The Super Globetrotters

I remember clutching my JJ doll while watching this awesome show during the 70s about disadvantaged superheroes. My son and I would later watch the disadvantaged Static Shock during the 90s. Those were good times to be unwittingly white supremacists.

I remember seeing this cartoon as a kid, and I have to say, this is one of the worst cartoons Hannah-Barbara has ever released. Basically, the idea is to take the Harlem Globetrotters roster at the time this aired and make them into superheroes. And man, are they terrible. Three of the five are basically horrible attempts at recycling The Impossibles (Multi Man, Liquid Man, and Spaghetti Man, the third being the horrid attempt to recycle Coil Man, as it's living spaghetti with a human face), while the other two get lame superpowers (like poor Curly becoming Super Sphere, a hero with a basketball for a head who can only extract his body into said head, becoming a basketball).

The episodes sadly follow the same formula: Villain of the episode starts their plan, the Globetrotters are playing a basketball game, afterwards, they get an alert from Crime Globe about villain's plan, they become Super Globetrotters to stop villain's plan, after a chase, the Globetrotters and villain agree to a basketball game, villain's team creams the Globetrotters in the first half, only for them to go Super to come back from behind in second half, villain is either sent to jail or humiliated. This is the formula all thirteen episodes follow, with the only difference separating them is the plot inspired by the villain (be it big game hunter Bwana Bob hunting the Super Globetrotters, a pirate named Whaleman, who rides a robot whale, or Robo, who makes evil robot duplicates to frame the heroes for the crimes he commits). This is one of H-B's blunders and should be avoided unless you are into such cheesy superhero comedies.

There were many terrible cartoons on the air when I was young (I had no idea it was so long ago), and this is certainly one of the strangest. At first, I was disgusted and ashamed to be a human after viewing this tragedy, but then I realized that this is leaps and bounds better than some other Hanna Barberra Cartoons out at the time (such as Birdman, Space Ghost, The Three Musketeers, Johnny Quest, or Dynomutt). Frankly, compared to much of the complete garbage out at the time, Super Globetrotters was rather witty, even if it's not really an original cartoon. Maybe I'm dense, but weren't 3 of the 5 "super powers" just the same powers of 'The Impossibles' cartoon, also by HB? And what kind of super power is being able to hide things in a large afro haircut? Upon seeing this as a kid, I was amazed by it's sheer stupidity. But now after being able to compare it to the trash of it's era, it's not bad. At times I suspect that in it's development, the writers KNEW what a stupid concept it was, and ran with it tongue-in-cheek. Either that, or they should lay off of the drugs. It's like a train wreck... Everyone should see it, just so they can be brought back to earth. It's a sobering experience that will build character!