Comic Books 101

by Chris Ryall

  4 Television

  Video made the comic-book star

  As the insatiable machine that is the entertainment industry marches on year after year, it's always looking for new raw material to feed the beast, so naturally, all kinds of comic-book properties have found their way to television adaptations. Some have been animated, some live-action, some excellent and some have been just awful. Let's look at a few of the highlights and lowlights.

  AQUAMAN

  Aquaman shared the spotlight with Superman in 1967 in Filmation's The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, which aired Saturday mornings on CBS. Along with new animated adventures of the Man of Steel and the King of the Sea, viewers were treated to cartoons featuring Green Lantern, the Atom, Hawk-man, the Justice League of America and the Teen Titans. When Superman got the boot the following year, Aquaman remained in a half-hour format featuring his army of guest stars. Though Aquaman and Aqualad riding around on giant seahorses has a certain goofy charm today, it doesn't hold up to repeat viewings.

  AVENGERS

  Marvel's Avengers haven't had much success in translations to other media. Aside from a few fleeting guest appearances in the second season of the syndicated Fantastic Four animated series, the Avengers have made only one leap to television, in the 1999 Fox animated series The Avengers: United They Stand. The absence of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor hurt the show, as did the bizarre use of Power Rangers-style “battle armor,” worn by all of the characters and donned during interminable “armoring-up” sequences. Still, just the sheer novelty of seeing characters like Ant-Man, the Wasp, Wonder Man, the Vision and the Falcon on TV every Saturday morning made the series worth watching. Passable if not terribly exciting.

  CAPTAIN AMERICA

  Captain America first hit the small screen in 1966. The Marvel Super Heroes cartoon series from Grantray-Lawrence featured barely animated cutouts taken directly from the original Marvel comics. Of all these cartoons, Cap's theme song seems to have stuck with viewers the most: “When Captain America throws his mighty shield… All those who chose to oppose his shield must yield…” Undeniably catchy.

  Following the 1977 television success of The Incredible Hulk, CBS quickly churned out the pilot TV movie Captain America in 1978 hoping to strike gold again. Starring the mannequin-like Reb Brown, the TV movie was, to say the least, less than satisfying. Cap's redesigned costume looked absolutely hideous (he was given his traditional outfit in the movie's closing moments), and his transparent shield that doubled as the windshield of his motorcycle was a neat idea that looked silly in practice. The ratings were good enough to warrant a second TV movie, Captain America II: Death Too Soon. The second telefilm involved a plot to infect America with an aging drug, and featured a clearly slumming Christopher Lee as its villain. These movies are memorable mostly for the scenes of Cap on his motorcycle blasting out of the back of his cool 1970s-style Chevy van. We suspect that's where most of the budget went.

  DOCTOR STRANGE

  Unlike many of his Marvel cohorts, Doctor Strange hasn't had a lot of luck making it big outside of comics. His first TV appearance was in the 1978 CBS TV movie Dr. Strange. It came in the wake of the successes of The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man TV projects, and was intended to act as a pilot for a series to follow. However, the movie was broadcast at the same time as the ratings smash Roots, so almost no one saw it. Not that it would've mattered much. The film, written and directed by Philip DeGuere, was pretty mediocre fare, featuring Peter Hooten as a rookie and somewhat befuddled Stephen Strange pitted against (and fending off the advances of) sorceress Morgan le Fey, played by Arrested Development's Jessica Walter.

  FANTASTIC FOUR

  Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's seminal Marvel comic has found itself the target of adaptation on numerous occasions over the last four decades.

  In 1967, Hanna-Barbera produced Fantastic Four, a remarkably faithful adaptation of the Lee/Kirby comics that aired for three years on ABC. The animation is pretty good by H-B standards, the scripts are reasonably intelligent and the voice acting is a little stodgy but effective. It's one of the better adventure cartoons of its day, and it boasts a finger-snapping, jazzy little theme song. It's a shame it's not available on DVD.

