Defenders of the Earth is an anomaly in superhero entertainment: it was produced during a time when superhero cinema was barely getting started (the Superman films were then still recent blockbuster smashes) and the concept of shared universes remained a strong-point in sci-fi novels rather than in regular movies or television. Defenders is oddly entertaining considering it's a superhero show that ISN'T from either MARVEL (which supplied the animation for this show) or DC Comics; these were superheroes from syndicated newspaper comic strips, not wholly comic-book oriented magazines. It's interesting that Defenders exists at all frankly; the 80s were a great time for Saturday-morning 'toons: Robotech, Transformers, GI Joe, Jem, He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ThunderCats, Ghostbusters, Duck Tales, the list goes on from there. So how does a show starring Flash Gordon, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician compare to all those classics? It's watchable; cheesy admittedly but genuinely watchable nonetheless.
I give this time-capsule of a show 4/5 stars.
