Tooned In: Super Friends – Gulliver’s Gigantic Goof (1973)

Two Robins, One Bat?

Deep breath, time to finish the Super Friends story by going back to the very beginning, Wendy and Marvin and all. Not to say I’m not going to go back to the show after this, but it’ll fill my “one episode per incarnation” quota.

In my previous articles, I have made reference to this first season while discussing the general history of Superfriends. But to recap…the original idea is really a departure from what the series would become, and more in line with yet another Scooby-Doo clone from Hanna-Barbera. Only here, it’s Wacky Teenagers and Their Far-Out Talking Pet Dog AND Their Far-Out Talking Pet Superheroes Who Solve Mysteries. The scenery is generally lighter and more colorful, and the characters more cartoony and, well, are something out of a Scooby show or at best some of H-B’s sci-fi or action series. Even six-year-old Megabucks felt something was off about these episodes whenever they appeared in syndication.

We got a preview of what this could be like over on Scooby itself, in The New Scooby-Doo Movies, when Mystery Inc. teamed up twice with Batman and Robin in adventures inspired by the Adam West series, and the follow-up Filmation Batman show (the character designs were slightly more in line with that show, and the voice actors from it would carry over to the Scooby shows). They even get to tangle both times with Joker and Penguin, before the possibilities of that happening again at Hanna-Barbera significantly decreased for a little over a decade. Over at Filmation, on The Brady Kids, we got extra examples of a more groovy superhero experience, because Marcia, Greg, and the rest had crossover episodes with both Superman and Wonder Woman.

So back to Super Friends itself. The core group is still there: Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman and Robin. And then there’s…Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog. They’re a kind of downsized Mystery Inc., basically. Wendy is like a younger Daphne and Velma combined, making Marvin the Shaggy, of course, and, well, he has Fred’s voice actor. (It is probably just me, but I could see Frank Welker use his Marvin voice for Bert Raccoon, had the US chosen to not import the original and made their own version) Wonder Dog is a less anthropomorphic Scooby-Doo. Comparisons could be made to the later teen sidekicks, the Wonder Twins, as well: Wendy is the practical one (Jayna), while Marvin thinks he knows more than he really does (Zan), and he’s impatient to be considered a real superhero. Him and Wonder lean more into the heroing bit, as they both wear capes and Marvin has his initial on his shirt like Superman’s emblem.

Actually, if you read the Super Friends comic book series, both of them are given a little backstory too, that’s never explored on the show. Marvin is Marvin White, and his father was an inventor who was married to the nurse from which Wonder Woman got her “Diana Prince” civilian name. Wendy Harris, on the other hand, has a slightly more direct connection to one of her teammates, as her uncle was Harvey Harris, one of the detectives who trained Bruce Wayne en route to becoming Batman. There’s even an actual transition in the comics between them and the Wonder Twins, as Wendy and Marvin are seen as “graduating” from the Hall of Justice and passing the Junior Superfriends roles to Zan and Jayna. They do appear together in animation much later on, though it’s not what you may expect .

And this season does have a handful of guest heroes, setting the stage for when this happened frequently in later shows. So far, we’ve seen Plastic Man in a glorified cameo, and The Flash, who probably traveled back five years using the Speed Force to help STOP global warming in this episode, after the guilt of nearly warming the planet enough for the Legion of Doom to help aliens take over. We have one more guest star to come, and in fact it’s why we’re doing this episode in particular.

So who does this incarnation of the Super Friends defend the universe from? Well, as hinted at before, no one very exciting. Mostly misguided aliens looking to better their own worlds, or scientists who think their way of doing things are for the best interests of the Earth. There are a few crook/villain types, but most are borderline West Batman-style caricatures, or better (?) yet, like the “villains” in the Spider-Man shorts on The Electric Company.

