The History of Defenders of the Earth: A Barely Remembered Superhero Team-Up
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- Among the deluge of pop culture properties in 1986 was the barely remembered Defenders of the Earth, bringing together Mandrake the Magician, The Phantom and Flash Gordon to battle Ming the Merciless.
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I remember it for having one of the best intro songs ever in a cartoon.
Now and then that theme just pops into my head and is an earworm all darned day!
And very informative
It is awesome, I love the eulyses Intro
“Out of the sky, his rockets ignite. Flies into battle flying faster than light! Falsh Gordon!”
Even now it makes my heart race. Defenders of the earth, defenders!
I’m the editor of the Swedish The Phantom comic book and next year we celibate 70 year with the comic book. Over 1600 issues. And I’ve worked with Alex Saviuk on several of our stories. For some reason The Phantom is popular in Sweden and Australia.
Solbrick That is so cool! Congratulations!!
The Phantom is an awesome character! Love the strips!
Would that be over at Egmont? My family is a neighbor of Tony DePaul, who currently writes the daily for Kings Features. For a time some of his stories would make it your way.
Ryan Hanley Yeah, Tony started out as writer for the Swedish production, and after Lee Falk passed away he was recommended to KFS by my predecessor editor Ulf Granberg. Cool that they’re neighbors! I’ve never worked with Tony myself, but I’ve published many of his KFS The Phantom comics over the years.
Solbrick I managed to find some stories that were translated back into English. The Phantom disguised as a nun needs to be seen to be believed.
Out of the sky his rockets ignite!
Jets into battle, flies faster than light! FLASH GORDON!
Lord of the jungle, the hero who stalks! The beasts call him brother, the ghost who walks! PHANTOM!
Master of magic, spells and illusion,
Enemies crumble in fear and confusion! MANDRAKE!
His strength is a legend, his skills conquer all,
Armed with his power, we never will fall! LOTHAR!
With our new young heroes, proving their worth,
Four become eight, defending the Earth!
DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH!
M Curran Easily one of the best cartoon theme songs.
Still to this day, I can't believe that Stan Lee wrote those lyrics!
Mike Mahon To be fair, those are 100% his style.
I found myself singing this at work the other day, the children I work with thought I'd gone mental!
The Phantom line rocks!
master of magic spells and illusion, enemies crumble in fear and confusion - how could those immortal words be forgotten????
*Mandrake*
I still quote this line when I trick someone after all these years
Mandrake. First cromic protagonist with non realistic abilities (magic), hence, technically the first superhero.
@@nagmulasalupa In the original comic strip, isn't he just a gifted hypnotist? I mean, the Shadow predates Mandrake and can appear invisible using hypnotism of a fashion...
@@ARCWuLF he can also levitate and turn invisible. And he fights crime. So, i think, technically that qualifies. Also, the shadow was just a radio show, right? So... first comic book superhero, still mandrake the magician.
"This show has everything! Space ships, etc, etc, etc, SINGLE PARENTS,......" ha, that particular observation was on point hilarious!
What do you mean "barely remembered" I LOVED this cartoon. C'mon Dan there must be tons of 40 year olds with a deep love of this series ! Alright, not many kids, tweens and teens as of 2019...but still....🥺
37 year old here - it was a great cartoon! But then I'm in the UK, it might have taken some years to get to us....
@@jamesswingland8369 We played with DoE figures all the time , that and MotU
38 an got the series on dvd :)
I'm 28 and I remember watching re runs of this show when I was 7.
Yep! This holds a special place in my heart
I've been watching these Toy Galaxy videos and it's amazing to find out the origins of all of the toys and cartoons that I grew up with. To see how the industry was competing and strategically marketing the toys and cartoons at us unsuspecting kids of the time. Thank you for taking the time to research and make these documentaries. Keep up the good work!
Such an underrated show! I loved it as a kid. Surprised no-one has attempted a movie yet.
I was 11 years old, when this cartoon came out and I absolutely, love it age 44! Screw the naysayers, this was one of the "It" shows, of the 80's!
Let's hope the hypebeasts will take a few cues from the fashion of DOTE
You left out Phantom 2099 cartoon show from the mid 90's.
Roy Lloyd Actually, it was Phantom 2040. 2099 was a line of comics released by Marvel. I loved that show, and it introduced me to the Phantom.
@@truefanforum3273 The illustrator that did Aeon Flux did the art there as well IIRC.
