DVD Review: The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (DC Comics Classic Edition)

Writers: Alan Burnett, Antoni Zalewski, John Loy
Director: Ray Patterson
Cast: Ernie Hudson, Casey Kasem, Adam West, Frank Welker, B.J. Ward, Rene Auberjonois, Danny Dark
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: October 23, 2007

I had totally forgotten about the 1986 cartoon The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians until I received this DVD to review. Growing up in the 80s, I was a cartoon aficionado. I watched cartoons whenever I had the chance. Some of the best cartoons involved superheroes such as Superman and Batman. That is probably why I was so keen to watch The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. I loved Batman especially, even though he doesn’t have a super huge role in this series. I can still remember watching reruns of the live action Batman series starring Adam West.

Well, West is back as the voice of Batman and he’s joined by some of the top names who’ve done cartoon voices including Hollywood’s voice God, Frank Welker, and Casey Kasem. Back when this first aired, fans of superheroes loved The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians as much as I did because they couldn’t find a show that was as true to the comic version of their favorite superheroes. Fans were sick of adaptations of their comic book heroes so The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians was a welcome change.

Release Information:
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians first aired on ABC on October 16, 1985. The show ran throughout 1985 and 1986. On October 23, 2007, Warner Home Video released a two-disc box set DC Comics Classic Collection DVD for the The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians television show. This was the last incarnation of the popular Superfriends series of cartoons. This is a Justice League of America series. There are ten episodes on these two discs and it also includes a few bonus features.

The The Super Powers Team Galactic Guardians Plot
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians is your typical Justice League cartoon. You have all the good and some of the bad guys that made DC Comics so famous. Amongst the greatest of heroes are Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonderwoman, Firestorm, Aquaman and Green Lantern. The bad guys include Lex Luthor, Scarecrow, The Joker, The Penguin, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Darkseid (voiced to perfection by Frank Welker) and Desaad.

A new character has joined the Galactic Guardians team, a metallic man, named Cyborg. Traditionalists weren’t overly fond of this character, but I had no problem with him. His outfit was quite humorous (as my girlfriend pointed it out to me while we were watching the cartoon together), but otherwise, he was just another superhero, fighting for the greater good. Ideally, that is the plot of each of these episodes. A villain or villains working together attempt(s) to do something bad, such as trying to destroy the solar system, or something along those lines. The Superheroes find out about it, stop them, and save the day. Typically someone is kidnapped or needs to be saved by the other heroes. The first episode follows this formula, but also introduces the audience to Cyborg. After that, the team works together on every episode to bring justice to the galaxy.

Audio/Visual:
You can definitely tell The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians was made in the 1980s. It has that 80s look and 80s vibe. The video doesn’t look like it was updated from when it aired on television. The quality is watchable, but be prepared for the retro treatment. Warner Bros. could have definitely tried to make the quality better, but I also kind of like the retro vibe. The colors aren’t as vibrant as they could be, but I enjoyed watching nonetheless. The video for The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians was transferred at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians has Dolby Digital mono sound. It isn’t bad, but it could be better. It doesn’t look like there was an update to the sound from the original recording. I would have liked to see an update, but the sound is good enough to not affect your enjoyment while watching the episodes on this DVD. Subtitles are available in English.

Bonus Features:
There are a few bonuses on The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians DVD. The main bonus is featurette called “Superfriends Redux: Galactic Guardians Retrospective”. As the title implies, this takes a retrospective look at the Superfriends series, in particular that of the Galactic Guardians. The only other bonuses are the subtitles, which have been listed above and trailers for other Warner Bros. features. There could have been more, but I did enjoy the one featurette.

Bottom Line: If you love DC Comics, then The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians is worth checking out. I didn’t remember watching this cartoon (I was only five when it came out) until I heard the theme music and then I had one of those retro 80s flashback moments. This show is a fun one to watch for any cartoon fan or comic book lover. All of the heroes get together one last time and do their thing. What more could you want in a Superhero cartoon?

Category Stars Storyline/Plot: Replayability: Acting/Directing: Audio: Visual: Special Features: Enjoyment: Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: The Super Powers Team, Galactic Guardians, Warner Bros, Comic Book Heroes, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Firestorm, Flash

Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
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Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.