Challenge of the Super Friends: Swamp of the Living Dead

"Swamp of the Living Dead" is the tenth episode of season one of the superhero fantasy animated series Challenge of the Super Friends and the tenth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Jeffrey Scott and written by Ray Patterson and Carl Urbano. It first aired on ABC on Saturday morning, November 11th, 1978.

In this episode, the Legion of Doom come upon an old hag in the swamps, who summons an Evil Being who promises to grant the Legion power over evil. In exchange however, the Legion must agree to bring him an equal force for good in exchange - the Super Friends. The members of the Legion are only too happy to carry out such a request.

Synopsis
The Legion of Doom notices an old hag wandering through the swamps on their monitors. Suspecting that she may be secretly a spy working for the Super Friends, they go to investigate. The old hag tells them that she has the ability to grant them great power. Enticed by this offering, they follow her deep into the swamp where the hag uses an incantation to summon a being of evil. The being promises to give the Legion of Doom the power of evil, but in exchange, they must bring him something of equal value representing the power of good. They agree to bring him the Super Friends. The villains then go off to set their first trap.

At the Hall of Justice, the Super Friends monitor global events. They receive a signal from Hawkman, who claims to be trapped in the swamps. Batman and Robin take the Bat-buggy out into the swamps to help him, only to find that it is not really Hawkman, but the Scarecrow in disguise. While the Scarecrow traps Batman, the Cheetah leaps out from behind a tree and uses Robin's own batline to ensnare him. They then steal the bat-buggy. Batman and Robin give chase, but fall into another trap. Living vines descend from the trees and ensnare them. The villains incapacitate them with knockout gas and bring them back to the Hall of Doom.

Meanwhile, the real Hawkman shows up at the Hall of Justice. When they others find out that he did not really send out the S.O.S. signal, they realize that Batman and Robin must have fallen into a trap. Hawkman pairs with Green Lantern to go find them. When they reach the swamp, they are ambushed by Sinestro and Solomon Grundy. Sinestro and Green Lantern square off, creating power ring constructs of a scimitar and a mace. Solomon Grundy grabs them from behind, but the heroes turn the tables on him, flipping behind him and kicking Grundy into the muck. Two massive tree branches reach down and push Green Lantern and Hawkman down into the mire where they are then rendered unconscious.

At the Hall of Justice, Supermman picks up Green Lantern's emergency Trouble Alert signal. He tells the others to stay put while he checks it out, but adds that they should come looking if they don't hear from him by midnight. He flies out to the coordinates, but like the others, falls into a trap. Lex Luthor and Bizarro appear and Bizarro hurls a rock at Superman, which he easily smashes. Suddenly, vines emerge from the swampy waters below and entangle Superman. He cannot break free, and theorizes that they must be coated with Kryptonite. Superman is knocked out and taken prisoner.

At midnight, the remaining members of the Super Friends snap into action. They go out to the swamps, but each one suffers a similar fate as their predecessors. One by one, they are captured and secured inside of a glass box underground. The image of the Evil One appears and is pleased with the Legion of Doom's handiwork. He honors his end of the bargain and grants the members of the Legion of Doom the power to command the living dead. Three zombies rise from the swamp ready to do the Legion's bidding.

Lex Luthor decides to have his living dead servants rob the plutonium plant on the edge of the swamp. The guards at the plant try to defend themselves with stun rays, but the zombies keep marching forward.

Overjoyed at their success, Luthor realizes that he could use the zombies to secure even more power. They find the witch and force her to summon the Evil One yet again. When the image of the being appears, Solomon Grundy traps him inside of a radiation-proof sphere. Luthor demands that he relinquish even more power to them, but the being warns them that they are in over their head. The army of zombies turn against the Legion of Doom and swarm the team's headquarters. They try sealing all of the exits, but the zombies keep tearing through the walls. The Legion manage to avoid them via an escape tunnel. To keep the zombies occupied, they are forced to free the Super Friends.

They come upon the old witch, who agrees to help them. She tells the Super Friends that the zombie army can be defeated by securing them to dead trees with dead vines. They draw the zombies back out into the swamps and follow the old woman's advice. As the zombies are captured, they dissolve into a puddle of muck.

The Legion of Doom meanwhile fly the Hall of Doom to the government plutonium plant where they use the plutonium to refuel their ship's power cells. The Super Friends arrive and Superman grabs the Hall of Doom and flings it back into the swamp. Just as they are about to apprehend the villains, the old witch appears before them. She says that since she has performed a deed in the service of good, she must now perform one in the service of evil. She spirits the Legion and the Hall of Doom away, leaving the Super Friends in the swamp.

Notes & Trivia

 * This episode is included on disc two of the Challenge of the Super Friends: The First Season DVD collection by Warner Home Video.


 * This episode is rated TV-Y7.


 * This episode is production code number: 128-10.


 * Writer Jeffrey Scott also serves as story editor on Challenge of the Super Friends.


 * It is unknown who provided the voice for the old witch. It may have been Melanie Chartoff, who is one of the voice actresses listed in the end credits.


 * All of the members of the Legion of Doom are present in this episode, but Captain Cold, Toyman, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Riddler and Brainiac do not have any speaking lines.


 * Of the members of the Super Friends, the following characters make an appearance in this episode, but do not have any speaking lines: Apache Chief; Black Vulcan and Samurai.


 * Aquaman does not appear in this episode.


 * The coordinates for the Legion of Doom headquarters is 3-13-R.


 * What's up with the living vines? Nobody in the Legion of Doom possesses the ability to manipulate plant life. It is possible that this is the evil witch's doing, but there is nothing shown in the episode to suggest that she has this power either. Perhaps Poison Ivy was helping them out behind-the-scenes. Who knows?

Allusions

 * The title of this episode is taken from the Night of the Living Dead film series, which was created by George Romero in 1968. The second film in the series, Dawn of the Dead was released theatrically in May, 1978 - five months before "Swamp of the Living Dead" first aired.

Quotes

 * Green Lantern: You're outmatched, Sinestro! Now tell us where Batman and Robin are!

....
 * Sinestro: You'll have to do more than that to stop me, Green Lantern!
 * Solomon Grundy: You have to stop Solomon Grundy too!

....
 * Superman: It's the end of the line, Luthor.
 * Lex Luthor: That's right, Superman. The end of your line!