Lipstick Zombie Yeah, I heard that somewhere. That's pretty cool. I will admit I wasn't the biggest fan of the art style when I first saw the show, but it really grew on me.
There was also a Flash Gordon animated series in 1996.
It was 2040, and holy crap that show was dark.
Thank you and thank Mr Sunday for playing the theme song on their podcast
Want to give props to the host for doing his research. Before seeing this, I’d always thought Lothar was created for the show. I had no idea he actually predates Superman.
Thank you for this! I was obsessed with Defenders of the Earth. I had it all, the toys, comic books, coloring books, ect. I asked my wife if she remembered it... she just looked at me like I was crazy. Now I can show her this and prove that I'm not crazy! Oh, and I would pick The Ghost who Walks as my parent.
Best intro theme, even in Spanish. Still stuck in my head after almost 40 years.
I'd want Mandrake for my dad! He's the most down to earth, literally, since he lives in a suburban mansion (with a sweet backyard volcano/Defenders HQ). Also, his book collection is simply enormous; as an avid reader, when I saw those storied shelves, I was in heaven!
Watching this as a kid, I always thought it was odd that The Phantom had a daughter and not a son, because I'm also a fan of The Phantom comic strip where each Phantom has a son to replace him to make others believe he was immortal. Still, I'm a fan of the show. And Stan Lee wrote the lyrics to the theme song? Wow! Great video!
Actually in the strip, there was a female Phantom. Julie Walker, the twin sister of 17th Phantom.
@@rathraven1313 Beat my by six months.
"Barely remembered"?!?! I loved that cartoon! It was my first introduction to those pulp heroes and holds a very special place in my heart!! Plus, it has a rocking theme tune!!
Boomers: Eurgh, Gen-X, the generation that never grew up for some reason.
Gen-X: 1986.
I regret nothing!
Xenials: God big brother, it's the 90s... 🙄
It's like a family friendly League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen...kinda
Haven't even watched...but I regularly find myself humming the theme of this show. Loved it when I was a kid. Now back to the show....
This actually was one of my favourite 80s cartoons. I love the old serials like flash Gordon and Buck Rogers etc. There was something very nostalgic about watching defenders of the Earth. And learning that Stanley Cole wrote the theme song is just epic. in some ways defenders of the Earth was the league of extraordinary gentlemen before the league of extraordinary gentlemen.
I never got the charm of this series as a kid. But this and Batman '66 reruns were my dad's guilty pleasure back then.
Dude I put this theme song on just when I need that marlevous 80s sound!
*...Defenders...!*
I use the He-man theme and Thundercats or Mask themes when I need a flash back fix.
I still watch this series. It's amazing. When I first saw Defenders I couldn't believe it existed.
17 times a year, I come to youtube to watch the opening for Defenders of the Earth. I let out a dog startling "YES!" when I saw the title of this video. Thank you Dan.
👍
Why 17 times loool
I absolutely remember this show. And I freaking love it. I watched as a kid. I bought the DVD box set as an adult. Flash Gordon in the Phantom teaming up with everyone else to fight Ming the merciless. Hell yeah.
I was OBSESSED with this show. I heard WB had brought the individual rights for the characters
And have done absolutely nothing with them
THANK YOU. I had a Mandrake figure as a kid that I absolutely loved (I still remember that even at the time I noticed that it was a lot better-made than most of my other action figures), but I never had any clue which franchise it was associated with.
I’ve literally been wanting find this answer for 30 years.
They even included a Kings Feature character still running today in the series: PRINCE VALIANT and his son, Val!
The Prince Valiant movie from '97 was *so* underrated.
I mean, the cast alone was quite impressive: Stephen Moyer, Katherine Heigl, Udo Kier, Zach Galligan, Thomas Kretschmann, Ron Perlman, and Warwick Davis.
Who also had a pretty underrated cartoon.
@@pious83 The cartoon series was far better than the 1997 movie.
I'm not gonna say the Prince Valiant movie was good but it sure is a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it
Vikings with pet armoured crocodiles anyone?
@@mrspeigel3593 Valiant appeared in The Man who Hated Laughter as well
Heck yeah! Loved seeing that old Sci-Fi Channel commercial!!
I can remember this show just as much those commercials for music collections in the 80s. I still dig the delightful cheesy graphics and soundtracks of those cartoons featured from 86. Now I have to dig for more of Defenders of the Earth.
I loved this cartoon series. I used to watch this almost religiously when its was on TV.
