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Makes You Wonder: Why TF Has There Never Been a Wonder Woman Cartoon?

Smells like good old fashioned patriarchy.

By Paco TaylorPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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Justice League Action [Credit: Warner Bros.]

In the opening lines of one of the biggest hits released by James Brown during his storied career, the famed Godfather of Soul cries out in his signature tenor that: "This is a man's world!" But he promptly amends the patriarchal proclamation by saying that this so-called man's world wouldn't "be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl."

Similarly, for nearly 80 years now, the cartoon universe of DC comics has also been a testosterone-fueled man's world. As such, the focus has been primarily on the Y chromosome carrying likes of Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Plastic Man, etc. Nevertheless, like the real world in which we live, DC's also wouldn't "be nothing, nothing" without a Wonder Woman or a Wonder Girl.

Mama Said Knock You Out

Batman: Brave and the Bold [Credit: Warner Bros.]

Since her first brief appearance in 1941 in the pages of All-Star Comics #8, followed a few months later with a more thorough introduction in Sensation Comics #1, Wonder Woman has been one of the most popular characters on the DC Comics roster. In fact, she's the most successful comic book heroine of all time and DC's best-known superhero after the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight.

But if her recent box office smash is any indication, Wonder Woman's star-spangled profile may be on the rise. After having conquered comic books since the 1940s, followed by live-action TV in the 1970s, and now film in 2017, the only thing missing from the resume is a Wonder Woman television cartoon. And how TF that happened in anybody's guess.

Batman: Brave and the Bold [Credit: Warner Bros.]

This isn't to say that Wonder Woman hasn't been featured in TV 'toons. Since the early 1970s she's been regularly included as a character in various incarnations of animated shows like The Super Friends and Justice League but, strangely, not one of her own. Meanwhile, other DC Comics characters—even a few that have never been nearly as popular—have had animated shows with their names in the title. Who the hell does this woman have to knockout to wake TV programming executives up?

The New Adventures of Everyone Else

As early as the 1941, three years after DC's hit superhero Superman first appeared in the pages of Action Comics #1, the character quite deservedly received the animated treatment. The comic book hero was featured in a series of animated shorts produced for movie theaters by Fleischer Studios, the famed animators of Popeye the Sailorman and the creators of Bettie Boop.

Batman: Brave and the Bold [Credit: Warner Bros.]

Twenty-five years later, at a time in America when most households had at least one television, Superman returned with brand new animated exploits. This time in a series of six-minute shorts produced for the small screen by Filmation. In varying forms, The New Adventures of Superman ran for four seasons, the first incarnation running from 1966 to 1967.

When The New Adventures of Superman aired, it shared its 30 minute time slot with a feature depicting the Man of Steel as a young lad in the The New Adventures of Superboy. The format included two Superman segments sandwiched around one Superboy segment. In Seasons 2 and 3, new superheroes took the place of Superboy, including one that may surprise you.

Aquaman

Batman: Brave and the Bold [Credit: Warner Bros.]

From 1967 to 1968, DC's King of Atlantis starred in his very own very cartoon series, sharing the spotlight with Superman in the Filmation-produced series The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. The then 60-minute program was likewise made up of a series of six-minute adventures mostly featuring Aquaman and Superman, but spicing it up with other cartoon segments that featured "guest stars" like the Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Flash.

Remarkably, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure also featured the Teen Titans, but a smaller team made up only of Aqualad, Kid Flash, Speedy, and Wonder Girl, who also made it onto television before Wonder Woman, the character upon whom she was based. In fact, Wonder Woman wouldn't make the leap to cartoons until guest starring years later on The Brady Kids in 1972, followed after by a long running inclusion in The Super Friends (1973-1985).

Batman

Batman: Brave and the Bold [Credit: Warner Bros.]

The replacement of Aquaman with Batman in 1968 was pretty much a no-brainer. Unlike Aquaman, who'd been in comics since 1941––but didn’t have his own comic book title until 1961––Batman had his own books since 1940. And with the success of the live-action Batman show in 1966, kids couldn't get enough of the Caped Crusader. So Season 3 became The Batman/Superman Hour of Adventure.

