In September 1978, ABC began airing the third edition of the "Super Friends" cartoon, based on DC's Justice League of America. This edition, entitled Challenge of the Super Friends, brought with it an expanded permanent roster and perhaps the most memorable episodes of the series, those that first featured the Legion of Doom. Herein, I build a 1,000-point team based on the Super Friends' full lineup at the time, including three Hanna-Barbera creations unmade in HeroClix.

Background: Challenge of the Super Friends was the third revamp to the "Super Friends" format and (according to Wikipedia) combined two half-hour segments, one segment featuring the Super Friends with their allies the Wonder Twins, and the second, probably best-remembered segment featuring the Super Friends often duking it out with the Legion of Doom. This article concerns the latter segment, which added Green Lantern, Flash, and Hawkman as permanent members along with three Hanna-Barbera original creations, Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, and Samurai. I'm only old enough to have seen the various Super Friends cartoons as reruns on Cartoon Network, but during 2011, I made three custom mods of the above-mentioned Hanna-Barbera Super Friends. Around the new year, one local venue generally holds a 1,000-point game to celebrate, and I decided that the Super Friends must be my 1,000-point team for the year.

Challenge of the Super Friends
Superman (DC 75th Anniv. uncommon) = 173
Aquaman (Justice League Starro LE) = 70
Wonder Woman (Origin LE) = 51
Batman and Robin (Justice League rare) = 138
Green Lantern (Crisis uncommon) = 157
Barry Allen (DC 75th Anniv. super rare) = 119
Carter Hall (Origin LE) = 70
"Apache Chief" (Goliath, Secret Invasion uncommon) = 58
"Black Vulcan" (Monica Rambeau, Sinister LE) = 79
"Samurai" (Green Lantern, Green Lantern Gravity Feed) = 85

Total = 1,000 points

After playing against it, judge tidge talked me into writing an article about it. I will explain my character selections for each piece and the dial selections for the three unmade characters, but be warned, effectiveness in play is not that high on my list of concerns! I definitely encourage everyone to respond with their ideas for alternate team builds.


an032 V Superman Points: 173 Range: 8
Team: Superman Ally
Keywords: JLA, Justice League, Justice League of America, Metropolis, Soldier, Trinity

10 10 17 4

10 10 17 4

10 11 18 3

9 10 17 3

9 9 16 3

9 9 16 3

8 9 16 3

8 9 17 3

8 10 17 2

8 10 17 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

When I first built this team, the Superman set had not yet been released, and I figured this was the one good lineup to use the DC 75th Anniversary uncommon Superman. It's not an especially inspiring dial, but it's the kind of straightforward "strong guy" that I remember Superman as from the days of the Super Friends. Were I first creating the team today, I think I'd be strongly tempted to pick the 150-point Fast Forces Superman for this slot. I think the outwit of the main set's common Superman is a bit much, but the probability control and general feel of the Fast Forces dial, plus its obvious advantage in sheer usefulness, make it a good choice for the Super Friends lineup.

jl101 R Aquaman Points: 70 Range: 0
Team: Justice League
Keywords: Atlantis, Justice League of America, Ruler

8 10 16 3

8 9 16 3

6 9 16 3

6 8 16 2

7 8 15 2

7 8 15 3

6 8 14 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Surge: Aquaman can use Charge. When Aquaman occupies water terrain, modify his speed value by +2.
King of the Seven Seas: When Aquaman occupies water terrain, he can use Invulnerability. When Aquaman does not occupy water terrain, he can use Toughness.

