Super Friends #7
Super Friends #7 is the first comic-book appearance of Zan, Jayna, and Gleek — the Wonder Twins — characters who originated on the Hanna-Barbera animated series and were transplanted to print within roughly a month of their television debut, making the issue a rare, near-simultaneous multimedia launch for three characters at once. Writer E. Nelson Bridwell used the comic to give the Twins a full origin that the cartoon never supplied: orphaned Exxorian metahumans raised by a space-circus clown, who stumble onto Superman's old enemy Grax and race to Earth to warn the Justice League. Beyond the Wonder Twins, the issue also serves as the first comic appearance of the proto-Global Guardians — Seraph, Godiva, Impala, and Owlwoman — an internationally diverse band of heroes that Bridwell assembled years before that concept was codified in the mainstream DC Universe, planting seeds that would flower in DC Comics Presents #46 (1982). The issue also narrates the in-universe handoff from the original teen sidekicks Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog to the superpowered newcomers, marking a generational shift in the Super Friends franchise that the cover itself dramatizes visually.
In "The Warning of the Wondertwins," the Super Friends face their most urgent mission yet when Zan and Jayna arrive on Earth with a dire warning: Grax plans to plant twelve bombs across the planet. With the Justice League joining forces with heroes from around the world, the team races to disarm the first four before time runs out. Written by E. Nelson Bridwell and brought to life by Ramona Fradon’s dynamic art and Bob Smith’s sharp inks, this 1977 issue delivers high-stakes teamwork and global heroism in a 35-cent adventure.
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The Super Friends ongoing series was written throughout its run by E. Nelson Bridwell, a continuity-obsessed DC editor and super-fan who had also served as DC's story advisor to Hanna-Barbera on the animated series, making him the natural bridge between the two versions of the property. Ramona Fradon, already celebrated for co-creating Metamorpho and for her Silver Age Aquaman work, was chosen as the series' regular penciler specifically because her clean, open line art approximated the look and feel of Saturday-morning animation — a conscious editorial decision to keep the book visually in step with the TV show. Issue #7 was edited by Dennis O'Neil with managing editor Joe Orlando overseeing, carried a cover date of October 1977, and hit newsstands on July 12, 1977 — roughly eight weeks before the Wonder Twins' animated debut on September 10, 1977, meaning the comic technically published first even though the characters were conceived for television.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First comic-book appearance of the Wonder Twins: Zan and Jayna, alien siblings from the planet Exxor with complementary shapeshifting powers (Zan into any form of water, Jayna into any animal).
- First comic-book appearance of Gleek, described as a blue, monkey-like alien from Exxor who serves as the Twins' pet and companion.
- First comic-book appearance of four proto-Global Guardians: Seraph (Israel), Godiva (United Kingdom), Impala (South Africa), and Owlwoman (Native American / Oklahoma) — the earliest assembly of the team that would be named the Global Guardians in DC Comics Presents #46 (1982).
- First comic-book appearance of the villain Grax, a pre-existing Superman foe whose plot to detonate twelve planet-wide bombs drives the story.
- Written by E. Nelson Bridwell and illustrated (pencils and cover) by Ramona Fradon, inked by Bob Smith; edited by Dennis O'Neil.
- The issue was published on-sale July 12, 1977 (cover date October 1977) — approximately two months before the Wonder Twins' animated debut in The All-New Super Friends Hour (September 10, 1977).
- Part one of a three-issue arc (issues #7–9); the arc concludes with Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog retiring from the team to go to college, formally passing the junior-sidekick role to the Wonder Twins.
- The issue was later reprinted as part of the DC digest Dynamic Comics #C-10, and the full series — including this issue — was collected in Super Friends: Saturday Morning Comics Vol. 1 (DC, digital and print).
Cast · 12 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Super Freunde #2 (1980), Eks almanah #411 (1987), Super Friends! #[nn] (2001), Showcase Presents: Super Friends #1 (2014), The Super Friends: Saturday Morning Comics #1 (2020)
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