Near Mint Memories: Super Powers

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In the early 1980s the Federal Trade Commission lifted a ban that prevented companies from releasing cartoons that were meant solely as advertising for merchandise. This ban forever changed the world that children lived in. This is the principal reason that the majority of successful toys (the ones meant for children; not the stuff adults collect) in the past twenty years has had some media tie-in. These programs offered candy-coated storylines that offered minimal educational value, but tremendous merchandising potential for corporate America.

Mindless trash like Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K. and countless others, muddled the minds of myself and many other youths in that time period. With the toy companies reaping these rewards, DC Comics was not far behind. For the first time since the late 1970s World’s Greatest Heroes toy line by Mego, there would be a wide-range of characters produced from the DC’s Universe. In 1984 Kenner Toys unleashed the Super Powers Collection. Along with the line of figures as was the requisite of the time, there was a comic series as well as a change to the Saturday morning Super Friends adventures with the Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show.

Welcome to my look back on where my passion for the DC Universe kicked into high gear.


’80s Commercialism

Prior to 1984 my contact with the DC Comics stable of characters was mostly through the Batman live-action series, featuring Adam West and Burt Ward, and the standard Superfriends cartoon. I’d read some DC comics, but that was pretty minimal. When Kenner released their first wave of Super Powers toys in 1984, I had to buy ’em. I was an action figure junkie ever since Star Wars toys debuted in 1978. Nearly anything I could get my hands on was fair game. Since there was a voluminous amount of already-published comics and cartoons to keep my attention Super Powers faired better than most toy line’s that only had a handful of comics or a lousy television series.

The first wave of twelve Super Powers figures in 1984 got my interest, but it was the second wave in 1985 that made an indelible mark on a child’s psyche. I was the type of child that moved from one hot toy to the next, so I would lose interest in lines until they were refreshed. In the fall of 1984, I saw Firestorm for the first time on the new cartoon, I immediately had to go out pick up my first copy of The Fury of Firestorm (issue #30), as well as a variety of other DCU comics. Most importantly of the new comic acquisitions was the final issue of Flash, who would soon become my favorite comic character. You can read my recollections of that milestone purchase in one of my first Near Mint Memories, here. Of course, with the new cartoon came new figures.

After seeing him on television and picking up the comic, Firestorm’s figure was the first that I needed to own. Yet, it wasn’t the heroes that did it for me. My excitement for the new Super Powers assortment was enhanced by the entry of Darkseid and his collection of colorful minions, which included Desaad, Kalibak, Steppenwolf, the Parademons, and Mantis. Here was a strong cast of villains that far surpassed the somewhat-lame villainy offered by Penguin, Joker, and Lex Luthor in the first assortment. Darkseid’s bunch quickly got me involved in Jack Kirby’s “Fourth World” of DC Comics. An involvement that was peaked as I searched high-and-low for a copy of The Hunger Dogs graphic novel published the year prior. You see, The Hunger Dogs was mentioned at the start of the second Super Powers miniseries, and I just had to have it.

Over the month or so, I reread the first two Super Powers miniseries for the first time in nearly twenty years. For the sake of journalism I even ordered the third miniseries online, as I had not read that one until now. I remember Super Powers with the rosy recollection of a ten year old. It’s not surprising that the books didn’t hold up in many respects.


The Super Powers vs. The Disciples of Doom

The first Super Powers series is a focused assembly of the twelve original characters released in the toy line. The series follows a clear formula from issue-to-issue, and culminates in the expected ending. Clearly the series was a commercial for not just the Super Powers line of toys, but more specifically, DC’s line of comic books. Almost all of their major heroes were involved, and at their peak of power.

The series began with a gladiatorial match on an alien world. At the conclusion of said match, a set of four Emissaries (or as mentioned on the cover, Disciples) of Doom are sent out to destroy the heroes of Earth, by a figure shrouded in shadow. The shrouded character turns out to be Darkseid, but the reader does not find that out until issue #4. The Emissaries go to some of the Earth’s “mightiest” villains and grant them “Super Powers.” That the title was referencing the villains is an interesting, yet odd, double meaning for the Super Powers name.

Lex Luthor is granted the power of time distortion, while the Penguin can control birds, Brainiac could stir the racial memories of a race to help perform experiments, and the Joker gained the power to transport people to his own “psycho-active” dimension.

The “Super Powered” villains are seemingly victorious in the first issue. Luthor takes out Superman and Flash. The Joker handles Batman, Robin, and Hawkman. Penguin is triumphant over Green Lantern and Aquaman. While Brainiac puts his plans in motion against the Amazons. That concludes the first issue, and sets up the rest of the formula to come.


