The Mighty Heroes was born out of a moment of desperation in a network pitch meeting.
Kevin Scott Collier, author of Ralph Bakshi’s The Mighty Heroes: Declassified, discussed the details in his 2017 article, here on Cartoon Research.
At the meeting held in 1966, Collier noted that CBS program director Fred Silverman showed no interest in any of the ideas Terrytoons had pitched and was about to leave when one of the studio’s young artists, Ralph Bakshi, spoke up.
Collier wrote:
“Bakshi, who was merely there to help set up Terrytoons presentations around the room, shouted from the back of the room, ‘Mr. Silverman, I have an idea.’
Those in the meeting were stunned, and silence gripped the room. Silverman sat back down. ‘So, what have you got?’
Bakshi then pitched The Mighty Heroes off the top of his head. It wasn’t anything he had thought of previously. But all five characters came out. Silverman liked it and bought it. What transpired was a victory for failing Terrytoons, thanks to Bakshi. Silverman stipulated he’d only take the series if Bakshi were the director and oversaw the entire project.”
And so, The Mighty Heroes took flight. Bakshi, of course, would go on to direct films such as Fritz the Cat (1972) and American Pop (1981), and he displayed some of his decidedly different slants on animation even in this early work.
The series would focus on a comical team of superheroes: Strong Man, whose power is explained in his name; Diaper Man, a gruff, Baby Herman-like infant who would wield his bottle as a weapon; Tornado Man, the secret identity of a TV meteorologist who could turn himself into a twister; Rope Man, a sailor who could transform himself into an endless supply of rope; and Cuckoo Man, the alter ego of a bird shop owner.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary this month, The Mighty Heroes debuted on October 29, 1966, as part of the final season of The Mighty Mouse Playhouse on CBS.
The first episode was entitled “The Plastic Blaster.” As it opens, the villain, Raven, flies with his raven-like minions, from his hidden mountain hideout to the city of Good Haven (the Metropolis-like setting for the show). Raven attacks the city with his “plastic blaster” gun, which seals its victims in plastic.
He dares the Mighty Heroes to come after him, and the superhero team heeds the call, battling Raven in the streets of the city. But Raven gets the upper hand, sealing four of the heroes—Tornado Man, Rope Man, Strong Man, and Cuckoo Man—in plastic and taking them back to his lair to add them to his plastic museum.
Diaper Man escapes, sneaks into the Raven’s hideout, fights the Raven by squirting milk from his bottle into the Raven’s eye, and frees the other trapped heroes. The team disposes of Raven’s minions and seals the villain in his own plastic instead, after jamming his blaster. They fly away as the cartoon ends.
The Mighty Heroes were short cartoons but packed a lot into their running time. “The Plastic Blaster” hits the ground running with dynamic animation and unique perspectives as Raven and his flying henchmen soar into the city. When the Mighty Heroes heed the call, the backgrounds quickly flash with star-studded patriotic images as they humorously transform into their hero forms (Cuckoo Man jumps into a cuckoo clock and emerges through the little door in full superhero costume).
In addition, the show’s villains had unique designs. The Raven, with his cowl and grin filled with yellow teeth, is quite imposing. Other villains in the series included originals like The Frog, the Monsterizer, and The Stretcher.
The Mighty Heroes also featured nice moments of well-timed sight gags, as seen in the debut episode, during the well-choreographed, fast-paced fight between the Heroes and The Raven in the streets of Good Haven.
All the voices in The Mighty Heroes were provided by two actors: Herschel Bernardi (Strong Man, Diaper Man, and Tornado Man) and Lionel Wilson (Cuckoo Man and Rope Man).
Bernardi, who provided the voices for famous product spokes characters such as the Jolly Green Giant and Starkist’s Charlie Tuna, starred on Broadway in Zorba, in a number of TV shows, and in films such as Irma La Douce (1963) and The Front (1976).
Wilson had an extensive career as a voice actor for animation, starring in shows from Terrytoon’s own Tom Terrific (1957) to Courage, the Cowardly Dog (1999).
The Mighty Heroes aired on Saturday mornings through March 1967 and then went into syndication for many years. From both runs, they’re well remembered by many who grew up with them.
Sixty years later, fans should be grateful that Ralph Bakshi spoke up in that meeting, as The Mighty Heroes continues to serve as a unique, entertaining parody and homage. It’s Mighty, indeed.
