Challenge of the Superfriends - History of Doom Pt 1

[nightowl8936]

One thing I don't like about the origin of Lex Luthor is that it makes scientific people out to be egomaniacs, when in fact scientific people are less evil than most others.

[GoblinKing76]

The Legion of Doom's fortress is an homage to Darth Vader

[FMAStudent]

All of those Super Boy pictures in Lex's first laboratory were well.... kinda.... Gay ! LMAO. Think about it. He was never after a life of criminal schemes. He was a spurned Gay guy that was hella into a Straight Guy! haha. note to self: Take male on male compliments with a grain of salt.....

[50zcarsman]

You can tell this was made during the Carter Administration -- the writers don't even THINK of letting market forces rebuild Earth, but leave it to some alien weirdos to impose a solution from on high. Some rich folks HAD to have survived the apocalypse, after all; give them all fat tax breaks and watch the wealth trickle down. In 50 years we'd be right as rain. A little drywall, lots of construction jobs, durable goods orders through the roof, the Dow will be at 15000...jeez, it's so SIMPLE.

[grosskopf2]

Its kind of funny, the reason Lex Luthor is the villan that he is because he is an ingrate.

[TheGoldenWildcat]

@grosskopf2 Properly; it's a shame that Superboy's & Lex's friendship have to end this way; Lex would have been Superman's greatest ally, instead of his great foe. I hated it to see something like this go to this senseless waste.

[heine71]

Danny Dark is voicing Superboy in the Lex Luthor origin? Why didn't Hanna-Barbera hire the original Superboy voice from the 1966 Filmation Superboy cartoons Bob Hastings?

[MrStuporfly]

Black Manta for President 2012

[2Ttyz41O]

Around 7:34 does anyone find it odd that the older indian says, "Times come to test your manhood young one", then he reaches into the pouch that's in front of his. Goofy cartoons.

[AlexUwe]

When i saw this chapter for the first time i tought those aliens were the holy trinity and the old man was God

[anothaninjaguy]

lol..."YOU MADE ME BALD! I'M GONNA DESTROY YOU!"

[ralphyetmore]

Task list for Legion of Doom:

1. Make a Hall of doom that looks like Darth Vaders head.

2. Write a catchy slogan that ends with "...All for Doom!"

3. Fail to get the Superfriends!

[SquainbowSquaising]

7:37 I thought it was going to zoomers not powder.

[Algahiem]

3:46 – If the old man can read the info info on the tapes with your mind, why does he need to play them on the screen?

6:46 – A great origin story, but who the hell was filming all this at the time? Did the JL use time travel as mean to make home movies of their villain's origins?

7:00 – Of all the other origin stories they could've used for this episode and they chose Giganta and Apache chief. Still, could've been worse. The could've chosen the origin of Toyman or Black Manta.

[ReturnofLatinPupE]

@Algahiem The other two aliens did not have the telepathic ability as the leader. That's why they had to show it on the screen. The computer tape was using halographic images to tell the story of the origins villains' origins. It used the information in the database, and created the story contrived of what a youthful Apache Chief and Giganta would have looked like. Although not seen on the screen for the viewer, the tape was labeled 'holographic reenactment of the origins of Apache Chief/Giganta

[Algahiem]

@ReturnofLatinPupE A very good and logical explanation/theory. Mind you, its sad that us comic fans have the piece together and guess what the writers neglect to explain.

[MusaMansu]

@Algahiem Black Manta's more interesting than half of the Legion of Doom.

[Algahiem]

@MusaMansu At least he could've been if he wasn't Aquaman's nemesis.

[MusaMansu]

@Algahiem No, but he is. If you actually know about the character, he's pretty awesome. Very few characters were portrayed accurately in the Superfriends, but as far as Black Manta goes... he's like a cross between Darth Vader and Bobba Fett with a water theme.

[2199]

would have been cool to see Bizarro's orgin.

[saints093]

I would have liked to see Joker and penguin as part of the Legion of Doom, that would have been neat, along with the Riddler, and maybe Catwoman.

[TheRevJonnyNemo]

6:20  ...dick.

9:25 "...wait. Why do we have to be the Superfriends? Can't we be like, the Aquabuddies?"

[TheRevJonnyNemo]

6:20  ...dick.

[dannyishome]

such great evilness born from just losing his hair??? man, talk about vanity!

[zvermilyer3]

@dannyishome

I think it may have been more than that. He inhaled some of the same chemical fumes that made his hair fall out. When he confronted Superboy afterwards, he behaved completely irrationally. Perhaps the fumes affected his mind. That would explain how he went from a perfectly nice guy to a paranoid, delusional psychopath.

