| Wonder Twins | |
|---|---|
.png) Zan and Jayna fromSuper Friends | |
| Publication information | |
| First appearance | The All-New Super Friends Hour "Joy Ride" (September 10, 1977) |
| First comic appearance | Super Friends #7 (October 1977) (Super Friends continuity) Extreme Justice #9 (October 1995) (firstDCU appearance) |
| Created by | Norman Maurer Bill Hanna Joe Barbera |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Zan and Jayna |
| Species | Exxorian |
| Place of origin | Exxor |
| Team affiliations | Super Friends Justice League Ten Elements of the Universe Extreme Justice Young Justice |
| Abilities | (Zan):
(Jayna): |
TheWonder Twins (Zan andJayna) are a fictional extraterrestrial twin brother and sistersuperhero duo. Created byNorman Maurer,Bill Hanna, andJoe Barbera, the characters first appeared in 1977 in the seventh episode ofHanna-Barbera's Americananimated television seriesThe All-New Super Friends Hour. The pair can activate theirshapeshifter superpowers by touching their fists and saying the phrase "Wonder Twin powers, activate!" Jayna can transform into any animal, and Zan can become water in any state. The siblings are accompanied by a pet monkey,Gleek, who assists in their crime-fighting activities.
They subsequently appeared in comics based on the animated series and were later introduced into the mainDC Comics Universe. They have since appeared in other media, including the animated seriesTeen Titans Go! and the live-action TV seriesSmallville.
The duo made their debut inThe All-New Super Friends Hour ("Joy Ride", September 10, 1977) and then appeared inThe World's Greatest Super Friends,Super Friends, andSuper Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show. Zan (voiced byMichael Bell) and Jayna (voiced by Louise Williams from 1977-1983 andB. J. Ward in 1984) are siblings from the planet Exxor (also spelled Exor) who were being informally trained by the superheroes. Unlike their predecessors,Wendy Harris and Marvin White, this pair was able to participate in combat with abilities of their own.
Hanna-Barbera animatorDarrell McNeil recalls the twins were created byNorman Maurer, theSuper Friends series developer/story editor. They were originally called Dick and Jane, and their sidekick was Mighty Monkey, before finally becoming Zan, Jayna, and Gleek. The names "Zan" and "Jayna" derived from theEdgar Rice Burroughs charactersTarzan and his romantic interestJane. According to McNeil: "Originally Zan (Dick) had 'Plastic Man' powers and Jayna (Jane) could transform into anything, not just animals, but they were scaled back to their present powers as it made the other Super Friends (evenSuperman) seem almost superfluous".[1] Jayna's distinctive hairdo was based on that of an animation checker at Hanna-Barbera, while the pointed ears were inspired by the characterSpock from theStar Trek franchise. The twins' personalities were heavily based onDonny and Marie Osmond, who were extremely popular at the time and hadtheir own show onABC as well.[2]
The Wonder Twins were the most prominently featured characters in their first season onSuper Friends. However, by the final seasons, the twins were largely marginalized in favor of established teenage superheroes likeFirestorm, and were wholly eliminated in the final season in favor ofCyborg.[2]
The characters were introduced to comics in issue #7 of theSuper Friends tie-in series (cover-dated October 1977, but published in July), byE. Nelson Bridwell andRamona Fradon. TheSuper Friends comic book provided considerably more details of the Wonder Twins' background and how they came to join the team than was provided in the television series. Because of the different production lag times between animation and comics, the first comic book appearance is chronologically before the first television appearance.[2]
In the 1990s, they were introduced into the mainDC Universe inExtreme Justice #9 (October 1995), byIvan Velez Jr. andAl Rio. The series rewrote and updated theirorigin story. Velez, a fan of the Wonder Twins, intended to begin a revival of the characters, but was taken off the series after the first issue with the Wonder Twins. Though the twins remained with the series until its cancellation with #18, they were used only sparingly after Velez's departure.[2]
Following the cancellation ofExtreme Justice, the Wonder Twins showed up only sporadically in the DC Universe. After 2003, they made no significant appearance for sixteen years. In 2019, the characters received a six-issueWonder Twins miniseries, written byMark Russell and drawn byStephen Byrne.[3] The series was a critical and commercial success, and was extended into a 12-issue maxi-series.
In November 2019, the first six issues ofWonder Twins were collected as a trade paperback, and released under the title "Wonder Twins - Activate". In August 2020, the second half of the maxi-series was released in another trade paperback titled "The Fall & Rise of the Wonder Twins".
