefully that creepy dude in the rear view mirror doesn't make the cut.
By 1983, Hanna-Barbera had created a neat little syndication package of the earlier Super Friends series, typically aired on weekday afternoons. Not wishing to compete with the syndication programming, ABC dropped the series from the Saturday morning line-up. Super Friends was canceled.
However, for some reason that makes no sense to anyone, Hanna-Barbera continued to produce new episodes of the Super Friends. In total, 24 of the so-called "Lost Episodes" were animated but not aired in the United States that season. These include an episodes "The Kryptonite Syndrome," featuring the one and only appearance of Robin sans Batman.
Three episodes were aired when Super Friends returned to Saturday morning ABC television the following year but the remainder of the episodes did not air until packaged with the Superman/Batman Adventures show in 1995.
Availability: Ironically, these Lost Episodes will find their way to DVD before the other Super Friends shorts. Up Next: Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
Villains: The Octopus, Silken Floss, Plaster of Paris, Sand Saref
Diabolical Scheme: The Octopus wanted Heracles' blood to transform from being merely invulnerable into an immortal.
Coolest Moment(s): Wow, there are just so many to choose from... I guess the final assault on Mr. Ock. Or just The Octopus in general (He has eight of everything).
Worst Moment: Being told that toilets are always funny. Comic Book Logic: I never quite understood where the octopus got all of his t-shirt wearing buffoon goons. Did he clone them? Then where did he get all the shirts. Comic book villains always seem to have plenty of muscle around to do their bidding.
Opening Weekend: $6,463,278
Total Domestic Box Office: $19,806,188
Review in 50 Words or Less: Interesting visuals combined with some odd egg-themed dialogue, overly dramatic acting, and lots of costume changes leaving me befuddled but not bored. Was it supposed to be serious or a parody? I probably enjoyed this more than I should have, but would feel guilty encouraging anyone else to see it.
Captain America and Captain America II: Death Too Soon
For anyone that has high hopes for a good live-action Captain America movie, here is a peek at how terrible wrong it could go. Cap actually got two live-action made for TV movie in 1979. In the movies, Steve Rogers is the son of a WWII operative. His extreme patriotism earned him the moniker Captain America.
After an injury, Steve was given an experimental formula FLAG (Full Latent Ability Gain) giving him super strength and reflexes. He then becomes a superhero and is given a specialized van and motorcycle which boasts a windshield that converts into his trademark shield.
These new abilities lead the intelligence official who told Rogers about his father to recruit him and give Steve a costume based on his drawing. As Captain America, he also makes significant use of a specialized van, out the rear of which can be launched a modified motorcycle. The bike has a round windshield with concentric circles that alternate between red and transparent around a centered star. He detaches this and uses it as his shield when he goes on foot. At the end of the first movie, Rogers briefly appears in a redesigned costume that bears a stronger resemblance to the one seen in the comics, and which he wears in the sequel.
Spider-Man The Dragon's Challenge
This "movie" was really just a packaged release of the the final 2-hour episode of the 1977 Amazing Spider-Man series. Basically, it was Spider-Man meets Hong Kong with the same subpar production as the rest of the series.
Legends Of The Superheroes
Making Spider-Man look like Shakespeare was the variety hour Legends of the Superheroes a live action spin-off from the Super Friends animated series. There was some variation to the Super Friends team roster due to rights issues and also trying to balance out the teams gender ratio. This team featured Batman and the Boy Wonder Robin, Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, while Captain Marvel, Huntress and Black Canary were added to the mix. Notably absent were Superman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman as well as the characters invented for the cartoon show (Wonder Twins, Samurai, Apache Chief, Black Vulcan).
The first installment centered around the birthday party for retired hero Crimson Cyclone's birthday (Why not just use Red Tornado? I guess robots don't have birthdays...?). The party was interrupted by the Legion of Doom featuring Riddler, Weather Wizard, Sinestro, Mordru, Dr. Sivana, Giganta and Solomon Grundy. The heroes ended up powerless, but still pulled out a victory.
The second episode was a celebrity roast of the superheroes hosted by Ed McMahon. Thankfully, they stopped at two.
