Birdman and the Galaxy Trio

"Birdman and the Galaxy Trio" is an animated science fiction series created by Alex Toth and produced at Hanna-Barbera. It debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, and ran on Saturday mornings until September 6, 1969. The program consists of two segments: "Birdman", depicting the adventures of a winged superhero powered by the sun, and "The Galaxy Trio", centering around the exploits of three extraterrestrial superheroes. NBC ran two new segments of "Birdman" each Saturday, separated by a segment of "The Galaxy Trio".

Main characters

Birdman

* Birdman (voiced by Darwin Frank) - An ordinary human endowed by the sun god Ra (although this origin is only vaguely and briefly hinted at during the series; his real name is never mentioned) with the ability to shoot solar rays from his fists and project “solar shields” to defend himself against attacks. He was recruited by a top-secret government agency, Inter-Nation Security, and now works full-time fighting crime, assisted by his eagle sidekick Avenger. In addition to the abilities he received from Ra, Birdman also possesses the power of flight, thanks to the giant wings which sprout from his back. His sole weakness is that he must periodically recharge his super powers through exposure to the sun’s rays. His trademark is his battle cry of "Biiiiirdman"!!" when he goes into battle.

* Falcon 7 (Don Messick) - Birdman’s contact with Inter-Nation Security, and the person from whom Birdman typically receives his missions.

* Birdboy (Dick Beals) - Another sidekick of Birdman. The two first met when Birdman happened upon a shipwreck, of which Birdboy was the only apparent survivor. Since the boy was near death from exposure, Birdman transferred some of his own super energy to him, reviving him and giving powers similar to Birdman’s, and he went on to aid him in several episodes. Birdboy lacks the natural feathered wings sported by Birdman, however, and is only able to fly with the assistance of the mechanical wings strapped to his back. He spends much of his time searching for his father, who was lost in the wreck, but this was never resolved.

* General Stone: General Stone appears several times in "Birdman" with other military leaders, and tends to find himself on the receiving end of the villains' schemes.

* Number One - The leader of the sinister organisation F.E.A.R. and Birdman's "number one" enemy. F.E.A.R. is behind many plots over the course of the series, frequently employing supervillains to perform nefarious tasks. The organisation was seemingly defeated for good and its leader arrested in "The Wings of FEAR", but it occasionally resurfaced without any explanation.

Minor villains

Here is a list of minor villains who appear in episode order:

* Dr. Millennium: A super-villain who appeared in "The Menace of Dr. Millennium", using a time-manipulating machine to commit crimes, and "The Revenge of Dr. Millennium", where he tried to exact his revenge on Birdman and take over the world from the past.
* X the Eliminator: A mercenary hired by F.E.A.R. to eliminate Birdman. He is charged with bringing back Birdman's crest from his helmet as proof of his accomplishment. He makes his reappearance as a regular character on "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law", still trying to kill Birdman and get the crest as proof, though he's now more of a stalking fanboy obsessed with Birdman.
* Ringmaster: Agent of F.E.A.R.
* Morto the Marauder: A criminal genius and evidently once a significant threat to the world, Morto twice escaped from prison with his mechanical know-how and wreaked havoc in "Morto the Marauder" and "Morto Rides Again".
* Cumulus the Storm King: A supervillain who can control the weather.
* Nitro:
* Mummer: A supervillain who is a master of disguise.
* Kiroff: A supervillain who was responsible for causing world-wide earthquakes.
* Zardo: A supervillain who one time captured Avenger.
* Constrictor:
* Reducto: A supervillain who wields a shrink ray. He uses this ray to demand money from Central City or he will shrink its size. After being defeated by Birdman, he is shrunken down to microscopic size.
* Doctor Shark:
* Hannibal the Hunter:
* Mentok the Mind-Taker: Mentok has the ability to send cerebral messages to a person or animal to do his bidding. He uses this ability to get Birdman to steal missiles from the United States Government. He plans on using these missiles to start a war between two countries.
* Dr. Freezoid: Dr. Freezoid has a weapon that can turn an entire city block into ice. He has a retreat in the North Pole. Birdman causes him to self-destruct his base of operations with his own weapons.
* Deadly Duplicator:
* Professor Nightshade:
* Chameleon:
* Moray of the Deep:
* Vulturo: Dr. Vult is an evil scientist who made a vulture-like costume to combat birdman. He appeared in two episodes of "Birdman and the Galaxy Trio": in "Vulturo, Prince Of Darkness", where he was hired by F.E.A.R. to destroy Birdman, and "Return Of Vulturo", in which he tried to exact his revenge. Like many other characters he reappeared in "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law".
* Murro the Marauder:

Apart from Number One and F.E.A.R., these were the only recurring villains of "Birdman", appearing in two episodes each. (Two episodes also featured a villain named Zardo, but their appearances were so different from each other that they are often interpreted as unrelated characters. [ [http://webpages.charter.net/superheroes/birdman.html The Birdman FAQ] ] )

Galaxy Trio

The Galaxy Trio is a group of three extraterrestrial superheroes, Vapor Man, Meteor Man, and Gravity Girl, who patrol space in their cruiser "Condor One" maintaining order and fighting evildoers in the name of the Galactic Patrol law enforcement agency.

* Vapor Man (Don Messick) - He has the ability to transform part or all of his body into gaseous form (a power shared by at least some residents of his home planet of Vaporus), enabling him to fly, escape from physical bonds, and squeeze through very small spaces, as well as producing various forms of "vapor" (such as "freeze vapor") from his hands.

* Meteor Man (Ted Cassidy) - A native of the planet Meteorus. Meteor Man is distinguished by his ability to increase or decrease the size of any part of his body. He gains superhuman strength in any limb that he chooses to enlarge.

* Gravity Girl (Virginia Eiler) - She has the ability to bend the laws of gravity to her will, allowing her to fly and lift very heavy objects with her mind. The daughter of the king of the planet Gravitas, she left her luxurious home and life of privilege at an early age to fight crime with the Galactic Patrol and was subsequently assigned to the Galaxy Trio team, with whom she has served ever since.

The Trio also appeared in "Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes" issue #2 (September 1968).

Minor characters

* Chief: A man referred to only as "Chief" is a recurring character in "Galaxy Trio". He fulfils a similar role to Falcon 7 in "Birdman"

Episodes

"Birdman and the Galaxy Trio" in other languages

*French: "Solaris"
*Japanese: 電子鳥人Ｕバード/銀河トリオ ("Denshi Chōjin Yū-Bādo; Electronic Birdhuman U-Bird"/"Ginga Torio; Galaxy Trio")
*Polish: "Birdman / Galaxy Trio"
*Portuguese: "Homem-Pássaro e o Galaxy Trio"
*Spanish: "Birdman y el Trío Galaxia"

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061237/ Birdman and the Galaxy Trio at IMDB]
*Tv.com show|id=4925|title=Birdman and the Galaxy Trio
* [http://www.hbshows.com/site.php?c=./birdman.htm Birdman and the Galaxy Trio at HBShows.com]
* [http://webpages.charter.net/superheroes/birdman.html The Birdman FAQ]