Release Date: 8/7/07

The Show

Older cartoons from my childhood in the 80’s and before it are largely hit or miss. For the most part, most series are enough to strike a nostalgic cord to completely cloud my judgment of what was actually good or bad. However, DC Comics yielded the least enjoyable series for my childhood sensibilities regardless of which hero or villain was in the spotlight. The stories and characters were much more black and white, without many of the complex issues facing the X-Men and Marvel Comic characters. With that said, I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show – The Complete Series and found myself surprisingly entertained.

As we all know, the Super Friends comprised of Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Firestorm as they did battle with the evil forces that were bent on destroying the heroes and the galaxy. Each episode saw the likes of Darkseid, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and Mr. Mxyzptlk. With this batch of episodes, we usually see the plot focusing on Darkseid’s attempts at world domination. As with most cartoon series from the era, there was minimal story arc as the episodes were mainly selfcontained with the exceptions for the two-parters. More notable was the talent voice work by Adam West as Batman and Casey Kasem as Robin. While overly simplistic, the series manages to keep me engaged for a decent amount of time without the plots overlapping and becoming too redundant.

The 2-set disc includes 16 episodes from the entire series with a Play All option available on each disc.
Disc 1
1. The Bride of Darkseid Part 1
2. The Bride of Darkseid Part 2
3. The Wrath of Brainiac
4. Reflections in Crime
5. No Honor Among Thieves
6. Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp
7. The Case of the Shrinking Super Friends
8. The Mask of Mystery
9. Darkseid’s Golden Trap Part 1
10. Darkseid’s Golden Trap Part 2
Disc 2
1. Island of the Dinosoids
2. Uncle Mxyzptlk
3. The Case of the Dreadful Dolls
4. The Royal Ruse
5. The Village of Lost Souls
6. The Curator

The DVD

The main menu comes static backgrounds and music throughout. Submenus feature silent stills.

The video transfer is offered in 1.33:1 Fullscreen Format and provides for a relatively clean picture. The picture is most certainly better than how they looked on original broadcast television but do carry a bit of grain and softness throughout.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital Mono. The sound is decent what it is, however, it’s tame and dull throughout due to the original source material. All things considered, it’s serviceable for what is necessary. Subtitles are also available in English.

The Extras

The 2-disc set comes in a fold-out digipak enclosed within an embossed cardboard box. The artwork for the packaging is just awesome and will be sure to please fans.

Audio Commentary is provided on 5 episodes: The Wrath of Brainiac, No Honor Among Thieves, The Mask of Mystery, The Case of the Dreadful Dolls, and The Royal Ruse. Among the names involved are Glen Leopold, Mark Waid, John Semper, Mark Waid, and Rich Fogel.

Evolution: New Heroes, Viler Villains, and Ethnic Additions is a nice 18-minute piece that goes into some of the changes that were made with the characters. It’s great to see the writers speak on the ethnic additions as opposed to those changes being acknowledged but not spoken upon.

The Super Powers Collection runs a little under 8-minutes and focuses on the impact of the The Super Friends and their impact on the toy industry.

Final Thoughts

Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show – The Complete Series should please fans with its collection of episodes and bonus options. Even a non-fan like myself found the series to be quite captivating. This set is definitely recommended for old school cartoon fans.

- Morris Tang