2010-2011 was a good pair of years for Aquaman, as we saw not one but three Aquamen all above the 100-point mark, and all breaking the "only good in the water" "guy who just talks to fish" portrayal. Of course, Super Friends may have been a big part of that portrayal, so I certainly couldn't choose any of those versions. Instead, I went back to my default pre-2010 choice, the Aquaman figure that was given away during the Attack of Starro events. He still has Charge for the early attack capabilities, and I don't feel too bad sacrificing him after he's gotten that early hit with an object in. Without a keyword bonus on this team, you're unlikely to find water in abundance on any chosen map, but he's still got Toughness on defense.

or211 LE Wonder Woman Points: 51 Range: 4
Team: No Affiliation
Keywords: Amazon, Justice Society

9 9 17 3

8 10 16 3

8 9 15 2

7 8 15 2

7 8 14 2

6 8 14 1

6 7 13 1

6 7 13 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

I'll admit I didn't actually start reading comics until just before Infinite Crisis (2005). So when I first saw the Justice League cartoon in 2001, I was a bit confused: what's Wonder Woman doing flying around? That's a consequence of the Super Friends-era Wonder Woman, who was more or less a strong woman with a magic lasso who couldn't fly without her invisible jet. That right there limits us to just a few choices in HeroClix. With a few different choices on other figures, I wouldn't feel bad about playing the DC 75th super rare Wonder Woman on a horse, but my choice for this team was the Origin Wonder Woman that was given out for New Guy Night. Not a bad figure, but as with many figures older than a few years, her later-dial attack and defense values don't hold up as well as they used to.

jl038 U Batman and Robin Points: 138 Range: 6
Team: Batman Ally
Keywords: Detective, Gotham City, Martial Artist

9 10 17 3

9 11 16 3

9 11 17 2

8 11 16 2

8 10 17 2

8 9 16 2

7 9 15 2

7 9 15 2

7 8 14 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

When pairing up the Super Friends for certain segments of the various Super Friends series, Batman and Robin generally came as a package. So it only seems natural to play the duo figure on this team. Sure, it's not really the right Robin, but if that's our limitation there are only three Robins to choose from, and personally I'm a little tired of playing the Crisis Dick Grayson Robin. While the duo does have some strong points, like an 11 attack once pushed to the second click (where Outwit is also found), there are certainly some stronger and much more point-friendly picks out there for this pair of crimefighters.


cr023 V Green Lantern Points: 157 Range: 10
Team: Green Lantern Corps
Keywords: Green Lantern Corps, Justice League, Justice League of America, Justice League Europe, Soldier

10 10 17 3

9 10 17 3

9 9 18 3

9 9 18 2

9 9 17 2

8 8 16 2

8 8 15 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Lantern 2814.1: Green Lantern can use Energy Explosion and Telekinesis.
Lantern's Will: Green Lantern can use Energy Shield/Deflection, Toughness, and Willpower.
There are certainly a lot of versions of Hal Jordan out there to choose from these days, and my choice for his slot was a figure that I honestly haven't had a lot of respect for in the past. The Crisis version adds a much-needed perplex to a lineup that's rather light on support powers, and while the telekinesis up front doesn't make him unique among Hal Jordans, it's still very nice to have and may make him a slightly better choice against the Free Comic Book Day version.

an054 V Barry Allen Points: 119 Range: 0
Team: Justice League
Keywords: Central City, Justice League of America, Police, Scientist

14 11 18 3

14 10 17 3

13 10 17 3

12 10 17 2

10 9 17 2

10 9 16 2

10 9 16 2

10 8 16 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Around the World: Barry Allen can use Flurry. Before each attack while using Flurry, you may place him adjacent to an opposing character on the map.

Wally West was still a ways off from becoming the Flash at the time of Challenge of the Super Friends, so the most accurate choice is a version of Barry Allen, who was another character to see a marked improvement in 2010-2011 HeroClix sets. It took us until DC 75th Anniversary to get a "normal" (i.e. not mind-controlled, not dying, not blue) version of Barry, but Superman followed up with another one from around Flashpoint on top of the two ringslinging versions of Barry that were seen in 2010 and 2011. The two ring-wearing Flashes might be pushing it for accuracy, but I think any of the other five versions of Barry would be justifiable, as would the other Wally West Flashes we've had over the years. Here I chose a pretty basic version, the Barry Allen super rare from DC 75th Anniversary. [

or206 LE Carter Hall Points: 70 Range: 4
Team: Justice League
Keywords: Justice League of America, Warrior

10 10 17 3

8 10 16 2

8 11 16 2

10 9 15 3

8 8 15 3

9 7 14 3

8 8 14 2

7 9 13 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Unless he's hanging out with the Atom, we haven't seen a version of Hawkman in a while. While Origin brought us a pretty nice Rookie/Experienced/Veteran trio of Hawkman, I often find the inability to effectively charge an invulnerable opponent with the rookie and experienced versions frustrating...until I remember the LE Carter Hall, of course. This is a dial that I think still holds up rather well, with respectable attack values on almost every click and defensive powers arranged such that his defenses are still at least "okay" up until the last couple clicks.


si022 R Goliath as Apache Chief Points: 58 Range: 0
Team: No Affiliation
Keywords: Champions, Defenders, Scientist

8 9 17 3

8 9 17 3

8 9 16 3

8 8 16 3

6 8 16 2

6 8 16 2

6 8 15 2

6 8 15 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Throw: Goliath can choose to knock back the target of any successful close combat attack he makes a number of squares equal to twice the damage dealt to the target.

If you don't recall, Apache Chief was given a powder by a tribal elder that amplified his thoughts, increasing his courage and allowing him to grow to fifty feet upon saying the words "Inyuk-Chuk!" Honestly, there aren't any dials in HeroClix that scream Apache Chief to me, but based on his actions in the Harvey Birdman episode "Very Personal Injury," where he rips a telephone pole out of the ground to bat away an incoming meteor, I ended up going with Secret Invasion's Goliath. He has a nice friendly point cost and an optional auto-knockback power that makes him a bit more interesting.

sn210 LE Monica Rambeau as Black Vulcan Points: 79 Range: 8
Team: Avengers
Keywords: Avengers, Nextwave

11 9 16 3

10 9 15 3

9 8 16 2

10 8 15 2

10 7 15 2

12 7 16 2

13 7 17 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Black Vulcan, or Super Volt as his Harvey Birdman incarnation would prefer, actually has a relatively straightforward power set when it comes to picking a dial for HeroClix. He fights crime by flying around with electrified legs, shoots lightning, and (according to Wikipedia and Comic Vine) also has an energy form. What does that look like in HeroClix? Well, the basics are flight, range, some Hypersonic Speed scattered around the dial, maybe some Energy Shield/Deflection and Super Senses. Other powers, like Energy Explosion and Running Shot, definitely help, but aren't completely necessary. Luckily, HeroClix has several dials like this, including a couple versions of The Ray from Origin and my choice, the LE Monica Rambeau from Sinister. He pushes to get to lower-movement Hypersonic Speed, then near the end of his dial picks up Willpower and Running Shot followed by one more click of Hypersonic Speed as he uses his pure energy form. The Avengers team ability nicely matches the JLA team ability as an added bonus.

glgf001 Green Lantern as Samurai Points: 85 Range: 8
Team: No Affiliation
Keywords: Green Lantern Corps

9 9 16 2

9 9 16 2

9 10 17 2

10 10 17 2

10 10 17 2

10 10 16 2

10 11 16 2

10 11 16 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Contain Parallax: Green Lantern can use Barrier.

Samurai is probably remembered most for his ability to turn his lower body into a swirling vortex and control the wind after speaking the phrase above, which I am told translates as "swift as the wind!" But by speaking a few other phrases, he can also burst into flames, cast illusions (usually of fire), and become invisible. He also seems to carry a sword. So what does that look like in HeroClix? The wind control translates into powers like Telekinesis, Force Blast, and Energy Shield/Deflection. Bursting into flames, a la Human Torch, most directly translates into Poison. Illusion-casting can be represented in several ways, but with the way Samurai used it I think Smoke Cloud or Barrier are good approximations. Invisibility is generally represented by Stealth or a special power, and the sword is obviously Blades/Claws/Fangs, though some other powers can substitute in a pinch. One particularly tempting figure to use here is Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four starter and the Marvel Classics reprints. She has Telekinesis up front, an Invisibility special power, and the Quake could be either wind control or an alternate to Poison, depending on how you want to spin it. But I can't get past the Invulnerability. Maybe it's justified somewhere in the Super Friends series, but I'm not familiar with any such justification. Eventually it became clear that there's no single dial in HeroClix that can accurately represent all of Samurai's powers, so I went with finding as many as possible, which led me to the odd-seeming choice of Green Lantern from the Green Lantern gravity feed set. He starts "swift as the wind" with Charge and Close Combat Expert as an alternative to Blades. Next he moves on to Telekinesis and a special power Barrier for his illusions, then picks up Running Shot and Ranged Combat Expert for some more wind powers.
Finally, I don't think tidge would let me get away with submitting this article without showing off the Super Friends mods I've been speaking of. So here are Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, and Samurai, each with a link with more photos and a couple of custom character cards.
So, what do you think? How would you build this team? Are there better dials for the Hanna-Barbera characters? And what about the Legion of Doom? Let's hear it!

