The Super Hero Squad is set to debut on September 19th on Cartoon Network and the promotion for the series is heating up. From the hero montage, it looks like everyone from Avengers to X-Men to Fan 4 and their dogs are joining the show's lineup (sans one itsy-bitsy spider).
The villains are equally well represented.
Perhaps even more impressive is the all star line-up assembled to voice these characters. They have Luke Skywalker, Geordi, 6, Parkman, The Real Ice-Man, Newman, Sulu, Hercules. Wow!
I don't know if the show is going to be any good, but at least they aren't holding back on the A-listers like they did with that horrible 90's Avengers series. This looks like it could be a fun show. And at the least, my 4- year old daughter will soon know who The Punisher is.
In 2008, DC released a direct to DVD feature based on the popular graphic novel DC: The New Frontier. The movie, set in the 1950's, depicted the formation fo the original Justice League to fight a global alien threat called the Center (which was actually a telepathic floating island that spewed out dinosaurs).
The team included the "Big Three," namely Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Batman was shown revising his look to be a bit less scary to kids - though he remained a vigilante - playing by his own rules in an age where masked heroes were not trusted and where the Justice Society had been disbanded.
Superman played the typical boy scout and was essentially a US government agent. He was taken out early in the big battle, necessitating that some of the other big guns step up.
Wonder Woman was still very much at odds with the male dominated society.
But the real heroes of the movie were Hal Jordan and the Flash. Hal's origin was told and he cam eto grips with his new found powers. He also got a large percentage of the screen time and became the hero Green Lantern that we all know and love.
Following the Center's defeat, a new age of heroes was ushered in.
Up Next: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
And that's all for now folks. The upcoming Crisis on Two Earth's movie has just been announced and should be released in Spring 2010 at which time the Super Friendly Tour will continue. In the meantime, a new weekly segment will begin next week titled: Evolution of the Batman. Stay tuned.
After 8 seasons, Smallville has served more as a hub of super-tourist activity than a rural getaway. During the first 8 season, 14 superheroes, 20 supervillains, and 17 other supporting characters from the DC universe have sauntered through Smallville or neighboring Metropolis. Highlights include Lex Luthor and Superman (of course), Brainiac, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Supergirl, and Doomsday (Most of whom have dated Lois Lane, have spent the night in the local coffee shop's upstairs apartment, or both). The graph lists the number of visits by heroes, villains, and supporting DC characters by season. Only the initial visit is counted, recurring visits are not tracked.
Many more have their travel plans in order to stop by for season 9 (Major Zod - an alternate time line younger version of General Zod, Metallo, Roulette, The Wonder Twins - no word yet on Gleek, The Justice Society, and Speedy are all booked for the first half of the season), making it a contender for the busiest season to date. We will save a discussion of Smallville stunt casting (Wonder Women, Supermen, etc) for another day. For more detailed information about who has come and gone, see the table below.
Entertainment Weekly has posted a preview for season 9 of Smallville offering a sneak peek at Clark's super suit complete with copyrighted "S" symbol. It does look a little Matrixy, but overall I like it. At least he is getting closer to actually being Superman rather than the "Red-Blue Blur."
While on Smallville, Green Arrow was the one assembling heroes, in The Batman it was the Martian Manhunter who was assembling superheroes. The Batman had the Dark Knight beginning as a solo hero, then teaming with Batgirl and next Robin. In 2007, beginning with the season 4 finale, Batman went from mentor to member of the Justice League to fend of, you guessed it, alien invaders.
Batman and the Martian fended of the invaders and in the last scene we met Flash, GL, Green Arrow, and Hawkman.
It wasn't until the season 5 opener that the crown jewel of the JLA was introduced, Superman. Throughout the season, Batman teamed up with team members, and then in the series finale the whole League was enlisted to fend off once again those pesky alien invaders.
After the fairly lackluster 1980, superheroes were ready for a comeback in '81, offering up a couple of gems that remain nostalgic to this day.
Spider-Man (Solo Series)
In 1981, fans got a double dose of the Web-Head, starting with a Spider-Man solo series consisting of 26 episodes airing into 1982. This series included a number of guest appearances by Namor (and Namorita), Captain America, Magneto, and even the diabolical Dr Doom. Though truer to the comic origins of Spider-Man, it was the other show that ended up a bigger hit.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Debuting on the same day as the solo series was the Spider-Man team up series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Both series had identical animation styles, though different voice actors. The 24 episodes featured Spidey teamed up with the ice sliding X-Man Ice Man and the original character Firestar. Turns out, originally the Human Torch was to be used, but rights issues struck again (see 1978's Fantastic Four member H.E.R.B.I.E. ) resulting in a female fire-themed creation to complete the fire and ice motif.
The Kid Superpower Hour With Shazam!
Shazam!
While Marvel was webbing in viewers with Spider-Man, DC comics struck back with its own Captain Marvel and Marvel Family characters in the Shazam! series.
Hero High
Of course, the Shazam! cartoons were just half of the "Kid Superpower Hour" which, long before Sky High, consisted of the Hero High cartoon. Hero High was where young superheroes were taught how to use their powers and fight crime. The show was conceived as an extension of the Archie series, but once again, right issues struck resulting in "original" creations. I suspect an avid Archie fan would have no trouble identifying the various personalities within the characters.
Occasionally, the Superpower Hour would include live action segments with poor underpaid souls playing the roles of the Hero High Scholars.
The Greatest American Hero
Believe it or not, 1981 also kicked off the Greatest American Hero series about a bumbling hero that lost the instruction manual to his super suit of alien origin. For 44 episodes over 3 season, the hero never quite got the hang of his suit or its sometimes seemingly limitless powers.
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
Only one quasi-superhero made it to the big screen in '81, The Lone Ranger. This movie angered fans by changing the Ranger's origins and by mistreating in real life the actor who originally played the Ranger on TV. The move pretty much bombed making only $12.6 million.
Condorman
And of course there was comic book illustrator turned super spy in Condorman.
Here is the first look at Metallo from Smallville season 9. For the uninitiated, Metallo is a cyborg powered by a kryptonite heart. Aside from Darkseid and Mongul, Metallo had been one of the last major Superman villains to be unleashed in Smallville. Not even Superman yet, and Clark Kent has nearly defeated his entire rogue's gallery. Impressive.
The villains are equally well represented.
I don't know if the show is going to be any good, but at least they aren't holding back on the A-listers like they did with that horrible 90's Avengers series. This looks like it could be a fun show. And at the least, my 4- year old daughter will soon know who The Punisher is.