The Mighty Heroes can be seen each week on MeTV Toons – as part of the Mighty Mouse and Friends block (at 12noon PST/3pmEST). That block also runs the 1987 Bakshi Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures which includes this cartoon (below) – “Heroes and Zeroes”, a reunion of the Mighty Heroes 20 years later, written by Nate Kanfer, Rich Moore and Andrew Stanton; directed by Steve Gordon.
Michael Lyons is a freelance writer, specializing in film, television, and pop culture. He is the author of the book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney’s Animation Renaissance, which chronicles the amazing growth at the Disney animation studio in the 1990s. In addition to Animation Scoop and Cartoon Research, he has contributed to Remind Magazine, Cinefantastique, Animation World Network and Disney Magazine. He also writes a blog, Screen Saver: A Retro Review of TV Shows and Movies of Yesteryear and his interviews with a number of animation legends have been featured in several volumes of the books, Walt’s People. You can visit Michael’s web site Words From Lyons at: 
As a kid, I could not get enough of The Mighty Heroes. The whole premise delighted me and I looked forward to the show avidly for as long as it ran on TV. I am a mite surprised to learn that it went off the air in March, as the networks usually kept their shows running for a full season until the following fall. The comic book series did not last long, either, before it got subsumed into other Terrytoons titles such as Mighty Mouse.
Looking back, the series seems like an oddball and very late addition to Terrytoons after Deputy Dawg, Sidney the Elephant, Hector Heathcote, Mighty Mouse, and others. But the incongruity never bothered me as a child. Lately, I tried to reconnect with The Mighty Heroes but found it disappointing and less full of wonder than I had remembered. It must have been one of those shows designed specifically for kids. Still, I’m glad.a new generation gets to see these disparate and bizarre crime fighters in action once more!
Good article. Also, well into the 1970s, 20th Century-Fox released the MIGHTY HEROES tv episodes to theatres. A venue in Ukiah, CA booked the episode “The Big Freeze” in December 1973.
I believe Lionel Wilson voiced all the heroes save for Diaper Man (Herschel Bernardi). Living in Macon GA at the time, I got to see each show twice, first in pattern on Macon’s CBS station (WMAZ) then again at 1:30 on tape delay on Atlanta’s CBS station (then WAGA) which bumpred the morning airing for a local kids show.
I’ve always suspected versatile Lionel Wilson voiced Tornado Man and Strong Man (along with Rope Man and Cuckoo Man). Tornado Man’s windy vocals sound EXACTLY like Owlawishus Owl from the Possible Possible cartoons. Strong Man’s southern accent is very similar to Possible Possum himself. All characters in Possible Possum were done by Wilson. I’m sure Wilson voiced most of the zany bad guys as well. Deep voiced Hershel Bernardi was Diaper Man and the narrator.
I agree with Christopher Cook.
Besides Cuckoo Man and Rope Man, Lionel Wilson MUST have voiced Tornado Man, whose windy vocal is a dead ringer for Owlawishus Owl from the Possible Possum series. Wilson did all the PP characters, including Possible himself, who sounds an awful lot like Strong Man (making me believe Wilson was Strong Man too). Deep voiced Hershel Bernardi was definitely Diaper Man and the ominous narrator. Obviously, Wilson did a lot of the high-strung bad guys from The Raven and The Shrinker to The Scarecrow and The Monsterizer.
Superheroes were big on Saturday morning TV in 1966, especially on CBS, where “Mighty Mouse and The Mighty Heroes” was followed by “Underdog”, “Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles”, “Space Ghost and Dino Boy”, and “The New Adventures of Superman”. I enjoyed all of the others, but I missed out on “The Mighty Heroes” because I was glued to DePatie-Freleng’s “Super 6” over on NBC. Such are the choices we have to make as we go through life.
THE MIGHTY HEROES were one of the SatAM humorous superheroes that influenced my designs and personas for my funny animal super-team, CAPTAIN CARROT AND HIS AMAZING ZOO CREW, since DC wanted something to sell to SatAM animation studios.
I’ve never heard of this show. Just checked out an episode on YouTube and it looks like a nutty good time. Alas, there’s no official home video release on any format.
When watching episodes of TMH, you will notice the recurring theme of teamsmanship; the heroes always fail until they cooperate and work as a team.