DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures DVD: Review By aeinhorn

Before there was “Justice League: Unlimited,” before there was “Batman: The Animated Series”, even before there was a “Challenge of the Superfriends”, Filmation brought the DC Universe heroes to life. And now you can get your hands on these classic portrayals of the DC heroes yourself.

This two-disc set gives us eighteen episodes of superheroic goodness. The Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Teen Titans and the Justice League each get three episodes. Now, these are the superheroes as they were envisioned in 1967, so those who are expecting hard-edged, violent animated adventures will be in for an unfortunate surprise. These versions of the heroes will rarely throw a punch when they can use their powers to trap their opponents. They tend to face off against alien menaces and robots instead of thugs and physical thieves, and almost every sentence of dialogue ends with an exclamation point!

(It also means that the make-up of the Teen Titans may come as a rude shock to fans of the more recent “Teen Titans” animated series. This version of the Titans is made up of Speedy (Green Arrow's sidekick), Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Aqualad. Presumably Robin is absent for the same licensing reasons that keep Batman out of the Justice League segments.)

Are these cartoons a little bit corny by today's standards? You bet. But they're still good fun. They're a nice reminder of a simpler time when we accepted our heroes as being heroic for heroism's own sake. The lack of violence is also a refreshing change from modern superhero animated features where they push the limits of what is acceptable in a PG-13 environment.

The extras are a little lacking compared to some of the extra-laden DVD releases out there. Other than the episodes themselves, the only bonus is a profile on Lou Scheimer, the founder of Filmation studios. But the reason to buy this DVD is for the classic episodes, and those are presented beautifully. If you're a fan of old-school superheroes, this absolutely belongs in your collection.