The most ambitious crossover piece of media is Super Robot Wars. Imagine Gundam from multiple continuities, Robotech/Macross from multiple generations, Evangelion, Voltron, Starvengers, Tranzor, Gurren Lagann, Virtual On, and a whole cavalcade of other obscure Japan-only mecha series in a turn-based strategy RPG, with most of the original voices for the pilots, and anime-accurate animations.
Its also a series that has been running almost as long as the Pokémon series, to the point that they've had enough material to create their own spin off games and merchandise.
Changing The Phantom's descendent from a son to a daughter is breaking the legend of his immortality.
in the 2040 time line one of the Phantom's was female
According to the Swedish series, one of the legend's superstitions was about a supposed ability to split into multiple entities.
Actually in the strip, there was a female Phantom. Julie Walker, the twin sister of 17th Phantom.
@@rathraven1313 I've heard of that story - her costume didn't disguise the fact she was a girl and people STILL thought she was her brother.
@@SuperSongbird21 Having seen some of her stories, she hid that fact by staying in front of people not letting them get a side view of her chest plus most of her adventures she stayed in the jungle.
GALAXY HIGH was so good and nobody ever remembers it! So glad you included it here :)
Geek Variety LIVING IN GALAXY HIGH! 🤘🏾...I think that's how the song went.
Barely remembered? I find myself singing the theme tune, for no apparent reason, it certainly stuck in my mind. 😟
"Barely remembered by the general public except for some people on CZcams who do remember it and know the theme song" was too long a title.
Toy Galaxy - 😂you should be British - your dry humour always makes me laugh. Thank you for your videos.
@@SecretGalaxyTV I've always remembered the series and the theme song. It was so memorable.
Was a HUGE show in the UK.
@@paulpetroleum huge is an understatement, it brang back the phantom and saved Flash Gordon too
I remember this show as a kid, would love to see a live action film of this.
I've always loved Team-ups and Mash-ups...and Defenders of the Earth was a great one!
There was also a Phantom 2040 cartoon in the 90's. Another interesting crossover universe was Future Quest. It was a DC comic series with a bunch of the Hanna-Barbera action characters.
I had the VHS when I was a child, it was well made overall. DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH...d e f e n d e r s
Loved this show growing up, I had the Defenders of the earth Necklace of Oros on VHS, four fantastic episodes rolled into a feature length movie on tape! "Some powers are too great, for the hands of man."
Oh, I remember this show. I remember it because of one word that's almost whispered in the intro; "Lothaaarrrr."
Khama Nkhoma Defenders of ASMR
Dude. Its stuff like this that truly displays your magic. I tried watching episodes with my son and he said, "Nah." It's far too informative and professional, and the material is golden oldies. This sparked so many childhood feelings just seeing the images for the 1st time in 30 yrs... God Bless Toy Galaxy
❤🔥🤘🐷🤘🔥❤
Damn. I need those action figures now.. gotta scratch that itch. Thanks... 🤦♂️
How can you forget the Flash Gordon movie from the 80's? It had Queen doing the intro theme.
I had the Flash Gordon ship that turned into a sword. Damn I loved DotE as a kid. It was really big here in the UK.
I'd love to see a live action DotE, but set in the 30s. Good budget, and pulpy as hell.
I loved this show, it's available on Amazon prime video, and I've gone through half the episodes. It's crazy going back to these old shows, lots of adult themes.
I remember when I watched this back in the 80s as a kid. The thing that confused me the most was why The Phantom's costume was purple instead of sky blue. Being from Argentina and being familiar with the characters from reading the comics, I was used to seeing him with a sky blue suit, because for some reason The Phantom's suit is of a different color in some countries. In Argentina is sky blue, in Turkey is red...
Barely remembered? Maybe in the US, but here in the UK..!
Huge in the UK.
I thought the title was perhaps tongue in cheek at first, as surely it's up there with Transformers and Thundercats in terms of nostalgia. But maybe not so much in the USA judging by comments.
In Mexico my generation still talks about it. The song was so good, both in english and the latin american dub.
Yep huuge 👏
I remember having to choose between watching Defenders on CBBC or The Real Ghostbusters on CITV since they were on at the same time (Monday afternoons). Ghostbusters always won out, but I managed to watch a few Defenders episodes.
I actually remember this show very well. I actually own the full series. 😊 The show was awesome and had one of the best intros ever!
I LOVED THIS CARTOON! STILL LOVE IT. HOW CAN I FORGET THIS AMAZING SHOW!
