SILVER SURFER
(FOX, February 7-May 29, 1998)
Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Studios, Saban
International A.G., Fox Kids Worldwide
MAIN CAST:
The
character that wasn’t supposed to exist.
 |
| The moment that launched a universe. |
Going into the 1960s, Stan Lee’s duties at Marvel Comics had grown exponentially to the
point his time was a premium. He and Jack Kirby had just propelled the company
into a new era with the debut of Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, with more and more superheroes
joining them every year. Lee was editing and writing a good portion of Marvel’s
output at the time. With deadlines looming and artists sitting idly by waiting
for the next script, Lee devised a way to keep production going around his
hectic schedule: let the artists tell the story.
 |
| Galactus arrives. |
In what would come to be dubbed “The
Marvel Method,” Lee would discuss the plot of a book with the artist either at
length or in a brief quickly-typed page and then let the artist go to town. The
artist would then give Lee the completed artwork with some notes on what was
going on in the story, and Lee would write the dialogue and sound effects and
hand it off to the letterer. Over the years, this method of writing has led to
debate over how much Lee contributed to the books that bore his name,
especially when one considers the case of Fantastic Four #48 (1966).
 |
| Norrin's sacrifice. |
Galactus is a cosmic entity with an overwhelming hunger that
could only be satisfied by consuming the entire life force of a planet,
rendering it dead and inert. Finally, Galactus set his sights on Earth leaving
the heroic Fantastic
Four with the herculean task of saving their planet. In what was intended
to be a simple story of the Fantastic Four versus the massive Galactus, artist Jack Kirby had snuck in a new
character of his own creation: The Silver Surfer, a being whose body was
entirely covered in silver and who rode a silvery surf board through the cosmos.
Kirby postulated that a being like Galactus would have a herald as a sort of
advance scout to do the heavy searching for sustenance sources, to which
Galactus would then follow. The reason for Surfer’s mode of transport was
because Kirby had grown tired of drawing spaceships.
 |
| Creation of the Surfer. |
The Surfer began as Norrin Radd, citizen of the planet Zenn-La, which was once on
Galactus’ menu. To save his planet and the love of his life, Shalla-Bal, Radd
offered himself up as Galactus’ herald to aid in his quest with the intention
of leading Galactus to suitable planets devoid of sentient life; thus, sparing
billions. Galactus infused Radd with the Power Cosmic, turning him into the
Silver Surfer. But, it came with a price: Radd’s soul had been altered by
Galactus, making him forget his intentions.
 |
| Alicia reawakens the Surfer's humanity. |
Lee, initially skeptical of the character, grew to appreciate
him and the Surfer became an integral part of the story: as he would become
touched by the nobility of the Thing’s
then-girlfriend, blind sculptress Alicia Masters,
and turn against his master. Galactus is driven off, exiling Radd to Earth with
the erection of an invisible barrier around the planet. Popular with readers, the
Surfer would return for several guest-starring spots in Fantastic Four before gaining his own series in 1968, the first of
several, becoming a mainstay in the Marvel Universe. In 1967, Surfer made his
animation debut on Hanna-Barbera’s
Fantastic Four cartoon voiced by Vic
Perrin, and then in the 1994 version as part of The Marvel Action Hour on
Sundays voiced by Robin Sachs.
Both debuts retold the comics’ origin story, with the former filling Alicia’s
role with the Invisible
Woman (Jo-Ann Pflug).
 |
| Norrin and Shalla-Bal. |
Fox Kids head Margaret Loesch had
successfully brought Marvel to television in the 1990s with the hit shows X-Men: The Animated Series and Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Also
having an affinity for the Silver Surfer, he was the subject of the next Marvel
offering for the network. Developed by Larry
Brody, the series was heavily influenced by the work of Kirby and inker Joe Sinnott in its look for both settings
and the characters designed by Roy
Burdine and Shannon Denton. To
create an original visual presentation, the series was done in a blend of
traditional cel animation and computer animation; particularly for the scenes
set in space. The computer animation was overseen by art director Dale Hendrickson.
 |
| Galactus. |
Silver
Surfer debuted on FOX on February 7, 1998
and was co-produced by Saban International, like
the other Marvel shows of the decade. They chose to begin the series with a
retelling of the Surfer’s (Paul Essiembre) origin; however, the Fantastic Four
was omitted in the Surfer’s decision to save Earth to keep the show’s focus on the
Surfer entirely. And, instead of being trapped on Earth, Galactus (James
Blendick) punished Surfer by hiding Zenn-La from him. The series was notable
for being the most verbose of any action-oriented cartoon, duplicating the
dense monologues Lee would script for the character in the comics. Along with
Brody, the series was written by Michael
Steven Gregory, Dallas L.
