The Shamon U is episode six of the first series of the Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends series which launched the popular Super Friends franchise.
The story features a bad guy that's not really evil, but maybe a little greedy. His name is Doctor Shamon, and he is engaged with an experiment called "sky mining." The episode basically tells your average "don't mess with science you don't yet understand" story. It's similar to the story of Frankenstein, which also shows what terrible things can happen when someone tries to fool around with the unknown. In this case, it's not creating life, but rather mining gold from a space cloud. Apparently their are unknown chemical substances in this cloud that prove harmful to Earth's atmosphere, which create a size altering gas called shamonite.
Of course, as usual, the Super Friends find a way to eradicate the shamonite, which was simply destroyed by sunlight. Once again in this episode, we see that Wendy Harris is good for domestic housewife type chores by cooking dinner. Two episodes before this she was making buttermilk biscuits.
The Shamon U in this episode looked suspiciously similar to the magnetic telescope seen in the 1940s Superman short. In that cartoon, the telescope was used to draw comets closer to Earth for a scientists research, but it became dangerous and threatened the lives of the public.
Synopsis[]
Coming Soon!
Plot Summary[]
| Plot Summary for 'The Shamon U' |
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Somewhere on Mystery Mountain, Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog are taking a hiking trip, and halfway up the slope, they decide to have a picnic. The kids have sandwiches while the dog eats some dog food. Marvin gets some soda cans out of the cooler and brings them to Wendy, when suddenly a wave of magnetism pulls the cans out of his hands and also pulls on his wristband, which is made of steel. Marvin told Wendy that just for a second he couldn't get his arm down. Wendy notices that the cans were pulled over the top of the mountain. They then take off to the top to investigate. When they arrive at the mountaintop, they discover a strange "U" shaped object. Wendy says it must be a magnet, but Marvin disagrees, since the cans no longer seem to be sticking to it, and neither does his wristband, which is made of steel. Wendy is baffled though, because she doesn't see what made the cans fly up there. At this point, she starts to understand why they call the place "Mystery Mountain." They then run back down the mountain to report it to the Super Friends. After they leave, the U-shaped object submerges under ground, where metal doors open up, causing it to go inside the mountain. Later, at the Hall of Justice, the Superfriends listen to the Junior Superfriends report. They tell them that it was 30 feet tall, and when Batman asks what it looks like; Marvin tells him: "U." Superman then says: "It looks like Batman?" Then Wendy tells him the "Letter U." Batman and Robin then take the kids to Mystery Mountain in their Batcopter. But when they flew to the mountaintop, they couldn't locate it. Wendy tells them to land in the valley so they can show them where they started their climb, so as to retrace their steps. As the fly down toward the valley, a machine came out of the doors where the U-shaped object was. The machine looks like some sort of giant ray gun. It begins firing some sort of energy blasts. And from down in the valley, the kids and the Dynamic Duo are able to see the rays. Batman and Robin get in their Batcopter to check out what is up there. Upon their arrival, they see the U-shaped object, and Robin says: "Holy alphabet!" They then are caught in its' magnetic pull, and they also notice that there is a huge meteor heading toward them, which is also apparently caught in the magnetic pull, and it is on a direct collision course for the helpless aircraft. But luckily, the meteor just barely missed a collision. Just then, the magnetic force cuts off, and the meteor crashes on the mountaintop. However, the sudden stop from the magnetic pull also caused the Batcopter to be hurled back down toward the valley. He pulls back, to prevent a crash in the valley, and he lands the Batcopter in the valley. Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog see that the Dynamic Duo made it, and decide to go back up to the top to find out what's going on. While deeper in the valley, Batman and Robin are searching for the kids. They see their footprints on the ground and ascertain that they got curious and decided to see what was at the top. The Caped Crusader is worried that the kids may be in danger, so they begin hiking after them. On top of the mountain, the trap doors open, and this time, a claw machine rises to retrieve the meteor, which is made of solid gold. After retrieving it, it brings it down inside the mountaintop, there, is where the laboratory of the brilliant scientist Simeon Shamon is located. He carefully examines the meteorite with his equally brilliant lab technician, Madame Lila Labonne. Shamon's plan was brilliant and successful. He found a way to draw a space cloud toward Earth with his magnet, then he smelted the gold dust with the intense heat of the laser beam. And then once again using the Shamon U to bring down the gold nugget to them. The woman then tells him that before they continue doing more sky mining, they should approach the project more cautiously. She tells him that only fifty percent of the space cloud is gold dust, and she doesn't know what the other fifty percent is made up of...they seem to be unknown particles. Shamon doesn't seem to care, he then orders his men to send up the laser gun. While outside, the kids are still climbing the mountain. It's getting dark and Marvin wants to rest for a while. They then look down the mountain and see a terrifying sight...two pairs of eyes glowing in the moonlight. Wendy tries to reassure Marvin that their just a couple of owls. They take off running when they realize they are getting closer. They then hide behind a rock and the "scary glowing eyes" reveal themselves to be Batman and Robin. They then head toward the top. When they arrive, they find the U is gone. And Batman assumes that the rock from outer space must have rolled down the other side of the mountain, the steep side of the mountain. Batman and Robin then proceed to Batclimb down the steep side of the mountain, but he tells the kids to stay up there at the top. When the heroes are gone, Marvin wonders why they didn't let him go with him, and Wendy tells him you have to be an expert to climb down a steep cliff like that. Marvin tells her that he's "Super-Marv," and that he's as "sure-footed as a mountain goat." Just then he trips and falls into the hole made by the gold meteorite. Then Wendy asks him "How are you doing, Super-Goat. He then pops his head out of the hole and baas just like a goat. While down the steep side, Batman and Robin are climbing down. They hear something, so they use their batlights to see what it is. Robin then notices it's only a rabbit, and he says: "Holy Easter Bunnies!" Batman assumed that they had interrupted the rabbit's late snack. Batman and Robin then begin to climb down toward a ledge. While on the mountaintop, the laser gun once again surfaces, and Marvin and Wendy are baffled by what they see. The kids and the dog jump in the hole to take cover, while the beam strikes a portion of the space cloud, fusing it into another golden nugget, but a mysterious mist falls down from space into the Earth's atmosphere. There, it becomes strangely affected by the earth's oxygen. Which creates exotic gases unknown to earth scientists, and like air it is invisible to the human eye. While back on the mountaintop, the U comes back and the magnetic force pulls Marvin toward it because of his steel wristband. Wendy and Wonder Dog try to pull him off the magnet, but it proves to be unfruitful. Just then, the magnetism stops, and the gold falls to the mountaintop. Just then the claw comes back up and grabs the gold. The kids and Wonder Dog hang on to it as it takes the below in the cavern lab. There, Dr. Shamon tells them they are trespassing on private property. Wendy apologizes as tells him that his magnet almost caused a helicopter crash. Lila tells the doctor they have to be more careful. The kids then ask if they could leave, but the doctor tells them he can't spare anyone to escort them out, and that they'll have to wait to leave until after the sky mining operation is completed. He tells Lila to keep the kids out of his way. Lila answers some of the kids questions. She explains to them that the two gold meteorites were once just nothing more than space dust from the space cloud. Meanwhile, down the steep side of the mountain, the Dynamic Duo continue their descent toward the ledge. Robin looks down the ledge and sees that there are cables below, indicating that their must be a cable-car terminal down there, which seemed odd to have a cable-car station halfway up a cliff. Halfway up the mountain trail, a small puff of the mist falls from the sky on the rabbit that Batman and Robin encountered earlier. It then is transformed into a giant. It begins stampeding down the mountain. And Robin shouts "Holy Cottontail! How'd it get so big?!" Batman tells them they will have to investigate that later, as soon as the find a way off the ledge, fearing that if the rabbit decided to hop