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 superpowers by touching their fists and saying the phrase "Wonder Twin powers, activate!" Jayna can transform into any animal, and Zan can become water in any state. The pair also have a pet monkey,
Gleek, who assists in their crime-fighting activities.
They subsequently appeared in comics based on the animated series and were later introduced into the main
DC Comics Universe. They have since appeared in other media, including the animated series ''
Teen Titans Go!'' and the live-action TV series ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
''.
Broadcast and publication history
The duo made their debut in ''
The All-New Super Friends Hour'' ("Joy Ride", September 10, 1977) and then appeared in ''
The World's Greatest Super Friends'', ''
Super Friends'', and ''
Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show''. Zan (voiced by
Michael Bell) and Jayna (voiced by Louise Williams from 1977-1983 and
B. J. Ward in 1984) are siblings from the planet Exxor (also spelled Exor) who were being informally trained by the superheroes. Unlike their predecessors,
Wendy Harris and Marvin White, this pair was able to participate in combat with abilities of their own.
Hanna-Barbera animator
Darrell McNeil recalls the twins were created by
Norman Maurer, the ''
Super Friends'' series developer/story editor. They were originally called Dick and Jane, and their sidekick was Mighty Monkey, before finally becoming Zan, Jayna, and Gleek. The names "Zan" and "Jayna" derived from the
Edgar Rice Burroughs characters
Tarzan and his romantic interest
Jane. According to McNeil: "Originally Zan (Dick) had '
Plastic Man' powers and Jayna (Jane) could transform into anything, not just animals, but they were scaled back to their present powers as it made the other Super Friends (even
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
) seem almost superfluous".
Jayna's distinctive hairdo was based on that of an animation checker at Hanna-Barbera, while the pointed ears were inspired by the character
Spock from the ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' franchise. The twins' personalities were heavily based on
Donny and Marie Osmond, who were extremely popular at the time and had
their own show on
ABC as well.
The Wonder Twins were the most prominently featured characters in their first season on ''Super Friends''. However, by the final seasons, the twins were largely marginalized in favor of well established DC Comics teenage superheroes like
Firestorm, and were wholly eliminated in the final season in favor of
Cyborg.
The characters were introduced to comics in issue #7 of the ''Super Friends'' tie-in series (cover-dated October 1977, but published in July), by
E. Nelson Bridwell and
Ramona Fradon. The ''Super Friends'' comic book provided considerably more details of the Wonder Twins' background and how they came to join the team than was provided in the television series. Because of the different production lag times between animation and comics, the first comic book appearance is chronologically before the first television appearance.
In the 1990s, they were introduced into the main
DC Universe in ''
Extreme Justice'' #9 (October
1995), by
Ivan Velez, Jr. and
Al Rio. The series rewrote and updated their
origin story. Velez, an avowed die-hard fan of the Wonder Twins, intended to begin a revival of the characters, but was taken off the series after the first issue with the Wonder Twins. Though the twins remained with the series until its cancellation with #18, they were used only sparingly after Velez's departure.
Following the cancellation of ''Extreme Justice'', the Wonder Twins showed up only sporadically in the DC Universe. After 2003, they made no significant appearance for sixteen years. In 2019, however, the characters enjoyed a revival when DC published a six-issue ''Wonder Twins'' miniseries, written by
Mark Russell and drawn by
Stephen Byrne. The series was a critical and commercial success, and was extended into a 12 issue maxi-series.
In November 2019, the first 6 issues of "Wonder Twins" were collected as a trade paper back, and released under the title "Wonder Twins - Activate". In the following August, the second six issues of the maxi-series were released in another trade paper back titled "The Fall & Rise of the Wonder Twins".
Fictional character biography
''Super Friends''
Little background is provided for the Wonder Twins in ''
Super Friends'', save that they are superheroes-in-training that are friends of the Super Friends and were born on November 6.
