Tooned In: Superfriends – Universe of Evil (1979)

Superman does not fly??

Back with another incarnation of the Superfriends, but first…

TODAY IN METV TOONS NEWS :

Big changes coming in February, the most noteworthy being that finally, the 60s versions the of Hanna-Barbera Universe will be appearing on the channel. The vintage versions of Yogi, Huck, Snagglepuss, and others will be seen in the 11 am-1 pm block, which is fine since they went through the cycles they had there a few times over…the Wacky Races Universe, the 70s-90s Yogi shows, Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel…only downside is that Heathcliff gets nipped before we saw what would happen when the last of the Ruby-Spears episodes ended. More classic H-B in the 6 pm hour too.

But that’s not all! Wait Till Your Father Gets Home will now be seen seven nights a week in the “adult sensibilities” slot Rocky and Bullwinkle used to have, can’t complain. But in the wee hours…SILVERHAWKS premieres, as does the original PLASTIC MAN cartoon. And for the Sat/Sun 80s block…the PAC-MAN cartoon is here at last, which was a big surprise to me as I questioned Bandai Namco’s asking prices, plus their willingness to acknowledge Ms. Pac-Man existed.

So back to the Superfriends.

It was 1979. Scrappy-Doo debuted, and did NOT kill the franchise (no really, it stayed on ABC till 1986, though we surely never heard from Scooby after…); I stopped being an only child; Marianne Faithfull (RIP) unleashed her inner gravelly-voiced musical artiste with the album Broken English; and the heroes of Hanna-Barbera’s DC Universe were back for another world-saving season.

Where they met Black Panther? Venom?

The Legion of Doom were gone, and we were back to stories with the core five and the Wonder Twins. On the surface it’s like a step back, but this version had its highlights. Most of the season was devoted to putting the Superfriends into stories inspired by the movies and literature : among them, medieval times; Tolkien-like adventure in the center of the Earth; the Arabian Nights (and yes, Wonder Woman does a harem dance in a genie costume, but no, it’s not as alluring as you’d think); and in another episode, Mr. Mxyzptlk returns and sends Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman into the Land of Oz. Elsewhere, Lex Luthor returns in a story that took lots of influence from Superman: The Movie. But one of the most remembered episodes from this season is the one I’m taking a look at today…

UNIVERSE OF EVIL

See what I meant by veiled Star Wars references being common by now?

We begin with a dam break in South America, and among the worried civilians are Spanish Accented Aquaman and Jayna, and another who literally shouts “No es bueno!” Cut to a darkened for some reason Hall of Justice, where the Superfriends watch the disaster unfold and jump into action. Which should be Clue #1 where this is going. Not just the darker look, but also, note that no one asked them for help. Unfortunately Hanna-Barbera undoes this goodwill in subtlety when they show us:

Huh, so it also takes place in the Batman: The Animated Series universe. Great, Timm will ship Batman and Jayna. Dick Grayson gets to be the mascot of the new Wonder Twins: Zan and Gleek. (whispers….he doesn’t like Robin/Nightwing…)

But really, this isn’t even “blink-and-you-missed-it.” It lingers on this shot as the various aerial transports exit the Hall.

Still, this Batman, still hidden in the shadows, speaks the universal language of “our only chance is to…” and tells the similarly shadowed Wonder Woman to fire their rockets. And of course SWERVE, BRO, they end up destroying the dam and then we clearly see what’s going on as everyone turns on their evil voices:

Mortal Kombat 3 Shang Tsung, Boy Wonder.
Must…not make…Snyderverse joke. Oh what the hell, I will! Read on…

Not to be outdone, there’s an Evil Superman here too, dressed in Kurt Angle’s WrestleMania X-8 colors (see, Scott, I remembered!) who brags about getting ready to cause Mount Vesuvius to erupt, and Danny Dark’s performance is totally embracing the glee this Superman takes in, for lack of an uncliched term, being a dick. As he Bearhugs the volcano, we switch back to the “normal” universe. How do we know it’s normal? Gleek antics, of course. Conincidentally, Superman is about to stop Vesuvius from erupting, and the force of both Supermen hugging it out with the volcano creates a switch, where Evil Superman has crossed over into Earth Prime, and good Superman finds himself in the evil universe, where he observes it’s already night. Or just now directed by Zack Snyder (I warned you…)

Superman saves the village by literally moving it, and meets Evil Wonder Woman and Evil Aquaman:

…and why do you talk with an accent all of a sudden? And why do you want me to call you “Gal”?