onto it, it would break. "Great blazes!" Batman says as the rabbit hops closer and closer. The two heroes leap down toward the cables and use their batarangs to grab hold of the cables and slide down to the other side. Once they reach a tower, they decide to climb down, but just then, their bat communicators beep, and Superman's voice is heard over the communicator. He asks them where they are, and Batman tells him their at Mystery Mountain, which is well-named. And Robin tells Superman they saw a rabbit that was eight feet tall. Superman tells them to come to the Justice League Hall immediately, as the rabbit is only one example of strange occurrences. He tells them strange things are happening all over the world, and that the TroubAlert is going wild. "Right Man of Steel," Batman says. At the Hall, Wonder Woman watches on the Justice League Monitor to see an elephant that had blown up like a balloon. Far off in the African jungle, the elephant that Wonder Woman had observed on the monitor had no grown to twice his size, because he was exposed to a puff of green mist. Just then, a red mist descends on a giraffe, causing it to shrink. The Superfriends are completely baffled as to what is going on, since the green and red mist are not visible to the naked eye. Looking at the monitor, they notice a 50-foot long lobster attacking the Oceanography sea lab. Aquaman then says: "If that lobster reaches [the sea lab] and uses that monster claw...Great Neptune! See you later Super Friends I gotta do some speed swimming!" Wonder Woman tells Superman that humans appear to have an immunity to the strange size alteration phenomenon. They then see on the monitor, in Southern California, in an Orange grove, a tree grows to an enormous size. Superman says that it's the size of a redwood. The oranges begin falling off the trees and the giant tree's fruit begins falling and proves to be dangerous, as it is falling on the farm buildings below. Superman races toward California. Back at Mystery Mountain, Batman and Robin use their batlights to send the kids a bat-code message. The message was to inform them to meet them at the Batcopter. But they do not respond to the code, as they are under the mountaintop. But the Dynamic Duo continue flashing the code in vain... And inside the mountain, the doctor is observing an image of the space cloud on a computer screen and he is impressed with the large amount of gold dust left in the cloud. Lila tells him they are dealing with strange unidentified matter. But the doctor doesn't care. She then tells him he has no conscience, and she decides she can no longer work for him, and so she quits, she then tells the kids to follow her. As she steps onto an elevator, she tells him she will report him to the authorities. The elevator takes them down to the cable-car room, and their they get in the cable-car. They then release the brake and take off. Dr. Shamon gets off the elevator a throws a lever which stops the cable-car about halfway across. Marvin assumes that the motor conked out, but Lila tells him it must have been Dr. Shamon. Luckily Batman and Robin slide over on the cables and jump into the car. Lila then says: "Mon dieu! The Caped Crusader!" The woman then explains everything that's going on, and Batman tells Robin they have to return to the Hall of Justice League as quickly as possible. Batman climbs down and fetches the Batcopter and flies it alongside the cable-car and rescues its' passengers. While in the sky above California, Superman is in flight toward the Orange grove, moving faster than a speeding bullet. A light breeze causes the trees to sway back in forth. And an orange falls off of the giant orange tree, nearly smashing into a farmhouse. Superman then uproots the tree and brings it to the ground, and takes an orange as a gift for Wonder Woman. Meanwhile, in the ocean, the Giant lobster continues to get closer to the sea lab. One of the men in the sea lab notices sees the creature and hopes that the crustacean doesn't use his claws to crush the lab. Just then, Aquaman is swimming toward the laboratory with the speed of a barracuda. Aquaman realizes that it's going to take some serious muscles to take on a beast this size. "And I don't mean clams!" Says Aquaman, referring to mussels, a name commonly used for certain types of clams. Aquaman then uses his aquatic telepathy to send an S.O.S. to three whales. But some of the red mist lands on one of the sea pachyderms, causing it to shrink to a tiny size. The other two whales continue to head toward Aquaman's aid. Aquaman then gives the a rope of seaweed and ties it to the lobster and has them tow it to the coral reef. Aquaman then notices the miniaturized whale, and he is baffled how it