Legends of the Superheroes

A Hanna-Barbera series

Legends of the Superheroes

Seasons

Episodes

NONE

2

Aired

January 18, 25, 1979

Original Channel

NBC

Original Run

January 1979

Production

Creator(s)

Writer(s)

Mike Marmer
Peter Gallay

Director(s)

Bill Carruthers
Chris Darley

Producer(s)

Bill Carruthers

Executive Producer(s)

Joseph Barbera
Joel Stein

Production Company

Hanna-Barbera

Legends of the Superheroes is an umbrella title for two 60-minute live-action television specials produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on NBC on January 18 and 25, 1979. The series was loosely based on SuperFriends cartoon show, then airing on Saturday mornings on ABC. It also served as a reunion of sorts for the 1960s' Batman TV series, as it brings back together three of its stars reprising their respective roles. The specials were produced like standard variety shows of the time: on videotape and with a laugh track.

Both specials preempted Project UFO, which aired on NBC from February 19, 1978 – July 19, 1979.

Episodes

The Challenge

Legends Of The Super Heroes - Generique

The Challenge

In the first episode, which aired on January 18, 1979, the superheroes must race against time to stop the diabolical supervillains’ plot to destroy the world. It opens in the cavernous lair of the superheroes arch-enemies. Meanwhile a few members of the Justice League of America gather together at the Hall of Heroes to celebrate elderly retired superhero Scarlet Cyclone's birthday. The party is interrupted by the Legion of Doom, who announce the spreading of deadly bombs in several places, and the heroes must follow clues to find them. It's all, actually, a trap to make the heroes drink Dr. Sivana's de-powering potion, which succeeds, but the heroes disarm the bombs and recover their powers. It is only after the whole battle is done that Scarlett Cyclone arrives to give his aid.

The Roast

File:Legends of the Superheroes roast challenge

The Roast

In the second episode, which aired on January 25th, the superheroes pay tribute to Batman and Robin in the form of a roast which even the villains attend. It is hosted by Ed McMahon. What's special about this roast is that it's a bunch of people in the hot seat, not just one guy. All of the heroes from the previous episode get their turn to be ripped on.

Cast

It starred Adam West and Burt Ward, reprising their roles as Batman and Robin from the live-action Batman TV series. It also had a large ensemble cast of other DC Comics superheroes that included Garrett Craig as Captain Marvel, Howard Murphy as the Green Lantern, Bill Nuckols as Hawkman, Barbara Joyce as the Huntress, Rod Haase as the Flash, Alfie Wise as the Atom and Danuta (Danuta Rylko Soderman) as the Black Canary.

Notable guest stars

Notable guest stars in the two specials included Frank Gorshin reprising his role as the Riddler from Batman, Howard Morris as Dr. Sivana, Gabriel Dell as Mordru, Charlie Callas as Sinestro, Jeff Altman as the Weather Wizard, Ruth Buzzi as Aunt Minerva, Mickey Morton as Solomon Grundy, June Gable as Rhoda Rooter, Pat Carroll as Hawkman's Mother, A'leshia Brevard as Giganta, William Schallert playing the Scarlet Cyclone (more commonly referred to as "Retired Man") and Brad Sanders as "Ghetto Man". Ed McMahon played himself, hosting the celebrity super-hero roast.

Characters

Gary Owens as the Narrator (voice) Ed McMahon Host Woman in phone booth uncredited Played by:Marsha Warfield Rhoda Rooter Reporter Played by:June Gable Esther Hall Hawkman's mother Played by: Pat Carroll Villains Mordru the sorcerer Played by: Gabriel Dell Mordru is an obscure but recurring villain from DC’s far-future Legion of Super-Heroes comic book. The Weather Wizard Played by: Jeff Altman Sinestro Played by: Charlie Callas The Riddler Played by: Frank Gorshin Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana Played by: Howard Morris Solomon Grundy Played by: Mickey Morton Giganta Played by: A'leisha Brevard Aunt Minerva Played by: Ruth Buzzi

Heroes Retired Man / Scarlet Cyclone Played by: William Schallert Ghetto Man Played by: Brad Sanders Captain Marvel Played by: Garrett Craig File:14 Batman.jpg Batman Played by: Adam West Robin Played by Burt Ward Green Lantern Played by: Howard Murphy The Black Canary Played by: Danuta Wesley Hawkman Played by: Bill Nuckols The Flash Played by: Rod Haase The Huntress Played by: Barbara Joyce The Atom Played by: Alfie Wise

Notes

• The producers were not able to use Wonder Woman or Superman for these television specials because both of those characters were already being used elsewhere. Superman was at the beginning of his theatrical film franchise a month earlier and Wonder Woman was still having her own television series on CBS.
• This series reveals that Captain Marvel (and apparently all Fawcett characters) co-exist with the other heroes all on one earth. In the majority of comics, the DC characters were part of Earth-One and the Fawcett characters were part of Earth-S. However, there were Earths that had a close analog called Captain Thunder which includes Earth-Forty where he coexisted with Batman and Wonder Woman. In the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths Captain Marvel co-existed with DC characters on at least two Earths: New Earth and Earth-85.

Legends of the Superheroes DVD release cover from Warner Archive.

DVD release

Warner Home Video's Warner Archive Collection released the specials on DVD on October 19, 2010.

• It is also available on DVD from amazon.com.
  • Legends Of The Super Heroes (1979), DVD

External links

• Legends of The SuperHeroes by Comics 101
• Legends of The SuperHeroes at the Internet Movie Database
• Legends of The SuperHeroes - History & Pics at Legions Of Gotham
• Legends Of The SuperHeroes Homepage!
• Legends Of The SuperHeroes In Lurid Videotape!
• Television Obscurities » Blog Archive » Legends of the Superheroes
• Legends of the Superheroes Fan Page