Birdman

Now, I would never say that "Birdman and the Galaxy Trio" (from 1967) came anywhere near to being a great superhero cartoon - But, at least I can honestly tell you that it was pretty much on par with any other animated crime-fighting series (of the same genre) that existed back then at the time.

One of the first and one of Super-Heroe's best series. Full of action and many other things that just happened in the 60's. Only the animation is so good.

This show is an honorable mention in favorite Hanna Barbara shows. The show is another double billing from Hanna Barbara who did a lot of those for some of their shows. This I found kind of cool and is something I don't see in animated shows, let alone even movies now which don't have double features in theaters anymore. You can imagine this was a real treat for the kids or just fans of animation in general to see two cartoon shows in just one sitting. And this show is a real treat as both cartoons are solid.

Hanna Barbara truly had a fascinating roster of original pulp heroes, "Birdman" and the "Galaxy Trio" were both exceptional; both aren't quite my favorites, but I had fun with both all the same which is what both set out to accomplish anyway. Like the intros with both of them which I wouldn't say the most memorable tunes but a good listen as they have the 60's rock vibe, it's always music to my ears hearing "Birdman" announce his name.

Way before he became an attorney in "Harvey Birdman at Law" (show I'll review another time) he was simply another Hanna Barbara pulp hero. Birdman is sort of like DC Verse character "Hawkman" as both are fantasy heroes that are rooted in Egyptology which is cool as it's my third favorite mythology and one that's a bit underrated as it doesn't get much attention. But also mixed with DC Verse character "Green Lantern" as he patrols the galaxy and has light bending power. "Birdman" we see has inherited powers from the Sun God Ra and is a secret agent for the good guy organization that must fight all the bad guy organizations across the galaxy. That's pretty much it, the show isn't known for being deep, so I can't say much for the characters Birdman, supporting characters, and babies their pretty archetypal by their nature. But like with most of these pulp action shows we're all here for two things the action and the adventure and this has a good deal of both.

I really like all of the villain and challenges that Birdman has to face which are creative and even really strange which makes me often wonder where the heck the writers got the ideas from. The arial action and shootouts with Birdman are solid and look well-choregraphed, really like seeing Birdman use his light bending power which is almost has limitless possibilities one thing he makes of course is a shield.

One of the highlights is hearing Birdman deliver some memorable lines that you might hear "Batman 66" as they can be deliciously cheesy and bad but music to my ears all the same. One line is "Must concentrate my solar power in one beam!" I know not that special of a line but it's funny because it's the common cliche of the superheroes as well as in super sentai where they always announce what their going to do before doing it; can't really complain as it helps the audience keep track of what's going on.

The only bad things are I don't feel we get enough of the fantasy aspect; ok we do but not as much. It would have been cool if they mixed in Egyptology more by having certain characters from Egyptology come or even seeing Birdman contending with rogues that come to his modern-day era. Also, Birdman might at times be made too powerful as there doesn't seem to be much of a limit to the light bending powers, or at least challenged more heavily as there doesn't seem to be an opponent that can match him and in the stick situations seems to always have that last minute solution he just happens to pull out of his pocket.

The "Galaxy Trio" is solid, not much to say, in a way their sort of like the DC Verise's "Green Lantern Corps" as a small group of superpowered individuals that patrol the galaxy and use their abilities to save the galaxy from evil. That's it in a nutshell, this show you could easily see this could have been a "Space Ghost" spin off, only disappointment is both shows never crossed over at least not into a lot of latter with the DC licensed anthology comic series "Future Quest Presents" that is if you want to count it.

Action is well choreographed, like with all super teams it's cool seeing them work together as a team, individually their pretty good but combined their even better. Each have different powers from one that can turn into Vapor, he's my favorite as he's voiced by Don Messick one of my favorite voice actors, but I really like how they show how effective a tool vapor can really be if you know and remember your science. Meteor Man is another character I like, he's pretty much the muscle of the group, with the persona to boot, his power in to enlarge parts of himself with bring super strength. Gravity Girl is sort of both the beauty and brains of the group, her power is to manipulate gravity, really like seeing how effective a weapon altering physics can be.

Just like with most to all pulp shows their pretty much your adventures of the week with villains which I'll admit is one weak point of the shows as the Trio don't have enough of a rogue gallery or rogues that are memorable, though there were a couple of villains that recured, which isn't much but better than none. Nevertheless, it was fun just seeing the next adventure the Trio would go on and what kind of butt they were going to kick.

I'd love modern revival comic book miniseries/series on both from DC Comics. I know both properties were on DC Comic's licensed mini-series "Future Quest" and "Future Quest Presents" but those don't entirely count as they were just characters part of another series. I want stand-alone series for both just like with what DC Comics did with "Space Ghost".

With both series we can keep some things similar but at the same time different. Put in some depth on the "Galaxy Trio", how they acquired their powers and may' be mix in both the superhero and military sci-fi. With "Birdman" still have the spy and fantasy elements mixed but emphasize and balance both a bit more. Like putting in some Egyptology having Birdman fight some creatures and foes from it but also give depth to how Birdman acquired and became who he is. Well, those are thoughts to consider.

For fans of Hanna Barbara or even Vintage cartoons in general both these retro classics are worth a test flight.

Rating: 3 stars.

There are many great action and comedy animated shows that were produced for television by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Birdman is my favorite among the superhero shows they produced. Along with Space Ghost, Thundarr The Barbarian, and The Herculoids, these shows were less about funny antics and more about action and fast paced stories. Space Ghost and Birdman are without a doubt the most iconic of these shows, however, if you love great Hanna-Barbera action then I'd highly recommend checking out The Herculoids and Thundarr. Anything produced by those two men are worth a watch in my opinion. I'm sure at least one or two shows or characters were apart of someone's childhood.

I remember this show vividity as a teenager during the late 1970's as part of Hanna-Barbera's FANTASTIC WORLD OF ADVENTURE! But as for the Birdman bit,it was hokey,but sometimes stupid in some parts. Birdman and Avenger(his pet eagle with superpowers) would take on evil doers and monsters,and when our hero was in a situation he would go right up into the sun to recharge his energy and then comes back with his sun shield in hand ready for action!!!!!

But it wasn't always the case................. One episode in particular was with Birdman taking on his arch nemesis THE SCORPION leaving him in situation where he cannot get out to the sun to restore his powers leaving him and Avenger in a dangerous situation...... This was a three parter episode,where Birdman and Avenger fights to save the world from nuclear destruction(with special guest Hanna Barbera superhero of all people!) which left viewers to tuned in next week for the continuation of our story.

As far as THE GALAXY TRIO are concerned,I never like them since they ruined the effect of the show...................

HB's WORLD OF ADVENTURE was a full hour of non-stop animated action and breathtaking suspense all in one cartoon show!!! It came on every afternoon which featured Space Ghost,The Herculoids,Birdman,Mighthor, Buzz Conroy and Frankenstein Jr.,and Super Samson(which featured a teen that transforms into a ancient superhero,and has pet lion with laser eyes!..only in a cartoon).