Galaxy Trio



The Galaxy Trio missed out on being Hanna-Barbera's first superhero series — but with only the example of Space Ghost to demonstrate that was a viable genre for the cartoon giant, they were part of the first big wave of costumed, super-powered do-gooders in animation. They were a minor part of that wave, however, occupying only a single segment of the half-hour show Birdman & the Galaxy Trio, with Birdman himself in two. The show ran on NBC, starting Sept. 9, 1967. The trio consisted of Vapor Man (who could turn his body into gas and back again), Meteor Man (who could make all or part of his body grow or shrink, and had super-strength when they grew) and Gravity Girl (who could make things, including opponents, heavier). They wore costumes with Roman numerals I, II and III, respectively, on the chest to signify they were a team. But all three were also members of The Galactic Patrol, which maintained the peace throughout the Galaxy. They got around in a space ship called Condor 1.

None of the three had "civilian" names, and their background data consisted mostly of the fact that their home planets' names were Vaporus, Meteorus and Gravitas. It isn't too hard to figure out which came from where. Gravity Girl was a princess where she came from. No explanation of their super powers was given — it was simply assumed everyone from their respective planets had them.

Like Space Ghost — as well as Shazzan, The Herculoids and other contemporary Hanna-Barbera adventure heroes — The Galaxy Trio were designed by master cartoonist Alex Toth. Before getting into animation, Toth earned a stellar reputation in comic books, with his work at DC, Dell and elsewhere.

Vapor Man's voice was provided by Don Messick, also heard in such roles as Boo-Boo Bear, Scooby Doo and Hamton Pig. Ted Cassidy (Godzilla, The Thing in late '70s Fantastic Four) was Meteor man. Gravity Girl was played by Virginia Eiler, whose credits in animation are much less extensive.

The Galaxy Trio made few appearances outside of that one segment on the TV show. But they did turn up in a few issues of Gold Key's comic book, Hanna-Barbera's Super TV Heroes, as did Young Samson, Moby Dick and several of the company's other late '60s stars.

The show was broadcast for two seasons, 20 episodes in all. (Text from Toonpedia)

[[Category:G]]