Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends – 7 Little Superheroes

• Title: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends – 7 Little Superheroes
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Today’s Throwback Tuesday post takes us back to 80s Saturday morning cartoons and the world of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. One of my favorite episodes of the series borrowed its set-up from an Agatha Christie novel as the Chameleon (Hans Conried) lures seven heroes to a castle on Wolf Island where the super-villain picks them off one by one. In Christie’s original tale part of the mystery centers around the guests starting to believe that one of them is actually the killer. Here writer Doug Booth makes terrific use of the Marvel Comics villain who who has the ability to disguise himself as any character (sowing dissension in the ranks). Along with the Chameleon’s deceptions, the island is also filled with traps, giant robots, and a force field to stop any of the heroes from leaving before our villain has had his fun.

Along with Spidey (Dan Gilvezan), Iceman (Frank Welker), and Firestar (Kathy Garver), the other heroes lured to the island are Captain America (George DiCenzo), Doctor Strange (John Stephenson), Namor the Sub-Mariner (William Woodson), and Shanna the She-Devil (Janet Waldo). While the episode doesn’t really offer the time to showcase each character’s abilities, from the number of guest-stars alone this is one of the show’s most memorable episodes. Not unexpectedly, the heroes are picked-off one by one leaving Spider-Man to free the others (who were just captured rather than killed), and stop the villain from escaping. The creepy setting, the Chameleon’s ability to play the heroes off one another, and the set-up from Christie’s story all create a better-than-average amount of tension for Saturday morning cartoon. The episode even makes good use of Ms. Lion, the unintended guest that the Chameleon couldn’t account for, who helps sniff out when there is an impostor in the mix.