Spider-Woman
According to the title sequence, Jessica Drew was bitten by a poisonous spider as a child; her father saved her life by injecting her with an experimental "spider serum", which also granted her spider powers (apparently spiders can fly and shoot lasers). As an adult, Jessica is editor of Justice Magazine, with two other employees featured; photographer Jeff and Jessica's teenage nephew Billy. When trouble arises, Jessica slips away to change into her secret identity of Spider-Woman.
What the theme-song doesn't tell you is that Spider-Woman only came into existence to secure copyright on the character name after Filmation tried to create a heroine with the same name (ultimately renamed Web Woman).
World's Greatest Super Friends
Once again, the Super Friends were rebranded with the core team was returning to the original Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman along with Zan, Jayna and Gleek. Only eight new half hour episodes were created for The World's Greatest Super Friends which were paired with episodes of The All-New Super Friends Hour for airing. Lex Luthor made an appearance in one episode, tying this new incarnation to the previous season.
The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
The Plastic Man show initially focused on Plastic Man, girlfriend Penny, and sidekick Hula Hula globetrotting to stop threats.
After Plastic Man and Penny married, Baby Plas was introduced and given his own segment. Baby Plas was also featured in a Plastic Man Family segment.
Another segment titled Mighty Man & Yukk aired during the Plastic Man show. This segment was about a tiny superhero (Mighty Man), and his talking dog Yukk who was so ugly he wore a doghouse-helmet over his face. His ugly mug was in fact his secret weapon.
Other segments during the show featuring non-superheroes included Fangface and Fangpuss (about a reluctant werewolf and his baby cousin) and Rickety Rocket about an artificially intelligent space ship created by a group of African-American kid geniuses who solved mysteries in the future.
Fred & Barney meet the Thing
Despite the limitless potential for "cool" offered by the title, the show really was just back to back stand alone segments of the Thing followed by Fred and Barney. The titular Fred, Barney, and Thing only crossed paths during the show's opening title sequence and in brief bumpers between segments.
The Thing segments were a very loose adaptation of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four character which followed a teen Thing, Benjy Grimm, who transformed into the rock-skinned superhero by touching together magic rings and reciting the words "Thing ring, do your thing!" Lets just say, comic book fans were not amused.
In 1980, the heroes reclaimed the original title, simply Super Friends.
Super Friends (Shorts)
This time around, episodes were produced as 7-minute shorts with 3 airing each week packaged with a 20-minute rerun from previous years. The new adventures featured appearances by the same core team members including Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Zan, Jayna and Gleek, but there were also occasional guests stars from previous seasons including old favorites Hawkgirl, Rima the Jungle Girl, and the Atom. Also making his debut was the created for the show character El Dorado.
No origin was provided for the El Dorado' character but he had a smorgasbord of powers including mind reading, casting illusions, teleportation, and lasers eyes. He assisted the Super Friends whenever they were forced to enter unfamiliar ruins or areas in Mexico or Central America.
This format continued for the next three years. In all 66 shorts were made, though the last 24 would become part of next weeks focus-The Lost Episodes
This is who Iron Man will be fighting in Iron Man 2. Doesnt seem like it should be a long fight, but who knows. Maybe old Whiplash's skin is mre impervious than it looks.
And so it goes. In preparation for the upcoming Retrospective 1979 that you all must surely be anticipating, I became aware of some neglected and bizarre nuggets from 1977 and 1978. The respective entries have been updated, but in fairness to the creators of these fine shows, they are getting their own spotlight in this post. Trust me, you don't want to skip this.
The New Adventures of Batman
Along with the titular Batman, The New Adventures of Batman featured Robin the Boy Wonder, Batgirl and Bat-Mite, a a well meaning imp from another dimension called Ergo, who considers himself Batman's biggest fan. Hmm. Sure why not. Seems like a logical addition to Batman's universe, maybe the next Batman movie can be called Bat-Mite Returns... Some will consider this one of the Dark Knight's darkest hours. It was the Joker's inclusion in this series which kept him from appearing in the Challenge of the Super Friends series that ran during the same time frame. Likewise, Riddler and Scarecrow's membership in the Legion of Doom precluded them from appearing here.
The series was paired up with a Tarzan animated series in 1977 which expanded into a series titled either Tarzan and the Super 7 or Batman and the Super 7 in subsequent years. Stay tuned for the rest of the Super 7 to debut in 1978.
