DC Comics Needs to Make Hannah Barbera Characters Cannon

The Hannah-Barbera line of cartoons made by in the 70’s were influential to many of the modern heroes.  The thing is, most could still work today with a little tweeking.  DC launched several comic titles based around The Whacky Racers, The Flinstones, Scooby-Doo and their superhero line dubbed Future Quest. The Future Quest line brought all their superhero type characters together in a single series and had them engage in a universe altering event; but it was their own universe and not the DC Universe.

These characters deserve to have their stories told in a modern light, with more central story arcs that shows the depth of these characters.  I appreciate the DC’s desires to have the Multiverse be a thing; but certain entities like the Dakota Universe (Static Shock and Icon) shouldn’t exist as a stand apart Universe.  They should be part of the central fabric of the DC Universe proper.  Same goes for Hanna-Barbera’s entities.  While Dakota should be near Metropolis or Coast City, I have a different idea in mind for these  characters.

Now, I don’t think Scooby Doo should be brought in, or the Flinstones, Jetsons etc, but the superhero line should most definitely be part of the DC Proper Universe, and I think my idea works pretty well.

Now these could be told through a single issue across multiple years, or multiple titles depending on the quality of the writing and the long term viability of the series as a whole.

Instead of trying to cram all these new heroes on Earth for the Justice League, Titans and Outsiders to have to deal with; I suggest we move them to an alternate planet.  So here’s how I’d fold them into this universe.

 

 

The Quests

The Quests (and Bannon’s) would be former employees of Wayne Enterprise.  Race Bannon would be revealed to be Bruce Wayne’s former bodyguard until he was re-assigned to protect Dr. Quest and his reusable energy project.  Their children, Jonny Quest, Hadji Singh-Quest and Jessie Bannon are your run of the mill teenagers.  Jonny’s Mom was thought to have died at the hands of Dr. Zin.  Quest’s mother, Rachel Quest (nee Wildey) was developing the gear needed for Benton Quest’s work.  She would also invent a 3D interactive device that would allow her children to play a variety of video games in 3D (much like in the Real Adventures of Jonny Quest series).  Zin, wanting the research the Quests have developed, ends up causing a mishap where the digital universe that Rachel Quest created produces a wave that absorbs not just the reusable energy project but also Rachel Quest as well.  The force of the blast nearly kills Zin and his former ally Jeremiah Surd.  The explosion leaves Surd a quadriplegic with a desire to get revenge on The Quests and Zin.

Jonny, when he comes of age as a young teen, enlists Hadji and Jessie Bannon in trying to reassemble his mothers work, against both of their father’s wishes.  The trio are able to restart the device, which opens up a rift.  After being unable to close the tear in space, they’re forced to get their parents involved.  While the five try to close the hole, a mysterious figure in red pulls them through, laughing manically all the way.

When they come to, they find themselves on an alien planet (Mer) not too dissimilar from Earth, able to sustain human life.  They find that there are many civilizations and groups of people on the planet, though none are technically Terrans (from Earth).  They also find out they are on the other end of the Universe, beyond known space.  So far out that even Green Lanterns aren’t known to be in the area.

It’s here they find out more about what happened to Jonny’s mom, the mysterious figure in red and more.

 

 

 

 

Space Ghost

Space Ghost is the last remaining member of the Space Force.  The Space Force acts as this regions version of the Green Lantern Corp.  The group though was devastated by the Dokarian’s (Zorak’s race) and the Killer Locust Fleet war.  Despite both the Dokarian’s and the K.L.F. suffering near extinction levels of loss, it was the Space Force that was thought dead and gone.  This forced the last remaining member of the Force, an unnamed member to take up a cause to restore order on his own.  The destruction of the energy bands of the Space Force, which contained a unique type of particle energy, caused a cellular re-write of Space Ghost’s DNA, allowing him to turn invisible and  phase through obstacles.

A battle with the savage Brak and his small group leaves Space Ghost with a realization; he needs to reform the Space Force.  It’s then that he arrives on the planet Mer, where he meets twins Jan and Jayce.  Jan is precocious and is constantly getting in trouble, which force Jayce to bail her out.  Jayce is highly intelligent but at times timid and hesitant.  Their only companion on Mer is a member of a local race of monkey-like creatures named Blip.  They don’t speak the same languages but he’s highly intelligent and can communicate through non traditional means.  The three rescue Space Ghost from a crashed ship and nurse him back to help where they are then offered the opportunity to join him in his revival efforts.

