El Dorado is a Mexican

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

featured in various incarnations of the ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of Am ...

'' animated television series voiced by Mexican actor Fernando Escandon. A variation of El Dorado appears in the animated series ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen T ...

'', voiced by Freddy Rodriguez.

Fictional character biography

El Dorado was created solely for the

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

's ''Super Friends'' cartoons, although his appearances were relatively rare except in the last two short-lived series of the superhero saga, and did not appear officially in the main

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until 2017. He first appeared as minor character in the ''

'' animated shorts, which aired in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

season and later in '' Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' (1984-1985) as a full-time member. In the final version of animated ''Super Friends'', '' The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians'' (1985), El Dorado was one of the few surviving members to appear. El Dorado spoke English with a Spanish accent, and used both English and Spanish words in full sentences. Although his name is inspired by a mythical

pre-Hispanic In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European c ...

city of gold in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

called

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

, this character was inexplicably presented as

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

or Mexican, dressed in a suit reminiscent of typical ''

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'' attire, but without a

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

. In El Dorado's debut episode "Alien Mummy", it is revealed that he is of Mexican descent. The narrator sets the scene by describing the location as "ancient Aztec ruins in the Mexican wilderness". One of El Dorado's lines is "these are the mysterious ruins of my people". In the Prime Earth continuity, El Dorado first appeared as part of the

New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC cancelled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new ser ...

DC Universe in ''

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Most Wanted: El Diablo and

Amanda Waller Amanda Belle Waller (née Blake), also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character featured in some American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in '' Legends'' #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len We ...

'' #5 by Jai Nitz and Cliff Richards. El Dorado makes an appearance in issue #1 of ''The

Wonder Twins The Wonder Twins (Zan and Jayna) are a fictional extraterrestrial twin brother and sister superhero duo who first appeared in Hanna-Barbera's American animated television series '' The All-New Super Friends Hour''. The pair can activate their ...

'' comic book released by

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in February 2019. He is seen on the top panel of page 9 walking in the Hall of Justice. He makes an appearance in '' Doomsday Clock'', the follow-up series to ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'' as a member of Mexico's super team, ¡Justicia!.

Powers and abilities

El Dorado's powers were not well-defined and were highly ambiguous. His most frequently used ability was teleportation, which he accomplished by wrapping his cape over his body and vanishing. Anyone or anything he wrapped his cape around could also be teleported with him, and there appeared to be no limit to the distance he could travel. Another of his frequently used powers was the ability to generate illusions. Defined as "holograms", these illusions were also capable of fooling other senses, as they sometimes generated noise and could be touched; he once created a sea monster which roared loudly, and on another occasion generated a pile of fake dolls a villain was forced to dig through physically. He also exhibited some degree of mental powers, including telepathy seen in ''Super Friends'' season 6 episode where he communicates with Wonder Woman. During the series' opening theme, he is at one point shown to be hovering, suggesting flight capabilities, and he would sometimes enter from the side of the screen as if he were just landing. He may have also possessed superhuman strength, as he once competed directly against

Kalibak Kal-El Kaldur'ahm Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscope is a supervillain with photokinetic powers created by Robby Reed's villain personality, "The Master". She was originally created by two fans, Chris Lawton and Nancy Mae Lawton in 1982. Kaleidosco ...

in physical combat and was also seen on several occasions to lift heavy objects with little effort. Knowledgeable about

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

history (yet vague in his explanations), he assisted the Super Friends whenever they were forced to enter unfamiliar ruins or areas in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. No official origin was ever given to explain El Dorado's past, nor the method through which he had acquired these powers. They may be mystical in nature and he is empowered by ancient magic and his people's warrior-spirit, possibly derived from ancestral "ancient Aztec sorcerers". Another possibility is that his powers are purely

psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and '60s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as extrasensory percept ...

, and the Aztec elements are incorporated purely for thematic purposes. In the last episodes in which he participated, he is seen with the ability to shoot laser beams from his eyes.

In other media

Television

A character based on El Dorado named Ed Dorado Jr. appears in ''

'', voiced by Freddy Rodriguez. Introduced in the second season, this version is a teenage runaway who was captured and experimented on by the Reach, who activated his meta-gene and granted him the ability to teleport, before he is rescued by the

Team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

and placed in S.T.A.R. Labs's custody along with fellow runaways

Virgil Hawkins Static (Virgil Ovid Hawkins) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Milestone Comics founders Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis (comics creator), Michael Davis, Derek T. Di ...

, Tye Longshadow, and Asami Koizumi. During his time with S.T.A.R. Labs, Ed Jr.'s scientist father Ed Dorado Sr. (voiced by

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He has starred in five films by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan and has been nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards, once for Best Actor for '' Elephant Song'' ...

), whose life's work centers around Rannian Zeta Beam technology for teleportation purposes, surmises his son's powers came about "opportunistically" as a consequence of his work and Ed Jr.'s past attempts at running away to see him. Eventually, Ed Jr. and the runaways escape S.T.A.R. Labs, but are unknowingly manipulated by

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

into helping the

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until

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

reveals the truth to them. After helping the Team and the

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

thwart the Reach's invasion of Earth, Ed Jr. moves back in with his father. In the third season, the Dorados have taken up work as counselors at the Metahuman Youth Center, with Ed Jr. joining the Outsiders as "El Dorado" to inspire the center's patients. Additionally, Ed Jr. is implied to be dating

Bart Allen Bartholomew Henry "Bart" Allen II is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A speedster (fiction), speedster, he first appeared under the alias Impulse and later became the second Kid Flash and the fourth Flash (c ...

Film

* El Dorado makes a cameo appearance in '' Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon''. * El Dorado makes a cameo appearance in ''

The Lego Batman Movie ''The Lego Batman Movie'' is a 2017 animated superhero comedy film, based on characters created by DC Comics and the Lego Batman toy line. It was directed by Chris McKay (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay that is based on a ...

''.

Merchandise

* El Dorado was scheduled to receive an

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...

in the

Super Powers Collection The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s. History In 1984, DC Comics awarded the master toy license of their characters to Kenner ...

line, but the line was canceled before his figure could be made. * El Dorado received a figure in Series 18 of

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

DC Universe Classics DC Universe Classics was an action figure toyline, a sub-line of the DC Universe toy brand manufactured by Mattel. They were 6-inch scale figures based on the fictional characters owned by DC Comics. The entire line was sculpted by the Four Horse ...

line. * El Dorado received an 8-inch figure by Figures Toy Company. * El Dorado received a figure in the "Justice League Anniversary Party"

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

set.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorado, El Animated characters introduced in 1981 DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics characters who can teleport DC Comics LGBTQ superheroes DC Comics superheroes DC Comics psychics DC Comics telepaths DC Comics metahumans Fictional historians Fictional Mexican people Fictional psychics Gay superheroes LGBTQ characters in animated television series Mexican superheroes Super Friends characters Television characters introduced in 1981 Young Justice Young Justice (TV series)