Only kids of a certain age likely remember the 1986 animated series “Defenders of the Earth.” The series ran for only one season, debuting on September 8 and concluding on December 5, but because it aired every weekday, it has a back catalogue of 65 episodes. “Defenders of the Earth” was a mash-up series, bringing together four famous 1930s superhero characters owned by King Features Syndicate. There was Flash Gordon (Lou Richards), who flew through the cosmos in a high-tech space fighter. There was the purple-clad Phantom (Peter Mark Richman), who could communicate with animals. There was Mandrake the Magician (Peter Renaday), who could cast illusions. And there was Lothar (Buster Jones), a character from “Mandrake” comics, and the team’s muscle. The villain of the series was Ming the Merciless (Ron Feinberg), the arch-nemesis from “Flash Gordon” strips.
To add kid appeal, each of the four characters had a child or youthful counterpart. Rick Gordon (Loren Lester) was Flash’s son. Jedda (Sarah Partridge) was the Phantom’s daughter. Kshin (Adam Carl) was adopted by Mandrake. And L.J. (Dion Williams) was Lothar’s son.
If you don’t remember the action from “Defenders of the Earth,” then you likely remember its theme song. Like the best theme songs, the “Defenders of Earth” theme was both catchy and informative. It went through the four central comic book heroes on the cast, giving a brief explanation as to their respective powers and capabilities. Rob Walsh and Tony Pastor are credited as writing the melody, while no one less than Stan Lee is credited for writing its lyrics. Stan Lee’s involvement makes sense when you realize that the series was produced by Marvel Productions, Lee’s company. Marvel didn’t own the “DOE” characters; however, it made it one of the rare non-Marvel superhero projects Lee worked on.
Read more: 10 Marvel Characters Who Could Beat Batman In A Fight
Stan Lee wrote the lyrics for the theme song to Defenders of the Earth
Those lyrics, incidentally, are as follows:
“Out of the sky, his rockets ignite. Jets into battle flying faster than light. (Flash Gordon!) Lord of the jungle, the hero who stalks. The beasts call him brother, the Ghost Who Walks. (The Phantom!) Master of magic, spells and illusion. Enemies grumble 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!”
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Lee’s involvement was deeper than just writing the above lyrics. “Defenders of the Earth” was notable enough to warrant a comic book tie-in that was published by Star Comics, a sub-brand of Marvel Comics at the time. Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Lothar, and Mandrake were well-known to older comics readers, so there was every reason to believe that assembling them would excite audiences. The “Defenders of the Earth” miniseries only ran from September to December 1986, lasting only four issues. Lee was credited as one of the writers of issue #1, along with Bob Harras. Michael Higgins wrote issues #2 – #4.
The comic book premise was the same as the animated series. The four King Features heroes teamed up to fight the evils of Ming the Merciless, and they were joined by their respective offspring. In at least one issue, Spider-Man is mentioned, so fanboys can now posit amongst themselves if “Defenders of the Earth” takes place in the Marvel universe or not.
If that’s the case, get ready to see Billy Zane reprise his role as the Phantom (a character he played in 1996) in “Avengers: Secret Wars.”
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
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