 

 

 

Ra (Birdman)

Raymond “Ray” Randall was an explorer and good friend of Race Bannon.  One day, by happenstance, Ray discovered a unique pair of helmets in Egypt while on a dig.  One, dubbed Nabu, the other dubbed Ra.  He put the latter on and instantly became a being of great power.  Wings propelled from his back, and he found he had the ability to absorb and disperse energy gathered from the sun.  Concerned about this, he goes to find Bannon and Bannon’s employer Dr. Benton Quest to see if they can’t explain the phenomenon.  Upon arriving though he finds Dr. Zin and Jeremiah Surd near death and the Quest and Bannon families gone.

After Hawkman and Kent Nelson arrive some time later, they battle Ray.  Nelson dubs him ‘Birdman’, much to Ray’s disdain.  After subduing Ray, Hawkman retrieves the Helmet of Nabu and gives it back to Nelson; allowing him to once again become Dr. Fate.  Fate is able to see that Ray now embodies Ra, and can sense Ray’s sincerity and fear for his friend.  Dr. Fate, against Hawkman’s protesting, re-opens the tear so Ray can find his friends.  Ray arrives on Mer, declaring himself Ra and sporting a new costume (that Fate gives him unknowingly).  He sets out to find his friends on this planet, well aware that this may be a one way trip.

 

 

 

The Herculoids

The Planet Mer is made up of two largely different but physiologically similar groups of people on the continent Delta;  The Deltites and the Herculoids.  The Deltites live in cities similar to those on Earth, with sports teams, television, restaurants and the like.  The Herculoids live off in the wastelands, plains, jungles and etc; preferring a more unattached lifestyle.  They also live in harmony with their creature brethren.

Zandor is the Supreme of his tribe.  He’s seconded by his wife Tara and their young teen son, Dorno.  The Herculoids don’t recognize titles outside of the tribe’s Supreme (or chief), so Dorno never refers to them as mother and father.  Another member of Zandor’s tribe is Tor.  Every 40 years, the tribes come together for a battle to see who’d wield the Club of Migh.  A mystical weapon that imbues the wielder with unparalleled strength and the ability to fly.  Whomever wins has to defend all the Tribes, regardless of the region they occupy.  The sheer honor though of holding the Club is what inspires the tribes to battle.  Tor is the 4th of his tribe to hold the club and has been dubbed MighTor by his people.  However, the 40th year is up and the tribes are set to battle once again.

The Herculoids share the land with several unique creatures like the Delta Dragons.  Zandor’s tribe especially are known to associate with them, as they are dubbed the Dragon Tribe by the Deltites.  Zandor and Tor both have their own personal dragons named Zok and Tog.  Zandor’s wife can usually be seen with creatures such as the ‘rockape’s’ and ‘decaceros’ whom she’s named Igoo and Tundro.  Finally their child Dorno has befriended two ‘plasmesms’ named Gloop and Gleep.

The Dragon Tribe and their animals are the closet tribes to Alcovia, the biggest city on Delta, and where Space Ghost, the Quests and Ra (Birdman) all arrive.

 

 

 

 Blue Falcon

Blue Falcon is the lone superhero when the events start in Alcovia.  A vibrant and stellar hero, the citizens rave about him on a regular basis, but after a nasty fight with an alien named Metallus, he’s left injured and weak due to the recovery.  During his recovery his biggest fan Buzz Conroy comes to visit him and introduces Blue Falcon to his mother, Dr. Stephanie Conroy a robotics scientists.  She knows Blue Falcon needs help against Metallus, a destructive warrior seeking glory through death, and introduces Blue Falcon to Dyno Mutt.  Unlike the cartoon, Dyno Mutt is not a comic relief character and is actually rather impressive in his design.  The duo are able to fend off a second Metallus attack and sends him back into space.  The duo are lauded for their bravery, and Dr. Conroy becomes a celebrity.

 

 

Frankenstein Jr.

After meeting Blue Falcon, young Buzz Conroy can’t keep himself from getting into trouble with local villains.  The arrival of the Quest Team, and Space Ghost has also brought a renewed interest in the planet from alien forces and local villainy.  This causes his mother, the great robotics scientist, Dr. Stephanie Conroy to create a bodyguard for her young son.  Enter Frankenstein Jr.  Named such by Jonny Quest, the 7 foot tall robot is infused with a living brain and the ability to virtually enter the Quest World VR system.

The robot forms a strong bond with Buzz, who at first rejects his mothers attempts to keep him safe.  Over time however Buzz learns to love his bodyguard and becomes very close with him, as the two go on many daring adventures together.   Frankenstein eventually helps Dr. Conroy create a mecha-version of his body, that he’s able to transfer into when needed in order to fend off larger foes.

 

 

 

The Impossibles

Blue Falcon and Dyno Mutt aren’t the planet’s only line of defense, as we have the foursome known as the Impossibles.  The four adults have been heroes for years, having been volunteers for an experiment in an attempt to provide Delta with heroes in the wake of the demise of the Space Force.

