Super Friends! The Complete Collection (1973-1985) [Blu-ray review]

Super Friends! is one of those shows that I know had an impact on me as a kid, but I barely remember watching the series. Routing through my parents’ VHS piles of random tapes, I found a few recorded copies of episodes featuring Darkseid and Cyborg. So, I guess most of my natural watching movies are of the last season of the show. I guess I was more of a Droids and Ewoks fans and my DC fandom started much later. Regardless, let’s talk about nearly a decade of superheroes that somehow don’t involve Martian Manhunter.

The DCU TV Universe goes animated, not counting Filmation

The Super Friends animated series is a cornerstone of DC Comics’ television history. Spanning from 1973 to 1985, the show went through numerous transformations, adapting to the tastes of different audiences over the years. The Warner Archive Blu-ray release offers a chance to revisit the evolution of these heroes—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and more—as they moved from wholesome heroes in their initial adventures to more dynamic, comic-inspired saviors in later iterations.

Super Friends reimagined itself more than Madonna – Part I

The Super Friends journey began in 1973 with a straightforward approach to heroics. The show featured familiar DC heroes responding to emergencies from the Hall of Justice, usually solving problems without much physical conflict. This first iteration had Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, alongside three new characters—Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog, non-powered sidekicks who represented the standard “teen detectives and their talking pet” trope prevalent in 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

By 1977, The All-New Super Friends Hour brought changes aimed at elevating the action and broadening the appeal. Wendy and Marvin were replaced by the Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna, and their monkey Gleek. Unlike their predecessors, Zan and Jayna had superpowers, allowing the show to embrace a more action-oriented style. The structure shifted to feature short segments, including safety tips and “magic tricks,” making it more suitable for younger audiences while still giving a sense of adventure.

In 1978, Challenge of the Superfriends gave the show its most iconic version. The Legion of Doom, led by Lex Luthor, introduced a proper rogues’ gallery into the mix. The team of villains, including characters like Cheetah, Sinestro, and Gorilla Grodd, made the stakes higher and brought the format closer to what we know from comic books. This new direction resonated with viewers, embracing clear battles between good and evil and giving the Super Friends a real reason to come together beyond saving the day from natural disasters.

How Super Were They? – Part II

Later seasons, like The World’s Greatest SuperFriends (1979) and Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984), saw more complex storylines and expanded rosters that included newer characters like Firestorm. The 1985 Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians pushed even further into DC Comics lore, bringing in villains from Apokolips like Darkseid and featuring a darker tone compared to earlier seasons.

Each phase of Super Friends had its strengths and weaknesses. The early episodes (1973-1974) provided a family-friendly format that introduced superheroes to younger viewers, but their refusal to include physical violence often made the plots feel low-stakes. The absence of real villains initially kept the episodes simplistic and occasionally uninspiring.

The All-New Super Friends Hour and Challenge of the Superfriends (1977-1979) improved the stakes significantly. The introduction of actual supervillains gave the heroes something more significant to fight against, and the show’s format, with multiple adventures per episode, provided a variety of challenges, keeping things dynamic and entertaining. However, the later emphasis on safety and moral lessons could sometimes make the transitions between segments feel uneven.

By the time The Legendary Super Powers Show and Galactic Guardians aired (1984-1985), the show had evolved into something much closer to the classic Justice League concept. The inclusion of newer characters like Firestorm and the greater focus on direct confrontations with villains like Darkseid raised the show’s quality and appealed more to older viewers. These later seasons had better animation, more mature storylines, and greater depth compared to earlier seasons. However, they also marked the end of the show’s run, as competing shows and changing audience tastes shifted the landscape of animated television.

Warner Archive delivers the goods for Super Friends on Blu-ray

Warner Archive’s Blu-ray release of Super Friends brings the entire series back in stunning high definition, offering fans a visual upgrade that highlights the evolution of the animation style. The crispness of the animation reveals the unique artistry of each era, from the simplistic line work of the early 1970s to the more polished, vibrant visuals of the later seasons. The remastered Blu-ray preserves the Saturday morning nostalgia while also presenting each episode in a format fitting for modern screens.

The audio restoration is equally impressive. Hoyt Curtin’s iconic score and voice performances by legends like Danny Dark as Superman and Casey Kasem as Robin are clearer and more impactful, maintaining the energy that originally made the series so endearing. The Blu-ray includes extras such as featurettes, faux music videos, commentaries and everything ported over from the DVD era releases of the individual seasons.

It’s a quite a fun release, however some people might get mad over the interlaced video again.

Some final thoughts

Super Friends remains one of the most influential animated series in superhero history. Its nine-season run is a testament to the enduring appeal of DC Comics heroes, even as the show shifted gears several times to adapt to new audiences. The Warner Archive Blu-ray captures all of these eras—each with its unique feel—and lets viewers appreciate the series for what it was: a constantly evolving experiment in bringing comic book superheroes to television screens.

Whether you’re a fan of the simple antics of the early years or the deeper, more action-packed episodes of the later seasons, Super Friends is an iconic piece of animation history. The Warner Archive Blu-ray is the definitive way to experience it, preserving the vibrant colors, funky soundtrack, and heroic feats for a whole new generation. It’s a show that paved the way for all the superhero team-ups we know and love today, serving as a bridge from comic panels to animated adventures, long before cinematic universes were even imagined.

Super Friends! The Complete Collection is now available on Blu-ray at MovieZyng

Reader Rating0 Votes

0

88

Buy Super Friends The Complete Series on Blu-ray

MovieZyng