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The Impossibles, l to r: Fluid Man, Coil Man, Multi Man).

The Impossibles was a series of animated cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1966 and aired on American television by CBS. The series of shorts appeared as part of Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles.

[edit] Overview

The Impossibles were a trio of Rock and Roll musicians. When contacted by "Big D" (Paul Frees) about criminal activities, they became superheroes. Like the Monkees, the group’s appearance (in their musician form) was based on 1960s pop star stereotypes, which included somewhat long hair, brightly colored (and matching) outfits, high-heeled boots, and, unlike the Monkees, no percussion or bass instruments. Nothing is known about their personal lives.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Impossibles

In their guise as musicians, the Impossibles played their futuristic-looking guitars atop an equally futuristic bandstand that could convert into a car which, in turn, could transform into either a van, a submarine or boat. As with many Hanna-Barbera characters, the Impossibles were styled after an existing famous trio - Each member of the group had specific superhuman powers:

• Coily/Coil Man (Hal Smith) - The group's leader, could transform his limbs into impossibly stretchable coils, allowing him to bounce to avoid attacks, deliver long-ranged punches and drill through walls. Coil Man usually drove the Impossijet, and his guitar contained a receiver through which "Big D" could contact the group.

• Fluey/Fluid Man (Paul Frees) - Fluid Man could morph parts of his body into a liquid form,a talent perfect for sneaking up on an enemy though a water faucet and he can vapor himself into Cloud or storm.

• Multi/Multi Man (Don Messick) - He could create infinite duplicates of himself. His duplicates rarely if ever functioned independently, and were usually used for extra strength or transportation (he could fly by continuously creating replicas above himself). The character occasionally held a shield for what seems decorative reasons. In one instance, Multi repelled bullets with his bare hand, however it may be the shield was supposed to have been used but was accidentally left undrawn. A physical trait that he shared with many of his contemporaries in cartoons and comics was a mop of hair that entirely covered his eyes.

[edit] Villains

The Impossibles faced many bizarre villains, similar to those Batman and Superman had to face:

• The Perilous Paper Doll Man (Don Messick) - A supervillain who had the ability to change into any form of paper.
• Beamatron, The Laser Beam Man - A supervillain who shot laser beams from his fingers, lasers had short battery lives.
• The Bubbler - A supervillain who attacked with almost unbreakable bubbles.
• The Burrower - A supervillain who burrowed under banks and pilfered the money inside.
• Fero, the Fiendish Fiddler - A supervillain who, despite his attire making him look like a caricature of Nero, could send people and objects to anywhere he wished with a hi-tech violin.
• Tele-visitron - A supervillain who used a remote control to send his foes into various channels of the television to do them in.
• The Puzzler - A supervillain who had the ability to change shape due to being a living puzzle.
• The Insidious Inflator - A supervillain who attacked places with giant balloons that he brought to life by using a special ray-gun.

All villains were defeated in a timely manner and justice was always served. Some villains even went straight upon their capture:

• The Artful Archer - A supervillain who was dressed like Robin Hood, decided to take up being a musician.
• Cronella Critch - A witch who was robbing a charity-for-orphans party. She was turned into a cat due to a spell reversal by Multi-Man.

An ad for the Saturday morning cartoon lineup in comic books of the time referred to "the Bubbler," "Bratfink," and "The Sponge."

[edit] Episodes

1. The Spinner
2. The Perilous Paper Doll
3. Beamatron
4. The Bubbler
5. The Burrower
6. Timeatron
7. Smogula
8. The Sinister Speck
9. Mother Gruesome
10. Fero, The Fiendish Fiddler
11. The Diabolical Dauber
12. Televisatron
13. The Wretched Professor Stretch
14. Aquator
15. The Devilish Dragster
16. The Return Of The Spinner
17. The Puzzler
18. Satanic Surfer
19. The Scurrilous Sculptor
20. The Scheming Spraysol
21. The Insidious Inflator
22. The Artful Archer
23. The Return Of The Perilous Paperman
24. The Dastardly Diamond Dazzler
25. Cronella Critch The Tricky Witch
26. The Terrible Twister
27. The Terrifying Tapper
28. Professor Stretch Bounces Back
29. The Anxious Angler
30. The Rascally Ringmaster
31. Billy The Kidder
32. The Fiendish Doctor Futuro
33. The Infamous Mr Instant
34. The Crafty Clutcher
35. The Not So Nice Mr Ice
36. The Bizarre Batter

[edit] Adaptations

A single issue of a "Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles" comic was released by Gold Key as a tie-in to the TV series, and the contents were reprinted in "The Impossibles Annual" by Atlas Publishing & Distributing Co. Ltd, UK in 1968. "The Impossibles" comic story was titled "The Impossibles vs. The Mirror-Man". A new text-based story, especially written for the annual was "The Impossibles Cure a Doctor", with Herr Doktor Adolf von Tischklautz.

For the 1979 series The Super Globetrotters, the Impossibles' super powers were re-assigned, entirely intact, to three members of the Globetrotters team.^{[citation needed]} Coil Man was redesigned and renamed Spaghetti Man. Fluid Man was renamed Liquid Man. Multi Man was unchanged.

The Super Globetrotter costumes of Fluid Man/Liquid Man and of Multi Man remained the same as their Impossible counterparts (including the unexplained "F" on Liquid Man's wetsuit), except the color palettes were changed to match the Globetrotters' uniforms. The transformation sequences and many of the signature "moves" from the 1966 series were re-drawn, frame by frame, to feature the superhero incarnations of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team instead of the guitar-toting Impossibles.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Popular Culture

Fluid Man had a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "SPF." He appeared as one of the many characters who were victims of cybersquatting.

[edit] External links

• The Impossibles at the Big Cartoon DataBase