  In 1978, The New Fantastic Four, produced by DePatie-Freleng, aired on NBC. Rights to the Human Torch were elsewhere, so he was replaced by the remarkably annoying H.E.R.B.I.E. the Robot. Despite Jack Kirby's presence on staff as a storyboard artist, this was a real stinker. Only thirteen episodes were produced, and that's thirteen too many if you ask us.

  In 1994, Fantastic Four aired as part of the syndicated Marvel Action Hour animated series. The series ran for two years, and the first year was not good at all, with bone-stupid scripts, terrible characterizations and some of the worst attempts at comedy relief ever. When Galactus arrives on Earth to consume it, he's actually licking his lips as if he's sitting down for lunch at Arby's. It was so bad, in fact, that the entire production team was replaced by all-new creatives who acted as if the first season never took place, a good choice. The second season was as good as the first was bad, with superior animation, vastly improved acting and suspenseful, intelligent scripts that featured plenty of action and guest stars galore, everyone from the Avengers to the Hulk to Ghost Rider.

  In 2006, following the FF's successful feature film debut, Cartoon Network premiered Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, a French-produced animated series with a modern, slightly anime-styled feel. While the scripts were heavily comics-influenced and featured plenty of cameos from other Marvel characters, the series failed to catch on with young viewers and was never embraced by older fans. A shame, because as the series progressed through its twenty-six episodes, it steadily improved. Definitely worth checking out on DVD.

  THE FLASH

  Aside from his supporting appearances on shows such as Super Friends and Justice League, the Flash's sole foray into show biz was with The Flash, his 1990 live-action television series that aired on CBS. Produced as a reaction to the smash success of the Batman movie, the series showed a heavy Tim Burton influence, from the title character's oversculpted muscle suit to the Danny Elfman score. Unfortunately, it had none of the Batman movie's vitality or innovation. Starring John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen and Amanda Pays as scientist Tina McGee, the series had none of the wild, manic action or colorful visuals you might expect of a Flash TV show. Instead, Flash mostly found himself fighting dull thugs and mobsters, with one or two overly produced special-effects sequences each episode. The producers tried to liven things up with supervillains once or twice, the most successful being Mark Hamill's two appearances as the Trickster, but overall audiences were bored and the series ended after twenty-two episodes.

  INCREDIBLE HULK

  Of all the Marvel characters, the Hulk has had the most success in TV translations. The Hulk's first appearance on the small screen came in the original 1966 Marvel Super Heroes animated series from Grantray-Lawrence, the barely animated moving cutouts of Silver Age Marvel comic books that are mostly remembered for the wacky theme songs. Come on, sing it if you know it:

  Doc Bruce Banner, Belted by gamma rays, Turned into the Hulk. Ain't he unglamo-rays!

  The Hulk had much better luck with his next TV project, the 1978 CBS dramatic series The Incredible Hulk. Executive producer Kenneth Johnson kept the most important aspects of the Hulk comics — Banner's struggle with his transformations into the Hulk (played by Mr. Universe Lou Ferrigno) and his search for a cure — and discarded the rest, transplanting the newly renamed David Banner into a premise much like that of the TV classic The Fugitive. Every week, Bill Bixby's Banner would make his way to a new town, searching for a cure for his condition and taking odd jobs along the way to survive, while always being pursued by investigative reporter Jack McGee, played by Jack Colvin. Sure, the show was predictable, but it was a good predictable. Bixby, Colvin and Ferrigno were appealing and committed to the material, and the action sequences were decent considering the sho
w's budget and when it was produced. The show ran for five seasons, ending in 1982 — a very respectable run for a 1970s action drama. The two-hour premiere movie was released on DVD in conjunction with the release of the first film. Check it out.

  The Incredible Hulk (1982) animated series aired Saturday mornings on NBC in conjunction with Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and was produced by Marvel's then-new animation division. The series was based on serious old-school Hulk, featuring scientist Bruce Banner working at the missile base with fellow scientist Betty Ross, under the watchful eye of “Thunderbolt” Ross and the still-rodent-like Glenn Talbot. Rick Jones was also around, sporting quite the mullet and an enormous cowboy hat. The series only ran thirteen episodes and was nothing special.