I LIVED A WONDERFUL CHILDHOOD! HELL YEAH!
I was in the UK at the time and this was unreal! Always remembered the episode when they went to Tibet to get the crystals to bring down the robots!
Loved this as a kid. Watched it a couple months ago, that first ep gets strange when the mother ends up as the computer.
i personally remembered it well for all these years always thinking back to it, i loved it. the theme tune was pretty good. i would say it was underrated
This show is amazing - just pure 80es cartoon campiness. Heroes deliver the most laugh-inducing lines with outmost heartfelt dramatic conviction, the events barely make sense and yet follow a certain hot-blooded logic. It won me over within the first episode by the sheer entertainment value of ridiculous 80s tropes on parade. I don't think 10 seconds go by in this show without a line that makes me cry with laughter. And if you think I'm calling it bad, far from it. I think it's a masterpiece. The unintentional hilarity and self-parody only makes it more special.
I actually have this series on DVD! Found it at Fry's for $7!
Defenders of the Earth sounds amazing. I may have to look it up later. I love your history recaps and your whacky sense of humor. It would be pretty cool if Phantom was my dad. I love animals and it would be neat to talk to them!
This show was so awesome. the theme used to amp me up as a kid.
This needs to be made into a cinematic universe movie!
I got into this show as a kid because I would read The Phantom in the Sunday newspaper comics, and I had seen the Flash Gordon movie. I had never heard of Mandrake or Lothar before that. I’ve loved this show ever since though.
Oh that theme song! To this day I find myself randomly thinking, "Defenders of the Earth! Defenders." 🎶😊
For a barely forgotten teamup, I agree this was the team up before Marvel. I own the entire series on DVD and love the phantom (the ghost who walks). Not to mention the catchy theme song. Sad it didn't have a longer run which makes me upset your video tells it like it is. I enjoy your videos do thank you
I was a huge fan of Defenders of the Earth as a kid and it served as my introduction to many of those classic King's Feature Heroes except for Flash Gordon and Ming whom I'd encountered in the 1930s serial before.
Oddly enough, this is also one of the very cartoons from my childhood that my Mom remembers. He-Man and She-Ra ans M.A.S.K. don't ring a bell, but Defenders of the Earth does, probably because she was a big fan of the Phantom comic strip.
When I got the new Toy Galaxy Notification for a new episode featuring The Defenders of The Earth, I got super excited! Not only did I grow up watching this cartoon in the glorious 1980’s but I owned all of the action figures and boy did I love them. I’ve always been a big Phantom and Flash Gordon fan and the fact that King Features Syndicate took all of their O.P. Original characters like The Phantom, Mandrake The Magician, And Lothar and teamed them up with Flash Gordon, made a very impressive serial style episodic cartoon series. I absolutely love this cartoon! The toys were badass as well. All of the syndicated Marvel Entertainment cartoons were always very well done. They made these King Feature characters feel very much like a Marvel property. The best part about the information given on this cartoon during this Toy Galaxy episode is that I learned that The Defenders of The Earth is on Amazon Prime to stream. I own the DVD Collection but some how I lost the second volume which makes me very sad. As far as which Defender character I would want as my father since this is a hypothetical question, I undoubtedly would choose The Phantom because he is not only the first fully costumed masked superhero in the medium but because he is completely and utterly awesome and Badass! I really liked how in the Defenders cartoon The Phantom had the added power of mimicking animal abilities in addition to his standard superhero prowess! As always this has been a great video and I look forward to seeing the next one! Cheers!
Man i use to love this as a kid, getting up on a saturday morning watching all my favourite superhero shows from Defenders of the Earth, Thundercats and more and later that day watch me some Streethawk, Knightrider even A-Team. These were the best times for watching great shows both in morning and evening. I still cant get over the fact i sold all my childhood toys from every iconic shows, movies on carboots every weekend until i sold everything, i had thousands. I matured too early as a child, due to family issues and began to lose interest in the things i loved and collected, Stuff you will never see again especially 30cm Rubber Wrestlers.
That Queen theme from the Flash Gordon movie still warms my nostalgic nerve.
Hardly forgotten- I watched the show on Saturday afternoons, wanted the toyline (but was too busy buying Transformers), and my mom got me the plastic lunchbox (sans thermos) at a rummage sale (kept my drawing supplies in it).
Now I have the entire series on DVD (as well as the mentioned SciFi Flash Gordon series, btw) and I still revisit the cartoon occasionally- one of DIC's better offerings.