[fucheduck]

Luthor always has such discontent in his tone of voice, one bad haircut and he hates the world. He used to be so nice and sound like Micheal Bell now he sounds like Stan Jones.(because he -IS- Stan Jones)

[chrismarshva]

I am surprised Solomon Grundy and Brainiac didn't survive the devastation. Solomon Grundy is a zombie and Brainiac is a machine.

[MrAloo14]

wtf is toyman lmaooo

[MegaGunslingerX]

Wait Aquaman can't fly

[mikesgtrs1]

i kinda hate robin he reminds of hamburglar

[teancum2001]

Oops, sorry for the multiple posts. It did not seem to post the first time I clicked!

[teancum2001]

What the heck? The plot totally changes half way through the show. How did the superfriends get back to earth? What about the mind controlled monkeys?

[MrJtr75]

I remember being a little kid watching this. Also Scooby-Doo, both cartoons were really good. You could always tell a Hanna-Barbara cartoon cause of the voices and cartoon style.

[yowvapaa]

There are so many problems in this episode, such as how can the Justice League and the Legion of Doom compile footage of past events. I also find it funny of how Hanna-Barbara seem to recycle the character designs of the aliens which closely resemble the three futuristic humans in Conquerers of the Future.

[crazylots]

Black Vulcan stole his powers from a korean superhero market

[jodmackster]

@videogamester07 Luthor was already a "sociopath". He set out to help "Superboy" become invulnerable to Kryptonite, but he was also a fanatic when it came to Superboy, and a bit jealous of him. Losing his hair just put him over the edge.

[mikecleona]

Did anyone else notice lights emitting from those ruined skyscrapers behind the Hall of Justice?  Thought there were no survivors.

[MetalHeart8787]

@mikecleona

good spot. this is like the 2012 Prophecies & Life after people

i think its a bunch of lies, but when the Earth ends Mybe years later beings from another planet will land here & try to think of what happened. hopefully they will find alot of clues, considering the Buildings are still up

looks like about less than 30 yrs later. BUT the cars still look intact too. but i guess theres no point in trying to figure everything out its just a cartoon

[britishlaw]

Wait a minute!!!!!!!!!!!! Superboy saves Lex Luthor's life and Lex wants to destroy superman because he simply lost his HAIR ????

He can wear wigs or use Regain or have hair transplant surgery

[mikecleona]

@britishlaw Don't believe they had Rogain back then.

[Griffanswing626]

lol giganta is wonder woman

[MoonKnightMovies]

this was made exactly 2 years ago

[Sweetmervs]

@MoonKnightMovies Wrong. This was made in 1978.

[MoonKnightMovies]

@Sweetmervs no that day 2 years ago is when it was uploaded is wat i ment sorry for confuision

[rhinostrike97]

I actually read that they did want to include the Joker, instead of the Riddler. But, CBS was showing an "Adventures of Batman" cartoon the same year, and the producer held the rights to the Joker, so they couldn't include him with the Legion of Doom. 

[stargate121]

It always pissed me off that the opening had more animation than the rest of the show.

[busymike]

I can't stop laughing at the Lex Luther origin. I remember watching reruns of this in the 90's as a kid and thinking it was fucking absurd... Seriously, what were they thinking when they wrote this BULLSHIT? Why were people so dumb back then? So Lex hates Superman all of a sudden after being on his freaking nuts and having a weird ass shire dedicated to him? And why? Because he blew his stupid hair off while SAVING him from "deadly fumes"?? There is almost too much stupidity in this to speak on.

[busymike]

@busymike *shrine

[rjb1216]

@busymike problem is this was the real origin back in the day, it's been changed since then thankfully

[Originalman320]

@busymike The loss of his hair was only part of the reason Luthor hated Superman. Superboy accidently destroyed a critical experiment he was working on. The residue from the destroyed experiment was what caused Luthor's hair to fall out. Leave it to the cartoon to leave out that piece of info.

[busymike]

@Originalman320 lol It's still pretty stupid regardless!!!

[Originalman320]

@busymike Luthor felt that Superboy deliberately destroyed his experiment. Let's face it, Luthor had major issues as a child. His father was a traveling salesman, and wasn't home much. As time went on, Luthor became more malicious, his father disowned him.

[summers1]

1:59 You maniacs you let it ...be partially submerged in water! Damn you to....well hell might be too strong I mean you didn't blow it up. Uh, damn you to purgatory!

[wftjet]

50 Feet of EVIL!

[darklordospam]

10:16 - Is that all.

[darklordospam]

Must've been a really heavy sign at 1:49 to make the earth shake. :/

[darklordospam]

@evildeaddrew: Also Poison Ivy instead of Scarecrow.