Back on Earth Prime, Evil Superman is confused by people asking why he didn’t stop the volcano. “Stop the volcano? What did you think I started it for?!” He’s equally confused by his headquarters being called the “Hall of Justice”, and by the way, they accidentally used a shot of the Evil Universe when showing Vesuvius before too. Anyway, Superdick meets the Wonder Twins, and no, SatAM TV in the 70s won’t allow what a lot of you are hoping for. Instead, Zan and Jayna confuse this Superman by also asking why he didn’t save the volcano, and that he’s to escort an armored car carrying gold bars out of Switzerland. “Great Satan!” Evil Superman exclaims, since you can’t splat Exxor teens on 70s kids’ TV, but you can invoke the name of the Master of Evil. He realizes that he can take over this world with no good Superman to stop him.

And apparently you can receive carnal knowledge from volcanoes as well…

Evil Superman heads to the gold transfer, where he declares that the bars need more mining. As in, he’s going to make them “mine.” He also muses it’ll be easy to take over this Earth, “with this universe expecting this Superman to be good…” I hear Zack Snyder had the same logic.

Back in Hall of Evil in the alternate universe, the Super Enemies analyze good Superman and get a Trouble Alert reporting robberies, and that the authorities know they did it. Evil Batman taunts them back, and Olan Soule too is really leaning into playing this reverse version of his character. Meanwhile the actual Batman and Robin confront the dark version of their teammate, and the Bat Anti-Gravity Beam does no good. Against a being who can FLY, naturally. He traps the Dynamic Duo in the split armored car, and uses Superfriends Welding to trap them inside. Speaking of traps, the Super Enemies had put Superman in a Kryptonite-shackles-and-water death trap, but he basically uses Kryptonian Chemistry with his various powers to turn the water into “Kryptonic Acid” which dissolves the chains and allows his escape. He seems to have it made, but he didn’t count on…

EVIL GLEEK.

Digest that one for awhile. And actually, we never see the Evil Wonder Twins. I assume instead of being Donny and Marie knockoffs, this Zan and Jayna are more like Sid and Nancy? On the run in the evil universe, Superman teases hiding in, well…

Which makes me wonder…why not just disguise as Clark Kent? Is there an Evil Clark Kent in this universe? What does he do? Work for the Daily Bugle and help J. Jonah Jameson prove Spider-Man is a menace? And is there a Legion of Good in this universe, like the one the Legion of Doom pretended to be to swerve, bro, the Superfriends that one episode? Maybe Lex Luthor was bullied by a delinquent Clark in Smallville, who used his powers to PURPOSELY cause the accident that cost Lex his hair? Evil Diana was a Mean Girl in high school to Good Cheetah? Aquaman hated Black Manta and bullied him because he’s…a guy who likes wearing helmets? Yeah, that’s it.

As I ponder this, police copters mistake him for the Evil Superman and shoot him down; luckily, Superman is downed by the Kryptonite right by Metropolis University, as he planned. There, he persuades the doctor there of his true nature, and she offers him an anti-matter flask that can return him to his universe. All she asks in return is for him to one day bring truth and justice to their universe too.

Back on Earth Prime, Batman and Robin are trapped still and things look bleak. If only you told Evil Superman to “save Martha,” that works with darker versions of DC heroes. But fortunately for the Light Knight, Wonder Woman and Aquaman (with blowtorch and goggles) rescue him and Robin, and let him know that the Evil Superman has headed to Saudi Arabia to ransom their oil. (Another gaffe: Aquaman is talking, but Batman is saying the words). Evil Supes makes quick work of the Superfriends. If only they got some retired, barely able to work wrestler like Goldberg or Undertaker to confront him. That always seems to work in Saudi Arabia. As this happens, good Superman tries to use the flask but is cornered by the Super Enemies, because he didn’t count on Evil Gleek alerting them. Well of course. Superman is used to a world where Gleek ruins everything he touches. He corners him, but 70s kids’ shows will not allow space monkey splatting either, and the Enemies fire their Kryptonite rays. But Superman uses his heat vision to get Gleek to give up the flask, which he successfully opens and gets the Supermen to switch back. Reunited with his friends, the good Superman tells of his promise to return to the parallel universe. Only we never see said universe again. After Evil Superman returned pissed off, they probably f—ing killed themselves. THE SUPER ENEMIES ARE TRASH.

Like I said, a memorable episode, and seriously there’s Superfriends fans who clamor for a sequel somehow to be made. Like the Secret Origins Challenge episode, a lot of what could have been possibilities.