Silverhawks

I'm a big kid. I am a big anime fan and an 80's fan, and I remember this show growing up. This was a good show just to sit back and simply be entertained by. I still get a laugh out of watching this and just seeing how far that animation has come. People can say that this was a blatant rip-off of ThunderCats, but it was done by the same studio and it worked once right? The characters were likable, the dialog was cheesy but as someone else said before, it's just a cartoon. I was pleased to learn that the show had finally made it's way to DVD. It's about time, too, now that Voltron has finally made it. For all of the show's flaws, it's still good just to sit back and turn off the thought process and just be entertained by it. The origin of the show was very well put together and the first two episodes set the rest of the series up well. I just enjoyed this show as a kid and I still enjoy it today.

Confession Time: When I was a kid, I preferred this series to Thundercats.

Sure, the Thundercats are more iconic and all that, but...For some reason, I always found this series more entertaining.

Is honestly a bit unfair how people tend to dismiss this show as a mere Thundercats "rip-off", since it had enough merits to be just as fondly remembered as Transformers, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man, and the aftermentioned Thundercats.

The intro song is awesome.

Okay, first the little matter that the producers of "Thundercats" ripped off their own show by doing a space opera version called "Silverhawks" - I grew up outside the States, in Ecuador, and "Silverhawks" was actually shown there before "Thundercats!" So I've never had that issue.

And why can't "Silverhawks" simply be judged on its own merits? The science may have been wildly inaccurate, but that's why it's called Science FICTION!! Just shut your mind off and enjoy. I certainly had no problem doing it, with all the brightly colored characters against backgrounds of futuristic buildings and machines and black skies with shimmering stars.

Most of all, "Silverhawks" had GREAT villains. Their leader, Monstar, may have been a Mumm-Ra ripoff, but I think his ritual transformation was way creepier than Mumm-Ra's. Instead of getting all muscular and bursting out of a cloak and bandages, Monstar would burst out of his own SKIN, and come out looking like some kind of cyborg-demon! And Monstar's underlings were a memorable bunch: his ridiculously obedient sidekick, a chimp/snake named Yes-Man; Hardware, the troll with a backpack full of gadgets; Windjammer, with his long blonde hair and gaunt face and weather-control staff; Mumbo-Jumbo, a minotaur on steroids; Buzzsaw, a robot with built-in blades; Molecular, the shape shifter; Pokerface, the lounge lizard/walking slot machine; Time-Stopper, a teenage brat with a clock on his chest which could manipulate time; Melodia, the Queen of Rock with a (literally) killer guitar.

That was something else special about Silverhawks: the villains were so much cooler than the smug, boring heroes. Even though they always lost in the end, it was almost subversive that a cartoon could have young viewers (or, at least this young viewer) rooting for the villains. It was very cathartic, a healthy way of embracing one's dark side without doing other people harm.

Silverhawks was a great show, it deserves much more respect than it gets. I'm hoping this might be remedied during its 20th anniversary in 2006.

Summary:A small group of individuals assigned to become a new crime-stopping fighting force. The only catch is that they must become cyborgs but apparently it didn't bother them. Yes it is another superhero squad show. What do you expect? This is a known case of 80's animation.

Review:Utter Garbage? The nadir of 80's animation? I don't think so.

This is old fashioned campy sci-fi this isn't kubrick's 2001. Sure even when you consider the material this isn't exactly the pinnacle of its kind. But it was a good show nevertheless.

Actually the animation of the show is better than most shows of its time. And it does have some of that cheeky campy humor charm that shows like these have. So it may not be cerebral but just because it isn't philosophical doesn't make it "dumb". Sure if you're the type that makes a big fuss over things like "Cliches" or things like that then don't bother. If you are a 80's animation fan like me then do see it. Sure it isn't the absolute best in 80's animation but it is quite far from the worst.

I loved this show growing up and it still holds fond memories in my heart. It does require a bit of a suspension of disbelief ( but what 80's kid show didn't? ). The characters were cool, Mon-star had an interesting design for sure. I'd love to see this series on DVD as well as the other 2 Rankin Bass classics : Thundercats and Tigersharks.

Good times, good times.