This cartoon had some swingin’ music.
So, from 1966’s The New Adventures of Superman cartoon, here is the episode that introduces the first (I believe) animated version of Lex Luthor. Here he is sitting at his console of evil Christmas lights:
He’s using his console to make contact with someone who might give him some new ideas on defeating Superman, which, okay, sure, even supervillains need to outsource once in a while:
…And today’s supervillainy consultant is — drumroll please — Merlin, the famed wizard of Arthurian legend!
Well, sure, why not. Anyway, Merlin’s big idea is for Lex to cook up some of Merlin’s Magic Marbles which will turn him into a child, thus evading Superman’s attempts at finding and catching him.
I was just going to leave it at that, with a “’60s cartoons so crazy” conclusion, but you people want to see Young Lex Luthor:
On the right, with the head full of black hair. Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s supposed to be red. Or reddish brown. Or brown. The dude on the left is one of his henchman, also reduced in age, though frankly he doesn’t look much different from his adult self.
And here they are, with Lex just openly mocking Superman (who doesn’t recognize him) by asking for an autograph:
Oh, no, let’s just stand here with our bags of loot in front of the guy with x-ray vision.
Anyway, I haven’t seen this cartoon since watching in in reruns (repackaged with some Aquaman cartoons, I believe) sometime in the 1970s. So far, going through this DVD, I haven’t spotted any particular episodes I remember, but boy, the theme song and the music sure bring me back:
This was delightfully nutty. I was also fond of the Superboy cartoon, mainly because it had Krypto.
Nice tribute to Mr. Nielsen, by the way.
I really enjoyed the Aquaman cartoon, too. The music was, as you put it, “swingin'”, and Ted Knight’s narration didn’t hurt any…
“I used to get into some crazy adventures when I was Starman back during the war, but for now I’ll tell you a little about what my buddy Aquaman was getting up to last Thursday . . .”
The theme music for this show is of the type that I imagine the imaginary story/alternate universe Clark who became a DJ instead of a reporter would play on his “Songs with Clark Kent” program. I mean, with patter like “Hiya, platter fans!”, you have to figure he’d be into cartoon approximated jazz, right?
The first picture of Lex Luthor totally looks like he’s sitting RIGHT UP FRONT at a strip club and making the strippers feel really uncomfortable.
De – Unfortunately this DVD was produced during DC’s legal issues re: Superboy, and all the Superboy segments were left off, which is a shame.
HydrogenGuy – Oh, man, that’s what Lex is TOTALLY doing.
Oh, my God, HydrogenGuy, I had the same thought!