ZONKERS! Remembering “The Other Super Friends”: Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog
Before Zan, Jayna and Gleek activated their Wonder Twin powers, another trio occupied the Hall of Justice. Wendy Harris, Marvin White and Wonder Dog were the original junior members of Super Friends, and although they lacked superpowers, they gave the 1973 cartoon a personality all its own.
When Super Friends premiered on ABC on September 8, 1973, Hanna-Barbera united Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman for a weekly animated adventure. Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog were not borrowed from existing DC comic books. They were created specifically for television, with visual designs by legendary artist Alex Toth. Wendy was voiced by Sherri Alberoni, while a young Frank Welker performed both Marvin and Wonder Dog.
Their purpose was simple but important: they were the audience’s doorway into the Hall of Justice. Children watching at home could not fly like Superman or command the oceans like Aquaman, but Wendy and Marvin could ask questions, search for clues and occasionally save the day through courage and common sense. Wonder Dog added the familiar Hanna-Barbera ingredient of a funny, unusually intelligent animal companion. Together, they blended the superhero world with the teen-detective formula made enormously popular by Scooby-Doo.
Wendy was usually the most practical and observant member of the trio. Marvin was enthusiastic, well-meaning and frequently overconfident, while Wonder Dog supplied physical comedy and unexpected flashes of cleverness. They were called junior Super Friends and were often treated like heroes-in-training rather than full Justice League members.
Several episodes gave them memorable opportunities to shine. In “The Baffles Puzzle,” Wendy and Marvin follow the mysterious Professor Baffles, whose crusade threatens literature, art and music. After the teenagers are captured, Wonder Dog escapes and alerts the Super Friends, proving that the supposedly comic-relief pet could be the team’s most valuable member.
“The Weather Maker” begins with the trio vacationing in Florida and discovering that their swimming pool has frozen solid. Their investigation pulls them into a scheme involving manufactured weather, giving the episode a fun mystery structure before the senior heroes take over.
“The Shamon U” may be their wildest adventure. During a mountain hike, the junior heroes discover a gigantic metal letter U connected to Dr. Shamon’s attempt to mine golden meteorites. The resulting Shamonite causes living things to grow and objects to shrink, including a now-enormous Wonder Dog carrying Wendy and Marvin.
“The Mysterious Moles” is another standout. A peaceful bicycle ride leads the trio to moving rocks, disappearing trees and an underground criminal operation. Their curiosity uncovers the mystery before the Super Friends fully understand how stolen industrial air conditioners fit into the plot.
The original series produced sixteen hour-long episodes. When Super Friends returned in a redesigned format in 1977, Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog were replaced by the super-powered Wonder Twins and Gleek. Yet the first junior trio still deserves recognition. They proved that ordinary kids—and one very unusual dog—could stand beside the world’s greatest heroes.
ZONKERS, indeed, forever.
