Super Friends Season 2, Episode 14, Storyline A – “Frozen Peril”
Original Airdate – December 3, 1977
Opening: “An island, somewhere in the Pacific, where an evil plan is brewing that will threaten 2/3 of the Earth.” – Narrator
Sculpin’s the name, freezing the Earth’s oceans is his game!
He’s got a hydro freeze ray and he’s not afraid to use it! And that he does.
You would think since the oceans are frozen, Aquaman is out of luck but no, he and Superman are working this case.
Turns out his jet ski also works as a snowmobile.
Superman spots a stranded freighter in the area where it was reported the oceans first started to freeze.
“Just before everything froze, we picked up a fast movin’ object on radar,” says the jolly round captain.
Notice that Superman forgot to put on his boots this morning.
The captain explains that the ship that caused the oceans to freeze kept moving on the ice and headed south. “The only thing south of here is Jungle Island and Storm Island,” says Aquaman. Those sound like fun putt putt courses.
Meanwhile, at Jungle Island…
“Our next operation is to cut up the ice into giant blocks with the heat laser and sell them to the barren desert countries of the world. The first delivery will be to the Gobi Desert.” – Sculpin
Whaaa? Who wants big chunks of frozen salt water filled with dead whales and sharks?
Aquaman arrives and knows exactly who it is. He uses a heat ray to “melt a tunnel through the ice” to get to Sculpin’s ship. He’s confident he’ll get through undetected.
Then, while hanging off the side of the ship, he swings himself up onto the boat and breaks free, and he looks SO proud.
And I have to begrudgingly admit, in the world of Super Friends, that’s pretty impressive considering they can rarely free or save themselves from anything.
Aquaman then uses the classic move of trapping the henchmen in lifesavers.
Well, that was short-lived.
Aquaman then gets hit with a freeze ray and we’re back to where we started.
Superman sees nothing at Storm Island and heads on over to Jungle Island.
Here’s your big worthless sheet of ice, where do you want it?
Sculpin heads off to the Gobi Desert to deliver the first ice package.
I think he’d make more money marketing that helicopter than can drag around humongous sheets of ice with one little cable.
Superman follows them to the desert.
“Later, at the Gobi Desert”
“Thanks, Superman. That’s what I call a warm greeting.” – Aquaman, after Superman frees him with his heat vision. He must have spent that whole time in the ice block coming up with that one.
Ohhh, Sculpin is then MELTING the water to create lakes and such in the desert. I guess. Anyway, he tries to escape and Aquaman chases after him.
Aquaman uses his telepathic powers on a whale. There are multiple problems here.
Also, if you look at the previous picture of the sheet of ice, it doesn’t look nearly thick enough to hold a whale.
Anyway, the whale catches Sculpin in his little underwater getaway mobile and returns him to Superman and Aquaman.
“Later, with the oceans of the world defrosted and back to normal” – Narrator
“I hope he learns that only through honest efforts can problems be solved without creating new ones.” – Aquaman
Yeah, I’m sure he’ll learn.
If you would like to see these shenanigans for yourself, Season 2 is available on DVD.
I want a jet ski/snowmobile for the ship captain/Santy Claus.
Wait, so Sculpin is melting stuff to irrigate deserts? So he’s the good guy, here? I think Superman & Aquaman were working for right wing jerks who deny global warming. Now I dig this episode
Exactly! His villianry is…bringing water to the world??
But he froze the entire Earth’s oceans and ruined the ecosystems! And was doing it for profit. Ugh, did I just take the Super Friends side?
First, I like the dedication of the ship’s helmsman who stays at his post even though they CAN’T MOVE!
Second,
“Our next operation is to cut up the ice into giant blocks with the heat laser and sell them to the barren desert countries of the world. The first delivery will be to the Gobi Desert.” – Sculpin
That’s a stupid plan! Why not use that “super helicopter” to haul icebergs around? Wonder Woman did that in one episode.
Oh and LANCE? The Superfriends fought many (Stupid) liberals in the past, too: “People spend too much time earning gold, so I’ll destroy it, ruining the world economy!”. “Those industrialists pollute, so I’ll hit their factories with TIDAL WAVES, causing even bigger ecological disasters!”.
I also liked that the Captain was totally committed, and that the Super Friends were like, “See ya! Try not to freeze to death!”
Sculpin was threatening only 2/3 of the Earth. I’m glad to see that villains are getting less greedy.
Superman performed all those heroics in his supersocks. Well done, Sup.
Maybe he can rarely find a matching pair and wanted to show off that day.
Superman forgot his boots?! Shoes are the most important part of an outfit! Besides underwear.
Which he DID put on, but as always, on the outside of if uniform.
I’m confused as to what Sculpin is. Is he/she some sort of water humanoid creature? If so, by freezing all the oceans didn’t he/she just destroy his/her home including the rest of his/her species? I’m starting to think these Super Friends writers aren’t completely thinking this stuff through.
Really, selling giant blocks of ice with the heat laser to barren desert countries was their only viable option.