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The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure

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A Filmation series
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure

Seasons
Episodes

2
Aired
September 9, 1967
Original Channel
CBS
Original Run
1967 – 1968


Production
Creator(s)
Director(s)
Hal Sutherland
Producer(s)
Executive Producer(s)
Norm Prescott
Lou Scheimer


The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure was a Filmation animated series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1968. Premiering on September 9, 1967, this 60-minute program included a series of six-minute adventures featuring various DC Comics superheroes.

Each episode consisted of new segments from the existing series, The New Adventures of Superman and The Adventures of Superboy, as well as outings for Aquaman and his sidekick Aqualad.

From the point of view of Superman fans, it is generally regarded as the second season of The New Adventures.

Fans of Aquaman see it as the premiere season of Aquaman.

In 1968, after the series was finished, the show's three main components were again divided amongst other shows.

  • The Aquaman segments were repackaged without the Superman and Superboy segments, which ran from September 14, 1968 to June, 1970.


Contents

[edit] DC SuperHeroes

As part of the half-hour Aquaman segment of the hour-long Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, for the first time guest heroes would star in their own seven-minute episode sandwiched between two Aquaman stories. These guests included Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Justice League of America, Teen Titans, the Flash and the Atom. They were generally regarding as "a very faithful adaption to the comic book mythos"[1]; however there were some elements which were novel to the cartoons — such as secondary characters in the Hawkman, Green Lantern and Atom shorts. Likewise there were occasional omissions, like Robin's complete absence from the Teen Titans shorts.


[edit] Justice League of America Segments


Three episodes of Justice League of America were produced for the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967. Each episode focuses on the team of superheroes as they save the planet from alien invaders.

The team is made up of Superman, Atom, Hawkman, Green Lantern, and Flash. Although Aquaman is a prominent part of the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and even appears in the Justice League of America theme song, he never appears in any of the three episodes.


[edit] The Atom Segments


Three episodes of The Atom were produced for the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967. In this series, Ray Palmer battles evil doers as the Atom, who can shrink to minuscule proportions.

During these three episodes, the Atom takes on scientists who have been snubbed by society and have gone insane. One obscure Atom villain, Plant Master, makes an appearance in one episode.


[edit] The Flash Segments


Three episodes of Flash were produced for the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967. The Flash, Barry Allen, and his teen sidekick, Kid Flash, also known as Wally West, work together to fight crime.

Being a scientist himself, Barry Allen often finds himself battling other scientists who have gone mad with power. Flash also has to deal with the Blue Bolt, another speedster who is looking for revenge.


[edit] The Green Lantern Segments


Three episodes of Green Lantern were produced for the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967. Hal Jordan and his teen sidekick, Kyro, must save Earth, and the Universe from the constant threat of evil.

Villains like Evil Star try to make Green Lantern's life hard, but thanks to his Power Ring, the Green Lantern stops the villains with ease!


[edit] The Hawkman Segments


Three episodes of Hawkman were produced for the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967.

Being from another planet himself, Hawkman's adventures take him into outer space where he meets strange new creatures and has to save their planets and his own from evil doers!

Joining Hawkman on his missions is his trusty sidekick hawk, Skreel.


[edit] The Teen Titans Segments


Three episodes of Teen Titans were produced for the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967. Featuring Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash and Speedy, the Teen Titans are every bit as heroic as the Justice League, but their missions are a bit smaller scale, saving villages and individuals, rather than the whole planet.


[edit] Continuation

In 1968, the show's three main components were again divided amongst other shows. New Superman/Superboy segments were moved to the Batman/Superman Hour. Meanwhile, new Aquaman shorts aired as a part of Aquaman, a 30-minute version which also provided a home for further cartoons featuring characters drawn from the wider DC Universe.


[edit] Influence

The show continued to evolve a narrative format that had been started with the original Superman radio show. Specifically, it featured a narrator who served to both compress and dramatize the storytelling. Whereas the first season of The New Adventures of Superman had featured longtime radio narrator, Jackson Beck, Superman/Aquaman was the first to feature actor Ted Knight, who had made his Filmation debut as Perry White late in the previous season of The New Adventures. He would become the main voice used in the narration of DC cartoons for over a decade. He remained the unofficial "voice of DC" even during the first year the cartoons were produced by Hanna-Barbera under the SuperFriends banner.


[edit] Episodes

[edit] Aquaman (and Aqualad)

Cast (voice)

Adventures

Thirty-six Aquaman segments were produced:

  • Menace of the Black Manta
  • The Rampaging Reptile-Men
  • The Return Of Nepto
  • The Fiery Invaders
  • Sea Raiders
  • War Of The Water Worlds
  • The Volcanic Monster
  • The Crimson Monster From The Pink Pool
  • The Ice Dragon
  • The Deadly Drillers
  • Vassa, Queen Of The Mermen
  • The Microscopic Monsters
 
  • The Onslaught Of The Octomen
  • Treacherous Is The Torpedoman
  • The Satanic Saturnians
  • The Brain, The Brave And The Bold
  • Where Lurks the Fisherman!
  • Mephisto's Marine Marauders
  • The Trio Of Terror
  • The Torp, The Magneto And The Claw
  • Goliaths Of The Deep-Sea Gorge
  • The Sinister Sea Scamp
  • The Devil Fish
  • The Sea Scavengers
 
  • In Captain Cuda's Clutches
  • The Mirror-Man From Planet Imago
  • The Sea Sorcerer
  • The Sea-Snares Of Captain Sly
  • The Undersea Trojan Horse
  • The Vicious Villainy Of Vassa
  • Programmed For Destruction
  • The War Of The Quatix And The Bimphars
  • The Stickmen Of Stygia
  • Three Wishes To Trouble
  • The Silver Sphere
  • To Catch A Fisherman

[edit] Guest stars

Cast (voice)

The Atom

  • Invasion of the Beetle-Men
  • The Plant Master
  • The House of Doom

The Flash (and Kid Flash)

  • The Chemo-Creature
  • Take a Giant Step
  • To Catch a Blue Bolt

Green Lantern

  • Evil is as Evil Does
  • The Vanishing World
  • Sirena, Empress of Evil
 

Hawkman

  • Peril from Pluto
  • A Visit to Venus
  • The Twenty Third Dimension

Justice League of America

  • Between Two Armies
  • Target Earth
  • Bad Day on Black Mountain

Teen Titans

  • The Monster Machine
  • The Space Beast Round-Up
  • Operation: Rescue

[edit] Superboy

See The Adventures of Superboy ~ Season 2

[edit] Superman

See The New Adventures of Superman ~ Season 2


[edit] DVD release

Aquaman episodes can currently be seen as part of Cartoon Network's Boomerang. In 1985, Warner Home Video released eight selected Aquaman episodes of the series on VHS in the "Super Powers" video collection, along with Batman, Superboy and Superman. These videos were re-released in 1996 and are out of print. On October 23, 2007, Warner Home Video released The Adventures of Aquaman: The Complete Collection on DVD in Region 1; the 2-disc set features all 36 Aquaman segments from the series, as well as special features.

Warner Video also released DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures on August 12, 2008. The double DVD set features 18 cartoons starring Hawkman, Green Lantern, The Flash, The Atom, the Teen Titans, and the Justice League of America. The collection was released in Region 2 on October 13, 2008.


[edit] External links


[edit] References

  1. ↑ Source: Animated Titans: Filmation
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