While testing out their new Titans Jet, Speedy and Aqualad see something truly unbelievable: a small boy being chased by some sort of prehistoric monster!
The creature chases the boy right off the cliff, into the water below. While Speedy distracts the beast with some smoke arrows, Aqualad does what Aqualad does, and head into the water to rescue the boy:
Speedy picks up Aqualad and the boy--named Jerry--and the frightened lad explains that he and his explorer father were searching for a supposed "lost civilization" hidden deep in the mountains. Jerry's father has disappeared, as well.
From above, Speedy and Aqualad find the lost tribe (which lives in a small village of fairly nice little cottages), but their new plane gets caught up in the ferocious mountain winds, making it an easy target for the bomb-spear-throwing tribesmen:
Back home, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash wonder what happened to their friends. Aqualad manages to issue a distress call, and "Wonder Doll" and "Twinkle Toes" make for Asia to rescue their teammates.
While Wonder Girl distracts the tribe by deflecting their spears, Kid Flash sneaks into the cell that Speedy, Aqualad, Jerry, and his father are being held. Returning Speedy's bow and quiver to them, they blast their way out, hopping back into the Titans Jet, which is still having problems getting lift off.
Wonder Girl lassos the jet with her Magic Lasso, and Kid Flash creates a mini-whirlwind which helps them get into the sky. As everyone departs, Kid Flash bids adieu to the tribesmen:
Jerry and his Dad thank the Titans for saving their lives, and our heroes head for home. The ever-lovin' end! This was the final Teen Titans segment Filmation produced; while they're hardly the pinnacle of TV animation (that would be Penelope Pitstop) these were fun little mini-adventures and of course it was so cool to see such "B" characters be the stars. In this adventure, Wonder Girl almost lifts the Titan Jet all by herself--pretty impressive for a mere girl! Aqualad frets a lot this time around. And that's all I have to say about that.
This penultimate episode of Filmation's Teen Titans opens up with an alien ship about to crash onto Earth!
Inside, the...interesting-looking aliens (who undoubtedly come from France) realize they are carrying too much weight, so they decide to drop their cargo: namely, a collection of huge alien beasts!
The three beasts, not terribly happy about being caged and then dropped onto a a strange planet, go on a rampage, attacking a small town nearby. Luckily, the Teen Titans are there to help--Wonder Girl, Speedy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash:
I know it's easy (and fun) to goof on Filmation's extremely limited animation, but I have to say I thought this was a really cool effect on Kid Flash.
Anyway, the Titans gang up on one of the beasts, with Aqualad taking a very direct approach, and Wonder Girl...um...
The aliens return, having righted their ship and ready to reclaim their cargo. When they see the Titans approaching, they think they are attacking and fire back. Wonder Girl tells them they're trying to help, which mollifies the aliens.
Speedy fires a bunch of arrows at the creatures, which knock them for a loop, long enough for the Titans to subdue two of them. The third, which wanders out to sea, is captured by dropping a net over it, which Aqualad tugs back to shore.
The aliens apologize (they're "just" intergalactic hunters) for causing so much trouble. The Teen Titans are good sports, saying no harm, no foul, and the aliens depart while the Titans split up, but ready for another adventure. The Filmation writers could not get enough of the Titans calling each other nicknames, like "Wonder Doll" and "Twinkle Toes." Speedy uses the latter so much I kept hoping he'd be killed in action and replaced by Lilith or something. Also, it could be worth pointing out that Aqualad doesn't get a whole lot to do, but when the whole segment is only five minutes long, no one gets a whole lot to do!
Aqualad tends to get the short end of the trident on the Shrine, so it seemed appropriate to give him some time in the spotlight. Case in point, starting this week we're going to take a look at the Filmation Teen Titans cartoon series, which aired as interstitials during the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (for you younger fans out there: yes, that was a real show).
This first episode opens up simply enough: with a giant robot on a rampage!
Speedy, in between shooting up, is on Teen Titan Monitor Duty (or whatever they call it), and sees the robot rampaging on a viewscreen. He puts out a call to his fellow Titans: Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and...that's it:
The Titans arrive and take on the robot. But its so powerful that it quickly fends them all off, leaving them in a pile. It retreats back into the sea, which is Aqualad's cue to take it on himself (great idea, Garth), only to lead to the young hero caught helpless in the robot's pincers.
The robot then heads down the coast, and the Titans follow. Aqualad frees himself, and they see that the robot comes from a massive alien ship:
The ship seems be controlled by the above supercomputer, which unleashes several robot monsters at the Titans. But this time, they are better prepared, and thanks to some quick thinking (and indestructible Amazonian bracelets), its the robots' turn to be left, defeated, in a pile.
This causes the computer to overload and explode, taking the base with it. The Teen Titans leap into their jet and escape in the nick of time, with Wonder Girl and Aqualad soon making quick departures themselves:
This leaves Kid Flash and Speedy to take the jet home, ready for another adventure. The End!
These Teen Titans shorts were about five minutes long, leaving no time for anything other than the most bare bones plot: a robot attacks, the Titans try to stop it, fail, try again, and win. We never meet the supposed alien invaders, and the Titans don't get the chance to even investigate. The base blows up, let's call it a day!
I remember watching re-runs of these shows as a wee lad, and as much as I loved Aquaman in his own adventures (and I *did* love it), I was also jazzed at seeing such "B" level characters such as Kid Flash and Speedy in animated form. I always thought it was weird Robin didn't participate, but hey that just meant more time for the rest of the Titans!
Fun Fact: Aqualad was played by actor Jerry Dexter, who had a long career both in live action and voice over. In addition to essaying Aqualad on both Teen Titans and Aquaman, he could also be heard on shows like Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Fangface, and Shazzan.
