El Dorado (Super Friends)

El Dorado
Publication information
Created by Hanna-Barbera
In-story information
Team affiliations Super Friends
Partnerships Apache Chief
Samurai
Black Vulcan
Abilities Super strength, teleportation, telepathy, conjuration of illusions and physical objects

El Dorado is a Hispanic superhero featured in various incarnations of the Super Friends animated television series. He was voiced by Mexican actor Fernando Escandon.

Fictional character biography

El Dorado was created solely for the Super Friends cartoons and has never appeared in a DC Comic. He first appeared as minor character in the Super Friends animated shorts, which aired in 1981 season and later in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show as a full-time member. El Dorado spoke English with an accent, sporadically substituting common Spanish words or phrases, such as adding words like "rapido" and replacing nearly every instance of "yes" with "si".

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".

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 physically dig through.

He also exhibited some degree of mental powers, including telepathy. 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 in physical combat and was also seen on several occasions to lift heavy objects with little effort. Knowledgeable about Pre-Columbian history (yet vague in his explanations), he assisted the Super Friends whenever they were forced to enter unfamiliar ruins or areas in Latin America. 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".[1] Another possibility is that his powers are purely psionic, and the Aztec elements are incorporated purely for thematic purposes.

In other media

Television

Toys

El Dorado was scheduled to be one of the few Hanna-Barbara original heroes (along with Black Vulcan and the Wonder Twins) to receive an action figure after Samurai. However, the Super Powers Collection line was canceled before the figures could be made.[3]

El Dorado was released in Series 18 of Mattel's DC Universe Classics along with several other Super-Friends/Super-Powers themed figures.[4]

References

  1. "DC Universe Classics El Dorado". YouTube. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  2. "[HD] Young Justice 2013 Official Trailer". YouTube. 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  3. Holy Cow! Super Powers Extravaganza! Archived July 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. "DC Universe Classics 18: El Dorado review". OAFE. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
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