Little background is provided for the Wonder Twins inSuper Friends, save that they are superheroes-in-training that are friends of the Super Friends and were born on November 6.
According to the 1977Super Friends comic book by writerE. Nelson Bridwell and artistRamona Fradon, Zan and Jayna are Exxorianmetahumans, genetic throwbacks to an ancient race of Exxorian shapeshifters.[4] Their parents died due to a plague when they were young, and because of their origin, no Exxorians wanted to adopt them. They are adopted by the owner of a space circus who only wants to use them assideshow freaks. However, the circus' clown (or "laugh-maker") is a kind man and raises them. He also gives them Gleek as a pet. Eventually, as teens, the pair escapes the circus and hides on a planet where a space villain called Grax (an enemy ofSuperman) has established his headquarters. Spying on him, they learn that Grax is planning to destroy the Earth with hidden superbombs. The twins decide to travel to Earth and warn theJustice League, which is how they come to replace Wendy and Marvin (who were planning on retiring as heroes anyway) as their sidekicks. The heroes arrange for the kids to live with an old scientist namedProfessor Carter Nichols and they take secret identities as Swedish transfer students Johan and Joanna Fleming to attendGotham City High School.[5]
In 1996, the twins were introduced into post-Crisis DCcontinuity in the seriesExtreme Justice as escaped slaves of an alien overlord. Unable to speak English, they inadvertently attack some civilians and the Justice League.[6] The pair are later emancipated by the Justice League and joinCaptain Atom's team in issue #16 (May 1996).[7] That same year, they appeared in the crossover storyline "The Final Night" and in the seriesTotal Justice.[8][9]
In a 2002–03 storyline byPeter David andTodd Nauck inYoung Justice, they help avenge the murder ofEmpress' parents, wearing uniforms which resembled T-shirts and jeans.[10] In late 2003, they appeared in the fourth issue of theMarvel-DC intercompany crossover miniseriesJLA/Avengers, which was written byKurt Busiek and illustrated byGeorge Pérez.
In 2007, they appeared inTeen Titans vol. 3 #70, and in 2011, and inDCU: Legacies #9, a story byLen Wein and Rob Leigh.
InSuperpowers, a 2017 backup series inCave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye, cartoonistTom Scioli offers a slightly different version of the origin of the Wonder Twins, set on an alternate Earth.[11]
In February 2019, the first issue of a 12-issue mini-series was released on Wonder Comics, titledWonder Twins.
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The Wonder Twins' powers are activated when they touch each other and speak the phrase, "Wonder Twin powers, activate!" Physical contact is required. If the two are out of reach of each other, they are unable to activate their powers. As they are about to transform, they would each announce their intended form. "Shape of...", "Form of..."
Zan can transform into water at any state (solid, liquid, gas) and add to his mass by incorporating water in his immediate area. In the case of becoming solid ice, he can also become any form he chooses, from a 5,000-foot (1,500 m) humanoid ice giant to a cage for a criminal to complex machinery (such as a jet engine, as he did in the episode "Eruption"). In the episode "Pressure Point", he changes into a gelatinous form. In "Terror from the Phantom Zone", he was able to transform intoliquid nitrogen. In addition, he can transform himself into atmospheric disturbances (usually very localized) involving water, such as ablizzard, amonsoon,waterspout or atyphoon, as he did in the episodes "The Water Beast", "The Beasts are Coming", and "Stowaways".
Jayna can transform into any animal, whether real, mythological, indigenous to Earth, or alien. Since she must vocalize her choice of form to assume, she must know the common name. As revealed in "The Mummy of Nazca," she will assume the form of whatever animal she names, even if she intended a different animal and erred on the common name.
In theSuper Friends comic book, their powers were shown to be more extensive. By transforming into an animal ofKryptonian origin, for instance, Jayna could gain both the creature's natural abilities and Kryptonian superpowers.[12] Similarly, Zan was able to transform into anything tangentially related to water or ice, including afrost giant.
In addition to their powers of transformation, the two share atelepathic link, enabling one to alert the other over a distance when in dire circumstances.
The Wonder Twins appear in theAdult Swim web seriesThe New Adventures of the Wonder Twins.[26] This version of the pair are well-meaning but inept superheroes whose attempts at heroism always end in tragic failure.
The Wonder Twins both appear in theLEGO Batman Movie Series 2 minifigures theme.[27]
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| Original characters | |
| Related | |
