Whip It Good

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.

Retrospectives 1977 & 1978 Revisited

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.

Click for the rest of Retrospective 1977

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.

Click for the rest of Retrospective 1978

Spotlight on Bat-Mite

Bat-Mite first appeared in the pages of Detective Comics in 1959 as the Batman writers answer to Superman's pesky villain Mister Mxyzptlk. Bat-Mite isn't a real enemy of Batman, he is more of an overzealous fan of the Dark Knight. The imp from the fifth dimensions appears to have near limitless magical abilities which he uses to see his idol in action.

Bat-Mite was a regular in the 1977 series The New Adventures of Batman He tried to help Batman, but usually ended up making things more complicated at which time his whiny catchphrase, "All I wanna do is help!" would be uttered.


Some postulate that this incarnation of the Mite was the inspiration for Orko in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Bat-Mite next appeared as a cameo in the 1994 episode of Batman: The Animated Series, "Deep Freeze" as an annoying toy.

Though the mighty Mite himself did not appear in the Teen Titans series, he was a clear inspiration for "Robin's biggest fan"Nosyarg Kcid" who appeared in the 2004 episode "Fractured."

Most recently, the Dark-Mite returned in 2009's "Legends of the Dark-Mite," an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

The episode played homage to Batman's rich history even including some meta-discussion involving a comic con parody discussing the appropriateness of Batman fighting Easter Bunnies.



Whether we like him or not, Bat-Mite is part of Batman's history, and has been around for 60 years. It doesn't look like he is going away anytime soon. Hopefully we will just be treated to small doses of the imp rather that recurring guest status. And hopefully, he wont be crashing into the live-action continuity any time soon.

The Justice League: A Super Friendly Tour (Part 6)

Following up on the success of The Challenge of the Super Friends, the series returned to its previous format in 1979.

The World's Greatest Super Friends

Once again, the core team was comprised of 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.


One particularly memorable episode pitted the Friends against their evil doppelgangers including an eye-patched Aquaman and mustached Robin.

Availability: Check YouTube.


Up Next: Super Friends (Shorts)

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure * Super Friends * The All New Super Friends Hour * Challenge of the Super Friends * Legends of the Superheroes * The World's Greatest Super Friends

Hex Marks the Spot

Here is your first look at Jonah Hex from the upcoming August 2010 movie. Yep, his face is messed up, though not quite to the extent of interpretations such as the one from Batman: The Animated Series (compare below). If the Dark Knight featured Two-Face, then on that scale, Jonah earns a nick name One-Point-Five-Face.

Logos a Go Gos

Some preliminary movie title cards have debuted, and if you can get excited about these, perhaps you have some sort of heightened excitement mutant power, cuz there aint too much to see.

The first and best is from Dreamworks upcoming Oobermind (formerly Master Mind) which hopes to satiate the thirst for The Incredibles 2 (it won't). Here we get our first look at some of the characters from the film described as "a villain gets depressed after accidentally killing his superhero nemesis Ooberman."

Up next. Look! Its Iron Man. Yeah, he pretty much looks like he did last time. I guess we can conclude that Iron Man will indeed be in Iron Man 2.

Next. Title cards for Marvel's slew of Avengers themed movies. Excited yet?

And perhaps least exciting of all, a tease for Spider-Man 4 which from the card may or may not have Spider-Man in it. But it looks like it might at least have some webbing.


Wow, I sure feel teased...

What to Expect From The Last Airbender

Some may argue that The Last Airbender is not a "superhero." Well, I would assert that Aang is a hero, and he certainly has super powers. I mean, can you control the four elements? I didn't think so. Thus, the upcoming The Last Airbender will be covered on this site.

The movie is based on a popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender which aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon. Each episode of the series was introduced as follows:

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony; but that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them, but when the world needed him most...he vanished. A hundred years past and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, and airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are great...he has a lot to learn before he is ready to save anyone. But I believe...Aang can save the world.

Here is perhaps a better description for the uninitiated:

In a world where the four elements (Fire, Earth, Water, and Air) can be controlled, the Fire Nation is waging a ruthless, oppressive war to control the other great nations. The only hope for stopping the brutal Firebenders rests on the shoulders of a reluctant young boy named Aang. The last known survivor of the peaceful Air Nomads (Airbenders), Aang is also the "Avatar", the physical incarnation of the world itself who possesses the ability to manipulate all four elements. Aided by a protective teenage Waterbender named Katara and her bull-headed brother Sokka, Aang begins a perilous journey to restore balance to their war-torn world. Standing in his way is the Prince Zuko, the banished Prince of the Fire Nation, who seeks to capture the young Avatar in order to restore his honor.

The series had a surprising amount of character development, continuity, and cultural detail for each of the 4 element-based nations in the show. Also, the main antagonist, Zuko, was a refreshingly developed and interesting villain.

The movie incarnation is dropping the Avatar to avoid confusion with the upcoming but unrelated James Cameron movie Avatar (what are the chances of two films called Avatar being made at the same time?). It is hoped that this live-action adaptation will launch a trilogy of films, each based on a season long arc of the original series.

The original source material was superb (check out my season 1 review), but I am apprehensive about this film series. In animation, it is much more believable that kids could win a fight with adults. But in live action, I don't care how many black belts you have, an unpowered kid shouldn't be able to defeat an adult soldier. Its just not believable, see The Chronicles of Narnia. The film is going to be directed by M Night Shyamalamadingdong, who I personally like quite a bit, but who has fallen from popular favor over his last few films. Hopefully, people wont expect a trademark twist from The Last Airbender and will give M Night a break.



The film also got off to a controversial casting of an all white group of kids to represent the ethnically diverse characters from the original series. This has since been somewhat rectified with some recasting. The Last Airbender opens on July 2, 2010, hoping to capitalize on the 4th of July Weekend. I have tempered high hopes. Look for the trailer to be attached to this months Transformers 2.