'Stretch Armstrong' is Back — Now Give These 6 Superheroes Reboots
Photo credit: Hasbro
Looks like Netflix is…um, stretching out their library of kid-friendly superhero cartoons. The streaming giant has announced that they’ll be building a new cartoon series around the vintage Hasbro toy, Stretch Armstrong, which originally hit shelves in the mid-‘70s. Hollywood has had its eye on the elastic strongman for some time, with various feature film projects proposed (one of which was set to star Twilight heartthrob, Taylor Lautner) and then abandoned. But animation is really the ideal realm for ol’ Stretch and his equally stretchy companions, the Flex Fighters. While Netflix is busy reviving older superheroes — ones who aren’t part of the Marvel and/or DC library — for new generations of young viewers, we have some suggestions for characters we grew up with that we’d love to binge on again.
1. Mighty Mouse
The pint-sized, high-flying super mouse debuted on the big screen in the ‘40s as a spoof of Superman, before taking his talents to television in three separate series, produced between 1955 and 1987. (The ‘80s incarnation was overseen by Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, who put his skewed stamp on the series that made it a delight for animation connoisseurs, but less so for ratings-minded network execs.)
With the Man of Steel poised to be a big screen presence over the next few years in a wave of DC Comics-derived movies — starting with Batman v. Superman and continuing with a two-part Justice League adventure — it’s the perfect opportunity to bring his rodent relative back to the public consciousness. Our vote is for Bruno Mars to record a new version of Mighty Mouse’s classic theme song.
2. The Tick
Amazon is reportedly already in the process of bringing the short-lived, much-loved live action version of Ben Edlund’s nigh-invulnerable big blue bug-man back to life. But before Patrick Warburton donned the Tick’s tights, Townsend Coleman bellowed his signature battle cry, “Spoon!” on a three-season cartoon produced for Fox Kids. And the cartoon series is even closer in spirit to the original comic, using the freedom of animation to capture such classic characters as Chairface Chippendale and the Man-Eating Cow. Bonus: if Netflix greenlights a PG-rated animated Tick, we could also potentially get a PG-13 Paul the Samurai spin-off.
3. Popeye
Fans of the spinach-loving sailor man (last seen on TV in the Cartoon Network series, The Popeye Show) were thrilled when it was announced that none other than Genndy Tartakovsky — the much-loved cartoonist behind such terrific series as Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Laboratory and the original Clone Wars — would be helming a CGI Popeye feature.
Unfortunately, that project has since fallen apart, leaving behind a promising test reel. Hey Netflix! Take a look at this animation test and just try to tell us why you wouldn’t want to give Tartakovsky the budget to turn it into a 10-episode freshman season.
4. Space Ghost
Just to be clear, we’re not talking about the talk show version of Hanna-Barbera’s intergalactic caped wonder. Instead, we want to see Space Ghost in his original ‘60s incarnation: fighting out-of-this-world bad guys with his super strength, invisibility belt and Power Bands. The contemporary advances in animation would lend the new series a cosmic scale… and maybe help SG’s costume look a little less goofy.
5. Defenders of the Earth
Who needs The Avengers when you can have a super team that boasts the membership of Flash Gordon, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician? That all-star line-up of classic comic strip heroes protected Earth from the minions of Ming the Merciless over the course of 65 episodes, premiering in 1986. The Netflix revival could potentially welcome other pulp favorites into the Defenders’ line-up. Who wouldn’t love to see John Carter, The Shadow and Buck Rogers mixing it up with the purple-suited Phantom?
6. Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Speaking of classic super teams, it’s crazy that the eco-conscious Captain Planet has yet to be revived in this post-Inconvenient Truth era. Sure Cap’s mullet may be a relic of the past, but his environmental message is needed now more than ever. One programming note: Can they make Heart seem less useless this time around?
Stretch Armstrong will premiere on Netflix in 2017
