Last week, I discussed Isis (a.k.a. The Secrets of Isis), a live-action series created by Filmation that aired on CBS from 1975-76. Isis was an original creation, secretly Andrea Thomas, a high school science teacher who possessed a magical amulet that gave her the weather-controlling powers of the ancient Egyptian goddess with whom she shared a name.
Filmation wasn’t done with the character of Isis and revived her in animated form on the anthology cartoon Tarzan and the Super 7, in the segment entitled Freedom Force. I will discuss that in more depth in just a minute.
But first of all, obviously based on the title, Tarzan was the main attraction on Tarzan and the Super 7. The solo cartoon Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle premiered on CBS Saturday mornings in the fall of 1976. Ultimately, 36 episodes were created and aired over four seasons.
Robert Ridgley voiced the Lord of the Jungle. This series is actually more faithful to Edgar Rice Burrough’s original novels than most previous adaptations. This animated Tarzan is actually intelligent and well-spoken and is accompanied by a monkey, N’kima. More people are familiar with the chimpanzee, Cheetah, but that was a creation of the films.
In early 1977, Filmation created The New Adventures of Batman, based on the DC Comics character. Adam West and Burt Ward, who had played the Caped Crusaders in live-action in the 1960s, returned to voice their respective roles.
This series ran concurrently with Hanna-Barbera’s Super Friends on ABC, which also featured Batman and Robin. While the two main heroes could appear on both cartoons, their villains could not. Therefore, The Joker, Mister Freeze, Penguin, and Catwoman were exclusive to the Filmation/CBS series, while The Riddler and Scarecrow were part of the Legion of Doom on Super Friends. (The Riddler did appear in the opening credits of The New Adventures of Batman, in an inverted costume– purple with green accessories, instead of green with purple accessories. He didn’t actually appear in any episodes, however.)
Ultimately, only one season of 16 episodes of The New Adventures of Batman was created, although it was rerun in subsequent seasons.
In the fall of 1977, Filmation and CBS combined these two shows as The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour. In the fall of 1978, the show was expanded to Tarzan and the Super 7, which featured both the Tarzan and Batman cartoons plus new additions– The Freedom Force, Manta and Moray, Superstretch and Microwoman, Web Woman, and Jason of Star Command.
Tarzan and the Super 7 is one of the most oddly titled shows ever, as “Tarzan” is listed separately from “the Super 7” however, the Tarzan cartoon is included in the “7” with six other shows.
Jason of Star Command was unique in that it was live-action. It was a spinoff of the 1977 Filmation live-action series Space Academy. Craig Littler portrayed Jason, while Sid Haig played the villain Dragos. Star Trek‘s James Doohan co-starred in the first season as Commander Canarvin, but he was absent from the second season, as he went to film Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
There were a total of 28 episodes of Jason of Star Command produced, with it being spun off into its own separate series after Tarazan and the Super 7 ended.
As mentioned, Isis returned as part of The Freedom Force. Another returning Filmation character was Hercules, who had previously starred on the animated series Space Sentinels. He was frequently depicted as riding on the mythological winged horse, Pegasus.
They were joined by Merlin from the King Arthur legends (although depicted as much younger than he usually is), Sinbad from the Arabian Nights stories, and an original character- Super Samurai, a teenager named Toshi, who could transform into an armored giant. Sinbad’s first mate, Lamprey, also appeared. Sinbad only appeared in one episode.
The Freedom Force was based out of a pyramid in the Valley of Time, a nexus where fantasy creatures and civilizations from different eras cohabitated.
Even though Freedom Force is fondly remembered, perhaps more so than the other Super 7 segments, only five episodes were produced, perhaps because it was harder or more expensive to produce due to the large cast.
Diane Pershing voiced Isis, while Bob Denison portrayed Hercules. Michael Bell portrayed the other regular characters, Merlin, Toshi/Super Samurai, and Sinbad.
The Freedom Force was originally going to be called The Fantastics and early comic book ads actually labeled them as such. These ads were also seemingly based on earlier concept art, as many of the characters looked far different from the way they were drawn on the cartoon.
Filmation had always been fairly progressive. The previously mentioned Space Sentinels featured the first black female superhero in animation, Astraea. As part of the Super 7, the studio presented Superstretch and Microwoman, a black married couple, Chris and Christy Cross, who solved mysteries together. They were frequently accompanied by their dog, Trouble.
Superstretch, as his name implies, could stretch and change shape, while Microwoman could shrink. Their identities were not secret and they always wore the same tracksuits, instead of the typical spandex superhero attire.
Ty Henderson voiced Chris/Superstretch, while Kim Hamilton voiced Christy/Microwoman. Howard Morris provided the voice for their friend Lt. Buzz Tucker. There were 11 episodes created.
Superstretch and Microwoman weren’t the only couple on Super 7. Another segment, Manta and Moray featured an ocean-based duo.
Green-skinned Manta was originally from the undersea kingdom of Mu, which was destroyed, but Manta was bathed in radiation which placed him in suspended animation until he was set free by Moray.
Moray was an ordinary human, however, she was raised by dolphins after her parents’ plane crashed in the ocean. She learned to hold her breath for long periods. Manta was amphibious and could breathe on land or underwater, but if he was away from the water for too long, he grew weak and could potentially die. He could communicate with both sea and land animals. Manta and Moray were frequently accompanied by a sea lion named Whiskers and a whale named Guppy.
Manta was voiced by Joe Stern, while Joan van Ark provided Moray’s voice. There were seven episodes of this segment.
The final portion of Super 7 was a solo female superhero series called Web Woman. Filmation had originally planned to name this character “Spider-Woman,” but Marvel Comics, owner of Spider-Man decided to create their own Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) to block Filmation from securing the name.
Web Woman, a.k.a. Kelly Webster, was a NASA scientist-turned-farmer, who rescued an alien from a raging river. It turns out the alien was an agent of the ancient extraterrestrial Scarab. As a thank you, Scarab granted Kelly the powers of the insect/bug kingdom. She was accompanied on her adventures by Spinner, another alien creature.
Linda Gary provided Web Woman’s voice and there were ten episodes of this cartoon. As you can see from this early concept art, Web Woman, like Freedom Force/The Fantastics, underwent a heavy redesign before she ended up on the small screen. (Below)
In addition to running afoul of Marvel over Spider-Woman/Web Woman, DC Comics sued and won a lawsuit charging that Superstretch and Manta infringed on the copyrights of Plastic Man and Aquaman. Filmation appealed, but in 1986, DC won that case as well. That may explain why much of this series has never been released on home video.
Technically, there was only one season of Tarzan and the Super 7, but it was rerun after that. In 1980, Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle was paired with a new Lone Ranger cartoon as The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour. And then, in 1981, a new Zorro cartoon was added, and the series became The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour.
Also in 1980, NBC picked up Batman and the Super 7, a repackaged version of Tarzan and the Super 7 minus the Tarzan cartoons and Jason of Star Command, both of which were airing new episodes on CBS.
As I mentioned, the name “Tarzan and the Super 7“‘ didn’t make much sense, as Tarzan was one of the “7.” The name “Batman and the Super 7” makes even less sense, as it was the Batman series matched with the four other segments. There aren’t even seven segments altogether.
The Freedom Force was released on DVD as part of a set that also included Space Sentinels. Jason of Star Command was also released in its entirety. Both sets were put out by BCI Eclipse Entertainment in the mid-’00s. Warner Brothers released The New Adventures of Batman in one complete set. Only the first season of Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle was released on DVD in 2016 to mark its 40th anniversary.
Presumably, the legal issues around Web Woman, Manta and Moray, and Superstretch and Microwoman prevented them from being released or rerun anywhere in the years since they first aired.
There was very little licensing for these cartoons. Here you can see a set of puffy stickers, but they seem to be miscolored. Chris and Christy Cross may not even have brown skin. A different set has Isis’ dress colored red instead of white.
Web Woman also had a Halloween costume made in her likeness.
Below, you can find a video all about the few licensed items from Tarzan and the Super 7.
Sadly, due to legal issues that prevented from being widely circulated, it seems that Tarzan and the Super 7 isn’t very well-remembered today. But it seems that to those that experienced it when it first aired, this show made quite an impression.
Do you remember Tarzan and the Super 7?