Then, for the 1969 to 1970 TV season, The New Adventures of Superman reverted back to a 30-minute show comprised of only of Superman and Superboy stories. But a few years later, while still a part of The Super Friends, Batman would also get his own standalone TV 'toon with 1977's The New Adventures of Batman. But the Caped Crusader wouldn't be the only DC Comics superhero to get one.

Plastic Man

Batman: Brave and the Bold [Credit: Warner Bros.]

For the first two decades of his existence, Plastic Man, believe it or not, wasn't even a DC Comics superhero. Plas, who first appeared in Police Comics #1, was actually the star of a book published by Quality Comics, one of DC’s many competitors. In the 1950s, Quality shuttered its doors and DC eventually acquired the rights to several of the publisher's costumed crime fighters, including Plastic Man, who was probably the most popular hero on Quality's roster.

In 1966, DC launched a short-lived Plastic Man comic book series, which was canceled two years later due to poor sales with Issue #10. In 1976, the title resumed publication with Issue #11 but again quickly saw cancellation with Plastic Man #20. Incredibly, though, despite Plas never having proved a commercially viable property for DC, the character somehow managed to star in a Saturday morning TV cartoon titled The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, which ran from 1979 to 1981. And he wouldn't be the only adopted superhero on the DC Comics roster to get one.

Shazam!

Batman: Brave and the Bold [Credit: Warner Bros.]

After Captain Marvel's first appearance in 1940 in the pages of Whiz Comic #1, this Fawcett Comics character promptly proved to be the most popular superhero in comics. For years, his books outsold every other superhero, including DC's Superman and Batman. But financial woes in the 1950s (mainly stemming from multiple lawsuits filed by DC claiming that Captain Marvel violated their Superman copyright) soon spelled the end for Fawcett Comics and the character fondly known then as the "big red cheese."

In the early 1970s, DC also acquired the rights to their former newsstand nemesis and launched the Shazam! comic book in 1973, which ran for 35 issues until 1978. The following year the character also made the transition to the small screen with the live action Saturday morning TV show Shazam! TV (1974–1977). Apart from Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and the Hulk, Shazam is the only other comic book hero to have been featured in both a live-action TV show and a Saturday morning cartoon titled The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!, which aired from 1981 to 1982.

And Yet She Persisted

Batman: Brave and the Bold [Credit: Warner Bros.]

Inexplicably absent (but not really) from the short list of super heroes that have been featured in both live-action TV shows and cartoons is Wonder Woman. In the 1970s, the beloved character was the star of a popular show starring Lynda Carter, which ran for three seasons from 1975 to 1979. And though she's been a regular presence on long running 'toons like The Super Friends and Justice League, Wonder Woman has never been a TV cartoon frontwoman, and herein a poignant analogy exists.

As has long been a true in the lives of countless women in real life workplaces (oh, and politics), Wonder Woman's promotion to the cartoon spotlight has been regularly passed over in favor of male heroes, including a few who were much less "qualified." In contrast to short-lived comics starring Aquaman, Plastic Man, and Shazam, for example, Wonder Woman's adventures have been published continuously since 1941. Only Superman and Batman comics have been in print longer, and not by much.

Her Time Is Now

Wonder Woman [Credit: Warner Bros.]

Wonder Woman does, however, have one claim to fame that Superman and Batman do not: In 1941 she became an official member of Justice Society of America, the world's very first superhero team. (Superman and Batman are only honorary members.) Then, in 1960, along with Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Hawkman, the Flash and Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman also became a founding member of the Justice League. So the lady deserves more geeky R-E-S-P-E-C-T from the nerdiverse than she has thus far received.

In fact, to say that Wonder Woman deserves to have her own TV cartoon is a gross understatement. Even Spider-Woman, a character from DC's rival Marvel Comics, had a TV cartoon bearing her name back in 1979, and Spider-Woman didn't even exist in comics until 1977! The senses-shattering fact that Wonder Woman has yet to have cartoon show devoted to her own heroic adventures is a crime against both comic books and common sense. But with all hope, this won't be the case for much longer, because this Amazon has a lot of animated cartoon butts to kick.

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About the Creator

Paco Taylor

Pop culture archaeologist. Content creator. Word nerd. Blogger. Fluent in geek speak.

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