Barnes, Harlan Ellison, D.C. Fontana, Mark Hoffmeier, Christopher Kane, Jeffrey Knokey, Andrea Lawrence, Alan Swayze and Brooks Wachtel. Shuki Levy and Haim Saban (under the alias Kussa Mahchi)
served as the series composers, and animation duties were handled by AKOM.
 |
| Surfer vs. Thanos. |
While Galactus would make
appearances throughout the show’s run, the ultimate villain of the show was
Thanos (Gary Krawford), an all-powerful being set on destroying the universe to
win the love of Lady Chaos (changed from Death
due to FOX’s standards and practices, voiced by Lally Chadeau). Like the other
Marvel shows of the decade, Silver Surfer
featured guest-appearances by other Marvel characters; particularly from
their space-based stable. Amongst them were Uatu the Watcher (Colin Fox), a
being part of a race dedicated to observing history as it transpired without
interfering; the genetically engineered perfect being Adam Warlock
and his dark counterpart, the Magus
(both Oliver Becker); Pip the Troll
(Robert Bockstael), a being
created as part of the Kree’s
slave labor force; space mercenary Nebula (Jennifer Dale); Ego the Living Planet (Roy Lewis); Gamora (Mary Long & Alison Sealy-Smith), the most
dangerous woman in the galaxy; Galactus’ new herald from Earth, Nova,
aka Frankie Raye (Tara Rosling),
who served as an alternative love interest for the Surfer; Drax the Destroyer (Norm Spencer), a cyborg with an
organic brain created by Thanos’ father (brother in the show due to a typo) Mentor (Cedric Smith) to battle Thanos; Beta Ray Bill
(Karl Pruner), who in the
comics was associated with the Norse thunder god Thor but instead
merely shared characteristics with him, and whose people were locked in a group
dream utilizing Zenn-La technology; and the cosmic entities Eternity (John Neville), the embodiment
of the multiverse, and Infinity (Elizabeth Shepherd),
representing the totality of space.
 |
| Beta Ray Bill. |
While the show was in production,
Marvel was undergoing financial trouble that would result in its eventual
bankruptcy and subsequent reorganization. This also led to some legal disputes
between Marvel and Saban. The first season had been completed and aired, and
production for the second season had already begun. After 8 scripts for season
two had been written, production was shut down while both parties worked it
out. Ultimately, Silver Surfer ended
up being cancelled by Fox despite its strong performance in the ratings in
favor of starting over fresh with Marvel and looking into new properties for
adaptation. That took the form of Spider-Man
Unlimited, also helmed by Brody, and
Avengers:
United They Stand, which debuted in 1999. In the time since, Brody has
released the series bible, the scripts for the first season, and the scripts
for season two on his website, along with additional material. Silver Surfer was the last Marvel
cartoon to be relatively faithful to the source material. All the programs
since have had a focus on drastically reinventing the characters and story by
either changing locations, adjusting character’s ages, or being based on movie
properties.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“The Origin of the Silver Surfer – Part 1” (2/7/98) – Galactus comes
to feed on Zenn-La, and Norrin Radd offers himself as Galactus’ herald if he
spares the planet.
“The Origin of the Silver Surfer – Part 2” (2/14/98) – Surfer, devoid
of memory, undergoes his new task as herald, but finds deep feelings stirring
inside of him.
“The Origin of the Silver Surfer – Part 3” (2/21/98) – Galactus
threatens Earth, sparking the return of Surfer’s memory and causing him to
rebel against his master.
“The Planet of Dr. Moreau” (2/28/98) – Searching for a way back to
Zenn-La, Surfer ends up entangled in a battle against the Kree.
“Learning Curve Part 1” (3/7/98) – Surfer’s search for Zenn-La leads
him to the Universal Library, base of the knowledge of the Watchers, and to
trouble.
“Learning Curve Part 2” (3/14/98) – Surfer must choose between
obtaining all knowledge in the universe or remaining human and free.
“Innervisions” (4/4/98) – To save a planet, Surfer must destroy the
foundation of its existence.
“Antibody” (4/11/98) – Galactus
is dying, and only the Surfer can save him.
“Second Foundation” (4/25/98) – Nova attempts to help Surfer find
Zenn-La, but they end up on the Skrull homeworld instead.
“Radical Justice” (5/2/98) – Galactus’ survivors capture Surfer and
put him on trial for crimes against all life.
“The Forever War” (5/29/98) – Surfer must accomplish a task for the
Kree before they will allow him audience with their Supreme Intelligent for
help home.
“Return to Zenn-La” (5/9/98) – Surfer
finally returns home, but soon discovers it’s a construct of Ego, the Living
Planet, who seeks to repay his debt.
“The End of Eternity, Part 1”
(5/16/98) – Eternity and Infinity recruit Surfer to stop Thanos from causing
time to flow backwards, thus destroying the universe.
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