Ludicrous tidbits…

The second issue features one of the most ludicrous moments in comic history. Superman saves a prostrate Flash by speeding up his molecules and vibrating him through the ground away from Luthor’s clutches. The Flash drops down in front of a subway. He then utters the most ridiculous line in comic book history:

“No time to run. Only way to avoid impact…is to vibrate clear through it.”

While that’s a nice way to highlight Flash’s abilities, the thought just makes me cringe. Even if the train were moving 100 MPH it could be touching the Flash, and he’d still have time to run.

Another ludicrous factoid is that the Emissaries of Doom are never named individually. These four characters hang around the entire series, and we don’t think to give them names?

Anyway…


Fight the badguys, fight your friends, fight Darkseid

After getting the best of Joker, Penguin, and Luthor, the heroes fight Wonder Woman and the Amazons because of Brainiac’s treachery. Once they overcome and return the Amazons to sanity, it’s a devolved Super-ape-man that they must square off against. After restoring the Man of Steel, the villains and heroes end up together on Apokolips, and actually team-up. At the end of the fourth issue Darkseid is unveiled as the villain of the piece. Darkseid’s plan was to lure the heroes to Apokolips, so he could invade a defenseless Earth.

I’d be remiss at this point not to mention the creators involved. The scripts were written by Joey Cavalieri, and the first four issues were illustrated by Adrian Gonzalez. Each did an admirable job, but one more person played a part as well. Jack Kirby was credited with the plots for the first four issues, and contributed each cover. The reason that I am mentioning the creative talent so deeply into this section, is that “King” Kirby wrote and illustrated the fifth and final chapter in the first Super Powers series.

It seems rather odd that Kirby only illustrated the final issue, but as was the case with the entirety of his legendary career, the work was stunning! Kirby put his stamp on Super Powers. Kirby steals the show illustrating the final battle, showing once again why he is one of the most respected talents in the history of the industry. This certainly wasn’t just a toy tie-in to him.

The series does come together in a rather farcical fashion. Darkseid arrives on Earth via the DC offices. The Lord of Apokolips even bumps into a disgruntled inker along the way. I must say, were inkers always the butt of jokes? More ludicrous is the happenstance of the twelve heroes and villains sitting together on the JLA Satellite and planning their next actions. The heroes are actually rather stunted in their victory (and the villains are made to forget their noble part), as it’s more from the aid of Metron (one of the New Gods) than the heroes themselves that Darkseid is vanquished.

It may not be a classic for all-time, but the first Super Powers miniseries served as a wonderful primer to the DC Universe, and, for me anyway, was a “gateway comic.” It’s the one that got me to try the harder stuff!


Super Powers II: lots more Kirby… but little else

Much like the first series, the second Super Powers effort from DC was highly-formulaic. It made use of a greatly expanded character roster, but one that echoed the exact lineup of that year’s refresh to the toy line. This time Jack Kirby penciled the series from beginning to end, as well as contributing the cover for each issue. The series was penned by industry vet Paul Kupperberg.

The series begins as a direct continuation of Kirby’s own Hunger Dogs graphic novel. At the conclusion of that piece, Apokolips was in the midst of an open rebellion uprising, and Darkseid’s grasp on Apokolips was lost. As the second Super Powers kicks off, Darkseid comes to Earth with the hope of setting up a new kingdom. His plan was to use “Seeds” that will burrow to the Earth’s core where they will ignite and turn the planet into an echo of Apokolips.

Kupperberg does a nice job with the enormous cast, yet, the series is even more formulaic than the first. The first five issues feature a small force of heroes united as they go after one of the seeds. The heroes battle one of Darkseid’s minions (each of which was added to the toy line that year). In the midst of the battle the heroes and villain are transported through time, where they continue the conflict.

Here’s a rather brief breakdown:

  • Issue #1 – Aquaman and Martian Manhunter battle Desaad at Stonehenge, then again in the time of King Arthur.
  • Issue #2 – Red Tornado, Hawkman, and Green Arrow battle Kalibak in Times Square (New York City), then again in the time of the dinosaurs.
  • Issue #3 – Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Dr. Fate battle Mantis on Easter Island, then again on Easter Island in 1087.
  • Issue #4 – Firestorm and Superman battle Steppenwolf in modern day Rome, then again in Rome during the time of Nero.
  • Issue #5 – Breaks slightly from de rigueur as Batman, Robin, and Flash battle Parademons in a “possible” future version of Las Vegas where Darkseid long ago took control of Earth.
  • Issue #6 – The final chapter pulls all the previous players together as they storm Darkseid’s stronghold on the Moon. Here they must stop Darkseid before he activates the seeds remaining on Earth.

I’ll give you two guesses who wins, but the first one doesn’t count.


Third time’s the charm?