Well now we're talking.

Challenge of the Super Friends is the greatest thing ever, with Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars a close second.

Myself, I would make sure that where possible, each member would have the JLA team ability, just for completeness.

I know it seems sad, but I might use a Crisis Gypsy dial for Samurai.

Black Vulcan? Maybe Firestorm?

Apache Chief? That's a tough one.

For Batman, I would need a Batman with the yellow oval bat symbol. So that would have to be an Icons Batman or the one from Alpha.

Icons starter Robin would be the go to Robin, with the Alpha Boy Wonder coming in second.

Give me second and I'll post my 1000 point version.

Very cool.

Holy cow.

Look what I got on the first try!

150 FFSM001R Superman
127 AN030 Wonder Woman
71 IO027 Aquaman
102 IO041 Batman
22 IO002 Robin
137 AN200 Green Lantern
107 SM047 The Flash
90 OR059 Hawkman
40 UI051 Silver Samurai "Samurai"
66 CR016 Ace "Apache Chief"
88 CD048 Black Lightning "Black Vulcan"
1000

I broke my own rule about the JLA team ability, but this was the best I could do on the fly.

I think the 3 newer members are fairly accurate, close enough for government work. Only 1 Marvel dial used.

And I like my choices for the core members.

It would be fun to play these 2 teams against each other!

EDIT: Plus those 3 mods are awesome!!!

I would definitely run the team, but on my custom Hall of Justice map that I made, see my albums here for it.

I have in fact run several games using variants of the JLA already; a lot of them at conventions. The HoJ maps' first unveiling actually got me a radio show interview over it.

I have made a team very similar to this one too. I do not like to use the duo figures if I can avoid them, however.

Red Tornado for Samurai.

And any Super-friends team should include the Wonder Twins.

Very cool!

Now we need clix for Space Stallions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Otaq2tmNMM

Your choice for quote sourcing made me happy.


In my pants.

Legion of Doom:

B&B Lex Luthor and Brainiac--200
SMFF Bizarro--150
AA Black Manta--68
JL Toyman--50
GI Giganta--108
CD E Captain Cold--68
HT R Grodd--54
CJ LE Sinestro of Korugar--82
IO V Scarecrow--56
HT E Riddler--39
IO E Cheetah--45
HT V Solomon Grundy--75

Very cool review and I Love the mods!

I use Exp Red Tornado for Samurai for similar powers and JLA team.

Good idea with Monica for B. Vulcan!

I know that this is the Favorite Super Friends for many but not for me. I Love more the other segment of this season with the Wonder Twins called the All-New Super Friends (16 episodes same as Challengers).

But my Favorite SF season is of course the last: Galactic Guardians!

With all that Outwit, Perplex, free attack, and mobility, on my Legion of Doom, I'm fairly certain that the Superfriends go down.

This is my old 1000 Points:

197 Superman Icons R
109 WW E CJ
102 Batman E Icons classic
22 Robin E Icons Dick
125 GL Hal Unleashed E
114 Flash JL set
53 Samurai (Red Tornado E)
65 Black Lighting (for Black Vulcan)
32 Hawkman HT (or 43 E)
70 Aquaman Starro
109 Apache Chief (Giant man ultimates)
998

Props for:
Harvey Birdman notes!

NO Wonder Twins!!!!!

Great mods! I particularly like Apache CHief, but I have a soft spot for giants.