One last thing: since you brought up The Phantom, can you do a video on 1994's Phantom 2040? It was a nice little series with a stellar voice cast- and I still have the Sega Genesis game.
I always wanted to see a team-up of Doc Savage, The Shadow, and The Phantom set in the 30s with a Sky Captain aesthetic.
One of my absolute favourite cartoons EVER!!! I was OBSESSED with it as a kid
They should bring it back
I loved the hell out of this cartoon, and even though I loved Filmation's version, this was a nice upgrade... and the intro rocks! As for which I would want as a parent, I gotta go with Phantom. By my jungle birthright I wanna be able to call upon the power of ten tigers.
Know all the characters involved, had absolutely no clue whatsoever this was made.
I miss the eighties
i got this all on dvd
A precursor to this show was "Popeye meets the man who hated laughter", a one hour special on ABC in 1972 that had many King Feature Syndicate characters teaming up including Flash Gordon, Phantom, Mandrake and Lothar
I still love this show. Bought the dvd and my son loves it to ;)
That Sci-Fi Channel commercial took me back, man....how far they've fallen from those glory days.
Have this show on my hard drive. Watch some episodes now and then. It's awesome.
The concept for Defenders of the Earth was rather good.
The Phantom did have a tradition of the role being passed from father to son (or daughter) but in the comic strip, the Phantom's daughter was Heloise, not Jenna. Flash Gordon's computer based after the persona of his wife, Dale Arden, was later echoed in The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, with Dr. Quest's AI named Iris, after his wife.
It was hard to credit Mandrake & Flash Gordon having kids as it was never established in the original strips.
Stan "The Man" Lee did dream up the theme song of Defenders of the Earth.
Wonder if an animated Justice Inc. (The Avenger/The Shadow/ & Doc Savage) would've fared better.
I remember this one vividly! I had a Defenders of the Earth storybook when I was young, it was my favorite for a long time.
Loved this cartoon when I was a youngin'.
I loved this show! Watched it religiously.
I thought it lasted more than 1 season..
Great job as always Dan.
Woah! When the 1986 list of cartoons was scrolling, there's scenes from the film "FROM BEYOND" in the background.
It's one of my favourite horror films from 1986, which is based off the work of pulp legend H.P. Lovecraft.
Nicely done Toy Galaxy!
Its been 30 years and the iconic intro music is still in my head. Love it!
Another great episode! I watched Defenders of the Earth as a kid and it got me to read a lot of the old Flash Gordon novels. I still have my copy of Flash Gordon and the Sand People of Mongo. And for the record I would want Flash Gordon to be my dad!
Can't get past your shirt saying "Dr PP" in bright red and white lol
The best intro and best crossover. To this day I still remember them. Good old times...
Loved the Phantom version in this run, was always waiting for him to say "By jungle law, the ghost who walks calls upon the strength of 10 tigers!"
RIP Phantom , Lothar & Ming :(
I loved this show . I had a coloring book . I also had Phantom , Flash and Ming action figures . They were awesome .
Watched the series when i was a kid. Good times! That theme song was very catchy and commanding
Defenders of the Earth was a huge success here in Brasil. Thanks for the memories and for the history behind it! =D
Barely remembered? I loved this show as a kid! I love it and it’s commonly reminisced by my brothers and I
Having to watch an advert for the Cats movie before this almost killed my mood to watch. But...I persevered and really enjoyed this video. Oh my god those cats are terrifying...
Hell yeah! DOTE was my show back in the day!
when i was a kid this cartoon was running frequently for years, whenever i turned on TV it was playing!
One of my favorite theme songs from my childhood.... loved this show.
Best cartoon ever besides Super Friends. This is on the Pluto app every Monday through Friday
Loved watching this cartoon as a kid!
Mandrake is my favourite, closely followed by the Phantom. The Phantom 2040 was a good cartoon too.
This needs a reboot,it was great. I loved this show & even a comic book. I think this would work today. Especially I'd you put it in the future.
Ive been watching this series lately on Amazon. Ming The Merciless is one of my favorite animated villains.
Easily top-5 best cartoons series ever!
Never forgot it, loved the theme song! Loved the continuing story about Enigma center around Mandrake's adopted son.
Fun stuff! The series was enjoyable but damn, that theme tune was catchy. Thirty years later and I still know it by heart. Stan Lee certainly knew about writing a catchy tune.