During its superhero cycle of 1966-1969, Hanna-Barbera did unusual pairings on their superhero shows. It was how we got such shows as SPACE GHOST AND DINO BOY, FRANKENSTEIN JR. AND THE IMPOSSIBILES, and BIRDMAN AND THE GALAXY TRIO. One such pairing brought together a modern-day version of Herman Melville's Moby Dick but as a heroic guardian to two boys sandwiched between two cartoons featuring a pre-historic superhero. That pairing first aired on CBS in September of 1967 under the title of MOBY DICK AND THE MIGHTY MIGHTOR.
The first series, Mightor, is an excellent example of Golden Age styled comic book plotting in an animated cartoon context. Taking place in a fantasy version of the Stone Age, cave boy Tor (Bobby Diamond) and his pet winged dinosaur Tog saved an aged hermit from becoming an allosaurus' dinner. The grateful hermit gave Tor a club which possessed great powers that were unleashed when Tor raised the club and shouted the word "Mightor". And in one explosive flash, Tor was transformed into a larger, more powerful version of himself called Mightor (with his superhero form wearing a horned animal skin which acted as a cape and cowl) and Tog was transformed into a larger version of himself. As Mightor, he possessed super strength, super speed, flight, and limited invulnerability and his club could fire blasts of energy, create force fields, and could even act as an X-ray device. Tog in his super-powered form had super-strength, can fly at super speeds, and could breathe fire. In a sense, Mightor was very much a primitive version of the original Captain Marvel with elements of Thor and Space Ghost thrown in for good measure.
As Mightor, Tor protected his village and the surrounding areas from prehistoric threats. His cast of characters were rounded out by Sheera (Patsy Garrett), the daughter of the village leader Chief Pondo (John Stephensen), and her brother Little Rok (Norma MacMillian). It was Little Rok - clad in a junior version of Mightor's costume - along with his bird Ork who tried to act as a help to Mightor. But for Mightor, Little Rok was clearly more of a hinderance than a help.
It's safe to view Little Rok as a thinly disguised ploy by the show's writers to stretch scripts. He could unintentionally allow a villain to escape to forestall the inevitable end or get captured by a villain to allow for a rescue (the villain in one cartoon actually took advantage of the fact that Little Rok follows Mightor around). In fact, two cartoons were devoted to Little Rok constantly getting into situations in which Mightor had to bail him out of.
As far as threats go, Mightor found himself fighting threats to the village and his friends from various prehistoric super menaces. Among them included Korg the Monster Keeper, Kragor and his Cavern Creatures, Rog and his Stone Men, the Serpent Queen, the Vulture Men, the Storm King, and the Sea Slavers. All in 36 seven-minute cartoons (two per episode).
In the second segment MOBY DICK, Tom and Tubb found themselves be cast adrift from their uncle's vessel in a sudden typhoon and found themselves surrounded by a school of menacing sharks. They were rescued by the giant white whale Moby Dick and along with the seal Scooby, they patrolled the seas together. The super whale and his companions found themselves fighting such menaces as the Shark Men, the Manta Menace, Captain Squid, and Moraya the Eel Queen. All in 18 seven-minute cartoons sandwiched between the two Mightor cartoons.
All in all, MOBY DICK AND THE MIGHTY MIGHTOR aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 7,1967 to September 9, 1969. It would be revived as part of the syndicated series HANNA-BARBERA'S WORLD OF SUPER ADVENTURE in the late 1970's and would pop up on both the Cartoon Network and the Boomerang Network. The series is available on DVD from Warner Home Video's Warner Archives MOD DVD releases as part of the Hanna-Barbera Golden Classics collection.
The first series, Mightor, is an excellent example of Golden Age styled comic book plotting in an animated cartoon context. Taking place in a fantasy version of the Stone Age, cave boy Tor (Bobby Diamond) and his pet winged dinosaur Tog saved an aged hermit from becoming an allosaurus' dinner. The grateful hermit gave Tor a club which possessed great powers that were unleashed when Tor raised the club and shouted the word "Mightor". And in one explosive flash, Tor was transformed into a larger, more powerful version of himself called Mightor (with his superhero form wearing a horned animal skin which acted as a cape and cowl) and Tog was transformed into a larger version of himself. As Mightor, he possessed super strength, super speed, flight, and limited invulnerability and his club could fire blasts of energy, create force fields, and could even act as an X-ray device. Tog in his super-powered form had super-strength, can fly at super speeds, and could breathe fire. In a sense, Mightor was very much a primitive version of the original Captain Marvel with elements of Thor and Space Ghost thrown in for good measure.
As Mightor, Tor protected his village and the surrounding areas from prehistoric threats. His cast of characters were rounded out by Sheera (Patsy Garrett), the daughter of the village leader Chief Pondo (John Stephensen), and her brother Little Rok (Norma MacMillian). It was Little Rok - clad in a junior version of Mightor's costume - along with his bird Ork who tried to act as a help to Mightor. But for Mightor, Little Rok was clearly more of a hinderance than a help.
It's safe to view Little Rok as a thinly disguised ploy by the show's writers to stretch scripts. He could unintentionally allow a villain to escape to forestall the inevitable end or get captured by a villain to allow for a rescue (the villain in one cartoon actually took advantage of the fact that Little Rok follows Mightor around). In fact, two cartoons were devoted to Little Rok constantly getting into situations in which Mightor had to bail him out of.
As far as threats go, Mightor found himself fighting threats to the village and his friends from various prehistoric super menaces. Among them included Korg the Monster Keeper, Kragor and his Cavern Creatures, Rog and his Stone Men, the Serpent Queen, the Vulture Men, the Storm King, and the Sea Slavers. All in 36 seven-minute cartoons (two per episode).
In the second segment MOBY DICK, Tom and Tubb found themselves be cast adrift from their uncle's vessel in a sudden typhoon and found themselves surrounded by a school of menacing sharks. They were rescued by the giant white whale Moby Dick and along with the seal Scooby, they patrolled the seas together. The super whale and his companions found themselves fighting such menaces as the Shark Men, the Manta Menace, Captain Squid, and Moraya the Eel Queen. All in 18 seven-minute cartoons sandwiched between the two Mightor cartoons.
All in all, MOBY DICK AND THE MIGHTY MIGHTOR aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 7,1967 to September 9, 1969. It would be revived as part of the syndicated series HANNA-BARBERA'S WORLD OF SUPER ADVENTURE in the late 1970's and would pop up on both the Cartoon Network and the Boomerang Network. The series is available on DVD from Warner Home Video's Warner Archives MOD DVD releases as part of the Hanna-Barbera Golden Classics collection.