Chicken Soup
S1 E8: The Androids
Super Friends, 1973.
In the storied year of 1973—when bell-bottoms ruled the earth and your morning cereal likely contained more additives than a secret government lab—the Super Friends graced the airwaves with “The Androids.”
Cue that iconic narrator voice: “Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice, an uncomfortably perky dog is about to be accused of treason.” Indeed, this time around the threat was neither cosmic overlord nor garden-variety supervillain but one Dr. Rebos, who had apparently decided the entire future of space travel was too bothersome to tolerate. His opening gambit? Snatch a photograph of Wonder Dog—yes, the dog with the perpetually flapping ears—so he could fashion an android replica to sabotage a top-secret Venus probe. Because naturally, if you’re going to hamper humankind’s journeys into the great beyond, you start with a canine doppelgänger.
Enter Colonel Wilcox, an officer whose main superpower appears to be leveling immediate accusations at anthropomorphic sidekicks. When the mission gets mysteriously destroyed, the Colonel is quick to brand Wonder Dog a traitor. Cue collective gasps, pointed finger accusations, and Wendy and Marvin’s moral indignation: “How dare you suggest that our floppy-eared best friend—who presumably cannot balance a checkbook—has the wit and will to commit high-tech espionage?” Determined to clear Wonder Dog’s name, the teens sashay out to do some investigating, bringing just the right mix of pluck and vintage teenage detective energy. Meanwhile, Clark Kent (yes, that Clark Kent) covers the Venus probe story in a television assignment that somehow involves more polyester suits than we’d like to remember. Dr. Rebos, forever skulking in the shadows, takes this opportunity to build an android Superman. Because if you can clone Wonder Dog, why not upgrade to the Man of Steel?
And let us not forget perhaps the greatest moment of dramatic restraint in the episode: Batman, skeptical but parched, is approached by a suspiciously costumed Rebos (disguised, naturally, as a food vendor) hawking chicken soup. Price tag: $2.25. Even in 1973 dollars, Batman balks. Rebos quickly clarifies: the soup is a mere 25 cents—the remaining two dollars are a deposit on the spoon. Because what is a diabolical plot for world sabotage without a wildly overpriced utensil rental? Ever the detective, Batman buys the soup, and somewhere in that absurd exchange, the true flavor of the episode reveals itself: earnest nonsense ladled out with deadpan sincerity.
From a production standpoint, “The Androids” stands as a prime exemplar of Hanna-Barbera’s early 1970s Saturday-morning spirit—the space-age font, the swirling star fields, and the occasional moral-of-the-story moment shoehorned into 20-something minutes. Rumor has it that the writers, toiling away under blazing fluorescent lights, reveled in the improbable synergy of combining NASA-level sabotage with a dog that apparently forgets to bring its own security pass. While the exact writing credits remain elusive (the official line is that many scripts were group efforts, created in a vigorous game of story-pitch ping pong), the general consensus is that the creative team excelled at delivering a tidy moral pitch: even your nearest and dearest dog might need exoneration when an evildoer gets hold of a Polaroid camera. Add to this the trademark limited animation, where Superman’s cape flutters minimally and Dr. Rebos’s mustache (if he has one) never quite twitches, and you’ve got the quintessentially earnest vibe that cemented Super Friends’ legacy.
So the next time you see a canine wearing a collar with an “S” on it, spare a thought for the humble, universe-saving pup who was once wrongly accused by a cranky Army official in a 1973 cartoon classic. And if someone tries to sell you chicken soup with a $2 spoon deposit? Maybe check their mustache for evil intent.
Make it! Chicken soup from Ambitious Kitchen.