Challenge of the SuperFriends

Airing immediately after SuperFriends, this show was meant to appeal to the more hardcore comic book fans. Instead of having random problems and creatures – as was the case in SuperFriends – Challenge offered an equally adept (or is it inept) group of Super-villains, dubbed the Legion of Doom, to match the genius of the SuperFriends. The Legion was comprised of thirteen members (presumably the number thirteen was chosen because of its sinister implications; how else could you explain the Riddler on your team?), and headed by Superman’s arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor.

In a more than formulaic way, each episode has the Legionnaires staging an intricate plan that will optimistically lead to world domination. The beginning stages were nearly always to trick the SuperFriends, who invariably fell for whatever the Legion put in front of them, like a dog chasing its own tail; after the successful artifice, the Legion moved onto the final stages that were comprised of pulling off their evil plans. Usually at the eleventh-hour, the SuperFriends managed to escape the aforementioned ploy, and halt the wicked scheme underway. But, it wasn’t over yet! Right after the SuperFriends capture the Legion, they like to have a nice little gloat, at which time the Legionnaires – who are always prudent enough, if not insecure about their own abilities to achieve success, to possess a means of escape. Although several SuperFriends can travel at light speed, they always manage to calmly acquiesce to their escape, with a foreboding threat of putting the kibosh on their next sinister plan.

For more, please read the SuperFriends show summary.
8/10 (1 Vote cast)