Prince Planet was Japanese take of Superman.

Prince Planet (1966)
Many fans of classic anime consider this cartoon series to be a rip-off of Osamu Tekuza's legendary Astro Boy; it is actually a Japanese retelling of the Superman myth in which a strange visitor from another planet (called "Crifton" in the original Japanese) comes to Earth to perform feats of wonder and battle lethal enemies with the goal of making the world a more civilized place. In the anglicized version of the cartoon, Prince Planet is sent from the planet Radion, who would like to have Earth join the Universal Peace Corps, a subsidiary of the Galactic Council of Planets (you have to love this already!) However, Earth must be purged of evil, war, terrorism, ruffianism and probably jaywalking in order to qualify as a member. The Prince is highly moral by birth, and is so chosen as the GCP ambassador to Earth.

PP's ship crashes in the American desert, but the alien is taken in by lovely young Diana Worthy (no, that's really her name), daughter of a millionaire. She escorts him to the city of New Metropolis (shades of Kal-El!) where he adopts the secret identity of…Bobby. Prince Planet gained his powers of super strength and flight from a large pendant with the letter "P" conspicuously engraved upon it, which was periodically recharged with atomic energy beamed from Radion. PP was assisted by two stalwart buddies, the fakir Ajababa and Dan Dynamo, "the strongest man in the world." For 52 episodes Team Planet fought the sinister Warlock (who looked rather like Freakazoid), and the forbidding Krag of Kragmire, (who resembled the Penguin on steroids and threw saw blades through the air).

The series was notable for the tense, dramatic showdowns between the protagonists; even Krag and Warlock hated each other, and team Planet was not above dissension, either. Death was very real in this cartoon, and incidental characters occasionally met with their demise. By the series end, Prince Planet eliminates both Krag and Warlock by killing them, a forbidden act on cartoons aired in the States. Warlock actually dies onscreen, raising his head one last time to tell Prince Planet, "You fought well." At times the Prince and Diana are in mortal danger, which was all too real in this series. This was typically because the technician who ran the pendant recharging station on Radion was a habitual goof-off who waited until the last minute to hit the switch.

All this took place with a cast of button-eyed, doll-like waifs who cavorted in a black and white world enriched with more detail and shading than the typical anime of the time, suggesting a far more sophisticated show. The contrasts and contradictions in animation styles, story, and art direction made Prince Planet one of the most unusual and underrated offerings of early anime. Derivative as it may have been, bland it wasn't. The series offered adventure, thrills, and action aplenty to a young audience that would groove on Akira 12 years later.

Super Chicken played second fiddle to George of the Jungle.

Super Chicken (1967-1970)
Admit it: Just about everything that came out of the Jay Ward studio except for Hoppity Hooper was funny. Even Ward's TV commercials were more amusing than most. It's no surprise, then, that a Ward production shows up on this list. Super Chicken (a.k.a. millionaire Henry Cabot Henhouse III) was a component of the successful TV series George of the Jungle, but the powerful pullet might have easily headlined on his own. Henry Cabot led a life of leisure until danger threatened; then it was time for a martini glass full of "Super Sauce," which transformed Cabot into the fearless fowl Super Chicken. The sauce varied in texture and quality from one episode to another, leading to hilarious off-the-wall reactions when consumed.

As in most Ward productions, Super Chicken had a sidekick named Fred, a lugubrious lion whose intelligence was suggested by the backwards "F" on his sweater. Fred, though loyal, was less than enamored with Super Chicken's crime fighting strategies and had to be cajoled into action with Super Chicken's famous tagline, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred!" Super Chicken's costume suggested a demented musketeer, and he flew to battle in his egg-shaped Super Coupe.

What really made the show was the typical Jay Ward style of humor, more puns than Bob Clampett ever dreamed of, and an all-star voice cast that overplayed the material at every turn. Bill Scott voiced the main character, with Paul Frees speaking for Fred. Daws Butler voiced many of the villains and June Foray was on hand whenever a feminine touch was needed. The repartee was sharp and quickly paced, not unlike that heard in Ward's earlier Rocky and Bullwinkle series. Super Chicken faced off against ridiculous foes such as Rotten Hood, Merlin Brando, a larcenous Easter Bunny, Salvador Rag Dolly, Briggs Bad Wolf (a Snidely Whiplash reprise) and in a great sci-fi parody, the Wild Hair, a giant mop of orange locks that Super Chicken defeated by making it worry until it went bald; the resulting scalp got a job as the Houston Astrodome!

Of the many superhero parodies that flourished during the 1960s, Super Chicken was easily the silliest, wittiest and most underrated of the bunch. There was more nuttiness in the seventeen episodes produced than could be found in all the "Archie" cartoons made over twenty years. Unlike the other cartoons listed here, Super Chicken was recently made available on DVD when Classic Media released George of the Jungle: the Complete Series. You knew the cartoon was a winner when you watched it, Fred!