  Bixby and Ferrigno returned in 1988 in the first of three made-for-TV movies for NBC, The Incredible Hulk Returns. The first of these stinkers featured Thor, Marvel's resident god of thunder. The script played pretty fast and loose with the Thor canon, introducing Don Blake as a former colleague of Bixby's David Banner, who had discovered the hammer of Thor, which allowed him to mystically summon Thor himself, who was more of a hapless Viking goofball with a penchant for brawling and boozing than any sort of noble thunder god. Those of you bent on punishing yourselves can pick this loser up on video.

  The Hulk and Daredevil teamed up the next year in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (in which the Hulk is never put on trial and the only courtroom scene is a dream sequence). It's memorable mostly for the horrendous Daredevil costume Rex Smith sported — all black with a blindfold over his eyes. OK, we get it. He's blind. The Bixby/Ferrigno snoozer also featured John Rhys-Davies as a bearded Kingpin, and Daredevil creator Stan Lee as the memorable Guy in Jury Box.

  Finally, The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990) featured exactly that. The final shot of the film shows the Hulk's dead body after a midair fall from a helicopter. Another film, The Rebirth of the Incredible Hulk, was in the works, but Bill Bixby's passing in 1993 permanently shelved the project. This one is available on DVD, too, albeit not something we recommend.

  The most recent Incredible Hulk animated series premiered in 1996 as part of UPN's short-lived Sunday morning animation block. This series was produced by the same folks who put together the vastly improved second seasons of the syndicated Fantastic Four and Iron Man series, and the quality shows. Aspects from all the Hulk comics made their way into the series, including Rick Jones, the gray Hulk, Mr. Fixit and the John Byrne “Hulk separation” storyline. The show featured lots of Marvel guest stars as well, including She Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, the Thing and Mr. Fantastic. The voice talent was above par, with Neal McDonough playing Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno returning to the role of the Hulk, speaking in the part for the first time. The show ran two seasons for twenty-one episodes, and is well worth checking out on video.

  IRON MAN

  Like Captain America, the Hulk and a few others, Iron Man was part of the 1966 Marvel Super Heroes animation package from Grantray-Lawrence. As discussed before, these are good for some yuks, and the stories are faithful retellings, but they barely qualify as animation.

  Iron Man returned to television in 1994 as part of the syndicated Marvel Action Hour. Just like its sister series, Fantastic Four, the first season of Iron Man was horrendous. Iron Man is saddled with a second-rate Avengers-knockoff superhero team featuring War Machine, Spider-Woman, Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and Century. The scripts are juvenile and unfunny — they all seem to feature the Mandarin week after agonizing week — and the voice acting, with the notable exception of Robert Hays as Tony Stark/Iron Man, is well below par. Like Fantastic Four, however, in a rare move for television, producers noticed and took action, replacing the entire creative team, and recasting the whole show with the exception of Hays.

  As a result, the second season is much better, with smarter, less formulaic scripts, better animation and improved acting. There is a well-done adaptation of the “Armor Wars” storyline from the comics, and most important, the Mandarin (who for some reason is colored a lovely shade of green in the series) doesn't appear in every stinking episode.

  JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA

  The Justice League premiered on television back in 1967, in three segments of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, and consisted of a lineup of characters who also appeared in solo cartoons on the same series: Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Atom. (Batman, whose television rights were tied up elsewhere at the time, was notably absent.) These are quaint but fun little cartoons, enjoyable mostly for their camp value.

  Most television viewers of a certain generation think of the Justice League under another, more innocent name: Super Friends. Premiering on ABC in 1973 and produced by Hanna-Barbera, Super Friends featured Superman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman and Wonder Woman, alongside teen superhero trainees/comic relief Wendy, Marvin and Wonderdog. The series mostly pit the JLA (although they were seldom called by the name) against natural disasters, aliens, mad scientists and, occasionally, natural disasters caused by aliens or mad scientists. The emphasis tended to be on cooperation and settling disputes peacefully. Although laudable, this doesn't make for the most exciting show.