[Originalman320]

They left something out in retelling Lex Luthor's origin. It wasn't simply the loss of his hair. It was that Superboy accidentally destroyed a critical experiment that Luthor was working on. The fumes from the destroyed experiment was what caused Luthor to go bald.

[chairmanofthebored1]

Yes, but do the halls have a working microwave? Popcorn rules.

[tecklePie]

i hate why they have to explain everythin like kids are idiots.

"Deadly fumes, Can't breathe"

Fuck sake.

[fjccommish]

We'll create a mighty fortress, filled with the most deadly devices in the universe. "Yes" shouts Luthor. "And we'll make it look like Darth Vader's head, because his head is cool!"

[ACelloFella]

Come on Luther, that is a weak excuse to all of a sudden start hating Superman.

[ACelloFella]

@3:30, shouldn't Superman be the only one shaking???..LOL.

[kmg4]

If only this show :

a) Ran in serial form with cliffhangers at the end of each episode, rather than episodes that end in anticlimax, and

b) Targetting a somewhat older audience, with more serious and darker storylines,...

This show would have been truly......super.

[icomefromearth01]

this was a very scary episode for me as a kid. but now that i think about it there were dozens of ways out of this: 1. the flash could have went back in time. 2. green lantern could have called on the other 3600 lanterns for help. 3. sinestro could have used his power ring to make yellow sun rays to 'recharge' superman. 4. surely there would have been a solution using kryptonian science?

also... wonder woman is immortal, so how could a weakened superman have outlasted her?

[job489]

How could you Superman...you made Lex Luthor bald! BALD! BALD! He lost all his hair. :P

[kmg4]

@job489 That is a pretty trivial reason to hate Superman for life....

[job489]

@kmg4

A lab can be rebuilt but a person's hair is irreplaceable. But yeah, it's still a pretty trivial reason to hate someone for life. :P

[fjccommish]

@job489 Um, Superman, that was my dead father's ashes you mixed as concrete for the science lab.  Now I shall destroy you!

[SaleGuy]

@fjccommish SHUT UP!!

[fjccommish]

@SaleGuy That's it, you're now my arch enemy.

[ClassicTVMan81]

This is strange they chose to air this as the final episode, on December 23, 1978.

[deepblackc]

Talk about being born under a bad sign...Superman winds up being the last survivor of two worlds!

[gonzomoya420]

Giganta was SEXY!

[gusbaker4u]

"One for all, and all for doom!" ok, this joke is too easy but, isn't that the GOP's slogan?

[slacker393]

@gusbaker4u No, it's Obama's.

[Mrbrianjohnson951]

@gusbaker4u

Not just the Republican, the Democratic party is the same way.

[professorcookie]

If Superboy was a contractor, he'd be bigger than Halliburton!

[jon1980sss]

I MISSED THE OLD SUPERFRIENDS EVEN THOUGH STORYS WA SGOOD LINES WERE LITTLE AWKWARD I THINK JUSTICE  LEAGUE AND SUPERFRIENDS ABOUT SAME BUT JUST LEAGUE DON'T HAVE THE NARRATOR OR MUSIC CONSTLY PLAYING THEY SHOWING SENCES

[mom369222]

I'd like to see how the super friends met, and became friends

[The7legacy]

This was the FINAL cartoon.

[Dtitilator]

Does anyone notice young Lex Luthor looks like George Bush.

[eastwood13]

@Dtitilator If Luthor was real, no doubt he would be a politician...

[drixg555]

@eastwood13 ...and get himself impeached or thrown out of office trying to destroy Superman.

[captcold1]

Superboy even landscaped Luthor's lab

[drakananana]

so... luther wants to destoy superman be course he made him bald? o.O sure luther wasen't crazy from the begining?

[Alecal89]

I think luthor overreacted a little

[drixg555]

Three words: SUPERBOY, YOU DICK!!!

[dakotagerman1]

It seems like everyone has to specify verbally intention before acting. It seems like the screenplay writers are condescending by scripting the lines in this manner.

[ultimatemegadeath]

wow. they really monkeyed with the origins! oh well, HAIR today, GONE tomorrow.

[ultimatemegadeath]

i just love how all the voices for superman and others are just higher pitched .

[poeticbee]

The Legion of Doom . . . I thought they were 13? How come only 10 hands/fists were on the table? Whatever happened to the 3? Disintegrated??? Lol.

[pyrogyra72]

I think it's interesting how here, they show Lex Luthor and Superboy as friends before becoming arch enemies. Something we see again on the tv show Smallville.

