Super Friends Season 2, Episode 7, Storyline A – “The Marsh Monster”
Original Airdate – December 10, 1977
Short Synopsis: A group of people from the 70s gather in a room.
“On this microfilm are the secret plans of my latest invention. A lifetime of work went into it. It’s worth millions. These are the plans for a magnetic powered engine. It runs on the magnetic forces coming from the earth and it needs NO fuel.” – Some guy named Jules who has perfect half and half black/grey hair.
Jules keeps these plans in what looks like a film canister on a necklace for safe keeping.
After his speechifying the lady in the pink bow tells everyone to go to bed (as if they are children) and tells them to “be sure to lock your doors, there’s a legend that an evil creature lives in the swamp.” Then they all dismissively laugh as only people who are about to meet an evil swamp creature would.
Guess Who Shows Up?
Please someone dress as him for Halloween and then tell me about how many times you had to explain that it’s not a shitty Grinch costume.
This Swamp Monster seems to know a lot about the house, including a secret microfilm-around-someone’s-neck stealing hole.
Luckily, Jules wakes up just in time and Swampster is foiled.
Y’all know what time it is.
At the Justice League headquarters, Jules explains his predicament. For some reason he uses a tiny microphone.
Batman, Robin, and Superman are up this week to help solve the mystery.
“Thank you for coming, Super Friends. I was afraid the creature would get me before you arrived.” – Jules, who is still at the creepy mansion.
If I’m Jules, and a Swamp Monster is trying to steal my invention plan necklace, I’m not HANGING AROUND, I’m out of there. But, I’ve never invented a magnet engine so I guess I’m not the genius here.
They hear a crazy, sad sounding wail, and they conclude that it’s the Swamp Monster, so Superman goes to check it out. It turns out to be a…..recording! Peppermint twist!
The “real” Swamp Monster then unhooks this gorgeous chandelier:
And in the ensuing chaos manages to steal the plans. Look at him go!
Batman and Robin pursue – “Hurry Robin, we’re almost on top of him!”
See if you can follow this.
The swamp monster flips a switch which brings down two steel doors and Batman and Robin just happened to be perfectly between them. So, they get trapped.
Then, the “door cracked the wall” and quicksand starts filling up the space. Yes, quicksand. Everyone knows that creepy mansions are built on top of quicksand.
Batman observes that “the ceiling is made of old wood” and that they should try and cut through it with an electric meat knife a “power bat-saw.”
To the relief of no one, they make it out alive.
I think we ALL know where this is going.
Fun fact: this plotline was safely housed in the necklace of a Scooby Doo writer but a Super Friends writer managed to steal it.
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.
I would have NEVER GUESSED that the head would come off the swamp monster and be a person. It didn’t look like a costume AT ALL. Fave photo – Robin perched on Batman’s shoulders, his naked scrawny legs all we can never unsee.
That’s why I included the GIF of him running. That was an extremely elaborate costume and some serious method acting on behalf of pink bow.
I bet that lady works for Congress; those people are always trying to keep technology down.
I think I have that chandelier at the store.
I hope it comes with ratty dirty rope to hang it with, that would make it a really good deal.
That was very Scooby Doo-like. I feel cheated.
Seriously. I mean, though, not that they do any better at any other time.
She would’ve gotten away with it, if it weren’t for those meddling costumed freaks.
Those mics were used a lot in the 70s. Dick Clark interviewed KC and the Sunshine band with one of those on Bandstand.
The writers laughed their stoned asses off after putting this dreck on tv.
It looks like a little Bob Barker microphone. But why? Why did he need it? Nobody else on the Trouble Alert needs it. Such mystery!
I don’t know why the superfriends always wasted so much time battling common criminals in disguises. What the fuck good are super powers if you’re not fighting super villains? When does the Legion of Doom start showing up?
Legion of Doom isn’t this season. Why they decided not to use canonical villains from the beginning is bizarre.
Although, using their super powers to fight common criminals is at least better than using them to teach crafts and magic tricks.
I like how all these criminal plans are so extremely and unnecessarily elaborate. Or maybe that’s the key?
Now that I think about it, do you have an evil swamp creature costume I could borrow? I’m trying to get out of coming into work tomorrow.
I have one but I need it in order to convince the neighbors to mow their lawn.