The first thing that I noticed upon opening issue #1 was that this was a different book artistically. It was not a bad thing at all. Gone was the linework of Jack Kirby. Thankfully the loss of the legend was not as disruptive as you may think. The replacement for “The King” was another legend, Carmine Infantino. The real shift in art I am talking about is in the way the characters were portrayed. Gone was the comic interpretation of the characters. On page one it’s clear that we’re looking at art inspired by the toys. Darskseid isn’t a fantastic departure, but he now sports the cape and “D” emblem present on the figure. As you move forward the other character that sees the biggest change is Orion. Looking more like Man-E-Faces from the Master of the Universe line than the Orion of the DC Universe, it was clear that this would be a four-issue commercial for the Super Powers toys.

The series begins with Mister Miracle and Orion entering the prison where they hold the captured Darkseid. The effect of the new characters introduced in the toy line that year have on the story is felt immediately. Almost the entire first issue focuses on Orion and Mister Miracle and their struggle to maintain freedom on the recently liberated Apokolips. We soon see the influence of Darkseid’s minions, Kalibak, Tyr (who is in actuality of villain from Legion of Super-Heroes that was featured in the third assortment of toys), and Steppenwolf, and their attempts to reinstitute Darkseid’s rule.

It’s not until page 18 that we see some of the more recognizable faces of the DC Universe. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Firestorm, Captain Marvel, and Plastic Man battle a highly powered Mr. Freeze, as well as new characters, Samurai, Cyclotron, and Golden Pharaoh. While Samurai was featured in the Super Friends cartoons, and a very different Cyclotron was introduced in Action Comics #21, and made appearances in All Star Squadron, Golden Pharaoh was a created specifically for the toy line.

The second issue centered almost entirely on the newcomers, bringing us origins of Golden Pharaoh, and Samurai. The major occurrence was Darkseid’s escape. Getting back to the ludicrous, the third issue begins with a de-powered Darkseid reaching Earth. He breaks into “Rose’s Secondhand Clothes,” steals a fedora and overcoat, but gets mugged and is left unconscious in an alley. Brother!

Darkseid seeks the help of a scientist from Apokolips named Kronar, who is on Earth helping Mr. Miracle and Orion. The scientist transforms Darkseid into a superhero named Janus. Darkseid gains acceptance by the heroes when he transforms a band of “miscreants” into superheroes that are the perfect foil for the “Super Powers team.” As the third issue closes out Janus is one of the good guys.

The final issue saw the entire Super Powers team, with the help of Janus, embark for Apokolips. Together they defeat Kalibak, Desaad, Steppenwolf, Tyr and their mercenary forces and free Apokolips… again. Janus/Darkseid faces major issues as he cannot regain his powers because the “Omega Batteries” were destroyed during the battle. Janus decided to stay behind and help Orion and Mr. Miracle defend Apokolips.

That’s it. The Super Powers series ends with Darkseid as a hero on Apokolips. Clearly there were plans for more, but the toy line had run its course, and that was the end of the road. This third series was highly commercialized with the toys used as artistic reference and the odd cast used in the story, but, as a whole, this read the cleanest and most simply of all the stories. It wasn’t a classic, but this would have been the easiest of the three series for new readers to enjoy.


Missing the point?

I think it’s obvious from the above commentary that I was not blown away upon rereading Super Powers. To be honest, I shouldn’t have been. Super Powers was not written for a thirty-year-old comic fan in the modern era. It was written as a way-in for youngsters in the early ’80s. In this regard it was a magnificent success. After all, I’m here now! It was dumbed down, and quite silly, but it captured so many of the elements that made these characters classics.

I would be an ignorant, cynical jerk if I used my adult sensibilities then denigrated the talents that put these series together. I would not recommend Super Powers as a purchase to place alongside your copies of Watchmen, Preacher, or Sandman. To be honest, there’s little reason for most of us to read this. I would wholly recommend this book as a way to get children into comic books. Whether you have a child of your own, a younger brother, or a niece of nephew does not matter. Each Super Powers miniseries tells a timeless story of good vs. evil, featuring the characters that we know and love, and does it with a child-centered approach.

Super Powers is better than most of the modern books thrown together for children, and to top it all off, you could pick up copies for a lot less than the new titles currently being printed. The best way to get children interested in comic books is with old, classics, rather than the modern books. A child can get a stack of comics for a few dollars and enjoy them in grand chunks. Whether it is Super Powers or something else, we need to foster an interest in comics through the past, not the present. Eventually, as the children grow up, they’ll make their way to the “New Comics Rack” and pick up the things we’re enjoying. For now, with several exceptions, the right product is not available, and it’s a hard sell compared to video game and DVD prices.


The Reading Rack

Stu gotz! To the best of my knowledge, Super Powers has not been reprinted in any form. That’s okay, though. Go to a comic shop, online retailer, or a comic show and get children reading comics. Sure, it may not help the publishers, but you’re supporting retailers in the industry, and laying the foundation for a love of comics.