The world of superheroes, both Marvel and DC, is going through a delicate phase and many categories are being redefined. In this post we do not want to paint a picture of the state-of-the-art of the two universes; rather, our goal is to remember two characters (three with the monkey) who, in our very modest opinion, have some potential: the Wonder Twins!
After some sporadic appearances (for example in the ‘Smalville’ series), a film all about them was announced in 2022, directed by Adam Sztykiel and starred by KJ Apa and Isabel May, for the HBO Max platform. That film was subsequently cancelled but, in our humble opinion, Zan and Jayna could appear in the next DC films, as collaborators with Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, for example.
Hereafter, however, a brief explanation of their history and their merits.
The Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna, are two extraterrestrial superheroes, created for the 1977 animated series ‘The All-New Super Friends Hour’, broadcast by the American network ABC, whereas their debut in a DC comic happened in The Super Friends issue n. 7 (1977), by authors E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon.
In 2019 they obtained the first series dedicated to them, a limited series of 6 books, entitled ‘Wonder Twins’, and published for the Wonder Comics imprint created by Brian Michael Bendis.
Zan and Jayna are natives of the planet Exxor, and have been trained by Super Heroes. The Wonder Twins’ powers are activated when the two are in contact and say the phrase “Wonder Twins Power Activated!”. This phrase is actually not necessary, but just a habit. Physical contact, on the other hand, is required. If the two can’t touch each other, they aren’t able to activate their powers. As they are about to transform, the two have to announce what they are about to change into: “Form of…”.
Zan, the male, is able to transform himself into any state of water, solid, liquid, gaseous, and add water mass to that already present, provided he found more nearby. In the case of transformation into ice, he can choose the form to take, from an ice humanoid more than 150 meters tall, to a cage strong enough to hold a criminal captive, to a complex machine, such as the rocket engine. Furthermore, he can turn into an extreme atmospheric disturbance, for example a blizzard, a waterspout or a typhoon.
Jayna, the female, is able to transform into any animal, be it real, mythological, extinct or alien. By transforming herself into a Kryptonian animal, for example, Jayna takes on both its physical abilities and the superpowers that all Kryptonians take on in Earth’s atmosphere, and be able to even overpower Superman. In addition to their trasformative powers, the two share a telepathic connection, so they can communicate instantly, especially when needed.
The Wonder Twins has a pet space monkey called Gleek; Gleek has a prehensile tail and can act as a conduit to activate the twins’ powers if they were too far apart to touch. On two occasions, “Invasion of the Earthors” and “Circus of Horrors”, while the Twins were under the influence of mind control, Gleek made them make contact, and the activation of their powers instantly freed them.
A little disrespectful, but irresistible as well, the reworking made in one of the episodes of ‘Family Guy’…