[jdnightwing]

@ SesameStrut........LOL!! I agree, but I was taught early that you have to let them sit in the milk for about ten minutes, but everybody carves up their mouths the first time they deal with the Cap'n!

[InnerBeatDrumSchool]

I agree with both of you...however, Crunch Berries can be really tricky!

[SesameStrut]

All that's missing is the sensation of Cap'n Crunch shredding the inside tissues of my mouth, and I'm back to Saturday mornings. Ahh.

Call an ambulance.

[dwilmer7]

lmao.. funny shit dude.. capn crunch is like eating a set of carvng knives! lol

[dwilmer7]

pure sci-fi... This is why superfriends kicked as.s.

[telewatcher89]

@dwilmer7

Right on!

[PALIMOST]

brainiac has the best voice

[mrderekevan]

3:06 was a frightening part for me when I was just a young lad. The Earth has been virtually destroyed and we watch as a weak and torn Superman is saying his final words before being cut off and (we would assume) dying from injuries. To a little kid, this was a sad and scary ending to the story of The Superfriends. Maybe in some ways, that fear still exists in all of us. Perhaps the days of Earth's existance are in fact numbered, and not even a super hero could survive a worldwide disaster!

[slr70]

this makes me feel young .........and old.

[SesameStrut]

No joke, friend.

[Rohan3]

The Toyman and the Riddler are underrated memebers of the Legion of Doom. Sure they lack powers, but they are at their best as Trap Setters!

[Kltpzyxm1978]

I think that in the Legion of Doom should have Penguim, Joker, Darkseid and Mxyzptlk.

[deathcatg]

Age and super powers sure had it's toll on Giganta's voice.

[slacker393]

@deathcatg She probably took up smoking.

[Jenga666]

This episode scared the hell out of me as a kid.

[evildeaddrew]

They should have had the joker instead of toyman.

[pytko3]

@evildeaddrew I wondered that myself. I heard that the Joker wanted to join the Legion of Doom figuring they need him but Lex Luther found the Joker to be more trouble than he's worth to them. The Joker is too WILD, he always does what HE wants and is never a team player, so the Legion of Doom refused to let him join.

[Lfdjake91]

This was my all time favorite episode of Challenge of the SuperFriends.

I loved seeing the origins of both Apache Cheif & Giganta. I would have liked to have seen origins for Black Vulcan, & Samurai as well.

[fjccommish]

@Lfdjake91 Their origins were a network exec deciding the Superfriends needed more diversity. So Hanna Barbara created them.

[Carandini]

@Lfdjake91 Black Vulcan's origin was a lwasuit that made the show unable to use Black Lightning.

[thespiswolf]

@Lfdjake91 Affirmative Action man flew into the office of Hanna-Barbara and said, "Yo, bitches, we need more ethnic heroes." Thus are the origins of Black Vulcan and Samurai.

[SonikLi]

This Lex was just as obsessed with Superman as Michael Rosenbaum's.

[SonikLi]

I like the music @ 3:03.

[lawmancpa]

Legion of Doom's weak links - -> Riddler and Toyman

[hameron]

@lawmancpa And Cheetah, Black Manta, and Scarecrow.

[lawmancpa]

Must be nice to have DirecTTv and Boomerang from cartoonnetwork. I miss those old cartoons. Boomerang brings them all back. I'm at a location that doesn't offer Boomerang...damn. I miss Flintstones, Top Cat, Herculoids, Space Ghost, old Scooby Doo and on and on.

[Louiethe10th]

this series was my first introduction to the dc universe and i still enjoyed it a lot

[4thtroika]

That's what always killed me about the original Lex Luthor: he would've rather died in that lab accident than lose his hair? "Yeah, it was terrible that he died. But, MAN has he got a great head of hair!"

[blueskunk12]

*lol*

[mom369222]

I saw this episode as a kid, and loved it thenI don't know how you found it, but thank you!

[latinguy67]

This is my favorite COTSF of all time. I have a bad copy on VHS from a while back. ReturnofLatinPupE is the MAN! Thanks for allowing me to relive my childhood: Superfriends and disco...ah the 1970s!

[broli1111]

I loved the show, but wasn't much of a DC comics guy, so I don't really know who most of them are. It would have been cool to see all of their origins, or at least the origins of the lesser known guys.

[11bryansbaby4lyf]

Grodds voice as the Indian Chief with Apache Chief

[11bryansbaby4lyf]

The entrance of the Legion of Doom at the start always had me laughing

[David200k]

I remember this one ... I was never able to see it all the way through, however..

Great work, ReturnofLatinPupE; I'm glad to see these Classics being preserved by Fans like us ... !

[piscesrising2006]

oh wow i had never seen this episode before.. a nice "Christmas" present! ;)