Like many children, my first introduction to the world of superheroes was through cartoons. For that reason, I’ll always have a soft spot for Super Friends, as while the series had ended its run before I was born, I watched many reruns as a child. Thanks to the new Super Friends: The Complete Series Blu-ray, I’ve been able to revisit the show, which had seven different iterations and aired for 12 years.
“The greatest of the DC superheroes work together to uphold the good with the help of some young proteges. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, Super Friends is an animated TV series featuring the Justice League of America that ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup,” says the official description.
The coolest part of the Super Friends: The Complete Series Blu-ray set is that it does have every single episode of the cartoon ever made. I had no clue that the show had gone through so many iterations. Getting to see that evolution over 93 episodes is quite fun, as the show originally had a trio of largely forgotten sidekicks in Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog, who were later replaced by the Wonder Twins and Gleek. While the show was never known for its top-notch storytelling, it features a ton of colorful and good-natured action that is just fun to have on in the background and looks great, thanks to the HD transfer.
Having never seen the full run before, there’s also the joy of seeing the wide array of heroes make appearances as the series goes on. I was surprised to see Cyborg and Firestorm join the series’ later run as full-fledged Justice League of America members, and there are a bunch of great guest appearances as well. While the villainous Legion of Doom are the main antagonists, there are also plenty of outside villains, ranging from The Joker to Darkseid and Mr. Mxyzptik. It’s really a great look at how diverse the DC universe has always been, and the Super Friends: The Complete Series Blu-ray is a great way to be reminded of why we fell in love with these characters in the first place.
While there aren’t any bonus features, Warner Bros. did go all out in making sure everything was included. This includes the eight “lost episodes” that were part of the 1980 SuperFriends series that were only aired internationally. In total, you’re getting 1973’s Super Friends, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Challenge of the Superfriends, The World’s Greatest SuperFriends, the full three seasons of SuperFriends, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. It’s a lot of content (3,142 minutes if you wish to count), and there are bound to be some episodes you haven’t seen before if you’re not a diehard fan.
In total, there are 16 discs in the Blu-ray set. Similar to the Succession: The Complete Series set, all the discs are in an Epik Pak tray that just sits inside the case. However, it fills out the full width of the inside, so you don’t feel the discs rattling around when you move them. There’s nothing inside the packaging, although the discs each feature the different show’s logos and make it easy to know what episodes the discs have on them. It’s certainly not deluxe packaging, but there’s been worse in these types of collections.
Super Friends: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review: Final Verdict
Featuring all 93 episodes of the various Super Friends iterations over the years, the Super Friend: The Complete Series Blu-ray lives up to its billing. The show is still quite fun to watch today, even if it was never the peak of superhero storytelling, and is a good introduction to the characters if you have kids. Whether it’s for young ones or for nostalgic reasons, DC fans can’t go wrong with this set.
Disclosure: ComingSoon received product from the distributor for our Super Friends: The Complete Series Blu-ray review.