could have gotten so small. Aquaman realizes that if such a phenomenon is allowed to continue, it could upset the ecological balance of the sea. Back at the Hall of Justice, Batman, Robin and the kids arrive to introduce the others to Lila LaBonne, whom he believes might have a clue to the strange phenomenon involving the plants and animals that have changed their sizes. She thinks that there's something in the air that has caused it, but since not all plants and animals have been affected, it seems apparent that the mysterious element isn't everywhere. Wonder Woman decides they should examine one of the plants or animals that have been affected, and just then, Superman comes in with a giant orange saying: "Your wish is my command!" Marvin sees it and says: "That's one whale of an orange!" Just then Aquaman comes in and says: "Speaking of whales, here's one that's now something of a shrimp." He then shows the 12-inch whale to them. It's blowhole then blasts water in Marvin's face. Lila then asks Wonder Woman if she could take the whale and the orange into the lab to analyze them. Wonder Woman tells her that she is a trained scientist and that she too should join her to help get to the bottom of the situation. Lila then tells her that she believes that Shamon's sky mining is what is causing the plants and animals to be altered in size. Wendy is watching the monitor and she sees a water tank, and under it, an elm tree is growing to large size, and is about to topple the tank. Superman heads toward the water tank and Batman, Robin decide to go and meet with Doctor Shamon, but they tell the kids to stay put. Marvin is upset because he believes that adults think kids can't do anything, so they decide to ride their bicycles to the mountain. Back at Shamon's laboratory, Shamon sees Batman and Robin approaching in the Batmobile, and he tells this to one of his lab techs. Knowing they are coming to stop his mining operation, he has the U tilted down toward the Batmobile, and reversing the polarity of the magnet, he he causes the magnetism to repel the car. Robin then says: "Holy horseshoes! It's repelling us!" The Batmobile then begins driving backward due to the reverse magnetism. Elsewhere, Marvin, Wonder Dog and Wendy are en route on their bikes, and Marvin asks Wendy how much farther it is. Just then, green mist falls upon Wonder Dog causing him to grow to a large size, and his weight causes the tire on the bike to blowout. So they decide to use Wonder Dog for their transportation needs. They get on top of him and ride him like an elephant, and Marvin tells Wendy he feels like a maharajah on an elephant. At the mountain, Batman and Robin are forced to come the rest of the way on foot, since the Batmobile can be easily repelled by the magnet. They approach the cliff and Batman gets out his batline and tosses it up, but it can't get a good grip on the cliff side. Robin decides that he has an idea, and he climbs a tree, which he plans to use to get to the top of the cliff, but just then, the tree is bombarded by green mist, causing it to grow. Batman then uses his batcups to get Robin down from the tree, but he can't even see Robin because he's so far up the tree. Meanwhile at the bottom of the mountain, the kids jump of Wonder Dog and head the rest of the way on foot. They look up and see the tree that is growing fast and can see Robin in it. They decide to climb the other side of the mountain so that he can throw his batline to them. While up in the tree, Robin says: "Holy Jack and the Beanstalk! I'm really getting up in the world!" Robin then notices that the tree is now high enough that he can jump and grab hold of the cables that the cable car was traveling on. He shimmies his way toward the lab entrance. While Robin enters through the cable car entrance, Batman decides he'll climb the mountain and enter at the top. Robin enters the elevator and heads up toward the lab. Back at the lab, Shamon laughs stating that they won't see the Batmobile again, and that if they try to enter from the top of the mountain, they will be disappointed to see that the trap doors won't open from the outside. But Robin is hiding behind one of the gold meteorites, overhearing the conversation Shamon is having with his two assistants, and Robin decides he'll give Batman and inside assist once he arrives at the top of the mountain. At the top of the mountain, Batman uses his batlight to see if he can locate the top entrance. He tries to kick it open, but he is unsuccessful. Doctor Shamon then decides that if he tries to kick open the door again, he will use his laser gun on him. Batman decides that the only way he can pry it open is with a crowbar. But he decides a stout tree branch should work as