The Mighty Mightor, Hanna-Barbera's caveman superhero debuted soon after the success of Space Ghost, and is very much in the SG's image in many ways, but with some distinct differences too.
We have an entertaining blend of Billy Batson/Captain Marvel and the Flintstones. Thanks to Warner Archives, I at long last have these vivid memorable cartoon adventures.
Here we have a prehistoric teenager named Tor who is able to transform into a completely other being, an adult with vast strength and an array of superpowers. His pet dinosaur Tog can do the something similar, becoming a dragon of sorts.
Like so many of the Hanna-Barbera heroes, Mightor was designed by Alex Toth. Here's a gander at some of his work.
I've read recently that Hanna-Barbera developed Mightor when they couldn't properly put a Thor cartoon on the air, similar to what they did with the Fantastic Four. That seems a bit too on-the-nose for me, as sure there is a similarity visually between the heroes but not much else that I can detect save what both heroes copy from the classic Captain Marvel dynamic.
The Mighty Mightor appeared in several of the Gold Key comics, getting on the cover three times.
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Has been and will probably be my favorite cartoon...EVER! I have these on DVR's I picked up at a convention....can't wait to pick up the real official discs
ReplyDeleteI've always felt that Mightor, Birdman, and Space Ghost were sorta HB's version of the "Eternal Champion"...past/present/future manifestations of the hero with many similar characteristics including a deep voice, mask design, energy projection, flight, super strength, and a tendency to yell their own names when going into combat.
ReplyDeleteDuring the "Council of Doom" story arc of the original Space Ghost series, Space Ghost was thrown into other HB characters' worlds and time periods, including Mightor's.
(But it was only into the worlds of HB characters on CBS!
So he didn't pop into the present to meet Birdman, who was on NBC!
Pity.)
Mikey - The disks are bare (no extras alas) but they are solid. Mightor is a sleeper I think, not the one most folks think of.
ReplyDeleteBritt - Eternal Champion? Hmm. I have to ponder that one. I rather like it. The H-B cartoons were the best at getting comic book pages onto the screen. The way the characters described what we saw was that radio-on-TV thing that limited animation offered, but also conveyed the sense of comic books of the time which often did the same thing. Nowadays, I think comics need more explicit description as artists are not up to the task of clearly telling stories.
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Those are the classic cartoons of the 1960's era I watched all the cartoons when I was six years old at that time my favorites like Popeye Casper Gumby Beany &'Cecil Sinbad Jr.Mightor Wacky Races Marvel
ReplyDeleteHeroes and others and a big fan of cartoons/comics/toy collections.Thanks for the information. From:Wayne
Muito bom! Meu estúdio favorito Hanna-Barbera! http://tvalenhaschmidt.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteMuito bom! Meu estúdio favorito Hanna-Barbera! http://tvalenhaschmidt.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing to my mind those cute memories of childhood! The heroes of each time elevate us to our own heroism. Greetings from Argentina!
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