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Legends of the Superheroes

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Legends of the Superheroes
Directed byBill Carruthers
Chris Darley
Narrated byGary Owens
ComposerFred Werner
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes2
Production
Executive producerJoseph Barbera
ProducerBill Carruthers
CinematographyGreg Brunton
EditorsHarvey Berger
Andy Shubert
Running time100 minutes
Production companiesHanna-Barbera Productions
DC Comics
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseJanuary 18 (1979-01-18) –
January 25, 1979 (1979-01-25)
Related
Super Friends

Legends of the Superheroes is an umbrella title for two 60-minute live-action television specials produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on NBC on January 18 and 25, 1979. The series was loosely based on Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends animated series, then airing on Saturday mornings on ABC; it served as a reunion of sorts for the 1960s' Batman TV series, as it brings back together two of its stars reprising their respective roles. The specials were produced like standard variety shows of the time: on videotape and with a laugh track.[1]

Cast

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Legends of the Superheroes starred Adam West and Burt Ward, reprising their roles as Batman and Robin. The show also had a large ensemble cast that included Garrett Craig as Captain Marvel, Howard Murphy as Green Lantern, Rod Haase as Flash, Bill Nuckols as Hawkman, Barbara Joyce as Huntress, Alfie Wise as Atom, and Danuta Wesley as Black Canary.

Cast

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Episodes

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The Challenge

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In the first special, the Justice League of America (Batman, Robin, The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Captain Marvel, Huntress, and Black Canary) unite at the Hall of Heroes to celebrate Scarlet Cyclone's birthday. The party is interrupted by the Legion of Doom (Riddler, Weather Wizard, Sinestro, Mordru, Doctor Sivana, Giganta, and Solomon Grundy), who announce they have hidden a deadly bomb in a secret location, and the heroes must follow clues to find it. It's all actually a ruse to trick the heroes into drinking Sivana's de-powering potion. Despite the fact that they now lack powers, the heroes fight the villains, and manage to both disarm the bomb and recover their powers. Only after the whole battle is over, and the heroes have proven victorious, does Scarlet Cyclone arrive to give his aid.

The Roast

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The second special is a celebrity roast of the superheroes hosted by Ed McMahon. All of the major characters from the first episode return, with the exception of the Riddler. New characters featured include Ghetto Man, an African-American superhero who performs a stand-up comedy routine; Aunt Minerva, an enemy of Captain Marvel who seeks a sixth husband from among the male superheroes; Rhoda Rooter, an entertainment reporter who snags an exclusive interview with Giganta and the Atom; and Esther Hol, Hawkman's mother.

Home media

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Warner Home Video's Warner Archive Collection released the specials on DVD on October 19, 2010.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "A History of Batman on TV". IGN. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  2. ^ "Legends of the Super Heroes (1979) DVD - Warner Bros. Archive: WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios". WBshop.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
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