well. While in the lab, Shamon points his laser gun upward and begins drilling a hole in the trap doors with the laser beam. It cuts a small hole through the doors and continues upward, and Marvin and Wendy are able to see it from where they are. As they continue up the mountain trail, it becomes more and more narrow, and Wonder Dog gets stuck between two trees. Meanwhile, Batman fetches a branch from a tree and heads back toward the mountaintop, and he sees the laser shooting up from it. He realizes that he doesn't dare go near the laser beam, as it is too dangerous. This Shamon realizes, and so he is now not worried that Batman will come to stop him, but he is still unaware that Robin is hiding behind the gold meteorite, and he has a plan to get Batman inside. He gets inside a forklift and drives it to the gold meteorites and strikes them with the forks, causing them to roll off toward Shamon and the two other men. They dodge the gold, but Robin is able to get to the trap doors and shut off the laser. He then opens the doors and Batman jumps down. The three men escape in a secret tunnel, and the two heroes give chase, but are stopped by a locked door. While in the tunnel, the three men run toward the exit, a door which leads out to the mountainside. On the other side of that door is Marvin, Wendy and Wonder Dog. Upon seeing the giant dog, Shamon is frightened, as he believes that he is a yeti. They turn and run through the tunnel back toward the lab. Wendy recognizes Shamon and his assistants, and they realize the tunnel must lead back to the lab, so they enter it, even though Wonder Dog can barely fit through. Back in the lab, Batman and Robin continue to find a way to get through the door, but they soon give up, and Robin says: "I guess you just gotta know the magic words." Then Robin says: "Open sesame," and to his surprise it opens on his voice command. Or so he thought...it wasn't sesame that opened the door, but it was actually Shamon who opened it from the other side, and they come through the doorway begging the Dynamic Duo to protect them from the ten-feet yeti. Robin suggests they use the laser gun, but Batman tells them they will only kill it as a last resort. Batman tells Robin that if it is a yeti, it's a rare creature, and for the sake of science he'd like to capture it alive. He tells him he'll fashion his batline into a lasso, and he tells Robin to man the laser gun just in case. While in the tunnel, the kids and Wonder Dog draw closer to the lab, and Batman stands on the claw machine awaiting the yeti to enter the lab. As Wonder Dog enters, he tosses the rope around his neck. But just then he realizes it's not a yeti, it's Wonder Dog. He tells Robin to hold everything, and not to open fire with the laser gun. And so, everyone is safe, and Batman explains to Shamon what is going on in the world, and after hearing it, Shamon admits that he should have listened to Lila about the side effects of sky mining. He agrees that he will no longer do anymore sky mining. But unbeknownst to everyone, some red mist falls upon the large gold chunks, and it causes them to shrink. Wendy then says that they are now aware that it's more than just plants and animals that are affected by the mist, but it also affects the gold, from which it came. The gold becomes so small, that it shrinks down to microscopic size, so they are unseen by the naked eye. This makes Shamon cry. And in the Hall of Justice, the Dynamic Duo and the kids return, and check the SDI screen to see if Superman succeeded in uprooting the tree under the water tank, but they see that instead he moved the tank. Just then, the door to the Justice League Laboratory bursts open, and Wonder Woman and Lila rush over to the others to tell them they have isolated the mystery element, and they tell them it contains some unknown gas particles in very strange atomic structures. They go on to state that there are two types of this element, which they call "Shamonite," Shamonite red and Shamonite green. Lila goes on to tell them that they named it Shamonite because their tests proved that the Shamonite was created by Shamon's sky mining operation. But Robin says they won't have to worry about Shamon, because he's closed up shop. But Batman tells him that the cloud is still up there in outer space, but it's too close to earth, and they have to find a way to move it away so that earth will no longer be bombarded by Shamonite. He tells everyone he'll call Superman for the job. Lila then says that they'll do more lab work, since they have to find a way to neutralize the Shamonite that has already entered the atmosphere. Superman receives his message from Batman, and in the lowlands of Holland, He then borrows a set of vanes