Space Sentinels
Also arriving in 1977 was the series The Young Sentinels which although it only lasted one 13 episode season was renamed midway through its run to Space Sentinels. The racially diverse cast has earned the series a footnote in the annals of history.
In this series, the Roman mythological figures Hercules and Mercury are joined by Astrea, a character created specifically for the series, to form a superhero team to protect mankind. As the series intro described:
Many centuries ago, three carefully selected young Earthlings were transported from their native lands to my faraway world. Here they were granted astounding powers, and eternal youth, then returned to Earth. Their mission: to watch over the human race, helping the good in it to survive and flourish. In the course of history, their names have become legend: Hercules, empowered with the strength of a hundred men. Astrea, able to assume any living form. Mercury, the amazing athlete who can match the speed of light. Working together with me, Sentinel One, and my maintenance robot, Mo, these teenage guardians form the greatest team the world has ever known: The Space Sentinels.
The heroes would continue in 1978s The Freedom Force.
In 1978, existing shows Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle and The New Adventures of Batman were repackaged with 5 new shows to create Tarzan and the Super 7. These included a live action segment, Jason of Star Command and four Superhero themed shows: The Freedom Force, Manta and Moray, Superstretch and Microwoman, and Web Woman. I don't remember watching these as a kid, but honestly, I am amazed these things even got made. They look pretty terrible.
* The Freedom Force
The Freedom Force showcased took Isis from the live-action The Secrets of Isis series of the time and added Merline, Sinbad, Super Samurai, and Hercules from 1977's Space Sentinels
* Superstretch and Microwoman
Superstretch and Microwoman can kind of be described a Plastic Man and the Atom get married. The show featured Chris and Christy Cross, your average suburban African-American couple. Chris could take virtually any shape (such as a plane, a robot, a rubber ball, a perfect double of a villain, etc.) while Christy could shrink to microscopic size. A match made in heaven. Frequently tagging along on their adventures was their little dog, Trouble with whom they battled Granny Candy, the Toymaker, and evil counterparts from another dimension, Superstarch and Magnawoman.
* Manta and Moray
You know what hero is cool? Aquaman. Manta and Moray, a pair of amphibious superheroes hoped to win over some of that rabid Aquaman fanbase. Manta (Monarch of the Deep) was the last survivor of the ancient civilization of Mu, which was destroyed by a terrible explosion, but Manta was engulfed by a wave of unknown radiation, and placed into a form of suspended animation deep beneath the waves. He was discovered and awoken by Moray, a human woman, whom he subsequently married. He was amphibious, but could not be away from water for too long or he would weaken and die. Like Aquaman he could communicate with sealife, but he could talk to land animals as well. Moray was raised by dolphins after the plane her parents had been flying in crashed into the sea. , she learned to live in the ocean. Together with Whiskers the sea lion and Guppy the whale they protected the sea.
* Web Woman
Web Woman was the alias of Kelly Webster. She was originally going to be called Spider-Woman but Marvel getting wind of the plan invented their own Spider-Woman to assure the copyright which would debut in her own series in 1979.
Kelly saved the life of an alien insectoid who was swept into a raging river during a thunderstorm. In gratitude, the alien gave her with a mysterious ring, which gave her the powers of the entire insect kingdom. Her transformation into Web Woman was brought on by a vocal command combined with the power of the ring that spoken like this:
"Insects of the world...small creatures of the cosmos...lend me your powers...NOW!"
She has a variety of weapons, such as a webline from her utility belt, and the ring could produce sleeping gas and an energy beam that solidified into webbing. She was aided in her missions by a furry little insectoid-like alien named Spinner. She traveled in a spider-shaped, 8-legged flying saucer called Webtrac. Sounds pretty cool.
Batman and Hex crossed paths again in 2009's Batman: The Brave and the Bold. First, the two teamed up against an Old West iteration of the Royal Flush Gang.
But it is next Summer's Jonah Hex film that will give the ugly mug a chance to break out into the mainstream.
Teaming with Megan Fox, John Malkovich, and G.O.B. can't hurt either, though hopefully that creepy dude in the rear view mirror doesn't make the cut.