  The series returned with a slight revamp in 1977 with The All-New Super Friends Hour, notable mostly for the introduction of Wendy's and Marvin's replacements: Zan and Jayna, the Wonder Twins. Alien teenagers accompanied by their space monkey Gleek, Zan and Jayna could transform into water or animals, respectively. While an obvious attempt to add kids to the series to capture young viewers, at least Zan and Jayna were more interesting than their predecessors, who mostly just stood around and got kidnapped a lot.

  However, the version of Super Friends most fondly remembered is Challenge of the Super Friends (1978). After several seasons of mealy-mouthed socially conscious Superfriends cartoons, the programming executives at ABC inexplicably grew a spine and assigned Super Friends producers to create a cartoon show more like the comics, with real villains and real threats. Under the supervision of story editor Jeffrey Scott, out were the cloying teen heroes Wendy and Marvin and the Wonder Twins, and in were an all-star cast of DC's best superheroes and supervillains.

  Hanging out in the Hall of Justice were Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman, with newly created heroes Black Vulcan, Apache Chief and Samurai (included to add a little much-needed ethnicity to the team). What really makes the show work is the Legion of Doom, who are the true stars of the show: Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Bizarro, Toy-man, the Riddler, Cheetah, Giganta, Captain Cold, the Scarecrow, Black Manta, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy and Gorilla Grodd. A pretty strong lineup. Every episode opens with the Legion putting their newest scheme into action, and ends with their escape. They're motivated, proactive and work well as a team, and more often than not, the Super Friends win out by sheer happenstance as opposed to any measurable superiority of skill or desire.

  After one season of Challenge, Super Friends went back to its less interesting “Wonder Twins” style until the series got another retool in 1984 with Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, which added new superhero Firestorm to the mix, and again in 1985 with The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, which introduced Cyborg, from DC's The New Teen Titans comic. Both of these series were largely intended as promotional tools for the “Super Powers” action-figure line from Kenner, but the redesigned series had a crackle and vitality that had been lacking since the Legion of Doom disappeared. Galactic Guardians is also noteworthy for the first television appearance of Jack Kirby's classic villain Darkseid.

  In 2001, the Warner Animation production team behind the outstanding Batman and Superman animated series tackled the JLA with Justice League, airing on Cartoon Network. Justice League featured a classic lineup of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, the Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, the best and most faithful translation of DC's characters to date. Though the first season was slightly uneven
— the production team had to figure out how to utilize so many protagonists and how to best use Superman in a team dynamic so he didn't appear too weak — the second season was rock solid, culminating in “Starcrossed,” a smashing three-episode finale that pitted the Justice League against a full-on alien invasion force, with devastating results for both the planet and the League. Highly recommended.

  Just when it seemed the good times were over, the series was back, slightly retooled as Justice League Unlimited (2004), which assembled nearly every DC superhero under the Justice League banner. Despite the new cast of dozens, the series managed to tell season-long, suspenseful stories without neglecting the core characters that had made the series popular in the first place. JLU's two seasons each had a central arc. The first, an ambitious political thriller that dealt with the notions of power and responsibility, and the second a back-to-basics supervillain brawl that elicited fond memories of the old Legion of Doom days. Even better than the first JL series.

  SHAZAM!

  SHAZAM! hit the small screen in 1974 when CBS began airing Filmation's live-action Saturday- morning series, starring Michael Gray as Billy Batson and Jackson Bostwick as Captain Marvel (later John Davey). To be honest, we haven't seen the show since the seventies and remember being spellbound by it, but it would look pretty silly now. We remember Billy traveling the country in an RV with an old guy named Mentor, but that's about it.

  In 1981, The Kid Superpower Hour With Shazam!, a Saturday-morning cartoon version by Filmation, aired on NBC. It was probably the most faithful translation of Captain Marvel, with appearances from the whole Marvel Family. The series is noteworthy for some of the early animation scripts of Paul Dini, who would later revolutionize Batman as part of the award-winning Batman: The Animated Series team. These were briefly available on video, but are long out of production.