from an abandoned windmill. He takes off into the sky, up into the stratosphere, heading toward the space cloud. He arrives at the cloud and spins around, and the vanes dissipate the cloud. On Earth, Wendy realizes that the Shamonite only seemed to affect the animals and plants when it was nighttime. Batman tells Wendy she may be onto something, and that it may be a very important clue, and that it was an example of super brainwork. Just then Lila shouts out from the JLA laboratory. The two women then burst out of the lab and into the main room, and Wonder Woman said they have figured something out. They tell them that there is certain types of radiation that can cancel out the effects of the Shamonite. Batman deduces that it is sunlight, based on Wendy's observation that it only seems to work at nighttime. Lila tells them that humans are immune because they have superior mental ability, there brain vibrations ward off the mist. The Superfriends go to the Justice League think tank, and try to decide what they are going to do to turn night into day. Batman suggests that Superman brings a mirror or some other highly reflecting object up into space to reflect the sun's light to the dark side of the Earth. He then calls Superman... Later, Superman visits Shamon's lab, which is now being dissembled. He then asks Shamon if he could borrow the mirror in his telescope for just one hour. Shamon agrees. Superman then grabs the mirror, heads into space and assumes the position over earth, using the mirror to reflect the sunlight on the dark side of the earth. In Africa, the giraffe returns to normal size. In the ocean the lobster returns to normal. Same with the rabbit and trees. In the Hall of Justice, the Superfriends look out the window at the nighttime sky, which suddenly becomes day due to the mirror in space, like an eclipse in reverse. Wonder Dog then returns to normal size. Just then they realize that it could be a disaster if the whale returns to normal while inside the lab in the clamshell. They rush into the lab and see the orange return to normal size. Batman picks up the whale and runs out to the street where it enlarges to full size. They run out to block the traffic and meet a Police Captain and tell him that a tractor isn't the answer. Just then, a little boy tells his dad that he sees a bird. Then the father tells him it's a plane. Then the boy tells him "It's Superman!" Superman flies down grabs the whale and takes him back to his home in the sea. Later, in the Hall, Wendy prepares a dinner in Lila's honor. She humbly tells them it was only her duty. Marvin tells Wendy that the Fruit cup was good, and just then, it appeared that Marvin was growing, but it turned out to only be Wonder Dog lifting him up. |
Cast[]
| Voice actor | Main Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Ted Knight | Narrator | |
| Danny Dark | Superman | |
| Olan Soule | Batman | |
| Casey Kasem | Robin | |
| Shannon Farnon | Wonder Woman | |
| Norman Alden | Aquaman | |
| Sherry Alberoni | Wendy Harris | |
| Frank Welker | Marvin White | |
| Wonder Dog | ||
| Voice Actor | Guest Character | |
| Norman Alden | Doctor Simeon Shamon | |
| Shannon Farnon | Madame Lila Labonne | |
| Casey Kasem | Unnamed Oceanographer | |
| Non-Speaking Roles | ||
| Unnamed Lab Tech | ||
| Unnamed Police Captain | ||
| Unnamed Little Boy | ||
| Unnamed Man | ||
Locations[]
- Holland, a region in the Netherlands
- Mystery Mountain
- Doctor Shamon's laboratory
- Gotham City
- Jungle in Africa
- Farmhouse, Southern California
- Oceanography sea lab
Vehicles[]
- Batmobile
- Batcopter
- Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet
- Cable Car
Items[]
- * Dr. Shamon's Shamonite Gas
- Shamonite Red
- Shamonite Green
- Dr. Shamon's Shamon U
- Dr. Shamon's Laser Gun
- The Dynamic Duo's Batlights
- The Dynamic Duo Batclimbs
- The Dynamic Duo's Bat communicator
- TroubAlert in the Hall of Justice
- Justice League Monitor in the Hall of Justice
Continuity[]
Coming Soon!
Continuity in Other Media[]
Coming Soon!
Episode Title[]
Coming Soon!
Notes[]
References: Mist, Cola, Teen Wonder, Hide-and-seek, bats, Houdini, paw, moon, giraffe, guppy, Aphrodite, tractor, Fort Knox, Oceanography, Poseidon, blowhole, pistachios, Fizz, Jumbo, midnight, In-flight movies, King Midas, camouflage, Jumping Jack, genius, Ali Baba, Lady Justice, China, Japan, light, sunlight, pooch, Taxicab, Neptune, the Sea-God, pork tenderloin, apple, blueberry, cherry, red wine, breadsticks, bread, lettuce, wine, fruit cup, banana and Mother Nature.
Production and animation errors[]
Quotes[]
Coming Soon!
External links[]
Coming Soon!
| Previous Episode: Dr. Pelagian's War |
Next Episode: Too Hot to Handle |
| Season 1: SuperFriends (1973) | |