The Super Friends

What's more entertaining than watching a team of superheroes work together to save the world? Well, how about five drastically different super-people and a pair of twins trying to stop an inter-dimensional trickster the size of a barstool for leveling a K-Mart? The first Pitch-It of the new year is upon us with my personal fanfare of fun, as today I'm pitching The Super Friends.

Initially, this team book was simply me putting some of my favorite characters in one book, but what it turned into was a satire on the super-team genre. The team is comprised of varying characters who's recent adventures leave them free time to on this team. There's Plastic Man, a mostly comedic superhero who's gone severely underused recently. Etrigan the Demon, a creature from Hell who-for the sake of continuity-shares his body with a reincarnated knight. Power Girl, Superman's cousin from another dimension. Harley Quinn, that chick all the woman cosplay as at comic conventions. Lil' Lobo, the regrown remains of an alien bounty hunter. And The Wonder Twins, this time around being two teenage siblings who run a superhero fan-club. How could such different people unite to be Earth's protectors? Well, the premise of this hypothetical book would have The Justice League leave the galaxy on some interstellar rescue mission to recover one of their teammates, but rather than follow their space adventures we'd watch the happy-go-lucky hero Plastic Man attempt to found a replacement Justice League. After putting out some ads Plastic Man gets few volunteers, until two teenagers named Marvin and Wendy show up to join his group. Plastic Man reluctantly lets the powerless twins join him as he attempts to put out a forest fire lit by a mysterious meteor. Meeting them there we meet Power Girl and Harley Quinn, who've recently teamed up in the comics and are trying to save civilians. When Etrigan the Demon comes to stop the fire, our heroes assume he was the cause. Their fight with the demon comes to a stop as they discover the fire was actually caused by the crashed ship of Lil' Lobo who seems to be suffering from galactic road rage. Promised a reward for his efforts, Lil' Lobo helps the heroes put out the fire and they are seen as heroes by the public. They are christened The Super Friends by the twins. This team's adventures would include fighting a acid-blooded cat at a space mall, battling The Panel Biter's resident freak show Animal-Vegetable-Mineral-Man, and duking it out with The Super Friends of 3001. As far as dynamics go I'd play Plastic Man up to be stoic wannabe hero who's constantly fighting his greedy, more sleazy impulses. Power Girl would be the most level-headed and hot-headed of the bunch, contrasting with Harley Quinn's sadistic and unpredictable episodes. Etrigan would be snarky, intimidating and the least likely to read a children's book to a kindergarden class despite his dialogue being written in rhyme. Lil' Lobo would be immature and selfish, too stubborn to admit he needs The Super Friends to get his reputation back as the baddest mercenary in the galaxy. The twins would start out as the team's spunky mascots, but eventually they'd become the shapeshifting duo, The Wonder Twins. Additionally, we'd see Plastic Man's best buddy Woozy Winks as the group's unpaid intern. Guest appearances from DC's various heroes and villains would also be a frequent inclusion into the series.

Essentially, this book doesn't require these characters nor the premise. What I'd want from a book like this would be light hearted romps because it's a book like this that the comic industry needs right now. I'm all up for action, suspense and mystery, but even I can admit some comic books are too damn dreary. It's become illegal to have Batman smile! That's why a comedic team book like this could really benefit the reading audience as it offers a break from the gritty and violent to present readers with something that'd make them laugh out loud. Thanks for reading!