According to the 1977 ''Super Friends'' comic book by writer
E. Nelson Bridwell and artist
Ramona Fradon, Zan and Jayna are Exxorian
metahumans, genetic throwbacks to an ancient race of Exxorian shapeshifters. Their parents died to a plague when they were young, and because of their origin, no Exxorians wanted to adopt them. They are adopted by the owner of a space circus who only wants to use them as
sideshow freaks. However, the circus' clown (or "laugh-maker") is a kind man and raises them. He also gives them Gleek as a pet. Eventually, as teens, the pair escapes the circus and hides on a planet where a space villain called Grax (an enemy of
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
) has established his headquarters. Spying on him, they learn that Grax is planning to destroy the Earth with hidden superbombs. The twins decide to travel to Earth and warn the
Justice League, which is how they come to replace Wendy and Marvin (who were planning on retiring as heroes anyway) as their sidekicks. The heroes arrange for the kids to live with an old scientist named
Professor Carter Nichols and they even take secret identities as Johan and Joanna Fleming. "Johan" and "Johanna" were supposedly transfer students from Esko,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, disguised with blonde hair (Zan wore a wig, while Jayna used her powers to transform into a human to change her hair color and ear shape), to allow them to attend
Gotham City High School. Since the twins do not speak English well, they ask (in the comic book) whether they can speak the intergalactic language, interlac. In fact, it was professor's idea for them to pretend they are " from a small European country", to explain their difficulties in English.
According to the twins' self-titled 2019 series, Zan is older by three minutes.
In comics
In 1996, the twins were introduced into post-''
Crisis'' DC
continuity in the series ''
Extreme Justice'' as escaped slaves of an alien overlord. Unable to speak
English, they inadvertently attack some civilians and the Justice League. During their fight with the JLA, Zan becomes an ice
golem, a water monster, and a demonic-looking
whirlpool, while Jayna becomes a
griffin, a
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
, and a sea serpent. The pair are later emancipated by the Justice League and join
Captain Atom's team in issue #16 (May 1996).
That same year, they appeared in the crossover storyline "
Final Night" and in the series ''Total Justice''.
In a 2002–03 storyline by
Peter David and
Todd Nauck in ''
Young Justice'', they help avenge the murder of
Empress' parents, wearing uniforms which resembled T-shirts and jeans. In late 2003, they appeared in the fourth issue of the
Marvel-DC intercompany crossover miniseries ''
JLA/Avengers'', which was written by
Kurt Busiek and illustrated by
George Pérez.
In 2007, they appeared in ''
Teen Titans'' vol. 3 #70, and in 2011, and in ''DCU: Legacies'' #9, a story by
Len Wein and Rob Leigh.
In "Smallville: Titans", a story arc in the series ''
Smallville season 11'', Zan and Jayna are members of the team with
Conner Kent/Superboy,
Speedy,
Blue Beetle and
Miss Martian at
Jay Garrick's school for the "gifted".
In ''Superpowers'', a 2017 backup series in ''Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye'', cartoonist
Tom Scioli offers a slightly different version of the origin of the Wonder Twins, set on an alternate Earth.
In February 2019, the first issue of a 12-issue mini-series was released on Wonder Comics, titled ''Wonder Twins''.
Powers and abilities
The Wonder Twins' powers are activated when they touch each other and speak the phrase, "Wonder Twin powers, activate!" Physical contact is required. If the two are out of reach of each other, they are unable to activate their powers. As they are about to transform, they would each announce their intended form. "Shape of...", "Form of..."
Zan can transform into water at any state (solid, liquid, gas) and add to his mass by incorporating water in his immediate area. In the case of becoming solid ice, he can also become any form he chooses, from a humanoid ice giant to a cage for a criminal to complex machinery (such as a jet engine, as he did in the episode "Eruption"). In the episode "Pressure Point", he changes into a gelatinous form. In "Terror from the Phantom Zone", he was able to transform into
liquid nitrogen. In addition, he can transform himself into atmospheric disturbances (usually very localized) involving water, such as a
blizzard
A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...
, a
monsoon,
waterspout or a
typhoon, as he did in the episodes "The Water Beast", "The Beasts are Coming", and "Stowaways".
Jayna can transform into any animal, whether real, mythological, indigenous to Earth, or indigenous to some other planet like Exxor. Since she must vocalize her choice of form to assume, she must know the common name. As revealed in "The Mummy of Nazca," she will assume the form of whatever animal she names, even if she intended a different animal and erred on the common name. She has been known to take the form of anything from a mosquito to a whale, as in "The Water Beast" episode.
In the ''Super Friends'' comic book, their powers were shown to be more extensive. By transforming into an animal of
Kryptonian origin, for instance, Jayna could gain both the creature's natural abilities and the super-powers that all Kryptonians possess under Earth-like conditions; she was even capable of overpowering
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
in the form of a Kryptonian animal. Similarly, Zan was able to transform into anything tangentially related to water or ice, including a
frost giant in the "Demons of Exxor" episode.
In addition to their powers of transformation, the two share a telepathic link, enabling one to alert the other over a distance when in dire circumstances, as revealed in the episode "The Village of Lost Souls".
