Bizarro
devises a plan to transform his fellow members of the Legion of Doom into
giants using a strange ray device. Toy Man, Sinestro and Captain Cold grow to
gigantic proportion and go on a crime spree, terrifying the world. Captain Cold
even freezes the Parthenon.
The
Super Friends are then trapped in a giant test tube and sent to their “frozen doom” on Saturn, leaving the
Legion of Doom to revel in its new power over Earth.
But
the Super Friends discover a way to turn the tables on their nemeses.
“The
Giants of Doom” may be the most nonsensical episode yet of Challenge of the Super Friends
(1977). Logic, science, and reason are
nowhere to be found in this particular cartoon half-hour.
For
example, Sinestro and Bizarro crack the moon open. They literally crack it in
half. This action has no impact on Earth, apparently. No tide changes. Nothing.
Fortunately,
Superman uses his heat vision to “weld” the two lunar chunks back together.
If
that sequence isn’t strange enough, the astronauts on Moonbase #1 wear
Starfleet delta shields, and Batman -- for this episode alone -- must wear an
air/breathing mask over his costume mask while in outer space. Yes, he has been
in space several times before “The Giants of Doom,” but never required a
mask. Also, Batman has no need for a
pressure suit. Just the mask.
Meanwhile,
Superman gets what may be one of the most unintentionally funny lines of the
entire series. “From the looks of it, I’d
say we’re somewhere in the gaseous interior of Saturn.”
There,
in that gaseous interior, the superheroes battle a gas monster. But how would
Superman know, just from surveying the terrain that they are in the gaseous
interior of Saturn? Has he been there before? Does it look different from the
gaseous center of Uranus?
Another
element that doesn’t make any sense: Superman traps Sinestro in a yellow force
field, but the villain should be able to escape all energy that is yellow,
right? (The way Green Lantern was able to penetrate a green energy force field
in an earlier episode). Miraculously, the yellow force field traps Sinestro.
Finally,
our “That’s what you think” exclamation
of the week goes to Green Lantern, who makes the comment to Sinestro.
Next
week, a much more intriguing episode: “Secret Origins of the Super Friends.”
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