Today, we see what happens when our heroes meet one such misguided scientist in:

GULLIVER’S GIGANTIC GOOF

The Season One intro plays…the song is still pretty bombastic, yet also somehow…mellower? We meet the world’s “four greatest heroes” (…and Robin. No really, he somehow gets less than the Professor and Mary Ann’s original “And The Rest…” treatment, since he’s not even vaguely mentioned and only seen in the Batmobile briefly.) And this sets the tone for them basically being the super safety patrol here, participating in solving grounded disasters and just showing off their powers and abilities. Contrast this to later seasons that has them flying through space (yes, even the members who DO NOT FLY), and dealing with super villains, monsters, and such. And based on the intro, this would mean that Batman’s power is…driving Wendy and Marvin places?? It also features pretty accurate character logos from the time, except for Superman, who while he gets his usual “S” flashed on screen, his name’s logo is changed. The “S” points upward instead of downward, if that makes any sense.

Oh and if the narrator sounds familiar, it is in fact Ted Knight doing his Ted Baxter voice, as he did for select Filmation DC cartoons. And you’ll find he likes to talk. A lot.

A rocket to Mars is prepared for launch, and the announcer takes the countdown way too seriously, starting at 90 and not missing a number. Wendy: “Isn’t this exciting?” Me: NO! But I welcome the tedium of counting to escape from Marvin attempting to play basketball on stilts. When he fails I expect an Everyone Laughs, but those are like this show’s Special Attacks in video games: one per level/game/etc. Meanwhile, in a typical cartoon castle, Dr. Gulliver and his cat Igor watch the launch as well. Gulliver is like Penguin without his top hat, and it’s Casey Kasem doing a Peter Lorre impersonation:

Ready to play this stinking city like a harp from hell. Or at least shrink it.

He does the cliched “they laughed at me because of my idea” spiel, then sends out a hot air balloon to the launch,. where the count is STILL going on, so if nothing else, being attacked by a mad scientist will break the monotony. “Where’d it come from, it’s not supposed to be here!” the announcer shouts. He fails to ask what the balloon is doing in the Impact Zone, though, and the TV cuts to technical difficulties. Ah, so it’s WNEW-TV in New York, circa the 70s and 80s then.

Col. Wilcox calls the “Justice Leaguers” and tells them that everyone has disappeared from the launch site. The Super Friends investigate…

Proof #1 that this is the more Scooby-like season.

Proof #2.

It actually seems quiet , but Superman insists things will go haywire and thus everyone has to act fast. To be fair, soon after the launch tower decides to fall, and Wonder Woman does Superfriends Welding to it with her magic lasso.

All the while, Ted Knight is pretty much Radio Narrating all the action. Whereas later seasons had the characters explain every action they were going to do, the original season would let the narrator fill in the gaps. Only some episodes spent minutes on end with narration. I get they were going for capturing comic book narration and/or the heroes’ internal dialogues, but really, we can see what’s going on. However, I doubt Knight would be too descript in what’s going on here:

What’s everybody looking at?

Batman and Robin handling the long, hard…job of making sure the rocket fuel was shut off is cut by a fire breaking out. Superman fortunately gets the rocket out of harm’s way, but upon careful inspection of the pod he previously rescued, presumably with the astronauts, the Super Friends learn the truth: everyone at the site has been shrunk to two inches. Speaking of, Gulliver makes his next plan to shrink the people of Harbor City, and musing that they’ll all have to Look Up To Him causes him to break out in Shaggy laughter. He does, however, also mention to Igor that it’s a good thing animals can’t be shrunk due to their different metabolism…hmmmm…

With shrinkage hitting the city, the conductors and pilots are unable to control their vehicles, so we’re back to the Hall of Justice Justice League Headquarters (really, with Ted Knight, it’s either that or “The Hall of the Justice League”…similarly, he insists on calling Wonder Woman’s invisible jet the “transparent plane…” come on, kids are the primary audience, will they understand “invisible” or “transparent” better?). The heroes race out to rescue the imperiled transports, which luckily for Aquaman includes a submarine. Wonder Woman looks to have her “Olympian strength” mentioned as a means to save two runaway trains, but really, this amounts to holding her arms out and soundwaves appearing. Still more impressive than this sight:

