The Fantastic Four (1967 TV series)

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The Fantastic Four
Fantastic4.jpg
Genre Superhero
Action
Adventure
Based on
Fantastic Four
by
Written by
Directed by
Voices of Gerald Mohr
Jo Ann Pflug
Jac Flounders
Paul Frees
Theme music composer Ted Nichols
ComposerTed Nichols
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes20
Production
Producers
  • William Hanna
  • Joseph Barbera
Running time22 mins (per episode)
Production companies Hanna-Barbera Productions
Marvel Comics Group
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseSeptember 9, 1967 (1967-09-09) 
September 21, 1968 (1968-09-21)
Related

The Fantastic Four is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. [1] The program, featuring character designs by Alex Toth, [2] aired Saturday mornings on ABC from September 9, 1967, to September 21, 1968. It lasted for 20 episodes, with repeat episodes airing on ABC for three years until the network cancelled the program. [3] It was also rerun as part of the continuing series Hanna–Barbera's World of Super Adventure .

Contents

The show was followed by another Fantastic Four cartoon produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, The New Fantastic Four , in 1978. [3]

Plot

In the show, the super-team battles some of their comic book nemeses, including Dr. Doom, the Mole Man and Diablo. [4]

Voice cast

Credited cast

Notable guest stars

Production

The impetus for The Fantastic Four series began when Hanna-Barbera's agent, Sy Fischer, noticed his son reading a Fantastic Four comic book. Fischer asked him if he would be interested in seeing it turned into a saturday-morning cartoon. [6] Upon confirming his son's interest, Fischer took the idea to Joseph Barbera who read the comic himself and agreed that it would translate well as a cartoon. The two soon contacted Stan Lee at Marvel Comics to discuss their interest. [6]

Episodes

  1. "Fantastic Four on TV". IGN . Ziff Davis . Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 317–321. ISBN   978-1476665993.
  3. 1 2 Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. p. 97. ISBN   0-8108-1557-5 . Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  4. Sennett, Ted (1989). The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity. Studio. p. 150. ISBN   978-0670829781 . Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  5. Fantastic Four
  6. 1 2 Fischer, Stuart (June 10, 2014). Kids' TV: The First Twenty-Five Years. Open Road Media. p. 288. ISBN   978-1497633902.
  7. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 194–197. ISBN   978-1538103739.
  8. "U.S. Copyright Public Records System".
No.TitleOriginal air dateProduction
code
02"Menace of the Mole Men"September 9, 1967 (1967-09-09)1
The Fantastic Four are off to carry out their experiments on a remote island. The Mole Man, however, has been waiting for them and traps them in a radiation field and plans to submerge the world's largest cities. The Fantastic Four escape, but the Mole Man traps them again. They manage to escape in separate ways. They successfully foil Mole Man's domination and escape the island once and for all.
03"Diablo"September 16, 1967 (1967-09-16)2
In Transylvania, the Fantastic Four find a ruined castle. Ben is summoned by Diablo and unable to resist, opens Diablo's prison, unleashing him and later brainwashing Ben. Diablo tricks the world into thinking he has the power to help them. The world then realizes what a fraud Diablo really is. The Fantastic Four seize this opportunity to attack Diablo's castle. After getting far in the dungeons, the four get captured. Ben escapes, releases the others, and they defeat Diablo while re-imprisoning him.