The four are Esme (Cobalt Blue), Coil (Coil-Man), Fluid (Fluid-Man) and Multi (Multi-Man).  Through their involvement, Esme finds herself to be the only true Deltan, as her fellow Impossibles are all clones of failed subjects. Not only that, but the three were engineered to not just be heroes but also celebrities so the company they work for could mass produce merchandise and make money off of them.

The trio, with no birth name, no family and no purpose, decide to keep teaming with Esme and bring down the people responsible for this whole situation, while fending off attacks from outside forces. Eventually the four move to Alcovia thinking that Blue Falcon could help them.

 

 

 

The Galaxy Trio

A trio of heroes known simply as The Galaxy Trio are suspected to be Mer’s version of gods.  Known by the children as Meteor Man, Gravity Girl and Vapor Man, the three beings are viewed as myths, who never are really seen.  That’s because the three live on an orbiting space station, outside of the prying eyes of the people on the continent Delta.  The three came to Mer hundreds of years prior, looking to see if there was a planet they could help.

Since settling in orbit, the three have overseen many events on the planet but have stopped caring to defend the planet, citing their issues as self-inflicted and petty.  This changes when Ra (Birdman), The Quest Team and Space Ghost arrive.  An influx of aliens on a planet this removed from the rest of the Universe causes the trio to become re-invested.

They hide a dark secret however, as the three of them may of released a great terror on the planet in their attempt to fix things.  This secret has become toxic and has cut the planets two major continents off from one another.

 

 

 

Pirates of Dark Water

The Planet Mer has two major continents, and a vast array of islands that ream the southern hemisphere’s continent.  In the northerly continent of Delta, the races are boiled down to two groups; The Deltites and the Herculoids.  Both groups are largely the same race of people however.  In the south however, on the continent of Octopon, there are many races and many groups.  The continent was ruled by a great family, who unified the entire land mass until a deadly warlord pirate named Bloth emerged.  The continent is made up of large and deep rivers that lead to the ocean, and sailing is part of the continents legacy.  One day, during a festival to praise the God’s that Octoponians worship, Bloth raids a royal vessel and murders the entire royal family; save for one young man.

Deciding chase down his families killer, young prince Ren finds and tracks down Bloth only to be left for dead.  While floating in the water, Bloth’s slave-bird Niddler makes an escape to save Ren. The guilt Niddler has for not saving Ren’s families has finally empowered Niddler to overcome his fear and leave Bloth’s side.

Ren and Niddler escape the water’s and meet Tula who is on a quest to find  The Thirteen Treasures that they believe could free the world.  See, there exists a large and grotesque issue within the southern waters; that of the dangerous and terrifying Dark Water.  Arriving out of nowhere hundred of years ago, the Dark Water swallows ships and beings alive when a poor vessel runs afoul of the entity.  The water is so predominant and volatile that no ship from the north goes south, and vise versa.  It’s so dangerous that people who try to fly over it often fall victim to it; as it has an incredible reach.  As space travel is highly difficult for the planet to achieve, there aren’t many ways for the citizens of Mer to traverse to the other hemisphere.   The Dark Water rarely ventures North however, as the entity fears technology.

This has lead Octopon to not develop technology as far as Delta.  So magic and sorcery rule the realm.   Ren, Niddler and Tula band together and meet Ioz and Zoolie, two former pirates of Bloth who have turned their life around many years ago.  The five agree to form a crew on the Wraith in order to finally free the south of the Dark Water, and reunite the planet once again.

Bloth however is seeking control of the Dark Water, and will do whatever it takes to prevent the new crew of the Wraith from ever getting their hands on the Thirteen Treasures to free the world of the plague of Dark Water.

 

 

 

The Man in Red

The last part of the universe focuses on the Man in Red, the same being that pulled Jonny Quest and his friends and family to this new planet.  During the closing events of the second arch, it’ll be revealed that nerdy-little-nobody Dexter Douglas went missing on Earth in the late 90’s to never be seen again.

That’s because he got sucked into a new reality, of digital and virtual and was given amazing and fantastic powers.  This being was locked away for decades, absorbing information from pop culture, to science and more; and was only freed when Jonny Quest and the Quest World VR set up tapped into the same realm that Dexter Douglas had been sucked into.

Upon being released, Douglas finds himself on Delta, having absorbed the news of the continent for the last few years through the same way he did via Earth, he decides he wants to help the planet.  He does this by pulling in Quest Team through the same wormhole he was freed from.  Though, he doesn’t stick around for the group to wake up; wanting to save the day as fast as possible.

He becomes the superhero he’s always wanted to be, but now has to deal with a split personality of sorts.  On one hand, he’s the gangling, dorky, teenage Dexter Douglas.  On the other hand, he’s the extremely powerful, yet erratic and unpredictable superhero, a being known simply as…Freakazoid.