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:
From the Superman The Animated Series episode “The Last Son of Krypton – Part 1,” in which Sul-Van flies and crashes a small aircraft in an attempt to distract Krypton’s police force:
“Those…aren’t…PILLOWS!”
This scene struck me as a bit odd upon my first viewing of the DVD (and the first time I’ve seen this episode since it originally aired in 1996). And, upon listening to its commentary track, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one, as most of the commentators burst into an extended fit of giggles when Sul-Van’s “crash pillows” made their appearance. Of course, they never explain why they’re laughing, this commentary being on a DVD intended for children an’ all.
This could all have been avoided if only they’d applied some other color to those crash pillows. Did that long-ago issue of Amazing Heroes teach us nothing?
(Here’s the link to the full “those aren’t pillows” clip from Planes, Trains & Automobiles, in the off-chance you require some context.)
§ September 30th, 2008§ Filed under cartoons, galactusComments Off on Really, that Ghost Rider appearance was totally out of left field.
So, the other day I was watching an episode of the mid-1990s Fantastic Four cartoon, which adapted the 1982 Terrax/Galactus storyline from FF #s 242 through 244. Here’s the cover of the middle installment, just so this post isn’t all boring text:
Anyway, the episode takes this three-issue storyline, including the introduction of Frankie Raye and the “she’s got powers like the Human Torch” storyline from the previous year’s continuity, and manages to squeeze it all into a 20-something minute episode.
Most of the storyline’s plot points from the original comics make it into the show, with some adjustments here and there. The most noticeable change is that, instead of the guest-starring-superhero free-for-all like you see on that cover up there, the only guy that shows up in the cartoon is Thor. And taking the place of Dr. Strange is Ghost Rider, who in the cartoon puts the mystical showing-Galactus-the-souls-of-his-victims whammy on the big G that Strange did in the comic. Apparently this was Ghost Rider’s first appearance in the cartoons, judging by the reaction of the other characters. He just pops up, says “hello,” gives Galactus the ol’ magical hairy eyeball…er, eyesocket, and takes off, confusing children watching at home everywhere.
But the story plays out more or less the same in the cartoon as in the comic…Galactus’ reserves are depleted and he’s on the verge of dying, Reed Richards decides to save his life, Frankie volunteers to become the new Herald of Galactus and lead him to a new world to consume, and Galactus takes off, vowing to never trouble Earth again and notes that this is the one world where he may have friends. The end.
There’s another change I should note, concerning Frankie’s characterization. In the comic, she had a habit of using excessive force on the bad guys, giving as her reasoning, “well, they’re bad guys, right? So what?” When she decides to sacrifice herself to become a Herald, it’s pointed out that she’d likely have to lead Galactus to inhabited worlds for him to consume. Her response:
“So? A few bug-eyed monsters? What’s that compared to my being able to go…out there?”
An amoral stance for a superhero-type, to be sure, and it’s not surprising that it didn’t make it into the cartoon. In its place we get some very broad hinting that Frankie may be, if not outright falling in love with Galactus (a plot development that turns up in later FF issues), at least completely admiringly awestruck by him.
Not quite sure why I’m so fascinated by these comic-to-cartoon translations of specific storylines I enjoyed as a younger Mikester. Particularly since the end result, after having watched this episode, is the realization that as profound and significant it all seemed on the printed page, seeing essentially the same story in animated form made it all feel a bit…silly, I guess. Perhaps it’s just the nature of the bare-bones condensing of the original tale, or perhaps it’s just the recontextualizing of the story from the familiar printed format to an animated one, forcing us to reconsider the storytelling tropes freed of nostalgic memories (see also: the ’60s Batman TV show, discussed previously).
Or perhaps I’m just overthinking a cartoon whose primary purpose was to sell toys to children.
But, honestly, that Terrax/Galactus story from Fantastic Four #s 242 through 244 is really good. And maybe a little silly, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
§ September 16th, 2004§ Filed under cartoons, swamp thingComments Off on File under "What Did I Expect?"
I finally got it in my hot little hands, and believe you me, it’s only because I’m The World’s Biggest Swamp Thing Fan™ that I ordered this DVD in the first place. The cartoon is not good by any measure…well, it’s colorfu…no, no, there’s nothing good about it. And God help you if you hear the theme song, done to the tune of “Wild Thing.” (“Swamp Thing / You are amazing” is the opening, and it doesn’t get any better than that.)
The video quality is about as good as you can stand, given that the preferred alternative would be no picture at all. The color does seem to be a little washed out, but I don’t think that’s a problem with the transfer…I think that’s how the cartoon originally looked. The cartoons themselves were created solely to sell toys, so the characters tool around in vehicles with grasping claws, and Swamp Thing regularly performs actions that could be duplicated in the various Swampy figures from the toy line, and so on…they might as well have shown giant animated kids’ arms moving the vehicles and characters around.
Another thing with this DVD is how they padded out the description of what you get on the disc. Okay, there were only five episodes of this cartoon produced. And yet, this is how they indicated the DVD’s contents on the back of the package:
Three regular episodes, and two bonus episodes? In what way are they “bonus?” I’m pretty sure all the episodes actually aired, so it’s not like these are previously unseen shows (well, aside from no one watching them when they aired in the first place). Besides, it’s not as if they were originally planning on holding back those extra two episodes for a second DVD of this turkey, then decided, as a special gift to all of us loyal Swamp Thing fans, to somehow find the space to squeeze on these “bonuses” at no extra cost to us.
And here’s something else that’s always bothered me about DVD feature listings:
“Interactive menus?” If you couldn’t interact with the menu, what good is it? Okay, I’m sure what they mean is that the DVD actually has a menu, as opposed to some older DVDs that don’t (like my Aeon Flux DVD, where you have to manually skip ahead to any episode you’d like to watch, or some of those no-frills Universal DVDs that only had a scene-select function, like the 1980 Flash Gordon or Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Movie).
And I don’t know what they mean by “BONUS EPISODE,” unless they mean “BONUS EPISODES,” which I’ve already discussed above. Unless there’s some kind of Easter egg on here, and a sixth episode is hidden somewhere on the disc. Oh, the humanity.
There are also previews for other cartoon DVDs, totalling about 13 minutes, and none of these cartoons are any good either, except maybe the ones on the Tex Avery disc.
I really have no idea why this disc was produced…there can’t possibly be anyone else out there who wanted this…er, aside from me, that is.
