Super Friends Appreciation Week Celebration: Casting Call for Villains

We've mentioned the heroes, now it's time to spotlight the villains.

In the early days, many of the villains were aliens from outer space -- or maybe from the center of the earth -- either hell-bent on destroying the planet or aliens who came to visit, when some sort of Three's Company-esque misunderstanding occurred (without the sexual innuendo) before all was settled and everyone got along.

In the very earliest of days, there were your typical con artists and thieves.

The comic-book or comic-inspired villains were the final category. They included

Joker,

Penguin,

Braniac II,

Felix Faust,

and Mr. Mxyzpltk, who was probably our favorite villain on the show. The Wizard of Oz themed episode was pure genius.

Then there was the Legion of Doom, a collection of the world's most nefarious (and in some cases bumbling) evildoers who were the foil for the Super Friends. In our opinion, once they came on the scene, the show was at the top of its game. The Legion of Doom was led by

Lex Luthor.

Other members included Braniac (Don't forget, he wants pants),

Black Manta,

Cheetah,

Toyman,

Scarecrow,

Riddler,

Grodd,

Giganta,

Bizarro,

Solomon Grundy (Don't forget, he wants pants too!),

Sinestro,

and Captain Cold. Note that some of the Legion made appearances independent of the larger group.

In the final seasons,

Darksied,

Desaad,

and Kalibak brought their nastiness from Apokolips to Earth. By this time, however, the show was starting to lose steam and these recurring threats weren't explored as full as they were in later animated shows.

Now that we've showcased the major players, tomorrow we'll spotlight some of our favorite episodes.