The Wonder Twins have a pet Space Monkey named
Gleek, who has a useful prehensile tail and who can act as a conduit for the twins to activate their powers should they be out of reach. Gleek also serves as a courier when the twins need to travel: Jayna will typically transform into a large
eagle, and Zan will transform into
water, "jumping" into a bucket which Gleek will hold while being clutched by Jayna in her eagle form.
A rarely seen aspect of their powers is the ability to break mind control. On at least two occasions ("Pied Piper From Space" and "Circus of Horrors"), while the twins were under the influence of mind control,
Gleek caused them to make contact and the activation of their powers freed them instantly from the mind control.
In other media
Television
* Jayna appears in the ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' episode "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High", voiced by
Rachael MacFarlane. Additionally,
Peter Griffin (voiced by
Seth MacFarlane) appears as a former member of the Wonder Twins.
* Zan appears in the ''
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' episode "Very Personal Injury", voiced by
Michael Bell.
* A pair of characters inspired by the Wonder Twins called Downpour and Shifter appear in ''
Justice League Unlimited'', both voiced by
Grey DeLisle.
[ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.][ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.] They are genetically-engineered superheroes created by
Project Cadmus to serve as members of their
Ultimen and operate independently of the
Justice League, though the former group are led to believe that they are regular metahumans. In the episode "Ultimatum", the Ultimen discover the truth behind their creation and that they are suffering from cellular breakdown. They attack their manager
Maxwell Lord in an attempt to find Cadmus member
Amanda Waller, but are defeated by the League and taken back into Cadmus' custody. In the episode "Panic in the Sky", Cadmus utilizes an army of Ultimen clones in their siege on the League's
Watchtower.
* Zan and Jayna appear in the ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'' episode "Idol", portrayed by
David Gallagher and
Allison Scagliotti respectively. This version of the pair are implied to be from another world and pass themselves off as humans of Swedish descent. Their origin is expanded upon in ''
Smallville Season 11'', where Zan and Jayna are shown to have been human children from an unidentified country on Earth who were evicted by their father for having metahuman powers. Additionally, the twins go on to join
Jay Garrick's
Teen Titans.
* The Wonder Twins appear in the ''
Teen Titans Go!'' episode "You're Fired", with Zan voiced by
Khary Payton and Jayna by
Tara Strong.
[ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.][ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.]
* Kat Hudson, lead designer on ''
DC Super Hero Girls'' and other projects, developed a pitch for an animated series based on the Wonder Twins. Despite the full pitch, the project ultimately did not come to fruition.
Film
* The Wonder Twins appear in ''
The Lego Batman Movie''.
* The Wonder Twins make a cameo appearance in ''
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies''.
* In February 2022, a
DC Extended Universe film centered around the Wonder Twins was in development, with
Adam Sztykiel writing and directing, in his
directorial debut. Marty Bowen and
Wyck Godfrey were reported as producers on the film, which was to be a joint-venture production between DC Films and
Temple Hill Entertainment, with
KJ Apa and
Isabel May as Zan and Jayna. The film was developed with an intended
streaming release, exclusively through
HBO Max,
though it was later canceled due to budget cuts at
Warner Bros. Discovery.
* The ''Super Friends'' incarnations of the Wonder Twins make a cameo appearance in ''
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths''. This version of the duo come from Earth-508.
Video games
* The Wonder Twins appear as character summons in ''
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.
* The ''Teen Titans Go!'' incarnations of the Wonder Twins appear in ''
Lego Dimensions''. Additionally, ''The Lego Batman Movie'' incarnations make cameo appearances in the film's eponymous DLC pack.
Miscellaneous
The Wonder Twins appear in the
Adult Swim web series ''The New Adventures of the Wonder Twins''.
[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
This version of the pair are well-meaning but inept superheroes whose attempts at heroism always end in tragic failure.
References
External links
*
*
{{Superfriends series
2019 comics debuts
Animated characters introduced in 1977
Animated duos
Clone characters in comics
DC Comics aliens
DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes
DC Comics female superheroes
DC Comics male superheroes
DC Comics shapeshifters
DC Comics superheroes
Extraterrestrial characters in television
Female characters in animation
Fictional characters with ice or cold abilities
Fictional characters with water abilities
Fictional duos
Fictional humanoids
Fictional therianthropes
Hanna-Barbera characters
Male characters in television
Super Friends characters
Superhero duos
Superheroes who are adopted
Television characters introduced in 1977
Television duos
Twin characters in comics