He talks to the fish he’s not trampling in order to get help in saving the sub. And here, I also notice that Narrator Ted also likes nicknames, referring to the “Man of Steel,” the “Amazon Princess,” and the “King of the Seas” here and multiple other times. After making their rescues, the Super Friends meet with the good Dr. Curum (get it??) where they make the connection with the shrunk populations and the giant balloon, which the 2-inch astronaut said he thought was a “publicity stunt.” We talk about Superfriends being ahead of the curve with climate change and AI…WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE USING GIANT INFLATABLES TO GO VIRAL, HUH??? Curum also expands upon what Gulliver said earlier: that the miniaturizing doesn’t seem to effect animals nor children…uh-oh…THEY’RE going to save the day, aren’t they?

Batman and Robin find the balloon, and the machine it is carrying. Gulliver warns them “you’ll find out sooner than you think….Batman” with a pause that sounds too much like Jared Leto in the Snyder Cut for my liking And this is the closest I can find to make a Snyder comparison in this Super Friends. So it has that going for it. Anyway, the Dynamic Duo experiences shrinkage as a result (Black Vulcan: “…in their…” Me: “SHUT UP! You’re not real until the next season!!!”) They make the further mistake of saying they’ll have to shut off the device, putting Gulliver on the defensive and commanding the balloon back to his castle…but not before Batman and Robin short circuit the machinery.

Out of Holy catchphrases, Robin steals Gadget Hackwrench’s…

Batman and Robin finally meet Gulliver, and a race to get to a telephone ensues. Before the miniature heroes can call for backup, they are literally vacuumed and imprisoned in jars. Gulliver then declares he’s going to capture all of the Justice League. Well try GameStops and the really good Walmarts, that’s the only way you’ll find them. And we’re 20 minutes into the episode, and during his exposition is the first time Gulliver or anyone calls the team the Super Friends; otherwise, it’s been mostly all “Justice League”. I stand corrected; other than the intro to Challenge, this season reminded us the most of the team’s actual branding. So that exposition: Gulliver of course insists he’s doing all this for our own good, and stopping the population explosion. And to be fair, his solution is less messy than the Thanos Approach. No one dies, but he wants everyone to be miniature because it means more resources for everyone.

Superman is next on the mad doctor’s list, and he’s tricked by a daylight Bat Signal and inflatable dummies of Batman and Robin (which is something the actual Caped Crusaders have on them…yep, it was really a thing on other episodes…) Supposedly the shrink ray negates his powers, but that seems to only count for super strength, since he can still fly. And having a less strong Supes is necessary to keep this plot moving. Cat interference allows Gulliver to net and jar Superman into his own personal Bottle City of Kandor.

More crap past the radar? And ew, Dr. Gulliver…

Back at the Hall of Justice, Wonder Woman and Aquaman are talking like the 1960s Alvin and the Chipmunks — slow and with dramatic pauses — wondering where their teammates are. Arthur is the next to be tricked by a phony water spout disaster in the Atlantic.

The pink Aqua Scooter: now Filmation cannot claim the rights to it. Ask The Riddler.

The captured Super Friends commiserate their fate. Superman: “I tried punching a hole in the glass, but ABC censors put a stop to that.” No, I meant, “because the jars are shatterproof.”

So there’s one Justice Leaguer left, of course : Wonder Woman. Wendy and Marvin are not there, so she is left to mother over the Hall, and really, Shannon Farnon’s delivery makes Diana sound like a housewife. Igor poses as a gift from a secret admirer, and of course, she’s next to be de-sized. Gulliver then reveals that he needs the Vanderbulge Star Sapphire to broadcast minuaturizing beams everywhere next.

…and the Justice League Fridge proved to be no help.

