This article is written from the Real World perspective |
The Marvel Super Heroes | |
---|---|
Beginning date | September 1, 1966 |
End date | December 1, 1966 |
Number of Episodes | 65 Episodes |
Writers | Stan Lee Steve Ditko Jack Kirby John Romita, Sr. Joe Simon Bill Everett Larry Lieber Don Heck Jerry Siegel |
Producers | Robert L. Lawrence Steve Krantz |
Original Channel | Syndication |
Next Series | Spider-Man |
The Marvel Super Heroes was the very first animated venture based on characters from Marvel Comics. The series focused on Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Namor. The series ran for three months between September 1st and December 1st in 1966.
Story
The stories were lifted directly from the comics, now called the Silver Age of Comic Books, rather than adapting the stories. Just a few stories were changed to omit some characters or to bring closure to stories that continued in another comic.
Animation
The series was made by Grantray-Lawrence Animation. It was headed by Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, and Robert Lawrence.
Because of the short production schedule, the series used xerography for animation. The animators used images from the actual comic books for crude animation. Today, that would be called motion comics.
Cast
Actors portraying Captain America, Doctor Doom, Hulk, and Bucky appeared in live-action segments. These were written by Jerry Siegel, most famous for helping to create DC Comics superhero Superman.
Episodes
Sixty-five episodes were produced. Each episode was comprised of three seven minute sections, totaling one-hundred and ninety-five segments. Each group of three would focus on one superhero tale. In between the segments were descriptions of the other four heroes.
The series aired in syndication, meaning it was not part of one series everywhere but the channel varied by city.
Each day featured a different hero: Captain America on Monday, Hulk on Tuesday, Iron Man on Wednesday, Thor on Thursday, and Namor on Friday.
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes ranked the series among its top one-hundred superhero series with this series at fifty-one above Big Hero 6: The Series at one-hundred Spider-Woman at eighty-nine, Iron Man: Armored Adventures at eighty-six, Ultimate Spider-Man at eighty-three, Spider-Man Unlimited at seventy-three, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes at sixty-nine, The Super Hero Squad Show at sixty-eight, X-Men: Evolution at sixty-six, Fantastic Four at sixty-four, Avengers Assemble at fifty-eight, Guardians of the Galaxy at fifty-five and below Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends at forty-eight, The Spectacular Spider-Man at forty-six, Spider-Man at forty, Spider-Man at nineteen, and X-Men at five.[1]
Legacy
The 2008 Iron Man film from Marvel Studios features a big band version of the Iron Man segments theme song without lyrics. The original song is included on the soundtrack.
The comic Tony Stark: Iron Man #9 features a flashback that uses the iron Man segments theme song's lyrics.[2]
References
- ↑ 100 Best Superhero TV Shows of All Time at Rotten Tomatoes
- ↑ Tony Stark: Iron Man Pays Homage to a Classic Cartoon at Comic Book Resources
External Links
- TV.com
- Internet Movie Database:
- The Big Cartoon Database
- Wikipedia
- Marvel Database: