Super Friends Season 2, Episode 8, Storyline C – “Coming of the Anthropods”
Original Airdate – October 22, 1977
Short Synopsis: “Deep in space, on the outer rim of the galaxy, is a lone, glowing planet…” – Narrator
FILLED WITH BROWN ZORAKS!
“You have been convicted of crimes against insectonian society. You are hereby banished from this planet never to return,” says one Zorak to a bunch of other Zoraks.
Solemn promises of revenge escape the insectonian beaks of the convicted as they are put in a flying saucer and sent away.
“They are no longer our problem. Now let the planet called ‘Earth’ deal with them.” says the jackass leader of the Zoraks.
Now…to the hooligan Zoraks who’ve arrived on earth – their leader is called “Insector,” like “Inspector,” but a pun.
They aren’t as big as I thought. Here’s their size in relation to the windshield of a truck with a missile on it, which happened to drive by right as they arrived on the planet:
It turns out they emit some kind of toxin that turns people into obedient slaves, which they use on the truck driver.
The Super Friends are then alerted to the missing truck with the missile and now the “fun” can begin. Batman and Robin head out to the desert to investigate insectigate.
Go Go Bat Gadget
Batman and Robin notice the insect tracks and immediately conclude they must have something to do with the hijacked truck. Batman gets out his “Infrared Heat Follower” to pick up “heat traces left by the truck.”
I’m SHOCKED. SHOCKED. It’s not called a BAT Infrared Heat Follower. Did he borrow it from someone else? What the hell is going on here? I don’t know who I am or why I’m here anymore.
This case is a dream come true for Batman and Robin
They track down the truck, the missile is missing, and the insect tracks lead into…a CAVE! We all know how much they love their caves.
They hear what I personally swear sounds just like a turkey gobble or chicken cluck, but both agree it sounds just like insects, and happen upon the missile, the servant slave, and the insects:
One of the Zoraks exclaims, “intruder,” and Robin expresses his surprise with a nice, “holy dialog, Batman, those insects can talk!”
They notice the slave-producing toxin and put on their Bat Gas Masks, so now my soul is a little less lost.
The missile, which is unarmed, by the way, ends up going off and heading towards Gotham. Superman easily deals with the missile.
Later, at the Justice League Headquarters
– Aquaman pronounces Washington, “Warshington.”
– Robin seems to have suddenly realized he’s on a TV show and stares creepily into the camera.
– The Super Friends split up to try and find the current location of the Zoraks. Zan and Jayna stay behind for what I can only pray are off-camera hijinks.
The Maison Energizer?
The Zoraks end up at some military base where they think a weapon is housed that will get them revenge.
The “Maison Energizer,” according to the scientists at the base, is “the greatest scientific advancement since the laser.” It rearranges molecules or something and can “change useless deserts into lakes,” or, “transform rocks into fruit trees.” And bees into chocolate bars and hair clippings into rainbows!
The scientists are surprised by the insects and are turned into servant slaves. If only they had enough time to turn the insects into letters of acceptance from an Ivy League school. Or something.
Um.
At the headquarters, Zan and Jayna are alerted that an alarm was triggered at that military base, and they decide to check it out themselves. Yay.
Jayna turns into a camel, and Zan is water in a barrel strapped to Jayna.
Since it’s super hot in the desert, and Gleek is thirsty, he then takes a mason jar, and scoops up some of water-Zan to drink. Zan then somehow gets to have the shape of his arm, and uses it to snatch away the jar full of himself that Gleek was hoping to ingest.
“Sorry Gleek, I’m not for drinking.”
It was like a bizarro communion.
OMG She’s Useful!
The Wonder Twins and Gleek arrive at the base and see the Zoraks preparing to leave with the Energizer. They alert the other Super Friends and decide to leave with the insects so that they don’t lose track of them.
JAYNA TURNS INTO ONE OF THE INSECTS. Wow. Finally, her superpower can actually be specifically applied to the emergency at hand. Zan? Oh, yeah, he’s water in a flask that has to be carried around by a monkey.
“The Super Friends brave intolerable weather in a desperate search to find Insector and the Wonder Twins.” – Narrator
Ok, weird detail, but whatever. Jayna-as-insect gets word to the Super Friends that the plane is landing in the Amazon. And, everyone starts calling Inspector Inspect-A for no reason.
And Now is the Time…
during the third storyline of most episodes, when everything quickly begins to unravel into a let’s-throw-everything-we-can-think-of-into-the-plot confusing stew of chaos.
– Batman, Robin, and Aquaman are in a boat on the Amazon river and are sunk by an insect-created avalanche.
– They are then attacked by crocodiles.
– The Wonder Twins deactivate, which gives us this lovely screenshot:
– During their efforts to stop the Maison Energizer, Wonder Woman and Superman are hit by it’s ray, turning them to stone.
– Batman, Robin, and Aquaman end up in the Amazonian pyramid the insects are in, and Batman vacuums up some of the Zoraks with the Bat Vacuum, just like so many of us do around the house. How relatable.
– Then, Aquaman traps a bunch of them in a giant clam shell. Not quite as relatable.
“For a while there I thought I was going to be the man of stone instead of the man of steel” – Superman, reminding everyone of his better-than-everyone-else nickname.
– Superman takes all the exiled insects back to their planet.
The End.
P.S. I’m posting Super Friends outtakes on the Cannibalistic Nerd Facebook page. So, if you need a mid-week Super Friends pick-me-up, that’s the place to get it.
If you would like to see these shenanigans for yourself, Season 2 is available on DVD.