When the kids return, Marvin says Aquaman is missing, while Wendy replies “I just wish Wonder Woman would get back..” AQUAMAN GETS NO RESPECT. Luckily, her magic lasso was left behind, and it spells out the information about the Vanderbulge gem, and so the kids go to his mansion, where Gulliver indeed strikes again. Funny-ish moment, as Mr. Vanderbulge, having been reduced, says “I’m a very big man in this town!” Dr. Gulliver : “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

After receiving the tip, Wonder Dog then used the lasso to force Wendy and Marvin to tell the truth about how no one likes or needs them.

With all the Super Friends captured, all seems bleak. Even Superman is frustrated to the point of asking Gulliver, “Why don’t you shrink yourself?” Come on, we know what he REALLY wanted to tell him to go do to himself. But all is not lost, for it’s now time for the reason we’re here:

Cosplaying Dick Grayson!

No, of course it’s Green Arrow, who’s responding to a report about giant ant attacks that astound him such that he has to say, “By Robin Hood’s Bow!” Of course it ends up being more shrunk citizens. At the same time, Marvin is trying to call…on his jeep’s radio, which transmits Gulliver’s waves and shrinks Ollie as well. Having nerves of steel…I mean, he is not annoyed by the photographers’ incessant cries of “Green Arrow!” …he resourcefully uses the contents of his glove compartment to fight off the ants. MacGyvering thread and his jeep’s antenna into a bow, GA and the civilians ride his propellor arrow to escape. I assume he used it to get to the Hall of Justice too, where he finds that even Col. Wilcox has shrunk, amusingly using a match box as a desk. They hear interference on the radio waves they’ve analyzed, which Green Arrow identifies as Superman’s secret code. (achieved when, according to the narrator, he malfunctions Gulliver’s machine “in a very special way ” with his X-ray vision. More picking and choosing which powers he still has to continue the story. And don’t touch my machines in a special way!

With the coordinates in mind, GA leaves the kids, who decide to commandeer the Invisible Jet?? That’s a Wonder Twins segment waiting to happen, but we have to wait four years for that. As Gulliver muses about one-inch people being even better, he leads to these out of character moments:

Superman uses the old “your shoe’s untied” strategy to allow Green Arrow to break in, and they remember the glass shattering machine he used earlier in his diamond robbery, which breaks the jars. Wonder Woman decides to use her telepathy to move her jet, where the kids are “conveniently” trying to do so themselves with their own telekinesis. Her and Aquaman at their Lilliputtan sizes try to capture Gulliver by tying him down (get it?), and I must point out that Wonder Woman is using her magic lasso in the effort. Couldn’t she use it to get Gulliver to tell the truth about how to reverse the ray’s effects, or command him to turn himself in? And don’t tell me they didn’t establish that yet….it’s in the very first episode, when she tries to get the Misunderstood Alien Du Jour to do so while bound by the lasso. Actually, strike all that…because the lasso was at the Hall of Justice AND was full sized, which is even WORSE continuity.

In a bit I’m hoping was intentional, because it’s hilarious when you think of it, Gulliver tries to feed Aquaman to his cat. Luckily, Wonder Woman turns on a radio and exposes Gulliver to his own shrinking ray. We get the “don’t impose your will on the people” speech, yet Gulliver is still stubborn and besides, he didn’t invent an antidote. Marvin makes a joke about it being like looking at the Super Friends in a telescope, and Superman gets the idea to make the machine run backwards. (Huh?) It works, and everyone eventually gets back to normal, plus Superman can’t have creeper moments like this anymore:

Back at the Hall of Justice, when Batman notes that the handheld shrink ray was missing, Marvin reveals he had it and coincidentally, or not, admits he made his basketball team taller…by only playing girls teams. Everyone Laughs, including Green Arrow, only after this we never see him again. After that bad, sexist joke, he probably Funny Or Die/Zack Morris Is Trash’ed himself.

So….it actually had a decent amount of action for a 1973 episode, mostly rescuing stuff and Honey I Shrunk The Kids’ing, but take what you can get. Wendy and Marvin weren’t too intrusive either, and the Leaguers got most of the heroing on this one, despite the hinting that since kids and animals were immune, it would be up to them. Plus Green Arrow is probably the strongest cameo of the season.

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